The Samsung Galaxy Note II phablet is right smack in the middle of its coming-out party, and we’re hard at work on the full review. In the meantime, since we’ve compared it to the Galaxy S III and given an S Pen lesson already, alongside a few written editorials, we thought it only fitting we should hold the new Note up to its predecessor, the former king of phablets and the one that kicked off the whole category, to see where the newer model excels.

Nothing much fancy going on in this quick-and-dirty comparison video; just a lot of side-by-side comparisons and close-up & medium shots of two generations of Galaxy Note goodness. You won’t find app launch speed tests or benchmark spec-offs in this quickie; but in their place is a pretty solid tour of the differences in hardware, software, and of course, the S Pen.

Jump below for the video, and stay tuned for more Galaxy Note II coverage as the week rolls on!