When 4.8" isn't big enough, there's the Galaxy Note 2 (1 Viewer)

[Hanson]

Samsung has been throwing out tons of different form factors to see which ones stick. At one point, they had four sizes for tablets -- 7", 7.7", 8.9", and 10.1". The Note was their >5" phone form factor, and after selling 10million units worldwide without the benefit of the US market (it was added very late in the game to AT&T and then TMo), they decided they were on to something. They're expecting to sell 20 million of the Note 2 worldwide, and I would guess they will sell more of the Note 2 than all Window Phone 8 devices combined.

 

[Hanson]

This is the best reviewed phone in... about two weeks. That said, the critical approval for this phone is pretty much unanimous. Another glowing review from Pocketlint:

http://www.pocket-lint.com/review/6011/samsung-galaxy-note-2-review





Quote:

When you get the Note 2 out of its box, your first reaction will be to its enormous size. Some will find it absurd, but those who want a big screen with loads of beautiful detail, a much better battery and some cool pen features will "get" it within 10 minutes of holding it for the first time.

The Note is a device that shouldn't work. A device that the Koreans dreamt up after too little sleep, and too many energy drinks. But somehow, it's the most captivating phone we've used for a long time. It manages to invalidate the tablet to some extent, because it's big enough to be a powerful media device, but small enough to carry everywhere.

It isn't a phone for everyone, but those who love gadgets will take to it, and it will change their lives.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Originally Posted by Hanson /t/324119/when-4-8-isnt-big-enough-theres-the-galaxy-note-2#post_3986685
Samsung has been throwing out tons of different form factors to see which ones stick. At one point, they had four sizes for tablets -- 7", 7.7", 8.9", and 10.1". The Note was their >5" phone form factor, and after selling 10million units worldwide without the benefit of the US market (it was added very late in the game to AT&T and then TMo), they decided they were on to something. They're expecting to sell 20 million of the Note 2 worldwide, and I would guess they will sell more of the Note 2 than all Window Phone 8 devices combined.

But none of those (or any other) tablets had built-in, fully-featured phone capabilities (via wireless headsets) though, so there's no comparison to be made there w/ the Note.

If they make what I'm suggesting, they can also still provide wireless handsets to go w/ the headsets for those who don't want to use headsets too.

Anyone buying a tablet is bound to have a cellphone, if not a smartphone, so it's not like that won't sell better than existing tablets. They can keep making smartphones in smaller form factors, but I really think they should also give the tablet w/ built-in phone some serious tries as well, especially while they can get a jump on the market right now. Also, the tablet market is still relatively new w/ much greater growth potential than the smartphone market at this point, so why not invest your R&D, etc. on that instead?

One of the big things that stop people from buying a tablet is price, but if people don't need to split their $ between tablet and phone, then there's more to go toward that tablet+phone combo.

Seems like more and more folks are using headsets anyway, and something like the Note 2 isn't exactly great to use as a handset either. If enough people still want a handset, then sell them a wireless handset that's actually nice to use to go w/ that tablet instead.

_Man_

 

[Hanson]

Actually, the first generation Galaxy Tab had cellular voice. But all of the US carriers insisted it be removed. I can only speculate that they wanted to double dip you for a phone and tablet and didn't want you to replace your phone with a tablet. There are ROMs that reinstate the cellular radio on the GSM models, since it was merely disabled in software and not physically removed. All in all, it was not a big hit in Europe and it doesn't look like Samsung bothered to pursue this functionality.

As I understand it, if you can get over the way it looks, the GN2 offers very good voice service as the earpiece is loud and clear and because the mic is physically closer to your mouth, it loud and clear on the other side as well. So it's actually a nicer handset than a lot of the other available smartphones.

I think we had this discussion in the Galaxy Tab thread about diverging the smart from the the phone again by having a cheap dumbphone for calls and a tablet for everything else.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Since the carriers are moving to their new shared data plans w/ unlimited voice+text, does that issue matter anymore?

_Man_

 

[Hanson]

Now that wireless tethering is free on Verizon, it wouldn't cost any more to get a phone and tablet over a tablet that makes calls. The big stumbling block here is that the 7" Galaxy Tabs with voice didn't sell very well -- people by and large didn't seem interested in using their tablet as their primary phone. Perhaps if the Note 2 sells like gangbusters, someone, maybe Samsung or maybe LG, will put out a 7" tablet that makes calls. But I think you'll find enough people who would want a phone that doesn't fit into their pockets comfortably to support such a thing.

 

[Hanson]

http://www.technobuffalo.com/reviews/samsung-galaxy-note-ii-review/



Quote:

I love the Galaxy Note II. This is the best phone I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing so far. I wholeheartedly think this device is a step above any phone on the market. Sure, it’s big and it looks like Flava Flav should have it gold-chained around his neck. Yes, the price point will probably be around $299 with a two-year contract. I’m guessing, since that is what the original Note was priced around, and that is about 50 percent higher than other leading smartphones. Still, I believe it is worth every cent.

[SIZE= 14px]These 9-9.5 out of 10 reviews are getting to be ho hum now. This is the first review that didn't ding the device for its size.[/SIZE]

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Originally Posted by Hanson /t/324119/when-4-8-isnt-big-enough-theres-the-galaxy-note-2#post_3987030
Now that wireless tethering is free on Verizon, it wouldn't cost any more to get a phone and tablet over a tablet that makes calls. The big stumbling block here is that the 7" Galaxy Tabs with voice didn't sell very well -- people by and large didn't seem interested in using their tablet as their primary phone. Perhaps if the Note 2 sells like gangbusters, someone, maybe Samsung or maybe LG, will put out a 7" tablet that makes calls. But I think you'll find enough people who would want a phone that doesn't fit into their pockets comfortably to support such a thing.

But how did those original(?) GTabs do voice though? And it's quite likely nobody, except a few geeks, were even aware of the capability anyway -- plus you mentioned that it was blocked by some/most of the carriers as well. So that is probably meaninglessly small sample size for determining viability of what I'm suggesting.

Anyway, when you say Verizon's offering free tethering, you're not talking about using the device as mobile hotspot, correct? OR did they actually ditch the additional hotspot fee and only charge for the actual data usage -- and if so, does that only apply to the newer plans that do unlimited voice/text + shared data or does it also apply to the old style plans (that they're phasing out, but many of us still have w/ old phones)?

_Man_

 

[Hanson]

The voice feature in the Galaxy Tab was taken out by all US carriers, but it was available in Europe, where practically no one used it. There was an actual cellular voice radio built in that required a headset of some kind. The need for an accessory to make calls is a severely limiting factor.

If you have an old Verizon "unlimited data" plan, you have to pay for the hotspot feature. But if you have the new data buckets plan, hotspot is included at no charge. Of course, the new data bucket plans are crazy expensive in comparison to the old plans, although the more users on the plan, the better it gets. When you get to around 4-5 people, it actually starts getting cheaper. But if you're one person or even two, it will end up costing you an extra 20-50 per month depending how much data you need.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

I guess people prefered using a big honking smartphone as their "accessory" for phone calls when they already have a G Tab that can do it w/ a little BT headset. Of course, I can understand that not everyone likes using a BT headset, but at least here in the US, a BT headset is far more reusable than a cellular handset, which probably makes up part of the diff between markets. Also, I wonder if those Europeans use dumb phones to go w/ their G Tabs (or are at least less likely to upgrade old smartphones since they have tablets for the bulk of the "smart" stuff).

_Man_