Android 4.1.2 ROM for Samsung Galaxy Note II leaked

It looks like the Samsung Galaxy Note II is going to get the Android 4.1.2 update soon. According to  Sammobile, the ROM for the update has been leaked. The update features a new visual effect - the inkblot effect that is displayed when you touch the phone’s lockscreen with the S-Pen. There is a video that demonstrates the new effect.

New additions include the new options in the Notification Toggles, the ability to disable the Brightness Slider in the Notification Panel, the ability to disable Multi-View, continuous input in the Samsung keyboard (much like Swype, or the Android 4.2 stock keyboard), and a new Group Cast application. The Status Bar is getting a visual change from the colour grey to black. There are also some under-the-hood tweaks that make the browser smoother than it was before.

You can flash the ROM and try it out for yourself, but be warned, as this will void your warranty and is generally considered unsafe for casual use.

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Now get nice looking ink blot effects on the lockscreen

The Galaxy Note II has been a very successful phone. Earlier this month, it was revealed that over  three million units of the handset had been sold since it was first launched in September. Samsung had announced that the 5.5-inch smartphone is selling at three times the pace of the original Galaxy Note. 10 million units of the handset have been sold across the globe since the Note was launched. To know more about the Galaxy Note II, read our review on this stylus-enabled smartphone.

The Samsung Galaxy Note II features most of the specifications that had been written about in the past but Samsung has thrown in a new feature that can potentially change the way mobile phones are used nowadays. Apart from the fact that it features the Android v4.1 (Jelly Bean) out of the box, and is powered by a 1.6GHz quad-core processor, the major talking point about the Galaxy Note II is that it features an all-new Air View feature.

Here is a quick look at the specifications of the Galaxy Note II:

• 5.5-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen with a 1280 x 720 pixel density
• 4G LTE, EDGE, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi HT40, NFC
• GPS with GLONASS and A-GPS support
• Bluetooth v4.0 with USB 2.0 Host
• 8 megapixel AF/ Touchfocus camera, 1.9MP VT Camera, BSI front-facing camera
• 16GB, 32GB and 64GB versions, all with expandable support up to 64GB
• 2GB RAM
• MHL for AV out

As per a recent report, South Korea-based mobile phone manufacturer, Samsung Electronics has shipped more units of smartphones than its rival Apple, in the third quarter of 2012, as per latest figures released by research firm IDC.

Samsung sold 56.3 million smartphones, including the Galaxy S III, in the period between July and September, amassing a share of 31.3 percent of the global market. Apple’s sales, in stark comparison, accounted for 15 percent - less than half of Samsung’s. Canada-based Research in Motion (RIM) with its popular line of smartphones, BlackBerry, is at the third position with a global share of 4.3 percent, while China-based ZTE came fourth with a global share of 4.2 percent. HTC came fifth with a global share of 4 percent.