Samsung Galaxy Note 3 in hand

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Deep Review – The World Best Android Smartphone gets better

Summary:  The highest specs on an Android Smartphone, improved Samsung Software and one of the largest Displays with S Pen Support – Samsung achieves to to take great device and produce an even greater device while  the size is staying the same.

With the  Galaxy Note series Samsung achieved to create a whole new section of Smartphones. And while you can argue if you need a device that big the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is undisputed one of the best Android Smartphones available right now. It seems that Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is even better with improved S Pen functionality, a minimal larger display, improved hardware and Android 4.3. Samsung improved the Design elegantly so you can bring it finally into work and meetings.

Hardware

Samsung achieved to give the Note 3 a larger display with 5.7 inch while at the same time deducting the width by 1.3 mm. The removable back has no a leather feel to it, it feels nice and sticky in the hand and helps with the grip. To give it an even more classy look there are fake stitches around the edges. The Phone itself is available in black and white and while its still made from rather thin plastic – the design improvements help for sure.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is available in a 32GB and a 64 Gb Version and both versions come with a Micro SD slot so you can update your memory even more if you want too. With the fallen prices of SD Cards, I love this feature especially about Smartphones. As well the 3200 mAH Battery is exchangeable so you can safely travel and bring a second battery with you. Even on days where I had heavy use of the Note 3 – four hours of screen time , phone calls, half an hour of video streaming, some hours of web browsing – The Note 3 had consistently more then 30% of battery left at night. The Note 3 should easily last you for some years.

 

With 386 pixel per inch the 1080p Super AMOLED Display of the Note 3 looks simply fantastic. Details are shown razor sharp while colors nearly popping off the screen, most of Smartphone users will find the Screen a treat for the eyes. While AMOLED tend to suffer more in Sunlight then their LCD counterparts, the Note 3’s display remains perfectly viewable even in outside direct sunlight here in SEA. The center physical button is still below the display with two backlit capacitive areas on either side of the button.

 

The Volume Button is on the upper left side, embedded in plastic grooved metal frame of the Note 3. The microphone,a 3.5mm audio jack and IR port are found on the top while the right side has the traditional Samsung power button and a microphone opening.

On the bottom of the you get a USB 3.0 port that also works as an HDMI out with the use of an MHL adapter. The inclusion of USB 3.0 is very nice,  since it makes the phone charge lightening fast when you use the included USB 3.0 cable and the port provides you very fast data transfers with your Computer or Laptop. And don’t worry you can still connect your existing micro USB to the right side the new port ,although you won’t get the TOP Speed of the USB 3.0. The mono speaker is as well found on the bottom of the Note 3.

At the right bottom edge is the opening for the S Pen. The S Pen is a bit longer then one found in the Note 2 and has been designed to fit in both ways. The feel of the S Pen is good, although It could be improved with more metal in the body.

The 13 Mp Megapixel Camera is found near the top of the back with a LED Flash below it and able to take great pictures. The 2 Megapixel Front Camera is at the top right corner. As well the Note 3 have some new features from Samsung like a new mode called Surround Shot, which is Samsung’s version of Google’s 360-degree Photo Sphere feature.

The biggest improvements of the Galaxy Note 3 are found inside with the hardware of the phone. It comes equipped with a very fast 2.3 GHZ Snapdragon 800 Quad Core Processor, full 3GB of RAM ( AWESOME ), higher resolution camera, exchangeable 3.200 mAH battery and more. That kind of horsepower makes the phone plenty fast – All your app loading and multitasking are fine and the Web Browsing is satisfying smooth and swift.

Software

On top of the improved hardware functions Samsung also made the usage of the S Pen better and easier. While many users didn’t find the S Pen essential on the Note 2, Samsung ‘ s new Air Command Controller appears automatically when you slide the S Pen out and helps you use the pen more daily.

With Air Command you can choose to launch, Scrapbooker, Screen Write, Action Memo or Pen Window with a Single click of the S Pen.

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Action Memo lets you use handwritten text on the display that can be used to start actions on the Note 3. You can make a call, open a contact, send a email or text message, open the web browser or GMaps or create your to do list. This feature is very useful and can will probably be adapted by a lot of users.

The Scrapbooker can capture content from different locations in your device ( browser, images youtubed videos and more) and organize it in different collections. You can easily give tags and titles to these collections to better organize them for the future.

After choosing Screen Write from Air Command, you’ll take a screen shot from the display. Youlll get a number of tools to edit the screenshot on the Note 3. These include the type of pens, pen color, an eraser or cropping tool and you can easily share it after editing.

With the S Finder you can easily filter your search results and find hand written notes as well as text based data. Your data is easily filtered by date and type of data.

LG has a function similar to Pen Windows where you can open up and use small utilities over the top of primary apps. As you can see in my screenshots, Pen Window utilities appear in the same size box after you draw a small square and select a tool. Available tools include calculator, clock, YouTube, phone dialer, contacts, Hangouts, and web browser. The app selection is limited, but you may find one or two useful.

There are other S Pen functions on top of those. You can use the pen to draw around areas on your display and capture the parts with a click of the pen for future use, use the pen for navigation, and using the S Pen with the improved S Note application that can sync with Evernote etc, and a smooth Easy Chart Function to show visuals in a field.

In addition to the S Pen improvements you’ll find Android 4.3. Since the Note 3 has the TouchWiz UI installed, there are not so many differences in the overall experience and User Interface of the new Android.

There are also quite a lot of Samsung Apps pre installed. While I find many of them useful, I would love to be able to remove them more easily whenever I want too. So far I haven’t found much support for this on Android. For business users there are Knox, S Translator, VPN Client and more.

The Note 3 is at the moment the only device that works with Galaxy Gear – and we really enjoyed the Gear experience.

Experience and Usage 

I was already a fan of the Note 2 and like the Note 3 even more. I do appreciate the S Pen improvements, since I didn’t use the S Pen much on the Note 2. I think with the improvements specially with Air Command and S Note ill be using the Pen more and will try to replace more of my notebooks that I always carry with me. Especially in connection with my Evernote I’m excited to test it on a daily basis.

The Note 3 has a gorgeous large scree fast USB 3.0 and strong Quad Core Processor. The Size of the Screen is plus for me and not a con. I personally feel it gives me a good experience for my productivity and browsing needs. As well I’m build quite tall, so its not a big problem for me.

Even with heavy usage every day the 3.200 mAH battery makes the Note 3 hold the whole day – which I find very comfortable. Finally a smartphone where I don’t have to bring my cable with me everyday. it would be perfect if Samsung could also include Qi wireless charging and hope that Samsung will launch it soon.

Pros and Cons

Here are the Pros and Cons to summarize the experience we had with the phone.

Pros

• Fantastic display with comfortable size
• Super fast performance with 3 GB Ram and 2.3 GHZ Snap Dragon 800
• Lightning Fast Charging and Data Transfers via USB 3.0
• Excellent battery life
• Replaceable battery and microSD card expansion
• Superb Pressure Sensitive Stylus Pen with accurate hand writing

Cons

• Design still feels a bit cheaper then other Smartphones
• Bit overloaded with apps and utilities

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