Fly Or Die: Samsung Galaxy Note 3

Samsung’s third generation phablet is here. If you haven’t met her already, say hello to the Galaxy Note 3, a barge of a phone with incredible processing power and no fashion sense whatsoever.

There’s no question that the Galaxy Note 3 is a powerful device. It’s the first smartphone to come with 3GB of RAM under the hood, and it also packs a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor. The phone is noticeably snappy, and even though Samsung sadly felt the need to inflate the phone’s speed, rest assured that this mammoth phone will be able to handle anything you throw at it.

But will you be able to handle the GalNote? That’s the real question.

See, the phone sports a 5.7-inch (gorgeous) 1080p AMOLED display, making it characteristically large in the hand and pocket. As the Galaxy Note and Galaxy Note 2 have proven, there are people in the world who don’t mind (and actually enjoy) this size phone, but personally, I’m not attracted to it.

That said, those who have previously enjoyed a Galaxy Note-sized phone should seriously consider an upgrade to this generation. The S pen is better, the battery life is longer with a 3200mAh battery, and it’s just plain faster.

However, it does feel like the GalNote 3 got hit with the ugly stick a few too many times. The leather back is ghastly, and the shiny silver bezel looks a bit cheap. It’s not awful, but it could be way better.

In the end, John and I cancel each other out with one unenthusiastic Fly and one unconvinced Die. Sales will inevitably show that the Galaxy Note 3, and more importantly the GalNote line as a whole, is in good shape for the future.

In other words, it comes down to you. Fly or die? You tell me.