Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo is South Korean giants offering to people who crave for Note 3 like S-Pen functionality on a lower price tag device. The Note 3 Neo is definitely a trimmed down version of Note 3, but the price difference between the launch price of Note 3 Neo and best buy price of Note 3 is not much as of now. Let’s take a look at what all has been shaved off in this new variant.
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo Quick Specs
- Display Size: 5.5 inch IPS LCD, 1280 x 720 resolution, 267 PPI
- Processor: 1.6 GHz quad-core processor (3G) / 1.7 GHz Dual Core + 1.3 GHz Quad Core Exynos processor (LTE) with Mali T624 GPU
- RAM: 2 GB
- Software Version: Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) with TouchWiz UI on top
- Camera: 8 MP AF camera, capable of 1080p HD recording
- Secondary Camera: 2 MP Front Facing camera
- Internal Storage: 16 GB
- External Storage: MicroSD support up to 64 GB
- Battery: 3100 mAh battery Lithium Ion
- Connectivity: 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, aGPS, GLONASS, NFC
- Others: Dual SIM – No
- Sensors: Accelerometer, gyro, proximity
Samsung Note 3 Neo Hands on, Review, Camera, India Price and Features Overview [Video]
Design and Build
The Body design is almost similar to Note 3. This phone too comes with a plastic faux leather back cover which we liked on Galaxy Note 3. At the first glance only thing missing are the grooves on the side edges, another thing gave note 3 its premium looks. The stylus is housed at the same place in the body cavity and all other physical keys like power button, home screen button and volume rocker take their respective places.
The display resolution has taken heavy beating on paper (267 ppi), but in practice the display seemed pretty good. The 5.5 inch display is marginally smaller than that in Note 3 and being an AMOLED display, the blacks and contrast was excellent. The 4 preset screen modes let you choose from different color calibration settings. The display was not as bright and the one on Note 3 is definitely better one.
Camera and Internal Storage
The rear camera comes with an 8 MP sensor. The camera performance in our initial time with the device was great. The camera will compete with some of the best 8 MP shooters out there and on the device was comparable to Note 3 as well. Low light performance was also up to the mark. The rear camera is capable of shooting 1080p videos as well.
Internal storage is 16 GB out of which 11 GB is user available. You can further expand it to 64 GB using MicroSD support. This is in line with the asking price and leaves no reason to complain about.
Chipset, Battery and OS
The chipset used in 3G only variant will be a 1.6 GHz Quad core processor, where as the unit we reviewed flaunts Exynos 5260 chipset which is the first Hexa core chipset featuring Dual-core 1.7GHz Cortex-A15 coupled with quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A7. The RAM capacity is 2 GB. We didn’t observe any lag on the review unit.
The battery capacity of 3100 mAh is almost similar to note 3 and we are optimistic about the back up. The OS is Android 4.3 jelly bean with touch wiz UI and all S Pen features included. The Android 4.4 KitKat update also seems likely for this smartphone.
Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo Photo Gallery
Conclusion and Overview
Though the spec sheet has been trimmed down, the performance and user experience have not been compromised. The only thing wrong with the device is its price. The phone is a worthy low cost variant of the great Note 3, but note 3 is definitely more premium, faster and better. Price difference of only 3,000 INR approx lands this device is an odd situation, with not many reasons to opt it in place of Note 3. Perhaps after the price cut, we can hope for better prospects for Note 3 Neo.
