Getting Connected With the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 {Review} #NextBigThing

Disclosure:  I received a media trip and products in exchange for sharing my honest opinion.

Last month I got two of my Christmas presents early and they came direct from Samsung….yes literally they came through an event I attended with Samsung.  I received the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and the Galaxy Gear wearable.  I decided though to focus each in separate posts, otherwise this post might be crazy long!

First let me say that I absolutely love Samsung.  It all started about two years ago when I bought our Samsung washer/dryer and then a Blu-ray player and then about six months ago I bought myself the Samsung Galaxy 3 s III.  After researching cell phones for a month I found that I loved everything about the Galaxy S III and while I didn’t know anyone that had one I knew I had to have one.  I should say too that my husband is an iPhone-man and while yes it would have been easy to upgrade to an iPhone since I was already familiar with it, I just couldn’t bring myself to buy an iPhone.  I am so glad I went the Samsung-route.

So fast forward to last month when I got to go to New York to learn about the New Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and get one of my own to play with.  Let me say that this phone is a beast, and I mean that in the best way possible.  I have used this phone for a month now and it not only constantly surprises me with its features and capabilities but it has stood up to the challenge of my everyday tasks.  From games to surfing the Internet to pictures and note-taking, I honestly couldn’t be without this phone – and I was not like this previously!  Even though I have been blogging for five years I didn’t get my first actual smartphone until last year.  I just never felt comfortable doing anything productive on my old cell phones so I never signed up for the data plan for them.  With the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 though you can literally do everything from it!

Features I love:

• Front – facing Camera (2MP) and Rear Camera (13MP) – The whole 13 megapixel camera on this phone amazes me because I remember when I got a 4MP digital camera and was so excited!

• Bluetooth 4.0 (Low Energy) – yeah for a Bluetooth technology that doesn’t suck the life out of my phone

• Stylus that slips in and out – and when you pull it out the note taking screen pops up!  You can even take notes by scribbling and it will translate for you and save it into a doc.  I use this a lot to scribble down phone numbers, notes I need to remember regarding my blog and honestly letting my kids doodle.

• Size – Honestly I was hesitant over whether I’d like this phone since it is big (some call it a “phablet” meaning phone+tablet) but I love it and I got used to it super quick.  Now I look at other phones and I’m like “Wow that’s so small!”  This is the comparison from iPhone to Samsung Galaxy S III and Samsung Note 3:

• Tons of Apps available – you name it, its probably there!

• So easy to use – no manual required, but I will say there is so much on this device that I haven’t even touched yet but as far as the basics go it is super easy to use and setup.

• So easy to share anything and everything by just tapping the button on the bottom left to bring up the Share Menu (and this is just some of the ways to share below!)

• Touchscreen keyboard – okay I mention this because previously I was not a fan of touchscreen keyboards because my fat fingers never seemed to hit the right letters.  I do not have that problem at all with this phone since its a bigger screen the touchscreen keyboard is bigger.

• The easy access buttons at the top – just by swiping down you get access to turn settings on and off quickly rather than trying to find the Settings Menu and navigating in there.

• All the Samsung-Specific Apps – If I’m around other Samsung users I can easily beam photos to them, play cool games together, create works of art with our phones and more!

• Faux leather back makes it look fancy and extra durable!

• WatchOn App – With this preloaded app you can easily control your TV and other devices, as well as setting up devices wherever you are (not that I will use this app to mess with anyone in my family, but I can if I wanted to…)  There is an IR LED just like remotes on it.  I didn’t think I’d use this since I do have actual remotes but with three kids the remote isn’t always where it should be!

• Sync ability with the Galaxy Gear wearable – The Samsung Galaxy Gear works with two devices only, but luckily the Note 3 is one of them.  The Galaxy Gear works via bluetooth on my Note 3 and makes it so I don’t always have to grab my phone if I don’t need to.  My favorite feature on the phone with this though is any picture I take with the Galaxy Gear is automatically sent to my phone!  More to come on my love for Galaxy Gear in another post.

• Air Gesture – You can set up the Air Gesture under Settings so that when you wave your hand over the Note 3 you can flip through photos, check the time or notifications.  I use mainly to flip through photos so I am not dirtying up my touchscreen.  It is a pretty neat feature!

• Ability to close apps quickly – I absolutely hate when my phone is slow due to apps I didn’t even realize were running, this makes it super easy to end them all

• Search Google with your voice!

• Scrapbook App – This is another pre-loaded app that I didn’t think I’d use, but there is so much potential.  It is like Pinterest for your phone.  For example, I created a board “Aidan’s Birthday” and as I am searching the web I easily add the websites/pictures to Aidan’s Birthday Scrapbook.  For visual people like me, it is awesome to view all the sites and links I want to save at a glance!

Honestly I could go on and on about what I love about this phone but I think I mentioned the main points.  If you want more technical specs obviously you can get those from the Samsung website, I wanted to focus more on how I use it everyday.  As a mom of three, Samsung makes my life so much easier.  I have even convinced my husband to switch over once he is able to upgrade his phone, which is a lot seeing how he has been an iPhone user since the beginning.  I am so glad I gave Samsung Mobile a chance six months ago and ever since they have amazed me.  While I loved my Samsung Galaxy S III, the Note 3 has taken me places I couldn’t go before.  I am now able to multi-task my family’s needs, my needs and my blog needs all from one small device that yes does fit in pockets!  Now with the laws being passed everywhere for no talking on phones while driving, meaning Bluetooth is a must when your out driving, really that sold me on having a bigger phone.  Now I get the best of both worlds – phone and tablet.

BUY IT:  You can check out the Samsung Note 3 direct from Samsung or look for it at your local cell phone or electronics store.