Difference between Samsung S3 and Galaxy Note II

Key Difference: The Galaxy S3 is a slate-format multi-touch smartphone that was launched in May 2012. It has a polycarbonate plastic chassis and is available in a variety of different colors. The S3 sports a 4.8 HD Super AMOLED screen with corning gorilla glass 2. It is offered with Android v4.0.4. The Samsung Galaxy Note II is a smartphone manufactured by Samsung and is an Android based device. The Note II is known for its large display of 5.5 inches (141 mm), as well as its integral use of a stylus, called the S pen. The beauty of a Galaxy Note II is that it falls between the categories of a smartphone and a tablet. It is hence marketed as a ‘phablet’, a phone and a tablet, a hybrid or sorts.

People are constantly changing their cell phones to keep up with new technologies and the companies release new phones to cater to the demand of the peoples. Technology is a dynamic sector that often changes and also requires people to constantly change and adapt to new and better things. People are also willing to shell out large amounts of cash to buy the latest and best phone on the market at that time. Hence, it is always best to compare different products and purchase the one that works the best according to a person’s need.

Samsung Group is a South Korean chaebol, the largest in South Korea. A chaebol is basically a conglomerate. Samsung Electronics has become one of the key competitors in the smartphone market due to innovative technologies. The group has launched popular phones such as Samsung Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note II.

Galaxy S3

The Galaxy S3 is a slate-format multi-touch smartphone that was launched in May 2012. It is the successor of Galaxy S2 and Galaxy S but abandons the rectangular design of the predecessors and opts for more rounded corners making it resemble the Galaxy Nexus. The S3 sports a 4.8 HD Super AMOLED screen with corning gorilla glass 2. It is offered with Android v4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and can be upgraded to 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean). The Galaxy S III has a polycarbonate plastic chassis and is available in a variety of different colors. The S3 supports a 1.4 GHz Cortex-A9 Quad-core processor, Mali-400MP GPU and 1 GB RAM. The S3 is available with 16 or 32 GB internal storage capacity, which can be expanded up to an additional 64 GB.

The phone boasts an 8 megapixel Auto Focus camera with flash, zero shutter lag and BSI. It also supports a 1.9 megapixel secondary camera that is capable of recording HD videos @30fps. When the phone was initially launched in May, the phone was considered to have been backed with innovative features and the TouchWiz "Nature UX" GUI was considered to be advanced. The GUI also included the “Water Lux” effect which can produce water ripples on contact. The phone also offered S Voice in response to Apple’s Siri, which enabled users to verbally control 20 functions on the phone. It was effectively considered as a iPhone killer. It also received additional publicity because of the ongoing patent infringement lawsuits against Apple.

The Samsung Galaxy Note II is a smartphone manufactured by Samsung and is an Android based device. The Note II is known for its large display of 5.5 inches (141 mm), as well as its integral use of a stylus, called the S pen. The beauty of a Galaxy Note II is that it falls between the categories of a smartphone and a tablet. It is hence marketed as a ‘phablet’, a phone and a tablet, a hybrid or sorts.

In terms of hardware, the Note II features a 1.6 GHz quad-core processor, 720p resolution display, and 2 GB of RAM. The Note II is available in a variety of colors and in storage capacities of 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB. The phone also has an external expandable memory of up to 64 GB. The Galaxy Note II was launched with Android 4.1 (also called Jelly Bean) and at the time of its launch was the first phone to feature Android 4.1. Now, the phone is upgradeable to Android 4.1.2.

In brief comparison, both the phones may seem very similar but that is not the case, they have distinct differences. The biggest difference would be the screen size, while the S3 offers a 4.8 inch display, Note II has provides a stunning 5.5 inch display. The Note II also has easy usability because of the pen, which the users can use to write or draw on the phablet like it was paper. The Note II also offers 1.6 GHz processor and 2 GB RAM, compared to the 1.4 GHz processor and the 1 GB RAM available on the S3.

The information for the detailed table about the two phones has been taken from the Samsung website and GSMArena.com.

	Samsung S3	Samsung Galaxy Note II
Launch Date	May 2012	September 2012
Company	Samsung Electronics	Samsung Electronics
Size	136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm	151.1 x 80.5 x 9.4 mm (5.95 x 3.17 x 0.37 in)
Display	4.8 inch HD Super AMOLED	5.5 inches, super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Screen	1280x720 pixels	720 x 1280 pixels, (~267 ppi pixel density)
Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass 2	Corning Gorilla Glass 2
Weight	133 g	183 g (6.46 oz)
2G Network	2.5G (GSM/ GPRS/ EDGE): 850/900/1800/1900 MHz	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network	(HSPA＋ 21Mbps): 850/900/1900/2100 MHz	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 HSDPA 850 / 900 / 2100 - N7105
4G Network	Depends on market availability.	LTE 800 / 900 / 1800 / 2600 - N7105
GUI	TouchWiz "Nature UX"	TouchWiz UI
CPU speed	Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A9	Quad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A9
GPU	Mali-400MP	Mali-400MP
OS	Android OS, v4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich), upgradeable to 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)	Android OS, v4.1.1 (Jelly Bean), upgradeable to 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)
Chipset	Exynos 4412 Quad	Exynos 4412 Quad
RAM	1 GB	2 GB RAM
SIM Size	microSIM	Micro-SIM
Internal Memory	16/32/64 GB (The 64GB model has been discontinued)	16/32/64 GB
Expandable Memory	microSD up to 64 GB	up to 64 GB
Sensors	Accelerometer, RGB light, Digital compass, Proximity, Gyro, Barometer	Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
Connectivity	WiFi a/b/g/n, WiFi HT40, GPS/GLONASS, NFC, Bluetooth® 4.0(LE), microUSB v2.0, USB On-the-go, wireless charging.	Bluetooth v 4.0 (Apt-X Codec support) LE, USB 2.0 Host, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4 & 5 GHz), Wi-Fi HT40, Wi-Fi Direct, NFC, S Beam, Samsung AllShare Play & Control, Samsung AllShare Cast (WiFi Display), Mirroring & Extention, Samsung AllShare Framework
Data	GPRS, EDGE, WLAN, Bluetooth, NFC and USB.	WiFi, NFC, GPRS, EDGE, LTE (4G), USB
Speed	HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps	HSDPA, 42 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps; LTE, Cat3, 50 Mbps UL, 100 Mbps DL
WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, EDR.	Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP, LE, EDR
USB	micro-USB 2.0; USB On-the-go.	microUSB v2.0 (MHL), USB Host
Primary Camera	8 megapixel Auto Focus camera with Flash & Zero Shutter Lag, BSI.	8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
Secondary Camera	1.9 Mega pixel camera, HD recording @30fps with Zero Shutter Lag, BSI	1.9 MP
Video	1080p@30fps, zero shutter lag.	1080p@30fps
Camera Features	Simultaneous HD video and image recording, geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, image stabilization. Burst shot & Best photo, Recording snapshot, HDR.	Simultaneous HD video and image recording, geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, image stabilization
Sound Enhancement	Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic.	SNS integration Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
Audio supported formats	Audio Codec: MP3, AMR-NB/WB, AAC/AAC＋/eAAC＋, WMA, OGG, FLAC, AC-3, apt-X.	MP3/WAV/eAAC+/AC3/FLAC player
Video supported formats	Video Codec: MPEG4, H.264, H.263, DivX, DivX3.11, VC-1, VP8, WMV7/8, Sorenson Spark Recording & Playback: Full HD (1080p).	MP4/DivX/XviD/WMV/H.264/H.263 player
Battery Capacity	2100 mAh battery	Li-ion 3,100 mAh
Available Colors	Pebble blue, Marble white, Amber brown, Garnet red, Sapphire black, Titanium grey, La Fleur	Titanium Gray, Marble White, Amber Brown, Ruby Wine, Pink
Messaging	SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM, RSS	SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM, RSS
Browser	HTML, Adobe Flash	HTML5
Radio	Stereo FM radio with RDS	Stereo FM radio with RDS (N7100 only)
GPS	A-GPS support and GLONASS	with A-GPS support and GLONASS
Java	Java MIDP emulator	Java MIDP emulator
Additional Features	-Voice natural language commands and dictation, Smart Stay eye tracking, Dropbox (50 GB storage), TV-out (via MHL A/V link), SNS integration, MP4/DivX/XviD/WMV/H.264/H.263 player, MP3/WAV/eAAC+/AC3/FLAC player, Organizer, Image/video editor, Document viewer (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF), Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa, Voice memo/dial/commands, Predictive text input (Swype)	S-Voice natural language commands and dictation, Smart Stay and Smart Rotate eye tracking, Dropbox (50 GB storage), TV-out (via MHL A/V link), Organizer, Image/video editor, Document editor (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF), Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa, Voice memo/dial/commands, Predictive text input (Swype), Samsung TouchWiz / Samsung L!ve Panel, Samsung Kies /Samsung Kies Air, Samsung ChatOn mobile communication service, Direct claa, Screen Recorder, Quick Glance, Samsung ChatOn mobile communication service, Samsung S Suggest, S Pen Experience (Stylus), S Note, S Planner, Email with hand-writing, integration, S Pen Keeper, Quick , Command, Easy Clip, Photo Note, Paper Artist, Shape Match, Formula Match