Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

@Hurrian

You are actually right about the MTP and that is what the ICS does.
The ICS+premium suit will be delivered to the galaxy note too,

This article discusses the MTP with ICS:

http://droidsolute.com/memory-manage...ream-sandwich/

@debernardis

Yeah I was concerned about large graphical games, some books, and some medium sized apps that I need a lot. Thanks for the solution, I will copy only large apps (non-background) ones to the SD card.
Btw, does the galaxy note come with an SD card in the box?

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

I think it depends on each national Samsung importer. Mine had no micro sd card, but Samsung Italy shortly after purchase sent everybody a wundrous gift package including a BT earpiece, cables for TV and OTG USB, and flipcase :cool:

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

Wow..this is a gorgeous gift! Congrats for this gift!:)

Besides, are you satisfied with the galaxy note? I mean are there any major weaknesses or disadvantages? The big size is not a problem to me. But, did you notice any other problems with the phone?

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

All in all, I like the Note, very much.
What I like best is its large display, something now I need for my presbiopsy (I was always keeping my N900 at few centimeters from my eyes :)

HW is excellent, dual core is quick, GPS is extremely quick, thin profile is good for carrying around. Unfortunately it hasn't stereo speakers, and speaker volume is not generous at all.

In comparison to other Androids I have tried, it's absolutely top-notch. The presence of the pen, which is quite precise, is good if you're inclined to jot at meetings (or for your grocery shop): both are things I do.

If you get one, update it to the latest firmware (LC1, or LC2 for far east countries). Previous versions are somewhat less snappy and battery consuming.

Then, the dark side: I must admit I needed some time to get accustomed to the Android way of doing things, i.e. to a less effective multitasking, to the lack of an unifying GNU framework for scripting, and to a somewhat less helpful community.

The last point deserves an explanation. Here on TMO, every hack and program is documented, sources are available, and even dummies like myself have been able to make some tweaks to system and programs, or code something simple and make a deb package.

On XDA, even if it's a huge and rich resource, programs and system hacks are often freely downloadable but rarely documented or discussed in public threads, and there is also quite a bit of competition between firmware hackers, with less co-operation and open development. This has given me less chances to learn something.

For instance, there's an Android program that basically is like Swappolube, it's called Ram Manager, and seems to do its work in balancing memory needs for gaming or multitasking. It's a paid-for application with a free lite version with less options, no-one knows what the hell it does because there's no documentation (even if I guess it applies some changes to /proc), and this leaves me sourly unsatisfied. Compare that to the huge threads discussing Swappolube or several other scripts, with Simon's explanations... TMO has been another world, a better world :) That's the reason I'm still here.

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

for me, the 3 major weaknesses (leaving aside the o/s and focusing solely on day to day usage) are:

1) video out - the HDMI should be way better than the n900 but in practice just isn't - for me anyway

2) skype performance: n900 skype was bullet-proof, even on 2G I could always connect 1st time and hardly ever experienced call quality issues. on the note I find that skype audio calls (mainly to telephones rather than other skype users) are useless in "real-world" conditions. wifi is fine but I need skype to work on cellular network and it always lets me down. even stationarh with a strong signal and > 1MB/s download the call often doesnt connect and the audio is normally unintelligible if it does.

3) audio (both through speakers and headphones) is inferior to n900. out of the box, the note audio is tinny at best and it needs allthe help it can get from EQ to make it liveable-with as your main mp3 player

I'd also echo all of Ernesto's points above but the note is still the best thing out there for fully portable surfing/eBook/sat nav/movie player/ mp3/remote control/sketch & notetaking - there's simply nothing else with the screen size + quality plus s-pen plus fast-lock GPS in a pocketable form factor. I would have stayed with my n900 until it died except that the screen size of the note makes surfing, remote control and ebook reading soooo much easier on the eye. I never read eBooks on n900 and only did really essential remote access tasks - but the note wins for me because I no longer need carry real books i.e. one step nearer total convergance.

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

oh and also agree with E de B re. XDA - I've yet to receive any usefuk answer to anything I post there - have always ended up having to research and solve my own problems due to complete lack of useful feedback. night and day compared to the real community spirit that always existed here.

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

The fact that it can support native video calls via 3G network is a win for me. Has anybody tried? What were your thoughts?

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

I've done some skype video calls home (me on 3g, home on adsl), and quality depends on carrier quality, as expected. Good when cells are serving fewer people, almost useless because of video stuttering in peak traffic hours. Audio has always been good.

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

well I've been considering the note for sometime now, but today I read an article about the Galaxy Nexus, and started to wonder....

still not sure, the Nexus is much cheaper and offers quite a lot of options, sound is supposed to be great, resolution is almost the same, the only difference I can think of is the screen size...can this be a just reason for getting the note over the nexus ?

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

Definitely.

On top of that you get a physical Home button (no onscreen buttons = more screen estate), microSD expansion, better front camera (2MP vs VGA) and definitely better rear camera (great 8MP vs good 5MP). Plus you get "Samsung Apps" so that's premium apps like Navigon, Swype, Asphalt, Angry Birds and so on for FREE.

Also the Exynos chip is much faster, especially in GPU. The call quality is better and the headphones are slightly better too.
The microUSB has more amp, so that it supports more HOST devices. The NOTE is keeping its street value longer than Gnex. And the S PEN is a great company.

Even the NOTE has ICS, with some aosp roms (aokp) already in beta...so very soon it will match the Gnex.

The only reason to turn away from the NOTE to the Gnex is basically if you have feminine hands or skinny jeans.

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

PLUS the the spen and premiar suite(soon).

Why don't you go and get some face time with note and nexus.

To me nexus is nothing compared to the note. But have a look and feel and form your own opinion. Why asking here? We can't decided for you.

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

lol, was trying to work out what a gnex from samsung was... google came up with this :

http://www.genxmea.com/Products/Samsung_Silver.aspx

Re-read the post and worked it out... all good now

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

Gnex = Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Besides Gnex =/= genX

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

Mmmm...I can't wait to get a samsung galaxy note but the audio is a main thing for me. To what extent is the audio bad in the galaxy note? weak? unclear? has some "hiss" sounds?

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

the native sound through speakers is very flat and lacking bass. Throuh supplied headphones it is the same. It is not unlistenable but it badly needs the help of a graphic equaliser to bring up the bass and middle. Once that's done it works OK but it is never going to be "hifi" - the hardware chip just isn't great. I do use it as my day to day music player but I do miss the n900 often in this respect.

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

I got the Galaxy Nexus a week ago. I am very happy with it so far. Sure, the Note has better specs, especially the screen. The CPU and GPU matter less, because the Nexus CPU/GPU is pretty fast as it is, and for most applications it makes no difference.
But for something you carry around all the tie, the size is very important as well, and the Nexus is great in terms of size.

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

The (call) speaker sound is great, better than most.

The phone's loudspeaker is average. It lacks Bass and general volume, its really bad decision on Samsung's end....then again the loudspeaker on the Gnex is just as bad or worse.

The headset performance is good. Its a little better than the SII's but not much better than average. Audiophiles would cringe. Frankly the original SGS with the VooDoo Fix had much much better performance, I hope Samsung will learn.

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

I've taken some measurements and decided on what would make the NOTE better...ie requests for a N0TE2.

Here's a quick mock to illustrate:
http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/9850/note2b.jpg


Main changes:
---Added a kickstand as its a killer feature with this device
Its located on the top section of the device. It protects the camera from surface scratches. It also gives the camera an excuse to be thicker, so a better quality piece can be installed. Samsung I demand for it to be on-par with the N8's camera!
---Physical Navigation buttons.
Its all about on-screen these days, but that feature is useless on a handset and it eats up precious screen estate. A slim, long (clicky) elegant design taken from the Xperia is superior. Besides it prevents accidental triggers (ever hand over the phone to someone who accidentally hit Back, for instance on a loaded Youtube video when you have slow connection!!!)
---Slightly re-sized screen.
Its still keeps its 1.6 aspect ratio but has decreased an inch
---More compact device.
Due to making it thinner, slightly smaller and shaving the bezel...its now much more compact, pocket friendly and comfortable in-palm.

So....what do you think of these changes??
(you can stop reading here)

Preffered Specs:
Android 4.0.4 ICS (with TouchWizz v5) -promised update to Android 5.0 JellyBean
Easily rootable and no locked bootloader

5.2" HD SAMOLED *Plus* (RGB subpixels)
with 1280 x 800 resolution and Lotus Glass

1.5 GHz Exynos 5250 (32nm DualCore A15-Eagle)
1GB LPDDR2 (Dual Channel) and PowerVR SGX545MP4
2,500mAh removable battery

12MP Rear Lens (face, smile detection, geotagging, panorama, dual led)
2MP Front-facing camera

32GB NAND with microSD slot (upto 64GB)
Wifi bgn, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC
aGPS, GLONASS, compass, barometre
gyro, light sensor, proximity sensor, S PEN

Pentaband HSPDA+ and LTE (separate US versions)

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

from 2006 to 2012 nokia lost the plot and the galaxy note is proof
i remember nokia n810 users having a wishlist and it took a korean company to produce the goods

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

I don't think locked bootloaders would be a problem - Samsung's been pretty generous with regard to hacking their devices (huge rootfs space, kernel source, unlocked bootloaders, etc.)
Not so much regarding speed of updates and Touchwiz (which even version 4.0, tbh, looks cheap), but they do come eventually.

The problem I have with all smartphones (GNote and SGS2 included) is that the tiny battery simply cannot keep up with the powerful SoCs and bright screens they put in them. The recess on the back of the SGS2 shows that they're putting extreme thin-ness above all else. I'd gladly trade 2-5mm more thickness for a more battery capacity.

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

I thought that the GNote has better battery life than most phones?
Since it has space for a larger battery. I do agree that I would take battery size over thickness, that's why the RAZR Maxx sounds tempting.

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

That's true.
But watching those that have dissembled the NOTE, its clear the device is thicker than it needs to be. There's a couple desing tweeks that can be made to shave off 0.5 to 1.5mm without affecting the battery size (2500mAh).

And having it somewhat thin (8.8mm) would make it slip in and out of pockets even better!

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

I have the Galaxy player 5", and the Note it quite a bit wider and longer. I don't see how you can comfortably have a long phone conversation with the Note.

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

Can anyone help on the below or have you experienced the same issue on an upgrade. I dont want to do a factory reset to get back to the earlier version for obvious reasons.....

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

No mine worked normally but I never updated for fear of losing r00t.
I suggest going on xda or Rootzwiki forums, and finding out if there is anyone with the same phone as yours (kernel ##). See if they have a nandroid backup and flash that with CWM.

It would hopefully get you back to the start. Then you have to follow these steps:
-root + cwm (again)
-install Titanium Backup
-backup all your app + data & SYSTEM DATA
(the keyboard will be a system data)
-flash to any custom rom OR do official update
-(if lost) root device again
-install Titanium again
-restore your apps with data, and your SYSTEM DATA


I've got the latest ICStunner 1.4.19 on there, at last a good performing AOKP ROM ! I've also got MIUI running (Beta V6), not bad for a beta, but somewhat laggy and buggy. It will be sweet when MIUI gets their **** together and a proper (high quality) one is released.

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

Since Elop is going to Kamikaze Nokia into Android and Apple so that Microhard can buy it and its patents to continue to patent troll other companies I think I will get the Note if it comes to Tmobile.
There are lots of people in the world that are not short that need a bigger phone and I'm glad Samsung made the note. I'm only 6'1" which is above average male height for the US but I have a friend that is 6'3" and I recommended a phone with a big screen to him when he asked me about a year ago and he loves it.

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

I fixed it by doing the following:

settings - language and keyboard - samsung keypad - xt9 advanced settings - switch OFF next word prediction

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

Thanks Gordon, however I was trying to keep the functionality that I lost in my eagerness to update. Lesson learnt

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

I finally am joining you splitters and my trusty N900 will be replaced with a Samsung Note arriving tomorrow.

What is the best forum to frequent for the Samsung Note?

Also what do you think are the must have apps to install?

Thanks,
Menno

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

^XDA is your place to go.

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

Ooooh.... Galaxy note or HTC one X... Or hold out for the Galaxy S3....

If an S3 specced Note was coming out at the same time as the S3 I'd have no problem choosing...

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

Place to follow:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1349

The first/best custom ROM you should try:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1552554
(neobuddy's 4.04 AOKP v1.4.25 or newer)

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

Well I'm running the MidTeam 1.1 ICS rom with Apex launcher.

Having fun. The big screen is fantastic and with Swype I can live without my N900 keyboard. But incredibly Android is in some ways still lagging behind Maemo.

I cant get used to the odd mutlitasking yet. And I'm missing the integrated messaging for my SMS texts, Skype, facebook IM, etc. Is there anything like that on Android?

Also I'm missing the integrated media sharing, especially Pixelpipe for uploading media to various sites.

I used Syncevolution on the N900 to import my contacts into Google.

So far my main apps are:

Sygic - Sat Nav just like N900
ICS Browser+ Internet
c:geo - Geocaching
ColorDict - Dictionary, imported my N900 mStarDict dictionaries
FBReader - book reader like on N900
Mantano Reader - PDF reader (similar to eVince on N900 but not free)
Total Recall - call recording (similar to Recaller on N900 but not free)
Terminal IDE - for terminal shell (not free either)
SimpleCalendarWidget - to show my google calendar
MinimalisticText - to display stufff on Homescreens

Anyone have any other apps to recommend?

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

In which way(s) do you consider Terminal IDE "not free" ?...

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

My mistake! Been installing and testing too many apps, got app overload :)

Terminal IDE is a great app and free too.

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

Suddenly I feel good about my NOTE. I was sure the S3 was going to blow it out of the water, but all it did was to match it.

I mean the new Exynos and the NOTE's SoC aren't too far apart,especially when you have Android bogging things down.
The screens the same, actually NOTE's better because of extra pixels and more screen estate.
I see they've changed the design (like that of Nokia 701) but personally it looks ugly...the straight narrow bezels of NOTE have a Bold and Handsome stance that I've come to like
The S3 has a beefy 2,100mAh battery which is still smaller than the NOTE's 2,500mAh battery (and I think there were some aftermarket 3,000mAh available too).
The S3 doesn't have much/any new features that are missing from the NOTE, except for maybe NFC which is pointless at the moment, the camera's are the same.

All it looks like is that Samsung brought the S3 upto terms but not blowing away the competition like they did with the S and SII. I guess they've concentrated on the software more this round (battery management/drivers/ui/etc), which is a good thing since it can get recycled in custom roms for the S2 or NOTE.

I hope the NOTE2 isn't going to be a lackluster upgrade, hopefully it will herald the jump back to dual core (or maybe tricore) architecture with Eagle/bigLITTLE implementation. Maybe even 2GB ram for those Ubuntu ports ;)

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

Don't worry. Note is still king of the Galaxys. Only way S3, with that "puny" 4.8" screen could compete with Note is if it had HWKB!

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

Indeed :-)

Maybe I already mentioned this before, but Jota Text Editor is a great (and free) companion app for TIDE...

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

i like the Rectangular design of Note.. :)

if Note 2 gets oval like Galaxy S3... even if it gets Oct-Cores with a 1080p display.. i will buy the current Rectangular Note..

BTW : any info about T-mobile Galaxy Note.. i heard its exynos too(not confirm)
& with AT&T I717 like 4-Capacitive buttons & ICS on-board..

Re: Samsung Galaxy Note
 

Also try this editor:
DroidEdit Free
Download: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.aor.droidedit

Not bad :-)