The Galaxy Note series is a line of phablet devices that Samsung targets at business. Their big screen in combination with the pressure-sensitive S Pen stylus is a huge help with office tasks, browsing, note-taking and basically anything that includes information storing and managing. The Note devices might not be everyone’s choice for a smartphone because of their large dimensions, but the latest Note 3 has it all to blow away phablet competition.
The Note 3 has undergone quite a few upgrades, including a few stylish design decisions
Stay tuned for our two part video review on the Note 3.
Compared to its predecessor, the Note 3, has undergone quite a few upgrades, including a few stylish design decisions. It is really a pleasant surprise to see something different than glossy plastic on a Samsung device. Of course it is still here under a really chic leather cover. Besides looking great, the leather back provides a comfortable grip, which is nice and soft to the touch. The leather material has an effective stitched edging. On the Note 3 Samsung has compensated the increase of display size with a slimmer profile – only 8.3 mm and less weight at 168gr.
Note 3’s biggest charm is its impressive fullHD AMOLED display
Yes, it’s still a big handset, especially put on the ear but super easy to handle and use as a tablet. If your hands are small like mine the only discomfort comes from the need to constantly move your hands in order to reach the power key, the volume rocker and then back down to the capacitive keys. However, the S Pen stylus managed to make overall navigation easy and quick.
And still Note 3’s biggest charm is its impressive fullHD AMOLED display. Samsung has pushed up screen size a little bit from the 5.5-inches in the Note 2 to the more hand-challenging 5.7 inches here. The 1920×1080 pixel resolution results in the superb sharp and crisp 385ppi density. Note 3 gorgeous bright display puts competition phablets to shame. The high contrast levels here go wonderful with the vivid colors and deep blacks, viewing angles are also very wide. Depending on the light conditions and the kind of tasks you are involved with, the Note 3 offers 3 different screen modes: Adapt display, Dynamic, Standard, Professional Photo and Movie. Each one adjusts the display with different color levels and contrast so that it looks best for you.
When you pull the digital pen out a palette of 5 features called Air Command automatically opens on the screen.
Just behind the display, you can find Note3’s best friend – the S Pen. It comes out from its bed on the right backside of the device. The company has definitely worked towards engaging the stylus more in the work process, making the whole experience complete. When you pull the digital pen out a palette of 5 features called Air Command automatically opens on the screen.
Air Command is inspired by the Air View feature which we saw first on the S4 flagman. You don’t need to go all the way down to touch the sensor display because it is able to detect your finger from a distance. Now this function is supported also with the digital S Pen stylus. Action Memo is first of them. It activates all kinds of flexible ways to write memos directly on the screen and then save them as memos, links, contacts or tasks. The next feature is called Scrapbook.
Air Command is inspired by the Air View feature which we saw first on the S4 flagman
It works very simple, say you liked an article, a picture or a pair of shoes online – just go ahead and draw a circle around it and it will be saved on in your scrapbook archive. S Finder makes your searches faster and easier as it offers plenty of search filters both on the device and online so basically your searches are unlimited.
The next one is called Pen Window. This is a very simple and yet useful feature. It all comes down to opening and arranging windows in the most comfortable to you way. For example you are browsing and you need to quickly calculate something – you draw a box and the chosen application fits in, something like an advanced multitasking.
