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[Q] [Discuss] Choosing the latest and greatest.

My first post! Awesome. Right, to it then?
Hello XDA community! Short and simple, I managed to break my phone. If I were being honest, I'd say it may be more even trashed than just broken.. that tends to happen when dropped onto it's corner from a fair height. So then! That brings me to my current dliemna:
There are a TON of options for reasonable phones right now. So... WHICH to get?
That's kinda broad. Let me be a little more specific. I have my eyes on the Galaxy S2 at the moment. I believe its release for AT&T is this 18th. It's an amazing power house of a phone with a beautiful screen, plenty of space (int/ext) and good RAM. Plus... it's drop dead gorgeous.
However anyone paying attention to Android's raging takeover of the mobile phone market knows of the up and coming "Nexus Prime." Though beyond few spec details, most is speculation on the machine.
My question? I can wait four days... and get an amazing phone for a great early upgrade price. Or.... I can wait for my 2 year contract and pick up the nexus prime in February (my renewal) for probably around the same price.
Current phone --> screwed. It would benefit me to have a device to use til then. However... I'm pretty much stuck once I get one. Worth waiting for and suffering til then?.... idk. I have an HTC Aria at the moment. Not too great a phone to be honest. Pretty basic. But it can still text and call. Good enough.
LAST of all! By all means here... call me out. >.> I'm sure I've missed plenty of options. Other phones... upcoming releases....
My personal notes: AT&T, 200mb Data Plan (constant wifi access), Price no object, Overall Qual > Gaming ability, Appreciate fair size screens (big thumbs), yes I'll be modding, Don't need a physical keyboard, Obviously I'm shooting for Android here but for discussion purposes all options will be considered.

Well, by all indications the Nexus Prime will basically be a Galaxy S2 with maybe a 720p screen. If you luuuurv hi-res screens, it might be worth sticking around for the Prime launch. If you're okay with WVGA though, I wouldn't expect the Prime to blow the S2 out of the water in any other regard.
Roelith said:
Appreciate fair size screens (big thumbs)
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Have you looked at the Galaxy Note? 5.3" 1280x800, due out Q1 next year.

Thanks Sjael! That helped some. I think I'll definitely end up shooting for the GS2. I don't really want to wait that long and I get the feeling that the GS2 will be more than enough for what I need.

Anyone here have a tablet?

I'm considering getting a new/first tablet. However, I'm not quite sure which one I want to get. I'm curious if anyone here has an android tablet or is getting considering one. If you do have one, what is it and how do you like it?
I'm looking at everything but currently the tablets I'm eyeing the most are:
- Transformer Prime: Sounds like a beast. I do worry it will be a bit expensive and I'm not sure when it will make its way to Canada. I'm also not sure I really even need that kind of power for what I want to do on a tablet.
- Motorola Xoom: Has similar specs to pretty much every other tablet on the market right now. It also will probably be the tablet with the most dev support for quite a while I imagine (until a "nexus" tablet comes out). +it's price point shouldn't be too bad at this point and it's scheduled for ICS update
- Xoom 2: Kind of like the design of this (even if the specs are only a small update to the Xoom). Problem is I have no idea if this will come to the states, let alone Canada anytime soon. Also seems kinda "blurified".
- Sony Tablet S: Available in Canada, but not sure how good of a price I can get on this (compared to the Xoom which has near-identical specs). I really like the design and am a big fan of Sony products in general.
Any tablets you guys eyeing or own?

Tablets are just as particular as phones. When you got your XT, I bet you thought it was the top of the heap. I did. Then I found out about all its little issues and problems, but also about the really good things it has. No way I could have known then. From what I can gather, tabs are the same thing. I have seen Galaxy tabs rocking it, but then in some people's signatures on XDA I see "Nook running CM7". In the states you can get a Nook for pretty cheep, easy to root and then put a stable CM7 on it a go with it.
Now RAM and memory are something I don't know anything about. Not even sure how much small RAM would be like our meager 256 on the XT. I actually would be interested in knowing that. With our current locked bootloader situation, I would stay away from the Xoom, even though I think there is a leak. I will never buy a Motorola again b/c of their user policies. I see the Bionic and actually laugh to myself b/c I already know it will be a locked bootloader (but the average person will think it is the best phone ever made. You know that most people don't even know what XDA, root or evena custom ROM is?).
Personally, my wife and I have talked about it and really don't understand the attraction to tabs. If you have a tab running CM7, with flash, email, skype,...it is extremely similar to just having a bigger screened phone. One caveat is that HP discontinued their global personal computer operations (now they are exclusive to technical management solutions- or some crap like that). But suspending their personal computer options does have one benefit for you and me. Their tabs dropped from $699us to $99/139us, but everyone with an online credit card picked one up a few months ago. Bestbuy just sent back all 250,000 they had in stock, so you might be able to still pick one up on the cheap (not android os though).
And finally, Rev is in one of my G+ circles and he posts a fair amount of tablet info, so you might want to PM him and find out his thoughts.
p.s. he changed his avatar from a priest to RevTV with an android. Sorry for the long reply but I have been looking at these for some time now.

Woodrube said:
With our current locked bootloader situation, I would stay away from the Xoom, even though I think there is a leak
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Click to collapse
Actually, although it pains me to say this, the Xoom is a Google developer device and can be easily unlocked by users (i.e. it's like the OG Droid). I think you're thinking of the leaked Atrix unlock. I would assume Xoom 2 is probably wearing a chastity belt until proven deflowered.

Woodrube said:
When you got your XT, I bet you thought it was the top of the heap. I did.
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Click to collapse
Nope. I got mine quite a bit after it came out. I didn't really understand the RAM issues and other issues it had though... (was still pretty new to Android).
I would stay away from the Xoom, even though I think there is a leak.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It has unlockable/relockable bootloader and most likely the biggest developer community of any tablet atm and for a while (it's like a nexus phone I'd say).
Personally, my wife and I have talked about it and really don't understand the attraction to tabs.
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Click to collapse
I actually felt much the same way until recently. I do have uses for a tablet, though I've been thinking of the "it's a bigger screened phone" bit as well. There are certain things that I want to do that I can't do on the smaller screen of my phone (i.e. productivity stuff such as writing down lecture notes and working on essays, video chatting on a larger screen etc...). But some of the functionality on the tab is definitely duplicated by a phone. That's why I really love concepts such as the Padfone... (but that's not coming out for quite a while I believe...). I don't really love the idea of having both tablet and phone (superfluos in some ways), but I want something that combines the functionality of both...
Thanks

My brother has the Asus Transformer and its a beast!! He has had it since day one and everytime I go over there I got to get my sticky lil fingers all over it. He bought the keyboard dock to which makes it twice as good + the full HDMI mirroring makes it awesome. Its also unlockable. He's running one of the newest prime roms with the o/c and there's no waiting for anything. Theres a pretty big dev comunity for it. Plus it has the ips display, which is the same as ipad. If I were you tho I'd wait for the quad cores.... then by a dual core, they will be way cheaper then.(hopefully) :/ lol who needs more than 2 cores in a tablet anyway.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

I bought the Acer A500 when Walmart has them for $299 ($399 but you get a $100 gift card free), but my biased opinion says it is a bit on the big/bulky side. I felt that 10" is not very easy to handle given my small Asian hands. It is also not the lightest, and when I am reading in the bed my arm would get tired from just holding it up. Nonetheless even the Xoom or Galaxy Tab isn't that much lighter so I think maybe it's just me nick-picking.
Long story short I returned it but am very interested in the new 8.9" tab... That may be my sweet-spot on size. Same resolution screen, smaller/lighter to handle, but I will need to see how it's battery life fares.
W.

I read a great review on Android Police about the Galaxy tab 8.9 and they said battery life was awesome. They hated on the touch wiz ui tho. They said it made everyday tasks sluggish.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

easye420 said:
I read a great review on Android Police about the Galaxy tab 8.9 and they said battery life was awesome. They hated on the touch wiz ui tho. They said it made everyday tasks sluggish.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
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Click to collapse
Well, that's good to hear! I was secretly hoping the smaller screen will mean less battery drain (since I believe the 8.9's battery rating was lower). Regarding the UI... I can always wait for a custom ROM to show up here at some point! I just started playing with MIUI for my XT720 and I love it wwaaaaay better than any of the other UI I've used before. Gotta love the development community on Android!!
W.

Hello i have an hannspree SN10T1 it s a 10,1 inch Tablet with an Dualcore Tegra2 Chip and the best think it cost only 169 Euro and its perfect.
Greeting

[Q] Concerns Before Purchasing 7 Plus

I am seriously considering getting a SGT 7 Plus. I was going to be patient and wait for the 7.7 but I fear here in the UK that it will release at a silly price. I'm thinking I should save some money and just get the 7+. I have a few concerns with buying the 7+ though. I keeping reading about the problems with the random reboots and also the poor WiFi strength. Am I right to be concerned? I have definitely narrowed my search down to a SGT, it's just a question of which one and if I have to keep waiting for the 7.7 then so be it.

Gunnzie said:
I am seriously considering getting a SGT 7 Plus. I was going to be patient and wait for the 7.7 but I fear here in the UK that it will release at a silly price. I'm thinking I should save some money and just get the 7+. I have a few concerns with buying the 7+ though. I keeping reading about the problems with the random reboots and also the poor WiFi strength. Am I right to be concerned? I have definitely narrowed my search down to a SGT, it's just a question of which one and if I have to keep waiting for the 7.7 then so be it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right to have some concern. But also consider that the 7.7 could come with its own host of little bugs too. We just haven't heard about them because its not out yet. At least the 7+ is a known quantity at this point. And fixes are being found for some of the 7+'s known issues.
As far as the two items you mentioned, I can say from my sample of two 7+ tablets (my wife has one too) that my tablet experienced occasional random reboots, whereas my wife's tablet did not. That issue went away, along with the tablet not waking up when the screen would go into sleep mode (aka Sleep of Death or SOD) when I was able to force the wifi to sleep when the screen is off. I have not noticed any issues with wifi strength with either tablet.
Ultimately the decision comes down to you. Is having the slightly faster processor and slightly larger AMOLED screen worth the extra price? Or can the 7+ do everything you need it to do within your budget and do it now?
Good luck on whichever you decide!

Thanks. Just out of interest, your post suggests there are other issues with the 7+. What are they? My worry at the moment is that Samsung price their devices at a premium without actually necessarily being a premium product. On the other hand, they provide what I am looking for (small, light, SD slot, and great battery life).
I suppose my decision would be easier if I actually knew how much the 7.7 was going to sell for here in the UK. I don't suppose anyone has any ideas?
Realistically, I need to wait for the 7+ to drop in price a bit anyway. £349 seems a lot for a device with only a 1024x600 screen when higher res tablets are now around and more powerful tablets are just starting to arrive (e.g. Tegra3 etc).

i have regular sized hands (what a way to start my post! haha). that's why a 7 inch is the best for me. Hardware wise, the GTab 7+ gives me comfort and stability. I haven't encountered any problems so far. Except that I have a P6200 and no one's currently developing anything for it. But i bet that weeks from now, our dev section would be full of Roms and Tweaks.
ALSO ICS is coming to the GTab+. 'Nuff said.
I had the same dilemma as you. I would've waited for the 7.7. But many said that Samsung would be selling it at a premium price! And I think that an upgraded screen and processor is NOT worth it.
And besides. I have "regular" sized hands. Who knows how a .7 inch would affect my comfort.

diospada11 said:
i have regular sized hands (what a way to start my post! haha). that's why a 7 inch is the best for me. Hardware wise, the GTab 7+ gives me comfort and stability. I haven't encountered any problems so far. Except that I have a P6200 and no one's currently developing anything for it. But i bet that weeks from now, our dev section would be full of Roms and Tweaks.
ALSO ICS is coming to the GTab+. 'Nuff said.
I had the same dilemma as you. I would've waited for the 7.7. But many said that Samsung would be selling it at a premium price! And I think that an upgraded screen and processor is NOT worth it.
And besides. I have "regular" sized hands. Who knows how a .7 inch would affect my comfort.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that. I feel the opposite though many ways. I think the extra .7 inch might be a good thing for me. I actually prefer the screen size of the 10 inch tablets by far. If it wasn't for the fact that I also want to carry it around too then I'd buy a 10 inch for definite. I thought the 8.9 inch would be a good compromise but they are ridiculously expensive in the UK and they have no SD slot built in. A 7 inch fulfills my requirements and will fit in my bag a lot easier but I do think I'll miss the screen size of a 10 inch at times. It's all about compromises I guess and what suits you best. In an idea world, I would own 2 tablets. One for on the road and one for home use.

The only other issue I have experienced is that I could not write to the external sd card unless I used the stock file manager. That was resolved by editing a permissions file. Other than that my 7+ has performed beyond my expectations.
As with any high tech device there will be some issues to contend with. None of the issues I've experienced would make me think that the Samsung tablet was less than a premium device. Considering it is a relatively new device that's been out for less than two months, the number of issues do not seem to be higher than normal for a new product, in my opinion.
Also be sure to remember that devices that are not functioning properly can usually be returned or exchanged, as long as you shop from a reputable retailer that has an exchange or replacement policy. As always, caveat emptor.

Galaxy 8.9 - Discontinued?

I have heard from a lot of sources (many corporate) that the Samsung Galaxy 8.9 will not be continued by Sammy any further. They are focusing on 7" and 10.1" size in the US looking at the mediocre sales 8.9". Due to this reason the next generation of Galaxy tablets i.e., Tab 2 is strictly 10.1" and 7".
The Galaxy 8.9 32GB has already been deleted from many retailers' system after it was all sold. And 16GB continues till the stock depletes.
So if you are interested in Galaxy 8.9, time is running out. FYI!

Royaltiger said:
I have heard from a lot of sources (many corporate) that the Samsung Galaxy 8.9 will not be continued by Sammy any further. They are focusing on 7" and 10.1" size in the US looking at the mediocre sales 8.9". Due to this reason the next generation of Galaxy tablets i.e., Tab 2 is strictly 10.1" and 7".
The Galaxy 8.9 32GB has already been deleted from many retailers' system after it was all sold. And 16GB continues till the stock depletes.
So if you are interested in Galaxy 8.9, time is running out. FYI!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got on the 8.9 wagon myself, and am pretty disappointed I did. I think my best option would have been to hold out for the Sammy Note, and go with a 10.1" otherwise. The 8.9 has little support and it isn't nearly as useful IMO. It's like the awkward duckling.
Ah well, we live and we learn.
~m

Which is too bad... because 8.9 is kind of the sweet spot. Just the right size.

I love my 8.9. I had the 10.1 but found it too big, tried out the HTC flyer 7 inch but it was too small IMO. I use my 8.9 everyday and can honestly say that it's perfect for what I want it to do. My laptop hardly ever gets turned on anymore!.

tuktukscotty said:
I love my 8.9. I had the 10.1 but found it too big, tried out the HTC flyer 7 inch but it was too small IMO. I use my 8.9 everyday and can honestly say that it's perfect for what I want it to do. My laptop hardly ever gets turned on anymore!.
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Click to collapse
Same here. My netbook only gets turned on probably one's a month. I am glad I bought the 32GB 8.9 tab since sammy wont be making 8.9 tabs anymore

pseudo_nomen said:
Which is too bad... because 8.9 is kind of the sweet spot. Just the right size.
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Click to collapse
I agree with you.. I love my 8.9 LTE. Fast light easy to hold. This is the perfect size.
I'm glad I got it.

I wonder how much more successful the 8.9 would have been if it had a SD Slot?

How disappointing. I originally bought the samsung galaxy tab 7 +. It was too small and also didn't have that great developmental support. The samsung galaxy tab 8.9 is perfect for me. The quality fit and finish also feels much better on the 8.9. The only thing that I felt that it was lacking was a micro sd card slot. I'm just glad that I bought one before they are discontinued.

Floridadomer said:
I wonder how much more successful the 8.9 would have been if it had a SD Slot?
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Click to collapse
SD slot, better screen, faster software and maybe 100$ less than the 10" then it would have been a hit. Even with these problems I found it much more comfortable than other tablets. The size is really perfect and if you look at it maybe it's because it's closer to the one of the ipad or a medium size book.
Plus the GPS is a killer, that thing locks on satellites like nothing I have ever seen, it beats an Asus Transformer (not the prime)!!!

I think this tablet is massively under rated, it is a perfect size. It's replaced my netbook when I go to university. It's small and practical at the same time.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 using Tapatalk

The mediocre sales were due to limited outlets carrying the 8.9. As far as I know, it was limited to Best Buy for the longest time. Dumbest move ever. It really is the sweet spot tablet size wise. An SD slot would have made it killer.

Another vote for the 8.9!
I've been through the 10.1, 7.0 and this 8.9, and no doubt this is the best. -size and weight, portability and usabilty are superior! If sales were low, its mainly cause most people don't even know let alone have tried it.
I was a bit dissapointed there was no mention of galaxy tab 2 8.9, but the tab 2 series are minor refreshes so I am hoping an overhaul later this year or next brings exynos quad super amoled plus 8.9s!

Jnn1 said:
Another vote for the 8.9!
I've been through the 10.1, 7.0 and this 8.9, and no doubt this is the best. -size and weight, portability and usabilty are superior! If sales were low, its mainly cause most people don't even know let alone have tried it.
I was a bit dissapointed there was no mention of galaxy tab 2 8.9, but the tab 2 series are minor refreshes so I am hoping an overhaul later this year or next brings exynos quad super amoled plus 8.9s!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That will be awesome but I doubt it.
I got to play with the Tab 2 10.1 today in the store. Frankly I wonder how well it will do. The only improvement is microSd slot. I believe to keep the price low, Samsung decided not to go for quad processsor. They even took the flash
out from the rear camera.
Quite frankly, whoever is in charge of Galaxy product development is trying to compete on price rather than the product. That's stupid.

Royaltiger said:
That will be awesome but I doubt it.
I got to play with the Tab 2 10.1 today in the store. Frankly I wonder how well it will do. The only improvement is microSd slot. I believe to keep the price low, Samsung decided not to go for quad processsor. They even took the flash
out from the rear camera.
Quite frankly, whoever is in charge of Galaxy product development is trying to compete on price rather than the product. That's stupid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My guess is the Galaxy Tab line is being turned into the middle range line for the masses - galaxy tab 2 is made to compete with the popular kindle fire and ipad2.
The high end line to compete with the new iPad[3] will probably be the Galaxy Note 10.1 Sammy promised to release. I am just hoping an 8.9 comes comes out in the Note family too! (With quad exynos and s amoled + or s LCD 2 and dedicated stylus and apps!

Amazon
Of course amazon.com always has stock available but they are 100$ more than the sold out stock on bestbuy.com...i was able to get my hands on a 32gb 8.9 and the size is perfect light thin...I guess the only thing really we could have used was the expandable microsd but with 32 gigs and only paying 350$ for mine last year I guess I cant complain...

So true about Amazon exploiting the fact they are few retailers left with 8.9 Galaxy. Last week it was $569.

Yeah, 8.9 is the perfect size. Terrible for it to be discontinued. Luckily our community is pretty strong, great devs doing great work so although it sucks, I'm not sweating the support loss as we support ourselves rather well. Thanks to all that contribute.
7310- AOKPB35_motley v3+ @1.5gh
Droid Charge stock
IPhone 4 and iPod touch jail broken on 5.0.1

tuktukscotty said:
I love my 8.9. I had the 10.1 but found it too big, tried out the HTC flyer 7 inch but it was too small IMO. I use my 8.9 everyday and can honestly say that it's perfect for what I want it to do. My laptop hardly ever gets turned on anymore!.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here. Had most of the popular 10.1's at some point along with a dell streak 7 and Evo View. The 8.9 is the perfect size to always carry. I toss the keyboard dock in the work bag and my Dell 11z has found a home in my car and hasn't left in ages. It's the 800 res in the 8.9" form factor that does the trick for me. Hope that opens the door for another mfg to step in with that size and maybe add a little connectivity without the dongles.
Maybe if they melded it with the features of the 7.7 it would have a better following.

I have to agree that the 8.9 is the perfect size!
Please keep the 8.9 alive Samsung!

I don't really mind the trends, and i think are some stupid opium for the masses.
but it really get on my nerves when affect the usability of the products.
also when someone have a real oportunity to make somenthing unique and instead just copycat the market leader
lets see tablets
7" too small to read / 10" too big to use with one hand..
10000 variants of a 7"inch
10000 variants of a 10"inch
and samsung stop using the 8.9" factor !!
let see phones
10000000000000000 phones one more similar to the other
but no one seems to do something different like
HARDWARE KEYBOARD?
but is not all lost, everything is always back
is nice at least Samsung going back to the stylus,
rather than following an stupid moron that want me to use my fingers for everything. Hey im not in kindergardeen.
humans find out that they can do somenthingh else than painting with the fingers somethngh like 35.000 years ago

Reasons NOT to upgrade to Galaxy Note 3

Thought I'd stay this thread because of all the threads supporting reasons TO upgrade to the new Note. I'll start with my reasons not to upgrade:
1. Doesn't seem like much of an improvement from my current phone GN2. In all of the videos I've seen (and I've seen a lot) the phone appears to perform at the same level as my phone. There are a few software additions but none seem too advanced for my hardware. Perhaps the hardware is much improved but are all improvement really warranted? I mean, I'm holding in my hand a QUAD-CORE device with 2gb of ram and I almost feel like this is a little overkill. I rarely notice lag, can run any app or game I throw at it, and have never noticed any pixilation.
2. Not big on unwarranted consumerism. Much of the reviews I've seen are reminiscent of the iPhone craze; products are always marketed as being Must-have items. And if you don't have the newest and shiniest item, you considered light years behind the masses... I just don't buy it. My last phone, the nexus s, was just barely starting to show its age with the jellybean update and for a few years now, most devices have far surpassed my old Nexus S.
Here is one of the only reviews that didn't insist that I run out and buy the Note. It was kinda refreshing to read after being completely inundated by what seemed to be a very aggressive marketing ploy:
http://www.idigitaltimes.com/articles/19803/20130906/samsung-galaxy-note-3-vs-2-buy.htm
Your thoughts please

If I had the Note 2, I would agree with you. I think skipping a generation is wise. If you have a 2 year contract, it won't cost much to upgrade at that point and you will see a much greater improvement in performance and features.
I am upgrading from the Note to the Note 3, I skipped the 2 for most of the reasons you cite, however, I did ROM my Note to get ICS then JB so I didn't have to wait for Samsung and my carrier to upgrade the OS.
For those on the fence, consider changing the ROM before upgrading.

I don't have a Note 2 but I know it's a great device. If I did own one it would be a tough decision to upgrade. I'll be coming from a GS2 which has served me well. If you plan on keeping a device for quite awhile, the Snapdragon 800 supports LTE Advanced but who knows when we will see that in the US. I would guess it will be within 2 years though

Ask yourself this. Is your note 2 rooted and rommed? if so it might run pretty good and i had one for several months and one of if not my favorite device to date. Now compare a rooted/rommed note 2 to a stock note 3. about the same you may say. Now imagine a rooted/rommed note 3? Blazing fast. I dont "NEED" the note 3 but i felt the note 2 is lacking when compared to the note 3 now. And the screen you can so see pixelation on the note 2 if you cant i just dont believe that. Note 3 with 4.3 out of the box, s800, 3 gb of ram, bigger screen with better ppi and resolution, better s pen. I could go on all night but i dont see a negative to the note 3 except maybe the price but its the same price point as note 2 was so not much to say there

haemaker said:
If I had the Note 2, I would agree with you. I think skipping a generation is wise. If you have a 2 year contract, it won't cost much to upgrade at that point and you will see a much greater improvement in performance and features.
I am upgrading from the Note to the Note 3, I skipped the 2 for most of the reasons you cite, however, I did ROM my Note to get ICS then JB so I didn't have to wait for Samsung and my carrier to upgrade the OS.
For those on the fence, consider changing the ROM before upgrading.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Skipping a generation does seem much more reasonable than going from one to the next. It just seems like hardware advancement may be outpacing the software. I remember being in complete awe over the first dual-core device. If it weren't for motherboard giving out in my core 2duo Thinkpad, I think I'd still be rocking that today. And now quad core....
DataHawg said:
I don't have a Note 2 but I know it's a great device. If I did own one it would be a tough decision to upgrade. I'll be coming from a GS2 which has served me well. If you plan on keeping a device for quite awhile, the Snapdragon 800 supports LTE Advanced but who knows when we will see that in the US. I would guess it will be within 2 years though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In two years time we'll likely have a new Note on the market. I'm still waiting for the NFC chip in my ancient Nexus S to gain widespread appeal.
oneandroidnut said:
Ask yourself this. Is your note 2 rooted and rommed? if so it might run pretty good and i had one for several months and one of if not my favorite device to date. Now compare a rooted/rommed note 2 to a stock note 3. about the same you may say. Now imagine a rooted/rommed note 3? Blazing fast. I dont "NEED" the note 3 but i felt the note 2 is lacking when compared to the note 3 now. And the screen you can so see pixelation on the note 2 if you cant i just dont believe that. Note 3 with 4.3 out of the box, s800, 3 gb of ram, bigger screen with better ppi and resolution, better s pen. I could go on all night but i dont see a negative to the note 3 except maybe the price but its the same price point as note 2 was so not much to say there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I'm rooted. "Blazing fast" you say? How much time can you shave off from .5 seconds? And how much money is each tenth of a second worth? There's no denying the hardware improvements. I'm simply not convinced that there's enough advancement in utility to justify spending the money Samsung is asking me to spend. And perhaps I don't notice pixilation because I'm looking at the screen from reading distance. If that's the case, I stand corrected.

While I do agree with your points, the main reason I am upgrading to the n3 from my n2 is the bigger storage defaulted at 32gb minimum (25gb actual usage) better resolution and better s-pen support. I understand not everyone has the money to spend on upgrades every year, but for those that do might as well have the latest n greatest!
Sent from my note 2 ya bish!

note 1 to note 2, vs note 1 to note 3
I have the Note1, when the 2 came out, I said that there wasn't much worth jumping, but the N1 to N3 jump
will be a better option. I agree, unless something "game changing" happens, it's usually better to skip a version.
Well, that is unless you are an iPhone drone...ANYTHING that comes out new, 3, 3S, 4, 4S, 5...heck it hasn't
changed, but the iSheep sure stand in line

Bruce lee roy said:
In all of the videos I've seen (and I've seen a lot) the phone appears to perform at the same level as my phone. There are a few software additions but none seem too advanced for my hardware.
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I have a N2 (which I love) but mine's surely different than yours if yours performs like the one in GSMArena's unboxing video. The amount of lag on the N2 pinch-zooming to display multiple home pages is obvious vs. what's shown on the N3. Same thing for using S Note and Action Memo (formerly Pop Up Note). Now if you're rooted and running a non-TW ROM that may be a different story. If you are, that’s great. But believe it or not people actually do buy the Note for its marketed productivity and creation features. And those features will perform significantly better on the N3 because of the advanced h/w and improved s/w.
Not big on unwarranted consumerism.
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That's a valid point. Replacing my N2 with a N3 is a want not a need. I could spout some random commentary about "increased productivity" but I'm getting a N3 because the differences are sufficient enough to me to warrant the investment; even though it's purely discretionary. You and others may feel differently and that’s perfectly fine. There’s nothing wrong with the N2.
Here is one of the only reviews that didn't insist that I run out and buy the Note.
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Doesn't that in and of itself say something? Or are all the positive reviews (actually "hands on") just part of the conspiracy?
It was kinda refreshing to read after being completely inundated by what seemed to be a very aggressive marketing ploy
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That's kind of funny. So you think Samsung should say in their marketing “the N3 is a meh upgrade from the N2 that only people who are irresponsible with their finances or easily influenced should buy?" I'm in marketing and spend every business day figuring out how to separate people from their money. If you're looking for honesty, integrity, and conscience you're not going to find it in sales and marketing. At least not at a for-profit company.
Here are links to two different threads that detail some of the differences between the N2 and N3. Whether they are worthwhile or not is subjective and I wouldn't fault either camp (keep N2/upgrade to N3) for their decision. And theads like this are swell and "pro" threads are too; as long as people provide their opinions followed by "for/to me." I'm very pro and you're pretty down on the N3. Neither of us is right or wrong.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2438466
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2445774

I have a galaxy S 2. I'm loving this upcoming upgrade for myself.

I don't know what everyone's layout/plan is, but I have 2 smartphones and 2 feature phones (both of which don't use upgrades). So I can get an upgrade every year at subsidy pricing. So every year I upgrade and sell the old to neutralize the cost of it (some cases making money). Waiting would cause the old phone to depreciate too much and make upgrading more expensive. So I don't really upgrade based on features, more to continue advancing with little to no cost (or rebate).

Fact of the matter is if History repeats itself like it always does
People will buy it or upgrade to N3 anyways even the ones here saying skip it.
Its not the ram cam... or CPU its the ir blaster that's a big selling point I believe.
I think the lg g2 is more appealing as crazy and that sounds .
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app

I have the note 2 and plan to get the N3 as long as the bootloader is not locked or if it is wait to see if it can be cracked.
Why would I buy it since I have the N2 (and an s3 & s4) you ask? Simple answer is because I can, and I dont say that in arrogant way..its just not a big deal to me to buy a few devices per year.i may pick up the nexus 5 as well..who knows lol.
The 2 things ( and they are minor) I dislike are cosmetic. The back cover is awful and I dont like how the spen just sticks out. On the note 2 its curved and blends in with the back...it looks sleek.
Other than that all good.
Sent from my SGH-I317M using xda premium

force70 said:
I have the note 2 and plan to get the N3 as long as the bootloader is not locked or if it is wait to see if it can be cracked.
Why would I buy it since I have the N2 (and an s3 & s4) you ask? Simple answer is because I can, and I dont say that in arrogant way..its just not a big deal to me to buy a few devices per year.i may pick up the nexus 5 as well..who knows lol.
The 2 things ( and they are minor) I dislike are cosmetic. The back cover is awful and I dont like how the spen just sticks out. On the note 2 its curved and blends in with the back...it looks sleek.
Other than that all good.
Sent from my SGH-I317M using xda premium
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+1 to that.
I say that skipping a generation is a great and very economical idea, save your money plus really see the difference when you do upgrade.
However, If you have the money and do not need to justify the upgrade, then I'M right there with you. The Note series is just perfect for me, from music, movies, drawing, photoshoping, roms and games. There is no question that I will be getting the N3 and the N4 the N5....... and so on.
Thanks to the OP for posting. It is always nice to see both sides.

i also have a Gnote and i didn't get a Gnote2 because i reasoned the same as the OP ... not much of a difference.
now the Gnote to the Gnote3 will be a HUGE upgrade this phone looks sick :highfive:

Meh.. I have a 2 month old HTC one and will be selling it to get the note 3
Love my HTC one .. but
- i want the bigger screen
- I want the s pen
- I love the design of the note 3
- I get bored easily with phones
- I got my HTC one free cause I work for a carrier.
- Samsung phone hold there value better than HTC phones
- I fear support dropping off for HTC since they are struggling as a company
- I upgrade as often as possible so that my previous device hasn't depreciated much and it's cheaper to upgrade.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

I love my Note 2 but I upgrade every year. Before that I had a Verizon Nexus; 2 completely different devices so you really notice the improvement right away. But this year I don't feel as excited about going from a Note 2 to a Note 3 especially after buying a Note 10.1 a month ago. I picked up a LG G2 on Sunday and I find it very nice. Smaller but just as powerful as a Note 3. After carrying the Note 2 around since launch day going back to a smaller phone feels nice. And if you think about it there is only 0.1" difference between the 5.2" G2 vs the original Note 5.3" display. So your not giving up tons in screen size but it feels more comfortable. You do however give up the S-Pen.
I've only had 1 day with the G2 but there's not many options. Sure I can get the HTC One for $49 or the S4 for $100 but those phones are reaching their mid life crisis. The phone I really want is the Nexus 5 but not sure if I can give up my reliable service for prepaid.

Having owned several Exynos (fabbed by Samsung) based devices including the Note II I appreciate the stability where it's rare or non-existent to experience a random reboot, app suddenly exiting, etc. Can't say the same for my devices based on Qualcomm fabbed by TSMC. If Snapdragon is the only US option then I'll probably skip Note III, wait for Note IV and hope for return of Exynos. A fast unstable device is useless to me like the Snapdragon based Nexus 7 (2013) that I'm experiencing overheating instablity issues with.

clninja said:
Meh.. I have a 2 month old HTC one and will be selling it to get the note 3
Love my HTC one .. but
- i want the bigger screen
- I want the s pen
- I love the design of the note 3
- I get bored easily with phones
- I got my HTC one free cause I work for a carrier.
- Samsung phone hold there value better than HTC phones
- I fear support dropping off for HTC since they are struggling as a company
- I upgrade as often as possible so that my previous device hasn't depreciated much and it's cheaper to upgrade.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
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Going from an HTC One or even a S4 is understandable. It's the people that already have Note 2. Especially since the Note 2 has a unlocked bootloader right now. There should be customs roms based on the Note 3 ported over to the Note 2 pretty soon I'd imagine.

I have the original Note and reasoned that I'd skip a generation so the Note 3 is on my shopping list, but I don't think I'll go for it, at least not initially. I never buy with a plan, use only prepaid because I actually don't call people, I complement it with a surfing plan, but they don't offer those for LTE yet. Besides, my Note I bought outside Japan so there was only Samsung bloatware on it, Japanese operators load their phones with so much crap it is laughable, hence if you can't root and install a standard Samsung ROM, I happen to be happy with Touchwiz, then I'd be happier with what I have.
Sent from my GT-P3113 using Tapatalk 4

For me price could be one factor which will keep me away from note 3. I will buy it later on when price will drop.