October 24 Time to Launch Samsung Galaxy Note 2

Samsung unveiled the monster-size (5.6 inches!) Galaxy Note II smartphone in late August, but the company has so far been vague about when it’s coming to the U.S. — although the carriers are known.

We’re still not 100% on the timing of the launch, but at least now we know when we’ll know. Samsung just sent out invitations to the press for an event in New York City on Oct. 24. Although the invitation says nothing about what will be on deck, it features a big picture of an S Pen — the Note line’s trademark stylus.

We’ve already had some hands-on time with the Galaxy Note II, and we can say pretty definitively that the stylus pictured belongs to it. It certainly doesn’t match the thicker S Pen that comes with the Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet.

The original Galaxy Note was a fine smartphone, although we were a little underwhelmed by the stylus-powered abilities and taken aback by its sheer size (so were various members of the public at large). The Note II looks like a more refined version, but our first impression of it has us worrying about feature creep.

We’ll know soon enough. When it finally comes out, the Samsung Galaxy Note II will come to all four major U.S. carriers: Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile as well as US Cellular. We just need to know the date and the price, which should be forthcoming at the event.