I’m sure it will come as no surprise to readers of our blog, that Samsung officially unveiled the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, their third generation phablet. The Galaxy Note series started with a 5.3 inch display and with the Note 2, Samsung increased the size to 5.5 inches. With the Note 3, Samsung have once again increased the screen size. This time around, the Galaxy phablet features a 5.7 inch display and despite offering more screen real estate, the Galaxy Note 3 isn’t any wider than the Galaxy Note 2. In fact, the Note 3 is thinner and lighter than the Samsung Galaxy Note 2.
The Note 3 measures in at 151.2mm tall, 79.2mm across and is just 8.3mm thin and weighs 168g. In comparison, the Galaxy Note 2 is 151mm by 80.5mm and 9.4mm thin and weighs in at 183g.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 3’s 5.7 inch display offers up a full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 which gives it a PPI of 386. It is powered by 3GB of RAM and will either feature a quad core 2.3GHz processor or an octa core 1.9GHz processor. The 4G/LTE model will feature the quad core processor, while the 3G version will be equipped with the octa core CPU. All that processing power requires a powerful battery and Samsung have put a 3200mAh battery in the Note 3.
Other hardware specifications include a 13 megapixel which is capable of recording 4K video at 30fps. If you don’t have a 4K TV or intend shooting in 4K, the Note 3 also of course records in lower resolutions, including 1080p which offers 60fps. After taking 13 megapixel photos and recording in 4K or 1080p, you’ll need somewhere to store the media files. Don’t have a microSD card? No problem, the Note 3 will be available as standard with 32GB of in built memory. There will also be a 64GB model available. If you do have a microSD card, the Note 3 has a slot for it. With regards to connectivity, the Note 3 will of course offer WiFi (802 a/b/g/n/ac), GPS, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, NFC, MHL 2.0 and an IR LED.
Design wise, Samsung appear to have taken a step backwards. Instead of the “pebble shape” we’ve seen on the S3, Note 2 and S4, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 reminds us of the Galaxy S2 and the first Galaxy Note handset, it’s more square than rounded and this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It looks really sleek and Samsung have moved away from the plastic back that so many felt was the Note 2’s only let down. Instead the Note 3 features a fake leather back, with a stitch effect. The Note 3 will be available in Jet Black, Classic White or Blush Pink
The Note 3 isn’t all about the hardware though, Samsung have added some pretty cool new features to the software of the Note 3. You get a lot of the features of the Note 2, which many features being improved, such as the multi-tasking window. It is now possible to open the same app up in both windows and transfer data between the two. The S-Pen has been improved and with it comes new S-Pen software tweaks such as “Action Memo”. For example, write down a name and number and Action Memo is pretty good at hand writing recognition and will allow you to action the memo, ie adding the name and number as a contact. Similarly there are a lot of features from the S4 included on the Note 3 such as S Health and Smart Scroll. There are so many great new features that writing about them really doesn’t do them justice and as such, Samsung have released a six minute video walking through some of the new features found on the Note 3 which you can watch below. Before that though, let’s talk availability. The Note 3 will be released in many countries on September 25th, including the UK and the US. It will be available globally in October though. Exact pricing is currently unknown but, as we draw nearer to September 25th I’m sure we’ll hear more details about that.
