I have both the Note 2 and S3 and prefer the S3 over the Note. Both phones are great, but I personally like the S3 better. The S3 is stock / rooted and the Note 2 is stock / unrooted which may have something to do w/ it. It seems there's more to do with the S3 as far as the Dev community, it's not too big and I have never had any issues with it. I've had the Note 2 for about 4 weeks now and sometimes it won't send a text message until I restart the phone.
Im not saying you dont have the texting issue you described, but it would be the very first reported case in millions sold. I may have made up that stat, but I cannot find a single thread on the issue.
Considering you are on XDA, I would assume that you know that, if it is an issue, it is very rare. You might truly like the S3 better, but when you skew the information it discredits the opinion.
Also if its 100% stock, why not get it replaced through warranty?
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