Samsung Galaxy Note 5 review: still a big deal
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 release date and price
The Galaxy Note 5 is currently only available in the US and Canada. It launched on August 21 in the US on AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint and US Cellular. It isn’t coming to Europe (including the UK) at this stage, although that could change, and we have heard that the Note 5 can be found unofficially in Europe, but you’ll need to search for it.
A "trusted Samsung source" of Gadgette.com brought the news in early December that the Galaxy Note 5 would finally see a European release in 2016. The move comes with dubious timing, given that the device has been available for nigh on six months in the US, and the next line of Galaxy devices is due to be unveiled shortly, but consumers will surely be gladdened by the news, nonetheless.
The Galaxy Note 5 is reportedly going on sale in the UK first, in late January.
The Galaxy Note 5 price is reasonable considering its premium build, but you’re still going to fork out quite a bit for it. In the US, it’ll set you back US$250 on a two-year contract and US$696 off-contract with Verizon.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 where to buy
These are the current best offers and deals for the Galaxy Note 5. All prices are correct at the time of writing.
AT&T, US$70 p/m (plus US$45 one-off activation fee and US$249 for the handset) with unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 2 GB data, on a two-year contract
U.S. Cellular, US$70 p/m (plus US$40 one-off activation charge and a US$199.99 upfront fee) with unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 1 GB data, on a two-year contract
You can also buy an unlocked international version of the Galaxy Note 5 with 32 GB of internal storage on Amazon for around US$762.
- Buy now: Samsung Galaxy Note 5 at Amazon.com from US$762
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 design and build quality
Samsung has applied the design language it used with the Galaxy S6 to the Note 5. Gone are the days of tacky fake leather and plastic for the Galaxy Note series: the Note 5 shines with an aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass 4 on the front and back.
The most striking thing about the Note 5’s design is its rounded rear edges. Imagine the curved front edges of the Galaxy S6 Edge+, transplanted to the back of the Note 5. The bezels surrounding the display are extremely narrow, particularly next to those curved edges, and they look great. Samsung has taken a real leap forward here in terms of design quality.
The Galaxy Note 5 is certainly beautiful. Its design and the materials used means it feels like a more premium device than its predecessors in the series, but it has lost a few typical Note features. There is no microSD card slot, for example, which will disappoint many fans of the series, and the battery is not replaceable.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 display
The Galaxy Note 5 display is a 5.7-inch Super AMOLED unit with QHD resolution. There is no display quite like it – not even the dual edge display of the Galaxy S6 Edge (with or without a plus) looks quite as good.
The Galaxy Note 5 display is actually more comparable with that of the Galaxy S6. Both have a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 pixels, but because the Note 5 display is bigger (5.7 inches compared with 5.1 inches), the pixel density is lower. It still amounts to 518 ppi though,which we don’t imagine would be a cause for complaint for anyone.
DisplayMate test results
To get a broader set of results for our testing, we’ve used turned to experts in the field of smartphone and tablet displays. Every year, DisplayMate tests displays using complex procedures to identify color fidelity, color space, brightness, sharpness, reflections, viewing angle stability and so on. Samsung gets top honors virtually every year.
The Note 5 display is much brighter than the Note 4s. It can be seen much better in bright ambient light, and it is also significantly more power-efficient. According to DisplayMate, it provides the best color reproduction of all mobile displays. The Note 5 also set a new record on display brightness.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 special features
The special feature of the Note series is the S Pen. A novel feature of the Galaxy Note 5’s S Pen is that it now has an ejecting mechanism. By pressing the thruster on the end, the stylus pops out from its housing and can be pulled out.
You can use the pen in two modes. Pulling it out while the phone is in standby mode starts the minimalistic launcher.
When the phone is unlocked, removing the Note 5 stylus launches Air Command. This shows a list of S Pen-specific apps that you can access quickly.
To use the S Pen for typing, you need to change the keyboard to pen input. You can find this on the Samsung keyboard to the left of the spacebar.
Following the Note 5s release, many users reported a design flaw. They claimed it was easy to insert the S Pen into the slot the wrong way round, and that doing so made it difficult to remove the pen, and caused the pen removal detection to stop working.
Now, Samsung has quietly corrected this flaw. New models feature a small internal tab that allows for damage-free ejection of the stylus when it is inserted incorrectly. The discovery was made by a user over at Phandroid and was laterconfirmed by Samsung, who had previously included warning labels on the packaging, which evidently proved insufficient.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 software
The Note 5 has already had numerous software updates. The T-Mobile Edition we used came immediately with performance updates based on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. An update to Android Marshmallow is on the way.
Our review unit came with some bloatware apps installed, but not an excessive number; just the S Pen apps in addition to the usual Facebook and Microsoft apps. Samsung still runs its TouchWiz UI over the top of its Galaxy series.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 performance
The Galaxy Note 5 packs the powerful Exynos 7420 processor, which has eight cores and a clock speed of more than 2.1 GHz. It has 4 GB of RAM. As with the Galaxy S6 Edge+, there is only the choice between 32 GB and 64 GB versions.
In processor speed and and memory performance benchmarks, the Note 5 performance sits somewhere between the S6 Edge+ and the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact.
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Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 review a compelling package
| 0 comments |Labels: 2016, a, a5, Best Android Apps, compelling, galaxy, package, review, samsung
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) review: a compelling package
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) release date and price
The Galaxy A5 price is around US$399, or 425 euros in Europe (as of January 20), so it sits in quite an affordable price bracket. In terms of its features and size, the Galaxy A5 (2016) is comparable to the likes of the Honor 7 (around US$369) and the Nexus 5X (about US$379). Its a little more expensive than those devices, but not overly expensive by any stretch.
The 32 GB Samsung Galaxy S6, however, now costs only around US$450. Its still Samsung’s main flagship, and superior to Galaxy A5 (2016) in many areas, but only costs minimally more, and it is precisely this minimal difference that could have a negative impact on the sales of the Galaxy A5.
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) design and build quality
The design of the two new A models is very similar. Both the Galaxy A5 (2016) and the A3 (2016) have the same quality appearance and stylish metal frame as the Galaxy S6. If just look at only the front and rear of the A5, you might think you actually had an S6 in your hand.
But look closely, and you’ll notice that the glass on the A5 has a rounded 2.5D edge design, which merges the glass and metal frame almost seamlessly.
After several days of testing, the Galaxy A5 impressed me. The 155 g, 5.2-inch smartphone always felt secure in my hand and the metal frame hasnt started to show any scratches. The Galaxy A5 (2016) feels robust, with Gorilla Glass 4 on the front and back.
The aluminum standby and volume buttons on the side feel nice to the touch and are easy to reach. Its definitely possible to use it one-handed.
In short, the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) is easy to hold and use and just feels like a quality piece of hardware. The fact that the camera protrudes is a slight annoyance, but you could live with it. The Galaxy A5 (2016) is currently available in black, gold and white.
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) display
The Galaxy A5 (2016) comes with a 5.2-inch Super AMOLED display, which offers a Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) resolution and rich, deep colors. Its contrast range is good too.
While the display’s richness benefits gaming, it also means that regular apps look impressive. Texts can also be read easily, thanks to the high contrast it offers.
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) software
Samsung has finally started to heed the "less is more" motto. It has purified its software, and the A5 comes with significantly fewer pre-installed apps than some of its other devices. This is a good thing, and right from the start, youll find the apps that are there add real value to the software experience.
Included are the usual suspects Google, including Maps, YouTube and Google Drive, as well as a good selection of apps from Microsoft, including Excel, Word and Skype.
We were sent a German test model (SM-A510F) running Android 5.1.1 Lollipop (build LMY47X). Like the Samsung Galaxy A3 (2016), TouchWiz is the software interface.
The Touchwiz interface is unquestionably a matter of taste. It has some advantages over stock Android, and can be individually adapted.
Theres nothing in the way of special features. The Galaxy A5 (2016) does not offer anything that you wont find on another current smartphone.
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) performance
The processor of the Galaxy A5 (2016) is an old acquaintance, as found in the Galaxy View tablet and Galaxy Tab S2. Its a 1.6 GHz clocked octa-core Exynos 7580, receiving support from 2 GB RAM and 16 GB of internal memory, which can be expanded via microSD card. The Samsung Galaxy S6 famously does not have a microSD slot.
I performed a range of benchmark tests on the Galaxy A5 (2016), and it ended up mostly in the midfield. In the AnTuTu benchmark (v6.0.1) the Galaxy A5 (2016) scored 40,931, which is almost on par with the Nexus 5X and slightly behind the Honor 7 (around 45,000 points). It doesn’t stand out from the competition, and doesn’t come close to the current top smartphones.
But – and this is probably the deciding factor – no annoying delays or slowdowns were apparent when I was browsing and opening a succession of apps. Even graphically elaborate games ran smoothly across the screen.
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) audio
The Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) has a mono speaker on the bottom. It plays music well (especially classical) but not brilliantly. The sound is better when listening with headphones.
Also included is a headset that has a button for answer/end call, play/pause and a volume rocker. There’s a software equalizer for the music app that can be found in settings in the Audio options. Here you can improve the sound experience with headphones through the options SoundAlive and tube amplifiers.
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) camera
The camera of the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) is nearly identical to that of the Galaxy A3. Thus, the main camera also has 13 MP in 4:9 format with a f/1.9 aperture. The front camera packs a 5 MP sensor with a f/1.9 aperture. In contrast to the A3, the A5 has an optical image stabilizer, which helps avoid blurry images.
In dark interiors, it’s hard to get good snapshots from the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016). Only in bright light will you get nice photos and selfies, so this isnt a suitable phone for photography enthusiasts.
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) battery
At 2,900 mAh, the battery of the Galaxy A5 (2016) is 600 mAh larger than its predecessors. The battery can be fully juiced up in about an hour, thanks to the fast-charging feature.
The battery itself can run for quite some time, even under intensive use. In tests, I surfed the internet quite heavily and called up several apps, viewed more than an hour of video and played eight video games.
The integrated energy-saving mode also ensures that you can determine which apps are running in standby. This can save a significant amount of battery.
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) technical specifications
Samsung GALAXY Note 4 Review
| 0 comments |Labels: 4, galaxy, note, review, samsung
Samsung GALAXY Note 4 Review
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| Samsung GALAXY Note 4 Review |
- Easily capture, collect and share content using Smart Select on the
- Convert photos for editing with the S Pen using Photo Note
- The #GALAXYNote4 has a 16MP back camera with Smart OIS for shake-free photos.
- Get stable shots and clearer images with Smart OIS on the #GALAXYNote4
- There is a 3.7MP front-facing F1.9 lens camera on the #GALAXYNote4 for wider and brighter photos.
- Capture brighter and wider selfies with the advanced F1.9 Front camera on the #GALAXYNote4.
- Introducing Fast Charging on the #GALAXYNote4.
- Go from zero to 50% in 30 minutes with Fast Charging on the #GALAXYNote4.
- A 5.7-inch Quad HD and a Super AMOLED screen on #GALAXYNote4 provides the ultimate viewing experience.
- The S Pen has Smart Select for capturing, sharing multiple pieces of content at once. #GALAXYNote4
- Switch easily between Pop-up screen and Split screen with the all-new Multi Window on the #GALAXYNote4.
- Press the Split screen button from recent apps to enjoy seamless multitasking. #allnewmultiwindow #GALAXYNote4
- All-new Multi Window feature with Pop-up screen for seamless multitasking. Only on #GALAXYNote4.
REVIEW HTC One X Early Pioneer New Super phone
| 0 comments |Labels: early, htc, new, one, phone, pioneer, review, super, x
Competition in the smartphone market is not only heated by the competition between operating systems, but also between the smartphone with the same operating system, especially Android. As the operating system most widely used, Android makes the vendor who would not want to adopt to bring innovation to the arming of whiz-whiz specs Android with the best or at least other features than others.
Not infrequently, the Android-based device sets a new standard for smartphones. You remember the first dualcore smartphone, Optimus 2X and the first 3D smartphone, HTC Evo 3D. Both are based on Android, and HTC unveiled the latest One-X, the worlds first smartphone with quad-core processor, which means doubling the power dualcore processor. Is this the beginning of a new era of super-phone?
Design
Dimensions: 134.4 x 69.9 x 8.9 mm, 130 grams; full touch screen; unibody, polycarbonate plastic material and the gorilla glass; 3.5 mm audio port, the power / lock, microSIM tray; volume rocker; mic hole; microUSB port (phone around from the side above) .3 capacitive buttons below the screen (back, home and recent apps)
Sturdy yet elegant, it looks like the two words as one who tried to be realized by HTC in One-X. Smartphone (or you can call it super-phone) is carrying the distinctive body design of unibody where the back of the phone casing to connect to the sides and front of the phone part. Practically only the screen and a little area around the main camera lens that does not blend with the main body.
One-X curve body is made of polycarbonate plastic material is strong and scratch resistant. Parts of the screen not to be outdone, the gorilla glass is protected equally recalcitrant.
There are other things that are also interesting in terms of design, a hole in the second part of the speaker (earpiece and loudspeaker), is made so small even smaller than water droplets. So at least the user does not have to worry when One-X exposed to splashing water.
HTC also minimizes the physical buttons by simply placing two rocker volume button on the right phone. Although classified as jumbo, One-X still seemed ideal when attached to your ear when used to call.
Display
Super IPS touch screen capacitive LCD2, 16 million colors, 720 x 1280 pixels, 4.7 inches (~ 312 ppi pixel density), multi-touch, Corning Gorilla Glass
From the above specification, of course you can imagine how "well" this One-X screen. From what we feel, the viewer of this phone is so amazing, is not excessive even if caught on the HDTV Brightness (brightness), contrast, and sharpness of the displayed image is so perfect, especially the screen is able to display it in HD resolution.
Not just about quality, screen size which is closer to 5 inches wide and guarantee satisfaction, especially for users who like to browse the internet, play games and watch movies on mobile phones.
Operating System and UI
Android OS, v4.0.3 (Ice Cream Sandwich ), HTC Sense UI 4.0
Appear attractive on the outside and One-X is not less interesting on the inside. This smartphone has an operating system update on the most popular and most Android Ice Cream Sandwich plus a user interface that is typical HTC called “HTC Sense UI version 4.0”.
Active lock screen interest can still be found in this latest HTC Sense, but not so with the carousel effect when switching panels on the home screen.
Habit of using old versions of Android too often guilty of making us hit the "recent apps" because it was considered the "menu", but it only took me a while to get used to this.
In addition to the home screen, the main menu also had a little revamp. At the top of the screen that was showing only the tab names (all, frequent or downloads), is now adorned with a selection of search to conduct a search, Play Store as a shortcut into the market substitute for the Android Market applications, and menus to the main menu settings such as what determines Based on the application sorted.
Hardware
Quad-core processor 1.5 GHz, Nvidia Tegra 3chipset, ULP GeForceGPU, RAM: 1 GB RAM, Internal Storage: 32 GB (only can use 26 GB), external: -, 1800mAh battery
As mentioned previously One-X is the first smartphone to use a quad core processor. Make the phone as a top class product Android smartphone. Unmitigated, speed was up to 1.5 GHz and 1GB of RAM memory is supported.
If you should find these phones lack, of the absence of a microSD slot for additional storage capacity through the external memory. But, anyone who needs extra if this phone already has 32GB of internal storage space?
Connectivity
GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps, Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspots, Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP, NFC, microUSB (SFM ) v2.0
Just read the specs above, and you will realize that One-X has all the connectivity options that you may need at this time. 4G is absent, but we also do not clearly see signs of its emergence in our homeland in the near future.
Camera
8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, Simultaneous HD video and image recording, continuous shooting, geo-tagging, auto upload, face detection and smile detection, a secondary camera 1MP; 1080p @ 30fps video recorder, stereo sound rec., Video stabilization
This sector also changed since the new version of HTC Sense UI on One-X. When running this feature, users will immediately see the viewfinder area. On the right there is a blue button to access the shortcut to the selection effects and gallery.
On the same users will also find the shutter button and the video recorder. This means that the camera mode images and video recorders are now united and not only that, users can even record video and take pictures at the same time. The camera feature also features continuous shooting, in which the user is possible shoot some pictures with just one pressing the shutter button.
Results Camera
One-X camera shots of course have good quality. Its just that this camera has a few weaknesses in terms of color reproduction, especially in certain lighting conditions.
Internet Browser
Multi-tabs, Flash player, HTML, bookmarks, history, downloads, pinch zoom, print, share page.
Surfing the Internet is always fun when done with a high end Android device. Similarly, One-X, but this phone has advantages over the screen thanks to extensive.
Benchmark
Application used: Quadrant Standard Edition by Aurora Softwork and Antutu Benchmark v2.7.3 by Antutu
We have suspected that this phone will result in scores that weve never seen before and of course we conjecture is true. Using Benchmark Antutu, One-X recorded 11,064 points, while using the phone application Standard Quadrant scored 4,940.
(+)
• Unibody Design
• Ice Cream Sandwich Android & HTC Sense 4.0
• 32GB Internal Memory
• Processor Quadcore
• 4.7-inch Screen
• 8MP Camera & Video full HD
(-)
• The price is relatively expensive
• Without external memory
Conclusion
If nothing is perfect, at least for a smartphone now be said to be close to perfect One-X. The design is so elegant at the same time robust, high specification with first quadcore processor embedded on the smartphone, wide screen and high quality, good camera, and not least the most popular operating systems and updates to the excess One-X is well set a new standard for its competitors. If you have this, we just can not wait innovation competitors to beat the Super One-X HTC new phone.
DETAILS SPECIFICATION:
GENERAL
Network : GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 ,3G HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100
SCREEN
Type : Super IPS LCD2 capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size : 720 x 1280 pixels, 4.7 inches (~312 ppi pixel density) Multitouch, Corning Gorilla Glass, HTC Sense UI
DIMENSION
Type : 134.4 x 69.9 x 8.9 mm / 130 g
AUDIO
Fixtures : Vibration, MP3, WAV Ringtones
Output : 3.5mm jack audio
Speakerphone : Yes
MEMORY
Internal : 32 GB (26 GB user-available) storage, 1 GB RAM
External : Unavailable
DATA
3G : HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
EDGE : Yes
GPRS : Yes
WLAN : Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth : v4.0 with A2DP
Infrared : Unavailable
USB/Port : v2.0 microUSB
CAMERA
Primary : 8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
Secondary : 1.3 MP, 720p
Video Record : 1080p@30fps, stereo sound rec., video stabilization
Type : Standard battery, Li-Po 1800 mAh
Standby : -
Talk Time : -
FIXTURE
OS : Android OS, v4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
CPU : Nvidia Tegra 3, Quad-core 1.5 GHz, GPU ULP GeForce, Sensors Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
Browser : HTML, Adobe Flash
GPS : A-GPS support
Messaging : SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email via Java MIDP emulator
Java : MicroSIM card support only - Beats Audio - Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - TV-out (via MHL A/V link) - SNS integration - Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk - Document viewer/editor - Voice memo/dial/commands - Predictive text input
OTHER FIXTURE
Multiple SIM : Unavailable
Video Player : MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV player
MP3 Player : MP3/eAAC+/WMA/WAV player
Audio Record : Yes
TV : Unavailable
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