







Samsung today unveiled a new device that's likely to be the "wild card" in this year's smartphone and tablet wars -- because no one can quite work out which one it is.

The Galaxy Note 2 has a 5.5-inch screen, midway between hit smartphones such as Samsung's Galaxy S3 and tablet computers.

When the original Galaxy Note debuted late last year, its 5.2-inch screen drew both fans and detractors. It became a surprise hit, however, and went on to sell 10 million units. With the Note 2, Samsung is doubling down on its phone-tablet concept.

It's pocket-sized -- just -- but offers the high-end computing power of a tablet, controlled with a stylus that lets users draw onscreen and add written signatures to email.

The device was shown off at a press conference in Berlin before the IFA trade show for the technologies that will define the year's Christmas shopping season. It was one of several new gadgets unveiled by the tech giant, including a smartphone with a camera-style zoom lens and a laptop that turns into a tablet.



The Android device will go on sale in October.





The screen is thinner, taller, and narrower than its predecessor, with a 16:9 screen ratio designed to work well with Hollywood films. It's also equipped with a new rubber-tipped S Pen, which can activate the screen simply by hovering near it -- so that, for instance, users can look inside an email without even clicking.

In the phone's photo gallery, users can "blow up" pictures by waving the pen at the screen. When making a phone call, hovering the pen near the screen brings up an instant notepad which can be used to jot phone numbers and other information.

The pen has 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity so users can sketch onscreen as precisely as they would with a pen.

The Galaxy Note 2 is equipped with high-end processing power more akin to a laptop than a smartphone, with a 1.6GHz quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM. But while it does have a 3G and 4G cellular radio, many people would dispute that the huge gadget actually is a phone at all.

Story continues

Apps on the phone have been customized to allow the pen to be used to add a personal touch -- such as drawing diagrams or signing your name on emails.

The S Pen can also be used to add handwritten notes "to the back of" digital photos. Photos flip over on the phone's display, so you can add notes on the rear.



Samsung also unveiled a camera with wireless connectivity built in -- another one-of-a-kind device. Called the Galaxy Camera, the gadget is armed with a high-quality zoom lens -- which is impossible in the slim form factor of smartphones and tablets -- which offers 21x zoom and a 16-megapixel sensor.





The camera also has advanced image stabilization and communicates through Wi-Fi, 3G and 4G, allowing users to email photos instantly or share them on social networks such as Facebook.

A "Share" widget lets users share photos instantly on networks such as Twitter and Facebook, or send them to a personal photo blog.

Like smartphones, it stays on standby for fast shooting. It can also be voice-controlled, so that the camera can be set up to take a shot and then "set off" by voice command.

Photographers can also use other Samsung Galaxy phones as "remote viewfinders," so they can look through the camera's screen from elsewhere.

The camera runs a version of Android and has a 4.8-inch HD touch screen to view photos. It can also run other Android apps, so that, for instance, users can add ready-made effects to their shots on the camera.

It also offers a "Smart Pro" mode, which automatically adjusts settings to create advanced shot effects such as sunsets and action shots.

"Light trace mode" allows users to capture headlights streaming across a picture -- or even using a torch as a "pen" onscreen.

The camera also shoots video in full HD and can capture slow-motion videos in 120 frames per second.

The camera also instantly stores pictures on an online backup service.

Samsung also took the wraps off new Windows 8 tablets, laptops, and smartphones - new touch-screen devices designed to let Windows keep pace in the tablet age. Windows 8 is expected to launch this autumn.

The products included smartphones, laptops, tablets, and desktop PCs -- including high-tech "convertible" gadgets that appear to be midway between laptops and tablets, and cell phones similar to Samsung's Galaxy phones.

The new devices, branded "ATIV," showed off the new, simple look of Windows: a touch-friendly "feel" and large button-like icons.

The Samsung ATIV Smart PC is a high-powered convertible machine, with a QWERTY keyboard that snaps off the laptop to turn it into a tablet. The gadget has Wi-Fi and 3G and 4G cell phone connections built in.

The machine can be controlled through touch screen, with a rubberized S Pen stylus similar to the one found in the Galaxy Note 2.

The gadget is 9.9mm thick and will last for a reported 13.5 hours.

A pro version adds a high-powered Intel Core i5 processor similar to the one found in high-end laptops, while the ATIV tablet Tab is similar, minus the keyboard.

The ultrathin tablet comes with Microsoft Office -- Samsung designed the gadget to be as useful for work as it is for web browsing and photo viewing.

The tablet also has a USB port and can connect to TV through an HDMI cable -- features that are lacking in most tablets.

A full-sized laptop, the Samsung Notebook Series 9 shows how Microsoft's new operating system works on a normal PC -- albeit the world's slimmest and fastest notebook.