After getting my Samsung Galaxy S3, Ive been showered by advertisement telling me to get the great next thing. I caved in and decided to upgrade my phone to the Samsung galaxy Note 3; Ive always thought that the phablets will always be too big for me, and includes features that I will never need. However, after juggling whether or not i wanted a phone and a tablet or simply have a phablet, I have made the right investment. Large screen, light weight and powerful - the Samsung Note 3 definitely exceeded my expectation and allows me to do more on my phone.
First impression:
At first glance, you will think that the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is heavy due to its screen size - weighing at about 5.93 oz but the weight is distributed so well that the phone actually feels very light; at 5.7 inch in screen the phone sits comfortably on my hand. The Note 3 comes with an interesting back design, which has a leather like pattern, yet is plastic. One feature that makes the Note 3 stands out is the S pen, which allows you to navigate through your snow and access pen only features (which we will get into). Pen is super responsive and allows me to throw away my pen and paper notes and go all digital. The phone also packs up multiple sensors that can help you use your phone better (air gesture, eye tracking, ect.). As always, changing phones between android is seamless as all my contacts and setting are pretty much synced together once I sign in to my accounts.
Test Drive:
Like I said, if you are upgrading from an Android phone (especially Samsung phones) you will not have a problem in getting your information transferred. Browsing around the phone, I feel that it is snappier and very responsive. Samsung also added feature that allows you to control your phone, they added sensors to track your eyes which allows phone to stay active as long as you are looking at it, or scroll through webpages when you are done reading them. They also includes air gesture that offers similar function except with gesture. I personally only used the face tracker as I read a lot on the phone and it keeps my phone from shutting even though I have not touched it in awhile. The larger screen allows you to have more real estate areas especially when you are trying to multitask (using the multiple window feature) or the pen window. 4G connectivity is solid and phone signal is much stronger then the previous model as now I am getting reception in places where my old phone could not. The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 sports a 13 Mega Pixel camera, which takes pretty decent pictures, the camera by default was not setup to its maximum resolution so be sure to change them otherwise you will get pictures with lower quality on your big screen.
The highlight of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is the S pen, and I am in love with it. The main difference of the S pen compared to a regular stylus is that it has a sharp tip, giving you precision when you are going to write/draw with it. The S pen is stored conveniently in the bottom right of the phone, and when you take it out it will prompt an S pen menu that allows you to do awesome stuff:
- Action Memo: popped out a sticky page that you can write on with different per colors. Good for taking quick notes
- Scrap Booker: Draw a shape on the screen to keep them in your scrapbook for reference later
- Screen Write: Able to instantly write on your screen and save it as an image
- S Finder: Able to find various things both in your phone and online
- Pen Window: Draws a small window and is able to run compatible adds using the window size you drew.
The pen is very responsive and is able to detect my handwriting pretty well to be transcribed to text.
Battery life is one of the best thing I enjoyed out of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. With the USB 3.0, the phone charges from 1% to full within about 3 hours and is able to hold that charge for about a day. With my usual use of the phone (email sync, occasional texting, soundcloud, and reading a couple of chapters from Play book) the battery in the phone stayed for the whole day before I need to charge it (around 8.00 AM - 9.00 PM), which really makes me feel more comfortable using my phone knowing that it will last for the day.
Conclusion:
The main reason I wanted to invest on a phablet was because I was torn apart between getting a phone and a tablet, with the unlimited internet I have in my phone I do no want to have another device where I have to pay extra for internet; I also do not want to worry about charging another device before I go to bed. With a phablet like this, I do not have to worry about having 2 devices but still have the real estate of a tablet but the convenience of a phone. The S pen removed my need of carrying pen and paper the whole time as it will be in my phone and the long battery life gives me a worry free use of the phone. As a student, I dont think I have pushed the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 to its limit - but it sure has succeeded what I needed. Prices has been varied online between $600 - $800, if you can snatch up a deal (such as getting it with a contract for U.S. Carrier) this phone is definitely worth every bang of its buck.
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