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Mobile

The Samsung Galaxy SII – Snapping and Capturing

The Samsung Galaxy SII’s 8 megapixel camera has often been described as the best on a smartphone. With an LED flash and autofocus it is user friendly and compares well with others available on the market. Along with its large screen for multimedia purposes, the fabulous 8 megapixel camera has been one of the main reasons for the popularity of Galaxy SII deals. So is it as good as people claim?

An improvement from the 5 megapixel cameras found on the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S and HTC Desire, the quality of pictures is notably clearer and sharper. It is the add-ons and features that means this camera phone takes on the compact market. The shutter speed is quicker, meaning users can take pictures in fast succession. The autofocus takes a little longer and unlike the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc the autofocus feature cannot be turned off.

Users can personalise what is most important to them when taking pictures. So a column on the left hand side of the screen allows you to add shortcuts for those function you use most regularly. These can be individually set for the camera or for video.

Other features include ISO, an option to change exposure settings, a timer, an anti-shake device (vital as the phone is so lightweight although it does mean the camera takes a little longer to take a picture) light metering options and 13 scene modes. Four different filters help enhance picture taking options, whether indoor or outdoor. The Outdoor Visbility setting, for example, is a preset that increases the contrast to tackle direct sunlight making it more flexible. More macro modes have preset options for changing the exposure and metering to correct colours and brightness. Like other digital cameras blink detection holds off the shutter for a fraction of a second and the smile shot again ensures you get perfect family shots. The wide angle lens does cause some barrel distortion meaning some objects can lean into shot.

The video is 1080p with Full HD and 30 fps. It captures excellent colour and records audio well. Recording and playback is affected by whether it is daytime or nighttime with best results in indoor daylight although a video light does improve settings for darker shoots. Resolution can be reduced down to 176 x 144 and exposure and white balance can all be altered.

The speed of the phone, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor means it is one of the most powerful on the market, and also means there is little disruption or catch up when taking a picture or video or changing options. Both in stills and video this makes it an impressive camera phone. Images can be edited in a Photo Editor app available from Samsung. This allows for small editing, cropping and stylizing. As on other Android phones there is also Snapbucket which allows for uber-stylized edits and playing with images.

The impressive 4.3” screen and Super AMOLED Plus display makes this a great smartphone for playback. Some critics have voiced concerns that the pictures look better on the phone’s display rather than when uploaded onto laptops. The ability to share pictures quickly and easily via the Social Hub means it is simple to take pictures and video and then upload them to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. The screen and the camera on the SII certainly live up to the hype, and are a large part of the reason that Samsung has managed to shift so many phone contracts for this Galaxy.

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Mobile Samsung

Samsung Vibrant 4G On T-Mobile In The Works?

Is Samsung working on a new Vibrant 4G model that it could launch on the T-Mobile network? According to rumors, it is. Sources close to Samsung have revealed that the new Samsung Vibrant 4G with a 4″ Super-AMOLED display would run on T-Mobile’s 21Mbps HSPA+ network that will offer 4G-like wireless internet speeds.

But what’s most interesting is that the source claims the Vibrant 4G to come installed with the new Android 2.3. A screenshot of Samsung Vibrant 4G with stock Gingerbread has been leaked although there are doubts over the veracity of these leaks. Some eagle-eyed observers point out that the demonstrated Android 2.3 lock page is slightly different from the native look.

Samsung Vibrant 4G

In any case, the source points out that Samsung is working on a new TouchWiz UI that will be compatible with Android 2.3. We could be seeing this interface on the Vibrant 4G whenever it is launched in the markets.

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Mobile Samsung

Samsung Galaxy S Mini In The Works?

Samsung could soon be launching a miniature version of its successful Galaxy S smartphones. Details about this leaked Android handset are now doing the rounds across the blogosphere that reveal the official name for the device as S5570.

The new Samsung Galaxy S Mini is expected to measure around 110.42 × 60.76 × 12.68 mm and could run on Android 2.2 operating system. Features on the device could include a 240 x 320 pixel screen resolution, a 5 megapixel camera with 720p HD video, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, a micro SD card slot and the TouchWiz user interface. We hear that the handset would be announced next month at the 2011 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

Galaxy S Mini

The launch of a mini Galaxy S is interesting and it is possible that Samsung is looking at targeting the phones at the emerging economies where the Galaxy S could be pricier. In any case, this is one rumor worth following.

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Mobile Samsung

Samsung Galaxy S2 Features Revealed?

We first heard about the upcoming Galaxy S2 Android phone from Samsung back in July last year. The Korean company is expected to unveil this new device during the Mobile World Congress at Barcelona next month. But there has not been any confirmation on the features as yet. However, a new report on Korean newspaper gives us quite a few details about what this device could come equipped with as well as how it would look like.

According to ETNews, the new Samsung Galaxy S2 will be an Android 2.3 device that will come with a 4.3 inches Super AMOLED “Plus” display and will run on a dual core processor. The newspaper further claims that the device will contain an NFC chip – similar to the recently launched Google Nexus S.

Samsung Galaxy S2

The speculations are not exactly new. Our earliest report about the Galaxy S2 hinted at a 1280×720 pixel Super AMOLED display and a 2GHz processor – possibly two cores with 1GHz speed each. It will be interesting to see if these rumors turn out to be correct.

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Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Player Vs. iPod Touch – Price And Features Compared

Samsung yesterday officially unveiled the new Galaxy Player 50 portable media player. Quite expectedly, the device has already been billed the iPod Touch killer and comparisons between the two are inevitable. So which of the two is a better device? Here is a feature-by-feature comparison

Display :

Samsung Galaxy Player comes with a 3.2″ capacitive touch screen as against the 3.5″ display on the iPod Touch. While the iPod Touch carries a 960×640 pixel retina display resolution, it is not clear if the Galaxy Player will be equipped with the rumored 800×400 pixel Super AMOLED display

Camera :

The Galaxy Player has a 3-Megapixel rear camera along with a VGA resolution front camera. The iPod Touch has a comparable front-facing camera. But it has an incredibly low 0.7-Megapixel rear camera that could be a deal-breaker for those who also want to use their PMP for capturing pictures

Storage Capacity :

On the iPod Touch, users have an option to choose among 8GB, 32GB and 64GB storage. Galaxy Player on the other hand offers storage of 8GB, 16GB or 32GB. However, users also have the option to add additional storage to their Galaxy Player using microSD cards – something that is not available with the iPod Touch

Processors :

Like the Galaxy S, the Galaxy Player too runs on a 1GHz processor. Also, similar to the iPhone 4 and iPad devices, the new iPod Touch runs on Apple’s native A4 processor that can clock 1GHz speed. However, this CPU is speculated to have been clocked down on the iPod Touch to improve battery life.

OS :

The Galaxy Player will run on Android 2.1 – not FroYo. The iPod Touch runs on the latest version of iOS. There is no conclusive statement on which of the two OSes are better since it is up to individual requirements.

Price :

The 8GB Galaxy Player 50 will be available starting tomorrow at a price of £149 at Amazon UK while the 16GB variant will be available at £179.99. The price of the device elsewhere is not known yet. The iPod Touch, as you already know, is available at a starting price of £193 in UK.

So which one are you going for? Galaxy Player looks like the better deal! You can order a Galaxy Player in the UK starting January 7 using this link.

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Mobile Samsung

Number Of Samsung Galaxy S Devices Sold Cross 10 Million Mark

Just seven months after launching the Galaxy S, Samsung has announced that they have successfully sold over 10 million of these devices worldwide. This is a pretty lofty achievement considering that there have been several new Android handsets launched during this period that run on Android 2.2 and higher. Samsung Galaxy S, as you know, still runs on the older Android 2.1 platform.

Writing about this on Samsung Tomorrow, JK Shin, President and Head of Mobile communications business at Samsung Electronics has said,

“The Galaxy S is the result of our 22 year heritage in the mobile industry. It is the realization of our concept of ‘the Smart Life’ – we wanted to makes users’ lives more convenient, more exciting, and more integrated. Today’s milestone shows that we have succeeded: 10 million Galaxy S users around the world are living the Smart Life”

Of the 10 million handsets sold, 4 million were sold in North America, 2.5 million in Europe and 2 million in the Korean market. Another 1.5 million was sold in rest of Asia and Australia.

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Gadgets Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Player Launch In April 2011?

We have been hearing a fair bit of rumors about the upcoming iPod Touch rival from Samsung. Yesterday, the South Korean tech giant had confirmed speculations that they shall be unveiling the new music player during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The device is expected to work like a Galaxy S but without the phone part. In addition to this, the Galaxy Player shall also come without a Super AMOLED screen and will measure slightly smaller than a Galaxy S.

While all of this has got users excited, here’s some bad news. The Samsung Galaxy Player is not expected to launch internationally until April or May of next year. According to these reports, Samsung is expected to launch the device in Korea next month although international roll out is expected to be phased between April and June.

In any case, these are still speculations. So hold on until Samsung opens up officially about these launch details next week during CES.

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Mobile Samsung

New Samsung Galaxy Phones Features To Include Dual Core Processor & NFC Chips?

Most of the tech world may be gearing up for the Consumer Electronics Show that is set to get underway in less than a week’s time. However Samsung, it is learned, is already getting ready to showcase some upcoming products at the Mobile World Congress that will be held during the month of February in Barcelona.

According to a report on Korean newspaper Chosunilbo, Samsung is prepping to unveil the next gen models of its Galaxy range smart devices. The Galaxy S successor is reported to be equipped with dual core processors, updated gyroscope and support NFC connectivity.

It is worth noting that these are some features that are offered on Google’s latest Gingerbread platform and consequently it is likely that the new Galaxy range of smartphones could run on Android 2.3. Not too unlikely considering that the launch is at least a couple of months away and because the first Gingerbread handset is already available in the market.

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Gadgets Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Player Features Revealed

Samsung has confirmed that they shall be unveiling their new Galaxy Player during the Consumer Electronics Show next week. The Samsung Galaxy Player (codenamed YP-GB1) is likely to be to Galaxy S what iPod Touch is to the iPhone. All specifications are reportedly inspired from Galaxy S.

According to reports, the new  Galaxy Player shall run Android 2.2 out of the box and will feature a 1GHz processor, a 4-inch Super-Clear LCD screen (not Super AMOLED) that will support 800×480 pixel WVGA resolution. Other features include a 3.2-Megapixel rear facing camera, a front-facing VGA camera, Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi, a micro-SD card slot and a 1200 mAh removable battery.

The features also indicate that the Galaxy Player could support popular tools like video calling and GPS navigation. The price of the device is rumored to be €200 (in France at least) and there are likely to be three storage variants that will offer 8GB, 16GB and 32GB capacities.

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Mobile Samsung

9.3 Million Samsung Galaxy S Sold Worldwide

Samsung has surely hit jackpot with the Galaxy S. According to a Korean publication, the company has sold close to 9.3 million Galaxy S phones worldwide since it was launched earlier this year. Samsung is apparently targeting a sale number of 10 million units by the end of this year which is likely given that the holiday shopping season is sure to have given the sale of these Android handsets a little spike.

So where has Samsung sold a majority of its phones? The South Korean daily claims that 2 million Galaxy S phones were sold in South Korea alone. Another 5 million units are reported to have been sold in the United States leaving just 2.5 million odd phones to the rest of the world.

The report has got us curious about the official numbers. We cannot wait for the quarter to end so Samsung would hopefully get us these official numbers.