Since the smartphone market is really flooded with options ranging in all types of OS’s from iOS laden iPhone 4s to Windows Phone supremes, the Galaxy Note , Sensation XL and Android powerhouses alike, and dare we say the Blackberry OS 7 phones. Are you holding back on your smartphone purchase till the Galaxy Nexus Arrives?
The Galaxy Nexus is the first smartphone to officially house Google’s next Android OS dubbed “Ice Cream Sandwich” or Android 4.0. The device will also feature a bump of specs including
US District Court Judge has rejected Apple’s request to block the sales of Galaxy devices. The two companies are engaged in a bruising legal battle that includes more than 20 cases in 10 countries as they jostle for the top spot in the smartphone and tablet markets. Apple sued Samsung in the United States in April, saying the South Korean company’s Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets “slavishly” copies the iPhone and iPad.
It is not clear that an injunction on Samsung’s accused devices would prevent Apple from being irreparably harmed”.
The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is Apple Inc v. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd et al, 11-1846.
The Galaxy Nexus got priced at a whopping US $ 750 which equals way over 35,poo Indian, to be a bit more precise, somewhere in the 37,500 mark. Does this mean a mass slaughter for hopes of all aiming to buy the galaxy Nexus?
The device has been on the Holiday wish-list of many a folk since the day it was announced. A price that high would really diminish expectant sales of the Galaxy Nexus. If Samsung India really wants to capture the market with this Google Phone then trust us Sammy, a price close to 30,000 would win a lot of Indian Hearts. We are no experts when it comes to market analysis (or are we) But Samsung has already flooded the field of opportunity with the S2 and the Note, now the higher price Nexus would just mean poor sales throughout.
Those lucky few who bought the first lot of Galaxy Nexus/s are complaining of issues left right and center. First there was an issue of unfinished units being shipped to customers , which was readily fixed and the units replaced. Now people are complaining of erratic volume control issues. Every time a user receives an email or any sort of iteration from a 900MHz frequency the volume control goes haywire.Check the video for a proper demo.
Samsung Execs during launch had said that they expect to move at least a 100,000 units of the mammoth device by New Year 2012. The company seems disappointed with current sales and is expanding its publicity expenses to move out targets.
The sales have been slow, much lower than we expected at launch. We are pushing out more and more ad campaigns. The sales on the Note will directly affect our efforts on future flagship devices” Said a top level exec, handling the Samsung Mobile Division
The company currently stands at number one in India, as the most loved smartphone brand. The impact of companies like HTC and Motorola have been immense on Samsung. Now with the iPhone 4S arriving sooner the folks at Sammy seem a bit worried.
Samsung plans to depose a couple of Apple employees including Jonathan Ive, Shin Nishibori, Christopher Stringer and Douglas Satzger to name a few. This is part of the ongoing legal battle between Apple and Samsung. Sammy was looking for a sit down for deposition before November 1st, although each one was unavailable for various reasons.
The Galaxy Note has been launched in India for a price of 34,990/- at market price and will go on sale starting today. The first 100,000 buyers will get a complementary leather pouch with their device. The device features the worlds first 1.4 GHz Dual core processor and also the worlds first 5.3″ display on a Smartphone. The device features a Smart Pen which lets you bring back the memories of olden days with a modern twist, the Pen can be used to live annotate and edit files, draw, sketch etc all on the Galaxy Note. The company is pitching it as a replacement for a Tablet and a Phone and unifying the market. The price seems a bit high and expect it to fall under 30K pretty soon. Check out the specs below and wait for our exclusive hands on video.
To sum it up we have a 5.3 inch display, a 1.4 GHz dual core processor, 16GB storage, 32GB expandable a 8 megapixel camera at back and a 2MP in the front. We also get an impressive stylus and a beautiful screen and a 2500 mah battery pack .
We got our hands on the large size Samsung Galaxy Note GT-N7000 pre-launch in India. The event is about to begin and our initial impressions are mixed, the device is ver very big. The device is quite a middle point between a Tablet and a Smartphone and is pretty comfortable for its size. The display even though is 5.3 inches is very crisp with a Super Amoled screen. The device remains very slim and fares almost close to the iPhone 4S at just 9.65mm. The Note is possibly the first smartphone you will enjoy using a stylus on, the precision of the point is great. The Stylus is also a great sketch and edit instrument and you will actually use it a lot if you get this device.
The stylus does not work with other screens and not at all with the iPhone (trust us we tested). The device fits into the pockets of your denim in a very uncomfortable fashion, but would do well for a coat/blazer pocket (for those corporate types). Check out our hands on images below and stay tuned for the full hands on Video by the end of the day. The camera is a pretty good snapper and we have attached a bunch of samples we got from it including an indoor 1080p video which should go up by the end of the day.
To sum it up we have a 5.3 inch display, a 1.4 GHz dual core processor, 16GB storage, 32GB expandable a 8 megapixel camera at back and a 2MP in the front. We also get an impressive stylus and a beautiful screen a 2500 mah battery pack . So far so good right.
Update : The price is now confirmed at an MRP of INR 34,990/-
Samsung and Apple wars rage on as this time around the South Korean Giant is looking to get revenge in Aussie-Land. Samsung has requested the source code for iOS 5 firmware including Siri, and has also asked for details on Apple’s subsidy agreements with Australian carriers Vodafone, Optus and Telstra. This is a part of the ongoing Apple Vs Samsung Lawsuit that caused a denial of sales of the Galaxy Tab in Australia. Apple believes Samsung has no need to access the information, but the lawyers from Samsung argued that there are fewer subsidies available for Samsung’s products if subsidies are given for the iPhone 4S, and hence the information was critically important. The South Korean also said that the source code is important to ensure that Apple ins not infringing on patents.
“Based on the accompanying firmware, [an expert] can tell how the chips are working in the phones, To form a final view on whether patent 621 is infringed, [an expert] needs to see the documents that set out the source code for that firmware.”
-Samsung counsel Cynthia Cochrane
Apple had sued Samsung earlier this year in several parts of the world claiming that Samsung had produces copycat devices that infringed a multiple of Apple device design and software patents. Due to which Apple was successful in lowering and banning sales of various Samsung devices in countries like Netharlands, Germany and Australia.
Times have changed over the years, but never did we see the smartphones reach the consumer market with such a blow that feature phones would almost disappear.
The new Samsung Galaxy Y offers a complete package for a fairly low budget, But is it actually a full smartphone ?
Lets find out in this iGyaan review :
Build Quality and Hardware
The Galaxy Y is well built to an extent where you wont be disappointed by any thing in terms of the exterior of the device. The screen is not tough so a screen protector is essential for the device. Every-thing else is built to last and will not need any extra care, solid built, tactile buttons and no rattle or noise from the body of the device.
In terms of the Hardware Specs:
Price
Rs. 7,830 (MRP)
Network
Edge + HSDPA upto 7.2 Mbps
Phone Style
Touchscreen Capacitive
OS
Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread
Thickness
11.5mm
Length
104mm
Width
58 mm
Weight
97.5 g
Built-in Memory
160 MB Rom Ram Unknown
Additional Memory
microSD, up to 32GB
High-speed Data
3G
Connectivity
Bluetooth, Wifi ,
Screen Size
3-inch, 240×320 pixels
Secondary Screen Size
N/A
Screen Colours
256k
Camera
2-megapixel ff
Camera Resolution
1600×1200 pixels
Flash
NO
GPS
Yes
Wifi
802.11 b/g/n
Music Formats
MP3
Radio
Yes
Speaker
Yes
Processor
832 Mhz Processor
Browser
Android Browser, Full Flash Enabled
Games
Android MarketPlace Games
Battery
1200mAh
Screen and Multimedia
The screen on the device is a 3 inch 320×240 px capacitive display, its a relatively low res display, but its leaps and bounds better than the one found on the Pop and Fit. Why ? You ask. There is a massive difference in the pixellation levels of the Galaxy Y and the POP, on the Pop you aslo only get Android 2.2, this device comes preloaded with 2.3.5 and a display that does not bother you at all with reading webpages etc.
The screen is decent for movie playback and the speakerphone is loud enough to get the message across. This device will feature as a portable media player for many a youth, but don’t expect it to replace a TV or even an iPod. Audio quality is good but is only limited with the hardware chip used. The maximum throughput of sound is limited hence will not deliver performance compared to even the Wildfire S. The Audio is not really an issue because an everyday user will not notice it, as the device produces a loud sound with or without the earphones, whcih is mostly enough for a consumer.
Phone, Network and Messaging
The device is an excellent phone, with robust network connectivity and a solid signal strength. We noticed no dropped calls in the extensive network tests conducted. Audio (incoming and outgoing) on both channels was crisp and loud, with no feedback issues. The “Y” gets a great rating because it does a good job of what its basic purpose is: to make and receive calls.
Messaging on the device is also easy and is demonstrated in our video review. Typing is simple thanks to an error correction algorithm by Samsung, which utilizes a most common error path and auto corrects the text errors. Pretty fancy for a sub 7k phone. You also get SWYPE inbuilt on the keyboard making it very useful indeed.
Data, Internet and Battery
By now we have learnt that Android devices are no too data friendly. Turning data on and off when required will boost your battery life enormously. That being said this device also features 3G data connectivity and HSDPA upto 7.25 Mbps. The connections are stable and not too power consuming, the Wifi Hotspot feature works great and does not suck the life forces from your device, like it used to on previous devices.
Internet connectivity is stable on both Wifi and 3G and the browser loads all sorts of Flash content, with a bit of hiccups. Browser is easily readable and on a screen this size you cant expect much more. The basics can be accessed from this browser, but its not a replacement for your computer.
Battery Life
Companies talk about battery life in their own mood, we do some extensive real life tests to get out the best from the device.
Talk Time 2G : 6 Hours
Talk Time 3G : 4.5 Hours
Standby Time : 36-72 Hours
WiFi Surfing : 4-5 Hours
3G Surfing : 3.5 Hours
Music : 7 Hours
Video : 2 Hours
Conclusion:
The Galaxy Y is now available for a price of 6800 INR on most online portals, possibly at a cheaper price at local vendors. At that price to get a 800+ MHz processor with native Android 2.3.5 capacitive touchscreen Wifi , 3G and Hotspot, we have no complaints from this device. Why should we? This is a complete device and offers anything you would need as a first time Android user on a budget, and also basics for somebody looking for a secondary device. It looks great, is manufactured by a trusted brand and has great service and support for a budget.
Samsung has confirmed the list of devices that will be getting Android 4.0 AKA Ice Cream Sandwich. This also clarifies if you didn’t pay good amounts of money for you device Samsung does not care about you. Also it seems that only newer devices are being considered for the update.
Here is the confirmed spec list:
Galaxy S2
Galaxy Notes
Galaxy Tab 10.1
Galaxy Tab 8.9
Galaxy Tab 7.7
Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus
Samsung is still evaluating less recent devices for potential upgrades.
Missing devices and low mid-range and the “old” Galaxy S i9000. Samsung has yet to assess the time to port the new version on the high-end device and then verify that everything is replicable also on line cheapest device (however, only WVGA). Thus were not yet evaluated the choices for the Galaxy W and the like.
Samsung is going to launch the highly anticipated Galaxy Note on November 2nd with a live webcast. The galaxy note is the company’s first(possibly the worlds first) 5.29-inch phone which is powered by a 1.4GHz dual-core processor and runs Android 2.3.
The smartphone has an 8 megapixel rear camera and 2 megapixel front camera. It has an internal memory of 16 GB, which is expandable up to 32 GB using a microSD card. With no pricing in the prospect we expect this device to be launched above the 35,000 price bracket, making a new segment of mobile smartphone in the Indian market.
For those who want to watch the webcast can do so here:
The Samsung Galaxy R is the company’s attempt at making their success story with the Samsung Galaxy Slcd move over to the higher segment. Read on through to understand why we don’t recommend this device.
Build and Hardware
The i9103 is build in traditional samsung fashion, making “plastics feel like metals” look, which makes the device look great and feel great in the hand. But what makes it better is the fact that its styled almost along the lines of the Galaxy S2, which is Samsung’s Flagship. The overall use of materials and build quality is good if not better than the S2.
In terms of Hardware Specs the Galaxy R fails to stand up to serious competition that the S2 gives.
COMPARISON
Samsung Galaxy R I9103
Samsung Galaxy S 2 I9100
Platform
Operating Freq
GSM – 900, 1800
GSM – 850, 900, 1800, 1900; UMTS – 2100
OS
Android v2.3 (Gingerbread)
Android v2.3 (Gingerbread)
User Interface
TouchWiz
TouchWiz 4.0
Java
Processor
1 GHz ARM Cortex A9, Dual Core
1.2 GHz ARM Cortex A9, Dual Core
Graphics
ULP GeForce
Mali-400 MP
Display
Type
Super Clear LCD
Super AMOLED Plus
Size
4.2 Inches
4.27 Inches
Resolution
WVGA, 480 x 800 Pixels
800 x 480 Pixels
Colors
16 M
16 M
Camera
Primary Camera
5 Megapixel
8 Megapixel
Secondary Camera
VGA
2 Megapixel
Flash
LED
LED
Video Recording
1280 x 720
1920 x 1080, 30 fps
HD Recording
HD
HD, Full HD
Other Camera Features
Geo-tagging, Smile Detection, Auto Focus, Image Editor
Auto Focus, Shot Mode, Photo Effects, White Balance, Geo-tagging, Face and Smile Detection
Zoom
Digital Zoom
Dimensions
Size
66 x 125 x 9.5 mm
66.1 x 125.3 x 8.4 mm
Weight
135 g
116 g
Battery
Type
Li-lon, 1650 mAh
1650 mAh
Talktime
18 hrs (2G), 8 hrs (3G)
Standby Time
710 hrs (2G), 610 hrs (3G)
Memory and Storage
Internal
8 GB
16 GB
Expandable Memory Slot
Micro SD, upto 32 GB
Micro SD, upto 32 GB
Display, Camera and Multimedia
The device is after all a good spec’d phone, so expect great performance in terms of the display and sound quality. The display is not as vivid as the one on the S2 simply because of the lack of an AMOLED screen. The speakerphone we found was a bit more organized with its audio quality.
The device features a 4.2 Inch SLCD which appears to be washed out in front of the high intensity black of the S2’s Amoled display. Although both rank in at the same resolution the S2 has a slightly larger 4.27 inch screen. Watching videos and browsing websites is great in the combination of the internal hardware and external display. The device fares well agains competition like the Optimus 2X , but then again if you can spend a couple thousand and get the S2 why wouldn’t you?
Phone and Battery
So here is the segment where there is an actual improvement. The earpiece is exceptionally clear, and sounds great when on a phone call, the mic pics up your audio without the effect of any breakage and overall network connectivity is robust.
The device also has a greatly improved battery life over the S2, with a decent talk time of 5-7 hours depending on usage , we were pretty impressed to see that the device delivered upto 24 hours of music playback.
OS and UI
The device runs Android 2.3.5 and atop that is the TouchWiz UI from Samsung, now the interface is the same on the galaxy S2, but somehow it looked really dull on this device, possibly because of color usage and definitely because of the SLCD. the UI also adds a large variety of good widgets which make the daily usage of the phone a wonderful experience.
Conclusion
The device is a great alternative to the Samsung Galaxy S2, but not at this price range(Available for Rs. 27,000). It offers far less features to justify just a 1.5-2k price gap between the R and the S2. Our recommendation is DON’T BUY THE GALAXY R, instead get the S2 or some similar device from another manufacturer.
