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Power of the Galaxy Note 3 S Pen goes beyond Air Command

We have all seen Samsung show off Air Command with the S Pen. These is even more cool S Pen functionality on the Note 3 that makes it the best large screen smartphone.
Written by Matthew Miller, Contributing Writer

My love-hate relationship with the Note 3 continues. After discovering fun in the Gallery app I dove into what makes the Note 3 unique, S Pen functionality.

The S Pen and the integration of it on the Note 3 is what sets the device apart from all the other large display smartphones. It really makes the Note 3 the only pen-enabled device to seriously consider.

Most people associate the S Pen with five great functions found via the Air Command pop-up that appears.

I previously covered Action Memo, Scrapbooker, Screen Write, S Finder, and Pen Window in my Galaxy Note 3 review, but there is plenty more that the S Pen is useful for as well.

I showed features of the S Pen in the video above, but you will likely find even more in the Note 3. As I wrote in my recent article on the Note 3, discovering new things daily on the device is why I am keeping it in my collection.

Here are more things you can do with the S Pen:

  • Easy Clip: Easy Clip lets you capture, clip, parts of your display and share it via a number of services. This is one of the S Pen functions I had to figure out through searching since nothing pops-up or prompts you to perform this action.

    Take out your S Pen, hold down the button on the side, and then draw around an object on the display. A small dotted line will follow you and then your "clip" will appear on "top" of your active display with some options for editing the clip and a row of icons at the bottom to then select a service to share that clip.
Power of the Galaxy Note 3 S Pen goes beyond Air Command
(Create an Easy Chart in S Note)
  • Handwriting as text input: I personally like using the default Samsung keyboard with the swiping capability and presence of a dedicated number row. However, you can also choose to use the S Pen with handwriting as the text entry method. You first enable this option in settings and then in appropriate text entry areas as small pen icon will appear.
    After tapping that and opening up the text entry area you have the option for handwriting to text conversion or direct capture of your handwriting. The handwriting to text is pretty amazing and it gets my sloppy writing correct most of the time.

  • Air View: You can enable a setting that allows your S Pen to show you many different things by hovering over an item on the display. Options include seeing information, viewing progress, previewing speed dial numbers and images in Gallery folders, list scrolling, and more. Make sure to dive into the settings and discover what you can do with the S Pen.

  • S Note: S Note is Samsung's flagship note app on the Note 3 and while there are many different types of information you can include, such as voice memos, images, video, and more, there are also a couple where the S Pen is extremely useful. Easy Chart (shown in my video) lets you create professional looking tables and bar, line, and pie charts with ease.
    It is pretty amazing to just drag bars to the level you need in a chart and I may be found creating more of these just because it is so fun. Illustrations and Idea Sketches let you bring in shapes, clip art, and cool images and then use the S Pen to manipulate and change them to your liking.

I just ordered a new S View Flip Cover from T-Mobile yesterday and understand there is some S Pen functionality associated with that case and the viewable window on the front of the case. If you enjoy learning new things with your device and the shotgun approach to apps and services don't bother you then the Galaxy Note 3 is a device to consider.

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