My Thoughts On The Samsung Galaxy Note 3

Earlier this week at the Samsung Mobile Unpacked Episode 2 in IFA, Samsung took the opportunity to show off their third generation Galaxy Note device dubbed the Galaxy Note 3. If you would like to read my thoughts on the unpacked event in overall you can do so here. Moving on to the main topic today which is the Galaxy Note 3, this time around Samsung has upped the anti and they have produced a device which is stylish and has also introduce features which people will use actually use. First up, I’ll be talking about the design of the Note 3, Samsung has revamped their design terms of their Galaxy series of smartphone with the Note 3. This time around they are throwing away the hyperglaze back and ushering in a faux leather back which deep down is still plastic, they also did something a bit cheeky by giving the Note 3 a little of classiness by adding stitching’s on the back cover. Also on the back the camera on the Note 3 elevated out so there will be a slight bump on the back, i just hope that Samsung did think things through so that the lens cover does not get scratched when it is placed flat on a surface. On the sides of the device Samsung again tried to fool the eye by putting an aluminum like look to the side but in reality the side is still made up of plastic. The front of the device is housing a 5.7” FHD Super AMOLED display. The device’s overall look is similar to the Note 2 but just a little bit more squared off. At first I was not quite a fan of the design of the Note 3 but after some time I pretty much liked the design of it. Samsung managed to keep the dimensions of the Note 2 on the Note 3 and the Note 3 is also thinner and lighter.

'same body, bigger screen'

Continuing to the hardware which the Note 3 is powered by, the device either has a 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 processor or a 1.9GHz Exynos 5 Octa. The processor configuration is dependent on the market. The Note 3 also has 3GB of RAM which is a first for a smartphone, the storage will start at 32GB and of course a microSD card is accepted by the device. On the back on the Note 3 lies a 13MP camera which has smart stabilization and a high CRI LED flash which will help in taking better pictures in low light. The camera on the Note 3 is capable of capturing 4K video at 30fps and 1080P video at 60fps. Additionally the Note 3’s charging port is special because it support USB 3.0. The usual wireless radios are present on the Note 3. An interesting thing is that the Note 3 actually has 9 sensors onboard which is the most ever found on a smartphone period. Basically the Note has all the bell’s and whistles of the Galaxy S4 plus more. Overall the Note 3’s hardware is the best you can get now and it also runs the latest version of android which is 4.4 KitKat 4.3 Jellybean

Moving on to the star of the show which is the S Pen, this time around Samsung did not quite change the hardware inside the S Pen but they tweaked the software on the Note 3 to give the S Pen a bevy of new functionalities. The S Pen is also now symmetrical so you can put it back in to the silo any way you would like. The core use of the S Pen is still present and on the Note 3 Samsung is continuing to improve in their handwriting recognition to produce better results. The core thing with the S Pen this time around is Air Command which will enable you to do various things anywhere on the screen and this feature can be easily enabled by pulling out the S Pen from its silo or clicking the button on the Pen when you hover over the screen. This feature is pretty similar in function of to the quick command on the Note II but it’s more advanced now. After you launch up Air Command there will be 5 different functions there; action memo, scrapbook, screen write, S Finder, and Pen window. 

'maybe now users will use the S Pen more often'

The one which I’m most intrigued about is Pen Window, basically it’s a whole new way to multitask, all you have to do is draw a box on the screen and then you’ll be able to run an app in that box but the catch is that the supported apps are still at its minimal. Action memo is another feature which I can see people using frequently, it’s an evolution to the S Note pop up window. In this feature you can scribble you notes and save it down or do an action like call the number or search the word. Scrapbook is a feature which is like a gimmick but somehow its useful. As the name is it’s a scrapbook and when you activate this feature you just need to circle a part of the screen and then the data on that certain page will be saved to your S Note book of choice. Its basically like a real scrapbook where you can keep info. Screen write is just an easy way to scribble on your screenshot and send it out to people. S Finder is basically a feature in which enables you to search your entire phone from a given keyword. In all the features the on which people will mostly use of is action memo. I doubt that people would even use Pen Window, its just a thing to show off to your friends and say your phone can’t do this other than that the features is just a gimmick in disguise.

With the Note 3 Samsung also updated the UI of the S Note application and the app now looks more graphical but the core use of the app is still present. In addition to the new app, Samsung is also now supporting syncing your S Note with evernote so you can bring your notes everywhere. Well multitasking seems to be a big deal on the Note 3, other than the Pen Windows feature, multi windows is also present on the Note 3 and Samsung has revamped the way it works now. This time around you’ll be able to run 2 application in the same time and there is a new menu in the multi windows bar which allows you to easily drag and drop pictures and text from one app to another. On the Note 3, Samsung has bundled in Group Play which can now stream out photos and videos, so theoretically you can pair up 5-6 Note 3’s and watch a experience watching a movie like its on a big screen.

With the Note 3 Samsung is also bringing in a lot of accessories, they are providing users with a wide choice of colorful covers to compliment the Note 3. The S View cover for the Note 3 now has a bigger windows so you can see more at a glance. There is also the wallet cover and metallic cover which both comes in a wide range of bright and vivid colors. Of course there is the Galaxy Gear which would be the perfect accessory for the Note 3 as it was made for the Note 3. I'm expecting to see accessories like a wireless charging cover and a extended battery case for the Note 3 being announced during the launch in a few weeks time. 

'a bevy of colorful cases made for the Note 3'

All in all the Note 3 is a spectacular new device by Samsung and I’m sure this device will be an easy buy if you would like a big screen. In fact the S Pen itself is enough to be a buy for anybody as the possibilities are endless with the S Pen. Personally i'm really skeptical to try out the device and feel the back which Samsung says is a faux leather. I am also pretty excited to try out the new features of the S Pen especially the Pen Window feature. The Note 3 will be launching in 140 countries around the world on September 25 and I’ll be posting some follow up articles in the coming weeks about the Note 3. You can check out this hands on video of the Note 3 by Samsung below. Tell me what you think about the Note 3 in the comments section below or hit us up in our social media pages. That's it for this article, see you again next week where i'll be talking about the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C. 

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