Android Phone Wars: Samsung Galaxy Note 2 vs Samsung Galaxy Note 3

OK, I know what you’re thinking – why do a Phone War with a year old model and the new about to be released.  If for no other reason we can compare the two via specifications and see how much or how little Samsung has engineered into the next generation Galaxy Note 3.  Is it really worth paying the extra money for the Note 3 or should you save a few dollars and pick up last year’s Note 2 for a great price.  Will the extra specifications and features of the Note 3 really make that much difference to you – it could depend on your personal needs or desires – does an extra .2-inches in the display really make that much difference to you…do you read a lot where the extra pixels may make a difference…are you a gamer where the increase in RAM or processor speed will make a difference to you – hopefully we can answer some of your questions below.  Let us first look at a side-by-side comparison of the specs.

Specifications

Samsung Galaxy Note 2

The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 was as highly anticipated in September 2012 as is the current Note 3 a year later, and it did not disappoint.  It was a great upgrade when compared to the original Note, released a year earlier in 2010.  The display jumped from 5.3-inches to 5.5-inches, memory from 1GB to 2GB RAM, and the jump from Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread to 4.1 Jelly Bean, which certainly accounted for the increase in both its speed and smoothness.  The Galaxy Note 2 simply looked better and felt better in your hand, but its critics complained about Samsung’s use of plastic, or polycarbonate,  a stronger substance than plain plastic – they felt it gave it a cheap feel.

The S-Pen and its functionality were greatly increased and ever so slightly redesigned to give the user a better feel for drawing or note taking, as well as several additional software programs to help you get the most out of your S-Pen. The Galaxy Note 2 packs a lot of “value added” features for multitasking and reducing the number of tasks to navigate through the menus, such as Air View, Popup Note, Popup Video and Page Buddy.  There were also two of my favorites, Quick Glance, which watch your eyes to see if you were still looking at the screen and if the Note 2 determined that you were still looking, it kept the screen lit.  The second one is Smart Stay which keeps the screen from automatically going to the landscape mode if you are reading for instance and decided to lie down.
Samsung Galaxy Note II GT-N7100 – factory unlocked- 16GB Gray

Samsung Galaxy Note 3

The Samsung Galaxy S4 and Note 3 were two of the most highly anticipated releases for 2013. The Galaxy S4 received a lukewarm reception with many saying it was too similar to the Galaxy S3 it was replacing – oh, it had many specifications bumped up, but it just did not excite people enough to upgrade from the S3 to the S4, but hopefully, there are enough S2 owners ready to upgrade. The question we all have now is will the same events occur with the Galaxy Note 3.

I believe the Galaxy Note 3 will not disappoint for a number of reasons. Even though Samsung is still using a polycarbonate body structure, they did change the shape and “feel” of the device by adding a faux leather back with fake stitching that really does make it look and feel better than the Note 2. The screen jumps all the way to Full HD at 1920 x 1080 resolution with 386 PPI, making that big screen even easier on the eyes. The camera has greatly improved, and coming out-of-the-box with Jelly Bean 4.3 (the first phone to do so), it adds a lot of functionality to the camera area. The addition of enhanced multitasking and the new S-Pen 3.0 with the new Air Command, enhanced Air Gestures, Air Browse, and Quick Glance, just make the user experience so much better. If you are a speakerphone user, moving the speaker to the edge of the phone prevents the muffled sound you get from the Note 2’s speaker mounted flatly on the back.

One other improvement is that you can now use the S-Pen on the capacitive return and settings buttons. You may think this a minor change, however, if you are one of the many that constantly use your S-Pen when working with your Note 2, you know what a pain it was to switch to a finger to press the return button, so this is a welcomed addition.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 N9000 Black 32GB – Factory Unlocked International Version

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 III N9000 32gb White Factory Unlocked Android Cell Phone

 …And the Winner is…

I have to choose the Note 3, for obvious reasons – there are just too many improvements in the Galaxy Note 3 not to crown it the king of this Phone War.  That is not to say the Note 2 would be a bad selection, especially if cost is a factor.  Once the Note 3 is officially launched on the major carriers, the price of the Note 2 will drop, and for that kind of money, you will get yourself a terrific device that will soon be upgraded to Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.  However, feature for feature the Galaxy Note 3 surpasses the Note 2 in every category, as well it should.