Samsung's Biggest Phone, or Smallest Tablet If you are the kind of person who likes to pore over a good owner's manual (or in this case, owner's Web page) you will love the Samsung Galaxy Note II. The basic operation of the phone is as easy to grasp as with any Android phone, but the Note II is so loaded with trick features that you'll be using only a fraction of what it can do unless you spend a goodly amount of time reading how to operate it. First, the basics. The most obvious feature of the Note II is its size. At nearly 6 inches by 3 inches by 1 ⁄ 3 inch, it is larger than the common phone, and smaller than a minitablet. Call it a tablette. Thanks to the sizable Amoled screen, video looks particularly good, and even people not used to typing on a glass keyboard will quickly get the hang of it. The processor is a 1.6-gigahertz quad core, whose ample processing power helps keep those big-screen videos smooth. It comes with two gigabytes of internal memory and can take an additional 64-gigabyte MicroSD card. The phone runs on Android's 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system, which of course means it syncs nicely with Google's suite of products, like contacts, Gmail, Google's maps and the like. One thing that sets the phone apart is its stylus. It's not just a pointer; it has a button that allows you to do graphic editing as you would with a Wacom pen and tablet. Of course it also lets you write notes by hand, make illustrations and annotate PowerPoint documents. It has both NFC and Wi-Fi direct, which means files can be shared with nearby phones, and purchases may be made from the phone at some special cash registers. That just scratches the surface. The feature list is deep, but it comes with a steep learning curve. The phone can be set so that tapping it or holding it a certain way activates a command; there is a setting for one-handed operation; and customized vibrations can be created to let you know who is calling even when the ringer is shut off. To learn all of the tricks, prepare to cozy up with the Note II microsite; a printed user guide would be the size of an encyclopedia. Your contract will probably run out before you learn to use all of the features. The Note II is $300 from AT&T, Verizon or Sprint and $370 from T-Mobile, with a two-year contract.