Hey there Avenger!
I wrote a (long) guide on the Note 3 and Android in general on how to get the most out of it, I think it might be of some help to you !!
First things first, the Snapdragon version is much better (4G, faster processor, better battery life).
And the Black colour is better it has leathered-texture, the white still feels plasticky. Besides, white bezels on a black screen look horrid.
Secondly, we've got a really stable 4.3 base, its solid. The 4.4 is good too, but has a few bugs for heaps of people.
Because of that, 4.3 is actually better since stepping up to 4.4 gives you no advantages.
And if you upgrade to 4.4 you CANNOT downgrade back to 4.3, which means you miss out on Alliance ROM by sparky_b, its teh bestest.
Sticking with Samsung/TouchWizz base is better because you get proper drivers for the cameras, radios, and all the stability/endurance. No need to tweak it yourself.
Also you get some exclusive goodies like Samsung Store (freebies), Samsung Dive (Find my iPhone equivalent) and first-party apps like Phone, Contacts, Camera, S Pen which are vastly superior to AOSP ones. And stuff like Auto-launch Action/App when S Pen removed, Palm rejection when the S Pen is removed, Air command shortcut, Take a screen shot, Contextual Menu/Popups when pen hovers over, Alarm when S Pen left behind and finally MULTI-WINDOW function.
So here's what you should do:
1-r00t the device with CF-ROOT (easy) or use Root de la Vega to keep Knox counter on 0x0 (warranty purposes).
2-install a custom Recovery like TeamWin (easy) or use kn0x0ut (keep warranty)
3-backup your efs/system (just in case you might need it later)
4-flash VillainMOD or a Stock ROM (and de-bloat it, if need be).
Step 5: Add some powerful MODs!
Some helpful MODs like Volume Booster, SecMMS, Unlimited MultiWindow, Call Record are there to fix what Samsung broke.
Step 6: Xpose the potential with The Xposed Module
Installing the phenomenal Xposed framework, and these
few handy modules are a must (XPrivacy, Adblock, Tinted Status Bar, XBlast Tools, GravityBox, Xposed Additions, etc etc)
Step 7: Contribute back to this community
Buy the dev's a beer, I mean a few bucks is nothing... but it goes a LONG way to motivate devs and help them keep going!
Also buy PRO versions of Apps from The Google Market especially;
SuperSU, Titanium Backup, Root Explorer, 500px, Apex, Kii, SwitchR (I'm sure I missed a couple).
Step 8: Accessorize (my top picks)
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This awesome case
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This awesome screen protector
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This memory card
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This desk/bedroom cradle
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This car cradle
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This car fast-charger
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This Portable Miracast dongle
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This controller to use the Sixaxis App and play games with
this mount/diy to place the phone over the controller
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Otherwise, this easier but less advanced solution, The MOGA pocket / PRO controller
Step 9: Gaming!
There's heaps of free and paid Android Games, I won't list any here.
But to get the most out of it you'll need to grab one of those controllers listed above and its associated SIXAXIS App / MOGA App (screen taps mapped to physical buttons on controllers).
These emulators which run fullspeed, with sound, no frameskip, and no problems:
PS One (FPSe)
Nintendo 64 (Mupen64)
Gameboy Advance (VGBA)
SNES (Super GNES)
Sega (iGensNoid)
These other emulators which (aren't finished/smooth) but might be useful:
PSP (PPSSPP)
DS Lite (DraStic)
Dreamcast (Reicast)
Windows 98/DOS (Winulator)
...whew that was a lot of typing and a lot of information, I deserve a Thanks : )
