Samsung Epic 4G Review

Introduction

In the universe of Samsung’s Galaxy S phones, Sprint’s Epic 4G, may be the brightest star, and not just because it’s the only 4G model of the bunch. The Epic is shockingly light, considering it’s a third thicker than the other also abnormally lightweight Galaxy S models, because of its slideout horizontal keyboard. But that keyboard elevates Epic’s superiority over not only its Galaxy S siblings but over Sprint’s first 4G phone, the EVO 4G, to which it is more appropriate to compare.

Features and Design

At the end of August, Sprint subscribers (especially those in the 48 4G-enabled cities) will have a choice in 4G phones: HTC’s EVO and the Samsung Epic. What are the differences?

Physically, the EVO is a hair smaller all around, but weighs a half ounce more. In fact, the Epic is shockingly light considering its girth – you’ll teeter between thinking it feels cheap, and happy it’s not sagging your shirt’s breast pocket. Despite their near identical area and mass, the EVO sports a 4.3-inch LCD, while the Epic has a 4-inch super AMOLED.

It’s smaller, perhaps (even though both measure 800 x 480 pixels), but certainly more colorful and brighter – except, enormously, in sunshine. Regardless of our brightness settings, in daylight, while surfing the net or framing photos, the Epic’s screen appeared to have a blue-gray filter over it. The Motorola’s Droid 2’s display, by comparison, outshined both the sun and the Epic in side-by-side comparisons. In every other lighting condition, the Epic’s AMOLED outshines all but its Galaxy S siblings.

The Epic’s primary physical advantage over the EVO is its slide-out, four-line horizontal QWERTY keyboard with a dedicated numeric row, which you get without physical cost considering the scant size and weight difference between the two phones. The EVO does have an HDMI output jack lacking on the Epic, but it’s hard to see how a cellphone lacking HDTV connectivity would be a negative deciding factor.

No, the Epic doesn’t include a kickstand.

Feature-wise, both the EVO and Epic use 1GHz processors, and offer Android 2.1 (both will be upgradable to 2.2 at some point), although the Epic often annoyingly lagged in processing execution.

Samsung’s Android implementation is slightly different, but not necessarily better than the EVO, with none of the implementation differences amounting to an advantage for either. For instance, the EVO’s applications are arrayed in Android’s original vertical screen drawer, while Samsung arrays apps across the Epic on separate horizontal screens, ala Apple’s iOS. Six of one, half a dozen of another.

Via : digitaltrends.com

Samsung GALAXY Tab

Samsung has announced the GALAXY Tab -- a 7-inch portable touchscreen tablet running Android 2.2. Very little information has been confirmed about this device, which appears to be an iPad competitor.

Features include augmented reality, navigation, video calling, e-reading, HD movie playing, full web browsing, PC link web, AllShare, e-mail, and flash support.

The Samsung GALAXY Tab is expected to debut September 2, 2010 in Berlin, Germany at the IFA trade show.

Via : news.ecoustics.com

A Stellar Galaxy, This One With a Keyboard

Another Samsung Galaxy phone is being released. This one, the Epic from Sprint, sports two significant differences from others in the family.

While it still has the bright, detailed AMOLED screen and great battery life of the other Galaxy phones, it adds a spacious slideout keyboard and works on the speedy 4G WiMax network.

The phone includes all the features of the other Galaxies: the Android operating system, a fast 1 GHz Hummingbird processor, a 5-megapixel still and video camera with LED flash, 1 gigabyte of onboard memory and a slot for additional 32 gigabytes on a memory card.

The phone weighs noticeably less than other slideout smartphones, like the Droid2 from Verizon or the myTouch Slide from T-Mobile, even though it has a bigger screen than either.

Fans of high-speed downloading, may have less rejoicing to do. Although I live in a city where a 4G network began service in 2008 (you would think it would be pretty built-out by now), reception has been spotty, and I would have to pay an extra $10 a month for whatever reception I get.

If you are not in the sweet spot of one of the 48 4G markets, you might want to save the money and stick with 3G service for now.

Another head scratcher: this new phone ships with Android operating system 2.1, when 2.2 is already available on other Android phones and offers many advantages, including the ability to view most Flash video and animation.

It also means you cannot take advantage of the new Google Voice apps for 2.2, which let you dictate and send texts and e-mail from your phone, dial numbers on command, name songs to play, show you directions on Google maps or conduct a Google search.

The Epic is $250 after rebate with a two-year contract, considerably more than the similarly configured Droid2 at $200 and myTouch Slide at $180.

Via : gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com

iPad Owners Much More Likely To Have Internet Connected TV

Love it or loathe it, the Apple iPad is a game changer in the multimedia world. It is also interesting when looking at the internet tv market to see that iPad owners are four times more likely than anyone else to own an internet connected tv set.

The research also shows that tablet pc’s are growing in popularity and that 14% of US online consumers plan on buying a tablet this year. Thats a massive 27 million new tablets in the market. This may explain why the iPad has a lot of competition coming. Other companies dabbling in tablet technology include HP with their new slate product, LG are also developing a Android-based tablet pc. Dell , Google and HTC are also looking to enter the market.

iPad owners (not surprisingly) also have many other hitech products including desktop and laptops, netbooks and game consoles along with Internet connected televisions. And being the techies they are, also plan on buying many more items throughout the year. iPad owners own on average of 3.6 computers, 24% have a netbook which is much higher than the average consumer. Around 69% of iPad owners have a games console, compared to 37% of all consumers. The iPad owners are also 4 times more likely to have an Internet-connected TV than non owners.

It hasnt taken the tv companies long to see the potential of tv viewing tablet owners as they are all developing tv apps for tablet pc’s. From Comcast to Time Warner, they can all see that a tablet id the perfect internet tv device.
Incoming TV searches:
ipad, lg tablet, apple, android, ipad games, Dell, internet tv, Chrome OS?, tablet pc, tablet, connected tv, best buy, motorola, android market, Apple TV, Android tablets, ipad owners, google, droid x, lg tablet android.

Via : worldtvpc.com

2010 Is the Year of Tablets, Best Buy to Focus On Tablets

In December 31, 2009 it was predicted that 2010 would be the year of the E-reader. But now we see that E-readers are starting to fade and tablets are becoming hot tickets in the market. As a result one can say that 2010 is the year of tablets.

In April Apple launched the iPad and it looks like the position of the device is becoming even stronger. But in case you would like to opt for a tablet but not the iPad, you will have to stay patient due to product delays as well as junk tech.

Moreover, it turned out that Best Buy is going to draw its attention towards tablet devices. According to president of Best Buy Mobile, Shawn Score, customers will be provided with a choice of 3-4 different Android tablets.

So if you are going to avail an iPad killer, what device will you choose? It is said that the combination of Verizon and Motorola will be the best competitor of Apple.

Moreover, one can draw attention towards the LG’s tablet, as it is claimed to be better compared to the iPad. Moreover, it is expected that the LG’s tablet device will be more productive than the Apple’s device.

But still we have to wait, as there are a lot of table manufacturers that soon will join the game. It looks like the iPad will have strong competitors.

Via : latestngadgets.com

SlashGear Week in Review – Week 33 2010

Time files we you are having fun, it’s time again for another Week in Review. Some details of the coming Samsung Galaxy Tab surfaced in a new firmware update this week in Europe. The details point to the Android tablet having a 480 x 800 resolution screen, two cameras, and an ARM11 CPU.

An Apple manager was arrested early in the week for allegedly taking kickbacks from makers of iPhone and iPod accessories. The kickbacks totaled about a million dollars according to authorities. A DIY geek took his MacBook Air and cobbled it together with a Magic Trackpad. The result looks like the Asus Eee keyboard computer a bit.

That sweet Toshiba Libretto W100 with the dual touchscreens got its own unboxing and video review this week. The little computer is one of the coolest things Toshiba has ever made. We reviewed the Plantronics M100 Bluetooth headset on Tuesday. We really liked the device and it works as well as the Discovery 975 we reviewed not too long ago in a more compact design.

The Verizon iPhone and iPad may be about to go into field testing according to some rumors. The rumor surfaced from some geeks looking at a block of code that allows the iPhone to be activated without iTunes. A cool new 3D camera from Fujifilm called the W3 went official over in the UK. The camera has dual lenses and CCDs and can take plain old 2D photos if you want.

Poor old Asus was forced to inform investors and Wall Street that it was having to reduce its shipping estimates for netbooks. The company points the finger in part at the iPad for taking so many netbook buyers into tablet territory along with the overall slowing of the netbook market. Nikon debuted a new camera sporting a projector early in the week called the S1100pj. The new camera has a projector that is much brighter than the first projector cam the firm offered and will ship in September for $349.99.

Blackberry has fired blanks with the Torch it seems. The handset reportedly only sold 150,000 units its first weekend making the launch very disappointing. Pandigital is set to toss a new eReader onto the market that runs Android and has a matte finish 7-inch TFT LCD screen with full color. The thing can read books, check email, stream video and more.

ioSafe has added a new SoloPro external rugged HDD to its line. The new offering addresses one of the only shortcomings of the original by adding USB 3.0 and eSATA connectivity to the options. Gamers in Japan will be able to get a really cool PS3 bundle starting in November. The bundle will have a blue color and come with Gran Turismo 5.

Stream TV is going to be launching a new tablet to fight the iPad called the eLocity A7. The tablet will have a 7-inch screen and run Android with a launch date pegged for August 24. Wednesday we reviewed the mid 2010 update of the iMac Core i7 AIO computer. We figure it’s a well-rounded machine that is a fitting replacement for most traditional desktop computers.

Shuttle announced three new ready to ship versions of its thin XS35 HTPC this week. The three versions included mild general use rigs up to an Ion packing HD ready beastie. A company called PS Jailbreak has unveiled a cool solution for hacking your PS3 to play games and home brew software straight from the HDD. The good news is the solution is all software with no need to open your PS3.

The RIM BlackPad will reportedly have a new OS built by QNX software systems. Could this be because the Blackberry 6 OS was not exactly as exciting as RIM had hoped? LG is set to cram NVIDIA Tegra 2 graphics into its new smartphones. The two companies announced a partnership recently and the phones are expected later this year.

Sanyo pulled the wraps off a new Xacti dual camera this week. The VPC-PD2BK can shoot full 1080p 30p video and has a 3x optical zoom lens and records stereo sound. BitFenix unveiled its Colossus computer case this week that is one of the coolest cases I have ever seen. The thing has USB 3.0, lots of bays, and an awesome design.

HP has announced that its webOS tablet will be getting official in early 2011. This is the tablet that everyone figured HP had in mind when it bought Palm, I hope it doesn’t suck. The new Halo Reach video game has been leaked ahead of the official launch. The game was downloaded off the Microsoft servers after being put there for reviewers when hackers figured out a way to get around the need for a special code to download the game. Thanks for reading this edition!

Via : slashgear

OMFG, Yet Another E-Reader: "Literati"

Apparently the world needs another e-book reader, so here goes: The "Literati" goes on sale in October for $159 or less, at fine retail stores like Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, JC Penney, Kohl’s, Macy’s and more.

MerchSource, the company behind the device, has licensed "The Sharper Image" brand name to use for it.

The gadget has a 7-inch color screen and will access the Kobo ebook store, launched by Borders and Canada's Indigo Books & Music.

We'll reserve judgment until we've seen one, because if the color screen is any good, it might sell a few units. But it's hard to see this as a major competitor to the Kindle or Nook, or the iPad.

Via : businessinsider.com

Now Sharper Image Launches an E-Reader

Just as the e-readers market seemed poised for a shakeout, Sharper Image–a store best known for its R2-D2 droids and ionic air purifier–has decided to jump in with a new e-reader.

Sharper Image has announced ‘Literati,’ a device with a color screen that will retail for $160. The device will be powered by the Kobo e-book store. Literati will have Wi-Fi connectivity, wireless book downloads and free reading apps.

The Literati has been created after an “extensive two-year design and development process,” says Sharper Image, and will ship nationwide in early October.

The Literati comes to market at a time when upstart e-readers are disappearing. Price wars by the big three e-reader makers–Amazon, Sony and Barnes & Noble and competition in the category has taken its toll on companies. Earlier this month, Foxit announced it will stop development on its eSlick e-reader. Plastic Logic canceled its plans to bring its e-reader to market, while Cool-er’s e-readers have been listed out of stock in the U.S. for months.

Meanwhile, bigger e-reader makers are ramping up their marketing efforts. Barnes & Noble has started aggressively selling the Nook reader in its stores. Amazon new, improved Kindle e-reader also seems to have turned into best-seller with Amazon racing to keep up with the demand.

Literati will wade into this fiercely competitive market. The color screen on the device is interesting. Though the company hasn’t offered any details about it, it is likely to be an LCD display. But the device doesn’t have a big price advantage over its rivals. The Literati costs just $20 less than the $190 Kindle.

What it has going for it is an impressive retail distribution network. The Literati will be available in stores such as Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, JC Penney, Kohl’s and Macy’s.

Via : wired.com

Sharper Image Literati eReader Unveiled, Features Color LCD and $159 Price Tag

Even if tablets are seemingly the focus of the tech industry right now, and even if most of those tablets work just fine as eReaders in of themselves, that’s not stopping the eReader market from pumping out more and more of the devices. And truth be told, there’s nothing wrong with a specialized device — not everyone wants all of their goodies in one package, so to speak. So here comes Sharper Image with their own version, dubbed the Literati.

The device has plenty of similar characteristics as, say, Amazon’s Kindle (everyone knows what that is, right?). For example, it has as 7-inch display, and that full QWERTY keyboard below that display. And much like Amazon’s $139 WiFi-only model, the Literati also features integrated WiFi. However, don’t expect 3G connectivity, because it’s not there. As for downloading books? You’ll be able to get your hands on the digital copies through Kobo’s online bookstore.

As for that display, as you can plainly tell it is indeed a color LCD. It has a resolution of 800×480, and it is not a touchscreen. Instead, much like the Kindle, you’ll use that keyboard and side buttons to turn pages. As the title suggests, the Literati will cost you only $159 when it comes to the market in October. You’ll be able to find it in Best Buy. Or, if you find yourself aching to get your hand on an eReader while shopping through JCPenney, you’ll be able to pick it up there, too. And Kohl’s, Bed, Bath & Beyond, and even Macy’s.

Via : slashgear

Morgan Stanley Launches iPhone And iPad Research App For Institutional Clients

Morgan Stanley has launched a new iPhone and iPad app for its institutional clients to browse and read research documents on the go, send email to analysts, etc.

This isn't adding completely revolutionary new features to Apple's portable devices -- you've always been able to read your research blasts via email, read full-report PDFs, login via the web, etc.

But this offers a new way to browse Morgan Stanley's research, and should be a welcomed addition for any of the bank's clients who have iPads or iPhones.

We haven't seen any other investment banks offer anything similar (nor for the BlackBerry).

Either way, it's a smart move for Morgan Stanley to target its high-end clients where they're increasingly spending their time. If anything, it's another excuse to have your iPad on your desk at the office.

Read more @ businessinsider.com

Virgin Mobile Offers Unlimited, Contract-Free Data Plan

Pre-paid phone provider Virgin Mobile—now owned by Sprint—is going after mobile Internet users, announcing a new pre-paid, contract-free, unlimited mobile broadband plan priced at $40 per month.

“Many unlimited broadband offerings require a contract or are on networks with limited range, so they don’t meet the need for flexibility or true mobility,” said Virgin Mobile USA’s chief marketing officer Neil Lindsay, in a statement. “The introduction of Virgin Mobile’s prepaid unlimited broadband for $40 a month will provide the access you need on a nationwide network without a contract.”

The plan is part of Virgin Mobile’s revised new Broadband2Go offerings. Virgin Mobile formerly offered $20, $40, and $60 price points; those plans have been slimmed down to two offerings priced at $40 for one month of unlimited usage, or $10 for 10 days of usage limited to 100 MB, five hours of Web browsing, 25 minutes of video, and 10,000 email messages. Virgin Mobile’s service runs on Sprint’s network.

Existing Broadband2Go customers will be able to use up their data or time on their current plans, but then will have to switch to the $10 or $40 unlimited plan. Top-ups can still be handled online with Virgin Mobile Top-Up cards, credit cards, or debit cards.

Virgin Mobile offers two devices to go along with the plan: the Ovation MC760 USB stick for notebook computers ($79.99 retail), and the MiFi 2200 ($149), which Virgin says represents the nation’s first prepaid mobile hotspot, and enables Wi-Fi devices to tap into the Internet.

Rather than pitching the service to Virgin Mobile’s typical demographic—teenagers with their first phones—the company is positioning the unlimited prepaid data plan as a good solution for the self-employed and independent workers who need to stay connected on the go, but don’t need the burden of data service contracts, perhaps because they only travel occasionally.

Via : digitaltrends.com

'Green rankings' for mobile phones launched - but without Apple

The O2 'Eco Rating' scheme ranks mobile handsets according to a range of factors that measure their sustainability - from the materials used in the phone to how its functions help the user lead a more sustainable lifestyle.

While O2 hopes that the scheme will help establish an industry-wide standard measure of a phone's sustainability - and say that the proposal has had a 'warm' response from other networks and many manufacturers - two major manufacturers are not currently participating in the scheme: RIM and Apple.

While O2 say that BlackBerry makers RIM are 'supportive' and have pledged to join the scheme next year, Apple has refused to let the iPhone be part of the ratings - preferring instead to highlight their own descriptions of their environmental policies.

The manufacturers taking part in the scheme are HTC, LG, Nokia, Palm, Samsung and Sony Ericsson, which O2 says covers 93% of the handsets sold by O2.

The scheme awards phones a ranking on a scale up to five (including decimal points), also represented by a rainbow icon. Currently, the best-ranked phone is the Sony Ericsson Elm, which achieves an Eco rating of 4.3 out of 5, while the worst is the destructively-named LG Etna, which scores just 2.7.

Developed in conjunction with sustainability experts Forum for the Future, the rating is based on seven differently weighted factors - the corporate responsibility of the manufacturing company; the manufacturing processes used in the phone's creation; the materials used in the phone; the packaging and distribution cost of the phone; the environmental cost of using the phone; and the environmental cost of disposing of the phone.

More nebulously, it also incorporates the sustainability impact of the phone's functionality - in other words, marking up phones if, for example, they can feature apps that help the user live a more eco-friendly life, if they can replace the need to buy other seperate devices such as stanavs, or if they allow people to cut dwn on travel with video conferencing capabilities.

'The last thing we wanted was to say was "smartphones are bad, and the cheapest phones are good",' commented Forum For The Future's James Taplin.

The rating also doesn't take into account the potential lifespan of the phone. Taplin said that at the moment, this was too difficult to accurately judge, and that more robust metrics would be needed before it could be added to the measurement - although it may be incorporated in the future.

The Eco Ratings are available both online and in O2 shops from today.

Via : metro.co.uk

Apple iPod/iTV event tipped for September 7th

Bloomberg’s suggestion that Apple were planning $0.99 TV show rentals distracted us from perhaps more imminent news: that their sources reckon the company is preparing a September 7th event in San Francisco. That, it’s claimed, would see a new Apple TV – tipped to be renamed the Apple iTV – debut, alongside the fourth-generation iPod touch.

The new iPod touch will apparently get a Retina Display like the iPhone 4 and, it’s expected, at least one camera but more likely two. One will be the rear-facing unit long anticipated, and used for video and still photography, while it’s also likely to include a front-facing camera for use with FaceTime calls over WiFi.

Apple don’t generally send out event invites until around a week prior to the show itself, so we likely won’t find out whether the iPod/iTV event is happening until sometime next week. Still, that would roughly fit in with the company’s usual back-to-school iPod launch schedule.

Via : slashgear

Pinball Magic Case Turns Your iPhone Into A Semi-Mechanical Pinball Table

For old pinball mavens like me, the sad death of the pinball art form — namely, those wizened designers who once crafted such deviously clever mechanical tables as to stupefy Rube Goldberg himself — is a cultural hole that can not be filled by the sudden resurgence of pinball games on the App Store.

Even so, though, I’ve got to admit: this tiny little pinball cabinet for your iPhone or iPod Touch is pretty adorable.

Sure, the “table” itself is just an app, but the case includes a real ball plunger, flipper buttons, tilt detector and LED backlit display… like a tiny Lilliputian version of the massive metal, wood and glass tables that once gobbled down my quarters by the pocketful. It’s available now at Best Buy for just $40.

Via : cultofmac