Samsung’s latest handsets have proven to be quite elusive. It was originally announced that the devices would be coming out this April, right after the launch of other high end Android devices such as the HTC Desire and the Nexus One. However, Samsung quickly rebuffed the news and announced that their new smart phones would not be arriving so soon.
It seems that Vodafone UK has been successful in finally getting the two devices to be part of their offered lineup this Q2 of 2010 as the mobile network operator has finally announced both devices in their new offerings. It is expected that both of the handsets will be ready and in stock on shelves by June.
The Samsung i9000 Galaxy S is the newest high end Android smart phone in the Korean manufacturer’s lineup. This smart phone comes packed with a massive 4 inch touch screen that features Samsung’s latest super AMOLED technology. This means that the Galaxy S’ display is one of the clearest and sharpest available. The phone also comes packed with the 2.1 Android OS, the Touch Wiz user interface, a 5 mega pixel camera and several software features from Samsung. These additional apps include the Samsung Social Hub, SmartLife, ThinkFree and several other applications.
Samsung will also be bringing its Bada-loaded smart phone, the Wave. This device with an impressive 3.3 inch super AMOLED screen (slightly smaller than the one in the Galaxy S), a 5 mega pixel camera and of course, the Samsung TouchWiz user interface. The smart phone also uses the Samsung Social Hub.
It has also been announced that Samsung is working on a third smart phone that also makes use of the super AMOLED screen. The device has yet to be named but it has been confirmed to be a type 1 chassis smart phone that will be running the upcoming Windows Phone 7 OS.
Posts Tagged ‘Google-Nexus-One’
Vodafone to Offer Galaxy S and Wave Smart Phones
Monday, May 17th, 2010Ryan Stewart on Nexus One: Eco Zoo Works Now!
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010
Apple fans have been quick to jump on the news regarding the problems that tech evangelist Ryan Stewart had experienced when he was giving a demonstration of the new Flash support features on the Google Nexus One at the Seattle Flash Camp. In reaction to the reactions by the bad press, Ryan has taken it upon himself to rectify the situation and has uploaded the recent statement from his blog:
“On Friday I gave the Keynote at Flash Camp Seattle and as part of that keynote I tried to show off Flash Player 10.1 running on Nexus One. Unfortunately the demo didn’t go well and it got some attention around the web. I’ve had a great experience with Flash on my Nexus One but in this case I was running an interim Flash Player build, one I probably should not have installed, and one that I definitely should not have used for any public demos.”
“After I saw Jeff’s blog post, I sat down, upgraded my Flash Player, and went through and tested some of the sites I use on a regular basis. The experience was fantastic. Everything from the Eco Zoo to the NHL video site runs almost flawlessly. While it won’t make up for my mistake at Flash Camp, I recorded a video so people could see an experience that will be much closer to the final experience with Flash Player on Android.”
The video he mentions can be found in his blog too (link above).
This proves a lot for Adobe and Google, who have been surprising the tech community not only with their team up, but also the recently revealed touch screen tablet device that showed up at the Web 2.0 Expo. Flash and AIR is now supported by Google’s Android mobile platform. Expect to see the update for everyone pretty soon.
Google Nexus One to be Offered Directly by Vodafone UK
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010
In a surprise move by Google and Vodafone UK, the Nexus One Android smart phone will now be offered directly by the UK based mobile network operator. Those who want to get the device early should sign up and pre order the device as soon as possible to reach the first batch of phone deliveries that will be pushing through on May 5.
If you have not been keeping tabs on the Nexus One, this offer directly from Vodafone is unique since the device was originally meant to be exclusively available in the Google Online Store. The phone launched back in January 5 and has met with a very low sales performance due to the fact that not many people were interested in getting the phone through the Google store.
The move to stock the device directly by Vodafone and ship it straight from within the UK may hopefully change the plight of the Nexus One.
In many ways, it is odd that the Nexus One smart phone actually failed. Putting the bad marketing decisions aside, the phone itself is an impressive piece of work, being one of the first true high end Android devices to be launched.
The device runs on a 1GHz Snapdragon processor which will have your apps and features loading fast and running smoothly. The 3.7 inch AMOLED touch screen display provides excellent images and responsive touch controls. Lastly, the 5 mega pixel camera takes images and videos for uploading and sharing.
Google has also put in some interesting new technology in the device as well. The Android phone comes equipped with an enhanced voice recognition system that enables the phone to convert speech to text and even accept voice input queries. The dual microphone setup allows the device to easily filter audio.
Orange Gets Exclusive Colors on Android Devices
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
There is a new HTC Desire version out there and only Orange is offering the device to their clients. The new Desire Black Edition has been confirmed to be part of Orange Mobile’s offerings for this April and this brings the number of the operator’s exclusive Android colors to two. This all black edition of the HTC Desire is both visually appealing and a much better deal than the regular version of the smart phone.
Aside from the black edition of the HTC Desire, Orange mobile is also offering the white version of the SE XPERIA X10.
The white version of the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 was announced last week as an exclusive bonus for Orange. This is the special white color version of the Japanese Swedish joint venture’s very first Android smart phone. The handset runs on a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU which means that it will be running apps and features without noticeable slowdowns. The 4 inch OLED touch screen and the 8 mega pixel camera also help put this device in the high end category.
Anyway, back to the HTC Desire, this smart phone is the most impressive Android from HTC yet. The phone is pretty much the basis for the specifications of the Nexus One and also brings a few extra HTC-made features of its own.
Much like the Nexus One, the Desire comes with a 3.7 inch AMOLED capacitive touch screen for high quality visuals and easy touch controls, a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU for fast app and function loading as well as a 5 mega pixel camera. Added in to the Desire are the HTC Sense user interface and 720p HD video recording capabilities. Expect to see this handset available by the second week of April
Find out more about the new all black HTC Desire smart phone at Softpedia.
News Recap: Highlights from March Week 2
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
If you missed out on the news last week, here is a quick recap of all the big highlights:
First off, Sony Computer Entertainment has finally brought out the Playstation Move. After spending the last few months without announcements or updates on their motion based game controller, Sony has finally brought out a finished product with all the main specs and a combined current and tentative list of games that would support Move.
The new motion controller is designed with two devices that are to be held in each hand (unlike the Wiimotes, no connecting cord will be used). Expect to see some interesting applications of this new technology in the months to come.
Speaking of Sony, the electronics giant has announced that it will be bringing HD video content into the PS Network. Microsoft is also bringing its MSN player on the Xbox 360 and on WP7 as a way to bring its library of over 1000 hours of video to users.
In the meanwhile Vodafone has been through some tough internal changes with job cuts and the closure of 6 stores. At the same time, the UK based mobile network operator will have a busy month marketing in April as several devices launch. The SE XPERIA X10, the HTC Legend, HTC Desire, the Apple iPad are only some of the more interesting devices that will be part of the company’s upcoming lineup.
There are also reports that the Nexus One is now up on the Vodafone website though many believe that the Desire will easily outsell the device. Apple is still pushing with its lawsuit against HTC and now, it will also be defending its patents against Texas based SmartPhone Technologies in a similar lawsuit.
Get to see more of the news highlights for last week at Pocket Lint.
Nexus One: How Bad Marketing Kills Good Hardware
Monday, March 15th, 2010
The HTC made Google smart phone was originally thought to be the iPhone killer that the mobile industry has been hoping for. And while they are pretty close in terms of hardware specifications, the Nexus One fails to succeed in the one crucial factor needed by any device: making sales.
Looking at figures alone, Google sold 20,000 units of the Nexus One during its first week of sales. By comparison, when Vodafone offered the iPhone for the first time last January, they managed to sell 100,000 units of the device –and yes, by that time, the iPhone was already 2 years old and O2 already had over a million iPhone subscribers.
So what gives? The Nexus One is a terribly powerful phone when it comes to hardware. The processor is a 1GHz Snapdragon which means that apps and loading times are fast. The 3.7 inch AMOLED capacitive touch screen is not only accurate with control feedback, but also delivers high quality visuals as well. The 5 mega pixel camera is still a good standard for today’s smart phones and of course, the Android OS is one of the most sought after platforms of today.
The iPhone is winning over the Nexus One because Google failed to market the device properly. Despite the big hype and fuss within the mobile phone industry, hardly anyone else knew that Google was making its own smart phone. The device came out in a small event held by Google at their headquarters, the overall lack of marketing and advertisement was all but underwhelming as we wondered how Google thinks they can actually sell 3.5 million units. The worst part of all was making the device exclusively available on the Google Online Store.
For an in depth look at the Google phone, the Nexus One, go to Stuff TV.
Google Phone is Not Doing Well
Thursday, March 11th, 2010
It was pretty much expected that a smart phone made available only through an online store would not do so well –especially if the online store ships only from one region and has locked availability of the device to only four areas of the world.
This was Google’s great big marketing plan for the Nexus One which pretty much explains why they only managed to sell on 20,000 units of the device during the first week and are still performing badly until today. Prior to the launch of the Android smart phone, it was announced that Google expected to sell over three million units of their self branded smart phone, the expected number has dropped since then, and it was recently reported that Google now expects to sell around 1 million units by the end of the year.
Considering how badly the device is doing, even the 1 million mark will be pretty hard to reach. Regardless if the phone is subsidized by Vodafone in the UK, the fact that it is not available without having to order online is a very discouraging practice for a consumer. While this may keep Google in good graces with their manufacturing partners such as HTC, LG and Sony Ericsson; the choice of having a bad marketing plan reflects pretty badly for the company.
With the HTC Desire bound to show up on shelves in a matter of weeks, it would serve as a significantly better alternative to the Nexus One as the two devices are pretty similar in specs. Both have 3.7 inch AMOLED capacitive touch screens, 1GHz Snapdragon processors and 5 mega pixel cameras. All in all, the two devices are almost evenly matched.
Get to know more about the lowered projected sales for the Nexus One Android smart phone at Tech Radar.
Apple Dev Contract Released, Google Nexus Still not Selling
Thursday, March 11th, 2010Did you know that short of handing over your soul, Apple takes away almost all freedoms from app developers? The recently revealed details about the iPhone developer contract paint a very chilling image of how one-sided the deal can get. Apple also requires its developers to complete and utter secrecy (yes, we can imagine a black hooded organization lurking in the shadows now), which makes reading the contract feel like you are reading some sort of government spy guidelines.
Kidding aside, devs sign up for a pretty bad deal in order to produce apps for Apple –apps which go through an extremely stringent screening process before it is approved and would sell for prices that would require thousands of sales to pay back for the overhead.
In other news, it looks like Google is still going to be selling the Nexus One despite the device’s abysmal sales performance. Many already blame the fact that Google is using its online store as the exclusive channel for the device –it is said that had the device been available on retail, it would have sold significantly better.
At the same time, there are those who say that the decision to sell the device online was a smart move to keep Google’s industry partners happy. With HTC, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, LG and many other manufacturers currently making Android smart phones, it would be odd if Google’s Nexus One became a serious competitor.
It was originally estimated that the Google Nexus One would sell over 3 million units this year. Now, Google has set a more realistic notion of 1 million units –a goal they might not even meet given the current performance of the device.
To get more information and details about the latest news in the mobile phone industry, go to the Guardian UK.
Nexus One on Schedule for Vodafone Launch
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
We did get the original announcement early last January when the Nexus One was unveiled at Googleplex in Mountain View, California. Vodafone will be the UK operator offering the device.
Of course, with the expected release date still months away, the weight of the news was pretty hard to feel. Especially with the end of January coming with Steve Jobs’ unveiling of the Apple iPad tablet and most of February being focused on the Mobile World Congress. Well, those months have passed and now we see the resurfacing of news regarding the Nexus One heading to the UK.
Well, it is originally supposed to be good news. We would like it to be, but so far, nothing else makes this any good. The problem lies with the fact that even if Vodafone offers the Google device, it still does not mean that the phone can be obtained over the counter. Vodafone subscribers will still have to order the device online through Google’s store.
If that sounded pretty silly, then how about knowing the fact that until now, there are no confirmed stocks of the device that will be housed in Vodafone’s stores. We would at least like to know that Google has stocks of the smart phone sitting in some storehouse somewhere in Europe; because the cost of having the item shipped individually from the US would be a total waste of money.
So anyway, the phone, despite the hoopla, is still an impressive device. The Nexus One comes with a high speed 1GHz Snapdragon processor, a 5 mega pixel camera and a 3.7 inch capacitive AMOLED touch screen. It also has the new Google Earth and Google Goggles services as well as an advanced speech recognition system for speed to text and even spoken input queries.
Read more about the Nexus One at Softpedia.
Google to Provide Better Support
Friday, February 12th, 2010
It has been over a whole month since Google originally launched the Nexus One and it is only now that the company has decided to give it the much needed customer after sales support that it deserves.
The phone that was once thought to be the iPhone killer has suffered numerous setbacks since it was launched. In a most ironic twist, the device was immediately assessed to have problems with connecting to 3G networks –a problem that was also encountered by the iPhone in its early days. The Nexus One was reported to be unable to connect to 3G networks when other phones have no problems. It was also reported that the device would sometimes switch to EDGE on its own.
The problem has been solved about a week ago when Google finally launched a patch update that fixes that 3G problem along with a few other bugs. Aside from the fixes, the update also delivered additional functionality in the form of Google Goggles and version 4.0 of Google Earth.
Sadly, throughout all this time, Google did not have a customer hotline for people having problems with their device. The closest thing Google originally had to customer support is an email-only system that hardly gave sufficient assurance to distraught clients. Coupled with the fact that the phone was hard enough to obtain (only available through the Google Online store); it makes sense that they only managed to sell 20,000 units of the device in the first week of sales. Now, Google has finally opened up a hotline for customers.
For some people, this is a little too late. Many have already shifted their attention from the Nexus One and are instead looking at the HTC Bravo as a better alternative to the Google branded device. The Bravo will have similar specs and a few extra features compared to the Nexus One.
For more details about Google’s Customer support, go to Know Your Mobile.