Not everybody knew just what to do with a device of which the size of the screen lies somewhere between a mobile phone and a tablet.
In spite of this, by now about 10 million of these devices have been sold, and this category has even gotten its own name: the phablet. A short while ago, the Samsung Galaxy Note II came out, and we had the chance to try this improved version.
We started our review period of the Galaxy Note Ii with an over-the-air firmware update. This is always very nice, since they often come with speed improvements or new functions. Moreover, the Note II already has a 5.5 inch screen, an 8 megapixel camera and a 1.6 GHz quadcore processor.
For the Note II it’s hard to point out at the competition since it’s such a remarkable device without many ‘natural enemies’. LG has the Optimus Vu in its range, just as the newer Vu II, but the both of them aren’t available in the Netherlands. In the category of devices with a somewhat smaller screen, we can point at the Samsung Galaxy S3, HTC One X+ and the Nokia Lumia 920. Of course, we can’t totally ignore the new iPhone 5.
Unboxing
Even though mobile phones are getting larger and larger, the boxes still have to be as small as possible. Samsung did another good job in this. The Note II hardly fits into the box. Furthermore, they have managed to find space for an in-ear headset with sleeves in different sizes, a USB cable and an adapter to plug in the socket. All the accessories are white and look quite good. The USB cable is a bit shirt and the plug is a bit loose in the device. Although there is space for a micro SD card, this is not included in the package.