So, you went out and brought Samsung’s delicious Galaxy S on the day of release. You are sitting their contemplating your purchase, but feel slightly disenchanted. You have such a fast beautiful device, but all the cool kids with their HTC’s and Motorola’s are getting all this news of Android 2.2 while you are left without hope.
Today that changes my AMOLED loving friend, with Samsung saying September is the month that you get to really see if the humming in hummingbird is accurate. No exact day, but at least you will know that by October you will be all Flashed out and waiting eagerly for Gingerbread.
While I am a big fan of what Samsung is currently doing with Handsets, especially if they contain a Hummingbird Processor, the promo video for the Epic doesn’t do the phone justice. It feels long, and I don’t walk away feeling wowed, even though I know the phone is going to be amazing. Just my 2 cents Sprint.
It seems that Samsungs flagship Hummingbird processor eats Quadcomm’s Snapdragon, at least at OpenGL. People over at Android Community got bored and pitted the HTC Desire in all its Snapdragon glory against the larger and more expensive Samsung Galaxy S. Hummingbird literally hums along, running it faster then my PC at the time ever did. The Snapdragon, on the other hand, ran horribly.
This is definitely an eye opener for anyone considering what the difference is between 1GHz and 1GHz. Jump over to Gizmodo for a bunch of video’s (including one of the Samsung running Quake 3).
After talking about the rumored HD3 from HTC, it seems Samsung won’t be out done. 4.3-inch Super AMOLED 2 screen with a 1280×720px resolution (that would be intense), 2 GHz hummingbird, 1 gig of ram and Bluetooth 3.0. To make matters even less realistic, the prototype shot looks unbelievably sexy. The rumored Galaxy S i9200 is also said to run the latest Android 3.0 Gingerbread OS.
What we know is that it is feasible. We know Samsung are working on a new generation of Super AMOLED. We know Cortex A9 (dual core) processors will be damn fast. We also know that Gingerbread is going to come sooner then later.
The Russian site that started the rumor said to expect the Galaxy S (2) i9200 in the first quarter of next year. It sounds impossibly great, and makes the iPhone 4 sound obsolete already. Lets cross our fingers and hope that it is real (and affordable).
If you have seen a AMOLED screen or the slightly more evolved Super AMOLED you will understand the advantages of the technology. More vibrant colours and better battery life are just a few advantages over LCD.
That list is going to grow, with Samsung working on making the next generation AMOLED screens kick even more arse. With advances such an improved white efficiency (20 cd/A to 40 cd/A), longer life (100 thousand up from 50 thousand) and lower power consumption (62 watts to less then 30 watts), Samsung are definitely aiming high.
Mass production is slated for July 2011, so expect August to be a big month for new mobile devices (Nexus Two?).
After years of reading about the advantages of the PixelQi screen, it is now available to buy. With $275, a screw driver and 5 minutes you can now have a low power PixelQi screen in your netbook (as long as it is a Samsung N130 or Lenovo S10-2).
Congratulations PixelQi for not becoming vaporware, and I hope to see the touch screen version in my next MeeGo powered tablet.
Techblog have been kind enough to test Super AMOLED vs AMOLED vs LCD in direct sunlight. People who are worried that the Samsung Super AMOLED will perform worse then a LCD in sunlight should no longer worry. Seems they are very similar (both equally as bad as each other).
Once upon a time technology companies pushed innovation instead of marketing. They pushed quality to a higher premium and were rewarded with customer loyalty. Now the opposite is happening. People buy the cheapest shit they can buy, knowing that it will probably break. That is except for a few companies, the biggest of which is Apple.
Apple make almost high quality devices. They focus heavily on how much they can get for the least given. They know they need to innovate, but only to a degree. They hide the hard facts, and use marketing talk to baffle the rest of us.
That is fine, but it is disappointing that Apple can’t be more transparent. They tell you stories such as their A4 is unique and built by Apple. Sure they might have tweaked the design, but it isn’t original Apple. It is an ARM architecture with some Samsung parts tacked on and then tweaked for performance vs power-drain.
Even with that, there is little to fault Apple. They don’t say a price or feature and then change it later. They tell you what you are getting and don’t give you an ounce more or less. No surprises just exactly what you ordered.
That seems to be the opposite with some Android devices. They really try and deliver, but have small flaws or hardware that is well under-specs for the software running on top. It gives you an inconsistent experience, and will push more non tech buyers to the Apple way of doing things.
It isn’t just the mobile operating system, it is the desktop OS as well. Apple don’t use the desktop OS on tablets, they created a new one. They don’t use their desktop OS on small low performance PC’s, they ask you to spend more. They know that there is some cases where things just don’t work. Something Microsoft is learning in the hardest way possible.
We need another Champion in the technology sector. Someone who makes quality and transparent devices, that constantly push boundaries. Someone who is willing to experiment, but always delivers consistently to the consumer. Most important someone who makes devices that last, and aren’t planning on the resale of devices in the next upgrade.
I know I am asking a lot, but the market speaks. More people buy Apple over the competitors, even if the price is higher. They have certain expectations of Apple, and Apple deliver, which is more then I can say for companies like Sony, Samsung and HTC.
Apple creates fanboys out of tech journalists for good reason, because they make better devices then majority of the competition. Don’t take my words for it, read the reviews and look at the sales.
I am hoping that the big boys will pick up their game soon, because I really don’t want to like Apple.
Samsung have leaked what looks to be a giant Samsung Galaxy S. It came from Samsung South Africa’s Twitter account and included the attached image. Not a lot of information was included, but it does have a 7″ Super AMOLED screen (which looks fantastic in the shot) and a 3.5mm headphone jack (stop the press’s).
Now Samsung, if you are going to tell me that I have to wait till 2011 to play with one of these I will…have to wait I guess. Will try and update when more information is Twittered.
Lucky Europeans will now be able to go and get themselves the almost perfect Samsung Galaxy S. US buyers won’t be left out either with Samsung announcing the US release will be later this year.
Why is the device almost perfect? No flash (both camera flash and software flash) and because Samsung are about selling new phones, the Galaxy may never get Froyo (Android 2.2). I hope Samsung proves me wrong.
So, you went out and brought Samsung’s delicious Galaxy S on the day of release. You are sitting their contemplating your purchase, but feel slightly disenchanted. You have such a fast beautiful device, but all the cool kids with their HTC’s and Motorola’s are getting all this news of Android 2.2 while you are left without hope.
