The world has been a little crazy with the launch of Samsung Note III in the recent weeks (or has it?), with the promise of the first of its kind in the evolution of technology.

Meet Note III: A phone and a tablet combined, boasting the latest in line and  bringing back big (make that PLUS size phone) into style. Oh! And one that comes with a pen too!

Thanks to my current employer, I now have got into the bandwagon once again to be one of the first few in Thailand to own Samsung Note III before it was officially launched in the market. From not wanting to own another Samsung mobile phone because of a disappointing past experience, to owning TWO (corporate) mobile phones (the other one being the S3) as part of my current gig in embracing technology.

Considering that I was once a gadget freak in my early twenties and used to be a big fan of Apple (and now boycotted), this has been a welcome break to get back into the gadget grind and in keeping up with the evolution of technology without actually burning a hole in my own pocket.

I am not going to do a full product review here as if you Google for reviews, you would be able to get a far better review and perspective than I would ever do. That being said, I’ll tell you what I really like about the Note III:

It’s cool.

Hell, yeah! It really is big for a phone and is a little bit tricky to hold when answering/making a phone call, but I just happen to think that it is quite a cool beast for a notepad that also happens to work as a phone! (Notice I say NOTEPAD)

S-Pen

I have a thing with scribbling and taking notes with a pen versus typing things out, and for, that it appeals to me. Sure you can compare that to an iPad and how much cooler an iPad is – the thing is, if you don’t already know,  I boycotted Apple products a long time ago and I.don’t.care.for.it.

One thing I like about it is the fact that it converts my handwriting into text. All I have to do is write on the screen and the note transforms everything I write into normal text that can go into my document, emails and whatever else I am composing.

There is also a function in which you can enable where the S Pen will beep you anytime you move away from the pen and save you from leaving the S-Pen behind. Nifty function for a forgetful person like me!

Multi-screen

Do I even need to explain this? With its gargantuan screen, it is a joy to be able to view things in split screens

Air Command screen capture

This is just cheap thrill! Instead of pressing down the Home and Power button at the same time to capture a screen shot, just wave your hand across the screen and bingo! A screen capture. True story.

Scrap Book

A collection of stuff you cut out from the screen and save them for later viewing. It’s associated with metadata and able to provide context of the various clippings by harvesting data from the surrounding app or web page that can be tagged or categorise. A function which I need to familiarize myself better with.

Its quirks?

It is a big, big device and something completely outside my comfort zone to be used for a phone. It feels weird and uncomfortable when held close to the ear. I am also confused as to why the S-Note and Action Memo app are separate – to me they are the same! Lastly, it is just way too expensive and I am glad that I didn’t have to pay for it!

Still. I love it. It is a F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S thing!