Samsung Galaxy Note 2 review

The good: Oodles of screen real estate make the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 terrific for videos, games, and reading; and its improved stylus aids productivity. A blazing quad-core processor, a great camera, and strong battery life round out the advantages of this Android 4.1 phone.

The bad: The huge display makes the Galaxy Note 2 unwieldy to carry, and hiccups in the S Pen stylus and apps can slow you down. The pricey Note 2 isn't a suitable tablet replacement across all categories.

The bottom line: Samsung delivers a powerful, boundary-pushing device that gets a lot right. Yet its complicated features and high price raise questions about its purpose.

You're probably wondering how good the massive, tabletlike Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is, and if the smartphone can fulfill important tablet functions.

You may also wonder if the Note 2's 5.5-inch screen makes it too unwieldy to hold and carry as an everyday device, and if its battery quickly drains in service to the monster screen. Can the quad-core processor keep up, and will it defeat the purpose if you never slide out the Note's digital pen?

My answers are mostly positive. Yes, the second Note is huge in the hand and awkward at times to hold, but I quickly grew used to it. In specs, it's Samsung's highest-end phone, with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS, a speedy quad-core processor, an extra-large battery, and an 8-megapixel camera

The Note 2's more comfortable, natural, and sensitive S Pen stylus and smarter software reveal a more evolved device than before, but it still can't shake some of the complaints that hounded the original Galaxy Note.

And while better-equipped for creating and consuming media than other smartphones, the Note 2 is still small compared with a 7-inch tablet. Really, only those who could truly take a tablet or leave it will consider the Note 2 a replacement. Those who really want a tablet will likely still want one.

The S Pen defines the Samsung Galaxy Note, and acts as its major differentiating feature.

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)

Pricing and availability
The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 supports 4G LTE and HSPA+, and will be available on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, and Verizon. Sprint will begin selling the "phablet" on October 25 for $299.99. AT&T will ship theirs on November 9, also for $300. U.S. Cellular's will go on sale October 26 for the same price. T-Mobile, however, is selling the phone for $369.99 with a two-year service agreement; it's available now.

Design and build
If you've seen the Samsung Galaxy S3, then the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 holds few surprises. Start with the Galaxy S3's round corners, high-gloss surfaces, scant bezels, and bubbled-out screen, then blow it up a size and add a stylus slot.

Samsung unabashedly carries on its plastic tradition in the face of rivals that have much more premium-looking, and possibly heartier, build materials. Though attractive, the Note 2 wins no awards for construction, and the highly reflective surfaces sometimes bounce back light in distracting ways.

Oh yeah, it's big.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

This is a large phone: 5.9 inches tall by 3.2 inches wide by 0.37 inch thick and weighing 6.4 ounces. That's a handful to be sure, but the weight feels proportional to the phone's dimensions, and any lighter could mean a smaller battery, which is one trade-off I don't want. Like the Galaxy S3, the Note 2 manages to look relatively sleek and slim despite its girth. Side by side, the Note 2 isn't a whole lot larger than the original Samsung Galaxy Note, and is much more palmable than a 7-inch tablet.

Still, I won't blame anyone for feeling anxiety over the Note 2's in-hand feel or portability. As with all phones, your ultimate judgment of what feels right depends on your hands. Over the course of testing, the Note 2 moved through a range of hands and pockets. Mine are fairly small, and I wanted to see what people had to say about its size and comfort. Most of the women I spoke with had no trouble fitting the Note 2 into a bag or purse, but questioned the phone's usability and their ability to reach the corners of the screen one-handed.

Of the men who tried out the phone, responses were 50/50. Some felt fine slipping the Note 2 into a front pants pocket, others didn't. Some enjoyed holding the larger phone once they got used to its size; others found it too expansive, even with their bigger hands.

I myself was able to slide the Note 2 into my back jeans pocket and go about my day. It stuck out and looked terrible, but it didn't impede my walking around and most of the time I didn't really notice it. I even sat on the phone a few times; it wasn't especially uncomfortable, and the phone didn't break.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (center) dwarfs the already-large Galaxy S3 (L) and Apple's iPhone 5 (R).

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

I also became quickly accustomed to the phone's size. After a day or two staring at its screen, the Galaxy S3's looked small in comparison. The iPhone 5's 4-inch screen looked shockingly tiny, which just proves that device size is all relative.

If you don't have one already, you'll want to invest in a Bluetooth headset for answering calls. The Note 2 looks comically large at the ear.

Beyond the phone's physical properties, you'll find helpful hardware buttons and ports. There's a front-facing camera above the screen, along with a light and proximity sensor. There's a physical hardware Home button below the display, sandwiched between touch-sensitive buttons for Menu and Back. The power button is on the right spine, the volume rocker is on the left, and the Micro-USB port is on the bottom. The top houses the 3.5mm headset jack.

The slim profile keeps this shingle of a phone light 'n' lean.

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)

On the back, you'll find the camera lens and LED flash. At the bottom of the back panel is the stylus slot with S Pen. Behind the back cover rests the microSD card slot, which can hold up to 64GB in external memory.

Screen and OS
The Note 2's 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED screen (1,280x720-pixel resolution) is bigger than the original Note's 5.3-inch display. That translates into a wide-screen 16:9 aspect ratio rather than the 16:10 aspect ratio of the first Note. That helps it fit right in with more standard graphics and video playback.