Samsung launched Wednesday in S. Korea the newest version of its Galaxy Note week after Apple's iPhone 5 hit shelves.

The Galaxy Note II will hit stores in 128 nations including the United States, where the firm's recently lost a $1.05 billion patent case to Apple.

The smartphone has a 5.5-inch screen and is slightly bigger than the firm's flagship Galaxy S III samrtphone and comes with a stylus "S pen" to write notes or draw on the screen.

Samsung has sold more than 10 million units of the first Galaxy Note since its debut in November and more than 20 million of the latest Galaxy S III, which was launched in late May.

Galaxy Note II is powered by Google's Android software and is equipped with a new 1.6 GHz quad-core processor. About 15.1 centimetres long (5.9 inches), 8 centimetres wide, 9.4 millimetres thin and featuring a 5.5-inch touchscreen, it allows users to split the screen in half to view two programmes at once.