Samsung Note 3 Tips for Traveling

I love Samsung products and everytime Samsung comes out with a new phone, it gets a bigger screen. I remember getting the Samsung Galaxy 4 and being so impressed with the screen size. It was big and I loved it.

I knew about the Samsung Note 3, but I was too afraid to try it for fear I would never be able to go back to a smaller screen again. But I made the leap. Yes, the Note 3 is big in my hand and yes, it takes up more room in my purse, but the screen display is fabulous.

I recently took a trip to Bentonville to meet up with my fellow Walmart Moms at Walmart’s HQ.  These woman are fantastic, so down-to-earth and genuine, it was a pleasure to spend time with them. I carried my Note 3 everywhere and used it frequently. I would like to show you some of my Note 3 tips I used before and during my trip.

Note 3 Tips & Apps

With my trip to Bentonville, AR already in my Trip It app, I was ready to go.  Trip It Pro is a great app because it monitors all my travel for me.  Before I even landed for my connection flight, I had received a text message that my next gate had been changed and it told me my new gate number.  Trip It also keeps track of my hotel accommodations and any event info. I might have.

I installed the American Airlines app to keep track of my flight as well.  The app can be used for electric tickets too so I don’t have to worry about standing in line to get my paper tickets (if I forgot to print them at home)

The American Airlines app has great maps of airports, so I could see easily where I needed to go to get to my connecting flight.

Upon landing in Arkansas, I used Google Maps to see how long it would take me to arrive to my hotel.

I used my Google Calendar to keep track of my meetings and dinners while in Bentonville.  This is not a screenshot from this trip, but when I went to the Consumer Electronics Show in January.  It shows you how I can color code events to help me read my appointments faster.  For example, the dark pink events were events back at home.  The blue events were press events with no seat assignments and the red events were those in which I had a confirmed ticket.  The longer horizontal pink at the top represent evening press events.

One thing I love about Samsung phones is the split screen.  In this picture you can see that I could look at my email’s on the bottom of the screen and my calendar at the top. This helped me ensure I was scheduling my events in my calendar from my email’s about the event.

Besides the big screen, one of the distinguishing features of the Note 3 is the built-in stylus.  I have come to really appreciate the built-in stylus and use it more and more.  It’s very handy when needing to take a quick note.  As soon as I take out the stylus, I see an Air command menu.

Clicking on the Action Memo brings up a yellow post it note.  I can write a person’s name and phone number here for example, click on the Link to Action menu item (the arrow with a circle of dots around it) and click on the contacts button.  Action Memo will then read my handwriting and enter the name and phone number into my contacts.

As you can see below, the name transferred over beautifully, but the phone number didn’t.  I have no doubt that my handwriting has something to do with that!

 The stylus comes in handy for many other ways too.  I was asked to sign a contract right as I was beginning my travels.  I didn’t have access to my scanner so I could sign the document and email it back.  After I gave it some thought, I realized I could use my Note 3 and stylus to sign the document and email it back.  Wow, how cool is that?  I could never do that with my old phones!

As a part of our Walmart Moms meeting, we received a crash course in photography.  It was one of the highlights of the trip.  I am very much an automatic camera type of person, so learning more about ISO, lighting techniques, and aperture was very interesting.  I wanted to make sure I could remember all the tips we were getting, so I took out my stylus and began writing on the pictures I took to help me remember.  Isn’t this slick?

Here’s a good Note 3 tip… I used my stylus to take notes during our meetings using one of my very fab apps, One Note.  One Note is a great app for keeping track of all your stuff.  All the documents I received in preparation for my Walmart Moms meeting is in One Note, as well as any notes I took during the meetings.

A Mom’s Perspective

I could go on and on with my Note 3 tips…with the big screen and stylus…to make my trip successful.  I absolutely love my Note 3 and have enjoyed using it along with the Galaxy Gear watch, which I will tell you about in a forthcoming article.  I’m hoping no new phones come out soon, because truthfully, they would be hard to review after using the best phone on the market these past 4 months.

Here are some other ways I have used my Note 3 on this trip:

• taking pictures, of course!  (selfies included!)
• checking Facebook
• as an alarm clock
• for Instagram
• checking our giveaway going on at WellConnectedMom.com
• checking the weather
• using it as a phone!
• sending texts
• Skyping my family back home
• tweeting!
• and more

The Samsung Note 3 is by far the most useful phone I have ever had.  The big screen makes a huge difference and taking notes using the stylus is very doable.  Trying to write on a smaller screen would be difficult.  Some people would call the Note 3 a phablet, because it is part phone and part tablet.  I would say this is true.  Having the bigger screen gives me the mental nudge I need to make my phone more productive and lessens my reliance on my tablet when I am out and about.

What other apps do you use when traveling?

* I was given a Samsung Note 3 in exchange for my honest opinions.  All Note 3 tips and opinions are my own.