There have always been white smartphones, but it really feels as if every manufacturer is jumping on a bandwagon at present. Not least Samsung, which has recently announced that a white Galaxy Nexus is on the way (13 February) on the back of the release of this, a white version of its 5.29-inch screen-sporting behemoth of a phone/tablet combination, the Galaxy Note.

The innards are, of course, identical to the black (listed as blue) device we reviewed on its release at the beginning of November 2011. It has the same HD Super AMOLED touchscreen, 1.4GHz dual-core processor, 16GB of storage with a microSD memory card slot for further expansion of up to 32GB, and 8- and 2-megapixel cameras front and back respectively.

However, this time the entire casing is white. Very white. Very white indeed.

Perhaps the most surprising element of this is that the back is gloss white, whereas the original model was matt - mottled, in fact. We suspect that this is done so as to avoid it becoming murky and dirty too quickly, with the shinier plastic being easier to wipe clean.

In contrast, the S Pen pressure-sensitive stylus has a matt finish, and could become grubby with constant use. That's not to say it will, however, as we suspect most people to use the Note as a massive phone or internet browser more often than a drawing or, ironically, note-taking device but it's worth pointing out - noting, if you like.

So that's about it. Apart from the aesthetic differences, there's very little else to discuss. From putting both models side-by-side, we have to say that we prefer the funkiness of the white edition, but could see ourselves favouring the black (blue) one just because it's less likely to be marked or look tatty when pulled out in a business meeting.

It's really horses for courses. And we certainly welcome the choice.

The white Samsung Galaxy Note is now available in the UK from multiple retailers. The cheapest we've seen it online (SIM-free) is £525.