The size of the Samsung Galaxy Note makes it a hugely popular device that has dominated the top of the Official Smartphone Rankings. Each week it has a strong showing and for that reason we feature a user review today from PhoneDog fan, jaraya.
Bigger is Better By jaraya, posted: Mar 27
Lets start with the Display. Does size matter? For me it does, you need to judge for your self in the store before moving forward to the rest of your decision making with this phone.
NEXT- Display View-ability Unless your literally living under a rock or in a coal mine 20 miles underground chances are you need a phone that will allow you to pump up the brightness and have text legible outdoors. This phone not only gives you the leisure of reading anything displayed on the screen in direct sunlight or on a cloudy day(Suns evil twin brother) but it also gives you an HD resolution that makes any photo pop off the screen with immaculate detail. Hands down best display I've seen on a phone so far.
Reception is slightly above average, I say slightly because it's better than what I've experienced on all of those phones and carriers of the phones listed in the beginning of this review. Call quality of this phone is good and that was judged by friends and family actually telling me that they noticed I sounded very clear even when taking calls via the speaker or physically placing the phone to my ear. Conclusion , this noise cancellation technology is actually working.(no Gimmicks)
Battery Life was excellent even for me being a hardcore cell phone user. I am constantly pushing my phone to the limits with screen on time. Moderate use (1-2 hrs screen on time) will get you a good 19-24 hours and extreme use (4-5 hrs screen on time) of the phone will get about 14-16hrs. Huge plus in my book but Note (pun intended) these results will vary depending on what your doing with your screen on time. Playing games, listening to music, streaming video etc....
Design/Form Factor-This is the first Samsung phone I've held that didn't feel like it would break if I dropped it. Twice I've successfully dropped the phone accidentally and it survived. One of those drops I did the one footed hacky Sack save where at the last second I used the toe of my show to decrease the drop speed and increased the phones chance of survival. Form Factor Nothing special here, its a rectangle.
Apps and Media Support Be warned that I did fine some apps that were not compatible with this phone, why? I have no idea. But did it make me want to return the phone? Absolutely not. Most of those apps were junk to me either way. You will have all of your standard Google apps and more but please be prepared to not have Google wallet. Yes you have NFC capabilities but Google Wallet is not available yet for this phone. All of these app issues are why I rank apps support at 3 which is boosted to 4 because Media support has been phenomenal. This phone like most android phones can read just about any video/audio format and those that it cannot read are corrected by a simple free video player from the android market. If you want a phone that will last your urge of upgrading for a few years and gives you the pleasure of owning a phone that is not only smart but truly is a smart choice then go to the At&t store now.
Display 5/5
Battery Life 5/5
Apps & Media Support 4/5
Reception & Call Quality 4/5
Design/Form Factor 5/5
Overall 4.6
