Samsung has developed a ton of accessories for it’s latest flagship smartphone the Galaxy S4, we review the Galaxy S4 Smart Dock a few weeks ago and today we have with us the official Samsung Galaxy S4 S-View Cover.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 S-View Cover instead of functioning as just a plain cover for your expensive smartphone includes a touch capable front windows and a sensor making it one of the first of it’s kind. The front touch window is a great idea and reminds me of the old Motorola RAZR flip phone and how it displayed information on the front screen.
Similar to previous flip covers for older Samsung phones, the S-View cover for the Galaxy S4 also replaces your phone’s battery door which is attached to a cover at the front. The front cover though is special as it has a cut out area at the top used to display selected information. The idea here is to enable users to view simple information like the time without flipping open the cover. The overall design of the cover is similar the iPad’s smart covers.
The front window is also touch responsive so you can use some the touchscreen to some extent. Some of the functions include answering calls by sliding to the right.
Overall it’s a much welcomed innovation for smartphone covers that we would love to see in the future. TechDeville gives the Samsung Galaxy S4 S-View Cover 4/5 stars and you can grab one from here.
Samsung Galaxy S III owners on Verizon got a much awaited update recently which was supposed to bring much needed software improvements like the Multi-Window View and Best Shot camera mode to name a few. This may sound good but the update has crippled connectivity with many of the Galaxy S III as they are unable to connect to the Verizon 4G and 3G networks.
Some users are able to connect to the 3G network but that means generally slower speeds on the nation’s fast 4G network while other aren’t getting a signal at all.
The update also adds more bloatware in the form of a Verizon’s Caller Name ID app with users complaining that they’ve been added automatically into the program that costs $3 per month.
Is your Verizon Galaxy S III facing the same problem? Let us know in the comments below.
A charging dock is quickly becoming one of the most popular accessories users wants to buy for their smartphones, now as phones are getting smarter than ever these simple charging docks are quickly evolving into what Samsung calls a Smart Dock. Samsung recently launched a Smart Dock compatible with the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S3 which allowing users to turn their smartphones into mini desktop computers.
This particular dock that we’re reviewing includes an HDMI port, three USB 2.0 ports, a 3.5mm stereo audio jack and a microUSB port to charge the phone of course. These connectivity options will allow you to connect your phone to a TV or monitor via the HDMI port, connect an external keyboard, mouse and even external storage via the USB ports, connect external speakers via the 3.5mm audio jack while the phone is being charged by the microUSB port.
Instead of the dock you could get separate MHL, OTG, AUX and other cables to fulfill the purpose but the dock makes everything so simpler. It’s so small and easy to carry, has a beautiful design and is very simple to use. In short the extra price gets you a much better product. Also as far as compatibility with devices is concerned the dock will work seamlessly with the Galaxy Note 2 and Galaxy S4 but with the Galaxy S3 it won’t be able to power a USB drive.
The Smart Dock also has a full software overlay displayed on the device connected that displays the weather and other details similar to what we get on Motorola’s docks. I’ve been using the dock to mirror my Galaxy S4 on my TV for a few days now and the display quality is splendid, there is little to no lag while browsing and movies and other media played have exceptional quality.
The Smart Dock isn’t for everyone though, most casual users will be put off by somewhat low app compatibility and the fact that most if not all Android apps work better with the touchscreen than a keyboard or mouse. I consider the Smart Dock a niche item which will be very useful to those who need a tiny computer in their pockets that has the ability t0 turn into a proper desktop.
A short note though, if you’re planning to use the Smart Dock with a cover make sure you use the official Samsung ones, I tried using it with my third party leather cover on my Galaxy S4 and it was a pretty tight fit so I took the cover off.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S3 Smart Dock is now available for purchase for just $83 which is excellent value in my opinion.
TechDeville gives the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S3 Smart Dock 4/5 stars.
Samsung’s latest and greatest smartphone yet – the Samsung Galaxy S4 is almost here and Samsung is all ready to stream the announcement worldwide. The Samsung Unpacked 2013 event like last year will be covered by major tech sites so live blogs are a given, but having a live stream directly from the source is much better right?
The Samsung Galaxy S4 leaks have been almost iPhone like with new parts and pictures leaking every few days. Just last week some pictures were leaked of the phone from a Chinese forum showing off the phone’s design which looks a lot like the Samsung Note 2.
We’ll be updating the page with more live blogs and stream links so make sure you bookmark it, you will want to have as many sources to watch the event as streams tend to go down very often.
Although the event will be streamed on Samsung’s own website along with their Facebook page, we prefer to watch it live on YouTube, the link to the Samsung Unpacked 2013 stream is embedded below:
Links to the live blogs which we’ve compiled are below:
The much awaited wait for 32 GB Samsung Galaxy S4 is over now as it would be available in the U.S from Friday, May 10th with a two year AT&T contract. Previously, the Galaxy S4 was available in 16 GB memory which kept advanced users uncomfortable as the Samsung bundled apps including touchWiz and extras wiped around 8 GB of memory.
Although the 32 GB micro SD card is not a costly thing to buy but most of the apps cannot be installed on external memory card which in turn requires the internal memory of phone and 32 GB version would easily suffice the user needs in all aspects till date. Considering the difference of just $50 from 16GB version, grabbing the 32GB version S4 would always be a smart choice for all the advanced users and even with common users who are not in gaming or high tech apps.
Availability for extra spaces in android phone always keep it fast and smart and this version would surely be a good investment. The company would also launch 64 GB version in near future but 32 GB model is still a smart trade off with the old 16 GB version model.
As rumored, teased and even confirmed Samsung did reveal their latest flagship – the Galaxy S4 at their Samsung Unpacked 2013 event yesterday. At a glance, the Samsung Galaxy S4 looks just like a bigger Galaxy S3, but internally the Galaxy S4 is something brand new.
Hardware wise the Galaxy S4 is no doubt the highest spec’d phone on the market. It’s powered by an Octacore (yup 8 cores) Exynos 5 processor running at 1.6GHz or a Qualcomm S4 Quad processor, the one you’ll get depends on the region you buy the phone in. Although Android isn’t optimized for 8 cores yet, having the extra cores will sure come in useful when the next version of Android comes out.
The huge 5-inch display on the Galaxy S4 is a Super AMOLED panel running at 1920×1080, unfortunately the screen has a Pentile pixel arrangement but with the high pixel density you shouldn’t notice it often. The pixel density for the display comes in around at 441 ppi and is protected by Corning Gorilla Class 3.
On the memory side, the Galaxy S4 runs on 2GB of RAM which is standard with flagships nowadays. The smartphone will be available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB flavors and the memory will be expandable by microSD cards.
On the camera size the front is a 2MP sensor while the one in the back in a 13MP shooter. Major software features for the camera include Dual Shot, Simultaneous HD video and image recording, geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, image stabilization and HDR. Both front and back cameras are able to record video in Full 1080p HD at 30fps.
The Galaxy S4 will launch with Android 4.2.2 with Samsung’s Nature UX on top. Samsung has been working hard on adding extra features to it’s phone and this time they’ve come up with a ton. S Translator translates texts and emails from other languages, Air Gestures changes or scrolls pages by swiping your hand in the air, Air View gives you an S Pen like functionality by allowing you see information by hovering your finger over emails or calender entries. There are also other albeit more gimmicky features like Smart Pause and Smart Scroll which pause videos and scroll pages by sensing eye movements respectively.
The Galaxy S4 will be available in the US Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, AT&T, US Cellular, and Cricket and Deutsche Telecom, EE, H3G, Orange, Telenor, Telia Sonera, Telefonica, and Vodafone in Europe. The Samsung Galaxy S4 hits stores on April 26th and will be available in Black and White.
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Great news for Samsung fanboys everywhere, some new Galaxy S4 screenshots (via GSM Israel)have been leaked and these are from the American variant codenamed I337. There’s not much to deduct from these screens but they do confirm some of the Galaxy S4′s specs like the 1080p display, new UI likely named the TouchWiz Nature UX 2.0, 13MP camera and the series of Smart features like Smart Rotation, Smart Stay, Smart Pause and Smart Scroll.
The I9100UHMS8 or simply UHMS8 for the Samsung Galaxy S II I9100 has been released and bring along latest goodies that Android 4.2 Jelly Bean has to offer. The latest release only include some big fixes so no, you won’t find many new features, but it’s still recommended to stay on the latest firmwares.
Some technical details of the UHMS8 firmware are below:
PDA: I9100UHMS8 CSC: I9100UUBMS5 Version: 4.1.2
The UHMS8 firmware is an unbranded firmware so you can install it any Galaxy S II I9100 smartphone except for those from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan as they have a few differences.
To install the UHMS8 firmware on the Samsung Galaxy S II I9100 we’ll be using Odin as it’s the easiest way to do so and very safe too as long as you take the necessary precautions. The UHMS8 is an official Samsung firmware, so after installing it you will lose your root access, but don’t fret, we’ll cover how to root your Galaxy S II I9100 again later in the article.
Before starting, make sure that:
You have all your important data backed up.
The battery is at least 50% charged.
Android 4.2 Jelly Bean on the Galaxy S II brings a lot of neat features like:
Smooth navigation through the interface thanks to Project Butter.
TouchWiz Nature UX like the Galaxy S II and Galaxy Note II
Samsung’s S Cloud services
Improved Camera features
New Lockscreen With Many Customization Options
New Features like Direct Call, Smart Stay and Pop-up Play
New Widgets (From Galaxy S III)
2 Home screen modes
New Notification bar With More Notification Toggles
Google Now
The full tutorial to update your Galaxy S II to UHMS8 firmware is below:
Step 1. Download the UHMS8 firmware for Galaxy S II I9100.
Step 3. Turn off your phone and connect it to your PC in Download Mode. To access Download Mode turn on your Galaxy S II I9100 while holding the Volume Down and Home buttons.
Step 4. Make sure you have the required USB drivers installed for your Galaxy S II.
Step 5. Wait for Odin to recognize your device, if it does, one of the ID:COM boxes in Odin will turn yellow with your device’s number.
Step 6. Select the required files from the archive you download from the first step:
Click the PDA button. Select the file which has CODE in its name
Click the Phone button and select the file which has MODEM in its name
Click on the CSC button and select the file which has CSC in its name
Click the PIT button and select the .pit file. Some firmwares will have this, ignore if it doesn’t.
Step 7. In ODIN select Auto Reboot and F. Reset Time options. Select repartition only if your selected the PIT file
Step 8. Click the start button. Installation process will take a few minutes. After the reboot is complete, your Galaxy S II will boot into the UHMS8 Android 4.2 Jelly Bean firmware.
Now the tutorial to root your Galaxy S II running the newly installed UHMS8 firmware is below:
Step 2. Go into Download Mode again and start up Odin like we did above.
Step 3. After Odin recognizes your Galaxy S II I9100 click on PDA and select the Siyah-s2-v6.0b4.tar file we downloaded in the first step.
Step 4. Check the Auto Reboot and F. Reset Time options.
Step 5. Click on the Start button and let it do it’s thing. After the rooting is complete your phone will restart.
That’s it folks, your Galaxy S II will be running on a rooted version of UHMS8 Android 4.2 Jelly Bean firmware ready for use. If you have any questions please feel free to ask us in the comments below.
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Just as we reported yesterday, Samsung has officially announced the new Galaxy S III mini smartphone at an event in Frankfurt Germany. Overall the phone is good but those who were hoping to get a downsized version of original Galaxy S III will be disappointed as it features lower specifications than that. Galaxy S III mini runs Android 2.1 and features a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen with WVGA resolution instead of 4.8-inch like its bigger brother.
Samsung Galaxy S III mini that is targeted towards European market features a dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8 or 16GB of internal storage that is expandable to 32GB via microSD slot, a 5-megapixel camera capable of recording 720p video, VGA front camera, Wi-Fi, GPS, Radio, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC and much more.
Galaxy S III is a good device with powerful specs and good looks but it is certainly not an iPhone 5 competitor many were hoping it to be.
Will you be buying a Galaxy S III mini? Let us know in the comments below.
After being shown off via Samsung’s latest ad campaigns and confirmed by AnandTech, the iPhone 5 indeed has 1GB of RAM. Being such hardware geniuses as they are AnandTech dug up Samsung’s product guide to find more information about the iPhone 5′s processor which is given the ID number: K3PE7E700F-XGC2.
Apple thankfully didn’t obscure the details of its A6 slide at the launch event, which gave us a Samsung part number: K3PE7E700F-XGC2. Through crafty navigation of Samsung’s product guide, Brian Klug got us the details. The K3P tells us we’re looking at a dual-channel LPDDR2 package with 32-bit channels. The E7E7 gives us the density of each of the two DRAM die (512MB per die, 1GB total). The final two characters in the part number give us the cycle time/data rate, which in this case is 1066MHz.
Performance wise the A6 chip has 33% more peak memory bandwidth as compared to the iPhone 4S but its still less than that of the iPad 3 which runs at a much higher resolution.
We’ll just have to wait for further benchmarks to see how the iPhone 5 compares to other smartphones in the market.
