Chavez Contagion: The Growing Risk To Latin American Oil
Another election, another win for Hugo Chavez. Despite considerable speculation that President Chavez might finally loose his grip on power last weekend, the ‘Bolivar revolution’ clinched 54.4% of the vote (currently counted), equating to a 1.3m vote lead.
Chavez is going nowhere, but unfortunately for him, neither is the Venezuelan oil sector. This is going to be the same old disorderly management of hydrocarbon decline, but the problem is that the ailment might start spreading further afield across Latin American producers. ‘Chavez contagion?’ Don’t bet against it, even in Brazil.
Disorderly Decline
It’s no surprise that the market failed to react this morning to another six year Chavez term. If anything, El Presidente was a better bet for short term oil market stability than his opponent, Henrique Capriles, who’d been threatening to tear up some of Venezuela’s more ridiculous supply contracts amassed by Mr. Chavez. That obviously won’t now happen; the donkeys will keep nodding, tankers will keep being loaded.
But Chavez knows he’s on borrowed time (politically as well as physically) given that a core part of his electoral strategy was spending Venezuelan oil wealth to win electoral support. State spending increased by 30% this year, subsidising food, housing, fuel and healthcare, all while oil production dropped to 2.5mb/d. High prices helped to paper over the cracks given growth is rattling along at 5.4%, but when you consider PDVSA wasn’t paid in cash for almost half the crude it pumped last year, and that oil markets are set for a significant downside correction into 2013, it’s little wonder that analysts are already taking about a fire-sale on Venezuelan dollar denominated debt.
Given the underlying commodity at stake is ‘oil, oil, oil’, it’s pretty clear that Chavez needs to allow for far greater international investment to get the Orinoco belt going, a region that could increase Venezuelan production by up to 2mb/d according to some excited geologists. But the form book doesn’t bode well, especially if PDVSA retains 60% ownership of operations. It lacks technical expertise; lacks policy consistency from Caracas; and certainly lacks credible finances to do any heavy oil lifting as the statist cash cow of choice for Mr. Chavez.
President Chavez has actually overseen a 22% reduction in Venezuelan oil output since 1999. It would be surprising if Caracas manages to keep production above 2mb/d by 2018, especially when investors all know that Chavez opts for drastic (expropriation) measures when things get too tight for comfort.
Regional Ramifications
Venezuela’s plight will come as welcomed news to Middle East producers, and indeed those of a more moderate disposition in OPEC ranks, but there is a broader problem from a ‘Chavez win’ across the Americas: Rather than learning the lessons of how not to do effective resource management, they’ll go the other way, and start imitating many of his moves to tighten their grips over the resource sector. That’s not necessarily because they think that’s good for production, but because it makes for successful politics. Resource nationalism wins votes; showering the electorate with petrodollars works; being an international nuisance translates into domestic support.
Monday, October 8, 2012
A brief synopsis. What should you think of the shifting sands.
Hang on. It's going to get bumpy.
A revolution in the world economy targeted at revving up new growth engines ultimately will produce gain after pain.
Three years into recovery, with economies lumbered by debt and limited bank credit, policy makers are trying to segue to a more balanced expansion from the drivers and excesses that caused the worst recession in six decades. The U.S. is further along as it spurs manufacturing and exports, while trading giants Germany and China seek to fan domestic demand.
While the aim is more-sustainable growth -- and current- account trade data suggest a rebalancing is under way -- the rebirth is leaving the world low on power for now and still could fail if any of the regions don’t pull their weight. The International Monetary Fund will underscore the risks when it revises down its outlook tomorrow.
“As you go through these adjustments, it’s quite painful,” said Jim O’Neill, chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management in London. “But coming out the other side with a different structure, we should have a much stronger world economy.”
A more even keel after the last credit-powered expansion would help the stocks of companies biased toward emerging-market consumers and U.S. manufacturing over those tied to commodities and infrastructure, said John Bilton, European investment strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in London.
“There is a changing complexion in global growth,” he said. “It ultimately means a more balanced world economy over the longer haul, but before then it will make it harder for various regions to withstand exogenous shocks and so business cycles are likely to be shorter.”
That chimes with the analysis of Deutsche Bank AG strategists, who say expansions now are more fragile and easily broken. Twenty-one of 25 key economies they monitored have suffered at least one quarter of economic contraction since the global financial crisis hit, and most in the developed world have yet to regain their previous gross domestic product peak.
How soon the global economy can right itself will be debated this week at the annual meeting in Tokyo of the IMF, which serves as the traffic cop for worldwide imbalances. Delegates will be greeted by the news that the lender anticipates even worse growth this year than the 3.5 percent it projected in July.
“The global economy is still fraught with uncertainty, still far from where it needs to be,” IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said Sept. 24.
Nobel laureate Paul Krugman said Oct. 3 the U.S. and Europe are “nowhere close to ending” the slump, and German-led austerity efforts may prompt a 1930s-syle depression. Nouriel Roubini, co-founder of Roubini Global Economics LLC, told “Bloomberg Surveillance” with Tom Keene on Oct. 3 that growth is still “anemic,” and major economies are “barely midstream” in deleveraging.
There are nevertheless signs that the downshift may mask a move toward new economic propellers after the last boom proved too reliant on Chinese exports, U.S. consumers and easy borrowing.
U.S. debt has shrunk to a six-year low relative to the size of the economy as homeowners, cities and companies cut borrowing, allowing the government to raise record amounts of money at the lowest interest rates ever.
The IMF estimates the U.S. current-account deficit will shrink to 3.1 percent of GDP next year from 6 percent in 2006, while China’s surplus will contract to 2.6 percent from 10.1 percent in 2007.
“Any evidence that those adjustments are under way is constructive,” O’Neill said.
Less confident is Stephen King, chief global economist at HSBC Holdings Plc in London, who says narrowing trade gaps reflect stagnating global demand. The World Trade Organization last month revised its forecasts to show cross-border commerce expanding 2.5 percent this year, down from its prior 3.7 percent estimate.
Recent rebalancing has “much more to do with economic weakness than strength,” King said.
C. Fred Bergsten, director of the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington and a former Treasury Department official, agrees.
“A very large part of the rebalancing is really due to the recession and cyclical factors,” he said. “The IMF shares that view.”
The U.S, once dependent on its own consumers, saw exports rise to a record 13.8 percent of GDP last year, up from 12.7 percent in 2010, according to the International Trade Administration.
Since the 18-month recession ended in June 2009, exports have added an average of one percentage point to annualized growth each quarter. That is almost double the 0.58 point average contribution since 1990 and accounts for about half the 2.2 percent annual expansion of GDP during the recovery, Commerce Department data show.
The rise in exports is “significant” even though “it is from a small base,” said Mohamed El-Erian, chief executive officer at Pacific Investment Management Co. in Newport Beach, California.
Behind the improvement is a revival of U.S. manufacturing. Restrained wages and lower energy prices are giving companies a competitive edge over competitors in Europe and Japan, according to a Boston Consulting Group study. It reckons average expenses in the U.S. will be 15 percent less than in Germany by 2015 and 21 percent below Japan.
“The U.S. is becoming one of the lowest-cost producers of the developed world,” wrote Harold L. Sirkin, a senior BCG partner in Chicago.
The chemical industry is a particular winner, as an abundant supply of natural gas from shale formations gives U.S. producers a march over rivals in Europe and Asia, which use mainly higher-priced oil.
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), the largest U.S. oil company, announced June 1 that it plans to build factories producing ethylene and plastics in Texas that will “significantly” increase exports of the latter product, the Irving, Texas-based company said.
Both President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney have pledged to do more to help domestic manufacturers if elected on Nov. 6. Obama backs tax breaks for those that keep jobs in the U.S., while Romney vows a harder line with China over its trade and currency policies.
Such help would come as demand for U.S. products is being blunted by weakness abroad. The trade deficit widened in July for the first time in four months, increasing to $42 billion, as exports fell. The shortfall with China climbed to a record, while the gap with the European Union was the widest in almost five years.
“The U.S. is beginning to do its thing,” said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist for IHS Inc. in Lexington, Massachusetts. “We’ve made some progress toward export-led growth, but stronger domestic demand abroad is crucial.”
Peripheral euro-area countries are suffering what El-Erian calls a “bad rebalancing” as investors force them to ax budget deficits when their economies already are contracting. The IMF predicts general government spending in Greece will slide to 41 percent of GDP in 2015 from 53 percent in 2009. The jobless rate there was 23.6 percent in the second quarter.
As austerity spells recession and drives up unemployment, policy makers are looking abroad for strength. With the 17 euro countries sharing a currency, the focus is on so-called internal devaluation, when labor costs are suppressed and productivity spurred to make goods relatively cheaper.
While painful because the steps risk even higher unemployment at first, Joachim Fels, chief economist at Morgan Stanley in London, said such “previously unthinkable” measures are delivering results, and he’s turning more optimistic about the euro’s long-term viability.
Italy eased rules on firing workers and opened up industries previously closed to competition. Spanish companies can opt out of central wage deals and negotiate directly with unions, as new pension requirements reduce early retirements. Greece cut its minimum wage by 22 percent, and Portugal now has fewer national holidays.
The result is that, excluding Germany, hourly labor-cost growth slowed to 1.4 percent in the second quarter from an annualized 3.9 percent in 2000 to 2008, according to Michel Martinez, an economist at Societe Generale SA in Paris.
“Rebalancing of cost competitiveness in the euro area is proving speedier than generally expected,” he said.
This may be reflected in trade data. In July, Spain recorded its first current-account surplus since the currency began trading in 1999; Greece reported its first since May 2010.
Germany could play a part by diluting its reliance on exports and rallying spending at home, said Neville Hill, head European economist at Credit Suisse Group AG in London. Monthly retail sales have been flat on average since 1999.
While Chancellor Angela Merkel hails her nation’s export might, its budget is almost in balance, unemployment is a two- decade low at 6.8 percent, and the nation has run a current- account surplus every month since January 2003.
Hints of change are emerging, with Volkswagen AG, Europe’s biggest carmaker, agreeing in May to a 4.3 percent pay raise for employees in western Germany. And the Bundesbank has acknowledged it expects German inflation will accelerate.
“One way or another, Germany needs to become less like Germany,” Hill said.
China also is trying to twist toward local spending and away from the infrastructure investment and foreign sales that helped stave off the credit crisis. The government has sought to build a social-safety net, expand public housing and encourage gains in wages.
The result is that China has exported net “growth to the world” in the past five years, having previously subtracted from it, according to Ken Courtis, founding chairman of Next Capital Partners LP in Tokyo.
“Rebalancing is already largely engaged,” he said. “This shift is set to continue.”
Officials’ reluctance to repeat stimulus that inflated a property boom still may come at a cost, given economic growth decelerated to a three-year low of 7.6 percent in the second quarter. Rebalancing also could fade. Capital Economics Ltd. in London estimates the contribution of domestic consumption to GDP fell to about 35 percent this year from 44 percent a decade ago.
“Consumer consumption in China is not increasing at a significant rate, contrary to everybody’s hopes,” Fred Smith, chief executive officer of FedEx Corp., operator of the world’s largest cargo airline, said Sept. 18.
Other emerging markets also need to refocus. A slowing world and increased competitiveness abroad means they no longer can lean on exports, say Morgan Stanley analysts.
India last month cut tax on local companies’ overseas borrowings and allowed more foreign investment in aviation and retailing. Brazil is paring payroll taxes and offering licenses to companies to build and operate roads and railways.
For Pimco’s El-Erian, the mixture of “good rebalancing and bad rebalancing” will dominate the outlook.
“If you ask the question, have we reached a better place, the answer is yes,” he said. “Have we reached a stable place? The answer is no.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Simon Kennedy in London at skennedy4@bloomberg.net; Rich Miller in Washington at rmiller28@bloomberg.net
A revolution in the world economy targeted at revving up new growth engines ultimately will produce gain after pain.
Three years into recovery, with economies lumbered by debt and limited bank credit, policy makers are trying to segue to a more balanced expansion from the drivers and excesses that caused the worst recession in six decades. The U.S. is further along as it spurs manufacturing and exports, while trading giants Germany and China seek to fan domestic demand.
While the aim is more-sustainable growth -- and current- account trade data suggest a rebalancing is under way -- the rebirth is leaving the world low on power for now and still could fail if any of the regions don’t pull their weight. The International Monetary Fund will underscore the risks when it revises down its outlook tomorrow.
“As you go through these adjustments, it’s quite painful,” said Jim O’Neill, chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management in London. “But coming out the other side with a different structure, we should have a much stronger world economy.”
A more even keel after the last credit-powered expansion would help the stocks of companies biased toward emerging-market consumers and U.S. manufacturing over those tied to commodities and infrastructure, said John Bilton, European investment strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in London.
“There is a changing complexion in global growth,” he said. “It ultimately means a more balanced world economy over the longer haul, but before then it will make it harder for various regions to withstand exogenous shocks and so business cycles are likely to be shorter.”
That chimes with the analysis of Deutsche Bank AG strategists, who say expansions now are more fragile and easily broken. Twenty-one of 25 key economies they monitored have suffered at least one quarter of economic contraction since the global financial crisis hit, and most in the developed world have yet to regain their previous gross domestic product peak.
How soon the global economy can right itself will be debated this week at the annual meeting in Tokyo of the IMF, which serves as the traffic cop for worldwide imbalances. Delegates will be greeted by the news that the lender anticipates even worse growth this year than the 3.5 percent it projected in July.
“The global economy is still fraught with uncertainty, still far from where it needs to be,” IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said Sept. 24.
Nobel laureate Paul Krugman said Oct. 3 the U.S. and Europe are “nowhere close to ending” the slump, and German-led austerity efforts may prompt a 1930s-syle depression. Nouriel Roubini, co-founder of Roubini Global Economics LLC, told “Bloomberg Surveillance” with Tom Keene on Oct. 3 that growth is still “anemic,” and major economies are “barely midstream” in deleveraging.
There are nevertheless signs that the downshift may mask a move toward new economic propellers after the last boom proved too reliant on Chinese exports, U.S. consumers and easy borrowing.
U.S. debt has shrunk to a six-year low relative to the size of the economy as homeowners, cities and companies cut borrowing, allowing the government to raise record amounts of money at the lowest interest rates ever.
The IMF estimates the U.S. current-account deficit will shrink to 3.1 percent of GDP next year from 6 percent in 2006, while China’s surplus will contract to 2.6 percent from 10.1 percent in 2007.
“Any evidence that those adjustments are under way is constructive,” O’Neill said.
Less confident is Stephen King, chief global economist at HSBC Holdings Plc in London, who says narrowing trade gaps reflect stagnating global demand. The World Trade Organization last month revised its forecasts to show cross-border commerce expanding 2.5 percent this year, down from its prior 3.7 percent estimate.
Recent rebalancing has “much more to do with economic weakness than strength,” King said.
C. Fred Bergsten, director of the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington and a former Treasury Department official, agrees.
“A very large part of the rebalancing is really due to the recession and cyclical factors,” he said. “The IMF shares that view.”
The U.S, once dependent on its own consumers, saw exports rise to a record 13.8 percent of GDP last year, up from 12.7 percent in 2010, according to the International Trade Administration.
Since the 18-month recession ended in June 2009, exports have added an average of one percentage point to annualized growth each quarter. That is almost double the 0.58 point average contribution since 1990 and accounts for about half the 2.2 percent annual expansion of GDP during the recovery, Commerce Department data show.
The rise in exports is “significant” even though “it is from a small base,” said Mohamed El-Erian, chief executive officer at Pacific Investment Management Co. in Newport Beach, California.
Behind the improvement is a revival of U.S. manufacturing. Restrained wages and lower energy prices are giving companies a competitive edge over competitors in Europe and Japan, according to a Boston Consulting Group study. It reckons average expenses in the U.S. will be 15 percent less than in Germany by 2015 and 21 percent below Japan.
“The U.S. is becoming one of the lowest-cost producers of the developed world,” wrote Harold L. Sirkin, a senior BCG partner in Chicago.
The chemical industry is a particular winner, as an abundant supply of natural gas from shale formations gives U.S. producers a march over rivals in Europe and Asia, which use mainly higher-priced oil.
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), the largest U.S. oil company, announced June 1 that it plans to build factories producing ethylene and plastics in Texas that will “significantly” increase exports of the latter product, the Irving, Texas-based company said.
Both President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney have pledged to do more to help domestic manufacturers if elected on Nov. 6. Obama backs tax breaks for those that keep jobs in the U.S., while Romney vows a harder line with China over its trade and currency policies.
Such help would come as demand for U.S. products is being blunted by weakness abroad. The trade deficit widened in July for the first time in four months, increasing to $42 billion, as exports fell. The shortfall with China climbed to a record, while the gap with the European Union was the widest in almost five years.
“The U.S. is beginning to do its thing,” said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist for IHS Inc. in Lexington, Massachusetts. “We’ve made some progress toward export-led growth, but stronger domestic demand abroad is crucial.”
Peripheral euro-area countries are suffering what El-Erian calls a “bad rebalancing” as investors force them to ax budget deficits when their economies already are contracting. The IMF predicts general government spending in Greece will slide to 41 percent of GDP in 2015 from 53 percent in 2009. The jobless rate there was 23.6 percent in the second quarter.
As austerity spells recession and drives up unemployment, policy makers are looking abroad for strength. With the 17 euro countries sharing a currency, the focus is on so-called internal devaluation, when labor costs are suppressed and productivity spurred to make goods relatively cheaper.
While painful because the steps risk even higher unemployment at first, Joachim Fels, chief economist at Morgan Stanley in London, said such “previously unthinkable” measures are delivering results, and he’s turning more optimistic about the euro’s long-term viability.
Italy eased rules on firing workers and opened up industries previously closed to competition. Spanish companies can opt out of central wage deals and negotiate directly with unions, as new pension requirements reduce early retirements. Greece cut its minimum wage by 22 percent, and Portugal now has fewer national holidays.
The result is that, excluding Germany, hourly labor-cost growth slowed to 1.4 percent in the second quarter from an annualized 3.9 percent in 2000 to 2008, according to Michel Martinez, an economist at Societe Generale SA in Paris.
“Rebalancing of cost competitiveness in the euro area is proving speedier than generally expected,” he said.
This may be reflected in trade data. In July, Spain recorded its first current-account surplus since the currency began trading in 1999; Greece reported its first since May 2010.
Germany could play a part by diluting its reliance on exports and rallying spending at home, said Neville Hill, head European economist at Credit Suisse Group AG in London. Monthly retail sales have been flat on average since 1999.
While Chancellor Angela Merkel hails her nation’s export might, its budget is almost in balance, unemployment is a two- decade low at 6.8 percent, and the nation has run a current- account surplus every month since January 2003.
Hints of change are emerging, with Volkswagen AG, Europe’s biggest carmaker, agreeing in May to a 4.3 percent pay raise for employees in western Germany. And the Bundesbank has acknowledged it expects German inflation will accelerate.
“One way or another, Germany needs to become less like Germany,” Hill said.
China also is trying to twist toward local spending and away from the infrastructure investment and foreign sales that helped stave off the credit crisis. The government has sought to build a social-safety net, expand public housing and encourage gains in wages.
The result is that China has exported net “growth to the world” in the past five years, having previously subtracted from it, according to Ken Courtis, founding chairman of Next Capital Partners LP in Tokyo.
“Rebalancing is already largely engaged,” he said. “This shift is set to continue.”
Officials’ reluctance to repeat stimulus that inflated a property boom still may come at a cost, given economic growth decelerated to a three-year low of 7.6 percent in the second quarter. Rebalancing also could fade. Capital Economics Ltd. in London estimates the contribution of domestic consumption to GDP fell to about 35 percent this year from 44 percent a decade ago.
“Consumer consumption in China is not increasing at a significant rate, contrary to everybody’s hopes,” Fred Smith, chief executive officer of FedEx Corp., operator of the world’s largest cargo airline, said Sept. 18.
Other emerging markets also need to refocus. A slowing world and increased competitiveness abroad means they no longer can lean on exports, say Morgan Stanley analysts.
India last month cut tax on local companies’ overseas borrowings and allowed more foreign investment in aviation and retailing. Brazil is paring payroll taxes and offering licenses to companies to build and operate roads and railways.
For Pimco’s El-Erian, the mixture of “good rebalancing and bad rebalancing” will dominate the outlook.
“If you ask the question, have we reached a better place, the answer is yes,” he said. “Have we reached a stable place? The answer is no.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Simon Kennedy in London at skennedy4@bloomberg.net; Rich Miller in Washington at rmiller28@bloomberg.net
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Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Review
Samsung Galaxy Note II review
BY BRAD MOLEN
POSTED OCTOBER 8TH 2012 9:20AM
Samsung's first crack at a smartphone larger than five inches came last year in the form of the Galaxy Note. It was wildly different than most phones we'd seen before: it was massive, for one, and involved the use of a stylus pen, a sorely outdated concept at the time. Who would be willing to buy this thing? Yet, despite its enormous size, this tablet / phone (forgive us: phablet) captured more hearts and wallets than even Sammy had probably expected. The S Pen showed that it was more than just a simple stylus, artists and tech enthusiasts alike loved it and a successful marketing campaign helped push millions of units. The Note was an undeniable hit.
Did Samsung realize at the time that it was sitting on a gold mine? It's hard to know for sure, but its success meant only one thing: an inevitable sequel. The Galaxy Note II, introduced a year after its parent, has some big shoes to fill. We believe it's up to the task, though: it boasts a quad-core Exynos processor, twice the RAM, an even larger display and a whole new bag of S Pen tricks. It sounds compelling, but does the new version truly trump the old? Is it worth another sound investment (pricing varies, but it starts around £530 for a SIM-free version) just a year down the road? We'll satisfy your curiosity after the break.
View Gallery:Samsung Galaxy Note II (N7100) review
Hardware
To gaze upon the newborn Galaxy Note II is to take a crash course in Samsung's preferred design language. Whereas the original bears the same overall look and squarish corners as the Galaxy S II, its successor is -- you guessed it -- just as inspired by nature and "designed for humans" as the Galaxy S III. We wouldn't rule out the possibility of you mixing them up (the size difference is a dead giveaway, but the phones look quite similar otherwise). Indeed, Samsung is now in the habit of changing things up on a yearly basis, which may seem more boring than once every couple months. By adopting an annual design cycle, however, devices like the Note II likely get pushed through the initial stages of development much faster than they would otherwise. We also imagine that the company's new strategy of consistency will have a significant impact on Samsung's brand recognition.
Owners of the original Galaxy Note -- whether it be the global N7000 or one of its many variants -- know all too well how it feels to get the occasional "what is that thing?" from random passersby. So will the peanut gallery continue to snicker when you take this out in public? At 3.16 inches (80.5mm) wide, 5.95 inches (151.1mm) tall and 0.37 inches (9.4mm) deep, the Note II is slightly thinner, narrower and taller than its parent. This, along with the pebble-like shape, definitely offers a more comfortable experience when you're cradling it in your hand, though it's just a tad heavier at 6.35 ounces (180g). Despite being more attractive than the first Note, it's nonetheless an indisputably large device, and will continue to draw stares for that reason. (In other words, you'll want to come up with a standard talk track for those times you're approached by curious strangers.)
While we all want our smartphones to stick around for a long time, the matter of build quality is extremely important here, given the fact that the phone's size makes it more prone to drops. That's why we're happy with the company's decision to use a polycarbonate chassis, similar to the one on the Galaxy S III. After handling the Note II on a regular basis, we're confident that Samsung's crafted a durable, solid device. (As an aside, you can find a few drop tests circulating the web. Spoiler: it holds up extremely well.)
Because the new Note has a larger display and thinner chassis, the buttons on each side have been scaled down a notch. The power key, for instance, now rests in a much more natural position that's easier to find by feel. The only downside? It's also much easier to press the button accidentally.
Since we're discussing button placement, we'll continue with the full Vanna White-style tour: beginning with the front, you'll find an LED notification light (which wasn't on the first Note), an earpiece, sensors and a 1.9-megapixel camera above the display, while the large physical home button found below the screen is flanked by two capacitive keys (menu and back) on either side. The bezel on the top and bottom are smaller than on the OG Note, though the left and right bezels are about the same.
The front is frankly the busiest part of the phone; Samsung professes a policy of minimalism the rest of the way around the Note II. There's a power button on the right, volume rocker on the left, S Pen holder and micro-USB charging port (with MHL capabilities -- more on that later) on the bottom and 3.5mm headphone jack up top. Even the back keeps relatively quiet, sporting the 8-megapixel camera module and LED flash just barely above the singular Samsung logo, as well as a speaker grille that hangs out near the bottom. The battery cover lies completely flat across the back of the phone (with the exception of the slightly raised camera and speaker) and curves inward as it prepares to meet up with the edge.
A design decision we've always appreciated from Samsung is the removable battery, which has been increased to 3,100mAh (up from 2,500mAh on the original Note). Above it you'll see slots for micro-SIM and microSDXC cards as well as contacts for NFC and wireless charging.
Our particular review unit, provided to us by our friends at Negri Electronics, is the white N7100, the global version which lacks the superfast LTE speeds many users crave. Thus, folks looking for the fastest Note II around will need to grab the N7105, which offers the next-gen data in bands 7 (2600MHz) and 20 (800MHz). For those keeping score, you can see if your country utilizes these frequencies here. Speed demons in the US may also be interested in variants of the Note II coming out to AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and US Cellular, though there should be very few cosmetic discrepancies between them and their global counterparts -- much like we saw with the Galaxy S III series.
Both global versions of the Note II are capable of 21.6Mbps HSPA+ (850, 900, 1900 and 2100MHz) along with quadband GSM / EDGE. They also boast dual-band (2.4 and 5GHz) WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n with WiFi Direct, Bluetooth 4.0, DLNA and NFC. If you're a gadget aficionado in need of the full spec list, we've compiled all these specifics below.
Galaxy Note N7000 Galaxy Note II N7100
Dimensions 5.78 x 3.27 x 0.38 inches (146.9 x 83 x 9.7 mm) 5.95 x 3.16 x 0.37 inches (151.1 x 80.5 x 9.4 mm)
Weight 6.28 oz. (178g) 6.35 oz. (180g)
Screen size 5.3 inches 5.5 inches
Screen resolution 1,280 x 800 pixels (285ppi) 1,280 x 720 pixels (267ppi)
Screen type HD Super AMOLED HD Super AMOLED
Battery 2,500mAh 3,100mAh
Internal storage 16GB 16 / 32 / 64GB
External storage microSD (up to 32GB) microSD (up to 64GB)
Rear camera 8MP 8MP
Front-facing cam 2MP 1.9MP
Video capture 1080p 1080p
NFC In select variants Yes
Radios HSPA+ / UMTS, GSM / EDGE, LTE HSPA+ / UMTS, GSM / EDGE; LTE (in the N7105)
Bluetooth version 3.0 version 4.0 LE
SoC 1.4GHz dual-core Exynos 4212 1.6GHz quad-core Exynos 4412
RAM 1GB 2GB
MHL Yes Yes, but requires Samsung adapter
Operating system Android 2.3 (upgraded to 4.0) Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
Display
The Note II's display has earned a whole section unto itself because it's, well, a little different. And we're not just talking about the fact that the newer version uses a larger panel with even fewer pixels than the original: there's more to it than meets the eye (the naked eye, at least). First, a little background: when the sequel was announced with a 1,280 x 720 HD Super AMOLED panel, we naturally assumed that it would be sporting a PenTile matrix. After all, that's exactly how this type of display has been laid out in other handsets, so it's easy to break out the 'ol jump-to-conclusions mat. However, the microscope (and Samsung's spokespeople) tell us that this isn't the case at all.
Oddly, though, it isn't the traditional RGB matrix as we've been accustomed to on most non-PenTile phones, either. Instead, it appears to be laid out in a non-striped BGR matrix in which the blue subpixels are perpendicular to green and red, rather than in parallel. This puts the display in a magical place where few Super AMOLEDs have gone before, but it's still a hefty improvement over the first Note. Don't get us wrong: we raved about the OG's 1,280 x 800 display (and rightfully so), but its follow-up looks slightly better despite the lower ppi (267, versus the original's 285). We doubt casual observers will notice the difference, but when closely viewing the two side by side, we found more pixels on the older device. Darks are a little darker on the second-gen model, and colors are just a bit more saturated, too. The viewing angles on the next-gen Note are also great for watching movies, but they're essentially the same as the original. Daylight viewing wasn't a problem with the brightness cranked up above 75 percent.
Software
The Galaxy Note II is the first Samsung device to ship with Jelly Bean (Android 4.1.1, to be exact). All of the OS' new and enhanced features have been worked into TouchWiz UI. This includes Google Now (long-press the menu button to activate it), expandable notifications and predictive keyboard -- heck, even the Jelly Bean easter egg is there. It also includes the laundry list of new services Sammy introduced on the Galaxy S III, such as Smart Stay, S Voice, AllShare Cast and S Beam. (S Beam, by the way, adds the ability to transfer Note II docs to other Note II devices, but since we only have one tester phone, we haven't had the chance to try this out.) Popup video, which allows your selected video to "hover" over other apps, allowing you to multitask, also makes a repeat appearance here, and it's definitely a better experience when you have such a large screen to use it on.
TouchWiz on Jelly Bean isn't unlike the experience you've had on Ice Cream Sandwich -- Samsung, as you'd expect, wants to keep the UX as consistent as possible. One of the biggest areas of change is the notification menu: in addition to the expandable notifications (which can be accessed by taking two fingers and pulling down on the notification), the brightness settings are now accessible underneath the quick toggles, and the status bar now houses the settings button and offers the date and time in a larger font. There are plenty of other new tweaks that make excellent use of the new S Pen capabilities, which we'll explain in more detail shortly.
Blocking mode is Samsung's take on Do Not Disturb. You can disable a number of various notifications, set a specific timeframe for them to be turned off and even set up a whitelist of allowed contacts that can bypass the block and sound a notification when they call you.
View Gallery:Samsung Galaxy Note II (N7100) screenshots
While we expect a device like the Note II to appeal mainly to smartphone buffs, Samsung is at least making an attempt to make first-time users feel comfortable. You can opt to change from the standard home screen to what's called "easy mode," which is essentially just a different launcher complete with customized pages and large widgets. Aside from that, there are very few things that differ from your normal TouchWiz experience -- it's a rather half-baked attempt at wooing a new demographic.
Samsung's set of motion controls are much improved from the old Note to the new, with the sequel now matching (and exceeding, in a couple cases) the Galaxy S III's functionality in this department. To recap, you can scroll to the top of a screen by double-tapping the top edge of the phone; tilt to zoom in and out of the screen in the gallery or browser; pan the phone to move icons on the main screen; shake your phone to look for updates; turn over the phone to mute sounds; directly call whatever contact is displayed on the screen; and more. There are a few newcomers to the Samsung fold: quick glance shows you a few basic notifications when you wave your hand over the proximity sensor and there are a few new advanced settings to adjust the level of sensitivity required to trigger motion when panning or tilting your device.
Finally, another slick new feature is Smart Rotation. If you're like us, there's a certain annoyance that comes with using the phone while in bed or on the couch because it switches screen orientation on a frequent basis. While you can typically find toggles that lock this, it's not always the best solution -- watching movies or looking at pictures are a couple of examples. Smart Rotation uses the front-facing camera to determine where your face is, and will prevent the screen from switching to landscape mode if you're still using your phone in a portrait position.
One more thing: as with the Galaxy S III, Note II owners are entitled to 50GB of Dropbox storage.
S Pen
The crown jewel of any Note device is its accompanying stylus (we know, we're not supposed to call it that), also known as the S Pen, and Samsung continues to improve on it with each new version. Indeed, the original Note, Note 10.1 and Note II all have somewhat unique pens, but they all have the same overarching design and can work interchangeably. That's handy information for anyone who loses their Wacom appendage, though there's one drawback: not all S Pens are shaped the same, so they don't all fit interchangeably in each other's cradles. The original Note pen fits loosely inside the Note II's cradle, and we wouldn't count on it staying in for very long before popping out.
Ergonomics are a huge consideration when Samsung designs its pens and indeed, each iteration seems to have a better in-hand feel. The Note II's S Pen is slightly fatter on the button side, which -- when pressing your thumb against it -- contributes to more of a true pencil feel. Also adding to the nostalgia of using an old-fashioned number two is the larger rubber tip, slightly bigger diameter (8mm) and increased length of the pen itself. It also doesn't hurt that you can tell the phone if you're right or left-handed (sorry, ambidextrous users, you have to choose).
We suppose it shouldn't come as a revelation that the second Note's S Pen and Wacom digitizer have more in common with the Note 10.1 than the original Note. First, the device recognizes when you've removed the pen from its holster and, smartly assuming you'll imminently be using it, takes you to a special page with several pen-optimized apps. (It also lets you set an alarm that activates if your S Pen and Note get too far away from each other.) Also, much like the tablet, the Note II is capable of recognizing up to 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity, a four-fold increase over the OG Note's 256. As a result, we noticed an improvement in accuracy and precision when using the pen for writing, sketching and other activities. What's more, the screen does a much better job of calculating how much pressure you're applying.
This only scratches the surface of what the S Pen is capable of. The Note II not only ushers in enhancements to existing features; it also brings a suite of new features that make the phone even more tantalizing than last year's model. Even the button itself is refreshed: you can now hold down the button while drawing gestures on the screen to access features like the Quick Command tool (we'll cover this later) and a few other navigational abilities. Additionally, you can now copy specific parts of the screen with Easy Clip, which is activated by holding down the button and drawing around the area you want to clip. Once it's clipped, you can choose to save or discard what you've selected. You can also select text by holding the button, tapping the screen and dragging the pen across. And we're just getting started -- the button is capable of plenty more, and we'll discuss its many new talents later in the review.
Before we dive into the first feature, it's important to note that the Wacom digitizer included in the phone is capable of sensing the S Pen as it hovers over the screen, in the same fashion that we've seen in Bamboo Pads for the last few years. As you hold the pen above the panel you'll notice a floating cursor on the screen. This opens up a lot of interesting possibilities, one of them being Air View. Using this feature, the Note II takes advantage of the hover functionality in several ways. For instance, you can hold the pen over emails in your inbox (in the general email app for now, at least) and a pop-up box displays the first few lines. Do the same in your calendar and those pesky appointments pop out at you in more detail as you scan through. Hold your pen over an unknown icon and its function will appear, the same way as when your mouse is held over something on your computer). Our favorite use of Air View is the ability to see GIF-like previews of movies just by holding the S Pen over a thumbnail. (Cool feature worth a mention: all of the video thumbnails in the player show these same types of previews without the pen, which makes the whole screen look alive, but the S Pen makes the pop-up screen larger.)
Next up on the list of hover-friendly additions, you can now use your S Pen to scroll up and down on a page or list. In other words, it's now just a matter of holding the pen directly above the top or bottom of the scrollable screen. Sure, it seems gimmicky and unnecessary, but we discovered that we used this feature more often than we thought we would. The scrolling action is a little slow, so it's doubtful you'd want to use this on a lengthy website, but it's handy when you just need to go down the screen a little bit at a time -- say, in a settings menu or Twitter feed.
Another neat feature that takes advantage of the newfound hovering capability is the ability to toggle between brush, pencil and eraser simply by holding the pen above the screen and clicking the button. This makes for a quick and seamless experience when you're constantly making mistakes (or changing your mind) as you draw.
When you're in S Note, you can also hold the pen above the screen and long-press its button to activate another new feature called Idea Sketch. A blank notepad appears, you write down the name of a particular category (or just browse through the list) and a whole bunch of possible illustrations show up for you to choose from. Once you choose one that suits your fancy, it appears in S Note where you can adjust the size and outline style -- and then you can either find inspiration from it, or just color between the lines like it's a coloring book.
Earlier we mentioned that Popup Video is available on the Note II, but that isn't the only thing that pops up -- you can do the same thing with Popup Note, which is activated by holding the S Pen button and double-tapping on the screen. This is basically a miniature version of the S Note app, which takes up less than half of the screen real estate. This means you can take notes and watch videos simultaneously. (Popup Browser is also available.) This is the best example of true multitasking that we've ever seen on a smartphone, and there were no lags, coughs, stutters or any sign whatsoever that the quad-core Exynos processor was buckling under the load. If this is only the beginning of what these phablets are capable of with the right engine under the hood, color us impressed.
We're not done quite yet, multitasking fans. Samsung advertises another feature called Multi-Window that parallels -- nay, exceeds -- the aforementioned Popup Note in awesomeness. We recently saw an implementation of this in the Galaxy Note 10.1, and it's back, here in the Note II as Multi-Window. The implementation is a little different this time around, with a long press on the back button brining up a side bar of apps to choose from. On its tablet incarnation, this consisted of a choice of six. This time we have much more to choose from, including YouTube, ChatOn, GMail, Maps, Internet and, well, you get the idea. This list is also customizable so you can cut the ones you don't want, and bring your faves to the top. In practice, it works well. We had videos running while we checked our email, and happily scoured Google maps whilst we kept some restaurant reviews open in the other pane. Likewise, it's nice to see that you can use this in both orientations, with the phone's buttons being applied to the window that is currently in focus (sounds obvious, but anything's possible). We'd be interested to see how this might scale down onto something with a little less display going on, but the Note II's ample square-inchage certainly makes this a feature worth using. If you've ever used a dual-monitor setup for your desktop, you'll understand the massive productivity boost such a feature could bring to your smartphone -- especially given the amount of screen space the Note II offers.
Quick Command is another new feature that takes advantage of the S Pen's gesture prowess. It's activated by pressing the button while dragging the pen up from the bottom. A familiar-looking handwriting box shows up, prompting you to write a command symbol followed by a keyword. For instance, write "@ Susie" to send an email to Susie; "? [search term]" performs a web search; "# Joseph" tells the phone to call Joseph, and so on. On the surface, this doesn't seem particularly useful when S Voice or Google voice search can do the same stuff, but here's the kicker: it's fully customizable, and you can add in whatever commands you want -- and these commands can open up applications or perform a set of automated tasks (think SmartActions or Tasker). You could program it to turn WiFi, GPS and Blocking Mode on just by drawing a "C," if that's what floats your boat.
S Voice makes a return appearance, despite the existence of similar functionality in Jelly Bean. Not a surprise. What did take us aback is that it now includes S Pen handwriting recognition. This is definitely an interesting addition; from our perspective, it doesn't make much sense to write down a phrase that we could easily speak in less time -- not to mention the fact that Quick Command already addresses this capability, albeit in a separate app. This seems like a feature that Samsung threw in just because it could. Yet it's there if you want it, and we suppose there are a few folks that are gushing at the idea.
As you've no doubt come to understand, the Note II is fully loaded. The S Pen experience between the first- and second-generation devices is a night-and-day difference: the original Note seems like just a working concept in comparison. This is by far the best pen / stylus / whatchamacallit we've used on a smartphone. If you were a fan of the Note, you'll be pleasantly surprised with its successor.
Finally, Samsung has released version 2.2 of its S Pen SDK, which gives third-party developers the ability to beef up their apps with support for hovering, new brushes, special effects and context awareness. There's no guarantee your favorite app will magically have cool new S Pen features, but the option is there for devs to put in a little extra spice if they're interested.
Camera
Given what we already know of the Note II's similarities to the Galaxy S III, would it be much of a shocker to see the two sporting nearly identical cameras? Thanks to a little help from Supercurio, we did some digging and discovered that the two phones use the exact same rear camera modules (known in the code as the s5c73m3). Yes, both utilize maximum resolutions of eight megapixels (3,264 x 2,448 resolution), f/2.6 aperture and 3.7mm focal length in stills, while allowing for 1080p video capture. The front-facing cameras are the same as well: they max out at 1.9MP and are capable of 720p video recording. (Warning: they default to 1.3MP, which is 1,280 x 960. The 1.9MP setting offers 1,392 x 1,392 pixel resolution.)
But while the two devices may be hardware bosom buddies, there are likely to be a few minor differences in firmware -- especially since the Note II has additional features not yet offered in the GS III. So before we dive into the performance, let's discuss what the device has to offer. First, it has a new "best face" mode, which is Samsung's version of Scalado Rewind: it takes five group photos and lets you choose the best faces. This is handy if Bob blinks in the first picture and Julie's making a weird face in the second -- just take the best of each person and put them together in one magical finished product. There's also a new "low light" mode, which as the name implies, is meant to deliver an improved performance in that arena.
Aside from these newcomers, you'll find the same litany of settings present in the GS III, such as HDR (with strong and normal settings, a choice you're not given on the GS III), panorama, share shot, plenty of scene modes, burst shot, macro focus, white balance, ISO, metering and exposure adjustment.
View Gallery:Samsung Galaxy Note II samples
View Gallery:Samsung Galaxy Note (AT&T) samples
View Gallery:Samsung Galaxy S III for Verizon samples
We've always been impressed with Samsung's camera performance because the company seems more interested in quality than megapixel count. While both Notes perform admirably, the next-gen version gave us slightly better results than the original. The new Note produced more natural colors -- its senior cranked out shots that were typically oversaturated and oftentimes washed out in the daylight. You'll see a smidge more detail in the sequel, as well. The Note II was also the winner in managing dynamic range, bringing out the best contrast and producing natural colors in the shadows. As for how our protagonist performs against the Galaxy S III, it appears to be more or less a wash; as expected, the images were incredibly similar and any differences resulting from firmware processing were minor.
The LED flash on the second Note is considerably better than the original, providing more light and color saturation. (When compared to the GS III, however, it's tough to see any difference between the two.) The Note II also does a great job of capturing low-light images, as the new low-light mode fares well at grabbing errant photons. Comparing it with the Note and GS III, however, ends up in a draw: after taking several types of low-light shots, each one had its own moment of glory in at least a few contests.
As mentioned, the Note II is capable of capturing 1080p video in MPEG-4 format. A quick perusal of the specs shows that it uses AVC profile 4.0, has a bitrate of 17 Mbps (the GS III is 17 Mbps, while the HTC One X is 10 Mbps and the ASUS Padfone is 20 Mbps) and offers a frame rate of 30fps. You're given the option of taking high-res (3,264 x 2,176) stills as you record your movies, but if you wait until playback to grab that precious shot, the pixel count will match that of the vid it was taken from.
In terms of features, the Note II introduces fast-motion (up to 8x) and slow-motion (down to one-eighth) recording modes for videos. You may not want to get too serious with these features, but it's a fun opportunity to be creative (example: fast motion vids are best accompanied by the Benny Hill theme song).
Overall, the video performance was pretty good: yours truly felt comfortable taking home movies with the family and leaving the fancy camcorder aside. It did well at capturing detailed motion without getting choppy, and picked up our voices loud and clear. We heard some gusts on a rather windy day, but it was able to filter most of the additional noise out. The only issue we had was with panning back and forth, where the imagery was choppy, almost to the point of inducing nausea. Frankly, we're chalking most of it up to trying to keep such a large device stable.
Performance and battery life
By stating that the Note II has a shiny 1.6GHz quad-core Exynos 4412 running the show with 2GB RAM and a Mali-400MP GPU to help things along, the performance section almost writes itself. We've always been fond of Exynos, but it's especially wonderful to see it pushed to new frontiers -- in this case, four cores on a smartphone. As per our usual practice, let's first see how it holds up in our benchmark tests.
Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100 Samsung Galaxy Note N7000 Samsung Galaxy S III (I9300)
Quadrant 6,819 4,411 5,189
Vellamo 2,482 1,243 1,751
AnTuTu 13,539 6,301 11,960
SunSpider 0.9.1 (ms) 1,023 1,761 1,460
GLBenchmark Egypt Offscreen (fps) 114 69 99
CF-Bench 15,267 6,911 13,110
SunSpider: lower scores are better. Galaxy Note N7000 tests were conducted on Ice Cream Sandwich.
We were expecting to see out-of-this-world results, but even then, we ended up pleasantly surprised: some of the Note II's scores shattered anything we've seen before, especially in tests that stress the capabilities of the CPU and GPU. Four of the benchmarks produced results that easily bested anything else currently available on the market, with the other two being among the highest we've recorded.
As for real-world use, we briefly touched on the silky smooth multitasking we enjoyed with Popup Video and Popup Note, and we're happy to report that this wasn't the only area where the processor excelled. Gaming was a joy, with the HD display and capable GPU teaming up together to produce solid and realistic play. With internet browsing, we weren't surprised to see that the Note II is faster and more efficient, since Jelly Bean offers enhancements in that area. Our site opened up quickly and didn't sputter as we navigated, used pinch-to-zoom and did various activities on the browser.
The Note II has incredible battery life, but with a 3,100mAh pack and a more efficient OS than the original Note (which initially launched with Gingerbread before upgrading to ICS), this is exactly what we were expecting to see. In our standard rundown test, which consists of looping a video at 50 percent brightness, WiFi turned on (but disconnected from any networks) and regular push notifications for social media and email, we were able to snag 10 hours and 45 minutes of life out of it -- up just around an hour from the last Note. Granted, we may see a slight decline in the life of an LTE-enabled Note II, but this is still a highly respectable result. We were able to get almost two full days of normal usage from the device, so this should come as even more of a temptation for hungry power users everywhere.
For those asking, the Note II does in fact actually make calls, and it's above average in clarity. We didn't have any concerns with dropped calls, nor did our friends on the other end experience any static or other declines in quality. The loudspeaker earns its name, as it's on the top end of the sound spectrum -- it's plenty loud, regardless of whether you use the earpiece or speakerphone. This resulted in a great audio experience for us when listening to music or watching movies as well.
Samsung's music player offers a full listing of various EQ settings, as well as a few other methods of enhancing your tunes (3D, reverb, bass boost, concert mode and plenty of others). Also, when plugging in a pair of headphones, the phone recognizes that you're ready to get serious about multimedia and shows you a specialized home page with various options that would most likely appeal to you. Overall, we were satisfied with how our music sounded -- we could pick out all of the highs and lows without any shrill or overbearing areas. You shouldn't have any problem loading up most audio formats, including MP3 / WAV / eAAC+ / AC3 / FLAC. (For movies, you'll have success with MPEG-4, DivX / XVID, WMV, H.264 / 263, MKV, FLV and AVI.)
GPS on the Note II, which also includes support for GLONASS, was consistently accurate to within 15 meters; it swiftly locked our position and managed our navigation soundly. Bluetooth 4.0 low-energy support has been added (the device managed to receive file transfers at an average speed of 120 KB/s) as well as the same MHL capabilities as the Galaxy S III -- this unfortunately means that you won't be able to use a standard MHL cable, and instead you'll need to shell out some extra money for a special Samsung-made MHL-to-HDMI converter for HD video output and home theatre-quality audio. USB file transfers were pretty fast, pulling down 16.44 MB/s received and 20 MB/s sent. We weren't able to test the LTE version, but HSPA+ yielded faster average data downlink speeds than what we've seen on the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy Nexus.
Wrap-up
To answer the question we posed at the beginning of this review, this thing is the real deal, and it's decisively better than the device that began the whole phablet craze. With SIM-free versions starting in the ballpark of £530, it's a bit on the pricey side, but for good reason: it offers best-in-market performance, an S Pen experience that blows its predecessor out of the water, a solid OS in Jelly Bean and plenty of other features that will make this a tempting offer to even the most petite-handed individual. To do so in a package that's actually thinner and narrower than the first Note is a tremendous accomplishment, and one that'll be hard to match. Get ready to have your cake and eat it too.
James Trew contributed to this review.
Special thanks to Negri Electronics for providing us with a review unit!
BY BRAD MOLEN
POSTED OCTOBER 8TH 2012 9:20AM
Samsung's first crack at a smartphone larger than five inches came last year in the form of the Galaxy Note. It was wildly different than most phones we'd seen before: it was massive, for one, and involved the use of a stylus pen, a sorely outdated concept at the time. Who would be willing to buy this thing? Yet, despite its enormous size, this tablet / phone (forgive us: phablet) captured more hearts and wallets than even Sammy had probably expected. The S Pen showed that it was more than just a simple stylus, artists and tech enthusiasts alike loved it and a successful marketing campaign helped push millions of units. The Note was an undeniable hit.
Did Samsung realize at the time that it was sitting on a gold mine? It's hard to know for sure, but its success meant only one thing: an inevitable sequel. The Galaxy Note II, introduced a year after its parent, has some big shoes to fill. We believe it's up to the task, though: it boasts a quad-core Exynos processor, twice the RAM, an even larger display and a whole new bag of S Pen tricks. It sounds compelling, but does the new version truly trump the old? Is it worth another sound investment (pricing varies, but it starts around £530 for a SIM-free version) just a year down the road? We'll satisfy your curiosity after the break.
View Gallery:Samsung Galaxy Note II (N7100) review
Hardware
To gaze upon the newborn Galaxy Note II is to take a crash course in Samsung's preferred design language. Whereas the original bears the same overall look and squarish corners as the Galaxy S II, its successor is -- you guessed it -- just as inspired by nature and "designed for humans" as the Galaxy S III. We wouldn't rule out the possibility of you mixing them up (the size difference is a dead giveaway, but the phones look quite similar otherwise). Indeed, Samsung is now in the habit of changing things up on a yearly basis, which may seem more boring than once every couple months. By adopting an annual design cycle, however, devices like the Note II likely get pushed through the initial stages of development much faster than they would otherwise. We also imagine that the company's new strategy of consistency will have a significant impact on Samsung's brand recognition.
Owners of the original Galaxy Note -- whether it be the global N7000 or one of its many variants -- know all too well how it feels to get the occasional "what is that thing?" from random passersby. So will the peanut gallery continue to snicker when you take this out in public? At 3.16 inches (80.5mm) wide, 5.95 inches (151.1mm) tall and 0.37 inches (9.4mm) deep, the Note II is slightly thinner, narrower and taller than its parent. This, along with the pebble-like shape, definitely offers a more comfortable experience when you're cradling it in your hand, though it's just a tad heavier at 6.35 ounces (180g). Despite being more attractive than the first Note, it's nonetheless an indisputably large device, and will continue to draw stares for that reason. (In other words, you'll want to come up with a standard talk track for those times you're approached by curious strangers.)
While we all want our smartphones to stick around for a long time, the matter of build quality is extremely important here, given the fact that the phone's size makes it more prone to drops. That's why we're happy with the company's decision to use a polycarbonate chassis, similar to the one on the Galaxy S III. After handling the Note II on a regular basis, we're confident that Samsung's crafted a durable, solid device. (As an aside, you can find a few drop tests circulating the web. Spoiler: it holds up extremely well.)
Because the new Note has a larger display and thinner chassis, the buttons on each side have been scaled down a notch. The power key, for instance, now rests in a much more natural position that's easier to find by feel. The only downside? It's also much easier to press the button accidentally.
Since we're discussing button placement, we'll continue with the full Vanna White-style tour: beginning with the front, you'll find an LED notification light (which wasn't on the first Note), an earpiece, sensors and a 1.9-megapixel camera above the display, while the large physical home button found below the screen is flanked by two capacitive keys (menu and back) on either side. The bezel on the top and bottom are smaller than on the OG Note, though the left and right bezels are about the same.
The front is frankly the busiest part of the phone; Samsung professes a policy of minimalism the rest of the way around the Note II. There's a power button on the right, volume rocker on the left, S Pen holder and micro-USB charging port (with MHL capabilities -- more on that later) on the bottom and 3.5mm headphone jack up top. Even the back keeps relatively quiet, sporting the 8-megapixel camera module and LED flash just barely above the singular Samsung logo, as well as a speaker grille that hangs out near the bottom. The battery cover lies completely flat across the back of the phone (with the exception of the slightly raised camera and speaker) and curves inward as it prepares to meet up with the edge.
A design decision we've always appreciated from Samsung is the removable battery, which has been increased to 3,100mAh (up from 2,500mAh on the original Note). Above it you'll see slots for micro-SIM and microSDXC cards as well as contacts for NFC and wireless charging.
Our particular review unit, provided to us by our friends at Negri Electronics, is the white N7100, the global version which lacks the superfast LTE speeds many users crave. Thus, folks looking for the fastest Note II around will need to grab the N7105, which offers the next-gen data in bands 7 (2600MHz) and 20 (800MHz). For those keeping score, you can see if your country utilizes these frequencies here. Speed demons in the US may also be interested in variants of the Note II coming out to AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and US Cellular, though there should be very few cosmetic discrepancies between them and their global counterparts -- much like we saw with the Galaxy S III series.
Both global versions of the Note II are capable of 21.6Mbps HSPA+ (850, 900, 1900 and 2100MHz) along with quadband GSM / EDGE. They also boast dual-band (2.4 and 5GHz) WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n with WiFi Direct, Bluetooth 4.0, DLNA and NFC. If you're a gadget aficionado in need of the full spec list, we've compiled all these specifics below.
Galaxy Note N7000 Galaxy Note II N7100
Dimensions 5.78 x 3.27 x 0.38 inches (146.9 x 83 x 9.7 mm) 5.95 x 3.16 x 0.37 inches (151.1 x 80.5 x 9.4 mm)
Weight 6.28 oz. (178g) 6.35 oz. (180g)
Screen size 5.3 inches 5.5 inches
Screen resolution 1,280 x 800 pixels (285ppi) 1,280 x 720 pixels (267ppi)
Screen type HD Super AMOLED HD Super AMOLED
Battery 2,500mAh 3,100mAh
Internal storage 16GB 16 / 32 / 64GB
External storage microSD (up to 32GB) microSD (up to 64GB)
Rear camera 8MP 8MP
Front-facing cam 2MP 1.9MP
Video capture 1080p 1080p
NFC In select variants Yes
Radios HSPA+ / UMTS, GSM / EDGE, LTE HSPA+ / UMTS, GSM / EDGE; LTE (in the N7105)
Bluetooth version 3.0 version 4.0 LE
SoC 1.4GHz dual-core Exynos 4212 1.6GHz quad-core Exynos 4412
RAM 1GB 2GB
MHL Yes Yes, but requires Samsung adapter
Operating system Android 2.3 (upgraded to 4.0) Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
Display
The Note II's display has earned a whole section unto itself because it's, well, a little different. And we're not just talking about the fact that the newer version uses a larger panel with even fewer pixels than the original: there's more to it than meets the eye (the naked eye, at least). First, a little background: when the sequel was announced with a 1,280 x 720 HD Super AMOLED panel, we naturally assumed that it would be sporting a PenTile matrix. After all, that's exactly how this type of display has been laid out in other handsets, so it's easy to break out the 'ol jump-to-conclusions mat. However, the microscope (and Samsung's spokespeople) tell us that this isn't the case at all.
Oddly, though, it isn't the traditional RGB matrix as we've been accustomed to on most non-PenTile phones, either. Instead, it appears to be laid out in a non-striped BGR matrix in which the blue subpixels are perpendicular to green and red, rather than in parallel. This puts the display in a magical place where few Super AMOLEDs have gone before, but it's still a hefty improvement over the first Note. Don't get us wrong: we raved about the OG's 1,280 x 800 display (and rightfully so), but its follow-up looks slightly better despite the lower ppi (267, versus the original's 285). We doubt casual observers will notice the difference, but when closely viewing the two side by side, we found more pixels on the older device. Darks are a little darker on the second-gen model, and colors are just a bit more saturated, too. The viewing angles on the next-gen Note are also great for watching movies, but they're essentially the same as the original. Daylight viewing wasn't a problem with the brightness cranked up above 75 percent.
Software
The Galaxy Note II is the first Samsung device to ship with Jelly Bean (Android 4.1.1, to be exact). All of the OS' new and enhanced features have been worked into TouchWiz UI. This includes Google Now (long-press the menu button to activate it), expandable notifications and predictive keyboard -- heck, even the Jelly Bean easter egg is there. It also includes the laundry list of new services Sammy introduced on the Galaxy S III, such as Smart Stay, S Voice, AllShare Cast and S Beam. (S Beam, by the way, adds the ability to transfer Note II docs to other Note II devices, but since we only have one tester phone, we haven't had the chance to try this out.) Popup video, which allows your selected video to "hover" over other apps, allowing you to multitask, also makes a repeat appearance here, and it's definitely a better experience when you have such a large screen to use it on.
TouchWiz on Jelly Bean isn't unlike the experience you've had on Ice Cream Sandwich -- Samsung, as you'd expect, wants to keep the UX as consistent as possible. One of the biggest areas of change is the notification menu: in addition to the expandable notifications (which can be accessed by taking two fingers and pulling down on the notification), the brightness settings are now accessible underneath the quick toggles, and the status bar now houses the settings button and offers the date and time in a larger font. There are plenty of other new tweaks that make excellent use of the new S Pen capabilities, which we'll explain in more detail shortly.
Blocking mode is Samsung's take on Do Not Disturb. You can disable a number of various notifications, set a specific timeframe for them to be turned off and even set up a whitelist of allowed contacts that can bypass the block and sound a notification when they call you.
View Gallery:Samsung Galaxy Note II (N7100) screenshots
While we expect a device like the Note II to appeal mainly to smartphone buffs, Samsung is at least making an attempt to make first-time users feel comfortable. You can opt to change from the standard home screen to what's called "easy mode," which is essentially just a different launcher complete with customized pages and large widgets. Aside from that, there are very few things that differ from your normal TouchWiz experience -- it's a rather half-baked attempt at wooing a new demographic.
Samsung's set of motion controls are much improved from the old Note to the new, with the sequel now matching (and exceeding, in a couple cases) the Galaxy S III's functionality in this department. To recap, you can scroll to the top of a screen by double-tapping the top edge of the phone; tilt to zoom in and out of the screen in the gallery or browser; pan the phone to move icons on the main screen; shake your phone to look for updates; turn over the phone to mute sounds; directly call whatever contact is displayed on the screen; and more. There are a few newcomers to the Samsung fold: quick glance shows you a few basic notifications when you wave your hand over the proximity sensor and there are a few new advanced settings to adjust the level of sensitivity required to trigger motion when panning or tilting your device.
Finally, another slick new feature is Smart Rotation. If you're like us, there's a certain annoyance that comes with using the phone while in bed or on the couch because it switches screen orientation on a frequent basis. While you can typically find toggles that lock this, it's not always the best solution -- watching movies or looking at pictures are a couple of examples. Smart Rotation uses the front-facing camera to determine where your face is, and will prevent the screen from switching to landscape mode if you're still using your phone in a portrait position.
One more thing: as with the Galaxy S III, Note II owners are entitled to 50GB of Dropbox storage.
S Pen
The crown jewel of any Note device is its accompanying stylus (we know, we're not supposed to call it that), also known as the S Pen, and Samsung continues to improve on it with each new version. Indeed, the original Note, Note 10.1 and Note II all have somewhat unique pens, but they all have the same overarching design and can work interchangeably. That's handy information for anyone who loses their Wacom appendage, though there's one drawback: not all S Pens are shaped the same, so they don't all fit interchangeably in each other's cradles. The original Note pen fits loosely inside the Note II's cradle, and we wouldn't count on it staying in for very long before popping out.
Ergonomics are a huge consideration when Samsung designs its pens and indeed, each iteration seems to have a better in-hand feel. The Note II's S Pen is slightly fatter on the button side, which -- when pressing your thumb against it -- contributes to more of a true pencil feel. Also adding to the nostalgia of using an old-fashioned number two is the larger rubber tip, slightly bigger diameter (8mm) and increased length of the pen itself. It also doesn't hurt that you can tell the phone if you're right or left-handed (sorry, ambidextrous users, you have to choose).
We suppose it shouldn't come as a revelation that the second Note's S Pen and Wacom digitizer have more in common with the Note 10.1 than the original Note. First, the device recognizes when you've removed the pen from its holster and, smartly assuming you'll imminently be using it, takes you to a special page with several pen-optimized apps. (It also lets you set an alarm that activates if your S Pen and Note get too far away from each other.) Also, much like the tablet, the Note II is capable of recognizing up to 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity, a four-fold increase over the OG Note's 256. As a result, we noticed an improvement in accuracy and precision when using the pen for writing, sketching and other activities. What's more, the screen does a much better job of calculating how much pressure you're applying.
This only scratches the surface of what the S Pen is capable of. The Note II not only ushers in enhancements to existing features; it also brings a suite of new features that make the phone even more tantalizing than last year's model. Even the button itself is refreshed: you can now hold down the button while drawing gestures on the screen to access features like the Quick Command tool (we'll cover this later) and a few other navigational abilities. Additionally, you can now copy specific parts of the screen with Easy Clip, which is activated by holding down the button and drawing around the area you want to clip. Once it's clipped, you can choose to save or discard what you've selected. You can also select text by holding the button, tapping the screen and dragging the pen across. And we're just getting started -- the button is capable of plenty more, and we'll discuss its many new talents later in the review.
Before we dive into the first feature, it's important to note that the Wacom digitizer included in the phone is capable of sensing the S Pen as it hovers over the screen, in the same fashion that we've seen in Bamboo Pads for the last few years. As you hold the pen above the panel you'll notice a floating cursor on the screen. This opens up a lot of interesting possibilities, one of them being Air View. Using this feature, the Note II takes advantage of the hover functionality in several ways. For instance, you can hold the pen over emails in your inbox (in the general email app for now, at least) and a pop-up box displays the first few lines. Do the same in your calendar and those pesky appointments pop out at you in more detail as you scan through. Hold your pen over an unknown icon and its function will appear, the same way as when your mouse is held over something on your computer). Our favorite use of Air View is the ability to see GIF-like previews of movies just by holding the S Pen over a thumbnail. (Cool feature worth a mention: all of the video thumbnails in the player show these same types of previews without the pen, which makes the whole screen look alive, but the S Pen makes the pop-up screen larger.)
Next up on the list of hover-friendly additions, you can now use your S Pen to scroll up and down on a page or list. In other words, it's now just a matter of holding the pen directly above the top or bottom of the scrollable screen. Sure, it seems gimmicky and unnecessary, but we discovered that we used this feature more often than we thought we would. The scrolling action is a little slow, so it's doubtful you'd want to use this on a lengthy website, but it's handy when you just need to go down the screen a little bit at a time -- say, in a settings menu or Twitter feed.
Another neat feature that takes advantage of the newfound hovering capability is the ability to toggle between brush, pencil and eraser simply by holding the pen above the screen and clicking the button. This makes for a quick and seamless experience when you're constantly making mistakes (or changing your mind) as you draw.
When you're in S Note, you can also hold the pen above the screen and long-press its button to activate another new feature called Idea Sketch. A blank notepad appears, you write down the name of a particular category (or just browse through the list) and a whole bunch of possible illustrations show up for you to choose from. Once you choose one that suits your fancy, it appears in S Note where you can adjust the size and outline style -- and then you can either find inspiration from it, or just color between the lines like it's a coloring book.
Earlier we mentioned that Popup Video is available on the Note II, but that isn't the only thing that pops up -- you can do the same thing with Popup Note, which is activated by holding the S Pen button and double-tapping on the screen. This is basically a miniature version of the S Note app, which takes up less than half of the screen real estate. This means you can take notes and watch videos simultaneously. (Popup Browser is also available.) This is the best example of true multitasking that we've ever seen on a smartphone, and there were no lags, coughs, stutters or any sign whatsoever that the quad-core Exynos processor was buckling under the load. If this is only the beginning of what these phablets are capable of with the right engine under the hood, color us impressed.
We're not done quite yet, multitasking fans. Samsung advertises another feature called Multi-Window that parallels -- nay, exceeds -- the aforementioned Popup Note in awesomeness. We recently saw an implementation of this in the Galaxy Note 10.1, and it's back, here in the Note II as Multi-Window. The implementation is a little different this time around, with a long press on the back button brining up a side bar of apps to choose from. On its tablet incarnation, this consisted of a choice of six. This time we have much more to choose from, including YouTube, ChatOn, GMail, Maps, Internet and, well, you get the idea. This list is also customizable so you can cut the ones you don't want, and bring your faves to the top. In practice, it works well. We had videos running while we checked our email, and happily scoured Google maps whilst we kept some restaurant reviews open in the other pane. Likewise, it's nice to see that you can use this in both orientations, with the phone's buttons being applied to the window that is currently in focus (sounds obvious, but anything's possible). We'd be interested to see how this might scale down onto something with a little less display going on, but the Note II's ample square-inchage certainly makes this a feature worth using. If you've ever used a dual-monitor setup for your desktop, you'll understand the massive productivity boost such a feature could bring to your smartphone -- especially given the amount of screen space the Note II offers.
Quick Command is another new feature that takes advantage of the S Pen's gesture prowess. It's activated by pressing the button while dragging the pen up from the bottom. A familiar-looking handwriting box shows up, prompting you to write a command symbol followed by a keyword. For instance, write "@ Susie" to send an email to Susie; "? [search term]" performs a web search; "# Joseph" tells the phone to call Joseph, and so on. On the surface, this doesn't seem particularly useful when S Voice or Google voice search can do the same stuff, but here's the kicker: it's fully customizable, and you can add in whatever commands you want -- and these commands can open up applications or perform a set of automated tasks (think SmartActions or Tasker). You could program it to turn WiFi, GPS and Blocking Mode on just by drawing a "C," if that's what floats your boat.
S Voice makes a return appearance, despite the existence of similar functionality in Jelly Bean. Not a surprise. What did take us aback is that it now includes S Pen handwriting recognition. This is definitely an interesting addition; from our perspective, it doesn't make much sense to write down a phrase that we could easily speak in less time -- not to mention the fact that Quick Command already addresses this capability, albeit in a separate app. This seems like a feature that Samsung threw in just because it could. Yet it's there if you want it, and we suppose there are a few folks that are gushing at the idea.
As you've no doubt come to understand, the Note II is fully loaded. The S Pen experience between the first- and second-generation devices is a night-and-day difference: the original Note seems like just a working concept in comparison. This is by far the best pen / stylus / whatchamacallit we've used on a smartphone. If you were a fan of the Note, you'll be pleasantly surprised with its successor.
Finally, Samsung has released version 2.2 of its S Pen SDK, which gives third-party developers the ability to beef up their apps with support for hovering, new brushes, special effects and context awareness. There's no guarantee your favorite app will magically have cool new S Pen features, but the option is there for devs to put in a little extra spice if they're interested.
Camera
Given what we already know of the Note II's similarities to the Galaxy S III, would it be much of a shocker to see the two sporting nearly identical cameras? Thanks to a little help from Supercurio, we did some digging and discovered that the two phones use the exact same rear camera modules (known in the code as the s5c73m3). Yes, both utilize maximum resolutions of eight megapixels (3,264 x 2,448 resolution), f/2.6 aperture and 3.7mm focal length in stills, while allowing for 1080p video capture. The front-facing cameras are the same as well: they max out at 1.9MP and are capable of 720p video recording. (Warning: they default to 1.3MP, which is 1,280 x 960. The 1.9MP setting offers 1,392 x 1,392 pixel resolution.)
But while the two devices may be hardware bosom buddies, there are likely to be a few minor differences in firmware -- especially since the Note II has additional features not yet offered in the GS III. So before we dive into the performance, let's discuss what the device has to offer. First, it has a new "best face" mode, which is Samsung's version of Scalado Rewind: it takes five group photos and lets you choose the best faces. This is handy if Bob blinks in the first picture and Julie's making a weird face in the second -- just take the best of each person and put them together in one magical finished product. There's also a new "low light" mode, which as the name implies, is meant to deliver an improved performance in that arena.
Aside from these newcomers, you'll find the same litany of settings present in the GS III, such as HDR (with strong and normal settings, a choice you're not given on the GS III), panorama, share shot, plenty of scene modes, burst shot, macro focus, white balance, ISO, metering and exposure adjustment.
View Gallery:Samsung Galaxy Note II samples
View Gallery:Samsung Galaxy Note (AT&T) samples
View Gallery:Samsung Galaxy S III for Verizon samples
We've always been impressed with Samsung's camera performance because the company seems more interested in quality than megapixel count. While both Notes perform admirably, the next-gen version gave us slightly better results than the original. The new Note produced more natural colors -- its senior cranked out shots that were typically oversaturated and oftentimes washed out in the daylight. You'll see a smidge more detail in the sequel, as well. The Note II was also the winner in managing dynamic range, bringing out the best contrast and producing natural colors in the shadows. As for how our protagonist performs against the Galaxy S III, it appears to be more or less a wash; as expected, the images were incredibly similar and any differences resulting from firmware processing were minor.
The LED flash on the second Note is considerably better than the original, providing more light and color saturation. (When compared to the GS III, however, it's tough to see any difference between the two.) The Note II also does a great job of capturing low-light images, as the new low-light mode fares well at grabbing errant photons. Comparing it with the Note and GS III, however, ends up in a draw: after taking several types of low-light shots, each one had its own moment of glory in at least a few contests.
As mentioned, the Note II is capable of capturing 1080p video in MPEG-4 format. A quick perusal of the specs shows that it uses AVC profile 4.0, has a bitrate of 17 Mbps (the GS III is 17 Mbps, while the HTC One X is 10 Mbps and the ASUS Padfone is 20 Mbps) and offers a frame rate of 30fps. You're given the option of taking high-res (3,264 x 2,176) stills as you record your movies, but if you wait until playback to grab that precious shot, the pixel count will match that of the vid it was taken from.
In terms of features, the Note II introduces fast-motion (up to 8x) and slow-motion (down to one-eighth) recording modes for videos. You may not want to get too serious with these features, but it's a fun opportunity to be creative (example: fast motion vids are best accompanied by the Benny Hill theme song).
Overall, the video performance was pretty good: yours truly felt comfortable taking home movies with the family and leaving the fancy camcorder aside. It did well at capturing detailed motion without getting choppy, and picked up our voices loud and clear. We heard some gusts on a rather windy day, but it was able to filter most of the additional noise out. The only issue we had was with panning back and forth, where the imagery was choppy, almost to the point of inducing nausea. Frankly, we're chalking most of it up to trying to keep such a large device stable.
Performance and battery life
By stating that the Note II has a shiny 1.6GHz quad-core Exynos 4412 running the show with 2GB RAM and a Mali-400MP GPU to help things along, the performance section almost writes itself. We've always been fond of Exynos, but it's especially wonderful to see it pushed to new frontiers -- in this case, four cores on a smartphone. As per our usual practice, let's first see how it holds up in our benchmark tests.
Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100 Samsung Galaxy Note N7000 Samsung Galaxy S III (I9300)
Quadrant 6,819 4,411 5,189
Vellamo 2,482 1,243 1,751
AnTuTu 13,539 6,301 11,960
SunSpider 0.9.1 (ms) 1,023 1,761 1,460
GLBenchmark Egypt Offscreen (fps) 114 69 99
CF-Bench 15,267 6,911 13,110
SunSpider: lower scores are better. Galaxy Note N7000 tests were conducted on Ice Cream Sandwich.
We were expecting to see out-of-this-world results, but even then, we ended up pleasantly surprised: some of the Note II's scores shattered anything we've seen before, especially in tests that stress the capabilities of the CPU and GPU. Four of the benchmarks produced results that easily bested anything else currently available on the market, with the other two being among the highest we've recorded.
As for real-world use, we briefly touched on the silky smooth multitasking we enjoyed with Popup Video and Popup Note, and we're happy to report that this wasn't the only area where the processor excelled. Gaming was a joy, with the HD display and capable GPU teaming up together to produce solid and realistic play. With internet browsing, we weren't surprised to see that the Note II is faster and more efficient, since Jelly Bean offers enhancements in that area. Our site opened up quickly and didn't sputter as we navigated, used pinch-to-zoom and did various activities on the browser.
The Note II has incredible battery life, but with a 3,100mAh pack and a more efficient OS than the original Note (which initially launched with Gingerbread before upgrading to ICS), this is exactly what we were expecting to see. In our standard rundown test, which consists of looping a video at 50 percent brightness, WiFi turned on (but disconnected from any networks) and regular push notifications for social media and email, we were able to snag 10 hours and 45 minutes of life out of it -- up just around an hour from the last Note. Granted, we may see a slight decline in the life of an LTE-enabled Note II, but this is still a highly respectable result. We were able to get almost two full days of normal usage from the device, so this should come as even more of a temptation for hungry power users everywhere.
For those asking, the Note II does in fact actually make calls, and it's above average in clarity. We didn't have any concerns with dropped calls, nor did our friends on the other end experience any static or other declines in quality. The loudspeaker earns its name, as it's on the top end of the sound spectrum -- it's plenty loud, regardless of whether you use the earpiece or speakerphone. This resulted in a great audio experience for us when listening to music or watching movies as well.
Samsung's music player offers a full listing of various EQ settings, as well as a few other methods of enhancing your tunes (3D, reverb, bass boost, concert mode and plenty of others). Also, when plugging in a pair of headphones, the phone recognizes that you're ready to get serious about multimedia and shows you a specialized home page with various options that would most likely appeal to you. Overall, we were satisfied with how our music sounded -- we could pick out all of the highs and lows without any shrill or overbearing areas. You shouldn't have any problem loading up most audio formats, including MP3 / WAV / eAAC+ / AC3 / FLAC. (For movies, you'll have success with MPEG-4, DivX / XVID, WMV, H.264 / 263, MKV, FLV and AVI.)
GPS on the Note II, which also includes support for GLONASS, was consistently accurate to within 15 meters; it swiftly locked our position and managed our navigation soundly. Bluetooth 4.0 low-energy support has been added (the device managed to receive file transfers at an average speed of 120 KB/s) as well as the same MHL capabilities as the Galaxy S III -- this unfortunately means that you won't be able to use a standard MHL cable, and instead you'll need to shell out some extra money for a special Samsung-made MHL-to-HDMI converter for HD video output and home theatre-quality audio. USB file transfers were pretty fast, pulling down 16.44 MB/s received and 20 MB/s sent. We weren't able to test the LTE version, but HSPA+ yielded faster average data downlink speeds than what we've seen on the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy Nexus.
Wrap-up
To answer the question we posed at the beginning of this review, this thing is the real deal, and it's decisively better than the device that began the whole phablet craze. With SIM-free versions starting in the ballpark of £530, it's a bit on the pricey side, but for good reason: it offers best-in-market performance, an S Pen experience that blows its predecessor out of the water, a solid OS in Jelly Bean and plenty of other features that will make this a tempting offer to even the most petite-handed individual. To do so in a package that's actually thinner and narrower than the first Note is a tremendous accomplishment, and one that'll be hard to match. Get ready to have your cake and eat it too.
James Trew contributed to this review.
Special thanks to Negri Electronics for providing us with a review unit!
Higher capacity Nexus 7 tablet on the way?
I should hope so....
32GB Nexus 7 looks increasingly likely as new details leak
TABLETSNEWS
By Alex Dobie | Oct 08 2012
Reports of a 32GB Nexus 7 have been circulating for the past week or so, and fresh details emerging today suggest there could be more to the device mere rumor.
First up are reports from a Japanese Nexus 7 buyer on Twitter, who claims to have been mistakenly shipped one of the 32GB units. The tablet purchased by Twitter user @oppese was reportedly boxed up and labeled as the 16GB model, but when powered on revealed a total of 27GB available for media storage, after the 5GB or so reserved for the OS.
And another leaked inventory screen is doing the rounds today, purportedly from UK retailer Dixons Stores Group (Currys/PC World). The shot shows the 32GB Nexus 7 priced at £199.99, same as the current price for the 16GB model. If this image is accurate, it stands to reason that the 32GB model might replace the 16GB version at the $250 price point in other territories, likely leading to a further price cut on the 8GB and 16GB Nexuses.
None of this is officially confirmed, but with Apple's 7.8-inch iPad due to make its debut in the next couple of weeks, we're sure Google and ASUS will be looking for ways to remain competitive in the 7-inch tablet space.
32GB Nexus 7 looks increasingly likely as new details leak
TABLETSNEWS
By Alex Dobie | Oct 08 2012
Reports of a 32GB Nexus 7 have been circulating for the past week or so, and fresh details emerging today suggest there could be more to the device mere rumor.
First up are reports from a Japanese Nexus 7 buyer on Twitter, who claims to have been mistakenly shipped one of the 32GB units. The tablet purchased by Twitter user @oppese was reportedly boxed up and labeled as the 16GB model, but when powered on revealed a total of 27GB available for media storage, after the 5GB or so reserved for the OS.
And another leaked inventory screen is doing the rounds today, purportedly from UK retailer Dixons Stores Group (Currys/PC World). The shot shows the 32GB Nexus 7 priced at £199.99, same as the current price for the 16GB model. If this image is accurate, it stands to reason that the 32GB model might replace the 16GB version at the $250 price point in other territories, likely leading to a further price cut on the 8GB and 16GB Nexuses.
None of this is officially confirmed, but with Apple's 7.8-inch iPad due to make its debut in the next couple of weeks, we're sure Google and ASUS will be looking for ways to remain competitive in the 7-inch tablet space.
New round of investor paranoia? Oh yeah.
Stock Futures Slump on Asia Growth Worries
By Andrea Tse - 10/08/12
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. stock futures were following the global markets down Monday as investor sentiment got a hit from the World Bank's lowering of growth expectations for China as well as East Asia as a whole.
The markets also kept an eye on a European finance ministers' meeting in Luxembourg on Monday and Tuesday, where a potential financial aid request from Spain and the country's harsh 2013 budget plans were expected to be the focus.
"The decision to request financial assistance rests entirely with Spain," said Michala Marcussen, head of global economics, at Societe Generale. "The longer Spain delays, however, the greater the market pressure is likely to become."
"Madrid doesn't seem set to formally request assistance at Monday's Eurogroup finance ministers' meeting," noted Mansoor Mohi-uddin, head of foreign exchange strategy at UBS Macro Research, who pointed out that Spain's Economy Minister Luis de Guindos recently said that the country "does not need a bailout at all," and that Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said that no decision has been taken here.' A more likely venue then would be the next European Union leaders' summit on Oct. 18-19."
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were declining 48 points, or 51.15 points below fair value, at 13,488. Futures for the S&P 500 were falling 5.40 points, or 5.23 points below fair value, at 1450. Futures for the Nasdaq were falling 13 points, or 14.24 points below fair value, at 2791.
The World Bank said Monday that it reduced China's growth outlook to 7.7% this year and 8.1% next year, down from the prior estimate of 8.2% in 2012 and 8.6% in 2013, though the bank noted that it still expects a soft landing for the country. The outlook for East Asia was reduced to 7.2% this year and 7.6% next year, below the prior forecast of 7.6% in 2012 and 8% in 2013, as the regional and global economy continue to be at risk of a number of headwinds relating to the eurozone and U.S. fiscal cliff.
The FTSE 100 in London was falling 0.71% and the DAX in Germany was declining 1.21% Monday. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong closed lower by 0.89%. The Japanese market was closed for a public holiday.
November crude oil futures were down $1.18 at $88.70 a barrel. December gold futures were falling $9 to $1,771.80 an ounce.
The dollar was up 0.33%, according to the dollar index. The Treasury market was closed because of the Columbus Day holiday.
The major U.S. stock averages finished mixed Friday as weakness in technology stocks negated much of the early euphoria about a surprise decline in the unemployment rate last month. For the week though, Wall Street finished solidly in the green, getting October off to a strong start.
The U.S. economic calendar was empty Monday with state and federal offices closed for the Columbus Day holiday.
In corporate news, Wal-Mart Stores (WMT), the world's biggest retailer, and American Express (AXP) announced Monday the launch of the Bluebird prepaid card program as an alternative to debit and checking accounts.
UnitedHealth (UNH) agreed to purchase 90% of Brazilian health care provider Amil Participacoes for roughly $4.3 billion.
Zynga (ZNGA), the social gaming company, saw its shares fall 12% to $2.48 on Friday after it forecast a loss for the third quarter and lowered its full-year outlook.
Apple's(AAPL) iPhone manufacturer in China, Foxconn, suffered a production interruption after thousands of its workers went on strike over labor conditions.
General Motors (GM) said it and its joint ventures in China sold 244,266 vehicles in the country in September, an increase of 1.7% from last year.
AngioDynamics (ANGO), the medical instruments maker, is expected by analysts Monday to post fiscal first-quarter earnings of 9 cents a share on revenue of $84.4 million.
By Andrea Tse - 10/08/12
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. stock futures were following the global markets down Monday as investor sentiment got a hit from the World Bank's lowering of growth expectations for China as well as East Asia as a whole.
The markets also kept an eye on a European finance ministers' meeting in Luxembourg on Monday and Tuesday, where a potential financial aid request from Spain and the country's harsh 2013 budget plans were expected to be the focus.
"The decision to request financial assistance rests entirely with Spain," said Michala Marcussen, head of global economics, at Societe Generale. "The longer Spain delays, however, the greater the market pressure is likely to become."
"Madrid doesn't seem set to formally request assistance at Monday's Eurogroup finance ministers' meeting," noted Mansoor Mohi-uddin, head of foreign exchange strategy at UBS Macro Research, who pointed out that Spain's Economy Minister Luis de Guindos recently said that the country "does not need a bailout at all," and that Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said that no decision has been taken here.' A more likely venue then would be the next European Union leaders' summit on Oct. 18-19."
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were declining 48 points, or 51.15 points below fair value, at 13,488. Futures for the S&P 500 were falling 5.40 points, or 5.23 points below fair value, at 1450. Futures for the Nasdaq were falling 13 points, or 14.24 points below fair value, at 2791.
The World Bank said Monday that it reduced China's growth outlook to 7.7% this year and 8.1% next year, down from the prior estimate of 8.2% in 2012 and 8.6% in 2013, though the bank noted that it still expects a soft landing for the country. The outlook for East Asia was reduced to 7.2% this year and 7.6% next year, below the prior forecast of 7.6% in 2012 and 8% in 2013, as the regional and global economy continue to be at risk of a number of headwinds relating to the eurozone and U.S. fiscal cliff.
The FTSE 100 in London was falling 0.71% and the DAX in Germany was declining 1.21% Monday. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong closed lower by 0.89%. The Japanese market was closed for a public holiday.
November crude oil futures were down $1.18 at $88.70 a barrel. December gold futures were falling $9 to $1,771.80 an ounce.
The dollar was up 0.33%, according to the dollar index. The Treasury market was closed because of the Columbus Day holiday.
The major U.S. stock averages finished mixed Friday as weakness in technology stocks negated much of the early euphoria about a surprise decline in the unemployment rate last month. For the week though, Wall Street finished solidly in the green, getting October off to a strong start.
The U.S. economic calendar was empty Monday with state and federal offices closed for the Columbus Day holiday.
In corporate news, Wal-Mart Stores (WMT), the world's biggest retailer, and American Express (AXP) announced Monday the launch of the Bluebird prepaid card program as an alternative to debit and checking accounts.
UnitedHealth (UNH) agreed to purchase 90% of Brazilian health care provider Amil Participacoes for roughly $4.3 billion.
Zynga (ZNGA), the social gaming company, saw its shares fall 12% to $2.48 on Friday after it forecast a loss for the third quarter and lowered its full-year outlook.
Apple's(AAPL) iPhone manufacturer in China, Foxconn, suffered a production interruption after thousands of its workers went on strike over labor conditions.
General Motors (GM) said it and its joint ventures in China sold 244,266 vehicles in the country in September, an increase of 1.7% from last year.
AngioDynamics (ANGO), the medical instruments maker, is expected by analysts Monday to post fiscal first-quarter earnings of 9 cents a share on revenue of $84.4 million.
Have an iPhone? Need to review your SMS or Voicemail?
How to extract voice and text messages from an iPhone
Christopher Breen
@BodyofBreen Oct 8, 2012 6:00 AMprint
Reader Amy Campbell has all the right reasons for extracting data from an iPhone. She writes:
A Mac-using relative recently passed away, and there are some SMS and voicemail messages on her phone that we’d like to have copies of. I don’t see any way to extract those things. Is this possible?
It is, and if you have access to her Mac, you can do better still. Here’s how:
When you back up an iOS device to your computer, SMS and voicemail messages are part of that backup. The backup resides in youruserfolder/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup. Don’t bother rooting around in that folder, as you won’t find anything usable unless you’re intimately familiar with SQLite databases; the files look like so much gobbledygook to most people.
Instead, turn to a tool that can extract the information you want, either directly from the phone or from one of the iPhone backups. For this kind of thing, I routinely turn to Ecamm Network’s $30 PhoneView.
If you’d like to recover information directly from the phone, plug it into your Mac using the sync cable. PhoneView will launch and show you a screen that looks a bit like iTunes. In the left column under the Data heading, you’ll see entries for Disk, Contacts, Notes, Call Log, Messages, Web, Voicemail, and Apps. Choose Messages, and you’ll see a list of SMS and MMS messages in the second column. When you select a message, the contents of the conversation appear in a third column. To create a copy of that conversation, just drag the name or number from the second column to the desktop; it becomes a PDF file, and contains the entire conversation. Likewise, if you want to copy a voicemail message from the phone, select that entry and drag it to the desktop. When you do, the voicemail message appears as an AAC audio file that you can play in iTunes.
If you have access to this person’s Mac and their account, PhoneView can provide even more help. From PhoneView’s File menu, choose iTunes Backup and then, from the submenu, select View Call History iTunes Backups, View Message iTunes Backups, or View Voicemail iTunes Backups. The window that appears will list, in a pop-up menu, every iOS device backed up on that computer. Choose the one you want, and you’ll spy a list of backed-up data. Again, just drag whatever you like to the desktop to turn that data into something you can read or listen to.
The advantage of pulling data from an iTunes backup is that if your relative had multiple iPhones over the years, it’s likely you’ll find all the accumulated voicemail and SMS messages rather than just those stored on her last phone.
Christopher Breen
@BodyofBreen Oct 8, 2012 6:00 AMprint
Reader Amy Campbell has all the right reasons for extracting data from an iPhone. She writes:
A Mac-using relative recently passed away, and there are some SMS and voicemail messages on her phone that we’d like to have copies of. I don’t see any way to extract those things. Is this possible?
It is, and if you have access to her Mac, you can do better still. Here’s how:
When you back up an iOS device to your computer, SMS and voicemail messages are part of that backup. The backup resides in youruserfolder/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup. Don’t bother rooting around in that folder, as you won’t find anything usable unless you’re intimately familiar with SQLite databases; the files look like so much gobbledygook to most people.
Instead, turn to a tool that can extract the information you want, either directly from the phone or from one of the iPhone backups. For this kind of thing, I routinely turn to Ecamm Network’s $30 PhoneView.
If you’d like to recover information directly from the phone, plug it into your Mac using the sync cable. PhoneView will launch and show you a screen that looks a bit like iTunes. In the left column under the Data heading, you’ll see entries for Disk, Contacts, Notes, Call Log, Messages, Web, Voicemail, and Apps. Choose Messages, and you’ll see a list of SMS and MMS messages in the second column. When you select a message, the contents of the conversation appear in a third column. To create a copy of that conversation, just drag the name or number from the second column to the desktop; it becomes a PDF file, and contains the entire conversation. Likewise, if you want to copy a voicemail message from the phone, select that entry and drag it to the desktop. When you do, the voicemail message appears as an AAC audio file that you can play in iTunes.
If you have access to this person’s Mac and their account, PhoneView can provide even more help. From PhoneView’s File menu, choose iTunes Backup and then, from the submenu, select View Call History iTunes Backups, View Message iTunes Backups, or View Voicemail iTunes Backups. The window that appears will list, in a pop-up menu, every iOS device backed up on that computer. Choose the one you want, and you’ll spy a list of backed-up data. Again, just drag whatever you like to the desktop to turn that data into something you can read or listen to.
The advantage of pulling data from an iTunes backup is that if your relative had multiple iPhones over the years, it’s likely you’ll find all the accumulated voicemail and SMS messages rather than just those stored on her last phone.
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