Thursday, Nov 28, 2013
Dubai
Samsung’s third iteration of phablet (smartphone-tablet combo) - Note 3 - is targeted at niche segment and will not have the broad appeal as the Galaxy S4.
It will definitely be huge for some with small hands and very comfortable for some with big hands. But Samsung has managed to make the Note 3 smaller than Note 2. It weighs just 168 grams instead of the 183 grams for Note 2.
The 5.7 inch device with a 1080 x 1920 Super AMOLED display has 386 pixels per inch (ppi), so because of the bigger screen size it is not as sharp as Galaxy S4’s 441 ppi, but a big step up from Galaxy Note 2’s 1,280-by-720 pixels and 267ppi. The screen is really bright and colours are really bright and crisp.
The Note 3 has the metal frame around the edge of the device same as Galaxy S4 to give it a premium feel.
The newly-added feature is at the back of the device. The polycarbonate cover, which Samsung is using regularly for its devices, is changed to give it a leather-like finish and it also gives a better grip than the usual plastic cover.
The Note 3 has two versions. The LTE version will be powered by 2.3GHz quad-core processor while the 3G version has a 1.9GHz octa-core processor along with 3GB RAM and 32/64GB storage capacity. It runs on latest Android 4.3 Jelly Bean operating system with its propriety TouchWiz user interface over the top.
With multi-tasking and multi-window features, a user can get additional set of apps on the left side of the display by holding down the back key for some seconds. A user can drag and drop on to the screen to open the app in the multi-window format.
To make things easier to operate with one hand, Note 3 can adjust the position of the dialing keypad, lock screen pattern and the position of the keyboard.
The main advantage of the Note 3 is the S Pen. Samsung has overhauled the design and software capabilities of the stylus.
When you take the stylus out from the back of the device, it vibrates and a circular new Air Command menu pops up with five options - Action memo, Scrap booker, Screen write, S Finder and Pen window.
Action Memo can instantly initiate a call, add to contacts, look up an address on a map, search the web, save a task to a to-do list, and more
Scrapbook enables users to organize or track down content and information from various sources including the web, YouTube and Gallery in one place so that users can easily look back at collected content all at once.
The Screen Write feature captures the full screen image of the current page on the device and allows users to write comments or additional information onto the captured image.
S Finder allows users to expansively search for content on their device regardless of the type. By putting in keywords or filters such as date, location, and content type, users can search related documents, events, communication threads, and even the Help page - all in one place.
Pen Window allows users to use the S Pen not only for drawing sketches or writing notes, but now also for opening a small application window for a true multitasking experience.
The responsiveness of the stylus is superb and the stylus also gives the option to hand write your messages. The handwriting recognition is very accurate and it also lets you scribble on screen.
The S Translate is very useful and works splendidly as it lets users speak in one language and hear the phone speak them back in another.
The powerful 13MP auto focus LED camera with 4x digital zoom has the same fancy features found on the Galaxy S4 and the 2MP front-facing camera is good for video conferencing.
The 12 fancy features are good but a user has to remember to turn on the features when taking a photo as Note 3 cannot do these features on auto mode.
Snaps taken with the large sensor are well defined and detailed with brilliant colours in bright light but in low-light it disappoints.
The high dynamic range (HDR) mode on Note 3 is excellent to produce detail-filled shots.
The Note 3 supports 4K (3840 x 2160) recording at 30 frames per second but a user can enjoy only if he has a 4K TV or monitor.
The main camera can record Full HD at 60 frames per second and 720p at 120 frames per second for slow motion. The front camera can record 720p at 30 frames per second.
Watching videos on the big screen is impressive and the colours are well detailed.
The Note 3 has Samsung’s enterprise security solution - Knox - which can be used for both personal and work activities without compromising corporate security.
Regarding connectivity, it has WiFI, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 4.0, DLNA, wireless hotspot and NFC.
One notable aspect is that it’s charging point is not a standard micro USB plug. The device actually supports the USB 3.0 for faster file transfer.
Batter life is impressive. The 3200mAh battery compared to 3100mAh of Note 2 can withstand more than a day with average use of emailing, a few calls, web surfing and watching videos. Users can get more battery life by turning the power saving mode. Heavy users will get almost 16 hours of battery life. It is priced at Dh2799 for 3G and Dh2999 for 4G.
By Naushad K Cherrayil Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
