The world's largest maker of smartphones, Samsung continues to build on the success its had in 2012 with the Galaxy SIII smartphone. Samsung has sold 5 million of its Galaxy Note II smartphone tablet hybrid devices in the first two months on the product's release, the company announced Nov. 26, according to InformationWeek.

The Note II continues to exceed expectations, sales and otherwise, surpassing the original Note at reaching the same milestone. Samsung has not provided detailed information on actual sales in the individual countries selling the Note II.

According to InformationWeek, Investment bank UBS believes Samsung is well on its way to selling a record number of smartphones during the fourth quarter of the year, thanks in part to the Note II and Galaxy S III devices.

"The Galaxy Note 2 has shipped 3 million units in its first five weeks of sales, with sell-through strong in Asia and Europe, and the U.S. gathering pace post-launch," said Nicolas Gaudois, an analyst at UBS. "We hence forecast 7 million Galaxy Note 2 [shipments], compared to our initial expectation of 5 million for the fourth quarter."

UBS downplayed the possibility that the Galaxy S III, which is now six months old, will see a sales decline during the fourth quarter. "We see a limited ramp-down, if any at all, for the GSIII, and we feel comfortable with our 15 million estimate for the fourth quarter of 2012," said Gaudois. The firm further pointed out that the GSIII sold 5.5 million units in October alone. It is available from the five largest wireless network operators in the U.S.

UBS believes Samsung will sell more than 60 million smartphones during the fourth quarter, which would be a new record for the company.

Less than a month ago Samsung announced the company had sold more than 3 million of its Galaxy Note II smartphone-tablets in the first 37 days the device was on the market. Clearly, people can't get enough of the "phablet."

The device's popularity may have even irked Apple. The Note II was added to Apple's ongoing multi-billion-dollar patent infringement lawsuit Nov. 23. Along with the Note II, Apple asked the court to add to its case the Galaxy S III, running the new Jelly Bean system, the Galaxy Tab 8.9 Wi-Fi tablet computer, the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 and the Rugby Pro and Galaxy S III mini, according to court papers.

"Apple has acted quickly and diligently to determine that these newly released products do infringe many of the same claims already asserted by Apple, and in the same way that the already-accused devices infringe," the tech company said in its filing.

The claims were filed as part of a second patent suit between the mobile-device giants in San Jose federal court in which Samsung is targeting Apple's iPhones, iPad and iPod Touch devices, while Apple has named more than 20 Samsung devices.

In an earlier lawsuit in July, a jury found Samsung infringed six of seven Apple patents at issue and awarded $1.05 billion in damages.

Reviews for the Note II

Reviews are just as enamored with the device as the public. Most found relatively little to complain about in the second generation of Samsung's Galaxy Note "phablet," outside of minor quibbles with its size, kinks in the software, and handling of apps.

While most reviews questioned the larger-than-average size of the device, reviewers finding themselves missing using smaller smartphones, Time loved the size of the Note II. "It's been a fun experience, but it's also tweaked my thinking; now, even 4.8-inch screens seem reasonable, and anything less feels insufferably puny," said the magazine.

Time also believes much the Note II's success is due to Android 4.2. "The fact that the Galaxy Note II is so much better than its predecessor might have something to do with [my change of heart]. This is largely due to the software, which is based on Android 4.1, codenamed Jelly Bean. Smoothness was the main focus for this version of Android, and it really shines on the Note II. Every swipe through the home screen is just as fluid as the iPhone-for a long time the high-water mark of interface fluidity-even with a full array of widgets and an animated wallpaper. I'll go so far as to say it's the smoothest Android phone I've ever used."

InfoWorld thought the Samsung vastly improved the Note II from the first version of the device, especially when it came to the device's smooth operation, and sees huge potential in the future of the device's S-Pen.

"The device is a major improvement over the original. It has a larger, better screen, a faster processor, better camera and a revised shape that makes it somewhat easier to hold and use," said InformationWeek.

Samsung Galaxy Note II specs

The device has a quad-core Exynos processor clocked at 1.6GHz, 5.5″ HD Super AMOLED display, 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, microSD slot to expand the storage, 4G LTE (except on the T-Mobile version), 8MP rear camera, 1.9MP front camera, built-in S Pen, NFC, and a 3100mAh battery. The 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED display on the Galaxy Note 2, has a 1280x720 display, at 276ppi.