One of the key contributors to Samsung's success as the leading smartphone manufacturer in the world by pulling down Apple from the top spot has been the big guy, the Galaxy Note. As of now, the device has seen more than seven million worldwide sales, an increase of two million over the figures announced by the company in March. And now, rumors are rife that the South Korean conglomerate is preparing to unveil its successor as early as August.

Korean publication MK Business News recently came up with a report, in which it said, citing "a source familiar with the matter," that "Samsung will unveil the Galaxy Note 2 during the IFA 2012, a consumer electronics show held in Berlin, Germany in late-August."

The source also revealed that the Galaxy Note 2 would feature a 5.5-inch display, which is slightly larger than the current 5.3-inch display. However, the actual size of the phone would be similar to the current Galaxy Note model. In addition, the device will run Android 4.1 Android Jelly Bean, the latest version of Google's mobile operating system.

The report also revealed some more details of the upcoming device. According to it, the Galaxy Note 2 is believed to sport a more powerful quad-core processor, improving its processing speed and "facilitating various multi-tasking functions."

On top of all these, the smartphone is also rumored to come with an improved camera with bumped up resolution of 12 or 13 megapixels, up from the current 8.0 megapixels found on the existing model. However, as Redmond Pie noted, "image quality isn't just in the megapixels; the actual lens and multiple other factors also play a pretty significant role in how well photos come out."

While some of these features don't necessarily look too far stretched, the claim regarding the device's display exceeding five inches needs to be taken with a pinch of salt.

The anonymous source also said that the Galaxy Note 2 won't feature unbreakable plane display (UBP) technology as earlier reports suggested. The UBP technology is a precursor to the flexible display, which is likely to be "applied for the next product released after Galaxy Note 2."

"The release of the Galaxy Note 2 is timed to compete head-on against Samsung's biggest rival Apple, as the US-based phonemaker plans to release its latest iPhone 5 (or the New iPhone) during September or October," MK Business News reported.

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