Friday, April 11, 2014

Samsung’s Galaxy S5 Available From Today in 125 Countries



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GS5 Galaxy S5 1.0


Samsung fans all over the world will be waking up today, April 11th and excitedly checking their online retailers and stores near them to get their hands on the latest and greatest, the Galaxy S5. While Samsung’s next generation Galaxy S device might not have lived up to a lot of people’s expectations it’s still an excellent device and brings with it a raft of new features not yet seen in a Galaxy S smartphone. Today’s the day, being April 11th and the Galaxy S5 is not just launching in a handful of countries around the world, but it’s launching in a whopping 125 countries worldwide. Sure, we’ve had to wait since February for this launch, but there’s no denying the scale of Samsung’s launch today. Launching around the world today as well, is the Gear 2 line of devices from Samsung.


If you’re unfamiliar with the Galaxy S5, not much has drastically changed from last year’s Galaxy S4, but it is a significant improvement on the inside. It’s much faster thanks to the Snapdragon 801 inside that features four processing cores clocked at 2.3 Ghz and the screen has grown a little to 5.1-inches, but the overall size is similar to last year’s device. A larger 16-megapixel camera is waiting for you around back, so too is a heart rate sensor that will be a handy feature for those fitness fanatics. Those more concerned with security will be looking forward to try out the fingerprint sensor on the front of the device, which you can use to not only unlock your device, but hide away certain images and videos on your device using just your fingerprint.


Here in the US, all the major carriers will have the Galaxy S5 up for sale today, and Samsung is of course throwing in some goodies as usual. Meanwhile, our friends across the Atlantic can pick up the Galaxy S5 from retailers like Carphone Warehouse, or even venture to one of the nine new Samsung retail stores that recently opened. Readers from elsewhere should check their local Samsung page for more information of how and where to purchase the Galaxy S5. US readers that can’t wait or don’t want to spend time interacting with humans to get their latest Galaxy fix can simply purchase from Amazon.





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Samsung’s Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo and Gear Fit Now On Sale Worldwide



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It’s April 11th everyone, which means that Samsung’s latest and greatest devices are finally available for us to spend our hard earned money on. While we might have been waiting a long time since the February announcement of the Galaxy S5 and Gear 2 line of smartwatches, building up a global launch like this isn’t easy and Samsung deserve some credit for keeping their street date. If you’re someone that’s going to be buying a Galaxy S5 this weekend (or in the coming weeks) then there’s a good chance that you’re also looking at getting a new Gear watch. This year, Samsung has rethought a few things in order to improve on last year’s Galaxy Gear (which wasn’t the best smartwatch out there, let’s just say that).


This year’s line of Gear watches is not only more diverse, but they’re running a completely different OS. Instead of running a heavily-modified version of Android, Samsung is using their home-grown Tizen OS in the Gear 2 and the Gear 2 Neo. Meanwhile, the Gear Fit is running something a little more simple, but shares a number of features with its watch brothers. The Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo are very similar to last year’s Galaxy Gear, offering the same sort of smartwatch functions we saw Samsung debut last Fall. However, for those that don’t want a camera on their wrist, the Gear 2 Neo omits this feature and saves you some money in the process. The Gear Fit is a more fitness-orientated wearable for those that like to get out there and exercise frequently. It also has a watch feature and will alert you of incoming texts and calls, so it’s not just for fitness junkies.


If you’re not getting a Galaxy S5 though, you should have no problem using the new Gear 2 line with an existing Galaxy device. Compatible with the Galaxy Note 3, the Galaxy S4 and even the Galaxy S III, one of the three watches should have something you’d want to get your hands on. Here in the US, you can find the Gear 2 at a number of carriers as well as from Amazon. For those outside of the US, check your local Samsung website for more info on where to get one of these new watches wrapped around your wrist.






Thursday, April 10, 2014

The Samsung Galaxy S5 Gets Its Very Own OnePlus One Comparison Chart



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OnePlus’s bold nature seems to only have been heating up around the announcement of the HTC One M8, when they launched a comparison image showing the differences between the HTC One M8 and their upcoming OnePlus One device. The OnePlus One is scheduled to get an announcement and possibly a release near the end of this month. Just to recap, the OnePlus One is said to be under $400 where ever it’s available, and come powered by a 2.5 GHz Snapdragon 801 processor with a 3,100 mAh battery inside. We have yet to actually see the device first hand but the rumor is that it will have nearly non-existent bezels. The bezel is merely speculation, but this was gathered from the image that OnePlus released that showed a Sony Xperia Z1 from the back, but was stated was sitting on top of the OnePlus One. The OnePlus One is going to have a 5.5-inch display, so with a bigger screen than the Xperia Z1 but the ability to sit comfortably under it without being seen, extremely small bezels sound realistic.


In this newest comparison, OnePlus seems to be keeping the friendly insults at bay, and simply compares their device to the upcoming Galaxy S5 which actually is scheduled to launch in most regions on April 11th. The main points cover the difference in cost between both phones, with the OnePlus One costing under $400, and the Samsung Galaxy S5 obviously being well over that with a a price tag of $699. There is also a clear distinction between the difference in RAM with the Galaxy S5 coming in with 2GB at its disposal, and the OnePlus One having 3GB. The display is also bigger with OnePlus’s device, as it sports a 5.5-inch screen, where as the display on the S5 is only 5.1-inches.


While the OnePlus doesn’t come with a heart rate sensor, another thing they point out in the comparison, it does have an option for 64GB of storage where the Samsung Galaxy S5 currently only offers an option of 16GB. The S5 comes with a camera touting a higher resolution sensor with its 16MP to the OnePlus One’s 13MP, but the OnePlus comes with an Exmor sensor by Sony, and has one more lens than the S5, so it’ll be interesting to see which device actually takes the better picture. Quite possibly one of the biggest differences lies in the software, where the S5 will obviously continue carrying the Touchwiz torch, and the OnePlus One will be shipping with Cyanogenmod 11S running immediately out of the box. The OnePlus One is said to get an official announcement on the 23rd which is only a little over a couple weeks away.


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Leak: ZTE To Launch A 6-Inch Phablet Made Partly With Carbon Fiber?



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A new leak has surfaced displaying a phablet to come from ZTE that has a carbon fiber design. The ZTE M1001 image leaks come from tenna, which is known for getting their hands on some rather interesting images of upcoming devices bound for the Chinese market. The M1001 reportedly comes with a 6-inch display attached, which is a bit bigger than most of the phablets that we see. However phablet sized devices are becoming more mainstream in places like China, so it’s not surprising to see one this big coming from ZTE who is based in the region and is huge in the market there.


The phablet looks to have fairly slim bezels, which is something we see as a trend with what consumers are wanting out of future devices. The smaller the bezel the better it seems like these days. The device reportedly weighs just 171g, and is said to come with 2GB of RAM and an octa-core processor made by MediaTek. The MT6592 chip is clocked in at 1.7 GHz. The ZTE M1001 will of course support the use of dual SIM cards, as is common with devices in the Chinese market as well. The camera is said to be an 8MP sensor on the rear, and a 5MP sensor on the front. We can tell from the images that the device is actually quite thin, and paired with the size of the display it sounds like an interesting device.


So far it looks like the ZTE M1001 will only come in a 3G variant listed as being made for the China Mobile network, and support the TD-SCDMA technology. Were not sure if ZTE is only planning to launch the one model of the device or if this is just the first one to show up on the web. In either case it may not matter for most of us outside the region as we won’t be able to use the device. If ZTE ever entered other regions with a device like this would you consider buying? For a phone that has some carbon fiber built into the outer body, what would you pay to be a proud owner?


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Amazon App Store Now Has 200,000 Apps And Counting



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Amazon’s app store may not be as big as Google’s play store, but it’s still a great place to get apps and Amazon’s CEO has just announced that the app store now has over 200,000 apps available to users. That may seem like small potatoes compared to what were used to but you have to remember that there are a lot more developers making apps for the play store as it’s a more popular platform. With that said, it’s nice to see the Amazon app store gaining growth in app numbers, because it means that we’ll see more likely candidates for the free app of the day, which is one of the best things about the app store.


According to Jeff Bezos, the Amazon app store is now three times the size than it was just a year ago. That’s actually pretty amazing, but not too surprising considering the amount of kindle fire tablets they sell at the Amazon website, and the efforts they have put in to draw in app developers. The app store is also now accessible in over 200 countries globally, another great things for consumers who choose Amazon’s tablets over other option around the world. There is still plenty of room for growth with there largely being a gap of over 800,000 apps between the Amazon app store and the competition from Google and Apple, but they are making progress and still adding more apps to their library and will continue to do so hopefully for a while.


While the Amazon app store may not have as many apps under its belt as other competing markets, it surely must have less low quality apps as well. Amazon reportedly focuses more on the quantity of their app content rather than pumping out large numbers of apps to add to the library of available downloads. We won’t disagree with what Amazon is doing if it means less terrible apps to sift through. Amazon’s app store is built in to every single kindle fire tablet that ships, and is available for download for non-amazon devices from Amazon’s website. Do any of you use the Amazon app store for apps? Is the play store the only place for you, or are you like me and keep the Amazon app store around for the free app of the day?


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30+ Tips and Tricks for the HTC One (M8)

Samsung Galaxy S5 Packaging Comes Complete With Region lock Explanation Sticker



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Samsung Galaxy S5 2.14


Unlocked devices are something you would expect to be completely unlocked from the time of purchase. However that seems to not have been the case with one of Samsung’s previous devices-the Galaxy Note 3- and now the Galaxy S5 as well. The breakdown is that Samsung has basically region locked the European version of those devices, which of course caused a lot of people to be quite upset when learning this, and rightfully so as they thought they were getting something entirely different than they actually did. The full story though is that the region lock is only temporary and would be disabled if a customer had first used the device with a SIM card from the region where they bought the device. The main issue last time around was that people were unaware of the region lock as it seems that it wasn’t clearly explained.


Samsung wants to avoid any sort of negativity surrounding the issue with the Galaxy S5 if they can, which is why they have attempted to halt any sort of backlash ahead of time by branding the Galaxy S5′s packaging with a sticker that fully explains the details of the region lock for the Galaxy S5. The full message on the sticker states that the product should be activated with a SIM card from a mobile operator within Europe, and that to make any calls from regions outside of Europe, a call that lasts at least five minutes would have to be placed while using a SIM card from said European operators.


While some people may still not like that Samsung has region locked the device at all, at least they’re properly explaining how to get rid of the lock. If you’re someone who lives in a European region and has purchased or will be purchasing a Galaxy S5 Unlocked model, it seems all you have to do is go and put at least five minutes of time on a SIM card from any mobile operator, insert it into the phone, and make a call to use up the five minutes of time. At that point you’re phone is unlocked completely and can be used outside of Europe as much as you like.


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