Galaxy Note 2 Verizon Review: The Verdict Is Out

By Anu Passary | Dec 05, 2012 12:38 PM EST

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Verizon recently released its version of the Galaxy Note 2 and reviews have been flowing in thick and fast, with most users waxing eloquent about the device's outstanding features.

Verizon is offering the Galaxy Note in two colors - Marble White and Titanium Gray - both online and in store.

Customers can pick up the device for $299.99 with a new two-year customer agreement. Consumers who want to buy the Galaxy Note 2 without a contract will have to shell out $699.99. The Verizon contract version is priced similarly to carriers AT&T and Sprint. However, the non-contract version costs $50 more than the Sprint and AT&T offer of $649.99. T-Mobile is also retailing the handset for $369.99 on a two-year contract (after $50 mail-in rebate) and $699.99 without contract.

Most people who have already purchased the Verizon variant of the Galaxy Note 2 are extremely happy with the phablet and have been showering praises.

"The Note 2 is about as close to perfect as a phone has come to date. Yes, the screen is bigger and a lot of people will gripe about it, but after you use it for only a few minutes, it sets the bar high," noted a Verizon user who recommends the product.

"What impresses me the most is that there is NO WAITING!! Everything just happens as smooth as butter and fast! On my Droid X I spent half my life waiting for windows to open, pages to load, pictures to come up. But not with the Note 2. And the size is just right for me. I find that using it one-handed, I can just reach the far left part of the keyboard in portrait mode. So I don't really need to use Samsung's one-handed mode (that shrinks the keyboard too much for my liking)," noted a Verizon user.

What's more, the Verizon logo on the home button which many thought would be a major complaint seems to be eliciting a mixed reaction from users.

"In the last 2 days I probably noticed it 3 times, if that!! Big deal!," averred a user.

"I don't understand why Verizon sees the need to totally blemish this otherwise beautiful piece of hardware by putting their stupid logo on the home button. That is a deal breaker for me. Samsung really should be more like apple in this regard and not allow carriers to do this," noted another user.

However, a lot of users on Verizon are unhappy with the fact that the best-selling Galaxy Note 2 on the carrier offers limited apps for the Multi-Window View feature.

"The multi view we were all looking forward to has been rendered useless. I'm stunned that there are only 7 apps available to use in multi view and most of them are apps i don't use," noted a user. "I could care less about the stupid logo on the home button but when they kill one of the best features of the phone...well thats just an abomination."

Fans of the Galaxy Note 2 on Verizon need not be disappointed as Samsung has confirmed that it will soon provide support for the Gmail and YouTube apps in Multi-Window View mode for the carrier's variant, even though the timeframe is not known.

Some users have the grouse that the apps on the device are not nearly as fast as claimed.

"I'm continuing to play with the phone as a replacement to my Iphone 5. However, everyone says how fast it is but the app I use most is Flipboard. With the 2 side by side, on the same wifi network, the iPhone 5 opens Flipboard articles quite a bit faster than the Note 2 does. Web pages also seem to load faster on the iPhone. I'm learning a lot about the Note 2 and enjoying it, just some things I've noticed so far," said a user.

Some users also felt that the back and menu pens on the S pen weren't that sensitive so one would have to use their fingers, which was a bit awkward. Users also feel that the phone is a little bulky and it is takes time to get used to it when making calls. However, with the phone slipping easily into jeans pockets, the perception of the Galaxy Note 2 being too big is incorrect.

Users also feel that the phablet "grows on you" and is "remarkable."

With most users giving the Verizon variant of the Galaxy Note 2 a green signal and "a certified go," the carrier may have come late to the party but is on route to get the cash registers ringing.