Time for a selfie
Here the manufacturer has prepared a surprise - autofocus. True, it cannot be controlled. The automation itself searches for a face in the frame and focuses on it, making the foreground clear and the background slightly blurry. I must admit that this all works quite well, the quality of the images is very high.
- resolution 8 MP or 3840 x 2160 pixels
- f/2.0 lens aperture
- The viewing angle is not large - 76 degrees
- autofocus fully automatic, face
- Beautify 3.0 skin enhancement technology
There are no settings at all for recording video on the front camera. Not at all.
What I mean is that the videos are recorded in Full HD resolution, but at 15 frames per second. It is impossible to set the value to 30 frames, there is simply nowhere.
Shots well, but could be better
If you look only at the dry numbers, you get the impression that we have a real photo monster in front of us.
- resolution 22.56 MP (5488 x 4112 pixels)
- matrix Sony IMX318, size 1/2.6’’
- aperture f/2.0
- wide angle 6-element lens (80 degrees)
- electronic stabilization (always on)
However, in reality everything is not as rosy as on paper. Please understand me correctly. Xiaomi Mi Note 2 camera is enough high level, but by the standards of its neighbors (primarily in terms of cost), it is not the best.
Considering that Xiaomi makes very interesting smartphones for its money, you expect that an expensive device for 500 bucks will have truly amazing optics. However, miracles do not happen. Let's take it in order, what didn't suit me.
Overexposure or, conversely, too dark areas of frames do not happen as rarely as we would like. At such moments, the algorithms should turn on the HDR function, but do not. In general, the camera rarely uses HDR itself.
Errors in colors are the next problem of the photo module. Frames with a greenish or abundant yellow tint are not uncommon. It was as if I was filming through a bottle glass. On the display, which also turns green, it looks very mediocre.
Constantly blurry pictures are the next problem. Digital image stabilization doesn't help matters. In general, it seems to be stated, but whether it works is unknown. There is no toggle switch in the menu, and from three of the five frames taken with insufficient lighting it is clear that this is not EIS, but some kind of zilch.
Shooting in low light conditions is a different matter. If there is not enough light around, the matrix begins to “make noise”. For example, indoors.
If there is no light at all and we are shooting on the street at night, then the noise completely suppresses the algorithms and, upon closer examination, the photograph becomes similar to the work of an impressionist artist.
Overall, I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, the camera is good, its capabilities are sufficient for most users and, perhaps, its performance will be improved in future software versions. On the other hand, the company taught us that you can get a lot for relatively little money. So, when you spend $500, you expect that in front of you will be a dream smartphone with a camera like a DSLR camera. And here comes the disappointment.
We take all the above examples of photographs to our computer from here.
Writes in 4K and more
The smartphone can record 4K video at 30 frames per second. The flow rate is 42 Mbit/s, which is sufficient by modern standards.
However, the most interesting thing is that there is digital image stabilization, which turns the video (especially while walking) into a kind of jelly. The picture shakes in parts when the automation tries to level it, compensating for the shaking of the hands. If you stand still and try to shoot motionless, then everything will be more or less smooth.
In addition, the device can shoot Slow Motion video. True, the file parameters are still from the last century: 720p and only 120 frames per second. Xiaomi seems to have completely forgotten about this parameter and is not at all trying to be in the market.
Software, operation of MIUI and “global”
MIUI 8 reigns supreme on the smartphone and does not give life to Android 6.0.1, which is the basis. After unpacking, version 8.0.12.0 immediately arrived, on this moment the last one. If anything, the version is stable, only with English and different variations of Chinese. I didn't sew, roll or break anything. I tested the device as the manufacturer gave it to me in order to tell you everything as objectively as possible.
By the way, the smartphone has already appeared on the official international website of the company, which means that there will be a global version of the firmware quite soon.
Of course, the Chinese modification does not contain any utilities from Google. They are installed extremely simply. Right on the desktop, select the company store under the simple name “App Store”. Next, enter the word “Google” in the search bar, follow the blue icon with a paw and install the installer with a size of 167.3 kilobytes. It sequentially unpacks all the necessary services onto the device. You only need to allow installation of programs from unknown sources (the system will definitely ask for this).
About memory. By default, various types of Chinese software are installed. There is not a lot of it, but it is there and, best of all, it can be easily removed through the settings.
So, initially the device had 55.20 GB free, and after my cleanings there were 56.28 GB left. One gigabyte of saved space and without any root.
I will not go into the jungle of the built-in shell and a description of all its features. I will focus only on the most important, positive and negative.
First the bad. The alarm clock does not work. Or rather, it works, it just happens that it’s buggy.
Did you oversleep for work or study? Well, sorry. Let me remind you that this problem is relevant for version 8.0.12.0, stable and official.
Notifications are a headache for most devices with original, Chinese firmware. If you do nothing, notifications will only come from Viber. At least that's how it was for me.
Enabling all possible priorities for each application I needed and activating startup fixed the situation. In 80-90% of cases out of 100, “notifications” come from all applications that are important to me.
Every time in a review of this or that device from Xiaomi, I mention the native duplication function installed applications. I just really like this feature and it works great. The point is that the tool allows you to create duplicates of already installed ones, even third party programs. So, you can create two Viber accounts on one device (it’s very fun to communicate with yourself on one smartphone), Avito, Vk, and so on. In work, in life, this will be extremely useful and it doesn’t matter that the developers forbade us to use multiple accounts in their product.
Right out of the box, the smartphone was pleased with a pre-installed software package from Microsoft: Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Everything is official, ready to go and just for you. Well done Xiaomi!
Does it sound or not?
IN original firmware There is a proprietary utility for listening to music, but it is intended not only for this. We have a whole aggregator of all kinds of Chinese content. So, the welcome screen invites you to click on some Chinese girls. You can wait for this banner to self-destruct, or you can simply skip it by clicking on the button with suspicious hieroglyphs in the lower right corner.
However, we don’t need all this fluff (catalogs, online radio, etc.), let’s move directly to local songs.
The look of the player is impressive. Half of the screen is occupied by the album cover downloaded from the network, the other is painted in the predominant color of the “cover”. Raspberry is slightly spoiled by periodically popping up advertisements for who knows what, but clearly not intended for a Russian-speaking user.
We swipe to the left, the lyrics open, which the player snatches from there, from the Internet. Swipe right and see the playlist.
Among the enhancements, there is a certain “HD Sound audio”, which does not affect the final quality at all. Another tool is Mi Sound Enhancer. It’s better not to use it at all, because the preset profiles for supposedly specific “ears” are at a minimum useless, and at maximum make the sound disgusting. However, only in this mode does an equalizer become available, with which you can more or less return the standard, good sound.
In terms of sound quality, I compared our hero with LeEco Le 3 Pro. Fortunately, Mi Note 2 plays sound with everyone standard settings better. The Leika has a good sound, but in comparison with the Xiaomi it’s a bit flat.
There is a volume reserve, but it is not as large as sometimes found in competitors.
The sound from the speaker is quite loud, above average. It's nothing special in terms of quality. Not disgusting, but you can’t have a disco with the boys in the yard. Somehow no respect.
Works for a long time
Inside, the manufacturer placed a fairly capacious 4,070 mAh battery. Considering that we have an OLED panel here, which compares favorably with IPS in being less power hungry (especially with a black system interface), then it’s time battery life Xiaomi Mi Note 2 is impressive.
The smartphone will easily work for two days without recharging and with 5 hours of screen light, constant background notifications (4G/Wi-Fi), surfing the web, Instagram - in general, with normal use.
Frankly speaking, such autonomy confuses me. I'm used to charging my devices every day, but with the MN2 I forget the last time I did it and start to get confused. Fortunately, the energy consumption graph helps out and shows that I don’t do this often.
In general, our hero is that rare type of device that can easily work for one and a half to two days without being connected to an outlet. Such a unit is not common these days, you can believe me.
Full charging from a standard power supply takes about 1 hour 40 minutes.
Where can I buy?
Throughout Xiaomi review Mi Note 2 I mentioned several times that it costs $500. Actually this is not true. Smartphone price even higher and currently stands at about $550. Of course, we are talking about the cost from resellers, because it is extremely difficult to buy a device bypassing them. After all, the thing is expensive and dealing with all sorts of intermediaries with “tao-bao”... is still entertainment.
I ordered my device. I recommend this particular seller, because it has been tested by me, and more than once. Secondly, various promotions happen all the time. For example, on November 11, you could buy a smartphone for $490. True, there were only 50 pieces in stock. And who said that good prices are given so easily, right into your hands? They must be hunted.
Bottom line
Xiaomi Mi Note 2 is a very specific device. For those who want to save money and get the most, I always recommend Xiaomi Mi5. For others who have a little more money and who want a straight top top, I suggest paying attention to OnePlus 3. But I cannot definitely recommend the XMN2.
In my opinion, this smartphone is suitable for those who want a truly original device. iPhone, Samsung - I’m already tired of all this, but I have free cash to buy myself some kind of flagship.
I would call Xiaomi Mi Note 2 a kind of pontophone. It's incredibly beautiful, feels exceptional in the hand, the curved glass and screen all look amazing. There are infinitely few devices on the market that could compare with our hero in terms of appearance. Mi MIX? I don't know, I haven't seen him live.
The disgusting OLED screen is frankly frustrating. After two weeks of active use, I still couldn’t get used to it.
Still, when you pay 36,000 rubles for a smartphone, you take a risk by ordering from China and contacting the domestic customs and post office, you want the smartphone to satisfy you 110 percent. But in the end, every time you look at his screen, you make a deal with yourself: “Well, yes. The screen is so-so. But the body is beautiful. Isn’t that more important?”
Alternative Get cashbackIntroduction
August 2015 was marked for Xiaomi with the release of the Redmi Note 2 model, which again reminded us of the times when the manufacturer produced both high-quality and affordable smartphones. Of course, in recent years, Xiaomi has only improved the quality of its products, but at the same time, their prices have increased in the same proportion. And now it’s a stretch to call devices from this manufacturer affordable. Take, for example, the budget model, which turned out to be frankly weak and inexpressive even in the top-end Prime version. Or take for comparison the model, the price of which turned out to be overpriced by almost $50, taking into account the case materials and hardware. Has Xiaomi really forgotten about what made it so popular and brought it to a leading position in the Chinese market?
The answer to this question was given by the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone, which in China is also known as Red Rice Note 2 or Hongmi Note 2. In it, Xiaomi has embodied the perfect balance between cost and technical characteristics, recalling the times of its rapid growth. After all, the new product received a powerful 8-core 64-bit processor MT6795 from MediaTek, also known as Helio X10. And, despite the fact that many manufacturers install this chip in their flagships, Xiaomi decided to equip it with a device in the mid-price segment, which is the most saturated in the Chinese market and experiences the most intense competition.
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone retained the idea of a simple design and inexpensive plastic case from its predecessor, but received an “adult” look. Full-HD resolution 5.5-inch display. The new product saved 2 GB random access memory, but the volume internal storage it has grown to the usual 16 GB this year. The battery capacity has changed downward, but not significantly, and the resolution of the built-in cameras remains the same. However, the manufacturer replaced the camera sensors with more advanced ones, and the rear camera also received an autofocus system with phase detection, the so-called PDAF. At the same time, the manufacturer emphasized the capabilities of the camera no less than the capabilities of the processor installed in the smartphone.
And finally, for the first time in history, a smartphone from Xiaomi has a built-in infrared transmitter, with which you can control various household appliances that support remote control.
But the most remarkable thing is that the manufacturer managed to assign an incredible low price for a device with such characteristics. The basic model of Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 received 2 versions with the difference only in the supported frequencies of cellular networks, and its price was 799 yuan. Just imagine, only $125 for a smartphone with the Helio X10 chip! But there is also a 3rd version, called Prime, which received 2 times more internal memory and a processor with core clock frequencies increased to 2.2 GHz. In China they ask for 899 yuan, or about $141.
Of course, we won’t see these smartphones for this price yet, but even taking into account retailers’ markups, Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 remains the most affordable smartphone with Helio X10 processor (MT6795), and the most powerful in its price segment.
Well, now is the time to take a closer look at this device and try to understand whether Xiaomi has really created a small miracle that will shake up the market Chinese smartphones, or the manufacturer simply saved on everything in order to install a flagship-level processor in this device. And we will begin our review of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone, according to tradition, with a description of its packaging, delivery set and appearance.
Equipment Xiaomi Redmi Note 2.
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone comes in a rectangular box, made according to the company's tradition from simple unpainted cardboard. On the lid of the box you will only find the manufacturer's logo, and on the bottom of the box, on the back side, you will find stickers with the name of the device and its specifications, IMEI data of the phone and a hologram confirming the authenticity of the device.
Under the lid of the box in the top tray there is the smartphone itself, and under this tray you will find a proprietary USB cable, Charger with a maximum current of 2A (both are black), a battery for a smartphone, as well as instructions for Chinese and a warranty card in a special envelope. Our copy of the device was also equipped with a silicone case, which is not included in the standard delivery package.
As you can see, the package package of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone cannot be called rich, but rather, on the contrary, very meager.
So, let’s list once again what is included in the standard package of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone:
- Smartphone Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
- Charger with a current capacity of 2.0A with a connector for Asian countries (type A)
- USB cable for connecting to a charger or computer
- Instructions in Chinese and warranty card
Appearance of Xaomi Redmi Note 2
The front panel of the smartphone is made of protected glass, the manufacturer of which is not specified. At the bottom of the front panel there are 3 standard red backlit touch buttons.
And in the upper part of the front panel there are light and proximity sensors, an event indicator, a front camera and a speaker.
The smartphone body is made of polycarbonate, pleasant to the touch. On the right side of the case there are power and volume buttons, while the manufacturer left the left side of the case empty.
At the bottom end of the case you will find a Micro-USB port with support for the OTG function and a microphone hole, which are shifted to the left corner when looking at the device from the front panel.
At the top end of the case there is a noise-canceling microphone hole and an infrared port window on one side (on the right, when viewed from the screen), and a standard 3.5 mm audio jack on the other side.
On the back panel of the case, at the top and center, you will find the main camera eye and a single-section LED flash module below it.
And at the bottom of the rear panel you will find the manufacturer’s logo and 4 rows of external speaker holes, which are also located in the center. Under the speaker holes, the manufacturer made a special protrusion on the cover, about 1 mm high. It serves to ensure that the sound from the speaker does not overlap when the phone is lying face up on a flat surface, and also prevents rapid wear of the back cover.
The back cover of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone is removable. It doesn't take much effort to remove it, and underneath you will find a removable BM45 battery, which has a nominal capacity of 3060 mAh.
Above the battery compartment there are 2 slots for Micro-SIM cards, as well as a slot for Micro-SD memory cards up to 32 GB.
Under the plastic panels that form the battery compartment and trays for SIM cards and memory cards, there is a durable magnesium alloy frame. It serves to give the smartphone rigidity, remove heat, and also attaches all the main elements of the smartphone to it.
In general, the assembly of the device can be considered excellent. No creaks or play were found in our sample. At the same time, the design of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone can be called boring without a twinge of conscience. It appears before you as a sort of rectangular block, reminiscent of appearance smartphone
In direct comparison, Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 is inferior in size to other smartphones with the same hardware - Meizu MX5 and. Although it’s quite easy to come to terms with this, because each of them is almost twice as expensive as the Redmi Note 2. However, it is worth noting that the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 is not the largest in its class. The same one, for example, even larger in size.
For those who like hard numbers, we inform you that the dimensions of Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 are 76 x 152 x 8.25 mm, and the weight of the device is 160 grams.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 display
The display diagonal of Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 is 5.5 inches, which fully allows us to call it a phablet. The manufacturer of the display is not indicated, but it may well be the JDI company, which supplies displays for the Xiaomi Mi4i smartphone.
The display resolution of Redmi Note 2 is 1920x1080 pixels. When manufacturing the display in this device, the manufacturer used IPS matrix, and the screen is structurally made using GFF (glass-to-film-to-film full lamination) technology.
Also, the display of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone has a number of interesting features. It uses the same technology to reduce glare and improve the quality of the displayed image when exposed to direct sunlight, which was previously used in the Xiaomi Mi4i smartphone. In addition, the Redmi Note 2 display can reduce its brightness to 1 cd/m² in low light conditions, which helps protect your eyes from fatigue when reading text, and also significantly reduces the power consumption of the screen in this mode of use. Also, for those who like to read before bed, the display of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone uses technology to reduce the blue spectrum of radiation, which will also protect your eyes from overwork.
In practice, the Redmi Note 2 display showed really high viewing angles. In bright sunshine, the picture on the screen of this smartphone remains very readable. It is also worth noting the excellent work of automatically adjusting the brightness and contrast of the display depending on lighting conditions.
When compared with the display of the LeTV One smartphone, the picture on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 display looks no worse. The only thing that immediately catches your eye when comparing the displays of these two devices is White background in the menu on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 display it is a little yellow, while on the LeTV One display the white looks natural. Perhaps this is due to the operation of the same blue light reduction function that we talked about above. We also noticed that the brightness of the display changes noticeably even with the slightest deviation from viewing at the right angle. Although this does not cause much discomfort.
As for comparing the displays of Meizu MX5 and Xiaomi Redmi Note 2, the first one had a significantly higher brightness reserve. Although we’ll immediately make a reservation that the brightness reserve of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 display is real life more than enough.
Well, considering that the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone is not a flagship and is almost 2 times cheaper than the LeTV One and Meizu MX5 smartphones, the display in this new product can be called excellent.
For those who are interested in the number of simultaneous touches supported on displays, let's say that the Multitouch Test program showed that the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 display supports up to 10 simultaneous touches.
Interface and software platform
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 phablet runs on the Android 5.0.2 Lollipop operating system with the manufacturer's proprietary MIUI 6.6 shell pre-installed. In the near future, Xiaomi promises to release an update for this model to MIUI 7.
When working with the device, you immediately notice the excellent feedback, expressed in an instant response to touches, as well as fast and smooth turning of desktops without any lags or slowdowns. On Xiaomi screen Redmi Note 2 has an oleophobic coating, but fingerprints still remain and are quite difficult to remove. Sliding your fingers across the screen is also not the best, although you quickly stop paying attention to it.
Three touch buttons under the smartphone display perform the following functions: the first button on the left performs the “Back” action, the central one performs the “Home” function, and the one on the far right calls up a tab that displays the most recently running applications.
By swiping down from the status bar, you will open the notification panel, and if you then swipe to the left, you will go to the shortcut menu for basic functions, such as adjusting screen brightness, activating Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or cellular data transfer, turning on Flashlight apps or silent mode and so on. Also from here you can go to the menu of all smartphone settings, as well as open the music player.
Next, let's go through some items in the settings menu. In the “About phone” section you will find all the technical characteristics of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone declared by the manufacturer. And in the “Advanced” item you can change the font size, activate the function of controlling the device with one hand, choose the option to display the battery charge indicator to your taste, and also choose one of two power modes - productive or balanced. In balanced mode, you can extend the life of your smartphone before recharging the battery. Also here you will find the “Indication” menu, where you can customize the color of the event indicator for various actions at your discretion. In the “Keys” item, you can configure the functions of each touch button as convenient for you, as well as turn off the button backlight if necessary.
In the display settings, you can change the color tone to warmer or cooler, or leave the standard option, and also change the color saturation to bright instead of standard. Otherwise, you won’t find anything new in the settings of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone if you are already familiar with the operating system Android system 5.0 Lollipop.
To transfer data in this device, you can only use the Bluetooth function, since the HootKnot function is not provided in the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone.
Separately, it is worth noting the presence of an infrared transmitter in this smartphone, with which you can control various equipment that supports remote control. To do this, you need to use the “Mi Remote” application. By default, it contains profiles for managing branded Xiaomi equipment, and to control equipment from other manufacturers you will need to download the appropriate profile by selecting the required section and the name of the manufacturer. You can also use third-party applications by downloading them from Play Store. Like many other devices with an IR transmitter that we have tested previously, this function in the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone does its job perfectly. Although in our memory this is the first device from Xiaomi where this feature appeared at all.
Performance testing and other benchmarks
By tradition, to begin with, we will list all the characteristics of the device that in one way or another affect the results in these tests. Let us remind you once again that the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone runs on the Android 5.0.2 Lollipop operating system with the MIUI 6.6 proprietary shell pre-installed. The device is powered by an 8-core 64-bit Helio X10 processor (MT6795) with clock frequency Cortex-A53 cores up to 1.95 GHz. The graphics in this chipset, as you already know, are powered by the PowerVR Rogue G6200 video accelerator, operating at 700 MHz. The amount of RAM on board the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 is 2 GB (LPDDR 3, 933 MHz), and the internal memory is 16 GB. There is also a so-called “Prime” version of this smartphone on the market, which has a built-in memory of 32 GB and a processor operating at frequencies up to 2.2 GHz. But we are testing the standard version of Xiaomi Redmi Note 2, which supports traditional cellular network frequencies in the CIS countries.
When we first tested our Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 in AnTuTu v.5.7.1, we got a result of about 40 thousand points. Repeated testing did not show a significant difference in the results. It’s difficult to say how to explain this result, since there are already enough screenshots online where the same smartphone easily scores about 45 thousand points. For comparison, the LeTV One smartphone with the same chip showed a result of about 49 thousand points in our test, while Xiaomi showed us infographics where Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 scored more than 50 thousand points, and its Prime version scored about 54 thousand.
Well, let's hope that later firmware updates will correct this result we obtained. Although even without this, we have no doubt that the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone will be able to cope with any everyday tasks and even the most demanding games. Also, do not forget that the AnTuTu test is synthetic, and its results can change significantly without any reason.
Let's move on to testing the graphics. In the 3DMark test in Extreme mode for Full HD resolution, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone showed almost 9.5 thousand points.
And in the Epic Citadel program with Full HD resolution and maximum performance settings, the smartphone produced a result of 57.5 fps. Let's just say that the results turned out to be expected, but somewhat lower than those of the same LeTV One and Meizu MX5.
We also tested the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone in the game Asphalt 8. As expected, the device coped with this game at maximum graphics settings without any problems. However, after 10 minutes of play, the pyrometer showed the smartphone’s body heating up to almost 60 degrees Celsius. The area that heated the most was at the top of the rear panel to the right of the camera. Apparently, the processor is installed there, which generates such an amount of heat. In this area, holding a smartphone with your hands is not very pleasant. Thus, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone has some problems with heating in heavy applications.
Testing built-in sensors and GPS (see video for details)
Now let’s check what built-in sensors the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone is equipped with. The Sensor List program showed the presence of an accelerometer and sensor on board this smartphone magnetic field, gyroscope, orientation sensors, gravity, linear acceleration, illumination and proximity.
As you can see, the sensors on the Xiaomi Redmi Note smartphone are almost the same as those of flagship devices.
Now let’s check the operation of GPS navigation in the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone. During our testing, it turned out that after a cold start and without connecting to Wi-Fi smartphone Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 connected to satellites instantly. The location accuracy turned out to be less than 5 meters, which is very good result. In addition, the device found GLONASS satellites and connected to them. Thus, you will have absolutely no problems with GPS navigation in this device.
Camera testing
According to the manufacturer, the main camera of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone received a sensor from Samsung with a resolution of 13 megapixels. The lens design of this camera uses 5 lenses, and the aperture value is F/2.2. The camera coverage angle is 78°. The camera is also equipped with a PDAF phase detection autofocus system, which not only achieves high speed focusing on the subject, but also more accurate color reproduction and a wider dynamic range. The smartphone is also equipped with a powerful LED flash, which, unlike many competing devices, received only 1 tone of light.
Concerning front camera, then the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone has an OV5670 PureCel sensor from OmniVision with a resolution of 5 MP, which we are already familiar with from the latest smartphones from Meizu - M2 Note and M2 Mini. The aperture value of the front camera lens is F/2.0.
The interface of the Camera application is made in the usual style for the MIUI shell. In order to go to the settings, you need to swipe to the right after launching the application. Here you can select panorama mode, manual shooting mode, delayed shooting, Enhance mode, Scene mode and others.
IN manual mode shooting, you can independently set the white balance, shutter speed and light sensitivity, and the “Enhance” mode is more suitable for photographing people, since it provides the ability to automatically retouch portraits (for example, removing wrinkles from a photo). Scene mode includes several presets depending ondepending on what you are going to shoot. Here you will find ready-made profiles for portrait or landscape photography, for shooting on the beach or for shooting sports events, as well as for night photography.
In the camera settings, you can set the shutter function for the phone's volume button, activate geo-tagging, HDR or face detection for more precise focusing when shooting portraits, and select the desired exposure, contrast, clarity and saturation.
By swiping right in the Camera app, you can set various effects such as mono, bright, retro, blur, fisheye, mosaic, mirror and others.
In the video settings, you can select the focus mode, automatic or touch, and also set the focus interval. Here you can also configure the phone's volume button to start or stop video recording.
The maximum photo resolution for the rear camera is 13 MP, and the maximum video resolution is 1080p. Also, the rear camera can record slow-motion video at 120 fps at the same 1080p resolution.
In the front camera settings, you can also activate the face detection function, assign the shutter function to the volume button, or use timer shooting and select mirror mode if necessary. Also, the front camera can recognize the gender and age of a person, and using the facial enhancement mode, you can remove wrinkles from the photo, change complexion, etc.
The maximum photo size for the front camera is 5 MP (2592x1920 pixels), and it records video at 1080p resolution at 30 fps.
Examples of photos from the rear camera showed that in good lighting conditions the pictures come out simply excellent. Phase detection autofocus really pays off, providing images with excellent color reproduction, correct white balance and good detail. The sharpness of objects in the frame is sometimes simply stunning, especially when shooting at close range.
The dynamic range of the rear camera is really quite high, which allows you to get more light and dark details in the scene you are shooting. Of course, in terms of the photo quality of the rear camera of a Xiaomi smartphone Redmi Note 2 is still very far from the level of flagships from the company Samsung or up to the same level OnePlus 2, but all its competitors in the price segment, including the smartphone Meizu M 2 Note , she is definitely superior.
Of course, like many smartphones under $250, there is something to complain about here. Some focusing errors are still present, which is especially noticeable when switching focus from a near object to a distant one and back when shooting video. And although autofocus works quickly and smoothly, the promised speed of 0.1 seconds is not even close. The camera is also not very good at night photography. In automatic mode, priority is clearly given to shutter speed, which leads to an increase in the sensitivity value to 1600, at which it is simply impossible to avoid noise and loss of detail. And the aperture value does not allow the sensor to receive enough light to hope for high quality night photos. There are also complaints about shooting video at night or in the twilight. When shooting moving objects in such conditions, blur is almost inevitable. But when shooting with flash, the camera performed very well even in complete darkness. The flash power here is as much as required, and the white balance and sharpness are close to ideal.
Perhaps many of you do not shoot video at night, or even do not take photographs in such conditions, but still, we cannot remain silent about the problems mentioned above. However, we should not forget that the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone is not positioned as a flagship, so asking for the impossible for this money is simply stupid.
In general, in our opinion, the sensor from Samsung used in the rear camera of Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 is in no way inferior in capabilities to the IMX214 sensor from Sony, which is now popular in smartphones in the mid- and upper-mid price segments.
As for the front camera, in this smartphone it takes pictures the same as in most of its competitors - not better, but not worse. So, you definitely shouldn’t expect anything supernatural from her.
Well, we figured out the cameras. Next, we will try to assess the battery life of the smartphone Xiaomi Redmi Note 2.
Battery test
According to the manufacturer, the battery capacity of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone is 3060 mAh.
In the battery test in the AnTuTu Battery Test program, the device showed 7562 points. In this test, we set the discharge level to 80%, and the result was very good, especially considering such a powerful processor in this smartphone.
We also checked how quickly the smartphone charges, because it comes with a 2A charger. To fully charge, the smartphone takes about 2 hours, which is not a record figure. We also noticed an interesting feature using a special USB tester. The fact is that when a smartphone shows a 100% charge level, the battery will be charged by approximately 2800 mAh. However, after this, the smartphone continues to accept a charge approximately up to the level declared by the manufacturer of 3060 mAh. Thus, if you want to really charge the battery in your Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone completely, then do not rush to remove it from charging for some time after it shows a 100% charge.
Summing up the results of testing the autonomy of this device, let’s say that in terms of this indicator it is not much different from its competitors with the same processor. You will have to charge the battery in the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone once every 2 days with an average level of use, or daily with active use.
Sound Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
Let's move on to testing the sound in the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone. First, let's check the volume of the external speaker. Having set a ringing melody, we first listened to it and then measured it maximum volume using a special device. Our sound level meter showed a maximum volume of 92 dB, which is fairly average among all the smartphones we tested. However, we really liked the sound quality. The sound from the external speaker is clear, has excellent detail and balanced frequencies, and there is no trace of any wheezing or distortion. We think that in combination with melody and vibration, you will have to try hard to miss a call even in a noisy place. Those who like to listen to music from an external speaker will also be pleased with the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone.
Now let's check the sound in the headphones. As usual, we downloaded our test tune in FLAC format with a bitrate of 900 kbps into the device’s memory, and then listened to it using Xiaomi headphones Mi Headphones. And again, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone did not let us down, giving us pleasant emotions when listening to our favorite song. In fact, the sound in headphones in this device is no worse than in the LeTV One smartphone. It is especially worth noting the proprietary equalizer, with which you can really customize the sound to your taste. The program also contains profiles of some headphone models from various manufacturers. By choosing your headphone model from the list, you will definitely feel pleasant changes in sound, as we noticed too.
Well, now it’s time to sum up the results of our testing of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone.
Results
Let's start with the advantages of the device:
1) Low cost of the smartphone, taking into account its almost flagship characteristics. The price for the version of the device tested in our studio at the time of writing this review was around $170. In China, they are asking for 799 yuan (about $125), which is just a gift for a smartphone with such characteristics.
2) High-quality display. And although there may be some reservations at this point, for a device with such a stated price, the display is simply gorgeous.
3) Sound from an external speaker and headphones.
4) Availability of an infrared transmitter. Finally, Xiaomi has thought of equipping its device with such an interesting and useful function.
5) Excellent performance of the rear camera. The quality of the pictures is not inferior to those of many modern flagships, and among competitors in their price segment they will surpass anyone.
Let's move on to the disadvantages:
1) High heating of the device body during active use, especially in heavy applications.
2) The design of the smartphone could be more attractive and original. Even a metal frame around the perimeter of the case would look much more attractive than a solid polycarbonate cover with rectangular brick-like shapes.
3) The software version is still quite crude. Although we must understand that the concept of “raw” for Xiaomi devices and for devices from manufacturers such as Ulefone, Elephone, Umi or Doogee are completely different concepts.
4) Only 2 GB of RAM available. Although this is one of the reasons that made it possible to set such a low price for this model Xiaomi company.
To sum up our review, we can say with confidence that Xiaomi did not disappoint us. Perhaps many of you will not consider the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 smartphone ideal for yourself, but the fact that it is one of the best offers in its price segment will be difficult to doubt.
Yes, this device only has 2 GB of RAM, although for the $170 that retailers are now asking for the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2, you can find a lot of offers with 3 GB of RAM. There's also no fingerprint scanner here. And of course, the design of the case here could be much nicer. But on the other hand, it has the best rear camera in the segment, an infrared port and hardware that allows you to cope with any mobile games and applications. In addition, do not forget about the removable battery and covers, the color of which you can later change to any other from the presented range, and maybe to some more interesting non-original ones.
Be that as it may, our task was to give the most honest and objective assessment Xiaomi smartphone Redmi Note 2. In our opinion, with this device Xiaomi will definitely achieve great success and raise its shares in the Chinese and international markets, as evidenced by the excitement and high demand for this model. But the final choice is up to you, our dear readers and subscribers. And we wish you not to make a mistake in it!
The smartphone can be bought in the Gearbest online store
Product link (32gb)
Some of the best prices today!! - https://goo.gl/KNQZB7 and https://goo.gl/OmFMP0
Video review
Technical specifications of Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
- Device type: smartphone/phablet.
- Available colors: white, blue, black, yellow, pink.
- Case materials: plastic, magnesium alloy.
- Operating system: Android 5.0 Lollipop + MIUI 7.
- Networks: 2G - GSM: 900/1800/1900 MHz (band 8/3/2);
3G - TD-SCDMA: 1880-1920, 2010-2025 MHz (band 39/34),
UMTS: 850/900/1900/2100 (band 5/8/2/1);
4G - FDD LTE: 1800/2100/2600 MHz (band 3/1/7),
TDD-LTE 1900/2300/2500/2600 MHz (band 39/40/41/38)
- SIM cards: Dual Micro-SIM, Dual Standby
- Processor: Helio X 10 (MT 6795/ MT 6795 T), 64 bit, 8 cores Cortex A 53 x 2.0/ 2.2 GHz
- Video accelerator: PowerVR Rogue G6200, 700 MHz
- RAM: 2 GB LPDDR3, 933 MHz
- Storage memory: 16/32 GB + memory card slot Micro-SD
- Interfaces: Micro - USB, dual band 2.4/5.0 GHz WiFi 802.11 (a / b / g / n / ac), Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Display, Bluetooth v 4.0, OTG , 3.5 mm audio, IR port, OTA
- Screen : IPS, 5.5"" Full HD (1920x1080), Full Lamination, 401 ppi
- Cameras: 13 MP (4128x30960), f/2.2, Samsung, 5 lenses, 78°, PDAF- autofocus , electronic stabilization, LED- flash (burst shooting, geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, HDR, panorama, ISO setting, exposure compensation selection, white balance selection, timer, scene selection, macro photography), video 4K@30fps, 1080p@60fps, 720p@120fps + 5 MP (2592x1944), f/2.0, OmniVision OV5670 PureCel, video 1080p@30fps
- Navigation: GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, Beidou
- Battery: removable, 3060 mAh, fast charging
- Dimensions: 1 52 x 7 6 x 8, 2 5 mm
- Weight: 1 6 0 g
Samsung N7100 Galaxy Note II - Second edition, revised and expanded
01.12.2012
...I screamed as loud as I could:
- And I need a shovel!
- What, weirdo, are you making a loud noise?! -
All the guys laugh.
And everyone is running somewhere
Everyone has a shovel...
Agniya Barto,
"When the shovel is taken away"
I really wanted to see in this phone stylish case made of beautiful and modern materials!.. Eh, Samsung, Samsung... Obviously, perfection and harmony will never come in my world of gadgets. After all, you want to have everything at once - a beautiful case, the best hardware and Android inside, but... such devices do not yet exist on the market.
However, first things first, otherwise the conclusions have already begun to precede the preface - sorry, it hurts - I got carried away. Let's begin!
If you look closely, you can see that the S Pen does not sit quite straight in the socket:
Otherwise, there are no complaints about the assembly. The case, as they say, is tightly built, the lid sits firmly, there are barely audible squeaks when compressed in the area of the camera, but, you can believe me, this is completely insignificant. The assembly could be called impeccable, except for a small detail - the volume and power keys have noticeable lateral play. This didn't happen before. And if you shake the device hard, you can hear the volume key quietly rattling against the body. It seems like a small thing, but not very pleasant.
The device, of course, has an undemanding appearance, but it still cannot be called cheap. It is not similar to budget solutions from the same Samsung, and, like the Galaxy S III, the Note II cannot be confused with them. The plastic of the back cover is very durable and elastic, I can easily bend the cover in half, and just as easily it restores its original shape:
And, no matter what they say about the glossy surface, there is no great harm from it. It glides across the palm no more than the corrugated back cover of the first Note, and is not particularly susceptible to external influences - the same glossy cover of my Galaxy S III has not acquired a single scratch or scuff in 4 months of use, but, I must admit, I handle phones very carefully .
On the other hand, the new Nokia Lumia 920 also has a body made of glossy plastic (except for the black color), but for some reason we haven’t heard mass unrest from fans of the brand?
However, many users find the appearance of Note II elegant and attractive, and, honestly, there is some truth in this - sometimes, glancing at my Note II lying on the table, I catch myself thinking that I am pleased to look at it.
Handprints, yes, are visible - but only at a certain angle to the light source. And less than on the gray version of the phone.
As we can see, after activating the UMS mode, you can see the external memory card in Windows Explorer (as well as in other popular file managers) as a regular removable disk. And copying files of any size in both directions becomes possible.
True, out of surprise, the phone displayed a threatening warning on the screen, but in fact the connection went through without problems.
And second. In the “native” TouchWiz Gallery, the function of rotating an image simply with a fingertip, which was so conveniently implemented on the first Note, stopped working. Either the developer forgot about it this time, or something else, but there is such a fact.
That's all for the shortcomings of this version of TW. Let's move on to its innovations.
The first and most interesting thing is that what Google has been begging for for so long has finally come true. We are, of course, talking about photographs of contacts. Users go to great lengths to avoid losing high-quality photos when synchronizing with Google. high resolution! But finally (and this is largely due to the new version of the Jelly Bean operating system), we have fully synchronized with large and high-quality contact photos.
It was almost implemented in previous version(on the Galaxy S III), we received a large photo of the caller across the entire width of the screen, but: a) the photo was a little fuzzy, and b) when synchronizing the photo, it was still compressed (degraded) on Google servers.
But now I simply have nothing to complain about. On my computer, on my Google page, I manually forwarded all my contacts, reassigning high-resolution photos to them, then synchronized, and all these photos ended up in the Note II phone book. Now screen incoming call looks like this - provided that a high-quality photo was assigned to the contact:
Doesn't it look perfect? What? Is the stripe at the top ugly? Oh, bad luck! But - we are dealing with Android, where you can change almost any little thing to suit yourself. And - voila! - with a slight movement of the hand we bring the incoming (and outgoing) call screen to perfection!
The Gallery has also changed. To some extent, it has become more convenient to use, to some extent the interface has changed, it became possible to view photos not only with the usual tiles, but also this way and that:
The user, not paying attention to these beautiful but useless tricks, first checked whether it was possible to exclude viewing folders in the settings? It turned out that it was impossible again. The user cursed, sighed, closed all these beauties and installed the usual QuickPic. Ah, Samsung, Samsung...
However, this is not all with innovations.
The most common question in the Galaxy Note II profile thread on the w3bsit3-dns.com forum is still “what is this tab on my left side, some kind of panel, how can I remove it?”, driving the thread’s regulars into a frenzy.
In general, it depends on everyone, but I really like this “panel”, which is actually sternly called by the manufacturer a “multi-screen mode panel”. What is it for? Firstly, by placing the tab under the thumb of the hand with which you are used to holding the phone (and the panel can be dragged along all edges of the screen, and the tab itself can be moved), you get the opportunity to launch applications from the panel using one hand. Secondly, it is truly multi-screen (multi-window, MultiWindows) mode, and you can run two different applications on one screen, for example, YouTube and an Internet browser. Or video player and mail client. Or a reader and 2GIS.
Perhaps someone was confused by the extreme screenshot. That's right, the multi-window panel is only minimally customizable out of the box, and you can't add whatever apps you want to it. It’s strange, but the developer did not provide such a simple and popular function. Therefore, it is not surprising that very soon a panel modified by craftsmen appeared, allowing you to add any of your applications to it:
Another interesting point (however, maybe I’m the only one who didn’t notice it before) - built-in help for basic functions has appeared in the standard list of applications:
This is not necessary for a sophisticated user, but for many it can be a good help.
In the list of applications that can be used to open an Internet page, a “browser in a pop-up window” has appeared; this is, in fact, a regular Internet browser that simply appears in a small window that allows you to partially see the contents of the desktop below it:
One of the most convenient features of TouchWiz - the panel of switches in the "curtain" - has also received its development. We are talking about setting up switches, adding the necessary ones and removing unnecessary ones, as well as the ability to change their places. Previously this was solved third party software, and now we have this as a standard setting.
The TouchWiz calendar called "S Planner" now has the ability to draw reminders with the S Pen directly on its surface, and also to view reminders entered in the usual way, a small pop-up window appears:
As is known, in this Samsung models I started installing 2 gigabytes of RAM, naturally I wanted to check how full it was. Frankly, what I saw left me in a slight shock:
1.42 GB out of 1.75 available! Not weak. But, I must note, this is “stock” firmware, and all the software installed by the manufacturer loaded correctly and took up space. Is it possible to shorten it somehow? For example, the notorious “hubs”, this service is still not supported in Russia:
In addition to the hubs, I also removed a number of other pre-installed programs that I considered unnecessary. The result was not long in coming:
Although... to be honest, I didn’t notice any difference in speed. Everything was fast and smooth before the cleaning, and so it remains.
And about alternative ways text input. What handwriting that voice - both work, and work well. Oddly enough, the Russian language was supported in both cases, although the device is intended for the European market, and the firmware I use is also based on firmware not for Russia.
Even my crooked handwriting is recognized correctly, and recognition errors are minimal. well and voice input generally beyond all praise. Both text entry and handling programs that use voice (for example, Google Now or Assistant) - everything causes some kind of childish delight, creating the illusion that the device is understands. I repeat - recognition occurs specifically in the Russian language, its support is comprehensive, unlike ☺
And in any case, the Russian language module is available for download and installation:
Another new feature is that when you hold your hand over a sleeping phone, a screen with the most important information is activated for a few seconds - the current time, missed calls and messages, as well as the battery charge level. The proximity sensor is responsible for this function, the glow of which confuses many.
It’s well conceived, and it works, but somehow it’s very leisurely. 2-3 seconds pass between the movement of the hand and the activation of the screen.
But the watchful “eye” that follows your gaze and prevents the screen from going dark had to be turned off completely - the number of false positives is very high. I don’t know what he sees on my ceiling, but the phone lying on the table often cannot “fall asleep”, looking for a long time at something up there...
And finally, a sort of humorous nod from Samsung programmers, the so-called Ink-Effect:
Completely useless, but everyone really likes it. By the way, the color of the “ink” can be customized:
Play media over the network
The AllShare function seemed overly cumbersome to me, and my TV does not support DLNA. So I tried to play the video on my phone from the shared folder home computer over a Wi-Fi network in a simple way, using the X-plore program.
Without any equivocation or unnecessary questions, all the shared folders with multimedia on my computer were found, and the movie started playing smoothly. In the same way, you can easily and simply play music over the network and view photos. That is, as we see, the bandwidth of the home wireless network is sufficient for this.
GPS, GLONASS and navigation
There is nothing special to say, everything is at the usual high level, satellites are identified quickly (even at the very first launch), communication with them is stable, GLONASS is supported - in any case, these satellites are visible in navigation programs. Let me remind you that the numbers of the GLONASS system satellites begin with the number 60.
Stylus - pen - S Pen
Whatever you call this thing, its appearance (or rather, return) to the Note series was a reason for many to buy. And no wonder - this is more than just a toy.
True, the most common way to use a pen so far is to simply take handwritten notes on the go, while telephone conversation, many indulge in drawing various scribbles and caricatures of friends (“Look, it’s you”).
Although the S Pen is capable of much more. This includes the handwriting input already mentioned above, and adding handwritten entries to the calendar, you can set handwritten notes with added pictures and other multimedia as a calendar event, you can edit images in the pre-installed Paper Artist program (not to mention many other graphic editors).
The S Note app can process the shapes and lines you enter by hand, creating correct geometric designs and even blueprints. The drawing below was simply sketched with a stylus in a minute; the hand-drawn curved lines were converted by the program on the fly:
It would seem like entertainment, but in certain situations it can be an invaluable help. Here you can add handwritten notes that will be recognized and converted into printed text. As an example of practical application, this is how my friend @Alex_Shvarz drew a sketch for the craftsmen making a computer desk for him.
For studio students, the function of recognizing pen-drawn formulas and equations may be useful; it really works. And not only are the formulas recognized, but with the press of one key they can be sent to the well-known site wolframalpha.com, where they will be automatically solved, and you will be presented with the entire solution process. Here, as an example, is a simple equation I sketched out and the result of its processing on the above site:
Another interesting feature is that when the button is pressed, the pen works as a kind of screenshot creator. We simply randomly circle any area on the screen, and then we are offered what we can do with this fragment - work in the editor, send by mail or something else - the choice is great:
What’s interesting is that this function even works in the video player, allowing you to cut images from videos on the go:
There is also the possibility of quickly launching applications by drawing the corresponding shape in the application, instantly called up by moving the pen up on the screen:
Agree, such possibilities for working with a pen deserve attention. Moreover, the pen has been significantly improved compared to the first Note. This is its larger shape, which allows you to hold the pen in your hands more confidently, and its positioning is much more accurate - now drawing occurs exactly in the place where you touch the screen with the pen. This also recognizes the pressure applied - the harder you press on the pen, the thicker the line, similar to a regular pencil or fountain pen.
However, there are also minor shortcomings. The pen glitched a little when trying to draw in the lower right corner of the screen, however, I don’t draw in these places very often. What worried me more was the excessive sensitivity of the pen, which was expressed in false positives - sometimes you had not yet touched the screen with the tip of the pen, but it was already starting to draw. This was annoying and the pen had to be taken apart to expose the adjustment screws.
A slight turn of the screwdriver, the pen is assembled, and the problem is solved! False positives stopped completely, however, in the corners I had to apply a little more pressure with the stylus to draw, but this is no longer significant, and in the end I was completely satisfied with this adjusted pen.
And finally, Samsung made sure that you don’t forget the pen when leaving:
This function is tied to a motion sensor and is activated by recognizing your steps in combination with the absence of a stylus in the slot, and can be disabled in the settings.
By the way, at first there was talk that the feather was pulled (sucked) into place by a magnet. Yes, once upon a time the HTC Diamond communicator had such a magnetic stylus enhancement, but here, alas, there is no such thing. The pen on the Note II is not retracted and is secured inside by a small spring-loaded lever.
And from the topic of the stylus, I would like to smoothly move on to the next one -
The essence of the first test "GPS on the windowsill, 3G" - we charge the smartphone all the way, set the screen brightness to full, activate the 3G Internet, launch the Yandex Maps application (GPS must be active), put the device on the windowsill (for better communication with satellites) and note the time - how long the phone will last until the battery is completely discharged. Result Note II Nexus 4 on the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset heated up to 55-56 degrees when passing this test.
And, again, as a comparison, the testing results of the current flagship from HTC - the HTC One X+ smartphone - amounted to 500 units.
The difference is obvious.
According to my estimates, based on almost 3 weeks of using the Note II, its autonomy has increased, compared to the Galaxy Note and Galaxy S III, by an average of about 25%-30%. And for some reason it seems to me that this is the result of not only the increased battery capacity.
Sew? Is it necessary?
In principle, smartphones on Android in general and from Samsung in particular have already reached such a level that everything in them works, as they say, “out of the box”. Legends about the need for lengthy setup and adjustment of the Android, the tedious wait for custom firmware for it to work properly, are practically a thing of the past - now everything works the same way. Stitching is increasingly becoming the domain of enthusiasts who do it simply for pleasure, or out of a sense of pure perfectionism. You don’t have to root your smartphone, you can only update the software on it official way- you will lose practically nothing, and your smartphone will work no worse than a rooted-sewn-modified one, or even better.
And I must admit, I do this more out of habit - I can’t resist, especially since there is already a large choice modified firmware, as well as various little things that improve and expand the functionality of the phone.
That's probably all about this phone. It's time to do it
conclusions
You know, this is some kind of trouble-free device. No matter what I shove at him, no matter what I sew on, he somehow silently swallows everything and continues to work. It never froze on me, never gave me any errors, and never refused to boot. Although many of the “improvements” that I installed in it were intended for completely different firmware. This is the first and main impression...
It's just a smartphone - modern, powerful, fast, but its size is slightly larger than what most of us are used to. This format is suitable for some, not for others; of course, it is not worth declaring it the most convenient for everyone. Just as you shouldn’t put an end to it, they say, “an inconvenient shovel for crazy geeks.”
A large screen simply provides us with more convenience when performing typical tasks on the phone - surfing the Internet, reading, playing games (including the most resource-intensive ones), watching movies, working with images and texts, and even the presence of the S Pen and a specially designed The software for it completely makes the Note II unique in terms of its capabilities - and all this wealth is coupled with a very durable battery. And the size - what is the size? Go to the store and try it on. If it’s not yours, it will be clear right away - it’s just not yours and that’s all.
For others, Note II will be the most convenient and indispensable mobile assistant - as it is for me.
Thanks to everyone who read my story to the end.
25.10.2012 11903
Smartphone Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100 review
The Samsung Galaxy Note smartphone, when it appeared, made me jump off my iPhone. And this, you see, is a serious characteristic. Before the appearance of the Galaxy Note, I was interested in smartphones from Samsung, but I believed that the corporation still needed to bring these devices to mind - the same Samsung Galaxy S was nice, but had noticeable glitches and inconveniences, and the same applied to operating system Android version 2. But as time passed, Android gradually improved and by version 2.3.6 (Gingerbread) it managed to overcome many of its problems, and by that time Samsung had released a truly revolutionary model - the Samsung Galaxy Note. The revolutionary nature lay in the size of the gadget, and size, as you know, really matters. Initially, in the era of development cellular communication, phone developers thought about how to reduce them to the point of complete invisibility. Then, when smartphones appeared, phones began to be enlarged - because on a small screen you can’t see a damn thing, and you can’t really hit the desired icon with your finger. And so Samsung came up with the idea that they needed to try to cross a phone with a tablet - doing this it is unnecessary to buy a tablet if you have such a device. To be honest, when I saw the Galaxy Note at the exhibition, I thought that this model would not have large quantity buyers. Although I decided for myself that I would definitely buy such a smartphone. But practice has shown that the Galaxy Note has become very, very popular, and other manufacturers immediately rushed to rivet models with a large display, but so far none of them have come close to the Note in quality. Even Apple realized that the iPhone screen was too small, so in the fifth model it was increased, although for some reason only in height. (“And then they immediately sued Samsung for stealing ideas,” noted Bublik the cat.)
Samsung Galaxy Note
However, the Galaxy Note, for all its advantages, turned out to be a little larger than we would like - holding it in your hands was not exactly impossible, but a little difficult. Nevertheless, I used it with great pleasure for several months and then was surprised to discover that during all this time I had not even touched my iPad, and it was slightly covered with dust on the shelf. Then Samsung released the third version of its S series - Samsung Galaxy S III, and it turned out to be such a successful smartphone that I immediately switched to it, and have never regretted it. However, here, despite all the advantages, the same disadvantage remained - the screen was slightly small, especially after several months of using the Galaxy Note. Well, a plus - after all, the S III clearly has a weak battery. It’s not fatally frail, but you have to remember about it all the time so as not to find yourself without a phone at the most necessary moment. And now Samsung has released new version Galaxy Note under the expected name Samsung Galaxy Note II. I didn’t think twice about this version - I immediately went to buy it, because if the first Note was an extremely successful smartphone, then they couldn’t make the Note II any worse, I thought. But what is really there, whether they worsened it or improved it - we will now look into it in detail. So, Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100.
Samsung Galaxy Note II
Display: 5.55" 720×1280 (WXGA) HD Super AMOLED, 16 million colors, Gorilla Glass 2, capacitive sensor
CPU: Exynos 4412, quad-core, 1.6 GHz
RAM: 2 GB
Flash memory: 16 GB (there are versions with 32 and 64 GB)
Memory cards: microSD/HC up to 32 GB
Net: GSM 3G, HSPA-PLUS, EDGE/GPRS (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), HSPA+.
Wireless connection: WiFi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 (Apt-X Codec support) LE
NFC: There is
Camera: 8 megapixels, LED flash, 1080p video resolution
Front-camera: 1.9 megapixels
Ports: microUSB (MHL), 3.5 mm headphone output
GPS: aGPS, GLONASS
FM receiver: with RDS support, stereo
Battery: Li-Pol 3100 mAh
Dimensions: 80.5 x 151.1 x 9.4 mm
Weight: 182.5 g Well, in general, I have never seen a cooler configuration. The most powerful mobile processor (the Galaxy S III is a little worse), as much as 2 GB of RAM, all types of communications you can think of (there is a separate version of this smartphone that supports LTE networks), a very capacious battery - 3100 mAh versus 2500 mAh The first Note.Plus has a display. Note II is slightly narrower in linear dimensions than the first, but slightly taller. This is good, because the first Note was just too big in width. However, in Note II, while reducing the width, they managed to increase the display - 5.55" versus 5.29" for the first Note! The linear dimensions of the display have changed slightly (they are now more tailored for watching 16:9 movies), so the resolution is now 720x1280. Smartphone slightly heavier, but not at all - by 4.5 grams. Delivery and configuration It comes in a box like this.
Equipment: smartphone, battery, headphones, USB-microUSB cable, network adapter for charging, brochures. 
We look at the phone. Very much reminiscent of the Samsung Galaxy S III, only enlarged. 
Let's put them side by side. Well yes, just twins! 
Now let's put the Galaxy Note next to it. As you can see, the old one is wider, the new one is taller. 
The Note II's control buttons are exactly the same as those of other smartphones in this series: an oblong Home button (quite convenient) and two touch buttons- "Return" and "Menu". "Return" is on the right, "Menu" is on the left. By default, these buttons light up only when they are in use, but in general their backlighting is customizable in the system - you can make them always light up. 
The back cover of the Note II is almost exactly the same as that of the Galaxy S III (glossy plastic), only the speaker is located at the bottom, not at the top. 
The S-Pen stylus is pulled out from the lower left corner. It can only be inserted in one position. 
Separately, the S-Pen stylus. The bottom end has a socket for the stylus, a microUSB output, and a microphone. 
The left side is a volume rocker. 
The top end is a headphone jack and one of the microphones. 
The right end has a power button on top and a special slot for easy opening of the back cover. By the way, for my taste, this location of the power button is optimal. On the top end, the button is much more difficult to press, and if they even decide to place it on the left, such a phone will only be able to be used by those who hold the device in their right hand. (Usually they hold it with their left hand, and point at the screen with their right fingers.) 
Open the back cover (it opens without much effort). There is a battery socket, sockets for microSD cards and microSIM. 
By the way, thank you very much for the microSIM. The Galaxy Note has a miniSIM connection, and I already killed it once with an adapter - as a result, they changed the entire board. The microSD card is installed without removing the battery, the SIM card can only be changed when the battery is disconnected. Note how much larger the Note II battery is compared to Note. 
I inserted the SIM card, SD card and battery - that’s it, you can see how this model works. 
Display
The display here is no longer the same as that of the Galaxy Note. In the old Note, subpixels were arranged in a PenTile pattern - where each pixel consisted of two subpixels rather than three. This caused certain visual problems to appear. In the second Note, every pixel is normal RGB. 
Subpixel patterns in Note and Note II
Matrix - Super AMOLED. It is characterized by very bright, contrasting and saturated colors. (By the way, not all users like this, but I like it.) The brightness margin is such that even in good lighting it is enough to set the brightness to 50-60% to get a very comfortable-looking image. Super AMOLED has two unpleasant features. The viewing angles of this matrix are decent, the brightness and contrast drop slightly as the angles change, but a well-known effect is observed - when the pure white color begins to turn slightly blue when the angles change. However, if you don’t know about this effect, then you don’t pay any attention to it. But the second effect is noticeable and very unpleasant. It lies in the fact that the Super AMOLED screen in the sun (in bright light of a certain spectrum) “blinds” very noticeably. Of course, any LCD displays will go blind in the sun, but it is with AMOLED (and Super AMOLED) displays that this effect is more noticeable than with other matrices. I laid out the Galaxy Note II nearby on a sunny day (well, other models on AMOLED), and next to it - Nokia 808 PureView and Sony Ericson Xperia - it was very clearly visible that Nokia and Sony in such conditions kept the brightness more or less decent, but on the Samsung Galaxy display there was practically nothing visible. I tried to take a photo , with a demonstration of this effect, but it can’t be conveyed in the photo, so you’ll have to take my word for it. Otherwise, the display is cool. Problems only arise in direct sun. Device operation Display of a loaded phone with TouchWiz shell.
Other desktops.
A new concept has appeared here - contextual desktop. For example, when you take out the stylus, a desktop for working with the stylus is added.
When you connect headphones, a desktop appears with a widget for viewing and listening to multimedia.
When the phone is in roaming, a roaming desktop appears, in which a convenient current time widget for two cities is installed. Moreover, contextual desktops also have their own set of icons on the dock panel at the bottom.
Roaming desktop
The notification area has become more convenient and interactive (by clicking on messages you can make settings, perform some actions, and so on), and additions have appeared in the settings icons at the very top.
Applications installed on the system.
Widgets installed in the system (there are a ton of them).
Another innovation. When you long press the "Return" button, a sliding Multi View panel appears on the screen. (This was not the case with the Galaxy S III.)
This panel can be dragged to any side, using the "Change" button you can change the set of applications. You can turn off the panel by long pressing the "Return" button again. You can simply launch applications from the panel, or you can drag the icon of the desired application to the main screen - two running applications will be open on the screen at once. This only works with those applications that are in the Multi View panel.
Data usage - statistics on transferred mobile data with the ability to limit this matter.
IN " Additional settings" - using a smartphone as a hotspot, setting up a VPN, enabling NFC, S Beam, DLNA. Through AllShareCast, the Note 2 screen can be shared with other devices that support this technology. Kies over Wi-Fi is also supported, but I don’t know who Anyone in their right mind uses this program - it’s much more convenient to simply upload media files from a computer, and store all contacts and schedules in the Google cloud.
A very useful new option is blocking mode. I've been waiting a long time for it to appear in normal mode. This is turning off calls, notifications, and so on for a certain time period (for the night). In this case, you can specify contacts for which an exception will be made - that is, they will be able to call.
Display settings. Interesting modes are smart reversal and smart shutdown. Well, you can enable display of the battery charge percentage (this appeared in version 4, thank God). You can also enable/disable contextual desktops here. Also pay attention to the “Screen Mode” section. Many users complain about the overly “acidic” colors of AMOLED displays. So, if you set the mode to “Natural” or even “Film”, there will be no more acidity.
The following are the top settings.
Energy saving - nothing particularly interesting: limiting processor performance, lowering the display power level and other background changes in the browser that have little effect. Disabling Wi-Fi in sleep mode, which significantly affects the battery, is done in additional Wi-Fi settings.
In the "Battery" section you can see which applications are the most power-hungry.
The screen lock can be configured very flexibly.
The lock screen settings are also well customizable.
Section "Security".
An interesting section is “One-handed control”. It, of course, is not very relevant for such a “shovel”, but it may be useful to someone.
Backup and reset. In general, it’s strange that Google still doesn’t have a good standard backup and recovery mode. To quickly restore your applications and settings, you have to use all sorts of third party applications, and to automate this process the phone has to be rooted - there’s no way around it.
The last section of the top settings.
Specific Accounts moved to the top section - it’s more convenient to configure them. The “Movements” section has very flexible settings.
S-Pen stylus settings.
Accessories.
Special abilities.
If you swipe a contact to the right, a phone call will begin. If you swipe to the left, you will start writing an SMS to him.
Menu that appears during a call.
Message creation menu.
Setting the type of messages.
Creating a deferred message. (Valuable opportunity, by the way.)
By the way, as in the Galaxy S III, if you just bring the phone to your ear when typing an SMS, it will immediately start making a voice call to the subscriber. General message settings - SMS, MMS, notifications, and so on.
Folder browsing mode.
By albums.
Selection by folders.
Selection by list of files.
Playback.
Very convenient application in terms of selecting videos and watching them, it’s just great done. Music Also a good native application from Samsung. Convenient selection and playback. There is no comparison with the poor standard Android.
Well, and a traditional music square, which distributes the music you listened to by style.
By the way, the alarm clock has more settings.
Notification area
Contextual desktop
Create an S Note - you can write, draw, and so on.
Note storage and S Note templates.
Working with the S Note template.
When you add, for example, an entry to the calendar, the handwriting recognition mode is turned on.
You can also draw and attach pictures - in the calendar, messages, and so on.
Another interesting feature is the so-called quick commands. IN special application put an icon - search, weather, maps, mail and so on, and then write the corresponding word.
Show Barcelona on the map
As soon as you lift the stylus from the screen, the command execution starts immediately.
Well, here is Barcelona on the map.
Paper Artist app. You can draw pictures, process pictures, and so on.
Many Samsung applications also react to the stylus - for example, if, when viewing images in the gallery, you simply move the stylus to the preview without even touching the picture, it will enlarge. This is called Air View - viewing an enlarged image or the appearance of some prompts when you bring the stylus to the screen.
Photo enlargement
Video enlargement
When you make a call, you can also call up S Note, sketch something, write it down and save it.
Any sections of text and images can be cut out using the stylus, after which a list of applications appears in which this picture can be used - for example, saved as a note or sent by email.
You can take handwritten notes and drawings right on top of the S Planner. By the way, an extremely cool opportunity!
Moreover, drawing parameters and tools are very flexibly configured.
Well, you can also make handwritten notes on images in the gallery.
I can say that the S-Pen simply amazed me with its capabilities. I can’t write or draw with my hands at all, but many users will find this functionality very, very useful. Lock screen The lock screen has become more informative. You can display a lot of things on it, including news (not available for Russia), weather and two types of time for roaming.
Missed messages and calls are also displayed on this screen so you can immediately go to the corresponding application. Well, four icons at the bottom allow you to go to the desired application, the only pity is that they seem to be impossible to edit.
Settings. 
I just didn't like when they did the focus here. Previously, after pressing the shutter, focusing was done in a rectangle in the middle of the frame, after which the frame was taken. Now, when you point the camera, it immediately focuses, after which the rectangle disappears. True, if you move the camera, the rectangle will appear again and focus will be achieved again. I drove the camera properly in various modes. Basically, everything is very good - the camera is no worse than the Galaxy Note, and even better. However, judge for yourself. Below are shots taken in a wide variety of conditions - very bad light, cloudy weather, sunny weather, evening, street, indoors. In general, the impressions are very good. It very rarely misses the white balance (over several days of filming - three or four times), focusing works well. “Shirring” sometimes occurs, but this is not a camera problem - the shutter speed is not too long and at the same time, the hand probably trembled. Yes, the old well-known Samsung effect, when when shooting a light uniform surface in the center of the frame there is a noticeable pinkish spot - is also present here. Here are a few frames without any processing - I just made them smaller. EXIF is saved for everyone. All photos are clickable. Very poor lighting. It was filmed decently, but the “noise” is noticeable. 
Illuminated first floor from a dark staircase. 
Room. 
This is where the machine messed up both the exposure and the balance. 
Overcast weather. 
City in cloudy weather. 
It was almost twilight - the lanterns were lit. 
Evening clouds. 
Artificial lighting. 
And this is in good weather. 
Sunset. 
Video shooting interface. 
And here is the video filmed on camera. The video is also shot very, very decently. Performance
Well, in general, it was expected that with such serious characteristics the smartphone would simply fly. It flies - I didn’t notice any brakes anywhere, everything works smoothly and quickly. I ran tests on Quadrant Pro - it returned as many as 6583 units. The Galaxy S III has 4059. The old Note had 3680.
The most common signs that the sound is not working on your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 are:
- spontaneous change in volume;
- appearance extraneous sounds when sounding;
- lack of sound when making calls or using applications.
The appearance of these symptoms indicates the need to contact a specialist. service center LP Pro to diagnose a breakdown.
Why is there no sound on Galaxy Note 2
The main reasons why there is no sound on the Galaxy Note 2 include the following:
- Failure of the speaker due to wear or mechanical damage. Since the speaker is very fragile, it is recommended to replace this part. Repairs often provoke the appearance of extraneous sounds.
- Moisture getting inside the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 leads to the spread of oxidation processes that affect contacts, boards and other parts.
- Short circuit due to congestion more dust on gadget elements.
- The audio control chip is malfunctioning.
- A software failure that occurs due to a program conflict or an update error. It is necessary to configure the sound in Samsung Note 2 or reboot.
Restoring sound on Samsung Galaxy Note 2
If there is no sound on the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, then you need to contact the highly qualified specialists of the LP Pro service center to carry out diagnostics. This procedure will allow you to determine the exact cause of the malfunction and eliminate it as soon as possible. In case you need to replace parts, our company has all the necessary components in stock.
By contacting us, you can be sure that all necessary work will be carried out with high quality, as well as warranty service.