The tentative date is scheduled for June of this year but we would not be surprised if Samsung missed said launch date as NFC is still being rolled out and will not be completely ready until later this year. This news will probably receive a mixed reaction from Samsung fans. The extra functionality NFC provides is certainly welcome, but there are bound to be a few people who’ve already picked up an S II without the NFC chip who are disappointed not to have receive NFC support with their phones.

Mobot has quoted a representative from Samsung who said: “Regarding your query, kindly note we have received a confirmation that the Near Field Communication ‘NFC’ version of the Galaxy S II should be available in the UK by June 2011.”

Source: Mobot

Bookmark It

According to reports from the Carphone Warhouse stocks are extremely tight this season. The customer interest generated since the news of the price slash is already more than expected. And the stocks at both the stores of Carphone Warhouse and Best Buy UK are pretty limited. And the competition, as expected will be high. So you better act fast if you are truly interested in checking this product.

The Carphone Warhouse reports that all its branches would be taking orders via instant ship delivery. This will allow customers to purchase the new item at any of the stores of their convenience.

The new reduced price of the Google Nexus S is definitely attracting customers’ interests. There have been no exact reasons explained as to what has led to the reduction in the price. The original price of the Nexus S was £550 and being too steep a price tag was cause of concern of poor sales suggestion. Perhaps, that prompted Google to this move to revise the price making it more customer friendly.

The Carphone Warhouse is happy to announce the sales of Google’s new smart phone at this attractive price of £430. Customers will be able to buy the Nexus S phone from Google only from the Carphone Warhouse and Best Buy UK stores. The revised price is definitely going to make the handset more tenable. According to confirmation from the Carphone Warhouse sources, all those customers who have pre ordered the Nexus S are going to get the benefit of the offer.

So if you are planning to pick your Google Nexus S this holiday from the nearest Carphone Warhouse or Best Buy UK stores you better get cracking, since official reports suggest that stocks are limited the competition will be high.

Bookmark It

Almost at the speed of thought

The mobile CPU that beats at the very core of the system is a powerful and efficient ARM Cortex A8 1GHz processor. A fast CPU is rendered useless without an equally powerful operating system to run, in this case, the Android v2.1 (Éclair) OS. The combined effect of these two components is felt on the phone’s enhanced user interface, the TouchWiz 3.0.

Having these three fundamental components work synergistically and you have one superior mobile phone capable of handling even the most demanding application or function. Navigating through the user interface’s multiple home screens on the phone’s generous 4-inch display is so fast and intuitive, you’d swear it operates at the speed of thought.

Lightning-fast display

The Samsung Galaxy S i9000 is equipped with a large 4-inch capacitive touchscreen utilising Super AMOLED technology which makes images and videos so vividly real and viewable even under bright sunlight. The screen delivers 480 x 800 pixels of screen resolution with the capability of displaying a stunning 16 million colours.

The Samsung Galaxy S has an accelerometer which automatically adjusts the UI according to the phone’s orientation and a proximity sensor which shuts down the device when the user is away. The i9000 has touch-sensitive controls as well which quickly responds to multi-touch input method.

Rapid connectivity

The CPU, OS and UI on the Samsung Galaxy S are not the only fast performers on the device. Class 12 versions of GPRS and EDGE provide the phone with its primary channels of cellular network connectivity. With its fast 3G coverage, HSDPA connectivity provides internet access with speeds of up to 7.2 mbps as well as HSUPA connection running at 5.76 mbps.

Bookmark It

Of course, bringing out a proprietary operating system on a low end smart phone simply feels wrong too. Which is why it makes perfect sense that shortly right after the Korean company has launched the Wave, they are now announcing the Samsung Wave 2 (looks like the Wave was made simply to introduce the Bada OS to the tech community).

The new smart phones are much closer to Samsung’s ideals. The Wave 2 and Wave 2 Pro are mid range handsets with basic features, the Bada OS and a well designed phone body (in some ways, we prefer how the Wave 2 looks over the original Wave).

The Samsung S5250 Wave 2 smart phone comes with the Bada operating system, a 3.2 inch TFT touch screen (with a modest resolution of 240 x 400 pixels), a 3 mega pixel camera, an accelerometer, the TouchWiz user interface, 80 MB of internal storage and support for a good range of media files (it even has an FM radio). All in all, it is certain to be a well recommended handset when it finally comes out.

Samsung also announced the Wave 2 Pro. In terms of specs, the two devices are almost entirely alike with the only difference being the slide out QWERTY keyboard on the Pro edition of the handset. It is a very wise move from Samsung as having a keyboard is a very important factor for some users –and being able to choose between having a keyboard or not will certainly be appreciated by everyone.

Bookmark It

According to a recent announcement from Vodafone UK and Virgin Media, the two local network operators are offering the handset for free on their 24 month, 25 Pound tariff contract. Vodafone’s plan offers users about 300 minutes of talk time, 500 MB of data allowance and an infinite supply of text messages. Virgin offers pretty much the same deal on data and texts, but the calls are doubled at 600 minutes.

While Virgin Media’s offer may give more in terms of quality, their network coverage is not as vast as Vodafone’s –so buyers might want to determine which locations in the UK they will be travelling to when deciding which of the Samsung Wave deals suits them best.

Regardless of the plan or network that a buyer chooses, the Wave smart phone is a very practical handset. First off, the device has got plenty of power. With the ARM Cortex A8 processor providing 1GHz of CPU speed, the device is a solid match for other high end handsets.

And it will need that power for all the new Apps that Samsung has put into their app store for the Bada OS. Samsung has been getting plenty of developers to support their new open source platform and from the looks of it, they succeeded, the app store for the Bada has hundreds of tools and games to choose from.

Lastly, the handset’s 3.3 inch super AMOLED capacitive touch screen display will provide users with excellent visual quality.

Bookmark It

There is no doubt that many of the spinners at Sony, HP and others are already working out a good angle to handle the media fallback; other companies such as Apple are simply turning a blind eye to the whole mess (in fairness to the Cupertino based company, they already have a lot on their plate to handle), but the general consensus is that what Foxconn is doing is wrong.

Indeed, there is something morally lacking when companies find themselves having to pay for extremely cheap labor practices and still sell their devices for expensive prices. But if Foxconn does change its company rules –increase salaries and benefits, as well as improve the working conditions, the financial repercussions of such a move will certainly drive up the manufacturing costs. In the long run, this will raise the retail value of many big name brand products.

The many employees of Foxconn work 12 hour shifts for extremely low salaries, hardly any benefits and live lives that practically turn them into nothing but mindless drones churning out bits and part of gadgets that will eventually be assembled (most probably by their other colleagues). According to reports, they eat their meals in a very military like manner and the overall atmosphere is tense and depressing.

The most ironic thing is that this has been the standard way of life for many workers in many other manufacturers; but with the continuous growth of suicides in Foxconn, the spotlight on this manufacturing company is not going away any time soon.

Bookmark It

The Samsung Wave is a smart phone that runs on the new Bada mobile platform from Samsung, it was not expected that they would announce a new device using the new technology so soon. But just a couple of weeks ago Samsung has confirmed that it will be using the super AMOLED touch screen on the Windows Phone 7 device that they are currently working on. It has been confirmed that the new phone will come with a 5 mega pixel camera and will be following the type-1 chassis in the Microsoft system requirement for the WP7 mobile platform.

Now, a third device using the high-tech screen technology will be released and this time it is an Android smart phone. The I9000 Galaxy S follows Samsung’s line of Android devices and it is expected to be launched sometime later this year. While the actual release date is sketchy, it has been reported that the phone will indeed be heading to the UK.

The Galaxy S comes with a nice 4 inch capacitive touch screen display –larger than the 3.3 inch screen on the Wave. It will also have a 1GHz processor and a 5 mega pixel camera as well. Expect this phone to have the usual array of smart phone basics such as Bluetooth support, AGPS, WiFi and more.

Find out more about the I9000 Galaxy S at Tech Radar.

Bookmark It

Well, yeah, kinda. Although we have to say we’re pretty much still in the physical keys boat if we’re honest. Give us some nice solid pieces of plastic (or metal, if we’re feeling flush) to press over a big flat screen any day.

We can text in the dark, navigate the menus in a club, and take pictures of ladies underwear under tabl – wait, scratch that last one. Point being, once you get to know a phone with physical keys, you don’t even need to look at the thing to use it. Can this ever be the case with touchscreens? Well, probably not, but phones like the Samsung Genio Touch are at least going to make an effort towards pretending that they know what you like by offering haptic feedback. Haptic feedback? We hear you shout. Yes, haptic feedback. Let us (i.e. Wikipedia) tell you what it’s all about. Well, it’s simple really: when you touch the touchscreen, the phone gives off a little touch-specific vibration, to give you something towards the sense of a physical, tactile response. Basically meaning that you know when the phone knows that you’re trying to do something, because it will give a little shake of appreciation.

Pretty cool, huh. And that’s what we like about the Samsung Genio Touch. It might not be the best phone out there – in fact, it’s very far from it, but it’s supposed to be, because it’s a budget phone – but it does have enough cool little features like that hapticness (don’t try and find that one on Wiki) to make it a very viable option for the budget minded out there. Have a little look at this Samsung Genio Touch review to get more a sense of what it’s got to offer. Or have a look at the official press release. Or, if you really have to, this video below.

Bookmark It

So, why is that, we here at least four of you asking with a yawn. Well, a little while ago LG got all excited about a new product they were launching, the GD910, which, to give credit where it’s definitely due, looks like a stunning watchphone. Fantastic, LG think, we’re going to be the first watchphone on the market for years (after most people thought the idea was dead and buried) and this is going to be one of the most desirable products ever! However, the GD910 is not due out til next month, and will cost around £1,000. That’s right, a grand.

Step up Samsung with a classic bit of banana skin placement, because the Samsung S9110 has also just been announced, out of nowhere. It looks kinda similar: cool touchscreen, think and sleek body, etc. and so on. But, this thing is going to retail at about £400, AND is out this month, not next. Boom! In your face LG, in your big red faces.

Do we more firm details about the Samsung S9110 (or any more than these Samsung S9110 deals or this Samsung S9110 review can provide)? No! Do we care? No! Well done Samsung indeed, well done.

Bookmark It

Listen to the music… check out that moody lighting… look at the way he touches, no, carresses it… then ask yourself why the hell is he filming this in the first place… now tell us you didn’t just throw up in your mouth a little. Because the only thing we can assume is that this is clearly someone who doesn’t get it all that much. Get to unpack phones, that is – we’re done with the other metaphor now. Because the S5600 Preston, hilariously terrible name as it might have, has very little else to get excited about. It’s basically just the Tocco Lite + 3G + GPS + a better camera. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course, as this Samsung Preston review is happy to explain. But it’s definitely something that is worthy of the kind of ritualistic reverence that this chap with the camera and the gentle hands is giving it. Oh well, each to their own and all that.

After you’ve rinsed your mouth out, have a look at Samsung’s official page, or at these Samsung Preston deals.

Bookmark It