A Korean news source is claiming this week that Samsung will launch the iteration of its super-sized Galaxy Note smartphone on August 30 at the annual IFA consumer electronics trade show. The original Note smartphone was also released at last year's IFA.
While some earlier rumors indicated an October release for the next generation Note, according to the Korean Digital Daily, "Samsung is planning to have an 'Unpacked' event for the Galaxy Note 2. It should happen on August 30 - a day before the IFA expo kicks off in Berlin, Germany."
Rumored Features of Galaxy Note 2
If rumors are to be believed, Samsung will pack in a 5.5-inch display with high resolution, a quad-core processor, and 2 GB of RAM, and a 12 megapixel primary camera with an enhanced sensor. A latest report from MK Business News said that the phone will have sturdier build to improve shock resistance and offer improved battery life and will run Android's latest Jelly Bean operating system instead of the current Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) OS.
Moreover, the display of the phone will also have a Super AMOLED variety, higher WSXGA+ resolution (1680 x 1050 pixels) with 360 pixel density and will feature a thin and flexible unbreakable plane display (UBP). 4G connectivity will be a standard and is believed to arrive for all international units. Some reports even claim that the next generation Galaxy Note 2 smartphone will have features like S Beam, S Voice, NFC and SmartStay, similar to the Galaxy S3.
Top 5 Existing and Upcoming Competitors for Galaxy Note 2
Samsung Galaxy S3
Galaxy S3, Samsung's latest flagship smartphone, sports a 4.8-inch device powered by Android's latest Ice Cream Sandwich, a quad-core Exynos application processor (region specific) and packs in 16/32/64GB internal memory, LTE connection (region specific), Near Field Communication technology, 8MP camera with zero-lag shutter speed and a monstrous 2100mah removable battery. The most attractive features of the phone are its latest "S software features," which are based on a concept of "human interaction" and introduces innovative features like S Voice, Smart Stay, S Beam, Pop Up play, Direct Call, Smart Alert, Social Tag, AllShare Media and more.
The Samsung smartphone has already won the title of "Best Android Smartphone" from most of the eminent tech reviewers and as per recent report from French newspaper Les Echos (translated), the Korean giant has already sold 6.5 million units of Galaxy S3 in the second quarter and will be selling as many as 15 million units in the following quarter (July through September).
HTC One X
The HTC One X, featuring a mammoth yet bright and beautiful 4.7-inch HD display with 1280 x 720 pixel (720p) resolution, slim and light built with its 2.75-inch width, 0.36-inch thickness and 4.6-ounce weight, Qualcomm's next-generation Snapdragon S4 CPU, a 1.5-GHz dual-core chip, 1GB RAM, ULP GeForce GPU, 16GB of internal storage, 8MP primary camera with HTC's "Image Chip," Beat audio and Sense 4.0 UI, till now has received rave reviews. While the maker of the phone recently announced their failure to make good profit out of the phone, One X still is the king of Android.
Samsung Galaxy Note
While Samsung is launching its successor, the original Note is still one of the biggest competitors for the upcoming phone.
With a 1.5 GHz Scorpion dual-core processor, a monstrous 5.3-inches display, 8 mega pixels rear camera, 2 MP front camera for video calling, 16GB storage, 1 GB RAM, S Pen stylus and Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Li-Ion 2500 mAh and AT&T's 4G LTE connectivity, Galaxy Note was sold 5 million units within very few months of its release and is still among the bestsellers for Samsung.
HTC 'Phablet' (Unnamed)
According to a recent BGR report, HTC will soon launch a Samsung Galaxy Note competitor on the Verizon Wireless network. The phone will feature a 5-inch display with 1080p HD resolution, which is a non-Pentile variant, while a quad-core Krait processor, Snapdragon chipset and an Adreno 320 GPU will power it and HTC Scribe technology with support for stylus.
iPhone 5
Apple's iPhone 5 is already the most-awaited phone of the year and is expected to be the biggest hit. While all the features of the phone are still rumored, it is expected that the next generation Apple iPhone will come with a 4-inch Retina display with 16:9 Aspect Ratio and will feature a unibody design. The phone is also expected to pack in A6 or "a variation of the A5X's S5L8945X architecture" processor, 1GB RAM, iOS 6 operating system, 3D GUI, 3D camera, NFC feature and iWallet app.
