I like big phones and I cannot lie! [Galaxy Note 2 owners thread]

Forums › Android › I like big phones and I cannot lie! [Galaxy Note 2 owners thread]

NZtechfreak

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#110226 5-Oct-2012 13:38

Yay! I can finally start this thread now that my shmexy Titanium Grey Note 2 has arrived!

Won't have time to pen anything substantive until later (curse you work, scourge of the drinking class), initial impressions are pretty wow :)

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#696768 5-Oct-2012 13:43

Nice I am keen on one of these!

heavenlywild

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#696769 5-Oct-2012 13:45

Bring us the review and photos NZtechfreak! I think you need time off... I am sure I heard a cough just now...

dontpanic42

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#696770 5-Oct-2012 13:46

Topic watched!!
I can't say that I own one, or will own one soon, but I can't wait to get your impressions of this beast.

1eStar

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#696812 5-Oct-2012 14:49

Keen - hopefully contributing to this thread by the end of the year. Keen also on the hm-5100 Bluetooth S-pen announced at same time as Note 2. I'm liking the idea of answering the pen.

JayTaicho

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#696833 5-Oct-2012 15:45

Looking forward to your in depth review.

Won't be getting mine till Christmas, so I'll be hangin out hard!

Linuxluver

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#696934 5-Oct-2012 20:08

NZtechfreak: Yay! I can finally start this thread now that my shmexy Titanium Grey Note 2 has arrived!

Won't have time to pen anything substantive until later (curse you work, scourge of the drinking class), initial impressions are pretty wow :)

I got my wife a Samsung Galaxy Note and she loves the thing.....She calls it her "Precious". Yes....It's a bit like that.

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djaggar

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#696996 5-Oct-2012 23:22

NZtechfreak: Won't have time to pen anything substantive until later (curse you work, scourge of the drinking class), initial impressions are pretty wow :)

I've had mine a while now ... so here's a mini review

Good things

- Its fast. I never got an S3 because it was too small, but compared to my Note (1) it is much faster. Reboot is very quick, video very smooth, browsing very quick, file copy fast too
- Battery life is very good, I only charge at night
- Bluetooth mouse button mapping is fixed (JB vs ICS).
- It is only marginally taller than Note 1, but narrower by about the same margin, neither enough to make any real difference. Its corners have about 50% more radius
- Pen, and its integration, is much better. Finally there is an option to open a note pad automatically when the pen is removed. Gestures work well, but I'm still not sure I'll ever use them. Paper artist is a fun app.
- It has a status LED, red for charging/recharge, blue for notifications
- Auto rotate following your face works pretty well
- Screen staying on while your stare at it (and it stares at you!) works well too
- Audio is louder, does actually sound better too
- OTG works fine, and better integrated into file system
- MHL also fine (but your need the new S3/Note 2 adaptor)
- Easy root with ODin

Bad things

- I'm missing those 80 pixels more than I thought I would. Not huge, but sometime noticeable when I'm trying to replace my laptop
- NFC antenna is built into the back, so flip cover is still in production, and I miss it as a way of propping it up so I can use the mouse and kb. Samsung Flip covers are a month away
- I still think the power button belongs on top, even though its much lower, I still sometimes squeeze it when I'm adjusting volume
- TouchWiz still doesn't do Landscape natively, and needs more rows and columns
- Didn't like Samsung continuous Text Input, so Installed Swype
- There's something weird with selecting different keyboard styles, it seems to either ask too much or not at all, haven't got to the bottom of that yet

Overall, a definite 9/10, a worthy successor to the original Note

I have too many computers ... and you do too ... it's all my fault ;-)

NZtechfreak

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#697322 7-Oct-2012 00:14

Great post djagger, agree with you on everything.

The 16:9 AR ratio compared to the original Note and slightly fewer pixels width makes it less well suited to document display/browsing/RDP than its predecessor, overall I think the slightly larger screen and narrower width of the device as a result makes it worth it overall. 3mm less width may not sound like a lot but ergonomically it is really quite different (I have De Quevains in my left wrist, so I can really tell the difference).

Just to expand on your comment regards battery: battery life is freaking epic. I'm sitting here today with it after its first full charge and as of this moment I have 20% battery remaining, and the phone has been on battery for 15hrs and has 6hrs20mins screen-on time. That means it is tracking toward a screen-on time of ~7hrs30mins, which is just ludicrously good.

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NZtechfreak

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#697344 7-Oct-2012 02:29

Update: ended up hitting 8hrs screen-on time (18hrs on battery) on first charge. Mind blowing.

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nakedmolerat

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#697350 7-Oct-2012 03:55

NZtechfreak: Update: ended up hitting 8hrs screen-on time (18hrs on battery) on first charge. Mind blowing.

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey NZTechFreak, can you tell me if note2 battery will fit in note1?

Thanks

Batman

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#697358 7-Oct-2012 08:22

wow!

where is the best place to buy one of these?

my main issue is that i'm afraid my pants will drop if i put it in the pocket - how's your pants?

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nakedmolerat

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#697381 7-Oct-2012 09:42

joker97: wow!

where is the best place to buy one of these?

my main issue is that i'm afraid my pants will drop if i put it in the pocket - how's your pants?

trust me, it wont. my galaxy note (which is bigger than note 2) fits in the pocket nicely. i can still put it in my jeans, go for a run with it and at the same time texting with one hand.

NZtechfreak

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#697461 7-Oct-2012 13:51

joker97: wow!

where is the best place to buy one of these?

my main issue is that i'm afraid my pants will drop if i put it in the pocket - how's your pants?

My pants are fine thanks :)

Just noted your avatar image - aspirational image, or you packing some serious headphones?

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DrStrangelove

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#697483 7-Oct-2012 14:56

So the Note 2(N7100) has the 11-pin MicroUSB / MHL port?

Does that lend itself to using MHL _AND_ USB OTG at the same time while the device is powered?

I've seen discussions on this on the S3, but they haven't gone anywhere as there doesn't seem to be an adapter to effectively use the 11-pin port in such a multimedia way.

I'm VERY keen on the 'docked' HDMI/MHL, USB unifying mouse/keyboard while being powered experience. [Ignoring Bluetooth for the moment]

I have a static(It's not a phone) Android box connected to a TV with USB OTG, Ethernet, HDMI and etc and love it for sheer screen size and usability. :-). Having a phone do the same would be way cool. [Ignoring Sony XPERIA ion HSPA and it's hard to find dock]

Does the Note-2 have 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi which then means it could also/maybe support MiraCast?
I haven't looked at the spec's cause I'm being too slack. :-)

I've not seen any devices with 802.11ac yet, being so big a Samsung Galaxy Note-2 could have room for a lunch box in it, so a couple of extra antennas would be nothing.

Mind you the 3100mAh battery must be taking up a few bit of room. :-)

I can lie and I'm not a big fan of big phones, but I do appreciate that for some people they prove very functional.

183g is not a light device to be carrying around with you all the time.

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#697511 7-Oct-2012 16:49

i'm a fan of giant phones but hate carrying weight ... is there anything with bigger screen and lighter than my SGS2? probably not ... go Note 2!

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