31st March 2014
Members Review Phone Feedback by piperdog123 (aka Nick) of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (N9005).
My Thoughts:
Having had Samsung handsets a number of times (my current is a Samsung Galaxy S4), I had a good idea of what to expect..............or so I thought.
If you are used to Samsung Galaxy products, then this handset follows a fairly consistent approach with a BIG BUT..........it does everything better. This handset is not for the faint hearted. It is fast, very fast.
Plus points:
- Large screen (5.7inch)
- 3gb RAM
- 2.3ghz quad processor
- No lag when using handset either on 3g or wifi
- Samsung S Pen
- Upgradeable memory up to 64gb
- Well built, feels a premium product
- Easy integration with all things Google & Android
- Improved signal v Samsung Galaxy S4
- Volume up and down on left hand side easy to reach
- Large battery, longer than usual battery life
Negative Points:
- Power button on right hand side not overly responsive
- It is a big beast - only just fits in the hand and can be "awkward" to handle
Setting Up
For those familiar with the Samsung Galaxy suite, this will offer few surprises. The set up was quick, took less than 5 minutes from start to finish (assumes you already have a Google Account).
The back cover is easy to remove whilst secure. The battery slips out easily enough to allow insertion of memory card and micro sim card. (Sim card insertion can be slightly fiddly). Both cards fit behind the cover / battery so hot-swapping of SD card not possible.
Of course, if you dont have Google Account or Samsung Account already then set up will take a little longer.
As always with the Samsung Galaxy suite, there are many settings and it can take the user a little while to set the handset up in the way the individual may want it. However this is a definite positive, more choice to the consumer.
Operating System
Arrived with Android 4.3 and as soon as it connected to my wifi in came 4.4.2 KitKat.
All the usual Samsung and Google kit which is now familiar in KitKat along with some o2 applications which come as standard.
During the trial, I experienced absolutely no issues with any of the software that came with the phone, or that came with the KitKat update. I also downloaded a number of the apps that I have on my S4 and again no issues were experienced.
The device comes with "Polaris Office" software which allows for conversion of Microsoft documents into a version that Android can handle. Polaris worked well with the basic files I worked on (word & pictures). The S Pen comes with additional software including an "air" feature so it is not necessary to actually touch the screen with the S Pen to use some of its functions. The S Pen was very focussed and easy to use.
Battery
One of the hottest topics with all smartphones is the battery. And the Note 3 excels in this area with a 3200mah. In order to provide a fair assessment, I tried various levels of usage and found as follows:
- EXTREME use (i.e. 2.5 hours streaming on 3g, 2.5 hours on wifi, 1 hour on calls and 1 hour texting etc) battery lasted about 8 hours.
- HEAVY use (i.e. about 1 hour streaming on 3g, 3 hours online, 1 hour on calls and 1 hour using phone with screen on) battery lasted almost a waking day.
- MEDIUM use (i.e. 2 hours of calls / texting, 4 hours online), battery easily lasted a day without charge.
- AVERAGE use (i.e. 1 hour of calls / texting, 2 hours online), battery lasted a day and a half.
Internet
With 3gb of RAM and 2.3 ghz quad processor, need I say more? This is the fastest handheld I had ever used and had absolutely no issue with it whatever I asked it to do.
I opted to use the Internet icon although the handset also offers Google Chrome which I did use a couple of times and gave a similar performance.
Signal Strength
2g / 3g:
This might sound a strange one to include, however in my area I struggle with poor 2g at home and weak 3g at work using my S4. NOT with the Note 3. Signal strength stronger and more reliable with signal achieved in places where the S4 had none.
Wifi:
Good performance with no issues either at home or out and about
Bluetooth:
Good performance with no issues.
Push services:
GMail, Facebook, Samsung all sync'd with no issues and was generally almost immediate with Facebook being the quickest generally.
TuGo
Given that the handset was being used in an area of poor 2g signal (home) where, with the S4 signal was patchy at best, I decided to install Tugo to see if this would improve the customer experience. (please see my separate post in the official TuGo thread).
The Note 3 handled TuGo exceptionally well to the point where the only issues were around notification settings within Tugo!
Call Quality
Yes, mobile phones (even these phablets) are designed to make calls as well as use the internet (although this particular handset is aimed towards the heavy internet user more than a heavy caller). Call quality is good, similar to the S4, with easy to access volume control even with the screen locked. With stronger signal, people I spoke to had little trouble hearing me and in the settings it is also possible to reduce background noise to improve the customer experience.
Notifications
Indoors, no issues with inbound notifications easy to identify.
Outdoors, missed calls more often than not although once I had got used to a new ring tone.........
Screen
The Note 3 is nicknamed a "phablet", i.e. part way between a mobile phone and a tablet. The screen is a whopping 5.7 inches in HD with amoled glass. The touch screen is very user friendly and responsive. Brightness can be auto set or adjusted by the user manually very swiftly.
This handset comes into its own, however, when watching stream tv such as BT Sport (in HD). The screen is big enough to watch sports events (a big thing for many).
Use of the keyboard is also made easier by the larger screen as the keys are that little bit bigger and so (for those with big fingers and thumbs) is a boon! Of course there is also the Samsung S Pen although in practice if you are familiar with texting on a screen then it is probably quicker to use your fingers.
As you would expect with Samsung, the home screen(s) are extremely customisable either by Apps or Widgets, and you can have several home pages available at the same time.
Picture Quality on the Note 3 is excellent.
Camera
As a high end smartphone, Samsung provide a 13.2 mp camera at the rear and 2mp at the front.
Video quality is excellent in HD (for a phone).
Picture quality is excellent (for a phone) although each picture can take a couple of seconds to process so catching that special picture at a moment's notice may be challenging.
Comes with a suite of software and pictures can be edited using the inbuilt software and the S Pen. That said, many of the software functions are also available in the S4 (without S Pen) although the S Pen does make editing much simpler.
Would I Recommend This Phone?
If you like a larger screen / phone then without a doubt I would recommend this phone.
It is by far the best handset I have ever been fortunate enough to use.
There are so many plus points to this handset that it would take all day to read them! I fell in love with this phone during the week I was trialling it and I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending this handset.
Having never had an Apple device, I am unable to compare the Note 3 to any of their products.
The full specifications for this handset are available at:
http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/mobile-devices/galaxy-note/smartphones/SM-N9005ZWEBTU
Conclusion
A super piece of kit which is well built, easy to use, reliable and with a whole host of kit under the bonnet.
Finally, THANK YOU to @Toby and the team for letting me trial this handset as part of the Device Loan Trial scheme. This is my first device loan trial and my first review. I hope you enjoyed reading it.
48 Comments
