“It is no secret to anyone that knows me that I love technology. I’m also usually very loyal once I find a good brand that makes quality products. I used to only buy Hewlett-Packard computers, until I got my first Apple Macbook,” Chad Henage writes for The Motley Fool. “Being exposed to Apple’s technology made me a fan of the first iPhone, and not long after, I bought an iPhone 3G. Given this background, you would think when Apple introduced the iPhone 5 that I would have been itching to upgrade. However, just like Apple solved a problem for me by allowing the iPhone to replace my iPod and cell phone, I was looking for a smartphone that could replace my tablet as well.”
“I did a lot of research, watched video reviews, and read reviews about several devices from the iPhone 5 to the Samsung Galaxy Note 2. Of all of the choices, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 seemed like the one that might be able to replace my tablet and cell phone,” Henage writes. “I figured if I were to make the jump from Apple’s eco-system to Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android system, the Galaxy Note 2 would be my chance.”
Henage writes, “If you are looking at buying Google because of the Android OS, don’t waste your time. Google is a great company, and the plethora of Android devices only serves to extend their lead when it comes to services like Google Search, Gmail, YouTube, and Google Maps… However, if you are looking for a great device company, look at Apple. The company has tight control over its hardware and software offerings, and the difference in quality apps on iOS versus Android is stark… The tight integration of iCloud, better quality apps and consistent iOS experience is just better. Call me a fanboy if you want, but I’ve tried both systems, and if this is what Android offers, Apple investors have nothing to worry about.”
Read more in the full article here.
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Agree , I like one hand control
That’s what she said
Agreed… the funny thing tho is if Apple did release a ‘wider’ screen… People with bigger mits and some who don’t will want it….
And all the Android people can say would be… “We started that first… or “Apple isnt innovating, they are copying us.”
Now wouldn’t that be ironic… Apple decides to have 2 sizes for iPhones like they have multiple sizes for iPods… Look at what the iPad mini did… AND IT COST MORE!…
In the end, Android people will stick with Android… until something else comes out….
Apple people general stick with Apple…
A real Android OS user tells the TRUTH! How many ANAL ists have even experienced the FracDroid, EcoDread from hands on experience of such a fractured cesspool of shitware?
I agree . It is just the big investors are stupid and naive .
What? Are you Serious?
Google thought that free Android would mean lots of advertising dollars and that they would get great hardware done to give users the end all-be all experience.
Google missed the part about seamlessness and consistency.
Went into a large TESCO supermarket today. Three separate Samsung displays to one Apple for tablets. Two iMacs on display, neither one showing anything but the login screen for Tesco and a filthy dirty mini keyboard below.
Sounds like CompUSA (now deceased) or Computer City (also deceased) in the mid 90s.
Maybe in 15 years Tesco will also be deceased.
TESCO is a purveyor of crap – who the hell made them into an Apple reseller? However made that decision should be fired on the spot.
Not sure where you are, but in South Korea, the Tesco chain is a joint venture with Samsung, so they have a close financial relationship there. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that Tesco stores worldwide put Samsung first.
People said the same thing about Windows….
How’d that work out…?
Microsoft made Windows 8 and destroyed itself.
Dunno, based on the shitspiral Microsoft finds itself in and the amount of PC vendors losing money… You tell me???
Yeah – and the big mystery to me is, why does the Windows OS and related hardware continue to dominate the desktop market? More people still buy, and re-buy, Windows running hardware than Mac. If MS is the load of crap we all know it to be, then why do people keep buying it? It really is a kind of capitalistic, social insanity.
Traditiooooon, TRADITION!
– Tevye
OS installation #s for Windows include dummy terminals, ATM machines, ect, ect. Not saying they don’t have market share… but walk around a campus or airport… Macs everywhere.
If you could limit market share #s to consumers only, the ratio would be different.
A lot of those windows installs are going on MacBooks and iMacs lol.. Just food for thought. They do run windblows better than machines from dull, hp and other manufacturers.
I can tell you one reason– supply. Here in Fairbanks my brother’s wife was lookin to buy a laptop. The local MacHaus didn’t have the one she wanted here in stick, so they took their money and got an HP. Didn’t mater they could order it, she wanted it then and there.
ALSO to most people a computer is a computer. The MacOS is still “not the same as the one they have at work” and therefore different and more work to relearn.
thankfully I know better. (and am still tryin to teach my wife that…
Johnboy
many people in India,China etc countries dont know there is a mac. all companies giving win laptops…consumers in these countries dont want to take risk at any cost so they dont try mac.
Just remember that back in the day, MS proved that making a better product does not guarantee success. Macs have always been better – period – and they still are, but look at market share of desktop computers to this day.
With regard to iOS vs. everything else – This time around Apple got it right by beating everyone else to the punch so that even the naysayers were forced to admit, not only who had the better product, but that it simply didn’t make sense to buy anything else.
Bigger doesn’t mean better, and better doesn’t guarantee dominance in the market place.
Be remember, much of the MS adoption was done through business purchases that became entrenched in legacy IT systems providing permanent employment of the techs needed to keep all that buggy MS software updated. Apple always held a high marketshare among consumers and educational institutions.
This time around, businesses are hardly eager to trust Android and sales of mobile devices are largely driven by individual choice, with a faster (2 years or so) turnover.
Pro-Android and anti-Apple types can bang on all they like about freedom and choice, but Apple still offers the best design and user experience.
Well, being a minority that is neither a iFan or fandroid, I am more than content with my Samsung Galaxy Note II and put my iphone to bed. Taking brand loyalty aside, there was no comparison. I can split screen, watch video, have excellent reception and the size of the note II made me realize that buying an ipad mini was simply a waste of money. I wish both companies success, but presently, I am one of those delighted with my Note II and wouldn’t trade it for two iphone 5’s. Have a good day everyone.
That read like a paid commercial from Samsung, I think you hit all the talking points. MDN might want to check his IP address and see if it came out of Korea, although if it came from the US Samsung does have offices in the US too.
His name is keembo. Might as well be keemchee.
Tech specs, tech specs, tech specs. No one cares. It’s the apps, stupid.
——RM
Have you been able to upgrade the Android OS, keembo?
it’s a dead end product – enjoy it for 3 months
iOS updates my oldest device rendering it completely refreshed each year… and iOS updates are free
makes worth buying Apple, yeah – plus the apps ofc
Samsung needs to try to make their astroturfing not so obvious.
“Well, being a minority that is neither a iFan or fandroid, I am more than content with my Samsung Galaxy Note II and put my iphone to bed.”
If it’s a fandroid, (it’s not but for the fun of it):
When you’re having fun with your Note II remember that people DO laugh at you and think it’s stupid and goofy big (because it’s stupid and goofy big).
Wow…you people are militant. All I said was that I like my Note II better than my old iphone, and personally, I deon’t care if there are some people that think the Note II is goofy big. Screw em. I can see on a real screen and you can see on a postage stamp even if it is iphone 5. Mine wasn’t an iphone 5, but it was far too small for me. I can split screen. Can you? I can write on my screen, can you? I am not saying Apple builds bad phones, I am just saying the larger format is great for me. I like Google maps and am learning Android and it seems to work fine. You talk about your oldest device getting refreshed….does your iphone 3, 4 and 4S do 4G LTE or will they ever be able to? Give it a break. If people want a small phone and want to pay more for it for less memory, no rechargable battery and no room for expanded memory, then enjoy your iphone. I liked mine, but I hated needing a charger every 4 hours and now I go nearly two days, bought an extra 3500 mha battery for $7.50 with a charger and can go 4 days easily. I am enjoying my goofy big phone with long battery life, and if you don’t like it, frankly, I don’t care. You aren’t using it, never have used one, and probably never will use one, but don’t criticize others that enjoy theirs. There are millions of people using the goofy big phone now, and more will come.
You’re pushing shit uphill mate.
Doesn’t matter if you are sane and rational and argue your points eloquently – if you profess anything other than undying love for all things Apple expect to get shouted down.
Looking forward to see more details on the HTC M7. The Xperia Z looks great too. I love big screen phones and full 1080p on a 5″ screen sounds brilliant to me.
Your anti-Apple circle jerk is duly noted. Thanks. Phablets are still ridiculous looking and cumbersome. The high customer satisfaction ratings for Apple devices didn’t come out of our butts. Get an iPad mini if you want something that’s truly useful and a joy to use.
… and keep the shit downhill; it should stay there.
The simple fact is that there is a real demand for large screen phones and those of us who want them don’t care how much sniggering Apple fans may do behind our backs. If you can’t comprehend that other manufacturers are making high-quality products that genuinely compete with Apple’s offering then the fault lies squarely with you, friend.
nb. I work almost exclusively with iOS devices and have an Android phone. I’m well aware of what the offerings re on both sides.
A ridiculously large phone doesn’t equate to high quality buddy.
Did I say that?
You can keep hammering on all you want. I’m saying that many manufacturers (including Apple) are making excellent phones backed by excellent software; you are saying that no one except Apple is. I’m saying that there is a real demand for large screen phones; and you are saying that they are “ridiculous looking and cumbersome” and “stupid and goofy big”. Then you accuse others of astroturfing. Fucking halfwit.
Thanks for explaining the situation. That is exactly what I’m saying.
“I can split screen. Can you? I can write on my screen, can you?”
I don’t want to split a 5.3″ screen that sounds ridiculous. And writing with a stylus on a phone IMHO is also equally ridiculous, sir. I don’t see the practicality and benefit to your benefits because they aren’t features that people want.
“There are millions of people using the goofy big phone now, and more will come.”
Good luck with that tardfest. Enjoy! You wrote a lot of words this time! Samsung should give you extra credit.
Good..you don’t want to split the screen and it sounds ridiculous to you. It sounded ridiculous to lots of critics. Now…read this from Forbes
.
“Now let’s turn to Samsung. Here’s a recent take from The Slate:
“
“….when Samsung first unveiled the Galaxy Note—a 5.3-inch smartphone that was big enough to be a minitablet, hence the ugly portmanteau—the world’s tech pundits couldn’t stifle their giggles. Was it a phone? Was it a tablet? Was it a joke? Smartphone industry blog Boy Genius Report called the Note “the most useless phone I’ve ever used,” adding: “You will look stupid talking on it, people will laugh at you, and you’ll be unhappy if you buy it.” Gizmodo argued that the Note “isn’t just designed poorly—it’s hardly even designed for humans….Confounding our predictions, Samsung sold 10 million Notes in 2012, making it one of the most successful smartphone launches in history. Then, in the fall, Samsung launched the Galaxy Note II, an upgraded version with an even larger screen—and it promptly sold 5 million of them, and is on track to sell 20 million over the course of the year.”
Now that millions are sold, you can just find that millions of folks disagree with you. Live with it. As I said before, I am happy with my Samsung Galaxy Note II and have put my iphone to bed. Maybe I will reconsider if iphone comes up with a 5 inch phone with a large replaceable battery and a micro SD slot. Until that time, I am happy with Android and the Note II. Night.
Good morning. Perhaps Apple will make a phone with that screen real estate. And with getting an Apple iOS device (unlike a Samsung product) would come inherently: the largest ecosystem in terms of quantity(!!!) and quality of apps, third-party hardware devices and support from the automobile industry, a consistent user interface, no carrier bloatware, global search and Siri.
We’ll see if Apple makes a phablet for ya. If they do, it will be the best phablet on the market. Chances are I won’t want it, though. (And the Galaxy Note III is a revolting thought given my above mentioned deficiencies that are inherited by purchasing an Android device.) Have a great day.
Cool if you happy with your purchase friend, but why you ranting about it on an Apple news forum? What, no friends left on the Samsung news forums?
I have to agree with Keembo. This Note II is my first Android. I have had 3 iPhones over the years, my wife has had 2 and will most likely get an iPhone 5. The Note II is too big she says. We are an Apple family, 3 Macs, 2 iPhones (now 1), 2 iPads, An iPod touch. But this Note II rocks. It isn’t perfect but man it is way cool. And some of the apps are sweeeet. Like Airdroid. One thing I miss from iPhone days is ! good app to play all of my media correctly instead of several different ones. But, Apple split the audio player from the video player which I didn’t like. Anyway, I don’t agree with this article. Both iPhone and Galaxy Note II are great phones.
Thanks zakspop. I am like you. I am not blasting Apple, but I am just saying I am happy with my Note II and find it an awesome phone with many features I prefer over my iphone. My wife has an S3 and enjoys it. One thing I have found that a very much appreciate with both the Galaxy phones is the ability to swap out battery and add micro SD for memory. I’ll never have a phone I can’t do that with in the future, as I found with iPhone, because of much more video usage, I needed to take my charger with me or be out of gas. Many of the students we are host family for express the same thing. That wasn’t a problem a couple of years ago, as folks didn’t have their phones on near as much, but it is reality now. Again…I have nothing against iphone, but I feel my money is just better spent where I spent it. Both companies work hard to make good phones. I wasn’t an early Android user, but find the latest Android OS to be quite easy to use with little problems. It will be fun to see the next iphone and also the S4 or new HTC phone, but I won’t be in a hurry to trade up. Enjoy your phons zaks.
when I glanced at a CR (year end review of best products) they had something like 10 android phones above iPhone.
but we all know CR is stupid.
what is more worrisome is other more reputable journalists even those from WSJ and NYT etc treat android phones more leniently than iPhone (Grubber calls it ‘grading on a curve’ ). For example WSJ spent 50% of an iPad review talking about flaws and 10% of a review on Xoom.
Of course the crazies at Gizmodo, Zdnet are even worse.
Journalist HAVE to grade on a curve. Their bread and butter is to to have MANY devices to review. If phones and tablets turned into iPod (i.e one set of devices from apple) how are they going to make money writing reviews?
so many people reading all these android raves are being hoodwinked.
If you even considered an android, you are far from a fanboy
I swapped my 3Gs for a Galaxy S3 and I’m really happy with it. I won’t touch anything apart from Apple for my desktop needs but I’m really appreciating Android’s open nature which leads to better inter-app connections.
I cringe when I read the “Apple will beat Android” and vice versa headlines as there is room for both in the market. Can you imagine “BMW will beat Audi and Audi will die”? No, because they cater for different types of buyers.
After owning a 3GS then a 4G I decided I wanted a larger screen and the iPhone 5 didn’t meet that need. First I tried a HTC One XL. Too laggy, terrible battery life. Then I made the plunge and bought the one I really wanted, the Galaxy Note II.
I am happy with it. But that’s about all. I like the large screen a lot, I like the stylus when I use it. But like the author, if these two phones are indicative of Android, I’d recommend iPhones to anyone.
For me, screen size aside, there’s nothing compelling about Android.
And it comes with its own raft of shortcomings (despite fandroids giving you the impression it can do anything coz it’s not walled. Ya – if you can find an app or hack the OS. Oh, that’s the same with iPhones… duh!)
General usability is acceptable but still has that uncomfortable feel – like it could or should be better.
The apps market is good, but there are some holes – I couldn’t find either a calendar or calculator app I liked, so I had to settle for. Mostly the problem was the goods ones are visually horrid. And that is a common problem on Android apps. There’s zillions of visually vomitous ones that make you want to rip your eyes out and stomp on them.
One thing I do like about the Note is the keyboard’s predictive engine is brilliant, the best I’ve used – much better even than SwiftKey.
And on Android, the widgets are a great idea too.
Oh, one other thing, I often operate the Note one handed.
However, most days I think about cutting my losses and going back to an iPhone. But I’ll wait and see what the iPhone 5S offers.
I tried couple times to use an Android device. (Due to my work requirements of course.) Never really want to wonder anywhere further than necessary. It’s not that the Android has nothing good, but the overall experience just failed to come together. It feels like a very ‘Windowsy’ device, no soul, just features features features.
It’s amazing when an article with a heading similar to this one appears on an Apple news site how many SamSung / gOOgle priests arise just to try and sway a couple of users with some serious preaching… What else could they be hoping to gain?