Samsung Galaxy Note owners thread

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94 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 2

#637206 7-Jun-2012 10:59

I've just got myself a Galaxy Note.. I'd say I'm an iPhone power user, and this is my first foray into the world of Android. To put it lightly I'm hating it. Everything seems harder to do

I'll give myself a few days to learn how to use it properly. I really did want to try ICS on here, but as a brand new android user I'm less comfortable doing all the power user stuff / rooting / custom roms (??)

Any ex jailbroken iphone users out there have any tips for me? I just got Handcent which gives similar functionality to BiteSMS,.. What is out there in the way of a task switcher? At the mo I am holding down the home key to bring up what I think is a recently used apps list. I'd prefer it to bring up a list of apps currently running

I really don't like the keyboard/messaging on here at the moment. I have turned on autocorrect, but it still doesn't seem anywhere near as smooth as typing on an iPhone. Should/can I get a different keyboard? This is probably my biggest issue at the moment as I do a lot of messaging/typing

I bought this second hand and it already has a matt screen protector on it. I find the stylus a bit unresponsive, would this have anything to do with the protector? As it is I can't see myself using the stylus much

What is the expected battery life on these, and how much / where (trademe) should I get a spare/replacement battery from? I turned off wifi and gps overnight and I think it drained about 15% in 10h

I think that's it for now, thanks in advance for any tips or comments for this potential Note user

JayTaicho

294 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 24

#637293 7-Jun-2012 13:03

wpcnz: I've just got myself a Galaxy Note.. I'd say I'm an iPhone power user, and this is my first foray into the world of Android. To put it lightly I'm hating it. Everything seems harder to do

I'll give myself a few days to learn how to use it properly. I really did want to try ICS on here, but as a brand new android user I'm less comfortable doing all the power user stuff / rooting / custom roms (??)

Any ex jailbroken iphone users out there have any tips for me? I just got Handcent which gives similar functionality to BiteSMS,.. What is out there in the way of a task switcher? At the mo I am holding down the home key to bring up what I think is a recently used apps list. I'd prefer it to bring up a list of apps currently running

I really don't like the keyboard/messaging on here at the moment. I have turned on autocorrect, but it still doesn't seem anywhere near as smooth as typing on an iPhone. Should/can I get a different keyboard? This is probably my biggest issue at the moment as I do a lot of messaging/typing

I bought this second hand and it already has a matt screen protector on it. I find the stylus a bit unresponsive, would this have anything to do with the protector? As it is I can't see myself using the stylus much

What is the expected battery life on these, and how much / where (trademe) should I get a spare/replacement battery from? I turned off wifi and gps overnight and I think it drained about 15% in 10h

I think that's it for now, thanks in advance for any tips or comments for this potential Note user

Welcome to Android. The Note is my very first Android also. And I too, was a iPhone 'power user'. Had jailbroken, tweaked and themed my iPhone to death, and got bored of it. Which is why I wanted to give Android a go.

It's funny, one of the very first things I did with my Note, was turn it into an iPhone! I installed iLauncher, added an iPhone lockscreen (via widget locker I think), installed Handcent also, and some iOS notifications clone. And then finished it off with the iOS ringtones and notifications chime.

Seemed a bit stupid after a while, so I decided to really give it a go and ventured into rooting and custom roms. To be honest, I was quite underwhelmed with Android also (love the Note hardware though). The OOTB stock Gingerbread on the Note didn't impress me at all.

BUT, I can tell you now, there is NO way I think I'd ever return to an iPhone. I know it's been said to death, but Android is so 'open'. There are so many thinks to tinker with and 'flash'. Most of the custom roms on xda will truly transform and improve your Android experience. It did for me anyway. Battery life is better, general navigating of the UI is a heck of a lot smoother and quicker and colour output (on ICS) is a huge improvement.

All I have to say is don't give up on it just yet. It takes a while to get your head around the terminology and ways of 'flashing' on xda (so different to using Cydia as a central hub), but trust me, you'll learn to love it.

As for your questions:

Battery life is worse on Android than the iPhone. It's a fact. That said, a good custom rom and app management improves it immensely. I'm on a custom ICS rom and tested it on a full charge. From 100% - 1% I got 1 day, 14hrs. Which is pretty good. I wouldn't worry about a spare, but up to you.

The stock keyboard takes some getting used to. Swype and SwiftKey seem to be the most popular alternatives. Personally, I'm just happy with the stock one.

If you're like me, you would've been double clicking the home button to bring up recent apps when you first got your Note. You soon lose the habit. As you've probably noticed, closing them in recent apps view, doesn't necessarily stop them running in the background. I guess you could get a task killer app. But if your using the same set of apps all the time, you soon get to learn which ones you need to manually kill.

As for the pen, to be honest, I hardly use it. I use a wacom everyday at work, so I feel fairly comfortable using the s-pen for drawing. I haven't got a screen protector on my Note, so not sure if yours is affecting precision.

I've had my Note since Christmas, so pretty comfortable with it now. Happy to answer any more questions! Good luck.

wpcnz

94 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 2

#637417 7-Jun-2012 16:41

Oh... looks like I'm running 4.0.3, I guess the last guy installed it for me.

Thanks for the tips and comments, I'm already getting more used to the keyboard. I really like the hardware as well, so I'll give it a proper chance!

kiwitrc

4123 posts

Uber Geek
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#637418 7-Jun-2012 16:43

wpcnz: Oh... looks like I'm running 4.0.3, I guess the last guy installed it for me.

Thanks for the tips and comments, I'm already getting more used to the keyboard. I really like the hardware as well, so I'll give it a proper chance!

What I see other ex iOS guys doing is listing their favourite iOS apps and requesting people advise the Android equivalent. Might help you get into it a bit faster.

scottjpalmer

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#637424 7-Jun-2012 16:54

With same use my Note has much better battery life than my iPh4 (20-30%). Both stock ROMs.

There is a link to Task Manager on the recent apps popup box . . .

JayTaicho

294 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 24

#637440 7-Jun-2012 17:12

scottjpalmer: With same use my Note has much better battery life than my iPh4 (20-30%). Both stock ROMs.

Really? My scenario is the other way around. My iPhone 4 had amazing battery life.

Although, my main use on both devices was watching video, gaming, and web browsing. I believe the iPhone battery life wins out in these areas. The Note is better in others.

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thegeekboy

97 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 19

#637794 8-Jun-2012 13:19

JayTaicho:
scottjpalmer: With same use my Note has much better battery life than my iPh4 (20-30%). Both stock ROMs.

Really? My scenario is the other way around. My iPhone 4 had amazing battery life.

Although, my main use on both devices was watching video, gaming, and web browsing. I believe the iPhone battery life wins out in these areas. The Note is better in others.

Yeah - I have the same thing. My iPhone 4 has much better battery life, with similar usage.
I've had about 4 weeks using the Note now, and I'm surprised how much I like it. Especially for surfing on the couch.
I'm starting to want to go back to the iPhone in ways, but I should probably delve a bit more (I'm on 2.3.6 and haven't looked at ICS yet)

oxnsox

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#637804 8-Jun-2012 13:37

In case you're not aware... the biggest consumer of battery life is your screen. Try setting the default brilliance a little lower (even if auto is switched on)... if you couch surf a lot even set it manually.
(You have to un-check Auto, then adjust the level, then re-check auto)

This makes a big difference to battery life on the S-II, and my tab.

NZtechfreak

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#637807 8-Jun-2012 13:41

oxnsox: In case you're not aware... the biggest consumer of battery life is your screen. Try setting the default brilliance a little lower (even if auto is switched on)... if you couch surf a lot even set it manually.
(You have to un-check Auto, then adjust the level, then re-check auto)

This makes a big difference to battery life on the S-II, and my tab.

On the Note best way to adjust screen brightness is to turn auto-brightness off and then anytime you want to adjust the screen brightness longpress the status bar and drag your finger left and right :)

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thegeekboy

97 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 19

#637993 8-Jun-2012 19:34

NZtechfreak:
oxnsox: In case you're not aware... the biggest consumer of battery life is your screen. Try setting the default brilliance a little lower (even if auto is switched on)... if you couch surf a lot even set it manually.
(You have to un-check Auto, then adjust the level, then re-check auto)

This makes a big difference to battery life on the S-II, and my tab.

On the Note best way to adjust screen brightness is to turn auto-brightness off and then anytime you want to adjust the screen brightness longpress the status bar and drag your finger left and right :)

Thanks Ox - already got that sorted.

And thanks NZtechfreak - god tip that I wasn't aware of.

stateless

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#639657 12-Jun-2012 13:33

Just a confirmation.

I was not able to do an OTA to ICS. So I installed Kies and was able to do a USB update. Running 4.0.3 now.

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psychrn

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#639690 12-Jun-2012 14:22

Since I updated to ICS a few weeks ago my battery consumption has certainly gone way up.

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stateless

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#641215 15-Jun-2012 10:55

psychrn: Since I updated to ICS a few weeks ago my battery consumption has certainly gone way up.

I've noticed this as well. Battery life does seemed to have reduced. I wonder if it is because more things stay running in the background.

nakedmolerat

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#646116 25-Jun-2012 22:25

If you find that battery drain significantly after updating to 4.0.3, use betterbatterystat to check on kernel wakelock. The only way to fix this is to shutdown n remove the battery. Problem solved

http://www.allaboutgalaxynote.com/how-to-solve-battery-issues-after-ics-update-in-your-galaxy-note/

dman

956 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 33

#651035 5-Jul-2012 05:21

http://www.otterbox.com/Samsung-Galaxy-Note-Defender-Series-Case/SAM2-N7000,default,pd.html?dwvar_SAM2-N7000_color=20&start=1&cgid=samsung-galaxy-note-cases

What cases do people use for their Note?

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