Kinda disappointed in the Note 12.2

I've been using a Galaxy Tab 10.1 since June of 2011. It's a little long in the tooth in speed and version of Android. And, it has no SD card slot.

So, I went over to my Best Buy and bought a Note 12.2. There's a lot to love about the Note but there are some things I'm disappointed in.

Things I like...

- It's bigger. Nice to have a larger screen for some of the apps it's a godsend, for others it just more awkward white space.
- Battery life is better than the Tab 10.1 even though it has to drive more pixels.
- Micro-usb. The Tab had a 30 pin connector which was a pain in the butt.
- Camera is a lot better but who takes photos with a tablet? Only iPad nerds do that.
- Speed. It's very, very snappy compared to the Tab but with 8 cores, all of which are faster than the Tab's 2 cores, that's to be expected.

Things I don't like...
- The launcher. (not the Magazine UX part). It's no different than the Tab. In fact, there are no more icons on the screen, they're just larger. With all those pixels I was hoping to have icons at least as small as the Tab. And more of them on the screen. It looks like an interface built for the elderly. Kinda like those telephones with huge buttons. I know, I know, I can use another launcher but then I will lose the Magazine UX.

- Magazine UX. I was really looking forward to this. But, alas, it has so very few apps and widgets available that I find I never use it.

- The weight. It's only 4 ounces more than my Tab but it turns out that is a lot. I find my left thumb aching after a while while holding it. It's not really convenient.

- The Zagg case. I bought the Zagg case as I have a similar full keyboard case by Logitech for the Tab. It's nowhere near as nice as the Logitech case. It's hard to remove and feels very cheap and flimsy compared to the metal keyboard by Logitech. They key placement for special keys isn't very well designed either.


All in all I'd say I'm disappointed in the Note 12.2. I'm still within the 15 day return period for Best Buy and am on the fence about returning it. The problem is that the one I would replace it with is the Tab Pro 10.1 with 32 gig of memory. But, I can't find that anywhere. 16 gig yes, but 32 gig is no where to be found.

Help me out here. Are there features that are compelling that I haven't found? If so, push me into keeping this tablet.

You are both correct. I could have see much of this in advance. I really wanted the Tab Pro for $100 less. I have a Note 3 and, before that, a Note 2, and never take the stylus out. It's a non-starter. I believe that the Tab Pro will be out next month so I essentially paid $100 to get the larger Note Pro a month early.

I was running KitKat 4.4.2 on my original Tab 10.1 so immersion is nothing new. In fact, on the ROM I was running it was a toggle. I preferred it to be toggled off as it hid the status bar at the top.

I don't read comics and I watch movies on my 52" TV, not a 12" tablet so those things don't excite me. However, I do watch TV via Slingbox when my wife is watching something else on the large TV.

I'm using Apex as my launcher now, it's been my standard on my phones and tablets for years. I'm able to shrink the icons and fit more onto a screen. In effect I've turned the 12.2 Note Pro into just a larger version that runs smoother than my Tab 10.1. That's nice, don't get me wrong, but it's not a dramatic upgrade, just an incremental one.

I wish that it allowed all apps to be run in multi-window view. That's one thing the ROM on my Tab 10.1 made available. Yeah, some don't look right but then you learn which ones not to use in that mode.

I'm getting used to the Zagg case. I like the larger keyboard as I'm a touch typist. It also shuts off the screen when attached and turns on the screen when removed. Must be a magnet thing.

One thing I've found that I'm not fond of is the hard home button and back button in the center of the screen. I'm used to being able to put those anywhere on the bottom of the screen closer to one of my hands. Turns out that I miss that a lot from the Tab 10.1 maybe the most.

I have to say that the volume from the speakers is significantly better than the original Tab. Very loud and clear. I'm enjoying that quite a bit.

Battery life is very good. I can almost go two days.

It took a week or so for me to get used to the size of the Note 2 when I first got it. Once I got used to it, though, I'd never go back to a smaller screen. It appears that I'm getting accustomed to the 12.2 display also. I'm leaning more and more toward keeping it.