Is it a phone? Is it a tablet? No, it’s the Samsung Galaxy
Note 2, the next-gen ‘phablet’ by the Korean giant, expected to hit shelves
later this year.
While most mobile phones have been shrunk to within an inch
of their lives, others, particularly smartphones, are becoming bigger, wider
and slimmer.
When it was released last year, the Galaxy Note changed the
mobile landscape and took the 'is it a phone or tablet?' debate to new heights,
with it's 5.3-inch screen causing confusion among industry heads and consumers
alike.
Some referred to it as a slate, others said it was too small
for a tablet status and should be marketed as a smartphone, while the rest
simply didn't know what to make of it.
So what can we expect from the Note’s widely-anticipated
successor and will it arrive to much fanfare or to further scrutiny? We’ve
scoured the web for the latest news and rumours to find out…
Galaxy Note
2 release date
With news of a next-gen iPhone hogging headlines across the
globe, rumour has it Samsung has pushed forward the Galaxy Note release date to
September – it was first reported to launch in October – a move some believe
was designed to take some heat off the launch of the new iPhone.
While the two won’t be in direct competition with each other
(phablets are an acquired taste in today’s compact kit mad society), it will
give Samsung the opportunity to flaunt the device ahead of the mooted next-gen
iPhone’s launch.
As reported by T3 last month, the iPhone 5 is rumoured to
land some time in either September or October, but enough about Apple’s
next-gen blower.
This piece is all about Samsung (however, if you'd like to
read more on the next iPhone, check out our iPhone 5 rumours roundup for all
the latest gossip).
Bean there,
done that!
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean will reportedly come pre-installed on
the second-generation Note. Aside from a seriously funky name, the new OS,
coupled with the Note 2's bold and beautiful screen, will make the user
experience all the more pleasant, particularly where gameplay is concerned.
The new and improved smooth-running operating system by
Google means users are able to use features such as Google Now and Android beam
on the upcoming hybrid device.
A half
decent screen
While most devices are proud of their slender frames,
Samsung’s Galaxy Note is curvy and proud. So proud, in fact, that it’s about to
get a whole lot bigger – albeit, only by 0.2 inches (but that’s a lot in
smartphone land).
Sources say the upcoming handset will sport a 5.5-inch super
AMOLED screen – a small boost from its predecessor’s 5.3-inch display – but as
a compromise, the screen will actually be less wide, as the handset itself is
reported to don a slimmer form factor.
OK, so it may not be championing the larger-than-life
gadgets movement (we take back our comment above about the original Note being
curvy and proud) – all Samsung is doing is relocating some of the fat to other
areas of the blower-cum-tablet – but the increased length will make, say,
browsing the web or reading emails a tad easier.
Sus-spec-ted
specs
- Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
- New form factor
- 12-megapixel camera
- Quadcore processor
- 5.5-inch display (with 1680 x 1050 resolution)
- Super AMOLED display
A tweet
mistake
While everyone more or less figured that Samsung will
release a follow-up to its successful Galaxy Note phablet, it was never
officially confirmed – well, not until an employee tweeted about it by
‘mistake’.
Last month, reports surfaced of a tweet sent by a Samsung
Arabia employee, which more or less outted the upcoming device.
It read: "Which one of these are you excited about:
#GalaxyBeam #GalaxyTab2 #GalaxyNote2 #Poll."
As one would expect, the tweet was removed not long
afterwards but it is the first clear indication given by Samsung that a second
Note is in the works (we'd start saving if we were you).
While making mistakes is all part of the job, the idea that
an employee accidentally let slip the existence of an important handset is
pretty, well, unbelievable.
The launch of a new Note isn’t something Samsung would want
to let slip (unless it wanted to, of course), so it may well be that this is
purely a PR stunt designed to boost publicity around the device prior to its
official launch. If that’s the case, we’re happy they did it.
Flexible
display? Yeah right!
Of all the Galaxy Note 2 rumours that have surfaced around
the web, the craziest one we’ve heard so far is that the device will land with
a flexible display.
Yes, one of those horrible screens that you can turn and
twist. This is according to Korean newspaper MK Business News, which wrote:
“South Korea’s Samsung Electronics will be releasing a
flexible display-equipped successor model to the Galaxy Note in October so as
to compete against Apple’s iPhone 5.”
While we understand that rumours should be taken with a
pinch of salt, we’re not convinced that Samsung will release a flexible display
for the Galaxy Note 2 – we’d expect a screen such as this to land on a more
prominent device, like the Samsung Galaxy S4.
*Warning, the latter sentence is not a Galaxy S4 rumour, and
should not be treated as such.
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