Posts tagged Samsung
Pentagon Approved; Samsung Galaxy S4!
May 6th
It is official; the US Department of Defense (DoD) has given its approval for the latest Samsung Galaxy S4, making it the company’s very first device to acquire US governmental certification. This ratification also covers Samsung’s Knox security system which facilitates the device to be used as part of a new policy for US government staff, as reported by Korea’s Yonhap News.
This approval is in consonance with a DoD declaration dated from February that will commence its communications networks to Smartphone and tablets from both Apple and Google by February 2014.
Samsung’s endorsement comes merely a day after BlackBerry announced that DoD had approved its latest line of BlackBerry 10 devices as well as its existing line of PlayBook tablets for use. This news served as a thrust for the struggling Canadian device manufacturer, however, it will have to cope with sharing its position in the government with Samsung and Apple; a DoD spokesperson stated the latter’s iPhone and iPad devices ought to receive approval this month.
It was reported earlier that the White House is keen to switch from its armada of BlackBerry Smartphones for a more pliable alternative that allows its employees to choose from Samsung’s Galaxy range, or Apple’s iPhone and iPad products. The fact that Samsung is now certified for use with the Department of Defence is a clear demonstration that the growth of the Korean company and the BYOD (bring your own device) trend has alerted the BlackBerry-Only mentality in the US government.
Samsung is increasing its focus on business and enterprise users – having launched a new global marketing campaign just this week, and it would undoubtedly serve as a major symbolic win if the company were able to make a blister in BlackBerry’s position with the US.
The much anticipated Galaxy S4 was unveiled at a media event in New York back in March. The device was available to customers in 60 countries late last month.
The device is a sequel to the Galaxy S3, which surpassed 40 million channel sales in January of this year. The milestone was in the nick of time; putting Samsung’s Galaxy S series past 100 million channel sales. Yet, this time around, the company is having even bigger hope from the flagship phone, and with the break into the US government, it seems it is on the right track.
Is it a Win-win situation?
Apr 8th
It’s official; Samsung has officially unveiled the Galaxy Win today, their latest Android handset featuring a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor and 4.7-inch display.
At first glance one might think it’s simply a copy of the Samsung Galaxy SIII, and you’re not entirely mistaken; the win is just more of a mid-range device, sporting a WVGA touchscreen, 5 megapixel rear camera and a Li-ion 2,000 mAH battery.
The release was finally confirmed by Samsung China due to the multiple leaks that have preceded the official confirmation.
The handset is integrated with 8GB of internal memory, however, this will diverge depending on the market. The device also comes with 1GB of RAM and a microSD slot that supports cards up to 32 GB.
Consumers will be able to enjoy dual-SIM support with the new Samsung Galaxy Win, as well as the ability to shoot video at a commodious 720p (15 frames per second). The playback content will be available at the same resolution; however it will be elevated up to 30 frames per second.
There is an additional VGA camera on the front, but Samsung has not declared the resolution for this one just yet.
The new handset runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, but has Samsung’s TouchWiz skin stapled over the top with the accustomed banquet of OEM-specific apps and features such as “Easy Mode”, “Smart Alert” and “Motion UX”.
It will be available in two colors; Ceramic White and Titan Grey. Samsung is elucidating this as “an intuitive new smartphone designed to balance the needs of the on-the-go user with massive processing power.” While we do agree that the quad-core processor is indeed quite ample, but the specs fall behind the recently unveiled Samsung Galaxy S4.
When it comes to the price, Samsung has not yet unveiled it but as soon as it does we’ll let you know.
Nexus 4; All the latest and comparisons with the iPhone 5 & Galaxy S3
Oct 31st
With Monday came Google’s official announcement of the LG Nexus 4, yet it did not yield the expected approval from the customers due to the astounding absence of LTE support. Last year’s Nexus model had an LTE variant, making the 3G-only Nexus 4 appear even more so as a relapse.
Google also announce the Nexus 10 tablet, a 3G version of the Nexus 7 and Android 4.2 ; all of which were set to be unveiled at an event in New York but got cancelled due to the unfortunate Hurricane Sandy.
The Google Nexus 4, manufactured by LG, is most certainly an exceptional Android Smartphone, yet the inevitable question on everyone’s mind remains: how does it compare to the major rivals such as the iPhone 5 and Galaxy SIII ? Well, we’ll help you out and compare the specs below.
Display & Dimensions
Despite the general consensus that comes with the name, the Nexus 4 has a 4.7 inch touch-screen, running at a resolution of 1280*720 pixels. This gives the new smartphone a 320 pixels-per-inch (ppi), which comes in very favorably when compared to the iPhone 5’s 4inch 326 ppi Retina display, and definitely beats the Galaxy SIII’s 4.8 inch 306 ppi display.
Now let’s move to the dimensions; 134mm * 69mm * 9mm and weighs in at 139g, making it larger and heavier than the iPhone 5. This, however, does not come as a surprise thanks to the larger screen-size and the higher capacity 2100 mAH battery. A more object comparison would be with the Galaxy SIII since it is just slightly thicker and heavier.
Power & Features
Google is keen to roll each and every one of its devices with impeccable amount of power, and the new Nexus 4 is no exception. The smartphone boasts a quad-core 1.5 Ghz Snapdragon, S4 processor and 2GB of RAM, easily giving it the upper hand over both the iPhone ( dual-core A6 processor & 1GB of RAM) and the Galaxy SIII ( 1.4 Ghz quad-core processor & 1GB of RAM).
When it comes to Kodak moments, the three smartphones rank pretty much equally; the Nexus 4 has an 8 mega-pixel rear facing camera & a 1.3 mp front-facing clicker for those video calls. The iPhone, similarly, has an 8 mp and 1.2 mp, the Galaxy SIII has an 8 mp and 1.9 mp.
The one major advantage the Nexus 4 can boast over its two major rivals is its unprecedented wireless charging, which is not supported on both the iPhone 5 and Galaxy SIII. The wireless charging mat comes included in the retail box, hence saving you the burden of buying an extra accessory that would’ve been exploited had it been Apple’s.
Operating System
The very latest version of the Android Jelly Bean OS, the Android 4.2, is the one implemented in the Nexus 4. The new OS comes with a lot of new enhancements such as the Photo Sphere, an improved version of Google Now and Gesture Typing.
Apple’s latest flagship runs on their latest OS; the iOS 6, while the Galaxy SIII is a step behind the Nexus 4 since it runs on the “oh so last month’s Jelly Bean” 4.1. Not to sound so harsh, the GSIII will be updated surly in the near future, yet the fact that the Nexus 4 comes preinstalled with the latest version still gives it the upper hand.
Lack of 4G & microSD support
We’ve always been taught that all that shines is not gold, and this is true for the Nexus 4 for it does not impress in every category; astoundingly it lacks support for 4G LTE, as well as the lack of support for microSD cards, obliging you to be content with either 8 or 16 GB of existing memory. Of course, this might not satisfy many hungry GB consuming users, but they’ll have to make do with the cloud-based storage. Both the iPhone 5 and Galaxy SIII come in at 16, 32 and 64 models, with Samsung’s support for microSD cards.
Conclusion
To sum it all up for the non tech savvy; the Google Nexus 4 is a compelling smartphone, offers an equivalent display, competitive battery and almost duplicate cameras as its major rivals. It runs on the latest Android OS with the only setback being the lack of support for the 4G and microSD cards. However, this setback is trivial when you take into consideration the pricing; the Nexus 4 is almost half the price of the iPhone 5 and over $160 cheaper than the precious Galaxy SIII. Those who are content with just 8GB of memory can even boast an even greater deal and pay a mere $386.8 for such a great power-packed Droid.
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Have you “Spotted The Android” yet?
Sep 26th
“Spot the Android” Competition is still going and going strong! With lots of Facebook and Twitter enthusiasts sending us their unique pictures, we’ve decided to share some of our favorites as a source of inspiration for others! Don’t miss this chance of winning a brand new Samsung Galaxy G S3 plus an unlimited G Cloud Android account so that you won’t even have to worry about losing or misplacing your new Smart phone; yes that is putting the “Smart” in Smartphones!
Here is the link for more information about the contest but make sure to enter before the 8th of October.
Here is a collage of our favorite pictures so far, be sure to be part of the hip crowd and join the competition!
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The next big thing; is it the iPhone 5 or the Samsung Galaxy S3?
Sep 19th
We don’t know how they do it, but yes, yet again Apple’s new flagship iPhone is on the roll and breaking one record after the other. Apple is certainly not being modest about it; clearly stating that this is the best Smartphone to have been launched on planet Earth (a bit exaggerated? We think so too), yet their fan base still seem to flock by the thousands all over the United States. Just when we thought camping outside the Apple showrooms was so-last year, fans proved us wrong for they are and will be camping for the next four days up until the Cupertino-based technology company actually puts the magnificent device at its showrooms.
Apple is not to be blamed for having such a big ego; the iPhone 5 has just won over the title of the fastest selling Smartphone in the history of Smartphones by their legendary record of selling 2 million iPhone 5 pre-ordered handsets in a mere 24 hour interval. This number is sure to please Apple’s executives, and it is speculated that within the first week after the launch, numbers will boast even higher, as high as 10 million handsets.
Never the less, do not be a fool thinking Apple is going unchallenged in this competitive market. The 4.8 inch Samsung Galaxy S III is still getting a lot of love from avid Android fans and making it fly off the shelves faster than a hot pancake, and it has not suffered any setbacks since the launch of the iPhone 5. Statistics show that Samsung has sold what amounts to 25 million units of the Galaxy S3 since its launch over 3 months ago.
If you would like the latter for free, then be sure to enter our “Spot the Android” competition for a chance to win a brand new Samsung S3 + an unlimited lifetime G Cloud account. (Set previous blog post for details).
Here is a comprehensive comparison to make your choice a bit easier:
“Spot the Android” Competition!
Sep 17th
In need of a new smartphone yet don’t have enough money left from your summer vacation? Well, then enter our competition “Spot The Android” for a chance to win a brand new Samsung Galaxy S3 plus an unlimited lifetime G Cloud Backup account.
Interested? This is how to win:
1- Take a photo of the Android logo taken by you wherever you spot it (but make it original).
2- Social?
Facebook users; make sure to like Genie9’s fanpage then click on the competition tab and submit the photo of your choice with the Android logo of course.
Twitter users; make sure to follow us @GCloudAndroid , mention us and include the hashtag “#SpotTheAndroid” in the tweet.
3- Install G Cloud Android on your device for Free to double your chances of winning.
** One random winner will be selected by the end of the competition.
*** Ending date is the 8th of October 2012.
For more details read our Rules & Regulations
Meet the new Phablet; The Galaxy Note II
Aug 30th
It’s that time of year again; yes the pre-iPhone madness announcement season has kick started and it is off with a bang. On Wednesday, at the IFA 2012, Samsung unveiled a set of intriguing new products, among which was an Android-based camera and a Windows RT tablet yet the Galaxy Note II hybrid Smartphone takes the cake.
Last year, when the first Galaxy Note arrived, it was welcomed with a lot of praise and appeal, with global sales that rank up to 1 million in only two month, 5 million in 5 months and have surpassed ever since a whooping 10 million. For those of you who thought that the Galaxy Note could not get any bigger, well you were wrong. The second gen phone/mini tablet, whose specs were leaked a few hours early, has jumped from a 5.3 inch screen to a 5.5 inches.
Moving on to what concerns us most; the specs: The new Galaxy Note II is powered by a 1.5 GHz quad-core Exynos processor and runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Either HSPA Plus or LTE connectivity will be supported. Buyers will be able to choose between, 16GB, 32GB and 64GB of storage, with an 8 megapixel rear camera and a 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera.
Samsung is proudly boasting that the Note II’s HD Super AMOLED screen, stating quite boldly that it offers a “perfect viewing experience”. While we still don’t know how valid this actually is, but once we see it we’ll believe it. The S Pen also received a redesign from the company for it is longer and thicker now.
Though Samsung has not set a fixed release date for the device yet, it has confirmed that it will launch in Europe, Asia and the Middle East in October and will arrive in the US by the end of this year.
We could not help but compare between the Galaxy S III and the second generation Galaxy note. In fact, Samsung itself did not shy away from making the comparison. Director of product marketing for Samsung
Mobile US, Ryan Bidan, told the publican in an interview:
The best way to think about the Galaxy Note II is that we took kind of that experience that we created with the Galaxy S III, both in terms of design and software experience, and brought that to the Note platform. So, you’ve kind of got the refinement and evolution of what we did with the original Galaxy Note, along with all of those great sharing features and the power of the Galaxy S III device. So thinking about it along the lines as the Galaxy S III I think is absolutely fair because it does feel and act a lot like that, but now you’ve got the further advantage of having the S Pen and the Note characteristics with that.
However, Bidan was careful to note that the Galaxy S and Note families of devices remain separate:
[Samsung] started it with the original Note, kind of creating that unique category where we took a very powerful smartphone and integrated a lot of great tablet functionality. And if you look at kind of what we did with the S Pen with the Galaxy Note 10.1, kind of extending that paradigm a little bit further to content creation and a bunch of the unique tablet functionality, and now continuing to extend that category even further with the Galaxy Note II, so absolutely look at it as being a very different device than our Galaxy S III.
While we’re curious to find out how far this screen creep will catch on, but as far as we’re concerned, if you’re already at massive, what’s another 0.2 inches. It seems these “phablets” will keep on growing.
While Tech Crunch compared the device to a Chevy Corvette; “not for everyone” and the Galaxy S II to a more practical Chevy Camaro, Engadget’s first impressions were pleased with the new simpler and more cohesive features that are less business and more pleasure. What are your thoughts? Are you sold on the new Note? Let us know.
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The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is officially launched!
Aug 6th
Samsung, the tech behemoth, has finally put its final touches on the long-awaited flagship Galaxy Note 10.1 Android tablet and announced its official global availability. According to their press release, it’s scheduled to start immediately in the United States, United Kingdom, Korea and Germany. Other markets are set to have availability “starting August”. The inaugural release includes only the Wi-Fi only and the 3G/HSPA + enabled variants. With the LTE flavor coming late this year.
While the press release was a bit obscure on what they meant with the “starting August” part; are they referring to the four aforesaid countries or the following global availability? We’re tending towards the latter though.
New updates to the Note 10.1 include a stylus slot for its S Pen (we’re not sure why they haven’t included that in the first place) a bump to 2GB of RAM to match that of the Galaxy S III as well as a 1.4 GHz quad-core Exynos processor. The Note 10.1 will come in, just like the Galaxy S III, with 16, 32 or 64 GB. The Note’s 1280×800 screen resolution will by no means break any records, considering both ASUS and Acer have already come out with than than 1080p tablets of their own earlier this year.
The Note 10.1 (8.9mm) is marginally thicker than the original Tab 10.1 (8.6mm) due to the needed S Pen storage slot.
We find it a bit peculiar though, that Samsung was reserved on pricing of the Galaxy Note 10.1 variants. We are guessing though, that the US pricing structure will be announced at least by the end of the August 15th press conference set to be in New York City.
For a full specs chart, check out the table below.
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Specs
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Processor
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1.4 GHz quad-core processor
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OS
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Android 4.0 (ICS)
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RAM size
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2 GB
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Rear Camera
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5 MB
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Front Camera
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2 MB
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Battery
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Li-ion 7,000mAh
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Thickness
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0.35 inches
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Weight
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1.29 pounds
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Display
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10.1 inches
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Resolution
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1280×800
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Touchscreen type
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Dual-digitizer
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Multitouch
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Sensors
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Ambient Light, Gyroscope, Compass / Magnetometer, Accelerometer
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Internal storage size
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16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB
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External storage
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The 5 Best Android Tablets You Can Buy Today
Jun 26th
Thinking of buying a new tablet anytime soon? Well, this list ought to make that shopping anxiety fret away.
1. Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700
Ever since the beautiful Transformer Prime launched last year, Asus have been attempting to catch on with the iPad. Well, with their new Transformer infinity they might be catching on. The tablet runs on Android 4.9 Ice Cream Sandwich OS and boasts a whopping 64 GB of internal storage ( if that’s too much for you,it also comes in 32 GB). Its width is 263 mm, depth 8.5 mm, height 180.8 mm and weighs 586g. Its display type is 10.1 in LCD TFT active matrix and the resolution is 1920 × 1200. The processor is Krait and the clock speed comes at 1.5 GHz. Moving on to the camera, the front camera’s pixel effectiveness is 2 megapixels and the rear camera ranks in at 8 with a Single LED Flash as well as an Autofocus. As for the most important part; the battery life, it is not removable, the estimated capacity is 25 Wh and the quoted use time comes in at 10 hrs.
The Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 Android tablet will be launched in U.S. retail store shelves approximately on July 16th.
2. Toshiba Excite 7.7
Toshiba, the well renowned PC manufacturer, ironically does not seem to have a clear grasp on the tablet market. First, with their huge and bulky “Thrive” that came looking more of a laptop. Then, with their “Excite 10 LE”, which was the absolute opposite wanting everything to be super thin.
Taking a more mainstream take now with their newest editions; the Excite 7.7 and Excite 10. The new versions are NVIDA Tegra 3 powered with Android 4.9 Ice Cream Sandwich OS.
Moving on to the hardware; it is 0.3 inches thick, 381 grams with Stereo speakers. You have the option to choose between a 16 GB internal memory or a 32 GB with a microSD external storage support. The rear camera is 5 megapixels and the front is 2. You can choose between the Excite 7.7, Excite 10 and Excite 13.
3. Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1
Samsung, the tech giant, are changing up their approach towards the tablets realm. It seems they would rather settle for a mediocre position in the race between the iPad and the Transformer Prime. Here is a quick overview of their latest Galaxy Tab 2 10.1. Similarly to the 7.0, it has solid but unspectacular specs (a 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 1280 x 800 TFT display, 16GB or 32GB of internal storage, dual cameras), plus Android 4.0, all for a very reasonable $399.99. Of course, even at that price there’s competition from the still-on-sale iPad 2, the Transformer Pad TF300, and plenty others. Does the 10-inch Galaxy Tab 2 find the same balance its 7-inch predecessor did, or is your $400 better spent elsewhere?
4. Sony Tablet S
The Tablet S shows that the consumer electronics giant has not lost its design mojo over the years, as this model brings Sony’s authenticity and flair to the tablet market. What makes the Tablet S unique you ask? Well, for starters, the tablet’s tapered design. Sony says the design was influenced by the curve of a folded-around magazine. The Tablet S has 1GB of RAM onboard and 16GB or 32GB of storage hardwired.
The display itself is fairly standard; 1280 x 800, and there are two cameras on the device: a 3-megapixel shooter on the front, and a 5-megapixel model on the backside. The device boasts a 9.4-inch screen and weighs in at 603 grams. As for its battery life, it can hold up to an estimated 6.2 hrs.
5. Acer Iconia Tab A510
Looking a lot like its predecessor, the Acer Iconia Tab A500, a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 system is always a pleasure. The A510 has a wealth of connectivity: a 3.5 mm headphone jack, a micro-USB port just under the screen, a micro-HDMI port and a cover-protected microSD card slot (for up to 32 GB of additional storage). It also features a 5-Megapixel photo/video sensor on the back and a 2-Megapixel sensor on the front. The capacitive touchscreen uses PVA technology and has 1280 x 800 resolution. The A510 has a colossal battery under the hood which will give a reported 15 hours of life letting you surf, watch movies and game for that bit longer. It doesn’t weigh very much at 680 grams, but it is slightly heavier than competing tablets. Its width is 10.2 in, depth 0.43 in, height 6.9 inches.
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Tizen; Will it beat Android and iOS?
May 16th
If you think the overly debated battle between iOS and Android has been taking too much heat, well it might just fuel up even more with a new contender; Tizen!
The fresh mobile operating system, Tizen, is being co-developed by Intel and Samsung. The impressive twist that Tizen brings to the market is the fact that it not only supports programs which were coded using Samsung’s Bada SDK, yet it also supports apps that were initially meant for the Android environment (at least that’s what the Handheld Blog claims).
Heretofore, the Tizen has not impressed with their swirling three dimensional user interface elements that merely resembled a monotonous early version of Android. Yet, the Tizen Developer Conference captivated many when they showcased a rumored Galaxy S II HD LTE running the HTML5-based apps as smoothly as if they were written in native code.
A program called “Application Compatibility Layer” (ACL) will also be supported by Tizen; a program not too different from Research in Motion’s Android player for the BlackBerry PlayBook. In case you were wondering which company is behind ACL, well it is no other than Open Mobile, and might we that they are quite proud to claim that Android apps have the ability to run on a Tizen-powered device without any compatibility problems causing you agony, although it is worth noting that this claim remains to be tested.
Another differentiation, that if proven valid, will give Tizen quite the upper hand, is that with this OS developers will be allowed to code in HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript rather than Objective-C and Java ( which, despite the misleading name, is much different from JavaScript)
Samsung ( and the other companies behind Tizen) are targeting developers with shorter development cycles and inferior costs by avoiding the eccentricity of native code. Mozilla has already attempted such a plunge with its very own Boot to Gecko , yet the financial power backing that Tizen has might actually make it a concrete competitor going forth into 2013.
The Tizen also claims to boast a similar level of responsiveness whether you using it on the device itself or on a native Android smartphone or tablet.
If this in fact turns out to be true, it’s quite safe to say that the Tizen device will actually have a bright future ahead granted that more and more hardware manufacturers decide to take up its cause.
Looking for a simple, elegant backup solution?
Genie Timeline 2012 is a new version of the number one continuous data protection program Timeline 2.1. It offers the first metro style user interface; enhanced performance, and added features. Like us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter for the latest news.
>Follow @Genie9backup