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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Samsung’s Galaxy Note II gets its UK release date: October 1st

Samsung Galaxy Note II coming to Three,

We've already asked around to let you know that British phablet fans can get their Galaxy Note II fix on ThreeUK, O2 and Vodafone, and now we know the date, too. Anxious S-pen lovers will be able to grab the new device from October 1st from the carriers, or pick 'em up at the Carphone Warehouse and Phones4U -- in either Marble White or Titanium Grey. If you'd like to read the words "whole new level of innovation," then head on past the break for the company line.

Continue reading Samsung's Galaxy Note II gets its UK release date: October 1st

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Samsung's Galaxy Note II gets its UK release date: October 1st originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Sep 2012 06:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Note II for Sprint hands-on

Samsung Galaxy Note II for Sprint hands-on

All we know so far is that it's possibly coming to US shores at some point in November, but the good news is that Sprint brought along one of the world's most famous phablets to a press event in New York City and, better yet, we got to play with it for a little while. Yes, we're talking about the Galaxy Note II. Looks-wise, the Now Network's flavor of that 5.5-inch behemoth hasn't exactly changed much from the unit(s) we landed our hands on when it was first unveiled to the world, meaning there's no "Sprint" branding anywhere to be found on the plastic shell -- at least for now, and, frankly, we kind of hope it stays this way. With that being out of the picture, the oversized handset looked as shiny as ever in its Marble White attire, which is the only color Sprint was happily showing off for the night. And while this particular Jelly Bean-loaded Note II was capable of running on the carrier's new LTE network, we weren't able to test out out data speeds due to matters out of our reach.

On the software side of things, we didn't notice any major hiccups worth pointing out, with the experience being rather similar to the one during our first encounter with Sammy's second-gen Note -- or, in other words, it felt very, very snappy and overall great. That said, the carrier, as it did with the Galaxy S III, looks to be pre-loading the device with some of its own applications, including ones such as Sprint Zone and other third-party apps like Polaris Office 4. Naturally, we popped the obvious question to Sprint of when we could expect the device to legitimately become part of its lineup, to which the carrier told us that it'd be sometime "this holiday season." For now, it looks like the hands-on gallery below will have to suffice, but you can be sure we'll let you know as soon as we find out the official release date.

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Samsung Galaxy Note II for Sprint hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Sep 2012 20:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Note II to land ‘by mid-November’ on all major US carriers

Samsung Galaxy Note 2

We'd say the wait is nearly over, but that wouldn't be telling the whole truth. Inching ever closer to a hard launch date, Samsung's Galaxy Note II is now poised to hit stateside on Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and US Cellular "by mid-November." If you're seeking anything more specific than that, you'll have to hold out for individual carrier announcements. What we do know for sure, however, is that the US variant of this 5.5-incher will be packing HSPA+42 / LTE radios and sporting a nigh unchanged build -- much like the company's other flagship, the GS III. To recap, this S-Pen equipped phablet, recently unveiled at IFA 2012, features a 1280 x 720 HD Super AMOLED display, quad-core 1.6GHz Exynos processor, 2GB RAM and ships with a skinned version of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Sure, this release is shaping up to be a slow tease, but that anticipation just makes the final bow of this second act even sweeter. Official PR after the break.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Note II to land 'by mid-November' on all major US carriers

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Samsung Galaxy Note II to land 'by mid-November' on all major US carriers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon’s Galaxy Note II purportedly poses for the camera, over-branding included

Verizon's Galaxy Note 2 purportedly poses for the camera, over-branding included

Phablet lovers on Verizon may have reason to rejoice, because the carrier's variant of the Galaxy Note II may have been captured in the flesh. The white device is aesthetically identical to the version straight from Samsung's house, save for its questionable carrier-branding. While the back of the phone sports a seemingly legit "Verizon 4G LTE" logo along with its moniker, you'll notice a rather obnoxiously-planted "Verizon" logo on its home button -- perhaps a bit too ridiculous to be the real deal. That said, it's almost certain that the Note II will officially make it to Verizon, no matter if it's dressed like the photos above or not; this purported variant lines up nicely with screenshots leaked earlier this week showing AT&T and Verizon compatibility. Now, if only we could have further confirmation -- perhaps in the way of a second visit to the FCC in the near feature or some leaky memos.

[Thanks, Sean P.]

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Verizon's Galaxy Note II purportedly poses for the camera, over-branding included originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 Sep 2012 16:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Galaxy Note II makes first FCC appearance, variant lacks US-friendly LTE bands

Galaxy Note II makes first FCC appearance, lacks USfriendly LTE bands

Samsung pegged its new Note for an October launch in Europe and Asia, in typical FCC fashion, it's passed through those wireless testing labs ahead of its arrival in stores around the world. For US readers, there's a severe lack of compatible US LTE bands on this Galaxy Note II, which suggests this is a global model we're dealing with, likely to connect with other 4G networks -- there's a whole lot of them out there. Aside from that, there's a typical selection of 850/1900 GSM/GPRS/EDGE and 850 WCDMA/HSPA radios inside this GT-N7105 model. However, we're expecting another Note II iteration -- packing friendlier LTE frequencies -- will make an appearance at the FCC pretty soon.

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Galaxy Note II makes first FCC appearance, variant lacks US-friendly LTE bands originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Sep 2012 05:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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