Today Samsung confirmed what many have been saying for weeks now in the tech sphere: The Galaxy Note II will be available on five major U.S. carriers: Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and U.S. Cellular.
Rumors surfaced earlier last week that the Galaxy Note II would be available on four major U.S. mobile carriers, and that we could see Samsung's "phablet" as early as Oct. 21 on AT&T. We had heard that this oversized phone may see a staggered launch in the States, so don't be surprised if AT&T gets it first and the rest of the carriers follow closely behind. Now, with Samsung's confirmation of a fifth carrier, the company also added that it would likely release the device by mid-November on Verizon Wireless.
"The original Galaxy Note created a new category of smartphones by combining the best of a smartphone with the best of a tablet. In less than a year, Samsung sold more than 10 million globally demonstrating the category is taking hold," said president of Samsung Telecommunications America Dale Sohn. "The new Galaxy Note II is a significant leap forward for the category."
If you thought that a bigger than big phone would fulfill your every desire, then this is the one to look at. Well, until HTC drops a 1080p phone on us. All models of the Galaxy Note II are said to be identical to the international version, which is equipped with a 1.6GHz quad-core Exynos processor, HSPA+ and 4G LTE support, and a tremendous 5.5-inch Super AMOLED HD display. This will mark the first time Verizon has carried a Galaxy Note.
Galaxy Note II Specs
Samsung hasn't let much slip on its fabled new "Phablet" yet -say that five times fast - but we do know the Galaxy Note 2 is a bigger Galaxy S3 version. The device will have the same design lines that you've seen in the company's 2012 flagship handset but at a bigger scale, reports Androidauthority.com. The insides are also very similar to the Galaxy S3, but the Note is not just a phone, as it has plenty of tablet-like functionality. The device also comes with a stylus on board.
The Galaxy note II features a touch-screen display with 1280 x 720 resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio, 2GB of RAM, 16/32/64GB of on-board memory with support for up to 64GB microSD upgrade, 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with Auto Focus, LED flash and HD video recording, 2-megapixel front-facing camera, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, A-GPS, and Glonass support, 3,100mAh user-removable battery with faster charging, S Pen support and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean on board with TouchWiz UI on top and new S-Pen features.
Samsung's device will reportedly be named the SCH-I605, according to BriefMobile. Très chic. The real shocker here though is that a source close to BriefMobile claims the Galaxy Note II will not push aside its quad-core CPU in favor of a more LTE-friendly chip like Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4. Up until now this has been the case for high-octane Android phones outfitted with LTE such as the HTC Evo 4G LTE and Samsung's own Galaxy S III.
This could perhaps represent a turning point in handset design. With the device colaescing qualities of books, smartphones, and tablets all into one device, it's already clearly a very unique product. Ushering in a new era of having it all: your 4G, your quad-core, and even Jelly Bean. If so, this holiday season could be quite an eventful one for Android users.
Apparently, the Samsung Galaxy Note II is slightly more powerful than last quarter's Samsung Galaxy S III when it comes to specs.
Unlocked and with the quad-core processor and 2X RAM, The Galaxy Note II is expected to sport the tag price of $750 to $800, whilst the Samsung Galaxy S III′s SRP will slide from $650 to $580 (for the 16GB model) effective this week.
We've already seen European carriers confirm the "phablet." Samsung has not commented on how the Galaxy Note II will be priced once it's available.