galaxy – Tech Raman

This new feature in Samsung Galaxy J2 is powered by Opera Max

Lakshmi Rajan — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 06:04:44 +0000

Opera Max is a data-management and data-compression technology that compresses videos and photos on any app and saves on your data when on data or even Wi-Fi, Opera says it can save up to 50% of your precious data consumption which would be a big deal when you are on data connections, especially 4G. The Samsung Galaxy J2’s Ultra Data Saving mode also lets user to individually choose and pick apps to allow or deny them from using mobile data, enabling them to optimally use the data as per their needs. Backed by the Opera Max technology, the users can monitor how much mobile data is consumed and saved. Especially is your a heavy user of image-heavy or video apps, such as Instagram, YouTube, Vine and Flipboard, the Opera Max powered Ultra Data Saving mode can save up to 50% of data consumption and also free up to 11% RAM, which can not just vastly improve the user experience but also save on your data spend. https://youtu.be/k3FFC1zNxYA ]]>

Samsung unveils the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo, replaces Android with Tizen OS

Lakshmi Rajan — Sun, 23 Feb 2014 09:18:58 +0000

Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 Review

Lakshmi Rajan — Fri, 21 Feb 2014 17:09:51 +0000

Box contents: The box comes with the device, 2600 mAh battery, travel charger, data cable, earphone, ear silicone caps and quick start guide. There is no free flip case included this time unlike older Galaxy Grand that comes bundled with a free flip cover.

Design, look and feel & Specs

The design language of Samsung mobiles are increasingly very similar and familiar and Galaxy Grand 2 is no different. The front view atleast gives no indication of anything new when kept side by side the older model. Galaxy Grand 2 is molded on the same lines of Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Mega with a slightly little more squared off edges rather than the more curved edges of the predecessor. There is the same dollops of Chrome garnishes around the sides and the earpiece. And it sports like we mentioned in the begining, the Duos logo above the screen. There is the Samsung’s familiar placement of slightly raised Home button flanked by capacitive back and menu buttons that gives a warm blue glow when tapped. The power button on the right, the volume key on the left, a headset jack on the top and a Micro-USB port for charging on the bottom completes the standard Samsung placement of keys and ports. Instead of the expensive AMOLED display, Samsung has opted for a TFT LCD screen it used in the original Grand for this refreshed Grand’s 5.25-inch display. The resolution has been upped to 720×1280 pixels, a good push ahead, it might be recalled the earlier Grand came with a 480×800 pixel resolutions. Though the display did not give that slightly saturated eye-poping visuals we have used to in Samsung’s AMOLED displays, it still gives a crisp and pleasant view. [gallery link="file" columns="4" ids="6432,6408,6404,6407"] Cast your eyes on the rear and you will note and feel the new skin. The new Galaxy Grand comes with the faux-leather panel complete with threaded design similar to Galaxy Note 3. It gives a better grip and feel while holding and does not feel plasticky. Peel off the back panel and it reveals the two SIM slots and a microSD card slot. There is also a beefier 2600mAh battery to give a good battery juice. You can slot in two micro-SIM and I found out that the second SIM-slot can accommodate a nano-SIM too. The microSD card slot sits on top of the primary SIM slot. [gallery link="file" columns="4" ids="6405,6406,6410,6409"] On the technicalities, the device is powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor clocked at 1.2 GHz and stitched to a 1.5 GB RAM and Adreno 305 GPU. This is a better configuration compared to the MediaTek offerings from most phones in Grand’s league. The internal storage is a 8GB while it can be expanded up to 64GB using a microSD card.

UI and features

Out of the box, the Galaxy Grand 2 runs on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean OS but completely overhauled by TouchWiz UI leaving almost no trace of the stock Android underlay. The lock screen comes alive with a burst of light and an animated lens flare to unlock. If you find it irritating or feel it would drain the battery, you can go to the lock-screen setting and disable the effects. If you have been using Samsung devices for sometime, the UI is very familiar. There are five home screens by default and you can add two more to it. Swipe up a finger on the home screen from the bottom of the screen and it opens Samsung’s My Magazine app. The app sorts out beautifully the news feeds, your personal updates including social updates. It looks more inspired by Flipboard and HTC’s Buzzfeed feature. With Flipboard more popular and also accessible by default on one of the scrollable home screen, I wonder how many would use the My Magazine app. With more apps finding way into the Android with default apps from Google and Samsung into the device, to de-clutter the screen there are buckets where you find default apps from Samsung, Google put into it for easy access. Notification panel has a list of toggle buttons that gives quick access to stuffs like WiFi, GPS, Sound, Screen rotation, Bluetooth, Mobile data, blocking mode, Power saving, Multi Window, Wi-Fi Hotspot etc. When you click top right icon on top next to the setting on the notification panel, it opens up complete list of accessible icons. The notification panel also has a brightness control slider and if music is playing it shows the playback controls. Like most other mid and top-end Samsung galaxy devices, Galaxy Grand 2 also enables Multi windows so you can work with multiple windows at a time. Once you toggle on them multi windows option on the notification panel or in the settings, pressing the back button and a long pause opens the multi-windows option. It shows a list of apps that can be worked simultaneously. For those who love to command by voice, S-Voice is Samsung’s answer to Apple’s Siri. S-Voice can be activated by double tapping the home button. From there, you can either say “Hi Galaxy” or tap the button on the screen to start giving voice commands. There are quiet a long list of things you can do by voice including making calls, sending text messages, adding calendar events, launching apps, setting alarms and reminders, get the news read out, searching the web etc.

Samsung App store and Samsung Hub

There is always a choice a plenty when it comes to Samsung Galaxy smartphones be it in features, tweaks, customization or apps. If Google Play is not enough for apps, Samsung has included its own Samsung App store. The company also has love to flaunt its own Music and Video apps alongside the Google’s media apps. To its credit, they work well too inspite of it duplicating and consuming extra space. Then there is Samsung Hub which offers videos, books, games and learning material. It requires the individual hubs to be installed. You can pick from a range of movies, books, games and other learning materials some of which are free while most of them has to be purchased. The catalogue includes some of the recent Bollywood releases as well as Hollywood fares. The learning Hub has a mix of materials including TED videos, recipe books, nursery rhymes and children books and reference and tutorials. Again the contents are mix of free and paid.

More features, add-ons and modes

Samsung’s love for giving more controls, tweaks and customization continues literally in every screen. In case you find the Home screen heavily bloated, you can opt for Easy mode, that offers a very simplistic home screen with minimum bells and whistles with simpler layout and bigger icons. Then there is a Blocking mode which when enabled allows you to block incoming calls, notifications and disable alarm and timer along with an option for adding allowed contacts that would be barred from being blocked. This would be very handy when you are in a meeting or when you don’t want to be disturbed but still allow certain contacts from reaching out to you. Additionally you can also set time for the feature to be activated. There is also a Hands-free mode that would read out your incoming calls, messages, schedules. So next time when you are driving or hands messed up, you can set the phone to read out for you. A big phone can be daunting for some for one-handed handling while messaging or using apps like calculator and for the same reason Samsung has included a One-handed operation feature that would push the keyboard to left or right side of the phone for easy use with one-hand. Are we done yet? No not before mentioning the other motion, palm and smart features like Mute/Pause the screen placing the motion gestures, taking screen shots which I find to be very useful for my reviews by just swiping the palm across the screen and also mute or pause the music by covering the phone with palm, the smart feature includes Smart stay which keeps the screen on by detecting your eye movement. It must be noted that the higher end devices has more exhaustive list of smart features than the one mentioned here. [gallery columns="5" ids="6471,6472,6473,6474,6477"]

Galaxy Grand 2 Camera

The pixel count almost remain the same when compared to the original, so we have a 8-megapixel rear camera and a 1.9-megapixel front camera. The earlier model came with in fact a 2-megapixel front camera but the small drop in the pixel count will not make much of a difference. Like most smartphones especially Samsung series, the daylight shots are commendable with rich detailing and crispiness. The selfies can also look good on the front camera. Video is captured at 720p and gives a good performance. On low light, the results suffer like with most smartphone cameras. Overall, I am satisfied with the Galaxy Grand 2 performance in this segment. When a smartphone gets a refresh, first obvious list of improvements would be met to the camera department features. When you go to the camera mode, a notable addition is the large circular Mode button which lists out the 10 camera modes. The Sound and Shot feature where we can record a 10 second audio snippet to a picture makes an entry to Grand 2 camera mode. Then there are other modes like Beauty face, Best Face, Panaroma, Continuous shots etc.

Performance

With Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor ticking and a 1.5GB of RAM giving a shoulder, at any time Galaxy Grand 2 is expected to perform well and be robust than the Mediatek-lugging rival models in the segment. Galaxy Grand 2 scored pretty well in the benchmarks pitted against its rivals. The device has a very good viewing angle. With a big screen, people look for good video and gaming experience in the device and Grand 2 gives a decent audio and video playback. 720p videos run smoothly while there was a slight stuttering while playing the 1080p videos. The device tends to slightly heat up when playing heavy games like Ashapalt, Frontline commando etc. There is not much lag or bugs otherwise during the brief period we handled the device and it worked like a charm.

The final word

When the original Grand hit the market, there was less competition for Samsung in the big phone market. In fact it was Samsung who turned large-display smartphones a money-spinner and gave the segment a big boost. It was the time when the big-screened Galaxy Note was a head turner and Galaxy Grand whetted the appetite of the mid-segment consumer’s crave for bigger display at a lesser price. When the follow-up of Galaxy Grand hits the market, many things have changed. Almost every smartphone maker has a presence in 5-inch display bracket and quad-core, Full HD has become a common parlance in this segment. Competition is fierce in the Rs 17,000-22,000 product category and Galaxy Grand 2 priced on the top-cream of the segment have it’s task cut and a serious battle ahead to win the consumers. Still what might work for Samsung is it’s meticulously build brand presence helped by aggressive marketing blitzkrieg and retail and service presence spread across the country. To put it simply, Samsung has a brand weight, a pleasing design, over dose of features and UI tricks to make Galaxy Grand 2 a complete package in this segment.]]>

Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 launched in India, to be available from January

Lakshmi Rajan — Mon, 23 Dec 2013 09:26:51 +0000

unveiled in November, we know it would hit the Indian market shortly. The original Galaxy Grand had a good outing here and with mid-segment phablets gaining momentum in the Indian market, the new upgraded Grand 2 with 5.25 inch looks like a potential blockbuster. At the launch event today the company announced the device would be available in the market from January. Though there was no mention on the price of the product, Samsung has indicated a price range between Rs. 22,900 and Rs. 24,900. The dual-SIM device Galaxy Grand 2 is the successor to Galaxy Grand and features a 5.25-inch HD TFT display with a resolution of 720×1280 pixels compared with the 5-inch WVGA display on the former. The hardware specs also sees a push with a 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm processor alongside 1.5GB of RAM. A 8GB internal memory expandable upto 64GB should be pretty enough for media consumptions. It runs on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. The camera specs include a 8-megapixel autofocus rear camera with LED flash and a 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera. Other hardware mentions include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, dual-SIM support and 2600mAh battery that promises up to 10 hours of playback and 17 hours of calls. As usual Samsung’s TouchWiz UI finds place and software features like S Translator, S Travel, Story Album, Samsung Hub, Group Play and Samsung link finds way in. Also Sound and Shot features which enables to record audio snippet to your picture is included in the camera features. The Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 will be available in Black, Pink and White colour variants in select regions. ]]>

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 ships 3 million devices in 3 months

Lakshmi Rajan — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 12:50:03 +0000

via their Korean Corporate blog they let know the world an impressive figure of 10 million shipment units in 3 months of its debut. Now to put this 10 million figure into some perspective, it took four months for the Note II and nine months for the first Note to hit the same milestone. Samsung has been able to impress upon the users by building upon the S Pen functionality of the Galaxy Note 3 with impressive array of features as well as coming up with a quick shortcut plate, Air Command to access the multitude of features. Since the launch of original note, the Note series has also seen the display size been increased in subsequent releases alongside making it more ergonomic and reducing the bezel to keep it practical. It also recently announced that it has sold more than 100 million Galaxy Smartphones this year. Great going Sammy. The first quarter of 2014 would see many new Galaxy releases and also the next generation Galaxy S5 about which various rumours has already started flying.]]>

Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 launched, features 5.25-inch 720p display, Android 4.3

Lakshmi Rajan — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 12:10:03 +0000

Samsung updates its budget smartphone portfolio with Galaxy Trend for Rs 8,700

Lakshmi Rajan — Mon, 23 Sep 2013 08:37:44 +0000

Gamsung India has 17 smartphones in its Galaxy series and has now added one more device to its portfolio. Galaxy Trend, a budget smartphone is listed in its website for Rs 8,700. There is no word yet on the availability of the device with the page showing a ‘Notify Me’ option for consumer. While Samsung’s official website is mum on the availability, Galaxy Trend is available in online e-commerce sites like Flipkart and Snapdeal for a discounted price of Rs. 8,490 and with a 2-3 working days for delivery. The dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) Samsung Galaxy Trend comes with a 4-inch WVGA TFT display with a 480×800 pixel resolutions and is powered by a 1GHz processor and 512MB of RAM. The internal storage includes 4GB of inbuilt storage, out of which only 2.05GB is user-accessible. A 32GB expandable storage is possible via microSD card. According to the specs listed on the official site it runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with TouchWiz 4.0 UI on top while the listings on the online retailers talk about the Galaxy Trend as an Android 4.1 Jelly Bean device. The device has dimensions 121.5×63.1×10.85mm and weighs 126 grams. The Galaxy Trend sports a 3-megapixel rear camera with no flash and there is no room for front camera. Connectivity features on the device include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, EDGE, GPRS and 3G. There is a 1500mAh battery which the company claims can deliver up to 8 hours of talktime and up to 350 hours of standby time. ]]>

Samsung Galaxy S4 mini launched in India for Rs 27,990

Lakshmi Rajan — Tue, 09 Jul 2013 11:46:18 +0000

Welcome the extended family of Galaxy S4. Today the Korean giant launched Samsung Galaxy S4 mini in India for Rs 27,990. The smaller sibling of Galaxy S4 was first announced in May and later the Galaxy S4 Active and Galaxy S4 Zoom joined the famed family. Samsung is trying to milk the S4 fame and hype by squeezing in many variants. Unfortunately, except for the name monicker and the semblance to Samsung’s flagship smartphone, Galaxy S4 mini is no match to the bigger bro when it comes to the specs. Galaxy S4 mini has a 4.3 inch Super Amoled display with a qHD resolution (960×540 pixels). The resolution pales in comparison to Galaxy S4’s full HD. Again the processor is smashed to a lower end with a dual-core 1.7 GHz processor, 1.5 GB RAM and internal memory of 8 GB. The shooter is also minimized to a 8 megapixel and a 1.9 MP front facing camera. As a saving grace, Samsung has borrowed and rolled out some of the camera features from Galaxy S4 like Sound and shot, Panorama shot and also Story album that automatically organizes the captured images into album based on time, events and place. Galaxy S4 mini runs on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean the latest Android version cooking now and has garnished it with Samsung’s TouchWiz UI. Other features like S Translator, S Health etc that was found in Galaxy S4 also are available here. S4 mini stores under it’s belly a 1,900 mAh battery and weighing an impressive 107 grams its delightful on hand. But the bottom line, will the S4 branding help sell Galaxy S4 mini at the price tag of Rs. 27,990 which does not merit the inferior hardware specs. ]]>

Samsung Galaxy S4 Active goes official; Rugged and water,dust resistant

Lakshmi Rajan — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 14:29:03 +0000

The run-up to the Samsung Premiere 2013 event at London on June 20 is seeing a lots of action with the company surprising everyone by making official one after other devices. Last week we saw the diminutive variant of S4 and today we have the rugged version, all screwed up and water resistant, Samsung Galaxy S4 Active. [gallery ids="3873,3872,3870,3871,3869"] The smartphone boasts of a IP67 certification for water and dust protection and you can safely put it in water up to one meter depth for up to 30 minutes and it will survive. Not that we advice you to test it but in case of any such accidental scenario, your phone can withstand it thanks to its fully sealed body design. More importantly you can also shoot under-water with its 8 MP camera. The camera mode even has a special ‘Aqua Mode’ for better underwater images and videos. Though most of the internals are similar to Galaxy S4, few notable changes being the 5-inch display features a TFT LCD apart from the downgraded 8 MP camera. Running on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and powering the handset is a quad core 1.9 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor with a 2 GB of RAM. It also packs a 16 GB of internal memory expandable via microSD card, 2600 mAh battery, alongside connectivity options like LTE, IR-port, NFC etc. The software features like Air View and Air Gestures, Group Play, Smart pause and apps like S Health fitness and WatchON IR also finds place. Notable camera features that was included in Galaxy S4 like Dual Shot, Sound and Shot also figures in along side the new Aqua mode. Dimension wise, the Galaxy S4 Active is slightly larger and thicker at 139.7 x 71.3 x 9.1mm and weighs 151 gms, a 21 gram increase from the original. S4 Active would be available in three colors: Urban Grey, Dive Blue and Orange Flare and will hit US and Europe to begin with. ]]>

Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 and Mega 5.8 launched in India for Rs 31,490 and Rs 25,100

Lakshmi Rajan — Tue, 28 May 2013 11:16:31 +0000

In April Samsung unveiled its brand new Mega series of Phablets for those who wants their hands full. A 5.8 inch and 6.3 inch might raise many an eyebrows but seems like there exists a niche market for such a mammoth smartphone devices that almost blurs the line between smartphones and mini tablets. Buoyed by the success of Galaxy Grand, the company launched Galaxy Mega 6.3 and Mega 5.8 in India officially for a price of Rs. 31,490 and Rs. 25,100 respectively.

Common features of Mega 6.3 and Mega 5.8

Design wise, both the device looks similar to Galaxy S4 and both lists similar features and runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean with Samsunng’s own Nature UX 2.0 topping. Both are powered by a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor with slight variations in clocking speed but mated with a 1.5 GB RAM. Other common features of the dual-SIM mega phone 8-megapixel rear, a 1.9-megapixel front cameras, and connectivity support through Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3G, GPS and more. Galaxy Mega brings many of the touted features that came with the new flagship device, Galaxy S4. Some of the features include: Air View: that lets users preview information in emails, photos in Gallery, and speed dial contacts without opening them Group Play: Enables easy content sharing for up to 8 devices on the same Wi-Fi network. S Translator: Enables instant translation, using text or voice translation on applications including email, and ChatON. To begin with, it supports 9 languages. Story Album: Allows users to storify your events based on locations or events and organize it. Samsung Link: Easily streams photos, videos, notes, or music to your television, tablet or computer Camera features: Some of the camera features that debuted in Galaxy S4 like Drama shot, Sound and Shot, Eraser shot etc is also beefed up in the Mega phones. Also other features like Pop up play, multi-windows, smart view etc finds the way in.

Galaxy Mega 6.3 specs and features

With a 6.3 inch display it’s clear Samsung aims to take on Huawei Ascend Mate which has a 6.1 inch screen. The huge display has a 720 x 1280 pixels resolution forking out a 233 ppi density. It will come in 8 and 16GB internal storage capacity variants and a further expandable memory via microSD card up to 64GB. Galaxy Mega 6.8 supports NFC, which is missing in the other Mega. Bigger phone are thirsty for more battery juice and Mega 6.3 is packed with a Li-Ion 3200 mAh battery. The device measures 8 mm in thickness and weighs 199 grams.

Galaxy Mega 5.8 specs and features

The smaller sibling in the mega series is Galaxy Mega 5.8, featuring a 5.8 inch display with 540 x 960 pixels resolution and a 199 ppi density which does not excite much considering the screen size. The dual-core processor is clocked at 1.4 GHz with a 1.5 GB RAM. Unlike the bigger Mega, Mega 5.8 comes with only a 8 GB internal memory option which ofcourse is expandable via microSD card upto 64 GB. NFC is absent in the 5.8 edition. 2600 mAh battery is also slightly smaller compared to the other mega. At 9 mm it is also tad thicker than Mega 6.8 and weighs 182 gms. So what you think of the Mega series? Is it too big for your comfort or you would say bigger is better? Do leave your comments.]]>