[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 General] jerkysans:
Update for the Crappy

I generally agree with the sentiments originally posted in this thread. I got my Galaxy Note 2 months ago and already it screwed me real bad on the first month when the official ICS update bricked my phone and I had all my data wiped (game saves, notes taken, sketches, important pictures I have taken). And I actually expected that from Samsung. That and buggy software. Bear with me, a lengthy history is about to be told.

I've been a Samsung user since the original Omnia--that's 2008. And for the times I have updated my Omnia, its data got wiped twice. One update even wiped the SD card contents and I swore to God I will never get another Samsung device. It was the most expensive phone I bought off-contract, and honestly, it was the worst purchase I ever did in whole 26 years of existence. I blame it on Windows Mobile, and partly the fact that Samsung did a really crappy job on the updates.

I have since avoided Samsung thereon until a friend sold me his SGS for a cheap buck (was using an Xperia X10 as a work phone, SGS for personal, this is 2010). I noticed the difference between the behavior of the SGS on Eclair against that of the X10. The X10 does not force close apps, does not lag--on normal usage, say 1 to 3 open apps, and the notification bar actually gets pulled down (SGS's back then gets stuck for some reason). Then the Froyo update upped the ****ed-upness of my SGS. Damn lag got inescapable, even pairing with FCs left and right. So I went to XDA and learned stuff. Fixed that **** and I was a happy boy. :)

Then Gingerbread came, and idk what it brought with it, but my SGS would sometimes get stuck at boot-up screen (for minutes). If it gets past that, it would sometimes operate slow as hell (moving from one EMPTY homescreen to another in 5 seconds) and sometimes even decide to restart itself (and leave me to the boot-up screen for minutes!!!). In all fairness, I don't remember any of those updates wiping my phone, or bricking it even if I have rooted my SGS on Froyo when I did the Gbread update. So points on the updates, but mad hate on the buggy User Experience that shipped on their phones.

Fortunately, my contract retention came early this year and I got to replace my X10, this time with a Galaxy Note, completely free. My other choice was an HTC Sensation XE, which was icky for me since I have seen how beautiful the One X is. It was a revival of trust for me. The stylus was brilliant and the handwriting recognition really worked for me 8 out of 10 times, which was tolerable and serviceable. Though, the Gbread Note had its issues--restarts on its own, eats battery like a pro, and has a UI as colorful as a fairy (not that I am not used to it, just thought Samsung would tone things down a bit). So it was a sort of happy partnership. I have breezed through meetings with my Note and was happy until I got the notice to upgrade the firmware to ICS. And wow, Samsung, really, an official firmware bricking the phone. I waited for this? So, I got over that anyways, but wow, the ICS ****ed up the handwriting recognition. It now works 2 out of 10 times for me. 3 if I am lucky. That was the only thing that is keeping me from selling the Note, and frankly, after ICS, I don't remember pulling out the stylus that much anymore. SwiftKey does good in note taking though not as comfy as the stylus would have me in Gbread.

IN SUMMARY

Being a Samsung user (note, I never became a Sammy fan) for 4 years, I have yet to see anything un-buggy from them. I have used a mini pro and an x10 from Sony, and those never had grammatical errors in their notifications or UI. Sure they lagged from one time to another, but they never had to make me shake my head when I can't pull down the notification bar. Those two never made me look for fixes because they worked well enough on their own. The only reason I stuck to Samsung was 1.) other carrier offerings being crappier, 2.) and price point for the best hardware specs. But if it's software, Samsung would never have my vote of confidence and I will never be able to recommend any of their offerings to my friends.

Sure, they seem to be getting it right these days, if you read the news and reviews, but personal experience will always be different. Comparing the SGS with the Note, I felt a big leap, but I couldn't completely trust Samsung with their software, given how many times those updates really went retard on me. Since I am here, I would also like to point out that I never really liked TouchWiz. It's just too darn pixie dust colorful.

And if I were to choose between a One X and an S3, I'd pick the One X any day. Better build hands down, and possibly offers a UI that won't make me feel ashamed to share to my Grammar Nazi friends.