Ya I'm using it with ST for only $45/month as well, so I'm happy with it. I was really looking at the Note II, but they're so damn expensive to find an unlocked one (or even one I could unlock myself), it wasn't worth it.
I was originally looking at an unlocked SIII, but the preloaded apps that you can't remove without rooting annoyed me away from it. The price was a little steep and the fact that I can buy a global unlocked SIII on NewEgg, but US support wouldn't let people register it for warranty support is Unacceptable. The Nexus hasn't given me a reason to root it yet.
I have another coworker, other than the one that sold his Note II, that got Note II's for both himself and his wife. I don't like how big it is. It's a small tablet and even comes with a stylus. BTW he's envious of my Nexus 4 that does wifi and usb tethering out of the box. He got the Note II's on a deal with Sprint, so he's locked in to CDMA for at least a year.