The Sony Xperia S, was launched recently in India, and despite the high price and low specs seems to doing just great in the market. The device has an impressive display one of the best till date, with a 1280×720 px resolution crammed into a 4.3 inch display along with the Mobile Bravia Engine .
First impressions of the device make you feel like the phone is more eye-candy and less functional, but that is quickly changed when you power on the device and the crisp display shows up. The phone appears to be very functional and responsive.
At the heart of the device is a Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8260 Dual Core chipset with 1.5GHz of speed, and a Adreno 220 GPU . The Xperia S has an whopping 12 megapixels of camera resolution at the back with full HD 1080p video capability. On the front is a 1.3 MP camera which is however capable of 720p video aswell.
The design is brilliant and the glowing bar in the bottom area looks exceptionally good. The back panel opens up to give access to the micro-sim slot, the battery is a 1750 mAh battery and is not changeable. The phone has a 16GB store with no micro SD expandability.
Check out the Images and size comparisons below and stay tuned for the full video review.
Another one of those duos phones, the Samsung Star 3 Duos is the next version of the Samsung Star Series and is a great add on to their existing lineup. Priced just in the Rs. 5000 price bracket the phone delivers quite a bunch of surprises.
Wifi, Dual sim, Facebook, Twitter, and even Sammy’s own Chat On messenger – the TouchWIz esque UI is a good add on as well. The phone feels great in the users hand is well built for a long lasting experience.
Good speakers and microphone make it a good phone aswell. The network seems capable, although the range of the wireless is weak according to us.
We got over a thousand requests to review the Samsung Galaxy R especially after the price drop. The device originally launched at Rs. 27000, just a little shy of the price of the Galaxy S2, but now the phone is priced at a mere 20,800 , also available at online retailers for a discount of 1000 using a coupon. Making it the best under 20k handset, here is why.
Build Quality and Design
Not the best build quality by Samsung, the Galaxy R lacks precious looks and precious materials. The back panel especially fades away after just light use, the scratch resistant front display is not so scratch resistant after all. We did face some issue with the power button and it turned out to be really fidgety. Apart from the downsides, we did like the look of the handset and it does feature some great elements, including a nice sized, tactile home button along with a nice chrome bezel.
The design is identical to the S2 but is much fatter than the powerful predecessor. The back of the device makes it look a bit ugly, and since it fades easily the look worsens day by day.
Hardware and Multimedia
Now that the price is so different, we see that there is a slight difference b/w the specs of the S2 and the R.
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
The camera on the device is a 5MP snapper and it gives out decent image quality and 720p video, the LED flash is also good enough to illuminate low lit subjects, but don’t expect it to fill a room. Images are as crisp as can be from a 5Mp sensor, the quality when compared to a 5MP snapper from the iPhone 4 is a bit lower. 720p video is smooth and without jitters and we will soon upload a video sample to demonstrate that.
The screen is not anything like the Super AMOLED Plus display on the S2 but the SLCD display is the same size and same pixel resolution, also the same color density and is a exceptionally bright display with great outdoor visibility. The display is try capable of playing good video and the device supports unto 1080p video playback without any issues.
Audio on the device is loud, a bit louder than the S2 we presume, the earpiece did give us some problems as we mentioned in the unboxing, but somehow the volume keeps going up and down in the earpiece and we suspect its a software thing. Mic works great without any problem.
The NVidia Tegra 2 chipset is well supported in the gaming developer community, so expect to find more games work on this device than were supported on the S2 initially. Let us mention that all sort of games play brilliantly.
Call Quality and Messaging
The network is great and no breakages in sustained network, even while traveling. We did however face low signal in key areas like flyovers and tower changes. Audio is good, but like we mentioned the earpiece can get a bit bothersome.
The device also supports video calling over 3G networks which is a great add-on to those who want to use this feature, although we prefer services like Skype and Fring which work great too.
Messaging works great on the nice and large screen, with the ability to switch to Swype which is inbuilt into the system you can enhance the experience of typing. You can also switch to a flurry of available keyboard replacements in the Android Marketplace to best suit your needs of typing.
Battery Life
The battery life on this device is varied out of the box you will struggle to pass a few hours with the device, you will need to charge it at least twice a day if not more. But we found easy fixes, and we have discussed these with Samsung and we believe that a software update should rectify the problem soon. Turn off Wifi, background data sync and Mobile data, when not in use and here are the results
Talk time 2G : 5 hours
Talk Time 3G : 4-4.5 Hours
Standby Time : 2 Days- 3 Days
Internet usage : 8 Hours over Wifi
Video Playback : upto 6 hours constant video
Conclusion
The device is an exceptional device especially after this price drop, it does lack proper construction, but has a set of features that are difficult to match at this price. The only thing that comes close to this device is the LG Optimus 2X with almost the same price and the same chipset. The Galaxy R has a newer built of Android and will definitely get the ICS update. The Galaxy R also has TouchWiz UI which we prefer over the one on LG. We also believe that the device is well supported in the developer community and has a larger user base.
Samsung Galaxy R is a great purchase and a brilliant holiday gift.
Is it Better? Is it Faster? Is it Sexier? Is It Fancier? Is it Chic ? Is it Epic? Is it Hot? Is it New? Is it Me? Is it You?
“No its the new iGyaan and We LOVE IT”!
After months and hours of turmoil and toil, We have finally Done it. Our servers are situated on the Internet Backbone in the Netherlands and we have customized the whole website to integrate all the new features and easy navigation for you convenience.
As with every new system, there are kinks and we will work them in the days to come, for now enjoy the new layout. Leave any feedback below, and be kind enough to report any errors.
We love you guys and without you igyaan could not grow so fast. So continue to bring the love and we will continue to give it back.
Oh and did we tell you that the website is now optimized to work on your, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry , iPod, Android, and mostly all major mobile phone browsers.
And we will soon have Apps for specific Operating systems.
The iGyaan Crew decided to take a break, So, All of us poped up to Nainital and we took along our gear and equipment. This is a blog of whatever equipment I took. This does not include everyones equipment, only my personal and test gear.
LAPTOPS:
Macbook Pro 15 Core i7
Macbook Pro 13 Core i3
HP DV6
Dell Xps 17 (2011)
PHONES
iPhone 4
iPhone 4 (Indian)
Nexus S
Samsung Chat 322
iPhone 3GS
HTC Desire S
HTC Mozart
Samsung Galaxy Pro
Samsung Galaxy Pop(CDMA)
CAMERAS
Panasonic DMC – GF1 + Lenses
Canon 600D + Lenses
Canon HFM 31
Canon XL-H1 3CCD
Other
Unbox knife
Hunting Knife
Portable Speakers
Maglite 5D Flash Light
Maglite Solitaire
Hunter Spotlight
Seagate 500gb Freeagent
Seagate Freeagent GO 1 TB
Seagate Freeagent GO Flex 1TB
Transcend Portable 500Gb
Technics 1200 Headphones
Sony MDR EarPhones
Belkin iPhone Mount for Car
Belkin USB cigarette lighter port
Apple Magic Mouse
Apple Mighty Mouse
Logitech Laser Pro Mouse
A whole bunch of Cables and other little gizmos, Power adapters, power strips, multi plugs etc
We Had a great experience and decided to test out our stuff while on vacation. We will continue to update this post and give our insights on how a tech lover can travel within his comfort zone.
Sony Ericsson has just announced the Yendo for the Indian market, we decided not to bother with the news and straight roll out the full review of the Device.
Lets start with BUILD QUALITY
The Yendo is essentially or completely made out of plastic, the back, front, top and bottom is made out of plastic, it squeaks rattles and bothers us with its cheapness. Throwing it around on the other hand dint affect the phone much and seems like a good option for somebody who drops their phone a lot. So we have mixed views about the build, but styling was poor and it actually just looks like a toy.
Multimedia and Camera
The camera on the device is a decent 2MP fixed focus camera, that may solve emergency needs. But cannot be considered for day to day usage. The picture quality was OK, but lack of focus and poor low light composition was a let down for us.
The audio on the other hand was solid and the sound quality was loud and impressive. The sound was crisp and bass and mid were quite accurate. Video on the other hand played slow and lag after lag during the playback made us nauseous.
Another thing worth mentioning are the included Earphones on the handsfree kit. One word “brilliant” , you possibly can’t find better bundled earphones.
Phone and Messaging
The performance of the device during phone calls was best in class, sound was super-crisp on either end with no network issues what-so-ever. Messaging is also fast and simple, We do miss a full qwerty keyboard as the device only has a standard num-pad style keyboard. Overall impressive.
Conclusion
The device is capable of offering a lot more than it does, and leaves you asking why wasn’t it done? The Ui is slow, unresponsive and has poor color integration. The phones crashes and lags, is poorly designed inside and out. Our recommendation is stay as far away as you can from this phone unless you really-really like how this device looks (i don’t know how you can).
