A Complete Review Of Samsung Nexus S 4G Google Smartphone

Posted on May 11, 2012 by admin

Google and Samsung co-developed the Samsung Nexus S. It was manufactured by Samsung Electronics and released late in 2010. It was actually the 3^rd time Google collaborated with a manufacturer to produce a phone.

The Nexus S came out in four models, GT-I9023 (Super Clear LCD), GT-I9020 (Super AMOLED), SPH-D720 (the 4G version of the GT-I9020 released for the US market) and SHW-M200 (Korean market).

Samsung Nexus S 4G

Samsung Nexus S 4G vs Other Smartphones

It is inevitable that the Nexus S 4G will be compared to most other smartphones in its rank. Some people prefer basic features (if you can call anything on a smartphone “basic”). Others insist only on getting all the latest and greatest features or “the works”.

Let us see how the Google Samsung Nexus S 4G fared

Size – At 4.88 inches it is rather tall for putting in your trouser pocket. It is also slightly thicker and wider than most smartphones, but very lightweight for its size.

Display & Interface - It has a 4-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen, large enough to comfortably view web pages, watch TV shows and movies and play games. The 480 x 800 pixel resolution makes the images very clear, vivid and bright. The touchscreen is very responsive, needing only the slightest touch to detect commands. There are 5 home screens for customizing shortcuts.

Camera – This phone has dual cameras. The rear-facing camera is 5 megapixels and the front-facing camera is VGA. Although the resolution is quite low, it does have flash and auto-focus features which slightly improve the quality of the image. The dual-cameras do make it possible to video chat.

Photo Quality - Photo quality is satisfactory but nothing to jump up and down about. The colors look natural enough, and even without the flash, there is enough light. The edges of most objects however have some image noise. Transferring photos is easy enough via USB synch, email, Bluetoorh or MMS.

Speed - The Samsung Nexus S 4G is a smartphone that runs on Android 2.3, also called Gingerbread, which basically means it is fast. This phone is quite handy for accessing the Android Marketplace with its more than 150,000 apps, and running Google applications like Gmail, Google Maps and YouTube.

Memory – This phone has 16GB of internal memory and 512MB of RAM. 16GB is perhaps enough for most users, but the fact that there is no expansion slot for another memory card makes it seem limiting, just like on the iPhone.

Network Connectivity – The Nexus S 4G offers Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth capabilities.

Calling Features – All the basic calling features offered by other smartphones are also offered by the Nexus S 4G; namely call hold, call waiting, call history view, huge address book, conference calling etc.

Call Quality – Call quality on this phone is satisfactory. The signal is clear and the person on the other end sounds clear enough. Of course results may vary depending on your service provider, but it is important to note that background noise was barely discernible, with hardly any static.

Google Samsung Nexus S

The slight hissing sound on some calls need to be observed as it may be related to carrier signal, but it is minimal enough to be ignored. Sound quality on the other end as well as speakerphone calls are likewise good.

Multimedia Features – The Nexus S 4G has all the basic multimedia features like digital music player, email access, 16GB of memory for storing music, photos and videos.

Battery Life – At a mere 360 minutes of talk time (which actually includes all the time that the display is active) and just 230 hours of standby time compared to other smartphones that offer at least 325 hours, the Nexus S 4G has fairly low battery life; even if the super AMOLED screen is already energy-efficient.

My Final Comments On The Samsung Nexus S 4G

Overall, the Nexus S 4G has a slick design. It has some cool features including a 3-axis gyroscope and a slightly concave front panel supposedly to make it easier to hold especially during phone calls. Although none of these features sets it above the rest, it is still a good value for the money.

If you have some personal observations regarding the Samsung Nexus S 4G, especially those we did not cover here and those contrary to our own reviews, we would welcome hearing them from you.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus Review: Specs, Features, Design, User Interface

Posted on May 11, 2012 by admin

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is a smartphone that’s aimed at those who wish to have the pure Android experience. It may have Samsung in its name, but don’t be mistaken: it’s a Google phone through and through.

So does it pass muster as the search giant’s representative in the Android smartphone market? Let this review help you make up your mind.

An Understated Design and Superb Build Quality

With a dark gray color and only two hardware buttons, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus looks simple yet elegant. Its slightly curved screen is also a nice touch because it is reminiscent of its predecessor’s appearance. As for its build, the smartphone’s back is made of a plastic called Hyper Skin, which allows you to get a good grip on it. The display, meanwhile, is oleophobic, so its beautiful clarity would not be smudged by your fingerprints no matter how much you may touch it. In addition, it boasts of a 4.65” Super AMOLED screen with high definition resolution, making the colors truly pop out in front of your eyes.

Above the screen, you can find the earpiece and the front facing camera, as well as the proximity and ambient light sensors. The volume rocker is on the phone’s left side while the right side features the power and lock key. At the top is a latch that lets you remove the battery cover and at the bottom is the 3.5mm earphone jack, the micro USB port, and the microphone. Finally, the 5MP camera is located at the back along with the LED flash and the loudspeaker.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus Google Smartphone

A Redesigned User Interface

This was the first smartphone to be released with Android 4.0’s Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) software, and it set the bar for all others that followed after it. The interface somewhat resembles the one found on 3.0 Honeycomb, but parts of it have been redesigned to work on both tablets and phones.

The unlock mechanism, though, differs from previous versions of Android. You can now see a circle around a padlock-shaped icon at the screen’s bottom and you can either drag it to the right to unlock the phone or slide it to the left to start up the camera. But if dragging and sliding aren’t your style, then you can always go for the cool face recognition unlocking feature. Just aim the camera at your face and the phone will give you access.

Once you’re past the lockscreen, you’ll see a homescreen that features a bottom row of three onscreen buttons: Home, Back and Recent Android apps. Above it is a dock called a favorites tray with four shortcuts you can customize to suit your preferences. You can still place widgets on the five panes of the home screen but, this time, you have the option of resizing them to save up on space.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus Review

Great Multimedia Features

The Gallery application on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus has been revamped and offers several goodies. For example, you can now easily choose online albums and download them to your phone for offline viewing. It offers Picasa support and you can sync your photographs over a Wi-Fi connection. You can also edit your pictures and employ effects, photo straightening, red eye correction and sharpening. Furthermore, there’s a Movie Studio Android application that lets you edit your videos by adding titles, effects, and music.

The Music Android app is pretty impressive, too, with an equalizer that allows you to tweak the settings until you get the audio effect you want. The sound quality isn’t too shabby either, with excellent volume levels and a clean output that lets you enjoy your favorite tunes with true audiophile pleasure.

So, to sum it up, here are the highlights and major features of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus:

Slim profile that measures 8.9mm only
Dual-core processor
16 to 32GB of built-in storage
1080p video recording @30fps
Wi-Fi and DLNA
Bluetooth 3.0
GPS receiver
NFC connectivity
Compass and barometer
Great audio quality
Camera with autofocus and LED flash, plus front-facing camera
Android Ice Cream Sandwich OS
Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen

With a power-packed arsenal of specs, it’s obvious that both Google and Samsung have scored another win with this gorgeous smartphone. So what’s taking you so long to get one?

If you already own a Samsung Galaxy Nexus, do tell our other readers about your experiences in the comment box below.

Overview of the Nexus One Google HTC Android Phone

Posted on February 2, 2012 by admin

The Nexus One is the first Google handset manufactured by the Taiwan based mobile manufacturing company HTC Corporation. The phone was codenamed as HTC Passion. This HTC creation became available for purchase on January 5, 2010. Initially, the phone was only available on Google’s official website. The phone’s subsidized version that came with a two-year contract from T-Mobile was priced at $179 and its unsubsidized SIM unlocked version from AT&T was priced at $529. However, in May 2010 it was announced that the Nexus One website would be closed and the phone will be made available in retail stores. Retails stores started to sell this Google device from July 2010.

During Nexus One’s launch in January 2010, Google declared that they would be launching a Verizon model by the end of 2010, but in April 2010 Google announced that they would not have any such collaboration with Verizon. There was also an announcement made about a Sprint model of the phone, which was later discarded. Nexus One’s most prominent feature is its ability of transcribing voice to text. The segments below will tell you more about the handset’s specifications, hardware and appearance.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Nexus One Specs

The Nexus One comes equipped with 512 MB RAM, 1 GHz Snapdragon processor and a microSD slot that will allow you to expand the phone’s memory by as much as 32 GB. The handset boasts a 3.7inch AMOLED touchscreen that displays images at 800 x 480 pixels. Nexus One’s camera specifications may not be the best on earth, but is surely not mediocre. The phone has a 5MP camera that comes accompanied by an LED flash. Two other notable attributes of this HTC product are its trackball and dual microphones (required for implementing voice cancellation technology).

Any Nexus One review would describe the above mentioned features to be impressive. However, according to experts, all these features have their own quirks. As a result, often phrases like ‘not perfect’ and ‘just good’ are used for describing the Nexus One.

The manufacturers have positioned the phone’s 5MP auto focus camera in a way so that it protrudes out to spoil the otherwise smooth appearance of the device’s back. The protrusion is so prominent that it might scratch the surface on which you place the phone, let it be your laptop or a glass table.

Google Nexus One

You will surely find the AMOLED touchscreen exciting and gorgeous. This feature is absent in the majority of Nexus One’s competitors. However, there’s a hitch. In spite of looking exceedingly attractive, the screen does not come with multitouch support.

The Nexus One boasts good battery life. Its standby time and talk time are 250 hours and seven hours respectively. Moreover, you will also enjoy 20 hours of audio playback and seven hours of video playback on this handset. Your battery usage can be viewed on the phone’s screen.

Nexus One: The Phone’s Design

Both users and experts describe the Nexus One as the best looking HTC phone marketed to date. The phone’s body has parts made up of metal as well as a rubbery plastic. Its sides and front panel are surrounded by the metallic bezel that eventually curves around the phone’s back. The manufacturers have used the rubbery plastic material on the device’s battery cover and its bottom to give it a solid, but soft feel. Nexus One’s body is a lot lighter and thinner compared to its competitors, which makes it look less masculine.

The Android phone’s front panel has 5 more buttons other than the basic volume and power buttons. They include four haptic touch buttons and a trackball. You might be excited to hear about the trackball, but the fact is that Nexus One’s trackball is almost useless. It is only meant for offering you color based notifications for new text messages, mails or missed calls without turning on your phone’s screen. That’s it. You will not be benefited much if you are looking to use the trackball for navigation. However, the trackball becomes a necessity during text selection as you will not be able to hold down your finger for moving the cursor. The four haptic touch buttons (search, menu, back and homescreen) on the other hand make navigation easier for the user.

Google Android Nexus One

Software Features

Originally, the phone had Android 2.1 Éclair as its operating system. Later, an upgraded version with Android 2.2 Froyo as its operating system was released. This new version came with several additional features, for instance a modified Home Screen, Wi-Fi tethering, an improved MS Exchange support and more. You will also have an option of upgrading your Nexus One to Android 2.3.6.

The most fascinating software feature of the phone is its Voice Keyboard. Mobile users around the world were enthralled when they were introduced to Google’s Voice Search Application in 2009. All text fields in the Nexus One are voice enabled. Press the handset’s microphone button and speak to it, your speech will be instantly converted into text.

Another striking feature of the Nexus One is Live Wallpaper. Choose from options like Water (whenever you will touch it, it will ripple), Magic Smoke (it contains a magical union of clouds, water, plasma and smoke) or Grass (grass blades will wave gently with a night or day sky as their backdrop).

Samsung Galaxy Nexus One Accessories

Some Samsung Galaxy Nexus One accessories you should have to increase the phone’s durability and usability include the following:

A compatible screen protector: Make sure that the screen protector is capable of resisting high level abrasions. The screen should not add bulk to your phone and must not leave any residue on the phone’s screen when removed.
A car charger: You should have this Nexus One accessory to ensure that you can charge the phone even when traveling.

A handsfree headset: Every Samsung Galaxy Nexus One user should have a handsfree headset. This will allow them to listen to their favorite music or continue their conversations while doing other important tasks, like driving.