Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have had 30+ smart phones over the past 9 years from HTC, Motorola, Nexus (all except the 4), Blackberry Key One and all of the Galaxy S models plus the Note 2, 4, 5 and now the 8. My favorite phone was the Note 5, but one day I walked into T-Mobile prepared to buy the Note 7 and something steered me away from it. I ended up walking out with an S7 which was a foolish purchase because I only used it for a couple of weeks before I started missing my Note 5. Fortunately I still had it so I put my SIM back in it and all was well. When news of the Note 8 broke I was thrilled and I couldn't wait for pre-orders to start so when they did, I ordered one and it arrived one week ago today. My favorite thing over the Note 5 is the beautiful edge to edge display and how bright and legible it is in direct sunlight. At 1,200 nits, I believe it is the brightest screen ever on any smartphone even eclipsing my Blackberry Classic that I thought would never be beat. I am amazed that reviewers never mention screen brightness, but for me it is a very important top 3 feature because I spend quite a bit of time outdoors and it is very annoying searching for shade or trying to cup my hand over the screen just to barely read it. I can assure you that you will not be disappointed at all with anything regarding the Note 8 screen. I have taken approximately 100 pictures and the cameras are excellent. My daughter and I just went out for Chinese food and we were taking pictures of the food and several of my Heineken bottle. She was using her IPhone 7 plus and her pictures were no match for the Note 8 when our phones were held side by side. Her photos looked washed out and dull compared to mine and she even admitted her 7 plus paled in comparison. I like to take macro shots of flowers, insects and lots of other things and all I can say is woww. One shot was of a ladybug and the closeup detail was amazing. The S Pen is more refined and I use it frequently. The single speaker is very loud and clear as is the call quality. Build quality is excellent, but I still despise glass on the back of a phone. People can go on and on about how beautiful the back is, but the same people immediately slap a case on it so its never seen anyway. Why not use some sort of a rubber or polycarbonate back and make it lighter, cheaper, grippier and definitely more durable. After all, this is a mobile device and some people actually use it outdoors and don't like cases. Probably my biggest gripe is the additional weight compared to the Note 5. At 195 grams the additional weight is definitely noticeable and like most men, I carry it in my pocket and there's never a doubt where my phone is. Samsung was smart enough to keep the headphone jack and I assume the SD card is here to stay. I have played with Bixby briefly, but don't know enough about it to comment on how useful it is. I had two ultra thin cases ready and waiting and the one I like best is the matte blue Bear Motion case. It's very thin and light and adds a ton of grip to this rediculously slippery device. It is very fluid and lightning fast and at this point I can see myself using only this phone for at least one year. K