Review: Samsung Series 3 Chromebook

This is technically the fifth iteration of the Google Chromebook – so long as you count Google's own CR-48 prototype.

Despite being the fifth Chromebook, the snappily-named Series 3 XE303C12 shouldn't be confused with the previous model, the Samsung Series 5 XE550C22 or even the second Chromebook, the Samsung Series 5 XE500C21.

If you know about Chrome OS already, you'll know that this laptop isn't like mainstream Windows laptops or even machines such as the Apple MacBook Air or the new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display.

Though it struggled with HD, SD video streams play perfectly well; no downloads, though

It doesn't run a conventional operating system such as Windows 8, Mac OS X Mountain Lion or even a straight Linux distro such as Ubuntu.

Instead, it is essentially a computer that does one thing: run a web browser.

In this case, of course, the web browser in question is Google Chrome.

Deciding whether or not the new Chromebook is right for you is actually really easy. The first thing you have to know is that it's cheap. Really cheap.

The Chromebook is a great machine to take to a café to get some work done

At a launch price of £229/USD$330/AU$319, it undercuts most conventional laptops, and is cheaper even than the new iPad mini – though it's more expensive than the low-end Android tablets such as the Google Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire HD.

That's only part of the decision, however.

The other – indeed, main – thing you have to consider is whether you can live with a laptop that only runs everything in a browser, and therefore, with some caveats, depends on being connected to the web at all times over Wi-Fi.

There's no doubt that this is a Chromebook – look at that huge Chrome logo on the lid!

It's not hard to decide if this is something you can live with; take a moment, close your eyes, and think whether what you mostly do on a computer is done through a browser – or could be.

Because while you can install apps from the Chrome Web Store they're not really applications or programs as most of us would recognise them.

In fact, they're little more than links that sit in your launcher and point to URLs on the web. (Actually, it's a little more complex than that; web apps can, if their developers implement it, add extra features such as using local storage on your Chromebook, rather than solely depending on storage on the servers of the companies whose services you're using.)

Regardless of the technical caveats, however, it remains true that you can't install, say, Microsoft Office or Adobe Photoshop Elements on a Chromebook. That's not what the Chromebook is about.

You need two hands to open the Chromebook; the hinge is reasonably stiff

It's a slim, light, cheap, long-lasting little laptop that, partly because really the only thing it does is run a web browser and isn't based on Windows, is very secure, and if you live your life in web apps such as facebook.com and Google Docs (or think you could), or especially if you are already immersed in the Google ecosystem of Docs, Gmail, Calendars and more, it's worth considering.

Some applications such as Google Docs can work offline even if there's no Wi-Fi

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Review: Samsung UE46ES6300

Freesat HD and Freeview HDITV Player app3D & 2D Blu-raySmooth motionUnderpowered Smart HubNarrow viewing angleApps needs customisingAverage contrast

Lusting after flatscreen TVs is nothing new, but Edge LED TVs such as the Samsung 9000 Series, the Philips 9000 Series and Sony's HX853 Series, and the luscious Panasonic VT50 Series of plasmas, are beyond the reach of most of us. However, if you're after smart TV with Full HD resolution and 3D compatibility, you could do worse than take a step or two down the ladder of Samsung's Edge LED TVs until you arrive at the Samsung UE46ES6300.

A 46-inch Edge LED TV, the Samsung UE46ES6300's slim bezel of merely 12mm (0.5 inches) squeezes in both Freesat HD and Freeview HD TV tuners. Smart TV is delivered via Wi-Fi and includes apps exclusive to Samsung, the star of which is the ITV Player.

Design-wise, the Samsung UE46ES6300 features a clear plastic rim that adds another 8mm (0.3 inches) or so to the width of that bezel, although that transparent edge increases to just over a centimetre on the undercarriage, with a panel depth of 46.9mm (1.8 inches) par for the course at this price.

There are other hints that the UE46ES6300 is not Samsung's poshest effort, priced as it is at £1,149.99 (around AU$1,778/US$1,844). Its 200Hz Clear Motion Rate puts it a rung below the Samsung ES6800 Series, and there's no sign of a touchpanel remote or any voice/gesture controls, either, though we didn't expect any of that on a TV of that price.

We're just happy that two pairs of active shutter 3D glasses are supplied, even more so because they're the SSG-4100GB model, Samsung's own watch battery-powered specs that come flat-packed. Each slender - and suspiciously snap-able - arm has to be slotted into the lens surround, though we're hardly in Airfix territory.

They weigh an astonishing 107g (236lbs) and claim to work for 150 hours (though rechargeable models are also available that run for two hours on just a minute's charging in one of the Samsung UE46ES6300's USB slots).

Built around Samsung's X10+ chassis, the Samsung UE46ES6300 is not a dual core TV, and nor is there any of the micro dimming tech that we've appreciated on Samsung's higher-end TVs.

What the Samsung UE46ES6300 does have is SoundShare, which uses its Bluetooth 3.0. skills to wirelessly link up to a Samsung-made sound dock, such as the DA-750, which we were supplied with for this review.

It's a neat, though expensive (at around £550) way of increasing the audio prowess of flatscreen TVs, which regularly disappoint.

Samsung's 6300 Series is about as extensive as it gets in the flat TV market. First up in the range is the 32-inch UE32ES6300 and the 37-inch UE37ES6300, which go for £649.99 and £799.99 respectively, though neither of these small screen sets are 3D-ready.

Only at the 40-inch size do we get 3D glasses (two of them) - the 40-inch UE40ES6300 sells for £879.99, while up the pecking order from our review sample are the 50-inch UE50ES6300 (£1,299), 55-inch UE55ES6300 (£1,599.99) and the mammoth 60-inch UE60ES6300 (£2,499.99).

However, it's worth checking out the latest prices; although it has a list price of £1,150, we found the Samsung UE46ES6300 online for a paltry £849, which is about right in our judgement.

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Hands-on review: Samsung Ativ S

For anyone wondering what Samsung's answer to the Windows Phone 8 question will be, we've got the answer. It's the Samsung Ativ S, an aluminum beauty with a 1.5GHz processor that's ready to rock with Microsoft's new smartphone OS.

Thanks to phones and phablets like the Galaxy S3 and the Galaxy Note 2, Samsung has established itself as an industry leader in mobile hardware. While the Ativ S closely resembles its Android cousins, can it make good on Samsung's stellar reputation?

At Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 event in San Francisco, we went hands-on with the Ativ S. While exact pricing and release date for this device are still murky, we think both Galaxy S3 fans that are Windows Phone 8-curious and those new to Samsung devices have plenty to be excited about with the Ativ S. In fact, it might be the best Windows Phone 8 we've seen yet.

On first impression, the Ativ S looks a lot the Galaxy S3. With the same aluminum chassis, it's just a tiny bit longer than the S3 and sports a physical Windows button and capacitive back and search keys, like we've seen on all Windows Phone 8 devices so far. As far as thickness goes the two devices are extremely comparable.

S3 on the left, Ativ S on the right

The similarities run deeper than just the chassis. While it lacks the S3's quad-core, the Ativ S has a Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor running at 1.5GHz. There's 1GB of RAM, 16 or 32GB of storage with the option for MicroSD expansion and a removable 2300 mAh battery.

Ativ S on top, S3 on bottom

That 2300 mAh cell is the largest battery we've seen yet on a Windows Phone 8 device. It's even a little bigger than the one on the S3. While we have to reserve judgment until we give the Ativ S the patented TechRadar battery test, that big cell and dual instead of quad-core processor could give it even better battery life than the Galaxy S3, which is no slouch in that department. It also has the potential for the best battery life among Windows Phone 8 devices.

Battery size isn't the only category where Samsung claimed to be on top. Representatives also bragged that the Ativ S is the thinnest Windows Phone 8 yet announced, and the one with the largest screen.

Just like the Galaxy S3, the Ativ S has a big, beautiful 4.8-inch AMOLED screen. It should have some durability thanks to Gorilla Glass 2, which you can find on pretty much any smartphone these days.

Those signature Windows Phone 8 Live Tiles looked especially lively on this sharp display. The familiar blue of Facebook just about popped right off the screen.

Here's one more Galaxy S3 similarity, an 8-megapixel camera with LED flash. Just like the S3, it takes sharps snaps at a responsive rate.

The camera is one place where Microsoft really wants Windows Phone 8 devices to distinguish themselves. The Ativ S has a dedicated camera button on the lower right side. Once in picture-taking mode you'll immediately notice the large software buttons for functions like adjusting flash, taking video and switching to the 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera.

At the Windows Phone 8 event in San Francisco, Samsung was not yet ready to start talking about carrier information or release date. As far as when consumers will be able to pick up an Ativ S, they wouldn't get anymore specific than "holiday." However, we do know that Verizon will be getting its own alternate version of the Ativ S, called the Ativ Odyssey, which will arrive in December.

While some U.K. pricing information has already been leaked, there's no firm word on what we'll be paying for the Ativ S when it launches.

As an Ativ-branded device, the Ativ S is part of Samsung's line of mobile devices designed specifically for Windows 8. This includes the Samsung Ativ Tab, Ativ Smart PC and Ativ Smart PC Pro.

Samsung was eager to show how pictures snapped on the Ativ S would quickly sync across Windows 8 devices via Microsoft's cloud solution Skydrive.

The Windows Phone 8 race has just begun, but there may already be a frontrunner. We loved both the specs and the construction of the Ativ S.

First off, the dual-core processor strikes us as a great choice. While devices like the Galaxy S3 and the LG Optimus G get a lot of bang out of their quads, we think Samsung was smart to favor battery life and reliability with the Ativ S. Tossing in that sizeable 2300 mAh cell may have given us a recipe for a phone with some real electrical longevity.

We also loved the big and bright display. Windows Live Tiles are sort of like Android app icons cross breed with widgets, and being able to get so many on one screen while looking so good is a real boon. It really shows you how smart a Windows Phone 8 device can look.

Finally, the thin aluminum construction of the device is fabulous. It's definitely the kind of thing you can slide into a pocket or purse and forget you're even carrying. Between the HTC Windows Phone 8X, HTC Windows Phone 8S, and Nokia 822, there was an awful lot of plastic on the show floor. While we personally don't think the the Ativ S or it's cousin, the Galaxy S3, feel quite as nice as the iPhone 5, it felt like a step up from the other Windows Phone 8 devices on display.

The Ativ S is our favorite Windows Phone 8 smartphone so far. While we like the eye catching and grippy construction of HTC's Windows Phone 8X and 8S, and the colorful, swappable backplates of the Nokia Lumia 810, Lumia 820 and 822, the Ativ S looks great. It's plenty thin and you can't argue with those specs.

We're excited to give the Ativ S a full run-down once we get one in for review. The same goes for the Verizon version, the Ativ Odyssey, which may come with even more perks. We can't wait to find out what they are.

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Review: Samsung Galaxy S3 4G

Months after the original 3G version of the amazing Samsung Galaxy S3 launched in Australia, Samsung has updated the handset to 4G to take advantage of the super fast speeds of the Optus and Telstra 4G networks.

Read TechRadar's comprehensive Samsung Galaxy S3 review!

Aside from the different colour options and the 4G, there's very little difference between this 4G model and the original.

The LTE version does come with Jelly Bean pre-istalled, although it's hardly noticeable after Samsung adds its Android skin to the user interface.

Because both Telstra and Optus use the 1800MHz LTE spectrum, there's no difference between handsets on Telstra and Optus, aside from the pre-installed bloatware apps that come from each carrier.

The key difference between this 4G handset and something like the One XL from HTC is that Samsung has managed to keep the quad-core Exonysis processor on board, while HTC dropped back to a dual-core processor. Samsung has also increased the amount of RAM in the 4G version to 2GB.

With those additional specs on board, you know that battery life is going to take a hit. And it does, as we'll discuss below.

There's a reason Optus decided to use this handset as its flagship 4G phone. It's an absolute powerhouse, and the addition of LTE connectivity only pushes that even further.

We tested the handset with an Optus SIM card, and while Optus' 4G network doesn't have the greatest coverage area, the advantages were still self-evident.

In our offices in North Sydney the SGS3 regularly managed to pull down speeds of 20Mbps, with upload speeds averaging around the 8Mbps range. And that's with a half-strength signal.

At various times and places around the city, we managed to pull down in excess of 30Mbps.

Browsing the web on LTE is also noticeably faster than the 3G version of the handset, and while it's far from a scientific result, we noticed that emails appeared on the 4G SGS3 before our iPhone 5 and our computer.

Of course, once you veer outside of the limited LTE coverage area, you end up on either network's HSPA+ network.

This isn't a bad speed experience by any stretch of the imagination, but is only on par with the 3G version of the phone.

This raises the question - how much time do you spend in an LTE coverage area? Because if you don't get LTE in the areas you most frequently use your phone, the benefits of the faster speed are quickly outweighed by the battery issue.

With that 4G chipset and a quad-core processor combining to power this super-phone, there has to be sacrifices made. And that sacrifice is battery life.

With moderate use, we couldn't get the handset to last a full work day, let alone a full day.

This can't be understated. With regular use - we're talking email, some web browsing, a spot of Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja and browsing the Play Store, the phone started crying for a power point.

While the SGS3's battery life was pretty good, which makes this really feels like a step backwards for Samsung, despite the fact the phone is essentially identical.

The replaceable battery aspect of the GS3 comes in handy here, but that seems like an inelegant solution to a pretty big issue.

Ultimately, we would have preferred a slightly larger battery in the 4G version of the handset, even if it required fattening the phone up a little bit to accomplish.

The choice between a 3G Samsung Galaxy S3 and a 4G version is actually quite a simple one. It all comes down to how you answer the question, "Do I need speed or staying power from my smartphone?"

If having access to information immediately at any cost is your desire, than the 4G SGS3 is a great option.

But if you spend your day away from a power source and need your smartphone to stay awake as long as you do, forget about the 4G version. Or at the very least, invest in a couple of extra batteries

Of course, that same situation applies to pretty much every 4G handset, so don't think of this as a Samsung problem.

The truth is that battery technology hasn't kept pace with the advances of mobile network technology, and the current range of handsets all rely on sacrificing longevity for speed.

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Hands-on review: Samsung Galaxy Camera

Samsung held an event in New York in October to formally unveil the much anticipated Galaxy Note 2. But there was a surprise guest who was also part of the proceedings: the Galaxy Camera.

The device is basically a pro-consumer class camera that is driven by Android 4.1: Jelly Bean.

And, with a 4.8-inch Super HD Clear LCD touchscreen, the Samsung Galaxy Camera isn't likely to be the smallest compact camera you'll ever see, but it feels very nicely put together and is both responsive and intuitive.

Even better news for many is that the 16 million pixel CMOS sensor inside the camera is a 1/2.3-inch device, the same size as in many compact cameras and considerably bigger than those in the average phone. This should mean that the Samsung Galaxy Camera is capable of recording a respectable level of detail with reasonably well controlled noise.

The sensor is coupled with a 4.1-86.1 mm f/2.8-5.9 lens, which gives the focal length equivalent of a 23-483mm lens in 35mm terms. This makes it a very versatile optic, suitable for shooting wide landscapes or cramped interiors, as well as picking out distant details.

It could make the camera a popular option for travellers, especially those who want to be able to share their images with the rest of the world via the camera's Wi-Fi connectivity.

The Galaxy Camera also made an appearance at IFA 2012, and we were only able to spend a relatively short time playing with it at Samsung's Mobile Unpacking event. But it was enough to convince us that this is a camera that will attract a lot of interest.

There's little in the way of physical controls on the camera as most operations are carried out via the touchscreen, which is very responsive. On the top, however, there is a shutter release button surrounded by the zoom switch and the power button as well as a pop-up flash. That's it, and as a result the Galaxy Camera has a very clean look.

Those who fear that relying on a screen to make settings selections will mean scrolling through endless menu options can relax - Samsung has done an excellent job with the interface, and we got to grips with it very quickly. It has had plenty of UI design practice with its other Galaxy products, such as the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Samsung Galaxy Note 2 smartphones and Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 tablet.

As you might expect, there's a selection of shooting options for the inexperienced photographer, but Samsung also included the more advanced Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority and Manual exposure modes for experienced users.

These options are accessed via the Expert option in the Camera menu. Once this is selected, a neat graphic of a lens with a series of rings appears on screen and the sensitivity (ISO), exposure compensation, aperture and shutter speed are adjusted by 'rotating' the rings with a flick of a finger.

In addition to the Auto and Casual mode that are designed for keeping photography very quick and easy, there's a Smart Pro option that enables you to choose the most appropriate scene mode for the shot.

This includes options such as Waterfall Trace, which records moving water as a blur; Blue Sky mode, which ensures blue skies are saturated and not washed out; and a Light Trace mode for shooting car light trails and so on at night. There are also more common options such as a Macro, Panorama, Smart Night and Best Photo mode.

There's also a Voice Control mode that, as the name suggests, enables you to control the camera with your voice by getting it to zoom in and out or take a shot with a voice command. This sounds like a really useful option for self-portraits, but because the Samsung Galaxy Camera's screen is fixed there will be a little bit of guesswork involved with the composition.

After the images have been captured, the Galaxy Camera's Smart Content Manager organizes them into searchable folders based on time and location.

There are also options to tag faces in the images, rotate pictures and crop shots as well as view them in a slideshow. Images can be selected for view with a tap of the screen and scrolled through with a swipe of two of the finger - just as you would with a smartphone such as the Samsung Galaxy Camera's cousin, the Samsung Galaxy S3.

A Sharing widget is claimed to make light work of uploading shots to all your favorite social media sites, and Auto Cloud Back-up is available for remote storage straight after they are taken.

Again, everything is driven by Android, and as such can run basically any Android application from the Google Play store. Yes, you can play Angry Birds on a camera. But the focus is clearly on picture taking, and the Galaxy Camera comes pre-loaded with special applications.

This includes Best Face, which shoots multiple images of a particular scene instantaneously. It's primarily for friends who like group shots, but can never agree on which was the best picture, since one person is looking away in one image, and someone else is blinking in another.

What Best Face does is tallies all the images and mixes and matches the best faces from everything, to combine them into on perfect shot. It's essentially Photoshop on the fly and was extremely impressive.

Another feature that was pushed was Paper Artist, which adds a host of artistic filters which is sure to appeal to Instagram fans. Both Best Face and Paper Artist are also available for the Galaxy Note 2, and Paper Artist may be best used with the Note 2's stylus, but it works just as well on the Galaxy Camera.

Another app is S Suggest, which is a curated recommended app engine. It will ship with every Galaxy device, but its suggestions will be dependent upon the hardware. In the case of the Galaxy Camera, the first thing that pops up is recommended apps from the Camera & Images category.

Images shot can be immediately uploaded to any social network or cloud service wishes, from Facebook to Dropbox, and everyone in between. One can even send a text message from the camera, since it is again an Android device.

We haven't been able to use the Samsung Galaxy Camera properly, but we're pretty excited about it. It has a high-quality feel and although it has lots of options and some pretty advanced controls, it's very easy to use.

The Samsung Galaxy Camera will have a full price of around £399 (around $630) in UK, and will be available from around mid-October.

The 16 million pixel, 1/2.3 inch CMOS sensor should be capable of capturing images that are on a par with other compact cameras and significantly better than those from the average smartphone. However, the lens has a wide zoom range (21x) and it will be interesting to see if this compromises the image quality at all.

When asked if the camera can be sold sans data plan, or unsubsidized, Hanna Tong, the director of the product group for the Galaxy Camera, was unable to comment. Though she did state that AT&T will make an announcement very soon that will contain such details.

We're looking forward to receiving a full-production sample for our full Samsung Galaxy Camera review. As well as testing the usual photographic aspects, looking at sharpness, dynamic range and the like, we'll try out a few apps and share images via the Wi-Fi connectivity.

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Review: Samsung Series 3 NP355V5C

These days, we're surprised when a laptop that's more than 2cm thick and weighs more than a couple of kilograms comes across our desks. Ultrabooks such as the Asus Zenbook UX32A, HP Envy 4 Ultrabook and Samsung Series 5 Ultra seem to have almost completely taken over.

With all the flash behind these new designs, it's easy to overlook something such as the Samsung Series 3 NP355V5C-S01. Intel is powering the Ultrabook boom, but we've got an AMD processor in this 15.6-inch laptop. SSDs are the hot technology, but here Samsung has swapped speed for a huge hard drive.

But the Samsung Series 3 reminds us what a premium we're paying for the convenience of thin and light laptops. For £599 (about AU$938/ US$967), you get a quad-core processor from the high-end AMD A10 'Trinity' APU, with a dedicated Radeon 7670M providing some graphics grunt (though the A10 has a built-in GPU it can use to save power).

You also get a healthy 8GB of RAM, while a generous 1TB hard drive means that you'll have plenty of space to store videos.

In fact, the Samsung Series 3 looks initially like it should score a home run as a multimedia machine. But two things hold it back slightly: the 1366 x 768 screen can only display 720p HD, not 1080p; and while there's a DVD drive, there's no Blu-ray support.

Its size (32 x 372 x 243mm, or 1.26 x 14.65 x 9.57 inches) and weight are fairly standard for this kind of home laptop. At 2.5kg (5.5lbs) it feels a good chunk heavier than an Ultrabook, especially something such as Samsung's own Series 9, but it it's nothing unusual for a 15.6-inch laptop.

Samsung has used the extra space to squeeze in a number pad to the right of the keyboard, and has moved the trackpad over to the left, so it's in line with the space bar.

Along the sides of the machine, you'll find a reasonable array of ports: VGA, HDMI, Ethernet, two USB 3.0 ports and two USB 2.0 ports, along with the DVD drive. There's also an SD card reader tucked tidily away beneath the curve at the front of the machine.

In terms of looks, the Samsung Series 3 is simple silver and grey plastic on top, with a pattern on the lid that's faintly reminiscent of brushed metal. It's all fairly understated, and wouldn't look out of place at home or in an office.

You will notice very quickly that the shiny lid picks up a big smudge every time a finger goes anywhere near it, though.

For its price, the Samsung Series 3 355V5C-S01 offers a seemingly tantalising list of specifications. A quad-core processor, discrete graphics, lots of RAM and a hefty hard drive… what's not to like?

The processor is AMD's top-of-the-line A10 CPU, offering four cores running at 2.3GHz, though they're capable of running at up to 3.2GHz when needed.

The A10 is interesting for spec fans, because it's AMD's first Piledriver chip, which is the step after the promising but disappointing Bulldozer technology we saw from the company.

We won't go into the minutiae too much here - you can get all that from our AMD A10-4600M review - but the important thing is that it's faster than AMD's previous processors, and should bring better integrated graphics performance.

In the case of the Samsung Series 3, though, you won't be reliant on the integrated Radeon 7660G graphics for your gaming needs - there's a discrete graphics card in the shape of the Radeon 7670M.

Now, you might wonder how much of an improvement the graphics can be if the model number is only 10 better, and actually, the two graphics chips are pretty close to each other in terms of performance. However, the two are able to combine to theoretically increase performance dramatically over a single integrated graphics chip.

Naturally, this brings a larger power draw with it, but Samsung and AMD have provided power options to ensure that your computer only uses as much power as it needs when on the battery.

This is all backed up by 8GB of DDR3 RAM, which should offer plenty of headroom for multItasking or editing home movies. And it's more than enough power to run Windows 7 Home Premium.

Though there's no SSD here for instant operating, there are a few built-in software optimisers for booting the Samsung Series 3 laptop quickly and waking it from sleep rapidly.

Instead of a fast solid-state drive, you get a generous 1TB hard drive, offering plenty of space for storing music and movies. It's only a 5400rpm drive, instead of the faster 7200rpm drives you might get in a desktop, but that's standard for laptops.

Backing up and transferring files can be done very quickly with the built-in USB ports. It's a bit of a shame that only two of the four are the faster kind, but it's much better than none.

Along with the SD card slot, Ethernet port, VGA and HDMI video outs and microphone and headphone jacks, there's a good selection of ports on the side of the Samsung Series 3.

There's also the DVD drive, of course, though there's no Blu-ray support. As we mentioned, though, the screen doesn't support Full HD 1080p, so you won't be missing the Blu-ray much anyway. The widescreen display is 1366 x 768, which isn't that unusual for this price, but it's a bit of a shame.

Internet connectivity is handled via either the Ethernet port or built-in Wi-Fi adaptor, supporting up to 802.11n speeds. There's also Bluetooth 4.0 support.

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Hands-on review: Updated: Samsung Galaxy Note 2

Update:We've got the big ol' Note 2 in our special labs now - so to whet your appetite, we've taken a whole load of extra photos while we write thousands of words about it.

Now Samsung has given in and called the Note 2 a smartphone, we can dub it the most powerful around.

With a wonderfully vivid 5.5-inch Super AMOLED HD screen and meaty innards, there's no doubt that the Note 2 is the top dog when it comes to raw grunt and function.

Add to that the S Pen functionality, which has been given a bunch of new fancy tricks, and you can see why there's a lot to coo over with the new device.

Before we dig in, take a look at the Galaxy Note 2 in action in our hands-on demo video:

The design is still very 'Samsung'... meaning that the power key is well within reach on the right-hand side of the phone, and is well crafted to allow a decent travel.

The headphone jack and the home button are all within reach too, although don't forget the size means a LOT of jiggling in the hand if you're going to attempt to use the Note in only one palm.

Let's get onto the internals, shall we? The quad core Exynos processor has been cranked up to 1.6GHz, and is joined by a distinctly un-shabby 2GB of RAM to power things along.

And it's fast. Really fast. We've tested a number of devices like this on the stands of various companies, and we've rarely seen anything whiz under the finger in the same fashion. It almost ruins the Galaxy S3, simply because there's a noticeable difference between the two.

However, before we start sounding too evangelical, let's highlight the major problem here: the size. For all Samsung's posturing that this is a product category that's been dying to be exploited, we're still not convinced that this isn't too large.

It's an impressive feat to keep the same Note footprint while improving the size of the screen to 5.5-inches, especially as it's only 9.4mm thin.

It fits in the pocket just fine, providing you're not sporting those tight trousers all the kids seem to be wearing these days, although it was pretty hairy trying to test that theory out around the thousands of watchful Samsung stand bunnies.

The design is very similar to most of the Samsung Galaxy range, in that it's sturdy, yet slightly lightweight, plastic.

The lock and power button, located on the right hand side, is well placed for easy use, as is the slick S Pen slot. This slot has been imbued with greater powers, such as automatically opening the S Memo application when you're on the phone and remove the stylus.

It's a neat trick, and now has an extra level of functionality through Air View. This slightly convoluted aspect means you can hover the S Pen over the display of the phone and see everything from messages to pictures to scrolling through video without actually touching the display.

Is it anything more than a gimmick? Unless you're scrolling through messages, probably not. The gallery functionality was pointless, and if you're already scrolling through a video to get to another point there's no harm in actually interacting with the movie, seeing as you're not watching it anyway.

While we're talking about movies, we should mention that the large 5.5-inch screen is simply amazing for a movie marathon. Really good, clear and vivid, which we've come to expect from the Super AMOLED HD range.

Sure there are some that say it's oversaturated, not realistic etc, but to them we say: just pull this out in a pub, pop on an HD film and see what other think.

The screen is excellent in other areas too, like when messing about with Google Maps - it's clear, vivid and the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 will be great as a sat nav.

And it feels really weird hovering the pen over the display in such a way – here's hoping that's something you get used to, or it's going to end up being as useful as S Voice on the Galaxy S3.

The implementation of Android 4.1 Jellybean is certainly a nice touch, although it's different to the vanilla offering on the Nexus 7 and Galaxy Nexus. There's not card-based notification menu on offer here, although when long-pressing the home key to call up the task manager you've got instant access to Google Now, as well as the ability to check running apps.

There are a number of extra features to play with here as well. For instance, Facebook updates will scroll across the bottom of the screen when in lock mode, which will probably suck both power and data, even with that massive power pack and LTE connectivity included.

There's also another feature in the shape of Blocking Mode, which gives you greater powers over the ability to stop people talking to you when you don't want.

But let's go back to the speed of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 – it's phenomenal. This is, hands down, the best media and internet browsing portable machine we've seen in ages.

It's too big still to be used as a normal phone – people will still think you're more than slightly odd holding it to your face – but for texting, browsing, emailing, watching movies and more, we haven't seen much better than this.

We'll reserve proper judgement obviously until the price emerges – if it's anything like the first Note, we're in for a high-priced shock.

However, get this to the £30 mark on contract (or around $399) and, coupled with some serious marketing again from Samsung, we should have a winner on our hands.

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