Samsung has announced the Galaxy Note 3 smartphone, a device that promises to be demonstrably faster than its predecessor while keeping the tradition of being thinner, lighter and more compact than the Note II.
The 5.7-inch device has been upgraded to 1920×1080 pixels, and at 168 grams and 8.3mm thick, it’s actually thinner and lighter than the Note II. It comes with a soft-touch, textured backing in three colours, black, white and pink.
The backside of the Galaxy Note 3 features a 13-megapixel camera which is capable of 4K video recording and a faux leather cover. Sandwiched in-between those parts is a Quad-core 2.3 GHz Krait 400 (for the LTE model) / Quad-core 1.9 GHz Cortex-A15 & quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A7 (For the 3G model) with 3GB of RAM, 32GB/64GB storage expandable up to 64GB and a 3,200mAh battery. As expected, it runs on Android 4.3 with TouchWIZ.
“We introduced the original Galaxy Note in 2011 and launched a whole new smart device category. The undeniable success of the Galaxy Note strengthened our conviction that consumers want higher quality features for smart devices and they want those new features to make their lives better,” said JK Shin, CEO and President of IT & Mobile Division at Samsung Electronics.
“Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is a powerful, original approach that enables users to tell the stories of their lives through dynamic and seamless expressions of their passions across work, play and life experiences. With a simple click of the S Pen button, users can unlock opportunities for self-expression, features that transform everyday activities into extraordinary events and access to new experiences delivered to them on Note 3’s larger screen”.
The Note 3 also comes with a few interesting software features, including Air Command, an on-screen portal to four specific features:
- Action Memo – Quick handwritten notes that can be converted into actions. For example, you can write out someone’s name, phone number and address and the software will automatically parse the data and add him or her to your address book.
- Scrapbook – Basically a mobile Evernote Web Clipper, this allows you to grab pieces of web page — text or photo — and save it in various notebooks
- Screen Write – Full screen memos with annotations
- S Finder – Finds content online or in the phone just by entering keywords
- Pen Window – Arguably the most interesting piece of the puzzle, it allows users to open a separate app in a window size of your choosing, overlaid on top of another app. For example, if you’re chatting about expenses with your wife or husband in the SMS app, you can overlay a calculator on top and perform the addition without leaving the app.
There’s also a new and improved Multi Window feature, which now allows for data sharing and interaction between apps.
Samsung has also done plenty of work to the S-Pen. The stylus is now more a part of the Galaxy Note 3 than ever before.
‘The S-Pen is now the key that unlocks all the power, functionality and features of the Galaxy Note 3.’ Samsung detailed the following new attributes of its S-Pen at launch:
- Action Memo allows users to handwrite a note and automatically execute a function or convert that handwritten information into formatted content. 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
- Air Command – hold the S-Pen on the Galaxy Note 3’s display and it brings up five Quick Commands in a circular menu. The idea here is to allow for quick note taking from anywhere in the Galaxy Note 3’s UX.
- Scrapbook enables users to organise 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. When consumers save content for future use, Scrapbook also collects source material or URLs allowing them to easily refer back to the original source
- 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. In addition, users can also search for hand-written content in their Notes and memo applications, as well as symbols and formulas
- 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. Simply by drawing a window of any size, anywhere on the screen, users can easily and quickly open another application window such as YouTube, calculator or Browser without pausing current activity on the screen
The new Galaxy Note 3 is slated to begin rolling out to consumers on Sept. 25, and Samsung says that it’ll eventually hit 140 countries around the globe. This new Note is expected to be available worldwide in October. Stay tuned for pricing information!
Expect an iGyaan style review soon!
