[Galaxy Note II General] ChodTheWacko:
Got my phone.

I've had the note 1 for almost 11 months now.

first impressions - and some initial questions answered.

1) First thing I did was turn off all location assists, turn on GPS, and first start wifi and gmaps (to get an initial map load).

I then turned off Wifi and drove to AT&T because I needed a new microsim.

I don't know how many satellites, but it tracked me -very- accurately. So my first impression is - gps works great without wifi and sim card,

2) AT&T swapped my sim card for micro sim for free. In and out in minutes.

3) I had a big red notification light going the whole time during my drive - no sim card warning, I think.

4) I'm happy the international stock note connected to AT&T data right off. No need to enter APN info like the note 1's initial stock ROM.

5) My phone is a LIE. No multi windows.yet. :(

6) On the Note 1, when you shut down, the screen goes blank, you wait a bit, then the capacitive buttons blink to tell you you can yank the battery. That always annoyed me. On the Note 2, during shutdown, the blue led notification light comes on, and stays on till the very end.

So once it's off you know you are safe. VERY NICE.

7) The note 2's battery is longer, wider, and 3.8 volts vs 3.7 v of the old battery (I think - i have some cheap clone right now).

The contacts are in the same place, though - if you hold the battery in place, you can use the Note 1 batteries in the Note 2.

You'll need some sort of spacers to keep it from slipping - annoying, but it's nice to not have to toss out your old spares!

8) That 2.5 mm narrower body does make a quite noticable difference when you hand hold.

I'm really really surprised.

9) Unlike a previous article stated, the 'walk away from the s-pen' warning does NOT require bluetooth NOR does it require the phone to be 'vertical' (i.e. pants pocket). If you have bluetooth off and it's lying flat (in a purse, perhaps), the alert goes off. The screen must be off for the alert to trigger. Also if you get rid of the alert, you're not going to get another one till you put the stylus back in and take it out. I got about 10 feet away before it triggered. When you enable it, a message says 'you can fake it out with a fake walking motion'. So it might be trying to listen for 'steps'.

10) it's about 100 times easier to find the stylus button now. There is a 'flat' edge and the button is on the flat part, and there is a very subtle texture on the button so you know where it is 'vertically' on the stylus. I used to roll the old stylus in my hand frantically pushing randomly trying to find the button (the old stylus is circular).

11) the 'i hate the brightness thread' kinda brought this up. on the notification bar, the 'brightness slider' works differently if 'auto brightness' is checked. If it's not checked, then the slider is 'how bright the screen is'. If auto brightness is checked, it is 'how much brighter/darker to make the auto-brightness'. The 'zero point' of the slider makes a MUCH darker screen if auto-brightness is not checked. Full brightness seems roughly the same, but it's hard to check in day light.

12) s-pen offset seems much more lenient. Strangely, it DOES appear that holding the stylus straight up is the most accurate. This is quite unlike the Note 1, where 30-45 degrees was usually optimial. I do recommend leaving the s-pen pointer visible for a while till you adjust. (actually, since we have air play, i'm not even sure you can turn it off)

13) Power button is far lower on the phone, and smaller. You really have to stretch over to hit it. The days of accidentally hitting it while playing a game or changing volume is over. GREAT.

It does appear to be what I always suspected - The Note 1, great at it was, was still a '1st gen'. They've really learned from the Note 1, and gotten rid of the nags/inconveniences of the Note 1.

None of them were huge, nor deal breakers, but wow, it sure does make for a nicer experience overall.

- Frank