Hands-on at IFA: Samsung Galaxy Note 3 N9005

After the Unpacked 2013: Episode 2 event at the Tempodrom in Berlin, Samsung also joined the rest of the brands in IFA by showcasing all of its new devices and appliances to the media and the public. We got a second round to check out the Galaxy Note 3.

Samsung originally announced that there will be two variants of the Galaxy Note 3 — a hexaband LTE-capable SM-N9005 Galaxy Note 3 running a quad-core Snapdragon 800 2.265GHz processor, Adreno 330 Graphics; and a 3G model powered by a dual-quad core Exynos 5 Octa (quad-core 1.9GHz Cortex-A15 and quad-core 1.3GHz Cortex-A7).

The model that we saw in the exhibition hall was mostly the Snapdragon 800 variant. Fortunately, this is going to be the same model that will be released in the Philippines which supports the LTE network of Smart and Globe.

There will also be three basic color variants — black, white and pink. The colors will reflect the glossy pattern at the front as well as the faux-leather cover at the back.

The back covers are also removable to expose the battery, micro SIM card and micro SD card. Samsung will also be offering an additional 7 color variants (for a total of 10) of the flip cover which includes the back cover.

Samsung managed to increase the size of the display of the Galaxy Note 3 to 5.68 inches without changing the over-all size of the Note 2 (the width remained the same). This resulted to thinner bezels and narrower space in the area around the sensors and physical Home button.

The shape of the handset has somewhat become more edgy rather than curved like the old Galaxy S2.

We managed to take an Anututu Benchmark on one of the units (Quadrant Standard would result to network error) and got a high score of 34,602, the highest we’ve seen so far.

Samsung added more features into their TouchWiz UI, including an improved function for the S Pen. The fancy Group Play now also includes multi-screen playback of videos, just like the demo shown below:

Here’s some quick hands-on test of the gesture controls with the S Pen. Also note that all of the UI and software features found on the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and the Galaxy S4.

Here’s the full hardware specifications of the Note 3 that will be released in the Philippines. We noticed that one core has a maximum speed of 2.265GHz and the actual available RAM is just 2.5GB. Fortunately, the base storage space is set at 32GB and not 16GB like the S4.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 SM-N9005 specs:
5.68-inch full HD Super AMOLED display @ 1920×1080 pixels, 388ppi
Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800 2.265GHz quad-core
Adreno 330 Graphics
3GB RAM
32GB, 64GB internal storage
up to 64GB via microSD card
LTE Category 4 150Mbps
WiFi 802.11ac
Bluetooth 4.0
NFC
IR Blaster
GPS w/ aGPS support, GLONASS
13MP rear camera, BSI sensor
1080p @ 60fps
1.9MP front-facing camera
1080p video @ 30fps
3200mAh Li-Ion battery
8.3mm thin
168 grams
Android 4.3 Jellybean

Samsung is set to make the global release on September 25, 2013. However, the Philippine launch is slated some time in October though the specific date is unknown. No details on the price as well although we predict an SRP of about Php34,990USD 596INR 50,547EUR 568CNY 4,342.

Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

https://www.yugatech.com

18 Comments

ecaps24 says:

11 years ago

35k is quite a steep price.
- Reply
rosenburg says:

11 years ago

Pass… ok pa naman note2 ko.
- Reply
Karl says:

11 years ago

Got my Note 2 just last summer and no regrets about it, except perhaps when Globe offered it at no cashout. LOL. Still patiently waiting for the next Android version. I hope we get the S4 and Note 3 software features as well.
- Reply
JasonWilliams says:

11 years ago

if 32gb the minimum? the only thing na ayaw ko sa note 2 ko is yung 16gb internal, kaya mas ok kung 32gb na nga ang minimum, since pahirapan naman makakuha ng iba pang version..

ang gusto ko lang na upgrade is yung battery, sana sa note 4 eh magkaron na ng atleast 6000mah na battery. yung tipong 3 days with heavy use
- Reply
Andrew says:

11 years ago

Sana maglabas din ng leather case for note2. Un lang nagustuhan ko n upgrade dito. Contented pa naman ako sa specs and speed ng note2 ko so note3 is not a big deal.
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Mr. Curious says:

11 years ago

you said “We managed to take an Anututu Benchmark on one of the units (Quadrant Standard would result to network error) and got a high score of 34,602, the highest we’ve seen so far.”

but here in your earlier post

http://www.yugatech.com/mobile/sony-xperia-z1-first-impressions/

it scored 34625 which is clearly higher than that of note 3. P.S I’m not a sony fan boy nor a sammy basher. I just want you to clarify this detail thanks and more power to yugatech!
=D
- Reply
irene says:

11 years ago

saan pong mall sa pilipinas available ito??
- Reply
alex says:

11 years ago

I bought my note 2 a week after it was released in the country from widget city. While it was priced then at 32k I was able to buy mine from widgetcity at 28k. Will that still be the case for note 3? I think yuga is friends with widgetcity can help answer that question. Thanks
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Deenah says:

11 years ago

Weee!!! I was abt to get note 2, but waited to see the announcement of note 3 and fell inlove with it!!! Im so excited. To those who already have note 2, it’s still great! Enjoy taking notes!!!!
- Reply
iamKat says:

11 years ago

Ang gs2 ko lng sa note 3 eh yung bezels nya other than that no biggie sya sakin. Kase kng gnyan kalakas na processor at ram tapos LTE pa, sana hinigitan pa un battery like 4000mah o kaya 5000mah… hihigupin lng ang 3200mah nyan ng ilang oras eh. And the color variants are so-so din.. okay pa ko sa Note 2.
- Reply
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