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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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Galaxy Note 2: the first Jelly Bean phone will reach your hands as early as this October

August 30, 2012 in Galaxy Note News, Galaxy Note Reviews

GALAXY-Note-IIAs rumored  (or expected), Samsung announced the second generation of Galaxy Note, Galaxy Note 2, at IFA 2012 yesterday. Now, the first Jenny Bean(out of box, not through update) phone.

So, here is a short list of changes (from Galaxy  Note to Galaxy Note 2):

  1. Jelly Bean  (aka, Android 4.1), vs Ginger Bread (Android 2.3). So Galaxy Note is the first Jelly Bean phone.
  2. 5.5 inch display, vs 5.3 inch
  3. 16:9 ratio (1280*720, HD), vs 16:10 *1280*800, WXGA)
  4. Quad core 1.6GHz CPU, vs dual core 1.4GHz or 1.5 GHz
  5. 2GB RAM, vs 1GB RAM;
  6. dimension: 146.9 x 83 x 9.7 mm, vs 151.1 x 80.5x 9.4mm
  7. 3100mAh battery, vs 2500mAh
  8. NFC is included, vs optional
  9. Bluetooth 4.0, vs 3.0
  10. New S Pen, longer, thicker
  11. New feature: Screen Recorder (record a whole sequence of actions taken on their screen). most useful!!!
  12. New feature: Popup Note (open an S Note instantly as a pop-up window anywhere on the screen)
  13. New feature: Quick Command ( quickly activate frequently used apps with the S Pen)
  14. New feature: Easy Clip (quickly outline and crop certain kinds of content on the screen)
  15. New feature: Idea Visualizer ( provides illustration images that match the handwritten keywords), too fancy!!
We hope Samsung will port some of these features into Galaxy Note!!!
The shipment will start from October. So, just wait one month, you may start to try.
What do you think about this new generation of Galaxy Note?
Here is the full press release. For your reading pleasure, I quote it below.
Be Creative, Be Expressive with the GALAXY Note II
August 29,  2012

 

The most powerful smartphone sparks everyone’s creative inspirations
BERLIN, Germany - August 29,  2012 - At the Samsung Mobile Unpacked event held today at IFA, in Berlin, Samsung introduced the GALAXY Note II, a whole new level of innovation for the GALAXY Note category. The new Samsung GALAXY Note II enables unique experiences in personalized and expressive content creation, making it the ultimate smartphone for on-the-go creativity.

 

“Last year at IFA, we launched the GALAXY Note, which opened a new category of smart mobile devices. This year, again at IFA, I am proud to announce the GALAXY Note II, which will encourage users to ‘unleash their inner creativity.’ With a perfect viewing experience and unique and differentiated features, users can discover information and capture their ideas faster, express thoughts freely and manage tasks more efficiently. For anyone who wants to be creative, expressive and unique, the Samsung GALAXY Note II will be the ideal device, allowing users to live a life extraordinary,” said JK Shin, President of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics.

 

Since the first introduction of the GALAXY Note category, Samsung has continued to enhance and expand the GALAXY Note product experiences. In May 2012, Samsung introduced ‘Premium Suite,’ a software upgrade which provided enhanced user experiences. With the Ice Cream Sandwich OS upgrade, Samsung offered innovative new features such as Shape Match and Formula Match, providing a new way for organizing and expressing ideas in their personal and professional life. Also in August, Samsung expanded the category further with the GALAXY Note 10.1, which has a 10.1-inch large screen, a Multiscreen feature for the ultimate multitasking, and enhanced features for users’ productivity, creativity and learning abilities. With further enhancements, Samsung GALAXY Note II will help users unleash their inner creativity by letting them discover information faster, capture ideas, and express them in a more organized and efficient manner.

 

Perfect viewing experience

 

The GALAXY Note II features a 5.5” (140.9mm) HD Super AMOLED screen, providing breathtaking visuals and crystal clear detail. Its 16:9 screen ratio ensures an immersive and enriched cinema-like video viewing experience, perfect for watching HD videos on-the-go. Its larger screen allows users to see content clearly and vividly, with much enhanced readability. In addition to the stunning content consumption experiences on a larger screen, users will also be able to accomplish more tasks efficiently and create content freely on-the-go, as the GALAXY Note II comes with a thinner and portable body.

 

Easy multitasking

 

Air View allows users to hover with the S Pen over an email, S Planner, image gallery, or video to preview the content without having to open it. This feature enables users to quickly search and see more information in one view without screen transitions.

 

Thanks to the breadth of the GALAXY Note II’s amazing viewing experience, a feature called Popup Note extends the concept of Popup Play, which lets users open an S Note instantly as a pop-up window anywhere on the screen. For example, when a user pulls out the S Pen during a phone call, the S Note application automatically pops up on the screen, allowing users to jot down a quick note.

 

In addition, the device’s new gesture pad feature, called Quick Command, lets users quickly activate frequently used apps with the S Pen. The command pad appears when a user just swipes upward on the screen with the S Pen button pressed. Users can quickly send an email, make a call, or search a location as they draw pre-registered marks on the command pad or register a unique mark to allow for quick and easy access.

 

Furthermore, users will be able to share their experiences with others quickly and easily using Screen Recorder. It allows users to record a whole sequence of actions taken on their screen — a demonstration of how to use an application, for example — and then share it with friends for comment, or just for fun.

 

Amazing expression tools – Advanced S Pen & S Note

 

The new S Pen is longer, thicker and ergonomically designed for the perfect grip. Therefore, it provides a more precise, comfortable, and natural writing and drawing experience.

 

The S Pen’s advanced features also provide enhanced capabilities to capture ideas and inspirations instantly, and to combine handwriting with any digital content directly on the screen. By simply pressing the dedicated S Pen button, the S Pen magically recognizes that users want to clip or edit the selected content on the screen. The Easy Clip feature allows users to instantly outline and crop any content on the screen in any shape to save, share or paste. Once done cropping the image, users can freely edit the cropped content through coloring, shading, or their own personal handwriting. It is quick and easy.

 

Another amazing expression feature called Idea Visualizer allows users to easily add illustrations by handwriting keywords on the S Note. It provides illustration images that match the handwritten keywords. It’s a fancy illustration match function that will allow users to express, organize and visualize ideas in a more innovative and creative way. Users can even customize and add in their own illustrations library.

 

Powerful Performance

 

Powering content creation, sharing and multitasking capabilities, the GALAXY Note II comes with the latest hardware technologies. A mighty 1.6GHz Quad-Core processor and HSPA Plus or 4G LTE connectivity delivers easy multitasking, lightning-fast screen transitions, powerful browser performance, and minimal app load time. The GALAXY Note II is powered by Android™ 4.1, Jelly Bean. This brings stunning graphical capabilities and an upgraded Google Now service, including new features such as contextual search, to the GALAXY Note II. The memory options are 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB with an expandable micro SD memory slot. Thanks to a 3,100mAh battery, users can enjoy multimedia content, always be productive on the go, and capture ideas whenever, wherever without suffering from power limitation.

 

The GALAXY Note II comes with an 8 megapixel rear-facing and 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera with HD video recording. The camera has great features like Buddy Photo Share, Burst Shot and Best Photo, which were introduced on the GALAXY S III earlier in the year. In addition to that, the GALAXY Note II features a unique camera function called Best Faces. Best Faces allows users to choose the most preferred face or pose of each person from group portrait photos. Users can also personalize photos by leaving handwritten notes on the backside of a photo using the S Pen. Handwritten Photo Notes can be shared with others in jpg format.

 

Available in Marble White or Titanium Gray color options, the Samsung GALAXY Note II is set to launch in October starting in major European, Asian, and Middle East markets.

 

The Samsung GALAXY Note II will be on display at the Samsung booth # 20 at IFA 2012 from Aug 31 through Sep 5.

 

The full press release can be found here.

 

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Why Galaxy Note 10.1 will fail?

August 6, 2012 in Galaxy Note News, Galaxy Note Reviews

Galaxy Note 10.1 was announced in last February to take the momentum generated by Galaxy Note.  This is a wise decision to create a unique tablet with S Pen (and productivity tools).  The initial specifications announced in MWC2012 were not impressive and the design was just another out-of-the-mill Android tablet.

galaxy-note-10.1-poor-displaySo, Samsung decided to re-work it. Now after more than 5 months, pre-order of this tablet was announced by Negri Electronics at $750 (No Jelly Bean, still ICS). Maybe the price will drop to around $500 soon.

After reading the specifications, my first impression is this is just another DOA (death on arrival) Android tablet.

The specifications were bumped up: quad core CPU (initially, dual core), 2GB RAM (initially 1GB), 5MP primary camera (initially 3MP), 2G/3G/WiFi/ USB/Bluetooth connectivity. It sounds nice. But when you read the display, omg, it is still 1280*800 (WXGA), same as your 9-month old 5.3″ Galaxy Note, 17-month old Motorola Xoom, or similar to 2-year-and-4-month old iPad, and 17-month old iPad 2. 

This poor display will destroy Galaxy Note 10.1. Two years ago, this was a decent display. But, now it is 2012, and  people expect higher pixel density (thanks to Apple’s retina display in the new iPad, aka iPad3).

Don’t blame Android or chipsets. Acer has been shipping the full HD 1080p Android tablet (Acer A700) since this summer at $450. Full specifications of this tablet is here. Another Asian PC maker, ASUS, also is offering full HD 1080p (actually 1920*1200, WUXGA) transformer pad infinity. You can get it at $500 (32GB) or $600 (64GB).

As a comparison, the new iPad (released about 5 months ago, 9.7inches) has a screen resolution of 2048*1536 and the pixel density is 264ppi (pixels per inch).  Our Galaxy Note boosts 1280*800 pixels on a 5.3-inch screen. So the pixel density is about 285ppi. This is one of the major reasons users like their Galaxy Note: sharp and vivid display!

Of course, there is a limitation of human eyes. Normally, pixel density higher than about 250ppi will make no differences for most people without using special equipment, if the contrast and brightness are not an issue. If your eyes have been spoiled by Galaxy Note’s display, you will immediately feel 1280*800 on a 10.1 inch screen (pixel density about 150ppi) is very uncomfortable. Putting a 1280*800 screen on a 7-inch screen  (pixel density is about 210-220 ppi) is quite reasonable, like Google Nexus 7.

It is really hard to understand why Samsung put such a subpar (resolution) display in their high end tablet. As you may know, Samsung supplies most of the new iPad display for the fruity company. Technology surely is not an obstacle for Samsung to put a full HD display.   Just to save $20 in the cost!!

Why can none of  the Android tablet challenge iPad in the 10in form factor? Initially, it is due to OS and apps. Android 2.3 is not suitable for 10-in form factor. Honeycomb is a rush product. Now, Android 4.0 (ICS) and 4.1 (Jelly Bean) already surpass iOS 6, and iOS is trying to catching up.

So, the competition is more on display!! Retina display in the new iPad made all Android tablets like a toy when it was announced. Thanks to Asus and Acer, we now do have a few Android tablets in the market: Acer A700, ASUS Transformer Infinity, and probably Google Nexus 7.

We had been expecting Samsung would have brought us another Android tablet. But it turns out to be another Android toy!

What a joke!

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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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Top 10 questions on ICS update for your Galaxy Note

June 4, 2012 in Galaxy Note Guides, Galaxy Note News, Galaxy Note Stories

galaxy-note-ics-update-girl-with-phonesYes, ICS update is available for about one third Galaxy Note users. To get the most current    status on the availability of ICS update in different regions, you may check this post (I will update it once new info is available).

I received some inquiries on ICS update for Galaxy Note: some are through comment of the post mentioned above; others are through Google+.  For all these questions, I tried my best to answer them, and will continue to answer them.

I noticed there are some repeated questions, so I decided to put some frequently asked ones in this post to save reader’s time. It will not be just 10, as I will always update it if it is necessary.

Question #1. Why did some users get the ICS update earlier than me? 

Normally, firmware update must go through local testing. For regions with more users (and so Samsung collected more money there), the testing usually is faster. And Samsung also may put some sorts of priority for such regions.

The second reason is that the local carrier may want to bundle more bloatware (in addition to that bundled by Samsung). This may slightly delay the update availability. If your handset is subsidized, the carrier always tries very hard to give you more bloatware.

Another possible reason is marketing scheduling. For example, if Samsung is planning to launch Galaxy S3 in your region, usually it is not a good idea to release ICS update for Galaxy Note (another flagship product) just a few days before the launching event. In this case, the update will be normally scheduled after the event.

Question #2. Why should I update to ICS?

ICS update for your Galaxy Note is just a software update. Software generally is getting better and better: more stable, more functions, more compatible apps. Android 4.0 (ICS) is a major update merging software stacks for phone (Ginger Bread) and tablet (Android 3.0, Honeycomb). So, it is almost perfect for Galaxy Note, which is somewhere between phone and tablet.

Specifically, with ICS update for your Galaxy Note, you get

  • Latest Android OS optimized for the form factor of your phone
  • Premium Suite makes your Note really outstanding from other phones and tablets
  • Some cool features included in ICS: face unlock, new default font

Question #3. Will all my apps works after the update?

Theoretically, all of them should work. But some apps may actually not. So, it is a good idea to check the individual app page in the Google Play to find out whether it works on ICS  or not, or whether there are some known problems.

Normally, for apps under active development (e.g., updated at least once in last 6 months), the developer very likely has tweaked the app for ICS.

Question #4. Where is the Premium Suite? I cannot find it after the upgrade.

Premium Suite is a collection of new apps (S Note, My Story) and  enhancements to S Memo and S Pen.

After the ICS update, you can find a new app, S Note, among your apps. You can start to use it immediately.

In some regions, the My Story app must be installed manually from Samsung Apps. You can go to Samsung Apps (an app installed by default), then search “My Story”. You can then install it. When you try to open it the fist time, you need register your mobile number (an SMS with a 4-digit pin code will be sent to your mobile for verification, so make sure the country code you select is correct).

If you cannot find the app through Samsung Apps, you can also try to use Kies.

Question #5. How to get My Story app? It is supposed to be included in the Premium Suite.

See Question #4.

Question #6. Are there battery issues with the ICS update? I heard some complaints on poorer battery life and performance after the update.

Based on my personal experience, there are no noticeable difference in battery life after the ICS update. I actually had expected some improvements. For most users, it is sufficient for full day use, and you probably need charge it every night, just like me.

Actually, you may hear complaints on battery life for almost all smartphones regardless of the OS, firmware, model and the brand. Most of the time, the only solution is a replacement. I guess this is very likely hardware defects.

Of course, sometimes, some poor written apps may drain battery quite fast. But this can easily found out.

On the performance, most of the time, it is just user’s “feeling” or the slowness experienced may be just related to specific apps.

It seems after the ICS update, most apps are started automatically when you reboot your phone. So, you may try to use force stop for most of the apps or kill them with some task managers. This may make your Note more responsive. (If you can use force stop for an app, it means the app has been started. Some task managers may miss most of them, it is better to do it manually to save your battery life significantly.)

Anyway, I feel the battery life is as bad (but acceptable) as that before the update. Performance is as good as that before the update. No major improvements, and no degradation.

Update: yes, even before the update, some users already have battery issues. Please check the post How to solve battery issues after ICS update in your Galaxy Note.

Question #7. Can I easily root my Galaxy Note after the ICS update?

Please note, in most regions, rooting your Galaxy Note may void your warranty. And, no rooting method is perfect.

Yes, Samsung phones are always easy to root. After the ICS update, you can root it with CWM  (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1647148 ) or PC Odin (a bit more difficult if you never use Odin before, so I do not give your reference).

Anyway, unless you are very familiar with Android, you should not root your phone within warranty period (usually one year only) to avoid any possible issues. For most users, you don’t need root/superuser access.

Question #8. Does face unlock work well on this ICS update?

Yes, face unlock works very well on Galaxy Note. But please note, this is not a good option if security is your big concern. Password is still the safest unlock method, followed by pin code. Face unlock can be easily cheated by a photo as reported before.

Anyway, face unlock is very cool and fun.

Question #9. Why did I get the update only from Kies, not through OTA?

In most regions, the update can be obtained both through OTA and Kies. But it seems in some regions some users cannot get the update from the OTA.

The reason you cannot get the update through  OTA is mainly caused by your local vendor/carrier. Some carriers simply do not want to enable the OTA update. Another possible reason is the update server is overloaded. I also heard (unofficially) if your connection speed is regarded as too slow, you probably will not get the OTA update popup at all.

Anyway, Kies is more reliable, although sometimes is a bit slow. Familiarize yourself with Kies if you want to use Samsung phones effectively.

Question #10. Will I get Jelly Bean (Android 5.0 4.1) update for my Galaxy Note?

I contacted several Samsung offices with this question, and nobody could give any useful info. The common answer is it will be announced after Jelly Bean is officially available.

So, let me guess.

If there is no Galaxy Note 2 or some models to upgrade Galaxy Note, we will very likely get the  Jelly Bean maybe next year. The only problem is whether the 1GB RAM is sufficient or not for Android 5.0.  It seems 1GB is very likely the minimum requirement for Jelly Bean.

Updating Galaxy Note to Android 5.0 does make business sense. As the note was just release in Q4 last year, most users’ 2-year contract will only end by Q4 of 2013.The lifespan of ICS is not so long.

However, if there are something like Galaxy Note 2, then, we will definitely NOT get the official Jelly Bean update because Samsung then wants to sell more of  the new model. Just like the fate of Galaxy S. Very likely, Samsung will give you some consolations like new premium packages.

I guess Samsung was not very confident about the popularity of Galaxy Note even after the  initial release. So, they probably did not have a  plan for Galaxy Note 2.  But as the sales of Galaxy Note become far better than expected, it is very likely they started to think about a new Galaxy Note (not the Galaxy Note 10.1, which is targeted for different users.)

Anyway, there will be at least some unofficial Jelly Beans for Galaxy Note.

Do you have any other questions on Galaxy Note? Post them in comments (it won’t show up immediately, but I will receive it immediately and try to answer it ASAP).

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