Hey Samsung…

So after watching all the keynote speeches and corporations hype their various flagship devices I decided to purchase a Samsung Galaxy Note 8. This was a very difficult decision for me because I have shunned Samsung since the GS 2!

Samsung had one good thing going for it…their replacement program! The GS2 was such a disappointment for me that I ended up having it replaced four times and swore I would never purchase another Samsung phone. After having a Samsung dishwasher and TV also experience the same break-down and replacement experience I swore off Samsung products altogether.

In its place I chose Apple devices but tired of their hype and “carrot on a string” technology and went to the Nexus line from Google. The transition made sense after all maps was better and I used it regularly. Who hasn’t used Google Drive or Dropbox at least once or twice? Gmail? Sure I have one of those as well…if you work in IT then you probably have more than one so the Nexus worked well. In fact I even went with Project Fi. I have had a voice account since it was Grand Central and you know what Google/Project Fi/Nexus was great!

So when it came time to look at an upgrade there was the Pixel 2, a device I was hoping would make a showing at the top of the device hit list, but sadly it was lackluster and looked like a candidate from Nokia or Blackberry. Sure it has a great camera. But for a guy that doesn’t take pics…So what!

That leaves Apple and Samsung with the top end phones (sure there are others like the One Plus, which is a great phone by the way, but I am not using the big four so I wanted to stay with the main stream monolithic corporations). Apple shot themselves in the foot with the iPhone 8. This to me is the same phone they have released every year since the iPhone 3. Same IOS, Same hardware design, same Apple. The iPhone X was a little different but again the same IOS and their unhackable faceID was not going to be unhackable (that has proven to be true) and the technology just isn’t that advanced. Apple you have become a follower and not the leader you used to be.

That left Samsung

The Note 8 had everything the iPhone X had. In fact Samsung had the technology that Apple was just introducing into their devices several years previous. That meant they had worked out the bugs, or many of them anyway, and the reviews on the Note 8 were receiving very high marks so reluctantly I went with the Note 8.

I have been very pleased with this device. It operates above my expectations. However, it is not without a few gripes.

1. Samsung has done everything in their power to become like Apple on their higher end devices. They have created this closed platform where their products work with other android products (android wear for example) but if you want a truly seamless experience you need to get a Samsung Gear (Tizen powered) device. This is pretty much like buying an Apple watch and using it with your android device.
2. Updates…come on Samsung! There is no reason why a flagship device like the Note 8 should still be running 7.1 when Google is pushing out Android 8.1 to their Pixel devices. If nothing else at least update the security holes that get pushed out. This is one of my biggest gripes about Samsung. When you are one of the largest providers of phones in the world you have a responsibility to ensure that at least the security patches are getting pushed out in a timely manner and Samsung your timely updates just aren’t cutting it.
3. I am not really sure if I like Bixby or not. I know I don’t like the Bixby button. This is complete waste of hardware. You would have been better off turning this into a camera button or something.
4. The angled wireless charging stand is a complete and useless piece of equipment. I purchased this item to use next to the bed so I could use my Note 8 as an alarm clock. The Note 8 doesn’t stay on it well enough to ensure it gets a decent charge. The slightest movement, wind from the AC, or even an off glance causes the phone to slip ever so slightly and lose contact with the charger and it doesn’t charge properly. It is mostly the design of the bottom shelf on the charger being designed to hold crackers or maybe a dirty spoon rather than a phone.

Overall the Note 8 is a great phone so far. If I had to choose from my single biggest gripe it would be the rate at which Samsung updates their devices. This is not just a topic of convenience or features but an issue of security. Samsung, in my opinion, is trying to be the leader of smartphone technology how about they start by patching their products first instead of last?