It's out! It's out! No more rumors!

[rushmore]

I can get a new Note 3 for $600 at Verizon or likely pay $800 for the Note 4..... The Note 4 will have to be REAL good to justify that difference.

 

[Morphiend]

ISOCELL is pretty much a given. They dropped the ball not putting OIS in the S5 but seems like it will be there in the Note.

the more I look into it the less I believe the camera will have isocell. seems like the n4 will have a 16MP Sony Lens with ois.

the ois will help but hopefully the sensor is large for those low light shots

 

[Tsepz_GP]

Can't wait for this beast to be unveiled next week

The sensor has been said to be a 2nd gen Sony Exmor RS sensor at 16MP with OIS. As much as I wanted ISOCELL with OIS it seems for the time-being that Sony may have a better package hence why Samsung went with it, I'm still happy as a Galaxy S4 i9500 Exynos Octa owner with the 1st gen Exmor RS sensor that made the i9500 the best S4 and best cameraphone overall in Android even against the 20MP juggernaut of a sensor in the Xperia Z1, Samsung seem to be skilled at optimizing Sony sensors for themselves.

 

[rushmore]

........ Nope, still not feeling a vibe yet. The G3 rumor forum was buzz great, but the device IMO was impaired way too much by the display.

Maybe opposite here? Weak buzz, strong device?

 

[Morphiend]

I would call the note line a niche (just barely) product. phablets aren't for everyone so of course it wouldn't get the same amount of buzz as a smaller more mainstream phone.

it's ok though. I'm excited enough for everyone.

 

[drexappeal]

........ Nope, still not feeling a vibe yet. The G3 rumor forum was buzz great, but the device IMO was impaired way too much by the display.

Maybe opposite here? Weak buzz, strong device?

I think it's because jump from G2 to G3 was a big difference (including uniformity across all/most carriers). The Note 3 to Note 4 isn't as big a jump as the Note 2 to Note 3 or even the Note 1 to Note 2.

 

[androiduser911]

........ Nope, still not feeling a vibe yet. The G3 rumor forum was buzz great, but the device IMO was impaired way too much by the display.

Maybe opposite here? Weak buzz, strong device?

Perhaps the general rubishness of the G3 has killed the vibe for 2k?

 

[bonerp]

I don't see the note 4 as hype city this time round unfortunately. I also fear it proves Samsung cannot build a well designed phone. It seems happy to cram in the latest tech and worry little about the lag issues it and it's software creates without considering what the user actually wants. This is coming from someone with a note 3,having had the original and 2, along with es8000 TV and tab s....

 

[chong67]

I did read about some people dont like TouchWiz. I have not used it and I always use Sense.

I will upgrading from HTC One M7. It will be bigger screen, s-pen, removable battery and SD card minus the dual front speaker which I will miss. I think its a big upgrade.

 

[Tsepz_GP]

Less buzz to me means I'll have a unique smartphone which makes me happy, I've had the Galaxy S2, S3 and S4, all great devices but I couldn't go ANYWHERE without seeing a bunch of them.

WRT TouchWiz, the new version in the S5 is far less bloated, faster and a lot more fluid, that should improve further in the Note 4, so I'm excited
IMO, in terms of Android the Note 4 and Nexus 6 will be the most exciting devices in 2014 and early 2015.

 

[bonerp]

I've just ordered a oneplus one having received an invite. Looking forward to receiving it and giving it a run against my note 3.

 

[drexappeal]

I've just ordered a oneplus one having received an invite. Looking forward to receiving it and giving it a run against my note 3.

Just be careful it doesn't explode like that one on the phandroid article.

 

[bonerp]

Yeah saw that.... Hopefully it's not a consistent issue!

 

[rushmore]

I've just ordered a oneplus one having received an invite. Looking forward to receiving it and giving it a run against my note 3.

Wish it had an sd card slot. I would have considered it perhaps.

If the Note 3 drops new to $500 I think I am going with that and save about $300. I would buy a used one, but prefer Verizon since easier to return since my concern is the radio reception. Some report bad signal and others do not. If just a little better than the S4 I would be happy. If worse, I would return it. Buying used can be problematic and would rather have new for a $100 more.

If I time this to the Note 4 launch, I should see a price drop I see the device from a battery and performance standpoint being essentially the same as the Note 3- due to the Qhd. Plus, the Note 3 is easy to root and that is a big unknown with the Note 4.

 

[drexappeal]

Perhaps the general rubishness of the G3 has killed the vibe for 2k?

The sentiment of the G3 being rubish is just in tech circles. General consumers have obviously responded well to it:

The LG G3 is expected to sell 10 million units according to the Korean tech giant

 

[AnonGuy]

The sentiment of the G3 being rubish is just in tech circles. General consumers have obviously responded well to it:

The LG G3 is expected to sell 10 million units according to the Korean tech giant

Using that logic, TouchWiz is superior to HTC Sense.

The phone is held back by the display being driven by a processor that isn't really designed to drive panels of that resolution. It is hampered by Heat/Performance Throttling among other things and relatively lackluster battery life under moderate to heavy usage.

LG cut corners to get that display in there, so they had something to market, because they knew with a 1080p panel the phone would have been laughed at as a lackluster G2 refresh - the G3 came too fast after the G2, IMO. They should be gearing up to launch that phone right now with S805 to go head to head with the Note 3. But all of Samsung's competitors scramble to release their phones before them, so that they don't get drowned out in Samsung's marketing.

They were just desperate to get the 2K panel in there, so that they could stand out.

And that's consistently been the story of Android's life. OEMs doing whatever they can to make their device seem superior, even if it comes with drawbacks that are greater than the gains.

Do we really need 2.3-2.5GHz SoCs when you can under clock them to perhaps 1.7-1.9GHz and save a ton of battery life without much performance loss, for example...

The Next ridiculousness is going to be Motorola's 600+ PPI 5" display... Why? 1080p at 5" is already 441 which is well beyond "Retina" PPI (the Note 3's 1080p 5.7" display is like 380+ PPI).

 

[rushmore]

The sentiment of the G3 being rubish is just in tech circles. General consumers have obviously responded well to it:

The LG G3 is expected to sell 10 million units according to the Korean tech giant

Yes, since most are light to medium users and upgraded from a two year old device.

A lot of forum dwellers though are not either of those types. The forum folks are the buzz drivers for the forums

As far as the G3 with a 1080p that is G2 quality, I would be typing this note on the G3 if it were. 100% agree they did the right thing for sales, but compromised the device for people that notice such things.

Not sure though the device would have been laughed at. Probably praised more in reviews due to better battery life, less heat, better performance and better overall display (ironically).

The display size, sd card slot and overall design is still there, regardless of display type.

That all said, it would have sold less since consumers are attracted to the hires poor contrast display like moths to a flame. I can't help it, it's so pretty....... ZZAP!

 

[androiduser911]

The sentiment of the G3 being rubish is just in tech circles. General consumers have obviously responded well to it:

The LG G3 is expected to sell 10 million units according to the Korean tech giant

I've no doubt general users will lap up LGs marketing hype and think the G3 is the best thing since sliced bread. Using the G3 and working in the industry, its obvious LG have pushed their 2k phone out too early and with too many trade offs for the QHD display. Its one of the worst phones I've used for a while. What's interesting is all the "how to get rid of lag threads" in forums, general users will flock to these threads and try whatever placebo "fix" works for them. They'll then swear blind their hardware is the most powerful on the market and that has nothing to do with the perfoamce problems they're having....."this new software update/fix has cured all my lag problems". Its interesting and bizzare to watch.

 

[drexappeal]

I've no doubt general users will lap up LGs marketing hype and think the G3 is the best thing since sliced bread. Using the G3 and working in the industry, its obvious LG have pushed their 2k phone out too early and with too many trade offs for the QHD display. Its one of the worst phones I've used for a while. What's interesting is all the "how to get rid of lag threads" in forums, general users will flock to these threads and try whatever placebo "fix" works for them. They'll then swear blind their hardware is the most powerful on the market and that has nothing to do with the perfoamce problems they're having....."this new software update/fix has cured all my lag problems". Its interesting and bizzare to watch.

I disagree. I have both the Note 3 and G3. Overall the best devices I've had. If LG had a wacom digitizer similar to the S-pen, I'd have already jumped on board with that phone (of course, I'm not willing to compromise the loss in specs that they're offering with the G3 Stylus). While there are many complaints about the phone in tech circles, the overall offerings of the G3 provide a large upgrade for many people out there, that might not have upgraded in several years. So, while there are complaints of "lag" or "bad battery life," that's still all relative to those that might have had it worse with their previous device.

 

[androiduser911]

I disagree. I have both the Note 3 and G3. Overall the best devices I've had. If LG had a wacom digitizer similar to the S-pen, I'd have already jumped on board with that phone (of course, I'm not willing to compromise the loss in specs that they're offering with the G3 Stylus). While there are many complaints about the phone in tech circles, the overall offerings of the G3 provide a large upgrade for many people out there, that might not have upgraded in several years. So, while there are complaints of "lag" or "bad battery life," that's still all relative to those that might have had it worse with their previous device.

Its probably fair to say that your experience is dependant on the phone you came from to the G3. Having spent a good part of the year with the Z2 and the M8, I was genuinely shocked to see how poorly the G3 performed. Then I realised its the same SOC running all three phones. Being in the Uk I also only had the choice of the 2GB model. With the extra RAM the QHD display is using, multitasking was shockingly bad.The throttling is also major issue with the G3. Many times running a CPU measuring app, after only a few minutes of normal use surfing the net sending texts etc, my max CPU value was down at 1.4Ghz. The GPU was also being throttled heavily. This is not something I've seen with the latest 1080 801 phones. Some games also run jerky and with low frame rates. I probably am a heavy user and dig into framerates and performance but its what I do on a daily basis. Its fairly clear LG have made a lot of performamce sacrifices to get a 3 month head start in the 2k game. Its obviously worth it to them and their shareholders but as usual its the consumer that suffers.

 

[drexappeal]

Its probably fair to say that your experience is dependant on the phone you came from to the G3. Having spent a good part of the year with the Z2 and the M8, I was genuinely shocked to see how poorly the G3 performed. Then I realised its the same SOC running all three phones. Being in the Uk I also only had the choice of the 2GB model. With the extra RAM the QHD display is using, multitasking was shockingly bad.The throttling is also major issue with the G3. Many times running a CPU measuring app, after only a few minutes of normal use surfing the net sending texts etc, my max CPU value was down at 1.4Ghz. The GPU was also being throttled heavily. This is not something I've seen with the latest 1080 801 phones. Some games also run jerky and with low frame rates. I probably am a heavy user and dig into framerates and performance but its what I do on a daily basis. Its fairly clear LG have made a lot of performamce sacrifices to get a 3 month head start in the 2k game. Its obviously worth it to them and their shareholders but as usual its the consumer that suffers.

I've had the Note 3 since launch, prior to the G3...LOL. The G3 was handed down to my mother because she liked it so much. In no way did I feel it performed that much "worse" than the Note 3. Quite honestly, it sounds like you might have had a dud.

 

[androiduser911]

I've had the Note 3 since launch, prior to the G3...LOL. The G3 was handed down to my mother because she liked it so much. In no way did I feel it performed that much "worse" than the Note 3. Quite honestly, it sounds like you might have had a dud.

We have 15 in the office and during our testing they all performed on the whole identical.

 

[rushmore]

I disagree. I have both the Note 3 and G3. Overall the best devices I've had. If LG had a wacom digitizer similar to the S-pen, I'd have already jumped on board with that phone (of course, I'm not willing to compromise the loss in specs that they're offering with the G3 Stylus). While there are many complaints about the phone in tech circles, the overall offerings of the G3 provide a large upgrade for many people out there, that might not have upgraded in several years. So, while there are complaints of "lag" or "bad battery life," that's still all relative to those that might have had it worse with their previous device.

Hence my point that most buying are light to medium users and coming from a two year old device. Big step up.

That said, I find the Note 3 far better than the G3 as far as display, performance, heat and battery life. The only snag is the size is not as manageable, but the positives IMO outweigh this.

 

[drexappeal]

Hence my point that most buying are light to medium users and coming from a two year old device. Big step up.

That said, I find the Note 3 far better than the G3 as far as display, performance, heat and battery life. The only snag is the size is not as manageable, but the positives IMO outweigh this.

Yeah, I might have felt differently if the g3 were my daily driver. The Note 3 has been even better for me than the Note 2, and I loved the Note 2. Both of those are just at the edge of what I can handle on a daily basis. The g3 is just the absolute perfect size. If Samsung could shrink the Note 3 to match the g3 size, I would be extremely happy.

Oh well, I guess I will just wait for the phone that would make me compromise on the size...Folding Note 5!

 

[chong67]

What would be an example of power user on a phone?

What test can I perform to see for myself.