Sitting idle and disorderly in my apartment after a very heavy dinner, I thought I could jot down a few long-term use notes of my Samsung Galaxy Note 3. This version is now 8 months old, and is the Exynos (octa) SM-N900.
1. Battery Life
Still lasts a full day. My usage involves :
- Constant CalDAV sync with the corporate calendar (this actually works quite well with e-groupware. I use the CalDav-Sync app and this integrates coherently with S-Planner or any other calendar app of your choice (I use Google's own Calendar app).
- Heavy usage of WhatsApp.
- Constant e-mail sync for Gmail and MailDroid Pro. (It is an excellent app, if you do not like the interface of the excellent free and open source K9-Mail).
- Samsung's S-Health "Walking Mate" app constantly tracking steps taken and distance walked daily (with built in pedometer).
- Occasional web browsing.
- 1 hour of music (jogging, using S-Health).
- WiFi or HSDPA all the time.
- Occasional use of the S-Note app.
- Constant VPN connection (using OpenVPN)
- Constant VoIP availability (using the Bria app)
- Constant Skype availability using the Skype app, as well as other messaging accounts using the IM+ Pro app.
- Several widgets.
As you can see, the battery is at 41%, at the end of day (1918h), which is not so bad with the type of usage above. The 3300MAh battery performs excellently in my opinion - I would like to think I am a heavy user :-) .
2. Build Quality
This has never been one of Samsung's strong points. The device has taken a few falls, both screen and back down, sometimes falling on its corners. I have also accidentally forgotten it in my back pockets an sat on it occasionally, sometimes roughly. I must say it is still as solid as ever, although the edges are a bit chirped from the falls. (I do not use any jacket or pouch as they enlarge an already big device). So, although slightly deformed along the corners in that silver shiny thing, the gadget is still good to go. It feels like it could take much more abuse for years.
To put this into context, my wife's iPhone 5 had a simple fall and shattered its screen. The device is still stashed somewhere, as the cost of fixing that screen is about the same as a brand new Google Nexus 5.
3. Performamce
I enabled device encryption, a process that took a while to complete. (OK, this took about 10 minutes). I imagines it would slow down the device, but this hasn't. I must state that some apps do not work as well as they used to on the Note 2, such as "Smart Home Control", Ultimate Rotation Control and some launchers. A few other niggles:
- All SD cards make the device devilishly hot. I have given up on all of them and thankfully, there is 32GB on board.
- The InfraRed functionality seems to work OK with some apps, but not others.
- It sometimes charges very, very slowly :-)
4. Multimedia/Entertainment
I use Poweramp for music. It performs exceptionally and is highly customisable. It connects seamlessly with the bluetooth unit in my vehicle, which is a cool thing. All videos thrown at the device are played seamlessly, except those with the AC3 audio codec. I suspect MX Player will not mind that codec though, although I prefer the built-in video app.
Camera is very bad in poor light, but hey this is a smartphone, not a point-and-shoot! In relatively good lighting, the camera is acceptable.
5. Productivity
This is where I give the device a 5/5. Ever since I acquired it, I gave away my Samsung Galaxy Note 8 tablet and sold my iPad Air. I did not use them for months. That is how productive and useful the Galaxy Note 3 is. I have not had a single instance when I needed to use a tablet instead of the Note, in which case I would reach out anyway for my trusty old MacBook Pro 7.1 (which has started caving in to age) :-) !
Do I recommend the device, much as it is mid-way its product life cycle? Absolutely. My only gripe is that while other parts of the world already has KitKat, I'm still stuck with 4.3. From what I read though, it does not look like KitKat offers any leaps in performance anyway.
6. Geeky Stuff
Do I recommend the device, much as it is mid-way its product life cycle? Absolutely. My only gripe is that while other parts of the world already has KitKat, I'm still stuck with 4.3. From what I read though, it does not look like KitKat offers any leaps in performance anyway.
6. Geeky Stuff
- Cynogenmod - is not yet available for the Exynos version, sorry. If you want cynogenmod, you want the Snapdragon.
- Rooting: This is not very secure. I do not recommend it. If you want the shell along with its usual binary utilities for doing all sorts of things, try the Busybox non-root app. It offers you everything you want without rooting, and integrates well with Android Terminl Emulator.
- SSH: Busybox/Android Terminal Emulator gives you an ssh client on the shell (above).
- PGP: Depends on what you want this for. If you want to send encrypted mail, use Maildroid, K9-Mail, the built in e-mail app or just encrypt some text using the free APG app.
- Time-of-flight camera: Sorry, you can't have this. If you do, just get the Xbox one :-)
