Samsung Galaxy Note-3 (N900) Specs, Features, Variants & Hands-On

As expected, Samsung launched yet another upgrade in Galaxy Note series yesterday at an event in Berlin. The new Samsung Galaxy Note-3 phablet is bigger, better performing, thinner and longer in terms of battery life. The Samsung Unpacked Event 2013 was broadcast live on their YouTube channel & it was a spectacular show while they tactfully unveiled Samsung Galaxy Note-3, Samsung Galaxy Gear (Smart watch) and Galaxy Note 10.1 – 2014 Edition.

We’ll talk about the Galaxy Gear in some other post – but for now, let’s focus on Galaxy Note-3

Key Feature of the new Galaxy Note-3

We’re at a stage in smart phone launches where we can safely assume decent upgrades in every new phone from the same series.

Same as with the Galaxy Note-3 – most of the features are very much the same as Galaxy S4 & few Note specific features got and decent upgrade from the earlier.

The most noticeable differences with the Note-3 are as follows:

• The screen is now a lot bigger. Appx. Half inch more than Note-2.
• Note-3 now comes with a textured, faux leather back plate – which I think was the most-needed changed Samsung should have re-used in top handsets; like they did earlier for Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Note-1.
• This new leather back also has a nicely designed stitching on the edges, giving it an amazing feel of a traditional Notebook or Planners.
• S-View cover for this device has a bigger window to see more screen items & made with a special film that can detect S-Pen gestures from outside.
• Air Command uses a tip of the S-Pen is extremely well thought software feature. Features like these make the TouchWiz more usable & desired than that of Nexus devices with naked Android.
• Action Memo is a classic function for a day-to-day use. It can recognize text so well that, anything you write on Action Memo can be turned into a contact number or a location address. We can directly add a New Contact with name, Send Text Message, Find Location on a map – from what is written using the S-Pen.
• A camera that can record ultra-super videos of 4K film resolution at 30 fps & HD slow motion video capture capabilities at 120 fps. Brilliant & too good to be true for a smart phone.
• Inbuilt security feature– Samsung Knox. An all-in-one antivirus & protection software for Android

Video showing overview of features

Hardware specifications

• Snapdragon 800 or Exynos 5 Chipset (varies as per market) 2.3 GHz quad-core processor
• 5.7 inch full HD Super AMOLED display at 336ppi (pixels per inch)
• 3 GB RAM
• Android Jelly Bean 4.3
• Choice of 32GB or 64GB internal memory – expandable up to 64GB using a micro SD card
• 13 megapixel camera with BSI sensor that can record 4K film resolution videos at 30 fps & 1080p videos at 60 fps & slow motion videos at 120 fps.
• Connectivity: WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, IR port, LED and MHL 2.0
• Massive 3200 mAh battery to sustain for longer hours with this powerful hardware
• Temperature & Humidity & Hall sensors along with other best known sensors we knew
• Many frequencies support various markets’ need. See product variations below

Note 3 variants for your country & your carrier

1. China: SM-N9002 Dual-SIM Note 3 variant
2. 4G LTE: SM-N9005 for supporting carriers in US and Europe
3. KT Telecom, South Korea: SM-N900K
4. LGU+ , South Korea: SM-N900L
5. SK Telecom, South Korea: SM-N900S
6. KDDI, Japan: SLC22
7. NTT Docomo, Japan: SGH-N075 and SGH-N099
8. AT & T, USA: SM-N900A
9. T-Mobile, USA: SM-N900T
10. Verizon Wireless: SM-N900V
11. International variant including India: SM-N900

Release Date

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 will be available in almost 149 countries in the last week of September 2013 while, by the last week of October 2013 in Japan and United States.

Price

Galaxy Note 3 prices are not officially announced, but in the USA it is expected to be available for $299 on contract & $699 unlocked without contract.

Price in India for the Note-3 might go up than regular launch pricing, we saw in previous years by the company, simply because of the expensive Dollar-to-Rupee conversion recently. We’re expecting it to price somewhere between INR 45,500 – INR 48,500.

Hands-on Video

We’ll be attending the launch event in India in the last week of September & will also be reviewing the phone in great details then. If you have any questions about the Galaxy Note-3 then feel free to contact us via comments below or you can also email us. Enjoy & do share with friends.