At the launch event we got some hands on time with Samsung’s phablet – the Galaxy Note II. It boasts of some impressive specifications – a 5.5-inch 1280×720 SuperAMOLED display on top, and a 1.6GHz quad-core processor under the hood. The smartphone-tablet hybrid runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and boasts of a whopping 2GB of RAM just like the Galaxy Note 800 tablet.
The new Note II has an 8MP autofocus rear camera with LED flash, capable of 1080p HD video recording, and a 1.9MP front facing camera. The device (also read our first impressions of the Note II) comes 16GB internal storage expandable up to 64GB via a microSD card.
Some of the coolest features of the Galaxy Note II are:
Smart Face: Once enabled, the camera clicks 5 pictures and recommends the one in which the faces of the subjects looks the best. You also have the option to manually pick the best from the five available options.
One Hand Operation: Since the device is so big, it is difficult to navigate with one hand. Keeping this in mind, Samsung has introduced a feature called one hand operation. Once enabled, the dialer pad and the QWERTY keypad take up 75% of their normal space on either the right or the left side of the screen (depending on whether you are a righty or a lefty), making it easy to navigate with one hand.
Pop up play: First seen in the Galaxy Note 800, pop up play enables you to watch a video in a small screen on the display and you can use the rest of the display to run other apps be it browsing the web, playing a game or shopping on the Play store. You can also adjust the size of the window in which the video plays back.
S-Pen: The S-Pen too makes an appearance on the Galaxy Note II. It is slightly bigger than its predecessor and is a lot more comfortable to hold and use this time around. It is housed in the bottom of the device. There are a lot of apps such as the S-Notes and more that take advantage of the utility of the pen.
To know about all the new features of the Samsung Galaxy Note II, take a look at our hands on video below.