If you had told me last year when I got my shiny new Apple iPhone 5 that I would be replacing it a few months later for a different smartphone, I would have said you were smoking crack. Today however I’m the one that is amazed.
Lately I have read about the upcoming Ubuntu OS for Phone release and did a bunch of reading about the various phones that would support the developer version due to be released this week on Feb. 21st. The two phones it is rumored to support are the Google Nexus and Nexus 4. Looking at those phones lead me to another Samsung phone, the Galaxy Note 2. Now the Galaxy Note 2 is more of a phablet (Phone Tablet) with a screen size of 5.5 inches. After reading a couple of reviews and looking at the specs my curiosity quickly turned to longing.
So last night I walked into the local Verizon store put my hands on an honest to goodness Android phone and fell in the love. This phone is simply amazing! I have to confess I’ve never spent more than 2 minutes on an Android, but this phone demands your attention. The screen is huge and as such is easily readable. The responsiveness is earth shattering fast. In my opinion even faster that my iPhone 5 was. But the thing I love the most is the ability to customize the various screens.
If you have never seen live backgrounds then you haven’t really enjoyed your phone. The “Planets Pack” from Maxelus.net ($1.99) is one of the coolest things I’ve seen on a phone in ages and on the Galaxy Note 2’s 5.5 inch screen it’s gorgeous. Here is an actual screenshot of the Galaxy Note 2 running this beautiful live wallpaper.
This phone is a beast and not just for screen size. It sports a quad-core snap dragon pro processor, 2gb of RAM memory, 16gb of user memory, 4G network speed, etc.
After confirming that my work email, calendar, and contacts would sync with this via exchange this morning, I didn’t hesitate to transfer my old iPhone 5 to my son.
** Update: Well it’s been almost a week now and I’m even more in love with the Galaxy Note 2 than the day I got it. I’m still amazed by the sheer beauty of the screen and the applications I’m running on it. There are two notes to be made when it comes to those said apps. First they look so much better on the Galaxy Note 2 than they did on the iPhone 5. I’m sure a lot of that has to do with the additional real estate but the overall design just seems more functional. The second note is a bit of a jab. I have to say I’m very impressed with Google Play. You make a purchase and it instantly starts downloading to your phone. Very slick, BUT the downside to the Google Play store is that the majority of the apps are very rough around the edges. Don’t get me wrong, the apps you liked on the iPhone you will find and love even more from the Google Play store, but the other apps leave something to be desired. You will quickly learn that the reviews on the Google Play store are also being rigged by the application owners on some level. You will find applications with 100+ reviews and most are obviously rigged. Here is where some oversight and even moderate quality controls would be nice. But again, I had no problem finding my favorite apps and even a few new gems.
So in summary, LOVE the Galaxy Note 2 and have no plans to ever go back to my iPhone 5.