Ever since the announcement of Galaxy Note 2’s release the tech world has been abuzz with talks about what all new features will be inculcated in the phablet. The excitement was palpable about this new impending release from Samsung and gadget freaks continued to guess how Note 2 will be better than it’s highly successful predecessor Galaxy Note. Now that Note 2 is finally here it has left some of the Android and Samsung fans quite disappointed while some have greeted the new release with alacrity.
In this article we will contrast the features of Galaxy Note 2 with its predecessor Galaxy Note on different parameters. We will also look at how the Note 2 compares with other smart phones in its category.
Samsung Galaxy Note vs Galaxy Note 1 – Size and Display
Size is generally not a major consideration while buying smart phones as any phone with an average footprint which is between 3.5 inches to 4.8 inches can be kept inside the pockets without much trouble irrespective of the size of the bezel. Moreover, size of foot prints is directly proportional to the size of the display.
However, when comparing Note 2 to the original Note a special mention must be made about foot prints. It is so because the footprint is almost similar in both smart phones in spite of the fact that the display is bigger in Note 2 by almost 2 inches. The measurement of the original note was 146.9 * 83 * 9.7 mm while the measurement of the new note 2 is 80 * 151.1 * 9.4 mm. Note 2 is a bit heavier as compared to the original version and weighs around 180 gms.
Galaxy Note had a 5.3 inch AMOLED display with original resolution of 1280 * 800 pixels. The pixel per inch ratio was 285 in the original note. The only change in Note 2 is the 2 inch addition to the diagonal of the Galaxy Note while there has been no change in the resolution. Consequently, pixel per inch ratio has dropped from 285 to 274 in Note 2.
The Pen Tile technology which was used initially in the Galaxy Note has been kept constant for Note 2. The difference between Pen Tile Technology and the usually used RGB matrix is the fact that adjacent pixels share the same subpixels in Pen Tile technology. Though this difference is hardly visible to regular users, the Pen Tile technology drew a lot of aplomb from tech savvy users.
Hardware differences between Galaxy Note 2 and Galaxy Note
The internationally released version of original Note came with a 4210 System on Chip also abbreviated as SOC with a dual core A9 processor of 1.4 Gigahertz and a graphics processing unit of Mali 400. The US version of Galaxy Note came with a lesser featured SoC namely the 8255T from Qualcomm Snapdragon along with a single core processor 1.5 gigahertz of Qualcomm Scorpion and Adreno 205 graphics processing unit.
The difference between the international version and the original version is easily understood but the Galaxy Note 2 comes with a noticeable improvement over both the versions. The outperformance of Galaxy Note 2 can be attributed to the Exynos 4412 from Samsung. The Exynos 4412 was previously used in the global version of Galaxy S3. The quad processor in the Note 2 has been upgraded to 1.6 gigahertz from the 1.4 gigahertz used in Galaxy S3. The graphics processing unit of Mali 400 in Note 2 is the same as that in Galaxy S3 and Galaxy note.
Galaxy Note 2 however has a RAM of 2 GB which is twice the amount featured in its predecessor and is sure to support multi tasking as smoothly as any other smart phone. Additionally, one variant of Note 2 comes with an internal storage of 64 MB. Note 2 is also compatible with SD micro slots up to 64 MB.
Though the battery has been upgraded to 3100 mAH from the existing 2500 mAH it is not likely that the power backup time will increase significantly as the higher processor speed and Exynos will mean quicker exhaustion of battery. The camera is similar to that of Note and Note 2 has a 8 Mega Pixel primary camera along with a 2 Mega Pixel secondary camera.
Operating System and Installed Software
During its launch in 2011 the Galaxy Note was originally launched with on board Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Only after a lengthy delay was the Ice Cream Sandwich for Android made available on Galaxy Note. However, contrary to Samsung’s previous flagship launches which were launched with older versions of Android the Galaxy Note 2 comes with Jelly Beans 4.1 pre installed. This is a significant deviation in strategy by the South Korean giants. The S Pen has been modified and has added in width and length. Moreover, a rubber tip has been provided in order to give the users a significantly closer experience to pen and paper.
While Galaxy Note N2 is definitely an improved version of the original Galaxy Note the enhancement is limited to a better SoC, larger display and a more equipped S Pen. This is why though some enthusiasts has hailed the Note N2 others have dubbed it as an insignificant improvement over the original Galaxy Note.
