Posts Tagged 'samsung galaxy'

Back to the future – Nokia N95

Image showing the Nokia N95 with slide openedImage via Wikipedia

If you’ve been following this blog (and me) for a while you’d know I’m a huge fan of cell phones, very early adopter of new technologies and a massive user. My phone is my laptop away from home, and there are a lot of things I expect my phone to do. No compromises. I’ve been sporting the Nokia N95 since December 2007, shortly after is was introduced in Israel. Since then it has been a loyal companion mainly because of its overall package – it was, and still is, a powerful little gadget, despite its relatively weak CPU (only 332MHz):
3.5G phone with HSDPA, BT 2.0 (A2DP support), Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g), 2.6 inches 240×320 pixels 16M colors screen, Symbian OS 9.2, S60, Mini-USB port, 3.5mm headphones jack, internal GPS receiver, TV-out, 5MP camera with Carl Zeiss Optics and 30fps video quality – all packed in a dual slide 120g machine.

In July I participated in Nokia Israel’s campaign to launch the Nokia N97, during which I received a device for a 2 month period. My bottom-line of the N97 was ‘Big Leap, Small Step‘ – expressed my disappointment around Nokia’s ‘much-anticipated-iphone-killer’ device. Shortly after, in September, I deprived myself of sleep for 48 hours, ‘courtesy’ of Samsung Galaxy challenge – and I’ve been using the Android-based phone since early September.

Last Saturday, I decided to return to the N95, after over a month of massive Galaxy usage, that have left me both happy and pissed – not at the same time of course. The main reason for this ‘up/down-grade’ lies in the very definition of PDA – the device which most cellphones aspire to be nowadays: I use my phone’s messaging capabilities – typing SMS/emails/twitter, browsing – blogs and websites, multimedia – pictures and streaming video and navigation, among other things (like making calls). I also sync my contacts, to-dos and calendar with my laptop. The Galaxy, although very hip and cool (Hebrew link) – delayed me in some of these tasks rather than assisting me. Plus, Nokia PC-Suite is – hands down – THE BEST Mobile to PC software available today. Without it, I’d still be editing the CSV file of my 700+ contacts to import back to the N95.

I’ve learned 2 important things from this experience:

  1. When reviewing a device that is crucial to your daily work (cellphone, laptop are the examples jumping to mind) – own them at least a month before making a decision.
  2. Cellphone vendors (Nokia, SE, Samsung, LG, HTC, Apple, Palm, etc): Battery life and CPU. Those are the (new) important properties (for me at least) when making a decision. Android Market is amazing – too bad the Galaxy CPU can’t handle all that potential.

Bottom-line, the Nokia N95 that was released March 2007 may be a step backwards compared to the current stock, but for me – it’s more of ‘Back to the Future’.

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Languages: Hebrew, English and Android*

After 48 hours of sleep deprivation, I am the happy owner of a brand new Samsung Galaxy (i7500) phone, Android-based. I’m still catching up on some pillow hours, and my online activity is slowly returning to normal use, but already I’ve realized why cellular makers are anxious on building an eco-system: the 3rd-party applications and developers’ community.

After seeing Android Market I understand why the iPhone is such a huge hit – it’s not just the coolness effect, which no other phone can match. The ability to enrich your experience with 65,000 apps is unparallel to any marketing campaign or feature comparison. In just 48 hours I’ve downloaded some 20-25 different applications (directly from the device of course), each allowing me to be more productive, customizing the Galaxy to my needs.

Over the next few days I’ll write some more about my experiences with the Galaxy as well as Top 10 Must Have Android Apps. OK, make that 20 Must Have.. 😉

In that context, AdMob Metrics just released their July 2009 Metrics Report, covering just that – the behavior of iPhone, iPod Touch and Android users and their interaction with App Store and Android Market, respectively. Couple of highlights:

  • Android and iPhone users download approximately 10 new apps a month, while iPod touch owners download an average of 18 per month
  • More than 90 percent of Android and iPhone OS users browse and search for apps directly on their mobile device instead of their computer
  • Upgrading from the lite version was the top reason given when users were asked what drives them to purchase a paid app
  • iPhone and iPod touch users are twice as likely to purchase paid apps than Android users.
  • Users who regularly download paid apps spend approximately $9 on an average of five paid downloads per month

Links:
The full July 2009 Metrics Report – AdMob Metrics
Android Market
Samsung Galaxy Preview
Samsung Galaxy Screenshots Album

* I know Android is NOT a coding language, but it beats calling this post ‘A Javaist, A HTMLer and a Rubiest are on a plane.. 😉

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Samsung Galaxy Preview

Yesterday at 7pm the Samsung Galaxy campaign was launched, with Nitzan Brumer and myself as the first 2 participants. The goal is simple: updating twitter/facebook/both status for 48 hours, at intervals of 30min tops, using the #samsungalaxy tag. The prize: We get to keep the Samsung Galaxy, first Android based phone in Israel. The ‘X-Factor’: various treats to keep us awake and updating. Which means I can sleep, but only for 25min at a time. OR, build a Rubi program that will twit for me…

Either way, I need to find some ‘time-fillers’, so instead of sharing with you how I feel about ‘The 2009 Fall Season‘ or ‘the situation‘, I decided to give a short preview of Samsung’s latest device, that at a first glance has a very good chance of becoming my ‘iPhone Killer‘, unlike Nokia’s N97, which I reviewed only 2 weeks ago.

The good

  • Android is more like iPhone than anything else I’ve seen. It starts with the homepage (3 of them actually), drag-and-drop and device speed (Qualcomm CPU @ 528MHz). There’s definitely a ‘cool-ness effect’ to this phone.
  • Cellcom and Samsung Israel did a great work on the Hebrew interface of the Galaxy. Menus appear as they should, no Bidi mistakes, keyboard layout is also great, very similar to you laptop/pc.
  • Google integration is super – as one should expect from a device running Google OS. Enter your username and password and every piece of data you stored at the G-cloud comes to your phone: Calendar, Contacts, Emails, GTalk, YouTube (you can define the Auto-Sync options). On the other hand – I feel a bit exposed knowing all that data is just ‘sitting’ there…
  • Android Market cannot match Apple’s 65,000 apps, but it’s getting there. Easy to search and navigate, includes ‘My Downloads’ to keep track of your installs and some very cool apps!

The bad

  • The chassis of the Galaxy doesn’t match the iPhone or even N97 standards. It looks cheaper, not as ‘flashy’. The 6 keys at the bottom have no back-light, which makes it somewhat difficult to operate in the dark.
  • I haven’t found a way to ‘Close’ an app. Clicking on ‘Back’ takes you one step back, but the app stays open in the background – consuming battery and 3G/Wi-Fi/GPS.
  • Battery life. Although the device is not small (115x56x11.9mm), and packs an impressive specification, the battery is small. And coupled with the last bullet, working on 3G (wifi is less consuming for some reason) results in about 5 hours – not enough, and quite disappointing.
  • Single ‘notification’ alarm – for anything other than an incoming call. When you enable Twitter/Email/SMS notifications there’s no way of telling the difference – you must check.
  • No front camera for Video-Calls.
  • Camera is ok (5MP, Auto Focus, LED flash), but doesn’t match the N95/97 – in both picture and video quality. Also, I couldn’t find any ‘Zoom’ option when capturing, which is a bit annoying. There’s ‘Crop’ in ‘Gallery’, but why disable ‘Zoom’ to begin with?

Summary
The Samsung Galaxy seems like an excellent answer for people looking for a non-iPhone Touchscreen device, that has roughly the same specs, in a less-expensive-Google-packaging. My fiancee liked it better than the N97, not to mention the various apps. The Android Market is definitely the ‘wild-card’ of this phone, and is the ultimate testiment to the power of the community – the variety is huge, and you can find applications to satisfy (almost) any wish.

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Learning to speak Android

Something good is happening to Israel in the social media scene. Twitter is getting A LOT of screen time, and even yours truly got his 30sec of fame in a recent TV piece (1:25min from start and again, later on) trying to uncover the mystery behind the micro-blogging platform.

Advertising agencies and consumer goods companies cannot ignore the stats and grown interest, so both started to incorporate social media aspects into their traditional and interactive campaigns. A month with Nokia N97, courtesy of N97Unboxing.co.il, did bring plenty of attention and social media coverage for Nokia Israel and the N97, but most reviews weren’t that favorable, and in my opinion might damaged the launch of the device.

But enough of Symbian, because I have roughly a week to learn a new language – Android! I’ll be switching to a Samsung Galaxy (aka i7500) within a week or so, part of a local campaign run by Samsung Israel, Cellcom (largest cellular provider in Israel), TheFusion, McCann Digital and Nir Refuah of course, to launch the first Android device in Israel. Details of the campaign are still sketchy, but I do know it will be a 48 hour contest (vs. another local blogger) during which I’ll have to send status updates (#samsungalaxy) every 30min or so. To keep me busy (and awake) during those 48 sleep-less hours, Samsung will pamper me with various treats and surprises. Good thing I haven’t found a job, yet… 😉

So, couple of necessities before the campaign starts – help appreciated (Thanks in advance!):

  • Twitter app for Android
  • Facebook app for Android
  • Video streaming app for Android
  • VOIP app for Android (Fring doesn’t support Android OS)
  • Must-have Android apps – update: found Android Market, but if you have specific suggestions, feel free to comment.
  • Tips and tricks

Will keep you posted how this develops.

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Mobile & Media Consultant. I help startup companies launch products to the consumer market. Reach out: dvir.reznik [at] gmail.com
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This is my personal blog. The postings here do not represent the thoughts, intentions, plans or strategies of my past employers or of my clients. It is solely my opinion.