Review: Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1’s exterior is very sleek, albeit very similar to it’s more popular fruity counterpart. Its overall design is very minimal and when held in its prescribed horizontal/landscape orientation, the 2-megapixel camera is all that is visible.
On the sides of the unit you will find the speakers which have been craftily designed as to be almost indiscernible. At the bottom, you will find the port to connect the USB/charger cable. On the top of the tablet, the buttons for power and volume, 3.5mm audio jack and slot for a SIM card can be found. Unfortunately, the 10.1 cannot make phone calls and is restricted to text messaging and 3G only.
Once the Galaxy Tab is up and running, it is hard to resist toying with it without any technical oversight. The display is crisp, vivid and well illuminated which makes it quite pleasurable to use. Some users might find the extra large widgets shocking it at first, but since the 10.1 runs on Android 3.1 Honeycomb, widgets can be resized and arranged to your preferred taste.
At the very bottom of the screen on the right hand side are the familiar info data (time, WiFi signal and battery life indicators). When touched, a menu will appear in which you can customize the Tab’s settings. On the left hand side, you will find the main navigation buttons (Back, Home, Running Applications, and Screenshot). Opening the Running Applications displays a graphic menu on the left hand side which shows all the open applications. It would have been nice to be able to shut them down from there as well, but this is possible via another shortcut bar that can be accessed by an subtle arrow on the bottom-center of the screen.
The button to access the apps is a little difficult to spot in the beginning, but it’s located on the upper right hand side, next to a + button which launches an organizer for your homescreen. Opening the Apps will launch a graphic menu.
The first app I launched was the already installed eBook reader, seeing that tablets initially cater to that specific need. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 came with two free eBooks (at least in our review unit): The Marvelous Land of Oz and A Christmas Carol.
It was fun to read The Marvelous World of Oz because you could actually “turn” the pages, and the graphics were fluid and smooth. Several tools were available such as a highlighter and pen so that you could make notes on the digital “pages.” The Galaxy Tab 10.1’s weight does become a factor after some time however, and wrist fatigue made it necessary to place the unit down on the table. So despite this tablet’s thin and light form factor, it still isn’t suitable for prolonged one-hand usage.
Upon opening the web browser, a notification appeared asking to download the Google Circles app. After agreeing to the request, setting it up was easy. Once the Gmail account is synchronized, everything flowed smoothly. In tandem with Google, this author’s Facebook account was also synced to the Social Hub app, which provided a quick and intuitive way to view new posts. All Facebook events appeared in Samsung’s Calendar app as well, which makes this tablet a great way to organize.
However, I did experience recurring “Force Close” messages. These notifications needed some investigating, so I mustered the courage to run a number of apps simultaneously. Launching the Gallery, camera, Angry Birds, YouTube App, eBook Reader and six other tabs on the web browser did not only cause the “Force Close” pop-up to appear. Rather, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 froze and required a complete reboot.
It was now time to run the benchmark test, and it seemed that installing Advanced Task Killer was necessary, so that unnecessary apps/processes could be shut down. Two consecutive benchmarks tests were done using Quadrant Standard. In both benchmarks, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 comes out on top, with the Nexus One coming in second.
A third benchmark test was supposed to follow, but unfortunately, the “Force Close” notification surfaced once again. Apparently, after some extensive research, there are other testers/users experiencing this issue, which seems to be recurring in Samsung’s tablets especially when multi-tasking. Whether this is a hardware-based issue or Honeycomb cannot be confirmed, but both consumers and Samsung should be aware of this.
Fortunately, in the span of time that I was able to test it, the hard reboot only occurred once, but it can be assumed that if you don’t effectively manage your running apps with this tablet, it might be a frequent problem. Although the Galaxy Tab 10.1 comes with its own Task Manager, it is highly suggested that you avail of Advanced Task Killer (or something similar) from the Android Market.
Specifications
SCREEN: 10.1’ display @ 1280×800 WXGA screen
OPERATING SYSTEM: Android 3.1 Honeycomb
CPU & CHIPSET: Dual-core 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor; ULP GeForce GPU, NVidia Tegra 2 chipset
MEMORY: 1GB RAM; 16GB/32GB/64GB internal storage
CAMERA: 3.2 megapixel camera with LED flash (rear); 2 megapixel front-facing camera
CONNECTIVITY: WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0; 3G, HSDPA, HSUPA, GPS w/ aGPS
What’s Hot:
• Excellent display
• Responsive touchscreen
What’s Not:
• “Force close” notifications
Bottomline:
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is an excellent device and should be at the top of your list if you’re looking for an Android tablet.

More about → Review: Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

Samsung beefs up software arsenal, starts hiring outside talent

Samsung has always been a firm believer in keeping everything in-house. But even juggernauts like Samsung need help in the fast evolving world of technology. That’s why the Korean company is now seeking to acquire top notch tech talent, as well as embracing acquisitions to shore up their pool of engineers and innovations to keep up with rivals like Apple. In light of this, the company has begun hiring foreign software engineers, with a large number of those hires hailing from India.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the president of Samsung ‘s mobile business, J.K. Shin said that “The technology industry is growing very quickly and it is too much of a burden to try to do everything in-house. There are many qualified workers from India that are very skilled in software. And there are small companies that we can acquire that have good research and development capabilities.”
Samsung sees the future of their mobile success in software, not hardware. Younghee Lee, senior vice president of sales and marketing said that while Samsung will continue to work with Android, their company’s strategy is to work with multiple software platforms, and to continue investing in Bada. Bada is Samsung’s own OS offering, and though the company has implemented the OS in several of its phones, the OS is nowhere near Android in terms of popularity and appeal.

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Samsung Smart TV ES8000 hands-on, first impressions

Samsung invited us over to Maxims Hotel in Pasay City to get some hands-on time with the 55-inch version of their recently released Smart TV ES8000. We’ve talked about it before during the official unveil a couple of days ago (including a demonstration video of the device in action) but nothing beats trying it out in a real-world setting.

The ES8000 looks amazing, and to be honest that’s not really a surprise at this point – it is Samsung’s current flagship HD TV. Of course, that doesn’t detract from the ES8000′s sheer elegance, and while we’re not really a fan of the funky looking stand, everything else from the millimeters thin bezel to the tasteful (if a bit distracting) silver trimmings.

As expected, the ES8000 carries all the connections that you’d ever want, which includes multiple HDMI ports as well as several USB ports which allows you to watch and listen to music and videos from USB thumb drives and hard drives.

One thing that we noticed was that the included 3D glasses has been significantly redesigned, and though the styling of the new, active shutter glasses isn’t for everyone, they’re definitely lighter and less bulky than the previous designs.

The “smart” in Samsung’s Smart TV is made possible via a dual-core processor in the TV that runs Samsung’s Smart Hub, which is a highly modified version of the Android OS. In Samsung’s Smart Hub, you’re able to use apps, browse the net and connect to various social networks like Facebook and Twitter. While at Samsung’s Smart Hub, whatever you were watching before you engaged Smart Hub goes to the upper left side of the screen. There’s a couple of notable apps on the Smart Hub, which include apps for fitness, kids and games. We also saw a video on demand app on the Smart TV, but sadly it still wasn’t at 100%.



Two of the features that Samsung put front and center during the official launch of the ES8000 was the voice and gesture control that allows you to control the ES8000 without touching the remote. While both technologies were demonstrated to us during the official launch, in practice they were a bit more challenging to use. Voice control for one had a few issues when it came to actual practice, chief of which was the unit’s ability to actually understand us. There were two of us during the actual event (me and our Art Director, who has a bit of an American accent) and while the ES8000 could understand us some of the time, the actual, accurate voice recognition rate of the ES8000 was around 70% at the most.

Motion control also presented it’s own set of challenges. We noticed that it worked best in a brightly lit room, as it was controlled by the camera on the top of the TV, kind of like Microsoft’s Kinect XBOX add-on. For some reason, it had a bit of trouble recognizing our gestures once we actually sat down and started watching the TV, especially when we wanted to use the gesture control to raise the volume or change the channel. Again, we chalk that up to the room not being bright enough – unfortunately we don’t think a lot of people will actually go to the trouble of turning on the light each time they want to use the gesture control to change channels or raise the volume.

Aside from the regular remote control, Samsung also provided another remote for the ES8000. This particular remote had a built-in touchpad that supplements the two other smart controls. The touchpad allows you to raise and lower the volume easily, as well as channel surf with ease. Additionally, the touchpad also allows you to browse through Smart Hub easily, and provides another microphone to speak into when you’re in the mood to issue voice commands.

Additional peripherals for the ES8000 are planned, like the Bluetooth keyboard that a company rep showed us during our stay.

Overall, probably the biggest issue we’re seeing right now with the ES8000 is the somewhat buggy software that accompanies the additional smart interface technologies present in the TV. That’s not a deal-breaker in itself, as the device is a internet-connected device, a software update may be able to solve the complaints we’ve levied against the device so far. And with the device’s ability to take faster processors when it becomes available further down the line (via the Evolution kit that’s the heart of every ES8000), there’s little doubt that the features and usability of the ES8000 will increase as the years go by.

More about → Samsung Smart TV ES8000 hands-on, first impressions

Review: Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510

It’s always difficult to make a shift when it comes to phones. I’ve always been a texter and am very much adept to using the normal numerical keypads. I’ve always dreaded QWERTY phones as I keep on messing up my messages.

So when I pulled out the Samsung Galaxy Pro test unit out of its box, I was a bit apprehensive. Imagine my relief when I found out that it was not just a QWERTY phone, it had a touchscreen too, making it easier to navigate through the pages and go to other features.

Just below the screen are four physical keys; options, home, back and search. The QWERTY keypads are faceted, making it easier for the user to text. The textured finish of the back cover makes the unit easier to hold.

The screen is 2.8 inches—much bigger than other QWERTYs out there—with a resolution of 320×240 pixels. Just like any Samsung phone, you can adjust screen brightness but outdoor visibility, especially on direct sunlight, leaves much to be desired. This phone sports an Android Froyo 2.2 operating system and an 800MHz processor. Better performance in a speed that won’t fail you.

What’s nice about the Samsung Galaxy Pro is that it comes with the Samsung Special Hub premium that is suitable for people like me who likes to have their social media, messages and even IM’s while on-the-go. Everything goes in one inbox; you don’t need to run multiple applications. Thus, the premium hub saves battery life. It also has the “Think Free” Office Document Editor, which is great for viewing and editing MS Word, Excel and Powerpoint files.

Specifications
Display: 320 x 240 pixels, 2.8 inches
Dimensions: 108.6 x 66.7 x 10.7 mm
Weight: 103.4 g
Processor: 800 MHz processor
Memory: MicroSD, up to 32GB
Camera: 3.15 MP, 2048×1536 pixels, autofocus
Battery: Standard battery, Li-Ion 1350 mA
Software: Android Froyo 2.2

What’s Hot:
• Android Froyo 2.2
• Samsung Special Hub premium
• Think Free Office Document Editor

What’s Not:
• Poor outdoor visibility

Bottomline:
It is the best phone for those who want everything on the go. The Samsung Galaxy Pro is a cool Android smartphone suitable for all needs and wants

Buy Meter: 8.6

More about → Review: Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510

Did the Samsung Galaxy S III just appear in Vietnam? (video) (updated with statement)

Cellphones
Did the Samsung Galaxy S III just appear in Vietnam? (video) (updated with statement)
By Mat Smith posted Apr 20th 2012 4:15AM

Did the Samsung Galaxy S III just appear in Vietnam? (video)

Whoa, there. We're still weeks away from an official big stage unveiling, but it looks like Samsung's next Galaxy phone is already out there. Vietnamese site Tinhte, which has past form on these kind of things, has got it hands on the GT-I9300 -- purportedly the Galaxy S III if Samsung decides to follow its own naming convention. According to the specifications leaked, the phone houses a 4.6-inch display at 720 x 1184 resolution (320 DPI, depending on whether you include those on-screen Android buttons), while a quad-core 1.4 GHz processor works on keeping the Ice Cream Sandwich OS running smoothly. Other hardware mentions include 1GB of RAM, 8-megapixel camera, 16GB of storage plus microSD capability.

According to Tinhte, the 2,050mAh battery will arrive with NFC capabilities baked in, like the Galaxy Nexus before it. There's an iffy plastic rim surrounding to the whole device that has apparently been added not to ruin the surprise of how the device looks ahead of its official launch. While we've seen some similar hardware leaks already, this video makes a very strong case for it being the real deal. Take a look for yourself right after the break, alongside a picture of the back.

Update: It looks our source link has disappeared and the video has now gone private. Fortunately, we grabbed our own copy of the video and you can find it below.

Update 2: We reached out to Samsung for a comment, and here's the not-so-surprising response:

"We will be able to tell you more at the 2012 Samsung Mobile Unpacked."

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video : Samsung Instinct vs. iPhone 3G: which one will be better?

It's not only the battle of two devices it is the battle of two cell phone services providers: Sprint and AT&T. These two phones will be their best and most powerful presenters that they have. iPhone 3G is not out yet but AT&T was successfully selling the previous versions of iPhone for almost a year now. So some people love AT&T and other love Sprint and it's their choice. What we are going to do is compare the features of the two phones.

First of all let's do the comparison of the exterior of Samsung Instinct and iPhone. Instinct is made mainly of plastic which is not that neat today; iPhone has pats made of metal and harden glass to prevent it from scratching.

As to AT&T vs. Sprint there are some advantages and disadvantages; but concerning these phones Sprint is giving very high internet speeds and music store from any point of coverage. AT&T's iPhone can only connect to iTunes store via Wi-Fi, which restricts it to the city limits. Besides, everybody knows about Samsung Instinct's and iPhone's GPS capabilities.

I personally liked the voice control on Samsung Instinct; however not sure if it would work as good as they demonstrate it, so train your speech to be able to control it.
I'm not sure if it was a good idea to have the keyboard only in landscape mode. My personal opinion is that I want to choose what mode to use because it really frustrates me that I need to turn it every time I want to input some text.

One more thing that I love about Instinct is its open platform. I really like to install and use the software I choose. iPhone has made a pretty good job on giving positive experience for the customers but it is closed platform.

Another good thing about Instinct is that they give an additional battery and an external battery charger, which can be very helpful during traveling.

iPhone should be twice as fast in web browsing as the old iPhone is. It supports Bluetooth, GPRS, GSM, EDGE, Wi-Fi, HSDPA, UMTS connectivity and that's what they are proud about. One of the biggest news: it will be able to give you 3G video talks with your friends.

One other big news is that Apple is going to allow third party applications on their iPhone but only those that are approved by them. Not sure how popular that will be. Apple has done a pretty good job on the user interface. And the question I have is: "Will the third party applications be free or they are going to charge the customers for that?" The platform it is running on is Mac OS X Mobile which should bring the customers best experiences.

In the rest of features the iPhone 3G will be just as its predecessor (one of the best phones out there.) It will roll out on July the 11th in 70 countries of the world. The 8GB version will cost $199 and the 16GB version will cost $299.

More about → video : Samsung Instinct vs. iPhone 3G: which one will be better?

samsung galaxy x III relase date changed

The first time we’ve heard the rumor about Galaxy S III release it was saying that Samsung’s new smartphone will be announced in May and will go on sale in June. Now it appears that Samsung moved announcement date from May to April. The news comes from Samsung’s Greater China President, Kim Young-Ha, who has been speaking to the press in China and has confirmed that the company is considering moving the launch date. This is the first official word from Samsung about Galaxy S III release and now all that is left is to wait for any more information.

Here are some of the latest known specifications for the new Galaxy smartphone: 4G network support, 720 x 1280 AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16 GB or 32 GB internal storage and a microSD slot, 12 megapixel rear facing camera with LED flash and 1.3 megapixel front facing camera, 1080p video recording and quad core 1.5 GHz processor.

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ExoPC has teased us with a video

ExoPC has teased us with a video featuring its multitouch surface called the EXOdesk, which is set to be publicly demonstrated at CES in January 2012. The desk measures 40 inches, or what they like to call “high-definition inches,” and supports a variety of multitouch gestures.

The video teaser,  posted on YouTube, runs for under one minute. You get to see what the EXOdesk can do, such as running apps at full-screen, swiping widgets to close them, swiping the corner with four fingers to open what seems to be an RSS feed, and swiping individual items on the feed to make them disappear.

ExoPC has revealed that its EXOdesk will be available for retail next year with a suggested price of $1,299, which is about 85% cheaper than the $8,400 being offered for the new Samsung SUR40 with Microsoft Surface.

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Tech Today: Samsung's Google TV deal, Spotify's new direction

Late-breaking news on Monday saw Google launch an impressive iOS Search app upgrade, while Spotify is set to unveil a 'new direction'. Also, Samsung is set to be the latest manufacturer to embrace Google TV.

Google iPad search app gets major overhaul
As Google seeks to narrow the gap on the iPad with the Android-powered range of tablets, this particular move could be seen as slightly counter productive. The Search giant has released a new app for iPad which allows the left hand side of the screen to be used as the search results portion of the page, while the right hand side displays the website itself. Pretty cool for iPad users, but why no Android love?
Link: AllThingsD

Spotify set to unveil 'new direction'
Music streaming pioneer Spotify is set to to unveil some big news next week with CEO Daniel Ek promising a new direction for the company. Spotify has a media event in New York next week. The company added: "In New York on 30 November, we are holding our first press conference to unveil the latest major development from Spotify – and a new direction for the company."
Link: TechRadar

Facebook adds 'sponsored stories' to side ticker
It's finally happening: Adverts are about to infiltrate your Facebook feeds with the company revealing that sponsored stories will imminently be appearing in the live ticker on the right hand side of your homepage. Rather than display actual advertisements, sponsored stories will simply show which brands your friends Like using the social network.
Link: TechCrunch

Samsung next to saddle up with Google TV
According to a report from Reuters, Samsung is about to partner up with Google to provide access to the search giant's UK-bound connected TV platform. The report claims the companies are in "late-stage talks" with a view to launching products in early 2012. Reuters reckons that Samsung's GTV offering will differ from the Sony and Logitech iterations already out there. Google TV is also set to arrive in the UK in early 2012
Link: Reuters

Vodafone partners with Sony for PS Vita 3G connectivity
The 3G prowess of the forthcoming Sony PlayStation Vita will be handled by Vodafone. Pocket-Lint reports that a Vodafone SIM card will ship with all PS Vita models in Europe, with Sony admitting that the network will be the "preferred partner". An official press statement said: "Partnering with Vodafone will enable PS Vita users in the selected countries to always be connected with their PlayStation life, friends and games, wherever they are."
Link: Pocket-Lint
 

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Samsung Galaxy Nexus review

t3 got its hands on the world’s first Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone courtesy of Samsung's stunning Galaxy Nexus

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus will rank as one of the year’s biggestsmartphone launches, and it heralds the release of an operating system that will shape the course of 2012 as well.

Android 4.0, or headline writer’s nightmare Ice Cream Sandwich, is Google’s update to their whole mobile OS, and the vision of their latest release is based around a single vision: ‘enchant me, simplify My life and make me awesome.’

The turbulent market means one bad release could be fatal for one of the big players, and with the positive release of iOS 5 loaded with cool innovations such as Siri, the pressure is on Google to enchant consumers all over again.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus: Design and features

There’s no denying it, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is a giant. The 4.6” screen continues the industry’s current obsession with supersizing our smartphones, and anyone who’s short on handbag space will probably want to look elsewhere.

It dwarves the no-so-compact iPhone 4S, and the pocket busting bulk will be an instant deal-breaker for many people. However, it weighs exactly the same as the iPhone 4S at 140g.

While it is large, the Nexus is still very slim, and fits snugly in the hand. There’s a textured back, which adds grip, and the physical buttons are well positioned, with the wake/sleep button ideally placed next to your thumb in the right hand, or index finger of the left.

When you start the phone, the quality of the giant 4.6” glass panel is immediately apparent. Samsung has included a 1280x720 AMOLED screen, which is simply mind-blowing, with deep vibrant colours, and pin sharp detail. Blacks do look pixelated on close inspection, but overall, the picture is superb.

The Nexus is aligned very closely to Samsung’s extremely popular Galaxy S2 handset, featuring the same Texas Instruments 1.2GHz processor. However, disappointingly and perplexingly, the camera has been downgraded to 5MP.

Image quality is still perfectly acceptable, and unlike the Galaxy SII, the Nexus enjoys near instantaneous shutter speeds, with zero delay between pressing the capture button, the photo being taken, and then returning to the next photo.

The single motion panorama feature is also excellent, which enables you to scan the horizon, before the Nexus stitches the shots together, rather than having to manually work with the images. It produced some bizarre and crazy results, often with obvious stitching, and quality seemed to be impaired too.

There’s a host of camera features, such as macro settings and ISO control, which saves what could have been a real problem for the Nexus, but we can’t help being short changed, especially when the SII is due to get the Ice Cream Sandwich treatment, albeit not until next year.

As you’d expect the Galaxy Nexus captures 720p video that looks fantastic on the Nexus’ screen. The frame rate is excellent, colours vibrant, and it copes well when moving between light and dark. If you like getting creative with video, the Nexus is a top choice.
 

Samsung Galaxy Nexus: Android Ice Cream Sandwich

The real star of the Galaxy Nexus show is the outing of Android 4.0, more commonly known by its development moniker Ice Cream Sandwich. For smartphone users, the operating system is a huge leap forward from 2.3 ‘Gingerbread’ and noticeably better than the tablet OS Honeycomb.

The most immediate difference is an overall performance improvement. Previous iterations have been less fluid and slick than iOS, especially rendering web sites, but Ice Cream Sandwich performs how you’d expect.

Admittedly, that feature simply brings Android up to date, rather than enchant the user, or make you more awesome, but there’s plenty that’s new. The face unlock feature was the most immediately enchanting, where the front camera recognises your mug, and unlocks the handset. It’s fast, slick, works from a variety of angles and immediately usable. Google pre-warns you that it’s less secure than a PIN, and we were able to unlock the phone using a picture, but try as we might, lookalikes couldn’t gain access to the handset.

Most of the other improvements in Ice Cream Sandwich fall into the ‘simplify my life’ category. There’s improved multitasking, where apps can we swiped away to quit and improved typing accuracy. There’s also Android Beam for sharing content with other ICS users, Books which syncs with Google eBooks, Google+ for Hangouts, and plenty of new look interfaces.

Overall, ICS is a big improvement, and feels like a mature mobile operating system, that’s always led the field. The app Marketplace still can’t touch Apple’s App Store, but that’s the last area that Apple leads Google in the smartphone race.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus: Performance

Thanks to the improvements in ICS and that dual-core processor, the Nexus always feel sharp and responsive.

A noticeable improvement is web page rendering, which has been given a major boost. It appears that ICS waits for the while page to be loaded, before rendering all in one go, rather than a piece-meal building of the site, which is traditionally how browsers work. Perhaps the improvement is perceptive, and by loading the site in one go, it’s immediately responsive, but fast scrolling shows none of the jerkiness found in Gingerbread and Honeycomb.

Our benchmark tests, however, revealed a startling trend. The Nexus scored twice as highly as the Galaxy S2, despite running the same processor. This shows the affect that Ice Cream Sandwich has on this handset, and it’s one of the most powerful smartphones we’ve seen.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus: Verdict

While it might be too big for everyone’s taste, the Nexus is a beautiful handset. The screen is vibrant and one of the best we’ve seen on any handset to date.

With the addition of Ice Cream Sandwich, which marries great performance and slick features to the already an already potent operating system, it’s one of the best smartphones available at present.

There is a major problem, however. As we enter 2012, a 5MP camera on a top smartphone, which you will be potentially tied to for two years is not good enough. Yes, it’s capable of good results, but imagining what could have been is truly disappointing.

For many this will be a deal breaker, and while there’s plenty of enchanting and life simplifying features, this smartphone is one feature short of being truly awesome.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus availability: Out now

Samsung Galaxy Nexus price: From £34 per month on contract and £520 SIM-free for 16GB version

You can get the Galaxy Nexus free of charge on a £34/month contract. See www.three.co.uk for more details.
 

More about → Samsung Galaxy Nexus review

Samsung Galaxy Nexus out now in UK

Well the waiting is finally over, Samsung and Google will soon be making available the world's first Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is out today in the UK and available to buy with punters able to get their hands on the first Ice Cream Sandwich handset.
Unveiled last month the Galaxy Nexus will be the benchmark to beat with Ice Cream Sandwich boasting a dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM making it incredibly zippy, it'll also be the first phone to launch with a true 720p screen.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus Specs:
The first thing that many will probably notice is the huge 4.65inch sAMOLED screen which offers 1280x720 resolution, making it one of the first phones to offer a true 720p HD screen.
Underneath that screen is a 1.2GHz processor and 1GB of RAM and while it may not be the 1.5GHz that everyone was hoping for it's certainly not going to have any problems with deep integration expected between the processor and Ice Cream Sandwich.
In terms of storage you'll find two models a 16GB and a 32GB which will be plenty to store music, apps and of course photos and videos which can be taken on the 5MP snapper on the back. Offering zero shutter lag, panoramic imaging and 1080p video recording the camera is seated neatly in the center of the back of the phone while a 1.3MP snapper on the front allows video-calling and of course, the face recognition.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus Features:
Featuring a gently curved screen the Galaxy Nexus certainly shares some of the design cues of the Samsung Galaxy S2 with the slight bulge at the bottom being a prominent feature.
Sitting neatly inside all this is Android's latest OS, Ice Cream Sandwich, offering up an entirely new UI based loosely on a combination of Gingerbread and Honeycomb. With more clean cut lines and simpler menus the whole experience has been aimed at increasing productivity and enhancing the usability of the phone.
Most notable of the new features is the face-recognition which uses the front-facing camera to recognise the owners face and then automatically unlock the phone, meaning no more passwords or shapes to draw.
With NFC technology built-in the Galaxy Nexus also features Android Beam, an application that allows you to share web pages, apps and YouTube videos just by touching the two handsets together. Google has also seriously ramped up their use of cloud-services claiming that all data can now be backed up to the cloud with contacts, bookmarks, settings, however whether all of this will be coming to the UK remains to be seen.
With the Motorola RAZR having just been launched, which one takes your fancy more? Let us know what you think in the comments box below...
Samsung Galaxy Nexus video: Hands-on

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Samsung Galaxy Nexus gets UK launch tomorrow

Well the waiting is nearly over, Samsung and Google will soon be making available the world's first Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is out tomorrow in the UK and available to buy with punters able to get their hands on the first Ice Cream Sandwich handset.

Unveiled last month the Galaxy Nexus will be the benchmark to beat with Ice Cream Sandwich boasting a dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM making it incredibly zippy, it'll also be the first phone to launch with a true 720p screen.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus Specs:

The first thing that many will probably notice is the huge 4.65inch sAMOLED screen which offers 1280x720 resolution, making it one of the first phones to offer a true 720p HD screen.

Underneath that screen is a 1.2GHz processor and 1GB of RAM and while it may not be the 1.5GHz that everyone was hoping for it's certainly not going to have any problems with deep integration expected between the processor and Ice Cream Sandwich.

In terms of storage you'll find two models a 16GB and a 32GB which will be plenty to store music, apps and of course photos and videos which can be taken on the 5MP snapper on the back. Offering zero shutter lag, panoramic imaging and 1080p video recording the camera is seated neatly in the center of the back of the phone while a 1.3MP snapper on the front allows video-calling and of course, the face recognition.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus Features:

Featuring a gently curved screen the Galaxy Nexus certainly shares some of the design cues of the Samsung Galaxy S2 with the slight bulge at the bottom being a prominent feature.

Sitting neatly inside all this is Android's latest OS, Ice Cream Sandwich, offering up an entirely new UI based loosely on a combination of Gingerbread and Honeycomb. With more clean cut lines and simpler menus the whole experience has been aimed at increasing productivity and enhancing the usability of the phone.

Most notable of the new features is the face-recognition which uses the front-facing camera to recognise the owners face and then automatically unlock the phone, meaning no more passwords or shapes to draw.

With NFC technology built-in the Galaxy Nexus also features Android Beam, an application that allows you to share web pages, apps and YouTube videos just by touching the two handsets together. Google has also seriously ramped up their use of cloud-services claiming that all data can now be backed up to the cloud with contacts, bookmarks, settings, however whether all of this will be coming to the UK remains to be seen.

With the Motorola RAZR having just been launched, which one takes your fancy more? Let us know what you think in the comments box below...

Samsung Galaxy Nexus video: Hands-on

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Samsung Exhibit 4G II Comes to T-Mobile

T-Mobile unleashes the Samsung Exhibit 4G II, an Android-powered smartphone that only costs $30 with two-year contract. If you prefer non-commitments, the phone can also be yours for a low price of $200.
Its specs are above-basic, as expected from cheap phones. The phone comes with a 3.7-inch touchscreen display with 800 x 480 resolution, a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU, 3-megapixel camera on the back, and a VGA camera on the front. It runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread and it is yet unknown whether this phone will receive an Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) upgrade.
The T-Mobile Exhibit 4G II will be available for retail beginning November 2, while Walmart gets a few days of exclusivity beginning October 27.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus Now for Pre-Order

Several days after it was leaked online, Samsung officially announces the pricing and availability of its Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus. The 7-inch Honeycomb-powered tablet is now available for pre-order at various retailers, with an expected retail availability beginning November 13. The 16GB version will cost $399.99.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, the fifth on Samsung’s line of tablets, features a 7-inch WVGA touchscreen display with 1024 x 600 resolution, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 1080p video playback support, HSPA+ support, a 3-megapixel rear-facing camera with autofocus and LED flash (as well as 720p video capture), and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.
What is strange is that Samsung does not reveal the pricing of the 32GB model, although it was previously leaked with a $499 price tag.

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Google, Samsung Officially Launches Galaxy Nexus

It has been quite sometime since the initial Nexus phone from Google first came out. Unfortunately, it wasn’t able to make its mark in the smart phone market and was gone before it was able to take off. But one thing came out of it that has really caught quite the attention that Google may have expected- the Android OS. And now that the Android OS has made quite a dent in the smart phone market, Google may have decided that it may be time to resurrect the Google Nexus smart phone. And recently, it just did.    Google and Samsung have just officially launched the new Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the next generation Google Phone, if you put it that way. Samsung provided the hardware tech while Google took care of its operating system. The new Samsung Galaxy Nexus comes with a 2GHz dual core processor, 1GB RAM, 16 or 32 GB of storage, and a 4.65 inch HD Super AMOLED touch screen display. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus will also come with the latest Android Ice Cream Sandwich OS with new features like face control, voice dictation, better user interface, improved multitasking, NFC support and a host of other enhancements from its previous version. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is expected to be available sometime in November. No pricing details have yet been provided by both camps.
Image Source: Google

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Samsung Omnia W Windows Phone Mango Smartphone

Samsung has made itself one of the formidable leaders in smartphones today. And it continues to come up with new smartphones regularly to keep the interest up from its widely increasing consumer base. One of its newest offerings is the Samsung Omnia W.

The Samsung Omnia W is the newest device from the company that runs on the new Windows Phone Mango, the latest mobile OS version from Microsoft. It comes with a 3.7 inch SuperAMOLED display, a 5MP rear camera and a VGA front camera. It is powered by a 1.4GHz processor with 512MB RAM, 8GB internal memory and provides support for 14.4Mbps HSPA connectivity.  This Windows Phone Mango smartphone also offers WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. The Samsung Omnia W is expected to be available by the end of October. No pricing details have yet been provided.

Image Source: Samsung

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 Available for Pre-Order in US

Samsung, despite its legal battles in every corner of the world, remains steadfast in releasing its products like the newly-available Galaxy Tab 8.9. The new Samsung tablet is available for pre-order in the United States, with shipments expected to begin October 2, as long as no U.S. authority would ban Samsung from doing so.

The Galaxy Tab 8.9, like its larger 10.1-inch counterpart, runs on Android 3.1 Honeycomb with TouchWiz UI. Samsung brags that it is one of the thinnest tablets in the market at 8.6 millimeters. It features a dual-core 1GHz processor, 16GB onboard memory, an 8.9-inch WXGA display with 1,280 x 800 resolution, a 3-megapixel rear camera with autofocus and flash, and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera for video chat.

Interested buyers can pre-order the Samsung Galaxy 8.9 from Best Buy for $469.99.

In other news, Samsung also announces the availability of its Galaxy Player 5.0 and 4.0. Both devices run on Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread and comes with a new “streamlined” interface, WiFi support, a front-facing camera, and a rear-facing shooter for video chat. The only difference between the two is their sizes, measuring in at 5 and 4 inches respectively.

Pre-order for the Galaxy Players begins on September 27, with in-store availability on October 16.

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Samsung SyncMaster Series 6 LCD panels with LED backlight

Samsung has announced to bring SyncMaster Series 6 monitors to European market. The new series includes three models: 24-inch S24A650D LED, S24A650S LED and 27-inch S27A650D LED. All of them are based on MVA type panels and are equipped with LED backlight, as indicated by the abbreviation LED in the title.

Resolution of the LCD matrix of the four monitors is the same and is 1920 x 1080 pixels. In addition, all devices have a response time of 8 ms, contrast ratio of 3000:1 and a brightness of 300 cd / sq. All three monitors feature D-Sub, DVI and DisplayPort input, but S24A650S model also features built-in stereospeakers and 2-port USB hub. Convertible Monitor Stand allows you to adjust tilting turning and height of the screen, as well as transfer the LCD panel from horizontal orientation to vertical mode and vice versa (so-called pivot function). Finally, it is noted that all monitors in SyncMaster Series 6 come with an integrated proximity sensors(which allow you to turn the monitor off if the user is absent at the table) or based on light conditions.

New items will be available in Europe in late August. The price of S24A650D LED will be about 319 Euro, S24A650S LED will cost 329 Euro and S27A650D LED - 

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Samsung officially presented the Galaxy Tab 8.9 and an updated Galaxy Tab 10.1

CTIA Wireless 2011 exhibition became an arena for the official announcement of the new Tablet PC Galaxy Tab 8.9. However, a complete surprise was that along with it, the Koreans have submitted an updated Tablet Galaxy Tab 10.1, which they announced barely a month ago.

As reported, Galaxy Tab 8.9 is equipped with a 8.9 inch 1280 x 800 pixels screen and ARM-processor operating at 1 GHz, and runs on Android 3.0 Honeycomb. Tablet also features built-in HSPA+, Bluetooth 3.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n, and two cameras: rear - 3Mp and front 2Mp. Manufacturer did not disclose amount of RAM, but revealed amount of built-in memory: 16GB, 32GB or 64GB to choose.

Galaxy Tab 8.9 is fitted with a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a digital compass and a light sensor, and the headphone jack and integrated stereo speakers. There is also a built-in slot for microSD memory card that supports cards of up to 32GB.

A few words about the software component of Galaxy Tab 8.9. Flash Player 10.2 is integrated into its OS, it also has proprietary TouchWiz UX interface and access to Android Market, there is also support for Microsoft Exchange and Quickoffice HD Editor to work with documents.

Dimensions of Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 are: 230,9 x 157,8 x 8,6 mm, weight - 470 grams. It has a really big battery with 6000 mAh capacity.

The most notable change that has occurred in the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is its body. It used to have dimensions of 246.2 x 170.4 x 10.9 mm and weigh 599 grams. The size of the new Galaxy Tab 10.1 is: 256.6 x 172.9 x 8.6 mm and it weighs - 595 grams. It turns out that the renewed tablet is slightly increased in length and width, but became much thinner. 4 grams that it lost will hardly makes a difference, however, they can now be proud about their record thinness of the device.

The most important change in a constructive part of an updated Galaxy Tab 10.1 is replacement of an 8-megapixel camera on the rear with a 3 Mp camera. We can now all forget about 1080p video recording ability. Senior tablet as well as Galaxy Tab 8.9, got the support of Adobe Flash Player 10.2, but uses a slightly different power supply: it used to have a 6860 mAh battery, but today it has exactly 6800 mAh.

Updated Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 goes on sale in the U.S. on June 8. The cost of the version with 16 GB of internal memory is $ 499, with 32 GB - $ 599. Sales Galaxy Tab 8.9 in America will start early summer; the cost 16 GB model will be $ 469, 32 GB version will cost you $ 499.

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Samsung Postpones Australian Launch of Galaxy Tab 10.1 After All

Samsung, please make up your mind.
The grand daddy of Korean chaebols has announced that it has postponed the Australian media launch for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, which was originally scheduled for August 11. This also means that it is highly unlikely the tablet itself with be released Down Under on that day as well.
Samsung reiterated that the tablet itself is not canceled for good. In a recent statement, which was published in Gizmodo Australia, the company with release the GalTab 10.1 in the continent within “the near future.” The exact date, however, is still up in the air.
The postponement comes after Samsung defied its agreement with Apple, where the former would not release nor advertise the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia. Samsung found a workaround and planned on releasing what they called a variant of the tablet instead, only to retract its plans because it goes against the good faith of the agreement.
Samsung will announce a new date for the Galaxy Tab 10.1 media launch “as soon as practicable.”
Source: Gizmodo Australia, via TechCrunch

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