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Verizon beefs up Galaxy Note 2 with Android 4.1.2

Samsung's supersized smartphone gets a shot of Android 4.1.2 and a host of other surprises. Plus: a few bug fixes come along for the ride.

Lance Whitney Contributing Writer
Lance Whitney is a freelance technology writer and trainer and a former IT professional. He's written for Time, CNET, PCMag, and several other publications. He's the author of two tech books--one on Windows and another on LinkedIn.
Lance Whitney
Samsung's Galaxy Note 2.
Samsung's Galaxy Note 2. Josh Miller/CNET

Verizon subscribers who own the Galaxy Note 2 may find a major update waiting for them the next time they power up their phone.

Rolling out on Friday, the latest update from Verizon graces the large-screen phone with Android 4.1.2 along with several security patches from Google. The update also brings improvements to such apps and features as VZ Navigator, SMS text messaging, Verizon's Backup Assistant Plus, ISIS Mobile Wallet, Exchange Active Sync, and Wi-Fi connectivity.

Galaxy Note 2 users will now be able to use the Multi Window View to juggle more apps, such as YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps, Facebook, Twitter, and Kindle. Ringtones can be downloaded through the preloaded VZTones app. Downloaded languages can be accessed directly from the keyboard. And the dialer now offers a way to search or filter by name.

A few bug fixes also come along for the ride.

Users are now notified if the device is in Airplane mode. Duplicate calendar events will no longer appear when synced through Facebook and other apps. And the Back Up Assistant Plus can now be set with an automatic backup time.

The update weighs in at around 246MB and takes a good 10 minutes or more to install. Owners of the Note 2 can update their device by following the instructions on Verizon's Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Software Upgrade page.

(Via DroidLife)