The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is a phone and tablet hybrid - a phablet - and is packed full of features. It's big, and comes with a hefty price tag, so does the device live up to the hype?
Look, feel and display
The vast majority of Samsung smartphones today are made at least in part of plastic, which some may believe makes them look cheap, but I cannot agree. I like the feel of the back, which has a faux leather appearance right down to the 'stitching'. The design is very similar to the S4 - a good thing, in my books.
It comes in black, white or 'blush pink' variations.
The buttons for volume/zoom are on the upper left, while the power button is on the upper right - a position I find slightly awkward, as I often ended up pressing it by mistake when handling the phone to take pictures.
Considering the device is far from small, it weighs only 168g - surprisingly light, and lighter than its predecessor, even with a bigger screen. It is also thinner, a mere 8.3mm - down from the last model's 9.4mm.
All in all, I found the design smooth and pleasing, and although the phone is too cumbersome to operate with one hand, you don't expect it to be otherwise with a phablet - particularly one that comes with a stylus. Even the S4, which is quite a bit smaller, needs two hands to operate for most people - a trade-off when considering the myriad features packed into the device.
The display is a massive 5.7 inches, complete with a full HD 1080x1920 Super AMOLED display. Resolution is unbelievably crisp and clear, with a pixel density of 386 pixels per inch, making video viewing and suchlike a real pleasure. The colours are vibrant and sharp, and the device allows you to switch screen modes to address any saturation issues. The modes on offer are Standard, Dynamic, Professional Photo and Movie Screen. However, screen viewing, as with most devices, is just not great outdoors in direct sunlight.
Under the hood
Under the hood is where significant improvements can be seen. The device boasts a Snapdragon 2.3GHz quad-core processor and 3GB of RAM, offering truly fantastic performance - it is ridiculously fast, almost instantaneous, whether gaming, watching videos or surfing the net - with no lagging or hanging, even when I had several applications open.
Hand-in-hand with this comes 4G connectivity, Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi AC, NFC, an infrared port to control your TV and a micro USB 3.0 port - Samsung really has covered most of the bases.
The device comes in 16GB, 32GB or 64GB versions and features a microSD slot for storage expansion. The battery, a 3 200mAh, lasted well over a day, even with fairly heavy use.
Software and apps
The Note 3 comes with Google's latest Android 4.3 OS, with Samsung's TouchWiz skin. It has six home screens and all the essential apps. Swiping up from the Android desktop brings up a really cool feature called My Magazine, based on Flipboard, which is essentially a full-screen, customisable news feed with lots of pictures.
The device also features a Quick Settings menu that can be accessed by swiping down from the notifications on the top of the home screen. This lets you control settings such as WiFi and GPS, sound, screen rotation, reading mode, multi window, gesture control and more.
The apps folder contains the expected apps and widgets, such as Facebook, Chrome, S Health, S Voice and WatchOn.
The stylus
I loved the stylus, which tucks in neatly at the bottom of the device. A quick click of the button and a menu pops up, with the options of Action Memo, Scrapbooker, Screen Write, S Finder and Pen Window, that work with a dot, circle or box motion.
Designed for better multitasking, the pen offers exactly that. You can handwrite phone numbers and names, take notes and jot down shopping lists or recipes - all of which can be saved to the contacts. Far easier than trying to type quickly on a phone's small keypad.
Even better, Action Memo creates notes that can be stored or pinned on the screen. If you circle around the text in one of these memos, the app interprets the writing and gives you the option of dialling if it's a phone number, adding to contacts, e-mailing, or sending an SMS.
I adored the scrapbooking feature, which lets you circle bits of Web pages - pictures, text or whatever you choose - and save them to the phone. The feature automatically includes a link to the source for future reference.
It also debuts MultiWindow, which allows you to run the same application in two windows, and drag text across to copy. Drawing a box within an app using the S Pen brings up another app of your choice, custom-sized to the box drawn. Really nifty - the sort of innovations I've come to expect from Samsung.
Camera
The camera is superb - the 13MP front-facing camera produces clear, well-balanced shots. As with the S4, it has some great novelty settings such as 'Beauty Face', 'Best Face' and a really good macro mode. It also has Dual Shot, which lets you take a pic with the front and back cameras at the same time - useful for tourists wishing to capture themselves with the Taj Mahal in the background. The camera performed really well even at night - providing the lighting wasn't too dim.
I was slightly less impressed with the video, which shoots 4K video, but only for five minutes in one go. The quality wasn't great - a little grainy and flat - but more than adequate for its purpose.
The verdict
I loved this phone. The features make it something really special. If the size doesn't count, the incredible performance, outstanding battery life and awesome camera make it a winner in my books. However, at R8 999, it is not for those on a budget. Worth it? Yes.
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