In my previous blog post I'd done a quick review of the Galaxy Note 2 and I assumed I'd use it for a while and then go back to my trusted iPhone 5.. that has not been the case. I'm actually shocked by how much I love the phone despite a few shortcomings. There are a few things I really miss about the iPhone5 and the stunning image quality from the cameras is one of them. I promised to take a few pictures from both cameras and am actually pretty amazed as to how well the iPhone 5 has performed. Here are some test shots taken in different lighting conditions that my gorgeous model Chintu posed for me in-
Taken with the Note 2 in a dimly lit room
Taken with the iPhone 5 in a few minutes of the earlier one in exact same lighting
Same lighting conditions- with flash taken with the Note 2
Same lighting conditions- taken with flash on an iPhone5. The top part is blurry as I think he realized in time to avert his gaze so as not to get blinded again!
Taken with the Note 2 in a well lit room with lots of natural sunlight
Same picture taken with an iPhone5
And it's in direct sunlight where this is very little difference between the 2- This is taken with the Note2
And this one with an iPhone5.
As you can tell, the iPhone 5 could very easily replace someone's digital camera and its quality in darker conditions really is phenomenal. It's not that the Note2 has a bad camera at all. It's just that the iPhone5 is, well, much much better. There was another picture that I took which shows the seat number in a dark movie theater that just came out as a black screen on the Note2. Maybe it's unfair to require your phone camera to take perfectly decent pictures in horribly lit conditions but Apple and Nokia have pushed the bar just that high so that is the benchmark that other phone manufacturers will now get compared to.
I'm actually contemplating buying the new iPod Touch to carry around with me for the 2 reasons I miss the iPhone most- the camera and the iPod functionality. I have been carrying the 5 in my handbag for the gym anyway (while not using it as a phone) and would appreciate something thinner and lighter, occupying less space. Having said that, the new Touch has a 5 megapixel camera as opposed to the 8 in the iPhone5 so I need to have another shootout to compare the two. Watch this space!
- Both the iPhone5 and the Note2 are available at Jumbo Electronics outlets in the UAE
While the iPhone5 was one of the most awaited phones on the market, I had secretly yearned for the Galaxy Note 2 for a few months already. Having used, and been surprised by the first Galaxy Note last year, I was quite curious to see exactly what Samsung would come up with next, given that the S3 was a phone almost every Android user raved about and that the Note 2 would not only have the newest Android software (Jellybean) but also a faster processor and better camera.
So as I focus my reviews on the non-techies, let me try to keep things simple- this phone is FAST (techies note- quadcore Exynor and twice the RAM fast) and bloody cool. Yes, it still is incredibly big and Samsung is the pioneer with the predecessor of this device to serve up a complete separate line of devices to lust after- the phablet (phone+tablet). If you're reading this review and already think the new iPhone 5 is way too big for your handbag/pocket, stop reading this review right here. This thing is large and will look a bit comical if held up to your ear. Over the past few days every single person who has asked me about whether they should get this phone has been met with two questions by me- "Do you use a headset to speak on your phone a lot? And do you read a lot on your device?" If the answers to both are yes, this may just be your dream phone.
As mentioned earlier, this device is a bit too large to hold up to your ear, although I have quite a bit I must admit, not having had my headset on a handful of times. So if you use a bluetooth or wired headset to talk, you're good to go. Secondly, if you are in the habit of reading a lot on your phone- be it emails, Facebook, Twitter, or just random articles from Zite/Pulse while away from your computer, your eyes will thank you for being able to read on the gorgeous screen. Playing games, watching movies, it's all really great to do on the device. Being able to watch moving on a pop up window while working in the background is even better! The Note 2 allows you to do just that.
While most people will like this phone just to be able to have a bigger screen, the stylus (called S Pen) is also really great to use. You can download a whole bunch of sketching applications or can just use the "S Note" app that came pre-installed in the phone which allows you to let your creative/artistic style run wild. Of course, you could just use it to hand write notes in a meeting, and maybe this is a good time to add, the handwriting recognition on this thing too works like a dream. Anyhow, back to using S Note, I made the following "drawing" in under 2 minutes .Please excuse the childlike artwork.. was just playing around on the phone to demonstrate and email to a friend what the phone could do and used the illustrations that are a part of a huge selection of images available for the S Note app-
While "S Pen" has dozens of uses and shortcuts that you can read about in a detailed review of the phone posted up on Engadget today (I'll link to that at the end of this review) the most useful one is the S Note app popping up each time the stylus is removed from the device. This also works while one is one the phone and a tiny post-it sized note pad pops up which will allow you to easily jot notes or phone numbers while on an existing call. Very, VERY handy. The camera on the Note2 is an 8 megapixel one and is quite good. I'm planning to have a separate post on that comparing it to the iPhone5 in various lighting conditions. (I'll give you a hint here- the iPhone5 can't be beat in low light conditions)
It is only fair for me to mention the hiccups I've had with this phone though... On two separate occasions I was unable to call or text a particular contact on my phone. Meaning that on those occasions (these are 2 separate people) I was able to call and text other people except for the person I was trying to get in touch with. Texts wouldn't go through and calls would just say "call ended" without any attempt to reach the other party. I do think though this was the fault of a buggy software and check back in a few days to see an update on whether its happened again. I also do think at worst its just that I had a faulty device, but as I said, I'd like to give a full disclosure on my experience so am mentioning it anyway. Also the buttom buttons are too closely placed to the edge of the device which is great as it means more screen space, but be ready to get annoyed with yourself for accidentally pressing them a lot!Also "S Voice" the Siri type "assistant" is beyond rubbish on the phone. Complete waste of time and memory (on the device that is).
Having said that I really enjoyed being able to surf, watch video clips, read and play games all day (basically I'm a heavy user) while at the end of the day glancing at my phone and only seeing 50 to max 60% of the battery used up! The battery on this device is INCREDIBLE.. the best I've seen on a mobile device! My iPhone4S (and iPhone5 for that matter) starts showing signs of death at around 6 or 7.. usually before I get home, if that's any indication. The million dollar question I seem to get asked- iPhone5 or Note 2? Not an easy question at all as both have their pros and cons and I promise to do a separate comparison post soon and maybe show some videos of the device side by side. In the meantime check it out at your nearest Jumbo store why don't you? (Shameless plug for the day: DONE!) ;)
Here is an in depth video of the Note2 on Samsung's YouTube channel-
You can also check out Engadget's detailed review here
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