Samsung Note 3 Neo is an attempt by Samsung to make note 3 with latest UI and features more affordable and reachable to Indian users. It can be an upgrade for existing users using Note 2 or planning to get one. But as per the price set for Note 3 Neo, it is still not a device which seems affordable for many users out there.
What is it?
It is a big-display smartphone with an electronic stylus. It has a 5.5 Super AMOLED LCD display but comes with HD resolution of 720 x 1280 with a pixel density of nearly 267 pixels per inch. On the hardware front, it comes powered with Quad Core 1.3 Ghz processor + 1.7 Dual core processor, 2 GB RAM, 8 MP AF rear camera, 2 MP front camera with HD video record capability. There is 16 GB of built-in memory with a Micro SD card that can support up to 64GB card. You do not have support to install apps on the memory card. It's backed by 3100 mAh battery runs on android 4.3 Jelly bean.
Who is it for?
This device is for those who need a powerful, big-display smartphone with latest hardware and won't mind paying for it. It's for users who would like to buy a phablet that should come from a known brand and useful features in User Interface. Samsung has a good brand value which makes many people to go for it.
Design
Its looks great but not very different from it's elder brother Note 3. It feels good in hand, gives a strong grip, and has a nice form factor overall. It combines slim design and a decent built quality. But it does not feel premium, albeit it feels like another plastic phone from Samsung. The rear of the phone has matte finish so it will not catch finger prints. The volume buttons and power and sleep keys are metallic buttons and give good tactile feedback when pressed.
It weighs around 162 grams and it does not feel heavy; the form factor is good as you can easily hold the phone in one hand. At 8.6 mm, it does not have a very slim profile, but still edges are kept thinner, which makes it portable and easy to carry around, or to put it inside any bag or pocket. However, the rear camera module comes little above the surface of the phone.
Display
It has 720 x 1280 Super AMOLED capacitive touch screen display, which makes various graphic more colorful and attractive as well. The viewing angles are also very good. You can read the display under sunlight as well. Resolution seems quite low on this 5.5-inch display but you won't see the pixels with naked eyes unless you read a document with large amount of text.
Software
It runs android 4.3 jeallybean but it runs a custom Samsung Touchwiz User Interface that causes lag and slow animations at times. The touch screen is responsive to finger touch and there is no considerable lag in UI transitions or animations.
Camera
The rear camera on the device is 8 MP with auto focus; tap to focus is also supported with the default camera UI that is customized. It does provide modes like HDR, Panorama, animated photo and eraser mode, and many other options that you may not use. The overall photo quality is good in day light and low light shots taken from the device were decent but showed slight amount of noise. The 2 MP front fixed focus camera is good for video chat and video call, you can do a good quality of HD video chat with it.
Gaming
It performs well on gaming front as it has Mali T624 GPU and 2GB of RAM. Both of these help you play HD games on this phone without any issues, it can play heavy graphic games like Modern Combat 4, Nova 3, and Front Line Commando: D Day. All the games mentioned ran smoothly without any issues with graphics.
Sound Quality
Note 3 Neo performs quite nice in terms of sound quality but the volume of sound is low from loudspeaker. It has single speaker on the rear back and the placement of this speaker is not good as it might get blocked when you place device on table while watching a video.
The Good
Good Display and Great Viewing Angles
Decent Camera Quality
The Bad
Plastic Feel
Costly
Should I Buy it?
Note 3 Neo is for those who would like to have a Note 3 but at a lower price. This can be great upgrade for many users who are using Note 2. It comes with latest version of Touchwiz UI that has brought a lot of new features, which you will like if they sound cool to you. The rear camera is 8 MP but the performance it quite decent. In all, this is a branded phablet that will cost you some good money but it will last for next 2 years at least.