My First Day with the Samsung Galaxy Note 2

The smartphone world has been talking non-stop about the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4. While I would love to test both devices, money and two-year contracts forbid me to do so.  I'm a happy iPhone 5 user, except that I'm not quite happy.  I was too intrigued by the massively beautiful screen of the Galaxy Note 2, not to mention its cheaper price point on eBay than some newer smartphones.

Here are some of my first impressions after using the Samsung Galaxy Note 2:

The screen is bright, vibrant, sharp....but it's not the iPhone screen.

Part of me thought I was crazy when I considered purchasing a phone with a lower pixel density than the iPhone 5 (at 326 ppi). Then the reality of a larger screen with heavily saturated colors negated my distress. Despite the 267 ppi and the large screen size, everything displayed on the Note 2 looks sharp and vibrant. Much of that is a result of Samsung's TouchWiz skin over Android 4.1.2, which is an important factor to consider if you ever want to strip down to stock Android.

I have noticed, however, that some app icons look fuzzy and blurred on the Note 2.  That reflects badly on Google Play app developers failing to optimize icons for high definition screens, something that would never happen with the iPhone.

One final note on the screen quality. The iPhone 5 displays more natural colors while the Note 2 displays more vibrant and bright colors. You can change the screen mode on the Note for a more natural display, but then colors look washed out and the lower ppi becomes more apparent. 'Dynamic' mode for the screen makes the display feel (or I suppose look) nearly as sharp as the iPhone.

The app selection is good on Android, but I can't help thinking quantity over quality.

Today, most applications can be found on both Google Play and the Apple App Store. But Android apps are known to be less regulated and, therefore, sometimes inferior.  This is the double edged sword of Android's customization. For the minuscule number of people who know how to root a phone or manipulate the operating system, Android is the ultimate option. Developers fill Google Play with what I consider experimental or highly customized applications.  This lowers the quantity of fully refined apps for the everyday users to enjoy. I prefer Apple in terms of app selection because of heavy control of the App Store and the uniformity of the screen size options for app developers (two sizes compared to....a lot of screen sizes using Android).

Multitasking is SO nice (but necessary?)

Multi-Window and Pop Up Play on the Galaxy Note 2 give the device an incredible amount of flexibility and multi-tasking power. The iPhone 5 can't even come close in this regard.  But is it necessary or really useful? For me, the jury is still out.  I have only used Pop Up Play when I am watching a movie and want to check my text messages or email.  That is definitely useful, but limited because the functionality does not exist for YouTube, where I watch many of my videos. For Multi-Window, I have only used it to see how it works. I have yet to find a scenario where it's actually functional. I'll keep trying.

The point is, unless you know of situations where having two windows open at once is useful for your everyday life, this feature should not sway you away from Apple.

The S Pen is great

Unlike multi-tasking, the S Pen can be useful to anyone for everyday use. It's main selling point for me is the drawing accuracy.  I dare you to try drawing anything with your finger and tell me the S Pen is inferior. But what would you draw? Notes, notes, notes. And these notes are not limited to the S Note application templates. You can draw on any picture you take with the camera. You can draw on the calendar. You can trace out any part of a web page and send it as an email or text message or save it as a note. You can even hand write words and see them translated to text.

Of course, you don't have to use the S Pen at all on the Galaxy Note 2. But you will easily find yourself taking advantage of this little pen's amazing capabilities. And it's much better than those cheap styluses with the rubber tips.

The camera is wonderful (but better?)

Finally, the cameras.  Simply put, you will not miss the iPhone 5's camera, but you won't forget it either. Although both devices have an 8 megapixel shooter with flash, the Note 2 incorporates more software features, like 'Best Face' and 'Low Light' as well as template and filters. You can get many of these features on the iPhone through 3rd party apps, but their quality can be suspect and building simple features into the operating system creates a better and more unified experience.

Still, don't switch over to the Galaxy Note 2 just because of the extra camera features. You can get them on the iPhone with some filtering through the App Store.  Camera quality should not be a reason to chose one smartphone over the other. You can't go wrong no matter what you choose in that regard.

Final Notes (ha ha, funny)

I need more time using the Galaxy Note 2 as my daily driver before I make any final decisions. I don't want to keep two smartphones hanging around when I can get good money selling either one.  Part of me misses my iPhone, but another part of me is really enjoying the Note 2 and sees no reason to switch back. Maybe Apple can blow me away at WWDC in June, but I doubt it. That's a discussion for another day.