Samsung Galaxy Note II to arrive at US Cellular on Friday, pre-orders ship tomorrow

Samsung Galaxy Note II to arrive at US Cellular on Friday, preorders ship tomorrow

US Cellular has been offering the Samsung Galaxy Note II on pre-order for over a month now, but it just sent out an email clarifying that the device will be stocked on retail and virtual shelves beginning this Friday, October 26th. This falls in line with the "late October" timeframe we were promised; pre-orders, by the way, will also begin shipping tomorrow. As a recap, the Note II will only be available in titanium gray and with 16GB internal storage, and will cost $300 with a two-year commitment and $800 without one -- a huge difference, no doubt, given T-Mobile's $650 full retail cost. Tomorrow is the last day to pre-order if you're worried about facing inventory shortages or long lines on Friday. The best part? No silly logo on the home button (we're looking at you, Verizon).

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Samsung Galaxy Note II to arrive at US Cellular on Friday, pre-orders ship tomorrow originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 17:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung TecTiles 3.0 update offers more options for NFC tagging, now available in Play Store

Samsung TecTiles 30 announced

Samsung's NFC tagging app -- known as TecTiles -- made its official debut in June, but the company isn't putting a halt to its progression anytime soon. This morning Sammy announced version 3.0 of the app, which includes various enhancements that allow for better customization. Among the new features, you can choose from a larger selection of settings that can be programmed into the tags, and you'll also have the ability to send pre-written emails to a specified address, update your Google+ status, store a history of your profiles, customize preloaded profiles and create private tags that can only be read by your phone. The new refresh is ready to go in the Play Store, so head on over to download it for free -- provided, of course, you've forked over $15 for a pack of five tags. The press release, along with a full list of supported devices, can be found past the break.

Continue reading Samsung TecTiles 3.0 update offers more options for NFC tagging, now available in Play Store

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Samsung TecTiles 3.0 update offers more options for NFC tagging, now available in Play Store originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Note II for T-Mobile review

Samsung Galaxy Note II for TMobile review

The Samsung Galaxy Note II is coming to America, and unlike its predecessor, it's not being as quiet about the move. In a completely unprecedented feat, the mammoth smartphone not only won over the hearts of four national American carriers and one regional network, it did so without having to make sacrifices in its design, specs or even its name. This is a considerable amount of progress when taking into account the fact that only two mobile operators adopted the original Galaxy Note -- the inaugural phablet, if you will -- and they did so months after its global launch. Heck, T-Mobile released its variant of the Note just three months ago, which likely will be a sour point to early adopters for a long time to come.

As you may have seen in our review of the global Note II, there's a reason for all of the buzz circulating around this new flagship device; it's good. It's very good. Once you get used to the idea of a 5.5-inch smartphone with an included stylus S Pen, you'll take heed of the incredibly fast quad-core processor, the latest version of Android, the high-end camera and the litany of other top-notch features that have helped the device become worthy of our praise.

This review, as you see it today, discusses our impressions of T-Mobile's version of the Note II and how it sizes up against the global model (the N7100), but we're changing things up this time around. Since there will be very few differences across the five different versions offered on US carriers, we're simply going to add our reviews of each carrier-specific unit to this space as we go along. The idea is that this review will encompass every Galaxy Note II sold stateside. Enjoy the galleries below, and continue past the break as we dig into Samsung's latest flagship... again.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Note II for T-Mobile review

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Samsung Galaxy Note II for T-Mobile review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Note II to be available on AT&T November 9th for $299, pre-orders begin Thursday

Samsung Galaxy Note II to hit AT&T November 9th for $299, preorders begin Thursday

In the leadup to tomorrow's Samsung Galaxy Note II event, AT&T has decided to make its pricing and availability known to the general public today. The 5.5-inch smartphone will be available in stores and online starting November 9th, and the cost for the LTE-enabled device will be $300 with a two-year commitment. Lest you fear having to wait an extra two weeks to waltz into a store, you'll be able to head online on Thursday and pre-order it. The press release below has the details, so follow us past the break.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Note II to be available on AT&T November 9th for $299, pre-orders begin Thursday

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Samsung Galaxy Note II to be available on AT&T November 9th for $299, pre-orders begin Thursday originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 09:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint’s Galaxy Note II to arrive October 25th, with LTE and $300 price tag

Sprint's Galaxy Note II to arrive October 25th, with LTE and $300 price tag

Fancy being more than just a statistic on a Japanese balance sheet? Come October 25th, you can be a statistic and the proud owner of a stylus and an accompanying Note II to scrape it against. The Now Network just announced that it'll make the handset available to new customers and upgrade-eligible folk for $299.99 on a two-year contract, in either marble white or titanium gray. Expect to pay a significant monthly sum too, especially if you eventually want to exploit that Sprint-flavored LTE we keep hearing about.

Continue reading Sprint's Galaxy Note II to arrive October 25th, with LTE and $300 price tag

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Sprint's Galaxy Note II to arrive October 25th, with LTE and $300 price tag originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 09:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Note II for T-Mobile hands-on

Samsung Galaxy Note II for TMobile handson

Yep, it's a Samsung Galaxy Note II. With T-Mobile branding. At MobileCon 2012. Indeed, there's not much that will surprise you when gazing upon the latest version of the quad-core Exynos-clad phone / tablet -- it's almost completely the same as the unit we reviewed earlier this week, not to mention the Sprint and AT&T models we've played with so far. Cosmetically, the only difference you'll notice is the Magenta branding on the back of the device. As you'd expect, this particular Note -- the T889 -- won't be getting T-Mobile LTE yet, but it does at least have LTE bands 4 and 17 (700MHz and AWS) under the hood, and it offers support for 42Mbps HSPA+ on bands friendly to T-Mobile's network. Otherwise, the only thing that may catch your eye is the usual smattering of bloatware dedicated to Magenta's cause. We were a little disappointed to see that the Multi Window feature hasn't been added to the unit we played with tonight; we won't rule out the possibility of seeing it added into the final production firmware or shortly after in an OTA update. We still haven't been given pricing or availability (aside from being told it will be released in the coming weeks), though owners of the original T-Mobile Note will still be annoyed at how fast its sequel came out. Take a look at our images of the marble white and titanium gray version of the T-Mo Galaxy Note II below!

Myriam Joire contributed to this post.

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Samsung Galaxy Note II for T-Mobile hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Oct 2012 23:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Galaxy Note II coming to T-Mobile on October 24th, say leaked documents

Galaxy Note II coming to T-Mobile on October 24th, say leaked documents

Samsung's Galaxy Note II is happily filling hands in Korea and the UK without so much as a release date announced stateside. We may now have one, thanks to the folks at TmoNews, who appear to have snagged an internal document which suggests the phablet will arrive at the Magenta carrier on October 24th. Coincidentally (or not), Samsung is holding an event the same day, marrying with our previous speculation that it'll be unveiling the various carrier editions of the 5.5-inch beast there. Our suspicions are flagged, however, at the mention that Need for Speed: Most Wanted will come pre-installed, a game that isn't slated for release until October 30th -- not that we haven't seen similar release partnerships from the Note crew before. Although we can't confirm the legitimacy of this leak, we can suggest you start building up that grip strength just in case.

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Galaxy Note II coming to T-Mobile on October 24th, say leaked documents originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Oct 2012 13:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget UK Giveaway: win a Samsung Galaxy Note II courtesy of MobiCity

Engadget UK Giveaway: win a Samsung Galaxy Note II courtesy of MobiCity

Samsung's Galaxy Note II is one of the biggest phones this year, both figuratively, and literally. The OG Note stretched palms when it arrived last 12 months ago, with its 5.3-inch display, and it proved so popular that Samsung did it all over again -- and a little bit more. Not only is it hot off the production presses, we've also got one to give away to a lucky UK reader, courtesy of the kind people at online retailer MobiCity. That's where to send the thank you card if it's your name out of the hat. And if it's not? Well perhaps peruse their many SIM-free handset deals and treat yourself all the same. Want to know if you're eligible to win? Head south for the rules, and then get involved!

The rules:

  • Leave a comment below. Any comment will do. Duplicate entries will be filtered out and discarded, so adding additional comments won't increase your likelihood of winning.
  • This contest is open to all UK residents -- aged 18 years or over! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so direct your anger at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
  • Winners will be chosen randomly. One winner will receive one (1) new Samsung Galaxy Note II. Service does not come included with the prize.
  • If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of being contacted. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
  • This unit is purely for promotional giveaway. Mobi-city and Engadget / AOL UK are not held liable to honor warranties or customer service.
  • The full list of rules, in all its legalese glory, can be found here.
  • Entries can be submitted until 10th of October, 2012 at 23:59 GMT. Good luck!

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Engadget UK Giveaway: win a Samsung Galaxy Note II courtesy of MobiCity originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Oct 2012 06:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Note II for AT&T hands-on: an S-Pen phablet with 4G LTE (update: video)

Samsung Galaxy Note II for AT&T handson an SPen phablet with 4G LTE

AT&T's still keeping us in the dark about a hard date for the Galaxy Note II's release, but at least we know it's real and on the way. Confirmed to ship sometime this holiday season, this variant of Samsung's phablet refresh sports a 5.5-inch 1,280 x 720 HD Super AMOLED display, 1.6GHz quad-core Exynos processor, 8-megapixel rear camera capable of 1080p video capture, beefy 3,100mAh battery and, of course, a refined S-Pen. It's nigh unchanged from both the global and Sprint models we'd gotten hands-on with previously; a trend the OEM sparked off with the release of the GS III earlier this year. And in a move that augurs well for those of you averse to branding, there's no superfluous carrier logo blemishing its smooth white back.

If you thought the original Note was big and unwieldy, prepare to stretch your thumb even further up the display. Samsung added 0.2-inches to this update, while incorporating elements of its "famed" inspired by nature design that conspire to lend this handset a reassuring in-hand fit. On the lower right-hand side, you'll find a convenient slot for the S-Pen which, when removed, triggers an action menu that can be customized to launch selected apps. A large physical home button rests just below the expansive 16:9 screen and is flanked by capacitive buttons for menu and back, while the front-facing camera resides up above and hardware keys for volume and power are placed on the left and right edges, respectively.

On the software front, you're still looking at a TouchWizzed version of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, as well as some carrier-specific apps that come pre-loaded, like My AT&T, CodeScanner, FamilyMap, Navigator and Ready2Go. As you might expect from its quad-core Exynos, performance was smooth... almost buttery smooth, but we'd be remiss if we didn't mention a slight hesitancy between pulling out the S-Pen and the launch of that Smart Actions menu. Bear in mind, this is a pre-production model, so most of those kinks should be worked out by the time it launches this holiday season. Check out the video after the break.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Note II for AT&T hands-on: an S-Pen phablet with 4G LTE (update: video)

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Samsung Galaxy Note II for AT&T hands-on: an S-Pen phablet with 4G LTE (update: video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 17:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Note II launches on three carriers in Korea

Looking for Samsung's latest big phone? Get yourself over to Korea, where the Galaxy Note II has kicked off its launch "world tour" with a party in the center of Seoul. The 5.5-inch Jelly Bean superphone will be available across SKT, KT and LG U+ carriers, supporting LTE connectivity on all three, available in 32GB and 64GB storage offerings. The Galaxy Note II will eventually arrive in 128 countries -- and we're expecting a US arrival date sometime in November, on even more carriers than its Korean debut.

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Samsung Galaxy Note II launches on three carriers in Korea originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Sep 2012 07:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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