Samsung Galaxy Note II Review

The Samsung Galaxy Note II is the successor to the Galaxy Note, which launched on AT&T - and much later, T-Mobile - in the United States.  The Galaxy Note II brings the Galaxy S III design cues to the Note line, and expands the availability to five carriers: Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and US Cellular - an instant win from an overall awareness standpoint.  Despite the carrier-agnostic approach, a phone won't sell without a perfect formula of marketing, retail awareness, and consumer interest.  The exceptional improvements in all of those departments contribute to making the Note II substantially better than the original device.

While Note II is in the same product line as the original Note, it's best to think of this smartphone as an entirely new iteration.  Note brought the notion of "hybrid smartphone" into the marketplace, but Note II is better in every way possible.  Among the improvements:

1. The specifications list is improved in every way to make the Note II a flagship smartphone.  The 1.6 GHz quad-core Exynos CPU, 2 GB of RAM, and 5.5-inch Super AMOLED HD display are all top-notch features that give this device a leg ahead of some of its competitors.

2. The size and feel in the hand.  The display is larger than the original Note, but the phone is longer and narrower this time around, making it easier to hold in the hand.

3. The S Pen is improved and is far more integrated into the software, making for a more pleasant experience.

4. Note II brings some great software perks to the table - S Beam, camera features, and a myriad of personalization options and other goodies that users are sure to enjoy.

Outside of all of that, half of the battle revolves around the product cycle and overall timing, and the Note II premiered at a near-perfect time.

The size of the smartphone places Galaxy Note II into a category of its own.  And make no doubt about it - it's a big device.  For comparison purposes, the Apple iPhone 5 fits into the screen of the phablet (that's "phone" and "tablet" merged, in case you were wondering).  The overall look and feel resembles the Galaxy S III, and offers a similar level of plastic.

As far as I'm concerned, Samsung's TouchWiz Nature UX is the best implementation of a user interface on top of Android.  TouchWiz is fluid, fast, and works incredibly well with Android 4.1.  It's far less jumpy and flashy than HTC's Sense UI, and in the few times it does exhibit flash, the animations are smooth and rarely result in a wait.  Samsung has done an exceptional job of including a wealth of software goodies on top of the typical Android experience, and they're perks I see mainstream consumers enjoying.