• expired

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 32GB $499 + P&H @ JB Hi-Fi

1340

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 32GB (Black) $499 + P&H
Limit of 1 Per Customer

  • 1080 x 1920 pixels (386 ppi)
  • 3GB RAM
  • MicroSD, up to 64 GB
  • Android OS, v4.3 (JB) upgradable to v5.0 (Lollipop)
  • 13 MP, 4128 x 3096 pixels, autofocus, LED flash

Full Specs

Related Stores

JB Hi-Fi
JB Hi-Fi

closed Comments

  • Great phone.

    • Great price.

      • +32

        Then smash that + button.

        • +7

          Nearly went deaf by accidentally smashing the + button on my phone…

        • +1

          Seems like he literally smashed the + button including the phone/laptop he was using 😀

        • +1

          @bghunter: good thing there's a galaxy note 3 on sale.

  • +1

    $350 and less on eBay for second hand.

    • I got mine used really cheap at 220 but I've seen a few used to 250-300

    • +20

      Yeah but it's second hand. Who knows how many times it's been dropped, how good the battery still is, no warranty etc

      • +18

        Or been used on the toilet.

        • Would you want to know how many times it's been used in the toilet?

      • Ignorance is blissful.
        You never know how many "yoghurt" been wiped on the screen or getting inside the phone's component

      • +1

        ^ True. A drop may have caused a component to malfunction without the person selling it knowing at the time. So, you might begin to complain on the internets about the GPS no working well… when in reality the previous owner dropped it and damaged the internal mechanism. I've seen this happen before.

  • +6

    The hardware specs on this phone are a lot better than the iPhone 6 Plus, a phone that came out a year later and costs twice as much! (http://gadgets.ndtv.com/apple-iphone-6-plus-1974-vs-samsung-…)
    People with iPhones have no idea of the hardware specs of their phones though…all they seem to know is it is Apple.

      • +23

        "Is the os running better than the iphone 6 plus ? YES ! "

        You got me confused….

        • +10

          He's an apple fanboy. What did you expect?

      • MFW hippies assumes iOS is a good OS

    • +13

      I have a Note 4 and I find that it lags occasionally. Wife's iPhone 6 on the other hand is silk as smooth.

      Also by the time camera in my Note 4 becomes ready to take a shot after launching it, the moment is gone. With iPhone it is instant. While hardware specs do matter to an extent, we (at least I) can see that it's the overall experience/smoothness/zippiness that matters.. iPhone or even Windows phones are great at these.

      • +3

        maybe you are still running touchwiz or have a load of crap running, just flash it with CM12. Even on an old SII i don't have these problems.

        • +3

          CyanogenMod and camera on Samsung devices usually don't play well.

        • @ms:

          Really?
          Got S2 and S3 here running CM12.1 and no issues at all.

        • +1

          @luka:

          There is no official CM12.1 for S3. Don't know about S2.

        • +1

          @ms: There's an unofficial one that works well*

          • according to people on XDA
        • +1

          @luka: Had CM on my note 2 4g. Camera never worked properly, modem drivers were funny and the phone use to get really hot.

          Sure its fine if you like having an experiment for a phone.

        • @ms: i put the unofficial CM12.1 on a s3 and its brilliant… its like a new phone.

        • the samsung note series have a huge problem with flashing custom roms not based off the factory original and thats the s pen.

        • Some early builds of 5.1 yes but it was fixed for most devices awhile ago.
          Was running S4 Active on CM12.1 (5.1.1) no issues with camera.
          Early builds would often crash.

        • @Alister: for what it's worth i confirm that was a while ago on (very) early 5.1 builds. Even if were to still occur just use google camera in lieu of camera app.
          Even on the early builds i haven't had as many problems as people seem to talk about.
          @troyarr I'm running it on a note2 4g and i don't have any camera, or other issues, even battery life isn't that bad.

      • +17

        lets agree on:
        ios is better on memory management and smoothness
        the above is because it is closed system and apple only has one type of device they need to test
        android is open source and easier to customise
        android phone cheaper and better hardware with more choices

        in short:
        nothing perfect

        • +1

          They have more then one phone to test it on. It has to run on 4 generations of iphone at least with two models in the last two generations. They control the architecture of each phone so are able to make it work better given the parameters. How many people root their android phones to get them to work better compared to apple owners?

        • +3

          @sigh: 4 generations? Ios only goes to 7 on v4 and earlier. And to answer your question, just use your friend Google to see how many iphone 4 users rooted (or tried to) their phones to get Suri.

          In saying that, though, Apple does make a "seamless" system in that it ensures no variations. Android is far to open source to allow such seamless performance that Apple delivers. Apple have actually debunked the myth about polishing a turd.

        • @Tiggrrrrr: you also only have to look in these comments to see how many android users have rooted their latest model flagship phones to get android to run decently compared to a "google" search on a 5 year old iphone.
          had ios 8 on my 4s, so yeah 4 gens. ie 4s, 5, 5s, 6 never had trouble with it even on that old architecture. But at least its a shiny useful turd, can hardly say that about 90% of android phones, the other 10% need rooting to get the full potential from the phone that can be had on apple out of the box.
          i'm not a fanboy just used both systems

        • @sigh: Never said it wasn't useful, just referring to android fans opinion of "inferior" hardware being "sh1t".

          To be honest, I would probably use an iPhone if the screen was bigger, and there was more than one button. But I'm old and technology confuses me. Lucky I still have my trusty Mac SE.

        • +1

          [@Tiggrrrrr](/comment/2986296/redir
          No malice intended.. Its one of those "each to their own" arguments, each system has their benefits and weaknesses just need to find what you're happy with as a user. Always found it interesting theirs a lot more hate towards apple from my experience when google is far from innocent either!
          Lol'ing at the negs too!

        • +2

          Nexus devices run very smoothly, faster than iPhones (go try a Nexus 5 vs an equivalent iPhone, I have).

          The problem with the samsung devices is the heavy touchwiz overlay which adds lag.

        • @Tiggrrrrr: all this apple pedestooling

          who gives a shit how good the architectue and optimisation is?

          i cant customise the phone and cant use onenote, therefore its a useless brick to me

        • @furythree: I'm not sure i was supporting either Apple or Android.

          What I was saying was that for a seamless out of the box experience, you have to admit that the iphone does deliver, regardless of whether it suits you or not.

          Personaly I have a HTC, nice big screen and three (soft) buttons (more buttons more power). And yes I may have removed bloatware and made some other optimisations for my own use.

        • @sigh: With Android if your phone is getting old just root it and install custom ROM. If your iPhone is getting old you sure as hell better not update it to the latest iOS or you find the RAM constantly runs out and the browser force closes on detailed websites and so do a bunch of other apps. Just go back to the old version you say? Apple says no you can't do that, stuck on the latest iOS with a crap experience and you have to buy a new phone rather than being able to go back to old version that worked well on your phone.

        • @furythree: You can't use OneNote on an iPhone? Yeah you can…. https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/microsoft-onenote-lists-phot…

          It helps that iOS 8 finally gave in to common sense and pinched the Share function from Android and now you can actually send data between apps!

      • Speed test Note 4 versus 6plus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVkaY-F6Zhs
        Note 4 wins in performance this instance. As if that represents real world use though. :)

        The SoC used is a hardware spec that iPhone usually win on and the iPhones uses arguably the best one out there at the moment hence why their performance is always great. You can't judge the SoC on clock speed or number of cores. You just have to go and look at some benchmarks like Geekbench to see how it performs and the A8 performs better than the s805 used in the Note 4. What's on paper only tells part of the story. The Note 4 then has to push around an awful lot more pixels which further diminishes its performance against the iPhone 6 and 6plus. The only thing that stopped me from buying a 6plus over the note 4 is it only offers 1gb of ram and price. I found 1gb of Ram is insufficient on iOS current versions and sure it will only get worse over time. I like to browse on my phone and I find it odd in this day and age that a flagship phones needs to reload webpages everytime you switch beck to a previous tab. Apple don't want to give you 2gb because they know the phone will last longer and you'll less likely to upgrade.

        And I have a note 4 too, it's laggyness is mainly because of Touchwiz and the screen resolution. I had a HTC One m8 before I got my note 4 and it performed better and didn't lag as much as my Note 4. I regret upgrading (if you call it that) to the Samsung in someways. My Note 4 was around half the price of the equivalent 6plus, so I more than happy to live with it. Though pretty much every other Android phone based on same specs is noticeably faster.

      • +1

        You mean smooth as silk?

    • +1

      Just look at only the hardware specs? So the software/ OS is worthless?

      • People look at hardware specs and don't look too deep into it. They think that having more cores, faster processor, higher megapixel camera = better hardware, when it doesn't work like that. I thought with processors Amd proved over a decade ago that higher clockspeeds doesn't translate to faster better hardware.

    • +18

      Theres only limited truth to what you're saying… The way I think of the state of Android at the moment (which, while an avid android user, I think it is a shambles) is like this.

      Google makes excellent software, as do Apple. There are differences in how they go about doing the things they do, but at the end of the day, at a base level, we have a phone that can do more than a few things.

      Now, Apple releases their iPhones with iOS on them, because they are a hardware and a software company. Like most things where the hardware/software come from the same people, its a class act. They also release apps that are "baked in" to their OS, like their email, notes app, and even their epub reader (I've yet to find another app that offers the same feature set as what apple has on their inbuilt epub reader, and I use an Android phone (Note 4)).

      Google is, primarily, a software company, and at times have control over their hardware as well (as seen in the nexus devices). Similarly class act in their apps as well, such as maps (Essentially there is google maps and there is "everything else").

      Where this thing falls to pieces, is when companies, such as Sony, Samsung, LG, HTC, and every other company that has ever produced an Android phone think they are both software and hardware companies, and attempt to do both. They are not. Samsung apps are all crap. Every single one of them, apart from maybe S Note. Everything else is garbage and unnecessary bloat. If Samsung were made to put vanilla Android on their phones and have all their extra cruft as an optional extra, I'd love the phone I have right now. Suffice to say, I don't. The Note 4 I have is a lagfest. When I root it and install CM 12 on it, it works excellently, absolutely brilliantly. But CM 12 has a bug with Optus MMS that stops it from working.

      So, in short, you don't actually use a phone for its specs, but rather how those specs are manifested to you, the end user (case in point, the Note 5 has a smaller battery than the Note 4, but in tests it showed it had extra battery life. What were you chasing, a bigger number on paper or more screen time in your hand? Obviously the latter).

      The day Android phone makers realise that they are not software companies will be a very good day.

      /rant

      TL;DR Samsung should stop bundling crap with their phones and let us run vanilla Android, and install their cruft as an optional extra.

      • +1

        I totally agree with this and hence why I always install custom ROMs without all the useless manufacturer bloatware. Makes it worse when the local telecoms also install their bloatware on top of the manufacturers for the double whammy.

      • Any adverse affects on camera and battery life by replacing CrapWiz with CM12 on your Note 4?

        • For the first 10 mins or so, it gets hot, and chews battery. This is only during the initial Google Play app install/update etc.

          After that, pretty same same really. Better battery I would say.

          Camera is about the same? I've never understood the people that think the camera gets worse under CM. Either your camera hardware is supported or its not, and if it is, theres no reason why CM would compress your images worse than stock firmware.

      • +2

        5 upvotes?

        Oh those sweet, sweet internet points

        shudders gleefully

      • I fully agree. My note 3 has all the hardware goodies but is let down by impossible-to-uninstall Samsung bloat. I can't even uninstall flipboard! It's just sitting there, mocking me. When I go to get a new phone I doubt I'll get another Samsung. The software issues I've had have put me off, along with the Note 5's lack of expandable memory.

      • Some of Samsung's 'crap' is actually very useful… and is why I exclusively opt for them.

        …namely Multi-Window among others.

        Also some of their 'crap' has become Android standard. E.g. 'Do not disturb' mode.

        • To an extent its personal taste. I hate multi window. It seems bizzare that I would want to chop up my windows on my small display into smaller windows.

          I don't think Samsung pioneered the Do not disturb mode?

        • @misterpotatomato: Hmmm, I don't know about what Samsung brought first (Multi-Windows thing was definitely Samsung, but other than that, I don't know), but there are functions that are not present on pure Android that TouchWiz has. I use SideSync mainly and on tablet at least, Multi-Windows is amazing (Ozbargaining while being on facebook and Amazon kinda thing). Also, I've heard that VR stuff modifies the kernel a lot (don't take my words on it). KNOX was incorporated into Lollipop (snippets of it).

          I use a TW based ROM, not TW, because of the bloats (I used to just use Debloater or Titanium Backup on Stock firmware, but ROMs are easier). I tried CM ROM, but didn't really like it and I actually use one of the "Samsung crap" so yeah, I had to move back. I will say that CM ROM uses less RAM than TW ROM (around 200MB? Though half of it was from one of the software I use that I couldn't use on CM), TW ROM doesn't feel laggy for me though.

          That said, Samsung software team are not that good, imo. Most of the problems associated with the Galaxy phones are software based. Though after seeing Google f!@# ups with Lollipop and Google Services, I cannot agree that Google is a decent software company. If you are on lollipop (rooted) and battery is draining quickly, it probably is Google Services related issues.

        • @misterpotatomato:

          Multi window is very useful on tablets. YouTube while browsing on chrome, for example.

  • Anyone know what processor comes with it

    • Snapdragon 800

      • Snapdragon 800 is the chipset but Krait 400 is the CPU.

    • Quad-core 2.3 GHz Krait 400 (N9005, N9002)

      Full phone specifications (way more detailed specifications than what Samsung has on their web site):

      http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_note_3-5665.php

    • Yes - Gsmarena :-p.
      Being the 4G model, it's the 9002 model, carrying the:
      "Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (N9005, N9002)—8<—
      CPU Quad-core 2.3 GHz Krait 400 (N9005, N9002)…8<—-
      GPU Adreno 330 (N9005, N9002)—->8."
      Hmm sorry holly, bad lag here :-/

      • N9002 is the dual sim 3G only model and no where on the JB Hi-Fi web page does it say that it's dual SIM phone either so you can rule N9002 out. I believe it would be the N9005 which is the 4G LTE model.

        Here's another web site with phone specifications. Note that 4G connectivity is only listed for the N9005 model.

        http://bestmobs.com/samsung-galaxy-note-3/

        • Whoops - mea culpa. Paste in haste, repent at leisure..

      • +1

        not many 9002 around, this must be 9005 i have it too. LTE single sim

        • N9002 must have been made for other markets since it's only a 3G phone model. N9005 is the 4G LTE model which is what this one would be. So we've got that sorted out.

  • Telstra software, so does that mean it will only receive updates once released by Telstra?

    • That is true. However Telstra should have released the Lollipop update by now.

      • Lol i bought my note 3 from jb outright n9005. Still no updates to lollipop.

        • That's a bit lame. I had already received the Lollipop update on my Vodafone unlocked LG Nexus 4 so what's taking Samsung and Telstra so long then?.

        • No idea. Mines not even telstra branded.. just waiting for samsung.

        • Yeah i'm the same…bought mine outright from JB Hifi and connected to optus, still no lollipop update. :(

      • Incorrect, no lollipop updates in Australia for the Note 3…

        • I think the bigger concern is, there is a chance that Note 3 will stay on 5.0.2. and not go up to 5.1.1.

    • Just out of curiousity, can't you grab one of the lollipop stock ROMs from other country and flash it with ODIN?

      • Only if the model number is the same. If the model number isn't the same there's usually some internal hardware differences. (Eg. Some have exynos cpu, others have Qualcomm)

        • Yeah, but isn't there lollipop ROM for most of the models of Note 3 (albeit not distributed to everywhere yet), so you can install those.

  • will officeworks price beat?

    • +1

      They should do as JB Hi-Fi would be one of their direct competitors and they do sell also the Note 3 32GB unlocked. You could only try.

      http://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/samsung-gal…

      Otherwise their claims of lowest price guarantee wouldn't be true.

      http://www.officeworks.com.au/information/policies/lowest-pr…

      • Thank you! I wasn't sure if it was a clearance item or not. I haven't tried to to price beat at officeworks before so hopefully it works :) such a great price!

        • +1

          No it's not clearance it's just a sale item and Officeworks claims to price match their competitors price even if on sale. They'll though might take into account the delivery fee included price from JB Hi-Fi ($508.95 total) since pickup is unavailable.

        • +1

          There is luck involved when comes to OW price beat. If The staff you talk to says no just go to another store until one actually knows their price beat policy. OW doesn't have time and resource to train them before they get their employees ready against OzBargainers.

        • @hollykryten: Thanks! hopefully in stock at my local officeworks

  • Looking for a new phone since my Nexus 5 packed it in (and the 3 refurbished phones they've sent me have all had faults as well). Plus I've got a JB voucher to use as well so good timing.

    • What faults you been having with the nexus 5?

      • My original phone had the inbuilt microphone crap out on me, could only make phone calls with the external mic. The first refurb they sent me the wifi wouldn't turn on. Second refurb the wifi worked but my sim card wouldn't work in it. The third refurb (my current phone) randomly freezes and restarts at random times. Worst phone I have come across and it's like getting blood from a stone when trying to organize a refund with Google.

        • I had the same experience with getting three faulty Nexus 5s. What problem are you having with getting the refund. I just called them and said I have had 3 faulty phones and I want a refund and it was rep said sure thing and organized the return.

        • @Aureus:

          I've been emailing one of the reps and was told a few days ago my request for a refund was denied saying it was not within their policy. I might try calling them today and see if I can get a different response from another rep.

        • I had mine crap itself and got a new one sent out. But I have issues with the phone constantly not connecting to mobile coverage. Every since the 4 or 5 android update.

          Sorry your phone sucks

        • I have the nexus 5 and currently looking for a new phone too. However, there is a fix to your restarting issue (if you had the same issue as I did).

          My phone would turn off randomly, and would constantly restart itself. I couldn't get pass the google logo without it restarting. So essentially bricking the phone. After speaking to Google and LG, it wasn't worth my time asking for a refurb.

          The fix is to have it plugged in to power and get it running so that it restarts. Hit the power button constantly maybe twice a second (there is a bit of trial and error to it). Keep tapping the power button until it loads and then back everything up before it gives out again.

        • @hhuy837:

          Mine isn't in a reboot loop, it just reboots at random times and then occasionally optimizes the apps again. Seems to happen once the battery gets below 40%.

          I just spoke to a different Google rep about a refund who gave me the same speel. I asked to talk to a manager and was told they'd call me back later today. Kinda doubting that though. I plan to keep calling back until I can talk to someone that can give me a refund.

        • I am having a problem with Nexus 5 as well, My original has battery problem and wont turn on.

          Than the refurbished phone they sent has bad connection to mobile network.

          I have sent an email for getting a 2nd replacement now,but no reply after 4 business days, they used to reply pretty quick.

          Do you think if i should try my luck for getting a refund? After reading you guys' experience, I am not too confidence with them now and my warranty is expiring in 7 months.

        • @messiah1095:

          Ah that is bad luck. I don't know how to help you with that. I'm not sure if the latest mini-update fixed the boot loop problem but my phone works fine for now. I have a feeling it is a cache issue but I may be wrong. Best of luck with it!

        • @hhuy837:

          Cheers. I've actually managed to organize a refund with Google after talking to a different rep. Their response looked like a cut and paste job so they do offer refunds but you have to press them on it. Will be taking a look at the Note 3 this weekend and see if it's a good replacement :)

    • Just a quick question, were you within your 1 year purchase period?

      My brother has nexus which is starting to decay, but he bought it 1.5 years ago.

      • Yep, purchased mine back in November last year. Got the first fault a few months ago.

  • thought on upgrading from this to note 4 edge, guys? yes or no?
    nothing wrong my phone just scratches and dings on that plastic silver frame.
    havent put lollipop yet, im using custom rom so i dont get official update.

    • -4

      This is a note 3 (THREE) it's a generation behind your current phone…100% downgrade. 100% not recommended to downgrade from a note 4 edge to a note 3.

      • +2

        I think he meant he already has the note 3 and wants to upgrade.

      • +5

        ? You read it downgrade from note 4 to note 3? Try to read from left to right then you will get he asked about upgrading from note 3 to note 4.

Login or Join to leave a comment