Help deciding between the S4 and note 2

joannem

joannem

joannem

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Hi there,
Im really out of my depth when it comes to technology so was wondering if you guys would help me out please with some questions I have?
I have been out of contract for a few months but wanted to hang on for the s4 and now its here I cant decide between this and the note 2. I have asked some people in phone shops and they have said to get the s4 as its better but could not tell me why except to say 'its newer'. I have read as many reviews as I can but am still struggling to understand some things.

These are my questions

I know the note 2 has a fantastic battery and the s4 looks like its testing well but does anyone know what this will equate to in real life usage?

I know the s4 is better in benchmarks but i don't really understand what this means, is it the equivalent of fractions of a second faster or will I notice the difference?

I will have to take out a two year contract so is the note 2 likely to be abandoned for updates or feel old compared to the s4 in 18mths time due to the older processor on it? I don't really understand the difference between these or how it will effect future developments

From what I have read most software updates will appear on the note 2 except for those dependent on IR which as far as I can tell is only whats on and air swipe, is this right? The rest will come to note 2?

Will the note 2 get air view for your finger eventually rather than just the stylus?

How long do tmobile uk tend to take to get their updates out? I read the note 2 will be updated in June and will include the new features but that it can take longer for your provider to pass them on.

Have they upgraded the sensor for the camera as well as the megapixels?

Finally tmobile only sell the LTE version, is this any better or worse than the n7100?

I suppose i'm really trying to find out what the key differences are between the two phones.

I have played with a note 2 and loved it but am a bit concerned about the size which I know is a personal thing.

If any note 2 owners are reading this do you actually still use the s-pen a lot and the features on it or are they just a bit of novelty?

Thanks to those who managed to get to the bottom of this! I didn't mean to go on so much.
 
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Both will have excellent battery life, they will get you through 1-2 days of heavy usage with ease. i.e. with sensible control of screen brightness, bit of browsing, quick game, videos, music, you should be able to get at least 4 hours on screen with 1-2 days usage

Doubt you will notice much, if any difference at all in real world usage when it comes to performance, the GS 4 might feel more snappy overall due to the architecture of the chip and being snapdragon, which as a result means more apps etc. will be better optimised (since majority of android phones use their chipsets and the nexus 4 uses the S400 [majority of app developers use this as their main developing phone, exynos being a bitch to work with etc.], the snapdragon chipset will run cooler and be more power efficient overall than the exynos 4 chipset. There is nothing that the note II will struggle with in 1- 2 years apart from perhaps some new games but chances are all other phones won't handle the games as well either :p If a game doesn't run well on any of the top end phones these days, it is generally down to poor software optimisation

The GS 4 will get the updates quicker and be better supported and then once the note III is out, support for the note II won't be as good, for what it is worth, jellybean only started to arrive on the GS 2 about a month ago, afaik the note II still hasn't received the JB update??? The next big android update, key lime pie is/should be announced next month and if it is anything like ICS, then you can expect it to be at least 7 months till the GS 4 gets it and even longer for the note II.

The note II will get the newest version of touchwiz with 4.2.2, as to when no idea, you won't get some things though like the TV remote since it needs the hardware for it, the note II already has air gesture feature but you have to use the stylus

I am not 100% sure about how the air gesture works on the GS 4, but iirc it is part of the screen hardware???

networks take considerably longer for releasing the updates, could be waiting for 3 months till after the unbranded phones get the update

Yes the sensor has been upgraded as well as pushing the MP up, on the topic of camera, from all the samples, both cameras look excellent, the main downside with the GS 4 is the FOV, it is even smaller now and the video recording doesn't look as good (although I imagine that this will improve with software updates)

Doesn't really matter, depends on if you want/need a faster data connection


Personally I would only get a note II if you really want the bigger screen and stylus. Also might be worth looking at the HTC one and xperia Z.
 
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Thanks so much for those responses, they are really helpful.

I have had HTC phones for a few years now and cant knock the build quality (mines been knocked or dropped 100's of times and only recently broke) but I have to get a samsung for two reasons
1 I really want multi-view and from what I can see its only them that do it

2 My partner is getting an s4 at the weekend and I want to be able to do some of the sharing and wifi group things with him.

The thing I use my phone for most is internet, I prefer it over my laptop at home unless im writing assignments or using photoshop etc so the big screen is appealing but with the s4 being 5in i dont know if an extra .5in will really make that much difference tbh.

I did really enjoy the stylus when i played with it in the shop, loved the quick swipe feature, being able to cut things out and save them to a scrap book and being able to write on pics etc.

But I am thinking the air swipe will come in really useful when im driving or eating and can just swipe to answer calls or change tracks if it works properly. Im pretty sure this uses the IR hardware and wont come to the note 2 if im reading things right.

So do you know roughly when the note 2 will get the s translator and camera software updates? Apart from air swipe which I agree with you is hardware and wont be coming over these are the updates I am most interested in.

Thanks again for your help
 
Yup, only samsung/touchwiz phones can do that, there are apps on the market that "float" and achieve a similar sort of multi-tasking thing but overall it doesn't work anywhere as good and the apps themselves aren't great.

From my usage with various screen sizes i.e. 4.3" compared to 4", 4.7/4.8", the difference is very noticeable. IMO anything over 5" is too big for everyday usage but it is entirely down to preference.

Samsung have essentially taken a lot of the software that they have shown from the market but tweaked it and renamed it, S translator is really just google translate :p And you can get other apps from the market to achieve similar software from touchwiz for the time being. But it is too hard to say when the note II will get the new touchwiz (if I had to guess, I would say around June/July), the GS 3 will/should get it first so once it does, I think you can expect the note II to get it about 1-2 months later, impossible to say really :p
 
Is it is bad as google translate? I was using to it to speak to a Polish tattooist once and apparently asking him for some very strange things, ha.

May/June doesn't sound too bad for updates.

Would I be able to do the things I mentioned I liked on the note 2 (cutting things and putting it on clipboard, quick swipe, writing on pics) with my fingers on the s4? I cant see any in depth reviews on anything like that yet
 
Can't say that I have seen many, if any people find problems with google translate, not used the app "properly" myself so can't comment :p. If Samsung are using all the bases from google translate, then you can expect more or less the same outcome.

AFAIK, unfortunately no.
 
I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was me using the app wrong, ha! :)

Thanks again for your help, I really appreciate it.

Thats a bummer, i really enjoyed playing with those on the note 2, guess I will have to go to town on Saturday and spend some time with both of them.
 
Possibly! :D :p


No problem :)


Yup, tough decision, the way I look at it is that it comes down to how badly you want the bigger screen, some software features and stylus of the note II.

Don't forget, you can always buy a stylus from amazon etc. for about £5-10 and use it on the GS 4 etc. (although it won't be as good as the stylus with the note II)

Another few bonuses of the GS 4 over the note II:

- able to use the screen with gloves (although you can buy special gloves that work with other normal capacitive screens)
- gorilla glass 3, supposedly tougher than gg 1/2

At the end of the the day, I doubt that you will be disappointed with either of them as they are both excellent!
 
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Nexus18 said:
Possibly! :D :p

Another few bonuses of the GS 4 over the note II:

- able to use the screen with gloves (although you can buy special gloves that work with other normal capacitive screens)
- gorilla glass 3, supposedly tougher than gg 1/2
Click to expand...

I am out a lot with my dogs and normally its freezing so being able to use it with normal gloves is a major plus. I did wonder tho if with the note 2 I could just hold the stylus with gloves on and use that if I needed to send a quick text etc but then its taking two hands whereas i could probably grab and use the s4 with one.

Again the new glass is a big plus if it really is a lot tougher as im a major clutz with phones. Either i drop them or the dogs knock them off the sofa etc, as i said my HTC's have been was amazing the amount of drops they took before breaking, including onto concrete.

TBH what is really worrying me is the fact my partner is getting the s4 and im worried if I get the note 2 I will end up with phone envy!
 
No drop tests etc. for the GS 4 yet but if GG 3 does live up to its description and with the newer/better design regarding the edges then I think the gs4 will be a pretty durable phone.

The note II despite being plastic etc. isn't as durable as other phones due to the front being all glass and extending right to the edges thus the screen/glass is more likely to shatter when dropped onto concrete, with the GS 4, you have a metallic/plastic frame around the edges this time. EDIT: and of course the note II is heavier by quite a bit as well.

Although if you are prone to dropping etc. phones then a case is needed! :p Unfortunately phones don't seem to be as durable these days.
 
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I was deciding between s4, note2 and one...went for note2 s battery is needed most
.
fist day after first charge 36h on with 4h screen time.
second charge - now, 27h and 2h50mins screen time with 49% left

if you need a lot of battery, then go for note2.
 
bastic said:
I was deciding between s4, note2 and one...went for note2 s battery is needed most
.
fist day after first charge 36h on with 4h screen time.
second charge - now, 27h and 2h50mins screen time with 49% left

if you need a lot of battery, then go for note2.
Click to expand...

That is fantastic!!

Some days im out the house for 11hours and im terrified to use my current phone incase I need to make an emergency call later on.
 
I watched a few videos on youtube just for the spen and was amazed at what it could do but I do wonder if its a novelty thing.

Have you used your as a sat nav? Thats something I will be using any phone I get for a lot
 
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