Samsung Galaxy S2 Review

The Samsung Galaxy S2 (Galaxy II) is Worlds Thinnest Smartphone, loaded with Android mobile operating system. The Samsung Galaxy S2 is the successor to the critically acclaimed Samsung Galaxy S, featuring:
1.2 GHz Dual-Core SoC Processor
Samsung Exynos Processor (GT-I9100 model) or Nvidia Tegra 2 Processor (GT-I9103 model)
1GB RAM
10.9 Centimetre (4.3 inches) WVGA Super AMOLED Plus Display
8 Megapixel LED Flash Camera with HD 1080p videos recording
USB Host (OTG) Function Support
Upgraded version of Android, officially known as TouchWiz 4.0
Enhanced Accessibility with Multi Touch Gestures and Clean Widget Arrangements
It also supports Mobile High-definition Link (MHL), which allows up to 1080p uncompressed video output with HDMI while charging the device at the same time.
Samsung Galaxy S2 Review
Here uner is Cellulare Magazine's excellent Samsung Galaxy S2 Review Video showing the power of this new Android smartphone with dual-core processor:

Samsung Galaxy S2 Specification (Hardware)
Samsung Galaxy S2 uses a 1.2 GHz Dual Core ARM Cortex-A9 processor depending on two SoCs. For additional details of hardware inside is given here under:
Exynos 4210
Samsung’s own Exynos 4210 SoC was previously codenamed Orion clocked at 1.2GHz.and was the source of much hype concerning a dual-core successor to the previous Hummingbird powered single-core Samsung Galaxy S. The Exynos 4210 uses ARM‘s Mali-400 MP for its GPU which is a change from continuing to use PowerVR‘s GPU which was featured in the previous Samsung Galaxy S.

Tegra 2
Nvidia Tegra 2 SoC uses Nvidia’s own GeForce ultra-low power (ULP) for its GPU. Nvidia Tegra 2 supports the Tegra Zone application and service which is intended to give Android users an enhanced gaming experience by allowing users to download games that have been well optimized for Tegra 2 powered devices. This has been marketed as “console-quality gaming” by Nvidia. Tegra 2 also features support for hardware acceleration for Flash and Javascript within websites, and is one of the first SoCs to be natively supported by Android 3.0 (a.k.a Honeycomb).

The Exynos 4210, unlike Tegra 2, features support for ARM’s SIMD engine (Media Processing Engine, a.k.a NEON instructions) and this may have a significant performance advantage in some cases over Tegra 2 in critical performance situations such as accelerated decoding for multiple multimedia codecs and formats (e.g., On2′s VP6/7/8 or Real formats).

At the 2011 GDC, ARM’s representatives were able to demonstrate playback in stereoscopic 3D on their Mali-400 MP on the Exynos processor at a 60Hz frame rate. They went on to state that an increased frame rate of 70Hz would be possible through the use of HDMI 1.4 port.

Memory
The Samsung Galaxy S2 features 1GB of dedicated RAM (in either Mobile DDR or possibly DDR2 by Samsung) and has 16GB of internal memory. It is not certain whether Samsung will manufacture the 32GB versions due to higher costs. Within the battery compartment of the device, there is an external microSD card slot that can support up to 32GB of additional storage memory.

Screen
The Samsung Galaxy S2 uses a 4.27-inch (108mm) WVGA Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touch-screen which is covered by Gorilla Glass, a special crack and scratch resistant material. It is believed that not all regions would receive the Super AMOLED Plus model.

Camera
This device features an 8-megapixel camera with LED flash, on the back, that can record videos in full high-definition 1080p at a 30Hz frame rate. There is also a front-facing 2-megapixel VGA camera for video calling.

Connectivity
The Samsung Galaxy S2 is one of the earliest Android devices to natively support NFC. This follows on from the Google Nexus S which was the first de-facto NFC smartphone device.

Samsung has also included a new high-definition connection technology called Mobile High-definition Link (MHL). MHL has been noted as being “connection agnostic” in that it can use virtually any interface connection, such as those of HDMI or USB, for sending high-definition uncompressed 1080p video and audio from a mobile device. The main specialty of MHL is that it is optimized for mobile devices by allowing the device’s battery to be charged while at the same time playing back multimedia content. For the Galaxy S II, the standard Micro USB port found on the bottom of the device can be used with an MHL connector for an HDMI connection to an external display such as a high definition television. The mobile device can then draw power from the external display on MHL-supported displays. Currently there are no MHL-supported televisions available but this is expected to change by the Q4 of 2011. On the side of the MHL connector is also standard charger input to still supplement battery charging while outputting multimedia.

A standard 3.5mm TRS headphone jack is available and is located on the top-side of the device. The Micro USB connection port is located on the bottom-side of the device.

Samsung Galaxy S2 Accessories
There are optional separate accessories for this device, which will include, a dock connector for battery charging and audio-visual output, a separate MHL cable which makes use of the device’s Micro USB port for HDMI output and then a USB OTG adapter for use with external USB devices such as USB flash drives.
Amongst the accessories discovered, is also a special stylus pen for use on the device’s capacitive screen

Samsung Galaxy S2 Specification (Software)

Android 2.3
The Samsung Galaxy S2 will ship with Android 2.3.3 (a.k.a. “Gingerbread“) installed.

User interface
The phone employs the latest proprietary Samsung TouchWiz 4.0 user interface. It follows the same principle as TouchWiz 3.0 found on the previous Galaxy but adds new improvements. It also has a new gesture based interaction with the web browser which allows for zooming in and out of a webpage by pressing on the screen with two fingers and moving the device back and forth in a cradle-like movement. This is testament to the Gyroscope and accelerometer used within this device.

There have been improvements to the widgets drawer and layout in how many widgets can be added and how they are presented. Additionally there is new optional gesture-based control on TouchWiz 4.0 for the movement of widgets between screens, by allowing the device to be held and moved from side to side to scroll through home screens. This gesture-based management of widgets is a new optional method next to the existing method of holding and swiping between home screens.

Bundled applications
Four new Samsung 'Hub' applications were revealed at the 2011 Mobile World Congress:
Social Hub
Which integrates popular social networking services like Facebook and Twitter into one place rather than in separate applications.
Readers Hub
This hub provides the ability to access, read and download online newspapers, ebooks and magazines from a worldwide selection.
Music Hub
An application store for downloading and purchasing music tracks on the device. Samsung has teamed up with 7digital to offer this service.
Game Hub
An application store for downloading and purchasing games. Samsung has teamed up with partners including Gameloft to offer this service.
Other applications
More applications include Kies 2.0, Kies Air, AllShare (for DLNA), Voice Recognition, Google Voice Translation, Google Maps with Latitude, Places, Navigation (beta) and Lost Phone Management, Adobe Flash 10.2, QuickOffice application and ‘QuickType’ by SWYPE.
Samsung has also taken steps to include Enterprise software for business users, that include Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, On Device Encryption, Cisco’s AnyConnect VPN, MDM (Mobile Device Management), Cisco WebEx, Juniper, FUZE meeting and secure remote device management from Sybase.

Media support
The Samsung Galaxy S2 comes with support for many multimedia file formats and codecs. For audio it supports (FLAC, WAV, Vorbis, MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, MID, AC3, XMF), video codecs (mpeg4, H.264, H.263, DivX HD/XviD, VC-1) and video formats (3GP (MPEG-4), WMV (Advanced Systems Format), AVI (divx)).

There is no official mention of whether the video codecs and formats of (Sorenson codec, MKV, FLV) will be supported in this device as like they were in the previous Samsung Galaxy S.

Up to 1080p video resolution playback is supported both on Exynos and Tegra 2 respectively, although unlike the Exynos 4210, Tegra 2 has been stated to not support ‘high profile’ encoded h.264 video.

Samsung Galaxy S2 Release Date
Huge buzz continues to flare across the US with regard to when exactly the Samsung Galaxy S2 will finally land on home soil. While the majority of rumor round-ups have reached something of a consensus regarding a Verizon release in July, the latest leaks are now also pointing toward a Samsung Galaxy S2 full touch 4G coming to the Sprint network.

The Samsung Galaxy S2 release date has also been pegged for July, which is likely to spark a rather ferocious battle for supremacy, given the S2’s already impression reception in the UK.

Samsung Galaxy S2 Price
It appears that the best price for the Samsung Galaxy S2 in the UK is from O2, coming in at £29 per month based on a two year contract depending on what extras you desire from the carrier. Three UK seems to be the next cheapest where you can snap up the Galaxy S2 for £30 pre month on a 24 month contract. T-Mobile offers the Android handset for free for £35.75 per month again on a 2-year agreement. Orange UK offers the Samsung Galaxy S2 as a free handset when purchasing their Dolphin 40 plan, which costs £40 per month when signing up for the usual two-year contract. Vodafone unfortunately comes last, as although you can still get the Galaxy S2 as a free handset, Vodafone asks £36 per month for the device on a 2-year term.

In U.S, While initial reports back in early April indicated the Samsung Galaxy S II would be priced somewhere north of $800, it appears as though things are finally heading south towards the much more reasonable area of $600 to $699.

Source : http://www.itechwhiz.com/2011/05/samsung-galaxy-s2-hardware-software.html

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Hands On: Sony Alpha A77 and A65 Translucent Mirror DSLR, Plus DT 16-50mm F2.8 SSM Zoom Lens

The translucent mirror technology has been working out well for Sony and now they've gone and stuffed it into two new DSLRs, this time aimed at higher-level users. Here's the breakdowns of the two new models.

SLT-A77

The direct successor to Sony's mid-level A700 uses Sony's newly-developed 24.3-megapixel Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor and the latest version of Sony's BIONZ image processing tech.

Thanks to the translucent mirror (like the one found in Sony's A33, A35 and A55 DSLRs), Sony claims the A77 to have the world's fastest continuous AF among DSLRs. It can pull down 12 FPS at full-resolution while keeping up phase-detection AF. Even the sound of that is pretty impressive.

The AF system is rounded out by 19 AF points with 11 cross-type sensors. The shutter has a minimum release time lag of just 50 milliseconds, which hammers home the idea that Sony was really going for pure speed with this thing.

The unique viewfinder system has been improved with a new OLED Tru-Finder viewfinder, which uses a 2359 dot display to give you 100-percent coverage of the frame through the eyepiece. That allows you to zoom in on the image to check focus and even preview exposure changes in real time.

Another cool feature is the built in Smart Teleconverter mode, which allows you to drop the image resolution to 12 megapixels in exchange for a crop factor of 1.4x or 2x.

Switching over to video mode, Sony is proud to proclaim themselves the first company to achieve 60 FPS at full HD resolution using the new AVCHD Progressive format. That's a result of the upgraded BIONZ processor's ability to churn through more data in a quick way. It can also still do more traditional 24p shooting, while offering a full suite of manual control modes.

ISO settings range from 50 all the way up to an expanded setting equivalent to 16000. It has on-board GPS for geotagging, and a shutter that's rated to 150,000 actuations. Plus, the 3-inch, 921K dot, Xtra Fine LCD display tilts and pivots in three directions for maximizing wacky shooting angles.

But how much are all of those bells and whistles going to cost? The kit, which comes with the newly-announced 16-50mm F/2.8 zoom lens (more on that here) will ship for about $2,000. If you only want the body, it'll cost $1,400. That makes it cheaper than Canon's 7D, about the same as Pentax's K-5 and about $200 more expensive than Nikon's consumer-level D7000. On paper, it outmatches all three in quite a few areas and occupies a space that may be advantageous for Sony.

SLT-A65

As you might expect, the A77's little brother shares many of the same familial traits. It uses the same combo of a 24.3-megapixel Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor and BIONZ processor. It also carries over the OLED Tru-Finder, the high-end video capabilities and, of course, the translucent mirror.

There are some things missing in order to make up for its cheaper $900 price tag. Instead of 19 AF points, the A65 has 15 total with just three cross-type sensors. It also gets 10 FPS with full-time phase detection AF while the A77 gets 12. The lowest ISO setting is 100, compared to the A77's 50 and its 921k dot LCD screen only rotates in two directions instead of three.

DT 16-50mm F2.8 SSM

As a complement to their new bodies, Sony has rolled out an extremely versatile standard zoom with a range that should sound vaguely familiar to many crop-sensor shooters. The body is dust and moisture resistant and it uses three Extra Low Dispersion lens elements to cut down on ugliness at all focal lengths. It has an internal Super Sonic wave Motor for quiet focusing and at $700, is very affordable if you consider what you're getting.

VG-C77AM Vertical Grip for A77

As you can see in the pictures, Sony has also introduced a new vertical grip meant to work with the A77. It mimics the controls offered by holding the camera in the traditional way and is beefy like the grip for the A900. It hold two batteries, which Sony says will stretch the time between charges to about 1,000 shots. It checks in at at a price of $300, which makes it the most expensive non-wireless DSLR grips we know of.

Galery

Source : http://www.popphoto.com/gear/2011/08/new-gear-sony-alpha-a77-and-a65-translucent-mirror-dslrs

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Sony's New Fast-Firing DSLRs and NEX-7

Sony announced a pair of new DSLRs in their Alpha line today, named the A77 and A65. As our sister publication Pop Photo awarded Sony's A55 the camera of the year award in 2010, we sit up and take notice whenever Sony releases a new flagship DSLR--and we're glad we did this time, because good lord, these are some impressive cameras.
Both are outfitted with the newest version of Sony's Translucent Mirror tech, basically an entirely new type of camera that our counterparts at Pop Photo absolutely love. You can read a longer description of that tech and why it's amazing here, but essentially the idea is that by using a translucent reflex mirror (rather than one that must be flipped up and away when switching to video mode), Sony's cameras enable legitimate autofocus for video. The higher-end A77 boasts the newest version of the Translucent Mirror, which gives it the world's fastest continuous autofocus shooting, capturing full-rez images (and at 24-megapixels, these are massive ones) at 12 frames per second (the A65 gets 10fps).
The viewfinder, another major strength of Sony's latest Alpha cameras, also gets an upgrade--this time to a high-resolution OLED. Instead of using an optical viewfinder, these digital ones allow all kinds of tweaking and overlays of settings, so you don't have to withdraw your eye and mess around on the camera's LCD to quickly change your aperture or white balance.
A surprising amount of the tech in the Alphas gets carried over to Sony's new interchangeable-lens compact, the NEX-7, the predecessor of which we ranked one of the best cameras of last year. It's got the same 24.3-megapixel sensor and same processor as the big boys, for example. Read more about it here.
You can read more about the NEX-7, A77, and A65 over at Pop Photo--and see a gallery of images taken with them, as those lucky photogs have been playing around with these cameras for a good few days now. The A77 will retail for $1,400, and the A65 for $900, with just the body--no lenses included. The NEX-7 will run for $600, body-only.

Source : http://www.popsci.com/gadgets/article/2011-08/sonys-new-dslrs-and-nex-7-boast-ridiculously-fast-focus-and-shutter-speeds

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RIM to launch BlackBerry App World 3.0

Canadian smartphone manufacturer Research in Motion (RIM) are on a roll. In this month alone they've launched a new handset , an updated operating system , are about to launch their very own music service and now it is being reported that they are set to launch a redesigned version of the BlackBerry App World. The update to their App World is called BlackBerry App World 3.0 and like their OS, this version has an all new design.

Redesigned BlackBerry App World 3.0

The report goes on to state that the updated version would be released on the 22nd of August 2011 and would come with some interesting new features. RIM has already released the beta version of App World 3.0 to their Beta Zone users and with the new home screen in the App, one can quickly find what BlackBerry app, game or theme they are looking for. Apart from this, one can also keep tabs on your apps with My World. Purchased apps which have been deleted by accident or due to a handset upgrade can be wirelessly reinstalled without the need to buy them again. Everything is stored digitally in one’s personal storage folder in ‘My World.’

With these updates, RIM is certainly moving in the right direction and hopefully can keep up with the increasing competition in the smartphone market. Let us know your thoughts about these upcoming features from RIM in the comments below.

Source : http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/wire-news/rim-to-launch-blackberry-app-world-30_578548.html

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European HTC Sensation gets Gingerbread 2.3.4 OTA update

The European HTC Sensation units have just started receiving their 2.3.4 update over-the-air. HTC didn't say anything about it, but reports from all ends of the continent started coming in, saying that the update is already rolling.
The update brings video-calling functionality via Google Talk and regular mobile video-calls. Some bug fixes and performance improvements are also promised, but nothing too major, as you could imagine

So far only unlocked Sensation units have been getting the update, while carrier-locked handsets are still sitting on the sideline. Let's hope they won't be too late to the party, though.

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/european_htc_sensations_get_gingerbread_234_update_ota-news-2993.php

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Top 15 Most Popular Gadgets Websites

1. Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and

consumer electronics.

2. Boy Genius Report, also known as BGR, is another one of the best gadgets websites featuring Apple, Android, Blackberry, Mobile, gadgets gallery, reviews and buying guide.

3. AppleInsider is a news and gadgets website which focuses on Apple Inc. It also offers a forum for discussing Apple related topics.

4. SlashGear is a weblog devoted to gadget and tech published by R3 Media LLC.  It is updated daily and published in two languages – English and Japanese.

5. 9 to 5 Mac – a gadget and technology website focusing on Apple Intelligence.

6. TechCrunch is a web publication that offers technology news and analysis, as well as profiling of startup companies, products, and websites.

7. Android Central is one of the best android websites online, which offers android news, reviews, forums, videos, guides & tips, apps, devices and more gadgets.

8. Mashable is an Internet news blog which covers news and developments in mobile, entertainment, online video, business, web development, technology and gadgets.

9. IntoMobile delivers breaking news, information, and analysis on the latest cell phones and cell phone technology.

10. Android Police is one of great sources for latest Android news, applications, games, upcoming phones and Internet devices, tips and tutorials and more.

11. Ubergizmo is a popular news website that features honest, opinionated news & reviews of consumer electronics products, gadgets and trends.

12. Gadget Lab is Wired.com’s hardware news blog, covering computers, consumer electronics, laptops, notebooks, netbooks, smartphones and more.

13. CrunchGear is a one of the most popular blogs on gadgets and computer hardware, edited by John Biggs.

14. Android Phone Fans is a website for Android Phone Reviews, News, Apps, Games and Rumors. Also covers Android Tablets and other Android devices.

15. AnandTech offers reviews of computer hardware such as motherboards, graphic cards, and CPUs and mobile phones.

Source : http://topsitesblog.com/gadgets-websites/

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Top 10 Gadgets of 2011

1.    Samsung Google Nexus S : It is the successor of the search engine giant’s Nexus One. The expected feature is a 4-inch SuperAmoled2 display screen, a Dual Core Orion 1GHz CortexA9 processor, either 512 or 328MB of Ram, 720P HD Video, Open GL support, and a screen resolution of 800×480and a 5MP camera.

2. Apple Ipad 2 : A Great launch from Apple  and the rumoured launch of the Apple iPad 2, is no different. Apple iPad 2 is smarter, sleeker and faster. Hopefully, some of the features could include FaceTime retina display, USB, NFC (Near Field Communication) short-range wireless technology, and a camera.

3.  BlackBerry PlayBook : The BlackBerry PlayBook is powered by a 1GHz Cortex-A9 dual core processor and 1GB of RAM. The PlayBook is a 7-inch gadget supports Flash 10.1, HTML 5 and HDMI. Additionally, it has a 5MP rear-facing HD camera and 3MP front-facing camera.

4.    Sony PlayStation Phone : The Sony PlayStation Phone has been code named ‘Zeus’. It promises to be released in 2011 with a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 processor and 8GB memory. Additionally, it is expected to have 1GB ROM and 512 MB RAM.

5. MintPass Tablet : This is a dual-boot tablet and will be able to run both Microsoft Windows and Google Android operating systems. It will have dual touch-screens that use the new SpaceTouch technology.

6.    Apple iPhone 5 : Apple is expected to launch its new version of the iPhone, iPhone 5 in 2011. It could also use the NFC (Near Field Communication) short-range wireless technology. This technology will help the iPhone to function like an electronic wallet.

7.    Motorola Android 3.0 Tablet : This Android 3.0 has been codenamed ‘Honeycomb’ will be the version of Android built specifically for tablets. This tablet is expected to use Honeycomb and bring substantial improvements in the user interface. It is expected to boost Android’s suitability.

8.    Verizon Wireless iPhone : The Verizon Wireless iPhone will provide a technology that can be used to set up a Wi-Fi hot spot, allowing up to five other devices, such as laptops and iPads, to access the Internet through the phone. Verizon’s launch promises to intensify the competition raging in the mobile phone market.

9.    LG Optimus 2X : It is the first smartphone to run on a dual-core 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor. LG has been flaunting this as one of its major features and rightly so. Its display measures 4 inches. A 1500mAh battery powers the model. It also will have a microSD slot to expand storage capacity and will run Android 2.2.

10. Nokia E7 : Nokia`s E7 model  BlackBerry models. It’s USP the enhanced and more user friendly keypad layout. It is full QWERTY and has a tilt touch-screen technology. It has an 8 MP camera, 720p HD Video, 16GB internal memory, WiFi, 3G, USB, free OVI maps and much more.

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