The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo has officially been announced in Poland and, with its mid-range specs, the phablet will be available in select markets later this month.
The Galaxy Note 3 Neo is essentially a less-powerful and cheaper version of the original Galaxy Note 3 that Samsung launched in the fall of 2013. The Note 3 Neo comes in two different versions: one with 3G and another with LTE+, depending on where you buy the phablet. The 3G version features a 1.6GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 processor, while the LTE+ version sports a hexa-core processor. The hexa-core has two 1.7GHz Cortex-A15 cores and four 1.3GHz Cortex-A7 cores onboard.
Other than the processor, both versions of the Galaxy Note 3 Neo have the same specifications. The Neo has 2 GB of RAM and runs Android Jelly Bean 4.3 with Samsung's TouchWiz interface. Just like the original Note 3, the Neo features the full range of S-Pen functions Note users know and love.
The Neo comes with a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a 720p resolution. The original Note 3 obviously has a higher resolution display, which is slightly larger at 5.7-inches diagonally. The Neo is a bit shorter than the original Note 3, but it has the same faux leather back and overall aesthetic.
Samsung had to cut back on the Neo's specifications somewhere and the biggest difference between the oiginal and the lite version--other than the processor--is the camera. Instead of the superb 13-megapixel shooter Samsung put on the original Note 3, the company has given the Neo an 8-megapixel camera with a BSI sensor. The camera can still record 1080p video, though. Samsung included a 2-megapixel camera on the front of the Neo for video calls and more.
The Neo contains 16 GB of memory and a micro SD card slot for memory expansion up to 64 GB. For a lite phablet, the Neo has a pretty huge battery with 3100 mAh. The Neo weighs 162.5 grams and measures148.4 x 77.4 x 8.6-millimeters. In terms of connectivity, the Galaxy Note 3 Neo comes with Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0 (LE), NFC and GPS/GLONASS. Some models will also have an IR blaster.
The Galaxy Note 3 Neo will be available in black, white and green sometime next month. Samsung did not announce in which countries the Neo will be released, but so far there appear to be no plans for a U.S. or U.K. release. The price was not mentioned either.
