BerryBuz

Saturday, 2 June 2012

Samsung Galaxy Note

MRP: 34990

Digit Rating: Good

4/5

Features:

Performance:

Value:

Design:

PROS

Excellent display
Power package does its job
Thin and light, considering the display size

CONS

Pricey
Limited appeal due to size

Summary

It is neither the smartphone, as we know it. Nor it is the tablet, as we know it. This is the perfect example of the hybrid device - slots in perfectly between the smartphone and tablet. While it may not appeal to everyone, the performance boost is undeniable. The Note pricey, but at the same time it is a niche device as well. Meant for those who find a tablet too big, but at the same time, find the 4.0-inch smartphones a little too small!

In a world that is still grappling with the idea of how the smartphone and tablets will co-exist, Samsung has decided to introduce a a model in the slowly growing hybrid category. The limited demographic of tablet users aside, the masses still use their smartphone for most tasks the tablet would do. So where does the Samsung Galaxy Note fit in? Is it a bigger smartphone? Or is it a smaller tablet, walking the same path as the Dell Streak did sometime back. Is it really the perfect compromise between the tablet and the phone?

Look & Feel
As we had remarked in the First Impressions article we had done the other day, the Samsung Galaxy Note is BIG! Till now we had considered 4.0-inch display smartphones as big, but the Galaxy Note with its 5.3-inch display just puts them in the shade. Quite literally! Despite the bigger footprint, it doesn’t weigh too much, and manages to remain quite slim as well. Surprisingly, it is easy to use it with the same hand that is holding it.

Minimalist is a theme we have come to expect from Samsung, at least as far as the Galaxy range of handsets is concerned. And that same trait is visible here as well. Just below the display is the homescreen button, flanked by two touch keys for menu and return. We had seen this with the Samsung Galaxy SII as well, and thankfully that continues here as well - you can set the lighting behavior of these keys. Some smartphones crucially miss out on this nifty feature. The Samsung Galaxy Note has a front facing camera and a light sensor right next to the earpiece, but are a little difficult to notice at first!

The volume rocker is on the left side panel, while the power key sits towards the top of the right side panel. On the top is the 3.5mm audio jack, while the micro USB port is at the bottom. Flip the Note over, and there is the 8MP camera with the LED flash. While reviewing the Galaxy Note, we were disappointed with the battery cover opening mechanism though. The use-nail-to-prise-open routine doesn’t do justice to an expensive device like this. Secondly, the cover isn't very thick, and I would be paralytically worried of it breaking. And this is the same Samsung who made really classy mechanisms in the Omnia W and the Wave III. So Samsung, why this sudden madness?

During the review of the Galaxy Note, we discovered that the camera placement is a bit of a worry as well. When the Note is kept flat, the camera is touching the surface on which it is kept. It’ll inevitably get scratched badly.

These two flaws aside, the build quality of the Samsung Galaxy Note is very good. There aren’t any rough edges to the product, and most importantly, it has kept its weight and size in check. The very fact that you can type an SMS with the same hand that is holding the phone is a huge achievement in itself.

Features & Performance
An ARM Cortex A9 dual core 1.4GHz processor powers the Samsung Galaxy Note. The processor gets help from 1GB of RAM. The grunt on offer is just off the charts. We don’t want to bore you with how quickly the applications opened, and how the phone remained equally responsive even with multiple background apps open! Just take a look at some screenshots of the benchmark scores for yourself.

In an unprecedented move, Apple, a company known for its blockbuster products as much as keeping their technological feats a closely guarded secret, has quietly released a document detailing the security features supported and hidden inside its iOS mobile operating system which runs on iPod Touch, iPhones and iPads.

Security watchdogs are hailing Apple’s move in releasing the iOS security guide as a watershed moment in the history of Apple’s public disclosures on matters relating to their software architecture. Much had been guessed about Apple’s mobile operating system in the past, but never confirmed by Apple, until the iOS security guide was floated in public domain late last month.

The iOS security guide is fairly detailed, giving businesses and iOS developers much-needed insight into the security features inherent within theiOS platform. The idea seems to be to educate third-party developers so that they develop secure apps for iOS users and the entire ecosystem benefits from Apple’s revelations.

Broadly, the iOS security document deals with the following topics:

System architecture: The secure platform and hardware foundations of iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
Encryption and Data Protection: The architecture and design that protects the user’s data when the device is lost or stolen, or when an unauthorized person attempts to use or modify it.
Network security: Industry-standard networking protocols that provide secure authentication and encryption of data in transmission.
Device access: Methods that prevent unauthorized use of the device and enable it to be remotely wiped if lost or stolen.

There’s some interesting revelations from the iOS security guide. For example, the fact that at every stage of an iOS device’s boot process, the different software components involved in booting (kernel, etc.) have to be digitally signed by the relevant hardware components. This makes iOS security one of the best out there.

Researchers have been busy reverse-engineering and second-guessing iOS’ features for several years, and for them most of the features discussed by Apple in the iOS security guide aren’t new.

According to a Kaspersky Lab news website, Charlie Miller, co-author of iOS Hacker’s Handbook, suggested that while there isn’t a lot of new information in the Apple security guide, its publication is still an important event.

ICS-based Milagrow TabTop 7.4 launched at Rs. 10,990

Milagrow has launched a new Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich tablet in the Indian market, called the Milagrow TabTop 7.4, which is available in two variants, 4GB at Rs. 10,990, and 16GB at 13,990.

Apart from ICS (4.0.3), the Milagrow TabTop 7.4’s biggest USP is its diminutive thickness – an incredibly slim 6.5mm. It is powered by a 1.2GHz single-core processor, a Dual Mali 400MP GPU, and 512MB of RAM. Another USP is the 4:3 aspect ratio of its 800x600 pixel 5-point multi-touch capacitive display, which Milagrow claims will provide 51% more visual real estate than a similar-sized 800x480 pixel 16:9 display.

The Milagrow TabTop 7.4 features a 4,000 mAh battery, which is rated to deliver up to 11 hours of backup time. It also comes with a 1.3MP front-facing camera, with such features as Face Detection, Instant Focus, and 6x digital zoom.

Other features of a the Milagrow TabTop 7.4 include 4G/3G/2G compatibility via USB dongles, Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity, external hard disk support up to 500GB, microSD card support up to 32GB, and an integrated microphone.

The TabTop 7.4 comes with a host of pre-installed software, such as an offline e-mail client, Hindi keyboard with support for more than 60 language keyboards, speech-to-text, auto-spelling correction and dictionary, instant push mail, Office Drop with 1GB of free storage, Office document editor, ZIP archiver, file manager, and backup manager.

According to Milagrow, the TabTop 7.4 offers the fastest wake-up time and boot-time in the segment, at 0.5 seconds and 39.5 seconds respectively. Speaking at the launch of the tablet, Milagrow founder, Rajeev Karwal said:

"We are committed to providing the world's best technology to the Indian consumer even as we keep the market realities in mind. With so many non-serious players in the market who just want to exploit the opportunity, it is a tough task to keep coming up with quality products at affordable prices. I am proud of our team to have given the most potent, world's only TabTop 7.4 to the Indian market."

Samsung Galaxy S III: First Impressions

Finally! The Samsung Galaxy S III has been launched in India, at the Samsung Galaxy S III World Tour event in New Delhi today.

The Galaxy S III, as Samsung's flagship, is the first phone from the Korean giant's stables to be powered by the quad-core Exynos 1.4GHz processor, coupled with 1GB of RAM. The 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display comes with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels.

The S III model launched in India is the 16GB version, with the card slot allowing you to expand that by 64GB more. The 8MP camera has burst mode, and offers the suggestion of what it thinks is the “Best Picture”. Samsung say it has zero shutter lag, but we will believe it when we test it.

Amidst all the excitement, we managed to spend some time with the phone, and here is what we feel:

The Galaxy S III feels very classy. All the complaints of it being “plasticky”, well, we don’t believe in them anymore. Okay, the material used is plastic, but it does have a classy, solid and premium feel to it. The phone that we got to check out was the Marble White one. The enamel white finish was extremely good, with a dollop of shine to it.
Excellent to hold and use, and undoubtedly has a premium feel to it. The 4.8-inch display means it falls straight in the “big-screen” category, but we didn’t think it was either too big or uncomfortable to use with the same hand holding it.
The power key as well as the volume rocker are on either side spine. The micro USB port is on the bottom. Flip the phone over, and there is the 8MP camera along with the LED flash, placed towards the upper half. However, this is a lot more comfortable placement (while taking a video, with the camera in landscape mode) than some phones offer, for example, the Sony Xperia S.
Speaking of which, the display is absolutely fantastic. Carrying forward the trend set by the Galaxy S II and the Galaxy Note, the S III’s display is extremely vivid. We felt it was crisper as well, when compared to the predecessors. We shall confirm that once we test the S III in detail.
A lot of work has gone into the TouchWiz UI. It is a lot more appealing now, visually. Also, the widgets behave in a different way. You will be able to see in the screenshots (further below) as well as the hands-on video what we are talking about. An addition to this is also the S-Suggest widget, that refreshes to offer you more apps based on your preferences.

What we need to use and test in detail are the features like S-Voice, the burst mode of the camera as well as Smart Stay. With S-Voice, Samsung has an Apple’s Siri-esque voice assistant on the phone. The company says that it works well with Indian accents as well. The demos indicated that it did, but we will test that in greater detail. Smart Stay is the feature that allows you to use the phone and not worry about the display turning off in the middle of reading something important.

Samsung has priced the Galaxy S III at Rs. 43,180. It should be available in stores from today, but that is only for the Marble White version. The Pebble Blue version will be hitting stores in India sometime next week.