I have a new phone - the Samsung Galaxy Note 2

I usually tend to like simplicity - things that are minimalistic, purposeful, and worthwhile.

That's why I stuck to using a good basic phone all these years - first a Nokia 1100 and then a Nokia 1150. A phone is all I needed, and if I could get to buy a John's Phone in India, I would have gladly done so.

With all the news and buzz around smart phones, I kept observing and didn't find anything that would make me buy them in lieu of my basic phone, but finally this Diwali, I got a great product for which I could justify my purchase -- a brand new Samsung Galaxy Note 2.

I have a lot to say about this new purchase of mine. I really, really liked using it over the past couple of weeks. A single blog post would hardly suffice to describe the marvel that it is. For now, I will keep to a simple, short list of reasons that made me buy it.

Firstly, if you were to ask me "which, in my opinion, is a better phone - a Nokia 1150 or a Samsung Galaxy Note 2? ", I would pick the Nokia 1150.
I didn't buy Samsung Galaxy Note 2 because it was a better phone than Nokia 1150, I bought it because it was the best multipurpose personal gadget that I found in the market, and incidentally, it obviated the need for me to keep using the Nokia 1150.

A truly "multipurpose personal gadget"

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is a fantastic, and in my view, currently the best multipurpose personal gadget out in the market, and here are the reasons:

1. It has the largest screen that can fit comfortably in my pockets - both of my trousers and of my shirt. A smaller screen would have made reading e-books, browsing web pages, and in general, any interaction with the device an inferior experience, and a larger screen would have made it impracticable to carry it around. It is therefore better than any other phone and better than any other tablet on this count.
2. It is not just a content consumption device - it is a marvellous content creation device too. Let me explain this a bit: Most mobile phones and tablets are good for consuming content posted elsewhere -- i.e., they are good for viewing videos, or reading books, or enjoying music, or reading email. There is usually little emphasis on the creation part. Anyone creating anything serious will do so on a full desktop or a laptop, not with a mobile phone. This, however, does not apply to the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, because of its useful stylus, the S-Pen. The S-Pen lets me take notes, draw sketches, take screenshots, annotate pictures, and do a whole lot more. I know of no other phone in the market that has a stylus as good as this.
3. It has a good battery life. This is not something that can be taken for granted, especially after I read a lot of scary reviews of inexpensive mobiles and tablets with bizarre battery behaviour.
4. It has an easy-to-extend, and open operating system - the Android. I find it particularly easy because I am already very comfortable with Java. Had it been the iOS, Symbian or Windows, I would have had a steep learning curve before being able to customize and extend my gadget.
5. It has a lot of sensors on board - Dual cameras, GPS, (and Glonass), Accelerometer, Compass, Gyroscope, much more than many other smart phones I read about. Every physical sensor gives a massive boost to the potential uses of the gadget.

In short, I have a lot to praise this device for. Thank you, Samsung for bringing it to the market :)