It has been a little over a year since I received my Samsung Galaxy Note 3 on Black Friday 2013, and I’ve loved everything about it. The phone is light, easy to manipulate and comfortable in the hand. And that all is with a bulky, yet very helpful case, made by Spigen.
The large display is bright, sharp, clear and great for videos, which was one of the main reasons that I wanted a larger phone. I have been stopped multiple times and asked what phone I have, as people have seen me watching videos and movies on this great display, so I’m not the only one who feels this way.
I like the Multi Window, though I wish I’d use it more. If only there was a way to get the keyboard to float on top and not completely block your bottom screen so you text and tweet at the same time. You really can if you make the windows really small, but it is not really functional if you wanted to watch a video and text at the same time. I haven’t really found a way to make that all happen at once, so suggestions are more than welcome in the comments below.
The battery life is great. It can last a full day, even with videos, games and social apps constantly on. If I anticipate a very heavy usage day, like a car trip, plane ride or one where I know I won’t have access to a charger, I’ll bring along one of these spare batteries that I like to keep handy, but it is extremely rare that I’ve had to switch to a spare. The battery itself gets a full charge in a few hours, so no complaints there.
Remember those old Palm Pilots with a stylus and graffiti pad? All Note phones have been built with a stylus since the inception of the original Note, and the Note 3 style comes with an action click, but more on that in a minute. Not only can you write anywhere on the screen with the action memo or screen write capture, but I recently found out that you can use graffiti typing instead of Google Keyboard tapping or Swype (factory installed!). I take a lot of notes on my phone, so the stylus is great for that as well with the Action Memo.
This isn’t really meant to be a post about the Note 3, but more about why I don’t need the Note 4. I have seen it first-hand, and while there are many differences and enhancements, I haven’t found anything really lacking on my Note 3. The phone hasn’t lagged, I haven’t run out of space from the 32GB that are factory installed and overall a great phone. One of the best things that I’ve seen on any phone so far is the ability to hide all of the bloatware that both Verizon and Samsung load up on the phone, so I don’t even know it is there anymore.
After having a phone with such a large display, the only thing I would even consider upgrading to is the Note 4, but I’m not due for an upgrade now anyways, so I have no reason to think about it. And with my long list of past devices, I’m usually itching for a new one after 6 months, let alone a whole year, and yet I don’t feel the need for an upgrade. Those who follow this blog know my feelings for Apple Devices, as I’m Not a Hater so the iPhone 6 Plus holds no appeal to me. It looks pretty, but that’s about all it is good for to me.
– Yak