Test: Samsung Galaxy Note 3, bigger is ...

Samsung pulled off a coup by imposing the format of its Galaxy Note and it would have been a shame not to continue the momentum. After Note 2 to the obvious success, Note 3 is called in the game. But is it at its peers and competitors?

What is it?

A phone! Yes, we do not lack humor. But it is especially a great phone screen, running Android 4.3 and features the Samsung Touch Wiz overlay. It has a Super AMOLED 5.7 "1080p which amounts to a definition of 386 pixels per inch. Adds a built-in stylus (oops, sorry, "S Pen"), to scribble to outdo.

While the Galaxy Note 2 brought some major improvements vis-à-vis the Galaxy Note 1 in terms of speed and ergonomics, the Galaxy Mega was making a huge step backwards. The Galaxy Note 3 seeks to transcend both. And usually it gets there.

Design

"Oh my god! "The response to this phablet is perhaps excessive chouilla but legitimate.Samsung has managed to make a phone without it sticking a foul plastic back shell. The back of Note 3 is covered by a leather case. Besides, it looks like leather and it smells like (enough to fool a lot of people).

On the front of Note 3, there is a beautiful display surrounded by a little invasive and aesthetic context. The terminal retains its central and its acolytes always physical button, the two capacitive buttons back and menu.

The S Pen fits easily into the bottom of the phone and is discreet! In addition, there is a speaker and finally a 13-megapixel camera.

We loved it!

Note 3 shows the high performance, thanks to its 800 Snapdragon processor clocked at 2.3 GHz. And because it's probably not enough, he has also acquired 3 GB of RAM and a storage capacity of 16 GB or 32 GB expandable. Ie the Note 3 is extremely swift.Applications open quickly and pass from one to another without a hitch. From a user perspective, the rating 3 performs almost flawlessly, and torque processor quad-core/RAM wonders. Anyone who is a fan of power will be delighted with the fluidity granted. Its dimensions being what they are (151.2 x 79.2 x 8.3 mm), Note 3 stands out as an ideal device for games, doodles, video or navigation.

Moreover, it is not incorrect to say that Samsung and screens, it is a love story that lasts, and it is not 3 Note that exception to the rule. Its screen is really nice, especially for viewing photos. It offers these perfect black that we love so much on AMOLED screens.Note also that as compared to the Note 2, Note 3 the really offers a more qualitative slab, it's a nice change that should be noted.

Besides that, it says, the back of this phone is fantastic! This is something we have never said a Samsung phone. The leather finish is good, does not retain fingerprints and offers a great quality of grip, safe and enjoyable. The back shell is more removable, which allows access to the battery or to integrate a microSD card to expand the native memory.

On the issue of software, we enjoyed finding a comprehensive update of software dedicated S Pen (stylus). It is an undeniable asset rating of 3 compared to the competition.While it was possible to copy the size of toy, but not the quality of his pen. Defects such as writing engine are corrected and greatly improved. More precise, this stylus will please fans of scribbling. A very simple example of the possibilities offered by the big screen / stylus combo: if you notice a lot of information about a contact in a note and you want to dial a phone number, you simply enclose and click "Link to Action"> "call."

Now turn to the perennial debate of autonomy. Here equips the Samsung Note 3 a battery of 3200mAh. Result: the battery life is more than adequate, and the smartphone will hold more than one without the box recharge day, being optimized. Even being pushed to its limits (Note 3 use as a modem for a few hours), it will keep you company until evening. Try a little do the same with iphone 5/5S and just get back to us!

The 13 megapixel rear camera fitted to the Note 3 is excellent, especially in direct sunlight.Photos and videos are of good quality, and highlight a beautiful color and a decent depth of field. Do not spoil the camera application integrated photo at phablet is complete.General public, it obviously does not offer many opportunities for settings that NokiaLumia last generation, but still: there is plenty to do here very pretty pictures.

Last point: Note 3 is currently one of two devices that works with the Galaxy Gear, watch connected Samsung makes both debate!

We liked least ...

The Note 3 may well be overkill, the Samsung Touch Wiz overlay applied to Android is relatively heavy. Admittedly, this smartphone is fast, but it would have been even much more. Nevertheless, TouchWiz has been optimized, which is not a luxury. It is still confusing and burdensome. Needless to say, we have the wrong overlay, and apart from the HTC Sense solution, few are those who find it through our eyes. Overlays, rhyme, in our opinion, too often with pollution OS bugs repeatedly, inconsistencies and updates.That said, if the TouchWiz has made progress, it is still requires an adjustment period for anyone who has ever practiced. Not everyone will agree, but still lacks Note 3 widgets, and compared to a HTC, you will soon feel frustrated.

Samsung has also borrowed some ideas to its competitors, My Magazine is none other than the HTC BlinkFeed but less complete. It is an application that tries to expose your life in a visually appealing way (information, networks, RSS ...). In the end, it remains somewhat functional.

The audio quality is also slightly disappointing on this phone, which is a shame. Despite its appearance tablet , it's still supposed to be able to receive and make phone calls. The external speaker also lacks punch. In short, in terms of sound quality, it is not a panacea, but it is at least possible to improve this through manual settings available. We say that this is a smartphone, not a stereo and the result is quite audible.

The rating also takes three controls without contact Moto X. This allows you to wake up your phone and make him "do things" without even lay a finger on the screen. A gadget, so not fundamentally necessary. Also, in theory, the S Voice can do virtually anything thatgoogle Now performs in practice it does not work as well. It's awkward, and not as smart as Now or Siri!

And then I buy?

Until the phone is in your hands, the debate about whether it is too big will never end. It is subjective. For example, your obligation has small hands (ok, ok, lowercase ...) and yet swear by the good-sized screens.

Do you really like big phones? So yes! This is the best phone you can find on Android now.You hate the giant phones? So no, you should not buy (because you will drop it on the floor and cry). But it's like to propose an Apple fanboy to be persuaded by the Android that does not make sense, it is a false debate.

In short, apart from the price (about 650 € depending on the offers), you just have to omit the gravitational pull of the Galaxy Mega and if you want a giant phone, darken the Note 3 and pen (uh , Pen S).