gah Verizon phones/tablets, need input

[troyguitar]

So my ATT iPhone 4S started dying last week and it cost too much to replace it. I preferred my old Verizon service anyway and get 18% monthly off Verizon through work which means I'm ready to switch back.

I went to the Verizon store here yesterday and made a stupid impulse buy without actually doing any research besides talking to the salesman. He told me that the Galaxy Note II and Galaxy S4 were the same phones except the Note had a bigger screen (but at the same resolution), bigger battery to support the bigger screen, and at 32GB onboard memory instead of 16GB.

Bought the Note II and looked up the specs online... the guy was entirely wrong.

S4 runs a better processor, newer Android version, has 1920x1080 screen.

Note 2 is slower, older, 1280x720 screen, and is also 16GB not 32.

What the hell? How did the guy get so much wrong? The one time I decide to trust that someone is giving me correct information, I get totally burned. I'm tired of this crap.

I went with the note as a potential bridge instead of buying a separate phone and tablet, but it is worse than an S4 in most ways and costs the same amount so I'm thinking I need to go back today and make them give me an S4.

Are there ever going to be any good Verizon tablets? I looked up those for fun too and even the 10" Galaxy tablet has identical specs to the Note II - i.e. much worse than an S4 in every respect except for screen size yet the thing costs $500 with a 2-year contract :lol:

 

[Bender1]

Get a MiFi and a Nexus 10 tablet.

 

[troyguitar]

10" tablet is too big, need 7-8. I don't want it to be slower than the S4 or have worse resolution either.

MiFi is $20/month versus a 4G tablet at $10/month and no dealing with yet another device pairing.

FWIW the tablet will live exclusively in my car. Worst case I can tether to my phone but I would pay the extra $10/month for the tablet to just connect straight to the 4G network.

 

[Bender1]

Ahhh I got ya.

iPad mini? I know its not the ideal solution since you just went android and its helpful to be on one platform....

If not that then the Galaxy Tab 2 is really your only LTE option, I believe.

 

[Brinkmen]

Verizon has a 14 day trial I believe. Go switch to the S4. My buddy just got one an loves it. Make a hayday about that id10t that told you the phones were the same. At the most you might have to pay a $35 restocking fee, but it will be worth it. Good luck!

 

[troyguitar]

Verizon has a 14 day trial I believe. Go switch to the S4. My buddy just got one an loves it. Make a hayday about that id10t that told you the phones were the same. At the most you might have to pay a $35 restocking fee, but it will be worth it. Good luck!

Yeah this much I will absolutely do, just still wondering about the tablet situation.

How is it that you can get a 5" phone that's 1920x1080 (Galaxy S4) but a 10" tablet (Note 10) is only 1280x800?

I read that there is a Note 3 due out later this year which should -actually- be a larger S4 but using a crap phone for 3-6 months until that one is out does not seem ideal either :lol:

Looks like S4 is the only phone OR tablet solution available on Verizon with a cutting edge feature set (i.e. worth getting on a 2-year contract) so there is nothing to think about at the moment. Grab S4 and hold off on a tablet until they revamp the Nexus 7, iPad mini, or other product.

 

[Bender1]

Looks like S4 is the only phone OR tablet solution available on Verizon with a cutting edge feature set (i.e. worth getting on a 2-year contract) so there is nothing to think about at the moment. Grab S4 and hold off on a tablet until they revamp the Nexus 7, iPad mini, or other product.

I think this makes the most sense.

I just got an SIII at work about two months ago and love it. The S4 will definitely be my next personal phone.

 

[troyguitar]

Right on, this is what I get for trying to just go buy something without spending some hours reading and thinking about the options :lol:

Off to Verizon to get another new phone.

I have to say, the Note 2 is pretty sweet. If the screen was as good as the S4 I would stick with it and skip the tablet entirely. Perhaps I'll ebay the S4 when the Note 3 comes out.

 

[Brinkmen]

Plus since you drive an S4. It all works out.

 

[troyguitar]

Update: S4 is now in the S4.

...and somehow the bluetooth A2DP streaming quality on the S4 is absolutely terrible compared to that of the Note II. Now I need to develop a mounting/docking solution ASAP, it's like listening to AM radio. It's always something :mad0259:

 

[Balt21]

Update: S4 is now in the S4.

...and somehow the bluetooth A2DP streaming quality on the S4 is absolutely terrible compared to that of the Note II. Now I need to develop a mounting/docking solution ASAP, it's like listening to AM radio. It's always something :mad0259:

This. There is always a give and take. I have a Note II and love it as I, like you, was trying to figure out a phone/tablet thing too. Glad you got what you wanted.