Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo aims to offer S Pen experience without flagship specs

We've seen the Galaxy Note series getlarger and larger as time passes, but this is the first time we've seen the Note actually get smaller. The Galaxy Note 3 Neo has now been officially unveiled by Samsung Poland and will come in two flavors -- 3G and "LTE+," and the latter offers connectivity on higher-speed Category 4 networks (up to 150 Mbps down/50 Mbps up). The two share a lot of similarities, but there are a couple key differences as well: As you might expect, the LTE+ model is the more specced-out of the pair and offers a hexa-core processor consisting of two 1.7GHz Cortex-A15 cores and four 1.3GHz Cortex-A7 cores. The 3G (HSPA+ 21 Mbps) version, on the other hand, will enjoy a quad-core 1.6GHz processor of unknown make.

So what's important about the new Neos? Both versions of the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean device feature a 5.5-inch 720p Super AMOLED panel with full S Pen capability, which means you'll be able to take advantage of Air Command, S Note, Multi-Window and other pen-related functions; in other words, it'll be a less-expensive version of the Note 3 for those who want the functionality without the absolute top-of-the-line features. It even comes with the same leatherlike back cover as its flagship counterpart (shown below).

The 162.5g Neo is 8.6mm thick, is compatible with Samsung's Galaxy Gear smartwatch and comes with a pretty decent array of specs: You're looking at a 3,100mAh battery, 8MP rear camera/2MP front-facing camera, 2GB of RAM, IR, NFC, WiFi 802.11a/ac/b/g/n, 16GB internal storage and microSDXC capacity up to 64GB. Not too shabby for a "Note 3 mini" of sorts, although we're not sure what the price is at present time. Samsung says we should expect a global rollout next month (except the US and the UK, if the company hasn't changed its mind) in our choice of black, white or green.

Engadget