Samsung is coming out of their lawsuits swinging. They have set a release date for their Galaxy Note 3 (~$700, carrier dependent) and new smartwatch, the Gear ($299).
Samsung is not new to the world of mo
bile technology, actually they own almost 50% of the market share of smartphone sales. This has Apple riled up and, well, they will continue with being riled up because Samsung has just set a release date for their most powerful phone yet and the first big hitter companies to release a smart watch.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is the predecessor of the Note and Note 2, it was one of the first to lead in the phablet market, and well, lets just say one of the most if not the most successful. The new Note has most of the same features being carried over, such as the S Pen and massive screen real-estate. It also boasts an extra .2 inches for its screen and a higher resolution (386.5 ppi) as well. Depending on the market, its either going to have a 2.3ghz quad-core processor or a 1.9ghz octa-core, if trends follow the world version will have the octa-core processesor and the US version the quad-core. It will also have 3gbs of RAM. What does this all mean? A crisp experience in a daft package. Wondering if making the switch from the Note 2 to the Note 3 is worth it, you be the judge:
| Galaxy Note 3 | Galaxy Note 2 | |
| Dimensions (in inches) | 6 x 3.1 x 0.33 | 5.9 x 3.2 x 0.37 |
| Weight | 5.9 ounces | 6.4 ounces |
| OS | Android 4.3 | Android 4.1 |
| Display | 5.7-inch AMOLED; 1,920×1,080 pixels; 386.5ppi | 5.5-inch AMOLED; 1,280×720 pixels; 267ppi |
| 4G LTE | Yes | Yes |
| NFC | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth | v4.0 | v4.0 |
| IR blaster | Yes | No |
| Rear-facing camera | 13 megapixels; 1080p HD video | 8 megapixels; 1080p HD video |
| Front-facing camera | 2.1 megapixels; 1080p HD video | 1.9 megapixels; 720p HD video |
| Processor | 2.3GHz quad-core (LTE); 1.9 GHz octa-core (3G) | 1.6GHz quad-core Exynos 4 |
| Capacity | 32GB, 64GB | 16GB, 32GB, 64GB |
| RAM | 3GB | 2GB |
| Expandable storage | Up to 64GB | Up to 64GB |
| Battery | 3,200mAh removable | 3,100mAh removable |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (HT80) | 802.11 a/b/g/n (HT40) |
| Launch carriers | AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, Verizon | AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, Verizon |
| Colors | Black, white, pink | Gray, white |
| Finish | Leatherlike plastic | Plastic |
Along with the launch of the Note 3, Samsung is launching their smartwatch, the gear. This little device works in conjunction best with their newest 
smartphones and tablets but will work with older devices via software updates. The gear in my opinion is gimmicky, but a nice compliment to their new Note 3 (that is cumbersome because of its size, sometimes, other times it is just a badass phone because of its sheer size). The Gear is going to have a 1.63 AMOLED (320×320 pixels) inch touchscreen that uses OLED (organic light emitting diode) to light the screen and weigh in at 2.6 grams. It is going to have 4gb of built in storage with a 1.9 megapixel camera (720p video, 640×640 resolution). It is powered by a 800mhz processor and has a 315mAh battery. These are the specs and features straight from Samsung:
| Processor | 800 MHz processor |
| Display | 1.63 inch (41.4mm) Super AMOLED (320 x 320) |
| Camera | 1.9 Megapixel BSI Sensor, Auto Focus Camera / Sound & Shot |
| Video | Codec: H.264Format: MP4HD(720p) Playback & Recording |
| AudioConnectivity | Codec: AACFormat : M4ABluetooth®v 4.0 + BLE |
| Samsung Services | Samsung AppsChatON: mobile communication service |
| Smart Relay, S Voice, Memographer, Voice MemoAuto Lock, Find My Device, Media Controller, Pedometer, Stopwatch, TimerSafety assistance: In case of emergency, press a power button 3 times continuously, and then user’s location information is transferred to the saved contacts with message.2 Microphones (Noise Cancellation), 1 Speaker | |
| Sensor | Accelerometer, Gyroscope |
| Memory | 4GB Internal memory + 512 MB (RAM) |
| Dimension | 36.8 x 56.6 x 11.1 mm, 73.8g |
| Battery | Standard battery, Li-ion 315mAh |
We will see how these two new products fair. The Gear isn’t set to launch in the US and Japan until October but the Note 3 is a go on the 25th in the US.
