Samsung galaxy note

[cynics]

Ok..so I received my Galaxy Note and here is a brief review comparing it to my iPhone 4.

Feel...It feels like a premium product. Nice and solid. Surprised me actually

Size...not too big for my hands. I'm 6'5" and the phone feels like it was made for me. Doesn't look strange making calls from it( at least to me it doesn't)

Pocketability.... not an issue. Fits easily

Screen..nothing to say but awesome..

User interface sure is different. it does lag and studders when going between home screens and scrolling on browser pages.

Bloatware...more than you can imagine. Too may stupid ATT and Samsung apps

Navigation...voice turn by turn is awesome.

Browser...very nice but Safari is smoother

Phone..call quality very good. On par with my iPhone

S-pen....It's there but I probably won't use it

Speaker.. sounds good but it is on back of phone and when you set the phone flat on table it sounds lousy. Good volume though.

Apps on Android...We all know there are not as many

Video quality...Netflix looks great. Hulu + does not work. Says not supported on this device. Youtube looks very nice

Camera...takes nice pictures. Looks about the same as my Iphone4 pics.

Am I keeping phone.....The jury is still out. The phone looks awesome, but the lack of smoothness has me wondering. Everything I heard sid that Ice Cream Sandwich is much smoother, but I'll believe it when I see it.

Had I not had an iPhone first, I would think the Note is spectacular, but I m spoiled with the smoothness of the iPhone. I'm just tired of squinting!!

Since Apple prioritizes the UI to user input I doubt Android will ever feel as smooth as iOS. This is something I've mentioned a couple times that I've noticed. Load a busy webpage on iOS and start scrolling before its done, you'll notice everything will stop even the page from loading while you are doing that until it you stop then it will continue to load. If you do the same on he Note it will be a little stuttery but it will continue to load.

I think Android will still need a little more hardware but more importantly a lot more software optimization before it can accomplish that level of multitasking.

Since that screen is so large I'd get a different browser or set the stock browser UI string to desktop. Should look pretty good.

 

[OceanView]

Thanks for the review Lindenhurst

The stuttering and delays would bother me.
I guess I will wait till ICS comes out next month.
Hopefully that will solve the problem.
I went to Best buy today at lunch and they had a dummy version of the Note and it is not that big.
I want to see how browsing the web is as that is the function that I will be using it the most for.

 

[marksman]

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If I get ANY other phone than an iPhone... the Galaxy Note is what I am getting.

I am still blown away by the fact that right out of the box you can simply plug in a USB mouse (no software needed!) and a wireless Bluetooth keyboard to have a full laptop experience

Doesn't hurt either the fact that it has a 2500mAh (!!!) battery that is user replaceable or the future proof ability of already having LTE when ATT finally rolls it out.

Amazon Wireless routinely cut Android phone prices HARD (see the ATT Skyrocket was free on contract less than a month after release w/ the regular retail price being $249). So as soon as they do they same with the Note I am pouncing on it

The funny thing is it is bigger than a laptop.

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Space? You think I'm worried about space? It's taking up my precious memory. I could see myself buying 3 of these a week.

just call it what it is- a lame iPad.

Tell that to the iPad users that feel ripped off you can't use it for stylus note taking. At least anything that's worth a ****.

Anyone who needs a pen to take notes should learn how to type.

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Yay for going BACKWARDS with technology.

Let's move away from touching the screen and bring back a freaking stylus! THAT'LL SELL US BILLIONS BOB! THAT'S GENIUS!

If it has a stylus, it has failed.

The next big Samsung innovation will be a hardware keyboard.

After that they will release a car phone model.

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Looks difficult to fit into the pocket... way too big..

What?, Are you 8yo, or do you wear size 0 woman's jeans?

YouTube: video

Are you 8 years old wearing skater shorts with giant pockets. That device does not easily fit in pockets of normal people

 

[JAT]

Uh, maybe *you* should go back and read the thread. The 5" Galaxy Note is exactly what ap3604 mentioned in his post (ap3604's post) that you responded to (Link to your post)

So, you're wrong twice. In the same thread. Good job.

Major reading comprehension fail. MAJOR.

 

[Lindenhurst]

Ok. After a few more hours with the device, here are a few more things.

Voice talk....awesome app for using voice to send texts, read texts. navigate..etc.Driving mode is nice because it reads you texts and emails. Haven't totally figured it out, but so far really nice.

The damn power button on side is so easy to hit, that I shut the thing down many times. MAybe a case will alleviate this.

Battery life seems comparable to my Iphone4

Music player....haven't used it yet. I rarely use Iphone4 for music.

Voice navigation...unbelievable. You can speak the destination to the phoe and it will automatically get route and guide you by map and voice. I am sure Apple will have that feature by the time IP5 is out because I heard they are doing their own maps and won't be using Google maps.

Android market...a bit disorganized, but if you look hard enough, you can find what you want.

WOuld I recommend this phone????.....For those wanting a huge screen..absolutely. Just realize that it is different than the iPhone and not quite as smooth, but hopefully ICS will fix that.

I am leaning toward keeping this phone now, but I'm not selling the iPhone until the full 30 days is up and I am sure of it. I hope ICS comes out within that time period so I can see whether it is much better.

I'll still watch this forum though. Lots of knowledgeable people here with excellent advice.

Is this device big enough to discourage someone from buying a tablet or an iPad......Not for me, but maybe for some. Thats probably why Apple doesn't want to sell a device that can function as a phone and a tablet.

 

[kdarling]

Anyone who needs a pen to take notes should learn how to type.

You cannot quickly sketch a diagram, or circle a part of a photo, with a typewriter keyboard.

Any professional or student would find a pen quite useful jotting down math equations, circuit or construction diagrams, and everything else we use a pencil for every day.

Are you 8 years old wearing skater shorts with giant pockets. That device does not easily fit in pockets of normal people

Look up "samsung note fit pocket" on YouTube. There are plenty of videos that seem to demonstrate otherwise.

Is this device big enough to discourage someone from buying a tablet or an iPad......Not for me, but maybe for some. Thats probably why Apple doesn't want to sell a device that can function as a phone and a tablet.

I don't think it's necessarily an either-or type of situation.

I think what's missing from a lot of debates, is the concept of people buying more than one type and size of device.

As I keep pointing out, many families and even single people have multiple brands and sizes of TVs and phones and other gear.

A problem with discussions around here, is that a lot of the more vocal posters are probably young, relatively poor, and have nobody else to provide for. Otherwise they'd know that people often buy a COMBINATION of a nice big something, a middle something, and a bunch of cheaper somethings for the kids

 

[VulchR]

....Otherwise they'd know that people often buy a COMBINATION of a nice big something, a middle something, and a bunch of cheaper somethings for the kids

Very true ... and my kids hate me for it.

 

[OceanView]

Is this device big enough to discourage someone from buying a tablet or an iPad......Not for me, but maybe for some. Thats probably why Apple doesn't want to sell a device that can function as a phone and a tablet.

This person is me.
One of the main reasons I want this phone is so that I don't have to carry around my iPad as well as my iphone.
Only thing holding me back is the lag. I pray ICS fixes it.

Thanks for the update.

 

[chiefpavvy]

LOL that thing is ridiculous. About as absurd as a tablet user walking around taking photos! My god that is nuts.

iPhone 4/S form factor is perfect. I hope they keep it and just keep updating the internals. Love the feel of it, it is just perfect. These 4.X and 5.X inch screens are getting out of hand IMHO.

Also why do these morons keep putting speakers on the BACK of the device? Every time you set the phone down you can't hear a damn thing. DUH!

 

[cynics]

LOL that thing is ridiculous. About as absurd as a tablet user walking around taking photos! My god that is nuts.

iPhone 4/S form factor is perfect. I hope they keep it and just keep updating the internals. Love the feel of it, it is just perfect. These 4.X and 5.X inch screens are getting out of hand IMHO.

Also why do these morons keep putting speakers on the BACK of the device? Every time you set the phone down you can't hear a damn thing. DUH!

The speaker thing is dumb. Apples best design they have is the speaker on the bottom.

I'd WANT to say this is so they can use a better sounding speaker (larger) but my iPhone has great sound. I had an old Samsung dumbphone with the speaker on the back and when I set it on my leather ottoman it would almost entirely mute the ringer.

 

[Virgo]

Would it fit in skinny jeans? With a hard case? And can it work on T-Mobile?

 

[cynics]

Would it fit in skinny jeans? With a hard case? And can it work on T-Mobile?

We can only hope not.

 

[Lindenhurst]

Ok. Just an update on why my Galaxy Note was so studdery. I had power saver feature on. Once turned off, it scrolls silky smooth , about as good as my Iphone4.
Just came from the ATT store and got both my boys Galaxy Notes for their upgrade. We'll all give it the 30 day try.
The more I use it the more I like it.
The phone is definitely more for the "techie" type person that likes messing with settings and setting up custom home screens. I installed go launcher ex and it is very easy to change themes on the fly. Reinds me of Winterboard on my Jailbroken iPhone, but allows more customization.
My wife is the perfect iPhone person; someone who wants the phone to just work, and doesn't even change her wallpaper.

All in all I am very pleased with the Galaxy Note thus far. While I was at Att, there were about 5 people signing up for service and all of them got iPhones 4s's. None even looked at the Android device. The power of marketing I guess..combined with a foolproof product that just works.

 

[Sdahe]

I can imagine this thing sucking up the battery in a few hours... that big screen needs a lot of power.

 

[Lindenhurst]

I can imagine this thing sucking up the battery in a few hours... that big screen needs a lot of power.

I'm.sure it uses a lot of juice but the battery in it is very large. seems to last as long as my Ip4, but its hard to tell because I haven't put it down since I got it.
i

 

[Savor]

The speaker thing is dumb. Apples best design they have is the speaker on the bottom.

I'd WANT to say this is so they can use a better sounding speaker (larger) but my iPhone has great sound. I had an old Samsung dumbphone with the speaker on the back and when I set it on my leather ottoman it would almost entirely mute the ringer.

Yup, that is one small detail that I appreciate Apple for doing. I own three other non-iPhones and they all have the speaker on the back. The loudest speaker comes from my dumb phone but I always have to lay it on its front just to hear it.

Just a heads up that the AT&T isn't exactly the best version of the Galaxy Note to get. The international one with Exynos is a superior graphic intensive performer to the Qualcomm ones but Exynos doesn't support AT&T LTE like the Snapdragon.

 

[Lindenhurst]

This person is me.
One of the main reasons I want this phone is so that I don't have to carry around my iPad as well as my iphone.
Only thing holding me back is the lag. I pray ICS fixes it.

Thanks for the update.

The lag is gone now. I had power saver on which apparently reduced performance. Try one out for 30 days. If you take it back, it only costs $35 to do so at Att.

 

[OceanView]

The lag is gone now. I had power saver on which apparently reduced performance. Try one out for 30 days. If you take it back, it only costs $35 to do so at Att.

That's good news, I will be going to the AT&T store tomorrow to play with it and decide on it.

Thanks for the update.

 

[marksman]

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I want to buy the hottest new devices where you have a 50% chance of getting the latest os release.

I can't even imagine having to wonder if your brand new just released device will run the current os, let alone any future upgrades.

I am going to start making products aimed at android users. They have extremely low expectations.

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So you really think Samsung will release an updated Note without renaming it as Galaxy Note 2 Turbo Maxx 3D IMAX V2????

Trust me, whenever they update to ICS, they will rename it and sell it as the Galaxy Note 2 Turbo Maxx 3D IMAX V2 Limited Edition.

And what will Apple call the next iPhone, which is really going to be the 7th new iPhone? How bout the iPhone 5. That makes sense. Or maybe the iPhone 7-2, since the S versions don't count.


WHy do you care what Samsung will call the future Galaxy Note? It could be the greatest phone in the world and you would still criticize it, without ever actually using or trying one out.

Talk about being objective.

To be fair the note should not be called a phone. My dads six year old desktop has a modem in it but we don't call it a phone.

The label "phone" should be reserved for devices that commonly resemble standard phone devices of the last 15-20 years in shape and size.

 

[Sdahe]

I don't know... It's too big for my taste.

 

[rjohnstone]

According to Samsung, ICS is coming to the Note and the Skyrocket in March. They are essentially the same phone with the exception of the screen and Wacom digitizer. The SOC is the same.
I've already played with a leaked build for the I9100 and the GPU acceleration is slick.
Any signs of stuttering or lag are gone and that phone has a slower CPU and GPU.

 

[Savor]

I just look at this device more like a mini tablet than a gigantic phone that also can make a great multimedia device. If some can carry their phone AND tablet with them, why not just use the Note to make it ONE device?

Amazon buyers are raving about this product -
Amazon Customer Reviews (5-stars)

I'm still undecided between this or the Galaxy Nexus. I can get both phones for FREE with a two-year data plan only contract at roughly $46 per month (2000 pesos) in the Philippines. Galaxy Nexus can get the latest software updates but it seems Galaxy Note has the bigger battery for a bigger screen, S-Pen, and expandable memory,

One of the few things I like about Android is it has this app called MoboPlayer. An app that not iOS and WP owners can get. I basically use this app to play alot of movies. I wished Google can just make it as Android's default video player. It can play all types of files including flv which is what I tend to download alot. Nomore conversions! I still have the VLC app before it was removed from iTunes, and unfortunate it isn't there for people who don't have it and are stuck at converting videos. MoboPlayer is just perfect for video watchers, still available, and FREE.

 

[sneaky butcher]

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To be fair the note should not be called a phone. My dads six year old desktop has a modem in it but we don't call it a phone.

The label "phone" should be reserved for devices that commonly resemble standard phone devices of the last 15-20 years in shape and size.

ok lets call it a "phablet" !

 

[Sdahe]

It just came to my mind... imagine the Galaxy Note with an Otter Box Defender case... hahahaha..

 

[rjohnstone]

It just came to my mind... imagine the Galaxy Note with an Otter Box Defender case... hahahaha..

That would be HUGE.

The Note is borderline too big for me as it is.
I can still hold it comfortably, but slap that case on it and it's game over.
I could see something like an Incipio Feather working nicely.