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Samsung Galaxy Note 2: A First Look

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There is no escaping the fact that Samsung is a top contender in the tablet market. The company has provided amazing technology in great products that are great value for money. We hadn’t stopped raving about the Samsung Galaxy Note that came our way last year, but that hasn’t stopped Samsung from following up its tough-act-to-follow with the Samsung Galaxy Note 2.

The first thing that grabs your attention is its large size. The Note 2 is 5.9X3.2X0.4 inches, slightly bigger than its predecessor is. The good news is that it’s easy to handle so take heart at the fact that the screen size has increased too. The colors are beautiful and rich and you’ll realize once more why the AMOLED panel from Samsung is so beloved to users. The screen is now 5.5 inches and that means there’s more screen than front.

All you have in the front is the home button, front facing camera, sensors and just two soft keys.Around the device is scattered the power button(right), volume(left), port for charger, jack for headphone and of course, a slot for the S-pen. At the back you’ll see, or rather won’t see the microSD slot. But you will see the whopping 8MP camera.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is not light but at about 0.4 lbs it doesn’t feel unsubstantial, which is important because this is a gadget that means business. It runs on Android Jelly Bean and harnesses the smooth speed of Project Butter to literally make things run in the 1.6 GHz quad core processor. There’s 2GB RAM and we did tell you about the microSD slot so you can get more memory if you like. The huge 3,100 mAH battery, can give you many hours of enjoyment. Connectivity comes in multiple forms- NFC, Wi-Fi and S-Bean, among others.

Start the Samsung Note 2 and you’ll encounter TouchWiz. It is a bit gimmicky and has an equal number of people who love it and loath it but it does its job and that’s important. It goes well with the S-pen and gives you seven home screens in which to divide your time. There’s enough space for widgets and if you don’t like some, you can delete and add the ones that you do like. You have a mix of Samsung and Google’s apps and can enjoy a brilliant Gmail, Flipboard, Samsung Mail and S-Suggest among others. You can access Google Play Store for more cool apps across themes.

You’ll notice that the notification bar is better and Google Now and Google Search have never looked so good. You’ll see all sorts of information in easily digestible forms on your notification bar.

There are shortcuts for contacts and you can separate them into groups, favorites and the like. You can add shortcuts to your favorite contacts and block those that you don’t like. Calls are connected easily and call clarity is good too. If you can get past the size of the device, that is. Given how cool the device is, you really should.

Send your messages through type or voice or get connected with your friends with Tango, Skype and Viber among others. Then there’s the S-pen that mimics your handwriting even if it is not the best going around.

The cameras are well made with a powerful flash. It has neat features like Face Detection and Best Photo and is great for panorama shots. You can shoot pictures even as you take videos and even that experience is a treat.

There’s so much going on in the Samsung Note 2 and you will surely enjoy yourself. Happy exploring!