Review of the Samsung Galaxy Note II

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  • madmac
    Moderator Emeritus
    • Aug 2010
    • 3122

    Review of the Samsung Galaxy Note II

    Let me tell you a story!. My old carrier, Bell Canada would not do anything for me regarding an upgrade and offered me nothing at all. I told the agent that because of this, I would shop around. Glad I did!!. I wandered over to a Roger's Wireless store and told the dude what my current plan was and how much it cost. He offered me $100 bucks off the above phone so I got it for $50 bucks. He also offered me the first month of wireless service for free. I also was offered a protective case for the phone, and a free Amazon Kindle E-reader!! WHOA!!.

    Now the plan I got is vastly better than my old one. Now, I get 3 gigs of data instead of 1 gig with Bell. I also get UNLIMITED nation wide calling!. No more counting minutes for me. That's right.....unlimited talk time....anywhere in Canada!!. And of course, all the usual usuals...call display....voice mail, unlimited texting... etc. For the SAME price as my Bell plan was!

    Now on to the above Phone. Obviously, it is quite larger than my old HTC Sensation was. To be honest, it's almost a tablet it's so big!. Works very well with my big hands!. The screen and the graphics are very nice and the keyboard is bigger and feels much better to type with. The service is LTE which is flibbin' fast......and of course, the phone is Quad core which probably helps the speed noted above. Like the Sensation, it's an Android device so navigating the platform was/is quite easy for me. Now, I thought the HTC Sensation was good for music, but this phone is substantially better in this regard, offering many sound scapes and, if those don't work for you, a 7 band parametric equalizer is offered!. But to better all of that, there's an App included called 'Play Music' which really brings the overall sound quality to a new level, offering an adjustable '3D' feature (Huh?) that really brings the musical presentation to a new level as well and an adjustable bass/ treble management feature and an equalizer as well too. VERY nice!!. The unit also works very well with my wireless stereo bluetooth headset. The ONLY thing I don't

    I've had the new phone for only 1 day now and I can honestly say, there is NO buyers remorse happening here!!. SOLD!!.
    Dan Madden :T
  • P-Dub
    Office Moderator
    • Aug 2000
    • 6766

    #2
    I have to agree on Bell. I moved from them over to Fido, which is owned by Rogers and got a great plan there. Sounds like the same plane exception I've only got 2G of data, which is enough for me.

    And the unlimited talk in Canada is pretty awesome! Just so you know that means you can travel with your phone anywhere in Canada and make a call and not worry about long distance charges. It worked great when my wife used my phone while in Halifax.

    Now to the device. Cool! I thought about the Note2, but it was just too big for my small hands. The battery life should be pretty amazing due to the physical size. LTE should also be nice and fast!

    Keep us updated on how you like the phone.
    Paul

    There are three kinds of people in this world; those that can count, and those that can't.

    Comment

    • madmac
      Moderator Emeritus
      • Aug 2010
      • 3122

      #3
      I had to pay about $166 bucks that was left on my phone's contract to cancel but it was worth it. Nothing against Bell, because I'm sure all the carriers are the same. It seems now that if you want a deal on a new phone and a better contract, you invariably have to move onto another carrier to get it.

      Yes, the Note II is a BIG phone and NOT recommended for small hands. I'm 6'1 and have large hands and failing eyesight up close so the Note is a great improvement for me!!. The phone's telephone voice quality is very good. And yes, the LTE delivery plateform is faster than my old 3G one for sure.

      So far, the only minor complaint I have is that it takes a few extra steps on this phone to activate the WiFi hotspot. I don't have wired internet at home and use my phone's Hotspot to connect to the internet using my laptop. That's why the extra gigs of data that this plan offers is a big bonus!!. All major downloads and updates on both devices are done when I am located in an area with free WiFi. Just think about this!!. I was getting by on 1 stinkin' gig of data with Bell before this plan. Never went over either!!. Now, I can be a little more liberal and watch a few more Youtube videos and stuff. Still, any kind of streaming or large downloads are a no no in my case. However in my town, there is so much free WiFi now that very often I'm connected to free WiFi anyway.
      Dan Madden :T

      Comment

      • Kevin P
        Member
        • Aug 2000
        • 10809

        #4
        Nice! I think of the Galaxy Note series more as small tablets than phones, so for use as a phone they're a bit unwieldy. I've been looking at the Galaxy S3 or S4 as a possible upgrade myself, a huge jump from my Samsung Gusto flip phone with VGA camera. 8O

        Shopping around for plans is always a good idea, since most people are getting ripped off and the real deals exist but you have to look for them.

        Comment

        • madmac
          Moderator Emeritus
          • Aug 2010
          • 3122

          #5
          Another amazing thing about the Note II is it's Bluetooth performance. Normally with my Old HTC Sensation, I would get dropouts with my stereo bluetooth headset. I was on my bike streaming music via the Note's Bluetooth today and did not get ONE dropout at all. Not one!!. Also, as mentioned earlier, the audio performance is SUBSTANTIALLY better as well!!.

          Possible reason??. Bigger phone....bigger Bluetooth antenna array??.
          Dan Madden :T

          Comment

          • P-Dub
            Office Moderator
            • Aug 2000
            • 6766

            #6
            Download Widgetsoid! This will solve your add an extra notification bar with many other options, including turning on your wifi hotspot.

            I've got it setup just for screen orientation, wifi, wifi hotspot, battery level, battery temp, ringer, flashlight.

            Very customizable.

            Kevin - Wow looking for a smartphone?!
            Paul

            There are three kinds of people in this world; those that can count, and those that can't.

            Comment

            • BWLover
              Senior Member
              • Jan 2009
              • 552

              #7
              The best time to haggle deals from carriers is when your not in a contract. Because they want to get you in one so they'll throw more at you to get it done. I'm with Rogers and when my contract was done I shopped around. And ended up staying with Rogers anyway. My plan has changed since the contract was signed. But for $80/month I get 5GB, unlimited minutes, unlimited long distance, unlimited text/picture/video messaging, call display with name display, visual voice mail, call forwarding, and unlimited US/International texting. I haven't seen anything better (I look around ever couple months to make sure I'm not loosing out on something) then this plan.


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              Comment

              • madmac
                Moderator Emeritus
                • Aug 2010
                • 3122

                #8
                Yep....I get that exact deal too but other than the 5 gigs......I get 3 for 60 bucks. But the unlimited anywhere in Canada is pretty sweet and almost unheard of here in Canada !!. When the sales guy at Rogers told me that is was like......WHAT??......unlimited minutes......anywhere in Canada???...........REALLY???!!!!.....It was like......WOW !!!.

                Another update on the Note II. It appears that the WiFi hotspot aspect of this phone might not be as good as the HTC Sensation. I connected to it yesterday for the first time and found it 'a bit' slow!!. Of course, that could be for a number of reasons that are not the Note's fault. I'll keep you posted.

                @Paul Wu......Thanks!! I'll check out that App and let you know what I think!.
                Dan Madden :T

                Comment

                • madmac
                  Moderator Emeritus
                  • Aug 2010
                  • 3122

                  #9
                  More updates on the Note II

                  Battery will last 1 day with normal usage. Must charge EVERY night (But...it was the same with the HTC Sensation)

                  Takes a long time to charge this baby (2-3 hours) . It possibly has a bigger battery due to it's large screen size??.

                  This unit has truly exceptional Bluetooth performance.

                  Interface is a pleasure to use. VERY NICE!!.
                  Dan Madden :T

                  Comment

                  • madmac
                    Moderator Emeritus
                    • Aug 2010
                    • 3122

                    #10
                    One grumble about the NoteII

                    When you get a text message or email, the unit turns on. However, only for a second. This is nowhere near long enough to pick it up and react to it. You pick it up and it immediately turns off. A few more seconds would have been nice!!. But, when a phone call comes in it's ok. It stays on.
                    Dan Madden :T

                    Comment

                    • madmac
                      Moderator Emeritus
                      • Aug 2010
                      • 3122

                      #11
                      Hey all,

                      This phone has exceptional Video/photo performance!!. VASTLY better than my old HTC Sensation!!.

                      Does anyone know how to connect to this phone when hooked up to a computer via USB??. My laptop does not recognize it. Also, if I take a video with the phone, how do I make a dvd of the Video??. What's the process?. HELP!!??
                      Dan Madden :T

                      Comment

                      • madmac
                        Moderator Emeritus
                        • Aug 2010
                        • 3122

                        #12
                        Originally posted by madmac
                        Hey all,

                        This phone has exceptional Video/photo performance!!. VASTLY better than my old HTC Sensation!!.

                        Does anyone know how to connect to this phone when hooked up to a computer via USB??. My laptop does not recognize it. Also, if I take a video with the phone, how do I make a dvd of the Video??. What's the process?. HELP!!??
                        I just found out that this phone's processor is Quad core!!. Sheesh!!. That's more than my laptop. Seriously folks, can anyone help me with the above question???. Help please??!!!.
                        Dan Madden :T

                        Comment

                        • JeremyG
                          Senior Member
                          • Sep 2008
                          • 481

                          #13
                          My phone (Samsung Galaxy Nexus running CM10.1) needs to be put in USB debubbing mode as a media device in order to be recognized by my laptop. If your Android OS is similar, it should be in your settings menus somewhere. You may also need to add an application to your computer to make it work. I use Android File Transfer. It allows me to drag and drop files from the phone to anywhere else on my computer machine. I don't know how much Samsung has locked down their version of Android, so YMMV.

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