Note 4 (now $200 rebate with any $10+ trade-in!)

[Red Storm]

Gear S is fugly big on the presenter's wrists.

Yeah they didn't go round display so it ends up being really big, not liking it.

 

[dawheat]

Yeah they didn't go round display so it ends up being really big, not liking it.

The full thickness band they're using doesn't help either - I think a standard band would be better.

 

[dawheat]

Engadget says 3gb of ram.

Hmm my bad - GSMarena had it as 4gb for some reason.

 

[Kaido]

Wow Oculus partnership? That's going to jumpstart some serious fun!

http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/03/samsung-virtual-reality/

 

[Red Storm]

John Carmack!

This wasn't a secret though, we knew they had a partnership that included Samsung getting their own VR headset.

 

[DeathReborn]

Looks like 32bit across the board though at least from the Anandtech Hands On article. GSMArena among others still say 64bit in the non Qualcomm variant though.

The female presenter is struggling quite a bit - seems like she's supposed to add color commentary but it just isn't flowing.

That'd be Rachel Riley, she's better as a sidekick on a "comedy" quiz show (8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown) to be honest.

 

[dawheat]

Wow Oculus partnership? That's going to jumpstart some serious fun!

http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/03/samsung-virtual-reality/

I'm actually excited about this - didn't realize anyone was going to use the phone itself as the screen.
- lag is supposed to be unnoticeable
- you can use the camera to see "outside"
- not just games/apps - you can watch movies. While it may leave me open to be murdered, it sounds awesome and immersive.

 

[Kaido]

I'm actually excited about this - didn't realize anyone was going to use the phone itself as the screen.
- lag is supposed to be unnoticeable
- you can use the camera to see "outside"
- not just games/apps - you can watch movies. While it may leave me open to be murdered, it sounds awesome and immersive.

Yeah, I don't really see any downsides. The initial complaints were "well the GPU isn't very good on the mobile device" - well yeah, but if you want to do serious gaming, then you'd just go home & plug your Oculus into a high-powered gaming PC (or Sager laptop or what have you). But given how many awesome games have come out on the mobile platform - Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, Ridiculous Fishing, Doodle Jump, Limbo, etc. - I can't even imagine how creative people are going to be with simple graphics combined with an immerse display setup. Cartoon games are way fun & don't necessarily need to look like Far Cry 4 to be super enjoyable.

What I think would be really cool would be incorporating a Leap Motion controller on the outside of the headset. Their latest software update has gotten ridiculous accurate with tracking really fine details like precise fingertip locations - it would be awesome to hold out your hands in front of the headset & play something like Blek in 3D space while moving around & not having to hold a controller!

 

[Red Storm]

Yeah, I don't really see any downsides. The initial complaints were "well the GPU isn't very good on the mobile device" - well yeah, but if you want to do serious gaming, then you'd just go home & plug your Oculus into a high-powered gaming PC (or Sager laptop or what have you). But given how many awesome games have come out on the mobile platform - Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, Ridiculous Fishing, Doodle Jump, Limbo, etc. - I can't even imagine how creative people are going to be with simple graphics combined with an immerse display setup. Cartoon games are way fun & don't necessarily need to look like Far Cry 4 to be super enjoyable.

What I think would be really cool would be incorporating a Leap Motion controller on the outside of the headset. Their latest software update has gotten ridiculous accurate with tracking really fine details like precise fingertip locations - it would be awesome to hold out your hands in front of the headset & play something like Blek in 3D space while moving around & not having to hold a controller!

One thing I'm waiting for is a football game where you can see through the eyes of the QB, or running back or wide receiver, that would be awesome.

Come on EA, you bought NFL exclusivity so I expect you to be working on this!

 

[NutBucket]

With exclusivity comes complacency.....

 

[dawheat]

So unless someone else comes out with a phablet in the next month that's better, this seems like my next phone to replace my Note 3 and OPO:

- QHD screen from early reviews seems as good as expected, unlike the G3 screen. Brighter, more accurate, not a power hog like 1440p LCD screens.
- metal frame solves my biggest complaint about the Note 3 build - the chrome plastic chips on everything.
- improved camera with OIS should result in much better low light photos where the Note 3 is weak
- I'm glad 32GB remains the base storage, at least for the US

Everything else being incremental was expected - SOC, battery, etc but still top of the line.

Unfortunately now I have to hope they manage to find a way to root the T-mobile or AT&T version.

 

[vi edit]

The Edge is interesting. It's like a Windows taskbar...for a phone.

I question it's overall usefulness and responsiveness though. Seems like it could be very buggy and more of a pain than it's worth.

Give them credit for trying though. That's much less gimmicky than the hyped up "LG curve" with ultra flat sales.

 

[Red Storm]

So unless someone else comes out with a phablet in the next month that's better, this seems like my next phone to replace my Note 3 and OPO:

- QHD screen from early reviews seems as good as expected, unlike the G3 screen. Brighter, more accurate, not a power hog like 1440p LCD screens.
- metal frame solves my biggest complaint about the Note 3 build - the chrome plastic chips on everything.
- improved camera with OIS should result in much better low light photos where the Note 3 is weak
- I'm glad 32GB remains the base storage, at least for the US

Everything else being incremental was expected - SOC, battery, etc but still top of the line.

Unfortunately now I have to hope they manage to find a way to root the T-mobile or AT&T version.

Yeah I already sold my OPO, the Note 4 is what I'm going with. I miss the S-Pen, and the new features will be put to good use. It's the perfect phone (in my opinion you small screen lovers!) and the one to beat, which I don't expect anyone to do.

 

[Kaido]

One thing I'm waiting for is a football game where you can see through the eyes of the QB, or running back or wide receiver, that would be awesome.

Come on EA, you bought NFL exclusivity so I expect you to be working on this!

Seriously, there are so many cool things that could be done with this. Ever want to lead an orchestra? Throw on your Oculus & setup a Leap Motion controller & wave your baton to conduct. They already have neat stuff like Voice Band for converting your voice into instruments, just imagine what could be done with 3D & motion tracking!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QxN1u7KWDM

 

[Anubis]

interesting seeing the edge,

 

[sze5003]

I need a new phone and want to move from Verizon. I took a look at note 4 and it looks nice. I may want the tmobile version so I can take it to metro pcs. But I also want root and the ability to run pure roms on it. I'm not a fan of touchwiz at all. So tired of my m7 already.

 

[NutBucket]

I don't see the point of running AOSP or similar on a Note given the amount of custom hardware involved. Seems like you'd lose most of the extra functionality that makes the Note different in the first place.

 

[sze5003]

I don't see the point of running AOSP or similar on a Note given the amount of custom hardware involved. Seems like you'd lose most of the extra functionality that makes the Note different in the first place.

Well yes that's true but I don't see what is so special about it that touchwiz offers. I've never owned a note but I have messed with other Samsung devices and I always hated their OS.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Well yes that's true but I don't see what is so special about it that touchwiz offers. I've never owned a note but I have messed with other Samsung devices and I always hated their OS.

You can run a different launcher and retain the s-pen functionality.

 

[ControlD]

I don't see the point of running AOSP or similar on a Note given the amount of custom hardware involved. Seems like you'd lose most of the extra functionality that makes the Note different in the first place.

I am running a AOSP based ROM on my Note 2 and haven't lost much if anything in functionality. The S-Pen still works fine for example. I do lose the Samsung custom apps but I was never all that impressed with them anyhow.

 

[sze5003]

You can run a different launcher and retain the s-pen functionality.

I would use something like nova and that should help. I'm guessing retail out of contract it will cost $600 or so. Don't want to renew my Verizon contract because I have unlimited data but I'm getting throttled in my area already. I would get the unlocked edition but I'm also hesitant because the nexus 6 should be out in October or November.

 

[vi edit]

Nevermind...I can't read a calendar.

 

[GTRagnarok]

Maybe my expectations were too high, but I'm disappointed. With it retaining a 5.7" display, I was hoping they would shrink the bezels a bit and make the device smaller overall, but they've actually made it wider by over 2mm according to AnandTech's specs sheet. That could be forgiven if it was water resistant which it's not. They've barely increased the battery size and returning the speaker to the back is a regression. Looks like it has an awesome display and camera, but I think I'll stick with my Galaxy S4 for another year.

 

[Ravynmagi]

It's 2mm taller, not wider.

I like the look of the phone. Cheap looking faux chrome band has been replaced with a real aluminum band. It still uses faux leather texture on the back, but the faux stitching is gone, so that's a big improvement IMO.

Also am happy they dumped USB 3.0, that hole on the bottom of the phone was just too dang big. I almost never used my USB 3.0 cable because it was too difficult to plugin. Can't wait for USB C to arrive.

But I'm going to stick to my Note 3, just not enough of a spec/feature bump. CPU performance is probably not changed much. The GPU is much faster, but it's got a much higher resolution to work with. And I'm still not certain how beneficial 1440p on a phone is going to be for me.

Of course these are the words of a person that bought a Note 3 about 6 months ago and is just convincing himself it's not time to upgrade yet. Do I sound convincing?

 

[Brian Stirling]

Engadget says 3gb of ram.

Yeah, 3GB it appears and 4.4.X.


Probably will buy...


Brian