Long term test drive: Samsung Note II

So I have been playing with my Samsung Note 2 for a couple months now, and once you get over the relative size of this near phone/tablet hybrid, it is a sleek device!

My test drive was courtesy of my friends over at AT&T, so it is powered by their 4G service, which in most cases proves to be pretty good for on the fly Google searches, social media, and even catching up on Scandal on Netflix.

That having been said, on a recent trip to Vermont, I did find places that companions with other carriers, including Sprint and Verizon, had better luck, but we can get into that in a little bit.

I had the opportunity to play around last year with the Note1, which touted much of the same in size and operation as it’s updated brother, so I was excited about the opportunity to get my paws on the second generation.  The biggest difference of note – see what I did there?? – Between the Note and the other Samsung handhelds, besides the extra large screen, is the stylus that is tucked up on the bottom of the phone.  When you pull this digital pen out, regardless of what you are working on, a small note screen pops up, allowing you to take notes in your own hand writing.

From there, the note can be saved on the phone, or shared to a myriad of places, including JPGs to other phones, attached emails, and even a Twitter entry.   Kind of cool. 

If you are texting challenged like yours truly, this is a nice feature.  Speaking of texting, you can also use the stylus, or

your finger for that matter, to draw letters that will translate into text.  Nice touch.

I also am an avid user of speech to text.  With my rather limited, and if you have ever received a text from me, you know what I mean, capabilities, the ability to speak my mind right to your phone saves me time, and the game of “what did Tyler mean?” is someone diffused for you.  I have tried the STT function on other phones, and I have noticed that with all carriers and handhelds, they are getting markedly better.  The Note 2, however, seems to be about as good as I have seen.  Nice job!

The Note is powered on an Android platform, so it comes with all the goodies you would expect, including the Google interface, maps, and Play Store for more apps than you can shake a stick at.  The phone seldom gets hung up, and can seamlessly and quickly cycle through screens, and arrangement is pretty easy as well.  Although there are menu and some function buttons that are touch driven, there is a great big physical button that will always take you to your home screen if you find yourself down a rabbit hole.

I have noticed an interesting thing about people and their iPhones.  They are loyal to a T, and love them to the end…that is, of course, until they see the pictures that this little phone can take.  With it’s 8 MP camera, it takes sharp, and I do mean sharp pictures and video.  So nice, in fact, that I have used many clips and pics on television.  So after seeing first hand what the camera on the Note can do, even the most loyal iPhone user will concede and ask me to take the pictures because they are that much nicer.

While we are on the physical, I did make mention of the screen, which measures 5.94x3.17 inches, and weighs just over 6 oz.   VERY nice when you want to read an email, look at a pic, or stream some video.  The nice thing I have found about the Note is because it is rather thin, 0.37 inches and not that much more with the case I put on it, it slips into a jacket pocket, or read pocket without any trouble or over bulge.

The processor is fact for online surfing, again thanks, in part to the AT&T 4G, running my demo system, but I can sit at an airport for hours, watching Scandal on Netflix with little buffering time or interruption.

While we are on the topic of service, let’s get into it just a bit.  As I mentioned a few paragraphs above, anywhere I travel, throughout South Carolina, and Charlotte, I have nothing to complain about.  The only places I can’t get service with my Note are dark spots that I can’t get any service in regardless of the carrier.  From the middle of the lake, in Charleston or on any of the corridors I travel on, I have no problems.  It was, however, in the rural areas of Vermont were I did notice a difference.  To be fair, much of the Green Mountain State, due to the relative terrain, struggles with consistent service regardless of the carrier or phone, as the mountains and other natural landscape makes for quite a signal obstacle course.

The Note seemed to be last to the party as we would travel into areas with more readily available service.  That having been said, once the connection was made, I was back to business.

Pros:

Awesome pictures

Quick processor

Size of the screen

Thin enough to slip in your jacket or jeans

Cons:

In rural areas, signal may struggle

Size may scare off some users who want a smaller physical handheld unit

No HDMI output

Bottom Line:

The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is a great phone, on almost every level.  From the screen size, resolution, and camera to the quick processor.  It is the right size to put into a jacket or jeans, but just don’t forget and sit on it! 

The stylus is a great touch giving you an old school notepad feel, as well as manipulation with pictures, and you can even use it to type a text if you find your paws are too big, or the weather impacts the screens ability to feel your warm heart.

I use it every day as my go-to unit for storage, checking email, taking pictures of my family or just in general.

It is a great phone, and the Consumer in Me gives it 4 out of 5.  What does that mean?  It rocks.