By 
Samsung’s line of Galaxy Note products have quickly become the premiere option for users seeking large displays with stylus functionality. Like its predecessors, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 blends the boundary between phone and tablet and attempts to push the limits of technological power. Does it successfully carry the phablet torch into new territory? Read on to find out.
Galaxy Note 3 Hardware
The Samsung Galaxy S4 might be the company’s top selling flagship smartphone, but from a pure hardware standpoint, the Note 3 is king of the mountain.
Note 3 – Display
The Note 3’s entire experience revolves around its humongous 5.7-inch capacitive screen. Although you can’t see it, a special Wacom-created digitiser layer is what makes the S Pen stylus experience work. It provides the capacitive screen with greater sensitivity and precision: the harder you press the stylus, the thicker your “ink”, a small but appreciated improvement that enhances the user experience and expands the Note’s possibilities.
One additional feature derives from this increased sensitivity: the ability to use the Note 3 while wearing gloves. Turn the feature on in Settings > Controls > Increase Touch Sensitivity. As we head towards winter, I figured this an oft-overlooked feature that deserves to be highlighted.
The screen is big. The screen is stylus optimized. And the screen is beautiful. The Note 3’s Super AMOLED display boasts full HD 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution and 396ppi pixel density while displaying 16 million colors. Samsung devices are notorious for being high contrast and saturated, making colors on the screen jump out and even the most mundane of images pop with enjoyment.
The gorgeous color comes at the expense of realism: some may feel the Note 3 colors make things seem artificial, but it’s a tradeoff I openly embrace. For those that don’t, Samsung now provides an option in Settings > Device > Display > Screen Mode that lets you choose between Adaptive Display, Dynamic, Standard, Professional Photo, and Movie. One of the latter two will tone down this exaggerated look.
Beyond that the screen is close to flawless.
Note 3 – Internals & Specs
Powering the huge 5.7-inch screen is a set of specs currently unrivaled by any smartphone on the market, highlighted by a whopping 3GB of RAM. This is a first, ladies and gentlemen: no previous phone has ever included 3GB of RAM.
The record-breaking RAM is accompanied by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 Quad-core 2.3 GHz processor and Adreno 330 graphic processing unit that do a beautiful job at smoothly running the resource heavy display and software. From top to bottom, the Note 3’s spec sheet reads like that of an undisputed champion:
- 5.7-inch screen with 1080p display
- 2.3GHz quad-core processor
- 3GB of RAM
- 13MP camera
- 2MP front-facing camera
- 32GB or 64GB built-in storage options
- MicroSD slot (up to 64GB)
- 3200 mAh battery
- 3.5mm headset jack
- NFC
- Bluetooth 4.0
- GPS
- Wi-FI a/b/g/n/ac
- 4G LTE
- IR Blaster
- MicroUSB 3.0
That last feature – the MicroUSB 3.0 charging port – is another “first” that deserves some attention. First of all, don’t panic: although it appears your existing chargers and cords will be rendered useless, this is not the case. You can use your standard MicroUSB 2.0 charger and cords on devices with MicroUSB 3.0 (but not the other way around).
So what’s the point of the new charging standard? MicroUSB 3.0 claims two key advantages over MicroUSB 2.0:
- Faster charging, both when plugged into a wall outlet or when connected to your computer via USB.
- Faster data transfer when connected to your computer via USB.
A small percentage of people are likely to notice the data transfer improvements, but a battery that charges more quickly will be the saving grace of the masses. Now if they could only make Batteries 3.0 that last longer!
It should be noted that our review unit is an American Samsung Galaxy Note 3 running on Sprint’s network. Specs vary by region, most noticeably incorporating a different processor in European markets.
Note 3 – Design & Build Quality
When first looking at the Note 3, you’ll likely have two immediate reactions:
- Holy cow it’s HUGE!
- The back of the Note 3 is leather?!
The Note 3 is indeed huge but packaged in a remarkably slim body that looks and feels like a powerful, premium device. Despite having a larger screen than the Note 2 (5.7-inches vs 5.5-inches) the Note 3 is somehow thinner (8.3mm) and lighter (168g vs 183g) while simultaneously beefing up nearly every item on the spec sheet above.
Samsung’s premium devices have often been criticized for having a non-premium “plasticky” feel and the Note 3 takes this age old debate in a new, interesting direction. Although the Note 3’s back cover is still made of plastic, it has a faux-leather design and stitching in an attempt to replicate the look and feel of a traditional leather planner.
Dividing the huge screen and the faux-leather back is a grooved metal rim that wraps around the circumference of the phone. It’s got a shiny, chrome finish that stands out; I would have opted for a more muted brushed metal finish, but the chrome isn’t horrible.
Let’s take a moment to get the device orientation situated:
- Below the screen you’ve got the universal “Home” button
- On the left and right of the home button are “Menu” and “Back” buttons that only illuminate when the screen is on
- Above the screen is a speaker grill with 3 small circles to its right: these are ambient light sensors and the 2MP front-facing camera
- Top of the Note 3 has 3 holes (from left to right): 3.5mm headset jack, noise canceling mic, IR Blaster
- Right side has the power button and a groove to remove the battery cover
- Bottom has the stylus dock, speaker, MicroUSB port, and microphone
- Left side has volume rocker
- Back of the device has 13MP camera withLED flash
Peeling off the Note 3’s plastic back cover yields the 3200 mAh battery, which you’ll need to remove for access to the MicroSD slot and SIM card.
Some will love the faux-leather. Some will hate it. Some will love the empowering size. Some will think it’s way too big. The device size and faux-leather design will be polarizing points of discussion for both supporters and detractors. Ultimately, these are merely matters of preference and the choice is yours.
Personally, I’d prefer alternatives to the faux leather but still find it attractive and enjoyable. Before writing the device off as too big, I’d suggest giving it a chance: spend one day getting familiar with the Note 3 and you might just be hooked.
The Note 3 is available in black, white, and pink.
Galaxy Note 3 Software
The Galaxy Note 3 launches with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and is topped off with Samsung’s proprietary TouchWiz interface. The combination provides users with a plethora of features and settings, but with the Note’s additional S Pen functionality, the possibilities seem endless.
You’ll need to spend some time exploring on your own, but in this review, we’ll cover some of the new and most useful features that help the Note 3 shine above the competition.
Note 3 – Air Command
Pull out the Note 3 stylus and the screen will immediately awaken with Air Command activated. Alternatively, if the screen is already on, simply hover the stylus over the screen and press the stylus button, immediately activating the 5-option overlay.
The five Air Command options are:
- Action Memo – quickly scribble notes and connect them to actions such as saving a phone number or contact information, sending a message, searching the web. or creating a task.
- Scrap Booker – save anything you encounter – such as websites, maps, and pictures – into organized scrapbook categories with accompanied notes and information for later browsing.
- Screen Write -no matter where you are or what app you’re in, snap a screenshot, overlay it with your own notes and drawings, and save it for later use or share it through e-mail, messaging, dropbox, etc…
- S Finder – search your entire phone and the web with smart filters based on time frame, S-Pen features, tags, and more.
- Pen Window – instantly overlay a window with one of the following features: calculator, clock, youtube, phone, contacts, hangouts, internet, WhatsApp.
I’m a huge fan of Screen Write and am already wondering if I can live without it. It would allow me to send screenshots of our websites and apps to our developers and bloggers, pointing out problems, suggesting areas for improvement, noting ideas from other websites/apps, and sharing other tidbits of information worth noting and remembering. That’s just one example from a personal/professional scenario, but I can picture a wide variety of people using Screen Write for different purposes.
On the left, you’ll see I did some doodling on Steve Albright, unbeknownst to him.
Scrap Booker is intriguing for similar reasons. While I would lean towards Screen Write for sharing content with others, I would use Scrap Booker to save things of personal interest, easily attaching media, maps, and notes for future reference (you can share Scrapbook files and content as well).
Chances are you’ll pick out the features you enjoy, writing the rest off as sensory overload. That’s fine. There is a LOT to take in but it’s all worth learning and testing so you can make the Note experience your own.
I found Action Memos helpful for quick “I shouldn’t forget it” post-it note style information, but rarely took “action” on them the way Samsung intends. S-Note is a more expansive and intentional version of Action Memos, but I found it offering a bit more than I needed for a mobile solution. If the two merged into a single, simpler note taking option I might find it replacing the need for Scrap Booker. The three are similar and overlap in some areas, which makes me think with the right UI/UX, Samsung could merge them into one multi-purpose tool that spans these different use cases without feeling bloated.
Note 3 – Multi Window
My favorite feature of the Galaxy Note 10.1 is also one of my favorite features of the Galaxy Note 3: Multi Window. When enabled, Multi Window overlays a small moveable tab on the edge of your screen that when pressed, pops out a menu of apps. Drag and drop one of the app icons into the main window and you can instantly turn your device into a two screen layout.
The feature is invaluable on the larger screen of the Galaxy Note 10.1 due to the spacious screen real estate, but still holds value on the Note 3’s 5.7-inch screen. Once your multi window screen is active, you can drag the slider in the middle to change what proportion of the screen each app fills.
If you find yourself using a particular layout repeatedly you can easily save the combination by scrolling to the bottom of the Multi Window menu, tapping on the up arrow, and selecting “Create”. You can also tap the blue slider between the two panes to access four quick options:
- Switch applications – quickly switch the pane content to another recently used app
- Switch window – swap what’s on the top/bottom or left right (depending on screen orientation)
- Drag and drop – to pull content such as text and images from one pane to the other
- Close application – to end that pane’s activity and fall back to the previously used app
So what Multi Window combinations are most useful? Here are my favorites:
- Hangouts video call & Anything else
- Youtube & Chrome/E-Mail
- Chrome & E-Mail
- Play Store & Chrome
My absolute FAVORITE Multi Window combination is Hangouts & … anything else. Initiate a video hangout in the top pane and in the bottom pane, you can read and discuss E-Mail, refer to your S-Notes, take a look around Google Maps to discuss travel plans, or even watch a YouTube video. I haven’t been a huge user of video calling on my phone, but the Multi Window function of the Galaxy Note 3 combined with Hangouts might change that. I suggest placing the Hangouts in the top pane to better maintain eye contact with the other party.
I love Youtube. But sometimes I don’t want to be totally immersed in the Youtube experience. I might want to check E-Mail while I’m half paying attention to a video or browse the web looking for something simultaneously; the Youtube & Chrome/E-Mail panes provide that opportunity. Similarly, while composing a new E-Mail I may want to reference information from a website and the Chrome & E-Mail combination allow easy reference without needing to flip back and forth between the two apps.
Lastly, I’d suggest the Play Store & Chrome combination. It’s good to do some research before downloading new apps and Multi Window makes due diligence a whole lot easier.
Multi Note is a simple and beautifully composed feature that makes the Galaxy Note 3 a joy to use… and like I said, it’s even better on the Galaxy Note 10.1!
Note 3 – My Magazine with Flipboard
Another brand new feature on the Note 3 is called My Magazine and is accessed by swiping up from the bottom of any page on the home screen. Created for Samsung by Flipboard, My Magazine beautifully displays four sections of personalized content:
- News: seelct up to 18 topics including technology, sports, business, and celebrity
- Personal: pull from content within your Note 3 accounts such as Calendar, E-Mail, Music, and S Health
- Here & Now: Use your current location and favorite locations and sports teams to display local info and suggestions
- Social: connect to social accounts like Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Flickr to display information from people you follow
You can swipe left and right between these sections, swipe up to flip additional pages of content, and customize what appears on each of these content pages.
When first using the Note 3 I kept forgetting the My Magazine feature was there… I’m used to launching a standalone news app, opening Google+, or looking up specific information as needed. After awhile though, I found myself visiting My Magazine more frequently. It’s a nicely designed multi-purpose destination that’s enjoyable to browse.
Some people will inevitably overlook My Magazine, instead sticking with their current go to apps, which is expected. But think of My Magazine as Samsung’s version of Google Now, meant to give you a little taste of everything instead of an entire entree.
Note 3 – S Health, PEN.UP, Group Play and beyond…
To separate themselves from other Android manufacturers, Samsung offers consumers their own portfolio of apps and features that are only available on Samsung Android devices and Galaxy Note products. Some of them are discussed above, but there are MANY more, and Samsung neatly organizes them in a pre-packaged Samsung folder in your app drawer.
Here are the Samsung apps pre-loaded on our Galaxy Note 3 review unit:
- Action Memo
- Group Play
- KNOX
- My Files
- PEN.UP
- S Health
- S Note
- S Translator
- S Voice
- Samsung Apps
- Samsung Hub
- Samsung Link
- Scrapbook
- Story Album
- Voice Recorder
- VPN Client
- WatchON
Some of these deserve an explanation (and truthfully, some could use their own review).
S Health is a fitness app that acts as a pedometer, tracking how many steps you take each day and displaying the data in interesting and meaningful ways. You can see how often you’re walking vs running, view stats by day or month, and even keep track of calories and weight based on how much you’re eating and how often you’re exercising. S Health also works with 3rd party accessories including scales and smart watches that can be found in the Settings > Compatible Accessories area.
The Galaxy Note 3 and Note 10.1 also launch with a new community called PEN.UP where artists can submit their work from a Galaxy Note to a community where folks can browse, like, favorite, and comment on all the interesting and truly amazing artwork being created on these devices. Seriously, mind blown by some of the stuff being done.
Group Play allows you to push several Galaxy Notes together to form one screen. KNOX is a security feature – even approved for use by the Pentagon – that essentially creates a second password protected account on your phone. S Voice allows you to create custom voice commands to access specific apps, trigger app related functions, and perform Siri like searches. S Translator and Samsung Apps are Samsung’s versions of Google Translate and the Play Store, though the latter is helpful for finding S-Pen optimized apps. And the list seems to go on and on.
With all these apps, features, and custom options are you starting to feel overwhelmed?
Note 3 – Overwhelmed by Apps & Options?
It’s quite possible that the Galaxy Note 3 packs too much functionality into one device.
(Coming Soon: Note 3 Tips & Tricks Video)
This is a great problem to have, but one that may overwhelm beginner and novice users. Fear not… keep these three tips in mind if you’re ever feeling lost:
- On most screens you can press the hardware”Menu” button and find a “Help” screen that will guide you through that particiular app/feature.
- If you’ve got specific questions or problems that aren’t answered, visit the Galaxy Note 3 Forums on the Android Forums where you can get personalized help.
- The Note 3 has an exhaustive list of settings that can be difficult to navigate, but try searching the settings with keywords to more easily find the options you’re looking to change
Don’t feel, even the most tech savvy customers will be overwhelmed with all the Galaxy Note 3 has to offer. It’s expected. The Note 3 is a powerful device and it will take time to learn all of the options, decide which ones you find the most useful, and set up your phone to optimize your personal experience. Reserve a lazy day or a couple lazy nights to learning the ins and outs of the device. It’ll go a long way to unlocking its potential and I promise you’ll be happy that you took the time become intimately familiar with all the features.
The Note 3 is undeniably packed to the brim with features. It’s a powerful device in terms of both hardware and software, best enjoyed when you obtain the knowledge to harness that power. Don’t get frustrated, be patient, and take the time to learn what the Note 3 has to offer… it will be well worth your time.
Galaxy Note 3 – Camera
The Galaxy Note 3 Camera gets a nice spec bump from the Galaxy Note 2, jumping from 8MP to 13MP and retaining the same 2MP front-facing shooter for video calls and selfies. If the implementation is consistent, we should see the same strong camera performance from our Galaxy S4 Review.
Just like the rest of the Note 3, the camera app has a massive set of options and settings to help you take the best picture. Most of the options are typical of Samsung Android devices, but some are new and others are worth mentioning.
Here are some examples. Click to enlarge and see descriptions below each picture.
Above: hourglass, clock, and old western family picture sitting on my bookcase. Taken using HDR.
Above: painting in my house
Above: looking at the Under Armor HQ from Fells Point, Baltimore
Above: Under Armor again, this time using the Note 3 Zoom at 4X
Above: 3 pictures of flowers using the Galaxy Note 3
The default camera mode is “Auto” which automatically adjusts exposure to optimize color and brightness. If your picture seems washed out, try shooting it in Rich Tone (HDR) mode. Much like the Samsung displays themselves, this setting enhances intensity and contrast, making your photos pop with more full and vibrant colors.
The Note 3 introduces a new type of picture called “Surround Shot” which is similar to the Nexus Photosphere images. When you begin taking the picture it will provide target circles where you’re to aim the camera. Moving from circle to circle, you can eventually create a 3D picture of sorts that shows 360 degrees. Of course you can stop wherever you’d like and a small “globe” indicator illustrates which sections of the 360 degree dimension you’ve already captured.
Above: surround shot when not viewed in special gallery viewer
Samsung has also added a Golf Swing picture mode which lets you play your swing forward or backward to help you get the mechanics just right. An unlikely addition, but we can’t complain about having options. Other photo modes include Drama Shot, Sound & Shot, Animated Photo, Eraser, Best Photo, Best Face, Beauty Face, Panorama, Sports, and Live Effect.
The Animated Photo options is definitely worth learning as it can definitely come in handy. Is your picture pretty much perfect except for some kid running around crazily in the background? Animated Photo will help you seclude the kid and essentially erase them from the picture… POOF!
The photos are okay but not great. Many of my pictures seemed washed out and the low light settings were a bit of a disappointment. The macro pictures and general sunlight pictures turned out above average, but with a 13MP camera I was hoping for a little more.
Video recording was very impressive. I’d consider the video quality of the Galaxy Note 3 to be among the best on the market. Here’s a short sample video:
Pretty darn good if you ask me: it’s 1080p and includes image stabilization and refocusing while recording. There are also slow motion (720p) and fast motion (1080p) capture options, but you’ll have to dive deeper into the settings to access these options, they’re not listed up fron tin the “modes”.
Galaxy Note 3 – Performance
The Galaxy Note 3 is an absolute beast of a phone when it comes to multimedia and overall device performance. With a gorgeous 5.7-inch screen, and powered by a quad-core processor and 3GB of RAM, everything from apps and games to videos and music play like a flawless charm.
Note 3 – Benchmarks
I always approach benchmarks with a grain of salt- there are so many different variations, they lean towards different tendencies, favor certain characteristic, and are somewhat subjective in nature. But in relative terms, benchmarking can give us a good idea what ballpark of performance a device is playing in, and the Galaxy Note 3 is in a league of its own.
For this review, I used AnTuTu Benchmark and the results speak for themselves: the Galaxy Note 3 blew the competition out of the water with the closest competitors (HTC One, Samsung Galaxy S4) in a distant 2nd and 3rd. Clearly the Note 3 isn’t just blowing smoke up a spec sheet… it’s a device that means business.
Running out of RAM?
With 3GB of RAM, is it all being used or is their extra ammo just laying around? If you open up the multi-tasking menu (hold the home button) and visit the task manager, you can see exactly how much RAM is currently being used and clear tasks that are taking up memory.
My Note 3 would typically hover around 2GB of RAM being used out of a possible 2.38GB. No fear that we’ll run out… the Note 3 stores recently used applications in memory so that when they’re reopened they can be accessed quickly, providing the best user experience. The fact that the Note 3 has 3GB of RAM means our device has quicker access to a wider variety of data we’re likely to access.
With so much multi-tasking and so many custom features, the record breaking 3GB of RAM on the Galaxy Note 3 is what keeps it running buttery smooth throughout the entire experience.
Note 3 – Battery Life
The huge screen, bright display, and powerful processor are sure to suck up a ton of energy but the Galaxy Note 3’s 3200 mAh battery holds up well under the pressure.
There aren’t any benchmarking tests for battery life and trusting the manufacturer for estimated battery life would be foolish, so the best reviews of a device’s battery tend to be based on personal experience. Everyone uses their device differently, balancing between web, video, music, phone calls, and other tasks with varying degrees of length and frequency.
I didn’t have a problem getting the Note 3 to last a full day with moderate to heavy usage. About 70% of my day is spent on Wi-Fi and 30% on mobile networks. The Note 3 takes quite awhile to learn so I’ve had the large display glowing at high brightness for hours at a time, all the while multi-tasking between downloading/testing apps, watching videos, checking E-Mail, doing video Hangouts, and more. The 3200 mAh power isn’t amazing, but is definitely ample.
Note 3 – Call Quality, Odds & Ends
We see it reviewed less and less, but believe it or not, mobile phones should still perform well as phones! You’ll find that the Galaxy Note 3 performs perfectly fine on Sprint’s network with both call connectivity and audio quality up to snuff.
I would prefer louder speakers and the Note 3 definitely gives off a cheaper, tinny sound out of the speakers, but unless you’re using your device as a speaker to listen to music, I wouldn’t worry.
Note 3 – is it too big for a phone?
Because of it’s monumental size, many will immediately write the Note 3 off as an unnecessary monstrosity that would never fit (or be allowed) in their pocket. I’d suggest you reserve judgement and avoid jumping to conclusions.
When the original Motorola Droid launched the screen was 3.7 inches and people thought it was HUGE. Eventually even Apple admitted 3.7-inches was too small, eventually following in the footsteps of Samsung’s original Galaxy S and upping the iPhone display to 4 inches. Nowadays, most Android users would pick up the new and improved 4-inch iPhone and consider it puny.
That’s what I’m doing in this picture: trying to wrap my hand all the way around the Galaxy Note 3 and the iPhone 5C. What a difference.
It takes time to get familiar and comfortable with new form factors, but even for a guy like me whose hand aren’t huge, the 5.7-inchNote 3 became very comfortable after using it for a few days. It fit perfectly fine into my non-skinny jeans and smaller phones began to feel like toys.
The Galaxy Note 3 will definitely be too large for some to enjoy, and that’s understandable, but don’t make the mistake of assuming you fit in that category! I will say that 5.7-inches is probably my personal ceiling for what makes sense, but a bigger handed reviewer may feel differently.
The Verdict
The hardware combination of the Note 3’s 5.7-inch screen, quad core processor, and 3GB of RAM is unrivaled in both specs and performance. The S Pen stylus and companion software/apps provide an additional level of functionality that will make power users and productivity hounds drool. It may be too big for some, and the the faux leather styling may not appeal to all, but if those aren’t deal breakers the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 just became the best phone on the market.
The Note 3 has so many features and settings that learning the ins-and-outs of the device becomes no easy task. For continued success with the Note series, Samsung must continue to refine and boil down their existing offerings. If they continue to relentlessly pile on new apps and features, they could face two problematic issues: device bloat and consumer confusion.
But for now, the Galaxy Note 3 is an all systems go recommendation.
Positives
- Amazing screen
- 2.4GHz Quad-core Processor and 3GB RAM showcase pure power
- New S Pen features and apps are a delight
- Multitasking with Multi Window a great tool
- Great video recording quality
- Packed to the brim with hardware features (NFC, IR Blaster, MicroUSB 3.0, etc…)
- Packed to the brim with custom apps and software features
Negatives
- Size and faux leather back may not please all tastes
- Low light photo capture not great
- Speaker sounds a bit tinny
- Number of features and learning curve may overwhelm beginners and novices
Overall Rating: 4.5 / 5
For more on the device, visit the Galaxy Note 3 Forums.
TAKE MY MONEY!!!!!….on Friday.
http://youtu.be/S1aLqMJPQC4
The Note 3 destroying the Iphone 5s
Friday couldn’t get here quick enough!
I already have the Note 2, so this phone looks very appealing to me. The only problem I have is with the camera (very important to me). I’m tempted by the Xperia Z1 and Lumia 1080 but I don’t want to lose the big screen and stylus.
I thought the ZL had a 5 inch screen as well?
well the Z1 has a 5 inch screen, but it does make difference compared to 5.7”
Ah!! Yea… That is a noticeable difference, actually. LoL!!
Why no LG G2 in the benchmark comparison……seems odd not to include it.
You’re grumpy Ron, go eat some steak and eggs.
I have and I will again tomorrow.
The LG G2 is right up there with it in benchmarks, I just switched over to from a Note 2 and loving the speed and battery of this beast
Anybody want to buy my HTC One?
plastic, poor low light pics, tinny sounding speakers. these are NOT insignificant features that I (and I’m sure MANY others), will write off. hah! even my “puny” htc one overcomes these issues. Anyway the HTC one max would probably be a more practical and worthwhile comparison. I guess we will see how note 3 fares with IT when it comes out now, won’t we?
my gf’s uncle just got Nissan Juke by working off of a macbook. this page www.JAM20.com
The HTC Max is a disappoint and DOA if the rumors are true.
Plastic, poor low light pics, tinny sounding speakers… These are NOT insignificant features that I (and I’m sure MANY others), will write off. hah! even my “puny” htc one overcomes these issues. Anyway the HTC one max would probably be a more practical and worthwhile comparison. I guess we will see how note 3 fares with IT when it comes out now, won’t we?
Yes. It’s always the little things that make the difference. The main reason I got the HTC One was because the speakers were on the front. If it weren’t for that, I would have upgraded my E4GT (GS2) to the Sony Xperia ZL. That water resistance, though.
Only if it has stylus and multiwindow.
My picture looks distorted for some reason.
Seems legit to me.
Generally, those with normal sized hands (I have big feet so no worries ladies :) How does the note(s) perform as one handed operations go? Than is my concern, it may just be too big to ever do anything with one had, thoughts?
No. I just say you will lose ALL one handed operations. In my case, at least. I can’t do some things on my HTC One and that’s just a 4.7 inch screen.
It’s something I’ve been thinking about if I got a phablet.
I wouldn’t think that anyone looking at a note 3 would be concerned about one handed operation, LOL.
I have he note 2 and “normal sized hands”. Test note 3 (based on specs) Almost the same case size. One handed use takes some getting used to. Typing one handed doesn’t get done as often, But mostly because with the realestate two thumbed typing is soon much faster (at least for me.) most of the other operations are a preference of what I feel like doing at the time. I have a razor max for my company supplied phone and now find the 4″ screen too small.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbJrAXP0W5Q
Skip to 7:25 to see one handed uses..
thats actually cool, its like having a “mini me” version of the Note 3 within the Note 3. lol
But i am like others posting below that if you are looking at the Note then one handed operation isn’t on your top most list.
No definetly not on the top of my list, but every once in awhile your gonna have to use the phone with one hand. Kudos to sammy for adding this feature..
On benchmarks your comparing it to older devices. Why not compare it to the G2 or the Xperia Z1, both of which run over 35000 on AnTuTu? The bottom line is Snapdragon 800 devices kill Snapdragon 600 devices and the Note 3 is a beast. But at least compare it to devices running the same processor.
Did you turn on the “smart stabilization” in the camera setting for the low lights photos? I notice that you didn’t include a low light photo in your samples. One with smart stabilization off and another one with it on would have shown the difference in quality.
“Number of features and learning curve may overwhelm beginners and novices” I don’t see this as a negative as people will only use what they need from the device. People usually don’t use all the features available on any given device.
“Size and faux leather back may not please all tastes” The size isn’t a negative because those who will buy this device are actually looking for a large screen phone/device. Now the faux leather back is a different story and even that is a personal opinion.
“Speaker sounds a bit tinny” I would agree with this but I haven’t tried the device myself. If it sounds louder then G-Nexus that would be a big plus on my book. It would’ve been nice if they would’ve done what HTC did and place the speakers on the front of the device. This may had helped with the sound quality.
At the end of all the negative that you found on the Note 3, I only see one and that is the speakers. In my case it would be a negative if the speakers sound like ones on the G-Nexus or worst.
Man, im sure most note 2 owners are holding out for the next one when their contract ends but you first time note owners are going to love this phone.
I’m a Note 1 holder and had been holding out for this for a long time. However, now that I”ve seen the Oppo N1, I will probably get that instead… Some awesome innovation there. Will miss the pen though, as well as the abundance of custom ROMs. :(
um how is it that phones now a days have the more computing power than my pc? i mean im sure ther are otyher pc,s out there that have insane specs, gut mostly they are gaming towers, how come there are no pc for the general public, with this price point and these specs?
If you’re referring to the on-contract price, it’s because companies cannot subsidize the price of PCs with a monthly bill like wireless companies can with cell phones. Preassembled PCs are also a lot more expensive than if you build them yourself. It’s actually quite easy to build a computer, and it doesn’t have to be a gaming monster either, it could be for any purpose, it all depends on the parts you pick.
oh, i mean i have always heard of building your own pc but i always thought it would be too difficult..i thought i would have to have more knowledge on pcs to build one.
PC’s use x86 processors. There is no comparison. A Pc at 1ghz or so would run circles around this thing.
When are they going to get rid of that giant physical home button?
Getting rid of the home button means they have to put the keys as soft keys on the screen, thus reducing the screen real estate. No thanks, I’d rather the keys be capacitative to maximize the screen usable area. Besides, I love using the home button to wake and then unlock the phone (just 2 clicks), instead of fiddling around for the power button and then sliding to unlock.
ummm or they can just make the Home button the same way as the Menu and Back button O.o
The advantage with a ‘real’ button (which you have to press down upon) is that it can’t be accidentally pressed so easily just by touching it, especially if you (like me) use the home button to wake and unlock.
I feel you
IF this is on SPRINT, is it TRI BAND ? Even the mods on the actual Sprint forums wont answer the question.
That question has been answered many times on XDA. Now I cat give you a full technical answer, but if I’m not mistaken, no its not tri-band. I believe it’s missing the 800 band? Someone can feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.
I personally wouldn’t care Bcuz after putting up with the horrid 3g they offer, it wouldn’t too much matter to me how strong the signal is on their LTE considering it’s still so much faster, even at 2.5 megs down.
Its been also answered on S4GRU that it is a single band phone, which is the main reason i was going to bypass getting it, since 800 LTE is fast being put into sites each day. A a single band device won’t get the extra frequencies. But after seeing all these latest reviews, I just might forego the Tri-Band fiasco and get it since I’m most likely to upgrade next year to the Note 4 with the One Up program on Sprint and that device would have all the Sprint frequencies.
Sprint’s press release states: “GSM: 850MHz, 900MHz, 1,800MHz and 1,900MHz; HSPA+/UMTS: 1,900MHz and 2,100MHz; Data roaming: GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSPA+ and WCDMA” Is that merely referring to international capablities?
Yes that is correct.
The fcc docs says it only supports band 25 so its a just single band lte phone.
I’d like to know this to. Currently [pderomg the LG g2 or the Note
It is 386 PPI, not 396 PPI. ;-))
Very good review Rob. You mention “Peeling off the Note 3′s plastic back cover yields the 3200 mAh battery, which you’ll need to remove for access to the MicroSD slot and SIM card”. Does that mean the the Sprint version has a removable sim card or is it still embedded? Any photos of the back without the cover and battery?
From the video, after he peels off the back cover, you can see that the SIM card slot is exposed and the microSD slot is right on top of it (it’s right above the top of the battery – silver slot). He was just saying that, in order to insert the microSD/SIM, you’d need to remove the battery.
When I made that comment the video was not up, a few hours later I revisited the blog and noticed it and saw.
Thanks
No worries. After I posted, I figured that’s what happened. A few people who had linked me the review didn’t see the video initially either (prior to Rob’s updating).
I think this is the best device must be owned this year.
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Android Indonesia
Wow, Shamesung in its best:
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/10/galaxy-note-3s-benchmarking-adjustments-inflate-scores-by-up-to-20/
Only neckbeards care
i just played with one of these at an AT&T corporate store. beautiful hardware. so light and thin and the display is so beautifully large and crisp. but as a Nexus user all of that heavy skin and bloatware is repulsive. and i despise hardware buttons.
cry me a river!
There may come a day when Android gets its act together and incorporate many of the features found in the Galaxy series such as air command, wacom digitizer, stylus, multiview windows and even sd-card slots into the Nexus brand, but until then, in my view, these so called bloatware features actually do give the users more flexibility in productive use of their devices.
that faux leather back looks sooo cheesy…and no way i can use this one handed…im out. should be gorgeous for games/movies/youtube/sports streams.
but cant get used to anyone within a foot of me can see what im doing on my phone.
You should just buy a gold iPhone to protect your glamourous image.
and pink fuzzy dice for the ultimate macdaddy look
lol. gold iPhone is more practical than this faux leather backed behemoth. Smh
I use the Note 2 one handed and I have medium sized hands.
Really? Unless your device has horse blinders,, what’s stopping anyone within a foot of you seeing what you are doing on your device of any display size?
As for the faux leather being cheesy, well I’ve seen plenty of accessories bags, cases that look and feel like leather without the added expense. Plus i would assume the faux or real leather back would prevent slippage as compared to a smooth non-textured plastic back cover.
Is the sprint version going to be tri band?
I really don’t believe that there is a better phone on the market.
After having my iPhone stolen from my baby cousins party at chuck-e- cheese. I finally have made the decision to join the android family and I have never been more excited to get my hands on a phone. This phone is packed with awesomeness and honestly I’ve had bad luck with iPhone all 4 years — so I feel excited! Nevertheless I am very happy with my decision and would be happier if my phone would ship tomorrow but as of now I don’t know if that will happen. I pre-ordered my Galaxy Note 3 with AT&T but seems like they are experiencing delays or a shortage so I guess I have to practice patience and continue living with out a phone ….
I agree with this article. Good work.
I just want to add for those who are leery about larger screens, I was also a bit hesitant when I opened the box of my then-new Galaxy Note 1. It looked huge and I was thinking maybe I made a mistake. But a couple of days in, I’ve adjusted to it and the benefits of a larger screen is really worth it vs comfortable one-hand usage.
That is how I felt with the first Note, thought it was too big, made a mistake, etc etc, but the feeling quickly went away after an hour at the most. Bigger screen for reading, videos, maps etc. Granted one will look funny using it as a phone next to ones head but in this day and age most use a bluetooth device or speaker phone. The Note 1 was very good, the Note 2 was great and with the features the Note 3 has it is simply awesome.
so tempted to upgrade my note 2
So the RAM is 3GB or 2.38GB? By pure simple math they are not the same and in your video and screen captures, most of all the RAM is in use…bummer but not a deal breaker. Now that I think about it, 2.38GB of RAM is available so I’m guessing the rest is reserved for system processes, anyone?
You never have the full RAM available for processes and apps. GPU takes RAM and also the modem/RIL.
Ahh, thank you kind sir, I knew there was a resonable explination and one with which I’m satisfied.
Incorrect analysis of camera features:
The Animated Photo options is definitely worth learning as it can definitely come in handy. Is your picture pretty much perfect except for some kid running around crazily in the background? Animated Photo will help you seclude the kid and essentially erase them from the picture… POOF
This is the eraser feature. Animated photo is used to create GIFs, where you can animate and freeze portions of the picture.
Had mine for a day now. Coming from a Nexus 4. I’m really loving it – even the Magazine/flipboard thing is nice:-)
Is it even remotely possible to use it one handed. like typing an email?
Not really no. I am used to typing with 2 hands though :-)
Thanks. I was hoping where it was just a bit smaller than the note 2 i messed with, that it might be possible.
actually you can shrink the screen to make it one hand usable.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGB2yDEjwnk
Thats actually kind of a neat feature.
The main problem I had with holding the note 2 with one hand was hitting the back button at the bottom right. I thought I was going to drop it trying to hit it one handed.
If they would put these specs in a 5.2 inch the size of the G2. They would sell a ton of them.
Is the processor 2.3 or 2.4. The review shows 2.3 at the top and 2.4 at the bottom. It should be 2.3.
If you want a less subjective review with more hard performance data, I found AnandTech’s review helpful:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7376/samsung-galaxy-note-3-review
meh
2 things that I really want to see more confirmation on, since I’ve seen it mentioned on several reviews/blogs/etc.:
1) Will any of the US providers actually be offering a 64gb version? From all the signs and announcements, everything has pointed towards there only being the 32gb version available, but there have been several reviews/articles (including Rob’s article above), that mention either a 32 or 64 being available w/ a micro SD slot.
2) Does the 32gb version (assuming that’s the one that Rob reviewed) have 25gb of available storage space, like the International version?
I was resigned to get the 32gb Sprint version, since there were no signs pointing to a 64 being available, but if there is a 64 scheduled to be released at some point, that would be (without a doubt) my first choice and I’d be willing to hold out for that.
FWIW: I bought a 64GB T-Mobile version off Ebay and the guy I bought from said they wouldn’t be available in-store for a while, but that corporate customers get first dibs (which is how he got it: corporate client)
Nice review. I’m so glad you included call quality. You nailed it perfectly:
Note 3 – Call Quality, Odds & Ends
We see it reviewed less and less, but believe it or not, mobile phones should still perform well as phones! You’ll find that the Galaxy Note 3 performs perfectly fine on Sprint’s network with both call connectivity and audio quality up to snuff.
Sooooooo proud that mine arrives from TMobile next day air, for free (thanks Customer Loyalty Department), today. I can’t wait to play with my black beauty. Damn it feels like the lead up to the first date with the sexiest person you’re ever met and they guaranteed you’d score.
Just sayin’
Ooooohhhhh don’t forget. $0 down right now too. They even billed me on the taxes that you usually pay upfront.
Why is the size a con, it’s Phablet…? It’s has it’s own category.. a hybrid phone /tablet.
I can’t se that i should be a problem and give a con.
My Uncle John just got an awesome silver Volkswagen CC by working online… hop over to these guys Jam20.ℂom
What’s up with the Note 3 loudspeaker? What’s up with the music quality overall?
The speaker port is same length as the N2 but only 1/2 the width. It looks like Samsung tried to copy iPhone’s poor design of its bottom-facing speaker port. I always thought a rear-facing speaker was bad idea as I tended to cup the back of the N2 to direct the sound forward, but down facing is worse.
Compared to the N2 people comment that the loudspeaker is tinny but to me it’s more “flat” – the treble is muffled a bit, the mid is muddled and the bass is weak (Amazon MP3 player, Rock setting, first 30 seconds repeatedly of 1901 by Phoenix). And this is after I went through the “Adapt Sound” feature on the N3 which helped quite a bit.
People said there was no difference between headphone use on the N2 and N3 but I could tell the difference. The overall music quality on the N3 was not as good even after using Adapt Sound. The treble is muted somewhat with less clear mid and less forceful bass.
I realize there are equalizer apps and all but I’m just comparing the phones out of the box which I’d expect the N3 to be at least as good if not better.