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#1
Prelude:
Hello friends, wazz up? As you guessed, I recently bought a Galaxy Note3 and this is a review of the same. Before the Note3, I was using the Sony Xperia S. Now, I am a huge Sony fan and I love their phones. I dont care what everyone think about Sony phones. I have used them for many years and I absolutely love their quality feel, good camera and no-nonsense software. Before the Xperia S, I had the Sony X10!
Now, it was time for a change. My phone had a lot of installed bloatware and it has become S-L-O-W! Okay, a factory reset could do the trick, but then I change my phone every 1.5 to 2 years.
Requirements:
Options considered:
I did not consider the S5 because it looks pathetic. Also, no non-android devices were considered for reasons stated above. I did like the Lenovo Vibe Z, but did not find anything special as far as the features or specs are concerned.
So, after a lot of thought, I finally picked the Note3 in black.
Looks:
Boring! It has some classy touches like the chrome band surrounding the sides, which by the way is again plastic! And the "mock" stitching effect on the "mock" leather on the back. I feel the Note3 looks better in black than in white. I have noticed that the black one has a better (rubberised) feel on the back cover when compared to the white one, which feel totally plastic. It has been confirmed in some reviews.
Feel:
Comfortable. As mentioned above, my hands are LARGE! The device is big, but it feels comfortable to hold. It easily slips into every pocket and one handed operation is a breeze thanks to the special software feature.
Hardware:
In short, I have the N9005 model which comes with Quad-core 2.3 GHz Krait 400, 3 GB RAM (that's more than my office desktop!), Snapdragon 800 processor, 5.7 inches screen, 32 GB storage (expandable upto an additional 64 GB card), Bluetooth 4.0, USB 3.0, 13 MP rear cam with 4128 x 3096 pixels and 4K video recording, 2 MP front cam (which by the way has outstanding clarity) and a 3200 mAh battery.
Software:
Out of the box, mine came with Android 4.3, but with an instant software update message. It is now running on 4.4.2, Kitkat. As expected, Samsung has loaded a lot of bloatware in it which cannot be un-installed unless you root the phone. Thankfully the phone is powerful enough to handle all these apps. Some apps like Group Play, Action Memo, Watch On and S Health are useful though.
Features:
This is a never ending section! I would recommend you guys watch "Note3 tips and tricks" videos on YouTube, if you are interested.
I personally use the following features a lot:
Screen:
The Note3's screen is good, bright colours and lot of contrast, but some elements look artificial. Nevertheless, you will enjoy the screen primarily because of it's real estate!
Camera:
I like it. I guess, it is not the best camera around, but it is more than sufficient. Its a simply point and shoot camera and works very well in Auto mode, good for noobs like me. It lacks OIS though and hence, images in low light can end up being blurred if you dont have steady hands. In general, low light photos come out average. Day light ones are very good.
Performance:
Quick. No lag or hiccups whatsoever. Even when you are multitasking with many apps together, the phone performs like a breeze. I have observed the phone getting a little hot when you are playing a lot of games though. Web pages in particular load quickly and switching between apps and pages is fast.
S-pen:
One of the main reasons I bought the Note3 is because it has the stylus. I dont know about others, but I personally use it a lot. The Note3's stylus in particular has a lot of cool features which makes your phone's keyboard almost reduntant. You can use it to jot down names and phone numbers and instruct the phone to automatically save it in phone book or call that person. You can write an address and search for it in maps. You can write an email ID and send a mail to that person. You can send messages, create tasks or even search in the web. And all of the above works beautifully well. I use the S pen the most of sending whatsapp messages, the handwriting recognition is excellent.
You can even create excel sheets, word documents, presentations with pie charts, bar graphs, etc. I wont do that but I am just stating some of the endless possibilities.
Scrapbook is another cool thing.
S cover:
I dont like cover with flaps, as it makes one handed operation difficult. So, I will not get the cover. All I got is a screen protector.
Battery life:
Firstly, the phone charges really quick. In my case, with medium usage, the phone lasts about 1.5 days. With light usage, you can use it for 2 days.
What I like:
What I dislike:
Hello friends, wazz up? As you guessed, I recently bought a Galaxy Note3 and this is a review of the same. Before the Note3, I was using the Sony Xperia S. Now, I am a huge Sony fan and I love their phones. I dont care what everyone think about Sony phones. I have used them for many years and I absolutely love their quality feel, good camera and no-nonsense software. Before the Xperia S, I had the Sony X10!
Now, it was time for a change. My phone had a lot of installed bloatware and it has become S-L-O-W! Okay, a factory reset could do the trick, but then I change my phone every 1.5 to 2 years.
Requirements:
- I needed a phone with a big screen size! We are taking upwards of 5" here. Now, I know many people detest big phones, but I like them. They feel comfortable on my large hands and the huge screen makes typing, web browsing and other stuff a joy.
- Good camera. Yea, that's important. I dont need the best camera in the business, but atleast the phone should be able to take good quality pics when I need it to.
- It SHOULD be an Android. I cant stress more how important this is. I have tried my hands on the iOS and Lumia (courtesy our member Raja), but I still love Android. My life literally revolves around Gmail, Google Calender, Google Maps and YouTube! I personally would benefit a lot from Google services like Google Now and so, it's best that I stick to Android.
- Lots of features. I am a tech geek and I love lots of features, be it in cars or phones.
Options considered:
- Sony Xperia Z2: This was on top of my list. Of course, it was a Sony. It was beautiful to look at. It looked "expensive" for that price. I personally feel it looks better than the iPhone and is just a notch below the HTC M8. It had a superb camera. But then, it was not substantially different from my current Sony. I mean, it's a lot better but then the core software is still the same. I figured I would get bored of it very soon. And it was not really loaded with features when compared to competition.
- HTC M8: Had everything I wanted, except that it had a not-so-good 4 ultrapixel camera. I read tons of reviews regarding the camera of M8 and the unanimous opinion is that it cannot stand next to it's immediate competition.
- Nexus 5: The only two reasons that I did not consider this phone is because I have heard that Google is going to stop the Nexus series and secondly, the camera/features was not a worthwhile upgrade from my current phone.
- Samsung Galaxy Note3: Okay, I hate Samsung. I literally hate them for making plastic boxes in the name of phones. I also hate them for being so un-imaginative with the design of their phones. It is so old and stale now. Finally, most Android users have Samsung in their hands. I did not want to be a part of the crowd. But the Note3 in particular offered me almost everything I was looking for in a phone. More on that later...
I did not consider the S5 because it looks pathetic. Also, no non-android devices were considered for reasons stated above. I did like the Lenovo Vibe Z, but did not find anything special as far as the features or specs are concerned.
So, after a lot of thought, I finally picked the Note3 in black.
Looks:
Boring! It has some classy touches like the chrome band surrounding the sides, which by the way is again plastic! And the "mock" stitching effect on the "mock" leather on the back. I feel the Note3 looks better in black than in white. I have noticed that the black one has a better (rubberised) feel on the back cover when compared to the white one, which feel totally plastic. It has been confirmed in some reviews.
Feel:
Comfortable. As mentioned above, my hands are LARGE! The device is big, but it feels comfortable to hold. It easily slips into every pocket and one handed operation is a breeze thanks to the special software feature.
Hardware:
In short, I have the N9005 model which comes with Quad-core 2.3 GHz Krait 400, 3 GB RAM (that's more than my office desktop!), Snapdragon 800 processor, 5.7 inches screen, 32 GB storage (expandable upto an additional 64 GB card), Bluetooth 4.0, USB 3.0, 13 MP rear cam with 4128 x 3096 pixels and 4K video recording, 2 MP front cam (which by the way has outstanding clarity) and a 3200 mAh battery.
Software:
Out of the box, mine came with Android 4.3, but with an instant software update message. It is now running on 4.4.2, Kitkat. As expected, Samsung has loaded a lot of bloatware in it which cannot be un-installed unless you root the phone. Thankfully the phone is powerful enough to handle all these apps. Some apps like Group Play, Action Memo, Watch On and S Health are useful though.
Features:
This is a never ending section! I would recommend you guys watch "Note3 tips and tricks" videos on YouTube, if you are interested.
I personally use the following features a lot:
- S pen: More on that later
- Screen Mirroring: To wirelessly watch my phone's content on the TV
- One handed operation: To use the phone with a single hand... the phone's screen size shrinks to a smaller area. Even useful buttons like home, back, menu and volume is accessible.
- Air gestures: Occasionally, I prefer using air gestures to slide between images, music tracks or to have a quick glance at the time and notifications without waking up the phone.
- Air view: Hover the S pen or finger over anything and a pop up with useful information is shown.
- Smart screen: Stays on as long as you are looking at the screen. Useful for reading articles on web pages.
- Multi window: Want to watch youtube videos and chat on Whatsapp at the same time? No problem. Want to surf the web and send a mail to your collegue at the same time? No problem. Want to copy-paste content between two multi windows? No problem. Want multiple windows within multi window? Again, no problem!
Screen:
The Note3's screen is good, bright colours and lot of contrast, but some elements look artificial. Nevertheless, you will enjoy the screen primarily because of it's real estate!
Camera:
I like it. I guess, it is not the best camera around, but it is more than sufficient. Its a simply point and shoot camera and works very well in Auto mode, good for noobs like me. It lacks OIS though and hence, images in low light can end up being blurred if you dont have steady hands. In general, low light photos come out average. Day light ones are very good.
Performance:
Quick. No lag or hiccups whatsoever. Even when you are multitasking with many apps together, the phone performs like a breeze. I have observed the phone getting a little hot when you are playing a lot of games though. Web pages in particular load quickly and switching between apps and pages is fast.
S-pen:
One of the main reasons I bought the Note3 is because it has the stylus. I dont know about others, but I personally use it a lot. The Note3's stylus in particular has a lot of cool features which makes your phone's keyboard almost reduntant. You can use it to jot down names and phone numbers and instruct the phone to automatically save it in phone book or call that person. You can write an address and search for it in maps. You can write an email ID and send a mail to that person. You can send messages, create tasks or even search in the web. And all of the above works beautifully well. I use the S pen the most of sending whatsapp messages, the handwriting recognition is excellent.
You can even create excel sheets, word documents, presentations with pie charts, bar graphs, etc. I wont do that but I am just stating some of the endless possibilities.
Scrapbook is another cool thing.
S cover:
I dont like cover with flaps, as it makes one handed operation difficult. So, I will not get the cover. All I got is a screen protector.
Battery life:
Firstly, the phone charges really quick. In my case, with medium usage, the phone lasts about 1.5 days. With light usage, you can use it for 2 days.
What I like:
- S Pen
- Screen Size
- Comfortable to hold
- Some useful features
- Good camera
What I dislike:
- Looks
- Samsung is too common now!
Last edited:
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