Samsung Galaxy Note 3 offers plenty of fun to go with business features

1 of 13 Matthew Miller/ZDNET

Fun features in the Galaxy Note 3 Gallery

I have a few more days to make a final decision on the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 I purchased at T-Mobile and with the fantastic HTC One in hand it is not easy to decide if the Note 3 stays or not. I recently found a few fun things on the Note 3 that swing the pendulum back toward keeping the device.

Video Highlights is a unique feature I thoroughly enjoy on the HTC One. Family and friends enjoy when I share moments and events using these videos with background music. On the HTC One they are created automatically and with the Sense 5.5 update, found in the HTC One Max, you get even more control over them.

No other smartphone I have found has this capability, however I have seen others that let you create a movie using many steps and limited features. Samsung enhances the included Gallery application with the ability to create a video clip. You simply select up to 15 images from your gallery and then the Note 3 composes the video with no theme. You can then choose from six default themes that add transitions and music to the video.

I like three out of the six included themes, but would like to see Samsung add more themes and the ability to add your own music to the clip. I won't complain too much as I am just glad to see someone besides HTC adding this cool functionality.

In the rest of this image gallery, I show a few more Gallery utilities and other fun utilities included on the Note 3. I also showed a few of these functions and the six themes in the video embedded above.

Related ZDNet coverage

2 of 13 Matthew Miller/ZDNET

Creating a collage

I have a few more days to make a final decision on the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 I purchased at T-Mobile and with the fantastic HTC One in hand it is not easy to decide if the Note 3 stays or not. I recently found a few fun things on the Note 3 that swing the pendulum back toward keeping the device.

Video Highlights is a unique feature I thoroughly enjoy on the HTC One. Family and friends enjoy when I share moments and events using these videos with background music. On the HTC One they are created automatically and with the Sense 5.5 update, found in the HTC One Max, you get even more control over them.

No other smartphone I have found has this capability, however I have seen others that let you create a movie using many steps and limited features. Samsung enhances the included Gallery application with the ability to create a video clip. You simply select up to 15 images from your gallery and then the Note 3 composes the video with no theme. You can then choose from six default themes that add transitions and music to the video.

I like three out of the six included themes, but would like to see Samsung add more themes and the ability to add your own music to the clip. I won't complain too much as I am just glad to see someone besides HTC adding this cool functionality.

In the rest of this image gallery, I show a few more Gallery utilities and other fun utilities included on the Note 3. I also showed a few of these functions and the six themes in the video embedded above.

Related ZDNet coverage

3 of 13 Matthew Miller/ZDNET

Resulting four image collage

I have a few more days to make a final decision on the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 I purchased at T-Mobile and with the fantastic HTC One in hand it is not easy to decide if the Note 3 stays or not. I recently found a few fun things on the Note 3 that swing the pendulum back toward keeping the device.

Video Highlights is a unique feature I thoroughly enjoy on the HTC One. Family and friends enjoy when I share moments and events using these videos with background music. On the HTC One they are created automatically and with the Sense 5.5 update, found in the HTC One Max, you get even more control over them.

No other smartphone I have found has this capability, however I have seen others that let you create a movie using many steps and limited features. Samsung enhances the included Gallery application with the ability to create a video clip. You simply select up to 15 images from your gallery and then the Note 3 composes the video with no theme. You can then choose from six default themes that add transitions and music to the video.

I like three out of the six included themes, but would like to see Samsung add more themes and the ability to add your own music to the clip. I won't complain too much as I am just glad to see someone besides HTC adding this cool functionality.

In the rest of this image gallery, I show a few more Gallery utilities and other fun utilities included on the Note 3. I also showed a few of these functions and the six themes in the video embedded above.

Related ZDNet coverage