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Galaxy Note 2, whose getting one?

MacLeod said:
I've got Tapatalk 2 and it's pretty good but the main 3 forums I hit a hundred times a day are [H] of course, PC Gamer and Overclock3D and none of them do Tapatalk. OCN does and DIYMA (car audio) do but I don't hit them near as much as I do the other 3 so I just stick to the browser.

On a side note, apparently Opera has redesigned their look and UIand man iI don't like it at all! Just tried it and zapped it after about 15 minutes. Sad cause it used to be the best UI period.
Click to expand...

Boat Browser is about the only one I can stand apart from stock.

Chromes font rendering is always glitchy, Firefox is laggy, opera is just bizzarro now...
 
Medion said:
Most Note 2 overs have had their device for 6 months or less. Only a chronic upgrader would upgrade that soon.
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LOL :) tru dat.

The Note 2 is very nice, with AMAZING battery life, plus removable, a nice large screen, big development community on XDA tons of different ROM's. I still think its one of the best phones out there.
 
Zorachus said:
LOL :) tru dat.

The Note 2 is very nice, with AMAZING battery life, plus removable, a nice large screen, big development community on XDA tons of different ROM's. I still think its one of the best phones out there.
Click to expand...

I thought you switched to the Nexus 4? Or, are you using both?

As for me, when I get a new phone, I tend to not even look at new devices for at least a year. I got my Nokia E71 in late 2008. I didn't develop interest in another phone until the Nexus One hit. Ended up switching to Verizon and settling for the HTC Incredible after about 2 years, but dropped that quickly when the international Galaxy S2 came out. Prior to the Nexus 4, no other phone even registered for me. In hindsight, the S3 and One X may have caught my eye if I had cared back then.
 
Medion said:
I thought you switched to the Nexus 4? Or, are you using both?

As for me, when I get a new phone, I tend to not even look at new devices for at least a year. I got my Nokia E71 in late 2008. I didn't develop interest in another phone until the Nexus One hit. Ended up switching to Verizon and settling for the HTC Incredible after about 2 years, but dropped that quickly when the international Galaxy S2 came out. Prior to the Nexus 4, no other phone even registered for me. In hindsight, the S3 and One X may have caught my eye if I had cared back then.
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I have the Nexus 4 myself, my Wife has the Note 2, I use it every now and then, put my SIM card in it :) But I rooted it, and run a TW ROM, with a nice AOSP theme, and run Nova prime launcher. Looks almost like a Nexus phone, would never know its still running Touchwiz. But the battery life :eek: WOW the battery is out of this world, my wife, she can go 2 full days easily not touching the charger at all. Total battery life of 36h - 40h easily, with 8h On Screen time. And majority of that is on the network, not WiFi. But she's a light user to be honest.

Now me, when I use her Note 2, I don't get the same battery life, I abuse the shit out of smartphones, and hammer them all day long during the workday, but I still get 18h to 20h total battery life, with 8h On Screen time, with heavy use. I am on the phone nonstop, running GPS for a couple hours a day, texting a million times, typically 2hours to 3hours of phone calls each day for sales running business, sending and receiving tons of e-mails, surfing the web all day. Pretty much using the phone all day long from wake up, to going to bed.

No other phone with that kind of extreme workday use ever lasted me 18 - 20 hours, most phones like my Nexus 4, or previous HTC One X, would be dead around 10h to 12h with that kind of use. On light weekend use with WiFi on mainly, the Note 2 goes 2 full days easily with zero charging, my N4 couldn't dream of doing that.

So yes, the Note 2 is a worthy phone just for it's amazing battery life, I think it fairs a hair better than even the Motorola MAXX series. And the N2 is upgradable / removable, in the battery department, the MAXX phones are not.

But one reason I don't also own a Note 2 myself, is the overall size. It's just a bit too big for me, I do a lot of one hand use with my smartphones, put in shorts pocket, pull out quickly, to send a quick text, grab a quick phone call, etc...The N2 is mainly a two hander, yes you can one hand it, but honestly is a bit difficult to use 100% in just on hand only. For my Wife, she has a purse, and handbag, and the phone sits on her office desk at work, and she is a light user, so it's perfect her, and she loves the S-Pen and Apps with it, great for banking and online forms, she rarely uses her custom desktop computer I built her last year now LOL. She finds it quicker and just easier to use her Note 2.
 
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I was considering selling my Note 2 for a GS4 since the cost difference wouldn't be too much. But I think I'm just going to keep the Note 2. I'm perfectly happy with it other than it's a bit awkward to handle in one hand. I don't use the S-Pen very much at all, so I wouldn't miss it badly, esp with the hover view on the S4.

Running Beans v17 and it's rock solid all around with an AOSP look but with all the TW features.
 
T4rd said:
I was considering selling my Note 2 for a GS4 since the cost difference wouldn't be too much. But I think I'm just going to keep the Note 2. I'm perfectly happy with it other than it's a bit awkward to handle in one hand. I don't use the S-Pen very much at all, so I wouldn't miss it badly, esp with the hover view on the S4.

Running Beans v17 and it's rock solid all around with an AOSP look but with all the TW features.
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The Note 2, is said the be getting 4.2.2 update this month, and will get most of the S4 software features as well. If you currently have the N2, I think the S4 is almost a downgrade, or side-grade at best, but certainly not much of an upgrade.

The battery life for me, is the biggest deal with the Note 2. And that brings up my point, when the fuck will companies start putting in big 3,000mAh batteries in all their high end new smartphones ? I like the HTC One, but all reviews say the battery life is ok, not bad, but certainly not great. Imagine the One with a 3,100mAh battery life the MAXX, it would get like 50% better battery life, then the phone would be mind blowing amazing, but if it just last 10h or 12h of heavy use, to me, that's just not good enough today. series.
 
8 hrs of screen time! ROFL! I've only ever seen 5, maybe 6. But then I have tons of widgets and apps running all day long.
 
My brother has the 6400maH battery for his Note 2, it lasts him 2 days of regular use without charging. Removable batteries FTW!
 
I got offered a s4 for my note 2 and I passed I'm extremely happy with this phone. The s pen and battery life are amazing
 
shadyqwerty said:
8 hrs of screen time! ROFL! I've only ever seen 5, maybe 6. But then I have tons of widgets and apps running all day long.
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The Note 2 gets 6.5h On Screen time easily with CM10.1 ROM's, with TW ROM's it gets 7h - 8h On Screen time.

My little old Nexus 4 gets 4h to 5h On Screen time, and that battery is 50% smaller than the Note 2's. There is something wrong with your Note 2, if only getting 5h On Screen time.
 
There's nothing wrong with my Note 2. I've had less than avg battery life on about 7 Android phones. Its all about what apps/widgets are installed and how I use them. For example, live wallpapers aren't friendly to battery, but I'd rather have pretty plasma waves on my home screen. I use widgetlocker and have about 4 widgets on my lock screen.
 
My contract came up and I am looking at either the note 2 or S4, I really could not decide between the 2 because I want the bigger phone and stylus, but on the other hand the S4 has a lot of better features and specs. I kinda decided to break the tie by just grabbing whichever one had a good sale.

So about 2 weeks ago I see the note 2 on amazon for $99 with contract. So I buy it. But this is right before I head on on vacation. For no reason amazon cancels my order and tells me I should buy from a store. I ask for an explanation and never received one. So finally I come back from vacation and start looking again. Appears I can get a note 2 for 149.99, , could days later 179.99 and now its all the way up on par with a brand new s4 at 199.99. What the heck is up maybe 99 was a mistake but this phone is going up in price rather than down.

In all cases if I add a line I can get a really good deal. Wonder if I can just add a line then drop my current line but keep my current number.
 
I'm super happy with my note 2 but I'll admit that if I was buying today the S4 would be tempting. I went for the Note 2 mainly because of the bigger screen but the screen on the S4 really isn't that much smaller. The other thing is the S-Pen. I don't really use it super often, but it comes in very handy when browsing websites that aren't particularly mobile friendly. It's nice being able to click tiny links using the S-Pen with extreme precision that would otherwise require you to zoom in to be able to click using your finger.

Actually if I was buying today I'd probably wait for the Note 3.
 
Agree with above. As much as Id like a lighter fone that I could use 1 handed, I'm not sure if I'd be ok with the smaller screen. I've come to think of the note 2s screen size as "normal" now.
 
Medion said:
Most Note 2 overs have had their device for 6 months or less. Only a chronic upgrader would upgrade that soon.
Click to expand...

*Sigh* Raises his hand. Lol.

That would be me. I most likely will grab a Note 3 when it's released.
 
I upgrade phones a lot probably every 6 months but this is the only phone I haven't rooted and stripped the stock rom on to this date. There is nothing out right now with upgrading too, the note 2 had held up really well
 
We are seeing first signs of diminishing returns in phones.
720p to 1080p screen is nice but is anyone feeling need for this at retina levels already ?
faster SOC - is there anything in Jelly Bean that runs too slow on S3/N2 ?
 
Michaelius said:
We are seeing first signs of diminishing returns in phones.
720p to 1080p screen is nice but is anyone feeling need for this at retina levels already ?
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I had one desire for it. When you use HDMI output from your device, it runs at a scaled version of the device's native resolution (except for media). So, I can only output 800x480 to my monitor/tv. With a 1080p phone, there's no resolution switching/scaling.

For the device itself, 720p is more than fine, IMO.
 
Michaelius said:
We are seeing first signs of diminishing returns in phones.
720p to 1080p screen is nice but is anyone feeling need for this at retina levels already ?
Click to expand...

The PPI on the Note 2 is only 267 and not in the 300+. This is why going to 1080p would be more important for the "phablet" sized devices.

Also on the S4 going to 1080p helps mask the Pentile issue since this pushes the PPI of all the subpixels into the 300+ range compared to the S3.

Then there is also the marketing factor.
 
Note 2 isn't pentile

48278GALAXY%20NOTE%202%20VS%20Galaxy%20S3%20screen%20difference.jpg


So the jump probably is more important for S3->S4 then N2-> future N3

biggest upgrade would be buttons that can be pushed with s-pen :D
 
But the S4 is...which is what he said.

Note 2 is far from "retina" quality. In fact, that's the one issue I don't like. I would much prefer an SLCD with 400+ ppi like the One or i5. Amoled is fuzzy.
 
shadyqwerty said:
But the S4 is...which is what he said.

Note 2 is far from "retina" quality. In fact, that's the one issue I don't like. I would much prefer an SLCD with 400+ ppi like the One or i5. Amoled is fuzzy.
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Other then thelower rez, how would AMOLED with RGB stripebe fuzzy?

I would like for them to use SLCD 2 as well but samsung has thecompeting product with AMOLED.
 
The Note 2 is RGB stripe but the PPI is not in "retina" territory at only 267. So a 1080p upgrade for the Note 3 would actually be an improvement and not just marketing hype and push the display into actual retina PPI levels. Yes there is always the subjective argument but I think most people want 300+ PPI to achieve the non discernible pixel type effect.

With a phone like the HTC One you could say 1080p isn't really offering much to the end user over 720p. But for the Note line (due to size) and the S4 (due to Pentile) going to 1080p would be much more beneficially to the end user in terms of perception.

A 1080p Note 3 using RGB stripe should not have sharpness issue compared to phones like the HTC One. Just trying to point out that 1080p is actually a rather worthwhile improvement (or would be) for these two particular devices.
 
Trimlock said:
Other then thelower rez, how would AMOLED with RGB stripebe fuzzy?

I would like for them to use SLCD 2 as well but samsung has thecompeting product with AMOLED.
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The Note 2 uses a non traditional RGB pixel arrangement, S-Stripe RGB IIRC. Put it up next to say...an HTC One X+ and compare hardforums index page and it's obviously fuzzy.
 
shadyqwerty said:
The Note 2 uses a non traditional RGB pixel arrangement, S-Stripe RGB IIRC. Put it up next to say...an HTC One X+ and compare hardforums index page and it's obviously fuzzy.
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Ill have to check it out. The note 2's display is one of my favorites.
 
shadyqwerty said:
The Note 2 uses a non traditional RGB pixel arrangement, S-Stripe RGB IIRC. Put it up next to say...an HTC One X+ and compare hardforums index page and it's obviously fuzzy.
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Can't remember where I saw it, but yes, it's not normal RGB pixel. I think the blue pixel is long and shared by two GB sub-pixels. But it's still a lot better than the RGBG Pentile on the GS3.
 
There is nothing new that's been reported so far that would lure me away from my Note 2. I may jump to the Note 4 depending on what the situation is then, however that's a long way off and I am (for the first time) completely happy with my phone. I wish we had better coverage on one of the networks in my area, but that's a whole different issue. It's powerful enough to do anything I want, big enough, yet still small enough to carry, and I use the stylus everyday. They are going to have to work hard to build something improved enough to make me want to upgrade. I can see myself using this phone until it dies from natural causes.
 
T4rd said:
Can't remember where I saw it, but yes, it's not normal RGB pixel. I think the blue pixel is long and shared by two GB sub-pixels. But it's still a lot better than the RGBG Pentile on the GS3.
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Agreed, 100%. It's also a big screen, so I few it from far away. It's just that comparing to a 1080P screen that has a high ppi keeps text sharp zoomed out, you can still read it. But it's super tiny anyway and I would always zoom in, so it's really a moot point.
 
Michaelius said:
Note 2 isn't pentile


So the jump probably is more important for S3->S4 then N2-> future N3

biggest upgrade would be buttons that can be pushed with s-pen :D
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This. Everytime I have the pen out I try to tap the buttons at least 5 times.
 
Kind of off topic a little but was wondering something. Is there a stock rom but has software keys enabled on the phone that would allow you to tap them with the s pen?
 
Bman123 said:
Kind of off topic a little but was wondering something. Is there a stock rom but has software keys enabled on the phone that would allow you to tap them with the s pen?
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There are good mods that do this, but you need to be running a stock rooted rom.
 
I'm stock right now, haven't even felt the need to root yet honestly til I thought about using software keys due to the pen being able to push them. Could you point me in the right direction to do this? Id appreciate it. I know how to find the root method but haven't seen the (mods) to do this.
 
Hi Folks,

For those of you who have a Note 2, I would like to know if it has PWM Flicker (i.e. uses Pulse Width Modulation to control the backlight)?

Thank you,
 
Zorachus said:
Curious if Note 2 owners plan to upgrade to the HTC One or S4 ? Or if any upgrade, will only be to the Note 3 ?
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I'm not, for three reasons:
(1) I only got my Note 2 in April. Late, I know, but I was waiting in vain for a 32gb or 64gb international version.
(2) The S4 has a pentile display, and while it probably doesn't matter because of the pixel density, it's still a non-starter for me.
(3) The HTC One has a non-removable battery, and that's also a non-starter for me.
 
eumyang said:
I'm not, for three reasons:
(1) I only got my Note 2 in April. Late, I know, but I was waiting in vain for a 32gb or 64gb international version.
(2) The S4 has a pentile display, and while it probably doesn't matter because of the pixel density, it's still a non-starter for me.
(3) The HTC One has a non-removable battery, and that's also a non-starter for me.
Click to expand...

Has apple sued HTC yet? if ever there was a flagrant rip off the HTC One is it. Down to the permanent battery.
 
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