The Samsung Galaxy Note III, which will be launching in September according to some rumors, has surfaced in various leaks and sketches, but most of what has been revealed about the device concerns its specifications, with images being slight, and those that are published being fairly low in quality. Now a couple shots said to be of the prototype device have surfaced, and one shows the handset’s internals.
The shots were posted by a user over on Chinese website Weibo, and are said to be of a prototype of the Galaxy Note III, which we saw once before in somewhat distant, vague photographs. While one just shows a front shot of the handset, complete with a screen protector and a couple sections censored out, the second – which you can see above – reveals what it looks like under the hood.
Thus far, information that has surfaced indicates that the Galaxy Note III will be surfacing with different processing architectures, with one anticipated to be a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor as an LTE-Advanced edition, and another with the Samsung Exynos Octa core processor. Either is said to accompany 2GB of RAM.
As far as display goes, rumors have it pegged as a large 5.7-inch Super AMOLED with full HD 1080p resolution. The camera is said to be a 13-megapixel offering using the same sensor found in the GALAXY S 4, although that is yet to be seen either way. Obviously, the device will also be coming with the latest iteration of the S-Pen, as well.
On July 10, several machine codes surfaced suggesting different carrier editions of the Galaxy Note III, among them being a few for the four big carriers we have stateside: Verizon (SM-N900V), AT&T (SM-N900A), Spring (SM-N900S), and T-Mobile (SM-N900T). Reportedly, the Exynos models of the handset will be the international edition, while the Snapdragon 800 offering will be available stateside.
You’ll be seeing a lot of Samsung Galaxy Note III tips and rumors over the next few weeks, (if this past week is any indicator), so in preparation, today’s relative solidification of at least one model should provide a good basis for your exploratory readings. What you’re going to see in the Samsung Galaxy Note III according to two sources speaking from across the pond this morning is a 5.7-inch panel with a lovely 1080 x 1920 pixel resolution – that’s the same amount of pixels as the Samsung Galaxy S 4 spread out across a bit more screen real estate.
Over at Samsung Updates, editor Adam Lange reveals the first appearance of the Samsung N900, aka the device code for the Galaxy Note III as found at UAPROF. This appearance is joined by a host of carrier editions similar to what we’d seen earlier this month. This same source confirms the display resolution as well as the CPU – likely pointing toward the Exynos 5 Octa upgrade Samsung spoke of earlier this week.
This code reals, on the other hand, that the Galaxy Note III will be appearing with more than one iteration in its processing architecture, likely appearing also with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 in an LTE-Advanced edition. Based on our chat with Qualcomm yesterday, we’re to understand that the Snapdragon 800 will be working with multi-region LTE support as an up-front solution, this quite possibly providing Samsung with a way to reach multiple international markets with a single SKU.
On another hand still is the fact that we’re also seeing different codes for AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint for the USA, along with at least two more carrier variants beyond the first two international models, one for Exynos, the other for Snapdragon 800. It should also be obvious by now that the Galaxy Note III will be coming with a next-generation S-Pen as each of the previous machines have arrive with, as well as Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.
Over at MK News, they say that the Samsung Galaxy Mega lent some insight for Samsung into the possibilities of bringing another two sizes of displays – 6.3 and 5.8 – to the market for the Galaxy Note. Also having tested a 5.99-inch iteration of the Galaxy Note III, this tip says Samsung stuck with the 5.7 in the end as the ideal state of the machine.
Have a peek at the Samsung Galaxy Note III timeline below to gain further insight into the rumors and tips that run this machine into reality sooner than later, likely right before IFA 2013!
Samsung’s successor to the Galaxy Note II is surely to come into existence at some point, and we’ve been waiting on it for quite some time now, but it seems we’re still stuck with rumors and leaks for the time being. The latest leak to cross our paths is a sketch of what is said to be the Galaxy Note III. Nothing too out of the ordinary here, except for what is said to be a Xenon camera flash.
The sketch itself doesn’t reveal much about the design of the phablet smartphone, seeing as how it just looks like any other device from Samsung, but the spec sheet below the sketch reveals that the phone will include a “Xenon flash,” which is a rare thing to see on smartphones and hasn’t yet quite caught on yet in the mobile market.
A Xenon flash is a lot better than conventional LED flash in the sense that a Xenon flash allows for much better low-light images. Xenon flashes provide a stronger burst of light, but they can’t be used when recording video, since they can’t be left on like an LED flash can. Nokia’s 808 PureView has a Xenon flash, which can capture much better photos in low-light conditions.
The sketch also reveals that the Galaxy Note III will have a dedicated camera shutter button, which is something that we don’t see on Samsung devices. The camera itself will sport a 13MP sensor that will most likely be the same sensor that’s in the Galaxy S 4, but we can’t be quite sure just yet.
The Galaxy Note III is said to be packing an Exynos Octa core processor (Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 in different regions) with 2GB of RAM. There will also be a gargantuan 5.7-inch Super AMOLED display with a full 1080p HD resolution. To finish the job, the phablet will be running Android Jelly Bean, although we’re not sure if it’ll be version 4.2 or 4.3, but we should be finding out in a couple of months.
For those deciding on a tablet that’ll get them through the day at the same time as it’s able to fit in their satchel, Samsung hasn’t made things easy. With the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0, you’ve got two machines with exceedingly similar specifications to decide between. What we’ve got to check this afternoon is how the two make their mark in the world – and if it really is all about the S-Pen in the end.
Hardware
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 works with an 8-inch display with a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution, while the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 carries the same size and pixel density – they’re effective the same in day-to-day use, while the subtle differences in software will make the tiniest of differences up-close. You’ll find the font and the shadows to be ever-so-slightly different from one another: but you’ll never notice unless you hold them up RIGHT next to one another, so no worries.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 works with 16GB internal storage with a microSD card slot for memory expansion. The Note 8.0 works with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and works with a Samsung Exynos quad-core processor internationally and in its Wi-fi iteration and a Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core processor as carried by AT&T with 4G LTE. Meanwhile the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 works with a dual-core Samsung Exynos 4 processor.
Have a peek at how these machines fare in the benchmark scores listed below. They’re all knocked out with Quadrant Standard benchmark tests with the newest software available, Jelly Bean and TouchWiz included.
External speaker performance on both of these machines are essentially the same – they’re both mediocre if only because the speakers themselves are blowing out the sides the devices rather than the front. We must again assume it’s because thinness is more important than speaker performance as both of these devices are so extremely thin, it’d be difficult to toss a front-facing speaker anywhere. *cough* HTC One *cough*
Battery performance on both devices are essentially the same – it’s only 4G LTE on the Galaxy Note (that’ll eventually find its way to the Galaxy Tab, of course) that has any push on the battery life involved here – and it’s marginal unless you’re doing non-stop video streaming all day long.
Above: Samsung Galaxy S 4, Galaxy Note 8.0, Galaxy Tab 3 10.1, and Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 (from top to bottom).
The Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 comes in at 8.26 x 4.87 x 0.275 inches with a weight at 10.9 ounces. The Galaxy Note 8.0 comes in at 8.29 x 5.35 x 0.31 inches and 12 ounces. The difference is almost solely in the amount of bezel required with the Samsung Galaxy Note – likely mostly because of the grip area it provides for holding the device whilst writing with the S-Pen and to give the device room to hold the S-Pen in its back.
Cameras
While the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 is essentially a non-performer when it comes to capturing video and photos, the Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 brings some low-level heat. Though you’re still just working with a 5-megapixel camera at this device’s back, you’ve got autofocus and auto adjustment to lighting conditions, backed up by Samsung’s most basic edition of its new camera UI. Included here are Auto, Beauty Face, Night, Sports Shot, Panorama, and “Sound & Shot”. Have a peek at a panorama here for an example of what this device is capable of, followed by several indoor and outdoor shots.
Click panorama photo for full-sized image.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 brings on an exceedingly similar setup, bringing on photo and video abilities with its back-facing 5-megapixel camera (the same as the Galaxy Tab 8.0 here) also without an LED flash. While the Galaxy Note 8.0 has the same previous-generation camera interface as the Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 at the moment, we’re expecting an update to the current generation imminently.
Software – a non-issue
When you’re deciding between the Note 8.0 and the Tab 3 8.0 based on software, you’re really going to have to focus to find the differences. Both devices are part of the Samsung Galaxy S 4 era of smart devices, so both are able to connect with essentially the same software suite of wireless sharing apps from Samsung. Group Play specifically shows how these devices are able to interact with one-another in a variety of ways that non-Samsung devices currently can’t – or at least can’t with the same finesse.
NOTE: While the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 does not feature the app “Samsung Link”, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 does. This is a situation rather similar to that of the devices’ camera interfaces – where the 10.1 uses the same camera UI and abilities as the previous generation model, the 8.0 works with a Galaxy S 4 interface, derived from the Samsung Galaxy Camera.
Both devices bring on a free 50GB for 2 years through Dropbox for cloud storage while each different release of these devices has its own perks on the side. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 has a free three months of Hulu Plus as part of its benefits package, so to speak, along with a $10 card from the Google Play store through Samsung’s “Galaxy Perks” program.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 works with a variety of S-Pen specific apps as outlined in our original Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 hands-on and later our full review (as linked above). This device’s attachment to said apps is rather crucial in proving a set of selling points for this device while the Tab appears in quite a few places – though not everywhere – to be winning the race on hardware aesthetics.
Both machines work with a new enough version of Android Jelly Bean that you’ll have access to Google Now, and both machines have Samsung’s S-Voice for voice commands as well.
Cost
While the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0′s current wi-fi-only price range at $299 seems enticing compared to the last several years of $400 or more on tablets of all sizes as a standard, it’s the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0′s $399.99 (or it’s current sale price of $379.99) we’re doing battle with. If on the other hand you’ll be wanting to access mobile data with AT&T here in the USA, you’ve also got a $399.99 price tag with a 2-year contract to agree to to boot!
Of course there’s also an AT&T bundle price available at $199.99 for the Note 8.0, but then you’re still attached to a 2-year contract and you’ll have to also purchase a Samsung Galaxy S 4, Galaxy S 4 Active, or Galaxy Note II along with it. Good news is they all look rather nice next to one another.
Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 is far more powerful than the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 with a processor that’s made to handle this device as a real hero product. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 works with a dual-core Samsung Exynos 4 processor which we’ve found to be ever-so-slightly lacking in the high-level processing department – there the Tab is better suited for everyday web browsing and the occasional media consumption in the form of streaming video.
While the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 may have a slightly larger bezel and therefor appear – at first – to be the lesser of the two tablets, in every other category this machine excels. If you’re looking for the tablet that can do more, last longer, and will likely find its way into the hearts of developers longer, you’ll want to stick with the Galaxy Note 8.0 in this case. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 should only be chosen where price or availability are especially major factors.
There’s little difference between the experience you’ll have when you’ve reviewed the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 wi-fi edition and aim to connect to the 4G LTE internet with AT&T’s iteration. Of course if you’re aiming to connect to the web anywhere inside AT&T’s mobile data coverage area inside the USA, there’s a very big different – data speeds and all. There’s also a few key AT&T-added apps, of course, and the rest of the Galaxy Note 2013 family of features as well.
You’ll find the same hovering bits and pieces here – hold the S-Pen above an image in Flipboard and it’ll expand to show a preview of the story it represents. Hover, that is, with the same sort of feature you’ve got with your finger in the Samsung Galaxy S 4.* Here you’re also able to tap the capacitive buttons below the display with the S-Pen where every Galaxy Note before this one was limited to the display itself.
This device is made to be the one other display size outside the pocket-sized Galaxy Note I, II, and eventually III, and of course the 10.1-inch full-sized tablet out there in the wild as well. The Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 was introduced at Mobile World Congress 2013 at an event which saw the machine play hero for the entire convention from Samsung.
Where previous appearances by Samsung at said Barcelona-based event series saw hero devices like the Samsung Galaxy S II, here the company’s showing with this single device showed two things:
1. Events such as Mobile World Congress these are evolving, with established lines of devices finding their way to 3rd part events. The Samsung Galaxy Premiere event showed us here in 2013 that Samsung may well be out of worldwide events like CES and CTIA by the time 2014 rolls around.
2. The Galaxy Note 8.0 was important enough to hold up Samsung in one of the most important multi-brand events in the world, MWC, specifically tuned for the mobile landscape.
The Samsung Galaxy Note brings with it the style of the Samsung Galaxy S 4 and the abilities of that machine as well, just so long as you’re using this machine’s S-Pen. The S-Pen brings with it a collection of abilities unrivaled at the moment. Not until the Samsung Galaxy Note III rolls around. Soon enough!
This week the folks at Samsung have suggested – without saying so to the public – that they’re not about to let ASUS leave them in the dust with a phone that docks into a tablet. While Samsung’s device isn’t exactly the same as the ASUS Padfone, the trademark we’re seeing here doesn’t put it all that far off from the mark. This filing number D685,774 suggests Samsungs machine wouldn’t bring on a traditional form for the tablet dock or smartphone itself, on the other hand.
The rather interesting differentiator between ASUS’ solution and the Samsung patent filing is the shape of the two components. While the ASUS machine – each of several generations of the Padfone, that is, work with a smartphone that could very well pass off for a stand-alone smartphone without the tablet, Samsung’s device looks a bit more like the letter T.
With the top of the smartphone having a swoop outward to the left and to the right, this smartphone fits in with its tablet dock like a glove. The tablet then has a pocket and indents where the smartphone will slide, the final product looking a lot more like a traditional tablet – however thick – than any previous amalgamation, Samsung or ASUS-made.
This would be a logical next step for Samsung, a company that’s no stranger to docking – and to docking one machine inside another in a way that makes the two seem like they belong together. With the Samsung Galaxy Note series, the S-Pen docks in the tablet flush, flat and ready to be hidden in a normal everyday day’s use. The same would be true of this Samsung tablet/phone hybrid.
Samsung also brings the ATIV Q to combine the worlds of Android, Windows 8, tablet, and notebook – and it has a docking S-Pen too. The Samsung ATIV Tab 3 brings the Galaxy tablet form to Windows 8, docking this tablet in with a keyboard as well as an S-Pen to boot. What’s next?
This week there’s been no lack of interest for the next generation of Samsung Galaxy Note devices, specifically with the handheld smartphone going by the name Galaxy Note III. This device will take the place of the previous entry in the size category, the Samsung Galaxy Note II, and will be coming in a variety of carrier versions right out of the gate. Like the previous releases of Samsung’s last year of smartphone hero devices, this machine will likely hit most carriers around the world in the span of a few weeks.
What we’ve got eyes on this afternoon is a series of machine codes that suggest carrier editions for international and United States-bound versions of the machine. Starting with stateside, we’ve got iterations for each of the top four mobile brands inside our borders:
• Verizon version SM-N900V • AT&T version SM-N900A • Sprint version SM-N900S • T-Mobile version SM-N900T
These machines will be joined by one common international edition SM-N900 as well as a set of three currently less-known model numbers Beta SM-N900R4, SM-N900P, SM-N900J. The international version of the machine will be coming with a quad-core Exynos processor (likely Exynos OCTA, two sets of four cores, that is), while the stateside editions will be working with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core SoC.
This model is exceedingly similar to the push for the Samsung Galaxy S 4, though here we’re seeing the Qualcomm processor upgraded from 600 to 800 in kind. There’s also a Samsung Galaxy S 4 LTE-Advanced version of the smaller smartphone out on the market with a Snapdragon 800, but said release is extremely limited and meant mainly to test the waters in the LTE-A parts of the world.
The Samsung Galaxy Note III has been suggested to be working with a 5.9-inch display with 1080p resolution and an S-Pen with abilities ever-so-slightly advanced beyond those of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0, revealed earlier this year. Tips on model numbers, in this case, come from noted leakster C Technology in all his mousy goodness.
It’s become a race, suddenly, to deliver the first Android smartphone – or first smartphone with any mobile operating system, that is, to bring on a whopping 3GB of RAM, here between the Samsung Galaxy Note III and the LG Optimus G2. While neither device has been confirmed with full specifications delivered by its creator – or confirmed to exist, at that – both machines have been rumored just today to be carrying the next-level amount of processing capability.
The Samsung Galaxy Note III may be the first to market, bringing with it a cool 5.99-inch 1080p display, holding with it the same amount of pixels (slightly less tightly packed) as the Galaxy S 4. This device is also suggested by MyDrivers, a publication speaking with South Korean inside sources, to be working with a slightly thinner body than its predecessor. As the Galaxy Note II worked with a weight of 182g, the Note III will be edging down below 180g and 8mm thick.
The Galaxy Note III is suggested to, by the time it’s launched, be working with Android 4.3, Jelly Bean’s newest iteration, and will support 4G LTE-Advanced. Of course there will be more than one iteration of the Galaxy Note III, the same as the Galaxy S 4 and its own LTE-A version unveiled last week.
The third version of the Note handset will be working with at least two versions, depending on the region they’ll be delivered. One iteration’s delivery with a Samsung-made Exynos 5 “Octa” SoC will match that of the international version of the Galaxy S 4. The other version will have the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor as the LTE-A version of the Galaxy S 4, a step above the standard Galaxy S 4 delivered to the USA on multiple carriers earlier this year.
It’s once again time to get heavy into the world of conjecture for the Samsung Galaxy Note series, this time for the third iteration of the handheld machine that started the series in the first place. What we’re seeing this week is a heavy-handed drop of a release date – September 4th – as well as a rolling-up of specification rumors from the past several weeks. This device may well be the largest (non-tablet) Note in the family yet, and it’ll likely appear right before IFA 2013.
While sources speaking with China Mobile News have suggested the accelerated production on the Samsung Galaxy Note III, a person “close to the matter” speaking with Android Geeks has pinpointed the event in question to September 4th. As in past years the machine has been dropped inside the Berlin-based technology convention IFA, this push for a pre-event reveal would follow instead the Samsung-only event trend of devices like the Samsung Galaxy S 4.
This release will likely be paired with a larger display than in the past, reaching up towards 6-inches instead of the measely 5.5-inch panel working with the Galaxy Note II. While the current-gen machine has an HD Super AMOLED display at 1280 x 720, it’s been suggested that the Galaxy Note III might work with IPS LCD instead, and the size 5.9-inches has popped up more than once.
Inside we’ll likely see specifications rather similar to that of the Samsung Galaxy S 4, as in past iterations. Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean will almost certainly be onboard with Samsung’s TouchWiz UI over the top, complete with a set of hover-friendly abilities like the Galaxy Note 8.0.
The big difference between the Galaxy S 4 and the Galaxy Note III (besides its size and addition of S Pen technology) may be the processor inside. As the Samsung Galaxy S III worked with a Qualcomm processor inside the USA and an Exynos processor abroad, so too has this situation arisen for the Galaxy S 4. It’s been suggested that, as with the Galaxy Note II, the Exynos processor included in the international edition of the Galaxy S device from this generation will be appearing in the USA release of the newest Note.
It all depends on how willing Samsung is to work with Qualcomm radios inside paired with their own “Octa” processor. We shall see!
This week the folks at AT&T have revealed the release information surrounding the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 along with pricing for the machine on its own. This device mirrors the capabilities of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 Wi-fi edition, here coming with 4G LTE connectivity from the big blue network in the USA. Bundles have
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