Hi Friends,
Samsung Note 8 is a Dream Come True for me as I bought the same after I was left with my ages old HTC M8 and it was too slow for my liking and usage. I ordered the smartphone from Amazon.in in India and soon got the same delivered from them. I received Rs 8k Amazon vouchers back and I used Rs 6k GV I received from my employer for completing 10 years in their organization. In India, you need to operate the phone for around 15-30 min on local Indian network providers before you can use it with any SIM card internationally. I asked my mom to be the first user and she totally loved the smartphone as she kept her SIM in Note 8 till she reached Johannesburg, South Africa.
Spen was what I thought I would use the most along with the best camera smartphone in 2017-2018 and I immediately fell in love with both of them. After using the smartphone for more than a year, I have observed several changes in the smartphone which I am going to list here in this blog post -
1. Con - Spen is not writing where it has to on the screen, there is always a gap between the actual and on-screen representation with time. I am not sure of why this happened but my overall consumption of Spen has been less than 24 hours since Jan 2018. This is a feel-good feature which you think you will use it more and more but sometimes you forget about it completely.
2. Con - The zoom camera lens doesn't focus and gives some kind of audio like that comes in DSLR camera when it tries to auto-focus leading the pictures to come out blurred or not at all. This is one of my biggest problems which has started recently last 5-6 months.
3. Con - The software upgrades that we receive after the launch of a new smartphone in the series degrades the quality of your device in terms of photographs etc. I am not sure if that's done with intention or old hardware is not able to take the upgrade but I have seen this will all brands in all smartphones. I sincerely believe that you shall not upgrade to the new software every month or whenever it is launched and shall keep the phone on the original software. It's a win-lose situation, you are missing on certain things and gaining some things.
4. Pros - The new Android Pie made several good changes in the smartphone with interface looking more feature rich and certain features which were in S10 coming to Note 8 too. AR emoji is now on my smartphone too and Photo Ratio 3:4/9:16/1:1/Full are now available on Note 8 camera.
5. Pros - The speed of multitasking and touchscreen response is still great in Note 8 but I have not played super games on the same and also I have kept it light since I received the same.
6. Pros - The battery life is still great and lasts me more than a day on a single charge. If I am using social media and playing video's then it will last me working hours for a single day.
7. Pros - Low light camera performance is too good in Note 8 in auto mode too. I have used several other smartphones but this one takes awesome videos in low light conditions. Check out the Cape Town Sunset video from Signal Hill on my Youtube channel has taken with Samsung Note 8.
8. Pros - The wireless charging is easy to use but the speed of charging is slow as compared to charging with wired wall supercharger provided in the package. I am using the wireless charger that used to come with Samsung S8+ during the launch of the smartphone.
9. Pros - The AKG earphones are one of the best and I loaned mines to one of my friend in Mar 2019 and he said he will only return them to me in July 2019. It's an expensive earphone with cable and works great with clear audio and the same is provided in S8/S9/Note8/Note9 and related smartphones packages.
10. Pros - The 12MP rear camera is awesome and takes awesome pictures in full light and low light conditions. I simply adore the photos taken using the Samsung camera and all are available on my Instagram.com/araijain and www.photoyatra.blogspot.in I have reduced the number of pictures from 4000 to 1300 on Instagram but all of them are available in Photoyatra blog. I still can't find watermarking my photos with my own unique #TheLifesWay out of the camera but this feature shall be made available in the new smartphones asap.
11. Pros - The 3.5mm earphone jack is still there so that you can continue to use your expensive headphones will the end of their life. I love my Bose and Sennheiser earphones and headphones.
12. Pros - The edges panels can be controlled the way you like it to control calls, music and whatever you do most but the problem is that no tempered glass comes to protect the same. Only a sheet of plastic protects the same along with your mobile cover. Luckily I have taken a book kind of case to protect it from all sides and I have not used it without the cover since the first day. The edge lighting is too cool when you put it on.
13. Pros - Bixby works on this smartphone and if you like giving instructions to do stuff, it can be trained to follow your voice and accent. I have a strong Indian accent but it really works great on my Note 8 and you can earn different levels if you use more and more of Bixby.
14. Pros - AOD (Always On Display) can be customized to match your screensaver or wallpaper and there are thousands of them available in the Samsung Android Store.
15. Pros - Samsung Members network is awesome and you can learn a lot about Samsung applications, contests, members and connect with the whole world.
16. Pros - Samsung Pay works like charm in Note 8 and with just a tap you will be able to make payment and your Iris can be scanned to validate the payment first. I am able to pay now using the FNB debit/cheque/credit card too.
17. Pros - Samsung Gear connects nicely with Samsung Note 8 and whosoever in your network is using any of the Gear/Icon products, his health can be tracked and you can challenge them for fun activities.
18. Pros - Floating Camera button is just like the Apple iPhone or iPad control center button but with this one you can click photos. You can drag it anywhere on the top of any of your apps and it comes very handy during taking selfies when your hands are too far and in different angles.
19. Pros - AR emoji is now part of Samsung Note 8 and good for kids to play with and create some family moments.
20. Pros - The display on Note 8 is super AMOLED screen - text and photos look awesome on this smartphone. Youtube videos in full resolution (720p - 1080p upwards) brings an immersive effect on the smartphone for those who love watching videos on the go. The audio is a little bit less when you are traveling or outside in a noisy environment so you need to use headphones or earphones to listen properly.
Overall, Samsung Note 8 is still a capable phablet smartphone and takes care of all my needs. I am totally in love with my Spen other than the one problem I am facing and still take 100s of photos every week with Note 8 camera and share them on my IG story and posts. I love the speed with which you can launch any app and now I have started watching Netflix on this device which I was not doing earlier and the battery will be tested now. All these photographs are taken by me during various months and events.
The cameras are too good on the new devices S10 Plus but I am hoping when Note 10 comes and if I can trade-in I will definitely upgrade myself to the same. I might lose some money on the deal but it will be worth the upgrade but I have never seen any trade-in option on any of the smartphones in South Africa but recently there are some in the market. Let's see what happens in my life in 2019-2020!
Cheers!!!
Contact me at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to collaborate on your products, events, and services. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra!
Spen was what I thought I would use the most along with the best camera smartphone in 2017-2018 and I immediately fell in love with both of them. After using the smartphone for more than a year, I have observed several changes in the smartphone which I am going to list here in this blog post -
1. Con - Spen is not writing where it has to on the screen, there is always a gap between the actual and on-screen representation with time. I am not sure of why this happened but my overall consumption of Spen has been less than 24 hours since Jan 2018. This is a feel-good feature which you think you will use it more and more but sometimes you forget about it completely.
2. Con - The zoom camera lens doesn't focus and gives some kind of audio like that comes in DSLR camera when it tries to auto-focus leading the pictures to come out blurred or not at all. This is one of my biggest problems which has started recently last 5-6 months.
3. Con - The software upgrades that we receive after the launch of a new smartphone in the series degrades the quality of your device in terms of photographs etc. I am not sure if that's done with intention or old hardware is not able to take the upgrade but I have seen this will all brands in all smartphones. I sincerely believe that you shall not upgrade to the new software every month or whenever it is launched and shall keep the phone on the original software. It's a win-lose situation, you are missing on certain things and gaining some things.
4. Pros - The new Android Pie made several good changes in the smartphone with interface looking more feature rich and certain features which were in S10 coming to Note 8 too. AR emoji is now on my smartphone too and Photo Ratio 3:4/9:16/1:1/Full are now available on Note 8 camera.
5. Pros - The speed of multitasking and touchscreen response is still great in Note 8 but I have not played super games on the same and also I have kept it light since I received the same.
6. Pros - The battery life is still great and lasts me more than a day on a single charge. If I am using social media and playing video's then it will last me working hours for a single day.
7. Pros - Low light camera performance is too good in Note 8 in auto mode too. I have used several other smartphones but this one takes awesome videos in low light conditions. Check out the Cape Town Sunset video from Signal Hill on my Youtube channel has taken with Samsung Note 8.
8. Pros - The wireless charging is easy to use but the speed of charging is slow as compared to charging with wired wall supercharger provided in the package. I am using the wireless charger that used to come with Samsung S8+ during the launch of the smartphone.
9. Pros - The AKG earphones are one of the best and I loaned mines to one of my friend in Mar 2019 and he said he will only return them to me in July 2019. It's an expensive earphone with cable and works great with clear audio and the same is provided in S8/S9/Note8/Note9 and related smartphones packages.
10. Pros - The 12MP rear camera is awesome and takes awesome pictures in full light and low light conditions. I simply adore the photos taken using the Samsung camera and all are available on my Instagram.com/araijain and www.photoyatra.blogspot.in I have reduced the number of pictures from 4000 to 1300 on Instagram but all of them are available in Photoyatra blog. I still can't find watermarking my photos with my own unique #TheLifesWay out of the camera but this feature shall be made available in the new smartphones asap.
11. Pros - The 3.5mm earphone jack is still there so that you can continue to use your expensive headphones will the end of their life. I love my Bose and Sennheiser earphones and headphones.
12. Pros - The edges panels can be controlled the way you like it to control calls, music and whatever you do most but the problem is that no tempered glass comes to protect the same. Only a sheet of plastic protects the same along with your mobile cover. Luckily I have taken a book kind of case to protect it from all sides and I have not used it without the cover since the first day. The edge lighting is too cool when you put it on.
13. Pros - Bixby works on this smartphone and if you like giving instructions to do stuff, it can be trained to follow your voice and accent. I have a strong Indian accent but it really works great on my Note 8 and you can earn different levels if you use more and more of Bixby.
14. Pros - AOD (Always On Display) can be customized to match your screensaver or wallpaper and there are thousands of them available in the Samsung Android Store.
15. Pros - Samsung Members network is awesome and you can learn a lot about Samsung applications, contests, members and connect with the whole world.
16. Pros - Samsung Pay works like charm in Note 8 and with just a tap you will be able to make payment and your Iris can be scanned to validate the payment first. I am able to pay now using the FNB debit/cheque/credit card too.
17. Pros - Samsung Gear connects nicely with Samsung Note 8 and whosoever in your network is using any of the Gear/Icon products, his health can be tracked and you can challenge them for fun activities.
18. Pros - Floating Camera button is just like the Apple iPhone or iPad control center button but with this one you can click photos. You can drag it anywhere on the top of any of your apps and it comes very handy during taking selfies when your hands are too far and in different angles.
19. Pros - AR emoji is now part of Samsung Note 8 and good for kids to play with and create some family moments.
20. Pros - The display on Note 8 is super AMOLED screen - text and photos look awesome on this smartphone. Youtube videos in full resolution (720p - 1080p upwards) brings an immersive effect on the smartphone for those who love watching videos on the go. The audio is a little bit less when you are traveling or outside in a noisy environment so you need to use headphones or earphones to listen properly.
Overall, Samsung Note 8 is still a capable phablet smartphone and takes care of all my needs. I am totally in love with my Spen other than the one problem I am facing and still take 100s of photos every week with Note 8 camera and share them on my IG story and posts. I love the speed with which you can launch any app and now I have started watching Netflix on this device which I was not doing earlier and the battery will be tested now. All these photographs are taken by me during various months and events.
The cameras are too good on the new devices S10 Plus but I am hoping when Note 10 comes and if I can trade-in I will definitely upgrade myself to the same. I might lose some money on the deal but it will be worth the upgrade but I have never seen any trade-in option on any of the smartphones in South Africa but recently there are some in the market. Let's see what happens in my life in 2019-2020!
Cheers!!!
Contact me at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to collaborate on your products, events, and services. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra!