Note is still too big, yet also more useful and powerful

When I reviewed the first Galaxy Note last year and compared it with the Galaxy S2, I felt that while it had its merits from the size perspective, its feature set wasn't that enticing for me to switch to a larger device. This time round, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 created quite a stir in Singapore when it launched on 19 Oct 2012, with massive queues of eager consumers at all three local telcos. And I wondered if this was just successful marketing hype or if it really is a better smart device.

My verdict: the Galaxy Note 2 is better than the Galaxy S3.

Specs:
- 1.6GHz quad-core processor
- Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
- S Pen input
- 5.5" HD Super AMOLED 1280x720
- 8MP rear camera with flash, 1.9MP front camera
- Video Codec: MPEG4, H.263, H.264, VC-1, DivX, WMV7, WMV8, WMV9, VP8
- Audio Codec: MP3, OGG, WMA, AAC, ACC+, eAAC+, AMR(NB,WB), MIDI, WAV, AC-3, Flac
- 16/32/64GB user memory, 2GB RAM
- microSD up to 64GB
- LTE (4G) network
- Bluetooth 4.0
Wi-Fi a/b/g/n (2.4 and 5GHz)
- NFC
- USB 2.0 Host OTG
- 3100mAh replaceable battery
- microSIM
- 180g