[AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note I717] littlewierdo:
Absolutely agree but one thing I would add, Google Now.

Google Now brings Android MILES above what any other mobile OS is doing.

Im not really interested in multi-window viewing as it only works with a small number of apps, but it will have its limited uses (copy - pasting from a browser to email / text messaging for example).

In addition, I have come to like Touchwiz more than the stock experience. There have been alot of growing pains with TW (Touchwiz was TERRIBLE on the Captivate which is why I ran Cyanogen on my Captivate) but I have come to rely on some of the functionality TW offers which is why Im still on stock on my Note.

I have had my Note for nearly 2 years, its never been rooted, never been rom'd (as opposed to my Captivate which was flashed so many times the internal memory went bad, as best I can tell).

The above is testament for me at least that Samsung is doing things right, with exception to getting updates to newer Os's out to customers in a timely fashion. The ONLY reason I have felt compelled to ROM was jellybean, specifically for Google Now. The ONLY reason I have felt compelled to ROOT was all of the AT&T bloat (I actually use the Samsung apps), but since, on ICS, I can disable apps via Settings->Applications, I have been able to disable MOST of the AT&T apps.

I have heard that the N7005 Hong Kong variant is the exact same hardware as the i717 and a stock image of the N7005 is the same as ours MINUS the AT&T apps, Ive been thinking about taking the plunge to flash my Note with the N7005 stock rom but laziness is an issue for me. My only concern is, if the i717 gets jb before the N7005, Id find myself going back to the i717 rom.

I understand the custom rom bug. But, for me, my phone is performing everything I need it to, GPS, Audible, BeyondPod, SMS, limited phone calls, web surfing, and Youtube. Google Now would fill in the gap but I dont 'need' it bad enough to spend an hour flashing my phone for it.

With regards to stability on other roms, this is and always has been a problem with custom roms. This is usually due to three main reasons.

1. Many rom developers are not working with source, they are hacking things together to 'patch' problems. There are various reasons for this, sometimes source isnt available for certain files, perhaps the developer isnt a programmer (in my experience, this is one of the more common issues) and such, they try to use simple scripts other people have created for other devices and try to make it work for the device they are working on.

2. Many people dont know how to follow directions when installing a rom. Many stability issues would be corrected if people just would perform a factory reset before and after installing a rom (I tended to factory reset before installing, then install, then on the initial boot, update all the stock apps, then do another factory reset, then go about the process of restoring everything).

3. Many users make the mistake of having too many apps installed and not managing them correctly. Like your PC, if you dont use it, uninstall it. If you want to monitor an app because it might be potentially good in the future, consider using appfeed.net to keep an eye on an app without having to keep it installed (it notifies you everytime an app you are following is updated). If you are rooted, consider using Autostarts ($2) or Android Tuner (the better of the two but very expensive at $13ish but it has a TON of features) to manage apps and when they are allowed to automatically start and when they are not. Unfortunately, they both require root.