Some people are saying Samsung is in a slump- with so many competitors out there it is falling behind in amusing the customers. I would like to answer those people in three words  a number: Samsung Galaxy Note 4. This fourth gen phablet is great to look at, thrilling to hold and exciting to shoot with.

Starting with the dimensions: Samsung has managed to keep the dimensions almost same as before – as a result it's really comfy compared to 6-inch Lumia 1520 & iPhone 6 Plus. There is this metal frame running all around the body- certainly makes the phone a lot more classy. The backcover is made of the same rubbery faux leather. It provides a good grip – an attribute useful if you have sweaty palms. There is no stitch mark which actually makes the phone look a bit elegant. The volume rocker is on the upper left side of the body and the power button on the upper right side of the phone.

The phablet boasts a QHD 5.7 inch 515ppi 2,560 x 1,440 res. display- by far one of the best displays on a phone worldwide. Saying its crisp and sharp does not actually do justice to the display- yes, it's that good. Plus the display is made of Super AMOLED panel so reaction speeds are faster and a higher contrast level results in better color reproduction.  It has Corning Gorilla Glass 3 so you need not to be scared of scratches.

The OS running the show here is Android 4.4.4. Samsung has already confirmed an update in a couple of months. The Touchwiz interface is a bit clunky but far far better than what it used to be. Thanks to the fewer pre-installed bloatware apps and redesigned icons in  the interface now looks a lot smarter.

The fingerprint scanner of the phone is an incremental update to what Galaxy S5 had. No more 'five strikes and you're locked out' rule. Instead it lets you go on and on until you get it right. I personally find the iPhone's finger print scanner better. Another feature that Samsung incorporated from Galaxy S5 is the heart rate monitor and the S health. The pedometer and heartbeat monitor now works more accurately. What you need to do is just open the S Health app, select heart rate and place a finger over the sensor. In a matter of seconds result will be ready. The pedometer works on the background and it really doesn't consume that much battery.

The camera of the phone is probably one of the best snappers I came across in a long time. 16MP lens equipped with a dual-LED flash along with auto- and touch-to-focus- it's almost same as Samsung Galaxy S5 except for Optical Image Stabilization (OIS). So, gone are the days of shaky images.  Front facing camera now has a 90 degree lens making all the selfies you take dazzling. No dedicated button for camera I am afraid but the lock screen jumps to the camera view finder in seconds. Several modes are there i.e. rear cam, selective focus, panorama etc.

Coming to the performance: it's splendid. All apps that we installed including some graphics heavy games ran perfectly. Multitasking works without putting any dent on the performance. Checkout the benchmark tests we ran available online.

SPECS

Display: Super AMOLED,5.7inches (~515 ppi)
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 805
RAM: 3GB ROM:32GB
CAMERA: 16 MP
SENSORS: Almost every sensors
BATTERY: 3220 mAh

PRICE: Tk.80,000/-

VERDICT

Samsung Galaxy Note 4, in its 4th iteration packed enormous power. 2.56 GHz Quad core processor 3 GB RAM- makes the device smooth as silk in terms of running any app or game. The brilliant display makes every movie and image life like. The camera, probably the best thing it packs, made me want to throw my DSLR away. For the size the phone might feel a bit awkward at first- if this first time in the 5inch plus club. The S-pen didn't change that much compared to Note 3. All in all- we loved everything about this phone except for the hideous color of our pink test unit. If you already have a Samsung Note 3 then shifting to Note 4 isn't going to be a massive leap forward. For the rest of you guys who have Tk. 80K to spare, this is a must have.