Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo Review

Notes are the devices that people cannot seem to get enough of, and the new Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo is a brand new, less expensive version of a Note that must be good for everyone. Samsung, for the first time in three years, has gone down-market with its exclusive Note line releasing a budget alternative of the Note 3 in the form of Galaxy Note 3 Neo. As expected, Note 3 Neo is scaled down on several specs including display, processor, RAM and camera. When compared with its bigger sibling, the Note 3 Neo comes with a 5.5” 720p HD display instead of 5.7” 1080p, slower processor, 2 GB of RAM instead of 3, and 8-megapixel camera instead of 13 MP.

There are many similarities like it has got the identical design, same software features and also the most admired S Pen Stylus. Moreover, the Note 3 Neo features a large 3100mAh battery that augurs well for the perspective endurance. In fact, Note 3 Neo is a new branch in the Note family tree that with a six core CPU based on ARM’s big little architecture, an 8 MP camera that is capable of recording 1080p video and a SuperAMOLED screen all are solid credentials that add up to the value of Note 3 Neo. Although, the screen resolution is bit down but then again 720p is not too bad. The screen on the whole is decently sharp whereas assuring to place less strain on the battery and keeping cost down.

The retail package comes with the bare minimum and there is no surprise for you in the box the galaxy note 3 Neo is shipped in. Here is the list of accessories that you get with the Galaxy Note 3 Neo.

• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo
• A Powerful 2A Charger
• A USB Cable
• A Headset
• A Stylus
• User Guide and Manual
• Guarantee Cards

The Size difference of the original Note 3 and the Neo is negligible. Overall, the size, weight and thickness differences are extremely hard to spot when you place the two devices side by side. The Neo screen diagonal is just a fraction of an inch shorter than the original Galaxy Note 3. This result in a tad smaller footprint compared with the Note 3.

The Note 3 Neo measures about 148.4 x 77.4 x 8.6 mm which means that the new Note 3 Neo is only 3.5mm shorter, 2mm narrower and only 5.5g lighter than the original Galaxy Note 3. Furthermore, these dimensions also make the device more pocket friendly. You can even operate this new Note device with your one hand quite easily despite of its 5.5” display. This is another advantage that you have over other typical phablets.

Design wise, the Note 3 Neo is same as the original Galaxy Note 3. It has the same faux-leather battery cover, complete with the stitching, the stylus compartment is also in the same place, and like the original one it is also completely made of plastic. Whereas the outer appearance is done in the new Samsung stylistic of metal-imitating side rim and the removable back cover are designed to look and feel like leather with almost real stiches.

Though, the overall finish is not perfect because the back is a bit harder taking away some of the feel. Nevertheless, it still can handle damage very well and even survive a few drops. The finish on the sides is also kept similar. The new Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo is designed in such a way that its design clearly says that hey, I am a Note, just too smaller.

In a nutshell, the display of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo comes with 720p HD resolution which is the biggest tradeoff, and thus, all the Super AMOLED oddities and advantages apply here. The 5.5” display has the resolution of 720x1280 pixels resulting in 267ppi pixel density which is below Retina quality.

This panel, when compared with the 5.7” 1080p screen of the flagship Note 3, also comes as the biggest difference, as the original Note 3 flaunts a 386 ppi pixel count. This huge difference clearly suggests that details on the Note 3 Neo won't be as defined, and doodling won't look as precise as on the 1080p displays of the Note 3 or S4.

However, despite having said that the device and its display are perfectly adequate for everyday purposes, and serves well. Its panel is still of the Super AMOLED variety and therefore, you get somewhat oversaturated cold colors, deep blacks and viewing angles are excellent. More interestingly, the Neo 3 comes with four different screen mode presets, so you can tune the saturation to your liking. This means that you have option either to go for the full AMOLED bang or choose more realistic color representation.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo runs on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. It is loaded with Samsung’s TouchWiz Nature UX same like the one Galaxy Note 3 was launched with. Though, there is no KitKat yet but we hope that Samsung will soon release an update, given that the original Note 3 has been enjoying it for a few weeks now.

The lockscreen supports widgets, shortcuts and multiple panel each with one widget. Setting a live wallpaper or a static one or even setting TripAdvisor to display beautiful images from around the world is as easy as one two three. Though, there is a huge difference that KitKat brings in terms of apparent visual changes like a transparent status bar and full screen wallpaper. On the other hand, you can enjoy all the bells and whistle that come with Samsung’s homemade interface overlay. For example, Smart Stay and Multi Window Mode one for keeping screen on when you are looking at it and the later for running two different apps on a split screen.

And, there is a good news for people who would like to multitask with the Note 3 Neo. The display size of the Note 3 Neo is very conductive to multitasking. In order to let the handset works as a league of its own, you simply have to add the S pen apps to the mix. You will be gifted with excellent S Note app along with several drawing as well as annotation functions in the Gallery or Calendar. On top of that, the phone also offers Air View and the Air gestures that let you hover above the display with the stylus or a finger, enabling you marking links and evoking pop up information.

From Accessibility Settings, you can also access Assistant Menu that floats a small square on top of the screen, which contains large back, notifications, menu and so on buttons. This could be a really helpful feat with the plus size phones as it allows you to go back to the previous screen without requiring you to stretch all the way to the capacitive buttons to hit the back key. This comes especially handy when you are juggling the large handset like the Note 3 Neo with your index finger.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo comes with a large display means you get a large on screen keyboard helping you type easily. Though, typing on such display with one hand still is a chore and specially when need to reach for the upper right or left corner. If you find it difficult, you can enable Swype like functionality that traces your finger from a letter to a letter, and inputs the word for you, rather than striking each individual key. This will make typing easier for you.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo comes with a hexacore CPU which is a new addition in the Exynos block. It comes with two sets of cortex core, one set contains two Cortex-A15 cores that clocked at 1.7 GHz maximum, and the other set contains four Cortex-A7s, clocked at 1.3 GHz. Considering its clock speed, it may not be a benchmark monster but it comes with a decent 2 GB of RAM and is paired with a decent graphics processor as well which is ARM’s Mali-T624. This indicates that you will hardly face any interface or app lag or hiccup.

However, playing heavy 3D games is an exception as in this condition, it may be restraining the effects down, but that should not be much of a problem for many. This one will step in the LTE version of the Note 3 Neo, whereas the 3G version will get a 1.6 GHz quad-core processor.

On further comparison it is clear that the hexacore Exynos is clocked much slower when compared with the 2.3 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 or even when compared with the 1.9 GHz Exynos 5 Octa versions of the original Note 3. For that reason, the difference in benchmarks is poised to be exceedingly noteworthy. The same thing applies to GPU as well. It is likely to be faster than Mali-400 in the Note II, but weaker than the Adreno 330 or Mali-T628 graphics processors in the Note 3.

Talking about its internal memory, the new Note 3 Neo comes with a 2 GB of Ram giving you sufficient space to line up many apps open at the same time without even slowing the device down. Furthermore, it offers 16 GB of internal memory in which 11 GB are available for users use, and on top of that you can make use of the microSD card slot to expand the storage.

Surprisingly, the Note 3 Neo offers an extraordinarily long list of connectivity features that include all the basics like quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and quad-band 3G backed by HSDPA (42Mbps downlink, 5.76Mbps uplink).

The Wi-Fi support covers a/b/g/n on top of the latest ac standard, with both 2.4GHz and 5GHz band compatibility. Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA are part of the package, of course. In some markets the handset will have an IR blaster for remote controlling your TV or home stereo, too. All in all, the connectivity in the Note 3 Neo has got everything you can ask for.

Browser also works great, although, it looks slightly outdated because of its squarish interface element, but the fact is that it is one of the fastest renderers we have seen so far. On top of that it also supports Adobe Flash which is another great thing. Web browsing experience is quite pleasing. The Super AMOLED display with great colors makes reading a joy. Pages render quickly and navigating across the web page is also easy. The browser supports both double tap as well as pinch zooming, and on top of that you can also use two fingers to tilt zoom.

Apart from that, there are many other nice features as well that include multiple tabs, text reflow, find on page and many others. Furthermore, Air view, Smart scroll and Smart stay all work perfectly in the browser. Samsung has also added a neat trick which is to pinch zoom out beyond the minimum - that opens up the tabs view.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo is armed with a midrange snapper of 8 megapixels with plenty of shooting modes. The camera is present at the back of the device and has an LED flash beneath it that works well. You will also find a 1.9 megapixels front facing camera for video chat. A lot of shooting modes are offered here that makes snapping a fun. These include HDR or Panorama, arranged in an easy to flip through carousel, as well as plenty of color effects.

The camera interface is very familiar. There is a single viewfinder that effectively handles both still and video capture, so you don't have to switch modes. There are many more options to explore and have fun with. For example, there is a shooting mode named as double shot. It snaps a photo with both the front and the back cameras, so the person holding the phone can be in the shot too.

Image quality is also very satisfactory. The images have loads of details in them even in the areas of low lights and less than perfect weather. Furthermore, Samsung has done a great job in keeping the noise well under control. White balance is reasonably correct and colors are fairly attractive - striking good balance between natural and punchy colors. The HDR images come out even more better containing an excellent amount of fine details.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo is capable or recording 1080p@30 fps videos. Video quality is pretty fine. You will find a high level of details in the videos as well, and on top of that colors are quite natural and the framrate of the video very consistent. Contrast and white balance are also quite satisfactory and in some impressive footage they are rather great. Overall, the camera is something that you won’t regret about.

Here is a quick sum up of multimedia features that Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo offers. First, the gallery layout is the same as that of the original Note 3. It offers split screen view to show your folders on the left and their content on the right. It can be sorted into albums, all photos and videos, time, location, etc. navigating across the gallery app is quite simple. The device also offers several editing options for your photos. Use the S Pen Stylus to make drawing on and annotating your pictures a breeze.

Retouching your photos right in the gallery app is extremely easy. The app gives you plenty of options to edit your photos. These include crop, rotate, color and effects. You can also make a memo on top of the picture. Apart from that viewing your photos on the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo itself is a joy as the Super AMOLED display and ample sized screen give you colors punchier than anything else on the market. There are many sharing options also that you can find when viewing a single photo. A delete button is also there above the photo.

The music player app interface has blocky elements giving it similarity with many other Samsung phones. The app offers all the basics, though its interface design is not very impressive but we can overlook it considering that the functionality is good. The app is jam-packed with features and supports a wide variety of file formats, including FLAC and Wave. On top of the device also offers some exceptional features that can literally improve your listening experience further. One of them is Smart Sound that equalizes the volume between tracks.

The device comes with a stock video player that runs all popular formats such as MKV and Xvid without a hitch. The resolution is about 1080p and video playback is exceptionally great. On the other hand, the interface and the options leave something to be desired but on the whole, it is something that we can ignore as there are many other impressive features to talk about. The audio output of the new Note 3 Neo is as impressive as you would expect.

The battery of the Galaxy Neo has reasonably big capacity of 3,100mAh, just 100mAh less than the original Note 3 phablet. It sounds very good for the resulting endurance, and its battery life turned out to be great. The endurance rating of 74 hours means the Galaxy Note 3 Neo should manage just over three days on a single charge if used for one hour each of calls, web browsing and video playback daily.

Samsung has just reinforced its Galaxy arsenal by launching a new wave of phones and tablets, and the Galaxy Note 3 Neo is one of them. Though it seems like making a huge success for the company but its pricing is bit of a put off. The price difference between the Note 3 Neo and the Note 3 is not much so if you do have a budget of around Rs 60,000, why not put in a little more and get the Note 3 itself?

The device appeals largely to those who are drooling after the Note 3, but think it is either too expensive, or too big to be carried around comfortably. It is more compact, despite sporting the same screen size, and has new-gen screen, a faster processor and the newer generation of the S Pen. The most important thing is that the Company brings the full S Pen functionality in a mid-range phablet, and this is something that we as consumers can take benefit from.

On the other hand, when compared with the Note 2, we find that the Note 3 Neo can be a worthy replacement to the Note 2 and makes up a good choice. But then again, there are many other better alternatives in this price range that include Samsung S4, Xperia Z1, and LG G2. Considering this fact if the company drops the price of this newly added member only then the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo becomes the best phablet on a budget.