Hasta La Gadget!

Wondering when you’ll be able to get your hands on a Galaxy Note II and just how much it’ll cost? Well… we can’t help you. But, a placard spotted on the floor at IFA today should give us some hint as to pricing. When it lands in Germany in the coming months, the second-gen phablet will set customers back €639.90, or about $803, through Vodafone. That’s quite the hefty price tag, even for an unsubsidized LTE device. Heck, the current model is only $549 commitment free from AT&T right now. Let’s just hope the price in dollars is closer, numerically to the German price and not so close in monetary value.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Galaxy Note II priced for Vodafone: 640 euros of LTE phablet goodness originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 09:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Judging from the rows and rows of Samsung flag lining the outside the Messe Berlin, the company’s planning another big show for this year’s IFA. This time last year, the company took the wraps off of its industry-shaping Galaxy Note, and if all goes according to plan, there’s seems a fairly significant chance that 2012 will see a sequel. And, knowing Samsung, that’s not all we’re in store for today. Hold on tight and join us after the break.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets

Live from Samsung Unpacked at IFA 2012! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 13:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While we can’t say it was a shock, Samsung’s latest superphone has arrived — and it’s got a new stylus. The Galaxy Note II pushes the screen frontier to 5.5 inches wide, with another HD Super AMOLED display, this time at 1,280 x 720. Despite that expansion the phone is a mere 9.4mm thick, while it now houses a larger capacity (faster charging) 3,100mAh battery and a quad-core Exynos processor clocked at 1.6GHz. As the Galaxy Note was to the Galaxy S II, so the Note II takes some design riffs from the Galaxy S III, with the same rounded edges, glossy finish and extra software piled atop its Android base. There’s also Samsung’s reliable 8-megapixel camera sensor on the back, capable of 1080p video-recording.

The great news is that the Galaxy Note II will be launching on Jelly Bean — no laborious waiting for those over-the-air updates for Google’s very latest. Software additions are understandably heavily weighted towards the phablet’s S Pen advances. The stylus itself now has a rubber nib, which Samsung reckons will offer an experience closer to pen and paper. User can add “Quick Commands” to their stylus gestures, while “Air View” allows you to peruse galleries and folders by floating the stylus just above the screen. Samsung’s also added an Easy Clip ability to crop and share from anything beaming out from the Note II’s 16:9 screen. Stylus functionality has been gifted to the calendar (S Planner) and the native email app, while the S Pen itself will now notify your phone if it’s left behind. The device will launch in Titanium Grey and Marble White, arriving internationally before the end of the year. We’ve just managed to handle both the Galaxy Note II and that reformed stylus — check out our hands-on here.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Note II unveiled: 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED display, Android Jelly Bean and more S Pen functionality

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Samsung Galaxy Note II unveiled: 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED display, Android Jelly Bean and more S Pen functionality originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re just over two weeks away from Samsung unpacking its latest phone, with the company already pointing to a Galaxy Note successor. Well, here’s something to whet the appetites of anyone into big phones — Samsung’s new video teaser for its IFA show. Director Wim Wenders is involved in the trailer, talking up “all the things you can do in the blink on the eye, on such a small and light thing.” We also get a glimpse of the new stylus — but not much else. Take a look for yourself after the break.

[Thanks, Timothy]

Continue reading Samsung teases Galaxy Note II, ‘a small and light thing’ (video)

Filed under: Cellphones

Samsung teases Galaxy Note II, ‘a small and light thing’ (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Aug 2012 02:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, Samsung has something up its sleeve, we know that much. Whether or not we’re looking at a new Note remains to be seen, but it’s safe to assume Sammy will update its phablet line as it approaches its first birthday. So it’s no wonder people’s suspicions were piqued when a mysterious device made a brief appearance at GLBenchmark.com with the model number GT-N7100. The original Note was N7000, so obviously many are guessing this unnamed Ice Cream Sandwich device is its successor. All the details have since been pulled, but PhoneArena managed to snag a screenshot. Whatever it turns out to be, we know it’s got a 1.6GHz quad-core Exynos 4412 processor with Mali-400 graphics — the same you’ll find inside the Galaxy S III. The one spec that does leave a bit of doubt however is the resolution, which is listed at juts 1280×720, instead of the 1280×800 of the original. In the benchmarks it manages to eke out scores slightly higher than the GSIII, which makes sense thanks to its higher clocked CPU. Now it’s just time to sit back and play the waiting game.

Filed under: Cellphones

Did the Galaxy Note II’s impressive benchmarks briefly get leaked? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jul 2012 19:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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