Power User Report
Having used the Note1 for a few months now and being somewhat of a power user, I thought I would relate my story to assist those sitting on the fence.
First, being somewhat of a techie, I have been buying and experimenting with pretty well every significant device and operating system since the first Treo was released by Rogers in 1997. In fact, it is because of the Treo that I moved from 11 years with Bell over to Rogers. Anyway, I digress.
At any given time I will have 7 or eight devices on the go and switch between the top 2 or 3 as my mood or situation strikes me. Currently I am playing with a Blackberry 9900, Galaxy Note 1, iPhone 4s and an iPad 3. Unfortunately, the Blackberry is mandated by work and having just joined this company a year ago, I had such a difficult time re-adjusting back to using a berry....and still do. My previous employer allowed me to use whatever I wanted and I took full advantage of that.
Originally, for years I was a hardened Windows CE/Mobile user as I found this best met my needs as a business used. That is until MS broke the tethered sync with Outlook. Game over.
Anyway, my first experience with Android was with the original Galaxy S. At first it was a little quirky but a few software updates later, it started to feel pretty good. I also had an iPhone 3s at this time and would flip back and forth. Then I added a 7" Galaxy Tab to my stable and low and behold I found that I could start leaving my laptop at home on most short business trips.
Then, when the Note was first released I had to try it and shortly after sold my Tab. It was super fast, more pocketable and still very readable.
Then in a moment of weakness, I walked into an Apple store and walked out with a new iPhone 4s and an iPad 3. At this point perhaps I should explain that, unlike a lot of people, I really like using iTunes to manage my media. And after 3-4 years of bouncing between Windows, Blackberry, Android and Apple I will say that that is the only reason I keep coming back to Apple at this point. Plus I have many accessory devices like the awesome Altec Lansing Retro Boombox that are made for Apple products.
Now to the nitty gritty. Because I am forced to use Blackberry for business, I find that my Note is a perfect companion. First off, I travel extensively so my first order of business was to get the car dock. Perfect. I use CoPilot as my Nav program of choice and still have Google Maps, Search, Navigation and Voice Talk, which in my opinion is better than Siri. I have the 16 GB model with a 32 GB SD card loaded up with music, movies and most importantly, all of my business literature (brochures, catalogues, reference lists, technical bulletins, presentations and copies of quotes). I also have the home dock and HDMI cable to push presentations to a big screen when necessary.
And this is just the beginning. Add all of my personal requirements like personal email, social media, news, reading, surfing, camera, etc, etc, well you get the idea. Yes, the iPhone/iPad will do these things too but in my estimation when used with Windows PC's, it is not nearly as user friendly in keeping all my business files update to my device and you pretty much need to carry both phone and tablet to compete with the Note (personal opinion of course).
Where does that put me now that the Note II has been released? I will give it a few weeks until they are readily available in my area and then I plan on buying one (no contract). Reasons: Quad processor, more RAM, more memory. At that point I will then sell my Note 1, iPhone 4s and iPad 3 and possibly just buy a used iPod to do my music thing.
Oh ya, and unfortunately I will still have that darn Blackberry. Luckily, I only have to make/take phone calls and bang out the odd short email!