The Samsung Galaxy Note II (unofficially known as the Samsung Galaxy Note 2) is an Android-based phablet-sized smartphone developed, marketed and manufactured by Samsung Electronics. Unveiled on August 29, 2012 and released in October 2012, the Galaxy Note II is a successor to the original Galaxy Note, incorporating improved stylus functionality, a larger screen, and an updated hardware and casing design based on that of the Galaxy S III.
The Note II was released to positive critical reception for its improvements over the original Galaxy Note, and sold over 5 million units within only its first two months of availability. Samsung announced a successor to the Galaxy Note II, the Galaxy Note 3, on September 4, 2013.
History The Galaxy Note II was unveiled at IFA Berlin on August 29, 2012, and released in multiple markets at the beginning of October 2012. Samsung sold more than 3 million units within the first 37 days and it crossed 5 million in two months of its release.
Software versions In December 2012, Samsung began rolling out an update to Android 4.1.2 "Jelly Bean" for the device. In April 2014, Samsung began rolling out an update to Android 4.4.2 ''KitKat'' for the device. Samsung from Denmark, Norway, and Gulf countries has stated several times, including on their official pages that both the 3G and 4G versions of the phone will get the Lollipop update, however the phone never received Android Lollipop.
Features TechnologyGSM / HSPA / LTE LaunchAnnounced2012, August. Released 2012, SeptemberStatusDiscontinued BodyDimensions151.1 x 80.5 x 9.4 mm (5.95 x 3.17 x 0.37 in)Weight183 g (6.46 oz)BuildGlass front, plastic back, plastic frameSIMMicro-SIMStylus DisplayTypeSuper AMOLEDSize5.5 inches, 83.4 cm2 (~68.6% screen-to-body ratio)Resolution720 x 1280 pixels, 16:9 ratio (~267 ppi density) PlatformOSAndroid 4.1.1 (Jelly Bean), upgradable to 4.4.2 (KitKat), TouchWiz UIChipsetExynos 4412 Quad (32 nm)CPUQuad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A9GPUMali-400MP4 MemoryCard slotmicroSDXC (dedicated slot)Internal16GB 2GB RAM, 32GB 2GB RAM, 64GB 2GB RAM Main CameraSingle8 MP, f/2.6, AFFeaturesLED flashVideo1080p@30fps Selfie cameraSingle1.9 MPVideo SoundLoudspeakerYes3.5mm jackYes CommsWLANWi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspotBluetooth4.0, A2DP, EDR, LEPositioningGPS, A-GPS, GLONASSNFCYesRadioStereo FM radio, RDS - N7100 model onlyUSBmicroUSB 2.0 (MHL TV-out), OTG FeaturesSensorsAccelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometerANT+ S-Voice natural language commands and dictation BatteryTypeRemovable Li-Ion 3100 mAh batteryStand-byUp to 980 h (2G) / Up to 890 h (3G)Talk timeUp to 35 h (2G) / Up to 16 h (3G) MiscColorsTitanium Gray, Marble White, Amber Brown, Ruby Wine, Pink, BlueModelsGT-N7100, GT-N7105, SHV-E250S, SHV-E250K, SGH-I317M, SHV-E250L, SGH-T889SAR0.23 W/kg (head) 0.95 W/kg (body) SAR EU0.17 W/kg (head) PriceAbout 300 EUR TestsDisplayContrast ratio: 402 (nominal) / 2.307:1 (sunlight)CameraPhoto / VideoLoudspeakerVoice 70dB / Noise 66dB / Ring 80dBAudio qualityNoise -90.2dB / Crosstalk -90.7dBBattery (old)Endurance rating 69h
Split-screen The Galaxy Note 2 is able to show two applications at the same time with flexible width on the screen with its split-screen feature. However, support of this feature varies per app.FirstSpot article: "SPLIT-SCREEN MULTI-TASKING COMES TO GALAXY NOTE II VIA FIRMWARE UPDATE" (sic.)
Specifications
General The Galaxy Note II features a 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED S-Stripe RGB (3 subpixels/pixel) (non-PenTile) screen with 1280 × 720 resolution, a 1.6 GHz quad-core Cortex-A9 CPU, 2 GB RAM, an 8 MP rear camera and 1.9 MP front camera, and a 3,100 mAh battery. It is slightly thinner than its predecessor at , albeit also being slightly heavier by . Depending on the specific model, the phone features HSPA+ 21 Mbit/s along with 4G LTE (42.2 Mbit/s DC-HSPA+ for LTE Version). The Galaxy Note II is equipped with Broadcom BCM4334 chipset for the IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity in 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz dual-band with maximum rate up to 150 Mbit/s, FM radio tuner and Bluetooth 4.0 + HS support.
Storage The Galaxy Note II was supposed to be available in 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB storage capacity variants, each expandable by up to an additional 64 GB with a microSD card. However, as of 8 January 2013, only the 16 GB and 32 GB versions are available and there has been no release date for or any indication of a 64 GB version of the Note II to be offered.
S Pen The smartphone's pressure-sensitive S Pen is slightly thicker than in the original Galaxy Note, and a feature marketed as Air View allows a user to preview content by hovering the pen over the content, similar to the hoverbox feature of a mouse in some desktop computers, such as thumbnails in the gallery and a preview tooltip on the video player's time seek bar, and zooming in the web browser (Samsung S Browser)Video: Samsung Galaxy Note 2 – Air View by FoneArena (October 10th, 2012)Video: Samsung Galaxy Note 2 – Air View (November 19th, 2012) and for scrolling. Another feature marketed as Quick Command reveals a list of available commands at the swipe of the S Pen.Video: Galaxy Note 2 S Pen Gestures – October 31st, 2012 Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100 review: Writing home – Page 3: Display, S Pen – GSM Arena
The S Pen's 1,024 levels of pen-pressure sensitivity give it significantly more accuracy and precision than the original Note's 256.
Camera Both front and rear camera use the same hardware as used in the Galaxy S3, with eight megapixels (3264×2448) rear facing camera and 1.9 Megapixels on the front facing camera.
The video resolution of the rear camera is 1080p at 30 frames per second while the front camera films 720p at 30 frames per second.
The Galaxy Note 2 is able to capture 6 megapixel (3264×1836) images during 1080p@30fps video recording, which is the highest 16:9 aspect ratio resolution supported by the 4:3 image sensor, matching the aspect ratio of the video.
While the camera interface resembles that of the Galaxy S3, slow motion mode (720×480 at 120 frames per second) has been added. The slow motion videos lack audio.
The burst shot mode is able to capture up to twenty full-resolution photos per row at around six frames per second.Video: Samsung Galaxy Note II burst mode photography at over 6 fps for 20 frames, published 2012-09-11
Variants The Galaxy Note II is available in Titanium Grey, Marble White, Martian Pink, Amber Brown and Ruby Wine case colors. Some features were removed, which vary as customized by carrier, include FM/TV tuner, charging pins, and Multiple-SIM card support. To prevent grey market reselling, models of the Galaxy Note II, and other models (Galaxy S4, Galaxy S4 mini, Galaxy Note III and Galaxy S III) manufactured after July 2013 implement a regional lockout system in certain regions; requiring that the first SIM card used on a European and North American model be from a carrier in that region. Samsung stated that the lock would be removed once a valid SIM card is used.
Communication processor The baseband chipset of GT-N7100 is Intel Wireless PMB9811X Gold Baseband processor. The baseband chipset of SGH-T889, SHV-E250K, and SHV-E250S is Qualcomm Gobi MDM9215. SHV-E250L has Qualcomm Gobi MDM9615M for the EVDO revision B connectivity.
Network connectivity Most of the variants support GSM/GPRS/EDGE in the 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1.8 GHz, and 1.9 GHz bands; and UMTS/HSPA+21 in 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1.9 GHz, and 2.1 GHz.
AWS phones SGH-T889 and SGH-T889V are devices that support AWS-1 for HSPA networks capable of transferring data over Advanced Wireless Services band in HSPA mode on carriers such as T-Mobile US, and in Canada, Wind Mobile, Mobilicity, and Vidéotron.
CDMA/EV-DO phones SCH-R950, SHV-E250L, SCH-i605, SPH-L900, and SCH-N719 are to connect to cdmaOne, CDMA 1xRTT, and EV-DO rev 0/A/B. All models are additionally GSM capable with the exception of the SCH-R950. SPH-L900 can only use WCDMA/GSM services while roaming internationally due to it having an embedded SIM.
TD-SCDMA phone GT-N7108 is to support TD-SCDMA networks in the 1.9 GHz and 2.0 GHz bands, and connect to the GSM/GPRS/EDGE 1.9 GHz band.
Dual-cell HSPA phone SGH-T889 is known to support dual-cell HSPA+ up to 42.2 Mbit/s.
LTE phones GT-N7105 is an LTE version, that can connect to LTE band 3, 7, 8, and 20 and has 42.2 Mbit/s DC-HSPA+. SCH-i605 can connect to LTE band 13, which is what Verizon Wireless uses. SCH-R950, SGH-i317[M], SGH-T889[V], SPH-L900, SC-02E (SGH-N025), and SHV-E250[K,L,S] can connect to the LTE bands of each carrier as well as the LTE bands of the other network operators as a roaming service. GT-N7108D is a version similar to GT-N7108 but with LTE-TDD support. Also the Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC was used in this version.
FM radio, digital TV tuner Only some Galaxy Note II variants have a built-in FM radio tuner. For example, some US and Canadian variants (SGH-i317, SGH-i317M) and the LTE International version (N7105) lack the FM radio tuner support. SC-02E for Japan market has 1seg digital-TV tuner and antenna. Korean variants have the T-DMB tuner as well as the T-DMB antenna that can be concealed in the phone body.
Dimension and weight Korean variants with the T-DMB tuner and the T-DMB antenna are heavier than other variants. SC-02E for NTT DoCoMo with 1seg TV tuner is heavier and thicker.
Wireless charging Depending on the model, some Galaxy Note II (GT-N7100) units have the two optional charging pins on the back side of the device, just right of the battery holder, that can be used for wireless charging with the dedicated wireless charging back cover variant. Galaxy Note II displays the notification message built in the firmware when it is charged wirelessly. SCH-L900 does not have the pins. SGH-T889 has the pins, but they are disabled.
Table of variants +Galaxy Note II variants Model Carriers 2G/3G connectivity 4G LTE connectivity Notes International GT-N7100 International GSM: quad-bandUMTS: 850, 900, 1900, 2100 NoOptional inductive charging pins GT-N7105 International 800(band 20)900(band 8)1800(band 3)2600(band 7)Inductive charging pins No FM radio 42.2 Mbit/s DC-HSPA+ North American carriers SCH-i605 Verizon GSM: quad-band;CDMA/EVDO: 850, 1900UMTS: quad-band 700(band 13)No inductive charging pinsHome Button Verizon Branding SCH-R950 US Cellular CDMA/EVDO: 850, 1700, 1900 700(band 12)850AWS1900(band 2) SGH-i317 AT&T GSM: quad-bandUMTS: 850, 1900, 2100 700(band 17)850AWS1900(band 2) SGH-i317M BellRogersSaskTelTelusTelcel (Mexico) GSM: quad-bandUMTS: 850, 1900, 2100 700(band 17)850AWS1900(band 2) SGH-T889 T-Mobile GSM: quad-bandUMTS/DC-HSPA+ : 850, AWS, 1900, 2100 700(band 17)AWSLTE AWS from 2013Optional charging pins disabled SGH-T889V MobilicityVidéotronWind Mobile GSM: quad-bandUMTS/DC-HSPA+: 850, AWS, 1900, 2100 700(band 17)AWS SPH-L900 Sprint GSM: quad-bandCDMA/EVDO: 800, 850, 1900UMTS: 1900, 2100 1900(band 25)No optional charging pins, embedded SIM Chinese carriers SCH-N719 China Telecom GSM: 900, 1800, 1900CDMA: 800, 1900 No Dual-Card dual-standby GT-N7102 China Unicom GSM: quad-bandUMTS: 900, 2100 MHzNo GT-N7108 China Mobile GSM: 900, 1800, 1900TD-SCDMA: 1800, 2010WCDMA: 900, 2100 (international roaming only) No GT-N7108D China Mobile GSM: quad-bandTD-SCDMA: 1880, 2010WCDMA: 850, 900, 2100 (international roaming only) FDD-LTE: 1800, 2600 (international roaming only)TDD-LTE: 1900, 2300, 2600Galaxy Notesamsung.com Japanese carriers SGH-N025/SC-02E NTT DoCoMo GSM: quad-bandUMTS: 800, 850, 2100 1500(band 11) 2100(band 1)access-date=29|SC-02E uses two Xi LTE bands 1seg tuner Korean carriers SHV-E250K KT GSM: quad-bandUMTS: 1900, 2100 900(band 8)1800DMB tuner/antennaLTE 900 after 2013. SHV-E250L LG U+ GSM: quad-bandCDMA: 1800UMTS: 1900, 2100 8502100(band 1) DMB tuner/antenna SHV-E250S SK Telecom GSM: quad-bandUMTS: 1900, 2100 8501800 DMB tuner/antenna
Notes