We spoke of a compromise solution in the precursor of Samsung's Galaxy Note II. Although the second Note's screen diagonal is bigger, we find it easier to categorize it now. The smaller width and the fact that smartphones currently seem to be getting bigger makes the Note II more of a smartphone...

Good workmanship; Very big screen; Powerful platform; Viewing angle stable; high-contrast screen; Very long battery runtime; Fairly good camera; Wi-Fi for 2.4 and 5 GHz; The courage to bridge the gap or; better; to fill the niche.

Mediocre choice of materials, Averagely bright screen, Slight bluish cast, Limited mobility, No LTE, A higher-quality material impression and a bit more brightness; LTE would be the icing on the cake

With its exceptional screen, solid performance and an improved S Pen, it's no surprise that Samsung's Galaxy Note 8 is its best big phone ever. It also doesn't hurt that it has one of the best dual camera setups we've ever seen.

Huge; beautiful display; Excellent; water-resistant build; Great dual camera; S Pen is now more useful and fun

Very expensive; Bixby can be flaky; Not a huge improvement over the S8 Plus; US version gets less storage than other regions

The Galaxy Note 8 proved that Samsung could once again make a safe Note phone. Almost a year on, it's still an excellent device that lets you take portrait photos and use the stylus for writing, drawing and navigation. But Samsung is set to oust the Note 8 with the 2018 model. Rumor points to August 9 as the Galaxy Note 9 launch date (the 9 on 9, get it?), though we're still waiting for the official word.

With the Galaxy Note 9 just around the corner, now's a bad time to buy a new Galaxy Note 8 -- wait for the Note 9 to go on sale and the Note 8's price will surely drop.

The Galaxy Note 8 is still a terrific phone in 2018, with dual cameras and a boatload of stylus tricks; It's currently the most feature-rich Android phone you can buy.

Expensive by any measure, the Note 8 has more features than most people will need; Samsung's portrait mode can be finicky; The poorly placed fingerprint reader repeats the Galaxy S8's worst design flaw.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is definitely one of the top models of Samsung, next to Galaxy 3, and its main characteristic is that talks of a large display on which you can write with the pen provided.

NFC module, 2 GB RAM, S Pen with advanced features; Numerous applications for the S Pen; Advanced photo features, 1.9 MP front camera, internal memory, quad-core processor, Design, Android 4.1

Size; Weight

The Good - Big, beautiful screen - Considerable processing power - Long battery life - S Pen The Bad - Occasional feature overload - Volume button placement - Drops some good Android 4.1 UI features - Capacitive buttons can be hit by accident When the Galaxy Note debuted last year, it did so largely...

- Big; beautiful screen - Considerable processing power - Long battery life - S Pen

- Occasional feature overload - Volume button placement - Drops some good Android 4.1 UI features - Capacitive buttons can be hit by accident

The list of specifications above put the Samsung Galaxy Note II among an elite group of smartphones. Not only does it pack a quad-core SoC and 2GB of RAM, but it's outfitted with a gigantic (relatively speaking) screen and the latest version of Google's Android mobile OS, a.k.a. Jelly Bean.

Screw falls of inside after a year of use. Microphone jack attached to motherboard is loose. Lot of junk apps. Even the Samsung stock apps are of poor quality and hardly updated.

Good look

Poor quality hardware and junk apps

Think the iPhone 5 is a weakling of a mobile, and that even the Samsung Galaxy S3 could do with gaining a few curves? The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 may be what you're after. Thanks to its 5.5in screen, it's a phone so large that some people can't decide whether it's a phone or a tablet.

S Pen stylus feels accurate and comfortable; Fast processor and loads of RAM; Great screen

Will be too large for some; A bit plasticky

Sci-fi films from the 70s have us speaking into phones the size of thimbles by the 21 st Century, but recent trends amongst high-end mobiles have swung well the other way. Samsung's Galaxy Note II is one of the biggest around, rocking a massive 5.5-inch screen, but we love its S-Pen stylus and wide...

Spacious, vibrant screen; Smart pen and tools; Quad-core power; Fantastic battery life; Great 8MP camera

Bulky and heavy; Niche target audience

Generally technology is getting smaller – but some of the high-end smartphones are taking things the other way – take a look at the Samsung Galaxy Note II for example. Here's one of the biggest phones on the market, with a huge 5.5-in display, as well as a whole host of features and an S-Pen stylus.

Large bright screen; S Pen stylus and other tools; Quad-core processor; Impressive battery life; Great eight-megapixel snapper

Big and weighty