Samsung Galaxy Note5 (GSM)
Phone Scoop Review
Sep 11, 2015 by Eric M. Zeman
Samsung's top-of-the-line smartphone impresses with its classy design and blistering performance. The Galaxy Note 5 is a compelling Android device with its big screen, fast processor, and capable camera. AT&T's variant is a solid smartphone. Here is Phone Scoop's full report. read review ›
User Reviews
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Closest to Perfection
Carrier: T-Mobile
Simply put, this phone is the closest to perfection that you are going to get. There are a couple of things that you have to love about this including, but not limited to the external battery, expanded memory slot and all of the accessories. I got this phone in July when I heard that the Note 5 wasnt going to have an expandable memory. After getting used to the size, I liked it more and more as I discovered all this phone had to offer especially with the settings and the stylus. Listed below are some pros and cons:
Pro's
- large and bright screen
- great business phone
- excellent speaker
- great call quality
- awesome camera - The pictures turn out great
- Stylus or for the Samsung lover, the S pen
- when you pick the phone up, it vibrates to notify you of text messages. I personally love this feature.
Con's
- big and hard to hold sometimes
- Battery life isn't the greatest for a power user
All in all, I really like this phone and I find myself using it not only as my personal device, but for business use as well. I would strongly recommend getting the extra Samsung OEM batter case and battery as it is an accessory I couldnt live without.
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Fantastic device, albeit pricey.
Carrier: T-Mobile
Samsung continues to improve the Note series with every new version. The Galaxy Note 5 is no different: it boasts a beautiful screen, powerful innardsâincluding an extra gigabyte of RAMâand suite of helpful productivity apps to accompany its super precise stylus, the S Pen. If you havenât considered a mega-sized Android phone until now, the Galaxy Note 5 is the best place to start. Itâs so good at everything it does, it outshines the rest of the Galaxy family of smartphones.
The Galaxy Note 5 looks like a bigger, more professional version of the Galaxy S6. It has the same metal and glass construction, rounded edges, and the barely-there bezel on the sides of the display. But itâs slightly denser and a little heavier to hold, which is especially apparent when youâre actually talking on the phone. As for the S Pen, itâs tucked away inconspicuously on the bottom near the charging port. When itâs docked, it just looks like an extra button.
I enjoyed the last two generations of Samsungâs Note phablet and I gave them both high scores, but Iâm giving the Galaxy Note 5 a slightly higher score because itâs absolutely everything you want out of a smartphone: a fantastic camera, a productivity device, a sketchbook, a digital scrapbook, a boom box, and a portable gaming console. If youâre going to spend gobs of money for the most premium smartphone out there, itâs gotta be completely worth your while, and the Galaxy Note 5 is totally worth it. If Samsung would only cut back on the heavy-handed TouchWiz interface changes and bloatware, it could easily score 5 stars.
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Great Business Phone
Carrier: T-Mobile
As A business attorney it is important to have a phone that provides a way to effectively communicate with clients and other legal persons. I love the S pen being able to sign documents on the go, makes this a true winner for me. The built in software (sidesync) allows me to drop and drag files from my desktop and laptop with out removing it from my pocket. What I miss most is the HDMI.
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A beast hindered by the Iphone
Carrier: AT&T
Pros:
Display (Gorgeous)
Stylus(Simple and more user friendly)
Camera(Very lively photos and rarely disappoints)
Quick Charge 2.0 (Charges extremely fast)
Qi Charging(You will appreciate this once you try it)
Super fast(OctaCore processor)
Cons:
Samsung destroyed what the Note series is all about
No removable battery
No microsd
Battery life (Note 4 was better w/ me)
I have this phone and an Iphone 6s Plus. I love the Iphone for it's simplicity, but I love my Note for it's imagination. Comparing the 2 displays is similar to comparing a black and white tv to color (Samsung being the winner). I love this phone for all of it's features and responsiveness. I just wish they didn't try to copy the iphone in physical design and sealed battery.
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I took the Plung.
Carrier: AT&T
I've had the Note 5 for the past two days. The screen is responsoive, battery will not horrible is not great, but does charge fast. Samsung has seem to tone the bloat down and TouchWiz is OK. Not a big S-Pen user, but didn't want to drop another $100 on the Edge+. The finger print scanner usually works well, once in awhile it does take a few swipes to get into the phone. Could be technique. S-Pen works great, and waiting to be allowed to set up and use Samsung Pay.
In the past I would avoided a phone with locked boatloaders, but I have since given up rooting my phones and installing alternate roms. To those of you who do, I advise to wait for an unbranded version or get a TMO branded version.
AT&T seemed to have put a bit much in the way of bloat and in odd areas. At first you would think oh its only 3 or 4 apps, but there's several more. And all can be disabled. I do keep my account app, and can possibly see the use in the driving app which will allow send a reply text to people that you are driving.. SO basically all I kept from ma bell is my visual voice mail, and AT&T account app. ( I use both ).
To end it up, the Edge+ style is far nice then the N5, but the core functions are the same, loose noticactions on the Edge, but gain the use of the S-Pen which to me is worth it. Either way no mistake. I do have the 64gb version, and paid it outright at Best Buy which gave me $130 for an older phone(SGS4 with broken sim tray), and a $25 referal credit, and some $12.00 loyality credit because he couldn't give me the $200 since I signed no Next or Contract ageement. I did get the half view flip cover, both the phone and cover are black.
