Less than a month after the international launch in Berlin, Samsung unveiled its latest phablet, the Galaxy Note 3, and the brand's Galaxy Gear, to the South African market, at an event in Cape Town yesterday.
The Note 3 is the third iteration in the company's phone/tablet hybrid range. Samsung's Galaxy Gear marks the brand's latest foray into the wearables marketplace.
Described by the Samsung team as a "workhorse" type of technology, the Note 3 aims to combine entertainment and leisure features with business functionality. According to George Ferreira, VP and COO of Samsung Electronics Africa, the device attempts to meet the public's increasing need for the large-screen devices.
At 7.9mm and 539g, the Note 3 is slimmer and lighter than its predecessor, yet it features a larger 5.7-inch full HD super AMOLED display. According to Samsung, the S Pen stylus has been improved on the new handset, with Air Command allowing for quick access to a fan menu of applications, including everything from memos and scrapbooking, to search functionality.
Speaking at the event, Samsung Electronics SA's director of mobile communications, Craige Fleischer, also noted the multi-window, multi-tasking feature has been updated to allow users to run two different apps simultaneously, and lets users drag-and-drop content from one window to another.
Samsung has outfitted the Note 3 with a social instant messaging hub, which features Whastapp and WeChat, and will soon include BBM, according to Ferreira.
As far as the device's specs are concerned, the Note 3 runs on Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) and is powered by a either a 2.3GHz quad-core processor (LTE) or a 1.9GHz Octa Core Processor (3G). The phablet houses 32GB internal memory, with microSD compatibility up to 64GB, and 3GB of RAM. The Note 3 features a 13MP rear camera and a 2MP front-facing camera and is fitted with a 3 200mAh battery.
At the event, Samsung confirmed an updated version of its accidental damage from handling (ADH) guarantee, which was launched with the Galaxy S4 earlier this year, will be available on the Note 3.
ADH Premium includes Smart Swop, which offers users two instant swop-outs over a 24-month period, and Smart Pick-up, which is a door-to-door solution that sees Samsung deliver a new handset to a consumer anywhere in SA. The Smart Value offering allows Note 3 owners to claim back 25% in 12 months, 15% back between 13 and 23 months, or 10% back in 24 months onwards, which Samsung says will enable clients to keep up with market trends with minimal additional investment.
Addressing reports that the Note 3 handset is region-locked in Europe and the US, which complicates cross-country usage, Ferreira said there are no plans to implement similar restrictions in SA.
Getting into Gear
According to Fleischer, Samsung's new Galaxy Gear is not a smart watch, but rather wearable tech that can be used as a companion to the new Note 3.
As such, he pointed out that Galaxy Gear is constantly connected to the user's Note 3 smartphone and responsive both to touch and voice.
Fleischer added that the wearable gadget features a camera, message and call notifications, and can be used to track the wearer's activity. It also syncs with the calendar, call logs and contacts of the primary Note device.
The Smart Relay feature syncs the Note 3 with Galaxy Gear, which means whatever is viewed on the wearable gadget can automatically be viewed on the compatible smartphone. For the more forgetful, wearers can utilise the "find my device" tool on the Galaxy Gear to locate their phone if they have misplaced it.
While Samsung's Galaxy Gear is currently only compatible with the Note 3, there are plans to make the wearable accessory backward-compatible on the Note 2, the Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy S3 by the end of the year.
In conclusion, Fleischer acknowledged the market is calling for more than just an "incremental change" from previous devices and the hope is that Samsung's latest offerings do just that.
Those looking to embrace the wearable trend will have to wait until October to get their hands on Galaxy Gear, which will cost R4 599.
Both LTE and 3G versions of the Note 3 will be available in SA from today. The device will retail for R8 999.
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