Having had the Note 3 for 40 days and the G2 now since Monday I will say what makes the Note 3 great is the size. I do notice the G2 being noticeably smaller and this is the screen itself and not just the actual slimmed out phone. I like the N3 screen better for everyday tasks (homescreen, email, internet, ect) but the G2 screen in my opinion hands down beats the N3 for video. I do not like having the G2 buttons on the screen as it is just weird having them on the phone and I keep missing spacebar and hitting the buttons. With that said the hard Samsung buttons are typical Samsung garbage and feel like they will eventually break (I am looking at you home button) which indeed did get stuck on me a few times in my short time of usage. I don't think Samsung has improved much on their button issues since the galaxy S2 with its noted power button failure. The removable back of the N3 also seems flimsy and had an annoying squeak if you touched it in the right place. As for the cheap silver material running around all 4 sides of the N3 it is really weak and dents if you even look at it the wrong way. I am extremely careful with my phones and never have scratch or dent issues but the N3 was denting from day one. If it is in your pocket with anything else expect some dings. All cases I tried just made the phone 2 bulky and the Samsung s view case does not protect the 4 sides. The G2 while plastic seems much more sturdy. I have read many complaints about the dirt and print issues with the G2 in black but I got white and the phone stays very clean. I have not tried a case on it yet. I would not get a white N3 as the back cover will be dirty and discolored in no time. The G2, for me at least is far easier to use one handed and while in the car to quickly send a message while at a light ect. While things like S Voice on the N3 and some of the other Samsung apps (their activity, diet and pedometer app was nice) will be missed initially I don't think over time I will regret not having them. S Voice would probably really shine with the Gear. I have yet to really have time to play with the G2 Voice Mate app to see if it is ok for sending voice texts ect (as Google voice search does about everything else I need) but I hear it is just not as good as S Voice. The ir remote on the N3 had very limited range and I have not yet played with the remote app on the G2 to see if it is any better. I don't think it could possibly be worse. Knock on on the G2 is for sure a welcomed feature that I think Samsung should look into. I have not found the back buttons any better or worse then the side buttons on the Samsung as the N3 is so wide that its side buttons are not that accessible either. At least in my average to larger sized hands. Again, the N3 buttons seem doomed to break. The G2 buttons actually seem sturdy and somewhat easier to access on the back of the phone then the N3. The Sprint configuration of the buttons with raised power is certainly better then the flat disaster that big red used. I use knock on almost exclusively for waking the device and putting it to sleep. The back buttons I use pretty much only as a screen shot shortcut or to restart the phone. I keep my phone on vibrate almost exclusively though. Volume is also accessible in the notification pull down unless and until you mod and remove it. Both phones are snappy and responsive. While I had the N3 for longer then the G2 so far I did experience issues with the N3, as with every TouchWiz phone I have used, with force quits and apps failing to properly load. I have yet to have one such issue on the G2. The camera on the G2, while not as crisp, is much better in low light and at reducing image blur, especially when snapping photos of my moving dogs. The 1 gig less ram in the G2 does not appear to make a difference. The battery life actually seems to be slightly better for me with the G2. I will miss not being able to carry a spare battery though. Also I am still not loving the idea of not being able to have the microsd card slot. I like to transfer data from phone to phone this way and like knowing I can still get the card out if I submerge or otherwise destroy the phone. I know the cloud helps with some of this I am still just not a fan of not having this option. I also miss the extra storage. Saving a few NAND backpus on the phone with a little music and some photos and video and you are out of space. 32GB of storage (really around 26GB) will take some getting use to. I guess iPhone people have been doing it a while though. I also miss the N3 being able to connect to voice and data at the same time. However, tri-band probably outweighs this. The multitasking is far better on the N3 both split screen and by drawing a pen window. With the pen window, a few mods and you can use it with any app on the phone. It is pretty awesome to play with, but in actuality I never really used it in the wild. I also only used the pen a small number of times to take notes. I still believe the phone to be a bit to small for me to use it to replace my legal pad. it is however good in a pinch. I bet the features of the pen are awesome on a full sized tablet. My wife also drew a few pictures with the pen. That was not a reason to keep the phone.
All in all I do think I will keep the G2. It is a great device witch I planned to get from day 1. I only tried the N3 due to the late release of the G2 and my need for a phone. Had I not had it, I would not miss it I am sure. Upgrading to the G2 from any other device should be major and you will feel the screen to be extremely large and the phone more powerful than any other. I believe the N3's lack of tri-band and cheap buttons and exterior will take away from what is otherwise a stellar device. I love the G2. I think it is a great phone. Had I not had a N3 I would be writing and telling you that you are nuts to even consider the N3 over the G2 as I told myself when I initially decided on the G2 in early September hoping it would get a normal release date. However, part of me does miss my N3 a little. The keyboard was so nice and big (stock keyboard had a separate number line, was integrated with swiftkey and permitted swype function) which I rarely mistyped on. Although, with the device being so wide one handed typing was nearly impossible (even one handed holding of the phone) and 2 handed use slowed me down. It also made the phone tough to use while sitting someplace where I generally like to read and respond to messages (wink). For me the G2 is just more practical and the radios seem to be a bit better than what Samsung put in. The call quality is also a bit better I believe on the G2. I think what I miss most about the N3 is having a phone that no matter where you pulled it out someone looked at you with their jaw dropped trying to figure out what that device in my hands was. It made my wife feel like her 5s was a child's toy when compared to my big boy N3 and she would actually reach for and use my N3 when we were lounging around. The N3 had some great functions but the lack of tri-band, the build quality and its lack of smooth integration just made it feel like it was missing something. I feel like after the initial intrigue wore off and I was using it as an every day phone I would have been a tad disappointed to be running another Samsung device. I do not feel that way about the G2. It seems like a phone I will enjoy using every day and, as Sprint's network improves (as we pray) so to will the joy of using this device. Throw in the fact that the G2 is $99 or less and the Note 3 is $350 on contract and it is a no brainier. I have no idea why I ever look back. I personally bought the N3 without a contract (had Best Buy match Sprint's $699 price as Best Buy had it at $799) knowing it would not last in my possession past the Note 4 and likely I would have replaced it before that. (On a side not if you decide for some reason on a Nexus 5 buy from Playstore for $399 as Sprint's $150 contract price is a joke for a device that retails so low. Don't waste the upgrade. You would be better served to buy a G2 on contract, sell it, then buy a full price Nexus 5). So after all of this, if you are still reading, buy the G2 and you will not regret it.
I hope you found this review helpful, its just my opinion having used both.
