Samsung galaxy note 3 black. Samsung Galaxy Note III – bigger, faster, more powerful. Processor and operating system

Smartphone line Galaxy Note occupies a special place in the Samsung lineup. On the one hand, the company does not position them as flagships, but on the other, the importance of the model is growing every year. According to JK Shin, president and head of Samsung's IT and mobile communications division, the first and second Notes sold more than 38 million units, and the company predicts that the Note 3 will sell more than 10 million. Not bad as for a category of devices that didn’t even exist three years ago. Samsung really invented a successful form factor and is now trying to strengthen its position. But will the company be able to continue to successfully sell smartphones that come close to tablets? Let's look at the example of the Galaxy Note 3.

Design

The look of the previous two versions of Note was based on Galaxy flagships S, but not everyone likes glossy plastic and Samsung decided to create its own design for the Note 3.

Of course, the appearance of the device is easy to recognize as a Samsung smartphone, and it even slightly resembles the first Note. However, there is nothing similar in the company’s line today.

Almost the entire front panel of the Note 3 is occupied by a 5.68-inch display covered with protective glass. Below it is a mechanical key to go to the start screen and, when pressed for a long time, to call the manager of open programs. On the sides of it are touch buttons call up the menu and go back one step. Above the screen you can see the Samsung logo, and just above the speaker grille.

The edges of the smartphone body are made of plastic coated with glossy silver metal-like paint.

The back of the Note 3 is a different story. Everyone to whom I managed to show the smartphone during the testing period could not believe at first that the back cover was made of plastic.

It’s hard to blame people for such a mistake for the simple reason that the back of the Note 3 really looks like it’s made of leather.

Here the texture, the stitching around the edges, and even the tactile sensations are very similar. Only the hard coating in the case reveals plastic, because leather is a soft material.

Samsung claims that by imitating leather on back side, they tried to highlight the fact that the Note 3 acts as a notebook modern man. As for me, the designers succeeded. But most of all new material The rear part pleases with its practicality. It doesn't get dirty, doesn't tangle, and, apparently, it will be difficult to scratch it.

At first glance, it seems that the Note 3 body is monolithic, it is so well assembled. However, as in previous Samsung models, the back cover of the smartphone is removed to reveal access to the battery. Without removing it, the user can remove the memory card from the slot, which can be useful for copying files to a laptop.

Overall, Samsung designers have created a device with a nice design. One could again complain about the plastic body, but the tactile sensations from the Note 3 materials are very pleasant.

Dimensions and ease of use

Increasing the display in the Note 3 would inevitably lead to an increase in the size of the smartphone itself. However, Samsung's engineers and designers have managed to fit a 5.68-inch display into a body that's just 0.1mm taller than the Note 2, yet 1.3mm narrower and 1.1mm thinner.

Thus, the smartphone screen has grown, but the body has become smaller. Its actual dimensions are 151.2 x 79.2 x 8.3 mm, with a weight of 168 grams. Reducing the width of the case has significantly improved ease of use; the device now fits better in the hand. I can say from my own experience that it has become easier to work with a smartphone with one hand, although it is still on the verge of comfortable use.

Moreover, the human constitution plays a big role here, and many people will simply not be comfortable using the Note 3 with one hand. But working with it with two hands is more than convenient. The ergonomics of the Note 3 are generally at a good level, especially considering the size of the device. However, the smartphone still has three disadvantages in this regard. The first is the location of the volume key.

For some reason, it was raised very high, so during a conversation it is difficult to reach it with the index finger or thumb, depending on the grip.

Secondly, the earpiece is located very close to the top edge of the front panel, so when you receive a call, you need to train yourself to place the device not too high on your ear.

And third, the location of the external speaker is such that it is very easy to close it with your hand if you hold the smartphone horizontally. This happens especially often in games and when watching videos. By the way, there are no complaints about the speaker itself, it sounds loud.

If we talk about the size of the smartphone, then, as was the case with previous versions of Note, you get used to them very quickly. In addition, thanks to its smaller width, it no longer looks so massive.

Platform, performance and multitasking

Like the Galaxy S4, Note 3 will be sold in the world with and without LTE support, and accordingly, it will have different platforms. LTE is not yet expected in Ukraine, so Samsung will import to our country a version with the Exynos Octa 5420 system-on-chip, which includes 4 Cortex-A15 cores with a frequency of 1.9 GHz + 4 Cortex-A7 cores with a frequency of 1 .3 GHz, as well as Mali-T628 MP6 graphics with OpenGL 3.0 support. The device has as much as 3 GB of RAM, internal memory can be 32 or 64 GB, which can be expanded by another 64 GB using microSD cards.

In the AnTuTu test, Note 3 scored more than 34 thousand points, and in general, according to the test results, it turned out to be faster not only than Note II, but also the Galaxy S4.

The performance increase compared to the previous version of the smartphone is very impressive, especially when it comes to 3D graphics. Powerful platform and large volume random access memory(2.66 GB available to the user after enabling) allowed Samsung to improve multitasking. Let me remind you that in the case of Note it is not only the ability to keep programs running in the background, but also to place two applications on the same screen at the same time. In Note 3, this functionality has been expanded; now you can not only view two windows at the same time, but also copy information from one window to another by simply dragging and dropping.

For example, you can drag and drop images into S Note from the browser. This copy function works, unfortunately, not in all third-party applications; for example, dragging a link from Evernote to the Chrome browser will not work. But in Samsung programs everything works almost perfectly. Without full support from third-party applications, this functionality is quite limited, although the idea itself is interesting. Samsung just needs to convince developers to support the new features of the Note 3.

Display

Over the past few years, Samsung has developed an interesting tradition of using a larger diagonal display in each new flagship smartphone. After the release of Note II with a 5.5-inch screen, it would seem that the limit of comfortable use has been reached; there is nowhere to increase it further. However, Samsung engineers were able to prove the opposite.

The Note 3 uses a 5.68-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels and a density of 386 ppi. The matrix is ​​based on the PenTile subpixel arrangement, which is clearly visible, especially if you greatly enlarge the image of the font, it gives off a green color at the edges.

But in practice, with screen resolutions from Full HD and higher, the difference between PenTile and RGB is only from a technical point of view, and includes such parameters as power consumption, life cycle and production cost. Otherwise, the average person's vision cannot detect the difference. Of course, there are exceptions, but this is more a rarity than a rule.

In the sun, the Note 3 display fades, but remains readable.

The viewing angles of the matrix are simply excellent. The screen of the Galaxy Note 3 leaves a pleasant impression; it is moderately bright and has excellent image clarity. The only thing I would like to see in it is more warm colors, which can often be found in IPS matrices.

Camera

The Galaxy Note 3 has a 13-megapixel camera with a BSI sensor, F2.2 aperture, autofocus and LED flash. According to its characteristics, it repeats the photo module in the Galaxy S4 and, in general, takes photographs of comparable quality. As with other Samsung smartphones, the detail of the images depends on the lighting; the better it is, the better the photos are.

The camera's color reproduction is not ideal, this is especially evident in the sky shots; the colors look much more colorful than they actually are. Otherwise, the Note 3's camera is one of the best among smartphones.

Software

One of the features of the Galaxy Note line has always been a wide range of software. With the release of Note 3, Samsung went a little further.

Smartphone buyers will find several pleasant bonuses in the form full version SketchBook drawing apps, 50 GB of Dropbox storage, and 1 year of Evernote premium. The latter service, by the way, plays an important role in the new Note; the S Note note-taking program is now integrated with it, which I will discuss in more detail below. In general, judging by the Note 3, Samsung apparently decided to gradually establish partnerships with popular Internet services. After all, another program built into the smartphone, My Magazine, which is called by moving your finger from the bottom of the screen to the center, directly from the desktop, is built on the basis of Flipboard.

Essentially, Samsung has made its own interface for this news reader application and imports content from it. At the same time, the Flipboard program itself is installed on the Note 3 out of the box. Samsung’s tactics like this are very interesting, but it all depends on what other partners the company can attract. Note runs Android 4.3 OS with the proprietary TouchWiz interface; there are no major changes in the shell; you can read its full review.

Note 3 vs notepad

The smartphone received the name “Note” not because it is musical; in the context of the device’s capabilities, we are talking about its ability to record and store information.

In this regard, Note 3 succeeded more than its predecessors, having received a new pen and S Note program. I'll start with the pen. In design it became more consistent appearance Note 3, but its design remains essentially unchanged.

The pen is still hidden in the smartphone body and is equipped with a mechanical key.

However, working with the stylus in Note 3 has undergone big changes.

After removing it from the case, a new menu appears on the smartphone screen, which includes five icons, let’s look at each one separately: Action Memo are quick handwritten notes that for some reason are not connected in any way with the S Note and are stored in a separate application.

Scrapbook - very useful program, which allows you to cut images from web pages and save them along with links.

Write on Screen - Takes a screenshot of the current image on the display and allows you to write handwritten notes over it.

S Finder - new search based on the contents of a Samsung smartphone.

Pen window - allows you to draw a rectangle of almost any size on any screen and open a widget in it, for example, a calculator. This was done in order to launch a new one on top of it without leaving the current application. The idea is interesting, but there are very few programs available in this mode.

The S Note app is core to the Galaxy Note concept, allowing you to create and store handwritten and text notes. At the same time, the user receives a wide range of tools for recording important information or simply drawing. After all, the Note 3 pen understands the degree of pressure.

As for S Note, you can add an unlimited number of notebooks to the program, and create separate sheets inside. Everything is almost the same as when working with a real notepad.

Inside the sheets you can write, draw, add diagrams or already prepared sketches of drawings. You can also insert images saved from your scrapbook into your posts. Considering that S Note can now save notes to Evernote, this is a very good solution for those who want to exchange a real notebook for a digital one. Of course, the Note 3 won’t be able to imitate paper, but it doesn’t need that; the device copes with most notepad tasks quite well.

Health

Despite the fact that the Galaxy Note 3 is not at all positioned as a device for sports, Samsung has not forgotten about the health of its users. The Note 3 has expanded support for ANT-compatible accessories, allowing you to directly connect a range of heart rate monitors and electronic scales to the device.

All this was implemented through the S Health program. It can also turn a smartphone into a pedometer, a nutrition and workout log, and, using a temperature and humidity sensor, determine how comfortable the environment is.

As a result, S Health acts as a single center through which the user can monitor their health. This version of the program makes it possible to store your data on Samsung servers and synchronize between different Galaxy. However, this function is optional, and the entrance to S Health itself can generally be password protected.

Music

Out of the box, Note 3 can play MP3, AAC/AAC+/eAAC+, WMA, AMR-NB/WB, Vorbis, FLAC and WAV. Moreover, the last two formats can be reproduced in Hi-Fi quality 24 bit/192 kHz.

The smartphone actually sounds very good; if the standard sound doesn’t seem enough, you can customize it using an equalizer or preset modes. Among them there are such interesting ones as imitation of a tube amplifier and 7.1-channel sound.

The Adapt Sound function has also not gone away and allows you to customize the sound of the headphones to suit your hearing characteristics.

Video

The Galaxy Note 3's built-in video player supports H.264, MPEG-4, H.263, VC-1, WMV7, WMV8, Sorenson Spark, MP43, VP8, HEVC, AVI and MKV formats.

The smartphone has no problems with playing the popular AVI and MKV formats in our country. Watching videos on the Note 3's screen is very good.

Autonomy

The Galaxy Note 3 has a 3,200mAh battery, which is a slight change from the Note II, which uses a 3,100mAh battery. Despite the fact that the Exynos Octa 5420 processor is more energy-efficient than the previous version, Note 3’s autonomy has not increased compared to its predecessor. The Full HD display has taken its toll, so the new smartphone demonstrates good, but not outstanding, battery life.

In my case, in medium load mode the battery lasted about 17 hours, but with very active use up to 30% it was discharged in 9.5 hours. Good, but as I already wrote, not an outstanding result.

The Note 3 charges via microUSB 3.0, which makes charging faster. Thanks to backward compatibility, you can also charge your smartphone via regular microUSB.

Eventually

The Galaxy Note 3 smartphone can easily be called a worthy continuation of the line. It's nice that Samsung stopped enlarging the display, just for the sake of size, and thought about ease of use. It is also good to see that the company has taken a more thoughtful approach to the issue of selecting software, as well as scenarios for using the pen. Of course, she still has something to work on here, but this a good start. The Note 3 itself, despite some flaws in ergonomics, will be an excellent choice for those who are looking for a large diagonal smartphone with a maximum this moment functionality.

It seems that for Samsung itself, the success of the very first smartphone in the Note line came as a surprise. Having actually given birth to a new class of devices - tablet phones - the Korean corporation quickly learned that instead of one “cash cow” in the form of the Galaxy S, it was quite possible to produce two flagship models.

Now every year the manufacturer equally expects not only an “esque”, but also a new Note. It just so happens that innovations are expected from the latter, be it the case material, the display, or the capabilities of the included pen. The Note 3 was expected to have a fresh design, a metallic finish, a larger screen with Full HD resolution, and unusual S Pen features. Some expectations were met, others remained expectations.

It's time to take a closer look at one of the most interesting Android smartphones of the year. Of course, let's not forget to compare it with last year's predecessor.

Design

Let's be honest - everyone is tired of the ubiquitous glossy Galaxy plastic. A few months before the announcement of the Note 3, there were rumors born out of hope that the Koreans would finally decide that enough was enough and make the device in a radically new design with the obligatory metal case.

In fact, we didn’t see anything radically new at IFA in Berlin. The Note 3 model is completely designed in the style of the Galaxy S4. Compared to Note 2, the device has become noticeably stricter; all four corners are no longer so playfully rounded. But the leitmotif during the announcement of the device was a completely different feature.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and Note 3

“Wow, leather cover!”- the first messages from visitors to the exhibition in Berlin were written approximately in this vein. The Samsung representative did not hesitate to talk from the stage about the use of environmentally friendly materials and leather trim. To hell with metal, since we have almost Vertu in front of us, only technologically a hundred times more advanced.

Doubts about the natural origin of the material on the back panel arose immediately: it is impossible to produce such a mass-produced product with expensive finishing. In addition, do not forget about practicality and attacks from the ubiquitous defenders of flora and fauna. And the seam in the photographs looked too smooth.

Why bother - the “leather” lid is just like plastic. But let's face it, imitation is good. The surface is moderately soft and “warm”, the pattern is pleasant, and the tactile sensations are beyond praise. It doesn't look like the cheapest panel trim on a car. In general, we liked this performance, but psychologically you feel discomfort from the awareness of the imitation and the bravura statements made during the announcement.

If this moment does not bother you, then the pseudo-leather plastic cover you will definitely like it. It is generally extremely difficult to leave dirty marks on it, unlike glossy or even matte plastic, and the material does not wipe off like real leather. In general, practical, convenient, but with a slight flair of deception.

By the way, imitation is generally inherent in Note 3. In addition to leather, the smartphone also tries to copy metal. The ends here are made of silver plastic, flavored with longitudinal stripes.

What is surprising is the dimensions of the device. Despite the larger screen diagonal compared to its predecessor, Note 3 managed to become more compact and lighter. The length (151 mm) remained the same, but the width of the device decreased by a millimeter, to 79 mm. It also lost more than 1 mm in thickness - 8.3 mm versus 9.4 for the Note 2. The weight decreased slightly, by ten grams, but still for such a densely packed giant this is a noticeable achievement. The reduction in size with an enlarged display was achieved by narrowing the frame separating the screen from the edges of the smartphone. Just a couple more millimeters, and we can talk about an “edge to edge” matrix.

There are only two hardware buttons. The power key is located on the right side and falls exactly under thumb right hand. On the left side there is a volume rocker. It is not very convenient to use due to the rather large width of the device. There is also a complaint about the power button: in our copy, it stuck from time to time and did not respond to finger pressure. I had to bring her to her senses by pressing with my fingernail from different sides.

The stylus is securely fixed in a special compartment at the bottom end. Next door is a not very loud external speaker, which can often be covered with your hand. There is also a microphone and an unusual dual microUSB 3.0 connector. It can be used either with a regular microUSB cable or with a special, wider one with a fast charging function.

The Note 3 has an additional microphone for noise reduction, infrared sensor and a 3.5 mm audio jack located on the top. And the device is literally packed with different sensors. In addition to the usual proximity, light and gyroscope sensors, there is a barometer, temperature, humidity and magnetic field sensor.

S Pen, spare nibs and tweezers for removing them

In terms of convenience, the model is in no way inferior to its predecessor and even surpasses it due to its smaller thickness and the lid that does not slip out of your hands. For tablet phone ergonomics on high level. Let's add here another excellent (except for the mentioned embarrassment with the on/off button) assembly.

Display

The new product received a 5.7-inch Super AMOLED display. Compared to its predecessor, the difference in size is small, less than 0.2 inches. But Note 3’s resolution has finally stepped into Full HD - the number of pixels per inch is almost one and a half times higher than that of Note 2 (386 versus 267 ppi)! Now the image is very clear, without a hint of “teeth”, which are visible only when the screen is unnaturally close to the eyes.

Instead of an RGB matrix, as in Note 2, PenTile is used again. Some users say they can tell the difference, but we didn't. But the “proprietary” feature in the form of a greenish tint of white when the device is tilted remains. Here you have to come to terms with it and not pay attention to it, or look for a competitive tablet phone with IPS. From our point of view, there is nothing wrong - the tint does not affect the perception of information in any way, and it is unlikely that anyone will often look at the display at a large angle.

You can still select the screen mode, muting the “poisonous” colors of Super AMOLED. For example, the "Cinema" and " Professional photography» bring the picture quality closer to what they can show best samples IPS matrices. At the same time, the contrast remains at the highest level, and the black color does not disappoint with its purple essence.

In terms of workmanship, the Note 3 screen is very similar to the Galaxy S4. It also has Gorilla Glass 3, glove capability, high brightness, Full HD... It's still a great display. It’s no longer the best, since there’s the Galaxy S4 with its 441 ppi, but it’s one of the highest quality.

Camera, sound

The photo module is another legacy of the Galaxy S4. The 13-megapixel camera is still as good and has the same set of features. This time we did not experiment and took all the photos in automatic mode. The smartphone always chose the most suitable settings; there was no desire to reshoot anything.

Below you can watch two videos shot in Full HD resolution. One of them clearly demonstrates an attempt by electronics to stabilize video footage while driving on a road with potholes and potholes. In general, it’s better to shoot videos in calm conditions with unshaky hands.

We really liked the Note 3's camera. This is still the best that Android smartphone manufacturers have to offer.

The sound, unlike the camera, did not impress us. Through external speakers it is quite loud, but somehow flat and inexpressive. It's a long way from HTC One. In headphones, the device also has nothing special to surprise a sophisticated music lover - it frankly lacks low frequencies.

Functionality, stylus

Any Galaxy Note is a Galaxy S plus stylus functionality. We will not dwell in detail again on the features that are repeated in the Galaxy S4. You can read the corresponding one at the link. Let's look at the new features of the tablet phone, which has the latest Android 4.3 as its OS.

As soon as the user takes out the S Pen, a radial menu with five commands appears on the screen. It can also be called up at any time by pressing a button on the stylus. In this case, the pen does not have to touch the screen - the touchscreen recognizes the S Pen already at a distance of about a centimeter from the screen. By the way, the smartphone is compatible with the previous generation Note stylus.

The “Active Note” function not only allows you to quickly make the necessary note on a virtual sheet of paper, but also links it to some action. For example, the system can check handwritten text against the contact database in the phone book or search the Internet. You can also write email address or designate a new contact.

Using the “Save fragment” option, you can save any elements from the current page. Just circle a part of the screen, and the phone will identify the active areas, highlight them and offer to save them to the Scrapbook. Not only the image is saved, but also the video and links.

“Screenshot” is the most useless function. You can take a screenshot with the ability to leave a handwritten note on it much faster using a combination of the power and Home buttons.

The S Finder service allows you to find anything in any application. Of course, there is support for handwriting input, and the required data can be sorted by creation date, file type, etc. This is not a very popular function, but if everything is cluttered, it can come in handy.

"Open in the window." The most interesting feature. By clicking on the rightmost button in the radial menu, we draw a square of arbitrary size on the screen. After this, a list of applications appears that you can launch in the second window. Among such programs are a calculator, YouTube client, browser, clock, contacts, etc.

Among other innovations, it is worth mentioning the mode of working with two active windows. Now you can open two identical applications. Moreover, all content can be transferred from one screen to another.

The S Note has undergone a large-scale modernization. Thanks to synchronization with cloud services, you can work with files through several devices. You can select a separate image fragment and save only that.

The Note 3 model supports Samsung's proprietary KNOX service. This is a solution for protecting user data by running applications in a special isolated container that is inaccessible to malware. Judging by the description, the system is very serious, uses an encryption algorithm with a 256-bit key, etc. It doesn’t even allow you to take a screenshot.

The analogue of Siri has not yet been developed. The system recognizes words well, but is unable to answer questions. She knows several obvious commands (“What is your name?”, “What time is it?”, etc.), for which she can issue pre-prepared messages. If you move a little to the side from the banality, problems begin: at best, you will be asked in broken Russian to “look for the answer on the Internet.” Probably, the developers perfectly understood the primitiveness of the system, since they taught us to adequately answer questions related to its stupidity.

While testing the smartphone, we encountered unpleasant bugs several times. Once the Note 3 froze for 10-15 seconds, but returned to work safely. In two cases, the device without visible reasons turned off and went into an endless reboot. The problems are probably software, so Samsung will most likely fix them in the next update.

Performance and battery life

The Korean company continued the practice of releasing different modifications of the same smartphone model for different regions. Note 3 is sold in Belarus, which, like the Galaxy S4, is based on the Korean Exynos 5 Octa chip. This is a modified processor, which also consists of two blocks, each of which carries four cores “on board”.

When performing non-resource-intensive tasks, a combination of four Cortex-A7 cores is used. When launching something “heavy” and demanding, two pairs of Cortex-A15 cores come into play instead, the clock speed of which has increased by 100 MHz compared to the Galaxy S4, to 1.9 GHz.

Instead of PowerVR SGX544MP3, the Mali-T628MP6 chip is responsible for graphics performance, the performance of which is twice as high as that of its brother. In addition, Note 3 received a record amount of RAM - 3 GB at once. It would seem that with such power, a smartphone should easily handle any task, but not everything is so simple.

The new product really easily copes with games of any complexity, but sometimes it slows down in built-in applications and the “heavy” proprietary interface, overgrown with a huge number of necessary and useless “ruffles”, decorations and functions. Most often this is noticeable when working with a stylus and when viewing large Internet pages that begin to render slowly.

On the one hand, all these delays are not critical, you quickly get used to them. Moreover, it cannot be said that they are ubiquitous. And yet, in a phone costing more than $1000, seeing even the slightest slowdown in the interface is a little strange. As for comparison with Note 2, then big difference We didn't see it in performance. Of course, if we talk about real applications, and not about “parrots” in benchmarks.

With merciless daily use, when we took hundreds of photos, shot videos, launched benchmarks and other applications, surfed the Internet, etc., Note 3 lasted more than two days. If desired, it is quite possible to make it work for four days, if you do not abuse the frequent launch of games. Let us add that the battery capacity, with a decreased thickness of the case, has increased from 3100 to 3200 mAh.

During our review of the Note 2, we noted an issue with the device taking a long time to charge. Samsung has solved this problem: the Note 3 takes a standard 2 hours to charge from AC power. Thanks to the new cable, charging via USB has also accelerated. By the way, compatibility with standard microUSB cords remains, so there is no need to worry about possible cable replacement.

Note that the device has 32 GB of internal memory and a microSD slot with support for cards up to 64 GB. The result is almost 100 GB of space - more than enough for any mobile “garbage dump”.

Advantages:

• high-quality screen;
• excellent camera;
• sometimes useful S Pen.

Flaws:

• a lot of unnecessary software frills;
• offensive for such braking power;
• price.

We thank the Samsung representative office in Belarus
for the smartphone provided for testing

Reprinting text and photographs of Onliner.by is prohibited without the permission of the editors. [email protected]

The speed shown by Speedtest is not very high, although it differs from 3G to a greater extent. This is due to Megafon's weak LTE coverage in Moscow. In addition, high-rise buildings around the testing site may be to blame.

Battery

The new Galaxy Note 3 smartphone has lithium ion battery at 3200 mAh. With a powerful processor and large screen, the battery charge will last a little more than a day of active use. With a gentle mode, the “plafond” can last up to two days. Of course, a lot depends on the brightness of the screen, so by making the backlight a little less, you can significantly extend battery life.

In general, the use case will not change. You will still have to charge your smartphone in the evening. Even if you use the device little and do not use it much during the day, then the next day you risk being left without a phone by lunchtime.

Price issue

The new gadget costs 34,990 rubles. It may seem that the price of the device is too high. If so, then not by much at all. Judge for yourself: it has a powerful processor, a good camera, a new design, and a ton of software chips. Essentially, this is an enlarged Galaxy S 4, and it cost only 29,990 rubles at the start. So, the price is quite reasonable for the set of hardware and software that Samsung provides us.

In addition, the situation is significantly improved by the opportunity to buy a Galaxy Note 3 at Megafon at a price of 21,990 rubles. But here everything is not so simple. Of course, there will be no mandatory 2-year contract (like AT&T and iPhone). But you will need to deposit 3,000 rubles into your account, and this is where your obligations to Samsung and Megafon end. In principle, the idea itself is good, and this is the first time I’ve seen such a model in Russia. But the lack of support from other operators is depressing. That is, if you have Beeline or MTS, then you will not buy a smartphone for less than 34,990 rubles, at least not yet.

Smartphones purchased from Megfon will be blocked for use with other operators. This also imposes restrictions on the use of a smartphone in other countries. Essentially, you won’t be able to insert a local SIM card and will have to use roaming, which is inconvenient. Information has leaked to the media that operator-locked smartphones can work with local SIM cards abroad for up to 90 days. The Russian representative office of Samsung has not yet commented on this information.

The new Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is already available for sale in official Samsung stores, as well as in Megafon brand stores. The price is for a smartphone with an Exynos processor. How much the version with LTE and Snapdragon 800 will cost is still unknown. Judging by the sales experience of the Galaxy S 4, the price for this model may be significantly higher.

Competitors

Sony Xperia Z Ultra

This flagship Sony smartphone has a record-breaking 6.4-inch Full HD display, made using proprietary TRILUMINOS Display technology. The smartphone is equipped with a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor with a clock frequency of 2.2 GHz, supports the 4G LTE standard and HD voice technology.

A tablet from the Korean manufacturer Samsung – Samsung Galaxy Note 3 SM-N9005 32Gb.

Appearance of Samsung Galaxy Note 3

Touch monoblock. Made of plastic, stylized as leather. Available in two colors: black and white.
Screen with a diagonal of 5.7 inches and a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, 386 ppi.
Dimensions – 151×79×8.3 mm, weight – 168 g.

Specifications of Samsung Galaxy Note 3

Processor – Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 8-core processor, 2300 MHz.
RAM – 3 GB. Built-in memory – 32GB. The phone also supports memory cards.
Operating system – Android 4.3. (Jelly Bean), which is updated to new versions.
The battery is removable, 3200 mAh. This is enough for a day of active use of the phone. Of course, if you play games on it, the charge will last for several hours.
Main camera good quality– 13 MP. And the front one is only 2 megapixels.

You can buy Samsung Galaxy Note 3 in our online store by placing an order through the website shopping cart or by calling us at. Delivery in Moscow is possible on the day of order. The cost of delivery within the Moscow Ring Road is 400 rubles. Delivery to the Moscow region is calculated individually. Pickup from retail store two minutes from Savelovskaya metro station.

It seems that for Samsung itself, the success of the very first smartphone in the Note line came as a surprise. Having actually given birth to a new class of devices - tablet phones - the Korean corporation quickly learned that instead of one “cash cow” in the form of the Galaxy S, it was quite possible to produce two flagship models.

Now every year the manufacturer equally expects not only an “esque”, but also a new Note. It just so happens that innovations are expected from the latter, be it the case material, the display, or the capabilities of the included pen. The Note 3 was expected to have a fresh design, a metallic finish, a larger screen with Full HD resolution, and unusual S Pen features. Some expectations were met, others remained expectations.

It's time to take a closer look at one of the most interesting Android smartphones of the year. Of course, let's not forget to compare it with last year's predecessor.

Design

Let's be honest - everyone is tired of the ubiquitous glossy Galaxy plastic. A few months before the announcement of the Note 3, there were rumors born out of hope that the Koreans would finally decide that enough was enough and make the device in a radically new design with the obligatory metal case.

In fact, we didn’t see anything radically new at IFA in Berlin. The Note 3 model is completely designed in the style of the Galaxy S4. Compared to Note 2, the device has become noticeably stricter; all four corners are no longer so playfully rounded. But the leitmotif during the announcement of the device was a completely different feature.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and Note 3

“Wow, leather cover!”- the first messages from visitors to the exhibition in Berlin were written approximately in this vein. The Samsung representative did not hesitate to talk from the stage about the use of environmentally friendly materials and leather trim. To hell with metal, since we have almost Vertu in front of us, only technologically a hundred times more advanced.

Doubts about the natural origin of the material on the back panel arose immediately: it is impossible to produce such a mass-produced product with expensive finishing. In addition, do not forget about practicality and attacks from the ubiquitous defenders of flora and fauna. And the seam in the photographs looked too smooth.

Why bother - the “leather” lid is just like plastic. But let's face it, imitation is good. The surface is moderately soft and “warm”, the pattern is pleasant, and the tactile sensations are beyond praise. It doesn't look like the cheapest panel trim on a car. In general, we liked this performance, but psychologically you feel discomfort from the awareness of the imitation and the bravura statements made during the announcement.

If this point doesn’t bother you, then you’ll probably like the pseudo-leather plastic cover. It is generally extremely difficult to leave dirty marks on it, unlike glossy or even matte plastic, and the material does not wipe off like real leather. In general, practical, convenient, but with a slight flair of deception.

By the way, imitation is generally inherent in Note 3. In addition to leather, the smartphone also tries to copy metal. The ends here are made of silver plastic, flavored with longitudinal stripes.

What is surprising is the dimensions of the device. Despite the larger screen diagonal compared to its predecessor, Note 3 managed to become more compact and lighter. The length (151 mm) remained the same, but the width of the device decreased by a millimeter, to 79 mm. It also lost more than 1 mm in thickness - 8.3 mm versus 9.4 for the Note 2. The weight decreased slightly, by ten grams, but still for such a densely packed giant this is a noticeable achievement. The reduction in size with an enlarged display was achieved by narrowing the frame separating the screen from the edges of the smartphone. Just a couple more millimeters, and we can talk about an “edge to edge” matrix.

There are only two hardware buttons. The power key is located on the right side and falls exactly under the thumb of the right hand. On the left side there is a volume rocker. It is not very convenient to use due to the rather large width of the device. There is also a complaint about the power button: in our copy, it stuck from time to time and did not respond to finger pressure. I had to bring her to her senses by pressing with my fingernail from different sides.

The stylus is securely fixed in a special compartment at the bottom end. Next door is a not very loud external speaker, which can often be covered with your hand. There is also a microphone and an unusual dual microUSB 3.0 connector. It can be used either with a regular microUSB cable or with a special, wider one with a fast charging function.

The Note 3 has an additional noise-canceling microphone, an infrared sensor, and a top-mounted 3.5mm audio jack. And the device is literally packed with different sensors. In addition to the usual proximity, light and gyroscope sensors, there is a barometer, temperature, humidity and magnetic field sensor.

S Pen, spare nibs and tweezers for removing them

In terms of convenience, the model is in no way inferior to its predecessor and even surpasses it due to its smaller thickness and the lid that does not slip out of your hands. For a tablet phone, ergonomics are at a high level. Let's add here another excellent (except for the mentioned embarrassment with the on/off button) assembly.

Display

The new product received a 5.7-inch Super AMOLED display. Compared to its predecessor, the difference in size is small, less than 0.2 inches. But Note 3’s resolution has finally stepped into Full HD - the number of pixels per inch is almost one and a half times higher than that of Note 2 (386 versus 267 ppi)! Now the image is very clear, without a hint of “teeth”, which are visible only when the screen is unnaturally close to the eyes.

Instead of an RGB matrix, as in Note 2, PenTile is used again. Some users say they can tell the difference, but we didn't. But the “proprietary” feature in the form of a greenish tint of white when the device is tilted remains. Here you have to come to terms with it and not pay attention to it, or look for a competitive tablet phone with IPS. From our point of view, there is nothing wrong - the tint does not affect the perception of information in any way, and it is unlikely that anyone will often look at the display at a large angle.

You can still select the screen mode, muting the “poisonous” colors of Super AMOLED. For example, the “Cinema” and “Professional Photography” modes bring picture quality closer to what the best examples of IPS matrices can show. At the same time, the contrast remains at the highest level, and the black color does not disappoint with its purple essence.

In terms of workmanship, the Note 3 screen is very similar to the Galaxy S4. It also has Gorilla Glass 3, glove capability, high brightness, Full HD... It's still a great display. It’s no longer the best, since there’s the Galaxy S4 with its 441 ppi, but it’s one of the highest quality.

Camera, sound

The photo module is another legacy of the Galaxy S4. The 13-megapixel camera is still as good and has the same set of features. This time we did not experiment and took all the photos in automatic mode. The smartphone always chose the most suitable settings; there was no desire to reshoot anything.

Below you can watch two videos shot in Full HD resolution. One of them clearly demonstrates an attempt by electronics to stabilize video footage while driving on a road with potholes and potholes. In general, it is better to shoot videos in calm conditions with non-shaky hands.

We really liked the Note 3's camera. This is still the best that Android smartphone manufacturers have to offer.

The sound, unlike the camera, did not impress us. Through external speakers it is quite loud, but somehow flat and inexpressive. It's a long way from HTC One. In headphones, the device also has nothing special to surprise a sophisticated music lover - it frankly lacks low frequencies.

Functionality, stylus

Any Galaxy Note is a Galaxy S plus stylus functionality. We will not dwell in detail again on the features that are repeated in the Galaxy S4. You can read the corresponding one at the link. Let's look at the new features of the tablet phone, which has the latest Android 4.3 as its OS.

As soon as the user takes out the S Pen, a radial menu with five commands appears on the screen. It can also be called up at any time by pressing a button on the stylus. In this case, the pen does not have to touch the screen - the touchscreen recognizes the S Pen already at a distance of about a centimeter from the screen. By the way, the smartphone is compatible with the previous generation Note stylus.

The “Active Note” function not only allows you to quickly make the necessary note on a virtual sheet of paper, but also links it to some action. For example, the system can check handwritten text against the contact database in the phone book or search the Internet. You can also write an email address or designate a new contact.

Using the “Save fragment” option, you can save any elements from the current page. Just circle a part of the screen, and the phone will identify the active areas, highlight them and offer to save them to the Scrapbook. Not only the image is saved, but also the video and links.

“Screenshot” is the most useless function. You can take a screenshot with the ability to leave a handwritten note on it much faster using a combination of the power and Home buttons.

The S Finder service allows you to find anything in any application. Of course, there is support for handwriting input, and the required data can be sorted by creation date, file type, etc. This is not a very popular function, but if everything is cluttered, it can come in handy.

"Open in the window." The most interesting feature. By clicking on the rightmost button in the radial menu, we draw a square of arbitrary size on the screen. After this, a list of applications appears that you can launch in the second window. Such programs include a calculator, YouTube client, browser, clock, contacts, etc.

Among other innovations, it is worth mentioning the mode of working with two active windows. Now you can open two identical applications. Moreover, all content can be transferred from one screen to another.

The S Note has undergone a large-scale modernization. Thanks to synchronization with cloud services, you can work with files through several devices. You can select a separate image fragment and save only that.

The Note 3 model supports Samsung's proprietary KNOX service. This is a solution for protecting user data by running applications in a special isolated container that is inaccessible to malware. Judging by the description, the system is very serious, uses an encryption algorithm with a 256-bit key, etc. It doesn’t even allow you to take a screenshot.

The analogue of Siri has not yet been developed. The system recognizes words well, but is unable to answer questions. She knows several obvious commands (“What is your name?”, “What time is it?”, etc.), for which she can issue pre-prepared messages. If you move a little to the side from the banality, problems begin: at best, you will be asked in broken Russian to “look for the answer on the Internet.” Probably, the developers perfectly understood the primitiveness of the system, since they taught us to adequately answer questions related to its stupidity.

While testing the smartphone, we encountered unpleasant bugs several times. Once the Note 3 froze for 10-15 seconds, but returned to work safely. In two cases, the device turned off for no apparent reason and went into an endless reboot. The problems are probably software, so Samsung will most likely fix them in the next update.

Performance and battery life

The Korean company continued the practice of releasing different modifications of the same smartphone model for different regions. Note 3 is sold in Belarus, which, like the Galaxy S4, is based on the Korean Exynos 5 Octa chip. This is a modified processor, which also consists of two blocks, each of which carries four cores “on board”.

When performing non-resource-intensive tasks, a combination of four Cortex-A7 cores is used. When launching something “heavy” and demanding, two pairs of Cortex-A15 cores come into play instead, the clock speed of which has increased by 100 MHz compared to the Galaxy S4, to 1.9 GHz.

Instead of PowerVR SGX544MP3, the Mali-T628MP6 chip is responsible for graphics performance, the performance of which is twice as high as that of its brother. In addition, Note 3 received a record amount of RAM - 3 GB at once. It would seem that with such power, a smartphone should easily handle any task, but not everything is so simple.

The new product really easily copes with games of any complexity, but sometimes it slows down in built-in applications and the “heavy” proprietary interface, overgrown with a huge number of necessary and useless “ruffles”, decorations and functions. Most often this is noticeable when working with a stylus and when viewing large Internet pages that begin to render slowly.

On the one hand, all these delays are not critical, you quickly get used to them. Moreover, it cannot be said that they are ubiquitous. And yet, in a phone costing more than $1000, seeing even the slightest slowdown in the interface is a little strange. As for comparison with Note 2, we did not see much difference in performance. Of course, if we talk about real applications, and not about “parrots” in benchmarks.

With merciless daily use, when we took hundreds of photos, shot videos, launched benchmarks and other applications, surfed the Internet, etc., Note 3 lasted more than two days. If desired, it is quite possible to make it work for four days, if you do not abuse the frequent launch of games. Let us add that the battery capacity, with a decreased thickness of the case, has increased from 3100 to 3200 mAh.

During our review of the Note 2, we noted an issue with the device taking a long time to charge. Samsung has solved this problem: the Note 3 takes a standard 2 hours to charge from AC power. Thanks to the new cable, charging via USB has also accelerated. By the way, compatibility with standard microUSB cords remains, so there is no need to worry about possible cable replacement.

Note that the device has 32 GB of internal memory and a microSD slot with support for cards up to 64 GB. The result is almost 100 GB of space - more than enough for any mobile “garbage dump”.

Advantages:

• high-quality screen;
• excellent camera;
• sometimes useful S Pen.

Flaws:

• a lot of unnecessary software frills;
• offensive for such braking power;
• price.

We thank the Samsung representative office in Belarus
for the smartphone provided for testing

Reprinting text and photographs of Onliner.by is prohibited without the permission of the editors. [email protected]