Rugged Samsung Galaxy S4 to dominate market in July?

Not content with dominating all smartphone interest in May, Samsung is rumored to be plotting an ambitious effort to come up with a rugged version of their popular Galaxy S4 superphone, for consumers that like that extra layer of protection when out and about on adventurous activities.

We first informed you about such rumors in a previous report here, but now the Wall Street Journal has taken it upon themselves to confirm it as a fact – so it must be true right? Samsung may be taking a leaf out of the Sony Xperia Z book, to combine the existing Galaxy S4 features with exterior layers that provide consumers with waterproof and dust proof protection.

A potential name has also been given to the upcoming mark II, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active. This isn’t confirmed yet though however, and we’d definitely like to see a much more exciting name upon release. There’s no word on when this rugged version will be announced, but the WSJ has already pinpointed a likely market release of July.

Talk about putting all of your eggs into one basket, but you can’t blame Samsung for maximizing sales on this instance. We have a feeling that a rugged Galaxy S4 is going to be very appealing indeed to a lot of consumers. We’ve also seen first hand just how prone that lovely display screen is to smashing, so anything extra that provides another display layer coating is a good move in our book.

It will be interesting to see just how many consumers are willing to hold off from their frantic fight to snap up a Galaxy S4 during launch week, to opt for one of these instead.

If this rugged Galaxy S4 appeals to you, let us know if you are really thinking of canceling a pre-order for one.

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Samsung officially unveils Galaxy S4 smartphone

Samsung’s high-end Galaxy S4 smartphone has finally been unveiled at an event held in New York City, USA.

Surprisingly enough Samsung’s Galaxy S4 does not bring any major innovations – instead the smartphone is an upgraded version of the Galaxy S3. It measures 140.1 x 71.8 x 7.7 mm and packs the expected 5-inch Super AMOLED display at Full HD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels, 441 ppi).

Also Samsung somehow managed to include the rumored Exynos 5 Octa eight-core processor with big.LITTLE architecture. The chip features two computational clusters with four cores in each one – the first one is based on powerful ARM Cortex-A15 cores and runs demanding tasks, while the second one has ARM Cortex-A7 cores and handles light applications. The three-core PowerVR SGX544MP3 GPU provides graphics.

The specs list continues with 2 GB of RAM, 16/32/64 GB of internal memory, a microSD card slot, 13 MP rear and 2 MP front cameras with Dual Camera function that allows both cameras to work at the same time, MHL 2.0, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi and IR LED. The battery that powers the smartphone packs 2600 mAh of energy and supports wireless charging.

Samsung’s Galaxy S4 smartphone runs Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) but will become commercially available at the end of April 2013. Pricing is still unknown.

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Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 and 6.3 Specifications Confirmed

Earlier this week, we have reported that Samsung is working on two new smartphones. The Galaxy Mega 5.8 and Galaxy Mega 6.3 are designed to cover the empty range between smartphones and tablets.

According to leaked information, the specifications of the devices are finally confirmed. The Galaxy Mega 5.8, codenamed GT-I9152, comes with a 5.8-inch qHD TFT display. The display does not come with high screen resolution, supporting only 960 x 540 pixels resolution. The device comes with two cameras, an 8-megapixel rear-facing and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.

The processor is a dual-core clocked at 1.4 GHz, and there will be 1.5 GB of RAM. The Galaxy Mega 5.8 sports Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n and a GPS. The dimensions would be 164 × 83.8 × 9.7 mm, and it will have a 2,600 mAh battery.

The 6.3-inch phablet uses the same dual-core with somewhat higher clocks (1.7 GHz vs. 1.5 GHz) as well as the same amount of RAM. Among Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n and a GPS, Samsung will release the Galaxy Mega 6.3 in two versions, one with and one without LTE. Due to bigger dimensions, which are 88 × 167.6 × 7.9 mm, Samsung will use the battery with 3,200 mAh capacity as well as the same 8-megapixel rear-facing, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.

The two devices are running Android 4.1.2 / 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with Nature UX interface on it. Samsung expects to sell them sometime in June.

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Lenovo K900 Performs On Par With Galaxy S 4

Back at the Consumer Electronics Show 2013, Lenovo announced its flagship smartphone, the K900. Looking at its impressive hardware specifications, the 5.5-incher features the next-generation Intel Atom Z2580 "Clover Trail+" dual-core processor with Hyper Threading technology clocked at 2.0 GHz, 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB memory.

Among other impressive things, the phone has a 1080p (1920 x 1080 pixels) screen resolution, a 13-megapixel primary camera based on Sony's Exmor BSI sensor, and the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system.

When it comes to performance, the first benchmark score reveal the real power of the latest flagship smartphone from Lenovo. Surprisingly, the device edges out the Samsung Galaxy S IV AnTuTu benchmark test by a small margin.

Looking at other smartphones, like the HTC DROID DNA and the Samsung Galaxy Note II which both use a quad core processors, the K900 achieved about 10,000 higher score.

According to latest rumours, the K900's release date is April 17th and could cost just $480.

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A Review of Samsung Galaxy Mini – a budget smartphone

A Review of Samsung Galaxy Mini – a budget smartphone

It has been a while since I have written a review about an entry-level smartphone.Budget smartphones are particularly one of the subjects that caught my interest because they are affordable and still deliver some of the features shared with its big brothers, the expensive, high-end smartphones. My subject on interest in this post is theSamsung Galaxy Mini GT-S5570. (Also known as T-Mobile Move and Samsung Galaxy Pop for India market) This model is released in February 2011.

Design:

It is a full touch bar design, compact with flashy colour stripe along the side. It is a “mini” so it has to be small, although with its compact size still appeals to both sexes. It also great for an entry-level smartphone especially for teenagers or adults that don’t really want a bulky phone. It is also perfect for a second phone. The dimension is 110.6 X 60.6 X 12.1mm and weigh only about 106.6g.

Performance and Display:

The display is slightly larger than its cousin –the Galaxy Young. It has a 3.14-inch TFT capacitive touch screen with 256K colours and 240X320 pixels  (~127 ppi pixel density) PPI  stands for “pixel per inch”. The Mini is powered by a Qualcomm MSM7227 CPU clocked at 600 MHz which is a little slower than the Galaxy Young’s 832MHz.

It runs on Android OS Froyo V2.2  and upgradable to V2.3 . It is also equipped witj Samsung’s own TouchWiz v3.0 UI.

Applications:

I think the highlight for this phone is its Predictive text input or SWYPE functionality. With this function, a user can write a message quickly by connecting the dots instead of pushing the virtual buttons. Apart from that, the phone also features the following:

• Sensors: Accelerometer, proximity, compass
• Messaging: SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
• Browser: HTML
• Radio: Stereo FM radio with RDS
• GPS: Yes, with A-GPS support
• Java: Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
• Colors: Black
  • SNS integration
  • MP4/H.264/H.263 player
  • MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player
  • Organizer
  • Document viewer/editor
  • Image/video editor
  • Google Search, Maps, Gmail,
  • YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa integration
  • Voice memo/dial

Connectivity:

You can connect to the internet either through Wi-Fi or 3G networks. Full data specifications are as follow:

• GPRS: Class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), 32 – 48 kbps
• EDGE: Yes
• Speed: HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps
• WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
• Bluetooth: Yes, v2.1 with A2DP
• USB: Yes, microUSB v2.0

Battery:

The battery is a standard battery, Li-Ion 1200 mAh with a stand-by time up to 570 hours and talk time up to 9 hours 30 minutes. The battery life is quite efficient for normal operation but running multitasking and graphics intensive programmes would decrease the talk time estimates.

Audio:

The audio is fine as long as you don’t expect too much from it. It has sound alert types of – vibration, MP3 and WAV ringtones. It is also equipped with a decent loudspeaker and as well as a DNSe sound enhancement, that may improve music quality compared to ordinary phones. It also has a 3.5MM jack that you can use to plug in your favourite earphones, headphones or even portable speakers.

Camera:

The camera is 3.15 MP (2048 X 1536 pixels) which is better than the Galaxy Young’s 2.0 MP. It is able to record videos at QVGA@15fps and fitted with Geo-tagging functionality. Picture quality is decent enough if taken in daylight conditions. Do not try to compare it with its big brother – the Galaxy S II’s 8MP camera! However, pictures are good enough for posting on Social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Ergonomics:

The compact design will suit both sexes, easy to carry around and can slip comfortably in your pocket.  Those with larger fingers might find it a bit difficult to touch on the virtual keyboard but with enough practice, you might get used to it and eventually love it.

Price:

Advertised price (AP) is around RM520 (US$167) to RM535 (US$174) but if you shop around you might be able to get it at a much lower prices. A quick check on local stores gave me a range of price from RM450 (US$147) to RM530 (US$173).

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Samsung to produce Samsung Galaxy Mega

Samsung to produce Samsung Galaxy Mega

The giant Korean phone maker Samsung is rumoured to be producing yet another “massive” 6.3-inch Android smartphone. The new device will be larger than the current Galaxy Note.

According to a Korean website ETNews, Samsung is perhaps experimenting with the 6.3-inch device if it is acceptable by users. ETNews termed it as a “smartpad” or a phone cum tablet combination (phablet).

The news apparently was leaked by an unknown Samsung official as stating, “As of now, smartphones and smart pads are separate gadgets, but the two will converge into one product under Project Möbius.” The massive device is rumoured to be launched as the Samsung Galaxy Mega.

The rumour also indicated that the Samsung Galaxy Mega will debut in June and will feature Google’s latest operating system – Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie.

Other specs rumoured is a dual-core Exynos processor, an 8MP main camera, a 2MP front-facing camera and available in both black and white colour models only. The humongous phone is likely to be aimed at a mid-range market.

There is no news as regard to pricing or availability yet, and Samsung said it does not comment on rumour and speculation.

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Galaxy Note 8.0 Tablet Arrives in USA This Week

Samsung Electronics America said on Tuesday that the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 will hit the North American market this Thursday, April 11. It will be offered through participating offline and online retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy/Best Buy Mobile, h.h. gregg, Newegg, P.C. Richard & Son, Staples and TigerDirect.com. The price? A meaty $399.99.

Sporting an 8-inch WXGA (1280 x 800) screen, Samsung's new Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean" tablet packs an Exynos 4412 quad-core SoC clocked at 1.6 GHz, 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage. Also thrown into the hardware mix is a 1.3MP camera on the front, a 5MP camera on the back, and a microSD card slot allowing up to 64 GB of extra storage. Dual-band Wireless N connectivity allows the tablet to access 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz network channels, if available.

"A mid-sized addition to the Galaxy Note family of products, the Galaxy Note 8.0 has the power and advanced technology to enable multi-tasking at home, at work or on the go," the company said. "The Galaxy Note 8.0 is the perfect size for entertainment and productivity, with unrivaled multimedia performance in a compact format. The S Pen has evolved to improve everyday usability with Air View, and Multi Window now supports more apps to perform tasks simultaneously allowing users to do more."

The Galaxy Note 8.0 is the first tablet to feature Samsung WatchON, a new search and recommendation service for finding TV shows and on-demand video content. The tablet also comes with a built-in IR blaster so that it can be used as a universal remote, and a Multi-Windows functionality so that apps like Facebook, Chrome and Polaris Office (20 supported apps total) can be open on the same screen, side-by-side.

The new 8-inch Samsung tablet also features a Reading Mode which adjusts color and brightness to an optimal level for reading. It also allows users to customize fonts and themes so that ebooks, magazines, documents and Web pages are easy to read. All of this is backed by a 4,600 mAh battery promising up to 9 days of usage time and up to 30 days of standby time.

The Galaxy Note 8.0 will be available this Thursday in white for $399.99. Optional accessories sold separately in mid-April will include Book Covers in white, grey, pink or green, as well as USB and HDMI adapters, and a travel charger that connect via the device’s microUSB port.

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