****The Official Note III Thread****
- Thread starter sonic_rm
- Start date
I agree with you about the phone camera's not being incredible but I suppose here its relative to other phones.
I have a HO and the camera although really good is no where near the quality of my Mirror-less camera but I don't have my camera with me all the time, phone I do. And HO is more than capable of taking great shots but for me not a replacement for a camera.
I think the size of the lens etc really does matter and although things are improving (new Lumia looks good) it needs quiet a bit to catch up to replace a dedicated camera for me at least.
Huh the Note II is not cheap and neither is it nasty! It looks/feels high end in every respect.
@stoosh
Yup, HTC were so stupid to go with the tegra 3 chipset in the X 
Biggest mistake they ever made! All because of the "quad core" marketing term (and being cheaper plus more stock probably), amazing seeing the mid range phone match/beat the flagship devices! 
I have my one s animation timings set to 0.5 and nova set to "nova" for animation speed so it is even snappier now
My guess, at least a year! 
Developers have/are taking ages to update their apps to the ICS UI guidelines, only in the last few months have we started to see them being update with the holo UI so something that would require more time and effort (I imagine....) won't be done as quickly.....
Lets hope they do as imo, it is the main thing that is holding back nexus devices now! Stock android was the most wanted thing a couple of years ago but not so much now especially when you read the GS 4 thread where people have tried the stock GE ROM out and ended back on a touchwiz based rom......
How could I forget that beauty! Was so much nicer than the GS 3!
Yeah they need to stop repeating the same crap each year, always the same mistakes!
Posted this before but just in case you missed it, a good read on why it would be a shame if HTC went out of business:
http://pocketnow.com/2013/05/22/imagine-a-world-without-htc
Zoe is extremely cool and the new highlight videos stuff actually looks extremely excellent and done to a very professional standard
As much as I hate htc for what they have done with the S, I am still so tempted by their phones as the software is just perfect imo and is largely what makes their phones so special to me
Oh very nice! Which size have you gone for? I have a funny feeling that you will return it pretty soon though due to the size, especially if you couldn't handle the note II
unless you are just using it as a tablet and keeping the Gs 4 as your phone?
Thanks
Hopefully more OEM's will take nokia and HTC's approach to the camera area next year and drop this MP epeen race, getting tiring now! 8MP (I need a decent amount of MP now since I crop or straighten photos a fair bit Before I would have been happy with 4MP though), big pixels (>2) + OIS + dedicated image process chip + HDR mic as standard please!
Biggest mistake they ever made! All because of the "quad core" marketing term (and being cheaper plus more stock probably), amazing seeing the mid range phone match/beat the flagship devices! I have my one s animation timings set to 0.5 and nova set to "nova" for animation speed so it is even snappier now
My guess, at least a year!
Developers have/are taking ages to update their apps to the ICS UI guidelines, only in the last few months have we started to see them being update with the holo UI so something that would require more time and effort (I imagine....) won't be done as quickly.....Lets hope they do as imo, it is the main thing that is holding back nexus devices now! Stock android was the most wanted thing a couple of years ago but not so much now especially when you read the GS 4 thread where people have tried the stock GE ROM out and ended back on a touchwiz based rom......
How could I forget that beauty!
Was so much nicer than the GS 3! Yeah they need to stop repeating the same crap each year, always the same mistakes!
Posted this before but just in case you missed it, a good read on why it would be a shame if HTC went out of business:
http://pocketnow.com/2013/05/22/imagine-a-world-without-htc
Zoe is extremely cool and the new highlight videos stuff actually looks extremely excellent and done to a very professional standard
As much as I hate htc for what they have done with the S, I am still so tempted by their phones as the software is just perfect imo and is largely what makes their phones so special to me
Oh very nice! Which size have you gone for? I have a funny feeling that you will return it pretty soon though due to the size, especially if you couldn't handle the note II
unless you are just using it as a tablet and keeping the Gs 4 as your phone?
Thanks
Hopefully more OEM's will take nokia and HTC's approach to the camera area next year and drop this MP epeen race, getting tiring now! 8MP (I need a decent amount of MP now since I crop or straighten photos a fair bit Before I would have been happy with 4MP though), big pixels (>2) + OIS + dedicated image process chip + HDR mic as standard please!
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@Nexus
@El1te Soon my friend....soon
Absolutely, HTC bought into the quad core hype and basically hindered the One X and as you said a mid range phone matched or even beat its flagship phone. Basically HTC embarrassed itself with another one of its phones! They made good in the end using a better chipset in the One XL which was viewed by many and quite rightly so.
Nova is great to tinker with and I'm glad that it makes your HOS even speedier It's hands down the best home replacement app available IMO.
Oh yes, stock Android was the bees knees and most of us all bought into it and actually thought that OEM skins were a hinderance but as OEMs advanced and integrated features that we all took for granted, it soon dawned that stock Android was actually bare bones and skins like Touchwiz and Sense were actually pretty damn good.
Take my example, I went from a S2 to the Galaxy Nexus but was extremely alarmed that many of the features that were available on Touchwiz were not available on the Galaxy Nexus and it left an empty feeling and spoiled using the Galaxy Nexus for me. Besides back in those days the first iteration of ICS was extremely buggy and it made moving back to the S2 all the more of a no brainer. So I'm not surprised people went from Touchwiz to GE then back to Touchwiz again. Despite all our gripes with Touchwiz and yes it does have a lot of bloat, it also brings a fair few things to the table that we do take for granted. I'm not in the slightest bit interested using a GE ROM, as it's very bare bones.
The Ativ S was easy to forget, after all aren't all windows devices instantly forgettable? lol
Thanks for the links, I remember reading the article before and its an eye opener, like I said if only HTC made more of an effort in the customer service side of things and tightened their QC then they would be the go to company for many consumers out there. Shame they can't work on those aspects.
Zoe is incredible and easily the best thing (besides Boomsound) that HTC have invented, even I'm salivating after watching that video but have been scared off HTC and their QC issues regarding the One. Shame that the HTC Butterfly S isn't going to make an appearance to these shores as that would be a very nice alternative to the HO. I might have to look into importing the Butterfly S if possible seeing as that is apparently going to be running Sense 5 and 4.2.2 out of the box.
You're right, I too don't like HTC much but am also still tempted by their phones and the majority of the time I would look to their devices first when considering buying a new phone. As you're well aware, they've let me down with several times with their shoddy QC across many devices, which is a shame. It's got to the point whenever I look at the HO I physically shudder as I had a torrid time with that device.
I've gone for the Black 6.3 8Gb Mega, the price fell quite considerably on Amazon and I thought now's a good time to pull the trigger. It's going to be my replacement for the Nexus 7, I'll use my S4 as my daily driver. I couldn't handle the Note II, I haven't got a snowballs chance in hell to use the Mega!
Nova is great to tinker with and I'm glad that it makes your HOS even speedier
It's hands down the best home replacement app available IMO.Oh yes, stock Android was the bees knees and most of us all bought into it and actually thought that OEM skins were a hinderance but as OEMs advanced and integrated features that we all took for granted, it soon dawned that stock Android was actually bare bones and skins like Touchwiz and Sense were actually pretty damn good.
Take my example, I went from a S2 to the Galaxy Nexus but was extremely alarmed that many of the features that were available on Touchwiz were not available on the Galaxy Nexus and it left an empty feeling and spoiled using the Galaxy Nexus for me. Besides back in those days the first iteration of ICS was extremely buggy and it made moving back to the S2 all the more of a no brainer. So I'm not surprised people went from Touchwiz to GE then back to Touchwiz again. Despite all our gripes with Touchwiz and yes it does have a lot of bloat, it also brings a fair few things to the table that we do take for granted. I'm not in the slightest bit interested using a GE ROM, as it's very bare bones.
The Ativ S was easy to forget, after all aren't all windows devices instantly forgettable? lol
Thanks for the links, I remember reading the article before and its an eye opener, like I said if only HTC made more of an effort in the customer service side of things and tightened their QC then they would be the go to company for many consumers out there. Shame they can't work on those aspects.
Zoe is incredible and easily the best thing (besides Boomsound) that HTC have invented, even I'm salivating after watching that video but have been scared off HTC and their QC issues regarding the One. Shame that the HTC Butterfly S isn't going to make an appearance to these shores as that would be a very nice alternative to the HO. I might have to look into importing the Butterfly S if possible seeing as that is apparently going to be running Sense 5 and 4.2.2 out of the box.
You're right, I too don't like HTC much but am also still tempted by their phones and the majority of the time I would look to their devices first when considering buying a new phone. As you're well aware, they've let me down with several times with their shoddy QC across many devices, which is a shame. It's got to the point whenever I look at the HO I physically shudder as I had a torrid time with that device.
I've gone for the Black 6.3 8Gb Mega, the price fell quite considerably on Amazon and I thought now's a good time to pull the trigger. It's going to be my replacement for the Nexus 7, I'll use my S4 as my daily driver. I couldn't handle the Note II, I haven't got a snowballs chance in hell to use the Mega!
@El1te Soon my friend....soon
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Indeed, however, had the tegra 3 chipset been capable of using the needed radio bands/LTE in USA, I am sure HTC would have stuck with the tegra 3 chipset still Saying that, at least they managed to boost the performance by a **** load with the JB/sense V4+ update in both real world usage and benchmarks (IIRC it is the top scoring device at the minute compared to the one S and GS 3 by a decent amount, originally it scored considerably lower than both those phones )
Nova is a must have app! Personally I prefer apex overall as it has more animations, options/tweaks etc. but the micro lag when scrolling back in the app drawer ruins it for me
Gone are the days when everyone with their desire, galaxy s 1 etc. would root and flash CM ASAP!
I actually quite liked the touchwiz version on the GS 2, main reason was due to hardware acceleration, which meant it was in a different league to other android phones when it came to performance, colour scheme wasn't great but the extra features/tweaks were excellent, overall it was much better than sense on the sensation by quite a long shot imo.
Most definitely! Don't let the windows fans hear you saying that though
You had fun times with your HTC one devices! But yes you were very unlucky with HTC this time round
The BS looks absolutely superb, however, I really don't like the look of it, cheap looking glossy plastic makes me But hey! At least HTC got the button/logo setup correct this time.......
Ah well then if it is taking the "tablet" position then it is a great choice, MKBHD did a good video on it recently and I have to say it looks great, only thing that it is lacking a wee bit is the screen res. but I am sure that it is more than good enough especially since the rest of the screen quality is superb (being SAMOLED:
Saying that, at least they managed to boost the performance by a **** load with the JB/sense V4+ update in both real world usage and benchmarks (IIRC it is the top scoring device at the minute compared to the one S and GS 3 by a decent amount, originally it scored considerably lower than both those phones )Nova is a must have app! Personally I prefer apex overall as it has more animations, options/tweaks etc. but the micro lag when scrolling back in the app drawer ruins it for me
Gone are the days when everyone with their desire, galaxy s 1 etc. would root and flash CM ASAP!
I actually quite liked the touchwiz version on the GS 2, main reason was due to hardware acceleration, which meant it was in a different league to other android phones when it came to performance, colour scheme wasn't great but the extra features/tweaks were excellent, overall it was much better than sense on the sensation by quite a long shot imo.
Most definitely!
Don't let the windows fans hear you saying that though You had fun times with your HTC one devices!
But yes you were very unlucky with HTC this time round The BS looks absolutely superb, however, I really don't like the look of it, cheap looking glossy plastic makes me
But hey! At least HTC got the button/logo setup correct this time....... Ah well then if it is taking the "tablet" position then it is a great choice, MKBHD did a good video on it recently and I have to say it looks great, only thing that it is lacking a wee bit is the screen res. but I am sure that it is more than good enough especially since the rest of the screen quality is superb (being SAMOLED
:
Oh right! Can't believe he got that wrong, not like him to get pretty important specs like that wrong especially when it comes to screen tech!
Have to say the quality looks really good for LCD though! Res./sharpness shouldn't be as much of a problem then since it will be using a "proper" RGB sub pixel arrangement.
Have to say the quality looks really good for LCD though! Res./sharpness shouldn't be as much of a problem then since it will be using a "proper" RGB sub pixel arrangement.
I'm a bit surprised at his mistake too. He's done it a couple of times (Galaxy camera, said it had SAMOLED)
Yes 720p upto around 7-8 inches is fine. Nexus 7 screen still looked good when I used it the other day, a tad undersaturated but still very nice.
You can't beat a SAMOLED for video watching though - IMO of course.
Yes 720p upto around 7-8 inches is fine. Nexus 7 screen still looked good when I used it the other day, a tad undersaturated but still very nice.
You can't beat a SAMOLED for video watching though - IMO of course.
Yeah I have noticed that he has got a few things wrong in quite a few videos lately too and doesn't seem to be aware of certain stuff i.e. like when comparing the GS 4 and htc one camera, he says that the GS 4 has "WAY MORE" features than the one, however, the htc one has a lot of the GS 4 features too, however, they are tied to zoe and the gallery, not shown in the camera app like the GS 4.
The nexus 7 has got a really good screen, saying that most LCD screens these days are pretty damn good, not like 3+ years ago where they all had terrible viewing angles, washed out colours etc. Sony are the only ones lagging behind........ *runs away from xperia Z owners*
Indeed! Especially when it comes to anime/cartoon videos!
The nexus 7 has got a really good screen, saying that most LCD screens these days are pretty damn good, not like 3+ years ago where they all had terrible viewing angles, washed out colours etc.
Sony are the only ones lagging behind........ *runs away from xperia Z owners* Indeed! Especially when it comes to anime/cartoon videos!
@Nexus
@Kona, well what can I say? I'm a phone wh*re!
Seriously though, I needed a replacement for my N7 and the Mega was cheap enough and seems fine for my needs (mid range device - which does the job nicely). The N7 was frustrating me no end with its slow and laggy performance, it had to go!
That's where HTC excel in their software department. They may take their own sweet time releasing new firmware updates but at least they do it properly, unlike Samsung who released borked up and buggy firmware. So it says a lot when suddenly the HOX becomes a top scoring phone compared to the S3 and HOS when originally it was quite horrendous. Apparently battery life also improved? Which IMO was the achilles heel of the HOX at the time.
I haven't tried Apex in a long time, as you said it was the micro lags that put me off, having said that Nova still lags very occasionally on my S4 from starting up the device but then settles down after a while.
The S2 was miles ahead when it was released and people forgot that it had hardware acceleration and it was the breakthrough device that Samsung needed. It's still a very good device even now, it totally destroyed the Sensation, in fact I think HTC were not prepared just how much the S2 was infinitely better than the Sensation, hence the very quick release of the Sensation XE, but that bombed as well
Think I'll keep my "love" for Windows phones under my hat for now
Tell me about it! So much fun going back and forth to the post office with packages in hand praying to the Gods to give me a HTC device that was ok, but no it didn't happen
Good point re the Butterfly S, it is rather glossy looking, something I totally overlooked, the HO looks much better that has to be said. Build quality wise the Butterfly S isn't to my knowledge a unibody finish so that should eliminate quite a few of the QC issues that the HO has. (Mainly screen not being flush and uneven finish around the edge of the phone)
Oh most definitely the Mega is taking the tablet position, nice video review there, but as kona pointed out, the screen is LCD and not SAMOLED, which doesn't bother me, I only use my tablet now and then for surfing and playing a few games when I can't be bothered to fire up the laptop. It'll be a good media device as well, now that I can put my 3 micro sim card in it as well.
I'm looking forward to getting the device, I was so ready to throw my N7 against the wall, it was frustrating me that much.
I haven't tried Apex in a long time, as you said it was the micro lags that put me off, having said that Nova still lags very occasionally on my S4 from starting up the device but then settles down after a while.
The S2 was miles ahead when it was released and people forgot that it had hardware acceleration and it was the breakthrough device that Samsung needed. It's still a very good device even now, it totally destroyed the Sensation, in fact I think HTC were not prepared just how much the S2 was infinitely better than the Sensation, hence the very quick release of the Sensation XE, but that bombed as well
Think I'll keep my "love" for Windows phones under my hat for now
Tell me about it! So much fun going back and forth to the post office with packages in hand praying to the Gods to give me a HTC device that was ok, but no it didn't happen
Good point re the Butterfly S, it is rather glossy looking, something I totally overlooked, the HO looks much better that has to be said. Build quality wise the Butterfly S isn't to my knowledge a unibody finish so that should eliminate quite a few of the QC issues that the HO has. (Mainly screen not being flush and uneven finish around the edge of the phone)
Oh most definitely the Mega is taking the tablet position, nice video review there, but as kona pointed out, the screen is LCD and not SAMOLED, which doesn't bother me, I only use my tablet now and then for surfing and playing a few games when I can't be bothered to fire up the laptop. It'll be a good media device as well, now that I can put my 3 micro sim card in it as well.
I'm looking forward to getting the device, I was so ready to throw my N7 against the wall, it was frustrating me that much.
@Kona, well what can I say? I'm a phone wh*re!
Seriously though, I needed a replacement for my N7 and the Mega was cheap enough and seems fine for my needs (mid range device - which does the job nicely). The N7 was frustrating me no end with its slow and laggy performance, it had to go!
@El1te Soon my friend....soon
I'm even tempted to go back to a Note 2 and wait out till the N3 drops in price, I'm missing the big screen and battery quite a lot!
@stoosh
Yeah the battery life improved by a decent bit, still pretty poor compared to the GS 3 and one s though, unfortunately not much you can do with that power hungry tegra 3 chipset
You will always encounter lag when you boot your device up! Every thing is loading up, syncing etc. at the same time, I just leave it for about 30 seconds and all is good then Unless you mean after waking/unlocking the device? Haven't had that problem, have you got the option for keep in memory ticked?
Yup, Samsung were way ahead of the market at the time and it is one of the main reasons why they are doing so well today. IMO the sensation just wasn't in the same league, only thing it had going for it was software looks and for some, the design + perceived quality.
True, shouldn't have much, if any problems, it is also all/mostly plastic afaik and the design is pretty similar to the first butterfly, DNA etc. so should be easy enough for HTC to avoid problems since they haven't started from scratch with a new manufacturing process and design like they usually do
I am pretty tempted to get a tablet like device lately as I really want a bigger screen and great battery life, hopefully the revised nexus 7 will be really good bang per buck again!
£350+ is too much for the mega imo
If you don't mind me asking, how much did you get yours for?
You will always encounter lag when you boot your device up!
Every thing is loading up, syncing etc. at the same time, I just leave it for about 30 seconds and all is good then Unless you mean after waking/unlocking the device? Haven't had that problem, have you got the option for keep in memory ticked?Yup, Samsung were way ahead of the market at the time and it is one of the main reasons why they are doing so well today. IMO the sensation just wasn't in the same league, only thing it had going for it was software looks and for some, the design + perceived quality.
True, shouldn't have much, if any problems, it is also all/mostly plastic afaik and the design is pretty similar to the first butterfly, DNA etc. so should be easy enough for HTC to avoid problems since they haven't started from scratch with a new manufacturing process and design like they usually do
I am pretty tempted to get a tablet like device lately as I really want a bigger screen and great battery life, hopefully the revised nexus 7 will be really good bang per buck again!
£350+ is too much for the mega imo
If you don't mind me asking, how much did you get yours for?
Eh? It is the exact same design as the GS 4
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i9505_galaxy_s4-pictures-5371.php
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_mega_6_3_i9200-pictures-5398.php
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i9505_galaxy_s4-pictures-5371.php
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_mega_6_3_i9200-pictures-5398.php
