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Galaxy Note 3 KitKat update: Top 5 disappointments and top 5 consolations

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galaxy_note_3_kitKat_updateSamsung released the Galaxy Note 3 KitKat update (Android 4.4.2) to more and more regions. You may check the update through your Galaxy Note 3 or through Kies. Some users may have to wait for the KitKat update a bit longer

The Galaxy Note 3 KitKat update equips Galaxy Note 3  with the latest version of Android, following Nexus (Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10), Moto X, Moto G, and some Google Play edition handsets (e.g., Google Play edition Galaxy S4 ).

However, just like other Samsung’s Android updates,  this Galaxy Note 3 KitKat update brings mixed experience: some disappointments and some consolations. If you are a Galaxy Note user, you probably still remember the battery drain issues in ICS update and slowness issue in Jelly Bean update.

In this post, I will share with you the top 5 disappointments, and 5 cool features (consolations)  in this Galaxy Note 3 KitKat update.

Disappointment #1: No ART options

One of the most important new features in KitKat (Android 4.4) for advanced users is the new runtime option: ART ( Android runtime).  Although Google baked this  new runtime as a beta feature in KitKat, most tests already reported significant speed improvement for almost all apps. In Moto X, we saw extremely good results when this runtime is enabled.

Unfortunately, Samsung totally disable this option in Galaxy Note 3 KitKat update. There is no way to try it in Galaxy Note 3 (with the official ROM).

Samsung may use the “beta” feature as an excuse of disabling ART in the Galaxy Note 3 KitKat update. It does not make sense because Samsung always bundles many alpha-level features  or apps in the handset. As one of the flagship handsets, Samsung should give customers the option.

We have to wait for next update if you want to try ART in Galaxy Note 3.

Disappointment #2: SD card support is limited

Update 1: the SD card issue in Galaxy Note 3 after KitKat update is apparently now solved. In some regions, there is another small update after …

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Samsung Galaxy Note Pro: is the super-sized tablet for you?

By 4 Comments · ·

In CES 2014, Samsung finally unveiled the largest tablet they ever made: the 12.2″ Galaxy Note Pro.

Galaxy Note ProFor Galaxy Note family, Galaxy Note Pro is a new member, of course, a super-sized member.  Although Galaxy Note series always are proud of their sizes (5.3″, 5.5″, 5.7″, 8″ and 10.1″), some may wonder whether the 12.2″ screen in Galaxy Note Pro is too big.

In this post, I will share with you our comments (not reviews yet) of Galaxy Note Pro.

The official Galaxy Note Pro specs

The official specs of Galaxy Note Pro are really impressive. But this is not surprising, because Samsung always put the best hardware (except camera) on Galaxy Note series.

Just for your information, here are the official specs of Galaxy Note Pro.

  • 12.2-inch Super Clear LCD display with 2560 x 1600 resolution (WQXGA)
  • 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor ( for LTE/WiFi version) or 1.9GHz Exynos 5 Octa processor (3G/WiFi, or WiFi only versions)
  • 3GB of RAM
  • Android 4.4 (KitKat) with TouchWiz and Samsung Knox
  • 32/64GB storage
  • MicroSD support up to 64GB
  • 8-megapixel rear camera with LED Flash
  • 2-megapixel front camera
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac with MIMO technology
  • Bluetooth 4.0
  • USB 3.0
  • GPS and GLONASS
  • Infrared sensor
  • 9500mAh battery
  • Dimension: 295.6 x 204 x 7.95mm
  • Weight: 750g (Wi-Fi version), 753 (3G/LTE version)

Is Galaxy Note Pro the best tablet?

Hardware specs surely put Galaxy Note Pro in the top tier of tablets. But tablet is not just hardware: it is about user experiences.

In addition to hardware specs, Galaxy Note Pro have some distinct advantages over any tablet in the market. So, Galaxy Note Pro may be the best tablet for some users.

1. The 12.2″ screen is perfect for everything

When the 12.2″ tablet was rumored last year, the first reaction of most people was “it is nice but it is simply too big”.

This was actually the identical response of the introduction of Galaxy Note in 2011. In 2012, I wrote a short post to address this concern: Is Galaxy Note really too large? The answer is always: size always …

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Top 10 New features of the New S Note in Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition

By 30 Comments · ·

Galaxy Note_3_S_NoteIf you are a user of  Samsung Galaxy Note, or Note II, you will find the S Note in Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is quite different from that in Note or Note II. For example, a lot of seasoned S Note users will ask “where is the productivity tools?”  in Note 3.

In this post, I will share with you the top 10 new features of S Note in Samsung Galaxy Note 3.  These include select and transform (replacing and enhancing productivity tools in old S Note), select and format (formatting your S Note), easy chart, line eraser,  searchable S Note, full screen by default, landscape template, preview S Note, default template and default cover, and add from scrapbook.

Please note, Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition has almost  identical S Note as that in Galaxy Note 3. So this post also applies to Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition, although I just mention Note 3 in the post.

1. Select and transform (replacing productivity tools)

Productivity tools is one of the  most welcomed features in S Note. It is powerful and east to use. If you are not sure about the productivity tools in previous generations of Galaxy Note devices (Galaxy Note, Galaxy Note II, Galaxy Note 8.0, and Galaxy Note 10.1), you may check this video.

Once you  get the new Galaxy Note 3,  you will find you can not find productivity tools in the new S Note.  Quite a lot Galaxy Note 3 owners asked me where to find the productivity tools.

In Samsung Galaxy Note 3, the productivity tools are deeply integrated into S Note. The term is no longer used for the new S Note.

All of the functions  and features (except formula search in Wolfram Alpha) of productivity tools now can be easily accessed from select and transform in Galaxy Note 3. You can write/draw whatever you want in the S Note, tap the selection button, draw a closed (roughly) line to include the written objects,  now you have the options to convert/transform the written objects to text,  shape, formula, …

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Galaxy Note 3 Documentations online now: User Guide and Customer Consultant Guide

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Samsung_Galaxy_Note3_FAQS_Customer_Consultant_Guidep_coverGalaxy Note 3 User Guide details the major features and their usage for your new Galaxy Note 3! You should first check the User Manual whenever you encounter any issues with your Note 3.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 User Guide for SM-N900 and SM-N9005  is online now.  You can download  Galaxy Note 3 User Manual (in PDF) in different languages.

If you do not want to download  the PDF file, you an read Galaxy Note 3 User Manual online with our embedded Google Document Viewer.

Galaxy Note 3 Customer Consultant Guide is the Bible for staffs in Samsung service centers. The Guide gives lots of  inside information, tips and tricks, FAQs of Galaxy Note 3.  Get the most from your Note 3 once reading this guide.

You can download Galaxy Note 3 Customer Consultant Guide now or read it online.

Galaxy Note 3 Online User Guide (HTML version) will be online soon!…

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Air Command Explained

By 14 Comments · ·

samsung_galaxy_note_3Among the new features in Galaxy Note 3, Air Command probably is the most impressive one.  Our beloved S Pen gets a new life in the Note 3.

When you hover the S Pen over the screen and then press the button on the S-Pen, you will immediately get a palette-like menu with five available actions.  The Air Command works like a context menu in most systems.

There are five available actions (or quick commands) in Air Command: Action Memo, Scrapbook, Screen Write, S Finder, Pen Window.

Although Air Command may have many usages, you may find that it makes note-taking extremely easy, quick and enjoyable.

Action Memo

action_memoAction Memo allows you to write a note in your Note 3. Yes, this is not new. We got this feature since Note 1. What makes Action Memo differ from our old memos is that it can automatically execute a function or convert the handwritten documents or drawings into formatted content.

The functions that Action Memo can execute include:

  • initiating a call with the number or name in the memo;
  • adding  to contacts based on the number and name written in the memo;
  • messaging the number or the name written;
  • sending email to the email address written in the memo;
  • looking up an address on Google Maps with the address in the memo;
  • searching the web;
  • saving a task to a to-do list;

Action Memo simply hooks the static info in the memo with some possible operations. Now you memo is alive!

Scrapbook

scrapbookScrapbook allows users to collect, organize, and track content and information from all sources in one place (Scrapbook).

The contents in the Scrapbook are organized as categories, which are created by you.  When you want to save content or info, you can select any existing category or create a new one.

You can scrape part of a web page into your Scrapbook by drawing the area you want to save with the S Pen in Scrapbook mode. The content in your drawing area (based on the top and bottom location of your drawing) will be saved, together with …

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Top 10 expected improvements in Galaxy Note 3

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exynos5Almost certainly, Samsung will announce the Galaxy Note 3 during (before) IFA 2013. Galaxy Note was announced during IFA 2011, Note 2 was in IFA 2012.

There are some leaked images and specifications circulating around. But none of them accurate, because Samsung surely produced several prototypes for evaluation. A few additional prototypes may be just to confuse competitors.

Based on Samsung’s track record in Galaxy S series and Galaxy Note series, it is certain, that Galaxy Note 3 will be an “upgrade” to Galaxy s4, not just an upgrade to Galaxy Note 2. This is the product strategy for Samsung. When S4 was released, there is about one year time for competitors to beat S4 with newer hardware. Note series at least shorten this window to 6 months.

So, what will be seen in Note 3? Here is the top 10 list.

1. Full HD display

Galaxy Note 3 will surely have full HD (1080p) screen. And it will surely be Super AMOLED made by Samsung. Early this year, before Galaxy S4 was announced, there was a rumor that Samsung had problems with full HD on AMOLED.  S4 stopped this rumor.  So, Samsung definitely has no problems to produce full HD AMOLED display in a bigger screen.

Full HD on a 5″ screen like S4 may be a waste. But for a 5.7″-6″ screen, the pixel density (arounfd 370ppi) is human eyes’  limit.  More pixels will be just wasted.

For Galaxy Note 2 users, it is an upgrade from HD 720p to 1080p.

2. Exynos 5 Octa  5420 processor

Exynos 5 Octa 5420 will very likely be used on Galaxy Note 3.  This is an improved  version of Octa 5410 found in Galaxy S4.  The 1.8 GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A15 and 1.3 GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 provide 10% more CPU raw power than 5410. But the most significant improvement of 5420 is its GPU. It will pack the latest ARM Mali-T628 MP6 GPU, which provides 130 GFLOPS at 667MHz. The  OCta 5 5410 only has IT PowerVR SGX544MP3, which provides 51.2 GFLOPS.

If we compare this processor …

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Top 12 new features you should try after getting Jelly Bean 4.1 update for Galaxy Note

By 14 Comments · ·

jelly-bean-update-for-galaxy-noteJelly Bean 4.1 update has been available in more and more regions since February. Now our almost 1.5-year-old Note gets a new life again after the Ice Cream Sandwich update last year.

If the rumor can be trusted (and it is usually can be trusted), Galaxy Note will get Jelly Bean 4.2 update this year as well. Even better news for Galaxy Note 2 owners, Key Lime Pie (aka, Android 5.0) update will very likely be available for your Note 2. Well done Samsung!. Now Samsung is only second to Google in providing an update for their Android handsets.

Last November, we list top 10 expected features in this Jelly Bean update for Galaxy note. After testing the update recently, we found all features mentioned except Airview were included in this update.

Some of these new features and improvements are part of Jelly Bean update, for example, Google Now and popup browser. Some are Samsung’s extension or exclusive apps, for example, multi-window, Paper Artist,  and easy clip.

In this post, I will share with you 12 must-try new features in this Jelly Bean 4.1 update in your Galaxy Note. All these features are already available in Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy Note 8.0  and Galaxy Note 10.1. So, if you own Galaxy Note 2, Note 8.0 or Note 10.1, you can also try all these features out of the box.

1.  Google Now (part of Jelly Bean)

Google Now is the killer feature of Jelly Bean. It was officially unveiled in Google I/O 2012. With Google now, you become the master, not the slave of your smartphones. Google Now essentially digs all your info in your Google accounts, then predicts what info you may need before you ask. The info is presented in “cards”, which are presented once you start Google Now. In Jelly Bean 4.2, more cards will be available.

Of course, you can also use Google Now as knowledge navigator: simple ask questions, Google Now gives you results in natural language. It works far better (not so arguable) than Siri in iPhones.

To …

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Is LG Optimus G Pro an Alternative to Galaxy Note 2?

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galaxy-note2-vs-lg-optimus-g-proIt is not a secret that LG wants to step into the phablet market which is dominated by Samsung’s 5.3″ Galaxy Note and 5.5″ Galaxy Note 2. The 5″ rectangle slab, Optimus Vu, and Vu 2, announced last year, failed miserably to get into this niche market.

So, this year, LG Optimus G Pro was announced during Mobile World Congress 2013. It will be released in selected regions next month. This time LG gambles on the Optimus G branding. Will it be successful?

The eye-catching feature of this phone is its 5.5″ full HD IPS display. So, the targeted competitor of Optimus G Pro is not Galaxy S3 or recently announced Galaxy S4. LG actually wants this phone to be the alternative of Galaxy Note 2.

From the timing of the announcement, it can be easily deduced that  Galaxy Note 2 is the target. By releasing a handset in the middle of Galaxy Note 2 and the coming Note 3, Optimus G Pro can get about 6-month lead in hardware specifications against Note 2.

LG recently started to know how to design a great Android phone after they worked with Google for the Nexus 4. LG then transformed Nexus 4 into Optimus G, which is the most successful Android phone LG ever made.

Design and build quality

From the exterior, Optimus G Pro likes  a sibling of Galaxy Note 2. It is totally different from Optimus Vu or  Optimus G. Physical home button and two capacitive buttons for menu and back are similarly placed like that in  Galaxy Note 2. However, Optimus G Pro has slightly smaller side bezels.

For the back, LG also abandoned  the all-glass design spotted  in Optimus G. Plastic was chosen for Optimus G Pro. The build quality is similar to Note 2.

One thing that some people may like in Optimus G Pro is the Q Button. This is a dedicated button in the left side.  You can configure any  (but only one) app for this button. Of course, you can configure it as a camera button, just like many …

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Galaxy Note 8.0: the largest smartphone in the history!

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Galaxy Note family now has a new member: Galaxy Note 8.0.

galaxy-note-8It is different from Galaxy Note 10.1, which is clearly a tablet. It is simply a larger version of Galaxy Note 2, a giant phone.

So, this is a smartphone, at least, not a pure tablet. This can be easily identified by: 1). an earpiece and, 2).the iconic Home button and two navigation keys.

The major difference to Galaxy Note 2 is the odd location of the speaker. In Galaxy Note 8.0, it is in the bottom, not on the back. Designer may come from the Mars.

Specification wise, this is surely not a top-notch smartphone or tablet. It is merely a not-so-bad device, based on today’s standard. Under the hood, you get a 1.6GHz quad-core A9 processor (it should be a Exynos 4XXXX), a 2GB RAM, a 1280*800 PLS display, a 16/32GB storage, a 4600mAh battery.

The weight is only 338g, thanks to its full plastic exterior, except display and bezel. Typical Samsung style.

The good news for Galaxy Note and Note 2 users is now you finally can use S Pen  for the menu and back buttons. You also get a new reading mode to make your reading more comfortable.

The bad news is it runs on Jelly Bean 4.1.2 (just like most Note 2 and Note 10.1), not the latest 4.2.2. Disappointed, although you will very likely get the update later.

More disappointed, the battery is not removable.

The most disappointed: the main camera has no flash. So you can guess its quality. The 5MP tag reminds you the price is not in the cheap side.

However, if you compare this giant phablet with the tablet with similar form factor (e.g., iPad mini). It is actually quite decent.

So, the imaginary competitor of this Galaxy Note 8.0 is not smartphones, but 7-8″ tablets.

Samsung probably hopes this giant phone will be the king or queen in this form factor. This could have been true if the specifications were slightly elevated.

It looks stupid to hold this giant phone near …

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S Note tutorial: how to change text styles (appearance)

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how-to-change-s-note-styleThis is our second S Note video tutorial. In this tutorial,we will learn how to change the appearance or typesetting of your text in S Note. This includes  font type, text size, text decoration, paragraph spacing, paragraph alignment, paragraph indent, pre-defined styles,  and list styles.

This tutorials works on Galaxy Note, Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy Note 10.1 and Galaxy Note 8.0.

Of course, this covers both typed (from keyboard) text, and handwriting recognition text (from Productivity tools). If you are not sure about productivity tools, you may check this post (http://www.allaboutgalaxynote.com/s-note-tutorial-how-to-use-productivity-tools/ ).

The transcript is attached below the video for your convenience.

If you have questions, please post in comments section below, or start a new thread in discussion forum.

More tutorials  for S Note app can be found here in  the S Note guide page.

More tips on Galaxy Note, Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Note 8.0 and Galaxy Note 10.1 can be found in Tips and Tricks page.

Galaxy Note 3 online manual (HTML edition) is available here.

If you want to download the PDF version of Galaxy Note 3, Note Ii, Note 8.0. Note 10.1, or read the PDF version on line, you can find all of them in this User Manual page.

Transcript:

Hello guys, this is the second S Note video tutorial from AllAboutGalaxyNote.com.For more tutorials and update, please visit our blog at: AllAboutGalaxyNote.com.

The S Note Survival Guide e-book will be available in January 2014!

Today we will learn how to change the appearance or typesetting of your text in S Note. This includes font type, text size, text decoration, paragraph spacing, paragraph alignment, paragraph indent, pre-defined styles, and list styles.

This tutorial applies to S Note on all Galaxy Note series devices, including Galaxy Note, Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy Note 10.1.
Font settings can be accessed by long tapping Text button. And you can put this font setting window on the screen when typing or writing text. This is very handy if you want to change font settings quite often.

The typesetting, or in other words,full text …

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Top 10 expected features in Jelly Bean 4.1 update for Galaxy Note

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jb-new-logoWe all know Samsung has been working on Jelly Bean (4.1) update for Galaxy Note, although this Korean company never officially confirm or announce this update. The information we have is the update may be rolled out as early as in December. and most users will get it in Q1/2013. There is no information on Jelly Bean 4.2 update yet.

Anyway, the waiting is almost over. Now, let’s list the top 10 anticipated features in this Jelly Bean 4.,1 update for our more-than-one-year-old Galaxy Note. For Top 10 new features in ICS update, please read this post: http://www.allaboutgalaxynote.com/top-10-new-features-in-galaxy-note-after-ics-update/ 

All these features are available on Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy Note 10.1 and Galaxy Note 8.0 already.

1. Faster, smoother, and more responsive as claimed by Google

Thanks to Project Butter, one major improvement in Jelly Bean is the performance: faster, smoother and more responsive. Of course, I guess Samsung’s TouchViz UI may degrade the performance a bit. Some carriers’ bloatware may also have negative impact on the performance.

But overall, we should notice significant performance improvement.

2. Google Now

It is a shame that Google Now has not got sufficient attention. Google Now is a true innovation on getting relevant information on a mobile device. It makes you the master, not the salve, of the information. Just as claimed by Google, Google Now gets you just the right information at just the right time. If you do not have any Jelly Bean devices now, you may get more info on the Google Now offical site

3. Multi Window

Yes, you can run two apps side by side. Although very limited apps are compatible with multi window at this time, it is a really nice feature for a 5.3″ screen. Of course, this feature is best for Galaxy Note’s bigger brother Note 10.1.

4. Offline voice typing

In Jelly Bean, a new embedded speech recognizer lets you use Voice Typing even when you don’t have an Internet connection.

5. New notification system

The notification system will have significant improvements: more info and more controls. Notifications from the …

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Galaxy Note 2: the first Jelly Bean phone will reach your hands as early as this October

By 13 Comments · ·

GALAXY-Note-IIAs rumored  (or expected), Samsung announced the second generation of Galaxy Note, Galaxy Note 2, at IFA 2012 yesterday. Now, the first Jenny Bean(out of box, not through update) phone.

So, here is a short list of changes (from Galaxy  Note to Galaxy Note 2):

  1. Jelly Bean  (aka, Android 4.1), vs Ginger Bread (Android 2.3). So Galaxy Note is the first Jelly Bean phone.
  2. 5.5 inch display, vs 5.3 inch
  3. 16:9 ratio (1280*720, HD), vs 16:10 *1280*800, WXGA)
  4. Quad core 1.6GHz CPU, vs dual core 1.4GHz or 1.5 GHz
  5. 2GB RAM, vs 1GB RAM;
  6. dimension: 146.9 x 83 x 9.7 mm, vs 151.1 x 80.5x 9.4mm
  7. 3100mAh battery, vs 2500mAh
  8. NFC is included, vs optional
  9. Bluetooth 4.0, vs 3.0
  10. New S Pen, longer, thicker
  11. New feature: Screen Recorder (record a whole sequence of actions taken on their screen). most useful!!!
  12. New feature: Popup Note (open an S Note instantly as a pop-up window anywhere on the screen)
  13. New feature: Quick Command ( quickly activate frequently used apps with the S Pen)
  14. New feature: Easy Clip (quickly outline and crop certain kinds of content on the screen)
  15. New feature: Idea Visualizer ( provides illustration images that match the handwritten keywords), too fancy!!
We hope Samsung will port some of these features into Galaxy Note!!!
The shipment will start from October. So, just wait one month, you may start to try.
What do you think about this new generation of Galaxy Note?
Here is the full press release. For your reading pleasure, I quote it below.
Be Creative, Be Expressive with the GALAXY Note II
August 29,  2012

 

The most powerful smartphone sparks everyone’s creative inspirations
BERLIN, Germany – August 29,  2012 – At the Samsung Mobile Unpacked event held today at IFA, in Berlin, Samsung introduced the GALAXY Note II, a whole new level of innovation for the GALAXY Note category. The new Samsung GALAXY Note II enables unique experiences in personalized and expressive content creation, making it the ultimate smartphone for on-the-go creativity.

 

“Last year at IFA, we launched the GALAXY Note, which opened
…

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S Note Tutorial: how to use productivity tools

By 211 Comments · ·

s-note-tutorial-productivity-toolsS Pen is something unique in our Galaxy Note. ICS (aka Android 4.0) update simply made our Note more useful with some new apps specially for S Pen. S Note is one of these new and interesting apps.

However, some Galaxy Note users are not sure how to use S Note, although, Samsung already includes the 6-page S Note tips, 6-page productivity tips, and 6 samples (not sure why Samsung guys like 6, 6=s) in the S Note app.

So, I created this tutorial to give you some idea how to use the productivity tools in S Note.

This tutorial works on all Note devices: Galaxy Note, Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy Note 10.1 and Galaxy Note 8.0.

For Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition, this productivity tools is integrated into S Note app. So in the new S Note app, you can not find this tools directly. Please read this post for more info.

In the 8min 30s video (screen cast with audio), the following topics are covered:

  • 1). start and navigate through S Note;

  • 2). find and use the productivity tools button;

  • 3) handwriting to text;

  • 4). shape match;

  • 5). formula match;

  • 6) export S Note

Enjoy the video.

Tools used to create this video include:

More tutorials  for S Note app can be found here in  the S Note guide page.

More tips on Galaxy Note, Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Note 8.0 and Galaxy Note 10.1 can be found in Tips and Tricks page.

Galaxy Note 3 online manual (HTML edition) is available here.

If you want to download the PDF version of Galaxy Note 3, Note Ii, Note 8.0. Note 10.1, or read the PDF version on line, you can find all of them in this User Manual page.…

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Why Galaxy Note 10.1 will fail?

By 34 Comments · ·

Galaxy Note 10.1 was announced in last February to take the momentum generated by Galaxy Note.  This is a wise decision to create a unique tablet with S Pen (and productivity tools).  The initial specifications announced in MWC2012 were not impressive and the design was just another out-of-the-mill Android tablet.

galaxy-note-10.1-poor-displaySo, Samsung decided to re-work it. Now after more than 5 months, pre-order of this tablet was announced by Negri Electronics at $750 (No Jelly Bean, still ICS). Maybe the price will drop to around $500 soon.

After reading the specifications, my first impression is this is just another DOA (death on arrival) Android tablet.

The specifications were bumped up: quad core CPU (initially, dual core), 2GB RAM (initially 1GB), 5MP primary camera (initially 3MP), 2G/3G/WiFi/ USB/Bluetooth connectivity. It sounds nice. But when you read the display, omg, it is still 1280*800 (WXGA), same as your 9-month old 5.3″ Galaxy Note, 17-month old Motorola Xoom, or similar to 2-year-and-4-month old iPad, and 17-month old iPad 2. 

This poor display will destroy Galaxy Note 10.1. Two years ago, this was a decent display. But, now it is 2012, and  people expect higher pixel density (thanks to Apple’s retina display in the new iPad, aka iPad3).

Don’t blame Android or chipsets. Acer has been shipping the full HD 1080p Android tablet (Acer A700) since this summer at $450. Full specifications of this tablet is here. Another Asian PC maker, ASUS, also is offering full HD 1080p (actually 1920*1200, WUXGA) transformer pad infinity. You can get it at $500 (32GB) or $600 (64GB).

As a comparison, the new iPad (released about 5 months ago, 9.7inches) has a screen resolution of 2048*1536 and the pixel density is 264ppi (pixels per inch).  Our Galaxy Note boosts 1280*800 pixels on a 5.3-inch screen. So the pixel density is about 285ppi. This is one of the major reasons users like their Galaxy Note: sharp and vivid display!

Of course, there is a limitation of human eyes. Normally, pixel density higher than about 250ppi will make no differences for …

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Top 10 new features in Galaxy Note after ICS update

By 184 Comments · ·

After the official release of ICS 4.0.3 update for Galaxy Note  in May and ICS 4.0.4 update last week, some users asked me what the new features are. Thanks to Samsung’s Touch Viz UI, most users will not visually find any changes after the update. Here I prepared the top 10 new features in your Galaxy Note after the ICS update.

Each update fixes some bugs and the performance should be improved, so we usually recommend users to apply the update, although some new problems may be reported, e.g. battery issues, RAM issues. Given the short lifespan (1-3 years) of samrtphones, it is impractical to wait for the perfect firmware.

In this post I will try to introduce you the features. I will create  tutorials for some of these features later.

1. Pop- up play (ICS 4.0.4 update is needed)

pop-up-play-galaxy-notePop up play was debuted on Galaxy S3  last May. In the Googl Play store, there are a few paid apps (e.g., Stick it! (Pop-up Player)) doing the similar job. What it does is quite simple, you can watch your video and use other apps at the same time. The video will be re-sized as thumbnail and you can move it to any locations on your screen. Pretty cool, right?

Of course, only the built-in video player support this. Once the video is open, you can find the re-sizing (or pop up play?) button in the top right corner. If you want to stop the video, just touch the video area and release your finger. If you want to go to full screen, you can long press the home button to get the task manager and open the video player.

Two limitations: 1). the size of the video cannot be adjusted, at lest I did not find any ways to adjust it; 2). If you want to go back to full screen, the video will be played from the beginning, not from where you stop in the pop up play mode. Thanks to julien for correcting me. (Tap the video,  it will go back to the full …

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ICS 4.0.4 update for Galaxy Note is arriving, globally

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ics-4.0.04-galaxy-note-300After 2 months of the initial ICS update(4.0.3) for Galaxy Note, Samsung now quietly roll out ICS 4.0.4 globally. I was a bit surprised when I saw the update notification, because I just got the information the 4.0.4 update would be roll out gradually.

Apparently, immediately after releasing the ICS update for AT&T’s version Galaxy Note on July 11, Samsung also pushed out the ICS 4.0.4 update for Galaxy Note users in German. And today, more regions including most European countries and Asian countries get the Android ICS 4.0.4 update for Galaxy Note.

Hopefully, this update will solve some of the battery issues most users experienced in GB and ICS 4.0.3.

Now, all Galaxy Note users are expecting the next major update for Jelly Bean (Android 4.1). The information we have is that Galaxy Note  and S3 will get the Jelly Bean update, probably in Q1 2013.

Also, the coming Galaxy Note 2 (with ICS pre-installed, not Jelly Bean) will be very likely announced in the IFA 2012 (August 31-Sept. 5) and start to shipping in November (roughly one year after the release date for Galaxy Note) . So, hopefully, in the Q1 of 2013, both Galaxy Note and Galaxy Note 2 will get the Jelly Bean (4.1) update.

Anyway,today’s minor update (from 4.0.3 to 4.0.4)  is about 100MB.  So, please try to download through WiFi or Kies if your mobile data is very limited.

Any questions? please post the  in the comments section below or in the Galaxy Note Forums.

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