Review: Samsung Galaxy Note Edge
This week I have a unique smartphone. It’s the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge provided by Rogers and here’s what’s unique about it:
If you look at the right side of the Galaxy Note Edge, you’ll note that the screen is not only curved, but it has shortcut icons that allow you to access whatever you want as you can customize that space. I should also note that Samsung also has apps that you can install that take advantage of this space (for example, there’s a CNN app that displays breaking news in this space) and some apps such as Twitter can display notifications in this space. Using the Twitter example, I got notifications of retweets, replies and other Twitter activity here and I found that to be useful as it didn’t occupy space on the screen. The net result is something that I thought was a gimmick was very useful in reality. Another note, when I was using the camera, the controls for the camera were in this area. That’s good thinking on the part of Samsung. The screen is bright and easily read in any lighting condition. Here’s something else that I noticed:
The back (which is removable) is plastic, but it is textured and feels very classy and looks classy in black. While I’m at it, the rest of the phone is well constructed. There’s a metal edge around the outside of the phone and the phone feels solid. It’s easy to hold and feels good in your hands. There’s one more thing to point out:
There’s a S-Pen. I didn’t really use it myself when I tested the Galaxy Note Edge. But when I did, I found it to be very sensitive and responsive. If you want a stylus that behaves just like a pen. This is it.
Here’s the specs of the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge:
- Android 4.4.4 KitKat
- 5.6-inch 2560×1600 pixel curved Super AMOLED display
- 2.7Ghz quad-core processor
- 3GB RAM
- 32GB internal storage expandable via Micro SD
- 16MP rear camera with optical image stabilization and 4K video capture @ 30fps
- 3.7MP front-facing camera
- WiFi (a/b/g/ac)
- LTE
- Bluetooth 4.1
- S Pen
The phone felt fast and the version of Samsung’s TouchWiz skin that comes with all their phones felt very light and unobtrusive. I really, really liked that. One key feature is that this is the first phone to take advantage of the Rogers LTE Advanced network which in theory can give you speeds of 300 Mbps. One thing that I did notice is that when I tested this phone in the Metro Toronto Convention Center, I noted that I had full signal strength in an environment that extends several stories underground. A phone from a competing “big three” carrier didn’t fare nearly as well with having half the signal strength at best in the same areas that the Galaxy Note Edge was getting full signal strength. If you want great signal strength, this phone combined with Rogers LTE Advanced network clearly is a winner. The speed is also a winner. I got an average of 76.43 Mbps downstream and 19.75 Mbps upstream inside the Metro Toronto Convention Center when I ran my usual speed tests.
The camera is a winner as well. It’s a 16MP shooter and instead of testing this phone at Pearson Airport in Toronto, I tested it at the Canadian International Auto Show on Press Day. That’s the day before the show opens that allows members of the press to see press conferences and other cool stuff the general public doesn’t get to see. First let me show you a few still pictures. Click them to see them in full resolution:
The pictures are clear and sharp. There’s no noise or any sort of distortion. This is an excellent camera. The video is just a good. For example, I recorded the Canadian reveal of the Kia GT4 Stinger concept car and here’s the video. Set it to full screen and 1080p.:
The video is sharp, but the audio is kind of muddy. That’s ironic as I was standing three feet away from a speaker at the time I shot this video. But to be fair, I was standing behind the speaker. Thus I am only picking up the audio directly from the presenter herself.
Battery life is outstanding on this phone. I started out at 7:30 AM on press day at the Canadian International Auto Show with a fully charged phone. After shooting 103 photos and shooting 9 videos and live Tweeting my journey through the show all day, I left the show at 5:30 PM and the phone had 35% battery life left. That was impressive. You’ll easily get a day plus out of this phone in normal usage.
Rogers is just bringing this phone to market as I speak as you can reserve it now on the Rogers Reservation System. It goes for $399 on a 2-year term or you can buy it outright for $899. Not cheap by any means. But to get smartphone with a great camera as well as a fast smartphone with amazing LTE performance, you have to pony up the dollars to get it. I can’t think of any area were there might be a compromise which given the price is a good thing. That makes the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge an early contender for the IT Nerd smartphone of the year as far as I am concerned as it is that good. Check it out if you want a powerful smartphone and you have deep pockets.
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