I Took The Plunge To Android Land...Oh Boy.

[Scorbing]

Well after weeks of debating whether I should get a new iPhone or an Android phone, I finally decided to jump ship and give Android another chance, but this time I went big.

I decided to go with a Galaxy Note 2. It's big, but its fast. Quad Core CPU, 2GB RAM. Not bad for $100.00 (after AT&T gave me a $250.00 trade-in for my iPhone 4S), which wasn't a bad deal since I only paid $200.00 for that iPhone when I got it.

I was torn between the Galaxy S3, The Nokia Lumia, the HTC One X+ and the Note 2, but I went for the Note 2. Why? Very simple:

1. Fast Quad Core CPU

2. 2GB RAM

3. Removable battery

4. Micro SD Card

5. Micro USB

6. Impressive battery life for a phone that big.

None of the other phones were even close, although the S3 did have a removable battery, which is a plus for me.

The Nokia Lumia 920 is an impressive piece of hardware, but the battery on it sucks and it is not removable, no SD card and the phone seems to be plagued with reboot issues from what I have been reading, not to mention the poor selection of Apps from the Windows 8 apps store.

The Galaxy S3 was a fine phone but it had a dual core and 1GB of RAM.

The HTC was beautiful. Well built, but like the Nokia, no removable battery and poor battery life.

The Note 2 is also running Google's latest creation, Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean, unlike the S3, which is still on ICS.

The Note 2 is a big phone. The thing looks like a Star Trek Tricorder, but it is fast. I hope I made a good choice and I hope I don't regret it.

[mattmatik]

I have a couple friends who now have the Note 2 and I'm completely jealous. I'm a bit over the iPhone myself, especially now that the 5 is out. Congrats, man, enjoy the phone!

[Scorbing]

I have a couple friends who now have the Note 2 and I'm completely jealous. I'm a bit over the iPhone myself, especially now that the 5 is out. Congrats, man, enjoy the phone!

I love the iPhone but Apple hasn't done anything new to it in years and it is a shame because iOS is very stable and feels rock solid. The iPhone 5 is simply not a worthy upgrade. They gave us .5 inches more of screen!....LOL...LOL...Really?

I would have gotten an iPhone 5 is the screen would have been like the Android phones, 4.5 - 4.8 inches, but .5 inches more?....What a joke.

They really need to come up with something very different and very impressive soon in the iPhone department because at the pace Android is going, it won't be long before Android takes over the crown.

[HoochieMamma]

You're going to love it man (Y)

If you ever get bored then head over to here

http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1790

and get some custom ROMS which can do all sorts of fun stuff.

[Blackhearted]

Don't really see the fixation on the whole 'quad core cpu' bit. I don't think most phone apps are remotely demanding enough for a quad core cpu to be all that big of a deal(as of yet, atleast).

[Scorbing]

Don't really see the fixation on the whole 'quad core cpu' bit. I don't think most phone apps are remotely demanding enough for a quad core cpu to be all that big of a deal(as of yet, atleast).

It is not a big deal now, but it will be soon. Apps and OSs get more and more demanding so having the extra hardware and power is just like having a condom:

Better to have it and not need it then need it and not have it.

:rolleyes:

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

I recently played around with my friend's Galaxy S3 and I was blown away by the size of the display (4.8"). If I saw the Galaxy Note 2 in person, I'd have trouble seeing it as a phone and not a tablet. It'd be great for watching videos and browsing the web. Have you used it with a stylus yet?

[neo1911]

Apps and OSs get more and more demanding so having the extra hardware and power is just like having a condom:

Better to have it and not need it then need it and not have it.

:rolleyes:

LMAO what an analogy!!

[AJerman]

First off, congrats. The Note II is one hell of a phone. I thought about trading up my One X for a Note II, but I played with the original Note and it was too big for me, and the Note II is even better. I'll be waiting for HTC's 5" 1080p devices next year (I'm not and never will be with Verizon,so the DNA doesn't work for me).

Speaking of, just as a side note in case the size ends up bothering you, since I know it does some people. The dual core S4 in the SGSIII is of newer architecture than the quad core Exynos 4 in the Note II, meaning it's far more comparable than you may think in terms of performance. They trade off Also, the SGSIII has 2 GB of RAM as well, not that it would matter much unless you plan on having the phone for a while when 2GB is actually useful, or are a heavy multitasker. The performance between the two wouldn't be noticeably different at all, in fact, I prefer the S4 over the Exynos 4. Basically equal performance and far better battery life. Exynos 5 will step the Exynos family up to where the S4/S4 Pro is (better even). So if you should decide the size is a bit much, the SGS III is on the same level in smaller package.

[Muhammad Farrukh]

Don't really see the fixation on the whole 'quad core cpu' bit. I don't think most phone apps are remotely demanding enough for a quad core cpu to be all that big of a deal(as of yet, atleast).

As far as I know, Android needs as many power as it can get. I have used many devices from all the generations, and things are better on quad-cores, then ever.

Of course, with JellyBeans, even dual core Galaxy Nexus is a whole different story

[REM2000]

i done exactly the same thing, jumped from iPhones to a Galaxy Note2, it was the best decision ive made. The phone is very fast and above all very flexible/versatile.

I would recommend getting Double twist as the music / itunes sync player, ive tried various options and the only gripe i had was that i like using itunes and especially using itunes for my media management, double twist solved that for me.

Thanks

[Chasethebase Veteran]

The Note is great if you've got huge hands! :p

I'll never get a phone bigger than 4.3" probably, my One S is that size and I even found the Lumia 900 to be too big. All depends on the chunkiness of the handset at that size!

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

Note2 user here (and I have big hands). Love it, but waiting for a decent ROM with pen support...

[Luis Mazza]

The Note 2 is amazing. The quad-core cpu does make a lot of difference and battery life is great.

There are so many features, you gotta explore them. :)

[Scorbing]

I recently played around with my friend's Galaxy S3 and I was blown away by the size of the display (4.8"). If I saw the Galaxy Note 2 in person, I'd have trouble seeing it as a phone and not a tablet. It'd be great for watching videos and browsing the web. Have you used it with a stylus yet?

Sorry for the late reply, I went to bed early!...LOL

Yes I have used it. Quite nice actually.

[StandingInAlley]

If you love custom roms, don't pick Samsung. They still haven't released the source code of Exynos 4 processor found in S3 and Note 2 which is creating a big havoc in terms of getting stable custom roms, camera, hardware gpu acceleration etc.

Congrats on your buy btw :)

[typu]

im sure the note 2 is a good piece of hardware, but i see hardly any reason for that pen input. it just feels awkward and does not feel natural. i had the note 1 and i had to sell it. i mean what do you really do with that pen input? are there really that nice real life scenarios where you need it? i dont know ...

[tsupersonic]

Are you a long time iPhone user (did you have more iPhones before your 4S?)

[Scorbing]

Are you a long time iPhone user (did you have more iPhones before your 4S?)

yes I have always had iPhones. This is my first real Android experience. Lets hope its a good one

[reactionary007]

Congrats. I bought a Galaxy S3 just a few weeks back and I love it. Came from an iPhone too. It is true that the US variant of the S3 has a dual core processor - but it also has 2 GB of RAM - not just 1.

May get a Note eventually. My wife's line is upgrade eligible soon and she likes the S3 - so may take that upgrade and give her this phone. At $299 though - have to see if we go over the fiscal cliff first :D

[Haggis Veteran]

The Galaxy S3 was a fine phone but it had a dual core and 1GB of RAM.

i was gonna say no your wrong then realised ur in USA lol

the S3 LtE over here has quad core and 2gb ram

[Chris123NT]

Nice choice of phone, you're gonna love it. I have the S3 and it's an awesome phone. One comment though, not sure if AT&T is different, but the Verizon branded S3 has the dual core with 2 GB RAM, I just checked to make sure after i saw your comment lol.

[MurkWorks]

Sprints the same as yours. Dual Core, 2GB of RAM. And Sprint's has Jelly Bean.

Nice choice of phone, you're gonna love it. I have the S3 and it's an awesome phone. One comment though, not sure if AT&T is different, but the Verizon branded S3 has the dual core with 2 GB RAM, I just checked to make sure after i saw your comment lol.

[Chris123NT]

Sprints the same as yours. Dual Core, 2GB of RAM. And Sprint's has Jelly Bean.

Mine has Jelly Bean too, installed the leaked verizon JB ROM that's posted on XDA :p

[Luis Mazza]

If you love custom roms, don't pick Samsung. They still haven't released the source code of Exynos 4 processor found in S3 and Note 2 which is creating a big havoc in terms of getting stable custom roms, camera, hardware gpu acceleration etc.

Congrats on your buy btw :)

im sure the note 2 is a good piece of hardware, but i see hardly any reason for that pen input. it just feels awkward and does not feel natural. i had the note 1 and i had to sell it. i mean what do you really do with that pen input? are there really that nice real life scenarios where you need it? i dont know ...

The Note 2 and S3 have their open source files available for a long time... That's not Samsung's fault if devs can't make good use of it.

Also with the Note 2 you have so many features that you can't get with custom ROMs, that it is really not necessary anymore. I used to install CM10, but Samsung's multi-billion resources are paying well right now. I can't complain anymore.

Regarding the pen... Well, you may not use it, but it is a great addition with a low price increase (compared to the S3) and you can use it to hover like a mouse on webpages and for tips on buttons, etc... I use it only sometimes, but it is great to know that it is there if I need it. :)