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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