Galaxy Note 2 vs IdeaPhone K900: Lenovo and Samsung Collide on Android Smartphone Battleground

Smartphones with large displays - categorized as phablets are set to take a bigger chunk of the global market in 2013 claim analysts. IHS iSuppli Mobile Handset Displays has forecasted that in 2013, 60.4 million units of phablets will be shipped, which will be an increase of 136% from the 25.6 million units shipped in 2012.

Following on the same lines, leading laptop and netbook manufacturer Lenovo dove into the smartphone market with the introduction of its phablet - Lenovo IdeaPhone K900 packed with 5.5 inch 1080p display and a 13MP camera that will battle against Samsung Galaxy Note 2.

The new Lenovo smartphone that has been unwrapped at the CES 2013 tech show carries the credit of being the first smartphone to pack an Intel Clover Trail+ processor. With Intel on board, the Lenovo smartphone features the "Intel Inside" branding printed at the back.

With the launch of K900, tech experts have started predicting that the Intel based handset will turn out to be a stiff competitor to the best seller of 2012 - Galaxy Note 2, when released in the market. The Galaxy Note successor also comes impressive specifications and advanced software features. Moreover, it has already established its consumer base by achieving a sales figure of 5 million units in 2 months of its release.

Talking about the India availability of K900, the handset could makes its way into the market only from the second quarter while Galaxy Note 2 is already available at Rs 36,700.

As the competition gets tougher everyday, consumers have a wide variety of devices to choose from. Hence, Gizbot has come up with a detailed spec comparison between K900 and Galaxy Note 2 to decide which is a better handset to buy.

Dimensions & Weight: While the height and width of K900 is not known, the handset measures 6.9 mm in thickness and weighs in at 162 grams. In comparison, the thicker and heavier Galaxy Note 2 boasts a dimension of 151.1 x 80.5 x 9.4 mm and weighs more around 180 grams.

Display: K900 sports a 5.5 inch full HD IPS touchscreen display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. On the other hand, Galaxy Note 2 houses a 5.5 inch Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display with 1280 x 720 pixel resolution.

Further, Note 2 has an improved S-Pen support, which is revamped with rubber tip and enhanced touch response.

However, the Lenovo offering has a full HD display, which will render high quality images and content as compared to the Samsung offering.

Processor: In this segment, Lenovo phablet is powered by an Intel Clover Trail+ processor, which is likely to include a 2GHz dual core Atom Z2580 processor, whereas, Galaxy Note 2 is equipped with a Samsung Exynos 4412 Quad chipset.

Operating System: When it comes to OS, both K900 and Galaxy Note 2 are based on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system and hence, the phablet come packed with features such as Project Butter, expandable and contractible notifications, resizble app widgets, live wallpaper preview, high resolution contact photos and more.

Camera: On the camera optics front, K900 has a 13MP rear camera with dual flash and 2MP front camera for video chatting, whereas, Galaxy Note 2 sports an 8MP rear camera and a 1.9MP front camera.

Memory: In terms of storage, K900 comes with 16GB internal storage while Galaxy Note 2 comes in three versions - 16GB, 32GB and 64GB internal storage. However, both the handsets have 2GB RAM and a micro SD card slot supporting up to 32GB expandable memory.

Connectivity: In terms of connectivity, both phablets are packed with features including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3G, micro USB 2.0 and NFC.

Battery: As of now there is no information regarding the battery used in K900, however, Galaxy Note 2 is powered by a mammoth 3,100 mAh Li-ion battery.

Verdict

Both are 5.5 inch phablets with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system and hence, they will come with similar software features as far as the platform is concerned.

Speaking of Galaxy Note 2, the phablet will score more in terms of software as it comes loaded with S features including S Voice, Direct Call, Smart Stay, S Beam, Pop-Up Play and more.

If the concern is on a full HD display and improved camera performance, the Lenovo offering could be the right device.

However, if the concern is on increased internal storage options, stylus support and many software enhancements, Galaxy Note 2 should be a better choice.