So, the same thing kind of always happens when a new phone launches: usually the media
gets review units before they're widely available, and we get to use them for a few days or maybe
a couple weeks if we're lucky, while we write our review. Then the date and time of the
press embargo arrives, the embargo lifts, everyone posts their reviews and videos at
the same time, it's a huge frenzy, commenters go nuts, there are defenders and attackers
and it's a whole giant explosion of opinion. For about ... a day. And then it all goes
away. Sure, there's followup coverage as people find bugs
and more news happens, but after that initial blast, not a lot of people revisit the device
to see how it feels a few weeks or months later, because we're all onto the next thing
already. So let?s do something about it. Let?s take a look at one of this year?s surprising
success stories, Samsung?s phone-tablet hybrid called the Galaxy Note II. I?m Michael Fisher,
this is Pocketnow, and this is episode 9 of After The Buzz. Now, the Galaxy Note II isn?t
an old handset. It just launched on America?s largest network, Verizon Wireless, a few days
ago. But, it was announced at IFA back in August, and released in September. That?s
a long time in tech years, especially in the holiday season. So, how is the Galaxy Note
II holding up? Not surprisingly since it?s still a relatively new product, this hardware
still turns heads everywhere. At the barber shop the other day, my haircut was delayed
for about five minutes while I answered questions about my Sprint Galaxy Note II. With no other
competition in the phablet space, the big, beefy casing of the Note II stands out in
a big way. If you?re one of those folks who likes to get noticed, look no further: people
will ask you about this device in public. A lot. One of the things that might not age
as well on the physical side is the device?s design. This is all taste-dependent, but look
at the device next to some smartphones that have landed since the Note II debuted. As
we?ve said before, Samsung basically just blew up the design of the Galaxy S III and
squared off its more bulbous teardrop elements. The result is a plain-looking device that
relies almost entirely on its size and S-Pen stylus to stand out from the crowd, but the
build quality is good, and it?s withstood quite a few drops and knocks with very little
scratching. Speaking of that S Pen: we loved it in our original review and we still enjoy
it today. But unless you?re buying the device specifically to take advantage of pen input,
you?ll probably find yourself using it less often as the days go by. When you do have
a couple hands free to take it out and use the device to its full potential, though,
the S Pen continues to highlight the Note II?s advanced capabilities. Of course an S
Pen is nothing without a display to write on, and we still like the Note II?s panel.
Display enthusiasts, though, will want to take note that the 1080p revolution is upon
us. The 5.5-inch screen on the Note II delivers 720p resolution, but its pixel density isn?t
top-notch at 267ppi, and its overblown color saturation compares unfavorably with newer
technologies, like the Droid DNA?s SLCD3 display. It?s still a beautiful screen, and at the
greater distance from the eye you?re going to be using it at, it?s perfectly wonderful
? but if you?ve used a 1080p display, the differences will be apparent. If you haven?t,
you probably won?t mind at all. On the flip side of that resolution equation is endurance:
the 3100 mAh pack inside the Galaxy Note II is already a mega-sized battery, and its performance
blows away that of the batteries powering higher-resolution devices. The fact that it?s
removable, allowing swapping with a fresh battery away from home, is also a huge bonus.
Wrapping up the hardware side of things, the speaker continues to impress with its bassy,
loud tones, and the camera?s quite nice - more on that in software in a second. The only
hardware feature that consistently got under my skin was the power/standby button, which
on every unit I?ve tested is a little too easy to press. But let?s face it: when you?re
picking nits that small, you know you?ve got a great hardware story to tell overall. But
you can?t talk Galaxy Note without talking software. How?s the TouchWiz Nature UX holding
up over time? In short: very well indeed. The TouchWiz UI layer adds the usual wait
time to Android updates, and our Sprint unit here is still on Jelly Bean 4.1.1. In exchange,
though, you get the full suite of software improvements that Samsung has bundled into
TouchWiz, like notification shade utility toggles, Samsung-specific widgets, and all
the S Pen-specific enhancements like hovering and quick-memo. More importantly, there?s
also support for Samsung?s innovative Multi-Screen, allowing two apps to run at the same time
on the display, as well as Pop-up browser and Pop up Play for more lightweight multitasking.
Even multi-screen?s side dock is handy in itself, as an additional app dock. These are
really the headlining software features of the Galaxy Note II, because they let the device
live up to its full potential - they bring in the tablet functionality that makes it
a phablet, not just a comically oversized smartphone. Once you learn to use them, they?re
hugely useful features, and you miss them when leaving the device for another. The Samsung
modifications to the camera suite continue to impress, working in concert with some excellent
hardware to produce truly solid images that hold their own just fine against competing
devices, both indoor and outdoor. In fact, Samsung?s Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II
camera - they?re identical hardware and nearly identical software - are near the top of the
pile, in my opinion, for consumer smartphone optics. All this customization generally results
in a fair amount of lag, and it?s possible to slow the Galaxy Note II down at spots - but
you REALLY have to try. If you have some third-party apps like HD widgets loaded, you can induce
stutter on the widget menu, and Chrome will occasionally bog down - though that?s probably
due to Chrome. I include this only in the spirit of completeness, though. TouchWiz has
been a lag-free oasis even since Ice Cream Sandwich on high-end Samsung hardware, and
that continues with Jelly Bean on the Galaxy Note II. In our full review, we gave the Galaxy
Note II a 9/10. That?s one of the highest scores we?ve ever given a device, and the
Note II continues to earn that praise. From its multitasking to its S Pen add-ons to its
battery life to its voice quality to its data speeds to its processing horsepower ? this
thing is still a beast. A powerhouse. A hybrid product that aspires to be both a very good
smartphone and a very good tablet. And unlike many other hybrid products, the Galaxy Note
II continues to succeed at playing both roles. For the right buyer, we continue to fully
recommend it.