Since its launch in 2011, the Samsung Galaxy Note series have been the metonym for 'phablets'. Needless to say, the advent of the Note phablets started a trend in the global mobile arena that forced every manufacturer to produce smartphones of sizes over 5 inches - an idea considered 'absurd' a few years ago! The Korean giant's fourth installment, Galaxy Note 4- which has recently hit the market shelves- is also poised to carry the legacy of Note series bandwagon.  

 

The Note 4 is all about exclusive quality, power packed performance and productivity it offers to its users. From design to hardware and software integration, users can feel its top-end premiumness. The 5.7 inch Android 4.4.4 (Kitkat) phablet can be termed as the most powerful mobile device till date in terms of the processing horsepower which it derives from a 2.7 Ghz Snapdragon 805 processor. Currently, Note 4 is among the very few handsets that use the Qualcomm's latest SoC. Coupled with 3 GB RAM, the Micro-SIM phablet is extremely smooth in every kind of operations such as high-end gaming and multitasking. 

 

Note 4 sports a stellar display which comes with class-3 Corning Gorilla protection. Featuring a Quad HD resolution (2560 X 1440), the Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen looks spectacular. With its staggering 515 ppi pixel density, the display emits amazing colour densities even in bright sunlight with good viewing angles. The phablet's display supports 2160p video playback, pleasing enough to watch in mobile devices. Multitasking is now easier than before as the company has revamped multitasking options in Note 4. The redesigned multitasking setup lets users to choose freely between maximised, minimised and windowed modes. 

 

The Note series is famous for its stylus or the S-Pen which increases the productivity of the phablets. In Note 4, conventional stylus tasks such as taking notes, marking documents and photos, drawing pictures and other touch functions have become lot easier with S-Pen's expanded functionalities. The stylus now acts like a mouse, where it can be used to flip between screens, scroll up and down and move things around on the screen. The build design is another major upgrade in the Note 4. The metal frame gives the phablet premium look that lacks in other Samsung devices. The back side covered by faux leather offers excellent grip as well as top-grade impression to the device. However, the overall design looks quite repetitive and that is one area Samsung should consider for a change. 

 

Note 4 sports high-end imaging system with enhanced capabilities. Its 16 MP OIS primary shooter can capture photos with resolution up to 5312 X 2988 pixels making the pictures vibrantly sharp and crisp. Even in low-light environments, the pictures are professional camera-grade. The auto focus LED-flash  camera hosts multiple new features like dual shot, simultaneous HD video and image recording along with regular features such as touch focus,  geo-tagging, face/smile detection, panorama and HDR. The camera can capture 2160p videos at 30fps while 1080p recordings can be taken at 60 fps. The 3.7 MP selfie camera is also a major upgrade. 

 

It is worth mentioning that Note 4 is Samsung's another device that houses health sensors. The company has continued Galaxy S5's heart-rate monitor in this phablet while adding dedicated UV and SpO2 sensors. The UV sensor monitors the level of ultra-violet radiation which may be damaging to skin and the latter displays the level of oxygen in blood. The other regular sensors include accelerometer, gyrometer, proximity, barometer, compass, gesture and fingerprint sensor. 

 

Note 4 is equipped with a 3220 mAh battery, sufficient enough to meet its power demands. With a full charge, the battery provides backup of 82 hours of continuous music play, 20 hours in 3G mode and 15 hours of continuous video play. The phablet has QuickCharge 2.0 system which enables its charger to juice up the battery very quickly (50 per cent in 30 minutes). Note 4's sound system is also notable for its clear and rich audio- with both in-built speakers and headset enhancements. The absence of radio feels somewhat lacking though. 

 

Overall, Note 4 is a winner- a large phone that offers big improvements and outstanding features. Available in Frost White, Charcoal Black and Bronze Gold colours, Note 4 carries an introductory price tag of Rs 85,900 in Nepali market. Integrated Mobility Solutions (IMS), the authorised distributor of Samsung smartphones in Nepal is also offering 15-month EMI payment scheme and a free 6GB data from Ncell.