Samsung is not even close to giving up in the high end Smartphone scene. Although it is a fact that they are lagging quite a distance behind Apple, RIM (BlackBerry), and now HTC, the Korean manufacturer isn’t giving up the fight that easy.
In fact, they have recently come out with a set of Smartphones that will definitely make an impact in the mobile phone scene. One of them is the Samsung Wave 2.
Value for Money
Samsung has joined in on the bandwagon of entry level Smartphones. The Samsung Wave 2 falls into the category of very reasonably priced devices that offer Smartphone functionalities.
It is a quad band 2G device that also supports GPRS, EDGE, and Bluetooth. We actually found it a bit weird that the mobile doesn’t have 3G support, while Wi-Fi connectivity is on board.
These two usually go hand in hand; it’s either they’re both there or both not. Nonetheless, we’re still excited to see how this untested formula will fare in the market.
The Samsung Wave 2 also sports a handy 3-Megapixel camera which you can use to capture acceptable quality photos. They won’t be photo contest material, but at least, you’ll always have a functional snapper with you wherever you go.
Soft Side
The Wave 2 is equipped with the Bada mobile operating system. Don’t let the ‘bad’ name of this OS throw you off as it actually has pretty neat functions. It works excellently with Samsung’s famed TouchWiz user interface (version 3.0) as the combination is able to deliver a remarkable overall user experience.
The Samsung Wave 2’s multimedia player is also worth mentioning. It supports a majority of multimedia file formats and has a very user friendly and aesthetically pleasing interface as well. There’s also a built-in FM radio on this affordable Smartphone which means that you won’t be limited to your stored music.
The Samsung Galaxy Q handset has been popping up in rumors so much that it is almost hard to avoid reading about it. However, despite the abundance of interesting tech specs for the mobile phone, we are certainly eager to see the device finally popping up in images to see what Samsung really has in store for us.
The thing about this handset that is making plenty of folks curious is the BlackBerry style form factor. The 3 inch super AMOLED capacitive touch screen is expected to be in wide orientation with a 4 row QWERTY keyboard on the bottom. Nothing that new for folks who have used a RIM smart phone before, but the question still lingers: can Samsung pull it off?
The big tradeoff with having a physical keyboard on the face of the handset is that it will make the device pretty wide -and by wide, we mean significantly wider than the average touch screen smart phone. Business users will acclimatize easily to the form factor, but for those who are used to the more traditional handsets, a better choice would be to go for the Galaxy S instead –it even comes with a larger display too (a 4 inch super AMOLED capacitive touch screen).
To say that Samsung is planning to penetrate the business sector with the Galaxy Q might be a far cry, but at the same time, it makes sense. Most of the revenue that the Korean phone maker generates comes mostly from its sale of mid range mobile phones for the general market. While the business sector is heavily dominated by giants like RIM and Microsoft, Samsung might just have an edge by delivering the Android OS to the market.
With no official launch date, we can all but wait for the official announcement about the Galaxy Q, though many expect the device to come out early this Q4.
Samsung has got a brand new toy to play with: the Hummingbird processor. This high speed CPU runs at 1GHz and the company is going to show the world what it can do with the upcoming Galaxy Q Android smart phone.
Of course, the Android OS is hardly the most resource intensive operating system available, but it provides users with a great way to gauge if the new core processor is worth a new handset. From what we can tell at the moment, it will certainly be interesting to see how the new CPU will be accepted by the industry.
Initial specs on the device show that the handset is geared to be a basic touch screen smart phone. The 3 inch super AMOLED capacitive touch screen display is certainly a surprise; this is the first time that the s-AMOLED technology was used on such a small scale. Even the Samsung S8500 Wave had a 3.3 inch screen at least.
Still, we appreciate the smaller handset –the industry has been getting congested with plenty of devices that are on the large scale of things. As expected, the screen will have an accelerator, support multi touch, and will also have a proximity sensor as well. Rumors indicate that the handset’s onscreen keyboard typing will be using Swype text input technology. For those who prefer a more visceral experience when typing, the device also has a physical, slide out QWERTY keyboard.
The camera on this smart phone is an impressive 8 mega pixel snapper. It comes with autofocus, LED flash, geo tagging and even face and smile detection software as well. Video recording is supported at 720p HD quality and it also comes with an additional 1.3 mega pixel front facing camera.
As a Galaxy handset, this Android smart phone will be running the latest operating system from Google: the Android 2.2 Froyo.
Touch screens are rarely made to be tough. In fact they are one of the most sensitive and delicate parts of a mobile phone; this is why there is plenty of need for screen protectors and, of course, scratch resistant surfaces. But aside from that, there is one other thing that phone displays are quite sensitive to: strong impacts. These need not even be direct impacts to the face of the handset. Sometimes, all it takes to damage a screen is for a handset to receive enough impact force from the sides or the back of the handset.
Samsung is taking that element out, or at least, they have been able to develop a new screen technology that is able to withstand plenty of blows.
A new AMOLED screen has been put on a video where Samsung show off the screen’s flexible form and more importantly, ability to absorb impact hits straight from a hammer. For a point of comparison, a regular display screen was put alongside the Samsung screen and both were hit by a hammer. Only the regular screen was damaged.
According to Samsung, this is due to the fact that the new AMOLED screen has no breakable surface –unlike regular screens which actually get smashed when hit by a hammer. This difference, and the flexibility of the screen, allows it to withstand higher forces that would otherwise spell doom for other displays.
At this point, it is too early to tell if the display is ready for mass production, but if it is, it could very well change the way phones are made and designed. After all, not only is the screen tough, it is also flexible. This will allow phone makers the freedom to step out of the box and design devices that are more than just the ordinary flat gadgets.
Due to its diverse uses, the number of wallet friendly smart phone offerings is steadily increasing. The latest handset that is both functional and affordable is the Samsung Galaxy Europa. This new device is an Android, making it all the more tempting for those looking forward to filling up their handsets with plenty of apps and customized features.
The name “Europa” comes from one of the smallest moons of the planet Jupiter. Since the Korean company tends towards releasing units with names related to the stars (or the whole Galaxy for that matter), the Samsung Galaxy Europa i5500 fits in quite nicely with the bunch.
The smart phone itself is quite compact and sports balanced, well chosen features that complement its power as an Android device. Running the Google Android operating system version 2.1 (Éclair), this is definitely a noteworthy addition to the Genio and Corby style family.
The actual CPU is at 600 MHz which is decent enough for a smart phone in its price range. This is complemented by a 2.8 inch capacitive touch screen which is basically what the Europa can offer considering its size. The camera is alright for a budget phone offering at 2 megapixels, which is just enough for an impromptu photo shoot for online posts.
For your listening needs, the Europa offers stereo FM radio and is capable of playing music in the MP3 format. Of course, the standard 3.5 mm headphone jack is present too so you can listen to your tunes in private. In order to store all your music, the internal storage may be expanded up to 16 GB through the use of an additional microSD card.
The Europa may not wow you in terms of hardware but it does have a very tempting lightweight 15 GBP per month subscription deal on T-Mobile. This gives you a total of 300 text messages and 300 minutes per month.
The Apple iPhone 4 is currently the hottest selling handset ever released in mobile phone history. With the device selling over 1.7 million in just the first three days, Samsung definitely has some steep competition for their i9000 Galaxy S Android smart phone.
While the two handsets are pretty much alike in many factors, the screen is the biggest difference between the two smart phones. Apparently Apple has gone all out and did a full quarter-HD resolution on the touch screen display for a mobile phone. However, when compared to the 4 inch super AMOLED touch screen display on the Samsung Galaxy S, the difference between the two screens is hard to determine.
Apple has been able to get very sharp images. But at the same time, it can also be done by the Galaxy S. Many would even attest that the touch screen display of the Samsung Wave is actually superior because it is easier on the eyes.
This is what makes the Android smart phone based s8500 Wave, a slightly better choice than the Apple iPhone 4. Despite the iPhone’s fame, it is also full of odds and ends that never seem to jive. Also, the iPhone iOS is pretty much a closed system. Unlike the Android OS that offers more free apps and free sat nav,
In other Apple iPhone 4 news; it seems that Apple might be considering recalling all iPhone 4 handsets to have the antenna fixed. Initial predictions about this new plan are expected to reach a moderate degree of success, though it is bound to cost Apple a huge amount of money.
If the recalls do push through, this means that over a million and a half iPhone 4’s would need to be cleaned and repaired –specifically since the antenna issue will require a major hardware fix.
The Galaxy S i9000 is Samsung’s most advanced smartphone to date. Boasting a combination of groundbreaking technology, slim profile, high-end specs, and with a great range of Samsung Galaxy S deals available, this is perhaps the best touchscreen phone on the market and could well be your next phone this year.
Firing up the Android
The i9000 is the latest Android-based handset from Samsung, running an OS 2.1 version (Éclair) with a powerful and efficient ARM Cortex A8 1GHz processor beating at its core. This combination can handle the most demanding operations with great ease and speed.
The Samsung Galaxy S has a TouchWiz 3.0 user interface running on top which offers several home screens which are easily navigable by a gesture of the finger. With social networking being very popular nowadays, the phone comes with Friends and Updates apps which are very useful in keeping up to date with family and friends in different social networking sites.
Big screen, thin frame
With measurments of 122.4 x 64.2 x 9.9mm and a 118 gm weight, the Samsung Galaxy S isn’t the most compact in the world, but it definitely isn’t big. Its weight and thickness are minimised with the application of Super AMOLED technology on the phone’s 4-inch screen. With a high 480 x 800 screen resolution, dark colours are more pronounced and images are viewable even under bright sunlight.
Excellent camera and ample memory
The Samsung Galaxy S is equipped with a 5 megapixel digital camera with 2592 x 1944 pixels of image resolution. It can shoot videos at 30 frames per second as well and comes with autofocus, geo-tagging, face and smile detection, and touch focus features.
The i9000 is sold in 8 GB and 16 GB memory versions which, should the need for more storage arise, are upgradeable up to 32 GB of memory via a built-in MicroSD expansion card slot.
As expected, all of the newly released high end Android smart phones will be getting an update to the latest version of the Android operating system and the Samsung Galaxy S is one of these devices.
In a recent report, it has been stated that the 2.2 Froyo update for the Samsung handset will be arriving “shortly” –no specifics have been given regarding when the update will finally be out, but it is expected to be made available within the next couple of weeks.
The new Android 2.2 Froyo (Frozen Yogurt for anyone wondering) is going to be brining plenty of new features, performance boosts and support for Adobe Flash (and later, Adobe Air). Some of the main highlights of the new OS include the tip widget, Exchange, better kernel memory management, better Java handling and a big boost in the performance and speed of the mobile platform. Adobe’s Flash Player 10.1 for the Android operating system was just released over a week ago and is exclusively compatible with version 2.2.
The i9000 Galaxy S is the new high end Android smart phone from Samsung and it packs impressive hardware that makes it a great choice for anyone who wants to have a feature loaded smart phone.
The device’s 4 inch capacitive touch screen uses the super AMOLED screen technology that has been developed by Samsung. With this, the screen is able to provide image and visual quality that is unmatched with other AMOLED devices.
With the ARM Cortex A8 processor, the Galaxy S is able to handle resource heavy apps and features without much trouble. Clocked at a speed of 1GHz, the CPU makes for a powerful core that matches the current standards of today’s high end handsets.
Not everyone looks for a stylish, expensive mobile phone. Sometimes, all one needs in a mobile phone is for it to be easy on the budget, available, charged up and ready to go. Since time immemorial, brawn has consistently won over brains when it came to the ladies, so Samsung has decided to make a mobile phone that is in line with that philosophy.
The rugged Samsung Xcover E2370 is designed to last, both in terms of its hard shell chassis and its outstandingly long battery life.
Since the Korean manufacturer has been known to release smart phones with polished, good looks inside and out, this looks to be a fresh concept for them. In terms of substance, the Xcover E2370 is limited to the basics. What this simply means is that it can take a call and provide you with some way to send a text message. That is it. Do not expect an 8 megapixel camera or outstanding app support.
However, what you can expect is a whopping 67 day standby time, an equally impressive 22 hour talk time, dust resistance as well as splash resistance. Sound manly enough for you? Well it is. You can take this unit out for a mountain trek, rappelling or a nature trip without worrying about its pretty chassis getting damaged when you slide it in and out of your pocket.
Those who have to do some field work can expect the mobile phone to last them a very, very long time. Or at least, give them enough time to transfer from one hotel to the next without running out of batteries.
The best part of all is that the handset is set to cost less than 100 GBP. That means that this sturdy mobile unit is easily affordable even for those with soft wallets.
There have been some new rumors about the Samsung Galaxy series of Android devices and once again, a new device seems to be in the works. This would not be much of news if it were not for the fact that Samsung has already announced three new devices for the Galaxy series. If the Korean manufacturer is going for Android saturation, they are certainly succeeding.
Rumors are talking about a new Samsung Galaxy Q smart phone that will be added to the lineup. As to what this smart phone is, nobody has any clue; the only thing available right now is the name. But judging from the current lineup of devices in Samsung’s lineup, it would be very hard to determine a specific position for the Q, as there are already Galaxy devices for the low, mid and high end ranges. There is even a large tablet like Galaxy smart phone.
Some are hoping that the Q might be the UK release of the recently confirmed Samsung Galaxy S Pro which is currently, an AT&T exclusive. With very few Android smart phones with keyboards are available; it would certainly be great news if the device would be available locally. Some are also hoping that this smart phone is a UK version of one of the Asian-region only Galaxy handsets –like the Samsung Galaxy Saturn.
The large tablet device mentioned above is the Galaxy Tape. This device was first announced as the Galaxy Tab before it got a name change. Standing out because of its 7 inch touch screen display and the fact that it supported phone calls, the device was both a smart phone and a tablet
With the Samsung Galaxy S available now, the Galaxy S Pro confirmed, the large tablet like Galaxy Tape having been shown off at the CommunicAsia event in Singapore, it seems that Samsung is already all set with their Android smart phone lineup.
