Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo vs Note II: first look

Samsung's first mid-range phablet, the Galaxy Note 3 Neo, comes as a direct competitor to the Note II, which still sells globally, as they share very similar specs. Both sport 5.5” HD 720p displays, have 2 GB of RAM and 8 MP cameras on the back. Let's take a first look whether Samsung has managed to differentiate the smaller Note 3 enough to make people grab it before the also-affordable Note II.















Design
Despite the same display size, the Note 3 Neo is much shorter, less wide, and lighter than the Note II, so it is way more pocket-friendly, and easier to operate with one hand. It still sports a removable back cover with the new faux leather design, so you can quickly swap the battery or add more storage, just like on the Note II. The S Pen stylus is tucked the same way you'd find it on the Note 2, but it is side-agnostic, so you can insert it back in any position, and seems to pop in and out easier.

Display
Both phablets have 5.5” Super AMOLED displays with 720x1280 pixels of resolution, which works out to a 267ppi pixel density of the panels. This HD resolution means that detail and small text won't be as defined as on Full HD displays, but the density is enough for most everyday purposes, including doodling with the S Pen stylus. Because of the Super AMOLED tech, you can expect oversaturated, somewhat cold colors, deep blacks, and excellent viewing angles from both Notes.


Interface
The phablets sports Samsung's TouchWiz on top of Android Jelly Bean, but our prototype Note 3 Neo flaunts a newer version of both Android, and TouchWiz , plus we hope to see KitKat on it shortly, while the Note 2 is stuck on TouchWiz 4.0, and Android 4.1.

The smaller Note 3 also carries all the bells and whistles that come with Samsung's homemade interface overlay, like Smart Stay, which keeps the screen on while you are looking at it, and the multi-window mode that can run two different apps on a split screen.

The display size of the two Notes is very conducive to multitasking, which is enhanced by the stylus-specific apps like S Note, various drawing and annotating functions in the Gallery or Calendar, as well as the Air View and Air Gestures that let you hover above the display with the stylus or a finger and call pop-up info.


Processor and memory
There's a new hexacore Exynos in the Note 3 Neo, with two Cortex-A15 cores, clocked at 1.7 GHz maximum, and four Cortex-A7 ones, clocked at 1.3 GHz. There is also a 3G version of the phablet with 1.6 GHz quad-core processor, likely the same one that's in the note II. The hexacore Exynos is paired with a decent graphics processor, too, ARM's Mali-T624, so it's unlikely you'll have interface or app lag and hiccups.

It is clocked a tad higher than the 1.6 GHz quad-core Exynos 4412 in the Note II, but has only two cores capable of the full speed, so the difference in benchmarks is unlikely to be significant. The GPU, however, comes faster than Mali-400 in the Note II.

Samsung has put 2 GB of RAM in both phablets, as well as16 GB of internal memory, plus a microSD slot for storage expansion.


Camera
The handsets sport 8 MP camera on the back with LED flash, as well as a 1.9 MP front-facing shooters for video chat. Samsung's interface offers an abundance of shooting modes like HDR or Panorama, which on the Note 3 Neo are arranged in an easy to flip through carousel, while on the Note II they are in a grid-like thumbnail format. We did some samples with the Neo, but will comment when the retail version lands, with the camera expected to be at least as good, if not better than the one on the Note II. Both phones are able to capture 1080p video footage with 30fps.











Expectations
Note 3 Neo is actually the better alternative to a Note II, even though they are likely to be close in terms of price range. It is way more compact, despite sporting the same screen size, has newer software, and the next generation of the S Pen. The design and overall appearance are also more alluring, which would make the mid-range Note 3 Neo preferable to 2012's Note II.

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Warning to Samsung Galaxy Note 3 owners with greasy mitts, clean your screen or reveal your PIN

If you're a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 owner and, like us, you've got greasy fingers more often than not you must be careful. We just spotted the above when glancing at our Note 3 in the right light.

Unless you wipe down that screen regularly all sorts of stylus written information could be on display to people near you. Perhaps writing secure numbers down using the stylus is a bad move anyway, but we just thought it can't hurt to pass on our finding.

The last time someone got hold of our Note 3 we returned to find it littered with hand-drawn penii (that is indeed the plural). Leaving the phone on the table at a meeting with one of those clearly reflecting into someone's eye-sight could have been embarrassing. Or hilarious.

So be sure to keep your screen clean, or your fingers cleaner, you never know who's looking at your usage footprint - or is it fingerprint?

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Samsung Galaxy Note 3 review

Samsung's Galaxy Note has always been one of the company's more interesting products. It's the one that leads rather than follows the lead of another phone manufacturer. In many ways, it's the handset that proves Samsung can have great ideas that show more creativity than almost any other company on the phone scene.

We loved the Note 2, because it surprised us. We were among the critics from the off who thought it was too damn big. But it changed our minds: after using it for a week we were converted and it went on to become the phone we used as our own handset, day in day out So really, the Note 3 doesn't have to do too much to win us over, but it needs to move things on a bit too. We certainly expect big things from this big handset, and if it doesn't deliver, then we'll be its biggest critic. But enough preamble, does the Galaxy Note 3 push the series forward in the right direction?

Still big, still beautiful

The Note 3's additional 0.2-inches of screen size - toting it up to 5.7-inches - has been delivered without any major increase in device size. In fact, the Note 3 is just 0.1mm longer, but smaller in every other dimension than its predecessor. It's thinner and less wide than its predecessor. Mostly, this doesn't really show when you're using it, but it shows progress is being made, and the screen is larger without making the phone bigger.

But one area where the new device is notably better is in its weight. Or the fact there's less of it. The Note 2 weighed in at 183g, while the Note 3 is 168g. It no doubt sounds silly, as it's a mere 8 per cent lighter, but this makes a massive difference to how the phone feels. Although it's pretty much the same size as the Note 2, the reduced weight means that it feels more modern, and less of a burden to use.

There are other things that seem to make a big difference too. The sides aren't so rounded anymore, so it just feels nicer in your hand. The silver colour makes it look great too, and the etched-in lines make us think of an Art Deco building. In a good way. This is perfect for our taste, but you may not feel the same way.

Faux off

The back of the phone features a sort of faux leather effect. It's a bit silly as it's still just plastic. There's a fake stitching effect too, which is bizarre in the extreme, and it would be the last thing we'd choose to have on a phone, but in day-to-day use it didn't bother us all that much. As with all Samsung phones, the back is removable anyway, so you can replace it with a better alternative. The firm makes several different covers itself, including a "leather" fold over case with a clear window on the front - and we really rather like this.

Under the back cover, you also get some interesting changes. The battery has gone from a 3100mAh unit in the Note 2 to a 3200mAh battery in this phone. There's also Samsung's new all-in-one micro-SIM and microSD card slot. This combines both cards into a double stacked slot. A good space saver.

Elsewhere, things in the design department haven't changed all that much. The phone's controls are in much the same place as the previous device - power button on the right, volume on the left and headphone jack on top.

Out with the old

You get an IR blaster now too, so you can use the Note as a universal remote to change your TV channels and such - setting it up is incredibly easy too. We got it working with our Pioneer TV faster than we have with any other universal remote previously. The app, called WatchON, allows you to search what's on TV and then use that in combination with your TV and satellite receiver, cable box or plain Freeview to change the channel.

However, while the Note 2 had an FM radio, the Note 3 does not. This is sad, but we'll just have to stream our radio over the internet now, instead.

One of the other things that caused a fuss when details of the Note 3 arrived was that the phone would connect via a USB 3 socket at its base, rather than a standard USB 2 socket. The fuss came from the fact that the USB 3 socket is quite a bit bigger than USB 2. But that extra size brings with it a load of extra speed and much better charging options.

The good news is, your old USB chargers do still work with the Note 3, as USB 3 is compatible with USB 2. This means you won't find yourself somewhere, having forgotten to bring your own charger, and then be entirely incapable of charging your phone. We've tested this out and it works just fine.

In with the new

The Note 3 was always going to have a 1080p screen, because smaller phones have moved to this resolution, and there's really no good reason not to. We have to say though, the reality of this screen is better than we expected. On apps that support the new resolution, it's utterly breathtaking to look at. Fonts have a look that printed books would struggle with. It really is a thing of beauty.

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