Soon-to-be Note 2 owner

[dancing-bass]

Good day everyone!

Current phone is a Galaxy Nexus. I got it on one of our wonderful 3 year contracts that we have here in Canada. I thought I was about 18 months from an upgrade... but after talking to a rep for my carrier (Rogers) I was able to snag an upgrade to a Note2 for a mere $50. Good thing too. I was starting to have some serious issues with my Gnex (rooted, running 4.3 stock)

Anyway the phone should be here in about a week. It's my 3rd Android and my first NON-Nexus. So... other then the reviews about the device, what should I read? What do I need to know about Kies, TouchWiz, and the device in general? Anything to know about the device itself (weak points, good things, tips/tricks, etc)?

Thanks for any advice. I'm sure I'll be hanging around these forums while I get used to this new beast of a phone!

 

[Scott Kenyon]

Re: Soon-to-be Note2 owner

Kies is annoying. I haven't ever gotten it to work correctly, though others use it and say it's fine. If you find you don't like the look of TouchWiz (like me) toss on a launcher and disable the gimmicky software features. Smart Stay was ok and all but I didn't ever really find myself using it.
Read up on all the cool S-Pen shortcuts and things you can do with it. If you're going to root it again, install S-Pen board switcher. It allows you to set two keyboards based on whether or not the pen is docked into the device. I had it setup so Swiftkey was the keyboard when the pen was in the phone and Samsung Keyboard was available when the pen is pulled out. It allows you to use handwriting mode.
I found the Note 2 was difficult to hold, not due to the size but the rounded edges. If you agree with this, check out the UAG cases. I had one and it totally solved the problem I had while keeping the phone pocketable. If I think of anything else I'll post it in here.

 

[vpblaze]

Re: Soon-to-be Note2 owner

Welcome to the Note 2!
You will enjoy it. It is a great device. I have only had mine for 2 months, and honestly, it feels like I have had it for years. It takes no time at all to get use to.
I am not familiar of the battery life with the Nexus, but the battery life of the Note is amazing! I can easily get a whole day of heavy usage on my phone, and still go to bed with it around 30-40%.
Multi-window is a great feature. Watching a you tube video while you compose a email, or browse the interwebs is always enjoyable.
IMO the stock Samsung keyboard isn't that great. It's use able, but not that convenient. I would recommend downloading swift key if you aren't already using it on your Nexus. If you don't like it after the trial, the Samsung keyboard is always there to use.

There are plenty of other things that makes this a great phone; LTE, S-Pen, 5.5 inch screen in a comfortable to hold phone, good speaker, removable battery, SD Card support!

If you have any questions once you get it. Be sure to ask!

Posted via Android Central App on my Note 2!

 

[dancing-bass]

Re: Soon-to-be Note2 owner

Thanks everyone!

I'm not looking forward to relying on Kies, but I guess I'll have to use it.

As for launchers, I love Apex Pro on my Gnex and Swiftkey is my favorite keyboard, so I'm sure both of those will be making an appearance on the Note2.

I don't think I'll root it for a while, I'd like to keep the warranty intact at least for now.

And as for battery life, the Gnex is terrible. I've got extended life batteries for it (2100mAh as opposed to the stock 1750) and they barely last the day, sometimes they don't even make a full day! I'm looking forward to better battery life.

One last comment. The Note2 appears to be more squared off then my Gnex, so I think it will be more of an adjustment to size rather then the slightly rounded corners. Although it will probably take some hand's on time to figure out. A case of some kind is pretty much a must for me (and screen protector of course)

Looking foward to getting it. It should (hopefully) be in the mail on Friday!

 

[vpblaze]

Re: Soon-to-be Note2 owner

Glad you are excited about it. It seems like you got a pretty good deal with Rogers. Did you manage to get on a new 2 year contract?

Posted via Android Central App on my Note 2!

 

[dancing-bass]

Re: Soon-to-be Note2 owner

Yep, its on a new 2 year contract, but I get to keep my current plan. (5 gigs data, unlimited Canada wide messaging, my 10, 300 daytime minutes, plus the usual call display, voicemail, etc)

EDIT: any word on what software is current on it? From what I know it will come out of the box with 4.1.1, but have also heard that there will be no 4.2.1 or 4.2.2 but will go straight to 4.3 (if/when Rogers gets off their arse and releases the update). As well as TouchWiz, again I think it's TW4, will it get bumped up to TW5?

Can anyone fill me in here? Oh yeah, and "A rookie's guide to TouchWiz" and "A Rookie's guide to the S-Pen" would be great too.

 

[Scott Kenyon]

Re: Soon-to-be Note2 owner

Thanks everyone!

I'm not looking forward to relying on Kies, but I guess I'll have to use it.

As for launchers, I love Apex Pro on my Gnex and Swiftkey is my favorite keyboard, so I'm sure both of those will be making an appearance on the Note2.

I don't think I'll root it for a while, I'd like to keep the warranty intact at least for now.

And as for battery life, the Gnex is terrible. I've got extended life batteries for it (2100mAh as opposed to the stock 1750) and they barely last the day, sometimes they don't even make a full day! I'm looking forward to better battery life.

One last comment. The Note2 appears to be more squared off then my Gnex, so I think it will be more of an adjustment to size rather then the slightly rounded corners. Although it will probably take some hand's on time to figure out. A case of some kind is pretty much a must for me (and screen protector of course)

Looking foward to getting it. It should (hopefully) be in the mail on Friday!

The first thing you should do is enable USB debugging in dev options. Download the Samsung USB drivers from their site and just sit on it like that. You don't need to rely on Kies but many don't realize it. So long as you have debugging enabled, you can use ADB to do everything Kies can do and more. It may not be as user friendly, but it's powerful.

 

[dancing-bass]

Re: Soon-to-be Note2 owner

The first thing you should do is enable USB debugging in dev options. Download the Samsung USB drivers from their site and just sit on it like that. You don't need to rely on Kies but many don't realize it. So long as you have debugging enabled, you can use ADB to do everything Kies can do and more. It may not be as user friendly, but it's powerful.

Great, thanks for the heads up Scott. Just a question though - I've got a universal Samsung Driver on my PC for my Gnex. I guess I'll have to remove all trace of those drivers and do a fresh driver install.

I guess I'll really have to learn my ADB commands and stop relying on the "toolbox" software

 

[Scott Kenyon]

Re: Soon-to-be Note2 owner

ADB is easy to learn, difficult to master. Using push and pull you can add and remove files from the device. You can use it to browse the device and execute certain commands. It's a great skill to have.

 

[dancing-bass]

Re: Soon-to-be Note2 owner

I guess I'll have to see if the local bookstore has a copy of "ADB for Dummies" lol

 

[vpblaze]

Re: Soon-to-be Note2 owner

Yep, its on a new 2 year contract, but I get to keep my current plan. (5 gigs data, unlimited Canada wide messaging, my 10, 300 daytime minutes, plus the usual call display, voicemail, etc)

EDIT: any word on what software is current on it? From what I know it will come out of the box with 4.1.1, but have also heard that there will be no 4.2.1 or 4.2.2 but will go straight to 4.3 (if/when Rogers gets off their arse and releases the update). As well as TouchWiz, again I think it's TW4, will it get bumped up to TW5?

Can anyone fill me in here? Oh yeah, and "A rookie's guide to TouchWiz" and "A Rookie's guide to the S-Pen" would be great too.

There has been no confirmed answer yet on what's going to happen and when. As of right now, the latest stock OS for the Note 2 is 4.1.2, Samsung has said that both the Note 2 and S3 are going to skip 4.2 and go straight to 4.3 which will probably happen some time near the end of the year. Samsung has to push it to the carries, and then like you said, Rogers will have to **** around with it for more then enough time before they push it out to us. Frustrating!
For getting to know the S-Pen, I would recommend downloading Galaxy Note 2 User's Digest from the Play Store. I actually came across it by accident this evening, and learned a couple new things to do with my SPen.

Posted via Android Central App on my Note 2!

 

[Jude526]

Re: Soon-to-be Note2 owner

Have had my Note2 since January. Love it..best ever.

sent from my amazing Note2

 

[magneticseed]

Re: Soon-to-be Note2 owner

Welcome to the note 2. Best phone I've ever had.
You might want to check out this guide posted on xda http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=40861997#post40861997

Posted via Android Central App

 

[UsedName]

Re: Soon-to-be Note2 owner

Welcome to a whole new way of mobile computing!
Had mine for almost a year now and still loving it.

BTW- you do know the Note 3 will be coming out in a few months....why not wait until then?

 

[dancing-bass]

Re: Soon-to-be Note2 owner

Welcome to a whole new way of mobile computing!
Had mine for almost a year now and still loving it.

BTW- you do know the Note 3 will be coming out in a few months....why not wait until then?

Simply because I scored an update that I wasn't expecting. My choices were iPhone 5 or Note2. Either one is a vast improvement over my Galaxy Nexus but I prefer Android. If I could have I would wait for the Note 3 but the 2 is still an amazing phone

Posted via Android Central App

 

[dancing-bass]

Question: how good/bad is the screen in bright sunlight? My Gnex (GSM version) is pretty bad. Most of the time I leave it on auto brightness. Is the Note2 any better?

I'm considering using an anti glare screen protector but I've heard that they can mess with the S-Pen...

Thoughts or advice? Or is it just a weak point for AMOLED screens in general?

Posted via Android Central App

 

[JasW]

Question: how good/bad is the screen in bright sunlight? My Gnex (GSM version) is pretty bad. Most of the time I leave it on auto brightness. Is the Note2 any better?

I'm considering using an anti glare screen protector but I've heard that they can mess with the S-Pen...

Thoughts or advice? Or is it just a weak point for AMOLED screens in general?

Posted via Android Central App

Yes, that is indeed probably the weakest point of the Note 2. You can do more or less okay in shade, but in direct sunlight? Fuhgeddaboutit.

 

[vpblaze]

What Jas said.
Sunlight is the killer of any AMOLED screen.
Whenever I am outside, I usually just crank the brightness all the way up and don't have any problems then.

Posted via Android Central App on my Note 2!

 

[dancing-bass]

So my next question is does an anti-glare screen protector screw up the S-Pen? I've heard mixed info. Anyone have info or personal experience? I WILL have a screen protector, and generally prefer clear rather than anti glare but with a bigger screen = more glare, I might have to sucks it up.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[vpblaze]

I have never used a anti-glare screen protector on the Note 2. So I can't comment on the SPen.
IMO I would just get a clear one. Experience the screen quality for what it is. The screen on the Note 2 is amazing! Unless you are outside all the time, you won't notice too much glare really.

Posted via Android Central App on my Note 2!