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Who stole my butter? Solving slowness probelms in Galaxy Note after Jelly Bean update

April 9, 2013 in Galaxy Note Guides

slow-jelly-beanJelly Bean 4.1 updated for Galaxy Note has been rolled out in phases since February 2013. This update brings Galaxy Note owners many excited improvements, new features and apps. Some of the new features were explained in  the Top 12 new features you should try after getting Jelly Bean 4.1 update for Galaxy Note.

However, some users reported serious slowness issues after the Jelly Bean update in their Galaxy Notes. It seems the Project Butter is nothing, or Samsung stole our butter.

What are the causes, and what are the solutions?

First, Galaxy Note is powerful enough for running Jelly Bean smoothly. 1GB RAM, and dual core 1.4GHz Exynos 4 Dual 4210 chip are still decent hardware specifications even after1.5 years. A lot of middle range Jelly Bean handsets has far less powerful hardware specifications.

So, do not suspect your hardware. Jelly Bean is not hungry for hardware. Any hardware that can run Ice Cream Sandwich should meet the requirements of Jelly Bean. A lot of manufactures do not give Jelly Bean update simply because  they do not want to put more resources on an old model. In this sense, Samsung did an excellent job.

The slowness problem in Jelly Bean update lies on the update itself. When you update the system, most of your old settings will be kept, some are necessary, some are unnecessary . Some of these settings are fully compatible with Jelly bean; some are compatible  but with degraded performance. For the known incompatible settings, the update will handle them. The biggest issue is that some old settings are not compatible to the new OS/ROM, but it is unknown yet.  Therefore, for the slowness caused by such problematic settings, a factory reset will solve the issue.

Please be careful when performing the  factory reset because it will erase your internal storage. You need backup all your data in the internal storage, including your contacts and messages. Apps can be re-installed, but the settings will be gone. If you have rooted your phone, you can use Titanium Backup  to backup and restore almost everything. If your phone is not rooted, you may try Carbon to backup and restore your apps. You may check this tutorial on how to use this app.

Of Course it is a good idea to use Kies to backup  all supported items (contacts, messages, s notes, photos…) to your PC. After resetting, you can restore the backup.  But you should never rely on Samsung’s Device backup. It is not reliable based on my personal usage.

Sometimes, the slowness is due to insufficient available RAM. Yes, I just said our Galaxy Note has sufficient RAM (1GB)  for Jelly Bean. Even you add up all Samsung’s TouchWiz, and all bloatware from Samsung and from your local carriers, the 1GB RAM (800-900MB accessible) should be able to handle all apps easily. So, why is there this  insufficient RAM issue?

As discussed in Why did I get less free RAM after the ICS update in my Galaxy Note? Android is very efficient in memory management. The RAM in our Note has 4 portions: reserved, used, cached, and available.  Reserved part is for system devices, e.g., GPU, in this Jelly Bean update, it is about  130-140MB. So, about 860MB is available for Android, and all stacks over it. Among this 860MB, Jelly Bean actually only require less than 200MB, slightly more than Ice Cream Sandwich. The TouchWiz UI (aka Samsung’s skin) is over-bloated, and needs about 200MB. This implies users get more than 400MB for their apps. This is more than enough for any app in the Play Store.

But in our Galaxy Note, there are some bundled apps (bloatware) from Samsung and local carriers, e.g, Yahoo Finance, Learning Hub, always running because these apps mark themselves as essential (it will restart itself if you kill them use task manager), although they are not essential.

An app can also listen to reboot or start services, and therefore launches itself when you reboot your phone. So, immediately after you reboot your Galaxy Note, if your Note uses more than 600MB RAM, you may have RAM issue with apps. Your Note may be sluggish gradually. You can read the RAM info in any task manger or through Application Manager–running. If this happens, it simply means you have too many apps either marking them as essential (usually bundled ones) or trying to auto-restart themselves. You should check the RAM before using any other apps except task manager. Only check this immediately after rebooting.

So, the solution for the slowness problem caused by insufficient available RAM includes:

  1. disabling some unnecessary bundled apps (of course, if your Note was rooted, you can uninstall them). You should be very careful and only disable the apps that you are not going to use. This can be done in Application Manager–all. For each apps, you can choose disable. If there are updates installed, you need uninstall the update first, then to disable.
  2. preventing some apps to start automatically. You can go to Application  Manager–downloaded. For each app,  you can choose “force stop” if it is not grayed out. During the Jelly Bean update process, the updater actually marked all old apps to start automatically! This was done in the optimizing apps stage in the updating process.  Force stop may be not consistent (depending on app). So, a more powerful approach is to use some autorun manager. For non-rooted phones, you may try an app called Autorun Manager (in basic mode).

 

To sum up, if you feel your Galaxy Note is getting slower after the Jelly Bean update, you may try:

  • Step 1: Back up all important data in the internal storage. You may use Kies for some files, contacts, S Notes, messages, photos, and Carbon for app settings. Make sure the backup is in a safe place.
  • Step 2.: Perform a factory reset (settings–backup and reset)
  • Step 3: Disable some unnecessary bundled apps;
  • Step 4: Reboot and monitor the RAM usage. The used RAM  immediately after reboot should be less than 600MB.
  • step 5: Re-install backups from Kies
  • Step 6: Re-install apps one by one  from Play Store.
  • Step 7: Reboot
  • Step 8: Force stop all downloaded apps,
  • Step 9: Install Autorun Manager, and disable most apps in the list (in the Basic Mode)
  • Step 10: Reboot and check.

Is the slowness problem in your Galaxy Note solved? If not, post your questions in the comments box below of discuss it with other Galaxy Note owners in Galaxy Note discussion forum.

 

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Top 12 new features you should try after getting Jelly Bean 4.1 update for Galaxy Note

April 1, 2013 in Galaxy Note Guides, Galaxy Note News, Galaxy Note Reviews

jelly-bean-update-for-galaxy-noteJelly Bean 4.1 update has been available in more and more regions since February. Now our almost 1.5-year-old Note get a new  life again after the Ice Cream Sandwich update last year.

If the rumor can be trusted (and it is usually can be trusted), Galaxy Note will get Jelly Bean 4.2 update this year as well. Even better news for Galaxy Note 2 owners, Key Lime Pie (aka, Android 5.0) update will very likely be available for your Note 2. Well done Samsung!. Now Samsung is only second to Google in providing update for their Android handsets.

Last November, we list top 10 expected features in this Jelly Bean update for Galaxy note. After testing the update recently, we found all features mentioned except Airview were included in this update.

Some of these new features and improvements are part of Jelly Bean update, for example Google Now and popup browser. Some are Samsung’s extension or exclusive apps, for example, multi-window, Paper Artist,  and easy clip.

In this post, I will share with you 12 must-try new features in this Jelly Bean 4.1 update in your Galaxy Note. All these features are already available in Galaxy Note 2 and Note 10.1. So, if you own Galaxy Note 2 or 10.1, you can also try all  these features out of box.

1.  Google Now (part of Jelly Bean)

Google Now is the killer feature of Jelly Bean. It was officially unveiled in Google I/O 2012. With Google now, you become the master, not the slave of your smartphones. Google Now essentially digs all your info in your Google accounts, then predicts what  info you may need before you ask. The info is presented in “cards”, which are presented  once you start Google Now. In Jelly Bean 4.2, more cards will be available.

Of course, you can also use Google Now as knowledge navigator: simple ask questions, Google Now gives you results in natural language. It works far better (not so arguable) than Siri in iPhones.

To launch Google Now, you can long press menu (left) key. You can also long press Home button, then choose “g”. For Note 10.1, press the Home button (software, as there are no physical buttons) then swipe up.

2. Blocking mode

You can mute incoming calls, sound and notifications, if the blocking mode is turned on. Just like DnD in iOS 6, you can configure the timing and add an exception list.

Just like DnD on iOS 6, Blocking mode has an exception list where you can add some contacts that won’t be affected by its restrictions.

Blocking mode can be activated/deactivated from notification panel. You can also activate/deactivate it, or customize it (e.g., set schedule, or add exception list)  from settings–blocking mode.

3. Multi-window

You can run two apps side by side when the multi-window is turned on. At this time, only selected apps support this feature. In the right side of your phone, there will be a blue multi-window panel handle,from which you can pull out the panel containing all supported apps. Simply drag two apps one by one, each app will take half of the screen.

When in multi-window mode, you can re-size each app, or make one of the app take the full screen. But what you cannot do is to overlap these apps as in Q Slide in Optimus G. Q Slide is similar to popup (browser, video, note) in Galaxy Note mentioned below.

Multi-window can be activated/deactivated from notification panel (by default). You can also activate/deactivate it from settings–display.

4. Popup browser (part of Jelly Bean)

Popup browser allows you to open a link in a popup window. You can move the popup browser on the screen, but you cannot re-size it (at least we did not figure out how to do it), or push it back unless you close it. Of course, you can tap the button in the top left  corner to maximize it. This essentially change the popup browser to the in-stock one.

This popup browser is part of Jelly Bean and there is no corresponding app for it. The only way to invoke it is to open a link in an app (except in other browsers) and then the system will give you the option to use popup browser or any other browsers. Of course, you can make it (or any other browsers)  default if you want. Then you will not see the options window. If you want to get this option window back, you have to clear the defaults for the browser chosen in applications manager.

There are two other popup apps you may already know. One is the popup note (it is called quick memo in Ginger Bread, and ICS). At any time, you can press down the S Pen button, and double tap the screen, a popup note will be available. This is very useful when you want to write down something during a call. You can re-size the window and move it around.

Another one is popup video play debuted in the ICS update in some regions as explained in this post. The in-stock video player can be re-sized and move around. You can  also switch to other apps and keep the video playing.

5. Offline voice typing (part of Jelly Bean)

The new embedded speech recognizer lets you use Voice Typing even when you don’t have an Internet connection. You need download about a 15MB file for each language. Of course, this offline version is not as good as the cloud version, but it is surely usable.

You can change the settings from Settings–Language and input–Google voice typing.

6.  Expandable notifications and controllable notifications from apps  (part of Jelly Bean)

The notification panel can now expand to show you more info, for example, a portion of your incoming email, rather than just the number of emails waiting for you in the inbox. Moreover. notifications from the same application will be  grouped together, and the first item is automatically expanded. You can pinch notifications to expand or collapse them.

Another nice feature related to notification is that you can disable notifications from any apps. In the Settings–Applications manager, you can disable notification for any apps.  You can  also identify the apps by long tap the notification. Then you can disable the notifications for this app if the notifications are annoying, but you need keep this app.

7. Easy clip

Press down  the S Pen button, draw any closed shapes on the screen. The closed region can then be used as an image in  other apps. You can paste this clipped image to the scrapbook , to S Note, to email, to Facebook… This is very handy for saving or sharing.

8. Contextual filename for your photos

When GPS tagging is on,  you can adjust the file name based on contextual information such as your current GPS location.  You can also add weather tag, person and date of course. Before shooting photos, you can go to camera settings to enable GPS tag and contextual filename. Once in the gallery (the in-stock one), you can add more tags after tapping the menu key..

9. Photo Note

You can simply put handwriting notes on the back of your photos! You can access this function from the Gallery app. Once a photo is loaded, tap the menu key, you can  then select photo note to write on the back of the photo.

Similarly, You can also add frames to your photos as well.  You can also write something anywhere on the photo or the frame. The framed photos will then be saved in /storage/sdcard0/pictures/photo frame folder.So  a new photo (re-sized and in PNG format)  is saved, and you can use this framed photo on other systems. This is different from photo note, which is only readable for Samsung’s Android phones.

10.  Paper Artist

 Paper Artist is an app exclusively developed for Samsung (by JFDP-Labs). It was first introduced in Galaxy Note 2. Paper Artist essentially is an image editor, but with very special tools and effects. With this app, your Note turns you into an artist, at least  you will get this feeling.

You can launch this app just as other apps. Alternatively, you can access this app from your gallery. Tap the menu key  when a photo is opened, select edit, and an option for Paper Artist will be available.

11. Improved S Note

S Note is simply getting better in this update. More contextual options are added and it likes the S Note in Note 2. Another notable new feature is added sketch effects for any images in your S Note.

12. Page buddy

Page buddy essentially display contextual popup widget depending on the accessories connected or  removed. For example, when a headset is inserted, a page with music player widget and video player widget will pop out. You can enable or disable this function from Settings–Display-Page buddy.

Unfortunately, unlike the page buddy in Note 2,  there is no S Pen page, because Galaxy Note does not have a sensor to detect the removing of S Pen.

Of course, there are many other new features, for example, re-sizable widget,  Smart Stay, Handwriting email and S Planner, configurable notification panel, ChatON and group play. Most Google apps were also optimized for Jelly Bean.

Any questions on Jelly Bean update for your Galaxy Note? Or any questions on these features in you Galaxy Note , Note 2 and Note 10.1? Please post in the comments section below.  You can also start a discussion in our discussion forum.

 

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by Simon

Is LG Optimus G Pro an Alternative to Galaxy Note 2?

March 22, 2013 in Galaxy Note Guides, Galaxy Note News

galaxy-note2-vs-lg-optimus-g-proIt is not a secret that LG wants to step into the phablet market which is dominated by Samsung’s 5.3″ Galaxy Note and 5.5″ Galaxy Note 2. The 5″ rectangle slab, Optimus Vu, and Vu 2, announced last year, failed miserably to get into this niche market.

So, this year, LG Optimus G Pro was announced during Mobile World Congress 2013. It will be released in selected regions next month. This time LG gambles on the Optimus G branding. Will it be successful?

The eye-catching feature of this phone is its 5.5″ full HD IPS display. So, the targeted competitor of Optimus G Pro is not Galaxy S3 or recently announced Galaxy S4. LG actually wants this phone to be the alternative of Galaxy Note 2.

From the timing of the announcement, it can be easily deduced that  Galaxy Note 2 is the target. By releasing a handset in the middle of Galaxy Note 2 and the coming Note 3, Optimus G Pro can get about 6-month lead in hardware specifications against Note 2.

LG recently started to know how to design a great Android phone after they worked with Google for the Nexus 4. LG then transformed Nexus 4 into Optimus G, which is the most successful Android phone LG ever made.

Design and build quality

From the exterior, Optimus G Pro likes  a sibling of Galaxy Note 2. It is totally different from Optimus Vu or  Optimus G. Physical home button and two capacitive buttons for menu and back are similarly placed like that in  Galaxy Note 2. However, Optimus G Pro has slightly smaller side bezels.

For the back, LG also abandoned  the all-glass design spotted  in Optimus G. Plastic was chosen for Optimus G Pro. The build quality is similar to Note 2.

One thing that some people may like in Optimus G Pro is the Q Button. This is a dedicated button in the left side.  You can configure any  (but only one) app for this button. Of course, you can configure it as a camera button, just like many Symbian smartphones. However, the location of t his button is annoying. You may often mistakenly press it. It would have been better if it had been placed near the bottom.

Software and skin

Both LG Optimus G Pro and Galaxy Note 2 come with Jelly Bean 4.1, and Jelly Bean 4.2 update is on the way. However, based on the  leaked updating roadmap, Samsung will also update Note 2 to Android 5.0 (Key Lime Pie) which  will surely be announced in this May during the Google I/O 2013. Based on the updating track record, this is very likely. For example, Galaxy Note was shipped with Gingerbread (2.3) in 2011, updated to Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) in 2012, and then Jelly Bean 4.1 this year.

However., if you check the OS updating record for LG Android phones, you may know  Optimus G Pro will very likely end up with Jelly Bean 4.2.

For the skin overlay (UI),  TouchWiz  is over-bloated.  The latest version,  Nature UX, was refined and polished significantly, but surely further polishing and structural change are needed. Some changes in the UI do not improve the stock ones, and are just for the sake of change.  But when you compared it with LG Optimus UI, you will feel Samsung does a better job. The Optimus UI has some nice features, but it is clumsy and counter-intuitive. Maybe, because I get used to TouchWiz or vanilla Android.

Display

LG Optimus Pro is packed with a full HD (1920*1080) display. While Galaxy Note 2 comes with a HD display (1280*720). On the paper, LG Optimus G pro should give more sharp images. But when you compare them side by side, most people probably still prefer Samsung’s over-saturated AMOLED display because it is simply more vivid than the IPS panel in Optimus G Pro. Some may disagree. But the bottom line is that the resolution  or number of pixels does not matter; it is the contrast and brightness that matter.

The pixel density in Optimus G Pro goes to 401ppi. This is beyond the capability of human eyes to identify pixels when you hold your phone 4 inches away. For a smartphone, 300ppi is sufficient for most eyes. Because all smartphone manufacturers are crazily fighting into hardware specification race, full HD has been spotted on more and more phones, although it is just a waste on these 4-6″ screens. Galaxy Note 3 will surely join this full HD club.

Camera and video

Optimus G Pro comes with a 13MP rear camera, which is the new standard configuration of flagship smartphones in 2013. Higher pixels does not mean better images: it all depends on software. The tiny image sensor may have trouble to get enough light if more pixels are packed. This has to be mainly solved through software. But anyway, 13MP may be better than  8MP if the light is not an issue.

A nice feature packed with Optimus G Pro is the dual recording, with which you can use both cameras for one video (video in video). The announced update will bring this (dual camera)  to photos as well.  Similar  features were announced in Galaxy S4, and will go to Galaxy Note 2 in the Jelly Bean 4.2 update. So, for Galaxy Note 2 users, we have to wait a few months for these features.

Finger vs S Pen

Surprisingly, Optimus G Pro does not come with a stylus. Both Optimus Vu and Vu 2 give you a stylus. So, LG is expecting you to use fingers, instead of a stylus, on this phone.

Another reason is probably LG is not able to deliver a stylus better than S Pen. So, it is wise to omit this component.

Q Memo vs S Note

LG has Q memo for quite long time. So it is not an app specially for Optimus G Pro. But most users want to compare it with S Memo (in Galaxy Note). Q Memo is simple to use, compared with S Note in  Note and Note 2. Of course, Q Memo has less functions/features for a long note/memo.

Lacking a stylus makes the Q Memo  less useful. In Galaxy Note 2, you have more choices: when pulling out your S Pen, popup note will be available; If you need take notes for a lecture or meeting, you can use S Note.

In addition, Galaxy Note 2 has a lot of cool and useful features related to S Pen.

Q Slide vs Multi Window

Q Slide in Optimus G  Pro is similar to multi window in Note 2. But in Q Slide, the selected apps overlay other apps and you can change the transparency  of the overlayed app. In Note 2, the screen is split and you can re-size them. So, the Q Slide likes popup note with adjustable transparency and size.

Conclusion

Optimus G Pro is another over-powered (that is the reason why I skipped other hardware specifications) phone, with some innovative features.  It is a good, not great phone in this form factor.

However, lacking of a stylus and related apps makes it hard to compete against Galaxy Note 2 in this screen size, although better hardware specifications may lure some gamers.

What do you think?

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by Simon

S Note tutorial: how to change text styles (appearance)

February 17, 2013 in Galaxy Note Guides, Galaxy Note News, Galaxy Note Videos

how-to-change-s-note-styleThis is our second S Note video tutorial. In this tutorial,we will learn how to change the appearance or typesetting of your text in S Note. This includes  font type, text size, text decoration, paragraph spacing, paragraph alignment, paragraph indent, pre-defined styles,  and list styles.

Of course, this covers both typed (from keyboard) text, and handwriting recognition text (from Productivity tools). If you are not sure about productivity tools, you may check this post (http://www.allaboutgalaxynote.com/s-note-tutorial-how-to-use-productivity-tools/ ).

The transcript is attached below the video for your convenience.

If you have questions, please post in comments section below, or start a new thread in discussion forum.

Transcript:

Hello guys, this is the second S Note video tutorial from AllAboutGalaxyNote.com.For more tutorials and update, please visit our blog at: AllAboutGalaxyNote.com.

The S Note Survival Guide e-book will be available in March 2013!

Today we will learn how to change the appearance or typesetting of your text in S Note. This includes font type, text size, text decoration, paragraph spacing, paragraph alignment, paragraph indent, pre-defined styles, and list styles.

This tutorial applies to S Note on all Galaxy Note series devices, including Galaxy Note, Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy Note 10.1.
Font settings can be accessed by long tapping Text button. And you can put this font setting window on the screen when typing or writing text. This is very handy if you want to change font settings quite often.

The typesetting, or in other words,full text settings window can be accessed in two different ways. One way is tapping this color button in font setting window. Another way is to double tap the text button. Different from font setting window, this typesetting window is fixed and cannot be moved.In typesetting window, you can preview any settings on the top. This gives you immediate feedback to your settings.In addition to font and text decoration, you can access paragraph settings, style selections and choose list symbols in the typesetting window.

First, let’s try font settings.This is the default font: Roboto font, 24 points, black color and no decorations.You can directly choose the colors from the 15 available colors. If you need more colors, you can click the color button to get the typesetting window.

In typesetting window, in addition to pick colors from palettes directly, you can pick colors from other objects, e.g., from a picture.

As mentioned earlier, in the typesetting window, you can access more settings, in addition to more text colors. For example, create a list and choose list style.

You can convert existing paragraph to a list.

Under paragraph settings, you can change the align, indent, spacing and text directions.

Under styles, just like in any word processing software, you can apply the pre-defined styles directly. It seems you cannot define your own styles in current version.

You can apply different font styles, for example, different font, different size, different colors, in one paragraph.

In S Note, the text is always aligned on the bottom in vertical direction, and it seems you cannot change this to align in middle or top.

Fort existing text, you can double tap any words, then the selection handler is available. Drag the handler to the desired locations to select words you want to change appearance. Then select any of the settings, for example, sizing, color and font. The style of text selected will be updated immediately.

Now let’s try the typesetting for text from handwriting recognition under productivity tools.

If the handwriting recognition is used in a text input paragraph, the formatting can be done in the same way of typed text.

However, for textbox, it will not take your current format settings. It always uses its own default settings for any new textbox. So, you can only change the typesetting for them after you finish the writing, not before the writing.

For textbox, you can select it by long tapping any area of the box until the context menu pops out. You can then move it to any locations, and it is not constrained by the lines.

Once the textbox is moved to the desired location, you may enter text input mode, and double click any words in the box. Selection handler will be presented with the word selected.

You may move the handler to select any more words, then formatting the selected text just like the typed text.

You can even continue to type the text to the text box.

You can also type the text, then continue to use handwriting recognition. In this case, it is similar to use the handwriting recognition in your keyboard input.

You can play with the paragraph settings: spacing, alignment, etc.

When you apply any of the pre-defined styles, all your previous settings for the selected text or paragraph will be removed.

Ok, now, I think you know how to change the appearance of your text in S Note. Please try them now.

For more tutorials and update, please visit our blog at: AllAboutGalaxyNote.com. Thank you for watching this video. Enjoy your S Note.

 

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by Galaxy Note

Top 10 expected features in Jelly Bean 4.1 update for Galaxy Note

November 20, 2012 in Galaxy Note Guides, Galaxy Note News, Galaxy Note Reviews

jb-new-logoWe all know Samsung has been working on Jelly Bean (4.1) update for Galaxy Note, although this Korean company never officially confirm or announce this update. The information we have is the update may be rolled out as early as in December. and most users will get it in Q1/2013. There is no information on Jelly Bean 4.2 update yet.

Anyway, the waiting is almost over. Now, let’s list the top 10 anticipated features in this Jelly Bean 4.,1 update for our more-than-one-year-old Galaxy Note. For Top 10 new features in ICS update, please read this post: http://www.allaboutgalaxynote.com/top-10-new-features-in-galaxy-note-after-ics-update/ 

1. Faster, smoother, and more responsive as claimed by Google

Thanks to Project Butter, one major improvement in Jelly Bean is the performance: faster, smoother and more responsive. Of course, I guess Samsung’s TouchViz UI may degrade the performance a bit. Some carriers’ bloatware may also have negative impact on the performance.

But overall, we should notice significant performance improvement.

2. Google Now

It is a shame that Google Now has not got sufficient attention. Google Now is a true innovation on getting relevant information on a mobile device. It makes you the master, not the salve, of the information. Just as claimed by Google, Google Now gets you just the right information at just the right time. If you do not have any Jelly Bean devices now, you may get more info on the Google Now offical site

3. Multi Window

Yes, you can run two apps side by side. Although very limited apps are compatible with multi window at this time, it is a really nice feature for a 5.3″ screen. Of course, this feature is best for Galaxy Note’s bigger brother Note 10.1.

4. Offline voice typing

In Jelly Bean, a new embedded speech recognizer lets you use Voice Typing even when you don’t have an Internet connection.

5. New notification system

The notification system will have significant improvements: more info and more controls. Notifications from the some app will be grouped and you can take actions directly in notification page. You may also identify the apps generating the notification and disable the annoying notifications from such apps.

Hopefully, Samsung will not chop off too much.

6. Smart stay

Screen will be bright as long as you are looking at it! Although it will not save much battery juice because of the involvement of the front camera, it makes your Note more personal.

7. Direct call

This trick was first introduced in Galaxy S3. Your phone looks smarter than others: it knows when you want to talk, who you want to talk When you look at it, smart stay comes!!

8. Photo note

Add notes on the back of your photo!!

9. Air view 

Hovering your S Pen over photo gallery, messages, planner…will give you the preview of the items without opening them!!!

Due to differences in S Pen, this feature may be not available for Galaxy Note.

10. S  Note 2.0

There are a lot of improvements in S Note app in Galaxy Note 2 and Galaxy Note 10.1. Most of such improvements will very likely be brought to Galaxy Note’s Jelly Bean update.

 What are the features you are expecting for this coming Jelly Bean update for your Note?

Update 1: Samsung officially confirmed the Jelly Bean 4.1 update will come soon through another Premium Suite. Here is the link: http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxynote/note/benefit.html?type=find

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by Simon

S Note Tutorial: how to use productivity tools

August 24, 2012 in Galaxy Note Guides, Galaxy Note News, Galaxy Note Videos

s-note-tutorial-productivity-toolsS Pen is something unique in our Galaxy Note. ICS (aka Android 4.0) update simply made our Note more useful with some new apps specially for S Pen. S Note is one of these new and interesting apps.

However, some Galaxy Note users are not sure how to use S Note, although, Samsung already includes the 6-page S Note tips, 6-page productivity tips, and 6 samples (not sure why Samsung guys like 6, 6=s) in the S Note app.

So, I created this tutorial to give you some idea how to use the productivity tools in S Note. In the 8min 30s video (screen cast with audio), the following topics are covered:

  • 1). start and navigate through S Note;
  • 2). find and use the productivity tools button;
  • 3) handwriting to text;
  • 4). shape match;
  • 5). formula match;
  • 6) export S Note

Enjoy the video.

 

Tools used to create this video include:

 

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Top 10 new features in Galaxy Note after ICS update

July 16, 2012 in Galaxy Note Guides, Galaxy Note News

After the official release of ICS 4.0.3 update for Galaxy Note  in May and ICS 4.0.4 update last week, some users asked me what the new features are. Thanks to Samsung’s Touch Viz UI, most users will not visually find any changes after the update. Here I prepared the top 10 new features in your Galaxy Note after the ICS update.

Each update fixes some bugs and the performance should be improved, so we usually recommend users to apply the update, although some new problems may be reported, e.g. battery issues, RAM issues. Given the short lifespan (1-3 years) of samrtphones, it is impractical to wait for the perfect firmware.

In this post I will try to introduce you the features. I will create  tutorials for some of these features later.

1. Pop- up play (ICS 4.0.4 update is needed)

pop-up-play-galaxy-notePop up play was debuted on Galaxy S3  last May. In the Googl Play store, there are a few paid apps (e.g., Stick it! (Pop-up Player)) doing the similar job. What it does is quite simple, you can watch your video and use other apps at the same time. The video will be re-sized as thumbnail and you can move it to any locations on your screen. Pretty cool, right?

Of course, only the built-in video player support this. Once the video is open, you can find the re-sizing (or pop up play?) button in the top right corner. If you want to stop the video, just touch the video area and release your finger. If you want to go to full screen, you can long press the home button to get the task manager and open the video player.

Two limitations: 1). the size of the video cannot be adjusted, at lest I did not find any ways to adjust it; 2). If you want to go back to full screen, the video will be played from the beginning, not from where you stop in the pop up play mode. Thanks to julien for correcting me. (Tap the video,  it will go back to the full screen and continue.)

2.  S Note

S Note is part of the Samsung’s Premium Suite for Galaxy Note and is installed as part of ICS update. It comes with 6 samples, 6-page S Note Tips, and a 6-page productivity Tools Tips. So, you can start to use it quite easily.

With S Note, you can directly convert your handwriting into text, convert your drawing into polygonal shapes, and convert your writing into mathematical formulas. You can even import PDF file for annotation!

After the ICS update, you should be able to find this app among your applications.

3. My Story

My Story is also part of the Premium Suite for Galaxy Note. But it is not installed automatically during your ICS update. You can download it either from Samsung Apps or Google Play store (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sec.android.app.mystory)

This apps help you create multimedia letter or a card or an album. It comes with 4 templates (birthday, thank you,  letter in a bottle, ans memory).

This apps need verify your phone number. So, when you open it first time, it will ask your phone number and a verification code will be sms to you. So, remember to provide correct phone number, especially country code.

4. Face unlock

Face unlock is a standard feature in ICS (Android 4.0). You can unlock your phone by using your face (and the front camera). You can turn on this by going to settings–security–screen lock. Of course, if the light is so weak, you cannot use this feature. So, your Galaxy Note will ask you to setup PIN or password as well in case your face is not recognized.

5. Notification

In ICS, notification is significantly improved. Shortcut for Settings is added there. From the lock screen, you can also launch apps directly.

6. Data usage monitor

ics-data-usageFor people with data quota, monitoring mobile data usage is important to avoid hefty and stupid charges from the greedy telecom operators. In the past, you may use some apps, e.g. 3G Watchdog to monitor the data usage. Now, it is not necessary.

Under settings, now you can find Data Usage. All your data usage will be reported here. You can set the limit, and disable background data if your data quota is very low.

7. Developers options

Occasionally, some background processes (usually from poorly written apps) may drain your battery  quite quickly, and hog on the ram. So, your system may be not so responsive. IN ICS, you can go to Settings–Developer options to setup the background process limit. You can choose No Background processes as a test if you suspect the battery drain is due to background process. Normally, you should not choose no background processes, as Android system may need this function to improve performance.

Under developers options, you have a quite a lot advanced controls, e.g., show CPU usage, or force GPU rendering.

8. Quick access to task manager/ Swipe to close

ics-task-manager-swipe-to-closeAt any time, long press Home button, you will get the task manger (pop up). From the thumbnail list of running and recent apps, you can swipe to left or right to close it . Touch it once to open the corresponding app.

9. Signature unlock (ICS 4.0.4 is required)

This is a cool feature, although not so useful. You can unlock your phone with your S Pen by signing on the screen. That’s it.

You can set it up from Settings–Security–Screen lock.

10. Chrome browser

ICS has a improved web browser. You can open up to 16   8 tabs (thanks for Thomas who found we can actually open 8 tabs in Galaxy Note, not 16, It seems Samsung gave us 50% discount.).  It sounds good?

Even better, you install Chrome browser ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.android.chrome) on your Galaxy Note. It is super fast and you can even share the bookmarks and browser windows with your desktop!.

Any comments? please post in the comments section below or in our Galaxy Note forum.

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