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

[StandingInAlley]

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.

That's correct but it was only for ICS. with JB, things have changed a lot. Anyway why not hear it from the devs themselves than i arguing?

[Luis Mazza]

That's correct but it was only for ICS. with JB, things have changed a lot. Anyway why not hear it from the devs themselves than i arguing?

https://plus.google....sts/Q1yVmqtubG9

Yeah, thanks for the link.

I know Entropy from XDA... He hates Samsung. Actually, that is some kind of pressure he is putting over Samsung (as usual) but the CM team is actually very spoiled and I can bet that they're pretty jealous of Samsung's improvement over their own software. There are many, many features that Samsung is not obliged to open (those are Samsung's sales advantage) and Entropy HATES that. Also, I had CM9 on my Note 1 and there was a bug with SMS messages even on supposedly stable CM9, where sometimes SMS was not being delivered and there was no way of knowing that. Also Samsung had nothing to do with that. But they (he) refused to fix it because it was not priority. Well... Samsung would never let that happen.

I'm not a fanboy on any of those sides. I just want my phone working with all the features that are available to it, and it is me the one who has to judge what feature is priority.

I got a little tired of all that. I'm using the official ROM and if I want other themes and additional features, I go for deodexed ROMs with them. ;)

[Anibal P]

Yeah, thanks for the link.

I know Entropy from XDA... He hates Samsung. Actually, that is some kind of pressure he is putting over Samsung (as usual) but the CM team is actually very spoiled and I can bet that they're pretty jealous of Samsung's improvement over their own software. There are many, many features that Samsung is not obliged to open (those are Samsung's sales advantage) and Entropy HATES that. Also, I had CM9 on my Note 1 and there was a bug with SMS messages even on supposedly stable CM9, where sometimes SMS was not being delivered and there was no way of knowing that. Also Samsung had nothing to do with that. But they (he) refused to fix it because it was not priority. Well... Samsung would never let that happen.

I'm not a fanboy on any of those sides. I just want my phone working with all the features that are available to it, and it is me the one who has to judge what feature is priority.

I got a little tired of all that. I'm using the official ROM and if I want other themes and additional features, I go for deodexed ROMs with them. ;)

Might have something to do with Kondik (Cyanogen) working for Samsung in OS development, it wasn't too long after he joined that TW stopped sucking and became the nice skin we currrently have on the S3/Note2

[Luis Mazza]

Might have something to do with Kondik (Cyanogen) working for Samsung in OS development, it wasn't too long after he joined that TW stopped sucking and became the nice skin we currrently have on the S3/Note2

Thanks for the intel :D

[NeoPogo]

Congrats! Good thing you have the quad core to make up for the slow performing OS.

[Scorbing]

Congrats! Good thing you have the quad core to make up for the slow performing OS.

Android is no iOS. It is a bit slow at some things, yes. Google has a long way to go before they can match the rock solid feel of iOS. Android just feels flimsy.

[pes2013]

Sorry but I would have gone with the S3. More phone than the Note 2. Way too big.

[Scorbing]

Sorry but I would have gone with the S3. More phone than the Note 2. Way too big.

How is the S3 more phone if it has inferior hardware? Please explain

[Anibal P]

How is the S3 more phone if it has inferior hardware? Please explain

Not inferior, similar, the number of cores is not as big a deal, yet, and in some cases the chip in my S3 outperforms the chip in the Note2, and sometimes it doesn't. Other than size they are essentially side grades, unless you really want a stylus

[_neutrino Veteran]

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

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

the US version has Dual Core and 2Gb of ram. Also benchmarks the dual core performs just as well (better in some cases) as the quad core. not really sure why they gave us more ram though.

[Jojo81]

Too big for a phone based on pics I've seen but guess I need to check one out in person.

[Luis Mazza]

Android is no iOS. It is a bit slow at some things, yes. Google has a long way to go before they can match the rock solid feel of iOS. Android just feels flimsy.

Where exactly do you think it is slow at? Care to elaborate?

I left the iPhone after the 4S, I had all other models before that, since the first one. I'm curious to know your opinion.

I think iOS is a boring OS. Everything looks always the same, no matter the number of updates you install. The only real new thing they added was the notification's stuff, even so it is so much inferior to Android's world of widgets... They're incredible and very effective.

Maybe you think Android looks flimsy because you have many options for doing the same thing. Just like Windows. :)

Too big for a phone based on pics I've seen but guess I need to check one out in person.

You'll always think it is too big, unless you own one. Then you'll start to see other phones as too small. Trust me. ;)

[Scorbing]

Where exactly do you think it is slow at? Care to elaborate?

I left the iPhone after the 4S, I had all other models before that, since the first one. I'm curious to know your opinion.

I think iOS is a boring OS. Everything looks always the same, no matter the number of updates you install. The only real new thing they added was the notification's stuff, even so it is so much inferior to Android's world of widgets... They're incredible and very effective.

Maybe you think Android looks flimsy because you have many options for doing the same thing. Just like Windows. :)

You'll always think it is too big, unless you own one. Then you'll start to see other phones as too small. Trust me. ;)

The text messenger is a bit laggy sometimes. maybe I just gotta get used to it.

[Scorbing]

Where exactly do you think it is slow at? Care to elaborate?

I left the iPhone after the 4S, I had all other models before that, since the first one. I'm curious to know your opinion.

I think iOS is a boring OS. Everything looks always the same, no matter the number of updates you install. The only real new thing they added was the notification's stuff, even so it is so much inferior to Android's world of widgets... They're incredible and very effective.

Maybe you think Android looks flimsy because you have many options for doing the same thing. Just like Windows. :)

You'll always think it is too big, unless you own one. Then you'll start to see other phones as too small. Trust me. ;)

And yes, you are right. Once you hold one in your hands, everything else, iPhone included, feels inferior. The screen is absolutely gorgeous and the simple fact that it has a removable battery is a plus.

[Luis Mazza]

The text messenger is a bit laggy sometimes. maybe I just gotta get used to it.

Here's a tip that'll make the UI, zooming and scrolling fly: check "Disable hardware overlays" on "Developer Options". It works great and the effect is immediately very noticeable. :D

Don't forget to turn it on again if you reboot the device!

[shakey]

Here's a tip that'll make the UI, zooming and scrolling fly: check "Disable hardware overlays" on "Developer Options". It works great and the effect is immediately very noticeable. :D

Don't forget to turn it on again if you reboot the device!

I believe if you check "disable hardware overlays" it will actually slow down your CPU a bit, because then the system will constantly check to make sure nothing is "clipping". Having it unchecked is supposed to be faster for the phone.

Have you checked though in the same options, to enable "Force GPU Rendering"? Some older applications don't use the GPU normally, and this could speed it up.

[Luis Mazza]

I believe if you check "disable hardware overlays" it will actually slow down your CPU a bit, because then the system will constantly check to make sure nothing is "clipping". Having it unchecked is supposed to be faster for the phone.

Have you checked though in the same options, to enable "Force GPU Rendering"? Some older applications don't use the GPU normally, and this could speed it up.

I did. But I didn't notice any improvement because I don't really use old apps...

Regarding the "Disable hardware overlays", I didn't notice any slowdown. Actually it was the exact opposite. Did you try it in real world use? Also, I got more than 200 points on Quadrant's benchmark after enabling this checkmark. It is now 6.360 points. Really amazing. :)

Anyway, there's an unnoficial 4.1.2 version for the Note 2 (beta) where Quadrant is reported to give over 7.000 points :woot:

I know Quadrant is not the most complete benchmark app, but it's fast and does give a nice overview of performance increments.

[Scorbing]

Here's a tip that'll make the UI, zooming and scrolling fly: check "Disable hardware overlays" on "Developer Options". It works great and the effect is immediately very noticeable. :D

Don't forget to turn it on again if you reboot the device!

Luis you are an angel. That worked great. Thanks for the tip.

[Growled Member]

A great choice. I salute you. It's going to be my next phone was well.

[Scorbing]

A great choice. I salute you. It's going to be my next phone was well.

It sure is different. The video camera is amazing. Better than the one on the iPhone 4S. The photos are super clear. I can see the details on people's faces so clear is not funny.

I am still trying to get used to it. So many settings and features.

One thing I do like is the fact that, even though you cannot uninstall the AT&T Bloatware garbage, Samsung does give you the option to "Disable" the application from running so that is a good thing, unless of course I root it and remove them permanently, but I don't have a clue how to do that on Android.

Any suggestions?

[Raa]

Usually to remove bloatware you'll need root access, as these are system apps.

Also : Great choice going Android. You've definately picked a winner. (Y)

I'm considering the Note 2 myself, but i'd still prefer a QWERTY slider phone...

[techbeck]

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?

My sister and niece have the G3 and it looks big compared to my 4.65 in Galaxy Nexus.

[AJerman]

It sure is different. The video camera is amazing. Better than the one on the iPhone 4S. The photos are super clear. I can see the details on people's faces so clear is not funny.

I am still trying to get used to it. So many settings and features.

One thing I do like is the fact that, even though you cannot uninstall the AT&T Bloatware garbage, Samsung does give you the option to "Disable" the application from running so that is a good thing, unless of course I root it and remove them permanently, but I don't have a clue how to do that on Android.

Any suggestions?

Root and use Titanium Backup to remove bloatware.

Edit: Whoops, you said you don't know how to... hang on one sec.

Edit 2: Here ya go: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1980644

[Gabe3]

its not the hardware thats lacking but the OS is dull in my opinion, the interface really hasn't changed since it released in 2007.

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.

[AJerman]

its not the hardware thats lacking but the OS is dull in my opinion, the interface really hasn't changed since it released in 2007.

The OS is a bit dull. All you get is a grid of icons... woo! But the hardware usually is pretty lacking too, and that's what disappoints me. When the iPhone came out, there really wasn't anything like it. I'm an Android guy, but I'm not a fanboy and regardless of what people say, there wasn't that nice of a complete package back then. Most of it wasn't anything amazingly new and invented by Apple, but they were the ones that put it all in one nice package. Even with the iPhone 4, Apple was one of the first to mass market with a screen resolution like the Retina display. Now days, the iPhone hardware lags behind Android and even Windows Phone. Things they add to their phone have been in other phones for a year or more. The hardware is stale, and Apple has a stubbornness to changing anything (which was mostly Steve I think). There really isn't much if anything in an iPhone that you can't get from a year old Android phone. The hardware isn't bad, it's just a bit boring at this point.