The Mobile Spotlight scores the Beast from Samsung

For those of you that have followed my blog, and I have no delusions of grandeur here and know I’m speaking to a whopping 6 people, I’ve had the opportunity to review a couple of great devices.   I was rightfully amped when I got the opportunity to review the EVO 3D, stoked when I got a crack at the Motorola Photon, but now I’m on a whole different level with the opportunity to put the spotlight on the Samsung Epic 4G Touch.  I’ve been waiting for a crack at this device for several months and I’m extremely excited because this phone has been kicking @$$ worldwide, if you don’t believe me just Google “Samsung Galaxy s2 reviews” and see what happens.  The technical specs of the device are nothing short of impressive and the display is beautiful.  To be honest it’s gotten kind of ridiculous because I find myself just staring at the display amazed at how detailed and colorful it appears.  I’m going to have to admit that I cheated a bit and activated this device a few days ago while I was wrapping up the Photon review, I just couldn’t wait.   What did my cheating bring me?   A cracked screen!   In the midst of messing around with the device and constantly taking it out of my pocket I pulled off the token suicide leap and dropped the device right on the lower left hand corner on a concrete floor.  Aside from the cracked glass and damaged pride all is well, I’m still able to fully leverage the phone’s touch screen and I survived the hazing I received from my Product Ambassador peers.   Quick history and naming lesson for those new to Samsung’s Galaxy S phones; Samsung’s Galaxy S line is a multi-carrier line of devices with each carrier’s version slightly differentiating itself from a hardware perspective.  Sprint’s version of the first Galaxy S phone was dubbed the Epic and in true brand marketing fashion the second generation, Samsung labeling as Galaxy S II, was bestowed with the Epic 4G Touch title.  The noticeable differences with Sprint’s version of the Galaxy S II are the larger screen, 4.52” vs 4.3”, and a larger capacity battery, 1800mAh vs 1520 to 1750mAh.  Let’s get the spotlight of scrutiny going by discussing the display tech and the motion features Samsung has incorporated into their Android overlay.

Super AMOLED +  (Samsung working on a longer display name)

When the specs on the on the Epic Touch’s display started popping up I was initially disappointed that the resolution was only going to match the original Epic, at 800 X 480, and lower than the previous two phones we’ve discussed which had the QHD display measured at 960 X 540.  I don’t want to get overly techy here but it turns out resolution rates aren’t the only defining characteristic of display quality.  The plus in the Super AMOLED title means that sub pixilation and contrast ratios surpass the original version significantly.  Sub-pixels are a way for displays to pack in more detail and color representation per pixel.  In the case of the Epic vs. the Epic Touch we’re talking about a tech improvement that provides 50% great sub-pixels, and the more pixels/sub-pixels a display has the clear the image.     The following image does a good job of illustrating the improvement.

When the original Epic launched it was by far the best looking display that I had the opportunity to view and the reason why I purchased it over the original EVO.   Suffice to say if you can make an image on the original Epic look hazy in comparison you have achieved something, kudos Samsung for raising the bar.   Another other display spec that I would like to mention is the contrast ratio.  If you’ve heard the term contrast ratio thrown around before but aren’t quite sure what it represents the following is the best explanation I could find:

“Measures the difference between the brightest whites and the darkest blacks a display can show. The higher the contrast ratio, the greater the ability of a display to show subtle color details and tolerate ambient room light, or light washing. . “ (wikipedia)              

The contrast ratio for the Epic Touch comes in at an impressive 150,954:1. (meaning the brightest white is 150K times brighter than the darkest black)  Is that good?  The magic eight ball says “it is decidedly so”.   For reference I researched the leading LCD HDTVs on the market and found most ranged from anywhere from 10,000:1 to 100,000:1 with a handful of very high end models in the 1,000,000:1 territory.  With the ability to rival HDTV specs the Epic Touch provides a display won’t leave you wanting for better imagery.  Geeky tech facts aside you really need to see this screen to fully appreciate it.  I have a couple of live wallpapers downloaded and as I mentioned above I’ve caught myself just staring at amazed at the detail and colors.  Simply put this display is beautiful, enough said.

Android in Motion

All Android devices, in a given generation, start with the same basic Android platform; it is up to each manufacture to add the secret sauce to differentiate their user’s experience.  It is going to take more than one post to cover off on all the features Samsung delivers in their latest version of Touchwiz so we’ll start with their motion based add ons.  Samy has decided to enhance user control over by providing the following four motion based commands:

1.      Turn Over-  flipping the device over mutes incoming calls and notification sounds, nice touch when you are in a meeting with your superiors or clients and your “Baby got Back” ringer sounds off.   (damn you Sir Mix a Lot, not now!)

2.      Tilt-  while placing two touch points on the screen you can tilt the device backward and forward to zoom in and out on your web browser and gallery.  The pinching command is still available but how cool is it to lean over to a friend and say “watch this”.

3.      Panning-  allows you to move app short cut icons and widgets between your homescreens and app menu screens.  A simple long touch of the icon/widget will activate the panning capability then you simply tilt left or right to navigate to the final resting place. 

4.      Double Tap-  gangster influence has again reached the mobile world! (see photon review)  This function is pretty smooth allowing you to tap the device twice, hence the double tap name, while in Car Home mode to bring up voice commands.   This is a nice feature to initiate hands free control while driving which is something we should all be mindful of. 

In order to leverage these functions you will need to go into the settings menu and turn them on so don’t spend hours jacking around with the device before you figure this out.  (I warned you)  There are several other cool features embedded in Touchwiz 4.0 but I will end for now and live to fight another day.

So just in case you can’t tell the device has gotten off to a great start in here the Spotlight.  From here on out I will try not to sound like a gitty school girl with a crush but I can’t promise anything.  So far this thing has lived up to the hype and I’m looking forward to digging into the nuances over the next several weeks.  Until next time Spotlighters, be good and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. 

The Spotlight fades on the Photon

Our six week journey with Motorola’s new flagship device has come to end.   After having such a good experience with the EVO 3D the Photon had lofty measurement standard to deal with and I can honestly say it did better than I initially expected.  Yes I realize that complement sounds a little back handed so let’s talk about what the Spotlight experienced in terms of the highs and lows of the device. 

What I’m going to Miss:

1.       Native Music App-  after I let my Doubletwist bias go and leveraged the native music app on the Photon this was my biggest surprise and delight.  I fully expecting a dumb down media player but the app does a superb job integrating social media aspects to give you artist news, concert dates, and like artist recommendations.  This discovery taught me not to under estimate each manufacture’s overlay on the Android OS, best native app I’ve experienced thus far.  

2.       Kickstand-  the frivolous has become a near necessity, I’m surprised how much I ended up leveraging the kickstand giving me hands free viewing of media content.   The kickstand viewing mode is a nice finishing touch making the kickstand functional both from a hardware and software standpoint. 

3.       HDMI Connectivity-   not a new feature to the market but it was the first time I’ve had a chance to experience.   The cable was my accessory purchase for this device and it proved to be a good one.  Coupled with the Photon’s mirror display mode the connection allowing me to view content on my HDTV that was displayed on the Photon.   This came in very handy at home as I was able to stream Netflix through a WiFi connection making my Photon a flexible source component.  Thanks to the device I’m now up to speed on Sons of Anarchy and unfortunately had to sit through “Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure” to appease the daughter.  (someone shoot me now) 

4.       App List Organization-  In the theme of gearing the device toward techy professionals Motorola added a nice touch to their Android overlay by providing the ability to organize your apps.  As previously discussed having the ability to organize and view apps by categories allowed for quicker access and a cleaner a cleaner home screen look by eliminating the need for subfolders.

5.       Battery Life- 4G connection-  Battery life overall was good for the smart phone category, standby was fantastic.    Add on top of that no additional battery drain from a 4G vs. 3G connection and you have an overall battery experience that surpasses any phone I’ve experienced to date.

6.       Speaker/Sound output quality-  Motorola spent some money on the speaker hardware as it is loud and provides a distortion free tone.   An equalize app never hurts but not necessary with this device, rock on dude!   

What I’m glad to see go:

1.       Social Media Notifications-  mainly because they didn’t exist.. .   I’m used to getting notifications at set intervals but no matter what settings I selected Twitter never chimed through.  I suspect it has something to do with how the Photon handles programs running in the background for battery management purposes. 

2.       Widget Presentation-   The variety of widgets available is comparable to any other device on the market but Motorola really fell short in their presentation.   The lack of attention to graphics presentation and use of animation really let the phone down and was one of my main let downs.

3.       App Multitasking-   Several bugs started showing up once a program was asked to run in the background.   The most apparent one I experienced was with music applications producing interruption and stuttering.  This became increasingly annoying when I wanted to listen to music while accessing other applications or turning the display off to conserve battery life.    

4.       Basic UI layout-  Not a huge deal but outside of the app the organization point I discussed above Motorola’s overlay was rather bland.  This might have been an unfair expectation I had given the device’s hardware specs and my experiences with the EVO 3D.  It just seemed that the Photon’s UI overlay is a generation behind in presentation and animation, similar to its Widgets. 

Ultimately my recommendation with purchasing this device over others is how you intend to use a smart device.  If you aren’t a multi and social media nut and are looking for a device with excellent battery life, amazing hardware performance, and excellent integration of professional applications then Photon is the clear winner.  For those of us that are looking for a more entertaining device I would still steer you toward the EVO 3D.  Any one device isn’t going to draw the admiration of every smart phone enthusiast so having two very diverse devices in the EVO 3D and the Photon will give Sprint an excellent portfolio to appeal to the wide array of consumer tastes.   I’m not quite grown up yet and still cling to things like multimedia, music, twitter, etc so this device really isn’t ideal for me but will be a great Android option for folks much more mature than I.   So kudos to the Photon for a great showing in the Spotlight but all things must end and it is time to move on.  Last week I surprisingly found out that I’ll be part of the Samsung Epic Touch, also known as the Galaxy S II, ambassador engagement and I am truly geeked over this phone.   Take a minute and go Google this device and you will get an idea why, it is a huge hit worldwide.  There will be several variants of the device for each US carrier but we’re the first to market and the tech reviews are impressive.  I’ve cheated a bit and have had it activated for a couple of days now and can say the Epic Touch is living up to expectations.   Expect to see an update in the next couple of days with some tech spec info and initial thoughts.  Until next time Spotlighters be good!      

Link to Previous Motorola Photon post:
http://mblspt.blogspot.com/2011/09/spotlight-on-photons-battery-life-and.html  

Spotlight on the Photon’s Battery Life and Music Features

It has been just over two weeks since I’ve divulged my thoughts into written words here at the Spotlight but I’m finally seeing a crack of light from my hectic day job.   Now that I have a second to breath let’s get caught up.  With so many features and so little time my brain wrestled with which ones to focus on in this round and I eventually landed on the following, enjoy!

Battery Life

For those of you that had the opportunity to follow my posts on the EVO 3D you will recall that I was really impressed with how improved the battery life was over the previous generation of smartphones, so much so that it was the first device that I didn’t purchase an extended battery for.  The Photon doesn’t disappoint either and I’m actually finding that the battery life surpasses the EVO 3D.  For consistency sake here is the battery life view I provided for the 3D updated with what I’ve observed from the Photon:

Photon:

    1.  Consistent 3G/4G Data Use (Pandora, Twitter, Web, etc.)-     5-5 1/2 hours
    2.  Consistent Multimedia Content Use (Netflix, movies, etc. )-   4 hours
    3.  WiFi Data Use (Pandora, Twitter, Web, etc.)-                          Full Day
    4.  Avg Voice/Text use with Syncs set at 15 min intervals-           Full Day
    5.  Standby, minimal checks, with Syncs set at 15 min intervals-  Full Day (~70% battery life left)

EVO 3D:

    1.  Consistent 3G/4G Data Use (Pandora, Twitter, Web, etc.)-     4-5 hours
    2.  Consistent Multimedia Content Use (Including 3D content)-  2-3 hours
    3.  WiFi Data Use (Pandora, Twitter, Web, etc.)-                          Full Day
    4.  Avg Voice/Text use with Syncs set at 15 min intervals-           Full Day
    5.  Standby, minimal checks, with Syncs set at 15 min intervals-  Full Day (half battery life left)

Standby battery life is what I’m most impressed with, many nights I’ve left the Photon off the charger and battery levels are only slightly diminished from the previous night’s charge.   Another nice surprise is the lack of battery drain from a 4G data connection.  After several tests of leaving my 4G toggle on I’m getting roughly the same battery life performance as a 3G connection.  I would still recommend connecting to WiFi when you can as even greater battery performance can be expected but it isn’t a must like I’ve experienced with some of my other high res touch screen devices.

Music Features

Music is admittedly one of the main features that I leverage on a device.  Doubletwist to date is my best app friend and one of the reasons why I didn’t initially bother to fully vet out the native music features on the Photon.  With that said I will give you my Doubletwist plug and say if you are a convert from Apple to Android Doubletwist needs to be on your initial download list.  It provides all of the same music amenities that you are used to with iTunes without being subject to the overbearing fruit empire.  I can’t believe I’m saying this but once you are ready for a more feature loaded interface jump over to the native apps on the Photon:

Music- Not your usual music playing application, this thing is hopped up with the ability to not only play your music files but also access FM radio, internet radio, and a whole host of podcasts via podcast.com.   The music player has a ton of nice features under what Motorola is calling Live Music settings.  Live Music is accessible by clicking on a circled “i” icon located on the album artwork of the artist you are grooving to.  Selecting the icon brings you to a pop up screen where you can read the artist’s bio, related news, upcoming events, view photos, find similar artists, and search for the playing song’s music videos available on Youtube.  A feature that blew me away was the active lyric option.  Once selected in the Live Music settings lyrics for the playing track will appear under the title of the song or you can double tap the lyrics and a dedicate screen showing all the lyrics will appear.  Gone are the days of singing “Excuse while I kick this guy” when Jimmy Hendrix meant “Excuse me while I kiss the sky”. . . .

Zumocast-  Zumocast is Motorola answer to cloud based services allowing you to stream music, videos, and view documents from an associated desktop or laptop computer.  You will be required to download Zumocast through the Android Market place to your device and then to the computer of your choice through Zumocast’s website.   I would love to share more about the service but I can’t, my computer won’t let me.  I have to assume that my progress was blocked by Sprint’s friendly firewalls so I will have to bid adieu to the application. I probably wouldn’t have used it anyway because the Photon has so much fricken memory I simply store anything I would want to view directly on the device.

Well now that you have had your Spotlight fix you can sustain yourself for another week in your day to day life.   I’m getting pretty close to wrapping up my review of the Photon so if there are any areas of interest you would like to see highlighted voice your interest now or be doomed to keep your trap shut for eternity.    Until next time!