Samsung Galaxy Nexus

   Samsung and Google have announced in Hong Kong the first Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone which is the expected Android version released for phones and tablets. The slim Galaxy Nexus looks like a Samsung and has a huge 4.65 inches display with powerful hardware inside. 

   The main competitor for HTC Sensation XL has the below technical specifications:

-- DISPLAY: 4.65-inch Super-AMOLED capacitive touch 720 x 1280 pixels screen.

-- CPU:  ARM Cortex A9 1.2 GHz dual-core processor.

-- MEMORY:  1 GB RAM.

-- STORAGE:  16/32 GB for internal, micro-SD slot.

-- CAMERA:  Primary - 5MP led flash camera, video recording up to 1080p.

Secondary - 1.3 MP, video chat, video calling.

-- CONNECTIVITY:  LTE, 3G, HSDPA, HSUPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, micro-USB port, 3.5 mm headphone jack, A-GPS, DLNA, NFC.

-- SENSORS:  Proximity, Ambient Light Sensor, G-Sensor, Digital Compass.

-- BATTERY:  Li-Po 1750 mAh

-- MULTIMEDIA:  touch sensitive buttons.

-- OS:  Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

-- APPLICATIONS:  Google Apps, social networking. 

   This is the first phone with a HD Super-AMOLED slightly curved screen. The camera is capable of taking panorama pictures and zoom while video recording. In my opinion the screen is too big and the battery is not enough for it.

   The other features are given by the new Android version like new design for icons, the screen can be unlocked using the face recognition, voice typing input, users can drag icons to create a folder or inside a folder. The new Android Beam allows sharing through the NFC technology, calendar and email applications have been redesigned and have improved features. The contacts application is now upgraded and looks about the same with People from Windows Phone 7. Samsung Galaxy Nexus will be available starting with November.

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Nokia 603 - pictures

Nokia 603

   Nokia have announced the other days a new smartphone with Symbian Belle OS and NFC connectivity. The 603 does not appear as a premium device with latest technology on board and I tend to agree with company`s press release which mentions that it might be targeted by customers who own older Nokia phones and would like to upgrade.

   Most important technical details are:

-- DISPLAY: 3.5 inches IPS-LCD capacitive touch nHD 640 x 360 pixels, ClearBlack, scratch resistant.

-- CPU:  1 GHz.

-- MEMORY:  512 RAM

-- STORAGE:  2GB for internal, microSD card slot up to 32GB.

-- CAMERA:  Primary - 5MP camera, video recording up to 720p.

-- CONNECTIVITY:  3G, HSDPA, HSUPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, micro-USB port, 3.5 mm headphone jack (AV connector with TV-out), A-GPS, NFC.

-- SENSORS:  Accelerometer, Proximity, Ambient Light.

-- BATTERY:  up to 490 hours of stand-by.

-- OS:  Symbian Belle, Adobe Flash, HTML 4.1.

-- APPLICATIONS:  OVI apps, social networking, OVI Maps, Web TV widgets, Vlingo, Microsoft Communicator Mobile, Shazam, Adobe PDF Reader, Fruit Ninja with NFC, Angry Birds Magic.

   I still do not understand this company which use to be number one in mobile phones market. They continue to release devices with Symbian and not a single one with Windows Phone. I do not even remember how many days ago have announced their partnership with Microsoft. No wonder that Nokia is not on profit these days and they are keep going down. The 603 does not look bad and the price is a good one - only 200 Eur.

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HTC Sensation XL - First Look video

HTC Sensation XL

   HTC have announced about a week ago in London their latest Android with Beats Audio technology smartphone. This is a big one and has about the same technical details as the Windows Phone 7 Titan.

   Most important technical details of Sensation XL are:

-- DISPLAY: 4.7-inch Super-LCD capacitive touch 480 x 800 pixels screen, gorilla glass.

-- CPU:  Qualcomm Scorpion 1.5 GHz processor.

-- GPU:  Adreno 205

-- MEMORY:  768 MB RAM.

-- STORAGE:  16GB for internal.

-- CAMERA:  Primary - 8MP led flash camera, video recording up to 720p, F2.2 lens, BSI sensor.

Secondary - 1.3 MP, video chat, video calling.

-- CONNECTIVITY:  3G, HSDPA, HSUPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, micro-USB port, 3.5 mm headphone jack, A-GPS, DLNA.

-- SENSORS:  Proximity, Ambient Light Sensor, G-Sensor, Digital Compass.

-- BATTERY:  Li-Po 1600 mAh

-- MULTIMEDIA:  touch sensitive buttons, SRS virtual surround sound, 5.1 surround sound for video.

-- OS:  Android 2.3 Gingerbread, HTC Sense 3.5.

-- APPLICATIONS:  Google Apps, social networking, HTC Locations, HTC Watch. 

   This smartphone will arrive with high quality Beats Audio Solo headphones for a great sound. I like that this is the first Android phone from HTC with large internal storage memory but I do not like that there is no support for any micro-SD card. It`s like there is always something missing regarding the internal memory with HTC devices.

   On the other side this is a huge phone with metallic cover and gorilla glass screen. The resolution is not the best one for it`s display even if there is a 199 pixels per inch density in my opinion. We will see how will be received by the customers in November.

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Apple iPhone 4S

   While there were so many rumors and the world wanted to see the iPhone 5, Apple decided to release only an upgraded version to the iPhone 4 which is the 4S. The design and dimensions remain the same as this looks exactly like the 4. However there are improvements in processing power as the new iPhone arrives with the A5 chip - the same one from the iPad 2.

   Other important technical details are:

-- DISPLAY: 3.5-inch LED backlit IPS TFT capacitive multi-touch 640 x 960 pixels screen, scratch resistant.

-- CPU:  ARM Cortex A9 1 GHz dual core processor.

-- GPU:  Power VR SGX543MP2

-- MEMORY:  512 MB RAM.

-- STORAGE:  16/32/64GB for internal.

-- CAMERA:  Primary - 8 MP camera, LED flash, LED video light, video recording up to 1080p.

Secondary - VGA, video chat, video calling.

-- CONNECTIVITY:  3G, HSDPA, HSUPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, TV-out, 3.5 mm headphone jack, A-GPS.

-- SENSORS:  accelerometer, proximity, gyroscope.

-- BATTERY:  Li-Po 1430 mAh

-- OS:  iOS 5.

-- APPLICATIONS:  Apple Apps, iCloud, social apps, Google Maps.

   Most important upgrade is the camera which was improved from 5 MP to 8 MP and now is capable of video recording up to 1080p. Also the 4S will have a new version with larger internal storage - 64 GB. We will see this in stores and I believe it was already ordered by more than 1 million people in the first 24 hours.

   Although I do not believe I will buy and Apple product too soon because the costs are not exactly justified for now, not as are would not be a great device, I thing that Apple had a large impact in technology markets in the last years under Steve`s Jobs management. RIP Steve Jobs!

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LG Optimus LTE

   LG Electronics have announce in Korea the first 4G HD smartphone with advanced true HD IPS display technology which provides advanced resolution, brightness and clarity.

   The main technical specifications are:

-- DISPLAY: 4.5-inch capacitive touch 1280 x 720 pixels screen

-- CPU:  1.5 GHz dual-core processor.

-- MEMORY:  1 GB RAM.

-- STORAGE:  4GB for internal, microSD card slot up to 32GB.

-- CAMERA:  Primary - 8 MP camera, LED flash video recording up to 720p.

Secondary - 1.3 MP, video chat, video calling.

-- CONNECTIVITY:  3G, HSDPA, HSUPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA, HDMI, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, micro-USB, 3.5 mm headphone jack, A-GPS.

-- BATTERY:  Li-Po 1830 mAh

-- MULTIMEDIA:  touch sensitive buttons.

-- OS:  Android 2.3 Gingerbread, Adobe Flash support.

-- APPLICATIONS:  Google Apps, social networking.

   Although the battery seems to be a powerful one with this type of display the phone still fits in LG`s design style. I never liked the LG`s poor quality plastic materials which some times are the same with Samsung`s. However I see the Optimus LTE as a main competitor for HTC Sensation and Galaxy S II. There is no other information if the device will be made available outside Korea for now.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus - pictures

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus

   Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus is a 7 inches medium range Android tablet from Samsung which completes their related products series as this is addressed to people who are looking for high portability and productivity in the same time.

   The most important technical specification are:

-- DISPLAY: 7-inch PLS LCD touch 1024 x 600 pixels multi-touch screen

-- CPU:  1.2 GHz dual-core Exynos processor.

-- MEMORY:  1 GB RAM.

-- STORAGE:  16/32 GB for internal, microSD card slot up to 32GB.

-- CAMERA:  Primary - 3 MP with LED flash, video recording up to 720p.

Secondary - 2 MP, video chat, video calling.

-- CONNECTIVITY:  3G, HSDPA, HSUPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, USB, 3.5 mm headphone jack, A-GPS.

-- BATTERY:  Li-Po 4000 mAh

-- OS:  Android 3.2 Honeycomb, Adobe Flash support, TouchWiz UI.

-- APPLICATIONS:  Google Apps, social networking, Samsung Apps.

   The battery is a pretty powerful one and I am surprised by the screen as is not and AMOLED series one. The Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus should be available worldwide starting with end of October and beginning of November.

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Amazon Kindle Fire

   Kindle Fire is the first Android tablet made by Amazon. This has a 7 inches IPS LCD (1024 x 600 pixels) gorilla glass multi-touch screen with anti-reflection which should be a great advantage for using it outdoors. The device is thinner than Nook Color and has a dual core Texas Instruments OMAP processor.

   The battery gives an 8 hours reading or 7.5 hours video playback performance. The internal memory is only 8 GB size but you should not worry as Amazon offers free cloud storage for all their content. In terms of connectivity the Fire has Wi-Fi b/g/n, micro-USB and 3.5 mm audio jack.

   Other than that Amazon Kindle Fire offers access to more than 100,000 movies and TV shows available for streaming and download through Instant Video application, access to over 17,000,000 songs through Amazon MP3, access to over 1,000,000 of their books and many more like magazines, newspapers, games. The web browser Amazon Silk is accelerated by the cloud service which leads to high performance for web navigation.

   The price of Amazon Kindle Fire is 199 USD which is an absolutely fair one for this type of device and the other manufactures should check and learn to adjust their prices policies.

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