Galaxy Note 2 - Absolutely Amazing

Esoom said:

I don't think screens need to be as narrow as the iPhone's, but I know after a few months of stretching my right thumb all the time to navigate web pages began to cause me physical pain.

I was also constantly shifting the phone in my hand to reach items on the screen, and as a result, dropped it multiple times, and it got pretty beat up as a result...

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Okay, I have to ask all you guys who have problems with larger screens:

What the heck are you doing, that you MUST use a phone one-handed all the time?

Seriously. And it better not be while driving. (But even then, it's not like you're playing games or texting. I hope. Better be using voice.)

For example, when I'm using my devices while waiting at an office, or laying on a couch, I'm most often using two hands... one to hold, the other to flick the screen. About the only time I'm using it one-handed is while walking, and that's rare.

Heck, the whole point of having a multi-touch device is using two hands as well.

Curiousity killed the cat. Satisfaction brought it back. Thanks!

kdarling said:

Okay, I have to ask all you guys who have problems with larger screens:

What the heck are you doing, that you MUST use a phone one-handed all the time?

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Just yesterday.

At the store I'm holding onto merchandise with one hand while waiting in line to pay for it. Looks like a 10 minute wait, so I took out my Note 2 to check out emails and browse the web. Very difficult with one hand.

Got mine this morning from Verizon. Amazing phone, absolutely amazing

hyteckit said:

Just yesterday.

At the store I'm holding onto merchandise with one hand while waiting in line to pay for it. Looks like a 10 minute wait, so I took out my Note 2 to check out emails and browse the web. Very difficult with one hand.

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At the store I'm holding onto merchandise with one hand while waiting in line to pay for it. Looks like a 10 minute wait, so I took out my iPhone to check out emails and browse the web. Good thing I have a third hand to put my reading glasses on .......

hyteckit said:

Just yesterday.

At the store I'm holding onto merchandise with one hand while waiting in line to pay for it. Looks like a 10 minute wait, so I took out my Note 2 to check out emails and browse the web. Very difficult with one hand.

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A couple minutes of inconvenience is well worth the endless hours of convenience with this device.

hyteckit said:

Just yesterday.

At the store I'm holding onto merchandise with one hand while waiting in line to pay for it. Looks like a 10 minute wait, so I took out my Note 2 to check out emails and browse the web. Very difficult with one hand.

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It's a 5.5" device. How can you expect it to be usable with one hand?

TPadden said:

At the store I'm holding onto merchandise with one hand while waiting in line to pay for it. Looks like a 10 minute wait, so I took out my iPhone to check out emails and browse the web. Good thing I have a third hand to put my reading glasses on .......

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You need reading glasses? Poor dude.

Should've just carry an iPad Mini then.

kdarling said:

Okay, I have to ask all you guys who have problems with larger screens:

What the heck are you doing, that you MUST use a phone one-handed all the time?

Seriously. And it better not be while driving. (But even then, it's not like you're playing games or texting. I hope. Better be using voice.)

For example, when I'm using my devices while waiting at an office, or laying on a couch, I'm most often using two hands... one to hold, the other to flick the screen. About the only time I'm using it one-handed is while walking, and that's rare.

Heck, the whole point of having a multi-touch device is using two hands as well.

Curiousity killed the cat. Satisfaction brought it back. Thanks!

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Fair question, I only use a cell phone on the run, and my hand(s) are full.

The option to shrink some elements is a cool idea, like the smaller dialer in the bottom right.

I think both versions of the Note are great phones, just not a good match for me. Just saw a friends Note 2, I drooled, it's really nice.

hyteckit said:

Just yesterday.

At the store I'm holding onto merchandise with one hand while waiting in line to pay for it. Looks like a 10 minute wait, so I took out my Note 2 to check out emails and browse the web. Very difficult with one hand.

Click to expand...

Right, I understand occasional one-handed usage. For example, my daughter in Florida daily has one hand on her child and one hand paying for items with NFC on her phone.

It's the "after a few months of stretching my right thumb all the time to navigate web pages began to cause me physical pain. I was also constantly shifting the phone in my hand to reach items on the screen" situation I'm talking about. Why would anyone use one hand that much? Spending hours perhaps standing on a train? If so, then they need a smaller screened device.

Ah, okay. I wrote this before seeing the reply above

So I ended getting this phone from AT&T, I absolutely love it, and I got it for a steal.

I was not eligible for an upgrade, but I got them to give it to me anyway for $299. Then I got instant $100 for getting two (one for wife), activation fee waived ($70 total), free upgrade to unlimited 4G LTE (really just 5 gb), and free txt MSG and mobile to mobile calling for 6 months ($180 total).

I'll sell iPhones for $500 total and actually come out ahead.

Did I mention how much I love this phone!

Doc750 said:

So I ended getting this phone from AT&T, I absolutely love it, and I got it for a steal.

I was not eligible for an upgrade, but I got them to give it to me anyway for $299. Then I got instant $100 for getting two (one for wife), activation fee waived ($70 total), free upgrade to unlimited 4G LTE (really just 5 gb), and free txt MSG and mobile to mobile calling for 6 months ($180 total).

I'll sell iPhones for $500 total and actually come out ahead.

Did I mention how much I love this phone!

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How close were you to being eligible for an upgrade and how did you frame it in order for them to give it to you early?

Mrg02d said:

Yup, I mostly see girls with iPhones...Man did I get a testosterone rush when I took my 4s back for a GS3! I felt like a Spartan ready to fight persians.

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lol, the GS3 is one of the most feminine looking phones out there, especially in white.

Doc750 said:

So I ended getting this phone from AT&T, I absolutely love it, and I got it for a steal.

I was not eligible for an upgrade, but I got them to give it to me anyway for $299. Then I got instant $100 for getting two (one for wife), activation fee waived ($70 total), free upgrade to unlimited 4G LTE (really just 5 gb), and free txt MSG and mobile to mobile calling for 6 months ($180 total).

I'll sell iPhones for $500 total and actually come out ahead.

Did I mention how much I love this phone!

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That's awesome. I've noticed AT&T is a lot more lenient when it comes to upgrading to android devices. Seems the best you can do when upgrading to an iPhone is waiving the activation fee. I pretty much got my Note II for free after some negotiating with the ATT reps.

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alancorp said:

lol, the GS3 is one of the most feminine looking phones out there, especially in white.

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One sure does look feminine, and it's not the S3.

F123D said:

One sure does look feminine, and it's not the S3.

Image

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I never understood that wasted real estate on iPhone. It probably has the lowest screen-area utilization.

kdarling said:

Okay, I have to ask all you guys who have problems with larger screens:

What the heck are you doing, that you MUST use a phone one-handed all the time?

Seriously. And it better not be while driving. (But even then, it's not like you're playing games or texting. I hope. Better be using voice.)

For example, when I'm using my devices while waiting at an office, or laying on a couch, I'm most often using two hands... one to hold, the other to flick the screen. About the only time I'm using it one-handed is while walking, and that's rare.

Heck, the whole point of having a multi-touch device is using two hands as well.

Curiousity killed the cat. Satisfaction brought it back. Thanks!

Click to expand...

Some of us have busy lifestyles. I walk, run, exercise, dart through airports, etc always with a briefcase, Rollin suitcase or a bottle of water in my other hand. I'm seldom sitting at a desk or lying down, and if I am, I'm using a tablet in those instances.

I don't think one-handed use is odd at all. It's part of an active lifestyle.

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F123D said:

That's awesome. I've noticed AT&T is a lot more lenient when it comes to upgrading to android devices. Seems the best you can do when upgrading to an iPhone is waiving the activation fee. I pretty much got my Note II for free after some negotiating with the ATT reps.

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One sure does look feminine, and it's not the S3.

Image

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I like the S3 but personally,it's rounded shape in white is the definitive example of girly. It says "touch me and I squeal!"

The iPhone 5 says "business phone" in both colors. It's refined, subtle and not-that-interesting.

ReallyBigFeet said:

Some of us have busy lifestyles. I walk, run, exercise, dart through airports, etc always with a briefcase, Rollin suitcase or a bottle of water in my other hand. I'm seldom sitting at a desk or lying down, and if I am, I'm using a tablet in those instances.

I don't think one-handed use is odd at all. It's part of an active lifestyle.

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I like the S3 but personally,it's rounded shape in white is the definitive example of girly. It says "touch me and I squeal!"

The iPhone 5 says "business phone" in both colors. It's refined, subtle and not-that-interesting.

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Wait so what did you think of the iPhone 3 and 3Gs? Girly too? They were rounded and at that time they were not "not that interesting".

Basically you like the iphone more cause it's boring? Ok enjoy your business-y stuff on your iphone man. Enjoy your darts through the airport with your briefcase and bottle of water. I'll gladly carry a girly phone and I would LOVE it if you would call me out in public and call me girly for carrying a different phone than you.

Nabooly said:

Wait so what did you think of the iPhone 3 and 3Gs? Girly too? They were rounded and at that time they were not "not that interesting".

Basically you like the iphone more cause it's boring? Ok enjoy your business-y stuff on your iphone man. Enjoy your darts through the airport with your briefcase and bottle of water. I'll gladly carry a girly phone and I would LOVE it if you would call me out in public and call me girly for carrying a different phone than you.

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I did, in fact, think the 3G and 3GS looked feminine. I had one and promptly put a full back and bezel cover over it to make it look more formal.

I admit that my phone is part of my formal presentation. It's often sitting at the conference table with me. When not working, a "formal" looking phone is fine. But when working, an overtly feminine looking phone doesn't match the overall presentation I strive for and my clients expect.

By the way, I design and sell corporate/office architecture. If I worked in less formal surroundings it may not matter. In all things, YMMV.

You can drop the Internet tough guy part sport. Be girly all you want. You aren't that important to me to matter.

ugahairydawgs said:

How close were you to being eligible for an upgrade and how did you frame it in order for them to give it to you early?

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We both had just upgraded to iPhone 4S last year on the day they came out. So we still had about a year to go on our contracts.

ReallyBigFeet said:

I don't think one-handed use is odd at all. It's part of an active lifestyle.

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'Active lifestyle'? This is the sort of tosh the truly fanboyish of us trot. Smells like marketing drivel to me. Many of us have active lifestyles but find that different devices suit those particular styles. I assure you, one handed use is not only suited to those active lifestyle types..

ReallyBigFeet said:

I like the S3 but personally,it's rounded shape in white is the definitive example of girly. It says "touch me and I squeal!"

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'I squeal'? Do you really see that much into a phone? From just shapes made out of durable polycarbonate in such detail as to deduce its thoughts? Surely not!

I think most of us know that the iPhone has a huge female following, in part due to the simple design, delicate materials that some users here refer to as akin to jewelry and the ease it can be slipped into a purse. Its in no way shape or form a masculine phone, at best its unisex, but has to me, has an obviously feminine design. Instead of looking into how an iPhone might think, I'll settle for the more realistic image of a white iphone next to a lipstick on a glass table. Now image that same iphone next to a pint of beer in a pub... in short, it fits in well with a female lifestyle certainly image-wise.

ReallyBigFeet said:

The iPhone 5 says "business phone" in both colors. It's refined, subtle and not-that-interesting.

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Any phone can function as a business phone. It really depends on what kind of business you're in. Its looks would correspond to expected working environments. For me, having what could be termed a fashion accessory to some, would dilute the serious business that I am in and also confers a number of stereotypes associated with owning an iphone, none of which I want to be associated with. Thats from a personal business perspective.

When I run a marathon I always have my iPhone in one hand. How those Kenyans run without looking at an iPhone and texting every kilometer is beyond my comprehension.

Blavard said:

'I squeal'? Do you really see that much into a phone? From just shapes made out of durable polycarbonate in such detail as to deduce its thoughts? Surely not!

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I'm an architect. Of course I see more than meets the eye. All people do and only the uninformed would say otherwise. Even blind people "see" things without the aid of sight, only feel and touch. Are you really this oblivious to the beauty of everyday things?

Blavard said:

I think most of us know that the iPhone has a huge female following, in part due to the simple design, delicate materials that some users here refer to as akin to jewelry and the ease it can be slipped into a purse. Its in no way shape or form a masculine phone, at best its unisex, but has to me, has an obviously feminine design. Instead of looking into how an iPhone might think, I'll settle for the more realistic image of a white iphone next to a lipstick on a glass table. Now image that same iphone next to a pint of beer in a pub... in short, it fits in well with a female lifestyle certainly image-wise.

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First off, you just contradicted yourself. Its obvious that what you see leaves you with impressions of beauty. Just look at your own language (jewelry, masculine, unisex, feminine, lipstick, glass). I hope your own words help you understand that it is our personal biases and experiences that helps us see and feel things about everyday objects.

Secondly, your assertions that iPhone users are favored more by female users than male is just plain wrong. This is reflective more of your bias than any basis in fact. Only Blackberry can make the claim that women outnumber men in their ownership demographics. Apple and Android are almost identical.

Any phone can function as a business phone. It really depends on what kind of business you're in. Its looks would correspond to expected working environments. For me, having what could be termed a fashion accessory to some, would dilute the serious business that I am in and also confers a number of stereotypes associated with owning an iphone, none of which I want to be associated with. Thats from a personal business perspective.

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As statistically shown, the only inference of iPhone ownership you can draw is that the owner is likely better educated and makes more money than an Android owner. Both of those are positive traits in my profession. Perhaps not your own but again...YMMV.

SomeDudeAsking said:

When I run a marathon I always have my iPhone in one hand. How those Kenyans run without looking at an iPhone and texting every kilometer is beyond my comprehension.

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Kenyans and running are an art form. I'm just an urban, middle-aged runner. I have to make a living. They run competitively. If I devoted all my time to being an olympic runner, I doubt I'd be carrying a phone either.

ReallyBigFeet said:

As statistically shown, the only inference of iPhone ownership you can draw is that the owner is likely better educated and makes more money than an Android owner. Both of those are positive traits in my profession. Perhaps not your own but again...YMMV.

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I certainly hope people don't make those inferences. If they do, it certainly speaks a lot about their own character.

Either ways, these statistics are not very useful because they are referring to all Android phones and not a single brand.

Preordered my Note 2 from Walmart and a car charger for a total of $309.98!

Plus, I'm getting a $100 gift card! Unfortunately, it's going to be emailed to me on Jan 18th, which is lame!

Phone will be at their shipping department on Monday, so hopefully I get it on the same day also.

Can't wait to join the party!

ReallyBigFeet said:

Some of us have busy lifestyles. I walk, run, exercise, dart through airports, etc always with a briefcase, Rollin suitcase or a bottle of water in my other hand. I'm seldom sitting at a desk or lying down, and if I am, I'm using a tablet in those instances.

I don't think one-handed use is odd at all. It's part of an active lifestyle.

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I agree with you. There are many situations where I want to or require to use my smartphone with one hand. If I'm sitting at my desk or lying down, I would just use my iPad Mini.


I think some people just want to find a reason to hate the iPhone or criticize Apple and the easiest thing to do is talk about the screen size and how small it is.

I remember when the iPhone first came out, people complained about the screen size being too big, the lack of a physical keyboard, the lack of expandable memory, and the lack of replaceable battery.

However, Google's flagship phone the Nexus 4 now has all the same issues they previous complain about with the iPhone. No physical keyboard, no replaceable battery, no expandable memory. It's even has a glass back.

Guess they can't complain about the iPhone 4/4S glass back now too. They move onto complaining about iPhone 5's Aluminum. I mean seriously?

So what else is left to complain about the iPhone? Not much but the screen size.

If there are people who actually like or prefer the 3.5" or 4" screen, there wouldn't be anything for these people to complain about with the iPhone or Apple.

So you hear guys here trying to convince iPhone users that they don't want/need to use their smartphones with one hand.

They would make comments like:
Who needs to use/wants to use their smartphone with one-hand anyway?
If you think a 3.5" to 4" screen is the perfect size, you are being intellectually dishonest or an Apple fan.
If you are not using a 4.5" screen or bigger, you are missing out and I feel sorry for you iPhone users.


They will do their best trying to convince iPhone users they need a bigger screen and that they don't need to use their smartphones with one hand.


Guess what? I've been using my Galaxy Note 2 with a 5.5" screen for 2 weeks now. I'm about ready to switch back to something more practically for my active lifestyle and can be use with one hand. That would be my iPhone 4S.

hyteckit said:

I think some people just want to find a reason to hate the iPhone or criticize Apple and the easiest thing to do is talk about the screen size and how small it is.

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Apart from that, some people have this conceit that there is a "right size" for a phone.

Yes, most people will find the Note 2 too big for single-handed use (your mileage may vary according to personal hand geometry). The 'single handed' mode helps, but its hard to hold the phone securely while using it. However, I think I could still manage to answer or end a call with one hand - and there's always bluetooth headsets.

On the other hand, the big screen is fabulous for web browsing, email, maps & navigation, e-reading etc. and the pen input wouldn't be much use with anything smaller. The 'tall' iPhone 5 screen looks great for 'mobile' list-based websites, contact lists etc. The Note 2 screen, is far better for regular websites. Until the flexible/foldable screens start to appear you pays your money and takes your choice: a big screen, or compactness and single-handed use. For some of us, making and receiving calls is several items down on the priorities list, for others it is at the top.

The problem with Apple is the lack of choice. Samsung do Galaxy models in 4", 4.8" and 5.5" sizes, and if you look at other Android brands there's an even wider choice. The only choice Apple offers is between the iPhone 5 and last-year's marginally smaller model.

However, Google's flagship phone the Nexus 4 now has all the same issues they previous complain about with the iPhone. No physical keyboard, no replaceable battery, no expandable memory. It's even has a glass back.

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Yeah, and some of those things make me really, really glad I went ahead and bought the Note 2 rather than wait for the, then rumored, new Nexus. Personally, while I think Apple have proven the point on the keyboard and (provided the standard battery is up to it) removable battery, having no SD and max. 16GB of storage is a deal-breaker. On the other hand, if you're going to be using the cloud for everything and have a decent data plan, maybe SD is unnecessary?