Samsung Galaxy Note5 (GSM)

"Thank you for your interest. Due to the overwhelming demand, we are temporarily out of test drive phones. Please keep checking back for available phones"

Don't see anything about when this program starts but I tried to enroll in it today from my iPhone and no matter which carrier I chose or which phone I chose it gave me "this device is not available right now. Select a different device or check back later"

Having actually handled a Samsung S6 Edge( ) for a while, I can say it is a step backwards in many ways compared to the previous models.

The only appealing feature is the screen; which is BEAUTIFUL. But the lack of a microSD Card Slot and non-removable battery killed it for me.

And I think there is an error with this write-up. When you wrote "Oddly, the phones come in only 32GB and 64GB versions; there will be more 128GB version for the U.S."

I think you meant that there will be NO 128GB version for the U.S., which is very stupid considering the lack of microSD card support.

waay better than the other notes. I didnt even really like samsung before the S6 but it feels great in your hand, like an actual flagship phone instead of a creaky plastic back ZTE, ala every other samsung. And I used to care about a removable battery and micro-SD until I really thought about it.
The memory in the S6 is Blazing fast, in fact it smashes almost every phone out there. However, the S6 would be considerably slower if it had an external memory card, just by querying the slot in normal operation, and how often do I Really physically remove the card?
If the phone wouldnt power on or got dropped in water is about it. Do I really need 32 gigs of bullshit on my phone? Or do you really need your titanium backup file from 6 phones ...
(continues)

Since Samsung has decided to become an Apple clone, I won't be buying the Note 5 or S6. They used to distinguish themselves from Apple by having removable batteries and SD card storage. Not anymore. I'd still buy their other phones that have these features, but not their flagship phones anymore. If I wanted an Apple clone, I'd go buy an Apple phone.

Zpike, you're right, and I agree. Maybe it is time to try Apple next coming phones.
I won't go for Windows Phones or Ubuntu. They are not much aps available.

I love Samsung, but I am very disappointed by the current design. One of the most attractive features of the phone to me was adding storage as I see fit as well as battery removal. The main reason, among quite a few others that I moved away from ios, was because of this. I understand Samsungs desire to be fluid and sleek, but I as a consumer desire more. Form and Function.

Are they really worth paying twice as much for compared to say the new Moto X or OnePlus 2 which cost about $400 cheaper?

With the other manufacturers upping their game on their devices it's becoming harder and harder to justify this sort of pricing.

Besides the quad HD screen, I really don't see any reason to upgrade from my Note 3, especially considering I would actually have to give up features to do so. I'm not impressed. Samsung really doesn't understand their customers. The Quad HD screen of the Note 4 wasn't enough to attract away Apple's customers when it included a removable battery and memory card slot. Why should they think a model whose only selling point is a quad HD screen and no expandable storage or removable battery will do anything but drive away existing customers? I was really hoping my next device could be a Note 5, but it looks like I will be looking elsewhere. Maybe it's time to try something entirely different like Windows Phone or Ubuntu.