Hoping this comes to ATT in some variant soon. Wish it had a better battery like 2200mAH at least and a microSD slot. I like the built in headphone amp very cool. I use the Filo amp coming out of my One X and it sounds great, but without the amp it sounds very good anyway.
This could be a great phone if the battery doesn't end up being terrible. I don't see how they're going to manage it, but that's the one thing that could be the downfall of this phone. Otherwise, everything is pretty perfect. (minus wanting a 4.5 inch flagship android - does anybody know of one? I can't seem to find anything under 4.7)
You can get 1080p if you're willing to spend more than $600, probably closer to $700 or more depending on the rest of the specs. Or, don't get hosed on the upgrade premium and replace the screen yourself if you're a DIY type. That price, coincidentally, is in the ballpark of what a high end phone like that HTC costs unsubsudized.
All that said I agree whole-heartedly with your sentiment. 1366x768 is awful to look at on a 15" laptop. Compounding it is the trend to use the worst quality screens imaginable. I know because I put up with it for months and months until I bought a 1080p replacement screen. My lesson was learned.
A 15" at 1366x768 or 1920x1080 is ... exactly the same size and probably the same amount of materials. As we can see, it's obviously not hard to get higher ppi, since they have 3-4x the ppi on this 5" screen.
I imagine Verizon passed on a One variant in order to score this? I love my EVO LTE's display, but I'm not sure I'd ever wanna go any larger... In fact, given the option of a 16:9 720p 4.3" I'd probably opt for a slight downsize. 5" & 1080p seems like total overkill, specially without any extra functionality like the Note.
Wonder who makes the display though and why Samsung wasn't able to source it for the Note 2... I guess they'll probably sell a lot more Note 2's worldwide so logistics might've been the issue.
The headphone amp part is curious, the S4 One/EVO phones are already amongst the best sounding out there (though apparently the Tegra 3 versions are pretty mediocre)... At the very least it should be a better step than gimmicks like the Beats EQ.
I can see a lot of reasons for not choosing it for the Note 2, to make use of it needs a beefier GPU and in turn more power as well as the screen itself possibly using more power, on the Note power consumption is already an issue.
More simply though I have to wonder if it's worth having such an ultra high resolution display? I've always been a fan of high resolution displays but they seem to be getting into more of a spec war, 1080p seems great on an 11in screen and I've been happy with 1280x720 on the Note 1, I can't see the big jump in resolution being that much of an advantage.
It would make sense for me. I have been looking for a pocketable device to read PDF documents in portrait mode. I have tried it in note 2 and you cannot, as 720 PX width smudges the fonts,which at that size is unreadable, same for websites. If I have to go to landscape mode to be able to read these pages, why would I need a 5 inch phone when a 4.5 inch phone would be sufficient. So if a phone is 5 inchs or more it has got to have at least a 1000px across the shorter side.
Not really, if you pay $500 for a display you might get a very nice 1920x1200 24" IPS but relative dpi still blows compared to this phone. The problem's twofold tho, little demand for better desktop displays (since the desktop is more of a niche every year: and software needs to be improved and optimized with better dpi scaling in mind.
If it had 3k mAh, I'd seriously consider it. With 2k mAh, it looks nice, but half the time you'll be carrying around a paperweight rather than a phone.
with 1080p resolution. lmao at how seriously corporation take it consumers for granted as being stupid and yet the stupid people go ahead and buy this shit.
I agree on principle but not everybody is watching 8GB 1080p mkvs on the phone.
Also I suppose that 1080p is the "ultimate" goal for the manufacturers and they will stay a while at that resolution, considered today the de facto standard along with the dreadful 1366 x 768. I wouldn't mind to have all my devices (from 4" to 24") at 1080p, until 4k will be on larger screens...
No micro-SD card AND an unreplaceable battery means I won't buy it.
Great display, great audio - and then they leave out a key piece of the media interface. Is there some conspiracy of stupidity in the smartphone makers these days? Anything positioned to be more than a basic phone needs a good way to swap files in and out. That's exactly what micro-SD provides.
It's one thing for a company to omit SD precisely because they want to lock you into their media services. But it makes no sense for HTC / Verizon.
And the unreplaceable battery... In my limited experience these things only last about two years. What are you supposed to do then? Throw the phone away? As with the SD, I'd rather pay more and get the essentials. What can these two things add? $50? Gladly.
This phone is going to be worthless in a year when 4k resolutions become mainstream. What's the point of getting a phone like this now when you won't be able to watch Avatar 3D at 4K resolution on it?
Great review. I'm torn between this phone and the Samsung Galaxy SIII. I'm on contract with AT&T (like the 4GLTE) and my next phone is a toss-up since it seems to have a wide selection. I have a graphics design firm in New York and my smartphone is becoming like a third arm since the data speeds are so good.
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jjj - Tuesday, November 13, 2012 - link
Again no microSD and the HTC J Butterfly has one,HTC is starting to just be annoying.deputc26 - Tuesday, November 13, 2012 - link
no sd card and 16gb? almost as big a shame as nexus 4. I blame goog for booting sd cards.piroroadkill - Friday, November 16, 2012 - link
Yep. Completely agreed. No MicroSD and such needlessly small battery = fail. What the hell?Death666Angel - Tuesday, November 13, 2012 - link
The Note 2 should have launched at that resolution. :) Looking forward to the test. Will there be an international version of this?cigar3tte - Tuesday, November 13, 2012 - link
2030mAh battery for a 5" 1080p device? And you can't replace it. Not going to work.abhicherath - Tuesday, November 13, 2012 - link
Now if only bigger laptops also started following this trend...On another note, I wonder how my 1080p wallpapers will look on that beast,hmm.
alfreddelacruz - Tuesday, November 13, 2012 - link
Hoping this comes to ATT in some variant soon. Wish it had a better battery like 2200mAH at least and a microSD slot. I like the built in headphone amp very cool. I use the Filo amp coming out of my One X and it sounds great, but without the amp it sounds very good anyway.karasaj - Tuesday, November 13, 2012 - link
This could be a great phone if the battery doesn't end up being terrible. I don't see how they're going to manage it, but that's the one thing that could be the downfall of this phone. Otherwise, everything is pretty perfect. (minus wanting a 4.5 inch flagship android - does anybody know of one? I can't seem to find anything under 4.7)karasaj - Tuesday, November 13, 2012 - link
Oh, for Verizon. The LG Optimus G might have been nice but it doesn't seem like they're covering it.extide - Tuesday, November 13, 2012 - link
Yeah because that makes sense. PLEASE MANUFACTURERS KILL OFF 1366x768!Super56K - Tuesday, November 13, 2012 - link
You can get 1080p if you're willing to spend more than $600, probably closer to $700 or more depending on the rest of the specs. Or, don't get hosed on the upgrade premium and replace the screen yourself if you're a DIY type. That price, coincidentally, is in the ballpark of what a high end phone like that HTC costs unsubsudized.All that said I agree whole-heartedly with your sentiment. 1366x768 is awful to look at on a 15" laptop. Compounding it is the trend to use the worst quality screens imaginable. I know because I put up with it for months and months until I bought a 1080p replacement screen. My lesson was learned.
tipoo - Tuesday, November 13, 2012 - link
It makes sense from a manufacturing cost point of view, even with much higher PPIs small screens are cheaper to produce, similar to smaller CPUs.blackbrrd - Tuesday, November 13, 2012 - link
A 15" at 1366x768 or 1920x1080 is ... exactly the same size and probably the same amount of materials. As we can see, it's obviously not hard to get higher ppi, since they have 3-4x the ppi on this 5" screen.Peskarik - Tuesday, November 13, 2012 - link
Wow, 5 inch 1080p screen! Wow! Wow!And what is the point of this?
And in traditional HTC fashion - no card slot and subpar battery.
tipoo - Tuesday, November 13, 2012 - link
Are the differences anything more than paper specs now?Impulses - Tuesday, November 13, 2012 - link
I imagine Verizon passed on a One variant in order to score this? I love my EVO LTE's display, but I'm not sure I'd ever wanna go any larger... In fact, given the option of a 16:9 720p 4.3" I'd probably opt for a slight downsize. 5" & 1080p seems like total overkill, specially without any extra functionality like the Note.Wonder who makes the display though and why Samsung wasn't able to source it for the Note 2... I guess they'll probably sell a lot more Note 2's worldwide so logistics might've been the issue.
The headphone amp part is curious, the S4 One/EVO phones are already amongst the best sounding out there (though apparently the Tegra 3 versions are pretty mediocre)... At the very least it should be a better step than gimmicks like the Beats EQ.
Johnmcl7 - Tuesday, November 13, 2012 - link
I can see a lot of reasons for not choosing it for the Note 2, to make use of it needs a beefier GPU and in turn more power as well as the screen itself possibly using more power, on the Note power consumption is already an issue.More simply though I have to wonder if it's worth having such an ultra high resolution display? I've always been a fan of high resolution displays but they seem to be getting into more of a spec war, 1080p seems great on an 11in screen and I've been happy with 1280x720 on the Note 1, I can't see the big jump in resolution being that much of an advantage.
John
sharath.naik - Wednesday, November 14, 2012 - link
It would make sense for me. I have been looking for a pocketable device to read PDF documents in portrait mode. I have tried it in note 2 and you cannot, as 720 PX width smudges the fonts,which at that size is unreadable, same for websites. If I have to go to landscape mode to be able to read these pages, why would I need a 5 inch phone when a 4.5 inch phone would be sufficient. So if a phone is 5 inchs or more it has got to have at least a 1000px across the shorter side.Same applies to any tablets.
agent2099 - Tuesday, November 13, 2012 - link
release date?EnsilZah - Tuesday, November 13, 2012 - link
A 5" phone has more resolution than my 22" monitor, great, thank you monitor manufacturers.KITH - Tuesday, November 13, 2012 - link
Yet your monitor still works just fine for you, I'm sure.If you paid for your monitor what this phone actually costs, you would get the higher resolution too.
Impulses - Wednesday, November 14, 2012 - link
Not really, if you pay $500 for a display you might get a very nice 1920x1200 24" IPS but relative dpi still blows compared to this phone. The problem's twofold tho, little demand for better desktop displays (since the desktop is more of a niche every year: and software needs to be improved and optimized with better dpi scaling in mind.twtech - Tuesday, November 13, 2012 - link
If it had 3k mAh, I'd seriously consider it. With 2k mAh, it looks nice, but half the time you'll be carrying around a paperweight rather than a phone.pukemon1976 - Tuesday, November 13, 2012 - link
with 1080p resolution. lmao at how seriously corporation take it consumers for granted as being stupid and yet the stupid people go ahead and buy this shit.Mugur - Wednesday, November 14, 2012 - link
I agree on principle but not everybody is watching 8GB 1080p mkvs on the phone.Also I suppose that 1080p is the "ultimate" goal for the manufacturers and they will stay a while at that resolution, considered today the de facto standard along with the dreadful 1366 x 768. I wouldn't mind to have all my devices (from 4" to 24") at 1080p, until 4k will be on larger screens...
Mugur - Wednesday, November 14, 2012 - link
I meant the phone manufacturers, of course.Arbie - Thursday, November 15, 2012 - link
No micro-SD card AND an unreplaceable battery means I won't buy it.
Great display, great audio - and then they leave out a key piece of the media interface. Is there some conspiracy of stupidity in the smartphone makers these days? Anything positioned to be more than a basic phone needs a good way to swap files in and out. That's exactly what micro-SD provides.
It's one thing for a company to omit SD precisely because they want to lock you into their media services. But it makes no sense for HTC / Verizon.
And the unreplaceable battery... In my limited experience these things only last about two years. What are you supposed to do then? Throw the phone away? As with the SD, I'd rather pay more and get the essentials. What can these two things add? $50? Gladly.
seapeople - Saturday, November 17, 2012 - link
This phone is going to be worthless in a year when 4k resolutions become mainstream. What's the point of getting a phone like this now when you won't be able to watch Avatar 3D at 4K resolution on it?zappb - Sunday, November 18, 2012 - link
Yea I hear HTC will release a 4k phone in 2 weeks, called the HTC DREAMON, so I'll pass this 1080p fad as well.MichaelEvans - Monday, December 24, 2012 - link
Great review. I'm torn between this phone and the Samsung Galaxy SIII. I'm on contract with AT&T (like the 4GLTE) and my next phone is a toss-up since it seems to have a wide selection. I have a graphics design firm in New York and my smartphone is becoming like a third arm since the data speeds are so good.