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My review and Hands on comparison

K

Kenneth131

Lurker
Galaxy Note Unboxing + Note vs Tab vs galaxy S II vs Galaxy S - YouTube
Samsung Galaxy Note Review - YouTube
Galaxy Note Follow up tips and Sum up - YouTube
not necessarily in that order i do think the note addresses allot of issues with current smartphone. Then takes the best of a 5.3 " screen and adds some nice features plus they make it very pocketable given the extra screen estate and battery life gained from the note. Love it. I would have however asked for the screen to be amoled plus as its slightly sharper and the s pens button should be a textured kind and an additional button further up making it easier to find when needed. Just like a normal pen with soft rubber textured grip.

Any thoughts opinions or questions just ask. Also sorry if the lightings really that bad but it was 3 in the morning with energy saving dark bulbs since they certainly don't light much.

Cheers Kenny
 
Good review Kenny, how is the camera/video mode, especially when taking shots/filming indoors?

Glad you mentioned that it fits into your pockets as that question has been asked on various forums:D...not a problems for us ladies - we will just pop it in our numerous handbags

The button on the S Pen looks a bit awkward but you seem to handle it rather well. Keep updating us as your efforts are very much appreciated.
 
Great review! Would you say that we need a case to preserve the aesthetics of the Note? I mean with the Galaxy S2, that little bump at the bottom of the back which is made up of shiny plastic - that part gets a ton of hairline scratches in like 2 weeks of use if you carry it around without a case.

Also, is the speaker grill raised a bit so that if you set the phone down on a flat surface, the sound won't get muffled as much?
 
Ok first miss diva what ill do is get some sample video and pics taken on the device that way you can see how good the camera is. The set up for pics is the same as the s2 but you have a 5.3 " viewfinder. Makes seeing everything you capture really easy which results in good recordings alone. Iv had no issue with frame rate etc video seems very clear and pictures just the same with the led flash in low light. Hopei can get some up for you tonight to look at.

Ringking i would say the note is a totally different make up from that of the s2. There is no glossy plastic on the note. There are 3 exposed parts.
1) the battery cover and its a dimple tetextured Matt plastic.
2) a 2 centimeter metal effect plastic so( same as on galaxy s and s2) bezel round the edge. Now where the bezel met gloss plastic on the side of the s2 the bezel on the note makes up the whole side of the phone and goes right round to meet the battery cover so it gives this a real quality feel. This may well get scratches on it but the same type of bezel was quite resilient on my other devices, although it is shiny.
3) the whole front of the phone is glass no plastic so again adds to the phone quality feel and being gorilla glass doubt it will get scratched up.

But like everything else me personally i would rather have it in a case if i did damage it i would be gutted . Carphone warehouse have the official flip leather covers for these in their warehouse don't know if they have them in store yet though.

The speaker grill on the back does have a slight bump in it to raise it slightly. If you look at the s2 speaker there is a single strip of plastic that goes through the square cut out the plastic for the speaker to create two little holes you can see the metal of the speaker through. Well that one strip of plastic running through the middle is raised so creates a slight bump to hold it up. Not allot but its not flat on a table which is good. Other than that the back of the device is flat the camera is flush with the body design its very nice.

Anything else please ask and ill be happy to help

Kenny
 
@Kenneth131

So the screen being gorilla glass... are you still going to get a screen protector or no? If you are, can you tell us which kind you will use?

I know it won't easily get scratched but it WILL eventually get scratched, right? or is gorilla glass that strong?
 
Fantastic. I've read user reviews over at xda forums about the Note saying poor music and call quality. Sound is tinny compared to SGS2. Do you think so too?

Those official leather flip covers require you to remove the battery cover I think, I'd rather wait for something made by SGP.
 
Mightymooseo2 the glass is gorilla glass so it really is that strong lol but like everything put under the right circumstances it can get scratched. Not like a proper scratch but a light mark on the surface. To give you an example the galaxy s i have, its now my girlfriends, now she throws it in her bag with keys and all sorts of things dying to scratch ipod the screen yet it doesn't scratch it. What it does is leave a light mark on the very surface. You can't feel it you probably wouldn't even notice it. I didn't until i had the phone under a halogen light and tilted to one side. Looks kind of like the coating on the glass not the glass itself. Hope this kind of made sense.

In short it is amazing stuff gorilla glass and next to scrubbing the screen with keys i very much doubt you could damage the glass. People have been saying the s pen might mark the screen. No way will it. But if like me you just worry about the day you accidently shove your phone in your pocket with a diamond ring your then why not screen protect it. As for which one probably invisi shield their stuff is pretty good but the sgp ones always get amazing write ups different kind of protection mind you.

Annnnd as for sound call quality on o2 was A1 no complaints at all certainly comparable if anything a bit better imo
music yeah i agree with but this is some software issue. definitely not hardware as it uses the same speaker and drivers so sure it will be fixed in an update. Its not tinny just not as loud as the s 2 but not by much. So if its using all the same speaker and drivers i can't see it not being addressed. Headphones quality is marginally better on the note though. So there's a positive if you use the note connected to your car stereo via 3.5mm jack

I do like the sgp's to. You do have to replace the battery cover but as i see it that leaves the original spanking new if i decide to switch at any point. I think cover reviews are good but opinions are not so great because everyone is looking for something different out of their case :)

any more for any more
 
First, thanks for all the information, time & effort.:p
I was thinking of this product for note taking in meetings.
I'm very curious if you could demo writing in different programs, to see:
accuracy, short cut options?, speed. Etc. also the interaction with other programs like calendar, memo, 3rd party apps.:)

thanks again!:)
 
kcour2006 said:
First, thanks for all the information, time & effort.:p
I was thinking of this product for note taking in meetings.
I'm very curious if you could demo writing in different programs, to see:
accuracy, short cut options?, speed. Etc. also the interaction with other programs like calendar, memo, 3rd party apps.:)

thanks again!:)
Click to expand...

Hi Great review. Cheers

I'd also like to see the note taking and office apps. In most reviews people write Hello in big letters, to me that's not a note, could you write something smaller like you would on a notepad.
Can you save screenshots as a PDF?

Cheers
 
Hey guys and girls ill try get a video done for you. Iv not checked pdt file saving but i will see what format it saves things in. I still have to do some pics for miss diva but was late getting in yesterday so i should be home on time tonight so ill try do the videos then.

As for the phone it came from Germany as they had stock first so came with the European charger. Its just the same phone but set up By default in German.

Ill detail all the options for handwriting as there are many and all change how you write slightly different. Things include full word prediction or just stroke prediction which looks at how you wrote something opposed to just guessing the word. when the handwriting option comes up.

So hopefully they will all be answered tonight :)
 
Ok this is the camera test since i was asked how the cam was on the note.
these are pics taken in complete darkness as was the 1080p vid just to show how good this thing is even in pitch black conditions
Il try get some outdoors ones at some point as well. The led is very bright on this phone and works brilliantly

Galaxy Note Quick 1080p video In Complete Darkness - YouTube

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Also a some video of fireworks from a about one street away

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZbwAHpCLkU
 
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