Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Review (T-Mobile) - The Phablet Returns
by Brian Klug on October 24, 2012 9:00 AM ESTSpeakerphone
The Note 2 puts its speakerphone in the same place as the original Galaxy Note, and thanks to the large size of the handset I bet there’s plenty of space for a big driver. The Note 2 also includes a new boost mode I didn’t see on Galaxy S 3 before that boosts speakerphone output volume considerably.
The tradeoff is that there is significantly more saturation and clipping with this mode toggled, but it is very, very loud.
Noise Suppression
Samsung has continually included Audience earSmart processors in its handsets for noise rejection and filtering, and the Note 2 is no exception. Both the original Note, and Note 2 include the Audience eS305 voice processor, though the Note 2 includes newer firmware thanks to its later release date. I’m told that both the Note and Note 2 were interesting challenges due to the extreme size of the handset and just how far apart the microphone pair is — there’s one at the very top, one at the very bottom on both models. In addition the T-Mobile Note 2 also has wideband AMR enabled (AMR-WB), which I confirmed inside ServiceMode by poking around. I called between two T-Mobile devices (the Note 2 and my own HTC One S) but it appears as though T-Mobile is still using AMR-NB over UMTS at least as evidenced by the 4 kHz maximum in the below spectral view. Either that or my HTC One S is the limiting factor.
Samsung is unique in that it gives a nice easy way to enable and disable the noise rejection paths by tapping the menu button, so we can easily test with it on and off just to see how much difference it makes. I’ve been supplied an industry standard babble track that emulates a loud cafe or restaurant, complete with a din of voices, doors opening and closing, and background bustle. I’ve found that playing this on loop in my office when I want that cafe vibe mitigates the desire to go and pay exorbitant amounts of money for the luxury of distraction, but I digress.
Galaxy Note 2 - Noise Rejection Enabled by AnandTech
Galaxy Note 2 - Noise Reduction Off by AnandTech
Anyhow I went ahead and tested the Note 2 with the babble track at a very loud maximum loudness of 94 dBA which is likely above spec, but a worst case. You can hear a dramatic difference between the Note 2 with the noise rejection turned on and off. I’ve heard eS305 do even better at rejecting literally all noise on the Xolo X900, but this is our first time using the babble track as opposed to music so my mental comparison isn’t quite fleshed out.
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MaziarKia - Wednesday, October 24, 2012 - link
Great review but the battery life results are kinda odd.In all GN2 reviews that I've read around the web,it performed better than any other phone(with the exception of Razr MAXX)
geniekid - Wednesday, October 24, 2012 - link
Where are these other reviews? Were they as rigorous with their testing as AT is?Not trying to call you out. I'm genuinely curious.
MaziarKia - Wednesday, October 24, 2012 - link
gsmarena,phonedog etc.sherlockwing - Saturday, April 6, 2013 - link
It is completely possible for AnandTech's Battery test to be very unfair toward AMOLED display phones.jamyryals - Wednesday, October 24, 2012 - link
Brian and Anand have talked about this on their podcast recently. Specifically, the choices you make when creating a benchmark. They try to remove the bottlenecks, via benchmark design, that would unduly stress a certain aspect of the device (ie baseband). Their goal was to get as much of a mix in stressing components as possible. Sounds like a hard task given the very different hardware in these devices.The0ne - Wednesday, October 24, 2012 - link
Since the original, I've been waiting for the update and now that it's finally here I think it's time to upgrade my basic 8525 phone to the next generation "smartphone" and pay the fine..fees that comes along with it. I plan to make the most out of this phone for personal and business.1. Reading
2. Planning
3. Office apps
4. Music
5. Movies
6. Map/Travel
Having a larger screen just makes it much more appealing for all the stuff I want to do, especially reading. Just a personal taste mind you.
PeteH - Thursday, October 25, 2012 - link
I notice your task list doesn't include phone calls. Maybe you should get a tablet instead.ascian5 - Wednesday, October 24, 2012 - link
Great review per usual Brian.Please get out the Lumia 920 ASAP! Heh. Until I can play with these phones in person, and likely even then, I'm really on the fence as to what phone to go with. This doesn't happen often with me and tech, but I'm really on the fence between these 2 devices.
OCN's_3930k - Wednesday, October 24, 2012 - link
I spy razr i results... is it getting a review?wicktron - Wednesday, October 24, 2012 - link
There's a severe lack of trolls on the comments section of this review. It's appalling. I miss the trolls that enter the Apple reviews and talk smack about Apple products being toys and the inability for them to be used for any real work. What happened here, guys? Where art thou, troll!?:(