Note 2 vs SIII

[jamiedolan]

I've read many threads about the Note 2 vs SII and just thought I would throw it out there again and see if there any new opinions about the Note 2 as we are getting closer to the release.

I got an SIII just under 2 weeks ago and really love it, but I can still return it tomorrow for a full refund. Then will be back to being stuck with my damaged Nexus S until Note II is here, is that is the direction I want to go.

Basically the Note II sounds like it is virtually identical to the SIII in most respects, except it has a larger screen and a larger battery (plus a stylus).

I'm not one to type a lot on my phone, but I have large hands and find most of the small devices pretty difficult to type on.

I guess I am pretty sold on the Note 2, I am mainly a little nervous that is going to feel huge for use as a regular phone. I don't sit on voice calls on the handset directly all that often, but sometimes will get on a call for a couple hours and don't have my headset handy. I was able to get used to this with the SIII, though at first it felt very large.

Anyone want to throw in there 2 cents? Any reason to talk me out of the Note 2?

Thanks,

Jamie

 

[Metroid Prime]

Hello jamiedolan I moved this thread to the Device/Carrier comparisons section.
I have the Samsung Galaxy SIII and I love it! I am not too sure about the Note 2 as I have never really looked into it, but from what I have seen of the first note is that it's a very large device.
I'm not sure if what I say is accurate, but I would guess the bigger battery is to accommodate the bigger screen on the device since that's one of the things that can really use battery. I've been very happy with my S3 so far and battery life has been really good I think. I went to bed one night with 90% battery and when I woke up it went down to 85%. With a 4.8 inch screen it's a big device and good for those with large hands or those who like screen size. Sorry I got ahead of myself.
It seems you want the Note 2 for 2 reasons which is screen size and a larger battery. Will you use the stylus? If not then I would just stick with the S3 then.

 

[chanchan05]

The Note II is just a couple of mm taller and thinner than the Note I, so if you can get somewhere to check out how the Note I feels, you'd be set on the size issue.

Also according to standardized tests by GSMArena the SIII can last for 50hrs compared to the Note's 69hrs. These tests are based on 1hr of surfing, calls on 3G and video play back per 24hrs.

 

[jamiedolan]

Hello jamiedolan I moved this thread to the Device/Carrier comparisons section.

Thank You, that's great, I thought there might be a better section, but was a little overwhelmed with all the choices.

Since it's on topic here (carrier section) I'll mention what else is going on. I have this phone on sprint. I've been with them for several years now. My last phone, a Nexus S, I dropped about a month after getting it. I had lots of problems with slow speeds, poor signal, etc. I assumed it was due to the damage I inflicted upon the phone when I dropped it and cracked the screen.

So I get the SIII and the next day we take a road trip, 95% of the area we traveled was Sprint home area with 3G. I would say almost half the trip I could not use any data service. Sometimes I would have a good signal and calls would work, but I still could not even load a web page.

I spent hours talking to sprint the next week, to at first be told it is the phone (which I didn't really believe because it worked so well on wi-fi), then when it came down to replacing the phone, the manager didn't want to because he said the phone was fine and it was network issues.

So I started taking some speed tests right in the city and this is what I found:

As you can imagine, I am unimpressed. So I am strongly thinking about returning this and going over to USCellular, even though they are much more expensive, they have 4g in the area I live. USCelluar has been advertising the Note II, so I started looking into it.

I have the Samsung Galaxy SIII and I love it! I am not too sure about the Note 2 as I have never really looked into it, but from what I have seen of the first note is that it's a very large device.

I've looked at many photos of them side by side, but have had a hard time getting a good feeling for what it is like in the real world, here is a page with them side by side:

Samsung Galaxy S III vs. Note II: Sizing up - GSMArena.com

I'm not sure if what I say is accurate, but I would guess the bigger battery is to accommodate the bigger screen on the device since that's one of the things that can really use battery. I've been very happy with my S3 so far and battery life has been really good I think. I went to bed one night with 90% battery and when I woke up it went down to 85%. With a 4.8 inch screen it's a big device and good for those with large hands or those who like screen size. Sorry I got ahead of myself.
It seems you want the Note 2 for 2 reasons which is screen size and a larger battery. Will you use the stylus? If not then I would just stick with the S3 then.

Now perhaps most of my problem with my battery was due to the carriers poor service. That first day after I got the phone and we went on the road trip, I had it fully charged when I left and I was using the phone much of the time, taking pictures or trying to get online / upload my pictures, etc. (despite carrying a SLR with me everywhere, I love the little camera in this thing, which was also part of the attraction of the larger screen)

Within no more than 4 hours the phone battery was dead. Perhaps a lot of this was because it was fighting so hard to get a signal? (which seemed weird to me because it was almost all labeled as 3g home sprint area.

I did have one other trip out of town since I got it, but it was a shorter trip and I didn't really pay attention to the battery life (and I had virtually no service at all for more than 1/3 of the trip in an area that was suppose to support roaming). Most of the rest of the time I've had it plugged into my computer or the wall. That first experience with the short battery life also got me interested when I read about the bigger battery in the Note II.

I don't know if I would use the Stylus. I'm curious as to what you think about my experience with the short battery life when I was in a poor coverage area.

Thank You,

Jamie

 

[jamiedolan]

The Note II is just a couple of mm taller and thinner than the Note I, so if you can get somewhere to check out how the Note I feels, you'd be set on the size issue.

Thanks. I'm not sure if USCellular would have one of the Note I phones at this point, but I will check, I am pretty sure Sprint did not.

Also according to standardized tests by GSMArena the SIII can last for 50hrs compared to the Note's 69hrs. These tests are based on 1hr of surfing, calls on 3G and video play back per 24hrs.

The experience I related with fairly heavy use killing the SIII battery in under 4 hours, would you consider that normal?

Thanks,

Jamie

 

[Metroid Prime]

Thank You, that's great, I thought there might be a better section, but was a little overwhelmed with all the choices.

Since it's on topic here (carrier section) I'll mention what else is going on. I have this phone on sprint. I've been with them for several years now. My last phone, a Nexus S, I dropped about a month after getting it. I had lots of problems with slow speeds, poor signal, etc. I assumed it was due to the damage I inflicted upon the phone when I dropped it and cracked the screen.

So I get the SIII and the next day we take a road trip, 95% of the area we traveled was Sprint home area with 3G. I would say almost half the trip I could not use any data service. Sometimes I would have a good signal and calls would work, but I still could not even load a web page.

I spent hours talking to sprint the next week, to at first be told it is the phone (which I didn't really believe because it worked so well on wi-fi), then when it came down to replacing the phone, the manager didn't want to because he said the phone was fine and it was network issues.

So I started taking some speed tests right in the city and this is what I found:

As you can imagine, I am unimpressed. So I am strongly thinking about returning this and going over to USCellular, even though they are much more expensive, they have 4g in the area I live. USCelluar has been advertising the Note II, so I started looking into it.



I've looked at many photos of them side by side, but have had a hard time getting a good feeling for what it is like in the real world, here is a page with them side by side:

Samsung Galaxy S III vs. Note II: Sizing up - GSMArena.com



Now perhaps most of my problem with my battery was due to the carriers poor service. That first day after I got the phone and we went on the road trip, I had it fully charged when I left and I was using the phone much of the time, taking pictures or trying to get online / upload my pictures, etc. (despite carrying a SLR with me everywhere, I love the little camera in this thing, which was also part of the attraction of the larger screen)

Within no more than 4 hours the phone battery was dead. Perhaps a lot of this was because it was fighting so hard to get a signal? (which seemed weird to me because it was almost all labeled as 3g home sprint area.

I did have one other trip out of town since I got it, but it was a shorter trip and I didn't really pay attention to the battery life (and I had virtually no service at all for more than 1/3 of the trip in an area that was suppose to support roaming). Most of the rest of the time I've had it plugged into my computer or the wall. That first experience with the short battery life also got me interested when I read about the bigger battery in the Note II.

I don't know if I would use the Stylus. I'm curious as to what you think about my experience with the short battery life when I was in a poor coverage area.

Thank You,

Jamie

I think it struggling for a signal is the main cause of why the battery depleted so fast. There might not be a tower or many towers in your area perhaps and if it keeps fighting for 3G/4G the battery will deplete quite fast especially if you're on it doing camera, uploading, browsing, etc. I think even with a different device the same could happen like that. I believe if you turn off data roaming the battery will fair much better.
When I do heavy stuff on my phone the battery will usually go down kinda fast especially last night when I updated it. I think it might be the coverage in your area.

 

[jamiedolan]

I believe if you turn off data roaming the battery will fair much better.
When I do heavy stuff on my phone the battery will usually go down kinda fast especially last night when I updated it. I think it might be the coverage in your area.

Thanks, I will keep that in mind and also am going to look into USCellular more (since they have good coverage here) and see if I can afford one of their plans.

Maybe I will go back and stick with my nexus S for a week till they get the Note II in stock and I can actually compare it side by side to the SIII.

Though it is sounding more and more like I would be totally happy with the SIII's battery life if I had better coverage.

Thanks again,

Jamie

 

[Metroid Prime]

No problem Jamie I am always happy to help out.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that you can compare the two devices and others here.
[url=http://phandroid.com/phones/compare]Compare phones[/url]

 

[KOLIO]

I think it struggling for a signal is the main cause of why the battery depleted so fast. There might not be a tower or many towers in your area perhaps and if it keeps fighting for 3G/4G the battery will deplete quite fast especially if you're on it doing camera, uploading, browsing, etc. I think even with a different device the same could happen like that. I believe if you turn off data roaming the battery will fair much better.
When I do heavy stuff on my phone the battery will usually go down kinda fast especially last night when I updated it. I think it might be the coverage in your area.

+1 With most phones being more energy efficient than last year's offerings & all other things being equal, the quality of data signal connection is your biggest ally/enemy in power consumption.

After being w/SPRINT for a year now & owning both the MOTOROLA PHOTON & SAMSUNG GALAXY S III, my battery life is no where near what others are reporting.
It's not awful, but, just by chance, 3G is weak both @ work & home.
Yet, when on a steady, strong WI-FI connection, battery life on both phones improves dramatically.

So, my advice would be to choose the service provider that best serves you & then select a phone.

 

[jamiedolan]

So, my advice would be to choose the service provider that best serves you & then select a phone.

Thanks. No question based on what I have seen with my girl friends phone that USCelluar has much better service in my area than sprint. Her data speeds upon testing are always far higher, often hitting more than 1mbps and she does not have a 4g phone (USCellular is 4g here).

I've suspected the poor signal has a huge impact on battery life, but it is difficult to know for sure how much of the poor battery life the low signal is responsible for.

My family is on Sprint and has contracts out on several lines. My girl friend (and her family) are grandfathered in on an old UScellular family plan with lower data rates.

So if I go to USCellular I have to pay for an individual plan or have my girl friend upgrade her whole family plan.

We save $30 a month if I cancel sprint, but it's going to end up being about $70 a month on USCellular either way we go about it.

That's why I'm having so much trouble making a decision.

So is it worth $500 more a year to have cell service that actually has data service that works well?

Maybe I could get by with a 2GB plan and save a bit.

Jamie

 

[Ingenieur7]

Two completely different smartphones for different audiences.

If I was you, I'd get the SGS3.

However that's just me.