So, the Galaxy Note II: please persuade me and advise...

StaticNoise

Following my posts and love for the thread in Bargain Alerts, and here, this week, I was wondering about my status of phone usage and which phone to get. I currently have a Sony Xperia S, and it is annoying me. Development on XDA and from the company is dedicated but non-existent, it isn't really future-proofed, and the battery isn't that brilliant.

I saw the aforementioned thread contained a great price on the S III (S3), but it got me wondering: am I selling myself short? Should I push the boat out and get the Note II. My price-plan takes a major place in my decision, as generally it is cheaper to go PAYG. I am on a grandfathered, original 3Pay account. €20 gives me the usual benefits, but also bonus credit.

To buy the Note II is €599, and the S3 is €579, on Pay as you Go. On Billpay it will be considerably cheaper. As you know, 3Pay gives me 3000 texts (I've used 1600 this month at least)- and this is the major part of my contract. I can forget calls once I have my SMS and Data.



The question I am asking is:

- if the Note II is really, really, really future-proof, and far better (in the long run) than the S3, and

- if I should buy direct (at a €600 price that I don't have now, or upfront) and sacrifice prepay, or has anyone got a Contract plan that suits me. And believe me, I think I have researched.



NB. Anything over €30ish a month is crazy for me.

TBi

If you want to stay Android (and i hate android) then buy a nexus. Either the Nexus S or the Nexus 4 (better). The S3 and note 2 will not be supported by samsung for long but Nexus devices will be supported by google for a long time. (Yes i know you can get support from XDA for older android devices but it's nice when the original manufacturer supports it).

Android in it's original form (as you get on a Nexus) is far better than the skinned options of Samsung, HTC and others.

Personally i'd go with WP8 or iPhone. Much better OS and support, although WP8 is lacking a few apps and iPhone is... well iPhone.

I wouldn't buy a note though. Very big! Would it fit in your pocket comfortably? Even the S3 is a bit big. I like phones the size of the HTX One S (or smaller), the X is a bit too big for me.

StaticNoise

Thanks TBi for your reply.

However I am a power user, as such, who will manually flash and update ROMs, so the stock feel isn't a problem for me, as such. I, more often than not, flash a stock rom on, or move to a Cyanogenmod port, so the default, out-of-the-box stock isn't a real worry for me.

Yes, Windows mobile really packs a punch, and iOS is the master for simplicity and things that 'just work', but do wish to stay with Android, for all the issues it has, but more for all the brilliance it brings. Hence, by possibly getting a Note II, I will have a device that also packs a punch with the large size screen, powerful insides, and future ready performance.


I was originally longing for a SIII, and the family all have one, but as they are not a heavy a user as I am, they said that I may be more suited to a Note II. Also, as a heavy user, the larger (mammoth) battery would be perfect- no? I have read on GSMarena and the like that even after a right bollocking of a day it is stick running upto 3 days later. Coming from a rubbish Xperia S- that is something. Even though the S III has a great battery (bigger than Xperia S, smaller than Note II) it still doesn't have the sheer power the Note II has.

The only fear that I do have about the Note II is the amount of ROMs and custom development that you would find on XDA. I have not yet properly investigated this, however.

evolutionqy7

Im planning on moving to the Note 2 from the S3. Just for the sake of getting good battery life. Id consider myself a heavy user.

1:30 Mins of Music a Day + bit of internet browsing throughout the day + data on and screen down just below halfway. Starts beeping at me sometimes by 8-10 PM that battery is low. Id be around 20% by 5-6 O'Clock.

Pretty much the only reason why I'm changing. I wouldn't worry about the development. Id imagine since the Note 2 is the newer device it will be supported longer than the S3, especially with the fact that their both quad core devices, unless they start doing crazy stuff with the OS, they don't have an excuse not upgrade them because of the lack of horse power.

I dont see a huge need for custom ROM's on S3. S3 is a pretty smooth and fluid device without customization's and tweaking.

S3 and Note 2 are very similar devices in terms of hardware. Screen size and battery life, active digitizer are the only real differentiation.

StaticNoise

What kind of user are you?

How many minutes, calls and data?
What network?


I'm getting stung on SMS if I go to bill pay for this.

evolutionqy7

Oh I just paid the full price for the phone. Most of the time when I do my sums it works out cheaper for me to buy the phone myself and then stick with the best offer I can find.

I'm with Three, get the 20 euro deal.

I don't call that much, use about 500 texts per month, maybe more, but Viber keeps popping up each time I receive a message, and if the person is available on it, it will automatically send the message through Viber. So in terms of calls and texts I get away nicely.



Not sure can you see it, extremely heavy data use involved

StaticNoise

I can understand the tethering takes 2GB of data, but 3GB from the Play Store?

The device is too costly outright for me. That's €600 SIM Free. I want to stay on 3 Pay, but Bill Pay makes it much cheaper.

Seems fantastic as a phone. Better than S3 it seems.

evolutionqy7

I know it can be costly on the spot for the first time, but when you usually sell or trade in your old high end phone, the price of the phone drops down. Im getting a Note 2 and hoping only to pay around 50-100 euros for the difference

Games that download through the play store. I think Asphalt 7 is like 1.4 GB or around that. high quality graphic games can be quite huge in size.
Monopoly Millionaire, Dead Trigger, Mini Motor in around 150-250 MB mark

Other games go around 20-50-70 MB mark for more arcade casual games. All ads up. The better the game, the more MB or GB it can take up. I have a lot of apps and games as well so constant updates coming in and out. Sometimes I go mad as well on a day and download like 20-30 apps just to try them out, even though Id probably end up only keeping 1 or 2 good ones.

StaticNoise

Where can you trade them in? I know you get feck all with Carphone Warehouse. I've a Sony Xperia S, 9 months old.

evolutionqy7

StaticNoise wrote: »

Where can you trade them in? I know you get feck all with Carphone Warehouse. I've a Sony Xperia S, 9 months old.

Yeah you won't get too much with CPW but its quick and hassle free, though it doesn't seem like the Xperia S is on CPW trade up list. You could always sell it on adverts.

StaticNoise

Sorry, IRS?

evolutionqy7

StaticNoise wrote: »

Sorry, IRS?

Its :-) spelling not the best on the phone :-)

Foxhole Norman

I've a Note 2 now for the last two weeks and I find it absolutely amazing. I came from a WP7.5 HD7 and the battery is just fantastic. I'm a very heavy mobile gamer and have no problems with the battery. I have the screen brightness maxed, constantly browsing the web and usually playing games all the time like Vice City/Dead Trigger/Hill Climb. Through all of this there's still about 10-15% left at about 1 am. Also my data is almost always on.

I also paid up front for mine on Pre-pay €20 a month on Three so I paid the full 600. I just couldn't choose the S3 when this was 20 euro more.

bidiots

I have been tinkering with the idea of a Note 2 myself. I've had a few of the bargain basement options and they have been very good but I would like to test out the Note for myself.

Firstly, if you search around the Amazon sites, .es and .de, you'll find it a lot cheaper than 600.

Secondly, not to confuse you, ZTE have come out with the Grand S. This is what has made me wait because it seems like a serious contender to the Note2 with a much better resolution and up to date hardware with Jellybean as stock.

http://blog.gsmarena.com/zte-grand-s-hands-on/

Just another option for you to consider, I'm not sure when it will be available or what the price is, but it should be a lot cheaper than the note 2.

P.S. The battery is pretty small (1800) on the ZTE so this may be a deal breaker

Bid