Sad news Geek people of the Geekanoids Community … there will be no full review of the Galaxy Note 3. In this mini-review I would like to explain why.
With great excitement, I unboxed this gorgeous looking smartphone, errrr, tablet, oh go on then "phablet" and was immediately impressed. Admittedly the materials had not changed much from the previous generation, but things had improved with a leather type back cover, making everything more tactile. In addition, the Note 3 was faster and the screen pin-sharp with its 1920x1080 resolution.
A day into testing and the camera really did impress too. Of course 1080P video was expected, but full 4K resolution was a bonus with the colours & detail being very pleasing to the eye. It was a shame that image stabilisation was only available in 1080P, resulting in pretty shakey 4K videos. On the photo front, there is also plenty of detail, again colours looking nice and a pretty responsive experience.
Battery life was also good, even though I had the Note 3 a short time, you should expect to get through a whole day between charges. So why did I have the Note 3 for just a few days? Well, there were issues. The first was what must be a 3G/4G/WiFi authentication issue. I am only guessing here, but when using the YouTube app and other apps it would not sign in. The sign in would continue to fail unless I turned off WiFi. This is not an issue with the Geekanoids HQ setup, as I tried on two completely different locations with the same result.
The second issue was the Note 3 freezing, completely locked, where only pulling the battery would sort the problem. Alas, the device has been returned and I will not get another. I should add that it has tested fine upon return, so I am confused as to why I experienced such issues.
Although my overall rating of the Note 3 is tarnished a bit, I am experienced enough to know that faulty products to make their way out of the production line. I am pretty sure that this was an isolated fault and that on the whole, your experience of this large screened beauty will be very good. The speed, screen, camera and not forgetting the S-Pen all add up to a compelling proposition. If you need the size & speed the Note 3 is well worth a look.
