TMOUS Note 2 Users Who Came from a TMOUS HTC HD2...?? - T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II

Hello all. First and foremost, thanks to all of you here on the XDA Developers site for the great support of the HD2 since its inception. Your answers solved a great many problems for me since I've owned my HD2 as a TMOUS customer!
After three years on my trusty HD2 (stock WIN Mobile Professional 6.5 ROM, using Cookie's Home Tab), I am considering taking the Android plunge and purchasing a new Samsung Galaxy Note 2. Don't know anything about Android at all, so I have a few basic questions before making this move:
1. How did you move your telephone contacts and text messages from the stock version of the HD2 to the Note 2?
2. How do you like the screen size of the Note 2 compared to the HD2?
3. How durable has your Note 2 been so far? Easier/harder to scratch its screen, capable of surviving a minor mishap, etc.?
4. Any other particular pluses or minuses (gotcha's) involved with going to the Note 2 (easier/harder to navigate TouchWiz versus Sense, better/worse keyboard(s), etc.) that you'd like to share, from the viewpoint of a former HD2 user?
Not planning to sell my beloved HD2, but will likely keep it as a backup device. Thanks in advance for your replies!

What is tmous
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2

That's what the t mobile variant of the hd2 was always referred to as
sent from seti alpha 6

Ah ok thx
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2

Asquared said:
1. How did you move your telephone contacts and text messages from the stock version of the HD2 to the Note 2?
2. How do you like the screen size of the Note 2 compared to the HD2?
3. How durable has your Note 2 been so far? Easier/harder to scratch its screen, capable of surviving a minor mishap, etc.?
4. Any other particular pluses or minuses (gotcha's) involved with going to the Note 2 (easier/harder to navigate TouchWiz versus Sense, better/worse keyboard(s), etc.) that you'd like to share, from the viewpoint of a former HD2 user?
Not planning to sell my beloved HD2, but will likely keep it as a backup device. Thanks in advance for your replies!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. I forgot about Google Sync until this morning. If you have a Google account, this is one way to transfer your phone contacts. I used this to migrate from Blackberry to Windows Mobile on the HD2 and then again when switching to my first Android ROM on the HD2. I don't know how I missed this earlier. Anyway, the "Copy Contacts from WinMob to Android" thread in the HD2 General section (I don't think I can post links here yet) has other methods you can try - there's probably a method you'll feel comfortable trying out.
As far as text messages go, there is a post titled "Migrating Windows Mobile to Android" on the site "piemaster dot net" which has instructions how to migrate the text messages to Android.
2. The screen size is excellent for me; the colors are vibrant and everything is more readable. It really appears to be a true high-def screen. I'm not old by any means, but in recent months I've had trouble focusing on distant objects after looking at the HD2 screen for more than a few minutes. And the HD2's screen was much better than those in the Blackberry Curve series.
3. I got the Note 2 for long term use (it's being described as a "future-proof" phone), so I plan to take care of it as well as I did the HD2. It appears (so far) that it's hard to scratch the screen of a Note 2 - I don't know what I did several months ago, but back then I did discover a scratch on my HD2 screen. A couple of months ago something may have happened to the phone where the USB cable had to be plugged at a certain angle on the HD2 in order for it to charge, and sometimes even if it appeared to be charging it was actually losing charge. So I have to watch how I pull the USB cable (and even the headphones) out of the Note 2. I need a case for it soon, but I will try my best not to drop it on the floor from any height. Someone did claim to run over one by accident and the phone still worked, just had a dent on the back cover - it was on one of threads in the General section. . .
4. TouchWiz reminds me of the MIUI ROMs I tried on the HD2, so there wasn't too much of a learning curve as far as getting basic stuff done (the gestures, though, will take me a while). I am going to miss Sense 3.5 (the clock and weather widget + Friendstream), but Samsung didn't do too bad with this version of TouchWiz. The keyboard has Swype built in, but I don't really need it since the speech-to-text feature works perfectly (it transcribes as I talk, not after I talk like on the HD2 Sense 3.5 ROMs). The only big downside with the Note 2 is that there is no USB Mass Storage feature, so if you're using Linux, you'll need to make sure that you have MTP capability installed on your computer before you can connect the Note 2 and transfer files.
As far as my (temporarily) decommissioned HD2s - I actually have two of them - one will go in for JTAG service early next year and the other needs the USB contacts cleaned off. If I don't have time to do development work on them, stock Android will be put on both and will basically serve as glorified media players.
Before I forget. . . the sound quality on the Note 2 is excellent - it reminded me of the sound quality from one of the Samsung media players I used regularly a few years ago. No need for Beats Audio or anything similar. . .

I tried basically everything with my HD2. Always used Google to back up contacts which was the only thing i'm really concerned about, nothing runs like a freshly wiped/flashed phone.
The Note2 screen size is perfect, once you use it and get used to it, you'll have no idea it's as huge as it is...until some random person freaks out when they see it, LOL...
I had my HD2 since it's launch and didn't have a scratch on it, i'm sort of a freak about keeping my phones perfect...i don't think he Note2 will have much to worry about...it does feel sturdy, and the gorilla glass is WAY less of a fingerprint magnet than the HD2 screen was...
The UI is what it is...i normally ran AOSP or CM ROM's on the HD2 but Touchwiz isn't that complicated that i've had to change it yet...will i run AOSP or CM if it makes it to the Note2, most likely, but it's only because i like completely stripped down ROM's.

Related

Is galaxy nexus worth buying?

Im standing in a delimma rught now. Im about to choose between galaxy nexus and iphone 4s.
I dont want to hear which phone is better i want to hear about the galaxy nexus, how it feels in your hand, smoothnes etc etc.
This is not another which phone is better thread.
Thabk you
Best regards
Elinho
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium
GSM? The phone feels great in the hand because it is light for how big it is. It is kind of slick and will take getting used to if you have never had a phone this big but it shouldn't be too much of a problem.. the screen is good for most people when above 20% brightness. Some people lag on the stock rom but most don't have any problems on custom roms or the latest stock rom. Also battery life for the most part is great.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Size wise I feel the Nexus is small, and no way too big at all. But I had the Epic 4G Touch with 4.5" screen, the Nexus feels smaller.
Build quality is very high, the metal band around it feels solid, and the dark gray color makes it look like a stealth fighter jet. Does not feel like cheap plastic on the Galaxy SII.
High Res screen is on par with "Retina" but with a million times better color.
ICS software is a huge leap forward for Android, makes it more mature and polished and better design over last year Androids.
iPhone LOL 3.5" screen
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
I have been an iphone user for years and after spending some time using the Nexus I sold my iphone 4s to buy the Nexus. You will not be unhappy with either but the Nexus is hands down a more up to date and distinguished device for me.
Play with them both and see which appeals more to you. I was an iPhone user for 4 years until I got my Galaxy Nexus and I couldn't go back. That said, the 4S is still a very good phone and definitely has a place. It gets better battery life and has a nicer app selection, but the screen is small, you're much more limited in terms of modification/customization/app and service integration, and I feel like iOS is starting to show it's age.
I love the Nexus' huge screen, I think the design of the phone itself is nicer, and I like ICS way more than iOS.
Zorachus said:
Size wise I feel the Nexus is small, and no way too big at all. But I had the Epic 4G Touch with 4.5" screen, the Nexus feels smaller.
Build quality is very high, the metal band around it feels solid, and the dark gray color makes it look like a stealth fighter jet. Does not feel like cheap plastic on the Galaxy SII.
High Res screen is on par with "Retina" but with a million times better color.
ICS software is a huge leap forward for Android, makes it more mature and polished and better design over last year Androids.
iPhone LOL 3.5" screen
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no metal band..... that said it still feels like a good quality phone.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Ex-wife has iPhone 4S and I, the GNexus. No comparison. I feel bad for the ex, with that 3.5" LOL display, and no me. ;-)
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
Thank you for the replys!
The galaxy nexus here in sweden is expensive. But im considering getting galaxy
Edit: i forgott, the ics dont have autocorrect for swedish lang :/
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium
Without a case, it's great in the hands. Even with a case it's fine depending on which one though.
But holding it raw is wonderful. The screen is absolutely amazing. Text is so crisp I almost sometimes prefer using it over my tablet! The keyboard is amazing in portrait, because of the size I can type REALLY fast and get almost no errors.
Everything is smooth too. My friend who has had an Evo 4g for a while was amazed at how smooth animations and everything else are compared to his phone.
I have unlimited 4g from Verizon and it is blazing too.
elinho said:
Im standing in a delimma rught now. Im about to choose between galaxy nexus and iphone 4s.
I dont want to hear which phone is better i want to hear about the galaxy nexus, how it feels in your hand, smoothnes etc etc.
This is not another which phone is better thread.
Thabk you
Best regards
Elinho
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have used both. I keep changing my phones regularly. Generally every 3 months. I always have 2 phones regardless.
Now...
Sometimes as my Prof kept saying,
it all comes down to what you are used to the most.
If you are a busy man and just want to get things done and you are used to the iOS platform then go for the iPhone 4s, it really surprises me how consistent they have kept their platform from over 5 years.
But there is a price you pay. For ex when you compare the maps and email/Gmail apps; the iOS apps feel archaic.
Ics is a complete overhaul. There is a significant amount of learning curve. Not much if you are coming from iOS. But to be on the record, it is completely rewarding no matter what platform you come from (keep in mind it takes about a week)
One of the gripes that I have with iOS is that it is not Rewarding to the power user. The speed at which you do things the first time is pretty much as fast as yo can ever be.
Let me address a few issues with galaxy nexus
Size:
Mammoth like if you are coming from iOS
Little big if you are coming from the almost standard 4 inch androids.
But the feel in hand is really good. It is lighter than the iPhone 4s. After a week you wont notice the size but will really appreciate the 720p screen, the real estate that it gives you. I can't go back to the iPhone like screen size after using galaxy nexus, it is like what the first iPhone did to the typical smartphone users back then (who were mainly on windows mobile and palm/blackberry on their 2.4-2.8 inch devices)
Smoothness:
I'm on AOKP rom with Francisco Franco s Kernel and it is the smoothest Android experience.
IOS introduces a lot of delays to keep the os feeling smooth. Just try opening an app as soon as you hit the home button.
And it still lags everytime when you go to the spotlight search by swiping left on the homescreen.
Right now they have just 3 hardware platforms and then can test the heck out of it for delivering 60fps (also known as butter smooth performance) albeit making actual performance sacrifices (though I've heard from internal sources that it is becoming increasingly difficult to do so on 3gs)
The point I'm trying to make is that iOS has engineered smoothness at the cost of performance, you will have to decide for yourself if this is OK with you.
IOS vs ICS
I feel that ics and Android in general gives app developers a lot more freedom and versatility in app design (clearly demonstrated by the mlo app which is still in beta on Android but much better than the iOS app).
But app developers go by the penetration and clearly iOS has more than android (again demonstrated by the Mlo app which is still in beta on Android)
And as far as the stock apps are concerned there is no match for ics, just check the iPhone vs galaxy nexus sunspider and browesermark benchmarks on the browser which probably is the top most used app on the smartphone os (tip don't compare the iPad 2 with galaxy nexus as iPad 2 is clocked at 25% more than iPhone 4s, and there are quad core options available in android ics tablets (friend just got pics pushed to his transformer prime ))
And the Gmail app.(
ICS has a lot of potential If you are not porting over your apps from iOS , a lesson for you speed test.net)
Now to conclude I've not gone back to iPhone 4(couldn't stand iPhone 4s as it didn't have a jailbreak and hence my favourite jailbreak app swipenav which avoids the most inhumanly possible HCI design of tapping the left most corner to go back (which is probably the second most used function from going to home screen )
Pradeep.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premiu
m
trincisor said:
have used both. I keep changing my phones regularly. Generally every 3 months. I always have 2 phones regardless.
Now...
Sometimes as my Prof kept saying,
it all comes down to what you are used to the most.
If you are a busy man and just want to get things done and you are used to the iOS platform then go for the iPhone 4s, it really surprises me how consistent they have kept their platform from over 5 years.
But there is a price you pay. For ex when you compare the maps and email/Gmail apps; the iOS apps feel archaic.
Ics is a complete overhaul. There is a significant amount of learning curve. Not much if you are coming from iOS. But to be on the record, it is completely rewarding no matter what platform you come from (keep in mind it takes about a week)
One of the gripes that I have with iOS is that it is not Rewarding to the power user. The speed at which you do things the first time is pretty much as fast as yo can ever be.
Let me address a few issues with galaxy nexus
Size:
Mammoth like if you are coming from iOS
Little big if you are coming from the almost standard 4 inch androids.
But the feel in hand is really good. It is lighter than the iPhone 4s. After a week you wont notice the size but will really appreciate the 720p screen, the real estate that it gives you. I can't go back to the iPhone like screen size after using galaxy nexus, it is like what the first iPhone did to the typical smartphone users back then (who were mainly on windows mobile and palm/blackberry on their 2.4-2.8 inch devices)
Smoothness:
I'm on AOKP rom with Francisco Franco s Kernel and it is the smoothest Android experience.
IOS introduces a lot of delays to keep the os feeling smooth. Just try opening an app as soon as you hit the home button.
And it still lags everytime when you go to the spotlight search by swiping left on the homescreen.
Right now they have just 3 hardware platforms and then can test the heck out of it for delivering 60fps (also known as butter smooth performance) albeit making actual performance sacrifices (though I've heard from internal sources that it is becoming increasingly difficult to do so on 3gs)
The point I'm trying to make is that iOS has engineered smoothness at the cost of performance, you will have to decide for yourself if this is OK with you.
IOS vs ICS
I feel that ics and Android in general gives app developers a lot more freedom and versatility in app design (clearly demonstrated by the mlo app which is still in beta on Android but much better than the iOS app).
But app developers go by the penetration and clearly iOS has more than android (again demonstrated by the Mlo app which is still in beta on Android)
And as far as the stock apps are concerned there is no match for ics, just check the iPhone vs galaxy nexus sunspider and browesermark benchmarks on the browser which probably is the top most used app on the smartphone os (tip don't compare the iPad 2 with galaxy nexus as iPad 2 is clocked at 25% more than iPhone 4s, and there are quad core options available in android ics tablets (friend just got pics pushed to his transformer prime ))
And the Gmail app.(
ICS has a lot of potential If you are not porting over your apps from iOS , a lesson for you speed test.net)
Now to conclude I've not gone back to iPhone 4(couldn't stand iPhone 4s as it didn't have a jailbreak and hence my favourite jailbreak app swipenav which avoids the most inhumanly possible HCI design of tapping the left most corner to go back (which is probably the second most used function from going to home screen )
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premiu
m
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your time and effort!
Im considering buying galaxy nexus due the screen, but i like the siri function in iphone and their smoothnes in the games due.
But overall the Gnex is above all much better then iphone.
But as i said erlier the gnex is much more expensive here in sweden :/
Siri is a worthless bum.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
I'l give you an honest overview : the phone is SINCERELY NOT THERE to compete as a completely functional device to be honest.
And let me also tell you that I'm an Android fan boy, and I completely ABHOR apple and everything to do with them.
BUT YET. Samsung Galaxy Nexus is NOT EVEN a complete functional device yet, and paying 530 £ or so (in the UK) for such a phone - IS WASTE OF MONEY.
There are MANY glitches that makes the whole experience very unsavoury. To the point that it definitely DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A FINISHED phone to me at all.
All the gloss of ICS apart, I have seen stability issues with this phone that just totally kills every thing. And mind you this is only on 4.0.1 GSM version UK (I've others here who have the same issue)
I'm a pretty heavy user. I've had a HTC Desire and worked out the ins and outs of the system and that device was EXTREMELY usable over the years.
This phone has so many problems -
1. The LED light does not even support missed calls by default. If you had a missed call you would not know till you turn the screen on (It is a basic feature was available 2 years back on HTC desire) I dont want to install a complicated APP like Light Flow to do it. This is basic stuff that should come out of the box
2. The phone in landscape mode does not type properly, this is just hilarious. Shame on google. The typing works perfect when you keep your phone straight, but the same phone, same stuff if you type in landscape it is incredibly jittery, you dont see what you wrote for good couple of seconds! This is just SHODDY work. how can screen orientation screw up your typing so badly - i have no idea. Just shameful from google.
3. The SMS dont go many times, and I've seen many threads about the same. Apparently you can screw up the message center settings? I dont know how but I'vent done that still had SMS problems a few times. And I had to restart my phone or send multiple times to make it work.
4. The call quality is the WORST I have seen on ANY phone in my entire life. I've been using the phone in exactly the same locations as I was using my HTC desire, and the call drops so much more often that it is just unbelievable! and needless to say incredibly frustrating. If the call doesnt drop the sound, sometimes (& often), is really pathetic and many a times it is inaudible to either party on the call. Is this a phone?
5. The phone is crashing randomly, this happens every 2 days or so (lately every single day now) and I'm a pretty heavy user. People say it is because I'm still on 4.0.1 - well I dont buy that because if 4.0.3 (the latest version) was fixing so many stability issues, then there is NO reason for Google to delay the release of that version on here in the UK for such a long time. Then some people say it is because I've some app installed, well I uninstalled most of my apps - but this problem doesnt go. And the phone becoming unresponsive due to an APP sounds like a serious piece of cr*pware to me. My settings page becomes unresponsive!! How can that happen? It has NEVER happened on android 2.3.7 with my HTC desire. If an APP is buggy, your home and menu screen buttons work perfectly! your android system doesnt become unstable because a stupid APP is incompatible or buggy! but here the WHOLE PHONE BECOMES UNUSABLE!!
And there's more! The latest of the glitches, yesterday - after the usual while typing the phone crashed, and then on reboot - all widgets on my screen - were all scrambled. No widget was displaying any text but jumbled ASCII characters, when you move the widgets the text would show but not without. I rebooted and it has been okay since.
but how horrible is that to put in so much of your money to get a piece of sht phone that doesnt even work and does basic functions correctly?
6. The phone also starts lagging, and is jerky ... especially with live wallpaper. That was really frustrating to see if you bought the phone to be on the cutting edge of mobile technology!! Samsung galaxy s2 scores much higher even on CPU benchmark tests I downloaded. Galaxy nexus fails to score any more than 1700 on the tests while Galaxy S2 (almost the same hardware) notches up to 3200+ scores!!! and these are basic tests that check cpu performance and your animation rendering capabilities. You cant mess with that really.
Now this could really be because of the high resolution of the screen... which brings me to the only two GOOD points of this phone :
1. Really crisp resolution. It is really just a class apart from older generation phones. Your icons, text, everything looks extremely good!
2. ICS - as everyone already mentioned it is a huge step up in terms of usability, and looks great deal polished. The phone feels good to navigate through, and ICS brings in some other features that make it a good OS. Others can cover on that more.
But anyway, I find those two points as largely ineffective in my choice to buy a phone (but i have unfortunately bought it and got rid of my desire and have been regretting the decision......it has been about 21 days on the galaxy nexus now)
Honestly, STAY AWAY FROM GALAXY NEXUS. The device is not worth it, and ICS evolution (especially bug fixes) and the hardware upgrades later this year would make for a really good and a competitive phone that you can buy!
cheers
Dhruv
Dhruv,
Try Romain's AOKP rom
See if that fixes most of your problems
About performance I think you are comparing quadrant scores. Quadrant is not a good benchmark
Try individual performance like
multi threaded linpack
Mflops scores
Sunspider
Browsermark
Ics has been vastly optimized for performance.
Pradeep.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
dhruvraj said:
I'l give you an honest overview : the phone is SINCERELY NOT THERE to compete as a completely functional device to be honest.
And let me also tell you that I'm an Android fan boy, and I completely ABHOR apple and everything to do with them.
BUT YET. Samsung Galaxy Nexus is NOT EVEN a complete functional device yet, and paying 530 £ or so (in the UK) for such a phone - IS WASTE OF MONEY.
There are MANY glitches that makes the whole experience very unsavoury. To the point that it definitely DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A FINISHED phone to me at all.
All the gloss of ICS apart, I have seen stability issues with this phone that just totally kills every thing. And mind you this is only on 4.0.1 GSM version UK (I've others here who have the same issue)
I'm a pretty heavy user. I've had a HTC Desire and worked out the ins and outs of the system and that device was EXTREMELY usable over the years.
This phone has so many problems -
1. The LED light does not even support missed calls by default. If you had a missed call you would not know till you turn the screen on (It is a basic feature was available 2 years back on HTC desire) I dont want to install a complicated APP like Light Flow to do it. This is basic stuff that should come out of the box
2. The phone in landscape mode does not type properly, this is just hilarious. Shame on google. The typing works perfect when you keep your phone straight, but the same phone, same stuff if you type in landscape it is incredibly jittery, you dont see what you wrote for good couple of seconds! This is just SHODDY work. how can screen orientation screw up your typing so badly - i have no idea. Just shameful from google.
3. The SMS dont go many times, and I've seen many threads about the same. Apparently you can screw up the message center settings? I dont know how but I'vent done that still had SMS problems a few times. And I had to restart my phone or send multiple times to make it work.
4. The call quality is the WORST I have seen on ANY phone in my entire life. I've been using the phone in exactly the same locations as I was using my HTC desire, and the call drops so much more often that it is just unbelievable! and needless to say incredibly frustrating. If the call doesnt drop the sound, sometimes (& often), is really pathetic and many a times it is inaudible to either party on the call. Is this a phone?
5. The phone is crashing randomly, this happens every 2 days or so (lately every single day now) and I'm a pretty heavy user. People say it is because I'm still on 4.0.1 - well I dont buy that because if 4.0.3 (the latest version) was fixing so many stability issues, then there is NO reason for Google to delay the release of that version on here in the UK for such a long time. Then some people say it is because I've some app installed, well I uninstalled most of my apps - but this problem doesnt go. And the phone becoming unresponsive due to an APP sounds like a serious piece of cr*pware to me. My settings page becomes unresponsive!! How can that happen? It has NEVER happened on android 2.3.7 with my HTC desire. If an APP is buggy, your home and menu screen buttons work perfectly! your android system doesnt become unstable because a stupid APP is incompatible or buggy! but here the WHOLE PHONE BECOMES UNUSABLE!!
And there's more! The latest of the glitches, yesterday - after the usual while typing the phone crashed, and then on reboot - all widgets on my screen - were all scrambled. No widget was displaying any text but jumbled ASCII characters, when you move the widgets the text would show but not without. I rebooted and it has been okay since.
but how horrible is that to put in so much of your money to get a piece of sht phone that doesnt even work and does basic functions correctly?
6. The phone also starts lagging, and is jerky ... especially with live wallpaper. That was really frustrating to see if you bought the phone to be on the cutting edge of mobile technology!! Samsung galaxy s2 scores much higher even on CPU benchmark tests I downloaded. Galaxy nexus fails to score any more than 1700 on the tests while Galaxy S2 (almost the same hardware) notches up to 3200+ scores!!! and these are basic tests that check cpu performance and your animation rendering capabilities. You cant mess with that really.
Now this could really be because of the high resolution of the screen... which brings me to the only two GOOD points of this phone :
1. Really crisp resolution. It is really just a class apart from older generation phones. Your icons, text, everything looks extremely good!
2. ICS - as everyone already mentioned it is a huge step up in terms of usability, and looks great deal polished. The phone feels good to navigate through, and ICS brings in some other features that make it a good OS. Others can cover on that more.
But anyway, I find those two points as largely ineffective in my choice to buy a phone (but i have unfortunately bought it and got rid of my desire and have been regretting the decision......it has been about 21 days on the galaxy nexus now)
Honestly, STAY AWAY FROM GALAXY NEXUS. The device is not worth it, and ICS evolution (especially bug fixes) and the hardware upgrades later this year would make for a really good and a competitive phone that you can buy!
cheers
Dhruv
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why don't you sell it while it's still "fresh"..? You could easily get a desire for 200£, if not less actually!
dhruvraj said:
I'l give you an honest overview : the phone is SINCERELY NOT THERE to compete as a completely functional device to be honest.
And let me also tell you that I'm an Android fan boy, and I completely ABHOR apple and everything to do with them.
BUT YET. Samsung Galaxy Nexus is NOT EVEN a complete functional device yet, and paying 530 £ or so (in the UK) for such a phone - IS WASTE OF MONEY.
There are MANY glitches that makes the whole experience very unsavoury. To the point that it definitely DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A FINISHED phone to me at all.
All the gloss of ICS apart, I have seen stability issues with this phone that just totally kills every thing. And mind you this is only on 4.0.1 GSM version UK (I've others here who have the same issue)
I'm a pretty heavy user. I've had a HTC Desire and worked out the ins and outs of the system and that device was EXTREMELY usable over the years.
This phone has so many problems -
1. The LED light does not even support missed calls by default. If you had a missed call you would not know till you turn the screen on (It is a basic feature was available 2 years back on HTC desire) I dont want to install a complicated APP like Light Flow to do it. This is basic stuff that should come out of the box
2. The phone in landscape mode does not type properly, this is just hilarious. Shame on google. The typing works perfect when you keep your phone straight, but the same phone, same stuff if you type in landscape it is incredibly jittery, you dont see what you wrote for good couple of seconds! This is just SHODDY work. how can screen orientation screw up your typing so badly - i have no idea. Just shameful from google.
3. The SMS dont go many times, and I've seen many threads about the same. Apparently you can screw up the message center settings? I dont know how but I'vent done that still had SMS problems a few times. And I had to restart my phone or send multiple times to make it work.
4. The call quality is the WORST I have seen on ANY phone in my entire life. I've been using the phone in exactly the same locations as I was using my HTC desire, and the call drops so much more often that it is just unbelievable! and needless to say incredibly frustrating. If the call doesnt drop the sound, sometimes (& often), is really pathetic and many a times it is inaudible to either party on the call. Is this a phone?
5. The phone is crashing randomly, this happens every 2 days or so (lately every single day now) and I'm a pretty heavy user. People say it is because I'm still on 4.0.1 - well I dont buy that because if 4.0.3 (the latest version) was fixing so many stability issues, then there is NO reason for Google to delay the release of that version on here in the UK for such a long time. Then some people say it is because I've some app installed, well I uninstalled most of my apps - but this problem doesnt go. And the phone becoming unresponsive due to an APP sounds like a serious piece of cr*pware to me. My settings page becomes unresponsive!! How can that happen? It has NEVER happened on android 2.3.7 with my HTC desire. If an APP is buggy, your home and menu screen buttons work perfectly! your android system doesnt become unstable because a stupid APP is incompatible or buggy! but here the WHOLE PHONE BECOMES UNUSABLE!!
And there's more! The latest of the glitches, yesterday - after the usual while typing the phone crashed, and then on reboot - all widgets on my screen - were all scrambled. No widget was displaying any text but jumbled ASCII characters, when you move the widgets the text would show but not without. I rebooted and it has been okay since.
but how horrible is that to put in so much of your money to get a piece of sht phone that doesnt even work and does basic functions correctly?
6. The phone also starts lagging, and is jerky ... especially with live wallpaper. That was really frustrating to see if you bought the phone to be on the cutting edge of mobile technology!! Samsung galaxy s2 scores much higher even on CPU benchmark tests I downloaded. Galaxy nexus fails to score any more than 1700 on the tests while Galaxy S2 (almost the same hardware) notches up to 3200+ scores!!! and these are basic tests that check cpu performance and your animation rendering capabilities. You cant mess with that really.
Now this could really be because of the high resolution of the screen... which brings me to the only two GOOD points of this phone :
1. Really crisp resolution. It is really just a class apart from older generation phones. Your icons, text, everything looks extremely good!
2. ICS - as everyone already mentioned it is a huge step up in terms of usability, and looks great deal polished. The phone feels good to navigate through, and ICS brings in some other features that make it a good OS. Others can cover on that more.
But anyway, I find those two points as largely ineffective in my choice to buy a phone (but i have unfortunately bought it and got rid of my desire and have been regretting the decision......it has been about 21 days on the galaxy nexus now)
Honestly, STAY AWAY FROM GALAXY NEXUS. The device is not worth it, and ICS evolution (especially bug fixes) and the hardware upgrades later this year would make for a really good and a competitive phone that you can buy!
cheers
Dhruv
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No idea which galaxy nexus u are using man , but had mine for just about a month now running aokp with franco kernel , And no i didnt use the stock i rooted and slapped a rom on after 2 days if i wanted to use what they gave me i wouldnt buy a nexus device .
this phone is SMOOOTH i mean FLUIIID is keyword here.
ive had 1 crash on phone in a months time , 0 lag
Seriously wtf are u about when it comes to call quality this is one of the best devices ive used when it comes to call quality ive had many other 3 other droids before this .
if only you read, you dimwit you wouldnt open your mouth
GSM 4.0.1 UK, unrooted stock (I dont want to flash with a new kernel I expect Google to do a good job to begin with)
and I've others on here who have same issues. dont chest thump your way up here, this phone is NOT a finished product and you've no clue what you are talking about
here stock kernel 4.0.1 - i'm attaching screenshots.
1. xda not responding
2. then SETTINGS not responding!!! :: native "settings" not responding (I've never seen that on any android before)
3. how my home screen looks
4. how my home screen looked after a crash and a reboot!! (the one i mentioned in the point above as widgets got screwed!)
dhruvraj said:
if only you read, you dimwit you wouldnt open your mouth
GSM 4.0.1 UK, unrooted stock (I dont want to flash with a new kernel I expect Google to do a good job to begin with)
and I've others on here who have same issues. dont chest thump your way up here, this phone is NOT a finished product and you've no clue what you are talking about
here stock kernel 4.0.1 - i'm attaching screenshots.
1. xda not responding
2. then SETTINGS not responding!!! :: native "settings" not responding (I've never seen that on any android before)
3. how my home screen looks
4. how my home screen looked after a crash and a reboot!! (the one i mentioned in the point above as widgets got screwed!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
your an idiot nexus is purely aimed to be a developer device.
and all the nexus devices run the latest OS which means some might have issues thats the whole reason they get updates quickly and 4.01 is suppose to be buggy thats why all the good roms are on 4.02 or 4.03 and like how 2.3.3 was the base for all gingerbread roms 4.03 will be the base for all the ICS phones.
People like u should just buy an iphone or a SG2 or some other phones which are tried and tested before they are launched not a nexus device.
just read this thread to see how many problems they have with this phone :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1367807&page=11
and many others about SMS not going, jerky rendering... its all mentioned all over these forums
developers play with custom ROMS which this phone makes easier for you to do, that is not an excuse to dole out a phone riddled with bugs in basic functionalities, just so it looks glossy and cool! that is pathetic
---------- Post added at 05:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:17 PM ----------
and here's for the call quality http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1421232
stop your chest thumping around here for a piece of junk phone
Dont fight guys thank you for your answers!
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium

Pro's & Con's of the Note II

I'm not going to lie.. I'm nervous about buying this phone. I've been a slider user forever and love my old trust worthy Galaxy S running Cyanogenmod's Jellybean port. It really does everything I want.
But I've been thinking about buying a tablet lately and maybe going the Note II route is a better option for me.
If you own one of these phones and have been using it for a couple of weeks and feel like sharing, what do you see as the pro's and con's of this phone?
Con 1 for me - no keyboard.
I love mine - I do a ton of typing and use numbers and characters all the time - switching with a touch screen keyboard to type something like k3yb0ard takes me 2 or 3 times longer using a screen then it does with my keyboard (I've timed it using everything from the stock keyboard to swype)
Pro's - pretty much everything hardware related but the lack of keyboard.
How stable is root on this phone? Everything running nicely? Overclocking? Good ROM and Kernel support? Beats audio? Voltage Control (or other overclocking apps)? All the usual phone root/modding goodies.
Is there a good portable keyboad that works with this phone? (bluetooth, small enough to carry in a pocket also, good battery life) That may be a solution when I'm doing a lot of emails or typing a lot of mixed format msgs.
Anyway, thanks for your answers.
The keyboard thing can be an issue. I know it was for me when I went from a HTC Touch Pro 2 to the EVO 3D. However, after a while I got used to it and it is second nature now. What's nice is the Note 2 takes it a step further. You can use the sPen to HANDWRITE your message instead of using the touch keyboard. It will translate your handwriting to text. I am just starting to get a handle on using the sPen to it's fullest. The new multi-window option is nice too(have a split screen with 2 app running at the same time).
The root on this is solid. It's an easy step by step process, with prebuilt programs that do all the work. The only real difference here is the Samsung counter that counts how many times you have loaded a custom ROM. Anything past 0 will prevent warranty work. BUT there is a program that can reset it and also the original stock tars are out there.
ROM development is lacking a bit right now because it is new. However, I am already seeing an increase in custom ROMs in just the last week or so. So it will get going. It may not get to the level of say the S3 but I think it will be good.
Hope this helps.
The screen is so large that typing on a virtual keyboard is much easier than it used to be.
I had a physical QWERTY fascination starting with the G1 and ending most recently with the MT4G Slide. I have to say that I don't have any moments where I long for a hardware keyboard with this device.
The voice input of Jelly Bean is amazing as well. If you are in a service area or wifi area, it works VERY nicely.
I also recently purchased a Logitech BT keyboard that allows me to use the Note II like a touchscreen netbook. Samsung's Smart Dock will most likely allow a keyboard, mouse, spare USB port and HDMI for only $100, so I consider that to be an option for some.
Even the smallish Samsung swypable keyboard that pops up in Multiview types quite well.
I don't think you will be disappointed with the input options that this device will allow you. Plus, the flatness in your pocket is something that you won't ever get in a slider. This giant phone actually feels better in my pocket than my 3.6" MT4GS did. I even have moments where I need to check if the phone is there. (Side note: I'm an adult and I wear the proper size pants at the proper waist level, sagging's for kids)
I understand where you are coming from.. I had a slider phone myself a few years ago and missed the physical keyboard.. I had an epic 4G touch previously and the screen was cramped for me since I have big hands.. But typing on the note 2 is great due to the large screen and I use swift key and you can increase the keyboard size.(also trying in portrait mode =AWSOME, so much more room lol) . Plus the haptic feed back when pressing keys makes it feel more like a physical keyboard
As far as root its way beyond solid... The customer kernel runs nice.. You can over clock to 1.8..I haven't yet since the phone is so smooth out the box.. I might over clock one day.. The unlimited multi windows is a bonus.. It would really suck to limit multi windows to only a few apps.. The audio mods are nice.. Very loud and nice bass
A really great start to a new device.. Can't wait to see what's to come over time
-TeaM VeNuM Like A Boss
-Galaxy Note II Edition
I too had keyboard concerns but got over it with the help of SwiftKey. I am a big corporate email user and couldn't imagine being productive without the keyboard. Someone in this forum said go with SwiftKey and you'll never look back. I must also add that the stock N2 isn't bad
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
Thanks for all the posts.. I drove myself to the sprint store today so I could play with the phone a bit in person and I'm glad I did.
We might be important when it comes to the election drama, but Ohio won't have LTE until late next year.
Made my decision easy.. no way - no how.
We have 4G wimax here and it's plenty fast.. I'm not downgrading to 3G just to upgrade the rest of my phone. (plus they charge you for 4G LTE anyway - even though we don't offer it.. just in case you go to a area with it)
Anyway, thanks for all the replies. By the time we get 4G LTE here I'll be posting about the Note 4 I think.
Yea, if you are solidly in a Wimax area and use it all the time, unless you can't live without the features of the phone, stay with the wimax phone till LTE comes around.
Where I'm at, the only place I had Wimax was when I was outside for lunch at work. Indoors, I can hardly get a signal for a phone call(this applies to ALL the carriers, as our building really screws with the signal.
I Still think tho that with the new cash infusion/purchase by Softbank, you will see Sprint accelerate it's LTE buildout quite a bit.
Bro there's days I miss my Sidekick Lx
Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2

[Q] Moving from iPhone to Note 2, advice please!

Evening all,
I am a long time lurker on this forum, and I have noticed that a lot of you have got Android phones so I was after a bit of advice.
Currently, I have had the pleasure of using an iPhone 4 for the last two and a bit years. It has been a spectacular phone and with the combination of iTunes for management, it had made everything a lot easier. However, with the launch of the iPhone 5 I personally feel that the ‘enhancements’ made do not warrant the extra expenditure, so I am looking for a change.
My next phone of choice is probably going to be the Samsung Galaxy note 2; which, I have read a number of reviews and watched a variety of different YouTube videos showing its features and functionality. I was looking at buying this on a 24 month contract with 3UK but there are a few little things stopping me.
First, from the management side of things, is there anything like iTunes for the Android platform, secondly is Android as fluid as iOS as I know a few early adopters who used Android and it was one of my primary decisions to go to iOS and lastly what is the build quality like on the Samsung devices?
Thanks in advance!
Do yourself a favour and get Tunesync. It syncs your iTunes library perfectly over wifi - to this day it's the only way I know to get iTunes libraries to your phone without the album art etc screwing up.
Saying that, there's always Spotify too!
In terms of build quality, the Note 2 is a mile ahead of the S3 and has a far better screen, although the sheer size difference may make your head spin. Android runs great provided you get a custom ROM, Android revolution HD is my favourite as it's a very fine tuned version of the ROM it comes with. In fact, after the hideous iOS 6 update to my ipad 3 I'd say my Android is smoother.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app
I have been offered the note 2 on three with £30 discount.
I love the way the iPhone works, but I want something that is a little different. What about app synchronisation? How is this done with android?
I'll make this short and sweet.
In terms of build quality, iphone much is better.
It terms of anything else, note 2 is better.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium
MohJee said:
I'll make this short and sweet.
In terms of build quality, iphone much is better.
It terms of anything else, note 2 is better.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In what way is the note 2 better?
MohJee said:
I'll make this short and sweet.
In terms of build quality, iphone much is better.
It terms of anything else, note 2 is better.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally agree you pay much more for the build quality, thats why iphones are expensive.
I have been very disappointed by the quality of the note2, let's start with the usb cable not working out of the box, a small scratch on the screen out of the box too, and a little bit deformed back cover (camera hole didn't fit perfectly).
Otherwise, I think it is a real smartphone, not a tinny cute Iphone.
How the note 2 is better? It is a computer like not a normal phone, you throw any media file in it and play it, you can use the stylus for working by writing notes on pdf files, highlighting sentences, signing docs, making plans... The extra real estate screen fot browsing Web and i mean, real browsing, not playing it cool with a 4inch toy, you can even use the stylus the way you use the mouse. And finally usb otg, just stick a usb drive and copy, cut, create docs or files or whatever you want.
I can't keep on, but as I said, you will use a smart phone for the first time in your life (if you are coming from iphones as you said) windows smartphones where very cool, but android is taking over.
Sent from my GT-N7100
RokkaMan said:
Android runs great provided you get a custom ROM, Android revolution HD is my favourite as it's a very fine tuned version of the ROM it comes with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I disagree, most new Android phones with ics and above run great as stock without using a new rom.
Sent from my Samsung Note II.
Tomo1971 said:
I disagree, most new Android phones with ics and above run great as stock without using a new rom.
Sent from my Samsung Note II.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+10
I don't use any custom roms. I love stock Samsung Note 2
Dylanlewis2000 said:
In what way is the note 2 better?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
-Screen size. Speaks for itself.
-Battery life. Probably the second best battery life on a smart phone, second only to RAZR MAXX.
-S-Pen(which comes with a whole set of features far too long for me to list here.)
-A lot of cool and useful features (multi Window, smart stay, smart rotation, direct call, pop up video player, pop up browser, swipe to screen shot and much more)
-Jelly bean (4.1.1) out of the box, official 4.1.2 coming soon.
-Quad core 1.6GHz processor, which is faster than iphone 5 dual core A6 processor.
-2GB ram.
- Feature rich camera. (best shot, best faces, low light, hdr, burst mode, panorama, face detection, share shot, smile detection, timer, anti shake + 12 effects + set exposure value +auto focus & macro focus etc...)
-micro sd card. Enough said. Allows you to add up to 64gb of additional storage. (64gb SanDisk card cost 40 or 50 dollars in amazon, or somewhere around that).
-removable battery, should for whatever reason the 3100mah be not enough for you, you can buy a spare one. Although you probably won't need one because like I said the battery life in this phone is amazing.
On top of my head, these things . I still haven't gone into the tens of dozens things what android can do that IOS simply can't, and I really don't want to since that'll take a lot of typing, and you can Google this stuff.
Also I strongly disagree with above who said that you NEED a custom rom. In my opinion, the stock experience in this phone is excellent and touchwiz is hugely improved than what it was before. You can get custom rom if that's you're thing, but you certainly don't need them. Only thing I'd advise anyone to do is to root their phone.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium
You can mention thousand points why Note 2 is better, but the point is how many points are actually applicable in real life usage.
Anyway, replying to OP's query, well in short, NO, Android is NOT smoother or as smooth as iOS 6, in fact it is not smooth like the previous iOS, and I am talking about Jelly Bean 4.1. Well I am using both iPhone and Android/Samsung flagships for over three years now. I have never ditched my iPhone 4S for anything, but I just sold it for iPhone 5. I purchased Note 2 because I loved the S-Pen idea, the screen size. But being said that, when I scroll through my contacts, or some apps, my iPhone 5 is LOT smoother than my Note 2. Jelly Bean might have a name like 'Project butter' but iOS has the real butter.
Also, keep in mind that Android applications (Play Store) are NO MATCH for App Store. Yes, there are several crap in App Store, but more in Play Store, and the overall quality is pretty bad.
I love both my devices for several different reasons, so can't ditch either of them. And another thing about Android users you will see is their pathetic fanboys. They don't even mind a laggy, buggy, crappy device, they just want openness, now I never found out what is openness, the craze of CM ROM's maybe?
Now build quality, well boy, what can say but plastic? Well, Note 2 has all plastic. So I will not comment on it's build quality. Some kids will say glass will break easy, well lets drop both iP5 and Note 2, then see.
So, IMO, if optimization, fluidity and smoothness of OS matters to you big time then stick with iPhone 5, for all the other reasons go with Note 2, and if you have spare money to burn, then have both.
Now you see I have skipped all the cons about iOS, why? Because you know them already.
I am NOT a fanboy of either iOS or Android, I hate them.
I am used to prime-evil OSs, as over the last few years I have had a variety of devices ranging from Symbian os to windows mobile 3,4 and 5. All have their advantages and disadvantages, I loved windows mobile As it had fantastic email client support and a lot of apps (2003-2005 era) and I like Symbian for its simplicity and the devices Nokia created like the E90’ But since transitioning to the iPhone I have found a fantastic yet restrictive user experience.
The restrictiveness with apple is one of the main reasons they have created a fantastic App Store, whereas the Nokia and wimo stores back in the day were utter gash.
Do you get many problems with android apps? Do the fill the screen? I remember reading early reports that android apps were not filling the screen on some devices and on others refuse to run. This is something that would annoy me.
Tomo1971 said:
I disagree, most new Android phones with ics and above run great as stock without using a new rom.
Sent from my Samsung Note II.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uh, let's just say in my experience compared to my other android phones, that hasn't been the case yet.
And for the record, Android revolution HD is just the stock rom that's been tweaked, just to counter the "custom rom" misinformation in this thread.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app
Dylanlewis2000 said:
The restrictiveness with apple is one of the main reasons they have created a fantastic App Store
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well this is so simple to understand but some so called 'power users' are too dumb too get it
Dylanlewis2000 said:
Do you get many problems with android apps? Do the fill the screen? I remember reading early reports that android apps were not filling the screen on some devices and on others refuse to run. This is something that would annoy me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They fit the screen. At least the one I use, and I don't install anything I see. I first see if it's labeled as 'Top developer' or 'Editors choice', then I see the users rating. Just for an example, a good sports app, Score Mobile, labeled as Top developer, available in Play Store. I already was used to this app from my iPhone 4S. It was so smooth, so fluid in iOS, but when I use it on my Note, oh boy, I have never seen an app could lag/stutter like that. Now if this is an app labeled as 'Top Developer' then imagine the apps which are not labeled in anything.
I was an I phone user for 2 years then switched to galaxy s2 and now note 2. The I phone is idiot proof and everything just works but android is catching up. The apps are all full screen any phone and just as good as ios. The real beauty of android is if you don't like something rhen just change it. You can change anything from keyboard to launcher and widgets are a godsend. Got to say I'm really impressed with google now its spookily good, its like it can read my mind
Sent from my GT-N7105 using xda app-developers app
I switched from iPhone 4 to Note 2 in this week.
I'm very satisfied. The only problems that i have noticed are:
- Bad email clients (even those from the market. iOS Mail is much better to use)
- Bad space management (it's impossible, i have a giant 5.5" screen and Messages app is impossible to read decently with the keyboard open)
- Best app quality in iOS (Whatsapp messenger for iOS has more options, like custom ringtones for every single contact)
- Bad display quality if you not see it directly in front of you (iPhone has IPS, which is the best display for view angles)
- Some strange response when i receive a notification. If that is a SMS the phone rings, display turns on etc, if that is a mail, i receive only a notification sound, no display on. And seems that is no way to change this.
- Apps like Facebook Messenger, that has a unique notification tone on iOS, doesnt' have that particular ringtone here, but they use a default tone chosen by the user. And that is the default tone for ALL the application that doesn't permit to personalise it.
I know that there will be solutions for a lot of this things, they will be hidden somewhere but hey, it is a huge waste of time.
Besides, it is a great phone. Great sound quality, great battery, great screen and it has so powerful hardware that it results more smooth than iPhone 4. And it's Android, which means infinite personalization and possibility to use custom roms for reaching better battery life (i suppose), better personalization, better user experience.
Sorry for my english, i'm an italian user. :fingers-crossed:
Music sync can be done with either double twist and tunesync, they both mirror itunes libraries and playlists etc.
I've been a user of the iphone 4 for 2 years and the note 2 is a HUGE improvement. People that say ios never lagged are just lying lol. iOS lagged and apps crashed on my iphone several times.
From the opinion of someone thats been on both sides, I honestly could not go back to an iphone. Mainly because of the screen size of the note 2 makes iphone screens seem too small for me to use anymore. But to each his own. Its about what suits you.
Stock rom on the note 2 is fine. I only get a lag when opening the S-Note app and a slight delay when opening the contacts app. Other than that everything has run smooth even with 3 browser windows open at once and a video playing at the same time.
As for app syncing, why? lol. I never understood the point of it on iOS and always disabled it.
app quality is definitely more refined in iOS. But improving slowly on android finally.
edit: @ the guy above my post: you can change most notification tones in the individual app settings. Facebook -> menu -> settings -> notification tone
In what way is the stock email client bad? :S I find it miles ahead of the iOS email client because you can actually attach multiple files at once. Plus for me, it is easier to use. I find the iOS mail client to be garbage. But again, thats my opinion
If iOS email client is garbage then I see fanboyism again here? And no one said iOS never lagged.
Anyway, I don't wanna argue.
jujuburi said:
If iOS email client is garbage then I see fanboyism again here? And no one said iOS never lagged.
Anyway, I don't wanna argue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol no fanboyism here. Just my opinion. I used the iphone for 2 years and the app honestly annoyed me because it felt so limited. I actually do find the stock android one better. I dont count it as fanboyism as I genuinely used both and gave both a try instead of blindly bashing one without experience.
As for the lagging. My bad, I misread one of the earlier posts. But in general I do find my friends claiming that ios never lags.
All good bro, im not looking to argue either
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium
@Note 2 might be too big specially if ur coming from an iPhone
3.5→5.5
I even felt the difference between s2 and s3
4.3→4.8
2 inches more straight away ! You gonna take some time for adjusting for sure !
sent from my gs3 GT i 9300
----------------------------------
---------- Post added at 07:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:20 PM ----------
I would say go for nexus 4 instead it has best software and is better than iPhone 5 in terms of fluidity also it has s4 pro processor faster quad core processor presently for mobile.
Only problem is space if it doesn't bother then go for it I used nexus 4 yesterday and it is awesome a bit better than s3 overall I feel , note 2 was too big for me when I used.
I think nexus 4 was the only phone I have used and is way fluid than iPhone, note 2,galaxy s3
sent from my gs3 GT i 9300
----------------------------------
I see that the discussion took a turn to android vs. ios. I guess this is inevitable in these kind of topics. Anyways, here's my take, and I've used both operating systems.
-IOS has the advantage in a number of things. For one, there are way fewer devices to worry about. After all, the IOS is exclusive to Apple devices, which you can count on your finger tips. Android, on the other hand, runs on literally hundreds of devices (a side-effect of being open-source). Naturally, this has it's advantages and disadvantages. For instance, app developers for the IOS, for instance, can make sure that their apps work flawlessly in the Iphone, with all its models, and the Ipad, with all its models, before pushing that app into the market. An advantage of using an open source OS would be that manufacturers don't have to pay for using it in their devices, and as such can offer their devices at lower prices due to lower costs. Another advantage of being open source is that each one can manipulate the system however they like to make it unique than the others and add to it whatever they want (eg: Samsung's Touchwiz, HTC's sensation).
-Google and Apple have completely different philosophies. Apple believes in a "walled garden" approach. Meaning that they'll reject any app unless it fits to their criteria. Of course, what works for Apple in this case can't work for Google. If Google rejected any app that doesn't work perfectly with all android devices, their market would be a ghost town. Consequently, an app developer in android can release an app even if it doesn't play nice with all devices. Most of them will then update it to make it as perfect as possible (at least for the popular android devices) taking into consideration user feedback. Having said that, you'll be hard pressed to find an app that doesn't run on an android device, unless that device is old/obsolete/runs on a very old version of android. To put things in perspective, I still haven't run into an app or a game that don't work well in my note 2 or doesn't fill the entire screen, the same app would work perfect in my old Galaxy S2 before I sold it, which has a much smaller screen and used to run on Android v. 2.3 (this brings me to my next point, read below).
- Largely because it is open sourced, Android is a much more flexible OS. What do I mean by this? Well, take for example the jump from 3.5" Iphones to the now new screen size 4" in the Iphone 5. Most apps in the apple store would get letterboxed until the developers update them to support the new screen size, even though the increase in screen size is only 0.5". I've yet to run into a game or an app that doesn't fill my 5.5" screen in the note 2. If there are any, and probably there are, they would be rare.
- It's difficult to go wrong with IOS because it's a bare-boned operating system (all you really have is an app drawer.. i.e: a bunch of icons on the screen). For the most, the iOS now looks exactly how it did back in 2007. Even the notification slider (which was copied from android) is nowhere as good as it is in android. If that's all you'll ever need or want, then by all means, stay with the Iphone, because you're going to get much more than that moving to Android. It hard to go wrong when you don't actually add anything major. Of course, that's not to say Apple doesn't add things. They are masters in the art of adding things (say for example, the notification slider, rejecting a call with a message, or Panorama mode in the camera) and then calling it revolutionary, notwithstanding the fact that such things existed in other OS's for years.
Like I said this could go on for pages, and it really doesn't have to. Once you understand the concept of a 'closed' system vs. an 'open' system, you'll understand the major advantages and disadvantages of each. Having understood that, you decide for yourself which one is the best one for you. For me personally, I'd rather have device that runs Froyo than one that runs the on the latest iOS 6.

[Q] Should I keep my Note 10.1 2014 or move on?

I have been a Samsung fan for a long time. I had the original Note 10.1 and loved it. I have had my 2014 model since it came out, so about 15 months now. I use it for business all day long and keep all of my client notes on it. I use it to consume media and the occasional game. I do not think I am rough on it but like I said I use it about 12 hours a day.
My issue is that it seems to be riddled with problems all of the sudden. Almost like it was not built to last. I did not think at the time to buy an extended warranty because I have never had an issue with Samsung quality. Now that I am 2 months out of warranty I have the dreaded black screen of death issue, which I have fixed several times by opening the device and disconnecting the cables. Now when it happens I do not have to open it up , I just press on the back a few times and it fixes it. The S-pen detached message is now a problem due to the s pen not making contact with the sensor which causes the screen to kick on making my battery drain because I do not see the screen on while in the case.
So my question is
1. Since I use it so heavily should I expect to replace it more often? Should I buy a new one and pony up for the square trade (or better) extended warranty?
2. Should I upgrade to the 12.2? Does it fix some of the problems that seem to be inherent to the 2014?
3. Do I bail all together and go with w Surface Pro 3? ( Really don't want to do this because I have the Note 3 phone and sync my notes between it and the note 2014. The note 3 phone may be the best phone I have ever had.
Thoughts?
It does sound like you've used your note pretty heavily and the problems sound like physical wear & tear. You definitely need a device that stands up to your use patterns. Spen will always be a point of wear with prolonged use, so other notes will prob see similar life spans in that regard. I have had note ii over 2 yrs and haven't used the spen the amount you say you have (I only used the spen for a prolonged, 6 month period- every day for class notes) on the note tablets, so I haven't ever experienced these problems. Other questions you have I cant answer.
Edit: so I guess all I can answer is; you will now probably have to expect getting a new device more often since you use them heavily. Although, I really would have thought these tab/phablets to last longer
Im in a similar situation as you. My screen is not working anymore. It has like a 10% chance of turning on. Im going to send it in and see if they repair it. If I have to pay I will open it up and have a look myself.
I have had 4 samsung tablets. The note 10.1 is the first tablet that has broken on me like that.
I also own a 12.2. I think it has a better build quality. It doesnt have the bubbles under the screen. I think they fixed some engineering errors that the 10.1 has.
I would consider selling the 10.1 and getting the 12.2 in your place. Im considering getting a second 12.2 as well.
Personally I dont see a benefit in a microsoft surface opposed to the note 12.2. Windows is not a touchscreen OS and its not fun to use. I only use my tablet for taking handwritten notes and the Samsung note series is the best at that specific task.
{Diemex} said:
Personally I dont see a benefit in a microsoft surface opposed to the note 12.2. Windows is not a touchscreen OS and its not fun to use. I only use my tablet for taking handwritten notes and the Samsung note series is the best at that specific task.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I recently sold my Note 10.1 2014 for a Surface Pro 3 and will never look back. Nothing beats having a full desktop OS in this form factor. I am a student and use to use my Note for handwritten notes extensively. I always found the experience super frustrating. Firstly, a TON of websites that my school required me to use wouldn't work on a mobile browser. I tried everything. Different browsers, sideload flash, etc. Yes, the note was more of a productivity tablet than any other android tablet, but a lot of the productivity features felt extremely half baked.
Onenote. Full stop. /thread.
Once you have used Onenote on the SP3 there is nothing that compares on the android side of things. I used LectureNotes all the time for in class note, and it is AWESOME software with an AWESOME dev, but it just isn't capable of the same things that you can do with OneNote.
I have to disagree with you about windows not being a touch friendly OS. No, it isn't made specifically for touch, but it works to be sure. Until you use Windows for a couple of days on a touch device, can't really say it's terrible.
Anyway... I don't want to sit here and laud the Surface Pro 3 all day and detract from the overall topic sounding like a major fan boy, but in the week that I've owned it, I feel it has EASILY replaced my Note and even exceeded my expectations. This too is coming from a super huge android fan that thought android could do what any other OS could do by a long shot. I was super resistent to joining another ecosystem as I've used android exclusively since 2009, but I'm glad I did. OP, the ultimate decision is yours. Try a SP3 for 14 days and return if you dislike. I will say for me, it was time to move on from Samsung's Note line. With their locked down software and terrible update history...
Done.... I swear.
---------- Post added at 01:31 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:25 AM ----------
rap6388 said:
3. Do I bail all together and go with w Surface Pro 3? ( Really don't want to do this because I have the Note 3 phone and sync my notes between it and the note 2014. The note 3 phone may be the best phone I have ever had.
Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Forgot to add, I think you can get Onenote for android now with support for handwritten notes. It would sync automatically with your SP3 if you purchase one.
Maybe moving for the NEXUS 9... What you guys think?
thnx
@supremekizzle
What makes OneNote better than similar apps on an android tablet? I watched some video reviews on the Surface3 and most reviewers say that OneNote has lots of features but what are those features?
I for example have a laptop and 2 android tablets. I really miss some kind of instant sync feature of notes between the devices. Open documents as tabs and a way to split the screen like in adobe PDF pro would be cool too.
{Diemex} said:
@supremekizzle
What makes OneNote better than similar apps on an android tablet? I watched some video reviews on the Surface3 and most reviewers say that OneNote has lots of features but what are those features?
I for example have a laptop and 2 android tablets. I really miss some kind of instant sync feature of notes between the devices. Open documents as tabs and a way to split the screen like in adobe PDF pro would be cool too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are tons of features in onenote. I have only scratched the surface in exploring. This feature sounds super sick https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Take-linked-notes-19a63ea7-0559-46c6-bf1f-b6455e3e66c1
Basically when your in a note taking session, any webpage that you open and anything that you research is automatically tied into the notes.
The recording also works better than Lecturenotes. One of the biggest frustrations that was alleviated for me when switching to onenote was the importing of pdfs. I get huge PDF powerpoints from my professors and it always took a good 5 minutes to be imported into lecturenotes. With onenote it's almost instant.
Just overall the whole experience of note taking and school work is just better on a full blown PC. I know there are a lot of work arounds for android to make certain things work, but with SP3 I just don't feel that limitation at all. It makes for a liberating experience. Like wearing a latex suit all of your life and then joining a nudist colony
It sounds like you have similar usage as me and knock on wood I haven't had any issues besides the battery not lasting as long as it use to. I personally love the S Pen and nobody else has that function so switching platforms wouldn't be ideal for me.
If my tablet were to break I would look at the 12.1 or pick up a refurbished 10.1. with an extended warranty.
If you can get it fixed, I would keep it. I'm in a somewhat similar situation, but my Note isn't broken. I've used this thing for over a year and loved it. A couple of weeks ago I bought a surface pro 3 and ever since then I haven't touched the Note.
If you can't keep it, I would suggest moving onto a Windows tablet/hybrid if you value productivity. Many people will probably disagree with this, but it depends on what you want to use it for. Yes the Surface is much more expensive than the Note, but there are alternative Windows hybrids that are cheaper. If productivity is your main use, then I believe that Windows is way more superior, and aside from the Android games, it has all the media capabilities and more.
I noticed that there was some mention of writing on PDFs. In my experience, I haven't found very many apps that are smooth and good for taking notes on the Note. Windows has a few apps that can do this much better (Xodo Docs which is free and Drawboard which is 9.99). They offer a much smoother experience imo.
C2Q said:
If you can get it fixed, I would keep it. I'm in a somewhat similar situation, but my Note isn't broken. I've used this thing for over a year and loved it. A couple of weeks ago I bought a surface pro 3 and ever since then I haven't touched the Note.
If you can't keep it, I would suggest moving onto a Windows tablet/hybrid if you value productivity. Many people will probably disagree with this, but it depends on what you want to use it for. Yes the Surface is much more expensive than the Note, but there are alternative Windows hybrids that are cheaper. If productivity is your main use, then I believe that Windows is way more superior, and aside from the Android games, it has all the media capabilities and more.
I noticed that there was some mention of writing on PDFs. In my experience, I haven't found very many apps that are smooth and good for taking notes on the Note. Windows has a few apps that can do this much better (Xodo Docs which is free and Drawboard which is 9.99). They offer a much smoother experience imo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Totally agree with this. As far as productivity is concerned SP3>Note. Once Console OS is released...this thing will be a wet dream come true for me.
on day 5
I made the switch to the surface pro 3. Too soon to tell (sending this on my 10.1). Out of the gate was an issue with defective keyboard connection so had to return. Went to Microsoft store (did not buy from them) and customer service was incredible. Replaced tablet without question and went much further to make things right. I will give full review in few days after i get more acclimated
I'm on a note pro 12.2 and the surface pro 3 has me thinking about switching. OneNote on Android is horrible, but on a PC it's about the best program on the planet. I had no interest in the SP3, until I did three hours on lecture notes on OneNote for Android and went to paste a picture I thought was in the clipboard and instead a 5 page Word document was pasted over all my notes. Stupid Android version has no undo function. :facepalm:
Sent from my phone via TapaTalk
The thing is all those other comparable tablets are alot less mobile. More weight, more size, less battery.
I think the note 10.1-2014 is still the best device in its category. I'd love something better but for my needs there isn't. Maybe the first win10 tablet from MS will be the thing. Because samsung is just getting worse and worse..
wingdo said:
I'm on a note pro 12.2 and the surface pro 3 has me thinking about switching. OneNote on Android is horrible, but on a PC it's about the best program on the planet. I had no interest in the SP3, until I did three hours on lecture notes on OneNote for Android and went to paste a picture I thought was in the clipboard and instead a 5 page Word document was pasted over all my notes. Stupid Android version has no undo function. :facepalm:
Sent from my phone via TapaTalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One note is probably the only thing tempting me to a windows tablet
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Free mobile app
diggedy said:
One note is probably the only thing tempting me to a windows tablet
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's the only thing they have left to tempt me as well. Here's hoping that they do something with the Android client.
new tablets are coming
FWIW, on your next tab (whatever that is) think about getting an extended warranty from SquareTrade. I used to be pretty skeptical about extended warranties because of bad experiences, until I tried SquareTrade. Very good service, and the prices are reasonable. Now I buy on most big electronics purchases and have never been disappointed with the investment.

tempted to cancel my note 7 order

Watched multiple videos comparing the snapdragon vs exynos version and the snapdragon version lags like crazy. The iPhone 7 also totally destroys it at opening apps speed. I've always had Android phones but I'm feeling very hesitant to cancel my order. I have an s6 right now and I hate it. Horrible battery, wobbly home button, and it lags etc. I'm not sure I trust Samsung anymore. Seems the note 7 has the same horrible ram management issues. I called Verizon and spent $200ish to upgrade to the note 7 and they want me to send in my s6. What a mess. I already ordered a case and screen protector. I'm just not sure what to do now.
My (snapdragon) replacement is working great and I am not worried if iphone opens an app a millisecond before my note 7. I haven always had android and always will.
I just purchase what fits my needs regardless of brand or OS. In general I dislike Apple at present as the screen tech is lagging so far behind not to mention its even 200€ MORE than the Note 7. I use the S-pen so the Note is for me on this occasion.
Ryland
get the device that makes you feel proud, happy, and overly satisfied, thats it, I would never feel fine with a girlish looking iphone crap
PLEASE, PLEASE do not get the Note 7 OP.
teegunn said:
PLEASE, PLEASE do not get the Note 7 OP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Too late buddy
Join Date: Nov 2012 - You should know better
Here's something odd. I got one of the first of AT&T's first batch on August 14th. I exchanged it today for a green battery replacement. Configured the exact same way the new one is noticeably smoother and snappier. The previous phone would get jaggy when scrolling and transitioning every once in a while but not regularly. It had the latest update AT&T pushed out after launch (itself an iteration ahead of T-Mobile) which is the same firmware that came pre-installed on the new one. The only difference was the 132ishMB update that made the battery green which I installed right after getting the new phone. So either: A) something I did configuring my old phone slowed it down, B) there's a h/w or s/w difference between the two, or C) there's more to the 132ishMB update than turning the battery green. Regardless I'm even happier than I was with the original death defying phone.
Let me try to help here.
Ill go over my device history quickly.
I started with pdas in 2003 and then windows mobile. I was using an HTC Kaiser when the first Iphone came out.
I switched to Android with the HTC Desire in early 2010. I have mainly been an HTC guy since then with the Desire HD, One V, S, X, One M7, M8 then M9. I have had other devices as back up phones.
My son had a Nexus 4, HTC M8, and now a Nexus 6p
My Wife had an Iphone4 and Ipad 2 then discovered Android with the S3. She upgraded to the Note 4 when it came out. I bought my Mother in Law the Note 5.
My first Tablet was the original Samsung 10.1 then the Nexus 7 and now Nexus 9. I use an Ipad at work as an "EFB" (electronic flight bag). That is what we use for all manuals and plates. I fly the Airbus for Air Canada.
So yeah, I'm a big techie an a "fan of technology". I have mainly been an HTC fan but have experience with numerous other brands including Nexus handsets and Tablets. I feel I am qualified to give an opinion as I am fairly unbiased. Okay, that's not quite true. I am a huge HTC fanboy (who is currently using a Note 7).
So, why did I switch? I'll tell you.
1. Screen size.
Yup, biggest point.
2. Screen quality
Nothing beats Samsung here. I prefer my M7 screen to my M8 or M9 truthfully (colour accuracy) but the Note series (or Samsung in general) beats the Nexus 6p.
3. S pen
My Wife doesn't use hers. I have missed mine since retiring my last stylus phone the HTC Touch (Vogue). Loving it again.
4. Camera
Not the best, but the most consistent. Anand Tech's latest review said the M10 beats the S7 and Note 7 but hey, not by enough of a margin for me.
So, why didn't I wait for the Pixel phone? Quite frankly 5.7 inches of full on screen (no software buttons) makes a huge difference over 5.5. Also, I am willing to bet screen quality is better. Did I mention the S pen?
What do I miss? Well HTC has nailed touch response. The M7 was good, the M9 was the best. The Note 7? Meh. Not bad at all but HTC has it beat. And....Sense. Touchwiz has grown up, but sometimes the changes feel like change for the sake of change. No thought behind why. Sense just makes sense.
But, I love the Note 7. Hands down the best smartphone I have ever had. I am thoroughly enjoying it and I am sure you will to.
Sent from my SM-N930W8 using Tapatalk
I'm loving it.. Seriously... I'm already getting more than 6 hours SOT first charge.... Amazing huh? No lag whatsoever and hadn't got got at all... Even while charging and being on Skype video for an hour. I haven't even disabled any bloatedware yet. There is an update ready though. I hope that doesn't mess anything up.
BarryH_GEG said:
So either: A) something I did configuring my old phone slowed it down, B) there's a h/w or s/w difference between the two, or C) there's more to the 132ishMB update than turning the battery green.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or D) the old and new phones are the same (apart from the battery), and a small number of both batches have lag problems for yet-unidentified reasons. You could have gotten one of the bad ones first time, but the second one was good (as the odds favored it to be).
I had a serious UI-lag problem with my first phone too, but not with the replacement so far. It did take a few days for the problem to show up on the first one, so I'm not ready to celebrate quite yet.
BarryH_GEG said:
Here's something odd. I got one of the first of AT&T's first batch on August 14th. I exchanged it today for a green battery replacement. Configured the exact same way the new one is noticeably smoother and snappier. The previous phone would get jaggy when scrolling and transitioning every once in a while but not regularly. It had the latest update AT&T pushed out after launch (itself an iteration ahead of T-Mobile) which is the same firmware that came pre-installed on the new one. The only difference was the 132ishMB update that made the battery green which I installed right after getting the new phone. So either: A) something I did configuring my old phone slowed it down, B) there's a h/w or s/w difference between the two, or C) there's more to the 132ishMB update than turning the battery green. Regardless I'm even happier than I was with the original death defying phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Numerous people have said this.
I still have both and decided to rapidly open and close apps using multitasking, copy and paste etc. I have done this same "test" many times comparing HTC models to one another.
I can subjectively (because jamming with ones fingers is far from scientific) say touch response is the same. Apps seem to open the same but general UI speed seem more "fluid" with snappier animations. Also, I have yet to suffer keyboard lag in the second. The first would manifest itself if say Showbox was downloading videos while responding to a text etc. None here.
Some tips beyond the regular developer options and changing animations to 0.5. Use package disabler pro and disable that cheesy cheetah mobile interface (device maintenance). You will have stock battery and storage options, and the entire UI speeds up.
And before anyone asks, device maintenance was enabled on both and developer options stock settings for my "test".
Edit: received my new phone on the 15th so more than enough time for "lag" to kick in.
Edit2: Barry I quoted you but the tips are obviously for the OP.
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