[AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note I717] welchertc:
I cannot wait to get this device in my hands.

1. Screen size. Screen size. Screen size. I'm 6'2", with hands large enough to palm a basketball. I started my 'smartphone' days with a HTC Dash, a WinMo phone that was styled like a blackberry. My fat fingers could barely type on it. Moved onto an iPhone, always had to use landscape mode to type. Also, I hate when people brag, 'My iPhone has a Retina Display!' So friggen what? What use is that definition when the screen is so small and my fingers cover most of it up? After that came my Captivate. Swype made portrait typing bearable on a touchscreen, but still needed to use landscape for touch typing. My Infuse 4G is the closest that I have come to a comfortable portrait keyboard on a touchscreen device. I cannot wait to use a 5.3" screen.

2. Media Consumption. With the 5.3" 720p screen, I cannot find words to describe how excited I am for this. I already enjoy watching and reading stuff on my infuse, and the Note will blow that away. Sharing media with others will be much easier, instead of huddling around me to watch a youtube video, people will be able to stand back. I also love watching TV shows online through various websites that stream them for free. This will be awesome for laying in bed before I fall asleep, and for long trips. I cannot get over how useful my Infuse was on a 15+ hour train ride from ND back to Minneapolis, and the Note will be even better. No more eye strain from extended viewing sessions. This will probably be the first phone that I will actually transfer movies to and from so that I can watch them.

3. All in one device. I have been wanting a tablet for some time now, but the Note kills that want. It will be everything I want in a tablet, but in an ultra portable form factor. I can easily use my infuse one handed, and with the keyboard modifications that Samsung has provided, I should be able to do so with the Note as well. On the other hand, it will be awesome for two handed use. The screen will be big enough to use it for anything a tablet would require, and the S Pen will make it even more functional than most tablets out there in my opinion. I find typing on a tablet cumbersome and slow, with the Note, I will have full tablet functionality with a screen that I can type fast on. And you mean to tell me it can make phone calls too? Bish please.

4. S Pen. I don't know that I will use it super extensively, but I like the ability to jot down notes and annotate documents with scribblings. If it is easy enough to use, and I find a sufficient way to store notes, I may forgo using notebooks to take notes in class all together. From what I have seen the input is very precise, so handwriting will be a breeze. I currently have been experimenting with using Evernote to take notes on my laptop in class, but the one drawback taking notes on a computer has is that any diagrams I cannot record. With the Note and the S Pen, I should be able to use the onscreen keyboard to type up notes, and the S Pen to record any diagrams or drawings. I am really excited about this potential, as I would love going to school with just my phone in my pocket.

5. LTE. I am currently grandfathered into unlimited data, and I intend to stay that way. I know many users hate the throttling as of late with ATT, but I have not yet hit that top 5%, and I generally use around 2-3 gigs. With data speeds increasing, I will stay with unlimited data as long as I can, as I have faith that ATT and other carriers will eventually upgrade their networks to handle the expanding use of data again. I do not have LTE in my area yet, but I intend on keeping the note for a long time. Right now, I don't see another phone that will trump it for my needs anywhere in the near future, so I will most definitely still be using it when I eventually do have access to LTE. HSPA+ is fast enough for me in most instances, I cannot wait until my phone rivals my home internet connection.

6. Wow factor. I already get a ton of comments on my Infuse 4G. They range from, 'Wow, that thing is huge!' to, 'What phone is that?' to, 'That's a sweet phone, what kind is it?' Being a nerd/tech addict, I love conversing with people about my awesome phones, and the Note will make people even more curious about it. I see so many iPhones around campus that it makes me sick. They're all the same, and nobody has an iPhone that is unique. The most variation that you see with iPhones is the case that people are using to protect it. With my Infuse, and even more so with the Note, I will be able to walk around without a case on the device, and turn heads everywhere. I am not an attention whore, but being different when it comes to my mobile device is satisfying to say the least. When somebody asks about my phone, it gives me a chance to promote android, and show them that there are better options than iPhones out there. I can show them that with android, your phone can be 'you'. Somebody may play with my phone, and not have a clue how to use it. Then I explain to them how I have it customized for my own liking and ease of use, and it clicks with them. Android has far superior customization, and your phone can truly be an extension of your own personal style, not just what somebody else decided was right for you. iPhones are nice, but so what? It's nothing special seeing as everybody and their mother has one, and they all work the same. I hate that.

7. Promise of future upgrades. I am sure that the Note will receive ICS soon enough for me, and will likely have enough oomph to run the following version of android. I have noticed that most android phones are good for 3 iterations of android, the version it's released with, and then the following two updates. My old captivate has seen four versions, as I got it with 2.1, soon after I rooted and had 2.2 on it. 2.3 came not long after, and now that my dad has it I have installed ICS on it. Being that this is definitely a flagship level device, I have peace of mind that I will be happy with the software until the Note 2 or 3 comes out when I am ready to buy another phone again.

8. 4 Capacitive buttons. With ICS definitely in the books, I am glad that this phone still has the 4 capacitive button setup. I would also be okay with the international 3 button setup, but I have grown to love the 4 button setup of the Captivate and Infuse. I do not like the concept of the on screen buttons of ICS, and my dad's Captivate runs ICS wonderfully with the 4 buttons. With the 4 buttons, you do not need to give up screen real estate to display the buttons, and they are always accessible. ICS on the nexus makes me feel like I am using an iPhone, as the buttons are not always available. I don't know how the nexus handles it, but I am puzzled how you will back out of applications. I'm sure it is easy enough, but having the buttons always there is a big plus to me.

9. It's a Samsung. This is my favorite part. If a phone with the same form factor was released, I would probably still buy it, no matter the manufacturer. That being said, I love Samsung devices. The Samoled screen technology just cannot be beat by any other display that I have used. When I got my captivate, I was in love with the deep blacks and vivid colors. Same goes for my Infuse. Now you're telling me that I'll have a 720p TV in my pocket? Hell yeah! Also, I have come to love Samsung's build quality. They take the stereotype that plastic is 'cheap' and shoves it up Apple and HTC's backside. My Infuse is rock solid, super thin, and lightweight. Also, I have the peace of mind that plastic will absorb more energy from a drop than the metal frame of HTC or Apple phones. Samsung phones dominate drop tests. Since I run my devices without cases, this is great. I don't care if the phone gets a bit scuffed up, I'm not one to resell my devices anyways. I take great care of my phones, and they get handed down to my dad or mom. I also love the support that Samsung shows for developers, making the phones easy to root, and near impossible to brick. I don't know what I would do with a Motorolla or HTC device. Touchwiz also isn't bad for stock software, though I usually throw that out the window as soon as I get a new phone anyways. Samsung makes that super easy by allowing developers to run wild with their software.

10. The future. I think that this device is really the future of where things are going for mobile devices. I love being on the bleeding edge of technology, and Samsung is pushing that envelope with the Note. This device will revolutionize the way people compute while mobile. It does everything you need, and allows you to leave all other devices at home. No need for me to carry a laptop, phone, and tablet like I may have if something like this was not conceived. It's like Samsung read my mind for how I wanted mobile computing to advance. I am excited to see the future of this device, as well as the devices that Samsung succeeds it with. I have a view similar to the Corning video, 'A Day Made of Glass'. I want one device that carries all of my information at all times. I cannot wait for the day where our phones are legitimate computers in a pocketable form. Where I can just plop it on my desk and it syncs up with a wireless keyboard, mouse, and display; and when I need to leave, I just pick up my computer/phone and walk out the door. The Note is as close to that vision as technology has come so far, and I will be glad to be a part of that revolutionary idea. I know that with usb hosting, I can do nearly all of this, but who wants cords? To the future!