How does the Note II hardware stack up today?

[ControlD]

So, just a quick bit of background. I am an iPhone 4S user. I spent a day using a Note II this past weekend and it was .... glorious.

I don't pay a lot of attention to Android hardware honestly. I know that the Note II was considered to be a fairly beefy platform when it came out. Is this still the case? I am having a real hard time going back to my puny 4S screen and thinking it might be time to exercise my upgrade with Verizon, but I tend to use my full two years or more with my phones and getting something that has been left behind it always a bummer.

Still, there are rumors of a Note III floating around out there ...

 

[thecapsaicinkid]

I'd wait for the III or get the Optimus G Pro pro-G (pro).

 

[Chocu1a]

Um, quad core Exynos, 2gb ram, 1280*720 screen. tons of software bells & whistles.
Still top of the line. Only limitation isthe screen resolution, but that is due to the wacom digitizer, not Samsung.

 

[jacktesterson]

Its still high end for today's specs

It will probably slow down in future faster than the S4 Pro/ 320 or S600 chipsets though - The Mali GPU is quite a bit weaker and the chipset is aging.

For next couple years though, it will be great.

 

[alangrift]

Note II is pretty amazing, but is it better than the HTC One?

 

[s44]

Note 2 is the only one of last year's phones that's still recommendable. And Verizon being Verizon means the Note 3 won't appear on there for quite a while.

However, it has been around long enough that you can/should save your upgrade and use Swappa to buy the Note secondhand and sell your i4S. Net cost will be a bit under $200, but you'll save your upgrade and -- perhaps more importantly -- if you have unlimited you won't lose it.

 

[ControlD]

Note 2 is the only one of last year's phones that's still recommendable. And Verizon being Verizon means the Note 3 won't appear on there for quite a while.

However, it has been around long enough that you can/should save your upgrade and use Swappa to buy the Note secondhand and sell your i4S. Net cost will be a bit under $200, but you'll save your upgrade and -- perhaps more importantly -- if you have unlimited you won't lose it.

Thanks for the information. I have never heard of Swappa before.

 

[KentState]

I still haven't seen another phone that I want more than my Note 2. As far as hardware, the phone is plenty fast and has no issues.

 

[dguy6789]

It's good but quad core Cortex A9 can not by any measure be called top of the line today.

 

[poofyhairguy]

It's good but quad core Cortex A9 can not by any measure be called top of the line today.

Amen. I wouldn't want any Cortex A9 hardware. Just talked my sister out of the Note 2 for that reason.

 

[ControlD]

Amen. I wouldn't want any Cortex A9 hardware. Just talked my sister out of the Note 2 for that reason.

Why? (Serious question)

 

[poofyhairguy]

Why? (Serious question)

Because Cortex A9 is 2011 tech. Current A15 designs blow A9 designs out of the water. Add in that older Mali GPU (compared to say a Galaxy S4's GPU) and everything is out of date but the RAM.

 

[pmark]

Because Cortex A9 is 2011 tech. Current A15 designs blow A9 designs out of the water. Add in that older Mali GPU (compared to say a Galaxy S4's GPU) and everything is out of date but the RAM.

Does it really matter to anyone besides from phone fanatics? Doesn't the Note 2 run pretty much everything out there? I know my S3 handles everything and I see no reason to upgrade anytime soon.

 

[ChronoReverse]

There's no reason to upgrade but if you're getting a new phone you might as well.

 

[dguy6789]

Does it really matter to anyone besides from phone fanatics? Doesn't the Note 2 run pretty much everything out there? I know my S3 handles everything and I see no reason to upgrade anytime soon.

Specs are just as important for phones as they are for traditional computers. They're improving performance wise by a huge margin on an annual basis. Phones are still not powerful enough today to web browse well on some of the more complicated websites I frequent as one example of why specs are important.

 

[ControlD]

There's no reason to upgrade but if you're getting a new phone you might as well.

I'm not quite sure I follow. There is always a reason to upgrade, but rarely a need to do so.

 

[Shlong]

I think a lot of people are upgrading just for the sake of upgrading. I went to the store and played around with the GS4 and One, felt that itch of wanting to buy the GS4 but thought better of it as I'm happily fine with my Note 2. It should be good enough to last you for another 2 years or so.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Does it really matter to anyone besides from phone fanatics?

Yes if the goal is to have the same device for 2+ years, then using a design that is two years old already (even if it is the best version of that design) is not a good plan.

It would be like buying a Core2Quad in 2011.

 

[s44]

Yes if the goal is to have the same device for 2+ years, then using a design that is two years old already (even if it is the best version of that design) is not a good plan.

It would be like buying a Core2Quad in 2011.

Except a C2Q is still fine now.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Except a C2Q is still fine now.

Ok, it would have been like buying a Pentium D in 2008.

 

[s44]

No, I think your first analogy is right. Exynos 4412+2gb will be fine for your wife or any non-gamer/poweruser for 2+ years, because it -- like C2Q -- is well into Good Enough territory.

 

[poofyhairguy]

No, I think your first analogy is right. Exynos 4412+2gb will be fine for your wife or any non-gamer/poweruser for 2+ years, because it -- like C2Q -- is well into Good Enough territory.

You are right that its probably enough for a non-gamer/poweruser, but heck they could probably get by on a Note 1 for two years! Whenever you are barely using the capability of a device then you can get more life out of old tech.

Seeing as how Mr. Stall already has older tech in hand, and is bugged by having older hardware, I think he fits more into our category where one phone that has significantly more CPU power than another is a worthy upgrade. Its not like you don't see that extra power every time you open a web browser.

My sister is the same way- she wants to play games on her phone so I push her away from the Note 2 and into the One.

 

[ControlD]

Well you have all given me plenty to think about. To be honest I don't game much on my current phone, but I suppose that has more to do with battery life than anything else. For me the main draws of the Note are the screen (obvious) and LTE which makes a huge difference. Mainly my phone is used as a media player / texting / browsing device. I am also wanting to move to something I can use with Linux which is problematic at best with Apple devices.

 

[s44]

If you have unlimited, going to unlimited LTE will be the greatest thing ever. So not giving that up (i.e. not using your upgrade) is crucial.

 

[ControlD]

If you have unlimited, going to unlimited LTE will be the greatest thing ever. So not giving that up (i.e. not using your upgrade) is crucial.

Alas I am limited, so that is not something I can take advantage of. My data usage is pretty low, but when I need to surf away from WiFi the iPhone is painfully slow compared to my wife's SG3. I realize moving to a iPhone 5 would take care of that, but it doesn't address the other issues.