[Q] T-Bolt vs. Note II?

[Canassis]

Please read the post, in it's entirety before you scream "HEY NEWB!! This is how we do, hizere. You gots PWNED!"

Seriously. Read it. THEN reply.

I've got the TBolt now. Rooted, BAMF'd, and I've got it so that it runs. And is STABLE. The screen just died (dead spots in the touch sensors), but that's another story for another time. Aside from the communications aspect of what I need the phone for, I use the tether more than the 2-7,000 minutes a month that I'm using on the phone. I live in an area where I have no internets, aside from satellite, so the tether has saved me.

I like the phone. It works. It took me several months to get it to where I liked it. When I saw the Note, I swore that when it got to Verizon, I'd buy it. Well, here we are... So....?

What do I gain in giving up the TBolt for the Note?

Is the Note II rootable, and does the rooted tether work on it?

Is stability an issue with the ROMs for the Note?

I'm sure there are more questions, but it's midnight, and I'm fried. Thanks for you help.

 

[bencozzy]

If you are wanting tether strong signal the RAZR max HD has a stronger radio.

What other selling points are you looking at?

The s pen and big screen(non pentile) sold me on the note. Other wise I was going to get the RAZR max HD.

It should be root able. The VZW note 2 is not out yet boot loader will probably be locked so expect minimal development only if they get it unlocked.

Only devices that dev support decide if I'm getting it are nexus devices and that's only because they need it or they would really suck.

 

[Canassis]

If you are wanting tether strong signal the RAZR max HD has a stronger radio.

What other selling points are you looking at?

The s pen and big screen(non pentile) sold me on the note. Other wise I was going to get the RAZR max HD.

I live RIGHT next to the tower, so the signal at the house isn't a huge deal. Do the "antenna enhancers" work, btw? A little random, but I've seen them on Amazon, and wondered if they work.

The screen size is the biggest selling point. I'm a big dude, with big hands, and I like the feeling of something substantial in my hands. Battery life is a big deal, hence the reason I've got the extended battery on the TBolt. Sometimes, I can't get to a charger.

I am finding the TBolt a tad slow, these days. Loaded with apps and all of the stuff I've thrown at it, it's just a little slow. My GF has the Razr, and it's substantially faster than the Tbolt in everything it does. Speed is something I'll like more.

I like having a plug-in micro-SD card. I've heard that some of the newer phones have eliminated this feature.

All this said, what made me look at the Note, and say, "THAT ONE! I want that one!"? The size. Performance increase was acknowledged, but it was the size of the phone that was the wow factor for me. If there's something that is a better fit for my application, I'm all for it.

The bulk of my phone use is texting, video streaming, and web browsing. The TBolt is acceptable, but honestly, if I had high speed connectivity and the phone was just my phone, I'd have been looking for something faster, and more robust months ago. And ESPECIALLY now that the screen is hitting the skids on me, I'd be interested in seeing if there is a better fit.

 

[bencozzy]

Sounds like the note 2 is what your looking for.

Signal boosters if your talking about the stickers no they need to be in direct contact with the antenna to work. Repeaters do work though you'll gain a bar or two depending on various factors.

 

[beray5]

I live RIGHT next to the tower, so the signal at the house isn't a huge deal. Do the "antenna enhancers" work, btw? A little random, but I've seen them on Amazon, and wondered if they work.
....

They do and they don't.

If your phone only receive and and never transmit they usually worked. The effect is that your phone through parasitic coupling got a bigger receive antenna and got more received signals even with antenna impedance mismatched. Similar to an old UHF TV whenever you get close or touch the antenna the reception usually improved.

When your phone do transmit they don't work, the enhancers messed up your antenna transmit power impedance match, causing lost of effective transmit power for long distance coverage.

 

[beray5]

.....

Signal boosters if your talking about the stickers no they need to be in direct contact with the antenna to work. Repeaters do work though you'll gain a bar or two depending on various factors.

The primary requirement is that the sticker had to be isolated from the touch of your hand which caused drastic changes in the enhancer antenna characteristics.

I had never seen any autotune antenna designs that could compensate for such drastic variance.

 

[Canassis]

You guys rock! Thanks for all of your help.

Thanks for all of the info about the antenna enhancers. I'll go with that they work, but they might not, and they can create a disturbance in the force. :good:

If, based on what you've read above, any of you think a different phone would be a better fit, please.... tell me! This is merely a tool that I use. I need THE BEST tool for the application, and, frankly, I'm not current in my phone knowledge. I'm not hung up on a specific model or brand, I just have some preferences, but can overcome those with a better all around tool.

I want to verify that the Verizon Note II IS rootable, at this point. I also want to verify that root tether is NOT available, yet, on the Note II. That, obviously, is going to be the single biggest factor as to when I purchase the phone.

 

[imnuts]

Given that the T-Mobile Note II was rooted, I would think that when the VZW Note II is actually released, it will be rooted too, but it's kind of hard to confirm/deny root before the general public gets the device.

 

[beray5]

If tethering is very important to you then you should consider how well the phone do at making connections, rooting and turn on features are well and good but if the connection is terrible having no data connection then even the best optimized perfect browser won't help.

According to the data collected here --> www.anandtech.com/show/4686/samsung-galaxy-s-2-international-review-the-best-redefined/11

The Thunderbolt did fairly well but DroidX and Droid2 are the best of the lot.

 

[Canassis]

Given that the T-Mobile Note II was rooted, I would think that when the VZW Note II is actually released, it will be rooted too, but it's kind of hard to confirm/deny root before the general public gets the device.

This makes sense, but if we're projecting forward, your guess would be that you super-nerds will crack that bizniz?

Is there ANY phone that has stumped the chump?

 

[wooties]

I'm sure it will get root fairly quick as well as the bootloader unlocked. You may have to wait a month though. But there are some app options that may let you tether without root (foxfi?)

I'm coming from the tbolt as well, 2 LONG years watching cool phones come and go. I'm very ready for this Note 2!

 

[swan3609]

I am back on my TBolt after the last year on a GNex.. (shattered screen made me come back to my TBolt as a backup phone) And I put one of the newest ICS leaks on my bolt and I am shocked at how well it still runs.. on 3.x it ran like poop with horrible battery life, but on this ICS ROM, I can actually use the standard battery if I want too.. And the screen on the TBolt is not that hard to fix, might be worth it to resell or even to keep as a backup.. I did mine in about 25mins..

And Like you, I am beyond excited for the Note 2.. Its going to be awesome..

 

[JaguarXT]

Note 2 is very complex Android device to say at the least. Probably the most complex Android device. For your use the Note 2 is way over kill. There are other large screen Androids that will be much more simple than Note 2. Like the HTC Droid DNA is a good example. Most Verizon devices right now will have the bootloader lock issue. But the community will find the way around that with each high end Verizon Android devices.
The point is that Note 2 is much more of a complex device than some would like to deal with. I would not be surprised that in Dec Verizon will get some Note 2 devices back because of the complexity of the device.
That said, if you are up to dealing with the complexity, then try out Note 2. If you can get over the complexity then you will love the Note 2 device.
Note: BTW - There is ClockworkMod Tether that doesn't need root. Just to let you know.
But yes, Verizon's Samsung Galaxy Note 2 will be able to root

 

[Jocelyn]

The GN2 may have a higher learning curve, but it's by no means overly complex. My mom has one and she's figured out just about everything including multi window in under a week.

Sent from my Galaxy Note II using Tapatalk

 

[JaguarXT]

They are people that are not geeks and yet have the knack for such things. My mom is one of those people.
But you will be surprised on how many people will find Galaxy Note 2 over complex for them. And yet Galaxy Note 2 attracts those same people to it. Those are the same people that asks questions like, why do you need so much storage space? And the same people that only uses their devices for facebook, email, texting, netflix, tethering, and checking the scores. For those people Galaxy Note 2 is way over kill. This device is more for organizing your life, productivity, heavy gaming, hand drawing, heavy media, and for the geeks. This is really like the difference between Microsoft computer vs Apple computer.
As long as one understands and accepts that then they will learn it and love it. But if simplicity is what you are looking for then this device is not for you. It is more about your personality if you find Galaxy Note 2 too complex or awesomely joyful. That is what I was trying to make the point.
Personally I would like to see Note 2 features, including the S pen, multi window, etc become the standard in all Androids. Well done Samsung.

 

[jellydroid13]

They are people that are not geeks and yet have the knack for such things. My mom is one of those people.
But you will be surprised on how many people will find Galaxy Note 2 over complex for them. And yet Galaxy Note 2 attracts those same people to it. Those are the same people that asks questions like, why do you need so much storage space? And the same people that only uses their devices for facebook, email, texting, netflix, tethering, and checking the scores. For those people Galaxy Note 2 is way over kill. This device is more for organizing your life, productivity, heavy gaming, hand drawing, heavy media, and for the geeks. This is really like the difference between Microsoft computer vs Apple computer.
As long as one understands and accepts that then they will learn it and love it. But if simplicity is what you are looking for then this device is not for you. It is more about your personality if you find Galaxy Note 2 too complex or awesomely joyful. That is what I was trying to make the point.
Personally I would like to see Note 2 features, including the S pen, multi window, etc become the standard in all Androids. Well done Samsung.

I beg to differ. It is running the same software as the s3 (plus some s pen stuff) and the S3 sold a lot to non complex people. I have had 3 relatives all on iphones ask me about getting the s3. IMO the N2 and S3 are the simplest android devices for iphone switchers and the most complex for android vetrans that want complexity.

 

[cortesjues]

Why do you need root on the note 2 for? If its just for tether than its not needed, foxfi will work and it doesnt require root. If you need it for something else then that is a different story, but my guess is a month until the community figures out how to root and get around the locked bootloader.

 

[jellydroid13]

My guess is a week. We kind of have kexec pros now just look at the s3 development before the BL got unlocked.

 

[spyderman09]

Why do you need root on the note 2 for? If its just for tether than its not needed, foxfi will work and it doesnt require root. If you need it for something else then that is a different story, but my guess is a month until the community figures out how to root and get around the locked bootloader.

Foxfi says in the description that it doesn't work well (at least wifi mode, which is all I use on it) on most JB phones. Obviously I dunno if it does or does not work on the VZW Note 2, but given its the same JB as all the other N2's, I doubt it will, as it didn't work on the Tmo Note 2 I sampled for a week. Hopefully that changes though (and they update foxfi to work on JB)

Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium

 

[swan3609]

The Note 2 is going to be big enough that I won't need to tether my tablet or computer to it.

And can you change the billing card for your pre order? I am thinking about getting my first credit card and putting my pre order on that just because most cards offer an extended warranty on products bought with the card. I have the money right now and I would pay it off right away. It would be an easy way to start building credit and get a extra warranty on the first phone I have bought new since my OG DROID.

Other then that I am stoked to get my new phone. Using my ThunderBolt kinda sucks after a year with my GNex.

Sent from my ThunderBolt using Tapatalk 2