Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is now official. The successor to the Note 2, it has a huge 5.7-inch screen and the best possible hardware that Samsung can fit into a phone.
“We have been given a brief play with the new phone and it definitely seems impressive. That display is as vibrant as they come and Android is the snappiest we have ever seen it,” Digital Spy said.
Interestingly, Samsung has taken a new approach to design with the Note 3. The back of the handset features a stitched leather back, rather than the usual plastic you find on other phones.
It looks better but doesn't feel anywhere near as premium as devices like the HTC One or the just announced Sony Xperia Z1.
The screen is the real talking point, at 5.7-inches it's one of the biggest out there. The full HD 1080p resolution makes a difference though. This is a sharp screen with the usual vibrant and eye-popping colours you find on other Samsung phones.
The bezel is also nice and thin, so the Note 2 doesn't feel overly huge. Compared to the Xperia Z Ultra, which is just as impressive, it feels positively compact.
In terms of actual hardware, the Note 3 is a powerhouse. The LTE variant of the phone uses a 2.3 GHz quad-core processor, with the 3G option running on a 1.9 GHz octo-core chip. Android definitely doesn't feel sluggish here.
That camera is also rather impressive. Not quite as good, on paper at least, as the 20.7-megapixel unit on Sony's Xperia Z1, you still get 13-megapixels and proper LED flash to play with. Samsung is saying certain variants of the Note 3 will shoot 4K video, although exactly which is still TBC.
The stock video, which is 1080p and recorded at 60fps, is still plenty impressive, especially when played back on that 5.7-inch display.
The real talking point of the Note 3 however is its S Pen. It's what makes the device more exciting than simply being a bigger Galaxy S4.
So what do you get? First off, the actual writing and drawing aspect of the S Pen is now much quicker, it feels instant, like you are writing on a piece of paper. There is little lag, likely helped by the phone's 3GB of RAM.
Then there is the suite of apps. The standard note taking home screen widget is very handy. But you also get features like 'Action Memo' which will turn handwritten text into actions, like making a call or saving a contact. Another useful tweak is the new 'Pen Window' function, which means you can open up smaller windows to take notes in while using the rest of the phone.
