galaxy

The Galaxy range of mobile phones from Samsung has developed into the most successful smartphone range of devices. A number of models are available from the new Galaxy R device to the large screened Samsung Galaxy Note. These devices all run on the Android operating system which means they can access the Android Marketplace to browse and download a wide variety of applications. Samsung also have their own online store which offers a selection of apps and in an effort to attract more customers Samsung are launching a special offer for a limited time.

Samsung are offering a selection of paid applications from their online store free of charge until 21st Feburary 2012. There is a huge number of applications available from basic utilities to premium games titles. As part of this promotion customers who download the entire collection will be entered into a draw for the chance to win a voucher which can be redeemed against future purchases. When you first visit the store you will need to specify which handset you own as some applications are developed or customised for use on specific handsets. When we had a look what was available for our Samsung Galaxy note we found some super options including Doomsday Attack. This is a traditional vertical scrolling shooting game which can deliver hours of addictive fun. Other items that we found available for this model included the official Chelsea Football Club application and Best Of Britain, a useful piece of software that highlights some of the best places to visit in the United Kingdom.

The Galaxy Range of smartphones is continually growing and there are a huge number of devices available from budget models to premium devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Note. This model sports a massive 5.3 inch display which is the largest screen you will find on a mobile phone and perfect for multi media lovers. If you want the power of the Galaxy Note but in a more compact size then the Galaxy S2 is a popular choice with consumers everywhere. This excellent phone packs a powerful dual core processor and a tremendous 8 mega pixel camera to provide users with great quality photographs. This premium phone may cost a little more than many consumers want to spend so the Galaxy R is a scaled down version which features a slightly smaller 1Ghz processor and a 5 mega pixel camera. There are several other models in the Galaxy range but these three seem to cover all bases when it comes to size and specification.

The current promotion running for owners of devices like the Samsung Galaxy Note is a great way of introducing consumers to the manufacturers own app store rather than the more famous Android option that is also available. Some great titles can be downloaded as part of this offer which can make the user quite a saving when you look at the original cost of the software.

The Samsung Galaxy Note and the Samsung Galaxy R are available now.

The Samsung Galaxy Note is the perfect handset for internet browsing. The model offers some excellent connectivity options along with a large screen perfect for viewing all types of online content. A powerful dual core processor ensures that surfing the web is very fast even when viewing multiple web pages. There is one area that can have a negative effect on your browsing experience on this model and that is the mobile network you are using. We take a look at the major UK networks to see which offer the best data allowance packages for this model.

There are several major network providers in the UK and they all offer different data packages that range from unlimited usage to 100MB of data. For those who want to use there Samsung Galaxy Note for a huge amount of mobile internet use then Three offer a truly unlimited allowance. With this contact their are no restrictions on internet use which means that there is no limit on uploads, downloads and streaming. Three have recently stated that the average smartphone user requires approximately 500MB to 1GB of allowance per month which puts them beyond what many providers can offer. One point that is worth considering is that this contract does not support internet tethering. This means if you use your phone to access the web for other devices such as a laptop or tablet device it is not possible on this plan. One company that used to be famous for their unlimited data packages was O2 but unfortunately this has changed. Now consumers have to purchase their data allowance as part of their contract. O2 call this system Bolt Ons and users can choose to have as little as 100MB for £3 per month up to 1GB which will cost £10 in addition to the existing package price.

Some network providers in the UK advertise an unlimited data allowance but there is additional small print that is worth considering. If you want to use your Samsung Galaxy Note for simple browsing then T Mobiles plan places no restrictions however usage is capped at 500MB for uploading and downloading of data. This type of package is fine for checking e mails or catching up with the latest news but if you are looking to post videos on YouTube or Facebook then the 500MB can be eaten up very quickly. Vodafone and Orange are the two remaining services and both of these providers offer tiered packages. Customers can choose the amount of data allowance that is included in their contract but neither provider offers an unlimited option although Orange do offer a 2GB option which should be more than enough for even the most frequent internet user.

The Samsung Galaxy Note is a superb model for internet use but users can often be restricted by the data package that they have on their contract. All network providers offer data as part of their package although only Three offer a truly unlimited service with no additional costs.

The Samsung Galaxy Note and the HTC Desire S are available now.

The Samsung Galaxy Note was released at the end of 2011 and currently offers the largest screen available on any mobile phone. This means that the phone is not only competing with a number of other large screened mobiles but also a host of tablet devices. We take a look at this model and the new Playbook from Blackberry, one of the smaller tablet devices that are available.

In terms of design both of these new models are very appealing. The new Samsung Galaxy Note measures 146.9 x 83 x 9.7mm and weighs 178 grammes. As you would expect these dimensions make the phone one of the largest available but this does not mean that the handset is not pleasing on the eye as it boasts some excellent design elements. The bezel that surrounds the display is very minimal meaning that screen dominates the fascia of the model. Samsung have opted not to incorporate many curves on this model so the handset has a very angular appearance. This looks great with the large display and also works well with the slim depth that the phone measures. If we take a look at the back panel of the phone we find a nice textured finish which further enhances the aesthetic appeal of this model and also makes the device feel very comfortable during use. The Blackberry Playbook measures 194 x 130 110mm and weighs 425 grammes. Just like the Samsung the model sports a very angular design which we feel suits devices such as these. The corners of the tablet are very slightly rounded and model has a slightly larger bezel that surrounds the screen but this does not not detract from the attractive design. Both of these models offer an eye catching and minimal design that will appeal to many consumers. The Galaxy Note however does impress us slightly more in this area thanks to the slimmer bezel and the textured back panel that it features.

Although both the Samsung Galaxy Note and the Blackberry Playbook are quite similar in terms of design the same cannot be said of the screen technology that they incorporate. The Galaxy Note uses a smaller 5.3 inch Super AMOLED display. Super AMOLED is the leading screen technology available and produces vibrant colours and great viewing angles. A very high resolution of 1280 x 800 can be displayed which means that the model offers a superb pixel density of 285 pixels per inch. The Note also comes supplied with a stylus named the S-Pen that enables users to perform more precise functions such as document editing with ease. The Playbook is a genuine tablet device and therefore offers a larger display of 7 inches. This screen uses TFT technology which produces high quality images but lacks the sharpness that Super AMOLED can offer. Resolution wise the Blackberry can display 600 x 1024 pixels which means that the overall pixel density offered by this model is just 170PPI which is over 100 pixels per inch lower than the Galaxy Note. There is no question that the Samsung comes out on top in this department. Not only does it incorporate superior screen technology but the better resolution ensures that this device is hard to beat in this area.

Tablet devices are proving popular with the public so expect both the Samsung Galaxy Note and the Blackberry Playbook to be very successful. Both models offer superb design but the Samsung hold the upper hand when it comes to screen technology.

The Samsung Galaxy Note and the Blackberry Curve 9380 are available now.

We have compared the new Samsung Galaxy Note with numerous smartphones and the device has outperformed all of the handsets that we compared it with. Here we pit the model against one of the newest tablet devices available, the new Motorola Xoom Media Edition, to see how the software and media features compare on the two models.

Both of these impressive devices run on the Google Android operating system although they both use entirely different versions of the software. The Samsung Galaxy Note make use of the 2.3.5 version of the platform which is more affectionately known as Gingerbread. This software is incredibly popular and is a very stable platform that seems tailor made to a device such as this. Samsung have put their own Touchwiz 4.0 user interface on the model which does a superb job of making a number of functions much easier to use. Social networking facilities are just one area that benefit from this excellent interface. One of the main attractions of the Android platform is the excellent online store that all users can access to download a variety of different applications. The Xoom ME uses the 3.2 version of the Android OS which is otherwise known as Honeycomb. This version has been especially developed for tablet devices to take advantage of the high quality large screens that the devices use. Some of the core applications such as YouTube and Google Maps have been redesigned and optimised for this software and the user interface has also undergone some updates so it looks more visually appealing. There is no doubt that the Honeycomb system used by the Xoom ME looks superb but it does lack some of the functionality that the Gingerbread version brings to the Galaxy Note. Both systems prove very capable and is hard to say which model is superior in this area.

Every modern smartphone and tablet device incorporates multi media features capable of capturing photographic images and recording video footage. The Samsung Galaxy Note is particularly impressive in this area and can capture photograph with a resolution of 8 mega pixels. This quality is no great surprise as Samsung have consistently fitted their models with superb cameras and recent models such as the Samsung Galaxy S2 and the Galaxy Nexus are evidence of this. The camera on the Note boasts some great additional features such as an LED flash and Face Detection which automatically focuses on peoples faces that are within the picture. The device can also record high definition video footage at a resolution of 1080P. Although the Xoom ME offers a good quality of photograph and video footage both areas do not match the high standards set by the Samsung. Photographs are captured at 5 mega pixel resolution which is 3 million pixels lower than the Note and the unit also records video footage at a lower resolution of 720P. A wealth of useful features help users make the most of these facilities including an LED flash, auto focus and geo tagging capabilities.

The Samsung Galaxy Note and the Motorola Xoom ME are great devices for people looking for a large screen with a high degree of portability. Both models use the excellent Android operating system but the Samsung offers more quality when it comes to multi media facilities.

The Samsung Galaxy Note and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus are available now.

The new Samsung Galaxy Note smartphone is a mobile phone with a very large screen. In fact this model boasts such a large display that it can almost be classified as a tablet device. On the other hand we have the Motorola Xoom Media Edition, a tablet device with a screen much smaller than many of its counterparts. We take a look at the screens on offer with both of these models and also see how they compare for their processing power.

The Samsung Galaxy Note uses an exceptionally large screen for a mobile phone. The 5.3inch capacitive touchscreen uses Super AMOLED technology to help produce the best results possible. Super AMOLED screens not only offer a very bright picture but also have very good viewing angles which is perfect if you are showing photographs or video footage to friends and family. The Note can display a resolution of 800 x 1280 pixels which is currently the highest resolution available on any mobile phone. This high resolution helps the unit show 285 pixels per inch which is a level slightly lower than what the White iPhone 4S can show on its famous Retina Display. The Motorola Xoom ME uses the slightly less effective TFT technology yet still manages to achieve a great image quality although the viewing angles are not as good as can be found on the Note. The device can actually display the same resolution as the Samsung but because the screen is much larger at 8.3 inches the pixel density drops to just 184PPI . The result is a good quality of image but one that does not grab your attention in the same way as the Galaxy Note does.

The Samsung Galaxy Note runs on the very impressive Exynos chipset which uses a very powerful 1.4Ghz dual core processor. This ARM Cortex A9 chip delivers fantastic performance speeds whether you are multi tasking or performing a single operation. The chipset also includes a great graphics processing unit in the form of the Mali 400MP. This GPU helps make this device one of the leading handsets available for both movie playback and for mobile gaming. The Xoom ME incorporates a Nvidia Tegra 2 T20 chipset which features an ARM Cortex A9 1.2Ghz dual core processor. Although this processor is slightly slower than the chip used on the Samsung the ULP GeForce GPU helps the tablet match the Galaxy Note for gaming performance. Both of these device feature 1GB of RAM memory which not only helps them both achieve good performance speeds but also makes them ready for any future software that may need to be installed.

In this comparison the large mobile phone performs better than the small tablet. The Samsung Galaxy Note uses one of the highest quality screens that we have ever encountered together with a powerful chipset that ensures that the device easily manages all tasks that are asked of it.

The Samsung Galaxy Note and the White iPhone 4S are available now.

We previously took a look at screen quality and performance on the new Sasmung Galaxy Note and the Sony Tablet P. This time we take a closer look at the design of the two models along with the multi media features that they both incorporate.

These two new devices really are like chalk and cheese when it comes to design. The Samsung Galaxy Note is a slender and attractive design with the screen dominating almost the entire fascia of the phone. There is a single physical button located centrally beneath the screen rather like the iPhone 4S but all other main functions are performed on the devices display. The handset measures 146.9 x 83 x 9.7mm and weighs just 178 grammes which is quite impressive given that the model incorporates a rather large display. Perhaps the most striking element of this model is the incredibly slim depth of the device. For a smaller smartphone this type of measurement would be very impressive but on such a large device it really helps the model achieve an eye catching and very futuristic look. The Sony Tablet P is very different in its design and in a bid to stand out from the crowd the developers have come up with an unusual clamshell design. What this means is that the device can offer a very large screen yet physically measure around half the size of many of its counterparts. The width and height measurements of 79 x 180mm are indeed promising but because of the design the device is nearly 5mm deeper that the Note. The weight of the Tablet P is also quite concerning at 372 grammes however the unit does feel very well made and is very comfortable to use when it is opened.

Sony have always been known for equipping their devices with great photographic facilities and the Tablet P does not let us down in this department. The unit features a 5 mega pixel digital still camera which offers an excellent touch focus option that enables you to touch the part of the screen where you want the image to be focused. The device can also record high definition video footage at 720P resolution and VGA quality film form the secondary camera. Despite the excellence of the Sony in this area the Samsung Galaxy Note still manages to eclipse the Tablet P. An 8 mega pixel still camera offers a higher resolution while video capture is also recorded in a higher standard 1080P quality. A wealth of additional features accompany the Samsung camera including an LED flash, image stabilisation and touch focus.

If you like the idea of a tablet device but are deterred by the size of the devices then these two models may prove ideal. The Samsung Galaxy Note undoubtedly offers the better media facilities together with a more conventional design while the Sony Tablet P well appeal to some consumers thanks to its large display and unusual design.

The Samsung Galaxy Note is available now and the Sony Xperia S is coming soon.

The new Samsung Galaxy Note is a very large mobile phone that has more in common with a tablet device than it does with rival phone models thanks to the extremely large screen and powerful processing power. With this in mind we though we would compare the model with one of these devices, the Sony Tablet P, and see which model comes out on top.

The display quality is a vital aspect in this comparison as both devices use large screens and therefore any lack of quality will be very evident. The Samsung Galaxy Note boasts a 5.3 inch display which makes use of the very latest Super AMOLED technology. This capacitive touchscreen is capable of displaying a resolution of 800 x 1280 pixels and a pixel density of 285PPI. When you use this handset for the first time the first thing that strikes you is the tremendous quality that the screen produces. Colours are beautifully vivid and darker tones maintain a depth that is not normally possible from a mobile display. The Sony Tablet P is an unusual device as it incorporates two 5.5 inch TFT displays. The unit itself is a clamshell design so when it is opened up these two screens combine to make one large 11 inch display. In principal this idea is great as users have a screen that is twice the size in a unit that is only marginally larger. In practice however the system does not work as well as the top segment of the display is predominately used for viewing media while the lower section is mainly used to control the action. The Tablet P is a novel idea that will appeal to some consumers but ultimately the Galaxy Note offers the quality to outshine the Sony in this department.

The Samsung Galaxy Note matches the excellent screen quality that it offers with a powerful processor chip that ensures that the device operates at very fast speeds. This 1.4Ghz processor has dual cores which really helps multi tasking features on this model. In addition to this high quality chip there is also a powerful Mali-400MP graphics processing unit which ensures that all visuals on the handset look as clear as possible. The phone is well equipped for any future developments in technology thanks to the 1GB of RAM memory that it uses. The Sony Tablet P uses a smaller 1Ghz dual core processor which means that performance speeds on this device are not quite as impressive as they are on the Galaxy Note, especially as this chip has to drive two individual displays rather than one. RAM memory is the same as the Note at 1GB while both models offer micro SD card support up to 32GB.

The debate will go on as to whether the Samsung Galaxy Note is a phone or a tablet but the model continues to impress against models from both categories. The new Sony Tablet P simply cannot match either the screen quality or the processing power of this excellent new model from Samsung.

The Samsung Galaxy Note and the Samsung Galaxy S2 are available now

In November Samsung introduced us to a different kind of smartphone in the shape of the Samsung Galaxy Note. This model was the first phone to feature a display larger than 5 inches but the size of the phone meant that it was no certainty that the phone would be popular with the public.

It seems that the public actually like the idea of a large phone as Samsung have managed to ship over 1 million of these devices in the two months since its launch. This figure does not mean that 1 million units have actually been sold but the fact that retailers are ordering the device in such large numbers signifies that there is actually a market for a device that can be best described as a hybrid between a tablet and a smartphone. Samsung have reported that demand for the phone has been highest in France, Germany, Hong Kong and Taiwan and we can expect this figure to increase further when the product is launched in the US later in the year. The success of this model means that it is likely that we will see a number of new models released with screens of a similar size. There was a time when consumers wanted the smallest phone possible but thanks to excellent games and high definition movie playback demand has shifted towards larger handsets that give the user maximum functionality. Although it is unlikely that we will see the new iPhone 5 offer a screen much larger than 4 inches manufacturers such as HTC and Motorola are likely to follow Samsungs path and introduce new 5 inch screens very soon.

Large devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Note may not slip into a pocket as easily as phones such as the HTC Desire S and the iPhone 4S but they make up for their extra size by surpassing their counterparts in other areas. Take the screen quality for example, the high 800 x 1280 resolution offered by the Note means that the 5.3inch screen can display 285 pixels per inch which is a level superior to many smaller screened phones. This quality has obvious benefits for tasks such as watching movies or playing games but it also has advantages in a number of other areas. Newspapers and magazines can be displayed on the device in glorious quality with words looking more like something from a printed page rather than a mobile display. Web browsing also benefits as complex sites can be fully displayed without the user needing to zoom on certain areas in order to read smaller text. The viewing of photographs is also superb especially when displaying them to guests and visitors and in circumstances like this phones such as the Note may actually replace tablets such as the iPad 2 and the Blackberry Playbook.

Early indications are that the Samsung Galaxy Note will be an international success despite early reservations. The large display boasts numerous advantages over smaller screened counterparts and the phone may reduce the need for consumers to posses both a smartphone and a tablet device.

The Samsung Galaxy note and the HTC Desire S are available now.