Just yesterday, the largest phone maker in the world, Samsung, announced the U.S. launch the third rendition of its fabled phablet series, the Galaxy Note 3. When Samsung introduce the original Galaxy Note in 2011, then only an AT&T and T-Mobile exclusively, it was ridiculed by many reviewers for it large size, but it went on to sell 10 million devices – not too shabby for a niche type phone. That niche created a new category, phablet, and now every manufacturer is trying to copy it.
While large and beautiful, the original Galaxy Note was a “little rough around the edges,” as far as the S-Pen capabilities and from a software standpoint. The launch of the Galaxy Note 2 was with cautioned optimism, but also released on all four major U.S. carriers, which helped out in the sales department. The looks, the specifications, and the functionality of the device were all greatly enhanced and this time around the reviewers took the device a little more seriously, as did the customers, selling 30 million Galaxy Note 2’s.
With the launch of the Note 3, there is, once again, that cautioned optimism – nobody can predict how many will sell this time around. Customers demand more and more with each release, and while the Galaxy Note 3 delivers in almost every specification you can think of, the looks and design are where they may be most disappointed. Samsung has long used a polycarbonate (high grade plastic) for all of their phones, smart, and not so smart. The iPhone uses metal with glass, while HTC used aluminum of its latest flagship, the HTC One. While Samsung is building a quality phone internally, the externals are what the user sees and how they perceive the device. Samsung is finally listening and changed up from the shiny plastic back to a faux leather look on the Galaxy Note 3 which, so far, is getting nice comments by those handling the device.
The Focus Taiwan News Channel has reported that while the worldwide sales of the Note series may be 40 million, that only 800,000 have been sold in the Korean market, although they expect sales to top the 1 million mark by the end of this year. Andy Tu, general manager of Samsung Taiwan’s mobile communication team said:
We are confident of reaching this target on the back of positive customer feedback for our Note 2 device adding that the Note 2 remained the third-best-selling phone in Taiwan last month based on market research data.
It is a matter of days before the official launch of the Galaxy Note 3 on the U.S. carriers, so we will very shortly know how well the Note 3 will be received – I know I have mine pre-ordered! How do you feel about the Galaxy Note 3? Will you be buying one? Let us know on Google+ or in the comments.