Ubuntu 13.10 for Galaxy Nexus - first look

I have to say I was very excited to install freshly released Ubuntu 13.10 for Nexus devices. I couldn't resist so I took my old Galaxy Nexus (maguro) and I started the installation procedure. It's very simple to do it all manually. Screenshots below!

I didn't have much time to play with this OS on my device, but so far I have mixed feelings. I am aware it's the first public release and it MUST have bugs. Of course all fundamental features are working fine (GPS, modem, camera, Bluetooth, touch panel etc.) and on the project site it's clearly stated that:

"It is an experimental development snapshot that can potentially brick your device. It does not provide all of the features and services of a retail phone and cannot replace your current handset. This preview is the first release of a very new and unfinished version of Ubuntu and it will evolve quickly."

So far I had few issues like not responding touch screen, system hangs from time to time or it slows down, so that you can't basically do anything except from reboot. However, in most cases it's very snappy. Navigating through the system is completely different than on Android. There are no back or home keys, you need to swipe left/right/down/up and swiping effect is different if you swipe from the centre of the screen or from the edge.

I have a feeling that the whole UI is sort of "too large". Massive icons are taking a lot of space and working with this interface is far from being intuitive. I think that this OS would be much more suitable for tablets instead, where the average screen size is 10".

In current stage this OS is surely not suitable for daily use, but the developers are working very hard to fix all submitted issues and to preview all commits. Here are the screenshots:

Home Screen with 3 additional desktops: Music, Applications and Videos

Lock-screen (swipe left to unlock)

System Settings, About the phone and Battery

Phone, Messages and Contacts

Calendar and Album

Sort of "Quick Settings" available from the notification menu

Installed applications screen and a "must have" app ;)

Weather, Gmail and Notes

Navigation panel (available on every screen, even lock-screen), File Manager and Camera

That would be all for now. I think the first preview of the Ubuntu OS for phones looks very promising, however it's officially available only for 3 devices for now and it can't be used as a daily driver just yet.

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The Meenova Micro-SD Card Reader for Android

A few months back I decided to pledge $12 US to a Kickstarter Project for a miniaturised USB card reader for Android smartphones. The idea looked promising, and I had a spare $12, so I took the gamble, and this week it paid off. Through the post I received the dividend on my 'investment'. I'll follow up this mini-review with some details on performance once I can get hold of a class 10 card, but for now here are some first impressions and opinions.

The concept of USB OTG (on-the-go) storage is a good one, especially for the increasing number of us of us whose favourite phones don't have an SD card slot. However, one of the big issues with the regular arrangement for OTG is the need to carry a male-female adapter cable and a card reader or memory stick around in addition to the telephone. Doing away with this inconvenient clutter was really what attracted me to the idea of the Meenova reader.

I knew that a tiny, almost weightless device, which clips to my keyring, but which can take exchangeable micro SD cards at least up to 64Gb, would be worth $12 to me just for the convenience. The Meenova reader ticks all those boxes at around 2cm square by 8mm thick and weighing in at only 3 grammes.

Unboxing the Meenova

The reader arrived by mail, safe in a protective envelope, direct from the manufacturing facility. US customers receive theirs via USPS, the rest of the world via Hong Kong Post. Inside the envelope the reader was neatly packaged, and the pack included the reader, a USB adapter for lap/desktop connectivity, and a keyring clip.

 

All the items were well made and well finished. The only exception was the tiny split ring for the keyring adapter, which was quite flimsy, but that was such an insignificant part of the package that I just replaced it with a better one for five cents. The cap clips onto the reader with a satisfying and tight click, and the reader is securely held. 

That led me to thinking that instead of hanging the reader from my keyring, I should hang the cap from the ring and clip the reader in/out of it as I used it. I punched a small hole in the cap, threaded the tiny keyring through it, and I am very happy with the modification. 

N.B. - Later Edit 

Do NOT hang the reader on your keyring as I described above. My reader came unclipped twice today and I almost lost it !! Use the tag provided on the body of the reader and pass the spring clip through that. Only use the ring to hang the cap from the clip when the reader is in use.

Getting To Grips with the Meenova

Having got it all ready to use, my next step was to rummage in the spares bin. Luckily I found an old 8Gb class 4 SD card to use for the first test. I slotted it into the reader, plugged the reader into the USB adapter and plugged all that into my trusty iMac.

Partitioning and formatting the card was quick, easy and there were no issues.  A nice touch is that USB connector on the reader is mounted in a raised, transparent, plastic "plinth" and from inside the casing a blue LED flashes to indicate any activity.

The Meenova is actually much smaller than it appears here

My first test was to load up my entire photo library from iPhoto to see what would happen. 2 Gb was a heavy enough load, and during the loading process I also deleted around 400 of the photos from the card during the load to see if that caused any issues. The process took a while, but there was no noticeable slowdown during the deletions and no data dropouts or corruption.

Following the successful upload I unmounted the device and plugged it into the USB port of my HTC One. The One immediately reported "Preparing USB storage, Please Wait" and then "USB storage is ready" which popped up almost too quickly for me to take the screen shots.

ES File Explorer, showed me that the USB was mounted automatically by the OS at the mount point /mnt/usb. On opening, Explorer already had the USB folder open and I was able to examine the contents just as I would any other part of the file system.

The next step in this little test was to open Gallery and look for the photos I uploaded. They had already been found by the Gallery app and the app was in the process of making them available. Once the photos folder had been opened in Gallery, the photos themselves did take some time to appear, but until I can get hold of a faster card I can only speculate on whether this was caused by the cheap, slow card, the reader, or the OTG/USP processing in the phone OS.

Gotcha !!!

After playing with it for a while I was ready to hang the reader back on my keyring and drop my One into it's slip case ... That was the only point at which I had an issue with the setup. In my haste, I just pulled the reader out of the USB socket and immediately received the notification "USB Storage unexpectedly removed" ...

Oops ... My Bad ... I had forgotten to unmount before removal!

I was only reading from the card so on this occasion it wasn't a painful experience, but no excuses ... some cards can be very sensitive to superblock corruption so it's never a sensible thing to just pull them out without first unmounting, and definitely not advisable following a write to the card.

Just to make sure I knew what to do in future, I reinserted the reader and went in search of the unmount action. I have to admit, I was naively expecting a bar in the notifications or settings pull-down with some obvious wording such as "USB/OTG storage - Click to unmount" ...

No such luck ... I eventually found the action buried in the basement !! ... It's actually in Settings->Storage->USB Storage->Unmount USB Storage.

For the sake of user convenience, I think there is a good case for smartphone manufacturers to do some rethinking about where that action should be placed. In my opinion, it belongs in a much more prominent position.

Third-Party Apps and the Meenova

Because of that one thing, I went in search of an OTG/USB third-party app to see if I could make the unmount a little more convenient. I tried two (see *** footnote) and both worked well. However, both of them were designed to manage the mount and unmount themselves. That is, they are set up to create a mount point and mount to/unmount from that point. When using these apps on the HTC One, the OS native mount is maintained in addition to the ones set up by the tool, so a final unmount will still need to be done from within the settings page.

If you have a phone with an OS which automatically mounts the OTG/USB storage, then don't bother with third-party apps. Just be sure you know how to unmount the device. If, on the other hand your OS doesn't automount the storage, but you have an OTG-aware kernel, then these third party apps can make your use of OTG devices easier.

OTG Compatibility

There is a list of known compatible devices on the Meenova web site, but in this rapidly changing world, the list may not be complete. In hard terms, the device is only a micro card reader, and the chipset is the same one that can be found in many regular readers, so the rule of thumb is that if your phone works with a cable and memory stick, either with native or third-party software, then the chance is good that it will work with a Meenova Reader as well.

On the general subject of OTG compatibility my advice is for you to research your phone carefully before buying anything. Not all versions of Android support OTG and manufacturer support can also very variable, even between model ranges from the same company. Don't just assume that because your phone is fairly new and your Android is 4.x then it will have OTG. Check it out.

Conclusion (for now)

Overall I am already satisfied with my $12 investment, and at this point I feel that I can recommend this device to anyone looking for a compact, handy, OTG/USB storage solution.

In Part Two (coming soon) I will take a closer look at the Meenova reader's performance with music and video files, and I will try to run a set of timing comparisons using Class 4 and class 10 Micro SD cards.

Have any questions or comments? Feel free to share! Also, if you like this article, please use media sharing buttons (Twitter, G+, Facebook) below this post!

---

*** The OTG Storage managers I tested were:

USB Storage Manager by Goprasoft
USB OTG Helper (Root) by Ray of Light

As for Meenova the company, the Kickstart project seems to have been a great success. Plenty of cash was raised to get the project onto a stable footing, and I have yet to read a negative comment about either the Meenova reader or the guys who set it all up. The initial seed stock has now been dispatched to all the original backers, and the company are now taking pre-orders for the next batch of devices.

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HTC One vs. Apple iPhone 5s - comparison: part 2

The HTC One has received high praise in recent weeks, including the honors of smartphone of the year. For many, the One defines what a smartphone should be. It has a beautiful 4.7 inch 1080p display, elegant aluminum zero-gap build, loud and clear dual front facing boomsound speakers and user friendly Sense 5. The handset has dealt with stiff competition in recent months, with the iPhone 5s garnering a ton of hype.

Regardless, the One has stood on its own, as we delve into both handsets in part two of our two part comparison between the two handsets.

Check out more no nonsense tech at Technibility.com!

Have any questions or comments? Feel free to share! Also, if you like this article, please use media sharing buttons (Twitter, G+, Facebook) below this post!

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HTC One vs. Apple iPhone 5s - comparison: part 1

The HTC One was released earlier this year a midst a fair amount of hype and anticipation. The handset has seemingly brought HTC back into the forefront of mobile technology, to the point where Robert Downey Jr. is now their marketing star. Apple has refreshed the iPhone with the 5s, and its popularity continues to rise year after year. Competition has grown substantially, with various manufacturers releasing great smartphones set to compete in every major market. So how has HTC continued to stand out against the crowd? With its build quality and gorgeous display.

HTC placed an emphasis on build quality, providing the same type of aluminium material found on the iPhone 5 and now the 5s. Without delving too deep into its multitude of features, below is a video comparison of the HTC One and Apple’s newest flagship, the iPhone 5s. Both phones provide unique experiences and are worthy competitors against one another. 

Check out more no nonsense tech at Technibility.com!

Have any questions or comments? Feel free to share! Also, if you like this article, please use media sharing buttons (Twitter, G+, Facebook) below this post!

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HTC Desire 600 - dual SIM device review

The HTC Desire was HTC's well known flagship in 2010, since then their flagship brand was replaced by the One series, however due to its successful history the Desire name is still being used for the mid to low end range releases. If you want the short version of this review: The best thing about the Desire 600 is the build quality, it's a mid-range premium phone.

A Mid-Range Premium

Shortly after the release of the One, HTC announced the Desire 600 dual sim with many of its big brother's features - mainly HTC Sense 5, Blinkfeed and Boomsound. It also includes Video Highlights, but omits the Infra Red blaster and Ultrapixel sensor (2.0µm). Instead, it's replaced with a standard 8MP BSI camera sensor (1.4µm) and the first version of the HTC ImageChip - this also means that the Zoe features are lost in the process. It joins the fleet of other HTC dual sim specialists like last year's Desire SV and One dual sim (limited to specific markets).

Design & build quality

Being mid-range doesn't prevent it from carrying HTC's renowned build quality and in fact the device has some impressive highlights: the screen is protected by a robust metallic frame which also houses the dual speaker grilles, this in turn is surrounded by a plastic bezel with a very convincing brushed metallic finish.

The black version is full black contrasted with a glossy speaker frame, matte brushed bezel and a back cover with a matte grained finish which does a very good job of resisting fingerprints. Unfortunately the back's finish feels slightly irritating to the touch and fails to provide maximum grip.

The white version on other hand has a more daring and different finish, it has the speakers' frame coated in red, the brushed bezel painted in silver and smooth glossy white plastic for the back cover. 

The plastic back cover is removable: it's pretty solid but as is typical with such removable covers, it can creak under pressure. Beneath the cover cover lie two microSIM slots and a microSD slot as well as a replaceable 1860mAh battery - like everything HTC the interior has surprisingly fine fit and polish.

The camera lens and LED flash are covered by a protective glass bevelled inwards which should prevent it from collecting scratches. 

The buttons have a nice, solid feel as well. The power button is at top right; volume rocker on the right hand side; and the capacitive buttons are similar to the One, with 'back' on the left, 'home' on the right and the HTC logo in between. The rest is taken care of with gestures. Finally a 3.5mm audio jack is located at top left, and the micro-USB port is on the bottom.

All in all this is a very well built device with a sharp look (especially the black version). The slim tapered edge is reminiscent of the black HTC 8x and compared to competitors' mid-range devices, the Desire 600 build quality and design are miles ahead.

Boomsound versus Boomsound

The Desires 600 sports the HTC One's star feature, dual frontal stereo speakers with built-in amplifiers. This is "only" a mid range phone so you might expect less quality, compared with its big brother: but far from it! Compared to the One flagship it's just a notch lower in loudness and noticeabley less bass. Curiously while the One sounds significantly better with beats audio, the Desire 600 actually sounds better once the default beats enhancements are disabled: leaving it enabled seems to result in a more hollow sound. With this said, the quality is still excellent for its range, beating flagship devices from opposing brands.

If you would like to know more about the HTC One's phenomenal sound quality be sure to check our post: HTC One review - part 2: Hardware

Display, 4.5" Super LCD2 at 245ppi

The screen is another quality seeker on the Desire 600: despite a qHD resolution (960x540), it's running on a 4.5" panel which results in a respectable 245ppi pixel density. The display still inherits all the other Super LCD2 merits from last year's flagship the One X (720p, 312ppi) which  was lauded for its screen quality. Thanks to optical lamination it has excellent view angles and deeper blacks; there is no gap between the glass and LCD itself which makes the screen appear afloat. While not as sharp, colorful or contrasted as the One X, the screen is still significantly better than the Pentile Amoled qHD screen on last year's premium One S.

Camera, 8MP with last year's killer features

Instead of the ultrapixel (a low-light loving sensor with 2.0µm pixel size), the Desire 600 uses a standard wide angle 8MP BSI sensor with 1.4µm pixel size, but keeps the same f2.0 aperture and 28mm unique wide angle lens as the flagship. It also includes the older HTC ImageChip from last year's flagships which gives us powers like HDR, burst shooting and VideoPic (take still shots during video capture) as well as super fast shutter/focus, slow motion video and flash metering: however it loses all the fancy Zoe features, which are enabled by a newer ImageChip 2 on the HTC One. Video recording maxes out at 720p; most likely due to the lesser capabilities of the Snapdragon 200 SOC.

Daylight pictures are of good quality but slightly hurt by HTC's default aggressive digital sharpness: thankfully you can always reduce sharpness using the Image Adjustments menu in the camera app. In terms of low light it's perfectly usable when scaled down, especially indoor shots but 1:1 detail gets seriously degraded due to the smaller pixel size. Unfortunately HDR; which was flawless on last year's HTC One X; fails to do a good daylight job here (curiously it's the same issue as on the HTC One). On the other hand there is a great "HDR low light" feature in Sense 5: when used alongside the LED flash, the camera snaps two shots - one with flash and another without for mixed exposure, it gives far superior results to the washed out colors of standard LED flash photography. 

HTC Sense 5 in duality 

The tested device was preloaded with 1.17.707.3 firmware (Android 4.1.2) & HTC Sense 5.0. This is the same well praised UI from the full fledged HTC One; it is a known quantity by now so let's focus on the advertised features of the Desire 600, BlinkFeed, Video Highlights and dual SIM convenience.

Blinkfeed is HTC's version of Flipboard, it compiles news and posts from various sources (including your social media) in a nice scrolling layout embedded as the main home screen. You can't disable Blinkfeed - but you can set another home screen as your main one, and Blinkfeed will get moved to the right: you can also disable it further by removing newsfeed sources. 

Video Highlights is a feature which automatically compiles a video reel from your photos and videos in your phone's gallery. This works based on an event's time and location (you need to select your gallery content to be sorted by events). You can choose different preset themes for different effects and music. This is all done in real time and it works surprisingly well considering the modest Snapdragon 200 SoC in this phone. If you like the end results you can then save it as an H264 MP4 video to keep or share.

The two Sense 5 features which are missing compared to the HTC One are Sense TV and HTC Zoe, which rely on the One's hardware (IR blaster and ImageChip2).

The way the dual-SIM functionality works is interesting; Sense 5 was revised with this in mind. For example, you can choose Slot 1 or Slot 2 straight from the dialler - and an improvement over the Desire SV is that you can now receive notifications about two calls at the same time... you can even answer both calls and the first one will be placed on Hold. Throughout the UI there are other optimisations to help you use both numbers without mix-ups.

One thing to keep in mind about a device in this range: while it will surely receive maintenance updates from HTC, unlike the high end phones don't expect a long term commitment regarding Android (or maybe even Sense) updates.

In terms of connectivity, only one of the two microSIM slots supports 3G/3.5G (HSPA) - the other only supports 2G/2.5G (Edge). The Desire 600 also includes GPS/GLONASS, NFC and Bluetooth 4.0 with APTX support.

Performance, a slow quad core 

Here we arrive at my main niggle with this device: while it is mid-range it's still not an entry level device - and priced at around 400$ we should expect a decent performer. Unfortunately this 1.2ghz Snapdragon 200 SoC variety includes quad A5 cores and an Adreno 203 GPU along with a 1GB of DDR2 RAM. The quad will certainly assist in multitasking preventing long waits or hangs (which means it does well in certain benchmarks) but in terms of raw processing power the A5 is merely adequate and the entry level GPU is overstretched by the qHD resolution. This is why the Desire 600's UI is nowhere near as snappy or smooth as the HTC One Mini. You'll find that you can improve the smoothness of the UI by enabling "Force GPU" and "Disable HW overlays" from the hidden developers options. 

For those interested here are some benchmarks and system details:

Gaming, an entry level GPU

Given the affordable price, excellent stereo speakers with built-in amplifiers and a good quality screen, you can enjoy casual gaming on this device and lighter games. Temple Run 2 ran extremely smoothly in medium graphics mode (laggy if raised to high): but heavier 3D games like Fast & Furious 6 had most graphics intact, yet with a very poor frame rate. Ripetide GP2 ran with most fancy graphics enabled but at a poor (unplayable) frame rate: however reducing the game resolution or graphics effects from the in-game settings did improve things. 

In order to assess the GPU let's check the following GFXBench comparative, this is run onscreen since it reflects actual 3D gaming at the device's native screen resolution:

HTC One, T-Rex HD 15fps, Egypt HD 40fps (onscreen FHD - Adreno 320)

HTC One S, T-Rex HD 11.3fps, Egypt HD 28.4fps (onscreen qHD - Adreno 225)

HTC One Mini, T-Rex HD 9.3fps, Egypt HD 24.2fps (onscreen HD - Adreno 305)

HTC Sensation XE, T-Rex HD 5.9fps, Egypt HD 16.3fps (onscreen qHD - Adreno 220)

HTC One X, T-Rex HD 5.5fps, Egypt HD 15fps (onscreen HD - Tegra 3)

HTC Desire 500, T-Rex HD 4.7fps, Egypt HD 11.9fps (onscreen WVGA - Adreno 203)

HTC Desire 600, T-Rex HD 4.0fps, Egypt HD 10fps (onscreen qHD - Adreno 203)

HTC Sensation XL, T-Rex HD 3.1fps, Egypt HD fail (onscreen WVGA - Adreno 205)
HTC Explorer, T-Rex HD 0.9fps, Egypt HD 3.5fps (onscreen HVGA - Adreno 200)

You can clearly see the Desire 600 is around the bottom of the list: its modest GPU is over stretched by the qHD resolution. Adreno 203 seems to have been updated over the old Adreno 205, it fares better on the WVGA Desire 500, but it's nowhere near as fast as the Adreno 305 on the HTC One Mini or Galaxy S4 Mini/Duos - and the HTC One's graphics power seems like a distant dream.

Battery life

The included 1860mAh battery sounds good on paper but in practice with dual SIMs and data connections fully engaged you will be lucky if it lasts you the full day. Of course your mileage will vary but connectivity is the biggest drainer here - use with care.

Conclusion

The most impressive aspects of the HTC Desire 600 are design; build quality; sound and screen quality. There is no doubt HTC can design and build phones better than most - even if mid-range, even if plastic. Couple that with an impressive list of features thanks to HTC Sense 5, plus some unique hardware, and you have a really nice, slimmed down, affordable HTC One experience with an added dual SIM functionality: a "reason to buy" for many.

I can not but wish it had the Snapdragon 400 with dual Krait cores and Adreno 305 instead of the average SoC it's carrying, quad core or otherwise, it would have been a killer mid-ranger. Surely this must be the reason why HTC just announced the Desire 601 with Snapdragon 400 (and there are rumors of a dual sim variety).

Alternatively if you are around this budget and dual sims are not required, you can simply buy last year's flagship the HTC One X (or One X+) and update it to Sense 5: you would have an acclaimed smartphone with a vastly superior speed, screen and camera.

Hardware Summary:

+ Excellent build quality and design for the price

+ Excellent stereo speakers with built-in amplifiers

+ Good quality screen with excellent view angles

+ Dual SIM convenience with good UI integration

+ Impressive automatically generated Video Highlights in the gallery

+ Speedy camera thanks to HTC ImageChip

- Low End Snapdragon 200 SOC despite a quad core CPU

- Struggling Adreno 203 GPU for qHD resolution, limited gaming

- Slippery back cover

Have any questions or comments? Feel free to share! Also, if you like this article, please use the media sharing buttons (Twitter, G+, Facebook) below this post!

Official HTC Desire 600 dual sim Specifications:

SIZE: 134.8 x 67 x 9.26mm

WEIGHT: 130g

DISPLAY: 4.5" qHD Super LCD2

CPU SPEED

• Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 200, quad-core, 1.2GHz

PLATFORM

• Android™ with HTC Sense™
• HTC BlinkFeed™

ROM/RAM MEMORY

• Total storage:  8GB, (available capacity varies)
• Expansion card slot supports microSD™ for up to 64GB additional storage (card not included)
• RAM: 1GB DDR2

NETWORK

• 2G/ 2.5G - GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 900/1800/1900 MHz
• 3G/ 3.5G - UMTS/ HSPA: 900/2100 MHz with HSDPA up to 7.2 Mbps
• Dual SIM (microSIM) with ‘dual active’ support

SENSORS

• Accelerometer
• Proximity sensor
• Ambient light sensor

CONNECTIVITY

• 3.5 mm stereo audio jack
• NFC capable
• Bluetooth® 4.0 with aptX™ enabled
• Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 b/g/n
• DLNA® for wirelessly streaming media from the phone to a compatible TV or computer
• HTC Connect

SOUND ENHANCEMENT

• HTC BoomSound™
• Dual frontal stereo speakers with built-in amplifiers
• Studio-quality sound with Beats Audio™

CAMERA

• 8 MP camera with auto focus, LED flash
• BSI sensor, Sensor size 1/3.2"
• Dedicated HTC ImageChip
• F2.0 aperture and 28 mm lens
• Smart Flash: Five levels of flash automatically set by distance to subject
• Front Camera: 1.6 MP with BSI sensor
• 720p video recording
• Gallery with Video Highlights and HTC Share
• Continuous shooting and VideoPic
• Slow motion video recording with variable speed playback

MULTIMEDIA

• Audio supported formats:
• Playback: .aac, .amr, .ogg, .m4a, .mid, .mp3, .wav, .wma
• Recording: .aa
• Video supported formats:
• Playback: .3gp, .3g2, .mp4, .wmv (Windows Media Video 9), .avi (MP4 ASP and MP3) Recording: .mp4

LOCATION

• GPS/AGPS+GLONASS (for Russia & EU)
• GPS/AGPS (for Asia & others)

BATTERY

• Removable rechargeable Li-polymer battery
• Capacity: 1860 mAh
• Talk time: Up to 11.1 hours for WCDMA Up to 11.4 hours for GSM
• Standby timev:  Up to 577 hours for WCDMA Up to 539 hours for GSM

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Is the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 worth upgrading from the Note 2?

The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 transcends niche markets. With the original release of the Galaxy Note, Samsung released a device that didn't appeal to the mass consumer base. With it came insults about its size, with people going as far as to call it a "VCR". One year after its original release, the Note 2 was announced. With LeBron James as the face of the handset, its popularity rose to new heights. The phone that was once dubbed "too big" has now become the ideal device for many average consumers. With the Galaxy Note 3 nearing its release, we answer the question, is it worth upgrading from the Note 2 to the Note 3? Let's find out.

Display

Both devices sport a large, gorgeous display. The Note 2 operates on Samsung's trademark Super AMOLED technology, with a 5.5 inch 720 x 1280 screen, rendering 267 PPI (Pixels Per Inch). The quality is outstanding, with vibrant high contrast colour saturation. Since not all Super AMOLED displays are created equal, you may still end up with a blue or yellow tint. Eventually, your eyes will become accustomed to the screen given how stunning it truly is. The Galaxy Note 3 is set to be announced on September 4 in Berlin. The handset will sport a 5.7 inch 1080p Super AMOLED display. The U.S., U.K. and International versions may come with different screen technology. While the U.S.A. and United Kingdom will likely see the Super AMOLED version, other International markets will sport an LCD iteration. Regardless, both versions will have 1080p displays rendering upwards of 380 to 400 pixels per inch.

With both screens offering a comprehensive and enjoyable experience, you really can't go wrong with either. The question is, is it worth the upgrade? Going from 267 PPI to nearly 400 PPI is noticeable by any measure. If you compare the Note 2 with the Galaxy S4, which sports 441 PPI, you will notice a difference in clarity and sharpness. The same could be said for the Note 2 and upcoming Note 3. The 1080p resolution displays are the real deal and until you have owned one, you won't fully understand the benefits. On a 5.7 inch screen, the Note 3 will render text and images crystal clear. This isn't a knock on the Note 2, but in comparison, there is definite value to upgrade just on the screen quality alone.

Hardware and battery

In terms of hardware, both handsets provide thin frames without much bulk or weight. The Note 2 is 9.4 mm in thickness, while the Note 3 is rumoured to be somewhere in the range of the Galaxy S4, which is 7.9 mm respectively. Regardless, both are thin, and if you have ever held a Galaxy S4 in your hand, the device feels natural and extremely lightweight. If the Note 3 comes in metal casing, expect a better build quality over the all plastic Note 2. Both have removable back plates and batteries with micro-SD card slots. This is useful for accessories like flip covers.

If you're a power user, you also have the option of carrying around an extra battery. Though with batteries powered at over 3,100 mAh, you will rarely need to charge your device on a regular basis, no less replace the battery. This is where the Note 2 shines the most, as the battery life is considered phenomenal by any stretch. The Note 3 is rumoured to have a larger battery, though will be more power intensive with a high quality display. We expect similar battery lives on both devices, which if the Note 2 is any indication, isn't a bad thing.

Specification

The Note 2 is no slouch when it comes to specs. With a 1.6 GHz quad core Cortex A-9 Exynos 4412 CPU and Mali 400MP GPU with 2 GB of RAM, speed is rarely an issue. The Note 2 was actually one of the original quad-core handsets to be released in the US, and still out performs many phones to date. The Note 3 will also sport a quad-core processor, clocked at over 2 GHz with a Snapdragon 800 SoC and 3 GB of RAM memory, with rumours of a quad-core Exynos variation for International models. If we were to base these two phones on benchmark scores, the Note 3 would be the obvious winner.

Flashing custom ROM's and development are available in a wide variety of options for the Note 2. The Note 3 will likely see the same type of development. If you're nit picky about speed, then you will likely notice differences with the two handsets. In terms of multi tasking and other power intensive processes, the Note 3 will withstand anything you throw in its way. The Note 2 at times shows signs of slow down, which could be eradicated with custom ROM's. For the average consumer, the difference may be minimal, but for the tech savvy smartphone user, the Note 3's future proof specs reign supreme.

Software and development

On the software end, both handsets operate TouchWiz with the utilization of the S Pen. Some variants of the
Note 2 are still waiting for the 4.2.2 update, which is a shame, since its been out for over a year now. The software is very similar to the Galaxy S3's version of TouchWiz except with optimization of the stylus. With it, you have the ability to operate features like air gestures, memo pad, among other things. The Note 3 will likely come with Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2 out of the box with the option to upgrade to 4.3. You will receive similar features found on the Galaxy S4 such as air view, air scrolling, smart scrolling, and other S Pen functionality. We are interested to see what Samsung has up their sleeve for the Note 3's S Pen optimization.

Most stock ROM's for the Note 2 do not include use of the S Pen. There are however a few exceptions, as you can research specific stock ROM's which do utilize the stylus. Samsung will likely demonstrate their next generation S Pen when announcing the Note 3. How it will operate with the system is yet to be determined, but we would venture to think it isn't all that different from the Note 2, which offers a great experience.

The Note 2 has seen an extraordinary amount of solid development in relation to ROM's, kernel's and more. Most of the builds and tweaks available for the handset are stable. With the imminent popularity of the Note 3, developers will line up to build solid ROM's, kernel's and other development for an even more comprehensive experience. The Note 3 will have more available features out of the box, and developers will take full advantage when optimizing fresh and unique builds. The ideas will flow and the growing community will continue to flourish.

Camera

The rear camera on the Note 2 is an 8 MP shooter with a 1.9 MP front facing cam. The Note 3 will likely sport a 13 MP rear camera with OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) with a 2.1 MP front facing camera. The Note 2 was an evolution of the Galaxy S3, with similar camera technology. The Note 3 is naturally an evolution of the Galaxy S4, which comes loaded with a 13 mega-pixel camera. Comparing them is no easy task, as they both provide solid experiences for all of your photography needs. On the camera software end, the Note 3 will be similar to the S4's offering, with dual picture and video recording and an array of features. With a higher resolution display and higher mega-pixel count, the Note 3 is clearly the winner in the camera department. If your smartphone camera is important to you and is used for your day to day photo taking needs, the difference may well in fact be worth the upgrade.

Availability and pricing

Samsung has saturated the market with their Galaxy line of handsets. The Note 2 is no exception, available for Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile in the US. The resale value of the Note 2 remains high, upwards of $480 in many cases. On contract however, you will still fork over anywhere between $99 to $199 depending on the model and retailer you purchase from. When originally released, the Note 2 was upwards of $299 on contract, and we expect the Note 3 to run about the same in pricing. T-Mobile offers their off contract pricing, which will likely see prices upwards of $199 down and $20 a month for 24 months on finance.

The Note 3 will likely be available on all carriers in different variants by the end of September or as late as early October. Because it will be available on nearly every major carrier, it gets the edge in availability. In terms of pricing, the Note 2 will be fire sold by the time the Note 3 is released. It will be a great buy for those looking to save money and believe the Note 2 offers enough bang for their buck.

The UK will likely receive the Note 3 before the US, as this has been the trend with Samsung handsets for a few years. The Note 1 was released internationally six months before it hit the states. The Note 2 saw similar release trends and the Note 3 will likely follow.

Is it worth the upgrade?

The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 changed the way we utilize our smartphone. With a 5.5 inch display, other handsets feel too small in comparison. Those who own the Note 2 swear by it, and they have valid reasoning. The Note 3 will be no exception, it will sell in record numbers and provide an even greater foothold for the South Korean giant. So is it worth upgrading if you currently own a Galaxy Note 2? If you must have the latest and greatest with guaranteed future proof specs and better hardware, it is absolutely worth upgrading. If you are the average user who is content with your current offering, than maybe you are better off waiting. In either case, both phones provide a comprehensive and unique experience to the end user. As long as Samsung continues building on that success, everyone will remain content with their purchase.

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