First up, the SGH-i317 is most likely the AT&T model of the Galaxy Note 2, although it’ll probably also hit several Canadian carriers (no idea which ones). This device was first spotted in a GL Benchmarking at the beginning of September, and comes equipped with 850/1900 MHz 3G and 700/1700/2100 MHz 4G LTE bands.
The SCH-i605 was itself spotted several weeks ago in a leaked screenshot, although this was an even more mysterious device. What was only a guess back then it is now a certainty, seeing as the featuring of both CDMA and GSM, as well as 700 MHz LTE can only point at a dual-mode Verizon-bound Galaxy Note 2.
Big Red’s version of Samsung’s new phablet will support simultaneous CDMA voice and LTE data transmission using separate antennas, unlike the models on AT&T and T-Mobile. The i605 is also the model with the lowest SAR (specific absorption rate) measurements, while the AT&T-bound i317 has the highest such number.
As far as T-Mo’s Note 2 goes, we should mention that this is codenamed T889 and will support HSPA on the classic 1,700 MHz AWS frequency, but also 1,700 MHz 4G LTE speeds. That means that, despite earlier rumors, Magenta has a long-term plan for Sammy’s phablet, which will in fact run smoothly on the carrier’s soon to be introduced LTE network.
Notably missing on the list of tracked FCC certifications of Galaxy Note 2 variants are both Sprint and U.S. Cellular’s versions, although we wouldn’t worry very much about that. There is a chance these two will be released sometime after the three already spotted devices. There’s a better chance however that the two have also been approved by the regulatory agency and they simply haven’t been tracked yet.
