Customer Reviews

Samsung Galaxy Note N7000 16GB Unlocked Android Smartphone - Dark Blue

5 star:		(87)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Now there is no need to carry both an iPhone/Android phone AND iPad/Android tablet! This phone-tablet device has better resolution (and pixel density of course) than the iPad, and it's a third of the size, so it's much easier to carry and walk around with. AND it's much more than just a 3G tablet, it's also a phone for those times that you wish to send SMS, and to have a 'normal' (verbal) phone conversation without voice over IP apps. I am one of those people that actually 'texts' a lot more than I speak into my phone, but the phone is a bit large, so hands-free earbuds or a bluetooth headset is recommended if you speak into your phone a lot.

Because of my impatience, I imported my Galaxy Note from a UK site before it was available on Amazon, but I would have preferred to purchase this device from Amazon instead of importing from overseas. I was so excited to receive my note, and I am simply amazed by the screen resolution and speed!! The build quality is excellent, the device is light (and thin if that's your thing), and a fully charged battery lasts from morning 'til night! I am going to sell my iPhone and Android tablet ASAP!

More on the screen resolution/camera:

Remote desktop/VNC access from the Note is amazing for those of us that sometimes work remotely, and this device currently has the best balance of usability and portability; For example, for remote desktop use, the iPhone 4/4S is limited by 960 x 480 pixels, the iPad is currently limited by 1024 x 768 pixels, and any Android tablet with 1280 x 800 resolution is nowhere as portable as the Note! Even if Apple finally releases a 9.7-inch 720p iPad in March, I will be staying devoted to my Note. (Tablet makers should be focusing on making 1080P tablets for 2012, in my opinion.) Speaking of pixels, the Note has an 8MP camera on the back and a 2MP camera on the front, so once again much better than any iPad/Android tablet camera, and on par with the cameras on any of the newer smartphones eg. iPhone 4S/Galaxy S2.

Also, if the 5.3-inch screen is too small for remote desktop or watching movies, say in a hotel room, the Note has HDMI-out via a MHL-HDMI adapter! (Samsung and other brands available on Amazon; Take a look on Youtube for NZtechfreak's excellent video reviews on HDMI-output and other amazing things you can do with the Galaxy Note!)

What would I improve about the Galaxy Note?
1. LED notifications; there are no flashing lights when a new push message is received, not cool man!
2. If it could have been just a bit smaller (around 4.9 inches), but not as small as the 4.65-inch Galaxy Nexus, which has a 1280 x 720 resolution (but only a 5MP camera by the way, and the home screen is still only 4 icons wide!).

In summary, the Samsung Galaxy Note is:

1. Better than any smartphone - matching camera/phone features but faster processor, more pixels/higher resolution = more home screen icons, and a longer battery life!

2. Better than any tablet - matching screen resolution and long battery life with any of the newer tablets, but has a better camera, and is still small enough to walk down the street with.

This is the best mobile device ever made!!!

I just want to add my two cents worth to the other reviewer's comments - and I understand many of you won't pay attention since I did not buy this from Amazon. One word sums up the Galaxy Note: Fabulous! Beautiful and very bright display and I love the pen input. Many things, including calendars, can be written on with the pen - it is very flexible in this regard. One point not mentioned above - it is enabled for GLONASS (Russian) GPS. I've taken it on two walks on the GPS accuracy and speed are great. It picks up location much faster than my other phones which I assume is due to the GLONASS GPS receiver. I do want to mention a couple of ankle-biters though: I've downloaded all of my Amazon games and I have to say Plants-vs-Zombies ran kinda slow. I tried rebooting it and playing it again - same story. So - I checked today and sure enough there was a 14+ mb update from Samsung which took the version to 2.3.6 (version when new was 2.3.5). Both games I checked ran just fine after the update. Second - it does go through battery fairly quickly when connected to wi-fi - but this is typical of Android phones. If you're short on data (I only get 200-mb per month on mine) then this could be an issue if you intend to use wi-fi a lot. Last but not least - I could not find any reasonably priced carrying cases for it. One was listed for sale here but was pretty pricey and would not ship until mid-December. So - I went to the local media store and found a Garmin pouch - intended to be used with 5-inch Garmin GPS's (ASIN: B00422KZQG). The fit is a little tight but it's perfect for $15 here on Amazon until a real case comes out. Anyways - the Galaxy Note really is the best thing since sliced bread - small enough to be with you all the time - yet large enough to serve as a fantastic tablet.
**** Added Comments on 26 NOV 11 **** I've had the Galaxy Note a few more days now and I wanted to update my comments. The update to 2.3.6 appears to have addressed the possible wi-fi battery usage issue I mentioned above. After a full charge, I have used the phone two days and two hours and the battery level was at 78% this morning. The past two days were light usage - but I did check e-mail using 3G both days and made a short call each day. So - if there was a wi-fi battery usage problem it has been resolved. And, I continue to be impressed by the beauty, color and high resolution of the display. This is a beautiful and highly functional phone/tablet that I highly recommend!
**** Added Comments on 16 DEC 11 **** The Galaxy Note continues to astound me! Just like another reviewer commented - this really is the best phone/tablet yet! Integration with Exchange e-mail (IMAP) is flawless. And, better yet, the e-mail client does the best job I have seen in handling e-mail with embedded photos. Screen caps are equally easy using the included pen - although the little button you have to hold down for screen caps is tricky to manipulate. And, this is the best device I have for battery life. With occasional use throughout each day - I have gotten as many as eight days of battery life!! I still think there is only one (minor) downside to the Note - the lack of a quality protective case.
**** Added comments on 31 DEC 11 **** I'm still thrilled with my Note and I cannot find anything to criticize. I continue to especially impressed with how it handle's email. I received a Gmail message with seven large photo attachments - the Note received it in a couple of seconds - and showed thumbnails within maybe five seconds. I use Apple Mail on my MacBook Air - and even after 24+ hours the little pinwheel is still spinning trying to pull in all of the attachments!! Despite all of it's good points, and based on a comment I just received, I would have to say that the Note (and any other device with less than a 7-inch display) is not the best device for hours and hours of web-surfing. A 5.3-inch display is just too small for that IMHO.

Like the excellent, well-written review by Juwan I. Hayward, I also ordered this from Clove Technology in the UK because I didn't want to wait for it. I had not anticipated that I would be able to get it so soon from a vendor via Amazon (with the exchange rate, it cost me a little more than $100 more than it can be purchased here). Of all of the many gadgets and phones I have owned in the past 30 years, this is by far the best and most superior gadget I have had the privilege of owning and using. It really is a perfect mini-computer. I could conceivably eliminate most of my other gadgets and just use this device. It is small enough to put in most pockets (especially jacket or pants).

I go nowhere without it. It is superfast, with a beautiful screen. I use it for playing music, playing games, reading Kindle and ePub books, reading and editing documents, taking notes, surfing the web (in addition to the excellent Android Browser, I love the Dolphin Browser and even occasionally use Firefox for Android), reading news feeds from Pulse and News360, checking Facebook and Google+, taking candid pictures (it also has a good-quality front-facing camera for video chats, which I have yet to use), and all of the many other things one does on today's smartphones and tablets. I have heavily invested in the Android ecosystem, and it really has no noticeable weaknesses compared to iOS (iPhone/iPad/iTouch). This one device combines all the best attributes of a smartphone with those of a tablet, and it is more portable that the normal tablet of today. I own a top-end tablet, and I find myself using it rarely since getting the Samsung Galaxy Note three weeks ago.

Lastly, it has a pen. I love the pen. This device is remarkable and outstanding without it, but the pen really does take it to another level for me. I use it for drawing, doodling, taking notes, having my notes transcribed (the transcription software delivered with it is quite good), and use to more efficiently play games and such. It is really the icing on the cake.

I highly recommend the Samsung Galaxy NOTE. It could conceivably be my go-to device for several years to come.

Very fast network speeds of 7.2 Mps on AT&T network ( (GSM/GPRS/EDGE): 850, 900, 1800, and 1900 MHzUMTS: 850, 900, 1900, and 2100 MHzHSPA+: 21 Mbit/s; HSUPA: 5.76 Mbit/s ). Very light device with excellent battery life and incredible screen resolution that exceeds HD. The AMOLED is stunningly vivid and bright yet can be lowered below system brightness ("Quicker" app) for e.g. Kindle reading in bed when all lights are off and partner wants to sleep.

Samsung has released the source code and driver info so there is already a lot of support in the community in best Linux/Android fashion.

This device here on Amazon.com is actually the same that is sold in Germany (this vendor ships batches to the US and replenishes the stock as needed, that's why there is sometimes an odd statement like "will ship in 2 days when available" next to the purchase button). We got ours shipped overnight for $3.99 - amazing.

We just got 2 of these to replace our Dell Streaks and as much as I liked the Streak, it is refreshing to see that a smart phone does not have to be hacked in order to work as intended. No reboots, no battery issues. It is minimally wider compared to the Streak.

When the Note is dropped the screen is much better protected due to the time-proven (and annoyingly iPhone3-ish) bevel mount. I've broken two Dell Streak screens (sic!) because of the "tension" screen mount that device had.

You have to enter a new APN (access point) in the mobile settings to get access to the AT&T data network:
copy from thread at androidforums "galaxy-note-not-detecting-sim-card"

"Go to Settings --> Wireless and Network --> and Access Point Names. You might have to make a new apn. "

Name: AT&T
APN: wap.cingular
Proxy: leave blank
Port: leave blank
Username:WAP@CINGULARGPRS.COM
Password:CINGULAR1
Server: leave blank
MMSC:[...]
MMS Proxy: wireless.cingular.com
MMS Port: 80
MCC:310
MNC:410
Authentication type: not set
APN Type: internet + mms

xxxxxxxxx

Note that there are going to be several variants and this one here, N7000, is the most versatile ([...]):
N7000 - The original version, with a dual-core 1.4GHz Cortex A9 processor
N7003 - A lower-powered and cheaper version, with a single-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 8255T processor
LTE version - with higher-speed communications ability, initially available only in South Korea, will only have the single-core processor; will have the NFC chip ("pay for stuff by waving your phone") - rumors exists that the N7000 can be equipped with the NFC chip on a battery later on

With regards to speeds, this 7000 here has HSPA+ and not LTE. Although LTE can be faster in theory, HSPA+ produce 5-20mbps and VZW LTE only around 5-25mbps. WiMax is somewhere in the same range. In my mind, it was not worth waiting for the Korean LTE version to arrive in the US for that reason.

Due to updates I have tailored my review so readers can quickly spot what info/section will be helpfull to them:

Section I: General Information (22 Nov 2011)
Section II: Some accessories: Chargers and Cases (24 Dec 2011)
Section III: Data for T-Mobile Users (14 Jan 2012)

***** Section I: General Information (22 Nov 2011) *****

I have had my Galaxy Note for over a week now and have completely deserted my Nexus S. Concerns about size or whether it will fit in my pocket are long gone. Any sense of what people may think when I hold it to my ear have completely disappeared and I hardly get any weird looks from anyone anyway except to ask to see the device and marvel over it.

Pros:
- Fantastic specs.
- Beautiful to behold.
- Fast, fast, fast (1.4GHz Dual Core Processor).
- 5.3" HD Super AMOLED screen makes every thing easier to do and beautiful to look at.
- Ideal phone for those who mostly text/chat/email/web but need to have phone capabilities handy (I use the Motorola HX550 Universal Bluetooth Headset, Black which allows me to talk and still do stuff on the Note).
- Excellent Battery life of 20 to 40 hrs (I recommend you first get a baseline of the battery life before you add too many apps. Watch especially the widgets you add, I have found a couple to be battery drainers).
- Movies and pictures looks brilliant. As to be expected, movies will drain your battery faster.
- Apps are more functional and a lot of fun to use.
- A dream come true for frequent travelers as it will definitely reduce the number of devices you carry on trips. For example, I don't even travel with my kindle anymore as the kindle apps is easy to read on the Note.

Cons: (Updated 12/31/11)
- May not be ideal for those that spend the majority of their time talking especially because of its size. The advantage of the device is when you interact with it.
- Only edge (2g) for T-mobile USA users. This may not be an issue if you spend the majority of your time in fast wifi environments. (See section III of the review for some information of data speeds).
- It does feel fragile and I fear dropping it.
- Web browsing hugs battery life. For example, visiting several web pages over a 10 min span reduced my battery life by 4 to 5%. My usual web use on an average day is about 30 minutes so I don't feel the drain that much (see comments for more details). Also, using the Note as a GPS with google maps is a big battery drain - be sure to use a car charger when you do GPS over long distances.

Conclusion:
The Galaxy Note is a beautiful device in all ways and a big brother to the successful SGS2. It now tops the small class of similar devices started by the Dell Streak (also in this class is the Pantech Vega No.5). These devices in the 5 to 6 inch category are not your classic smartphones or tablets so don't try to pigeon hole them into one of these extremes. You have to view the Note as we did the SUVs when they first came out. The Note is a perfect fit for those who mostly text/chat/email/web and want phone calling capability. It is also a dream come true for travelers as it will definitely help reduce the number of devices you carry on trips. It has quickly become my #1 device.

***** Section II: Some accessories: Chargers and Cases (24 Dec 2011) *****

Accessories:

** Phone Charger **:
My phone came with a British 3-prong charger (Output 5V/1A) which I have since replaced as it is bulky and requires a US adapter. If you are looking for an American (US) style charger you can try one of these, all of which I have, and match exactly the 5V/1A output of the original charger:

* Samsung USB Travel Adapter (ETAOU80JBE):
Unfortunately, Amazon doesn't carry this charger and only a few online sellers have it. It runs for about 15 bucks (shipping included) which is a bit steep. I have written Amazon to consider carrying this product - not sure if that would help.
* PowerGen 1000mA Heavy Duty USB Charger & USB Cable for Apple iPhone 4 4s / iPhone 3Gs 3G:
The PowerGen cost me $6. Surprisingly the one with the regular USB micro cable costs $8 PowerGen 1000mA Heavy Duty USB Charger & Micro USB Cablefor Sprint EVO Shift 4G / Sprint EVO 4G. I don't need the extra USB cable so got the one with the iphone cable for $6 and gave the cable to my son. This cube shaped charger has a similar feel and size to the Samsung charger above at less than half the price. I have not had any problems with it.
* Power Bug & Cable -ipod/iphone
The Power Bug charger costs about $9. It is a bit bulkier that the other two above and has a glowing blue light around the usb port that some may find annoying. Other than that it is made by Phillips (a well known brand) and the outlet prongs fold in.

I use all three chargers - one at home, one in the office, and one in my travel bag and have not had any issues with any of them.

** Inexpensive Cases **
There are several expensive case for the Note for around $40, however, if you are looking for something inexpensive but decent until the prices drop or want to try a range of product types before settling on a final expensive one, here are some inexpensive alternatives to try:
* The Dynex DX-PC502 is a soft pouch case that measures 4x6 inches which is made for 2.5" hard drive. The Note fits nicely in this case. I got this on sale for about $5. It has a flap covering with velcro to secure it. It has a net pocket on the back that you can put a few light accessories. I personally use this when I am going through security at the airport. This was my first purchase as a case protector. You may find this pouch helpful if you carry your note in a shoulder bag or purse but I would not recommend it if you carry your note in you pocket. There's also a hard case variety but it is a bit too bulky IMO.
* I also have a slim hard case for the Dell Streak Black Dell PU Leather case cover for Dell Streak Mini 5. This Streak case nicely fits the Galaxy Note. It is well constructed and looks very decent for $13 total (far less expensive than the $35 to $40 cases currently out there). It will also take your Note with a gel covering. However, be aware that the case does have a small Dell logo on it (hard to see unless you are up close). I have a small name tag which I have now stuck over the Dell logo and the case looks really nice. Be aware that this case does not have a belt clip/loop. I use this case as a protector when I stick the Note in my back pocket. I get a sense of added comfort not thinking I'm putting stress on the phone when I sit down.
* I recently purchase a gel cover for $7 Black S-Line Soft TPU Gel Case Cover For Samsung Galaxy Note / i9220 GT-N7000. It does take away some of the beauty of the phone (as any gel cover will do IMO, but I get a bit more comfort that my Note is more protected from drops.

For now, both the gel cover and the slim hard case meet my needs to protect my Note. I use the dynex soft pouch more to store my accessories (charger, cables, etc.).

***** Section III: Data for T-Mobile Users (14 Jan 2012) *****

This is some info for those that want the Note but have to stay on T-Mobile and can't switch to AT&T. I have collected some data speeds around my area (I am sure this will vary from area to area). I am fortunate that T-mobile is testing 3g/H+ on their 1900MHz band in my area (around Oxford Valley Mall, Fairless Hills PA) but not my home :(.

Here's the data I collected:

TYPE ... PLACE ..... PING ..... DOWNLOAD ...... UPLOAD
Edge ... Home ...... [385 ms] .. [199 kbps] .... [195 kbps]
3g ...... Town ...... [50 ms] ... [2,009 kbps] .. [1,108 kbps]
H+ ...... Town ...... [119 ms] .. [5,866 kbps] .. [1,240 kbps]
WiFi .... Home ...... [36 ms] ... [19,658 kbps] . [11,237 kbps]

As you can see, Edge is pretty slow. Since, I am with WiFi 95% of the time (at home and in the office) I do not feel the disadvantages of Edge that much and I do get 3g/H+ in some areas when I am in town. So IMO if you are around fast wifi the majority of the time, and have to stay on T-mobile, the Note is still a great phone to have. For those that want additional info on the areas that t-mobile is testing 3g/H+ on the 1900MHz band used by the Galaxy Note, please see Howard Forums under the T-mobile section "Post here if you have noticed 1900MHz 3G on an iPhone or other device".

I never write reviews. I only read them. I have been an Apple user for years because I believe in their quality. I've been using the Galaxy note now for about 7 days. It really does eliminate need for any other device to be carried around, it does it all - and it does it all excellently!
I'm not going to talk about any specifics because everything you want to do (business or entertainment) works perfectly. If you're considering this device I highly suggest going for it. You will not regret it one bit. I like this Note so much I find myself not even using my iMac at home. If I could rate the Galaxy Note 10 stars, I'd do it in a heart beat!
Purchased through Amazon, the best place to shop on the planet!

I'm up to 3 weeks now using the GN every day, and my original 5 star rating stands solid. I use it all day long for a multitude of things (everything you can do on a tablet and a phone) and the battery typically will have around 50% left at the days end. This ...is an astounding device!

BEST PHONE EVER MADE is the SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE. IT DOES EVERYTHING. ANDROID#1!!! YOU CAN DRAG AND DROP YOUR FILES, PICTURES, MUSIC, AND FOLDERS JUST LIKE A PC.
the 5.3 inch screen is super beautiful! way bigger than the super small iphone screen:)
screen is nice to watch all your videos on youtube and netflix
color is more vivid and eye catching!
it fits perfect in my front pocket jeans and pants. i carry it everywhere.
trust me, you will LOVE THIS SEXY PHONE!!!!!!!
samsung galaxy note is like having a samsung s2 and a samsung tab 10.1 all in one. why carry two when you can have the samsung galaxy note!

I have at&t and it works perfect! just do the following:

You have to enter a new APN (access point) in the mobile settings to get access to the AT&T data network:

"Go to Settings --> Wireless and Network --> Mobile networks--> Access Point Names--> New APN-->" then type in the following:

Name: AT&T
APN: wap.cingular
Proxy: leave blank
Port: leave blank
Username:WAP@CINGULARGPRS.COM
Password:CINGULAR1
Server: leave blank
MMSC:[...]
MMS Proxy:[...]
MMS Port: 80
MCC:310
MNC:410
Authentication type: none
APN Type: internet + mms

I do NOT like APPLE PRODUCTS. apple controls you. i had an iphone 4 and you can't drag and drop, can't create folders, have to sync to itunes. sometimes it will not sync right and you lose files/games/pics/music and have to resync. i hate syncing to itunes! what a waste of time. SAMSUNG#1 period ANDROID!

My wife bought this for me for Christmas. Amazon shipped it very quickly. The original plan was for me to check it out and make sure it worked OK, then she would wrap it and put it under the tree. That plan didn't work out so well. After playing with it, I refused to give it up!

It has a fantastic screen which, unlike the iP4, is actually big enough to take advantage of the high resolution; perfect for using Kindle-reader. It's very, very fast. It has excellent battery life; I made it through four days of light use on the first full charge, ending up at 16% at the end of the 4th day. It has really good GPS (due to being able to use Russian Glonass birds as well as US GPS ones) and gets position locks very quickly, even indoors. The camera is also quite good (for a phone) although I think the latest iP4S may have a slight edge there.

I have not used the stylus much. It works as advertised, but I don't find it to be a terribly compelling a feature.

I'm happy that I got the "Rest of World" version which has the physical home key, which is a far better design than the the four capacitive buttons the Note will will most likely have when it comes to the US officially. It works great on AT&T; I simply popped the SIM from my Infuse in and set up the APN correctly, which is trivial.

As a former Dell Streak owner who settled for a smaller phone (Samsung Infuse) for a while, I absolutely love this device.

If you intend to always have your laptop or tablet with you and immediately accessible, then the Galaxy Note is still a good choice for a phone. But if you expect to often be using your phone instead of the laptop or tablet that you don't have with you at that moment, then no other device I know of comes even close to the Galaxy Note. It fits in all the same places where my iPhone 4G used to fit (mostly my front pants pocket,) and it does just as good a job when used as a phone. (Some people think the larger size looks strange when used for voice calls, but I don't, and I've gotten only positive comments.)

Now however, my phone also serves as my tablet without me needing to carry an additional device or have an additional data plan. That's huge for me, since I would carry my tablet in a bag and now I just don't carry the bag. I can also do a lot of real work that I normally do on my laptop.

I used to have my tablet at home for media consumption and communications, and carry my laptop with me from work to home for more serious work. Now I have given away the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet (btw was/is a great tablet), and I leave my laptop in the office most nights. The only thing I move around is my Galaxy Note. Big change.

The Swype keyboard works quite well for me, and I've written multiple paragraphs without discomfort, but I'm thinking of getting a bluetooth keyboard to put in my travel bag, in case I want to do a lot of writing on the plane.

Android 2.3.6 works well. I'm hoping ICS will be even better when it arrives, supposedly in a few months. A small thing is that when a text box appears and the cursor is blinking in it, why do I need to touch the text box to bring up the keyboard?

I transferred my AT&T Sim card from my iPhone to the Note, and then entered the APN information given in one of the other reviews to get the data working. It all worked well, EXCEPT that I didn't realize that the iPhone uses a micro SIM, but the Galaxy Note uses a standard size SIM, which cost me two days. Maybe ATT would have swapped SIM cards for me, but I didn't ask; I just ordered a micro Sim to standard Sim adapter for a couple dollars from Amazon and waited for it to arrive. The adapter works well, and now I can swap my Sim amongst devices, regardless of what size Sim they use, at least until the industry inevitably invents the next smaller size Sim card.

I bought an HDMI adapter for the Note, and it works well, although I was surprised to learn that it needs a separate usb power input in addition to connecting it between the Note and the TV. So now I can watch videos on the TV. The TED Air app let's me download the TED talks in HD to the Note. The Note's screen is plenty big enough to watch the videos comfortably on the Note, or the HDMI adapter lets me watch them on the bigger screen, where they look great. Non-HD web videos will not look as good of course.

The USB power adapter that came with the Note is European with a US adapter on top. So it's a little long. However, the Note's cable is standard USB on one end and standard Micro B USB on the other, so I've just been using my old iPhone USB power adapter. No doubt this is only an issue with the unlocked phone; I'm sure when the US carriers finally start selling the Note in the US, it will come with a standard US adapter. I was worried that there might be more issues with the fact that the phone was not made for the US market, but that's all I've noticed so far, except that when it starts up for the first time, the question of what language you want to use is asked in German. What's being asked is sort of obvious to anyone who's started up a phone before, but just in case they include in the package a little piece of paper to tell you which selection to make to switch everything to English. Just takes a second.

Of course there's a lot to say about how good the screen, the camera, etc. etc. are, but you can get that info from the specs and other reviews. This phone really is excellent in just about every respect. In this review, I've tried to focus on 1) "Is it too big, or is it exactly the optimal size to do the multi-function job I want while staying as fully portable as my old phone." [Answer: the latter.] And 2) "Is it going to be a problem buying an unlocked non-US phone?" [Answer: It's mostly fine, although a) you may need to exchange your micro Sim for a new standard Sim card form factor or buy an adapter in order to switch your Sim from your current phone (don't put a micro Sim in the Note's standard size Sim slot or it may go in deep enough to be difficult to get out), and b) you might find it a little weird entering the APN settings in order to get your data connection working--I had never done it before, but I just followed the steps outlined in the Amazon review by "san diego best weather" and it worked immediately.

I've only had the Note a week. So far, I'm very, very pleased.

Got this phone mid January for my wife. She got it 3rd week of January. It was quick shipping, thanks Amazon. When I saw the phone, I was very impressed with the fluidity of the phone, along with the beautiful 5.3 inch touch screen. What made the phone a killer was the combination of adding Android Market place and Samsung Apps to the Note's ecosystem. I've added 20 applications to the Note like Angry birds, Card reader, Samurai, NFL 2012, Flix, Kindle etcetera.

Along with the software from Samsung Apps and Android Marketplace. Samsung has pre-installed Reader, Music, and Social hub. I find the hubs pretty pleasing to the eye and useful. Reader Hub allows you to read newspapers, magazines, and books through the portal. the interface of the Reader hub is intuitive and very neatly organized. The Social Hub allows you to combine or amalgamate all you email addresses, Facebook accounts, and twitter ID's to one single list that can be checked and updated in real time. Very simple and a good idea to simplify your life. Music Hub, you can look up a Title, Artist, or other search hints that will link you to the musician or album you are looking for purchase. Once again, simple in idea, but useful for everyday practice.

The kicker to the phone is the S-Pen. I have to admit, the pen is very responsive. And I can take a snapshot of the Note's screen at any point(Hold the S-pen down while pressing the S-Pen button). Then I can email the snapshot or edit it. I can send the snapshot to Facebook, Gmail if I want to.

S-Pen applications are plenty. S-memo comes out of the box. But Samsung Apps has plenty of S-pen Software applications for free download. The S-pen allow me to draw on the Note, which makes it a fun toy. If you want to buy a phone for a child of yours, the Note would be perfect (adults are children at heart anyways).

Kies Air Application allows you to load your phone files onto your computer via Wi-fi. very convenient.
(tether to the computer using the Note. Then tap on the Kies Air Icon on the Note). Kies Air will ask you to do Wi-fi routing. Approve Wi-fi Routing and put a green check to Wi-fi Routing in settings. The kies Air will automatically direct you to Wi-FI routing settings. After getting Wi-fi Routing turned on, Kies Air will give you a Web address that will contain all you Galaxy Note's files and folders. Just use any computer with an internet connection(you can tether at the same time while you use Kies Air). And you will have access
to you Galaxy Note's file and folders through the internet).

The All share application allows you to either use your phone like a remote control on a Wi-fi enabled TV. Or you can also you DLNA wireless technology to video-port your Note to your HDTV. There is also a MHL-HDMI adapter you can buy on Ebay that allows you to port the Note to your HDTV, via wires. so you can watch Videos, play games, read a book, listen to music from the Note to the HDTV.

On a side note, codecs are wide and vast on the Note. You can play many types of video files directly to the Galaxy Note. That is something that Samsung is very generous with in general. As well, Samsung is one of the few OEM's that actually allow you to root and flash your ROM quite easily. There are no bootloaders. That makes modding your Note's Operating System very easy to do. Just watch a few youtube modding videos.

I say the positives are

1. 5.3 inch Samsung OLED HD screen (All OLED screens are made by Samsung. Even Motorola Razr, Nokia and Sony are using Samsung OLED's right now) It's the best in the business. Very crisp and vivid. Games and videos are a joy to watch. S Pen is a plus as well, very responsive and FUN.
2. Excellent processor with the Dual-core Exynos 1.4 GHZ, very zippy.
3. Battery life has been very good with 2500 milliamps. which is just enough for a mammoth phone like this
4. Biggest factor has to be the excellent android ecosystem, with the Touch Wiz overlay. I mean Samsung really packs lots of good software apps for the note. So I am delighted that the Note is one of the most useful convergence devices around.
5. Lots to explore like All Share, Kies Air and tons of apps. And, nothing feels too overburdened on the Note.

Negative.

I wish I could tether to the computer right out of the box. But there are tons of USB or Wi-fi tethering apps on android, that are good solutions for tetering needs.

You can also tether to the computer by downloading the Samsung application called Kies for your PC. It is downloadable on Samsung's website. Basically Kies(Not Kies Air) installs the drivers for your PC that allows the computer to recognize the USB connection from the Galaxy Note to the PC. After you download Kies from Samsung.com, install Kies and wa-la, you can tether to your computer.

To tether to your PC, make sure you connect your micro-USB cable from the Note to the PC. Go to Settings and look into Wireless Settings. You should see " tethering "in the list of Wireless settings. Go into tethering settings. And tap on the green check for "allow USB tethering" once you Check on the Green mark, you are now tethered to the PC.