Samsung Galaxy Note II

“The Samsung Galaxy Note II is every bit what a sequel should be. It is better looking and more powerful than its predecessor, it's easier to handle and has learned some cool new tricks. The display has been upgraded in a couple of important ways, too - it's now larger and has got rid of the PenTile matrix. Software has been notably improved as well. TouchWiz-ed Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is arguably the most functional combos around and on the Note II it's perfectly smooth, too. The beefed up S Pen usability and integration adds a whole new dimension to the user experience.”

“The Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100 is one beast of a droid and a major step forward for the class it represents. The second generation of the phablet is a massive upgrade, doubling the processing power of the predecessor, and bringing a bigger, and better, screen and an ampler battery. The slimmer waistline and narrower body improve handling a great deal, and while the Note II still isn't the easiest smartphone to wield, it's much better than the original Note. There's also the new S Pen, which is not only more comfortable to use now, but also way better integrated into the platform.”

“While the TouchWiz UI is cumbersome, at least everything else runs very quickly on the Note II. And it should, after all — the Note II is one of the most powerful smartphones Samsung has ever built, with a 1.6GHz quad-core Samsung Exynos processor and 2GB of RAM packed inside. The Note II has enough speed to make John Force feel proud. There’s also an enormous 3,100 mAh battery sitting behind the massive display. I was regularly charging up the Note II every other day during my two weeks with it. That’s some astounding battery performance, and one of the few features I can honestly say I love about the Note II.If you must have a gigantic smartphone, the Note II is a solid performer. But the problems of the first-generation Note — unwieldy size, messy software, gimmicky stylus — still haunt the sequel.”

“We're rather taken with the Samsung Galaxy Note 2. It's still going to be a device that splits opinion due to its enormous size but assuming you like the idea of a huge phone with a stylus, it works very well. The new stylus is impressively accurate, the quad-core processor lightning quick and the even bigger screen is pretty impressive. Combined with the myriad software upgrades that really integrate the S Pen stylus into the workings of the phone, it feels like a pretty solid upgrade over the original Samsung Galaxy Note.”