Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Release Announcement: Verizon And All Other U.S. Carriers To Get The 'Phablet' By Mid-November

This comes as no surprise to those who have been following the smartphone-tablet hybrid since its unveiling at the end of August. When Samsung held an event to reveal the Galaxy Note 2 just before the IFA conference in Berlin, it did not announce any information on which carriers would offer its newest device or when the launch would be.

However, numerous allegedly leaked photos and tips since then indicated that the “phablet” would be made available across all major U.S. carriers. The most recent of these leaks came over the weekend when Droid Life posted a photo of what was believed to be the Galaxy Note 2 with a Verizon logo on the back.

Although the news that Verizon will carry the highly-anticipated “phablet” had leaked out ahead of Samsung’s official announcement, the validity of other previous speculations still remains a mystery. The release date for the Galaxy Note 2 on AT&T was rumored to be Oct. 21, the same day that Nokia’s Windows Phone 8 devices are said to be made available. The announcement from Samsung does say that the Galaxy Note 2 will be released “by mid-November,” which could mean that some carriers will get the device before others.

By rolling out the device on all carriers, Samsung appears to be mimicking the successful launch of its flagship Galaxy S3. The original Galaxy Note, however, only made its way to AT&T in the U.S. The Galaxy S3 had sold 20 million units since its May launch, and the Korea-based manufacturer believes that sales will reach 30 million by the end of 2012.

The firm also expressed confidence in its Galaxy Note successor, as Samsung’s IT and mobile chief said that the device will more than double the sales of its successor, reported CNET. This means that the Galaxy Note 2 could reach up to 10 million in sales.

The Galaxy Note 2 is also the first Samsung smartphone to launch with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box, as various other devices are still waiting for Google’s operating system update.

However, what may be an even more significant announcement is that the Galaxy Note 2 will herald in Samsung’s new Exynos 1.6GHz quad-core processor. This component is optimized for LTE coverage, and other specs for the device include 2GB of internal RAM and 16 GB of file storage, which is expandable to 64GB via microSD card.

Samsung has yet to announce a specific release date or price for its Galaxy Note 2, but as October approaches the electronics manufacturer is sure to reveal more details.