Samsung Galaxy Note 2 N7100 vs Galaxy Note 1 : The War of Phablets

Today, I'm in a review mode about the latest "phablet" launch of Galaxy Note II N7100 by Samsung. After having lost to Apple's infringement case, Samsung seems to answer everyone with its own amazing phones! We are excited to see what more it has to offer!

Now talking turkey, the Samsung Galaxy Note II or 2, is the successor to Note 1 which was launched in 2011.These smartphones are called "phablets" because they don't look like normal phone, and also they're not so huge to be called a tablet. As you might have guessed, the reason is their size is in between that of a phone and a tablet, thus creating a new category of smartphones for those who love big screens, but don't have that big pockets to keep tablets!

With Samsung Galaxy Note series, the trouble to have a "big pocket" ends! The Note series phablets are easy to fit in your pockets, and they offer everything that a tablet can offer. Powered by Android Operating System, these are customizable, powerful and thus, highly useful devices.

Now, its time to help you decide if you should upgrade to the Note 2 in case you already own Note 1, or if you should directly buy Note 2 or 1, considering the price difference between both. As of now, Galaxy Note 1 is priced at around Rs 30,000 (INR), and Note 2 is at Rs 39,900 (INR). So its really important if that extra cash you will be spending for Note 2 is worth it or not.

Lets talk about different features now.

Dimensions and Design

Galaxy Note II is more elongated and a bit narrower than the original one. Physical dimensions of Note 2 is 151.1 mm x 80.5 mm x 9.4 mm. Although, it is not much greater difference in size between two, as you can see in these photos.

The Galaxy Note 2 features 0.2 inch larger screen than its predecessor.

Hardware Specifications

	Galaxy Note	Galaxy Note 2
Dimensions	5.78 x 3.27 x 0.38 inches	5.94 x 3.16 x 0.37 inches
Display Screen	5.3-inch HD super AMOLED	5.5-inch HD super AMOLED
Processor	1.4 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9	1.6 GHz quad-core
RAM	1 GB	2 GB
Screen Resolution	1280 x 800 pixels	1280 x 720 pixels
Operating System	Android v2.3 Ginger Bread (Update to v4.0 ICS available)	Android v4.1 Jelly Bean
Camera (Primary)	8 megapixels auto-focus with LED flash	8 megapixels auto-focus with LED flash
Camera (Front)	2 MP	1.9 MP
Battery	Li-ion, 2500 mAh	Li-ion, 3100 mAh
Bluetooth	Version 3.0	Version 4.0
Colors	Black, White	Marble White, Titanium Gray

The 2GB RAM in Note 2 from 1GB of Note 1, is really an important addition according to me as it will enable the Note 2 to be eligible to receive updates to latest Android versions in future too. This is because there is high probability that other phones from a year now, will have 2GB RAM as a general benchmark, and it might result in making your older Note 1 stick to some older version of Android in case it doesn't get eligible to receive updates in future. Although, it is not gonna happen at least in next 2 years I hope.

The S-pen feature of Galaxy Note series has also got updated in Note 2 and is now easier to grip and longer, just to give users the right hold over writing. Other new features of Note 2 over Note 1 include S-Pen Quick Commands, improvement in Hand Writing capture, and a feature which alerts you whenever S-pen is not in the holster of the phone, thus helping you not to lose it.

Conclusion

I would say you should go for the Note 2 if you want to have better hardware than Note 1. Otherwise, Note 1 also makes up a great choice actually even though it is not the latest. In case you already own Galaxy Note 1, I will suggest you to wait for Note 3 or 4, as that might be a better option than to pay more money today on Note 2 for better hardwares.

P.S. : As I don't own any Note till now, I am going for Samsung Galaxy Note 2 soon. Will update this post after getting my hands on it. :)

Meanwhile, I would love to hear from you people: what is your take on Note 2? Lets discuss!