[REVIEW - Professional Comparison] Galaxy Note GT-N7000 & GT-N7100 - Galaxy Note GT-N7000 General

Hello everyone!
Nearly everyone, who is reading this, will own a SAMSUNG Galaxy Note GT-N7000. Our beloved device is a real special phone with many functionalities, other phones doesn't have. But be honest. I am from a more mechanical-technical sector, like from car-planning and constructing.
And one very very important thing about cars is, the first car of a new type, like the new Mercedes A-Class, will have more faults than the last one. That's a proven thing, because over time, the developers change things because of the feedback.
So everyone who owns a Galaxy Note One is kind of a guinea pig or experimental rabbit. Name it as you prefer, but fact is:
Samsung built something from scratch with no feedback at first.
Thats' the FIRST thing why I thought, that I have to buy the Galaxy Note Two.
I fell so deep in love that I thought I must have this device although it's as expensive as three used, but well preserved Note One's.
I spent very much time for searching videos about this telephone and the specifications. I thought the phone is a real MUST HAVE, but after that, I found things that made me thoughtful.
That's why I am opening this thread. Everywhere you can read reviews where people are idolizing the Note 2 and everything that belongs to it. They say it's a real successor and so on. But there are no real objective comparisons between the old and the new one. But at first I want to say, that the Galaxy Note 2 is for sure a real great device and the name successor is partly given right. But not in all situations and circumstances.
Let's begin :
Size of the display and resolution:
Note One: 5,3" with a resolution of 1280x800 pixels, a ratio of 16:10, a density of 285ppi, and uses PenTile-Matrix technology.
Note Two: 5,5" with a resolution of 1280x720 pixels, a ratio of 16:9, a density of 267ppi, and uses normal RGB-matrix.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
> For everyone who don't know the difference between PenTile and normal matrix, please use Wikipedia.
When I heard that the Note 2 has a screen diagonal with 5,5" is was like OMG :cyclops: ! I must have it. After some time, I found out, that the resolution is less than before and so the density shrinks noticeably. I thought that's a minus point, but then I thought OKAY it's a normal RGB matrix so the difference could be acceptable. Then I thought I should compare that in real, so I drove to the next store, where I can play around with the Note 2 and I came to the following conclusion.
The density IS less but you won't notice it really easy. BUT. Yes, there is always a but. The RGB matrix shows a worse picture than the PenTile matrix. I couldn't believe it a first so I checked again with many different pictures. The Note One provides MUCH MUCH MUCH better clearly defined borders and more beautiful colours. Anyone who can't believe this now, check it out by yourself! The other point is, that pictures on the Note Two get some kind of grey stripes in vertical. That won't look nice and doesn't emphasize the potential of such a big screen. Fact is, that borders with a PenTile matrix a looking jagged, but they are clear.
EDIT:
It's not a RGB matrix, it's a non-striped BGR-matrix. And after some more comparison of the displays, I came to the conclusion, that the screen of the Note 2 is really better. The striped pictures were... I don't know where from. So the screen provides very natural colours and you won't see any bad things to mention. Just test it out by yourself!
Although both phones are not bad, this point goes to the Galaxy Note Two!
Ergonomics (phone itself and also stylus):
The S Pen is an invention that makes sense in every way. It's very comfortable to use it and makes life with our Note's easier most of the time. But the stylus of the first Note is not really good designed. If it's dark it's very hard to find the button on the stylus without holding it near to the display the get some light. With the stylus of the Note 2, there is not such a problem. The side with the button is flat. You will find the button very quick, although you won't look at it and in addition it's very comfortable to hold. Also the bigger size makes it a pleasure to use.
The design of the first Note is a little bit abstract. You need some time to get used to it, but after that, you can use the phone without problems. I know what I am talking about, because I changed from my Samsung Galaxy S2 to the Note. Today I am using my Note without problems also with only one hand. That won't make any problems at all. The buttons have their places and I am used to this phone. BUT... The Note 2 is in this case a real real improvement. The buttons are moved downwards a little bit, so you can reach them also if you are holding the device normal at the lower end. The width of the phone is PERFECT! You can type on the virtual keyboard with no problems AT ALL! So the screen ratio is a big improvement. Also the home button got raised a little bit, so it's easier to push it. Also the round corners make the phone very easy to hold.
Undisputed this point goes to the Galaxy Note Two. (That's also the point I wanted to mention at the beginning with car development.)
Hardware and it's potential:
Note One: 1.4GHz Dual-Core Exynos processor with 1GB RAM and Mali400 GPU
Note Two: 1.6GHz Quad-Core Exynos processor with 2GB RAM and Mali 400GPU
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most of the hardware components haven't changed since the Note One, but there ARE improvements! The processor changed, the RAM, the Note 2 got Bluetooth version 4, NFC. I won't talk about BT4 and NFC because these are nice features, but commnly not in excessive use, that's why they are not important now. My Note One has nearly the same specs as my Acer 5253 notebook (regarding the processor), so that's not bad. 1GB of RAM is also not bad for Android, BUT it's not the world. It happens very often, that RAM is full very quick and if I juggle between more than four apps like browsing the web, then starting the music player, answering an SMS, reading an E-Mail and making a note, and then coming back to the browser, the phone has to completely reload the app. That can be very annoying. 2GB of RAM are a real enrichment. The processor of the Note One does it's job very good, I would say we should blame Samsung for their interface because of the stuttering sometimes. But the processor of the Note 2 is also a real diamond. It also works really good.
Although the specifications are speaking for the Note Two, that can't be the last consequence. The main difference is, that the Note Two comes with Jelly Bean and "Project Butter". The Note One provides Ice Cream sandwich with no "Project Butter". Also we know, that the memory management of Samsung is not the best, which are causing this stuttering. I don't have any of these problems on CM10 AT ALL! Also most of the apps won't unleash at least the potential of the Note One, so there is no real need for a quad-core processor.
AND there are also some points reagarding the whole phone market. Two years ago, phone's had only single-core processors. Computers already had quad- to octo-core processors. FACT IS that manufacturers were already able to build phones with quad-core processors in 2009, but they didn't because if they use every step, they can achieve more money. THAT'S A FACT! So don't get impressed of horsepowers. What count's is INTEGRITY! I was talking to a Samsung developer of SAMSUNG AUSTRIA and he told me, that the quad-core isn't a real improvement, because information processing get's worse per core. But that's too deep now.
So summarized, more cores are not always more performance.
To be fair, this question ends in a tie.
These three points are the main differences between the Note One and the Note Two.
I WON'T MENTION SOFTWARE-REGARDING IMPROVEMENTS BECAUSE MOST OF THEM
WILL COME TO THE NOTE ONE IN DECEMBER TO JANUARY.
And also I want to eliminate this common believe about the stylus and HOVERING!
Samsung told us, that the Note Two is able to recognize the stylus, although you are not touching the phone with it. WTH is new here? You can also hover with the stylus on the Note One! Test it out and open the XDA homepage and try to hover over the buttons of the page at the top (Quick Links for example). You will see that it works.
Responses from YOU ALL I want to answer:
Koguchi9 said:
Also you didn't talk about the aspect ratio. Personally 16:9 is only great for videos... Everything else 16:10 is a large improvement.
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Click to collapse
I talked about the ratio in ergonomics. The 16:9 ratio is in this way an improvement, because the phone got narrower. It's easier to write on the keyboard, also when you are not used to such a big phone. But in my opinion the 16:10 ratio is WAY BETTER for productivity. I compared the phones also in this way and came to the conclusion, that it depends on what you are doing with the phone. If you use it as a media center, you will love the 16:9 ratio, if you use it for office and productivity like I do, 16:10 is much better. And at the first sight, the Note One's screen looker bigger although that's not true. Only because is wider. Proven.
andrekua said:
Hovering in Note 1 does nothing, but if you hover long enough with Note 2, it will load the menu. While I'm not sure whether it is configurable, the hovering works better in Note 2 due to its higher sensitivity.
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YOU ARE RIGHT! The S Pen and the stylus recognition is much higher, the Note Two will detect the stylus earlier than the Note One, but both are able to hover something. And AirView and all the features of the Note Two are ONLY software features. I said, that I don't want to mention them because the Note One will get them soon.
msedek said:
You forgot about the 3100mah battery... Slow/fasf motion/burst mode built in camera(0 shutter lag) , and the better audio DAC.
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Click to collapse
Yeah, I forgot that! The battery is very big, that's super for using your phone during the day. Some people already tested the battery and some mean you have more actove-time now, but that's partly a myth. The Note Two NEEDS the bigger battery because the RGB matrix has more subpixels to light. They display needs more power. But its true, the battery as blazing strong! More screen-on-time than I need ! And yes, the camera is faster now. The burst mode is a very attractive feature, like the Zeroshutter-Lag. I know much people like these features, I don't care about that, so I'd forgotten to integrate that into my post. FACT ist also, that the Note Two makes more natural pictures, while the Note One's pics are more yellow. And really I can't tell any difference in Audio Output/Input, so thanks for this information!
ChodTheWacko said:
I've had the Note 2 for a couple of weeks, and formerly owned the Note 1 since launch day. (roughly a year). I do want to ask the OP - do you actually have one? Or are you just going by specs?
Here's my supplement to your review, based on my experience of using the note 2 so far.
*) Notification light. At last. and you can customize the colors with lightflow.
*) it sure is nice that the microsd card isn't blocked by the battery.
*) Signifigantly louder speaker.
I find it very hard to find anything to complain about with regards to the Note 2. The only thing that comes to mind is that the USB port is weird, and some USB cables don't stay in well.
The only other major annoyance is JB's fault - that you can't use Apps2SD anymore. DirectoryBind is almost a requirement now if you play huge 1-2 Gig games on the 16GB note. (which only has 10 gig of app data space). That means rooting your phone (which I did, so I'm fine).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At first I want to especially thank your for your enlargement of this comparison! And I'm sorry of cutting your post, but therwise my post would get to long. So no, I don't have a Note Two but I really wanted to buy it and I spent much time playing around with one in a shop, so I tested everything in real. And the first point is also for me very interesting, the notification light! IMPROVEMENT IMPROVEMENT! I like it, that the Note Two has a notification light. Really! It's also nice, that you can change your microSD card, but in my case, that doesn't matter, I will tell you at the end of my answer why, because it could be also interesting for everybody here. And the louder speaker. As I already mentioned before I didn't know that, but it looks like the Note 2 has really a little bit better sound processing. And you are also right with the USB cable. It's not possible anymore to use old MHL-Connectors for example. They will fail. If thhe new pin configuration of the USB port was neccessary or only a new marketing gag... I don't know.
And regarding your space problem. I have also the 16GB version of the Note One. As I am using Google Play, my space can shrink very fast because I want to keep the music on my card in the cache. THE PROBLEM IS: Google Music only uses the internal memory, as also games does.
Here is the solution for you:
In system/etc/ there is a file called vold.fstab this file configurates the mounting points of your storages. You can simple change the mounting points of the microSD card and the internal memory and they are swapped with no disadvantages. That makes sense because I am using a 64GB microSD card and now my phone hast 64GB INTERNAL MEMORY. For detailed instructions, please PM me.
abhinav quietly brilliant said:
i guess the note 2 has a 1.9 mp front camera and our beloved note one has 2.0 mp front camera
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Click to collapse
That's vice versa. The Note One has 1.9MP in front. But I don't think that this is a real improvement.
Thank you all for your answers and questions!
SUMMARY ON PAPER:
The Galaxy Note Two is a beautiful device and makes some faulty things of the Note One better. The handling is a pleasure and the stylus is a big improvement. All the other changes are only a product of the progressing time. THIS CHANGES HAVE TO BE! Otherwise people say it's old. Yeah, humanity is very very stupid. If you have the chance to get the Note Two very cheap, I would say you should take it. Otherwise STAY with your beloved Note One. It's a great device and also in two years it will be. I also made my decision and came to the conclusion that I will keep my Note One.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SUMMARY IN REALLIFE:
So. After some phone calls and much time spent on searching good offers, I got a Galaxy Note Two now for nearly nothing more than a Note One. I will sell my Note One in one week. I have the Note Two now for 5 hours and there are some things, that differ from the summary on paper. At first, the screen is beautiful, although sometimes you can see those grey stripes, I talked about. The screen ratio is WONDERFUL for playing around. Steering works brilliant on the Note 2. But anyway, productivity apps will be circumcised because of the new format. The external speaker is really good. Playing music with it sound very nice. Also deeper sound frequencies are now with more power. The battery is really good. I am playing around now with the display all time on for four hours, making phone calls and using Google Play streaming some tracks, battery fell from 90% to 78%! That's more than fine. And I like those software features. Although they are not neccessary to mention, they are cool to use. The stylus is very comfortable to use, as I already told you. The design is cool, I like it really, I like also the button very much. The home button is a small thing but it makes navigation very nice. Also I like the glass very much. So the design is TOP! The camera is brilliant. Fast in any way. And the rest of the phone also. But that's now only the felt summary. The real one is in between of felt and paper summary!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope I can clarify all the questions around this thorny topic.
If there are any other questions, please post it.
If they are important, I will include them in this post!
I am from Austria and English is not my native language.
I am feeling very sorry for my language rape !
If this is helpful or informative for you please hit the Thanks-button.
Best regards,
Gerhard

Nice comparison/Review dude

Nice comparison Gerhard.
I haven't had a chance to play with a Note 2 yet, however the biggest thing that would put me off upgrading is the lower screen resolution. It may be slightly bigger, but the drop in res and aspect ratio is disappointing.

I see no compelling reason to upgrade either. Happy to wait for the next generation Note or whatever other wondrous thing Samsung or Google have to offer in a year or so.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

Nice comparison.. Once the note 1 gets the JB update we will then get a true sense of how much an update the note 2 is.
Also you didn't talk about the aspect ratio. Personally 16:9 is only great for videos... Everything else 16:10 is a large improvement.

There are some minor differences. Hovering in Note 1 does nothing, but if you hover long enough with Note 2, it will load the menu. While I'm not sure whether it is configurable, the hovering works better in Note 2 due to its higher sensitivity. You have to hover near to the screen with Note 1 but with Note 2, it was at least twice the distance (or possibly more, I did not measure).
The rest would have to rely on how much updates Samsung are willing to provide for Note 1 Jelly Bean updates.

You forgot about the 3100mah battery... Slow/fasf motion/burst mode built in camera(0 shutter lag) , and the better audio DAC.
Enviado desde mi GT-N7000 usando Tapatalk 2

I've had the Note 2 for a couple of weeks, and formerly owned the Note 1 since launch day. (roughly a year).
I do want to ask the OP - do you actually have one? Or are you just going by specs?
Here's my supplement to your review, based on my experience of using the note 2 so far.
Pros:
1) I have to admit, the note 2 is more comfortable to hold. Part of it is that it is less wide, but the corners are also rounder and it doesn't jab into your palm as much. Biggest surprise for me.
2) The s-pen is much nicer to hold, and the button easier to find and push. The CPU also makes the pen more responsive. This is a rather big deal if you are a s-pen user.
3) The hardware s-pen switch is quite nice. You can pull the pen out, scribble on the s-memo, and put the pen back in. S-memo automatically opens and closes, making the final result a LOT like pen and paper. Also, having the 'you forgot your s-pen' alert is REALLY nice.
4) The Note 2 is really really responsive. I don't know if it's a factor of the faster CPU, faster GPU, 2 Gig of memory, and/or JB. It's probably all of them together. I thought the note 1 was great, but the note 2 is just insane.
5) Notification light. At last. and you can customize the colors with lightflow.
6) Bigger battery is GREAT. I can't wait to see what the Mugen extended battery is - 6700 mah? gulp.
7) it sure is nice that the microsd card isn't blocked by the battery.
8) Side note on the memory - 2 gig over 1 gig, for me, is a huge deal. After bootup, I only have 1.1 gig memory left. That's with a custom rom that stripped out all the bloatware.
9) NFC - don't really use it to be honest
10) Bluetooth 4 - should save power over BT 3.
11) Signifigantly louder speaker
12) Much better sound chip.
13) Minor thing, but the Note charges a fair bit faster. It's a bigger battery, but stock charger is a 2A charger.
14) bigger screen, but only slightly - 4%. I quickly got used to the 16:9. It's not THAT different from 16:10 in day to day use. It's not like you went from 4:3 to 16:9 or anything. I still believe that using a standard resolution is a good thing in the long run, but that's just me.
15) Gorilla glass 2. I'm not sure if it's a big deal in the long run, as they might have just made the glass thinner to compensate for the extra strength.
16) Power button isn't so close to the corner, so you aren't accidentally hitting it so much.
17) Apparently no black crush.
There are, of course, the numerous software improvements that may or may not make it to the Note 1.
I'll list them for completeness, but they can be considered 'short term' improvements in the Note 2.
A) multi view
B) smart view (i.e. auto-rotate doesn't drive you crazy when you are lying down)
C) JB in general I guess
D) air view
for starters. Those I use all the time.
In short - I really loved my Note 1 but I recognized that it had lots of little annoyances/quirks.
I just accepted them, knowing that the original note was a brave new step into unknown territory.
The note 2 pretty much wiped out every single complaint I had about the Note 1, and made everything I liked about the Note 1 maybe 20% better. I find it very hard to find anything to complain about with regards to the Note 2. The only thing that comes to mind is that the USB port is weird, and some USB cables don't stay in well.
The only other major annoyance is JB's fault - that you can't use Apps2SD anymore. DirectoryBind is almost a requirement now if you play huge 1-2 Gig games on the 16GB note. (which only has 10 gig of app data space). That means rooting your phone (which I did, so I'm fine).
So for me the Note 2 was well worth the money. I had definitely really maxed out my note though, having about 300 apps/widgets on it.
If you're a lighter user, then it's a tougher call.
- Frank

Silberpfeil3110 and ChodTheWacko...Thanks for the detailed comparision...
I have been using note since last Dec and I agree that there are few things which are annoying and could be changed...
Haven't played with Note 2 yet but its on my wishlist

Shrink said:
I see no compelling reason to upgrade either. Happy to wait for the next generation Note or whatever other wondrous thing Samsung or Google have to offer in a year or so.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
me too. It's just not worth the money for me to upgrade to note 2 when I don't even play video games on my phone. Mainly just surfing the internet, and my note 1 is really good enough for that right now.
We'll save alot of money by waiting as always. Hell, in one year, we'll probably have the note 3.

DPMAce said:
me too. It's just not worth the money for me to upgrade to note 2 when I don't even play video games on my phone. Mainly just surfing the internet, and my note 1 is really good enough for that right now.
We'll save alot of money by waiting as always. Hell, in one year, we'll probably have the note 3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He he, that long, the way Samsung churn there phones out your be reading about note 4's this time next year.
I tend to agree that there is just not anything that pulls me towards sending £200 on top of the sale of my note 1, I have used both side by side, and am happy with my note 1. I know people seem to think the screen width doesn't mater, for me I found the note 2 annoying, love the width of the note 1, but then I'm not a movie watcher.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2

yeah really. Hell, in 6 months, if I really want the note 2, I could probably buy it used for a good price because someone will be looking to upgrade to something else like s4

i guess the note 2 has a 1.9 mp front camera and our beloved note one has 2.0 mp front camera
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2

Koguchi9 said:
Also you didn't talk about...
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Click to collapse
andrekua said:
Hovering in Note 1 does ...
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Click to collapse
msedek said:
You forgot about the ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ChodTheWacko said:
I've had the Note 2...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
abhinav quietly brilliant said:
i guess the note 2...
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Click to collapse
THANK YOU for your information!
I have edited the opening post and integrated your questions and answers!
Best regards

abhinav quietly brilliant said:
i guess the note 2 has a 1.9 mp front camera and our beloved note one has 2.0 mp front camera
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Trust me, the Note 1 front facing camera is total BS.
S3 and Note 2 front facing camera is way superior.

Silberpfeil3110 said:
The Note Two NEEDS the bigger battery because the RGB matrix has more subpixels to light. They display needs more power. Of you compare the Note One and Note Two, you will find out, that the display-on-time is nearly the same. Of course if you are listening to music and the display is off all the time, the Note Two will last longer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As a Note 1 user for a year, and having now had my Note 2 for a few weeks, I can say that for my usage patterns, which are quite heavy, the Note 2's battery life blows the Note 1's out of the water.
Put simply, on my Note 1, I would regularly get 5 to 6 hours worth of screen-on time on my phone from a single charge, whereas on my Note 2 is is more like 9 to 10 hours screen-on - that is in excess of a 50% improvement and means I haven't ever felt the need to carry around a 2nd
battery with my Note 2 (even though I have a couple) whereas I would not leave home without a spare for my Note 1.
I was never unhappy with the battery life on my Note 1, but on my Note 2 the battery life is quite literally epic in comparison!
The only thing I honestly miss about my Note 1 is the 16:10 aspect ratio, because I do use remote desktop and Citrix apps from time to time on my phone, and you do miss those extra 80 pixels in that scenario. However, in every other respect, the Note 2 is a vastly superior device to the Note 1, and I loved my Note 1! (Technically, I still love it as I've kept it as a backup device!)
Regards,
Dave

foxmeister said:
Put simply, on my Note 1, I would regularly get 5 to 6 hours worth of screen-on time on my phone from a single charge, whereas on my Note 2 is is more like 9 to 10 hours screen-on - that is in excess of a 50% improvement and means I haven't ever felt the need to carry around a 2nd
battery with my Note 2 (even though I have a couple) whereas I would not leave home without a spare for my Note 1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the biggest load of crock I've ever read in a while.
If you use your phone under normal conditions, there is no way in hell you're going to get a screen on time of 6 hours on the Note 1 or 9-10 hours on the Note 2.

PoisonWolf said:
This is the biggest load of crock I've ever read in a while.
If you use your phone under normal conditions, there is no way in hell you're going to get a screen on time of 6 hours on the Note 1 or 9-10 hours on the Note 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for telling me that what I experience for a fact is a "crock", but then again you know exactly what I do with my phone day in day out and so obviously are extremely well qualified to tell me how much screen-on time I get? I hadn't noticed that I have attracted a stalker!
I clearly must be very confused, and I'm simply imagining that my phone is still operational when it isn't.
I have no reason whatsoever to lie, so I'll just go on enjoying my 9-10 hour battery life along with plenty of other Note 2 users, and you can go on believing whatever "crock" you wish.
For those more reasoned souls, take a trip over to the Note 2 forums and ask around.
Regards,
Dave

ChodTheWacko said:
After bootup, I only have 1.1 gig memory left. That's with a custom rom that stripped out all the bloatware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was actually the piece of information I was looking for and about to ask about it on SGN2 board.
I have to say the JB memory usage must be significantly higher than ICS. It suggests the Project Buttler is an in-memory caching system to require memory.
Did you remove much from /system/app for house cleaning or just user applications? I'm thinking Samsung features also taking up a good portion of the memory providing the custom ROM you mentioned shipped with the original Samsung Features. Could you clarify that please?
@all users
You should know that if you intend to purchase JB devices it must support 2GB ram at least to be future-proof and not to choke after opening a couple of applications.

I am an ordinary user of my phone with a lot of spen usage during ward rounds. Keep my reference books on my phone. Do a hell lot of browsing and watch movies and music. I dont really need a powerhouse coz most of what i need is already in my note 1. Though i use the camera a lot and would have upgraded if there was a bigger camera. Some features in the note 2 are just not for me. Like air view i only use spen for taking notes or drawing. Dont use it to scroll things on my phone. So a useless feature for me. Multi view is also useless because u dont have enough space to open the messaging and read an email altogether coz the keyboard takes half the screen so another gimmick.
0 shutter lag thing is dealt by the fastburst camera.
Spen indicator or alarm thing. If ur reaponsible u wont loose ur stylus.
People who play hd games should definitely go for note 2. But ppl like ua ahould atick to our devices.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda app-developers app

Related

Upgrading from Captivate to Note or GS3? Help please..my requirements inside...

Hello!
So I have been using my Captivate for a long time...tweaked and overclocked to its max...just a great phone (except for lame GPS). Of course time passes and you want more. 4" is not enough for me any more (and I am speaking about my phone screen!!! LOL).
So I was set on the GS3 BUT a few things have made me think about the Note.
First , I dont care about silly things like looks..come on now. Or the camera....more megapixels on a a freakin small phone sensor? Some people need to learn about real cameras before commenting.
Anyways, the thing is....the GS3 is great the way it is Internationally with the Quad and nice GPU BUT after seeing the 5.3" Note I was like WOW this is BIG.
I use my phone mainly for watching youtube, streaming MST3K , SouthPark etc.
Also for playing emulators, FPSE , MAME etc.
So the bigger display would , in my opinion, be something I can really use.
So in that regards the high resolution big Note screen is awesome as long as it at least looks as good as the one in my Captivate.
The bad thing about the Note...well, some benchmarks, specifically Nenamark2 , I have seen low scores. I mean my Captivate, I hold (I think I still do) the record of 33.5 for that phone and normally score around 30-32 which is VERY close to what I have seen for the Note so that makes me feel like its not a huge upgrade but maybe those were an older Rom or something.
On the other hand I am sure dual core and specially 1GB Ram should give the phone a very smooth feeling compared to my OCed phone.
Another bad thing about the Note is, I got the impression Dev is not huge for it not overclocking.
So on the GS3 end...well the hardware is faster and better overall but the screen is smaller and there is a change the USA ends up with a dual core as well instead of quad. So right I am like...wait for the USA release or just get the Note and enjoy it now.
Its a tough decision.
Any feedback is appreciated specially if anyone is running emulators, specially the new Mame one that plays .139 roms as I would like to know how afterburner runs on dual core.
Regards
Are talking about ATT Note or the Int. Note? Confused, you said that ur waiting for the US release, I'm assuming your talking about the ATT versions of both phones?
Yes both will be the ATT version.
decision is still yours
well i am using my note for like 4 months now, and i am very happy with it, because of its magnificient screen for browsing and my ebooks. I am a surgical resident and this galaxy note saved me from carrying my laptop to the hospital. Here i am sharing my experience abt the note. Its easy to carry my hybrids in the rounds while taking overs during rounds. capture HD videos and pics related to the clinical findings. sometimes i even take it to the OR during cases when i am not assisting or scrubbed. I have all my books for references on my note. The good thing is being loaded with my work stuff, i have plenty of space to have my entertainment part on it. So right now i would say that i have never used a device like the galaxy note.
As far as S3 is concerned. Its an upcoming device with enhanced processor and a few more sensors. So its also charming.
Now as note prices have fall down, if u want to be on the saving path get a note, if u want to be on the top notch in competition, get an S3 as it will be the king till 2013.
I got my Note about 3 months ago and I really will not use anything smaller than the Note.
Before I got this I was tossing a coin between GS2 and Note. I mean literally
The coin landed for the GS2 and I got the Note hehe
I just couldn't resist this phablet.
In comparison to other Android phones I cant say much on that as this is my first ever Android phone and everything on it is great. From watching movies to browsing and even just looking at the thing will make you
Sure it is a bit bulky but I really like it that way. Also it depends on how much you call on it. I spend about 95% doing everything else than calling people. So holding it to my ear is a rare thing. It's better for people with big hands.
I guess everything else can be found on review sites.
I have read a lot about the S3 so far and I gotta say it's not that much better than what the Note is right now. Sure it has an updated touchwiz (in the end both are running ICS so no biggie) with better hardware performance and added apps and features but overall I would not give up my Note for an S3.
But given your situation and if I was in the same situation I would struggle to choose between the two. I would most likely lean towards the Note. About a 60-40 ratio towards the Note.
lets face it QUAD CORE !! (what for) nothing uses that much power and yet its a muscle show for companies over each other. HTC did it sammy said (ME 2).
i love my note and by far the description you wrote means your device acts as a multimedia tool not for a normal usage phone, the note matches your requests fully well it has many ROM to speed it up and give you a great battery life (BTW i dunno about battery on SG3) so stick with note, cutsom version some guys say the ICS official has a bug well dunno i'am using it and its fine but you can wait i guess one week everything will cool down now and problems will be fixed.
NOTE advantages:
Screen HD 5.3"
1 GB RAM
2500 mAH
big phone with great images and brightness
8Mp cam
1.4 Dual Core enough for nowa days
that it by far if you try it you'l never regret or even change it XD unless another comes out !
BTW i hate to say so but i think it's not right to upgrade to an SG3 its about almost the same specs nothing serious for a daily use except for Camera and ICS !
happy buying the phone....
Yesterday i sold my sgs2 . It was a great device, but had some hardware problems. I am thinking too ''should i go for white note '' or ''should i wait for sgs3'' one thing for sure if i'll buy note now, i will lose some money for selling it latter after sgs3 official release.
Please give me some advices.
Things i like about note:
1. huge hd screen
2. better res and ppi than on sgs2
3. normal sim card (not micro)
4. same specs as sgs2
Things i hate about note:
1. damn stylus ! - what is it for ? 2012 and we are still using stylus ?
2. stupid look while making a call
3. i am not sure if it is possible to write a text message with one hand
4. mobile phone with big screen in my pocket - much easier to damage a screen!
Things i like about sgs3:
1. even better resolution and ppi. MUCH BRIGHTER SCREN
2. quad core (not sure if i can feel a difference on apps i am using now) but must be significant difference in battery life.
3. nfc, bt4, few more tweaks with camera & sensors
4. wireless charging
Things i hate about sgs3:
1. rounded look (egg shape)
2. not a big improvement in camera or rams
3. micro sim card
4. PRICE
benzas said:
Yesterday i sold my sgs2 . It was a great device, but had some hardware problems. I am thinking too ''should i go for white note '' or ''should i wait for sgs3'' one thing for sure if i'll buy note now, i will lose some money for selling it latter after sgs3 official release.
Please give me some advices.
Things i like about note:
1. huge hd screen
2. better res and ppi than on sgs2
3. normal sim card (not micro)
4. same specs as sgs2
Things i hate about note:
1. damn stylus ! - what is it for ? 2012 and we are still using stylus ?
2. stupid look while making a call
3. i am not sure if it is possible to write a text message with one hand
4. mobile phone with big screen in my pocket - much easier to damage a screen!
Things i like about sgs3:
1. even better resolution and ppi. MUCH BRIGHTER SCREN
2. quad core (not sure if i can feel a difference on apps i am using now) but must be significant difference in battery life.
3. nfc, bt4, few more tweaks with camera & sensors
4. wireless charging
Things i hate about sgs3:
1. rounded look (egg shape)
2. not a big improvement in camera or rams
3. micro sim card
4. PRICE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are wrong in the brightness department of s3!!
note is about 100cd/m2 brighter than the s3 and could be easily said that its one of the brightest amoled screens around.
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s_iii_vs_htc_one_x-review-759p2.php
pikulu said:
You are wrong in the brightness department of s3!!
note is about 100cd/m2 brighter than the s3 and could be easily said that its one of the brightest amoled screens around.
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s_iii_vs_htc_one_x-review-759p2.php
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdnI9s-GD5w have a look here when compared. s3 looks so brighter, might it be just a dimmed settings ?
Just get the Galaxy Note,I have been using it for over 5 months now its one great piece of device,as for SGSIII I would have considered it or the HTC ONE X for that matter only if the GNote did not exist.
shaolin95 said:
Hello!
So I have been using my Captivate for a long time...tweaked and overclocked to its max...just a great phone (except for lame GPS). Of course time passes and you want more. 4" is not enough for me any more (and I am speaking about my phone screen!!! LOL).
So I was set on the GS3 BUT a few things have made me think about the Note.
First , I dont care about silly things like looks..come on now. Or the camera....more megapixels on a a freakin small phone sensor? Some people need to learn about real cameras before commenting.
Anyways, the thing is....the GS3 is great the way it is Internationally with the Quad and nice GPU BUT after seeing the 5.3" Note I was like WOW this is BIG.
I use my phone mainly for watching youtube, streaming MST3K , SouthPark etc.
Also for playing emulators, FPSE , MAME etc.
So the bigger display would , in my opinion, be something I can really use.
So in that regards the high resolution big Note screen is awesome as long as it at least looks as good as the one in my Captivate.
The bad thing about the Note...well, some benchmarks, specifically Nenamark2 , I have seen low scores. I mean my Captivate, I hold (I think I still do) the record of 33.5 for that phone and normally score around 30-32 which is VERY close to what I have seen for the Note so that makes me feel like its not a huge upgrade but maybe those were an older Rom or something.
On the other hand I am sure dual core and specially 1GB Ram should give the phone a very smooth feeling compared to my OCed phone.
Another bad thing about the Note is, I got the impression Dev is not huge for it not overclocking.
So on the GS3 end...well the hardware is faster and better overall but the screen is smaller and there is a change the USA ends up with a dual core as well instead of quad. So right I am like...wait for the USA release or just get the Note and enjoy it now.
Its a tough decision.
Any feedback is appreciated specially if anyone is running emulators, specially the new Mame one that plays .139 roms as I would like to know how afterburner runs on dual core.
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly dude.. i would go out and hold a phone that's 4.8in and hold the Note and see which one you'd feel comfy handling 12 hours a day x 2 years.
Boiled down, they're almost the same phone. Quad doesn't necessarily > Dual. Just better if you're a heavy heavy multi-tasker. I multi-task like i'm on crack when i'm on the Note and don't feel any bit of fatigue.
Benchmarks don't mean SH
They're like college degrees. Nice on paper, but the important thing is being able to apply that knowledge in real-life situations.
anyways. i love my note. first week: it's too big (TWSS)
now when i handle an iphone it feels like a little kid's toy in my hand. like someone else said, can't go back to anything smaller.
Although i DO wish i had this on the Note (that the SGS3 has)
-That amazing screen
-That amazing camera (i take over 50 photos a day and that would be my fav feature of all)
-Software features they included (eye tracking, etc)
Still think it's lame how they didn't increase the ram though. I'd never have to close anything if I had 2gb
Also, since there's no LTE in Hawaii.. (yet)... I'd still go with international version. Exynos is king. Snapdragon will probably be what's in the AT&T version. bleh.
benzas said:
Yesterday i sold my sgs2 . It was a great device, but had some hardware problems. I am thinking too ''should i go for white note '' or ''should i wait for sgs3'' one thing for sure if i'll buy note now, i will lose some money for selling it latter after sgs3 official release.
Please give me some advices.
Things i like about note:
1. huge hd screen
2. better res and ppi than on sgs2
3. normal sim card (not micro)
4. same specs as sgs2
Things i hate about note:
1. damn stylus ! - what is it for ? 2012 and we are still using stylus ?
2. stupid look while making a call
3. i am not sure if it is possible to write a text message with one hand
4. mobile phone with big screen in my pocket - much easier to damage a screen!
Things i like about sgs3:
1. even better resolution and ppi. MUCH BRIGHTER SCREN
2. quad core (not sure if i can feel a difference on apps i am using now) but must be significant difference in battery life.
3. nfc, bt4, few more tweaks with camera & sensors
4. wireless charging
Things i hate about sgs3:
1. rounded look (egg shape)
2. not a big improvement in camera or rams
3. micro sim card
4. PRICE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really don't understand it when people say "damn stylus ! - what is it for ? 2012 and we are still using stylus ?". This is very narrow minded.
First of all that is like saying, "pens, pencils? What the hell are they for?" The stylus is used for taking notes, it's excellent for that. It is used for drawing, have a look at some of the threads on here where people post their artwork, some pretty amazing stuff. Fingers just aren't accurate enough to do all that. So, fingers are just used for navigating through the phone and selecting things, the stylus is used for so much more than that.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA
ngocdao said:
Honestly dude.. i would go out and hold a phone that's 4.8in and hold the Note and see which one you'd feel comfy handling 12 hours a day x 2 years.
Boiled down, they're almost the same phone. Quad doesn't necessarily > Dual. Just better if you're a heavy heavy multi-tasker. I multi-task like i'm on crack when i'm on the Note and don't feel any bit of fatigue.
Benchmarks don't mean SH
They're like college degrees. Nice on paper, but the important thing is being able to apply that knowledge in real-life situations.
anyways. i love my note. first week: it's too big (TWSS)
now when i handle an iphone it feels like a little kid's toy in my hand. like someone else said, can't go back to anything smaller.
Although i DO wish i had this on the Note (that the SGS3 has)
-That amazing screen
-That amazing camera (i take over 50 photos a day and that would be my fav feature of all)
-Software features they included (eye tracking, etc)
Still think it's lame how they didn't increase the ram though. I'd never have to close anything if I had 2gb
Also, since there's no LTE in Hawaii.. (yet)... I'd still go with international version. Exynos is king. Snapdragon will probably be what's in the AT&T version. bleh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Size is not a problem with the phone for me.
My reason for wanting a quad was mostly for emulators as some are not super efficient so the more power I can provide the better although that MAME one I mentioned seems to be done for duals.
Yes benchmarks are not the last word but they do give an idea of relative performance.
Well one thing I wanted to have was a Tegra 3 chipset. Not because it is the fastest but because the lame market thing with Tegra game having extra features etc. I hope the trend does not continue.
As for Exynos vs Snapdragon, I thought there was not much different between the ATT and international version but I guess I can always sell it then by the international version or something.
Not sure if there is LTE and I dont really care for it except that with my BS "Unlimited" plan if I had a LTE phone my limit before they slow me down to unusable speeds will be 5GB instead of 3.
Thanks
Markhypnosis said:
I really don't understand it when people say "damn stylus ! - what is it for ? 2012 and we are still using stylus ?". This is very narrow minded.
First of all that is like saying, "pens, pencils? What the hell are they for?" The stylus is used for taking notes, it's excellent for that. It is used for drawing, have a look at some of the threads on here where people post their artwork, some pretty amazing stuff. Fingers just aren't accurate enough to do all that. So, fingers are just used for navigating through the phone and selecting things, the stylus is used for so much more than that.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually the styles us something I like for taking notes for sure...would be very nice.
qazibasit said:
well i am using my note for like 4 months now, and i am very happy with it, because of its magnificient screen for browsing and my ebooks. I am a surgical resident and this galaxy note saved me from carrying my laptop to the hospital. Here i am sharing my experience abt the note. Its easy to carry my hybrids in the rounds while taking overs during rounds. capture HD videos and pics related to the clinical findings. sometimes i even take it to the OR during cases when i am not assisting or scrubbed. I have all my books for references on my note. The good thing is being loaded with my work stuff, i have plenty of space to have my entertainment part on it. So right now i would say that i have never used a device like the galaxy note.
As far as S3 is concerned. Its an upcoming device with enhanced processor and a few more sensors. So its also charming.
Now as note prices have fall down, if u want to be on the saving path get a note, if u want to be on the top notch in competition, get an S3 as it will be the king till 2013.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My concern with the S3 is , how much enhanced is going to be if the USA cripples it to dual core..then it would feel more like a small note since not even the RAM changed.
NutZInTheHead said:
I got my Note about 3 months ago and I really will not use anything smaller than the Note.
Before I got this I was tossing a coin between GS2 and Note. I mean literally
The coin landed for the GS2 and I got the Note hehe
I just couldn't resist this phablet.
In comparison to other Android phones I cant say much on that as this is my first ever Android phone and everything on it is great. From watching movies to browsing and even just looking at the thing will make you
Sure it is a bit bulky but I really like it that way. Also it depends on how much you call on it. I spend about 95% doing everything else than calling people. So holding it to my ear is a rare thing. It's better for people with big hands.
I guess everything else can be found on review sites.
I have read a lot about the S3 so far and I gotta say it's not that much better than what the Note is right now. Sure it has an updated touchwiz (in the end both are running ICS so no biggie) with better hardware performance and added apps and features but overall I would not give up my Note for an S3.
But given your situation and if I was in the same situation I would struggle to choose between the two. I would most likely lean towards the Note. About a 60-40 ratio towards the Note.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am hoping I can have AOKP with it and hopefully some Overclocked kernel. That should make me happy.
As for calling, I dont use my phone to call, always use a headset so no problem there.
REVERSiN said:
lets face it QUAD CORE !! (what for) nothing uses that much power and yet its a muscle show for companies over each other. HTC did it sammy said (ME 2).
i love my note and by far the description you wrote means your device acts as a multimedia tool not for a normal usage phone, the note matches your requests fully well it has many ROM to speed it up and give you a great battery life (BTW i dunno about battery on SG3) so stick with note, cutsom version some guys say the ICS official has a bug well dunno i'am using it and its fine but you can wait i guess one week everything will cool down now and problems will be fixed.
NOTE advantages:
Screen HD 5.3"
1 GB RAM
2500 mAH
big phone with great images and brightness
8Mp cam
1.4 Dual Core enough for nowa days
that it by far if you try it you'l never regret or even change it XD unless another comes out !
BTW i hate to say so but i think it's not right to upgrade to an SG3 its about almost the same specs nothing serious for a daily use except for Camera and ICS !
happy buying the phone....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree...that is what my usage of the phone looks like and since camera is not important to me as I have real cameras when a shot matters, then I keep leaning towards the Note right now
benzas said:
Yesterday i sold my sgs2 . It was a great device, but had some hardware problems. I am thinking too ''should i go for white note '' or ''should i wait for sgs3'' one thing for sure if i'll buy note now, i will lose some money for selling it latter after sgs3 official release.
Please give me some advices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Labas benzas
As truputi suprantu lietuviskai
Its better to create your own post to get more responses.
I hate when I cannot make a clear cut decision. LOL
ate
Benchmark results aren't relative at all.. that's the problem
Its like the quote goes "you can't rate a goldfish's intelligence based on its ability to climb"
There is a significant difference on exynos / snapdragon. (Stock) I've tried both notes.
Another prime example is AT&T S2 w/ exynos and TMO S2 on snapdragon. The latter is horrible on stock.
I still hate writing on the stylus, since i cant write as fast on it as i do with a reg. Pen and professor talks too fast. I do all my mock up sketches though on it/annotations.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
shaolin95 said:
Labas benzas
As truputi suprantu lietuviskai
Its better to create your own post to get more responses.
I hate when I cannot make a clear cut decision. LOL
ate
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hahah . Labas! Nice to see some native language in here
went to some phone shops today to hold NOTE ... also compared it to nexus (as nexus is the same size as s3) and i easily made my mind. BOUGHT NOTE FROM EBAY TODAY. £359 so that's about $577 , brand new n7000 , factory unlocked - WHITE
s3 in uk going to be part of Olympics (official olimpics phone) so i presume price is gonna stay high for a long time. I'll hold note for some time now , and decide if it is worth to go for s3 latter when it is cheaper.
benzas said:
hahah . Labas! Nice to see some native language in here
went to some phone shops today to hold NOTE ... also compared it to nexus (as nexus is the same size as s3) and i easily made my mind. BOUGHT NOTE FROM EBAY TODAY. £359 so that's about $577 , brand new n7000 , factory unlocked - WHITE
s3 in uk going to be part of Olympics (official olimpics phone) so i presume price is gonna stay high for a long time. I'll hold note for some time now , and decide if it is worth to go for s3 latter when it is cheaper.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ah good idea! I will do the same to see how much different the size will be. I wish I could just get the international version but then again, I guess I can always sell it and get the international one.
Are you in Vilnius? I am planning to visit in late June.
Aciu
shaolin95 said:
ah good idea! I will do the same to see how much different the size will be. I wish I could just get the international version but then again, I guess I can always sell it and get the international one.
Are you in Vilnius? I am planning to visit in late June.
Aciu
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No bro. I live in United Kingdom for last 7 yrs. but originally i am not far away from Vilnius.
My advice for you would be : - go for note and if you'll be very disappointed go for s3 in autumn or so. (maybe even NOTE 2 )
GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR DECISION
Based on what I use it for I think the big screen will be the choice for sure. I will go by the store today.
Yeah many of my friends are moving to the UK as well so I hope to see them before they leave.
malonu
benzas said:
Things i hate about note:
1. damn stylus ! - what is it for ? 2012 and we are still using stylus ?
2. stupid look while making a call
3. i am not sure if it is possible to write a text message with one hand
4. mobile phone with big screen in my pocket - much easier to damage a screen!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1.- Really, hey if you dont like it you dont HAVE to use it, i love it couse its great to making some postcards out of picture of me and my gf just for fun, also its great for playing drawsomthing, but you dont have to use it.
2.- I dont think how you look should matter in this case you want something useful you are not modelling right?
3.- With ICS you can write with one hand, it has a special one hand handling feature
4.- Sure, but after 6 months no problem with my phone, and i broke 2 other small ones so i gues it depends how you take care of your stuff
Bottom Line, i Love my Note, im not planning on any change unless Note 2 is out there and yet, it has to be a great update, cause this phone has it all
I would say go for the note.
-- Although the ATT version doesn't have the same power as the international version. overclocking to 1704hmz is certainly a plus for the note, and some roms can go higher. If you are going for the Note do the international version.
As apps get more complicated (and they will) more cores will be needed. Currently thats not the case, but it will happen. I remember 20 years ago when people were saying 52mb was all you would even need in a hard drive!
Thats basically what it comes down to. For me its the bigger screen as apps don't need 4 cores at the moment, and im loving the Note. The next note will be quad core so that will be my next purchase...
I'm never going for a smaller phone than the note...

Note 3 Stutter, Lag, and Other Issues

For some reason I have noticed that my att note 3 n900a stutters and lags when playing games that my mega 6.3 and note 2 have zero issues playing. Games like, Fifa14, Nba2k13, Homerun Battle 2, Real Basketball, and Frontline Commando. This baffles me, give the fact the adreno 330 and quad core a15 based krait 400 is theoretically capable of nearly double the computational capacity of the exynos 4412 of the note 2, and around 1.25x faster than the dual core a15 based s400 chip in the mega with adreno 305. The only thing I can figure which would cause this stuttering, frame dropping, and lag is lack of optimization or compatibility with the newer gpu, but given the fact the mega has the same basic architectural framework, albeit dual vs quad core a15 and higher clock, the compatibility should not be the issue. Im wondering if the insane overheating is causing massive throttling of the cpu and gpu, as my n3 heats up and dims the screen by 60% in only a few minutes of play, which is extremely annoying.
Ive also noticed that pictures take appx 4 to 6 seconds to process upon capturing the image, when set at 13mp and superfine quality. Again, with the power of the soc this is ridiculous.
There is also a bad delay between hitting the lock button and the time it takes for the phone to turn off the screen and lock the phone.
Lastly is the worst problem with the note 3...the call quality and speaker quality. While others may attempt to justify the hideous sound quality of the speakers baffles me, as the ear piece is quiet and tinny, and the speakerphone is so tinny and filled with digital artifacts it makes calling or talking on the note 3 an absolute chore. I realize the fact that its a phone and am not expecting dolby 7.1 hd audiophile quality, but the call quality of the note 3 is atrocious and has kept me on the edge of retunring it, as it fails to be even a decent phone.
All in all, im a massive note fan, I own all 4 note devices and love them, and bought the note 3 to be a backup to my mega 6.3 but to be honest. Its nowhere near the phone the note 2 is. For all its power and benchmark bragging rights, it performs identical or worse in nearly every aspect to the note 2 and mega 6.3 in real world use. The ui transitions are identical, as is the scrolling animations. The call and sound quality cannot stamd up even to my nearly 2 year old note 1 and are an absolute joke for an 800 dollar flagship device.
Another decision by samsung that I cannot comprehend is the s pen and software for the s pen. The s note app has had the entire premium suite stripped feom note 2 in the note 3 inexplicably, missing formula match with wolfram alpha, global search, and shape fixing. The handwriting recognition either doesnt work at all, or when it chooses to work, is a horribly ineefective "scrolling style" input vs. The intuitive and precise input of my note 2, note8, and note 10.1. The action memo is a redesigned ui of quick command ripped directly from note 2, except minus the customizable inputs and actions which quick command allows for in the rest of the note series.
If I wasnt a massive note series fan, and hadnt waited almost a year for the note 3 I would never have purchased it at all. Especailly given that its .13 inches larger than note 2, which is appx 3.2mm taller screen which is so tiny of a difference even side by side its hard to tell them apart. Subjectively, I much prefer the note 2 look and design, and overwhelmingly love the mega screen size over note 3, on top of the tacky fake stiching back panel, I am having to force myself to find anything at all which I like or serves me better than the note 2. Worse s pen input, worse s pen shape and size, stuttering laggy gameplay, overheating and screen dimming...EXTREME BATTERY DRAIN vs note 2, giving appx 2 hours less screen on time at identical settings of brightness and features active, and call quality so bad I try to avoid it if possible any time I carry the phone.
All in all, the only upgrades ive seen in the week 9 days ive had the note 3 is a slightly clearer picture quality in bright lighting, but this is offset with terrible mid and low light quality due to lack of any night mode for shooting, and slightly brighter screen. Hopefully samsung and att will update the note 3 soon to adress several of these issues in the software, as I do see great potential for the note 3 given the hardware kit inside, but the speaker and call quality is a hardware issue that is doubtful to change.
I am making this post as an honest objective take on my experience with the note 3, a phone I was absolutely ecstatic to get at 10:01 on day 1 of launch, but has left me dissapointed and havent seen these issues adressed honestly and openly. Again, I love the note lineup, I now have all 5 note devices and will be getting note 10.1 2014 after the first update releases, so please dont mistake where im coming from, as im sure much of these issues will hopefully get sorted out soon.
Hm..
I'm loving every aspect of this phone. I am coming from an HTC One, though.
I hardly ever play any games, mainly Hero of Many and Fieldrunners 2. I'm not having any issues with them. I'll see if I can try out the games you listed to check out the lag.
With the camera you can turn off Smart Stabilization and the processing time goes away completely. I don't really notice a difference with it on or off, but then again I hardly take pictures.
I love using the S Pen and the handwriting recognition works flawlessly for me; not sure what is going on there.
Power button lag is weird, I'll give you that one. Sometimes it's instant, other times I hear the locking sound but the screen stays on for 1-2 seconds afterwards.. doesn't really bother me, though.
Battery life is absolutely amazing so far. ~4-5 hours screen on time with 20% left is amazing in my book. Much better than my HTC One.
Loudspeaker quality does suck, unfortunately. Not enough for me to care, though.
Edit:
I play some of the games you listed for a bit and didn't notice any slowdown or lagging. I did not clear my RAM or close any applications prior to installing/playing the games.
Thats great man im gkad your enjoying it.
The handwriting recognition is the text messaging input or other conversion from handwriting to text, not the free hand part which works as it should. I take it youve never used note 2 or youd know the massive difference between the handwriting recognition imput styles...n2 50x better homestly. The s pen itself is also much thinner and narrower which makes it awkward to hold when writing, thankfully I have my note 2 one laying around or note 8 that I use so Im not stuck using the note 3s tiny little one.
The screen on time like I said is appx 2 hours less than note 2, and 3 hrs less than mega 6.3...never touched an htc phone so I have no cluewhat you were getting there...but my note 3 at full brightness only manages around 3 hrs, at 75% around 3.5 hrs...identical to my buddies sprint variant as well. Not exactly steallar when note 2 at full brightness pulls 5 to 6 and my mega easily goes 7 hours plus 20 hrs of standby time.
Im aware of the stabilization mode for the camera, but that doesnt automatically fix the processing as it occurs at random vs everytime with it activated. But the quality is the bigger issue, great bright light pictures but horrible mid to low light pics.
Try actually playing the games my man and you will see, as these issues have popped up on 4 different variants including the intl exynos that ive peraonally played on, not solely on my note. Play a half a game of fifa14 and wait till your soc is 160 degrees and tell me it diesnt dim or lag lol
Congrats coming from the dark side (htc) lol...the note 3 is a good phone but will be stellar once these issues get resolved like I said before, except the call and soeaker quality which is atrocious.
Mega
Try a custom ROM such as cyanogen
Sent from my SPH-L710 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
UnknownFirmware said:
Try a custom ROM such as cyanogen
Sent from my SPH-L710 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the suggestion, but id rather not have an 800 dollar paper wight. My best friends intl n9000 got bricked remotely as samsung knox registry does periodic pings, and samsung will brick rooted devices. I watched it happen in person. Plus no warranty...ill wait for the update lol
Haha good call I hope things go well
Sent from my SPH-L710 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Early in your post you mention overheating. Did you apply an early version of the Vega root method? I've heard the original firmware had some issues. I've had my Note3 since Tuesday last week and I haven't had any of the issues you are describing in your post.
You definitely use the S-Pen more than I do, I just scrapbook and do simple SNote taking for meetings with mine but the handwriting recognition has been perfect for me so far and I have awful handwriting.
I don't play any high end games really just stuff like Candy Crush, Plants vs. Zombies, Osmosis HD, Sushi Chop and Ingress but in those games I have seen zero stutter or lag and have had zero overheating issues.
I've also not had any power button lock lag. I have, a couple times now, had wake lag but maybe only 2-3 times in the last week and only right after I've received a SMS message so I might have hit the button while the screen was awake from incoming message and actually turned it off before looking at it.
Also picture processing for me has been fast. I went to an event this weekend and took a ton of pictures and video and although the picture quality was decent I wasn't blown away, but I think that is a common complaint for a lot of Note3 owners. I've had zero issues with picture processing times with Smart Stabilization either off or on.
If you have not applied an old firmware via the original Vega root then is it possible you just have a defective unit? The screen dimming and overheating you are describing would concern me a lot if that were happening on mine.
lag could be because of 1080p screen.
Background of me, I came from HTC one and S4 but I previously had Note 2 and 1 as well.
I just tried Fifa14 and Homerun Battle 2 on my Note 3 and there's zero lag. Mine is rooted with no issue of heating up or dimming screen. It gets warm a bit and that's it.
Like other suggested, turn off smart stabalization and problem's solved.
I notice that it happens random on mine as well but rarely the screen hang before it turns off. Most of the time, screen shut off as soon as I hit lock/power button.
Call quality is prefectly fine. I get better signal than my HTC one and call quality is excellent. Speakers can be better compare to Note 2 I must admit but on Note 2 I have registry hack going on so I wonder if I can change the value to make the Note 3 speaker louder. The sound quality is definitely better on N3 compare to N2 except it's a bit quieter IMO. Headphone output is excellent. I must say N3 is far from being fail to be a decent phone as you've said.
Compare Spen between N2 and N3, I prefer N2 stylus as well due to it's heavier weight and feel better but N3 stylus is a lot better on sensitivity and accuracy. To each it's own. I get use it pretty quick.
Can't comment on the battery life since I just got this phone 2 days ago but I can say it is better than HTC one battery life. I can go through HTC one with viper rom which supposed to be pretty darn good battery life and yet I have to charge twice a day with the way I use the phone. On N3, it lasted me a whole day. That's really more than I can ask for and it should be about the same as N2 battery life or better.
Sorry you don't have good experience with N3. May be you got the bad one out of the bunch. I suggest try to exchange it with a new one and try it out.
PS> You talk about your friend phone got bricked by Samsung Knox thing and I just don't see this is valid. My N3 is rooted and all the knox related stuff is freezed by Titanium Backup. Even without freezing it, I still don't think samsung is bricking the phones. Your friend must have done something wrong and don't wanna admit but to blame to Samsung Knox. No offense.
This is my 5th Note and I'm quite pleased with it. Formula match and convert handwriting to text are still there. You draw them with the pen on the main Note page and then select them with the cloud tool. This menu pops up.
Give this app a whirl if your rooted...
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.grilledmonkey.lagfix&hl=en
DanMc85 said:
Give this app a whirl if your rooted...
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.grilledmonkey.lagfix&hl=en
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
May be I am wrong but isn't 4.3 has built in feature of this?
BarryH_GEG said:
This is my 5th Note and I'm quite pleased with it. Formula match and convert handwriting to text are still there. You draw them with the pen on the main Note page and then select them with the cloud tool. This menu pops up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Barry...nice find, im in my 4th year of med school going thru physics, and biochemical analytics and use the wolfram based formula match constantly and couldn't find it.
megalomanic14 said:
Barry...nice find, im in my 4th year of med school going thru physics, and biochemical analytics and use the wolfram based formula match constantly and couldn't find it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm here to serve.
mutantblack said:
Background of me, I came from HTC one and S4 but I previously had Note 2 and 1 as well.
I just tried Fifa14 and Homerun Battle 2 on my Note 3 and there's zero lag. Mine is rooted with no issue of heating up or dimming screen. It gets warm a bit and that's it.
Like other suggested, turn off smart stabalization and problem's solved.
I notice that it happens random on mine as well but rarely the screen hang before it turns off. Most of the time, screen shut off as soon as I hit lock/power button.
Call quality is prefectly fine. I get better signal than my HTC one and call quality is excellent. Speakers can be better compare to Note 2 I must admit but on Note 2 I have registry hack going on so I wonder if I can change the value to make the Note 3 speaker louder. The sound quality is definitely better on N3 compare to N2 except it's a bit quieter IMO. Headphone output is excellent. I must say N3 is far from being fail to be a decent phone as you've said.
Compare Spen between N2 and N3, I prefer N2 stylus as well due to it's heavier weight and feel better but N3 stylus is a lot better on sensitivity and accuracy. To each it's own. I get use it pretty quick.
Can't comment on the battery life since I just got this phone 2 days ago but I can say it is better than HTC one battery life. I can go through HTC one with viper rom which supposed to be pretty darn good battery life and yet I have to charge twice a day with the way I use the phone. On N3, it lasted me a whole day. That's really more than I can ask for and it should be about the same as N2 battery life or better.
Sorry you don't have good experience with N3. May be you got the bad one out of the bunch. I suggest try to exchange it with a new one and try it out.
PS> You talk about your friend phone got bricked by Samsung Knox thing and I just don't see this is valid. My N3 is rooted and all the knox related stuff is freezed by Titanium Backup. Even without freezing it, I still don't think samsung is bricking the phones. Your friend must have done something wrong and don't wanna admit but to blame to Samsung Knox. No offense.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you read my post you would have understood...I laid out the issues my and a few of my close friends are all having, mainly related to software issues that I said will get patched or fixed....the call, sound, and speaker quality of the PHONE part of the note 3 sucks...its no where near the clarity of the note 2, mega 6.3, or s4...the speakers and mic of the note 3 are hideous...maybe its difference for me since I have 7 other flagship phones laying around to compare it to, but in my opinion, that of my 3 best friends, and several people on xda and vast amounts across other forums the speakers are terrible, and filled with digital whitenoise as I said previously.
The s pen sensitivity can be tweaked on all s pen so that makes no difference to the feel or physical dimensions hahah...its an awkward, narrow, weightless piece of plastic compared to the note 2 pen, luckily for me I can keep it in the silo and use my other note pens.
And knox is causing hard bricks as validated by samsung tech support...its a mechanism in place to stop data mining if the device is stolen. So no, he didnt do anything wrong as it functioned rooted for several hours, then he went to unlock it after pulling it out of his pocket and it was off...upon reboot he got an error message and a symbol I had never seen before, then proceeded to call samsung tech for the next hour and a half. Just search xda for note 3 brick or note 3 know brick and you shall see many others my man....ps you realize the difference between att n3 and Intl right? Wheras att disabled the knox protocol except for the mainframe security, whereas intl phones have an app with knox that allows dual booting...
Anyway, as a device note 3 will be great once some bugs and kinks get worked out, but as a phone it sucks
mega
I have no lag playing games nor any power button issues. The only annoying part of the phone so far is the brightness levels not gradually changing. I think you have a defective phone/software installed.
Anyone tried a note 2 pen with note 3? Would it recognize on screen and would it even fit?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I think you have a bad unit. I have had the OG Note, Note II and now the Note 3 and this by far is the best of the bunch in all aspects.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I have trouble believing samsung would want to or care purposely brick rooted devices. Seems like good ground for a class action lawsuit if a manufacturer remotely accesses and bricks your device.
Anyway, try turning off one handed operation. Someone posted that it greatly affects benchmarks and it really does. It might be hindering your devices gaming performance.
This all makes me sad.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Considering Note 3 for upgrade

I am coming from a Samsung Galaxy S3. I am due for an AT&T upgrade early July. I was really leaning towards the new Galaxy S5 but then I saw that I could get a Note 3 for the same price. I am really torn. The advantages I see with the Note 3 are:
---32 GB hard drive space vs 16 GB in S5
---3 GB ram vs the 2 GB that the S5 has
---larger screen
---bottom speaker (which I personally prefer to rear speakers)
The advantages I see for the Galaxy S5 are:
---a better camera (though I would love to hear just how much better)
---easier to handle with one hand
---water resistance
---apparently a screen that is brighter and slightly more accurate
I would like to hear from those who have had both and would like to elaborate or mention more advantages with either device. Thanks!
First it's about size difference. If you dislike a big phone you better don't buy a note. Everything else is a lot better on the note!!! For the same price and if the size is ok for u I would even prefer the note over the s5.
I went to an AT&T store yesterday and messed with a Note 3 for a while. The screen is humongous but the Galaxy S5 isn't too far from the same size with a much smaller screen.
I've liked everything about my Galaxy S3 except battery life (I now have a 3500 mah battery) and heating issues when doing gaming with, for example, Minecraft, even at its lowest graphical setting. I just can't game for more than 15-20 minutes on this phone without it getting extremely hot. Screen temperatures easily reach 100 within that time span.
Yesterday, I played Dead Trigger on the Note 3 for about 15 minutes. The phone did get quite warm on the screen side opposite the camera. It wasn't as bad as my S3 but it was a tad disappointing. Unfortunately the S5 next to it didn't have Dead Trigger on it and so I couldn't do a "heat" comparison.
BTW, hearing a lot about GPS issues and some suggesting not to upgrade to KitKat. Has the GPS issue been fixed without me having to run a custom ROM?
Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks.
Capa1970 said:
I went to an AT&T store yesterday and messed with a Note 3 for a while. The screen is humongous but the Galaxy S5 isn't too far from the same size with a much smaller screen.
I've liked everything about my Galaxy S3 except battery life (I now have a 3500 mah battery) and heating issues when doing gaming with, for example, Minecraft, even at its lowest graphical setting. I just can't game for more than 15-20 minutes on this phone without it getting extremely hot. Screen temperatures easily reach 100 within that time span.
Yesterday, I played Dead Trigger on the Note 3 for about 15 minutes. The phone did get quite warm on the screen side opposite the camera. It wasn't as bad as my S3 but it was a tad disappointing. Unfortunately the S5 next to it didn't have Dead Trigger on it and so I couldn't do a "heat" comparison.
BTW, hearing a lot about GPS issues and some suggesting not to upgrade to KitKat. Has the GPS issue been fixed without me having to run a custom ROM?
Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't had any GPS issues on the Note 3, but I wouldn't base your decision on the GPS anyway since it's a problem which can be fixed. Like I said before it's about your preference. Try to focus on the things you really need/want to see on your device and look also for different Android phones. There are so many good devices on the market and if you can wait there will be some more beasts coming in the next couple of months!!! Me personally god used to the size and smaller devices feel like toys when I use them.
From what I heard you need a better battery life and good gaming and over all performance. Something else?(music, camera)
Thanks for the reply. Battery life, no exaggerated heat when gaming, camera, very good speakers, and removable battery are the most important things to me. I absolutely love the HTC M8 but the camera and non-removable battery kill it for me. I would really love to have front speakers, but the other candidate, Sony Z2, has bezels too big for my taste.
I am waiting on more information on the LG G3 and this Galaxy Prime that I keep on hearing about. As mentioned earlier, I am due for an upgrade in early July and so I have time to really think about things but I like doing my research months in advance instead of last second.
I mentioned to my brother that I was considering the Note 3 and he said that is has reception issues---dropped calls, weak signal, etc. I googled it and there were some threads on the subject. Any comments on this potential issue?
Weak signals and dropped calls would be a network issue not really a handset issue
I came from a s3 to a note 3 and I'll never look back anything smaller feels miniscule now initially took time to adjust to the size of the screen but now I can't see me ever using a smaller device
Battery has served me well get a full day out of it no problem
You won't find a phone that won't heat up while gaming it's impossible to cool a device operating at full power without some sort of cooling mechanics other than heatsinks
Phone will take anything you throw at it and then some
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Free mobile app
I own both. (I'm using my S5 as a glorified mp3 player these days, as the screen is too small for me.) Much prefer the Note 3.
The camera on the S5 is in no significant way better than that on the Note 3. I'm an actual photographer so I haven't used any of the filters, and I set everything manually, but in term of picture quality, both are rubbish in low light. In bright light they're near equal.
In terms of screen the S5 is smaller with a higher pixel density. You can only see it when you're about 2cm away from your screen. The colours are slightly more saturated on the S5. (That's a matter of preference, I prefer somewhat more normal colours. Mainly because I can't stand the ghastly Touchwiz colours on the S5.)
Each phone heats up whilst gaming. That's what happens when the plastic case serves as the heatsink without any other fan or coolant. Particularly if you're holding it. The more powerful the device, the more it heats up.
I have no issues with GPS on KitKat. It locks quickly, is stable and has no satelite loss. Call reception is also fine, any drops in signal is entirely due to the sometimes hilariously bad coverage of my provider. (I've nagged them about that. Repeatedly. In person, at their HQ, to the network manager. No luck.)
The S5 is a bit better at handling drops and bumps. The Note 3 is a bit more fragile, so if you lead an active lifestyle or you're clumsy, consider a case.
If you have the time, I would indeed suggest waiting for the S5 Prime before making your choice. http://www.sammobile.com/2014/05/09...ith-qhd-display-snapdragon-805-android-4-4-3/
ShadowLea said:
I own both. (I'm using my S5 as a glorified mp3 player these days, as the screen is too small for me.) Much prefer the Note 3.
The camera on the S5 is in no significant way better than that on the Note 3. I'm an actual photographer so I haven't used any of the filters, and I set everything manually, but in term of picture quality, both are rubbish in low light. In bright light they're near equal.
In terms of screen the S5 is smaller with a higher pixel density. You can only see it when you're about 2cm away from your screen. The colours are slightly more saturated on the S5. (That's a matter of preference, I prefer somewhat more normal colours. Mainly because I can't stand the ghastly Touchwiz colours on the S5.)
Each phone heats up whilst gaming. That's what happens when the plastic case serves as the heatsink without any other fan or coolant. Particularly if you're holding it. The more powerful the device, the more it heats up.
I have no issues with GPS on KitKat. It locks quickly, is stable and has no satelite loss. Call reception is also fine, any drops in signal is entirely due to the sometimes hilariously bad coverage of my provider. (I've nagged them about that. Repeatedly. In person, at their HQ, to the network manager. No luck.)
The S5 is a bit better at handling drops and bumps. The Note 3 is a bit more fragile, so if you lead an active lifestyle or you're clumsy, consider a case.
If you have the time, I would indeed suggest waiting for the S5 Prime before making your choice. http://www.sammobile.com/2014/05/09...ith-qhd-display-snapdragon-805-android-4-4-3/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is exactly how I compare the two devices just a lot more detailed lol.
In September/October should be the note 4 release and if I wouldn't have the note 3 now I would definitely wait. (I will probably still upgrade cause of my cell phone interest/addiction)
Guys, thanks for the replies and, Shadow Lea, thanks for the detailed comparison! I'm sure that it is close, but which one would you say has better battery life?
Capa1970 said:
Guys, thanks for the replies and, Shadow Lea, thanks for the detailed comparison! I'm sure that it is close, but which one would you say has better battery life?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I myself have always found the note series vs the s series that the note had way better battery life and camera wise your photos will about the same but since you due in July wait for note 4 or the s5 prime
Sent from my SM-N900W8 using XDA Free mobile app
Capa1970 said:
Guys, thanks for the replies and, Shadow Lea, thanks for the detailed comparison! I'm sure that it is close, but which one would you say has better battery life?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd say they're fairly even matched. The S5 is smaller, but has a smaller battery. I do feel my Note 3 lasts a bit longer, but maybe because I put more effort into extending the batterylife.
I am seeking some clarity. Exactly which Snapdragon 800 chipset is in the AT&T Galaxy Note 3? This article assumes that it is the variant with ram clocked at 933 MHz and the GPU at 550 MHz:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/snapdragon-801-performance-xperia-z2,3777-3.html
However, I've seen articles that have the ram at 800 MHz and the GPU at 450 MHz. Which is correct?
Don't buy the current S5 as Samsung is going to release a better version of it with a better chipset and more RAM and Quad HD display. The Note 3 is just as good for photos, has the S-Pen, speakers at the bottom as stated before, 128 GB Micro SD slot, same screen resolution, more RAM, and almost the same processor speed. W/ the S5, you're just getting features the Note 3 will get sometime later in the year, waterproofing (case can solve that w/ good research), and an easier device to carry around. People joke about my Note 3 a bit saying it's too big, but I honestly don't care because most people use that crappy iPhone 4S or something miniscule.
IMO just wait for the Note 4 right now.
First off - prefer the Note 3 because of the larger screen, however one thing that the others haven't mentioned is that the S5 comes with Kitkat which has restricted access to the SD card. The note 3 might still come with android 4.3 (if you are lucky) which allowed full access to the SD card. Obviously if you don't use the SD card than this is of no interest however if you do then, to me, this is a really important issue. Fortunately I jusy got my phone on a two year contract so I have at least 19 months before I have to worry! (as long as I don't press the firmware upgrade button by mistake!) Hope Google put something better in place in android 4.5 or android 5 or reverse this stupid decision.
What restriction r u talking about? I'm on kk.
@op if you get the chance compare it hands on. I heard a lot of people disliking the size of a note!!! It is most important that u like your phone and feel comfortable or else u regret spending money on it and start threats about strange issues u have in the forum Good luck with your decision. And as I said before at least wait for the note 4 if the screen size isn't a problem.
Google kitkat sd card issues tons of complaints. Someone has even started a petition. Although you can save your photos and music to the sd card all apps must save to a single app specific directory and are not allowed to write to other directories. E.g.take a photo with your phone them try and edit it with another programme. Because you aren't allowed to save it to the original directory you will end up with two copies in different locations. Also when you uninstall an app any data on the sd card will be deleted! Right pain in the ...neck!
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Free mobile app
Barneyabz said:
Google kitkat sd card issues tons of complaints. Someone has even started a petition. Although you can save your photos and music to the sd card all apps must save to a single app specific directory and are not allowed to write to other directories. E.g.take a photo with your phone them try and edit it with another programme. Because you aren't allowed to save it to the original directory you will end up with two copies in different locations. Also when you uninstall an app any data on the sd card will be deleted! Right pain in the ...neck!
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seriously the SD card issue isn't a big deal. The only problem is for old apps. But if you're using a new device, you should download apps that are optimized for your OS instead of running old apps anyways.
If the developer didn't bother with an update for a big permission change then obviously it's a sign that you should find a new app because If the app was like a banking app or something related to work, and they didn't update to 4.4 permissions, then how would you rely on them when a huge exploit for the app is released which leaked all your passwords and vital information?
Rooting allows for you to bypass this, but in all honesty, the play store is filled with new apps that always get updated weekly (especially File sharing apps) and you should use those instead. I understand not everyone can do this, but by choosing to buy a 4.4 device (even if you did an update you should have read up about changes), you automatically assume 4.4 features to be what you will live with.
It's ok. I bought a 4.3 device and read about the changes in 4.4 so I haven't updated. Personally I wanted my phone and next tablet to replace a Windows PC. Android 4.4 won't work for me. So I'll stay on 4.3 until warranty is up then upgrade and root. Next tablet will be a windows 8 not android.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Free mobile app
Barneyabz said:
It's ok. I bought a 4.3 device and read about the changes in 4.4 so I haven't updated. Personally I wanted my phone and next tablet to replace a Windows PC. Android 4.4 won't work for me. So I'll stay on 4.3 until warranty is up then upgrade and root. Next tablet will be a windows 8 not android.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would definitely wait with win 8 tablets. The most r crap and the good ones r waaaay 2 overpriced. Know the win cycle one software good one bad... Windows 7 was good Vista bad XP good... Think about it

Note5 User Reviews and Opinions

If you have a Note5, give us your first impressions and thoughts about the device. Tell us about the display, sound, feel, camera, quality or whatever else comes to mind. If you've had any problems, we'd like to know about that too.
Unboxing pics are encouraged
Thanks!
I thought there were a couple other threads like this already going on. here's one...
'For the ones who ACTUALLY have the device'
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3183298
I personally love it. it's got its niggles, but it is what it is.
(Sent from another Galaxy via Tapatalk)
Several active threads already going on about all of these things. Reading is fundamental!
Dr. Evo said:
Several active threads already going on about all of these things. Reading is fundamental!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, this is the problem. Most device forums have one roll-up thread for user reviews. We don't need a new thread each time someone buys the device. It clutters the forum and makes finding information difficult.
tallazzPilipino said:
I thought there were a couple other threads like this already going on. here's one...
'For the ones who ACTUALLY have the device'
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3183298
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This thread has an ambiguous title and seems to be only for the OP's benefit, so it keeps sinking to the bottom as people ignore it and start another thread unnecessarily.
I have a question here :
When popping up Aircommand menu does it works with finger while clicking on any app or not ?
But how is it in the hand without any cover? Is it not slippery as....?
Advice is needed whether to buy Samsung Galaxy Note 5 or Samsung s6 edge. All suggestions are welcome
fattyleehackz said:
Advice is needed whether to buy Samsung Galaxy Note 5 or Samsung s6 edge. All suggestions are welcome
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The S6 edge is great if you want more looks and it's a better party trick kind of phone. The Note 5 is much more functional, has the S-Pen, bigger screen, a battery that will actually last a full day, and an extra gig of ram (meaning less aggressive app killing). If you want a party trick type phone, get the edge. If you want a functional phone, get the Note 5.
Sent from my SM-N920W8 using XDA Free mobile app
My only real design issue involves point 3 in this thread by @zeesh86. I don't consider myself a fatfinger (maybe just like a little sausagy-fingered), but I was opening, moving, and deleting apps regularly on accident. I'm blaming it on the rear curved sides and smaller distance between the screen and side of the phone. Less bulk means my grip overlaps the sides and my fingers touch the screen. I ended up having to lock the apps (Nova Launcher) because it was such an oft occurring issue; however, since adding a case (and not even a bulk one) it's no longer a problem.
Pros
- big display with good colors
- powerful CPU (altho i read it gets hot and performance is questionable)
- Stylus
- nice camera (http://echostorms.net/camera.png)
- fast charging
Cons
- no removable SD card
- no removable battery
- locked bootloader (verizon and AT&T), making it difficult to root, and prevents fun stuff
- heavy KNOX hardware
- uses 75%+ of the 4GB RAM when nothing is running (just like the Galaxy S6)
- advertised as octa-core, but actually 2 quad core CPUs. Probably because one is at 1.5GHz while the other is 2.1GHz, bigger numbers = higher sales, so hide the fact that one is slower
unfortunate to say, but iOS > Android
I could probably come up with more pros/cons, but these first that came to mind.
i did a camera test earlier today, records at 1440p? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYu-5LPWPy4
Own it. Love it. I've never been happier in a mobile device.
Screen is gorgeous, sound is loud for a cell phone, the feel in the hand is great as well. The curved back makes it easy to hold. If you don't have your thumb centered the fingerprint scanner won't read. Fast charging is amazing too. Have 15 minutes? Boom Extra 20-25% of juice. I've noticed that this phones battery life is better than my previous Note 4, 3, 2 and any other device I've owned. Coupled with the fast charging and wireless charging it's a breeze. If I don't remember to charge my phone overnight--no problem. Charge it real quick while I get ready for work and I'm usually at 100%
simply dave said:
If you don't have your thumb centered the fingerprint scanner won't read.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That can be remedied by moving your thumb around a bit when registering your fingerprint. Sure you can't just use the corner of your thumb, but as long as your covering most of the button, it shouldn't matter whether it's centered or not if you've recorded enough of the print.
I didn't want to create a new thread for this but don't know exactly where to express this sentiment.
Today my brother bought an AT&T Galaxy S6. It's still on 5.0.2. That really worries me for my AT&T Note 5. How long does AT&T take to update their devices? How long has 5.1 been available while a flagship device on AT&T is stuck on 3+ month year old software? Will we ever see Marshmallow on AT&T?
fchowd0696 said:
I didn't want to create a new thread for this but don't know exactly where to express this sentiment.
Today my brother bought an AT&T Galaxy S6. It's still on 5.0.2. That really worries me for my AT&T Note 5. How long does AT&T take to update their devices? How long has 5.1 been available while a flagship device on AT&T is stuck on 3+ month year old software? Will we ever see Marshmallow on AT&T?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AT&T notoriously takes longer than other carriers to send updates. Been like that for ages.
My list of Ps and Cs coming from an iPhone 6+ and Oneplus One
Pros:
-Battery life has been very good
-Camera takes quality photos and video
-Voice calls are clear
-Phone has a relatively small footprint, so the size is not unwieldy
-s pen works very well, no issues
-s pen integration with the note is a very cool feature and high up on my nice-to-haves
-Screen is gorgeous and easy to read in daylight, I've compared to the iPhone 6+ screen for fun and text looks sharper and most pictures and video look sharper.. there are times the iPhone looks better for certain games that I'm sure were not optimized for the higher resolution
-FAST CHARGING IS REAL and is freaky fast!!!
Cons (very small issues):
-Occasional lag when scrolling... after using Oneplus One and iPhone 6+ it's hard not to notice a few glitches here and there when scrolling pages, especially pages with a lot of rich media; but it's hardly noticeable and I've already gotten used to it, disabling some of the bloatware definitely helped, I'm confident of that.
-Bluetooth is inconsistent when connecting to my Samsung soundbar, which sucks because it's the only device in my house that can't connect. I need to play around a little bit to figure out why.
-Bloatware, bloatware, bloatware
Overall, if I was asked to rate this phone I would say 10/10 compared to other phones in the same class.
Some experience about my note 5
I was tempting by the charging cloud
Actually, Samsung do some innovation on Note 5. I love the glass body very much. Fast wireless charger inside was truly a great progress, which made me want more!!
foulmouthedruffian said:
That can be remedied by moving your thumb around a bit when registering your fingerprint. Sure you can't just use the corner of your thumb, but as long as your covering most of the button, it shouldn't matter whether it's centered or not if you've recorded enough of the print.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:good::good::good:
Hey guys! We have a new section here in the Note5 forum, it's kind of experimental. It's a place where you users can rate and review the many different facets of what makes a device unique like maximum (and minimum) screen brightness, app launch speed, speakerphone quality, and more. Check it out here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/note5/review
My mistake of buying Note 5
Oh Lord how I miss having an SD card.
I've never had problems with deleting old stuff off of my phone this is the first time I had to delete stuff of my phone.
On bright side- it helps me stay on top of things but now I gotta continuously monitor storage.
Even now i'm down to free space 2 gb lol
Apparently S7 has sd card in it again- so I'm guessing Note 6 will have it too. Not sure if I'd get it or not but it's nice to see Samsung is going back on track.
What do you guys miss?
Oh Lord I miss the sunlight, it's been a long depressing winter here.
On the brighter side 110gb on onedrive , 17gb on Google drive, plus you can use a OTG drive. My Note 5 has 64gb too !
I miss my dog too, he died and my wife has left me What am i gonna do now?

Is note 3 still good phone ?

What do you think the note 3 still a good phone ? I want to use it for another year performance is still good,what do you guys think ?
Sorry for bad English
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
Yes! Mine is running nicely for almost 2 years. Not planning to upgrade to the Note 5
It's still quite good and powerful enough for both office tasks as well as gaming...
But the design is too obsolete
Note 3 stopped me switching phones very often!
Great hardware and we got loads of Devs to supply the ROMs...
Ordered a extended battery and waiting... I'll use this for 2 more years...
Mine's going to happily last me at least another year. Just got myself a new screen protector, too.
The design isn't really of any concern to me, mine doesn't leave my Otterbox Commuter unless I need to do a battery pull or swap out the SIM.
Sent From My Samsung Galaxy Note 3 N9005 Using Tapatalk
vndnguyen said:
It's still quite good and powerful enough for both office tasks as well as gaming...
But the design is too obsolete
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the design is old but still not ugly, is stil beautiful phone
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
Yes, more than good enough for me. But for a new user one should only get it if there is a big price difference between Note 3 and Note 4, otherwise Note 4 all the way.
But for OP, well sticking with it for another year is absolutely easy, this phone is that good. I don't remember any phone which I still love even after more than nine months of usage.
If the Note 5 had been any good, I would consider upgrading. But as it is not, I am staying with the Note 3.
The Note 4 is marginally better, but I don't see any benefit over the Note 3 that would be worth a couple of hundred bucks.
Note 3 runs very smooth, I have no problems with it at all, and the ROMs on XDa keep it fresh/up-to-date.
I'm hoping a TouchWiz Marshmallow ROM comes to us down the line (even if it's nine months away)
Serving me for almost 2 years and i still love it, im gonna still use it minimum another year
Remember Me? said:
What do you think the note 3 still a good phone ? I want to use it for another year performance is still good,what do you guys think ?
Sorry for bad English
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A great phone, decent performance, removable battery, and micro sd card. Am not into consumer trap, new smartphone is just like pc,never ending, keep releasing new model and stuff. Got myself a new battery, waiting for custom or official marshmallow. Will use it till it die.
Loving this Snapdragon 800
Of course this good phone. Both versions are good, but snapdragon have more support from developers, and got more chances to upgrade to marshmallow
Remember Me? said:
What do you think the note 3 still a good phone ? I want to use it for another year performance is still good,what do you guys think ?
Sorry for bad English
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only thing missing from the Note 3 is optical image stabilization and maybe better low-light photo capabilities for the camera.
Otherwise, still a disgustingly powerful phone.
Perfect for multitasking, media consumption, normal usage, power usage... and a mobile telephone.
sirobelec said:
The only thing missing from the Note 3 is optical image stabilization and maybe better low-light photo capabilities for the camera.
Otherwise, still a disgustingly powerful phone.
Perfect for multitasking, media consumption, normal usage, power usage... and a mobile telephone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, OIS and low light capability are the two most important things which are there present in Note 4, and the main advantages of the phone over the Note 3. But if someone doesn't care about camera much, then well...
For me, having impatiently awaited for note 5, and to see the end product, I was more than disappointed and feel a let down from ALL samsung latest flagship phones ... all those new samsung designs are really iphone copycats.
So I'm loving my note 3 for now, still one year+ to go. It is really a giant of a phone in terms of performance. Design-wise, it was one of the last samsung phones to have the left button as menu key primarily - which I feel is the most natural function.
I have been tinkering with some newer phones, and have still not understood the rationale behind removing the menu key and having a dedicated key for task switching instead... For any application, I will use its menus more than spending my time switching between tasks ...
My next phone would probably be an HTC or I would switch over to iPhone. I want a ROCK SOLID phone as the substitute of the mighty note3. Definitely this is not a samsung...
Don't have any complaints, just updated to a good ROM and kernel and got better than from factory, thanks to all xda desenvolvers!
Enviado de meu SM-N9005 usando Tapatalk
There are certainly better phones out there for not much more money, but the note 3 is still a solid device.
Mine's a year and a bit old, I really hate the silver bezels (extremely poor quality, got chipped and broke in one place) and the camera is mediocre for the price they asked back in the day, but other then that it's still performing very, very well.
In the lollipop update they added that little pin feature in the action memos so you can turn it directly into a resizable widget, which is the perfect "to do" feature for me, and other stuff that I need to remember.
For the heavy spen users: in the small tip replacement bag, you should find some plastic ones which are way more slippery on the display then the bamboo ones. This works especially well on screen protectors, of any kind.
I'll keep mine for another year and then I'll maybe switch to note 6 if it won't be the garbage that note 5 is.
ithehappy said:
Yep, OIS and low light capability are the two most important things which are there present in Note 4, and the main advantages of the phone over the Note 3. But if someone doesn't care about camera much, then well...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is spot on. If I need low light I use my Olympus Stylus 1 camera. I only use the Note 3 camera for quick Whatsapp pictures. I'm running Temaseks latest 16.5 (as of writing) and after changing to F2FS filesystem the phone is super smooth and I manage to get nearly 3 days usage out of my phone. Not changing till it kicks the bucket; especially as the Note 5 doesn't have changeable battery or MircoSD card.
Wam7 said:
This is spot on. If I need low light I use my Olympus Stylus 1 camera. I only use the Note 3 camera for quick Whatsapp pictures. I'm running Temaseks latest 16.5 (as of writing) and after changing to F2FS filesystem the phone is super smooth and I manage to get nearly 3 days usage out of my phone. Not changing till it kicks the bucket; especially as the Note 5 doesn't have changeable battery or MircoSD card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, don't really have any idea about this F2FS file system. Gotta look into it.
ithehappy said:
Yep, OIS and low light capability are the two most important things which are there present in Note 4, and the main advantages of the phone over the Note 3. But if someone doesn't care about camera much, then well...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly. I only use my phone for the occasional Facebook/Whatsapp photo. Anything else, especially low-light, I use my Canon EOS 70D. Smartphone cameras are no good for real photography. Nighttime photography on a sensor that rubbish? Hell no. If I want that much noise, I'll just turn the ISO on my DSLR to 12800.
Wam7 said:
I'm running Temaseks latest 16.5 (as of writing) and after changing to F2FS filesystem the phone is super smooth and I manage to get nearly 3 days usage out of my phone. Not changing till it kicks the bucket; especially as the Note 5 doesn't have changeable battery or MircoSD card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The irony is that the F2FS file system is the very reason Samsung removed the MicroSD slot on the Note 5 and S6.
ShadowLea said:
Exactly. I only use my phone for the occasional Facebook/Whatsapp photo. Anything else, especially low-light, I use my Canon EOS 70D. Smartphone cameras are no good for real photography. Nighttime photography on a sensor that rubbish? Hell no. If I want that much noise, I'll just turn the ISO on my DSLR to 12800. The irony is that the F2FS file system is the very reason Samsung removed the MicroSD slot on the Note 5 and S6.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definitely. My Olympus has only a 1 2/3 sensor but I can shoot up to 800 ISO without a hint of noise which is perfectly fine for me as with the built in image stabilisation I can still get great low light pictures. My camera is classed as compact/bridge camera so is also very portable. This picture was taken from the back of moving boat at night time on the Venice grand canal at ISO800 on the Stylus 1. Even if this was taken with an S6 camera it would be noisy and/or blurry.
On the other point it is ironic as to why they've dropped the microsd card but this I can live without that as long as it's got enough internal storage. I can't do without the spare batteries as I travel a lot and there are many times that being able to carry around small spare batteries has been a life saver!

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