5 things to note about the Galaxy Note 3

Samsung Galaxy Note 3

Note fans, take note: Samsung's newest plus-sized product has officially arrived.

Sammy introduced its Galaxy Note 3 at a glitzy press event in Berlin today. The Note 3 -- slated to launch in the U.S. in October -- builds upon the formula established with the original Note and turns things up another few notches.

The Note 3 is focused largely on refining and improving the existing Note experience -- a welcome change from the typical "jam-40,000-new-features-in-there-and-see-what-sticks" approach Samsung tends to take with its mobile products.

Make no mistake, though: There's a lot to say about the new Galaxy Note 3 -- and a lot to wrap your head around. Let's boil it down to five key points:

1. The Galaxy Note 3 has improved hardware all around.

There's no question the new Note is a meaningful upgrade over its predecessor. The Note 3 has a 5.7-in. 1080p AMOLED display compared to the Note II's 5.5-in. 720p screen.

Despite the increased display size, the new Note is actually about the same size as last year's model -- a bit thinner and lighter, even.

The Note 3 packs a 13-megapixel camera, up from last year's 8MP. It also runs on a new 2.3GHz quad-core chip (for the LTE version) along with 3GB of RAM, which should -- theoretically -- make for impeccable performance.

2. The Note 3 has a new but familiar look.

Galaxy Note 3 (back)

Samsung's switched to a more squared-off look with the Note 3, and -- perhaps most notably -- has moved to a faux-leather look on the phone's back that brings to mind a paper-notebook-like design.

That said, the Note 3 still looks very much like a Samsung Galaxy product. And the back, while a definite step away from the oft-criticized glossy plastic of yore, is, in fact, still a thin, removable plastic panel.

3. The Note 3 has several new S Pen capabilities.

The S Pen is the Note's true calling card, and with the Note 3, the stylus is starting to seem more like an integral part of the phone-using experience than an easily overlooked accessory.

The Note 3 introduces a new S Pen command center known as Air Command. You simply click the button on the side of the stylus while holding it above the screen, and a semicircle of options appears on top whatever else you're viewing.

Air Command gives you a one-stop shop for creating interactive notes, saving URL-tagged screenshots of information for later viewing, and searching through your previously saved content.

Perhaps most interestingly, it also lets you run certain applications in a small movable window, similar to a feature we first saw in LG's Optimus G Pro. The function is limited to a handful of specific apps -- it won't work with just anything -- but it's still a cool and potentially useful concept that puts the large screen size to good use.

4. The Note 3 has a couple of other noteworthy software improvements.

With the new Note 3, Samsung has tweaked its Multi Window multitasking tool to allow you to run two instances of the same program -- such as browser tabs or chat windows -- side by side on-screen together. The company has also enabled drag-and-drop functionality between windows to let you plop text or images from one place to another.

(Like with the Air Command multitasking feature, Multi Window works only with a specific set of applications, so it may or may not support the apps you want.)

The Note 3 also ships with Samsung's Knox security system in place and ready to roll. Knox adds a layer of security onto the phone that allows you to store data in separate "containers" -- something that could hold particular appeal for IT departments and enterprise-oriented users.

5. The Note 3 still has TouchWiz -- and that odd mix of physical and capacitive buttons Sammy inexplicably adores.

Yup -- along with all the Note-specific features, you also get Sammy's cluttered mess of a user interface and dated physical-capacitive button setup. You can cover up some of the UI issues with a custom launcher, but doing so would eliminate many of the S Pen-targeted enhancements built into the Note's software.

Hey, c'est la vie when it comes to Samsung.

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AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon and U.S. Cellular have all confirmed plans to carry the Galaxy Note 3. Thus far, no specific launch dates or pricing details have been released.

UPDATES:

• Note 3 in the real world: The first things you notice about Samsung's new phone

• Hands on: 7 cool things about the Galaxy Note 3

Contributing Editor JR Raphael serves up tasty morsels about the human side of technology. Hungry for more? Join him on Twitter or sign up for his weekly newsletter to get fresh tips and insight in your inbox every Friday.

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