Phones Ordered my 1st Android phone: Note 8

[rocknblogger]

So after many years with iPhone and the rest of the Apple ecosystem I've decided this year to jump to the Samsung Galaxy Note 8. Im currently using the iPhone 7 Plus and I simply could not get excited for any of the new iPhones announced.

I'm not sold on FaceID yet. I'll have to read some real world reviews and check out videos on YouTube about the iPhone X to see what the consensus will be. I was also expecting something like the infinity screen on the iPhone X that Samsung now uses. Alas not so. The iPhone X still has bezels on the sides even if they are rather thin. And I'm undecided about the chin but I do believe they could have done something better.

The price differential wasn't a big deal for me. After all I bought the Note 8 at $960 so another $190 isn't all that much.

So all you Android users and fanboys, any tips on my first Android phone since the original Evo from Sprint?

Any must have apps for productivity, Calendar, streaming videos from PC/Mac to the Not 8 handset?
Any cool apps that take advantage of the S pen beyond the stock Samsung apps?

I may have other questions but I guess this is good for now. I'd appreciate your help with these.

PS - I still have an iPhone SE that I use for my business and for bike rides. Also have my Apple Watch paired to this SE too. I'm not giving up on Apple but I had to see what the competition offers. I'm sure many of you understand this

 

[Shanghaichica]

Good luck with your new phone and let us know how you get on. My first android phone was the original galaxy note.

 

[ctrlzone]

750,000 new Android malware apps in the first quarter of 2017

good luck

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Your last Android phone was the Evo? Prepare to be pleasantly shocked by the Note 8 from every angle.


Some good apps that are not cross platform or has a feature that's not cross platform.

ACR (auto call recorder)... Works great with the Note 8, just put the Audio Source settings to "Voice Communication".

Samsung Side Sync or AirDroid

NextRadio ... For playing FM radio with headphones. (Not BT headphones)

HD Screen Recorder - No Root

PAGF .... An app that shows paid apps that are free for limited of time. Mostly icons packs and dumb games, but you do find some good gems frequently.

Amazon app store

MarcoDroid ... A simple tasker for dummies, and works well.

Dual Messenger, a feature which is already included. I use two different Whatsapp accounts. Without the need for putting it under Secure folder, which means no passcode or biometrics every time I use it.

Hex Shaders ... Interesting Live Wallpapers. The "Sea Waves" is especially nice when detail level is set to max.

Nova Launcher ... If you decide to use a different launcher.

UCCW ... widget creation app.

Adaptions ... Change homescreen icons easily.

 

[Technarchy]

You're in for an interesting experience.

If you can get passed the social engineering associated with green and blue bubbles, and that's exactly what it is, your likely to find nearly everything you like doing on the iPhone to be easier on the Note 8.

 

[JackieInCo]

Excellent choice on the Note 8. I bought my first Android phone in 2013 and haven't looked back. The last iPhone that I have bought was the 6S/6S+ and I feel that Apple has truly lost the magic they once had.

Now I get excited over the whenever Samsung introduces a new Note and S series. This year, I bought both the S8+ and the Note 8. I have no regrets. Best decision ever to leave the iPhone.

 

[rocknblogger]

Good luck with your new phone and let us know how you get on. My first android phone was the original galaxy note.

I'll more than likely have it tomorrow and I'll certainly let you guys know how it goes.

750,000 new Android malware apps in the first quarter of 2017

good luck

That's the FUD you came here to post? Grow up

Your last Android phone was the Evo? Prepare to be pleasantly shocked by the Note 8 from every angle.


Some good apps that are not cross platform or has a feature that's not cross platform.

ACR (auto call recorder)... Works great with the Note 8, just put the Audio Source settings to "Voice Communication".

Samsung Side Sync or AirDroid

NextRadio ... For playing FM radio with headphones. (Not BT headphones)

HD Screen Recorder - No Root

PAGF .... An app that shows paid apps that are free for limited of time. Mostly icons packs and dumb games, but you do find some good gems frequently.

Amazon app store

MarcoDroid ... A simple tasker for dummies, and works well.

Dual Messenger, a feature which is already included. I use two different Whatsapp accounts. Without the need for putting it under Secure folder, which means no passcode or biometrics every time I use it.

Hex Shaders ... Interesting Live Wallpapers. The "Sea Waves" is especially nice when detail level is set to max.

Nova Launcher ... If you decide to use a different launcher.

UCCW ... widget creation app.

Adaptions ... Change homescreen icons easily.

Thank you!! I'll check some of these apps out. Any suggestions for streaming video from Mac or PC to the Note?

You're in for an interesting experience.

If you can get passed the social engineering associated with green and blue bubbles, and that's exactly what it is, your likely to find nearly everything you like doing on the iPhone to be easier on the Note 8.

You're right, it is social engineering but I will miss iMessage at times. Most of the people I know use Facebook messenger, Viber, or Telegraph so I'm hoping it'll all work out

Excellent choice on the Note 8. I bought my first Android phone in 2013 and haven't looked back. The last iPhone that I have bought was the 6S/6S+ and I feel that Apple has truly lost the magic they once had.

Now I get excited over the whenever Samsung introduces a new Note and S series. This year, I bought both the S8+ and the Note 8. I have no regrets. Best decision ever to leave the iPhone.

Yeah I unfortunately agree. Apple has seemingly lost the magic or more aptly, the edge. It's undeniable that the iPhone is a very well made device and the masses seem to agree based on their quarterly and yearly sales results.

The thing that has turned me off is that Apple has made conscious decisions to not include tech that's been available for some years now. They're using Qi charging which has been available for a number of years now on other devices. I believe they should have moved to OLED with the iPhone 6 maybe 6S. Instead they add both features to their most expensive "anniversary" iPhone at an inflated price. And sure there's always been an Apple tax but now I feel like it's gotten out of control. You need a dongle or adapter for almost everything they sell today. To me it's just nickel and diming their customers. And now even though the iPhone X has fast charging capabilities you have to pay more for a charging brick and cable to unlock this feature.

Not to mention they keep raising their prices on every higher end device they sell. All in the name of a couple percentage points of profit.

Excellent choice on the Note 8. I bought my first Android phone in 2013 and haven't looked back. The last iPhone that I have bought was the 6S/6S+ and I feel that Apple has truly lost the magic they once had.

Now I get excited over the whenever Samsung introduces a new Note and S series. This year, I bought both the S8+ and the Note 8. I have no regrets. Best decision ever to leave the iPhone.

I hope I feel the same way. I'm certainly excited and can't wait to get it tomorrow.

 

[Puddled]

My advice would be:

A) Its not an iphone. Keep telling yourself this.
B)Go slow in setting it up. Don't skip anything or say yes or no unless you understand what that means.
C) Go all in with Samsung. Create an account
D) Go through each and every setting and sub setting. This will tell you an awful lot about the phone
E) Samsung apps are pretty good. Better than Google's in more than a few cases.
F) Don't be changing anything or fannying around with core functions/root/or other dark arts. Use it as it, out fo the box for a week or so. You might get to like some things you wouldn't have normally.
G)Buy a wireless charger. They are awesome and cost peanuts. Mine cost €0.76c, Works a treat.
H) Leave all the bells and whistles turned on. Don't be turning off anything in the first week or two.
I) Enjoy!

 

[JackieInCo]

Also, there are settings sometimes where you wouldn't think there are settings. Like a few minutes ago, I wanted to change the transparency of the edge panel to be invisible so I never see it, but it's still there. I search in settings for edge screen. Wow, theres no settings for the transparency. But look, there's three dots at the top left of that screen. You tap on those and that opens a menu where you can select handle settings where you can then change the transparency.

Things may not be too easy to figure out at first so you really just have to sit down and take a few hours and look around at everything you can do. This phone is made by Samsung and running an OS made by Google. There are no restrictions on what you can disable using a package disabler app and there are no limits to what you can run on it. You can side load apps that you can get from other developers such as the Adguard Pro and you can download apps from the Amazon app store. You can customize the look by downloading themes from the Samsung Theme store. You can truly make the phone look the way you want. There's even icon packs in the play store too.

And don't forget to experiment with the S Pen. You can so far more with it then just drawing or writing. You can make screen caps with it and capture one small section of what you are looking at and instantly post that on any site, email it or save it and make a meme out of it. You can browse your photo gallery with it. When you hover the tip of the pen over one of the thumbnails in a gallery, it will show you a popup of that pic or hover the tip of the pen over an album and it will show you the first 6-8 pics and you can tap on one to immediately open it. You can scroll with the pen as you do with your finger, select links, select multiple pics with the pen just by moving the pen across a row that you can then send to anyone.

There's so much you can do with this phone. I can go on and on. It's amazing.

 

[rocknblogger]

My advice would be:

A) Its not an iphone. Keep telling yourself this.
B)Go slow in setting it up. Don't skip anything or say yes or no unless you understand what that means.
C) Go all in with Samsung. Create an account
D) Go through each and every setting and sub setting. This will tell you an awful lot about the phone
E) Samsung apps are pretty good. Better than Google's in more than a few cases.
F) Don't be changing anything or fannying around with core functions/root/or other dark arts. Use it as it, out fo the box for a week or so. You might get to like some things you wouldn't have normally.
G)Buy a wireless charger. They are awesome and cost peanuts. Mine cost €0.76c, Works a treat.
H) Leave all the bells and whistles turned on. Don't be turning off anything in the first week or two.
I) Enjoy!

Thank you!! This is great advice and I really appreciate it

Also, there are settings sometimes where you wouldn't think there are settings. Like a few minutes ago, I wanted to change the transparency of the edge panel to be invisible so I never see it, but it's still there. I search in settings for edge screen. Wow, theres no settings for the transparency. But look, there's three dots at the top left of that screen. You tap on those and that opens a menu where you can select handle settings where you can then change the transparency.

Things may not be too easy to figure out at first so you really just have to sit down and take a few hours and look around at everything you can do. This phone is made by Samsung and running an OS made by Google. There are no restrictions on what you can disable using a package disabler app and there are no limits to what you can run on it. You can side load apps that you can get from other developers such as the Adguard Pro and you can download apps from the Amazon app store. You can customize the look by downloading themes from the Samsung Theme store. You can truly make the phone look the way you want. There's even icon packs in the play store too.

And don't forget to experiment with the S Pen. You can so far more with it then just drawing or writing. You can make screen caps with it and capture one small section of what you are looking at and instantly post that on any site, email it or save it and make a meme out of it. You can browse your photo gallery with it. When you hover the tip of the pen over one of the thumbnails in a gallery, it will show you a popup of that pic or hover the tip of the pen over an album and it will show you the first 6-8 pics and you can tap on one to immediately open it. You can scroll with the pen as you do with your finger, select links, select multiple pics with the pen just by moving the pen across a row that you can then send to anyone.

There's so much you can do with this phone. I can go on and on. It's amazing.

Thank you for these awesome tips. I'll definitely be referring back to this post when phone is in hand.

 

[The Game 161]

Enjoy

You are trying out arguably the best phone on the market right now.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Thank you!! I'll check some of these apps out. Any suggestions for streaming video from Mac or PC to the Note?

Streaming to the Note? Or did you mean the other way around?

 

[rocknblogger]

Enjoy

You are trying out arguably the best phone on the market right now.

I figured if I'm going to try Android I should try what many consider is the best

Streaming to the Note? Or did you mean the other way around?

Yes streaming to the Note. On iOS I use Air Video HD. I'd like to find something similar for the Note.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Yes streaming to the Note. On iOS I use Air Video HD. I'd like to find something similar for the Note.

I'm not sure, as I rarely had the need to do that. But I do remember on a previous Samsung Galaxy device, having the ability to mirror my smart TV screen to the phone. I don't remember seeing that option on recent Samsung phones.

 

[ctrlzone]

That's the FUD you came here to post? Grow up

yes, this is the most important Feature, not megapixels and ppi or whatever.
people really need to wake up on this, there is way too much information on smartphones today, the big bang has still to come.

 

[samcraig]

750,000 new Android malware apps in the first quarter of 2017

good luck

He won't need it. No doubt those apps are things he would never have installed in the first place.

To the OP -

I switch my main device a few years back. There's a bit of a learning curve (but that's only because you've been on the iPhone for awhile. If you were switching the other way, you'd have it too).

I agree with the advice given above. Personally, I love choosing my own default apps. That alone make my experience a lot nicer for me than when I used an iPhone (and still do for work)

Overall setup though isn't much different than the iPhone. Just take your time and go through your settings and apps and set them up how you like. BTW - Google Photos is fantastic. Especially on android.

 

[rocknblogger]

I'm not sure, as I rarely had the need to do that. But I do remember on a previous Samsung Galaxy device, having the ability to mirror my smart TV screen to the phone. I don't remember seeing that option on recent Samsung phones.

I don't think I made it clear as to what I want. With Air Video HD I installed their Mac/Windows server app so when I open the app in my iPhone or iPad I see the directories I specified in the server app which shows the videos which I can then play. So I guess what I'm looking for is a server/player combination that works on Android.

 

[samcraig]

I don't think I made it clear as to what I want. With Air Video HD I installed their Mac/Windows server app so when I open the app in my iPhone or iPad I see the directories I specified in the server app which shows the videos which I can then play. So I guess what I'm looking for is a server/player combination that works on Android.

Like PLEX?

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

I don't think I made it clear as to what I want. With Air Video HD I installed their Mac/Windows server app so when I open the app in my iPhone or iPad I see the directories I specified in the server app which shows the videos which I can then play. So I guess what I'm looking for is a server/player combination that works on Android.

Oh okay. For your specific Air Video application, I know they have several Air Video clients in the Google Play store. You can try those.

But for server style streaming. Many File Managers have that option. And many other apps/services have remote options as well.

 

[kilcher]

I've only ever had iPhones but recently bought an S8+. It was a nice phone, beautiful display, and fun to set up but once I was done tinkering with it it just didnt' seem to do anything quite as well as my iPhone did. Ended up returning it the next day.

As I said, it was a great phone, just not for me at this time. If Apple keeps going the way they're going I'll be trying the Note again in 2 years.

 

[Puddled]

I've only ever had iPhones but recently bought an S8+. It was a nice phone, beautiful display, and fun to set up but once I was done tinkering with it it just didnt' seem to do anything quite as well as my iPhone did. Ended up returning it the next day.

As I said, it was a great phone, just not for me at this time. If Apple keeps going the way they're going I'll be trying the Note again in 2 years.

A day?

1 day?


Crikey

 

[Yankee512]

750,000 new Android malware apps in the first quarter of 2017

good luck

Here we go with the excuses again from apple fans.

 

[Yankee512]

I figured if I'm going to try Android I should try what many consider is the best

Yes streaming to the Note. On iOS I use Air Video HD. I'd like to find something similar for the Note.

You will love it. I just did the same switch from my IP7+ to a Note 8 and its so much better. Many more things I can do on it, and multitask with multi-window is awesome.

 

[rocknblogger]

Oh okay. For your specific Air Video application, I know they have several Air Video clients in the Google Play store. You can try those.

But for server style streaming. Many File Managers have that option. And many other apps/services have remote options as well.

Thanks, I'm sure I'll find something. Does Samsung have their own App Store? Is the Google Play Store app preinstalled on Samsung devices?

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Thanks, I'm sure I'll find something. Does Samsung have their own App Store? Is the Google Play Store app preinstalled on Samsung devices?

Google Play and Samsung's Galaxy store is preinstalled. The Amazon App store you have to install yourself. (If you choose to).