Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Features: How To Improve The Phablet’s Display

The Galaxy Note 2’s display may be one of is most noteworthy qualities, and now owners can improve the image quality even further. According to David Katzmaier of CNET, playing around with the device’s settings can result in a higher-quality display for movies, images and more.

Users can go in to the “Settings” menu on their device and select “Screen Mode” and then “Movie” to alter image quality. Once “Movie” is selected, save the changes and exit the menu. Deselect “Auto adjust screen tone,” and users should see some changes in their display.

However, Katzmaier warns that the alteration may not seem like an upgrade at first glance.

“Prepare to overcome your initial impression that colors look worse,” he writes.

Users are recommended to view photos in the “Movie” mode and then again in the default “Standard” mode to truly see the difference.

This option is not available on the Galaxy S3, Samsung’s flagship smartphone believed to be one of the leading iPhone 5 competitors in the Android market.

When compared side by side, the iPhone 5 has a higher quality white and contrast ratio. According to CNET, the iPhone 5’s 100 percent white brightness setting is rated at 540.77, more than doubling that of the Galaxy Note 2. However, the Galaxy Note 2 allows users to switch between Standard and an Adjusted mode.

In addition to the “Movie” option mentioned above, there is another way to improve image quality on the Galaxy Note 2. Simply un-checking the “Auto adjust screen tone” (AAST) box at the bottom of the “Display” menu without touching the “Movie” option will utilize the phone’s full light output capacity. This nearly doubles its contrast ratio and improves its ability to compete with ambient light. Turning off the AAST feature also slightly improves color accuracy.

The Galaxy Note 2 officially went on sale in the US on Oct. 24 when it became available to T-Mobile subscribers. The German-based carrier announced via Twitter that the “phablet” would be on sale in both Titanium Gray and Marble White for $369.99.

The device arrives for AT&T users in the coming weeks on Nov. 9, and will sell for $299.99. US Cellular is the most recent carrier in North America to offer the Galaxy Note 2, as the tablet-smartphone hybrid arrived on Oct. 26 at a price of $299.99.

Samsung officially unveiled the Galaxy Note 2 just before the annual IFA conference in Berlin this past August.  The 5.5-inch device comes with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean right out of the box, a thinner and lighter body, a 1.6GHz quad-core processor, an 8 megapixel rear camera, Near Field Communication and 2GB of RAM.

Prior to the phone’s launch, Samsung expressed confidence its next-generation Galaxy Note successor. Head of Samsung mobile Jong-kyun Shin predicted that global sales could reach up to 20 million, according to Korea’s Yonhap News Agency. This is twice the number of units the originally Galaxy Note sold when it debuted in February 2011.