So I've been toting a RAZR M around for maybe 3.5 years now, loved it to death (once quite literally) but am looking to upgrade. I have been reluctant to get a new phone due to the gradually increasing size of this generation of smart phones, but alas I don't think I can wait much longer (unless someone has heard something about an S6 mini that I haven't). So I'm left with this dilemma; To Note 4 or not to Note 4. I know, I know, the thing is huge. Coming from a RAZR M, which felt big to me when I first upgraded from my incredible Incredible, it's almost unbelievably large. There's a theme here; My everyday computing involves an 11" Macbook Air or 10" netbook, perhaps a Kobo Glo or 7" Fire, and my slim phone, which when all loaded up in my 8L backpack fits my 125lb, 5'6" frame quite nicely.
So why in the world would I want a Note 4? Well, go big or go home, amirite? In all seriousness, I'm thinking I can use it to drop two items at once: the tablet (or less frequently ereader) and the phone. Most of the day my RAZR M is in my pocket but I envision the Note 4 being mostly on my desk, since it's only barely pocketable (or perhaps not at all in my slim-fit jeans). This seems entirely reasonable to me. The other feature I like is the "true" tablet functionality of it. My history of computers includes tablet PCs, way back before they were cool: a Sony UMPC as well as Gateway, Fujitsu, and HP tablet PCs with active digitizers. I miss the days of writing up my notes in college in One Note and have for years been drooling over the Samsung Note series. My main concern is not carrying the phone with me 12/7 like I do now. Literally all waking hours I have the phone in my pocket or hand at this point, and while cutting the invisible cord sounds good on paper I'm not sure how much I want it to be forced by the girthiness of my handset. My wife, when upgrading from the iPhone 4s to the iPhone 6 (I know, yuck) definitely felt the size increase, especially once we put on the required tank-of-a life-proof case (2 y/o in the house, 'nuff said). I combated that by getting her a semi-smart watch/fitness tracker so that she could leave the brick on the table and still get calls (on silent; 2 y/o, remember?). For me, I'm usually working away from my desk in an adjacent lab, so either the Note will need to be loud (this is my co-workers' solution, unfortunately) or I will need a similar setup.
And so it comes to my alternative: to take the money I would spend on the Note 4 (~$240 today) and get a Note 8 (or 10?!) with a "free"-ish phone like the S5 ($1 today). In this scenario I would keep the phone pocketed as I do now, and re-vitalize my love of "true" tablets with an active digitizer on a nearly notebook-sized screen that I think is slightly more appropriate for the feature. Thoughts, ideas, and criticism are all requested and welcome. I'm not in a huge hurry to change phones/tablet, so if there's an expected release in the works that I'm missing here that will solve all my problems I'm very open to it. Thanks to all for your opinions!
*I'm posting this in the Note 4 forum because I mostly want people's opinion on lugging a Note 4 around, but if there is a more appropriate thread/forum I both apologize for my ignorance and welcome relocation by mods if it is deemed necessary.
So why in the world would I want a Note 4? Well, go big or go home, amirite? In all seriousness, I'm thinking I can use it to drop two items at once: the tablet (or less frequently ereader) and the phone. Most of the day my RAZR M is in my pocket but I envision the Note 4 being mostly on my desk, since it's only barely pocketable (or perhaps not at all in my slim-fit jeans). This seems entirely reasonable to me. The other feature I like is the "true" tablet functionality of it. My history of computers includes tablet PCs, way back before they were cool: a Sony UMPC as well as Gateway, Fujitsu, and HP tablet PCs with active digitizers. I miss the days of writing up my notes in college in One Note and have for years been drooling over the Samsung Note series. My main concern is not carrying the phone with me 12/7 like I do now. Literally all waking hours I have the phone in my pocket or hand at this point, and while cutting the invisible cord sounds good on paper I'm not sure how much I want it to be forced by the girthiness of my handset. My wife, when upgrading from the iPhone 4s to the iPhone 6 (I know, yuck) definitely felt the size increase, especially once we put on the required tank-of-a life-proof case (2 y/o in the house, 'nuff said). I combated that by getting her a semi-smart watch/fitness tracker so that she could leave the brick on the table and still get calls (on silent; 2 y/o, remember?). For me, I'm usually working away from my desk in an adjacent lab, so either the Note will need to be loud (this is my co-workers' solution, unfortunately) or I will need a similar setup.
And so it comes to my alternative: to take the money I would spend on the Note 4 (~$240 today) and get a Note 8 (or 10?!) with a "free"-ish phone like the S5 ($1 today). In this scenario I would keep the phone pocketed as I do now, and re-vitalize my love of "true" tablets with an active digitizer on a nearly notebook-sized screen that I think is slightly more appropriate for the feature. Thoughts, ideas, and criticism are all requested and welcome. I'm not in a huge hurry to change phones/tablet, so if there's an expected release in the works that I'm missing here that will solve all my problems I'm very open to it. Thanks to all for your opinions!
*I'm posting this in the Note 4 forum because I mostly want people's opinion on lugging a Note 4 around, but if there is a more appropriate thread/forum I both apologize for my ignorance and welcome relocation by mods if it is deemed necessary.
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