Samsung Galaxy Note Edge

For my daughter's birthday, I upgraded her phone from an HTC One M8 to a Samsung Galaxy Note Edge.  I actually opened the box for her and ensured it had a full charge so that when she came home, from school, she'd be able to immediately play with it.  That she did!  I actually resisted the urge to play with it while it was charging, so she was able to enjoy the whole factory setup experience.

Just seeing her phone made me want to upgrade mine and I did just that!  I upgraded from my Note 3 to the Note Edge.

I was actually on the fence on whether to get the Note 4 or the Note Edge...decided that it wouldn't hurt to try the Edge and if I found to not like it, I could always 'edge up' to something else a bit later.

Some observations:

• The Edge consumes quite a bit more battery power during the day compared to my Note 3 and my daughter's M8.  This might be due to the quad display.  It consumes less power when in power saving mode, but it's nowhere near what it was with the Note 3.  There's also the ultra power saving mode, which I haven't tried yet...I'm not sure if it hobbles the phone too much (it also goes to grayscale).
• It takes some time to get used to the phone's display edge.  I keep thinking that it's about to slip out of my hands.
• The phone will get hot when using it while the display is on.
• Quick charges are ridiculously fast!  This is good, since this phone consumes power quickly.
• There's no Android 5.x for the Note Edge yet (or, at least I haven't seen the upgrade prompt for it yet).  This phone is currently at v4.4.4.  It may not seem to be a big deal, but I got a taste of 5.x on my Note 3...loved it and currently miss it dearly on my Edge.
• Verizon only had the phones in Black...I'm not sure if White was promotional or if they ran out of stock when I bought the phones, but there was a two week gap between buying the two of them, so if there was a stocking shortage, you'd think that it wouldn't last two weeks.
• There aren't many phone cases available for this phone, currently.  My daughter has the Samsung wallet cover.  I have the Verizon shell/holster combo w/ kickstand (which I had for my Note 2).  I'd much rather have an Otterbox Defender on this phone, but until they're available, I'll be happy with what I currently have.
• There was at least one app that I had on the Note 3 that wasn't detecting the user config file on the SD card that came from the Note 3.  I had to manually grab the config from the Verizon Cloud and overwrite them on the SD card for them to work (mainly Tasker).  mSecure also had a problem taking imported backup and I ended up having to manually copy over a backup.  I exported a copy of the database to G-mail and imported the G-mail copy without issue...wouldn't work with the Edge, as the app kept complaining that it couldn't see G-mail's SMTP server.  I didn't have that issue with the Note 2 and 3.
• The fingerprint reader is better than what reviewers are stating.  I've been using it with little issue...it's pretty accurate.
• The heart monitor is iffy...I'm not sure if it's precise but my pulse is usually higher than average, and it's right in that regard...I wouldn't use it in place of a dedicated blood pressure and pulse monitor, though.
• No problems using my Pebble watch...BT is BT, I guess.
• It doesn't feel any bigger than my Note 3, although it's slightly bigger.

I haven't messed with the S-Pen yet.  I have fiddled with setting up the Edge...that's gonna take some getting used to.

Now, there was an issue with my daughter's Edge.  I plugged it in when I first removed it from the box and it had a green line in the middle of the screen, going from top to bottom.  It disappeared the first day of use, then returned and stayed after that day.  I'd been trying to find out how to return/replace it and Verizon has NO documentation on how to do that...it's not included on their My Verizon pages nor does any information regarding returning/replacing or troubleshooting come with the phone.  I visited 2 different stores and got no help.  The first store didn't even check my account, I don't think...they saw that they didn't have any Edge phones to swap with mine, so they sent me to another store that was 1/2 hour away.  I got to that store and they immediately told me that they couldn't pull up the account.  I had to call their employee assistance line to request a replacement.  They treat employee accounts differently and that's what really irked me...I'm not just an employee.  I'm a damned customer.  These phones and the service isn't cheap...I deserved better service than I got.  I ended up spending at LEAST 3 hours in two stores last night.  Then I came home and was on the phone for another hour, being bounce around different tech teams.  I also spent another hour on the phone today, as well, but I finally got the right person and they were able to assist me in getting a new phone sent to me.  This could've been done yesterday without all the traveling and phone time if Verizon had understood how to help me...they didn't know a thing.  I was so ticked that I almost considered moving to a competitor ASAP.  Verizon needs to do a better job at customer service (I've said this many times to friends and colleages)...the run-around I got last night was pretty ridiculous.  They also need to make the custom replacement process for employees more transparent than what it currently is, because it's hardly transparent.  They need to make it so that the employees feel like customers...I felt like a damned leper last night.  And on top of that, I had to rush ship my daughter's phone back to them since this was the 14th day of ownership...if they'd know WTH they were doing yesterday, I wouldn't have been quite as rushed.

We'll see if the new phone is without problems...it'll be here tomorrow.

Lollipop!

So, both of my phones (work and personal) got upgraded (OEM -- I don't root or try various ROMs on my phones...I need them to be dependable and as stock as possible) to Android 5.0 within the last seven days.

There are distinct differences in the UI between them, with the work phone being an HTC One M8 and the personal phone being a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (both Verizon phones).

I was underwhelmed with the One, but I also don't usually tinker with it since it's the work phone, so I can't really notice the new changes since I wasn't really familiar with the old options and features.

With the Note 3, there's a slew of UI changes, but I don't see much difference in the system options/configuration.  I've not yet noticed things such as excessive battery usage or bad phone reception.  I did notice that I had to re-enable some of the features I had selected prior to the Lollipop upgrade.  I also noticed an easter egg.  If you go to Settings/General/About Phone, click "Android version" multiple times, click the lollipop multiple times, then click/hold, you'll see a version of the Flappy Bird game and be able to play it!  There are some new features in the Security settings, too, like reactivation lock, "Send security reports" and "Security policy updates."

I'll report any anomalies or good stuff I discover.


UPDATE:  And I saw this article today, showing how much of a dramatic difference each Android 5.0 experience is per device.  It's good to know I wasn't the only one that noticed this.  A snippet:

This dive into Lollipop revealed something very clear to me: Manufactures are, in fact, doing Android no favors. I've already posted my take on bloatware, and I stand firm on that with Lollipop. But even minus what most would consider bloatware, manufacturers are robbing consumers of the true Android experience, and Lollipop is a perfect example of that.

Anyone who experiences the jump from KitKat to Lollipop should get the platform I had on the Nexus, rather than the HTC M8. After the very long wait for the Lollipop upgrade, some users are going to be disappointed--not because of what Google has done (because what Google has done is brilliant), but because of what the manufacturers have done to the latest iteration of Android.

I agree.

How's the Note 3 holding up? Other stuff as well!

Well, I'm happy to say that my Note 3 experience has been pretty good, so far.  About the only thing I've noticed that I don't like so far is the bloatware that comes with the phone and the fact that Samsung did away with the facial recognition lock screen configuration (not that that's a huge deal, given that this option isn't the most secure unlocking mechanism, but none are 100% secure...as well, facial recognition is two-factor; the face and a PIN are used to unlock the phone).

Also, I was hoping to see that Find My Mobile was actually functional for US phones...sadly, it is not, just like the Note 2.  Yes, there are tons of apps out there that can assist in finding your lost/stolen mobile, but the Samsung solution is free, native to the Galaxy phones, and offers a crap-load more features (for free) than any other free solution you can find on the Play Store.  That being said, I'm now using Prey, which I was using with my Thunderbolt (and laptops).  That's the only free solution that I've found offers near the same amount of features as Find My Mobile.  Another thing:  I've a Norton AV subscription (it includes three licenses).  It isn't cheap at all, IMO.  Well, they offer a mobile app with AV/lock/lost features...it's not included in the price of the PC solution, although they sure as hell market it within the PC solution's GUI (that's how I knew about it).  That's extremely annoying, but it was probably something I didn't need, either...a true AV solution would hog system resources and I'm only looking for something to with features to use in finding lost or stolen phones.

I'm growing used to the Otter Defender case.  The built-in screen protector still doesn't sit well with me, but I've found that if I'm quick with the stylus, it isn't as intrusive to the stylus experience.

I've taken some pretty good pictures with the Note 3 so far and have even doe some video of my son's MMA exams (I captured some slow-mo footage of moving nunchaku).  The video settings layouts are a bit confusing to navigate.

The Note 3 really doesn't have all that much more to offer than the Note 2, IMO.  The only drastic difference are the video settings...there are some seriously high offerings if you want to capture good video.  Is that worth an upgrade from a Note 2?  It depends on how much of a video nut you are (not everyone cares about having the latest specs as far as video capturing is concerned).

Another thing:  I spent a ton of time in creating several themes using the Next launcher on my Note 2.  I lost those when I went to the Note 3.  I ran a back-up but the Next developer should have it backed up to SD card as well (and have the name and location of the backup noted somewhere within the configuration).

I also got my oldest kid an HTC One M8 (she had an iPhone but wanted to go Android).  She loves it.  It is a beautiful phone...I couldn't stop telling her and the store consultant that.  The only thing I didn't like about that phone is that the battery is not removable.  I'm not sure about the 4 Ultra Pixel camera...it's more marketing than anything, and I'm pretty sure it's not going to out-shoot my Note 3.  I love the Sense UI, as well.  I have not played with it all that much since I got it for my daughter, but one evening I'll have her unlock it so that I can play with it a bit.

I've still been wondering about the LG G3 (and even the G2).  I was actually considering the G2 when I was trying to decide which phones to consider.  It's cons were:  non-removable battery and no SD slot.  The G2 is also a free phone (as a contract phone)...I have no idea how much they're charging for it as an Edge upgrade.  The G2 has the same hardware as an S4...it's VERY fresh as far as hardware is concerned.  I think most people couldn't stomach the volume and power buttons layout, which is why it's a free contract phone with Verizon.  I might even consider seeing if I can buy an unlocked G2 as a spare phone (they shouldn't cost too much on Craigslist or eBay).

The G3 is due to be released this summer (it's already been debuted).  I'm predicting mid-July as a Verizon release date.  I'm on the Vz notification list so that I'll know when they decide to sell it.  I want to check it out.  It may well replace my Note 3 (and soon).  I'd have to pay at least 50% of my Note 3 before I can  "edge up", though.  The G3 is a great phone and will be running a ground-breaking display.  It'll be using the SnapDragon 801 series CPU in the US.  It has a removable battery and a micro-SD slot that'll take 128GB cards. (!!)  It's almost as big as a Note 3.  While it doesn't have a stylus, I rarely use the Note's stylus anyways.