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My name is Dane. I am a writer, tech journalist, photographer, designer, and web developer. I am interested in consumer tech, movies, books, housewares, furniture, decor, and collectibles.
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Reviews (3)
Nov 15, 2015
Phablets don't get much better than the Samsung Galaxy Note 4
2 of 2 found this helpful I had previous had the Note 3 and was a huge fan of that phone. The Note 3 was my first so-called phablet, and I definitely wanted either a new Note or something similarly large. For the Note 4, it was the specs that really sold me. Even though the 5.7" screen of the Note 3 was gorgeous, the Note 4 has an upgraded 5.7" Quad-HD display (2560 x1440), and the difference is truly stunning. Text looks crisp even when you zoom in, colors really pop while still looking natural, the blacks are deep and rich... The display is astonishing, a real sight to behold and an absolute joy to use.
In terms of performance, I was slightly disappointed that the Note 4 doesn't have a more future-proof 4GB of ram, but 3GB is sufficient for the most part. Every game I've play has been smooth and multitasking is usually without any hiccups. The average user and even most power users will find the Note 4's performance to be very admirable.
I've added a 64GB microSD card in the Note 4's microSD card slot, which is a feature infamously absent from the Note5. With plenty of storage space, I'll be able to save thousands of pictures taken with the Note 4's impressive 16MP rear camera, which boasts the optical image stabilization (OIS) that was disappointingly absent in the Note 3. Like virtually every entry in Samsung's Galaxy line, the Note 4 takes pictures that are crisp, have little to no noise and excellent color reproduction, and the smoothing that comes with image stabilization is minimal. The front-facing 3.7MP shooter is also very adequate although it would have been nice to get 5MP like some of the other phones available.
The S pen is one of the Note line's biggest selling features and it works better than ever with the Note 4. According to Samsung, the Note 4's sensitivity is double that of the Note 3, meaning that it can sense over 2000 different pressure levels. This translates into significantly improved and more realistic performance when you're using the S pen to write or draw on the Note 4. The S pen itself has been spruced up too, although it's missing the awesome spring mechanism that the Note5's S pen dons.
Thankfully, the Note 4 has a decently-sized battery at 3220mAh and the microUSB port has integrated fast charging, but with the screen being Quad-HD it would have been nice to have a bit larger battery as the battery life of the Note 4 can be pretty low if you're a heavy user like myself. However, if you're smart about power conservation and keep things like WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC, and location services turned off when you're not using them, you'll easily get through an entire day on a single charge, perhaps even more.
This may or may not be true, but it feels like the Note 4 doesn't have quite as much bloat as the Note 3 and other Galaxy devices, which is appreciated. However, it's still easy to disable the apps you don't want to use, which makes them disappear from the app drawer.
In addition to the usual accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, gesture sensor, and other Samsung staples, the Note 4 incorporates a fingerprint sensor for biometric security. Unfortunately, the fingerprint sensor in the Note 4 is the same sliding-based sensor as in the Galaxy S5, which isn't always the most reliable. Instead of simply pressing down on the home button and allowing it to read your fingerprint that way, you must slide your finger downward over the home button so that it can take a reading of your entire thumb (or whatever other finger you're using). If you have your finger at a slight angle or closer to one side of the button than the other, you'll get an error message and have to try again. At times, it'll take me two or three swipes to unlock my phone, which is disappointing when you see that other phones like the Nexus 6P or OnePlus 2 have excellent, responsive fingerprint readers that are touch-based rather than swipe-based. It's worth noting that the Note5 has the more reliable touch-based fingerprint reader, but the Note5 is missing several features that make me prefer the Note 4.
Currently, the Note 4 is running Android 5.1.1 with reports indicating it will get Android Marshmallow (6) sometime in December or January. With the new version of Android, the Note 4 will get expanded support for the biometric finger reader, expanded per-app permissions, and a new Doze mode that allegedly minimizes background activity while the phone is on standby, greatly increasing battery life. If that's the case, the Note 4 will be an even better phone once it receives the new OS. As of now, I'd say that the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is still one of the strongest and most feature-rich smartphones on the market, and arguably one of the top phablets that money can buy.
Jan 21, 2015
Incredibly powerful, peppy, vibrant & full-featured device -- a must have!
7 of 8 found this helpful I upgraded to the Galaxy Note 3 from the Galaxy S3. The first thing that I noticed when I power on this device is the big, gorgeous display. At 5.5", it's almost a full inch larger than what I'm accustomed too and has a significantly higher pixel density with an overall better quality screen. Colors are vibrant and images are crisp on the Note 3.
As far as the ease of use, anyone familiar with Android phones and especially Samsung's Android devices, the Galaxy series, will be right at home with the Note 3. My device was running Android 4.4.2 when I first powered it on, which is the same version that it's running two weeks later today. According to reports, the Note 3 for AT&T should be getting 4.4.3 in the next few months and Android 5 Lollipop sometime in the latter half of this year.
The Note 3 was allegedly the first smartphone to ever be equipped with 3GB of RAM, which means the phone is incredibly responsive and peppy. There's zero lag, apps open instantly and run smoothly. It's truly a joy to use, and the large battery will easily get you through an entire day of moderate to heavy use and sometimes a significant part of the next day too. The USB 3.0 connection, though a deviation from the standard micro USB port most other smartphones have these days, charges the Note 3 noticeably quicker than any phone I've ever use; when I plug the phone in to charge, the battery is at full power in about an hour, give or take, which is quite impressive considering it was taking my Galaxy S3 more than two hours to charge a battery much smaller than the one in the Note 3.
The Note 3 is packed with features; even though the Note 4 is currently available, I don't feel like I'm settling for an outdated device with the Note 3. The specs were ahead of its time at its launch, and the Note 3 is still a frontrunner of mobile and smartphone technology when it comes to power and features. Some of the most useful or entertaining features include the stunning 13 MP camera with flash that takes the most incredible pictures you could ever ask for, controlling your TV using your Note 3 as a remote, and the stylus, which is way more functional than you might think. When I was considering the Note 3 as my next smartphone, I never thought I'd use the stylus nearly as much as I actually do. Sometimes I use the stylus instead of my finger when navigating through the phone's system.
I couldn't be more pleased with the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 or recommend this device more wholeheartedly. If you're like me and are wanting an Android-powered device that offers you a bigger and more vibrant display, tons of power and pep, and plenty of fun, useful features, then the Note 3 is the phone for you. I'm very pleased with this purchase and will surely by staying with the Note series of Samsung Galaxy phones for the foreseeable future.
Oct 29, 2016
Great phone, but maybe not the best bang for buck
5 of 8 found this helpful I love everything about the Pixel XL. It's probably the smoothest, slickest Android experience I've ever had. No surprise since it's coming from Google. The camera and video recording are truly top notch. Google Assistant is incredible, even better than Siri and could soon overtake Alexa as being the smartest digital assistant. The only problems I have with the Pixel are its design, lack of waterproofing, lackluster bottom-mounted speaker, and price.
With phones like the OnePlus 3 and Axon 7 costing half as much as the Pixel XL, it's hard to justify paying this price, especially when there's really not much the Pixel can do that less expensive phones can't. Really it's just the Google Assistant and Daydream platform that sets the Pixel phones apart, so you'll have to decide whether those things are worth double the price. I'm not faulting the Pixel XL any stars because I knew what I was getting before I bought the phone, so the problems I have with it are things I knew about upfront. You're either going to be okay with the price or you're not. You can either live without front-facing speakers or you can't. But for what it is, the Pixel XL is really a great phone. This is how Android was meant to be experienced and definitely competes with the likes of the iPhone and Samsung's flagships.