note 3
Latest
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 begins Android 4.4 KitKat rollout in Poland
Sometimes, even the most massive of updates have humble beginnings. This is the case with the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, a device that offered Android 4.3 Jelly Bean upon its debut. We all figured it was just a matter of time before an upgrade to 4.4 KitKat became available to users, and it appears Samsung is now ready to offer it -- albeit, on a rather small scale starting in Poland. According to SamMobile, Polish Note 3 owners (for the Snapdragon 800 quad-core version, at least) can now sideload the update through the manufacturer's Kies software. This is a pretty quiet and restrictive launch, so Samsung hasn't officially made any announcements, but we have a feeling that the company's limiting the rollout at first to ensure all of the possible bugs have been squashed prior to worldwide availability.
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 review (global edition)
More Info Samsung Galaxy Note 3 preview Samsung Galaxy Gear hands-on Samsung details new S Pen Three is the magic number. Three is lucky. Three's a crowd. Okay, ignore that last one, but the number 3 does also apply to the latest Galaxy Note, and we're curious to know which of those maxims might apply. What are the marquee features this time around? Well, there's the usual bevy of specification improvements (a 5.7-inch display, quad-core Snapdragon 800 and 3GB of RAM), Android 4.3, some new S Pen features and the small matter of the Gear, that optional, polarizing companion watch. Samsung makes a great many products, even if you just consider the mobile ones. However, since it burst into existence in 2011, the Note has been up there with the Galaxy S series on the flagship pedestal. So, it'd be fair to say that we're expecting big things from this big phone, but with a SIM-free price in the UK of £620, it requires even deeper pockets than its predecessor did at launch (that one cost around £530). That said, if you want one, you'll need big pockets anyway. While you check their size, we've scribbled, doodled and gestured the Note 3 with abandon to see if it's worth the bounty. Read on to find out if it is.
Editor's Letter: Summer? What summer?
In each issue of Distro, Executive Editor Marc Perton publishes a wrap-up of the week in news. In the US, Labor Day traditionally marks the end of the lazy days of summer, and the beginning of the busy fall season. While this summer was hardly quiet -- it included, you might recall, major product launches from the likes of Motorola, Google, LG, HTC and others -- the fall started with a bang, with Microsoft's surprise announcement on Labor Day that it was buying Nokia's devices and services division for $7 billion. The deal gets Microsoft a guaranteed hardware partner for Windows Phone, and quite possibly a new CEO, as the company has all but admitted that Nokia's Stephen Elop is first in line to replace outgoing CEO Steve Ballmer. It might also be considered a bargain. Just two years ago, Google paid over $12 billion for Motorola; that same year, Microsoft made another expensive telecom acquisition: it bought Skype for $8.5 billion. Before we even had time to digest Microsoft's news, Apple announced -- somewhat anticlimactically -- that it would indeed have a major event next week, where the company is expected to launch an upgraded iPhone 5, as well as a lower-end model, along with lots of new colors. Meanwhile, Amazon announced an upgraded version of the Kindle Paperwhite e-book reader, and Google's Android KitKat became the first operating system with a name licensed from a candy company. And this was all before the week's real news started rolling in from IFA.
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 drops by the FCC ahead of global launch
That didn't take long. Just hours after Samsung's IFA presser, the company's latest oversized handset made its way through the FCC. The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 ran through the usual gamut of federal tests, but didn't betray compatibility for US LTE bands -- instead only revealing support for GSM and UMTS 850 / 1900 MHz. In all likelihood, this is probably just an early peek at the international unit shipping later this month. Turns out even the federal government will have to wait until October to get their hands on a US model.
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 makes official debut with 5.7-inch 1080p screen and faux-leather back, available September 25th
Samsung's annual IFA presser is typically its Galaxy Note coming-out party and this year is no different. JK Shin, the Korean company's President and CEO, has just announced the line's latest addition: the Galaxy Note 3. With a renewed emphasis on how it feels in hand, Samsung has built this Note with a faux-leather back, which should go a long way towards silencing critics of the company's former plastic-reliant ways. It also comes pre-loaded with Knox, the company's secure BYOD solution, support for super-fast LTE Category 4, runs Android 4.3 and touts integration with the just announced Galaxy Gear smartwatch. The new Galaxy Note 3 stretches past the dimensions of its predecessor with a 5.7-inch Super AMOLED screen (vs 5.5-inches), 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 or 1.9GHz Exynos Octa CPU, 3GB RAM, weighs 168 grams and comes in three distinct colors -- one of which is pink (!). On the inside, the Note 3's been imbued with a 3,200mAh cell -- hopefully, that's enough juice to carry on the line's phenomenal battery life. The rear camera is of the 13-megapixel variety and packs optical image stabilization for HD video recording. As for its release date, Shin did confirm that it will ship in 32GB and 64GB versions globally beginning on September 25th, and in October for the US and Japan. Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!
