Yesterday Samsung also unveiled the new and improved Galaxy Note 3 to the world. While it is not the complete makeover some may have expected, it is ‘noteworthy’ (pun intended). They beefed up the internals, improved build materials, and used a lot of Armor-All to polish up the S-Pen and overall interactions w/ the TouchWiz UX software. More of our 1st impressions below.
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| The Note 3 (left) next to the Note II (right) |
- Samsung streamlined the design of the Note II and made the newer model thinner & lighter. The display on the Note 3 is bigger but is overall smaller than the Note II. The bezel is smaller as the device is slimmer and offers a more narrow look by increasing the screen by 0.2 inches.
- Instead of the atypical plastic shell Samsung is notorious for, they went with a faux leather for the rear w/ stitching that sounds like a poor choice in materials but works and feels like a premium product. Not sure how well the new materials will stand up against the elements as well as the plastics.
- The Note 3 borrows the same 13MP rear-shooter form Galaxy S4, complete w/ backside illuminated sensor, auto-focus + zero shutter lag. All of the camera software features from the GS4 are present as well like slow-motion video recording as well.
- Samsung made sure to make the S-Pen the complete package as you can use it everywhere on the Note 3 including the Back & Menu capacitive buttons. The design of the stylus hasn’t changed much but the digitalizer built-into the display provides a more accurate reader when writing w/ the S-Pen. I found it interesting that they made the S-Pen on the Note 3 works w/ the Note II with no additional software as well as the stylus can go into its slot anyway now instead of having to be lined up specifically like on the Note II.
- Instead using Air View, you now have Air Command as your new hub for S-Pen apps or just to execute a quick editing. You just hover like you are using Air View and click the button to access apps like Action Memos, Pen Window, S-Finder, & Scrapbook.
- Action Memos allows you to turn your notes into actions like after writing a contact & phone number, you can either save it as a contact or call the person. Pen Window allows you to create a secondary window of any size to pull a 2nd app like Pop-Up Window. S-Finder acts like Windows Explorer or Finder to find emails, files, etc anywhere through your device. And Scrapbook allows you to take any photo, videos, or content to save for later.
- Multi Window get s a whole lot more useful w/ the new software. You can now use any 2 apps along w/ share/drag-and-drop content between windows to interact with each other more.
The Galaxy Note 3 is expected to launch within the next few weeks for all carriers. Expect to see notifications for individual carriers. Look forward to handling it a bit more for the full review.
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