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Going from Note 2 to 3 worth it? Also, partial upgrade...

Savatage79

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Nov 17, 2012
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So now that its been out a bit, is the Note 3 definitely worth the upgrade? I absolutely love the Note 2...love it. And it seems the Note 3 is just better in all the right ways, how many of you upgraded and thought the jump was totally worth it?

Also, quick question...for partial upgrades, im not sure how it works but from what I looked up is it that they tack on 250 bucks to the upgrade price?

So for a note 3 im looking at 299 for the phone and 250 for the partial upgrade?? Is this what that all means?
 
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I can't comment on the partial upgrade part of your question, I'm on an unlimited data plan so I have to pay full price in order to keep that.

I had the Note 2 and like you, I absolutely loved it. For me, the only drawback to the N3, is it has a locked boot loader. I had the same situation with the Moto Bionic and SafeStrap worked well on it so it wasn't a major issue with the N3. Now, SS works on the N3 and I can run a custom ROM, so all is well. :D
And yes, the N3 is better in all the right ways to justify upgrading in my opinion. Even having to pay full price, it's worth it. I was able to sell my N2 and get some of the cost back. I am completely happy with the decision to upgrade. Good luck!
 
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IF you're otherwise pleased w/the performance/memory/specs/,I'd wait for ANDROID 4.3 to roll out.Then,the NOTE 2 you have will be practically identical to the GN3,less the processor upgrade/on-board memory & marginal screen size increase.

Unless you're absolutely needing the mentioned hardware spec bump-up,save your money & wait until the NOTE 4 arises next year.

It'll certainly be more of an upgrade than this & you can put the $ away starting now,making the plunge at that time quite a bit less painful in the wallet.
 
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I was able to sell my N2 and get some of the cost back. I am completely happy with the decision to upgrade. Good luck!

Sold my 5 month-old HTC ONE for this very reason,while I could still get a decent amount for it,made the transition a lot easier to manage on the budget.

For this reason,it definitely makes sense to follow MrClean's advice,sell the NOTE 2 outright instead of trading-in,as you surely get more for it going that route...
 
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So now that its been out a bit, is the Note 3 definitely worth the upgrade? I absolutely love the Note 2...love it. And it seems the Note 3 is just better in all the right ways, how many of you upgraded and thought the jump was totally worth it?

Also, quick question...for partial upgrades, im not sure how it works but from what I looked up is it that they tack on 250 bucks to the upgrade price?

So for a note 3 im looking at 299 for the phone and 250 for the partial upgrade?? Is this what that all means?
First off I have feedback from friends who have Note 2 models, since I chose to wait for Note 3. To the person, they all love theirs. Of that group of ten, seven have bought the Note 3 as I have. The other three are saving to upgrade, it's that worthwhile.

We are all incredibly impressed with the increase in speed, especially as it applys to the CPU/GPU performance. It's a rocket. Video and gaming performance is stellar. Smooth as silk, lag free, this is one amazing phone. A few more thoughts and first hand experiences here:

http://androidforums.com/6284275-post6.html

I enthusiastically endorse the Note 3 :D
 
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I can't speak to the partial upgrade but I did trade in my Note 2 as my carrier was giving me far more than what I still owed on it. As to the question of if it was worth it? Yes, definitely.

The 3 feels better than the 2. I can also see how some people think the 3 looks better than the 2. The 3 looks like metal and leather and the 2... plastic. Of course, it's all plastic but they do a good job of making it not feel that way.

Performance seems snappier to me. I don't run benchmarks though so it's all just by feel. Battery life is really good. I just spent almost 7 hours out in the cold (high of 28F) with it playing ingress (screen + data) and had 20% battery left.

The camera on the 2 was really good and the one on the 3 is even better. There are some neat software tricks built in all over the place on the OS. (Some of which will come with 4.3 when it finally makes it to the 2. You haven't said which carrier you're on but realize some carriers are going to take much longer to get it out though.)

Overall, I think it is a very worthwhile upgrade to do.
 
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I know most of you talk about the hardware side of things, but one has to consider the software side too. They removed some features and added others. The drawback of anything. For me the software added features were not great enough and moved/removed the features I really liked and used often. Hence why I am holding off and even turning my auto-update off in my Note 2.
 
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Depends on who you ask... ;)

I personnally don't think so. After playing with the demo for a good bit, it was not really mind blowing. The difference was negligible in my eyes. It wasn't that much faster or better.

It's interesting to see everyone's opinion on this. To me, the HD screen was the selling factor, the side by side comparison was no contest, the N3 was a lot sharper than the N2.
 
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One other item to consider:

When the NOTE 2 does indeed get ANDROID 4.3,will all the new S-PEN features be added,or,some omitted?

Also,as someone else posted,some things on the NOTE 2 were omitted/replaced on the NOTE 3 by AIR COMMAND as well.

A visit to a store for a thorough hands-on w/the NOTE 3 is definitely in order.
At least you have a working knowledge of the NOTE series & should be able to make a decision based on that & all of the great suggestions/points brought up by all who posted here.

+1 to MrClean :thumb: lots of good input from all.
 
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The Note 2 became the first phone I've had in a very long time that made me think I really could use this for longer than a year. Prior to that, I was getting a new phone practically every 3-6 months.

I recently played with the Note 3 in store and I know it's nowhere near the same as having it home and playing with it. Granted the 3 is nice and I'll get it one day just not now.

I really do love my Note 2. :thumb:
 
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Depends on who you ask... ;)

I personnally don't think so. After playing with the demo for a good bit, it was not really mind blowing. The difference was negligible in my eyes. It wasn't that much faster or better.

Judging any phone based on time spent with a heavily abused demo that hasn't been setup to include the apps one normally uses, is to cheat oneself out of the true accurate experience the phone is capable of.

A far better, common sense approach is to buy the phone and use it in the way you would normally. That is what the free trial period is for.

In my case I always buy what I'm interested in. Much to my surprise the Note 3 exceeded my expectations by a very wide margin. Using the apps I normally use is the only fair way for me to evaluate any phone.

I am so glad I gave the Note 3 the evaluation it deserved, it has turned out to be the best of the many new smartphones I've owned. It's such a joy to use, everyday I get more and more out of it.
 
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You forget that setting up the phone also requires one to go into settings and adjust certain parameters. Which is what I tried doing. I also launched and played with the default apps that I normally used with the Note 2. The added features were not that much more better and removed quite a bit that I liked. I scoured the entire settings trying to find the things I wanted that was present in 4.1.2, but couldn't find anything. Even pulled up S Search to query a few things.

Sorry, if I can't even get the settings I want from the get go straight out of the box, it is not an improvement. More like a step backwards to me. I even pulled out my S Pen with eraser to check calibration and work with it like I normally do.

In all honesty, I was more blown away playing with the Note 2 demo when I had the original Note. Now that I have the Note 2 and playing with the Note 3 demo; well, it wasn't the same experience. In fact, I found it quite lacking...

In my own view, the Note 3 is not a huge jump over the Note 2. Yet, in all honesty, if I still had my original Note and played with the Note 3, there would be a huge difference. Not so going from a Note 2 to the Note 3.
 
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I had a Note 2 for about a year before moving to the Note 3 in the beginning of October.

I enjoy the Note 3 quite a bit and there are a number of areas where it is significantly better, but I have to say for someone happy with the 2 I'd probably recommend sticking with it which I found to have a very good combination of features. The Note 2 capabilities that were lost in the 3 (old Google maps, s-pen button to switch between write and erase, different gallery and camera features, etc) are a bother, and as great as the 3 is in most ways I really didn't have any complaints at all with the 2 which is rare. Now that I have the 3 I probably couldn't give up its advantages (screen, feel, ir, usb 3) but I was more satisfied overall with the 2. It's also personal and others will come to different conclusions.
 
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The Note 2 became the first phone I've had in a very long time that made me think I really could use this for longer than a year. Prior to that, I was getting a new phone practically every 3-6 months.

I recently played with the Note 3 in store and I know it's nowhere near the same as having it home and playing with it. Granted the 3 is nice and I'll get it one day just not now.

I really do love my Note 2. :thumb:

Just like ScandaLeX and adding to her evaluation, I loved my Note 2 and would still have it today, were it not for the additional internal storage that the Note 3 offered me. Before I hear responses about there being 32gb and 64gb Note 2's, those were also not offered on Sprint (or any US provider, for that matter).

Now, answering this question is such a subjective question because everyone (at least, I hope) has different needs. Were it my preference, I'd have 64gb internal storage (minimum) coupled with my 64gb micro SD card. I'm also not the average consumer, when it comes to my devices and stored media, which is crucial for me in my personal and work life.

But, can I say that the overall functions on the Note 3 are that much "better" than the Note 2...not necessarily. There are some pros and cons that I could break down easily, but again...those aren't necessarily the same "pros and cons" for everyone else. One of the things that has affected my daily functions is the use of S-Note. With the Note 2, I could write notes in S-Note on my Note 8.0 Tablet, sync it, and it would sync without any issues with my Note 2. So I'd have a reference point for meetings, wherever I went and I didn't have my tablet with me. With the Note 3, it's a little more complicated and not quite as seamless a transition. Sync'ing to Evernote works, but I still haven't had time to organize it the way that I would want to view my notes.

So, that is one con that has affected my daily tasks, but overall the Note 3 was a worthwhile upgrade for me, simply due to the additional internal storage. If the Note 4 comes with a 64gb version, finally, then I may consier that as well.

Overall, upgrading from a Note 2 only becomes an upgrade by evaluating the tasks that are most important to an individual. If the combination of hardware/software specs increases productivity for that individual, then I'd say it's well worth it. If not, I'd say that unless there's a great deal on one, each individual can probably wait until the Note 4 is released and still be ok picking up a Note 3 for super cheap next year.

One other BIG pro, that I initially did not think would be one, is the Wireless charging! I wasn't big into the whole wireless charging craze, until I saw that no additional modifications would need to be made for wireless charging on the Note 3. Now that I have it, ALL my future phones have to have wireless charging capabilities. In addition to that, I absolutely love USB 3.0! Transferring data back and forth from the device is SO much faster than with USB 2.0. That's even while connected to a USB 2.0 port on a PC. Rather than taking several hours for me to backup both internal and external storage, the time to do backups has significantly decreased for me.
 
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I believe Samsung should be commended for the entire series of Note Smartphones.

First they were open minded and willing to take the risk of creating a new category of smartphones. That alone was a courageous first step. Then to follow with the Note II, with it's larger 5.5" screen and very modest increase in size over it's predecessor they demonstrated a keen focus on customer satisfaction.

Now releasing the Note 3 with its further refinements, makes for a very impressive accomplishment. Like many have stated, the Note II was / is such a very well designed, fast and reliable phone, they feel no immediate need to upgrade. That's a supreme compliment to Samsung design and product quality.

Speaking for myself it was the many terrific reports from my friends, about the Galaxy Note II that convinced me to buy the Note 3.

Finally it's an even more impressive feat, when the Note Series develops into such a successful phone that it influences Apple and others to consider building a direct competitor.

It's great to see the Phablet category become a dominate and successful force in the marketplace. Nothing beats choices from my point of view.
 
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I believe Samsung should be commended for the entire series of Note Smartphones.

First they were open minded and willing to take the risk of creating a new category of smartphones. That alone was a courageous first step. Then to follow with the Note II, with it's larger 5.5" screen and very modest increase in size over it's predecessor they demonstrated a keen focus on customer satisfaction.

Now releasing the Note 3 with its further refinements, makes for a very impressive accomplishment. Like many have stated, the Note II was / is such a very well designed, fast and reliable phone, they feel no immediate need to upgrade. That's a supreme compliment to Samsung design and product quality.

Speaking for myself it was the many terrific reports from my friends, about the Galaxy Note II that convinced me to buy the Note 3.

Finally it's an even more impressive feat, when the Note Series develops into such a successful phone that it influences Apple and others to consider building a direct competitor.

It's great to see the Phablet category become a dominate and successful force in the marketplace. Nothing beats choices from my point of view.

This is a great post.

Otherwise to considering buying a note 3 when you have a note 2, although it has been a year and the note 3 has a lot of upgrades on the note 2, I really wouldn't buy one, I would honestly hold out another year to the note 4 :)
 
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I'm also the type of person who changes phones every few months. The Note 2 however I absolutely loved and almost had it for a year, except I sold it to get the Note 3.

I do love the 3 but, loved the Note 2 more I think. I prefer the look and feel of the 3 and that extra bit of screen...great. But I preferred the old S-Note for example. Simarly you could open s note with the pen or a memo anyway. The Note 3 you get action memos which aren't shown in the s note app :-(. Also, sticking with s Note, the widgets for it also better on Note 2. Is you could select an snote page to show as a widget, now you just get the list of pages. I quite often made a list of things I needed to do, or even a shopping list and made that snote page a widget and I could see everything id written down. Note 3, it just shows all pages so you can't read a specific page without opening the app.

On the other hand, pen window is great, multi window works better and there are other software tweaks that I find better. I'm just not in love with it as much as I was the note 2. I do still love it though and it is a great phone, no doubt about it. And I have action memo widget instead which works in the way I used to use s-note.
 
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I think the Note 2 was/is such a good phone that the Note 3 was never going to impact the same, there isn't a great jump between the devices as there seemed to be between the original Note and Note 2 I believe.
The camera is obviously better on the Note 3 but its not as easy to access a quick auto shot like the Note 2. I'm sure over time you can get used to it but I definately get where people are coming from on this.
S note is a personal preference I think, I liked the Note 2 S note but didn't really use it for much apart from swapping peoples faces on photos etc or the odd note which was great fun, therefore the only feature I needed on the Note 3 S note was 'easy clip' which is present.
I never really liked the shape of the Note 2 or a few others like S3 or S4 as I thought they were too rounded on the corners. I loved the shape of my old S2 so this was another reason for me to upgrade to the Note 3. I don't really find any difference in typing or holding it to be honest.
Android 4.3 is not the best finished article in my opinion, or maybe Samsung haven't optimized it as much as they could have. All the updates on my old S2 were 'updates' and not full of bugs, which seem to be the norm these days. I believe that 4.3 runs better on the Note 3 because it has faster hardware and thats why there are alot of Note 2 users with issue's, because its not been properly optimized.
If Samsung released their phones a little slower, maybe every other year per flagship device and put more effort into firmware update support, then there would be alot more loyalty toward them.
 
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