Samsung takes its latest Galaxy Note in a more upmarket direction with a new back panel finish and multitasking extras.
Richard Trenholm
Richard Trenholm was CNET's film and TV editor, covering the big screen, small screen and streaming. A member of the Film Critic's Circle, he's covered technology and culture from London's tech scene to Europe's refugee camps to the Sundance film festival.
The Note 3 ships with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. Samsung's TouchWiz interface supplies shortcuts and software add-ons.
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Suaver look
Replacing the glossy plastic of previous Notes is a textured leather-effect back. Its leather-look is complemented by suave stitching.
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Wallet or phone?
The new look evokes an expensive wallet.
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A different Note
The metallic edge and stitching aim for a more luxurious feel than previous glossy Notes.
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Even slimmer
Like the Galaxy S4, the Note 3 is edged with classy metallic accents. Despite the bigger screen, the Note 3 is thinner and lighter.
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Check out the S Pen
The S Pen: stylus 2.0.
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Snug holster
The S Pen lives snugly in the bottom of the Note.
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Camera
The Note comes with a 13-megapixel camera and LED flash.
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In the hand
The Note 3 isn't too much larger than its predecessor.
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Navigation
Either side of the physical home button are touch-sensitive light-up buttons, but like most Galaxy phones, they annoyingly disappear most of the time.
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TV puppeteer
An IR blaster makes its way on the Note 3, next to the headset jack. You can use it to control your TV.
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New tools
The S Pen stylus calls up this Air Command wheel of shortcuts.
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Air command
The Air Command wheel has several options for the S Pen, including the option to draw a box of any size anywhere on the screen to show where you want an app to appear.
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Fastest draw
Use the stylus to jot down a memo.
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Scrapbooking, phablet style
A new Scrapbook option saves snippets and clippings of text, pictures, or anything you draw round on the screen.
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Split screen
The big screen can be used to show two apps at the same time, such as the browser and your e-mail.
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Advanced multitasking
You can pull up various options when two apps sit side-by-side.
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Browser action
A look at the browser. Some Note models will get 4G LTE, while other non-4G regions will continue surfing the Web with available 3G speeds.
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Snippets
You can drag and drop text, pictures, links, or other snippets from one app to the other.
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Drag 'n' drop
Another example of dragging and dropping snippets.
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Grab it
Select a snippet with the S Pen ready to drag and drop.
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Quick apps
Quick apps like this calculator floats over your screen for some speedy sums.
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Quick access
See that round YouTube icon? That's a minimised app ready and waiting for quick access.
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When you can get it
The Note 3 hits shops on September 25.
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Share your screen
You can share your Galaxy Note 3's screen with other Note 3 that are nearby.
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Two phones, one screen
When you screen share, one image will take up both screens, so you can watch videos or view photos with more display space.
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Setting up screen sharing
Pick the primary and secondary screens, then playback videos or view photos on both Note 3 phones collectively.
