The Note II is a strong successor to the original Note and a timely response to criticism that Samsung is a follower and not an innovator, according to market research company CCS Insight.

On Tuesday, Samsung also launched the Series 7 and Series 5 All-In-One (AIO) PCs, which will also have Windows 8 along with touch-sensitive displays. Users will also be able to control the computers with hand gestures.

The Series 7 comes in two versions, with either a 27-inch or a 23.6-inch display. The 27-inch version has an Intel Core i7-3770T processor and 8GB of RAM, while the smaller version has to make do with a Core i5-3470T processor and 6GB of RAM.

The Series 5 has a 21.5-inch display, a Core i3-3220T processor and 4GB of RAM.

The list prices are between $1,099 and $1,699 for the Series 7 and $749 for the Series 5, and all three will become available on Oct. 26.