The New Galaxy: First impressions.

Unless you’ve been sitting in a cave with your eyes tightly shut and your fingers in your ears you may have heard that the Samsung Galaxy S3 has well and truly arrived, being confirmed as the most pre-ordered device in history, was it worth the hype?

Whilst only having had a brief play with the handset (thanks to the nice people of the O2 store in Bolton) I managed to find answers to most of the ponderings which were keeping me from putting in a pre-order myself! Here goes;

Q: Is it as fast as Samsung led us to believe?

A: As far as performance goes, this device really seems to fly, where it really performs is the multi-tasking capabilities. The pop-up video player is just unreal, where it at first feels like a novelty, I can see it being a really useful tool.

Short answer: Yes.

Q: The device has been described as ‘cheap’ in terms of feel, is this true?

A: Honestly, I wouldn’t say the phone feels cheap at all, it has a good solid feel, no creaky battery door or flimsy frame, though the phone is lightweight, when has this ever been a problem? Though if you were to compare this handset to the likes of the HTC One X, there is a dramatic difference in weight and build solidity.

Short answer: Not really, unless you own a HTC.

Q: Is the display up to standard?

A: The first thing I noticed about the display was the colours were just so natural, not so intense, and the resolution is complementary to this. Upon watching some demonstration videos in the video library this screen can really impress.

Short answer: Ooohh Yes.

Q: Why should I get one?

A: I would advise the Smartphone user of 2012 to go for the Galaxy S3 for the same reason I would advise the consumer of 2011 to get the Galaxy S2 – our communication is evolving, and our software is growing to cater for our needs. In reflection of last year’s release, right now the Samsung Galaxy S3 has every bit of power and more to handle what Android has to offer in the near future, and will continue to lead and inspire in the market this year.

Short answer: You know it’s right.

When I get a chance to put the phone through its paces I will answer some more FAQ’s  covering gaming capabilities, battery life and more...

ShredderBenjamin

ChatOn: Worth a natter??

For the first time in a long time I have felt actually excited about a concept for a non-discriminative social messaging service – for those who aren’t in the know yet, ChatOn is a Samsung developed social app actually designed to bring people together regardless of the manufacturer of their mobile handset. ChatOn is a unified, all singing, all dancing messaging app which has a number of familiar features such as group chat, 1:1 chat and photo messaging, but then adds some tweaked features for custom messages such as hand writing etc...

Of course we could all think of one or two services out there which claim to provide ‘all for one, one for all’ chat, but the problem is none of them seem to have overtaken iChat or the mighty BBM – which specifically encourage consumers to stick to specific handsets. What I’m getting at is We need someone to take the oar and bring us together in chat!!

Personally I have been using ChatOn for a week or so, after encouraging my sister and two colleagues to give the platform a try – two using HTC Android handsets and one using a Blackberry device, and after two nights of intense use and seemingly more casual messaging over the last few days here is some feedback;

‘’It’s pretty good, I don’t see much a difference from how I usually use BBM’’.

‘’I like it, but I’d prefer it if more people I knew were on it...’’

I was happy to hear the first comment from a confessed BBM addict as this told me one thing, it told me the app not only works, but it works well cross-platform, nothing dramatically phasing and this leaves potential. As for the second I guess it should take a strong will and word of mouth to fix that problem!

I am not a heavy user of specific messaging applications and confess the last IM service I used was MSN a number of years ago, but I can really see myself using ChatOn more as I get more people using it as their primary messaging service, below are my own ratings based on the last few days of use.

Ease of use 5/5

Innovation 3/5

Popularity 2/5

User interface 5/5

Fun factor 4/5

I sincerely recommend giving this app a try as I feel it is well made, and is definitely as fun as you make it. GET IT!!

ShredderBenjamin

A Samsung Christmas!

Now Christmas is almost well and truly here it’s time again to grab your pens and get writing your wish lists!

Having been asked ‘’What Samsung device would top your Christmas wish list this year?’’, I couldn’t think of an easier question to answer!! The Device at the top of my list this year would be the pearl-white Samsung Galaxy note, with its festive colour scheme, stunning design and yet to be beaten specifications the device is the perfect handset to give anyone a merry Christmas!

The S-Pen gives the brilliant ability to hand write a thank-you note to Father Christmas and the form factor will ensure no-one needs to go without entertainment over the festive period! Not to forget that this gift may be the one which keeps giving as note-owners should get a taste of the Beautiful Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich major update!

The Samsung Galaxy Note will undoubtedly attract a lot of attention to those lucky enough to own one this year and that is why it is my Christmas wish!

Mob!lers 2011 end of year round-up - Samsung Mob!lers Launch event.

My first Mob!lers experience was the launch event in Chertsey, the event was the initial launch of the 2011 Mob!lers project.

Upon arrival the Mob!lers were greeted by the Jam representatives Hannah, Sarah and Alex. Due to traffic conditions some people had the opportunity to have a catch-up chat before the event took place. Looking around I could see that Samsung had really gone to great efforts to make this event a positive start to a very productive year.

Once all the Mob!lers were present, the event began with a some inspiring words from Keith O’Brien from Samsung UK, an insight into the on goings of the global Mob!lers and some information about a couple of upcoming Samsung Android products – Then the fun began! We were each given a shiny new Samsung Galaxy Pro! We all had a chance to tear into the packaging, switch on and demo our new phones whilst comparing notes.

Representatives from Samsung Headquarters attended from across the world to inspire us with information on the global Mob!lers, and the friendly competition we were to be involved in, everyone was just so appreciative of what we did, I was truly made to feel like part of a really important team.

Once the ongoing events were all explained there were a couple of competitions – a twitter ‘re-tweet’ competition and a contest to see who could get the fastest lap on ‘Drag Racing’ – an android game. Prizes awarded included mobile phone accessories and tickets to see Take That perform live!

Everybody met at least one new friend at the event and I’d like to think I’d met many. We had a group photo then went our separate ways with minds full of inspiration, and a new product to work on!

Thank You

Make a Note! & Free Galaxy note handset offer!

Hi all, just a quick post to remind y'all about the release of the amazing samsung galaxy note, packing the all new 's pen' stylus, a hd super amoled plus display and an immense dual-core processor!


Get yourself down to your local carphone warehouse, phones 4 u, o2 etc... and ask for a demo, you will want one!


http://cmvlive.com/technology/gadgets/vodafone-launches-cheapest-deals-so-far-for-a-free-samsung-galaxy-note

Above is some amazing news for Vodafone users!

Thanks, and a shout-out to Samsung Jam!

As a few of you have heard,  I have been selected to attend the Samsung Mob!lers Day as a UK representative in South Korea, courtesy of Samsung Jam. Thanks to everyone who visits my blog, your continued support enables me to bring you more and more content!

I'll be gone week commencing 5th December and on my return I will be raring to bring all the latest news & articles to y'all once again!

Thanks

Samsung Galaxy Nexus: A preview...

In early 2010 Google pushed out the groundbreaking HTC Nexus One device, giving casual users and cellular software developers a Mobile phone with specifications high enough to run the most demanding of applications with ease. Shipped with the latest Android software (2.1) and no fancy overlay to get in the way, this device was only out with one mission – to change the common idea that phones were to be kept as they shipped.

Since the release of the HTC Nexus One, Google decided to hand the Nexus baton to the mighty Samsung, who released the innovative ‘Nexus S’, comparable to the award-winning Galaxy S, but sporting exclusively the latest version of Android (2.3), stripped of the TouchWiz interface and topped off with a gorgeous curved screen designed to push ergonomic innovation to the next level.  The Nexus S was a huge hit with developers and a great device overall. It is clear that Nexus devices are more than just a series of quirky handsets, they are a growing ensemble of pioneering technology crying out to be pushed to the limits... In this short time a phenomenon has appeared as if from nowhere.

So now, here we are about to witness the release of the latest Nexus device, the question is no longer ‘will it be as good as PHONE A?’, it is now more a question of ‘which manufacturer can produce a device powerful, desirable and innovative enough to hold the Google Nexus title?’. Samsung have been entrusted with the responsibility, let’s look at the product...

The first thing to note is the usual Nexus signature – the latest version of Android, now v4.0 AKA ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’ the whole OS has been vamped and is now no less than stunning... Taking utilities with both mobile handsets and Tablets in mind a whole host of new tools have been added to the interface, for example, multi-tasking has now been made much more effective with the addition of scrollable, live thumbnails of running/recently used applications – clearly suitable for large and small screens...

A first for the Nexus range is a break from the now bog-standard screen resolution of 480x800 pixels, now upped to 1280x720, on a 4.65’’ display, images and interface should be crisp beyond all expectations, not to mention that the display is Super AMOLED, which has been Samsungs secret weapon against all competition. Developers will now need to look at the way app interfaces look in a whole new light, as the display quality offers too much potential to under-fulfil. The display has also been given the curve-treatment which is sure to turn heads!

Despite the ‘mere’ 5mp sensor the image capture of the primary camera has been a massive hit with the ‘hands-on’ reviews, also thanks to the high screen res your photo previews are sharp as a tack.

Another pleasant addition to the specs is the increased battery cell capacity, at 1750mAh, it has to be enough to get even the most angry-birds-addicted user through just over a day without precautionary charging! Unfortunately, like the last Nexus model there’s no room for memory expansion, though this phone does come in 16GB & 32GB models it should be rather hard to fill...

On the whole I feel the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is a welcome addition to the Nexus family, the specs are reasonable but nonetheless revolutionary. The handset is the most desirable I have seen in a long time and I, personally would use this as my primary device. Ice Cream Sandwich is the way forward and this device is definitely running it to it’s potential.

Go get it!