World Of SAMSUNG: 26 Dec 2011

Monday 26 December 2011

The Week in Android News

While you should be spending the day with the family, doing some holiday stuff of some sort, we know the inner geek in you just needs to make sure you haven't missed anything. Check out the links below for some of what you may have missed.

Ten Android apps for your new smartphone or tablet: Christmas 2011

So it’s Christmas day (or something similar here at the tail end of 2011) and you’ve just received a fine Android tablet or smartphone to get you started on your way to smart device heaven: what do you do? You first take a look at the apps you’ve already got, realize there’s not just one whole heck of a lot of fun stuff there, then head to the Android Market. Your device likely has a little white bag icon with an Android head on it in green titled “Market” – this is where you want to go to get the goods. In this post you’ll find a find handfull of apps I suggest to you to pick up immediately.

Minecraft

A cult-classic game which only recently came to the mobile world, here on Android tablets and smartphones alike looking fantastic and bringing a whole new level of fun to the game. All you do in Minecraft is explore a pixelated world of blocks that you can either add to with your own or destroy by holding down on your display. Digging tunnels is the best! Beware though: you might never come back out of your bedroom, as this game is pretty dern addicting. There’s a demo version you can get for free to try out as well as a premium edition if you can’t get enough. [Minecraft - Pocket Edition / Pocket Edition DEMO on Android Market] $6.99 USD / FREE

Riptide GP

It’s the premiere water-style racing game on the mobile platform, you blasting through the tracks with your jetski of ultimate supremacy. Turn your tablet or smartphone back and forth like a steering wheel and do fabulous tricks in the air after you hit a jump, thus is the extent of awesomeness in Riptide GP. This is the game I personally use to show off graphics for new hardware, the water effects showing the goodness (or lack thereof) of new machines without mercy. [Riptide GP on Android Market] $2.99 USD

Google Currents

Google’s newest app effort is a news reader that allows you a perfectly readable and aesthetically lovely way to go through your favorite blogs. Check out SlashGear as a featured partner of Google Currents here in the Tech section and tap away! [Google Currents on Android Market] FREE

Shadowgun

If there’s one third-party shooter for the Android platform that’s worth playing, this is it. The folks who made Shadowgun knew exactly how to design an interface compatible with your two thumbs, simple enough to be worked with your fingers but able to have you picking up new guns and blasting grubby monsters in the head with the greatest of ease. Again beware though, this game is just challenging enough to keep you playing from start to finish: graphics, gameplay, and storyline included. There are two versions: both look fantastic, but the THD version is made to blow your mind just a BIT more if you’ve got an NVIDIA Tegra processor. Read the Pinball HD text for more information on that. [Shadowgun and Shadowgun THD on Android Market] $4.99 USD

Pinball HD

This is an app you’ll only now be able to get if you’ve got a tablet or smartphone with an NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor inside. The list of tablets that have a Tegra processor reads like this: Acer Iconia Tab A500, A501, A100, ASUS Eee Pad Transformer (and Transformer Prime), Dell Streak 7, Lenovo IdeaPad K1, Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet, Motorola XOOM, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9, Sony Tablet P, Sony Tablet S, T-Mobile G-Slate (LG), and the Toshiba Thrive. For smartphones, that’s Motorola Photon 4G, Motorola Electrify, Motorola Droid X2, T-Mobile G2x, Motorola Atrix 4G, Samsung Captivate Glide. If you’re not sure one of these matches up with your tablet or smartphone, just take a quick look in the Android Market for this app with your device – if you can’t see it, you can’t play it! Good luck! For those of you WITH a Tegra 2 processor, Pinball HD is quite simply the best pinball game for the mobile platform, no holds barred: high definition pinball for the win. [Pinball HD for Tegra on the Android Market] $2.99 USD

Asphalt 6 : Adrenaline HD

Though not yet available on every single Android device, likely any new top-tier tablet or smartphone you get will be able to run this best-in-class racing game. Check your compatibility by attempting to locate Asphalt 6 : Adrenaline HD in the Android Market on your device – if it’s there, it’ll work! You’ll be rolling out in a vast collection of massively impressive high-powered vehicles from the real world that you’ll be able and encouraged to smash into your opponents, full adrenaline included! [Asphalt 6: Adrenaline HD on Android Market] $6.99 USD

Android Community

Just as any fabulous Android device should, you’ve got an unending source of news, tips, and hands-on demonstrations from none other than our very own sister site Android Community. This site has its own application for Android devices and allows you portals to both the main news feed and the forums where you can ask questions, get answers, and chat the night away

When Samsung Omnia W succeeds, Nokia Lumia fails

Nokia has bet it’s entire strategy on two things. To beef up the affordable dual-sim handset segment and to consolidate the high-end smartphone segment with the help of Windows 7.5 OS. While the former strategy seems to yield some results (if not spectacular) the latter seems to have backfired. The reason can be attributed to the pricing and some key features found missing. How else would you explain the front-facing video calling camera missing from the Rs. 30,000 smartphone called Lumia 800! Nokia has been splashing money to educate the NFC capability – Touch to share. But Nokia Lumia 800 doesn’t have the NFC Capability..What were the guys at the top management thinking?
One of my friend told an interesting anecdote happened during the Nokia Lumia 800 launch party. Young marketing chaps took over the reins of the entire proceedings. Everyone in the party were handed over a glass of juice – the contents of which were apparently unknown! And then, one marketing guy proclaims loudly, “Gentlemen, the juice in your hand is a mix of Apple and Blackberry crush! Nokia will rule!”…And, they forgot about the 400 pound gorilla called Samsung which stunned Nokia by launching Samsung Omnia W with comparable configurations at just Rs. 18,299! (available at flipkart)
Let’s pitch the Samsung Omnia W against the two Nokia Lumias.

	Samsung Omnia W	Nokia Lumia 800	Nokia Lumia 710

Best Price	Rs.18,299	Rs. 28, 990	Rs. 19,999
Weight	115g	142g	126g
Thickness	10.9mm	12.1mm	12.5mm
Display	3.7 inch capacitive touchscreen	3.7 inch capacitive touchscreen	3.7 inch capacitive touchscreen
Display resolution	480 x 800 pixels	480 x 800 pixels	480 x 800 pixels
Display Technology	Super AMOLED	AMOLED	TFT
Processor	1.4 Ghz Scorpion	1.4 GHz	1.4 GHz
Internal Storage	8 GB	16 GB	8 GB
RAM	512 MB	512 MB	512 MB
Camera	5.0 MP, Auto Focus, LED Flash	8.0 MP Auto Focus, LED Flash	5.0 MP Auto Focus, LED Flash
Video Camera	0.3 MP VGA	NA	NA
Battery	1500 mAh	1450 mAh	1300 mAh
SIM Slot	Normal	Micro-SIM	Normal

One look at the comparison table, and it’s very clear that Samsung Omnia W fares well in multiple areas and still ends up being much more affordable than the other two versions. If you compare Nokia 710 and Nokia 800, you pay almost Rs. 10,000 extra for the 8.0 MP Camera and 16GB internal storage, which in my mind is ridiculous! Nokia Lumia 800 should drop the price otherwise, it’s very clear that the demand will never be created for the otherwise well designed product!

Android and iOS Occupies 55 Percent of U.S. Smartphone Market

US based Flurry reveals the statistical figures of Smartphone users in the World. The company used some techniques to figure-out the combined population of iOS-Android users from the total 200 million smartphone users in U.S. Android and iOS accounted for 55 percent or 109 million users. To our surprise, this represents 41 percent of all Android and iOS users Worldwide !!!

To determine the number of Android and iOS users, the company tracked the 140,000 apps and the number of users on each app using the two operating systems for a period of 30 days. This isn't an easy game by the way. With the given time frame they were able to crack that there are about 264 million users using the two Operating Systems worldwide. From the given figures, they were able to identify about half of them were Apple and Google, as said it out there.

flurry-a

Also, Flurry used a technique to determine the total number of smartphone users in the Country who're with Android and iOS. This was using the IMF Formula to identify the size of middle class based on the study and estimated the size of the upper class. From the resulting figure, they've subtracted the combines users of iOS and Android OS. From the World statistics figures, U.S heads the list and followed by China. U.K Stands in the third position and followed by France, Germany, and Japan with 10 million users each.

flurry-b

Surprisingly, with a sizable market of 75 million India stands smallest in the crowd. The total Android and iOS device users in the country are just 3.4 million. Japan with 10.2 users of the pair compare to potential 65 million smartphone user base in the country.

flurry-d

Samsung Galaxy S III Leaked in Press Shots ?

When it comes to Android devices, people prefer to stick with Samsung line of Galaxy devices. Even for that matter, Samsung is the favorite OEM for Google. This is much evident in Google announcing the Android Ice Cream Sandwich with Samsung Galaxy Nexus. The Android running Samsung Galaxy S and Galaxy S II are setting records of their sales globally. Samsung claims that they have shipped around 30 million Galaxy S and Galaxy S II Android smartphones across the World. Based on the recent statistical data by Flurry, Android and iOS device in U.S. contribute 55 percent of market share.

samsung_galaxy_s2

Samsung showcased the Galaxy S at Mobile World Congress 2010 and the Samsung Galaxy S II at MWC 2011. Later the phone announced back in August by major carriers in US for sale. Now consumers are eagerly waiting for successor, they anticipate Samsung Galaxy S III for Mobile World Congress 2012. Today, we've got some leaked press images and details of the next generation flagship device. Though the device architecture looks like a concept model, it can be possible for Samsung to make it true. However, there is no official information or a hint about the next generation Galaxy device. All this story begins with the image from a blog named Concept phones. The blog that specializes in conceptual renderings of devices, has intercepted a couple of images and some details sent by Ivan llchenko who has reported them appearing in Samsung's official page on Russian social network by the name of Vkontakte.

Samsung_Galaxy_S_III_I9500

Samsung Galaxy S III also called Samsung GT-I9500 (globally) is the next big thing from the company. The device boasts with a 5.0 inch HD Super AMOLED display with 1280 x 720 pixels resolution. The device comes in a 9mm thick metal finishing body and sports a 12.0 megapixel camera on the rear-side accompanied both LED and Xenon flash. Also, the device houses a front-facing camera with 2.0 megapixel for video calling and chatting as well. The internal memory of the device consists of either 32 or 64 GB and there will be a microSDXC slot for external memory. Samsung Galaxy S III is said to come with a stylus or an S-Pen which is a super-hit with Samsung Galaxy Note. Under the hood, the device comes packed with Samsung Exynos 1.5 Ghz Quad-core processor and supporting Gigabytes of RAM.

Samsung_Galaxy_S_III_I9500_2

Apparently, Samsung Galaxy S III is expected to run on Android OS v4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich which is the latest version in the market. But, they claim that the device works with both Android and Bada OS, which is too strange to be realistic. Also, the device is comes with Samsung TouchWiz UI v5.0 (yet to be announced). Finally, before ending up this session we like to claim that the device could be much unrealistic, where the buttons are totally against the Ice Cream Sandwich recommendations.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 730 – 8.9 inch Android Honeycomb Tablet

Samsung announced yet another Android honeycomb tablet in India, there is nothing unique about this tablet over the recently released models despite the fact that it has 8.9 inch display, it has a thinner profile measuring just 8.6 mm and weighs much less with 453g adding it to the list of lightest tablets in the market at present.
Runs on the latest Android honeycomb OS customized with the latest Touchwiz 4.0 interface, which adds a bit of uniqueness to the Galaxy tab, Some of the other features of this tablet includes 1GHz dual core processor, 1GB RAM with graphics acceleration enabled, 16 GB of internal storage with no expandable memory options, 3 megapixels camera with no LED flash support, 2 megapixels camera to the front for video chatting. It comes with 3G and wifi connectivity options and its video player is capable of doing full HD videos without any issues.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 730 Specifications

Device Type	Tablet
Form Factor	Candybar
Dimensions	157.8 x 230.9 x 8.6 mm
Weight	453 g
Colors	Pure white
Display Technology	TFT
Display Size	8.9 inches
Display Resolution	1280 x 800 pixels
Display colors	16 million
Touch	Capacitive
Multi Touch	Yes
Sensors	Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Ambient Light Sensor
Battery	6100 mAh
Operating System	Android 3.1 (Honeycomb)
User Interface	TouchWiz 4.0 User Interface
Processor	1 GHz Dual Core
System Memory	1GB DDR2
Internal Storage	16 GB
Expandable Storage	No
Graphics Acceleration	Yes
Camera	3 megapixels
Flash	No
Camera Features	Auto Focus, Full Focus
Video Capture	Yes , HD Recording at 1280 x 720
Secondary Camera	2 megapixels
Video Calling	Yes
Music Player	Yes
Youtube Player	Yes
Video Player	Yes
Radio	No
Internet Browsing	Yes
Online Services	Facebook, Twitter
Calender	Yes
Messaging	Email
Document Viewer	Yes
E-mail	Yes
3G	HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
Wifi	802.11 a/b/g/n
WAP	No
USB	Yes, USB 2.0
GPS	Yes
Bluetooth	v3
Tethering	Yes, Wifi Hotspot
Audio Jack	3.5 mm
Warranty	1 Year manufacturer warranty for the Tablet, 6 months manufacturer warranty for other inbox accessories
In The Box	Tablet, Charger, Headset, Data Cable, USB Kit, Quick Start Guide