Wednesday 15 May 2013

Samsung Galaxy S4

As the Galaxy S counter flips another digit, Samsung has hopes of getting an even tighter grip on the smartphone market, and reasserting its Android dominance. With two of the main rivals enjoying a head-start to the market, the Samsung Galaxy S4 would need to be something special to quickly erase their lead. Not to mention, it's looked upon to match, and outdo, its predecessor. And by the first impressions of the smartphone, that might be not be as tall an order as it sounds.
     
Samsung Galaxy S4 official photos
The new Samsung flagship improves on just about every aspect of the previous generation, coupling more powerful hardware with another handful of new software features. With a bunch of new sensors too, the Galaxy S4 aims to be your must-have all-in-one tool.
Here's the full cheat sheet for our Samsung Galaxy S4 review:

Key features

  • Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE; quad-band 3G with HSPA; LTE
  • 5" 16M-color 1080p Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with Gorilla Glass 3
  • Android OS v4.2.2 Jelly Bean with TouchWiz UI
  • Quad-core 1.9 GHz Krait 300 CPU, Adreno 320 GPU; Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 chipset/ Quad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A15 & quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7, PowerVR SGX 544MP3 GPU; Exynos 5410 chipset
  • 2GB of RAM
  • 13 MP autofocus camera with LED flash,1080p video recording @ 30fps, continuous autofocus and stereo sound
  • 2 MP front-facing camera, 1080p video recording
  • Dual shot and dual video recording, Drama shot, Shot and sound
  • Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA
  • GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
  • 16GB/32/64GB of built-in storage
  • microSD card slot
  • microUSB port with USB host and MHL 2.0
  • Bluetooth v4.0
  • NFC
  • IR port for remote control functionality
  • Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
  • Accelerometer and proximity sensor
  • Barometer, thermometer, hygroscope
  • IR gesture sensor for Air gestures
  • Smart gestures: Smart stay, Smart pause, Smart scroll
  • Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
  • Ample 2600 mAh battery with great endurance
  • 7.9mm thickness
  • Smart volume and Adapt Sound features for the music player

Main disadvantages

  • Design is a bit played out by now
  • Hyperglaze finish doesn't feel as premium as aluminum on HTC One or glass on Xperia Z
  • No FM radio
  • Video recording is slightly worse than on the Galaxy S III; FOV in video is pretty narrow
  • Shared camera interface makes framing tricky
So, there are enough major wows, some minor ohs and just a few oh wells - not a bad achievement when you are succeeding the most popular droid of all time. The Samsung Galaxy S4 was always expected to aim for the top, but its announcement still managed to surprise a few. The fact that the Koreans squeezed a larger screen, a bigger battery and more power into something smaller than the Galaxy S III is impressive enough in its own right, but the novelties certainly don't end there.
Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4 Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4 Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4 Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4
Samsung Galaxy S4 at ours
We only got the chance to get to know a few of the Samsung Galaxy S4 exclusive software tricks in our preview, but we'll be testing the full set this time around. The new camera also showed promise and we'll put it through all the motions to find out if it can really live up to its potential.

SPECIFICATIONS

GENERAL2G NetworkGSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G NetworkHSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
4G NetworkLTE (market dependent)
SIMMicro-SIM
Announced2013, March
StatusAvailable. Released 2013, April
BODYDimensions136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm (5.38 x 2.75 x 0.31 in)
Weight130 g (4.59 oz)
DISPLAYTypeSuper AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.0 inches (~441 ppi pixel density)
MultitouchYes
ProtectionCorning Gorilla Glass 3
 - TouchWiz UI
SOUNDAlert typesVibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
LoudspeakerYes
3.5mm jackYes
MEMORYCard slotmicroSD, up to 64 GB
Internal16/32/64 GB storage, 2 GB RAM
DATAGPRSYes
EDGEYes
SpeedHSDPA, 42.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
WLANWi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot
BluetoothYes, v4.0 with A2DP, EDR, LE
NFCYes
Infrared portYes
USBYes, microUSB v2.0 (MHL 2), USB On-the-go, USB Host
CAMERAPrimary13 MP, 4128 x 3096 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, check quality
FeaturesDual Shot, Simultaneous HD video and image recording, geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, image stabilization, HDR
VideoYes, 1080p@30fps, dual-video rec., check quality
SecondaryYes, 2 MP,1080p@30fps, dual video call
FEATURESOSAndroid OS, v4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)
ChipsetExynos 5 Octa 5410
CPUQuad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A15 & quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7
GPUPowerVR SGX 544MP3
SensorsAccelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, temperature, humidity, gesture
MessagingSMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM, RSS
BrowserHTML5
RadioNo
GPSYes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS
JavaYes, via Java MIDP emulator
ColorsWhite Frost, Black Mist
 - Wireless charging (market dependent)
- S-Voice natural language commands and dictation
- Smart stay, Smart pause, Smart scroll
- Air gestures
- Dropbox (50 GB storage)
- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
- TV-out (via MHL 2 A/V link)
- SNS integration
- MP4/DivX/XviD/WMV/H.264/H.263 player
- MP3/WAV/eAAC+/AC3/FLAC player
- Organizer
- Image/video editor
- Document viewer (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF)
- Google Search, Maps, Gmail,
YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa
- Voice memo/dial/commands
- Predictive text input (Swype)

Saturday 2 February 2013


Sony Xperia V review


It won't be long before those full-HD five-inchers start stealing the show and the older Xperia generation should be preparing for life in their shadow. It doesn't mean though that the Xperia V cannot hope for a good time.
We don't see why a phone with dual-core Krait and an LTE connectivity shouldn't enjoy life in the midrange. OK, the upper midrange - but the Xperia V isn't easily caught off guard. Of course, people are not as easily impressed today as, say, a year ago. Yet, a select few phones are willing to offer 1080p videos and 13MP stills, while putting an HD touchscreen at your fingertips.
   
Sony Xperia V water-resistant phone
And there's more to the Xperia V than that. It's more durable than your average smartphone without looking like an army bot. You should've figured it by now, what we have here is a dust and water-resistant Xperia T with 4G connectivity and a tad smaller screen. Oh, well they needed to make sure the wetsuit would still fit the user.

Key features

  • Quad-band GSM /GPRS/EDGE support
  • 3G with 42.2 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
  • LTE Cat3 DL 100 Mbps UL 50 Mbps
  • 4.3" 16M-color capacitive LED-backlit Reality LCD touchscreen of 720p resolution (720 x 1280 pixels) with Sony Mobile BRAVIA engine 2; Scratch-resistant glass
  • Android OS v4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean coming up
  • IP57 certified for dust and water resistance, up to 1 meter immersion for 30 minutes
  • Dual-core 1.5 GHz Krait CPU, 1 GB RAM, Adreno 225 GPU, Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8960 chipset
  • 13 MP autofocus camera with LED flash and geotagging, Superior Auto mode
  • 1080p video recording @ 30fps with continuous autofocus and stereo sound
  • VGA front-facing camera
  • Wi-Fi a/b/g/n with DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct and hotspot
  • GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
  • 8GB of built-in storage, microSD card slot
  • microUSB port with MHL and USB-host support
  • Stereo Bluetooth v4.0
  • Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
  • Stereo FM radio with RDS
  • Voice dialing
  • Deep Facebook integration
  • PlayStation Certified, access to the PS Store
  • Accelerometer and proximity sensor
  • NFC connectivity

Main disadvantages

  • No JellyBean at launch
  • Relatively modest battery capacity
  • Video recording fails to impress
  • No hardware shutter key
  • Comes across as overpriced
The one thing that doesn't help Sony look particularly good is the tardy arrival of the latest software. The Xperia V is still to get Jelly Bean - and it will most likely be JB 4.1. There have been reports of Sony pushing back the Xperia V's launch on certain markets to put the latest software in. That makes sense but is perhaps part of the reason for the limited supply, that's been keeping prices quite high.
A bit of a vicious circle there, not too good for Sony, but hopefully not for long. Hopefully, the Xperia V should be getting the Jelly Bean treatment as early as February.
Sony Xperia V Sony Xperia V
The Sony Xperia V at HQ
Elsewhere, the Sony Xperia V makes a pretty strong case for itself. The HD display is looking good, the camera on the back is ready to serve 13MP stills, there's LTE and the dual-core Krait is humming along. And the Xperia V is ready to take calls at the poolside or in the shower.

Handling

The Xperia V isn't the most compact of smartphones with a 4.3" screen but the surprisingly lightweight body is a pleasure to handle, and the finish is great.
Single-handed operation is very comfortable and the dust and water resistance are something many users will appreciate. The flipside is a non-hot-swappable microSD card and the absence of a proper shutter key.
Sony Xperia V Sony Xperia V
The Xperia V held in hand
Overall though, it's a great-looking smartphone - without overdoing it - and one that's very secure and comfortable to hold.

SPECIFICATIONS

BODYDimensions129 x 65 x 10.7 mm (5.08 x 2.56 x 0.42 in)
Weight120 g (4.23 oz)
- IP57 certified - dust and water resistant
- Water proof up to 1 meter and 30 minutes
DISPLAYTypeTFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size720 x 1280 pixels, 4.3 inches (~342 ppi pixel density)
MultitouchYes, up to 10 fingers
ProtectionScratch-resistant glass
- Sony Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2
- Timescape UI
SOUNDAlert typesVibration; MP3 ringtones
LoudspeakerYes
3.5mm jackYes
MEMORYCard slotmicroSD, up to 32 GB
Internal8 GB, 1 GB RAM
DATAGPRSYes
EDGEUp to 237 kbps
SpeedHSPA+ (DL 42 Mbps/ UL 5.8 Mbps); LTE Cat3, (DL 100 Mbps/ UL 50 Mbps)
WLANWi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot
BluetoothYes, v4.0 with A2DP
NFCYes
USBYes, microUSB v2.0 (MHL)
CAMERAPrimary13 MP, 4128x3096 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, check quality
FeaturesGeo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, 3D sweep panorama, image stabilization
VideoYes, 1080p@30fps, continuous autofocus, video light, video stabilizer, check quality
SecondaryYes, VGA
FEATURESOSAndroid OS, v4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich), upgradable to v4.1 (Jelly Bean)
ChipsetQualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon
CPUDual-core 1.5 GHz Krait
GPUAdreno 225
SensorsAccelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
MessagingSMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, IM, Push Email
BrowserHTML5
RadioStereo FM radio with RDS
GPSYes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS
JavaYes, via Java MIDP emulator
ColorsBlack, White, Pink
- TV-out (via MHL A/V link)
- SNS integration
- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
- MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV player
- MP3/eAAC+/WMA/WAV player
- Document viewer
- Photo viewer/editor
- Voice memo/dial
- Predictive text input
BATTERYLi-Ion 1750 mAh battery
Stand-byUp to 300 h (2G) / Up to 400 h (3G)
Talk timeUp to 7 h (2G) / Up to 7 h (3G)
Music playUp to 18 h