Samsung Continues Its Large Screen March With The GALAXY Note 3

While the sane techies may criticise Samsung for its increasing screen sizes in mobile devices, the Korean manufacturer prefers to listen to the majority who want such screens and continues its march by launching the GALAXY Note 3. The new smartphone boasts of a 5.7" Full HD Super AMOLED multi-touch display that should be a treat to view due to its high pixel density of 388 ppi. Despite its large screen size, the device is just 8.3 mm in thickness and weighs 168 grams, which is just about the same as most smartphones today. It is powered by an 8-core Exynos 5 Octa chip (1.9 GHz Cortex-A15 and 1.3 GHz Cortex-A7 CPU with ARM Mali T628MP6 GPU) with 3 GB RAM that should provide enough firepower for the most demanding tasks today.

The Note 3 looks better than its predecessor with a faux metallic bezel and a plastic leather rear cover with faux stitching. It has a 13 MP rear camera capable of recording 1080p@60fps and even 4K@30fps. With 32 GB of internal storage, there is a microSD slot to add up to an additional 64 GB. It supports USB OTG with the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 standard, thus becoming the first smartphone to support this interface for faster data transfers with compatible devices. A 3200 mAh battery is present for power backup. Here are the specifications:

• Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean), Google Play
• 2G (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), 3G (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz), Micro-SIM 
• 5.7" Super AMOLED capacitive multi-touch screen with pixel dimensions of 1080x1920 (386 ppi) 
• Exynos 5 Octa chip (quad-core 1.9 GHz Cortex-A15 and quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A7 CPU with ARM Mali T628MP6 GPU) 
• 3 GB RAM, 32 GB internal storage, Up to 64 GB via microSDXC 
• 13 megapixel rear camera with LED flash, autofocus, 1080p@30fps and 2160p@30fps 
• 2 megapixel front camera with 1080p@30fps 
• Wi-Fi with hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, Infrared, micro-USB 3.0 with OTG 
• 3.5 mm audio jack, GPS with A-GPS and GLONASS 
• Accelerometer, Gyrometer, Proximity, Compass, Barometer, Temperature, Humidity, Gesture 
• 3200 mAh Li-Ion battery

On the software front, the smartphone comes with Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) cloaked by Samsung's TouchWiz UI. Being a Note class of device, it comes with a stylus that automatically launches the Air Command menu once it is removed from its compartment. There are pen-oriented features such as Action Memos (something similar to sticky notes, but using handwriting recognition), Pen Window, Screen Write annotation tool, S Finder, and Scrapbook. It retains the multi-window functionality that has been enhanced to support more apps. Additionally, it can run multiple instances of a single app (thus you can log into multiple instances of an IM client using different IDs from the same device simultaneously) and you can drag and drop content between apps A My Magazine news aggregator app comes preinstalled to keep you updated with the latest happenings around. It also comes with a 1-year subscription for Evernote Premium.

Samsung provides security to the phone with its KNOX application that allows users to store security-sensitive apps and data inside a secure "container". There is also a Find My Mobile feature that allows users to disable the device if it is stolen or lost. This prevents even factory reset of such a disabled device, while the user can still remotely track or erase the data if necessary. With the Indian market in mind, the smartphone comes with support for 11 regional languages including Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Oriya and Assamese. The Samsung GALAXY Note 3 comes for a whopping Rs 49,900. Probably as a consolation, Samsung bundles freebies worth Rs 15,000 with the smartphone, which include preloaded apps and a wide range of services that can be accessed through a special zone called Content Gifts. Also, Note 3 customers on Vodafone network will be able to avail 2 GB of 2G internet per month for two months. The smartphone will be available from 25 September 2013 and can be pre-booked on the Samsung mobile e-Store right away.

Is It Time For Wearable Android Devices? Samsung Thinks So With Its GALAXY Gear Smartwatch

It wasn't just the GALAXY Note 3 that was announced by Samsung; the company also launched its much awaited GALAXY Gear smartwatch in India as a companion accessory. This new concept device is wearable like a watch and normally displays time and weather info, but is actually a gadget that will pair with an Android device to notify the user about incoming texts, emails, and calls with quick previews. Samsung is advertising it to be able to extend the GALAXY Note 3 experience, but it should technically work with any other Android device, at least from Samsung, just as well. Here are the specifications:

• Android
• 1.63" Super AMOLED screen with pixel dimensions of 320x320
• 800 MHz Exynos CPU, ARM Mali-400 MP4 GPU (210 MHz/500 MHz)
• 512 MB RAM, 4 GB internal storage
• 1.9 megapixel camera on wrist band
• Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC
• 3-axis accelerometer, Gyroscope
• 315 mAh battery with up to 25 hours backup

The gizmo looks somewhat larger than a regular wristwatch with its 1.63" Super AMOLED screen. It is powered by an 800 MHz Exynos CPU with 512 MB of RAM and 4 GB of storage. There is even a 1.9 mp camera along with Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, Wi-Fi, an accelerometer and gyroscope. The 315 mAh battery is advertised to be able to provide up to 25 hours of backup. The Samsung GALAXY Gear is priced at Rs 22,900, which puts it beyond reach for most aspirants. While I am still a long way from being ready to wear such a large and expensive watch, for those of you who still want to give it a shot, the smartwatch will be available in India from 25 September 2013.