Samsung has just launched the Galaxy Note 3 Neo in India for a price of Rs 40,900 and the Note 3 is like a slightly cheaper version of the Note 3 and brings almost all the functionalities of the regular Note 3 alongside it. At the first glance, it comes across as a value for money offering seeing the fact that Note 3 is priced exorbitantly. Let us have a quick review of the same.
Camera and Storage
The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo comes with an 8MP camera with BSI sensor and a LED flash. It will have a support for 1080p video recording and will team up with a 2MP front-facing camera with BSI sensor. The camera unit is a pretty good one but we would have liked to see the one found on the regular Note 3 because the price difference between the two is not much.
The internal storage of the smartphone stands at 16GB which will be available for expansion via a microSD card by another 64GB. There will be 11GB of user available memory. Samsung usually fills up a lot of pre-loaded applications on its devices which eat up a lot of internal storage but we feel that 11GB should be good enough for applications and you could always insert a microSD card to further expand the memory.
Processor and Battery
It gets a choice of 1.6 GHz quad-core processor which will have 3G support and there will be another option as well with a hexa core processor which gets a 1.7 GHz Dual Core and 1.3 GHz Quad Core Exynos processor with LTE support. We will get the hexa core unit.
Under the hood is a 3,100 mAh battery unit that will easily last it a day. Going beyond that might be a push but not many smartphones last beyond a day so we don’t think that we’d like to complain in this regard.
Display and Features
The Galaxy Note 3 Neo gets a 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED display which has a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. This is the department which disappoints us pretty much because at Rs 40,000 price point, we expect a full HD display. Samsung in a bid to differentiate the two has given it a lower resolution screen but could not give it a really low price tag. Seeing the fact that there’s difference of just Rs 5,000, the Note 3 makes a lot more sense instead.
It runs on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and gets a 2GB RAM under the hood to take care of the multitasking department.
You get each and every S-Pen functionality that we first saw on the Note 3. It gets Air Command: Action Memo, Scrapbook, Write Screen, Finder, Pen Window and an array of Samsung-specific software features such as Easy Clip, Multi Window, S Note, My Magazine, S Voice, S Health, Group Play, Smart Scroll and Smart Pause.
Looks and Connectivity
The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo gets a faux leather back like the elder sibling to give it a premium fit and finish. It also gets the S-Pen at the rear as well which gets integrated neatly into the rear of the smartphone.
You get a pretty comprehensive connectivity package in the form of 3G HSPA+, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS/ GLONASS and NFC so there isn’t anything else that you would have wanted. It is a single SIM smartphone.
Comparison
The Galaxy Note 3 Neo will face stiff competition from its siblings, the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3 to start with. Other competitors will include the Xperia Z Ultra, Lumia 1520, and the upcoming LG G Pro 2.
Key Specs
| Model | Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo |
| Display | 5.55 Inch, 1280 X 720 |
| Processor | Hexa Core Processor, 1.7 GHz Dual Core + 1.3 GHz Quad Core |
| RAM | 2 GB |
| Internal Storage | 16 GB, Extendable |
| OS | Android 4.3 |
| Cameras | 8 MP/ 1.9 MP |
| Battery | 3100 mAh |
| Price | Rs 40900 |
Conclusion
The Galaxy Note 3 Neo costs Rs 40,900 and that price point, does not make a lot of sense for starters. You can get a Note 3 by shedding Rs 3,000-4,000 extra and avail all its features. Its more like Note 2’s upgrade rather than Note 3’s cheaper sibling. If the price drops by around Rs 5,000-6,000 in near future, Samsung can surely expect a lot of takers for the device.
