Category: Android

Samsung is going to hold a press conference in Berlin on August 29th, less than two weeks from today. Earlier this month a Samsung spokesperson told Retuers that the company is going to be announcing the second generation Galaxy Note there. Here’s what we “know” about the device so far from the rumors that have been floating around the internets: Similar to how the first generation Galaxy Note was basically a giant Galaxy S II, the Galaxy Note II is going to be a blown up version of Galaxy S III. The same quad core Exynos processor will be in there, likely the same 8 megapixel camera, the same cellular radios, you get the idea. The only thing that will change is, of course, the screen. What you’re looking at above is a photo of from the French website NowhereElse, who says that’s the front panel of the Note II. The first Note had a 5.3 inch display, but this new Note is expected to pack a larger 5.5 inch display.

Will the Note II be popular? It’s too early to tell since we don’t have any concrete information, but our gut tells us it’s going to be even more successful than the first Note. When Samsung announced the original Note back in September 2011, we didn’t really understand it. We asked ourselves who in their right mind would buy such a large device? But here we are, 10 months after the Note hit the market, and Samsung has managed to sell 10 million of them. That’s a million a month, which may not sound like a significant number, but it’s not small either.

And anyway, isn’t Android all about choice? If you want a tiny device, get a Sony Xperia Tipo or a Samsung Galaxy Pocket. If you want the biggest thing that you can barely squeeze inside a pocket, the Note is perfect.

When Samsung announced the Galaxy S III in early May, they showed off two color variants: one was white, the other was blue. That threw a lot of people off since many were expecting to see the same old black/white options that all smartphones have had for the better part of half a decade. Several weeks later, when the American operator AT&T announced that they would start selling the Galaxy S III, they said they’d have the blue and white models in stock, but they also said they’d offer a red variant. Wonderful, but again, what about black? There are some folks out there who just want a plain black phone and refuse to use anything else. According to images found by Unwired View, the black Galaxy S III exists.

When will it actually hit store shelves? Both Android Police and SammyHub suggest that we’re going to have to wait until next month. Why such a long wait? That’s a good question. We don’t know why Samsung chose to go with blue and white instead of black and white, but if we had to guess we’d say it had something to do with them wanting to show something to the world that stands out. If you guys really want to see something that’ll turn heads then we recommend you go to a store and fondle a red Nokia PureView 808, but that’s a whole other topic of discussion.