REVIEW: Introducing the Samsung Galaxy Note

IF there is one thing I can say about Samsung, it's that they continue to impress me with their screen technology. I watched a video recently where someone tried to scratch their Samsung smartphone screen with a penknife (violently), which left behind very little carnage.  

The new Galaxy Note smartphone (launched this year) features the world’s first and the largest 5.3" HD Super AMOLED display. This is an expansive high-resolution screen, which is currently the largest screen size available with smartphone portability. The Galaxy Note was designed to combine core on-the-go benefits of various mobile devices while maintaining smartphone portability.

The HD Super AMOLED display offers quality viewing experiences for video, photo, documents, webpages, apps and e-books. The blacks are deep and the colours bright. The superior screen also offers a 180 degree viewing angle, allowing contents to be viewed and shared comfortably from all angles. It is also great for showcasing high resolution PowerPoint presentations and the screen is large enough to allow split-screen operation, which handles well thanks to its 1.4GHz dual-core processor.

"The artistic freedom of a paper notebook is coupled with the benefits of Samsung’s smartphone technology and services, allowing users to create, edit and share with more style than ever before," says JK Shin, President and Head of Samsung’s Mobile Communications Business.

Samsung plans to release the S Pen SDK soon which will allow app developers to create new applications and services incorporating the pen functionality. Samsung has also included S Planner - a smart, professional planning tool that makes full use of the device’s large screen. The management planner integrates the phone’s To-Do list and schedule.

The Galaxy Note also features S Memo - a multimedia application designed to record all forms of user-created content. Pictures, voice recordings, typed text, handwritten notes or drawings can all be captured via a single application and converted to a 'memo', to be edited, annotated and shared as desired.

A good smartphone wouldn't be as such without good connections into the online world. Fast network speeds are enabled through the HSPA+ and LTE-enabled connection. This allows users to stream videos in real-time or engage with their friends through online gaming platforms.

This article has been sponsored by Samsung.

SAMSUNG DIVE: Samsung gets smart with mobile security

AS Smartphones become ever increasingly sophisticated, more and more personal information is stored on them, and the loss of a phone can be far more than just an inconvenience. It is with this in mind that Samsung has launched Samsung Dive – an online access portal to address the security issues associated with a mobile lifestyle.

“If you’ve ever lost your phone, you’ll know it can be very frustrating and more importantly, it can be a huge security risk. We have responded to the security needs of our consumers as the Samsung Dive service will provide peace of mind by allowing you to not only see the details of your phone via the Internet, but where you last used it, and if you have lost it or it was stolen, you can wipe your personal information off the device.” - Paulo Ferreira, Head of Product and Software Solutions at Samsung.

Samsung Dive is in essence a free security assistant. When your device is lost you can lock your device via Samsung Dive and with the Mobile Tracker service you will be able to lock, wipe or see the location of your phone. Key elements include:

• Ring my Phone feature: This service will use the Internet to send a message to the phone to ring and initiate a call whether the phone is on or off.
• Receive notification when the SIM card is changed: You can be notified when the SIM is changed in the case that someone uses your phone illegally.
• Remotely lock your phone: You can lock your phone to prevent people from using it and accessing your personal information.
• Remotely wipe your phone: If you lose your phone and it hasn't been returned, you can initiate a remote wipe to protect your privacy.
• Receive the location of your phone: To help you find your phone, the service will show the last location of your phone on Google Maps.

In addition to the above, Samsung Dive allows for the ability to pull up call logs remotely. This is certainly a practical function for parents as it allows them to monitor their child’s cellphone and stay in contact. If your child is out and isn’t answering, for example, not only can your track the phone, but you can also pull up the call logs and dial the last person they were in contact with.

• Note: The Samsung Dive application is only available for the Samsung Galaxy SII (which will be officially launched locally within the next quarter) and the Samsung Wave II (locally available in-store). Further models will become available at a later stage. Samsung will keep you updated as to these additions.

- Published on behalf of Samsung and Orange Ink.

** More News and Media Articles **

APPSOLUTELY FABULOUS: A pick of some of the best smartphone apps

IF you have a cellphone contract and recently got an upgrade, you’re likely to be in possession of a smartphone. A smartphone is basically any cellphone that has a complete operating system and is able to connect to the Internet and other devices wirelessly. To put it simply, a smartphone can be thought of as a handheld computer.

A fully functioning operating system allows users to install and run more advanced applications. It also provides a platform for application developers to create apps. There are now thousands of smartphone applications available across cellphone networks and brands — some free and others available for purchase. The Apple iPhone App Store alone boasts over 200 000 download-able apps. Many of them are utter rubbish, but there are a few gems among the rough that may be worth downloading.

Apps have become the building blocks for making your smartphone unique and range from travelling guides to learning how to do yoga. Also remember that there are several applications that do the same thing (some better than others), but this also means that an appealing application that appears to be exclusive to the iPhone, for example, may be found for your particular smartphone brand under a different name. What follows is a few particularly interesting and potentially useful smartphone apps.

Application: eSkyGuide
Platforms: Blackberry and iPhone
Cost: $5 (roughly R35) per year

This traveler’s app allows you to look up flight schedules, airport codes and other critical travel information straight from your smartphone. This particular version also lists phone numbers for airlines, hotels, international emergency numbers and car rental services.

Application: GoodFood
Platforms: Blackberry, iPhone and others
Cost: Free!

The GoodFood app is a popular restaurant guide for smartphone users. Using your smartphone’s built-in GPS, GoodFood automatically locates your position and shows nearby restaurants. It also displays the ratings for each restaurant submitted by other users of the app. “Find one with a high score, enjoy your meal and post your own rating to share with fellow travelers. – goodrec.com

Application: The Essential Garden Guide
Platforms: Multiple platforms (also available for iPad)
Cost: $0.99 (about R7)

The Essential Garden Guide app is a comprehensive guide that covers everything you might need to know to start your very own garden of abundant produce. The app has been created from a collection of 15 years worth of contributions from renowned agricultural. It includes basics such as soil preparation as well as extensive information on all types of fruits and vegetables.

Application: Fuel Saver
Platforms: Available on multiple platforms
Cost: Generally free

There are several fuel saving applications available for different smartphones that all aim to help users prevent wasting petrol. This particular version uses your phone’s accelerometer to sense when drivers are speeding, accelerating or braking too hard and other bad driving behaviour that uses excessive petrol. The app emits a series of beeps when bad driving is detected and is aimed to teach users how to drive in the most fuel-efficient manner.

Application: Anti-mosquito
Platforms: Samsung Wave and others
Cost: R11 (for Samsung Wave)

This app supports the belief that certain sonic frequencies repel blood-hungry insects such as mosquitoes. Also known as “Sonic Insect Repeller”, this app turns your smartphone into an insect reflector that is claimed to be effective, chemical-free and safe to use around children and pets.

Application: Flashlight
Platforms: Available on multiple platforms
Cost: R11 (for Samsung Wave)

A handy little app that could help you find your way in the dark or get you out of any Blairwitch Project situation. Flashlight apps work by allowing you to switch your camera’s flashlight on for as long as you need or emits a strong beam of light from your entire screen. Very useful for finding lost keys in the dark or signaling for an emergency.

** More Articles on Cellphones & Cellular Technology **

THE SAMSUNG CORBY: For nimble-fingered tech savvies

THE iPhone has certainly set the standard for new cellular descendants with newer mobile releases favoring the larger, full-touch screen. There is also a major focus on making cellphones exclusive social networking devices.

Samsung has followed suite with the release of a few touch-friendly iPhone clones – one of which is called the Samsung Corby. The device is specifically aimed at the youth market and it’s easy to see why; it takes a tech-savvy youth to get to grips with it. However, touch technology is amazingly intuitive and it shouldn’t take long for anyone to learn to use a Corby – provided you have thin and nimble fingers and thumbs.

Social features
On the plus side the Corby is certainly a very social phone. It is fully Facebook, Twitter and MySpace compatible and can be used to upload content to a variety of sites, such as YouTube, Flickr, Picasa and Photobucket. One is also able to receive updates and live feeds via Facebook, MySpace and Twitter through a simple pop-up SNS (Social Networking Service) notification feature.

With a Corby, users can upload photos and videos and view such content on these sites through a feature called Communities. However, community access is only granted after an extensive disclaimer is displayed, which includes the clause that any content uploaded may be accessed and used by third parties. Be warned that there is a risk of being spammed with adverts once your personal details are divulged.

The screen
The 2.8-inch QVGA screen is large and crystal clear – something that Samsung certainly gets right. I thought the screen would get smudgy after a few hours of fingering and was surprised to find that it didn’t leave a single fingerprint behind. Apart from three buttons found on the front, the phone is entirely operated with the screen using one’s fingers and thumbs.

This may pose a problem for some as the Corby does not favour users with fat fingers. You have to use your thumb to type / touch anything comfortably and I’m sure that the average thumb is not as small as most of the keys on the touch-screen. A better option is to use a stylus (a phone-poking pen with a thin, touchy tip). Yet the Corby comes with none.

What’s on the menu
The Corby has an elaborate menu – two and a half screens worth. These all have a function and purpose but Samsung could have easily gone for a minimalistic approach by combining some of these. For example, there are separate synonymous icons for “Google” and “Internet” as well as separate “stopwatch” and “timer” functions. I guarantee that consumers would agree that less is more and imagine that a lot of the Corby’s multiple functions would go unused.

Apart from the 27 pre-installed widgets an additional 75 are available for download from Samsung’s online Widgets Store (not unlike the iPhone App Store). The Corby makes use of quad band connectivity to download content and browse the web, which is no 3G experience but is still sufficiently fast.

Nonetheless the Corby is easy enough to navigate and it doesn’t take long for all the mysterious symbols to start making sense. There does, however, seem to be a slight misunderstanding between the scroll and the zoom functions – often confusing themselves with each other. What also lacks is an on-screen QWERTY keyboard – making message-making rather difficult.

Other features
The Corby has an impressive memory and can support up to 8GB of external storage. Battery life is said to be 9 hours of talk time and an incredible 730 hours of standby time. It has a camera yet this is a mere 2 megapixels and has no autofocus or flash. It does have a “smile shot” function which is becoming all the rage – i.e. the phone will only take a photo of a person when he/she is smiling.

There are two unique features belonging to the Corby, namely “one finger zoom” and “smart unlock.” As the name suggests, one finger zoom enables consumers to zoom in and out with one finger, while smart unlock is a feature which enables users to unlock the phone by drawing a letter on the screen. One can choose from 9 letters with which to secure their phone from teenaged trespassers.

The verdict
The S3650 Corby would definitely appeal to youngsters that are keen on technology and consider themselves as active social networkers. It is also a phone for those who like to personalise and customise and comes with extra covers slanged “fashion jackets”. The relatively low price of R1500 implies no fancy stuff, but the wide range of features and downloadable content is certainly relevant to the target audience. Tech-savvy and mobile-intuitive traits required.

Related Reviews:
Samsung S3500: Budget Bundle
Jet-setting with the Samsung Jet

** More Cellphone Reviews **

REVIEW: The Samsung S3500 Quad-band

I’VE had the same brand of cellphone since I was 16, and that’s not because I’ve had the same phone since I was 16. On the contrary, I’ve been through about seven phones in the last eight years.

There was my first phone that drowned in a fishpond, another that committed suicide by jumping out of a six-storey window, a third phone that died in a freak electrical-induced accident, and a few others that were simply tossed aside because something sexier and more exciting had come to town.

But of all the phones I’ve had in my life, they’ve all had one thing in common — they all belonged to the same brand. My current phone is the same brand. I believe this is because of a fundamentally human thing — that we tend to resist change, especially in the technology department. There is something comforting about the familiar and we don’t want to have to faff about learning something new when we already have something old that works perfectly fine.

This brings me to the Samsung S3500, which was a pleasant introduction to Samsung mobile phones. This model seems to be marketed as a fairly up-to-date budget phone, because apparently we’re in some kind of merciless economic recession. It’s not a bad marketing strategy, although I would argue that what actually appeals to consumers the most is the idea of paying less for more.

And it’s not a bad bundle that you get for around R3 000 (prepaid).

It has one unique function called “fake call” which is a little strange. This function enables you to activate a bogus incoming call so you can free yourself from awkward conversations or dodgy situations by pretending to take a call.

It has EDGE connectivity capabilities, an embedded music player, FM radio, Bluetooth, a WAP browser and a camera, among other things. It also looks really slick and there is something very pleasing about a slider phone.

Let’s take a closer look (a full list of specs appear at the end of this post):

DISPLAY
The Samsung’s display, on the other hand, is great, with each of the main keys of the D-pad bringing up a different set of options. It is easy to navigate and all the functions are neatly displayed on the main menu. It has a nice selection of themes, the icons are large and the screen is bright. Top marks for presentation.

SOUND
One thing that cellphones today are really starting to perfect is the way they sound. Gone are the days of fake-sounding, mosquito-like noises emanating from phones as they ring. Most mobiles today sound so good that they make for great portable radios and MP3 players. The Samsung S3500 is both and they sound great.

KEYPAD
Until this year I had always been reluctant to get a phone on contract. The thought that yet another phone might drown or kill itself, leaving me with the responsibility of having to pay for it every month for two years, doesn’t really appeal to me.

However, one needs to consider that as long as you take good, vigilant care of your cellphone, having one on contract should be a lot cheaper in the long run. I am finally content with my current phone with the exception of its keypad, which is very similar to that of the Samsung S3500.

I find these newer, flat and hard keypads difficult to operate, especially when trying to type an SMS in a hurry. This does not bode well for someone who SMSes more than he/she phones.

My fondest memory of my very first phone was its spongy buttons, which almost massaged one’s fingers. With these flatter, more plastic-like keypads, such as that of the Samsung S3500, I find that I have to use my fingernail to type … if it hasn’t yet been chewed off from frustration.

GAMES
The Samsung S3500 has a large library of games, which tells me that this phone is really suited for the teenage market. The phone comes with seven free games with the option of downloading more. And these are not the standard, outdated games such as Snake, but classier, more challenging digitalised treats such as Harry Potter, Midnight Pool and Sudoku.

If mobile games are your thing, these should keep you entertained for hours.

INTERNET
As soon as I read “Quad-band” on the side of the Samsung S3500’s box I got rather excited as I expected to experience lightning-fast Internet speeds. However, if you have experienced ADSL Internet speeds, then connecting to the web using this phone (or most phones for that matter) is nothing special and can be painfully slow. To make matters worse, this particular model doesn’t have 3G capabilities, which can be a bummer.

CAMERA
Considering that most modern phones today have five-megapixel cameras, the Samsung S3500’s two- mega pixel camera is a bit of a disappointment. It’s fine for taking photos (and even video) to view on the phone itself, but if you are wanting to preserve your mobile memories by printing out your pictures from your phone, this one really isn’t quite up to the task.

OTHER FEATURES
With the exception of 3G and GPS, there seems to be very little that the Samsung S3500 is missing when compared to other cellphones of 2009. It has a standard phonebook and messaging interface, the usual call log, a separate folder for all your downloaded or produced content, an organiser with a clock, alarm, calendar, calculator and converter, a voice recorder, timer, stopwatch and numbered buttons from one to nine.

FAKE CALL
There is, however, one unique function called “fake call”, which is a little strange. Many of Samsung’s more recent handsets include this feature, which enables you to activate a bogus incoming call, so you can free yourself from awkward conversations or dodgy situations by pretending to take a call.

For added authenticity, you can record your own fake voice “call” that plays back when you answer. Potentially useful perhaps, but don’t be caught using it!

Apart from that, the Samsung S3500 is nothing too special but is a decent upgrade if you currently have on older Samsung model. I think I’ll stick to my particular cellphone brand for now and simply avoid getting too close to fishponds, hanging around high-rise windows, and make an extra effort to stay away from electrical experiments.

SAMSUNG S3500 SPECS:

• GPS: No
• Java: Yes, MIDP 2,0
• Games: 7 + downloadable
• Bluetooth 2,0 + EDR and USB
• Messaging: SMS, MMS, e-mail
• Size: 100 mm x 48 mm x 14 mm
• 2-megapixel camera (1600x1200 pixels)
• FM radio with RDS and recording feature
• MicroSD card support with up to 8GB support
• 30MB of internal memory • Phonebook: 1 000 contacts
• EDGE: Class 10; 236,8 kbps • Browser: WAP 2,0/xHTML, HTML
• 2,2-inch TFT; QVGA resolution (240 x 320), 16 million colours
• Quad-band GSM/EDGE connectivity (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
• Standard Li-Ion 800mAh battery with talk time of up to 7,5 hours
• Embedded music player supports MP3/AAC/AAC +/MIDIplayback
• Video: Record 15 f/s QVGA video in MPEG4 and H.263 formats (playback in 25 f/s QVGA)

Related post: Jet-setting with the Samsung Jet

** More Cellphone Reviews **

Have cellphones (specifically smartphones) made porn access an everyday thing for teens?

by Sofia Tosolari

I was a young, liberal teacher at a local Cape Town high school. When the children saw I was 22, new and a little naïve, they took it upon themselves to get my attention. The result: they began exposing me to the intricacies of their little worlds: to cellphone porn, fist fights and parental abuse.

I was soon given access to one favourite Grade 10’s world of secrets, which left me one day staring at a pornographic image on his cellphone.

My teaching career ended soon after that. Having lost contact with the boy in question, I decided to interview another connection - a young man in Grade 12. The topic: cellphone porn in local Cape Town high schools. Although he did not mind being identified, we’ll refer to him simply as Ian.

“They call me the sexpert because I know a lot about sex and stuff, I always found it interesting,” he says.

So, I wondered, where do children get the cellphone porn?

“You can get it anywhere, and it’s free.” He names a website. “You can download scenes or the whole movie.”

Professional imagery? Who makes teen cellphone porn?

“Nope, most of this is in fact simply home-made. Like with the Grade 8s and 9s, there are children making their own videos and showing them around,” says Ian.

Motives? Why keep teen cellphone porn?

“I dunno, it’s a status thing. It’s the same with your virginity, and if you haven’t lost it by Grade 10, there’s something wrong with you,” says Ian.

I shouldn’t be surprised, yet sadly I am...

So while porn has always been around for teenagers to gawk at, it seems that much easier with the introduction of cellphones, with stories including rainbow parties, where teens gather for an orgy to be filmed on a cellphone.

Sharon Paulus, a social worker at the Parent Centre in Cape Town, confirms this:

“Technology has simply highlighted the seriousness of the problem and taken it to a new level,” she says. “Today, teens make their own blue movies, and with more children having access to cellphones and the Internet, this problem could be on the increase.”

So there’s clearly a problem. What to do? According to Paulus, “Parents need to listen, to acknowledge their teen’s feelings without blaming or shaming them.”

On a very practical level: “Parents should have rules guiding the use of cellphones and the consequences if these are broken,” she says.

Paulus says that parents need to consider why their child needs a cellphone in the first place; and, if they do, does it need to have a camera, Bluetooth and Internet access?

“Adolescents who are engaging in this kind of activity are really crying out for help,” says Paulus. “They are letting people know through their behaviour that they lack something in their lives. Love and a sense of belonging are very important for children and are two of their basic human needs. If these are not met in the family the child will go looking for it elsewhere, such as in gangs, cults, substance abuse, sex or relationships."

“Adolescents want excitement, seek peer acceptance, and try to find ways to show that they are superior to others. Teens also want to experiment and in the case of teen cellphone porn, it sounds as if there is a need to experiment in a real way and to have the visual proof,” says Paulus.

• Do you think cellphone porn is a real issue? Is it a cry for help or normal teen rebellion? Please share your thoughts or comments below.

— Parent 24.com

Related post: Farcical Extremes
News article: Teen girls' cell-phone invitations bare all

** More Articles on Cellphones & Cellular Technology **

GADGET BLESSINGS: Shinto priests protect electronics from bad mojo

I HAVE always had a fascination for religions other than the one that I was force-fed at school. I am not an unruly atheist, but simply feel that one should understand or at least lightly explore the views of religions other than your own before deciding what to believe.

To totally refute the beliefs of other religious groups is, as history will tell, sadly often the cause of futile conflict. It always seems that people who want to share their religious views with you never want you to share yours with them …

Anyhoo, I have recently developed an interest in the religions of the Far East, specifically Japan’s Shinto religion. A core belief of Shinto is that all objects — living or not — have spiritual properties, and can thus be blessed. With the increasing introduction of electronics to Japan, there has been an interesting fusing of technology with the practices of Shinto.

Specifically since the introduction of Windows XP to Japan, more and more consumers have been taking their laptops and electronic devices to Shinto priests to be blessed against system crashes and technical failures.

A writer for Wired Magazine took his cellphone to a Shinto Priest to witness this phenomenon first-hand and provides a first-hand account of the whole experience ...

Blessed are the Geek

'My cellphone sits in a lacquer tray waiting to be blessed by a Shinto priest. Late last year, I visited the ancient Kanda shrine, located in the heart of Tokyo’s consumer electronics district. The shrine does boffo business offering charms and ceremonial purifications that protect cellphones and laptops and even blogs and ISP services from bad mojo.'

Brian Ashcraft

Boom! … Boom! … My chest reverberates with the thumping of a huge wooden drum as two robed holy men shuffle across tatami mats. They kneel in a vermilion-coloured alcove, while an assistant announces that the ceremony has commenced.

The priests begin bowing and chanting rhythmically. I’ve been given a white “robe of cleansing” to wear. Actually, it’s more like a smock. I’m not sure what I should be doing. I bow a couple of times.

I’ve come to the 1 270-year-old Kanda Shrine in Tokyo to purify and bless something very near and dear to me: my cellphone. I’ve had hellish luck with cellphones over the past year. I left one on a ride at Universal Studios Japan. Its successor suddenly (and mysteriously) died. The next one accompanied my pants into the washing machine, and its replacement went awol in less than a week. Divine intervention was needed, and pronto.

Japan’s Shinto religion holds that nearly every object in the world, animate or inanimate, has a spiritual essence. Therefore, anything can be blessed, from a newborn child to an automobile. Priests at the Kanda Shrine, which overlooks Akihabara — Tokyo’s Mecca for consumer electronics — offer prayers for the well-being of gadgets.

Kanda found its calling in metaphysical IT work seven years ago, when Microsoft XP went on sale in Japan. The shrine created talismans to prevent system crashes, and they were snapped up by the throngs of nerds who prowl Akihabara for the latest gizmos and porn comics.

Soon requests were pouring in for priests to perform purification rites on laptops, cellphones, even web-portals. Today Kanda offers microchip-shaped good-luck charms for ¥800 (about R64) and private ceremonies for ¥5 000 (about R400).

Back in the great hall, an older priest waves a giant wand — essentially a mop of white parchment streamers — over his counterpart. Thus cleansed, the younger priest rises and carries my phone on a tray to the main altar. He begins a low-pitched chant, invoking the shrine’s deities to “watch over and protect Brian Ashcraft’s cellular phone”.

As the sound of plucked koto strings echoes through the hall, the assistant jingles gold bells over my head. I’m told to approach the altar and am given a tree branch — an offering to the shrine’s deities. A priest painstakingly instructs me to turn the branch 180° —no, no, clockwise— and place it on the altar. I am then told to bow deeply twice —that’s good — and clap twice.

Most Japanese people would probably stumble through this intricate ceremony as clumsily as I do, but the tenets of Shinto are deeply ingrained in their consciousness. It occurs to me that this must affect how they view their little electronic helpmates. Perhaps gadgets really do have souls. Maybe my problem isn’t bad luck, maybe I simply haven’t been giving my phones the respect they deserve. I bow again, and the ceremony concludes.

Near the great hall’s exit, I am presented with a wooden plaque certifying that my cell has been purified. Over a cup of sake, senior priest Katsuji Takahashi chuckles as he tells me, “I’ve lost my phone twice, but both times it turned up.”

Seven months later, my blessed cellphone is still with me.

We really do live in a weird wired world.

— www.wired.com

** More Gadgets & Tech Articles **