Samsung Galaxy Note 2 v Galaxy S3: How Does New Phablet do Against S3?

Samsung announced the update to its Galaxy Note - the Galaxy Note 2 - at the IFA electronics trade show in Berlin, on 29 August.

The Note 2 features, as predicted, a screen larger than the original, at 5.5in, and also has an advanced stylus - the S Pen. The device will run on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) and the US version is expected to support 4G LTE networks. The Note 2 will come in either white or grey and be launched in Europe, Asia and the Middle East sometime in October, which means it is likely to go head-to-head with Apple's iPhone 5, expected some time in September. There are no pricing details as yet but Three and O2 have confirmed they will stock the device in the UK.

Here's how the Galaxy Note 2 measures up against the S3

Display: The Galaxy Note 2 has a 5.5in Super AMOLED display with a ratio of 16:9 and a resolution of 720x1280 pixels. The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 2 and the device features the TouchWiz User Interface (UI).

The Galaxy S3 has a 4.8in screen with similar display technology and features. The primary difference between the two is the pixel density - the S3's display delivers 306 pixels per inch (ppi), while the Note 2 only manages 267 ppi.

Dimensions: The Galaxy Note 2 measures 151.1 x 80.5 x 9.4mm and weighs 180g. The Galaxy S3 measures 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6mm and is, understandably, lighter than the Note 2, at 133g.

The original Galaxy Note measured 146.9 x 83 x 9.65mm and weighed fractionally less than its successor, at 178g. However, given the screen size has gone up from 5.29in to 5.5in, the relative increase in dimensions and weight has been very well managed. In fact, the Note 2 is thinner than the original.

Operating System: The Note 2 will run Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). The Galaxy S3 first shipped with Android 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) but an update to Jelly Bean is expected soon, perhaps at the same time as the Note 2.

Processor: The Note 2 uses the same Exynos quad core chip as the Galaxy S3's international version but the clock speed has been raised from 1.4GHz to 1.6GHz. In addition, the Galaxy S3 packs only 1GB of RAM whereas the Note 2 has an extra gigabyte.

A benchmark conducted by Engadget shows the Note 2 performed fairly well against the original Note and the Galaxy S3 in the Quadrant, Vellamo, CF-Bench, GL Benchmark Egypt Offscreen tests but managed only second to the Galaxy S3 in the AnTuTu benchmark test.

Camera: The Galaxy S3 and the Note 2 both have an eight megapixel camera, with the usual auto-focus, LED flash, geo-tagging and other similar features. The Note 2's rear camera can capture video at 1080p and 30 frames per second. The Galaxy S3's front camera is equipped with a feature called Smart Stay and a technology called Zero Shutter Lag, which allows the photo-capture of moving objects. The Note 2 has its own unique feature - Best Faces - which allows users to select faces of friends or individuals from group photos.

Connectivity: The Note 2 will offer Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot, BlueTooth v4.0 +A2DP + LE+ EDR. The Galaxy S3 offers Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP + EDR. Both devices support data speeds of up to HSDPA 21Mbps and HSUPA 5.76 Mbps, Near Field Communication (NFC) and 4G LTE connectivity (where available).

Storage: The Note 2 comes in three storage models - 16GB, 32GB and 64GB - and also offers a microSD card slot. The Galaxy S3 is now available in only 16GB and 32GB models. A 64GB was promised at the time of the device's release and it has been sighted, in black, on the website of UK retailer Clove.

Battery: The Note 2 packs a bigger battery, understandably, than the Galaxy S3 (2100mAh) at 3100mAh.