A word of caution before you read my Samsung Galaxy Note3 & Gear review! I did my best to use both the phone and the watch as though I had decided to purchase it for myself. That is, pretending I did not get a returnable sample for review, and definitely not going out of my way to figure it out, since I’m a busy work at home mom who doesn’t have the time to read user manuals. I will highlight the features that were important to me as an online editor, writer and social media maven. Keep in mind also that I am a happy Iphone user, so my take on an Android is always going to be skewed by that fact.
Now on to the things I loved about the Galaxy Note3:
EASY SETUP
Even though I’m used to how easy and intuitive my Iphone is to set up, It did not take me long to get the apps I use the most up and running and to figure out the basic use of the phone. For those who don’t want to be bogged down by the apparently endless possibilities of the Galaxy Note3, you can always set it to easy screen mode. Then all you will see on your home screen are the apps you use the most. Period.
LARGE SCREEN BUT SLIM DESIGN
What can I say. The large screen is more than a pleasure to work with, really. Since I spend most of my day online, reading and sending texts, e-mails, tweets and Facebook posts, and scanning the news, this was a big bonus. However, the phone was still easy to carry in my small purse or even the back pocket of my jeans since it is extremely slim. I don’t usually hold the phone up to my ear for long convos, so my usual headphones worked just fine.
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OUTSTANDING CAMERA
Aside from the fact that I can actually get a great view of what I’m going to photograph, the camera has a built in beauty feature that allows the vainest of women to fearlessly post a selfie without having to edit out under eye circles and blemishes. The quality of the shots is impeccable and I loved being able to take action pictures of my kiddos and enhance them without having to download additional apps. The downside is that depending on how closely you hold the camera you may have to crop out anything below your neck, since there is a visible difference between the softened area and the real deal. Still, the quality of the shots is extremely good considering it’s a phone!
HANDWRITING TO TEXT FEATURE
As someone who still takes notes by hand, I really enjoyed the handwriting to text feature. In most applications, you can use the S.Pen (very conveniently stored inside the phone), to jot down texts, e mails, notes, Facebook updates, and it will convert them to print text. There is a slight learning curve for both the phone and the user, but I have to say the Samsung Note3 was great at recognizing my very particular penmanship.
AUTOCORRECT AND AUTOFILL
For keyboard typing, the autofill and autocorrect feature was superior to the one the Iphone incorporates. It made for faster typing even with my thumbs (difficult for me to do on the Iphone). I could do it in both Spanish and English and was very happy with the result.
DO I REALLY NEED THE GEAR?
As much as I enjoy big watches, after I synced the Gear with the phone, I only used it twice. The watch can alert you of texts, e mails, phone calls and more as long as it is within a few feet of the phone. It can even take pictures and you can have a conversation by holding the watch up to your mouth, spy-movie-style. But, it’s not for me. I’d rather use the headphones with the phone itself. I do know many of you will love the portability of the Gear.
MY VERDICT
Would I buy the Samsung Note3 and Gear having tested it? That’s still up in the air, just because all my gadgets are Apple and sync seamlessly. This is my calendar, my pictures, my music…
If you are an all PC, Google-based, Android user, I say go for this great device! You may even be able to do without a tablet, as this is something between a smart-phone and a tablet. So that’s one fewer thing to carry! But if you’re an all-Apple user, then think twice. And… I’m still thinking!
Disclaimer: A returnable sample was received from the manufacturer. Opinions are our own. Neither Mamiverse nor its reviewers received compensation for this review.
