NOTE: I'm home sick and have nothing to do so I've provided some background information here (lot's of information it seems... typing is about all I feel up to today). My simple answer to the question posed is at the end of this post (or novel
).
Long time PDA user here (started with a Handspring Visor ~1998). When the PDA market seemed to stagnate I decided to give an iPod Touch a go as a PDA (gen 2). While I very much missed the stylus I did appreciate the seamless, stable OS and the ever increasing, improving selection of apps for PDA type use. I'm a happy T-Mobile customer and so the iPhone wasn't even on my radar. I'd been used to carrying a dedicated phone and PDA so I didn't feel as though I was missing out (this punctuated by the parade of unstable company issued Blackberry's and Windows Mobile 'smartphones' I was pressed to use for work). As I have been able to keep my mobile devices in near new condition under heavy usage (with no screen protectors - I can't stand them) I've been able to flip them for good money and minimize the cost of upgrades. I stuck it out with the iPod Touch through 4th Gen and watched the smartphone market closely for something that I thought might work for me. Though the thought of shoe-horning an unlocked iPhone 4S into service to replace my phone and iPod Touch occurred to me at one point there were user comments online reporting a variety of issues that I was not willing to tolerate (I'd be hard pressed to remember specifics now...).
When the Android powered HTC Sensation 4G was released for T-Mobile users I found a local user who let me demo the phone - sold! I was due an upgrade anyway so I switched to the Sensation 4G and my 4th gen iPod Touch saw no use from then forward. Although the development and advancements in Android powered smartphones is moving fast I've found my HTC Sensation to be rock stable (still using Gingerbread 2.3.4), productive, and enjoyable. I've felt no need or desire to 'rock the boat' for an upgrade. One thing I don't want to give up is the ability to use my phone as a wifi hotspot without paying a monthly fee to do so. When I started with the Sensation I was using it as a wifi hotspot to keep my ASUS Netbook connected on the go.
Android tablets soon caught my attention (my wife and son use iPad's - I'd lost interest in iOS completely) and I purchased a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. To be honest I found the touchscreen driven OS a bit underwhelming in a tablet size device. Things I would normally use a screen this size for (graphic art, photo editing, etc) were not really feasible due to the lack of precision. Though I do make use of a capacitive soft tip stylus (Hand Stylus) I'm not finding it to be useful for many things. I also found two-handed typing on the software keyboard a bit frustrating. When the ASUS Transformer Infinity was released it too caught my attention. With the Jot Touch and JaJa pressure sensitive stylus' on the way the Infinity's 1920x1080 touchscreen and the keyboard dock it seemed a good direction to go. I sold the Galaxy Tab and picked up an ASUS Infinity & keyboard dock. I haven't purchased a pressure sensitive stylus yet as the Android app support is still very limited making it nothing but an expensive toy at this time IMO (perhaps not for iOS users).
I have been finding myself leaving the tablet home more and more simply because of its size. It's a pain to carry around. There's often nowhere to set it down safely (in a case) while out. It's my new Netbook (i.e. not so portable after all).
The release of iOS 5, the iPhone 5, and Touch gen 5 holds no interest for me. As others have noted Apple has done nothing innovative here - they've simply re-dressed something already available to the public in the last generation of iOS products. Apple has been too busy suing to 'protect' their past innovations to focus on next gen innovations and they're new products reflect this. Apple has been selling a lifestyle with their products (perhaps a bit of an overstatement on their part but certainly more true of their entire product line than their competitors in mobile & personal computing). That lifestyle now seems a bit stale in light of the ever improving Android OS and the ever increasing pace of innovation by Android driven device manufacturers. I wouldn't presume to short-sell the vision and success that Jobs (RIP) brought to the table. I just don't believe that Apple is capable of ever capturing that sort of vision again and I seriously doubt that we'll see much innovation from them in the future. There are a great many iPhone users who are otherwise 'tech challenged' and I can see the appeal iOS hods for this type of user, especially those who have a lot invested in the iOS ecosystem already. I expect that Apple will continue to do well in raw sales numbers for a good while even if iOS and the hardware don't move forward much.
The Samsung Galaxy Note caught my attention being a stylus and touch driven interface but the tech specs didn't 'wow' me. It did occur to me though that a Note sized Android device with a pressure sensitive stylus would be the ideal tablet replacement for me. I would read Note user feedback and discussion online and consider the pro's & con's of switching from a tablet to the Note. Before I'd made any sort of decision I found reports of a much improved Note 2 in the works. Once I read the specs and feature list I was sold.
The international unlocked version of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has just arrived at a handful of U.S. Samsung dealers (Negri Electronics, Popular Electronics, Mobile City Online, more?). This version appeals to me more than a T-Mobile branded Note 2 (in the works AFAIK) as I plan to use the Note 2 as a WIFI connected mini tablet / large PDA using my phone as a mobile hotspot when not connected to a home or public wifi network (with Antec batteries I'm getting enough battery life for a full day of use as a phone and wifi hotspot from my HTC Sensation 4G). I may decide to phase out my current phone and use the Note 2 as a 'phablet' (silly word but descriptive) down the road but I'll run both together for now.
I placed a pre-order with Negri Electronics not long ago and today I received my FedEx shipping notification and tracking information. It will arrive tomorrow morning by 11:00am. WOOT!!
I'm really excited to get started with the Note 2. There are many compelling innovations present in Samsung's latest devices - especially so with the Note 2. I will place my ASUS Infinity & Dock Keyboard up for sale once I have the Note 2 in hand and confirmed working. I think we're moving towards a more ideal form factor for mobile personal computing and communication devices with the Note / Note 2 platform. I hope Samsung sees the type of success they're hoping for with the Note 2.