Red Galaxy Note 10.1 LTE arrives in time for Valentine’s Day

Samsung likes to release funky colored versions of its devices, particularly when it ties in with a holiday like Valentine's Day. This year it's the Galaxy Note 10.1 LTE that's getting a fresh coat of paint, appearing for the first time in "garnet red" this Feb. 14.

The blood-red, 4G-equipped version of Samsung's pen-toting tablet launches today in Korea, and will be heading to other territories shortly thereafter — according to Samsung it's aimed at young women and couples, like the happy duo you see in the shot above. As for internals, we're expecting the same hardware we reviewed late last year — a 1280×800 screen, 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos chip and 2GB of RAM, in addition to a bundled Wacom-based S Pen stylus.

There's no word on pricing just yet, but if it matches up with the other flavors of Note 10.1 LTE, you're probably looking at around €600-700.

Source: Samsung via: Pocket-Lint

International roundup: HTC One, Optimus G Pro, Three’s LTE plans and a pink Galaxy Note 2

We're two weeks out from Mobile World Congress, and just over a week away from learning what HTC's been cooking up for its 2013 flagship device. That means there's plenty of international Android news to talk about this week, as we await the arrival of new devices from some of the biggest manufacturers around.

Starting with HTC, we've heard a couple of interesting rumors doing the rounds this week surrounding the company's upcoming "M7" flagship phone. Earlier in the week UK blog Pocket-Lint claimed to have details of new image sensor technology at work in the phone's camera. If the reports are to be believed, HTC's next big thing will pack a new 4.3-"ultrapixel" setup that uses a multi-layer image sensor, with one layer for each primary color. Supposedly this new tech will produce more accurate colors and superior fine detail, though as with any new camera tech, we'll have to wait to get our hands on it before we know for sure. (In the meantime, HTC's teasing a "new sound and camera experience" this year, so it sounds like there may be something to these rumors.)

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Samsung Galaxy Note 2 – Verizon Remix Version [Hardware Review]

We have written a review for the Galaxy Note 2 previously, but phones on Verizon are always a little different.  Whether it’s an almost completely rolled out LTE or non-removable apps that pervade your homescreen, Verizon plays by its own rules.  I’m going to be focusing more on the software side of things since you already have a good idea of what this phone brings to the Android world.  I’m going in-depth on the camera, Touchwiz, battery, and I’ll get into the consumer’s head to really understand the Galaxy Note 2 and why it’s the phone you need.

Software

While the Note 2 doesn’t have the eye-popping screen the Droid DNA did, Samsung does make sure the size of the phone grabs you, then the S-Pen, the multi-window function, and the S-Voice keep you sucked into the Samsung software ecosystem. It’s a very good ecosystem to get sucked into too.  The S-Voice is a nice gimmick, but I don’t think it really compares to Google Now as Samsung simply doesn’t have as much information about you as Google does.  However, the S-Pen is accurate, quick to withdraw, and I actually found myself using it quite a bit.  Samsung made a nice app to make notes, lists, and diary entries as well as draw and sketch to your heart’s content.  I would liked to have seen Evernote integration or support, but Samsung’s app is nice, if not very intuitive. It has been pointed out that Samsung is distancing itself from Google by providing its own Google Now competitor, its own Media Hub, and Kies.

This would be an unfortunate development as the multi-window feature is pure brilliance and works great on the Note 2 (aside from the Verizon Note 2 only being able to take advantage of a few apps), but the Media Hub and S-Voice simply cannot compete with Google Now and the Play Store. The battery is fantastic; I could only drain it to zero if I was using it constantly for the whole day (think YouTube streaming in HD on LTE for 4 hours). This is  my new number one feature – a battery that lasts all day.  I will not buy a phone that doesn’t have a 3,000+ mAh battery.  Of course, a Verizon OTA update was available for the Note 2 so I downloaded it, and, as many forums and websites have reported, it has caused a noticeable battery drain when compared to my first week without the update.  The battery still lasts a full day, but now it doesn’t seem to go into deep sleep as well as it used to. LTE has a strong signal, and where my Galaxy Nexus would have trouble finding a single or drop from LTE to 3G, the Galaxy Note would hold the LTE signal. Speed tests showed the Galaxy Note 2 averaging about 15mb/s at peak times, outpacing my Galaxy Nexus at ~7mb/s, and hitting a high of 29mb/s late at night.

Camera

Samsung generally makes some decent cameras, probably third behind Sony and HTC, and I think that’s about adequate.  The camera app isn’t as good as the Droid DNA was, but the Note 2 has a nice “Best Photo” mode to take quick pictures and select the best available, and it has all the usual filters and other normal camera stuff you need.  The camera lens is too high up for my liking.  I always seemed to get my finger caught in the way when I was trying to take quick shots.  This would have been an easy problem to solve since the Note 2 has so much room on the back.  The camera was noticeably dim at night compared to the DNA, and snapping pictures wasn’t nearly as quick as it is for my Galaxy Nexus or anything else I’ve tried running ICS or Jelly Bean. The more I look at the pictures, the less impressed I became, but most of them were with low light or at night.

Touchwiz

Touchwiz is as pervasive as HTC’s Sense UI, but Samsung has done a fairly good job of keeping it current with the Android updates.  Samsung took a lot of things from the stock ICS launcher, colorized it with a palette from the 80s, and added a few enhancements like the screen staying on if you are looking at it and moving items on your homescreen by tilting the phone.  It’s these small enhancements that make Touchwiz much more user-friendly and much more acceptable than HTC’s ten-clicks-deep menus.  We can all remember the days when Touchwiz had Bing, Blockbuster, and generally left the phone feeling more cumbersome than polished.  Not anymore.  Touchwiz actually adds value to the device, especially for novice Android users.  There are different homescreen modes, Simple and Standard, different saturation levels you can change, tons of lock screen options (news, weather, Facebook feeds), and battery-saving options (not that you will need them).  Touchwiz has certainly come a long way from my Fascinate days, and it isn’t an excuse to not buy a Samsung device anymore.

Final Thoughts

I love this phone.  The Galaxy Note 2 is the best phone I have ever used. Anyone that gasps about the size is correct, it’s a really big phone that isn’t seen very often.  But, you’re hand(s) become accustomed to it, and eventually a smaller phone just doesn’t cut it for pictures, movies, and Redditing. Looking at my Galaxy Nexus, it is almost a disappointment now, even though I’m on the latest version of Android with stock UI. A battery that lasts the whole day using LTE is a serious game changer and keeps your mind at ease. Samsung and their Touchwiz UI have made the buttons ever-so-slightly bigger to be reached easier, and the multi-window feature (especially if you figure out how to get any app to use it) is a serious advancement in smartphones. A  quad-core processor and 2GB RAM make this beast of a phone fly, even while having a YouTube video playing on one half of the screen and tweeting from the other half. Samsung has outdone themselves, and Verizon should be happy because the S-Pen, multi-window feature, and size can sell to business customers. That being said, why is there a Verizon logo on the front? A great phone aesthetically marred by stupidity/ingenious marketing. That is my one fault with the phone. That being said, the Galaxy Note 2 is a must-buy, even if the price tag gives you hesitation.

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CyanogenMod 10.1 nightlies for the Verizon and Sprint Galaxy Note 2 now available

The CyanogenMod team has just given Verizon and Sprint Galaxy Note 2 users something to be happy about — official 10.1 nighly builds for download. Users of these devices have been patiently waiting as development went along on the latest CyanogenMod builds, and now they have their chance. Of course these nightly builds are far less stable than general releases and may have many bugs, but some users are completely willing to put up with it.

If you're willing to deal with some quirks you can see what CyanogenMod 10.1 has to offer at the source links below. If you're not so sure how or why you should get into these nightly builds, head to our forums and get a few things figured out first. And remember, backing up before flashing is a great idea!

Source: Verizon Note 2 Download; Sprint Note 2 Download

More: Galaxy Note 2 Forums

Fresh Galaxy Note 8.0 photos emerge showing S Pen, software

Just a day after we got our first look at the Galaxy Note 8.0 in leaked spy shots, a couple more photos of the 8-inch tablet have emerged online. Today's pics come via French Android community Frandroid, showing apparently the Note 8.0 alongside its 5.5-inch sibling, the Galaxy Note 2. As with yesterday's images, we see a tablet with a curved design and a phone-style three-button setup on the bottom bezel instead of traditional on-screen keys. And this time around we get to see the larger "S Pen" stylus, which was docked away in yesterday's images.

Yep, there's an earpiece up top for making calls, as we saw in yesterday's shots. But that's nothing new — 7-inch Samsung tablets have been doing that since the original 2010 Galaxy Tab.

Today's shots also reveal a little more about the device's software. Unsurprisingly, the Note 8.0 is running Samsung's TouchWiz UI, but it also seems to be using a "phone-style" launcher, similar to the direction taken with the stock tablet launcher in Android 4.2 (which this device is rumored to be running). The presence of floating windows suggests that Samsung's included its multi-window tech in this tablet, too. In addition, we can also clearly see a notification bar up top in both shots.

Samsung's expected to make the Note 8.0 all officially official at Mobile World Congress at the end of February. Leaked spec sheets suggest we can expect similar internals to the Galaxy Note 2 — a 1.6GHz Exynos 4 Quad CPU, 2GB of RAM and 16 and 32GB storage options, expandable via microSD slot. Stick with Android Central for full coverage of the Note 8.0 and other Samsung devices at MWC.

Source: Frandroid

‘Galaxy Note 8.0′ spotted in the wild, has traditional button setup

We've learned much about the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 over the past week or so, from specs to a purported release date. Now we have what might be our first proper glimpse of the tablet itself out in the wild — and it's packing a few surprised. In spy shots obtained by Italian outlet DDAY.it, we see an unknown Samsung tablet sporting a curved design similar to the Galaxy S3 and Note 2 — a far cry from earlier Samsung tablet designs. The size of the tablet, and the "S Pen" holder shown in the bottom right in the pic above, would seem to confirm this as the Galaxy Note 8.0.

More surprising still is Samsung's apparent decision to eschew on-screen buttons in favor of a traditional menu, home and back setup. It's a break from usual Android tablet designs, though it could be argued that changes to Android's action bar in version 4.2 mean that on-screen controls are less important than they were back in the Honeycomb days.

We should also consider the possibility that this might not be the final Note 8.0 design. In the past, Samsung has craftily put out several pre-release versions of devices (like the Galaxy S3) in the hope of keeping the final design secret. Regardless, it's in Samsung's best interest, branding-wise, to make the Note 8.0 visually close to its smartphone line-up, and this kind of design certainly achieves that.

Previous rumors have the Galaxy Note 8.0 debuting at Mobile World Congress in late February ahead of a March launch. Reported specs include an 8-inch 1280×800 display, a 1.6GHz Exynos 4 Quad CPU, 2GB of RAM and TouchWiz'd Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. We'll be live in Barcelona next month to bring you full coverage of the Note 8.0 as it's announced.

Source: DDAY.it; via: SamMobile

Samsung reportedly confirms Galaxy Note 8 slated for MWC 2013 introduction

Several days ago, we reported on the likelihood that Samsung would introduce a smaller version of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 come Mobile World Congress 2013.  Today, a Korean news blog is reporting that J.K. Shin confirmed the existence of a 8 inch Galaxy Note tablet.  We’re hoping Samsung markets it as a tablet, but who knows, it could be another phablet device.

The same blog correctly reported on the Samsung Galaxy S III Mini, so the blog seems to be well connected.  At this time, Shin only confirmed the screen size of 8 inches, but we have a previous rumor that discusses possible hardware.  Specs and features include an 8 inch display with a resolution of 1280 x 800, 4600 mAh battery, 2GB of RAM, 5MP rear facing camera, 1.3MP front facing camera, 16GB/32GB of onboard storage, microSD memory expansion, and I imagine the processor will be of the quad-core Exynos variety.  Since it is branded under Galaxy Note, it will presumably include S-Pen integration.

Stay tuned for MWC 2013, in which we will finally come to learn whether Samsung intends to launch an 8 inch Galaxy Note tablet or not.

[Engadget]

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Samsung’s JK Shin apparently confirms 8-inch Galaxy Note at MWC

Last year in Barcelona, Samsung managed to out the Galaxy Note 10.1 on the side of a building at Plaça de Catalunya, a day ahead of the official announcement. Looks like we'll have no such slippage for Galaxy Note 8, as Samsung's JK Shin apparently has confirmed a previous report to INews24 that we'll see yet another size variation at  Mobile World Congress next month. 

What we don't yet know is whether this 'tweener will be more tablet than smartphone, or vice versa. We'll be in Barcelona, of course, and you'll be coming along for the ride.

Source: INews24; via Engadget

Samsung introduces amber brown and ruby wine as new colors for the Galaxy Note II

Should the current color options for the Samsung Galaxy Note II not exactly meet your expectations, then you may be happy to learn Samsung has two new color options ready to go.  The new colors include amber brown and ruby wine, which are interesting and vibrant to say the least.  Unfortunately for some, these new Galaxy Note II options will be an exclusive to Korea for some time.  There’s no word if Samsung will introduce these options to other markets.

Pricing will remain the same for the two new devices.  If you like the way the Galaxy Note II looks in either of these colors, then I’m sure you can find one in your local retailer in Korea starting today.

[Engadget]

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Samsung expected to introduce Galaxy Note 8.0 Android tablet at MWC 2013

Are you folks ready for another Samsung Galaxy tablet?  According to a recent rumor, there is a strong chance that Samsung will introduce a newer version of the Galaxy Note tablet at MWC 2013, but it will come with an 8 inch display.  There is currently the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet in the market, which just received Android 4.1.  The Galaxy Note 8.0 will launch with Android 4.2 on-board, which is certainly nice of Samsung.

The Galaxy Tab 8.0 is known as the Samsung GT-N5100 and it will launch in a WiFi only model and a 3G model.  Specs and features include an 8 inch display with a resolution of 1280 x 800, 4600 mAh battery, 2GB of RAM, 5MP rear facing camera, 1.3MP front facing camera, 16GB/32GB of onboard storage, microSD memory expansion, and I imagine the processor will be of the quad-core Exynos variety.  Since it is branded under Galaxy Note, it will presumably include S-Pen integration.

As you can tell, the Galaxy Note 8.0 is certainly a capable tablet, but there is no real “wow” factor associated with it.  If Samsung is able to sell the device for an inexpensive price, then perhaps it will do well as a solid mid-range option.  Once again, the tablet is still in rumor stage, so we will have to wait until MWC 2013 for further confirmation.

[SamMobile]

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