Compared with the very successful Galaxy S3, the brand new Samsung Galaxy S4 is by far the greatest smart phone from the market. Samsung raised once again the standard before any of its competitors did.

I don’t think they focused on very much on the case quality, because, as they say, the plastic won’t brake so easy as the glass does. So, it’s light, big and very fast. The display size is a bit bigger than the S III, and it’s now 5″. Also, the resolution was raised to Full HD 1920/1080 with Super Amoled display.

No Speed limit?

Well, it is a limit… But the good news is that is very high, and you have some awesome features. And the processor you either get an 1.9 GHz Quad Core, or an 1.6 GHz Octa Core, depending on the market you’re in. In my case, I would like the 1.9 Quad Core, because the Octa Core is quite a big energy consumer. Speaking of energy, the battery capacity is now bigger (2600 mAh) and they have constantly working on software tweaks to ensure you get the most of your battery.
The RAM memory is 2 GB and internal storage is 64GB and supports another 64 on SD-Card. Really, you can’t get more than that in a single phone! The phone cameras were also improved to 13 Megapixels rear-facing camera and 2-megapixels forward-facing camera. One particular new feature is that Samsung S4 allows you to take a photo or a video with both front and rear camera at the same time. This new feature is called by Samsung, Dual-Shot. Another cool feature is Cinema Photo, similar to Cinemagram, which lets you choose on piece of your photo to move, while keeping the others still.

Software improvements? Yes, there are plenty of great improvements. Samsung S4 is running the latest Android version, 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with other particular Samsung software.
Smart Scroll feature, allows you to scroll through websites by tilting your phone. The Smart Pause feature lets you control the screen with your eyes. The feature stops and starts a video based on whether you’re looking at the screen or not. This feature is similar with LG’s Smart Video feature. Also, if you’re watching a video and you put the phone down to do something else, video play will stop until you return and look at the screen.
The S Translate feature helps you translate your text messages or emails into nine different languages, using text or voice translation. The feature can also translate from both speech-text and text-to-speech.
With Air View you can hover your fingers over an email, S Planner, or image gallery to view a larger preview of content before selecting it, and the Air Gesture feature allows you to change a song, scroll through a web page, or answer a call by just waving your hand. Also this feature is awesome if you wear gloves, or your fingers are full of chocolate and you don’t wanna touch the phone.

Group Play – Now this is fun. You can share music, photos, videos and games with the people near you. You’re in a parking lot and you wanna turn the party ON? Transform the phones into a cool surround system and all the phones connected and playing the same song at once, will sure heat the things up!

So, Samsung is not focused on very much hardware improvements, because is already high-end, and they make their hardware to run spectacular with innovating software. All right, not all the features and softwares are original ideas, but they managed to gather all the cool features from many other phones, and set up an awesome engine under the new S4′s hood.

Related Posts:

• Galaxy S2 Owners Soon To Get Their Ice Cream Sandwich
• With Galaxy S II Samsung is one generation ahead of Apple
• The Apple & Samsung Trial Results – My Take Now that the Jury is In
• Fast and Fluid Future at Mobile World Congress 2012
• Nokia Windows 8 tablet to hit the stores in early 2012

Increasing availability isn’t going to help Microsoft much…

I’ve been in computing since computing was done with cassette recorders. I may have just dated myself, perhaps a bit too much, but I’ve been in the game since before Microsoft was Microsoft and before Apple was Apple. I understand a bit about the challenges that MS is facing right now, and honestly, they’re blowing it. They really are. Here’s why…

As far as the tablet game is concerned, there are really two players…Just two, kids. That’s it – Apple and their arch nemesis, Samsung. As much as Google with their Nexus 7 and Asus with their Transformer and other vendors with their <pick a product> may want to say they’re a contender, they’re not. Apple is the defacto leader here. They wrote the book on tablets with the introduction of their iconic iPad. Their ecosystem was designed to lock users in; and their elegant industrial designs attract more and more users everyday. Its going to be hard for them to blow this gig.

Samsung is really the only real successful Android tablet maker in my mind. Their Galaxy Tab and Galaxy Note lines of tablets have set the bar on the Google side of the house and have left nearly every other tablet in the dust, including Google’s own Nexus branded offering, in my opinion. They’ve really set the bar here. Yes, the Amazon Kindle line of tablets is a serious contender, but the way they’ve positioned their products and structured their ecosystem, there’s not much room for innovation in my opinion.

There are really no other tablet platform offerings; or at least there weren’t until Microsoft introduced Windows 8 and Windows RT and their Surface branded tablets. Microsoft had a real opportunity here. They had a chance to establish themselves as a real contender in the tablet arena. They blew it when they priced their tablets higher than most of their hardware partners are pricing their value-line laptops.

There have been a lot of stories in the media lately about how MS never intended Surface to be a direct competitor with Apple, and how they don’t want it widely distributed. I’m not buying that. I would think that they would want the tablets, both Surface RT and Surface Pro devices, in as many retail locations and end users hands as possible. Their recent activities to make Surface tablets available at other retail/POS outlets contradicts what the media is reporting.

I honestly don’t get the strategy behind what MS is doing with Surface RT and Surface Pro. If given the opportunity, I’d make them dirt cheap and get them in as many end users hands as possible. I’d even provide device subsidies back to their hardware partners to help them lower the prices of their RT and Pro devices, too.

In my opinion, the only way Microsoft can establish themselves as a serious tablet player is to flood the market with extremely affordable, competitively performing devices. Apple and Samsung, heck even Amazon, are too much in command of the tablet market right now for Surface NOT to be taking this tactic. The only way MS makes headway is to make them a cost competitor, and unfortunately…they didn’t do that.

It’s a disappointment, because I think they’ve likely marketed themselves into a corner, and recovering from that is going to be difficult for them. Increasing availability won’t help. Lowering the price and making it a more attractive purchasing decision…? Yeah. That will help.

Related Posts:

• iPad 3 Rumor Roundup
• Nokia Windows 8 tablet to hit the stores in early 2012
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• Microsoft unveils its own tablets running Windows 8
• Is Convergence the Way to Go?

SamToolBox 0.11 is the latest piece of kit designed to help you edit the channels on your Samsung TV more efficiently.

The software comes with a range of impressive features. The in-built archive is designed to support all generations of your TV set, meaning whichever particular set you have you will be able to use the software, while there is also standalone file support for file mapping.

Displaying and editing channels is also simple, utilising an easy-to-use channel filter and a cut and paste system that can be used to make a Favourite Channels list. Indeed, elsewhere the editing software incorporates simple commands like cut, copy, paste, delete, add channel and swap channel to make editing as painless as possible.

Once you have created and opened your chosen maps, you can also easily export them into a CSV format, a list for channel sort function or a reference channel list.

SamToolBox 0.11 is a fine piece of kit for channel editing on Samsung TVs. The interface could be made a little more user-friendly, but the software can certainly handle all of your editing needs quickly and efficiently. The added bonus that it is free to download makes this a particularly appealing piece of kit.

download SamToolBox

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The verdict is in and Samsung’s got a lot of work to do.  They need to do some hardware  and software work as well as write a big check.  Here’s my take on the trial results…

I really expected the trial deliberations to go a lot longer than they did.  The fact that the verdict came back so quickly speaks volumes about design, perception, and what the public believes when it comes to computing and the patent system. I’ve got a quick summary of the results and a couple of opinions on where the trial went south for Samsung.

The trial, in my humble opinion, was over once the following graphic was shown.

I’ve owned a number of Samsung smartphones – the Blackjack, the Blackjack 2, the i700 and the Vibrant (a Galaxy S phone).  Prior to 2007 and the introduction of the iPhone, all Samsung phones had a distinctive look. They were sharp edged, angular, and ran a version of Microsoft’s Windows Mobile.  The Blackjack devices were “smartphones,” or the version of Windows Mobile that didn’t have a touch screen and they had 320×240 (landscape) resolution screens. These devices were Blackberry modeled devices and were rather successful, though they were different enough to not be considered infringing on RIM’s designs and patents. The i700 was Samsung’s very first PDA phone. It ran PocketPC 2002 and eventually got an upgrade to WM2003, but it was well into 2004 before that hit.  The other two devices in the infographic below, were modeled after it.  THAT design, was wholly original and all Samsung.  The i700 was a little bit before its time. It was a decent device, but really would have been much better without the stub antenna and definitely WITH UMTS/HSPA+.

Post iPhone, Samsung made two big changes – First: out with Windows Mobile and in with Android. Windows Mobile had unfortunately reached a point of non-growth and innovation and Microsoft never really stood behind it anyway.  Ballmer doesn’t understand mobility and the mobile operating system’s history clearly shows that.  Google’s Android is very Windows Mobile-like and went places that Microsoft clearly couldn’t go with their mobile OS. It was a much better choice for them.

Second: their phone designs took a drastic and radical shift. Despite Samsung’s claims that Apple doesn’t own a patent on a rectangle with rounded corners (and Samsung is right…they DON’T), its clear that AFTER the iPhone hit and was successful, Samsung’s phone designs changed. Those designs also look a great deal like the design of the iPhone.  Their UI, while built on top of Android, a drastically different looking and functioning OS, looks as much like the iOS home screens as they can.

Come back next time and I’ll give you the specifics on the damages as well as what I’d like to see Samsung do, post-verdict.

Next Page

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I have seen both sides now, and still somehow, I have stylus illusions, after all.

Steve Jobs was adamant – “This,” he would say holding up his index finger, “is my stylus.”

Steve had seen Microsoft’s TabletPC’s as well as Pocket PC’s, Palm Pilots, etc., and he wasn’t impressed with the styli that he had seen tethered to them. In fact, he hated the dependency that those designs had on such an easily misplacable accessory. Steve vowed that the iPad would never need one.

However, the finger as a writing instrument leaves a bit to be desired. It works…but it isn’t optimal, and people don’t write their best or most legibly with just their index finger. It doesn’t offer the fine point or accuracy that some writing or notations really require.

Microsoft’s TabletPC’s have a truly wonderful pen experience. With the right handwriting recognition software, their Pocket PC’s and later Windows Mobile devices (prior to Windows Phone) also had a truly awesome handwriting experience. I really miss this at times…even today.

I have both an Apple iPad and a Windows 8 TabletPC (netbook). I’ve owned many a PocketPC and have used Phatware’s Calligrapher on nearly all of them. The experience was really very satisfying.

Samsung’s Galaxy Note is a tablet/handheld hybrid that attempts to bridge the gap between the two device types; and while the writing experience may be just as satisfying as my Windows 8 TabletPC or the PocketPC’s of old, it does bring up a huge question:

How do you satisfy end user needs to use their tablet or handheld as a digital notepad?

Further, how do you REALLY give them the ability to take handwritten notes in meetings without having to awkwardly hover your hand over the screen so nothing but a compassative stylus touches the screen?

From Apple’s perspective, the design question remains. How do you do all that without killing the current user experience; and requiring the use of a passive stylus to do all screen touch and navigation?

The answer is in there…somewhere, but the issue has yet to be resolved. I want to take handwritten notes. I want to use digital ink, so I can save a tree, and use my tablet as the digital notepad it was intended to be. However, I want to be able to swap between passive and compassative modes on the fly. There are times when I’d rather touch with my finger than with a stylus. The technology doesn’t exist yet where the iPad oror even the Samsung Galaxy Note, can distinguish between the two. The Galaxy Note comes close, but the stylus free experience isn’t as fluid as the stylus-based experience…and then (Steve’s standard complaint) what happens when you lose the stylus (and at some point, you likely will)?

This is the great debate. This is the enterprise issue that has yet to be resolved. There are many executives who would drop their PC’s in a heartbeat for a tablet if they could do this with their iPad or an Android tablet. I would, at the office at least.

Apple doesn’t want to kill the user experience. The right technology doesn’t currently exist to allow for a combined experience. The right solution has yet to be identified, but its sure to be interesting no matter what it is.

Related Posts:

• Samsung Galaxy Note – the link between Smartphone and Tablet
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Samsung has finally announced that it has begun the process of rolling out an Android Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) update for its Galaxy S2 smartphones. Needless to say, the announcement will be music to the ears of Galaxy S2 owners.

While Galaxy S2 owners residing in Poland, Korea, Hungary and Sweden received the update on 13 March, UK owners of the smartphone will have to wait until 19 March to receive their much anticipated update for the new version of Android.

Samsung made the important announcement via its corporate Twitter account and the internet was rife with reactions as soon as it was made.

It has been a curious strategy by Samsung, who were an integral launch partner for Android Ice Cream Sandwich. Despite its Nexus smartphones being one of the first to use it, Galaxy S2 owners have been made to wait for the crucial update. Some have done so patiently, while others have expressed displeasure over the delay.

The Galaxy S2 has been a major force in the smartphone market for Samsung, selling more than 22 million units since the handset’s launch in February 2011, assisting Samsung to rise to its position as the largest seller of smartphones in the last quarter of 2011.

Considering that more than 52% of smartphones are Android-based, the length of time to introduce Android Ice Cream Sandwich for Galaxy S2 smartphones has left many owners puzzled.

Android Ice Cream Sandwich delivers a whole host of features improving usability. Key improvements include the refined touchscreen, far better multi-tasking abilities and a new security feature through which users can unlock their phone via face recognition.

Despite not giving a set date, Samsung has also announced that it plans to update and enhance its Tab and Note features with Android Ice Cream Sandwich in the not too distant future.

Now Samsung has announced a UK date of 19 March for its Android Ice Cream Sandwich update for its Galaxy S2 smartphones should owners be rejoicing? Well, yes and no, because the whole rollout will be staggered according to which network provider Galaxy S2 owners are using, which complicates the issue somewhat.

Once Google has supplied its Android Ice Cream Sandwich source code to a manufacturer like Samsung, the manufacturer must spend time ensuring the software works seamlessly on their hardware, which of course takes considerable time and resources, as it has done with the Galaxy S2.

However, this is only the initial phase, as network providers must then make sure the new software works perfectly with their network, or face the wrath of angry network users disappointed with the service they are being provided.

To date, network providers Three, Vodafone, T-Mobile and Orange have confirmed that they have received the update from Samsung and will be striving to release the Android Ice Cream Sandwich update for the Galaxy S2 as close to the 19 March date as possible. However, O2 has announced it won’t be releasing the update to their customers until mid-April.

Galaxy S2 owners anxious for more news on the release of Android Ice Cream Sandwich for their smartphones should check the Samsung website and their network providers for updates.

Related Posts:

• Samsung Galaxy S4 – Life Companion
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• The Apple & Samsung Trial Results – My Take Now that the Jury is In

The biggest names in the fastest-moving industry gathered for the 2012 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week, in what has been another eye-opening telecommunications industry event. From 27 February to 1 March, more than 3000 industry CEOs joined 60,000 attendees to see the latest products and ideas from the likes of Microsoft, Google, Nokia and Sony Ericsson.

With tablets and smartphones taking centre stage in recent mobile technology, many of the latest apps and products catered for these users, although mobile and laptop technology is also seeing some major developments.

Microsoft had techy hearts a-flutter with the launch of Windows 8. The company’s two-hour conference presentation featured the phrase “fast and fluid” enough times to drive home their new focus on the latest operating system model. Windows 8 will allow users to access multiple apps at any one time, and, keeping current user trends in mind, is synchronised for social media. Users will also enjoy smoother functionality for both touchscreen and mouse/keyboard.

Meanwhile Nokia had several new mobile phones to showcase, including the Luma 610, an simple, affordable smartphone designed for the youth market. Yet what is really creating a lot of Nokia buzz is their new high-res smartphone, the 808 Pureview. This is the first mobile to take photos at up to an extraordinary 41 megapixels, and cutting-edge Carl Zeiss optics to boot. This is one to lead the way in the evolution of smartphone photography.

Google is making waves with their latest additions to the Android family, despite pressure from their Apple competitors. As well as revealing plans for more affordable smartphone, their Android Honeycomb sees a brand new app for budding movie makers. Movie Studio is a slick app designed to enhance the 3.0 Android’s current video and image technology. Users can create their own short videos, using music, text and other such features, much as you would with other video-editing software. Except this can all be done from your smartphone.

High-definition seems to be the big trend at the moment; LG, HTC and Huawei all have big, high-def mobile screens in their latest releases. Certainly HTC was keen to preview their latest smartphone, the HTC One X. This super-slim mobile is less than 1cm thick and weighs a mere 130 grams. An impressive camera, dual core processor and 4.7inch screen makes it one to watch.

Sony Ericsson revealed their new Xperia Play, a mobile phone/game console hybrid. Despite being one of the worst-kept secrets in the industry this year, it has managed to impress the critics so far. This is an interesting design, yet it does do both the gaming and mobile sides justice. It has a slide-out gaming control pad, much like the Playstation hand control, while the phone itself also features a 5.1 megapixel camera with flash and auto focus, video-recording, Bluetooth, GPS, and the usual mobile features you’d expect from Sony Ericsson.

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• Last week’s highlights #3

RIM is headed for a very difficult 2012. It seems that it can’t even GIVE it away…

Case in point – RIM has been a huge player in the PDA/Smartphone market for more than 10 years. Its closer to 15, really; but not quite. Anyway, in 2011, it was stated that RIM’s stock lost 75% of their value, and while that loss still leaves them with well over $1.7B in cash, it’s not clear how long that cash will last when they are constantly losing market share to both Apple and Google’s Android. Big decisions need to be made, and made quickly.

One thing is very clear, however – RIM needs to get their act together…quickly.

One thing that really puzzles me is that RIM has turned down acquisition overtures from a number of really big players in the tablet and smartphone markets, including both Amazon and Nokia. They seem to have scared off Microsoft and their interest in the Ontario handset manufacturer more than once. They also don’t seem to care. Their co-CEO’s appear hell bent on trying to right the company. While I applaud them for their tenacity, they really just need to knock it off. The party’s over.

Not only is the party over, but the the BGR reported rumor that sparked a 7% uptick in the company’s stock on 17-Jan-12, has been emphatically denied by Samsung. They have CLEARLY stated they have NO interest in RIM, and have never considered or formally discussed any interest in them. At this point, I not only expect the market to give back yesterday’s ample gains, but for the company to lose additional value in the immediate future’s trading.

Nearly every industry pundit that I know of is predicting RIM’s future to be dismal at best. C|Net’s Buzz Out Loud podcast recent 2012 Prediction’s Show also spelled out a bleak to dismal 2012 for the once dominant RIM.

Everyone else can see it…why can’t they?

Any way you try to look at this, RIM needs to act, and act now if they are going to do save something, anything of themselves. The company lost 75% of its value in 2011…75%! It can’t stand to have that happened again. If their board is paying attention, much of the tech industry is chiming in on their rather pronounced misfortune, and they are making provision for that continued misfortune. Unfortunately, most everyone thinks we are past the water bailing point. According to the industry, the ship is going to sink. It’s just a matter of time, and it’s just a matter of determining how much value for their shareholders can be saved.

Related Posts:

• RIM’s Impending Collapse – Sometimes I Hate it When I’m Right
• RIM’s Impending Collapse – Sometimes I Hate it When I’m Right – Part 2
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