850MHz

Rootz-Wiki ICS

Who doesn’t love a good leak? First we had the leak for the i777 GSII and I727 Skyrocket, and thanks to Rootz Wiki and active dev Design Gears, we have what we have been waiting for since the Galaxy Note released, Ice Cream Sandwich, Specifically Android 4.0.3.

It is the official at&t build, so bloatware is present along with Touchwiz, and the Premium Suite of S-Pen capable apps are not included. But really, who uses the S-Pen for anything other than Draw Something?

@DesignGears also said on twitter that this leak can be rooted by flashing Clockworkmod Recovery and flashing a superuser.zip. http://twitter.com/DesignGears/status/187375163652833280

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Samsung Galaxy Note

AT&T LTE Version in Ceramic White

If you don’t know about this device, it is a variant of the Galaxy S II that just surpassed 20 million units sold. It features a 5.3” AMOLED Display with 1280x800 Resolution. These HD displays that are now the norm on Android devices are a significant leap for smartphones.

The AT&T Note features a 1.5 GHz Dual Core Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset, eschewing the 1.4 GHz Exynos processor used in the International Note(and alot of the other GS2 variants) that released in October. Although the Exynos is a powerhouse and benchmarks higher on most all accounts over the Qualcomm, AT&T’s version has LTE, which the current Exynos chipset does not support. AT&T’s GS2 variant the Skyrocket has the same LTE/Qualcomm chipset, which performs more than adequately in both applications. This phone is smooth, and fast.

The Note has a few issues. Most people can not use this as a daily driver phone. It’s sheer size is almost comical in person. Software wise, it is running Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread, which was hard to go back to after running 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on a Nexus S. The improvements in ICS are numerous and intuitive, and going back to a Touchwiz UI layered Gingerbread is difficult to get used to. As stated above, the Note nonetheless performs smoothly and snappy.

The Note also features an S-Pen Stylus like device, hearkening back to the days of Windows Mobile 5 and Palm Pilots. You can use the Memo Pad included to jot down notes or a grocery list, or hit the button on the S-Pen and tap the screen to take a screenshot, and draw over the screenshot and add a mustache to your enemies face. This is not for everybody, and most of the time if you are used to an Android Smartphone, you don’t recall the fact that it is even in the device. It isn’t worthless, but it also isn’t necessary.

The size is polarizing, and not for everybody, but the Galaxy Note is unquestionably an awesome piece of hardware and for the right person, a great device.

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Google Latitude Update

Google released an update for Google Maps on Android that brings new functionality to Latitude. You can now get Foursquare style points for check-ins either from the Google Maps app or from the Google+ app on Android.

Although you cannot view your points on Google+ currently, it makes sense that Google could implement it into the app in the future. With the far reach of a company like Google, it doesn’t seem to far fetched to see them offer check in specials much like Foursquare currently does. Google needs to find ways to monetize on projects like Google+, and this could be a step in that direction.

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Click the Photo for more Information.

Motorola has detailed their future release schedule for their Ice Cream Sandwich rollout. The list, which includes Tablets and smartphones, has a few phone we knew were getting the update, including the Droid Razr and newly released Droid 4.

Happily for people who purchase older Android devices and expect to be passed by within a year, the Motorola Atrix 4G is on the list along with its budget replacement the Atrix 2.

Kudos to Motorola for coming out with a list that illustrates their plans succinctly. A few other manufacturers have made announcements and backtracked soon thereafter.

Motorola and Verizon have created fatigue among smartphone buyers with their unrelenting rollout of replacement devices, but it’s nice to see them still remember that a year old phone is worth their resources to keep customers happy.

Nexus Teaser

CTIA is right around the corner, October 11-13 in San Diego.

samsungctiainvite

Samsung is going to be hosting an event to unveil something new, with the help of Google. This teaser video has recently popped up, showing an unnamed device that has curved glass, similar to that of the Nexus S(which is stunning in person).

At this point it isn’t much of a secret that this is probably the next Nexus phone, believed to be called the Prime. The rumor has been that this is headed for Verizon, and that Verizon passed on a proper Galaxy S II device because of this very device.

A new rumor hit today from the Boy Genius Report with an alleged October 27th release date along with this:

BGR learned that the Galaxy Nexus will be a Verizon Wireless exclusive in the U.S. and will run Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). It is equipped with a 4.65-inch Super AMOLED HD display with a 1280 x 760-pixel resolution, 1GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, a 5-megapixel camera capable of recording 1080p video, a 1.3-megapixel camera for video chat and a 1.2GHz TI OMAP 4460 dual-core Cortex A9 processor.

Certainly people are excited for this device after feeling lukewarm after the iPhone 4S device announcement. BGR’s claimed specs are certainly possible, but we will know for sure in less than a week.

The iPhone 4S

iPhone 4S

What it is:

Apple’s new smartphone that will take over as the Flagship device for Apple.

Apple has sold more iPhone 4’s than all of the previous iPhone’s combined, and they hope to repeat that success with the 4S.

What’s in it:

On the outside, we have an iPhone 4. On the inside, however, the 4S is completely revamped. It is now a World Phone, meaning one SKU for every carrier. This opens new carrier opportunities, and the little company that can here is print, which joins at&t and Verizon in the US. Qualcomm provides the GSM/CDMA Chipset that will be in every 4S, which theoretically will allow you to buy an unlocked version(currently you can buy a no contract iPhone 4, but it is carrier locked). Whether that comes to fruition, we will have to wait and see.

The CPU/GPU are also greatly upgraded, with Apple claiming graphics performance increased 7x. A Dual-Core A5 processor is also on board, but no real mentioned of the RAM was mentioned, and it is believed to be the same 512MB found in the iPhone 4. This will not only make it more speedy in everyday tasks, but should help contribute to improved battery life because of increased efficiency.

The Camera is also greatly improved, with the sensor jumping from 5 megapixel to 8, and also increasing in speed. Anybody with an iPhone 4 knows that it takes a while for an HDR image to take, and the time between shots is greatly reduced. The Aperture is a large F/2.4, which in theory will allow more light into the lens and make for much higher quality photos. The sensor combined with the dual core processor will allow you to shoot 1080P video, with continuous autofocus.

Also newly introduced is the 64GB model($399 on contract), to go along with the standard 16GB($199) and 32GB($299). Each size comes in the standard colors; Black, and White which we can assume we won’t have to wait half the year to get.

iPhone 4S price

(Taken from The Verge)

Why You Should Care:

Whether you love using an iPhone, or prefer Operating Systems with dessert names, you have to thank Apple for making everyone else innovate. The reaction the 4S has received in the days following it’s announcement has been all over the map. If Apple hadn’t released the iPhone in 2007, we wouldn’t be where we are right now and with the options we have available to us as consumers.

The camera may be enough to finally get you to drop that point and shoot for good. The iPhone 4 takes a solid photo in its own right, but based on specs alone, the 4S should take shots that aren’t just good for a phone, they will just be good. Add to that the better video camera quality, which again was extremely solid on its predecessor in both video and audio quality, and you have a device that will be solid in all ways for you.

camera

(Taken from The Verge)

The Battery life is also improved, increasing the talk time to 8 hours. Android devices can’t get the kind of battery the iPhone 4 can get generally speaking, and the 4S should be even better.

Battery

(Taken from The Verge)

Siri, the voice search/ai/sorta creepy built in system, along with a proper notification tray in iOS 5, could make for a great experience. iOS has the ability to be simple enough and recognizable enough for anybody to pick up and understand, but also be able to dive deep into the device and really make it work for you. This is a testament to the type of devices Apple has created, and some people knock them for making a device that seems to be made for a non-techie user.

Why You Shouldn’t Care:

The Screen Size is still 3.5”. With the way these companies can package devices now, and how thin they have become, 4.3” devices are no longer the behemoths they once were. Samsung is making 4.5” devices more the norm, and HTC even has some 4.7“‘s kicking around. People want a larger screen, and although the Retina Display still holds up after a year and a half, it would be nice to see a larger screen. There’s always next year though.

Siri could be useful for people, and there are positives to it’s inclusion on this device, however, can you imagine using something like that often? Drones of hipsters walking around with their white Apple buds in their head, talking to their phone asking it questions that they only a week ago were googling. It’s fairly common knowledge Android has had a version of this type of Voice Search, albeit less powerful and decision filled on it’s returns, and people don’t seem to use it very much either.

Conclusion:

Had they simply called this device the iPhone 5, it would have received less negative press. But you can’t look at this device, launching with a thoroughly reworked iOS 5 and specs that will more than adequately allow you to complete any task you would need to accomplish on a smartphone and simply scoff at it and think of a device like the Galaxy S II simply because it has a slightly faster clock speed on it’s processor.

Android devices have been on such a fast escalation of software and hardware that we forget that sometimes it’s not about the raw specs and more about the total experience. Does the buying public need an all new design to enjoy using the 4S? The 3GS also received some of the same complaints upon it’s release, and we know how that turned out.

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The Touchwiz UX Update for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 went live last night.

The Update isn’t to Honeycomb Version 3.2, but rather adds Samsung’s own UI changes to Honeycomb.

They have added some new widgets like the clock and accuweather pictured above, while annoyingly changing the look of the Email widget and leaving the GMAIL widget the same.

The familiar bottom status bar has also changed slightly, adding a screenshot button(great change!) and a fast view settings menu if you tap the clock in the corner. You can already get to your settings on the clock in the bottom right corner, but this gives you a toggle for WiFi, Bluetooth, screen rotation, and others.

The Arrow in the middle of the status bar down low pops up a quick app tray. This contains a Task Manager that allows you to kill apps and free memory, a Calendar, a World Clock, a Memo Pad that allows you to draw notes to yourself with your finger and save, and Calculator, and a Music Player. The positive twist with these is they are all widgets, that functions much like an open app on a desktop computer does. It stays in the foreground, as you scroll screens and even entering and leaving apps. You can also move these Quick Widgets around the screen, again, like a desktop window. No longer do you need to add numbers in your head or with your fingers like you have since you learned that way in Second Grade, you can pull up the calculator, and use it while keeping your current App open.

Samsung also adds a Music and Media Hub.

The Music Hub has individual songs and whole albums available, ranging in prices(Eminem’s Recovery Album is $11.99, Daft Punk’s Tron Album was $7.77, songs ranged from $.79 to $1.29).

The Media Hub has TV shows and Movies available for Rental and Purchase. You can buy an Episode of Tosh.0 for $1.99. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 1 is available for purchase for $17.99 and Rental for $3.99.

Both of their Hubs seems to fall in line with other services as far as price and content are concerned, but other services make it easier for you to keep the content on a Desktop and put it onto more than one device.

The Performance on the Tab 10.1 overall seems to be more snappy. Games especially seem to be running more smooth, and Quadrant scores have jumped noticeably as well. The Transformer was scoring around 1700, around 300 higher than the Galaxy Tab before this update. Now it is coming in line with Smartphones who use the same Tegra 2 processor.

The Update has some good ideas, and for the most part you can ignore most of the new things they have included. In a time when we want phones to get away from adding skins on top of Android, Samsung has done exactly that in the Tablet space. You don’t have to apply the update to your Tab, but when they do eventually release the 3.2 update, you will not be able to apply it unless this Touchwiz update is installed. Is their changes enough to differentiate their product, or is this more or less wasted development effort? That’s for you to decide!

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

The first thing you notice after you bring the Tab out of its box is its size. It has the same 10.1” screen that other Honeycomb Tablets have, but at 8.66mm thick and 1.25 lbs it is noticeably thinner and lighter than it’s competition. TheTransformer felt noticeably thicker and heavier by comparison, and it comes in at 13mm thick and 1.49 lbs.

The Transformer also had straight edges, that were not sharp enough to cut the hand, but could rub uncomfortably after long periods of use. The Tab has a curved edge all the way around, and that, combined by its weight drop and thinness, makes for the best possible experience with a device like this.

There are some tradeoffs for this awesome form factor though. There is no MicroSD card slot built it, nor is there an HDMI cable on it. Instead, you have to buy a dongle that connects to the 30 pin connector charge port at the bottom to gain access to these things.

The screen size of the Honeycomb Tablets up to this point has been 10.1”(but 3.2 will soon be released on a wider basis, offering 7” screen options). The Galaxy Tab offers the best display of all, with distinct colors and a very bright PLS display. The Transformer has an IPS display, which is a variation of the same screen tech, but this may not be the most interesting comparison between the two tablets.

The Transformer offers a distinctly better keyboard than any other Tablet in this space, one that did carry a higher price tag ($150) but had the build quality and extra battery power to justify. The Tab 10.1’s Keyboard accessory ($69) is nicer than a lot of other Tablet options out there, but falls short of the Transformer. It does offer a nicely spaced layout, along with an audio out 3.5mm jack to send sound to some speakers, and a 30pin connector on the side to charge while in use. They are also planning a Bluetooth Keyboard case, that’s more for use on the go, pricing should be considerably higher on that though.

This is the best Honeycomb Tablet currently available, depending on your needs. There are other options available if you need MicroSD slots, or HDMI outputs, but the Galaxy Tab 10.1 has the form factor to compete with the iPad 2 and performance to make it a formidable choice for consumers.

Camera Comparison: Transformer v Tab 10.1

Low light pictures can be hard. Typically in the past small cameraphone sensors have had a lot of trouble in these situations, creating noise and generally bad looking photos. The Honeycomb Tablets have all had front and rear facing cameras. The iPad 2 added a camera when it was released, and some people were upset to find it wasn’t as good a sensor as is found in the iPhone 4.

Here is a shot of the Limbo Triple Pack for XBOX 360 taken with the rear facing cameras of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 (3 megapixel) and the Asus Transformer (5 megapixel):

This is done with the Transformer’s 5 MP Camera. It has a lot of noise, but gets the point across. It certainly isn’t a terrible picture.

Next we have the Tab.

Here we also have noise, but looks like it’s autofocus is slightly better.

Both of these shots have the white balance on 0.

One more shot with the Tab:

Greatly reduced noise, extremely clear shot. The Tab 10.1, unlike the Transformer, has an LED Flash.

Can’t say people will be taking too many beauty shots with a tablet, but despite it’s smaller sensor, the Tab 10.1 has taken nicer shots by our eyes thus far. It doesn’t always pay to have a bigger sensor, sometimes a higher quality one can make all the difference.

The front facing cameras will be used for video chat only, so no comparison shots there, but one interesting note: the Tab 10.1 has a 2 MP front camera while the Transformer has 1.3 MP. Obviously this doesn’t mean much as considering Video Chat quality depends on the connection speed you are performing the Chat on, but interesting that they ended up with different size sensors on the front and back of their devices.