No, you're not holding it wrong -- in fact, with Canon's new PowerShot N, any and every orientation is correct, thanks to a unique squaredesign with key controls mounted around the center-positioned lens.
It has also adopted the same pebble-like design that's found on the Galaxy S III, which makes the Note II slightly thinner (9.4mm vs. 9.7mm) and helps it feel a little less awkward in-hand than the original version, which used the square and slightly blockier GS2 design language.