Difference between Samsung Galaxy Note and the Galaxy Note 2

People who anticipated and wished about a successor Galaxy Note 2 and eagerly waited for its release can actually lay their hands on it now. However, before doing that, shouldn’t we at least give the specs a glance? On the other hand, what differentiates both monsters?

Now that we have the Galaxy Note 2 officially announced by Samsung at the IFA, most people would be excited enough to buy that gem. People who anticipated and wished about a successor and hold on to its release can actually lay their hands on it now. However, before doing that, shouldn’t we at least give the specs a glance? I mean what differentiates both monsters. Of course, a successor comes with improved features but many a times we have realized that the successor comes with better specs but an irrationally higher price. Consider the Galaxy S and S Plus or for that matter Sony Xperia and Xperia SL. The pricing is not announced for the Note 2 as of now but when Sammy does, this comparison would help us gauge whether or not to choose the handset. Let’s start off!

Display:

While the predecessor was settled at 5.3 inches, the Galaxy Note 2 sports a larger display but not significantly. This one’s settled at 5.5 inches. The dimensions of Original Note and the Note 2 are 146.9 x 83 x 9.7 mm and 151.1 x 80.5 x 9.4 mm respectively. Now when we calculate and compare Pixels per Inch (PPI) from the dimensions, the figures round up to 285 PPI for the Original Note and the 274 PPI (low) for the Galaxy Note 2. Oh dear! While that’s that, both the displays use super pentile AMOLED screens. If one is not aware, Pentile screens arrange the pixels in Red-Green-Blue-Green subpixels, a Green pixel extra, instead of the traditional Red-Green-Blue screen. This extra green pixel allows for precise color reproduction in about 2/3rds of the subpixels, and which converges to a thinner profile screen. That’s same for both the phones and the viewing isn’t going to change significantly. That’s what is derived from this at least.

Winner: Neutral

Operating system:

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is definitely one step above Android 4.0.4 ICS latest version. You have a rapid fast responsive UI; thanks to VSync and Triple buffering. You also can avail an entirely new set of features including Offline Voice typing allowing you to voice type offline and without the need of a fat bill at the end of the month. Then comes the Notifications toolbar improvement, improved search user interface and finally Google Now offering you the information you want, anytime, anywhere you require it – automatically. Man, Jelly Bean is better anytime!

Winner: Galaxy Note 2

Processor and GPU:

The processor is better of course too in the Note 2. It uses the in-house Exynos quad-core processor clocked at 1.6GHz whereas the original Note comes with a dual core processor. The GPU in both the handsets remain same; essentially a Mali-400MP.

Winner: Galaxy Note 2

Storage and RAM:

Storage is better with the Galaxy Note 2 as we have options of a 64 GB variant as well besides the 16 GB and 32 GB variants. That would come with a price though but there’s an option for people craving for storage. RAM is much more in the Note 2; an additional 1 GB of RAM compared to the original Note is one level up for multitasking.

Winner: Galaxy Note 2

Camera:

No difference at all! Both uses 8MP rear cameras and 2 MP front cameras. There’s no change or addition in technology too.

Winner: Neutral

Battery power:

The Galaxy Note has been provided with a 3100mAh battery which is 600mAh more in power than the original Note. But we’ll have to take the quad-core processor factor in mind. Will it be able to feed the hungry processor? I think no but we’ll be able to provide more details after a review. Let’s keep it neutral as of now.

Winner: Neutral

Adobe Flash:

There’s one more important thing to consider here. As the galaxy Note 2 runs Jelly Bean, it won’t support Adobe Flash. HTML5 would be the only option and hope it stabilizes soon!

In addition, the Galaxy Note 2 comes with some new features like Air view function of the S-Pen stylus, The Popup Note feature, Quick command and Easy clips.

Air View is something which allows you to linger over ay content or an image without actually having to open the whole thing. You use air view to get a preview of the thing and if you want, you open it.

Pop Up note is another marvelous feature which opens up the S Notepad when you open up your Stylus simultaneously during a call. PopUp Note is as intelligent as that!

In addition, the device’s new gesture pad feature, called Quick Command, lets users quickly activate frequently used apps with the S Pen. The command pad appears when a user just swipes upward on the screen with the S Pen button pressed. Users can quickly send an email, make a call, or search a location as they draw pre-registered marks on the command pad or register a unique mark to allow for quick and easy access.

Verdict: We see that the successor does have an upper edge in terms of the OS, Processor, Storage and RAM. All hail for the pricing now. The standard 32 GB model of the original Note comes for $749.99 at Amazon. If Samsung keeps the pricing above $850 due to the enhanced features; we suggest you can stick to the original Galaxy Note because it meets the requirements. Also now, with the Galaxy Note 2 release, we might see a price drop in the original Note. That would be a nice buy! Watch out for that!