F5.5G Leap-forward Development of Broadband in Africa The Africa Broadband Forum 2024 (BBAF 2024) was successfully held in Cape Town, South Africa recently, under…
The Phablet is back: Samsung Galaxy Note II hits African Shores
The Samsung Galaxy Note II was officially unveiled in Cape Town during the African leg of its World Tour. It’s undergone numerous enhancements, making it the one smart device we couldn’t wait to get our hands on.
The look of the Note II draws on the style and design features of the Galaxy S III, expanding them to fit the Note II’s 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED screen. Supported by an Android 4.1 Jellybean OS and 1.6 Ghz quad-core processor, the Note II is one of the most powerful smart devices on the market.
Although Samsung has made many refinements to the Note II, its most important feature is the S Pen. It is only with the S Pen that the Note II’s multitasking features can truly come to life.
New features that really stand out for us are Samsung’s Quick Command, Popup Note and Popup Video.
Quick Command allows users to assign S Pen written symbols to launch specific programs. One example on display assigned the “@” symbol followed by a contact name to bring up the e-mail composition window.
Popup Note allows users to quickly bring up a notepad in the lower half of the screen and begin writing whilst the original program continues to run in the background. A feature that will come in handy during a phone call.
Popup Video works in a similar way and can be repositioned to overlay on running programs as well as jump to specific points in the video clip.
Other enhancements to the S Pen include an increase in size, allowing for easier handling. The S Pen also has a nifty built-in sensor that notifies users when left behind on a desk for example. Pretty important considering the Note II is rendered crippled without it.
As far as network connectivity goes, the Note II is firing on all cylinders with the usual Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC and S Beam functionality.
The Note II is set to retail for R8 000 and will be enabled for both 3G and LTE networks, so start selling your organs now.
