Galaxy Note II leak

Who needs moles and sources when a company leaks its own unreleased products? That’s what Samsung just did when it posted a picture of what is believed to be the Galaxy Note II on its official Facebook page for Pakistan… three times!

The image originally went up with the caption, “Picture perfect view made even more perfect with Samsung Galaxy S3.” But clearly, the image above isn’t a Galaxy S III. It was promptly pulled after being published, and we didn’t expect it to reappear, fueling speculation that the Korean company had just leaked its own Galaxy Note II.

Then Samsung surprised us all by publishing the image again with a new caption, which read, “Picture perfect view made even more perfect with Samsung Galaxy Note.” It didn’t say “new Galaxy Note” or “Galaxy Note II,” but this certainly isn’t the same Galaxy Note available today. It’s display is bigger for a start, almost reaching the edges of the device, and there’s no physical home button.

Furthermore, the volume rocker on the left side of the device, and the sleep/wake button on the right, have been shifted down a little, presumably to improve operation with just one hand. There’s also an additional physical button on the right side of the device, likely to be for taking photos. The front-facing camera and proximity sensors have also moved from the right to the left side of the earpiece.

In fact, about the only thing this smartphone shares with the existing Galaxy Note is its shape.

Samsung republished the image a third time, with the caption, “Picture perfect view made even more perfect with Samsung Mobile.” As far as we can tell, it has now pulled the image altogether.

Galaxy Note II leak on Facebook

You may remember this image popped up before the unveiling of the Galaxy S III. Some are calling this a marketing ploy that Samsung is using to build up excitement and anticipation for the device prior to its official unveiling. But could it be that the company really published a real image of the second-generation Galaxy Note accidentally… twice?

We’ll know for certain on August 29, when the handset gets its official unveiling at a Samsung event in Berlin.

[via Engadget]

Update: The photo is allegedly nothing more than a Galaxy S III concept.