Samsung’s latest flagship devices bundle in several new features and capabilities, and they critically cap off these additions with shiny new black, silver, and gold color schemes, so the best way to protect the new device is the award-winning transparent CandyShell Clear from Speck. Samsung has done many things to improve the reliability of the new Galaxy smartphones, including new waterproofing and dust-resistance technology, but the devices will still be prone to damage from drops, scratches, and nicks.
When you hear the word Droid, you probably think of two things: Star Wars and Android. While both items are a correct association, the latter comes with a bit of a twist. Armed with a licensing agreement with Lucasfilm, Verizon launched the Motorola Droid in the fall of 2009. To make a long story short; the device went on to become one of the first commercially successful Android smartphones, but with one small carryover. Verizon ran a very aggressive, but highly successful marketing campaign for the Motorola Droid and as a result, casual tech consumers started referring to Android phones and tablets as “Droids.”
Up until now, Verizon has typically released a few Droid-branded phones each year. But here we are at the end of 2014 and its hardware partner Motorola Mobility has been busy working on its own smartphones like the Moto X, which recently launched across multiple wireless carriers, including Verizon. With the exception of a questionable camera and a few small quirks, the former Google company’s flagship handset is truly sublime. So when Big Red and Motorola announced the Droid Turbo, we saw a device that looked to right some of the Moto X’s wrongs, at least on paper. However, is it really enough to lure us away from the phone that made us feel all warm and fuzzy just two short months ago?
Sprint just announced it is adding three new Android-powered devices to its 4G LTE lineup, as well as expanding its 4G mobile broadband portfolio with a new USB dongle.
The Android devices include:
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 features a 10.1-inch 1,280-by-800 display, front-facing VGA camera, and rear-facing 3-megapixel on the back, while the inside touts a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB of storage, and a 7,000 mAh battery. The Ice Cream Sandwich-powered tablet also comes with Sprint LTE connectivity and mobile hotspot support for up to 10 devices.
The LG Optimus G offers a 4.7-inch 1,280-by-768 True HD IPS Plus display, 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 13-megapixel rear-facing camera, 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, 32GB ROM, 2GB RAM, and a 2,100 mAh battery. It also touts Ice Cream Sandwich OS, but it further includes LG software like QSlide and QuickMemo.
Sprint 4G LTE
LG Optimus G (AT&T)
Galaxy Tab 2 10.1
The LG Mach boasts a QWERTY and slide-out physical keyboard with only a .48-inch thick body. The Ice Cream Sandwich-powered, 4-inch smartphone also packs a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 8GB ROM, 1GB RAM, microSD slot, and a 1,700 mAh battery.
As for the USB dongle: Sprint’s Plug-in-Connect Tri-Mode USB will support 3G, 4G WiMAX and 4G LTE connectivity. The stick even houses a foldaway USB connector, LED service indicator, and it is both Windows- and Mac-compatible.
Sprint said pricing and availability for each new addition will surface “at a later date,” but further specs and details are available in the press release below.
The folks at iFixit are once again ripping apart the latest devices. This time Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10.1, officially launched just last week, gets the teardown treatment. It scored relatively high for repairability compared to the industry’s leading tablet, the iPad. Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10.1 came in at 8 out of 10—that is in comparison to the newest iPad’s 2 out of 10 score.
* Major players on the motherboard include the following: * Samsung Exynos 4 Quad 1.4 GHz processor with integrated 3D graphics * Wacom W8008 (we assume this is used for S Pen input) * Atmel mXT1664S touchscreen controller * Samsung KLMAG2GE4A NAND flash memory * Wolfson Audio WM1811AE audio codec * F0514A 430 1201KP411
A few press images of the Sony Xperia manifested online before its expected IFA unveiling in September and just days after a slew of leaked slides on the tablet emerged via a German website.
Android Guys first spotted the latest high-res leaks on the XDA Developers Forum. The forum’s contributor noted the device offers a Tegra3 CPU, 1-megapixel front-facing camera, 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, 6000 mAh battery, and a magnesium-aluminum alloy body.
The 16GB Experia will apparently sell, according to the XDA thread, for $399.99, while the 32GB and 64GB models cost an additional $100 and $200 respectively, but previous reports for the tablet indicated a slightly higher price scheme.
More rumored specs include Android 4.0 or later, 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, and a 8.8mm aluminum shell that is 42 percent thinner than the Tablet S. The slim design is certainly a draw, but that dramatic bezel pictured above is a completely different story.
With Samsung’s official unveiling of its next flagship smartphone earlier this month, we are now getting some insight into the Galaxy S III’s battery life courtesy of GSM Arena. The publication took the I9300 Galaxy S III, and its 2100 mAh battery, and put it to the test in a number of benchmarks. The results included: 10 hours and 20 minutes of continuous talk time with the display off; 5 hours and 17 minutes of web browsing; and, over 10 hours of continuous video playback. As you can see from the images of the results above, the S III was just behind Motorola’s Droid Razr Maxx on video playback and talk time. However, web browsing puts it at No. 14 behind competitors thanks to its AMOLED display.
The report explained that with the device’s stand-by endurance rating of 43h, you would “need to charge the monstrous smartphone once every 43 hours if you do an hour of 3G talking, video playback and web browsing per day.” Expand Expanding Close
If you are considering picking up the Galaxy Nexus on Verizon anytime soon, Samsung is giving you a decent incentive to do so directly through its website. For a limited time, the company is offering a free Galaxy Nexus i515 Battery Bundle Kitwith the purchase of a Galaxy Nexus on the usual two-year Verizon contract. The kit, usually worth $50 through Samsung, provides a back casing compatible with the included 21 mAh extended battery. Unfortunately, many report the battery only provides approximately 10 percent extra battery life, but it is definitely worth getting it free before the promotion ends on May 10.
