The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 & How it Introduced us to The Galaxy Experience

On May 14th 2014, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 was introduced into our hands. This was the second Galaxy product we purchased, prior we had the Galaxy Media Player which we will be posting about in the future. On that day I had no idea my entire perspective on smart devices would change. As far as cell phones go, I was using the Motorola Droid Razr M at the time (it currently is still in perfect working condition I might add). It was such a rough 2 years with the Motorola. As apps became updated to keep up with new device releases, they also became less responsive with each update, and the phone could no longer keep up with simple tasks.

It was time for an upgrade and it seemed like I had already made up my mind before I arrived at the store. I had seen a lot of advertising for the Note 3 and my good friend Alex owned a previous generation Note device, so I was almost positive that was the phone I was purchasing. I arrived at my local Verizon store, and I was told there were no more Note 3 devices available. As I was standing there in shock, it was like UPS heard my cry and a carrier walked in with a bunch of boxes being delivered to Verizon. It was my lucky day, not only did they have the Note 3, but they had it in black which is what I wanted most. Easily convinced, I purchased an Otter Box Defender Series case. It has been the best and only third party purchase for this device, period.

It was like love at first sight. I immediately started to download business documents so I could sign them with my S-Pen, and when I withdrew the S-Pen a menu appeared. Not only could I sign documents, but now I could take notes on the go, which as a parent and business owner is a pretty big deal, but I discovered I could Smart Select which is a pen cropping tool, I could use Handwriting instead of a keyboard, and I discovered I could do art. 

My phone came with gifts! Galaxy Gifts! There were so many paid apps, S-Pen apps, and Samsung exclusive apps, that were offered free. I immediately downloaded Sketchbook for Galaxy, which really utilized what features aren't made dominant of the S-Pen. The S-Pen, Software, and Screen, are capable of detecting pressure. Dark hard pressed lines and soft gentle touches were all received correctly by the device and software. I was very impressed. On another level, the AutoCad 360 app has amazing S-Pen functionality, I suggest current users of any Galaxy Note device to check it out.

The Operating System (herein called OS) was clearly very different than the Droid Razr M. It was a very different experience that made me feel like my phone was made for me. Everything about the Graphical User Interface (herein called GUI) was custom. The screen was clear and vivid, and I felt like the pictures it took were clear as day compared to other phones on the market at the time. Samsung really thought about their customers when developing this device, from the physical beauty of the device to the perfection of the OS. There are an endless amount of features this phone has that some current 2017 smart devices do not have, and there are an endless amount of customizable features as well.

Over the air updates came regularly, one of which added more functionality to the microSD card. It was really nice to be able to store tons of music and pictures on microSD cards. Another pretty cool thing about the Note 3, is that it has a removable battery. It wasn't ever necessary for me to remove the battery, but knowing I could was relieving. I kept hearing people I knew talking about how they had to do crazy things to be able to customize their OS or GUI, but I never found that close to necessary with this device. Everything you need and more is on there, I had access to my files and folders (which I did not with the Droid Razr M), and I wasn't forced to use Google branded software for everything. I never had to do anything to it except use it how it was made, and it was made for someone like me. Samsung also had an amazing app on my device called Samsung + which helped me with phone maintenance, troubleshooting, easy access to live support, and articles explaining different features of my phone. It was truly an experience. 

I'll go into a full tech review in the near future, but for now you understand a little more about the Samsung Galaxy Experience. I'll break down each feature into separate posts so it's easier to find the information you're searching for. If you have any questions or comments about this device or any of it's features, feel free to contact us and we will happily do our best to reply as soon as possible. Thanks for reading!