Virtually Yours - Samsung Gear VR review

Virtual Reality caught my attention maybe a year back when early Google Cardboard prototypes were officially launched in India, I also noticed a steady rise in the content dedicated to 360 videos on YouTube, however other than the actual Do it Yourselves (DIY) type of cardboard VR boxes there was no actual headset that was available and going by the reviews of other VR devices that were getting launched with Mid-Range phones it did not generate any further curiosity for me personally.

I was also tracking launch of a media wear device by the name ‘Glyph’ manufactured by Avegant primarily for the privacy it had to offer, directly beaming video content on your eye retina to a size of up to 80 inches. I was impressed by the design that cleverly housed decent pair of earphones with the viewer, unfortunately this project took too long to come into existence and as of today it costs around $699, ‘Glyph’ headset does not confirm or claim to have VR capability but when you compare it to getting a free VR device with your flagship mobile phone it is definitely expensive for a standalone gadget.

The Nagging Wait
When I was still reviewing my thoughts to go for Galaxy S7 Edge, the free Gear VR headset offer looked like a sweet deal but it was not the baiting part while going through the purchase. So after receiving S7 Edge, Samsung had set a timeline of 45-60 days for shipping free Gear VR headset to customers who had pre-ordered their new flagship phones. I got my phone on 20th March and the offer to redeem Gear VR code went live on 5th April and from there the headset was delivered to me on 9th May, by this moment the initial excitement of trying Gear VR had faded away from my mind and my phone also encountered heating and screen flickering issue due to which It went in for repair and was given back to me on 19th May so finally it was time to experience the VR tech almost after 2 months of getting the new phone.

Initial Setup
Unboxing and configuring Gear VR is fairly easy as the hardware is entirely made out of plastic and the white color is sure to fade as it would attract smudges and stains over longer period of use. The foam layer strapped around the viewing area touching your head is comforting however it tends to absorb sweat which is not good. If you wear the gear VR headset with a sweaty forehead it would accumulate fog on your viewing lens so keep a micro fiber cloth handy. You get two Velcro straps inside the box, one horizontal and one vertical but the horizontal strap running behind your head should be enough to support the headset with mobile inserted in it. There are two knobs at the both the edges of the headset, one side of these knobs fits into the charging slot of your phone and has position A and B to accommodate Samsung Flagship phones based on their size.

I initially connected my Galaxy S7 Edge to position ‘B’ which was not so ideal for adjusting lens focus, however when you fit S7 Edge on position ‘A’ viewing becomes more comfortable and adjusting focus is easy however the screen door effect (SDE) is prominently visible. It would take very less time in getting accustomed to navigation via touch-pad on the right side of the headset which also has a slot to connect charger at the bottom and houses volume control, a button to go back. Adjusting focus is enabled via a rotary dial on the top middle section of the headset.

You also get a black glossy plastic panel to cover your mobile helpful in preventing any ambient light seeping into VR lenses. If you are not using Gear VR in harsh day time light conditions, this panel can be kept away to let the handset heat up a little less and the weight of this headset is felt on the nose initially however over regular period of use it would not bother you much.

The ‘WOW’ Moment
After following the initial set up guide I explored both Samsung and Oculus store which has a good library of apps to begin with (both paid and free), First thing I tried on the VR headset was the Oculus 360 photos app and I was already in awe and excited like a kid, swaying my head in different directions looking at immersive high resolution photos, next I downloaded Jurassic Park video app and a short Avengers promotion clip which impressed me a lot. I wanted to try the Oculus video app which has different 5 modes to view both online and offline videos. You can connect your Facebook account with the Oculus video app to view online 360 videos you have saved or popular and trending content on Facebook.

You can watch side by side (SBS) format 3D videos too on this VR player and there is a app by the name Milk VR which is available only for the US region on Samsung’s VR store and as a workaround you can download it by installing a free VPN client on your mobile to change your internet access region to US and once the Milk VR app is downloaded you would not need VPN service any further. This app has very good collection of the latest and trending videos which you can download too and the other popular app for searching good VR content is Jaunt VR.

The Oculus video app renders virtual environment exceedingly well and the experience of watching videos on a large virtual screen cannot be put down in words. If you prefer watching your favorite movies or shows lying down on the couch or bed select the void screen mode which has a travel mode option it keeps the screen always in front of you and also allows increasing or decreasing the size of screen to your comfort. You can actually hear the sound from the video playing change direction as you turn your head around. I have played Anshar War 2 and Smash Hit on Gear VR and both these games look awesome to deliver on a VR experience fit enough for a device of this category.

Most downloaded VR video files with 4K resolution would fill up your internal phone memory very fast so to move content on your SD card follow below steps:

• In your SD card root directory create folder by the name ‘Oculus’, you can also create folder ‘MilkVR’ in case you want to watch downloaded 3D VR content.
• Under Oculus folder create these subfolders – 360Photos, 360Videos, Movies
• If you want to watch regular 3D SBS (Side by Side format) video content, create another ‘3D’ subfolder under the Movies folder.

You can also visit my YouTube Playlist here, I keep adding interesting VR content on this regularly.

Current Pitfalls
When it comes to watching online streaming content you would need a high speed broadband connection to render 360 degree content seamlessly and I found my 8mbps connection struggling at times to buffer video content and this was also causing the mobile handset to heat up pretty fast, next surprise is absence of a native YouTube app on the Oculus or Samsung VR store which forces you to use inbuilt internet browser that delivers less than pleasing quality of video content while accessing web version of YouTube. Even if you happen to find interesting 360 degree videos for download you have to ensure that the video quality is no less than 4K resolution and anything below that is going to be pixelated.

Playing the free game ‘Smash Hit’ got me nauseatic in short time and I had to take the headset off to prevent any further disorientation. This is where users need to take necessary precaution and avoid wearing this if you feel any fatigue on your eyes or dizziness in your head. Do not wear the VR headset if you are tired or exhausted and most important of all do not forget to blink. The manual rightly advises to take frequent breaks and for me personally I ensure to take it off after 30-40 mins of use.

Is VR technology just a hype?
I remember our school days when we used to study planets in books, today VR technology can actually transport our kid’s right into space which can fuel their curiosity to a new level and achieve a heightened state of learning in an immersive environment where they can actually feel themselves flying around a planet, this potential extends to many other areas beyond learning and media (BTW do not allow kids below age 13 to use Gear VR), I saw two apps on the VR store that help you to deal with the fear of height and public speaking as they place you directly in a virtual world that has cause a mental block for you.

I also watched some videos on Chennai Floods and Nepal Earthquake shot in 360 degrees, it definitely elevates the emotional effect with the sight and sound of destruction and despair that feels so real and imagine a simulation of any natural calamity made available on VR, it could go a long way in training and teaching people what their first response should be in such conditions and how they can ensure their survival in difficult times. There are tourist destinations, places of religious importance in India which can be brought closer to people.

The success of VR technology again depends on consumer adaptation and the way it is put to use by sectors other than entertainment industry, 3D technology did not take off so well after the initial hype but it is not necessary VR would go that way too. Sony has announced arrival of PlayStation VR at this year’s E3 expo, the initial offerings for the console platform look very promising. We also hope other OEM players would come up with advanced portable VR gadgets which would not require the processing power of a PC or a Console and to augment VR capabilities work is also in progress to integrate smell and motion to deliver a life like experience.
When you think of televisions sold these days a lot of these high end models are equipped with 4K display, however mainstream broadcasting media has just graduated to HD and there is limited 4K content that you can watch directly on your television without streaming it from internet. VR experience requires 4K content by default and this is where the cranked up resolution and excellent quality of mobile display combined with pixels per inch (PPI) sharpness are put to good use.

My first personal entertainment device was a Videocon Walky series cassette player purchased in the mid 90’s. The joy of listening to your favorite music by blocking the world around you was something novel in those days when everything else like watching TV, going to movies etc. was done with the family, later in the age of smartphones our mobile screens and tablets became default choice to meet our entertainment needs on the move by merging a host of services that required separate gadgets earlier into one.

I see Gear VR as a decent entry level personal entertainment device to get a customer acquainted with VR technology and also offer an option to enjoy the content they like to watch without disturbing others, imagine the convenience it offers you to watch movies/shows during long flights/train journey. Wearing a Gear VR device in public is obviously going to attract weird and curious stares due to its bulky build, I prefer the design to evolve into something subtle like the LG VR headset.

Samsung has made both smart and a bad move by limiting compatibility of Gear VR to their flagship phone line up, however if you plan to buy one, owning Gear VR headset is a no-brainer as there are few offers in progress which customers can avail to get Gear VR at discounted rate and without any offers spending Rs 7,990 on this headset would require a second thought, If you are only going to use it for only for the novelty factor.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge - The Android Flagship Awakens

My Samsung experience prior to using S7 Edge

My first android phone was a Samsung Galaxy S2 GT-I9100 purchased 4 years ago and after using Galaxy Note & S4, I decided to quit using Samsung phones because they were getting too gimmicky with features and not willing to give up the plastic back panel. While using Galaxy S4 and encountering frequent bugs, I realized that sending feedback to Samsung did not yield any fruitful response. They were more interested in selling their phones in large numbers than to strengthen customer confidence through effective customer support. I felt it was better to keep away from Samsung for some time as they were literally flooding the market with so many lookalike Galaxy variants, literally as if they were preparing for some Clone Wars!

The Mid-Range Mashup

As the budget Android mobile segment grew bold by offering impressive hardware specifications I felt that the stock android experience and 8MP camera with optical image stabilization (OIS) on LG Nexus 5 would suffice my shift for moving away from Samsung and once the Lollipop upgrade arrived it started giving me battery backup and screen lag issues so I then moved on to Asus Zenfone 2 which was promising in many aspects as the first phone with 4GB RAM in India and I must admit it that Asus has the most active online forum where the moderators are constantly interacting with consumers knowing their feedback about various Asus mobile devices, taking note of common issues reported and as a result of this they always pushed across various versions of device based firmware upgrades. I never felt Zenfone 2 overheating with intensive usage and it still works like a charm. This is one android phone that offers a host of customization options enhancing overall usability.

Asus chose Intel for powering the processor on Zenfone 2 with a Quad core 2.3GHz Atom Z3580 chipset and probably this was one area where I felt they were let down because I never got decent battery backup especially after the lollipop OS upgrade and some buggy firmware versions. I could see that Android OS wake lock was consuming battery power constantly even after using all possible tweaks available and performing complete reset on the phone twice. I could barely cross screen on time beyond 3.5 Or 4 hours and if fully charged before leaving to office it would lose charge before evening 6-7 PM. I could live with the barrage of bloatware Zenfone 2 was packing but not the dwindling battery life and I also did not have high hopes with this phone’s camera either. I had shortlisted 2 Android phones for my next change – Lenovo Vibe X3 and Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016).

Dilemma of a Swap and Upgrade

Vibe X3’s wide phablet like display, superior audio, 4K video recording and overall beefy specs offered at a price less than Rs20,000 that too with a 3500mAh battery qualified as strong USP for this new Lenovo launch. Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016) came on my search radar purely due to its looks and design as I felt I could try a Samsung phone this time to see if it fared well on my expectations since this phones camera also had OIS and a 3,300mAh battery, only thing that worried me was the internal memory of 16GB even though it was expandable via memory card and Samsung was clever to provide an independent SD card slot. A7 (2016) was slightly overpriced at launch for around Rs33,900 with price now reduced to Rs29,900.

For a brief period Sony’s Experia Z5 phone had caught my fancy with the water resistant features and it’s camera quality was crowned to be the amongst the best as per DxOMark mobile camera rating test of 2015. I realized that with the rising PPI and use of QHD display along with overall large mobile screen trend followed for most premium phones it was unrealistic to expect a stable battery back up on Android OS even if the manufacturers bumped up the battery capacity. So I had almost made up my mind not to go for any high end flagship phones until 2017.


The Force was strong with this one…

When I started following Galaxy S7 Edge reviews ahead of its India launch I found the slick design of this phone with the curved metal back covered in glass that provided S7 Edge a very distinct and stunning look from the most mobiles in Galaxy series with candy bar form factor, water resistant feature was a good value add and the deciding factor was going to be battery backup and camera which looked good on paper in terms of specs. When Samsung sweetened the pre-order deal with a free Gear VR headset I had started seriously considering this phone by now which my wife realized and I was in for a surprise receiving this phone as my birthday gift. I was skeptical in my mind about the Touchwiz lag and buggy OS issues from the S4 experience in the past, S7 Edge was going to be all impulse and gamble and it actually began with a bumpy ride (read more here at leisure)

I am not going into the hardware specifics as there are lot of S7 and S7 edge reviews floating around on the web, and the reason I have given a detailed background before actually beginning with phone review is because for a consumer seeking value out of any mobile phone in the Android ecosystem choice is both a bane and boon, so I am sharing my view about S7 Edge in a question answer format after using it for exactly 2 months now.

Does S7 Edge really command such hefty pricing compared to other mid-range flagship phones matching or surpassing Samsung on the hardware/ software specifications?

Globally smartphone manufacturers are aware of the imminent saturation visible amongst consumers in the developed markets which is eating into their sales figures and shipments. Consumers have kind of grown tired running on the hamster wheel and there is really not much of novelty left in the current gen annual mobile handset upgrades.

The next phase is poised to evolve mobile communication as a service taking it from a phone to foldable screens, glasses, digital walls, tables and any possible medium that can keep us connected on the go at all times. So most of the manufacturers are now beefing up mobile phone hardware to crazy levels, design wise there is not much to distinguish and they have found a new way to extend app and platform ecosystem by augmenting it with wearables and VR tech.

You can pat yourself for being money smart and buy a mid-range flagship from a host of new Android phone manufacturers who have entered Indian market. These companies have offerings in so many niche areas now, however most likely a buyer really does not give too much consideration to the after sales service network of these brands and they would be happy to move on to another budget phone once it creates any problem that might not be worth the cost of repair or the novelty factor wears off.

S7 Edge is a costly mobile phone for a top end android device and if we talk about value for money proposition it becomes subjective to an endless debate, for me it proved to be an all-round mobile phone not just on paper but in actual use too.

Is the S7 Edge camera really that good?

Yes, it is one flagship phone which I have found true and close to what it claims to be in its marketing pitch. I am sharing link to my Flickr gallery of the snapshots taken with Galaxy S7 Edge. In some images the camera lens picked up more light from what my eyes could actually see at some spots where pics were taken. The image processing algorithm is not perfect and it does tend to leave traces of bleeding effect with a touch of soft blur applied on low light and night snapshots, however the detail to difference in color of light coming from multiple sources is amazing.

I have seen live image feature on iPhone, S7 Edge betters it by giving you option to take snapshot of a frame from live image which is very useful during an event when people are not exactly looking at the camera to capture candid moments applies also to kids and pets etc., There are few add-on camera modes that can be downloaded for free. I have also noticed S7 Edge does not overheat in some 4K videos taken.

Competition is swift and HTC 10 has already joined the party with S7|S7 Edge in sharing the top slot for best camera phone of 2016 (until now) on DxOMark rating chart. It also has OIS for the front facing camera and LG G5 is also not behind as it almost equals G7 Edge in most of the imaging comparison test videos and reviews I have seen online.You can leave your point and shoot camera at home finally and the imaging quality is splendid for regular day time images probably the best I have experienced after Nokia N8.

What about TouchWiz and Marshmallow OS?

Samsung’s infamous OS skin is much more subtle and less buggy on S7 Edge, I am not completely sure but I think it still manages to randomly impact gaming performance during screen loading and for some heavy multi-tasking activities on the phone, though the lag effect is momentary it does not extend for longer duration or happen frequently.

I have faced 3-4 instances of screen freezing until now and especially with the YouTube app, luckily holding the power and volume down button helps to reboot the phone without any issues, other than these glitches I do not have any TouchWiz or OS complaints, I have tested S7 Edge on extended gaming sessions the back panel does not heat up, it may get a little warm on heavy games but you would not feel it much on your palms. S7 Edge’s high end hardware configuration augments Marshmallow OS performance on the phone and it is lighting fast and I could notice the difference in browsing speed on Chrome browser, Wi-Fi connectivity speed, and Screen Mirroring stability in comparison to my Asus ZE551ML phone.

Does the Edge interface (UX) stand out on S7 Edge?

Apart from the contacts/people edge card I did not find any compelling reason to praise usability of the Edge screen and it still needs support from more developers to build a decent library of edge based apps and utilities. Reading notifications, RSS feeds etc. is more like a good to have feature and where it lacks content is in the must have category.

How good is the Water Resistant Capability?

Okay, whatever the company might say I am not willing to risk my phone to test it like a guinea pig for its water resistant feature. There are many YouTube videos showing crazy kind of tests done on S7 and S7 Edge and those companies or users are probably getting paid or compensated to do those frightening things even if the phone is damaged. I would update my post whenever the inevitable happens with my phone.

VR Experience

I got the free Gear VR headset from pre-order offer on S7 Edge. It is probably the best entry level device to get you acquainted with VR tech and there are really some cool games and apps you should really try on the Gear VR. It does feel a little heavy around and on the nose after wearing it for a while but the amazing world it transports you into is beyond words to explain. What is really needed is a dedicated YouTube app for the Gear VR and I hope it becomes available very soon, using it via the inbuilt Samsung browser does not guarantee a high quality viewing experience via YouTube website.

I really liked the Oculus video app which has various video watching modes and you can actually hear the sound changing direction when you move your head sitting in a virtual cinema hall or a home movie room. My favorite is the void screen which allows you to zoom the viewing area and you can even watch your video content relaxing on your couch or bed by adjusting the viewing screen position with just a tap.

The phone battery drops at least around 20-25% on over a hour’s Gear VR usage and the mobile heats up too. I am still trying to figure out some source to download high quality VR videos as the streaming experience is not always clear and high quality and I can feel my 8MBPS broadband connection sometimes struggling to buffer 360 VR video content.

Some Observations

When I initially used this phone for 2-3 days without the SIM, it gave me screen on time of around 9 hours and in regular day to day moderate to heavy usage I am able to get 6-7 hours of screen on time and the charge cycle lasting close to 1.5 days. I am also going to try the package disabler pro from OS police or EZ Package Disabler which is particularly useful on Samsung phones just to enhance the battery backup further on this device.

Quick charging 2.0 takes around 1 hr 20 min to 1 hr 30 min until full charge and Samsung has managed to keep the bloatware to the bare minimum this time, also allowing you freedom to disable some of the apps you do not need. What I disliked the most is presence of only one down firing speaker at the bottom and even the 3.5mm headphone jack has been place positioned at a weird location. Tactile feedback of power button and volume rocker is firm and does not feel tacky.

It would have been great if Samsung could have provided a separate slot for second sim or SD card instead of the hybrid solution. Do remember to get a case for S7 Edge that offers protection at the edges and firm grip because as good looking and curvy the design is, it is a finger print magnet and does not inspire confidence for single hand usage or even holding it with both hands horizontally. There is always a fear in my mind of dropping it accidentally.

Conclusion 

I would never judge any one too critically for using an iPhone or any other Android phone because it boils down to matter of personal choice and preference and one thing I have noticed is the way some people check out the S7 edge, sometimes they don’t have anything to say and they pretend as it if it us just another phone and few even have advice ready for you to ask why are you not using an iPhone, why did you go for this expensive phone for an Android? These are the type of questions that get me irritated. It’s my choice if I do not want to bite the Apple, so be it!

The same applies to consumers who find it sensible to use mid-range flagship android phones rather than splurging money over some expensive device, if you are happy with your phone then there is no need to ridicule someone who could afford a high end flagship mobile or maybe it is something that satisfies their need, desire or ego whatever it could be as I have also come across articles by some tech journalists and enthusiasts writing stuff to just to prove their point and declaring how their budget device can knock this expensive phone out of the park. That’s the way competition moves in today’s world and even I believe S7 or S7 Edge can never rule the Galaxy of smartphones forever.

To summarize I am in a love hate kind of situation - in love with the product but still hate Samsung for leaving me with a bitter customer service experience so please disregard any hype surrounding the S7 and S7 Edge, this phone would not disappoint you with battery backup and camera so if you have the budget go for it eyes closed.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini Review

Introduction:
Samsung has released quite a few models that are derived from the top of the line device at that moment in time. With the launch of the company’s flagship phone in the S4, the S4 mini, we find out is a worthy sibling capable of much more than what meets the eye.

Features:
What make the device great are its impressive set of features, especially considering the class the phone is in. It has a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display qHD (960 x 540) resolution, 8MP camera with a 2MP front facing one and a dual-core 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor coupled with 1.5GB of RAM.

One advantage for the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini is that the camera has a full suite of adjustable settings, such as white balance, ISO, exposure, HDR and a large number of filter and modes. Overall, The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini has the look and feel of an S4, except with a smaller size.

Usage – Camera:
One of the most important features on mobile phones these days is the kind of camera they possess. The 8MP main camera is a delight to use. We found images to be very clear, sharp and vivid. There was none of the colour loss or bluish tinge that mobile cameras normally have. Also, the Full HD 1080p video recording is stunning! We were pleased to see that the phone captures sound in a fantastic manner.

The front camera is 2MP and it’s great for selfies and more importantly video calls. It serves its purpose as a much-needed accessory in today’s market.

Performance:
When we review a mobile phone, we rigorously test how well the phone performs in real-world conditions. That means testing games, work related applications, camera features, battery life, phone endurance and the ability to multitask. The hardware is a big reason why we could get so much out of this phone. 

We ran various benchmarking tools and the inference was simple – this phone packs a lot of punch. With regards to the connectivity, it has all the latest Wi-Fi support as well as 4G/LTE support. The battery life isn’t the longest of all phones out there, but it’s more than just acceptable – we got a day’s usage from this phone. Also, the phone’s light weight means that we didn’t really notice a big phone hanging in our trousers.

Verdict:
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini is a really great phone. It packs the best features of its older sibling in a compact package. We feel this is a great device and if you don’t feel like getting the S4, this is the next best thing you can get.

Summary:
Samsung’s S4 is its flagship model. The company has launched the S4 Mini which incorporates the best features from the S4 in a convenient package that’s sure to appeal to a host of consumers.

Samsung Galaxy Grand 2

Dual-SIM phones have been extremely popular in India. At the same time, the smartphone revolution has resulted in most people owning one. The only people missing out were the dual-SIM crowd. Samsung has released some models that aim to correct that, but they’re reserved the best for now. We finally got our hands on the Galaxy Grand 2 – the latest offering that caters to two SIM cards from Samsung and boy, we’re pleased with what we’ve seen. 

Design:

The phone’s dimensions are 146.8 mm x 75.3 mm x 8.9 mm. The screen is 5.2 inches and the bezels around it are quite slim. What this translates to is a phone that’s comfortable to hold in the hand. The faux leather covering adds a touch of class not seen in a phone in this segment.

 Display:

The first thing to notice about the display is that it’s great in every way. The 5.2 inch screen offers great clarity and viewing angles. The resolution of 1280 x 720 pixel means that Samsung has taken care to ensure that the display is compromised in no way. The colours are vivid and the images sharp. 

Camera:

The 8MP camera takes high resolution photos and videos at 720p. We found the camera to be superb for a mid-range device and the responsiveness and focus of the lens to be nothing short of stunning. It does a great job of capturing the colours and lighting. Also, the noise levels were low and distortion was the least of the phones we’ve found in phones in this range.

The front camera is 1.9MP and does an effective job in fulfilling its functions as a front facing camera. It takes decent photos and shoots some good quality video.

The Technical Stuff:

The device has 1.5GB of RAM running the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean operating system straight out of the box, and this version of the smartphone offers dual SIM support. There is 8GB of onboard storage that is expandable up to 64GB via microSD card. Connectivity comes in the form of Wi-Fi, GPS/A-GPS, 3G, micro USB, and Bluetooth. 

Performance:

Like all Samsung devices these days, the phone seems to have everything well in place. The architecture of the interface and the usability of the phone is nothing to complain about. For people who’d use two SIM cards, Samsung has made sure that you can receive data on both simultaneously. The ease of use is great and we found no problem multitasking and running all of our favorite apps. 

Samsung Galaxy S4 Bugs

Galaxy S4 has rushed through "shipped" figures reaching 6 million in 15 days, and early adopters have started reporting bugs like overheating cases, battery drain and most common one is the camera bug that freezes the phone and causing phone to reboot.

If you can manage to use Better Battery Stats app to understand what are the processes/wakelocks causing actual battery drain on your S4, it is a good app to use, else if you prefer simple data on battery draining apps try Wakelock Detector

Excessive over heating needs attention and fixed on time with replacement if required, do not play around till your phone gets damaged.

Coming down to Camera Bug, try this option on your S4 going into Settings - More - Developer Options (Enable this section clicking on it 7 times) - Scroll down to Apps section - Limit background processes - Select "at most 4 processes"

Screenshots below

This is a kind of temporary solution that worked for me worth trying until Samsung comes up with a proper fix in any next firmware update.

BTW, Google announced availability of Samsung Galaxy S4 with stock android going on sale in US in June'13, really doubtful if Samsung would allow Google to put this handset on sale in India else it would be a great alternative to get rid of Touchwiz bloatware which has eaten up a lot of internal storage memory.

 

***Jun'13 Update:JDQ39.I9500XXUBMEA Firmware***

 

After upgrading my S4 with the above mentioned Jelly Bean 4.2.2 Firmware version, my phone has crashed twice. Once when I switched it off on low battery and powered it again for charging it frooze on boot animation screen and I had to perform a hard reset, 2nd time it happened due to a flash light app that got stuck and after rebooting same issue.

 

One thing to note is that this firmware version does not increase the internal storage size from 8.83 GB to beyond 9 GB, it only updates internal available memory to 8.90 GB. Camera bug issue seems to be fixed now and OS seems more responsive and fluid.

 

I noticed good standby battery back up with regular use on my phone though after the firmware upgrade, screen below.

 

 

 

 

 

Samsung Galaxy S4 Unboxing

Received my White frost Galaxy S4 from Samsung e-store today. Posting few initial pics of the promotional accessory content that came along with the phone. I have got a regular flip cover worth Rs 1,799 and  an S-view flip cover worth Rs 2,999 as a part of complimentary give away for first 400 online orders on first come first serve basis.

Also received a promotional gift card as discount of value worth Rs 550 from Samsung app store.

Noticeably minimal and eco-friendly packaging for S4 by Samsung, strangely when I posted a query to Samsung customer care before I received the phone, as to how would I get this promotional material and how do I claim it, they replied stating I would be notified if I was eligible and would be receiving free accessories as well, nevertheless follow up efforts saved.

Would be exploring S4 this week, so watch out for a detailed review on the phone coming up on the blog and my YouTube channel this week.

Some additional pics below.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Arrives in India!

The most awaited smartphone of the year is out.And as we gear up for its launch in India on Saturday, 27th April. Here’s a sneak-peak into what you can expect of the Samsung Galaxy S4.

Screen
With a full HD 1,920 X 1,080 resolution, Super AMOLED display, 441 ppi high pixel density, everything looks sharp and more pleasing to the eyes. The screen can be operated by moving the finger even lightly on the surface. The S4 allows a user to operate some functions on the phone without even touching it. Gorilla Glass 3 is used to make the screen glass.

Design
This device is roughly as wide as S3 having dimensions at 136.6X69.8X7.9mm which makes it 5 mm longer and 1 mm thinner than its predecessor. The thin screen bezel imparts a wonderful look to the phone. It feels like the screen is pouring off the edge. With a thin air gap between the screen and the tough digitizer, the user feels that they are actually touching the screen instead of the glass on the top.

Performance
The phone is powered by an Exynos octo-core processor. With this processor, everything works extremely fast, opening and closing down of apps, browsing web pages, and games work in the blink of an eye. The battery is bigger than most smartphones available today as it has 2,600 mAh. It is efficient to provide power which suffices for all day long.

The 13 megapixel camera works well in low light with Backside Illumination (BSI) sensor along with a flash. The front 2 megapixel camera helps one to do video calling easily and S4 also provides the feature where the images from the front and rear camera can be superimposed.

The flagship smartphone from the kitty of South-Korean conglomerate, Samsung will be released in India on 27th April, 2013. This exclusive launch event organized by Reliance Digital, will be held in Shangrila Hotel in Mumbai. Bollywood heart-throb Ranveer Singh of Band Baajaa Baraat and Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl fame will unveil the device..Apart from being an actor;Ranveer Singh himself is a techno-geek who loves to use the latest devices and is updated about most technology advancements.

Information Source- Reliance Digital Stores

Jelly Bean update for Galaxy Note in India goes live

Jelly Bean update for the first Galaxy Note is now available to download via Samsung KIES, did not check the exact download size of the firmware, the entire download process took close to an hour and no back up was required during this upgrade process. All call logs, SMS and other essential data was intact after the upgrade completed.

Observed initial lag while using the phone right after the firmware was installed, normalised in some time. Galaxy Note gets Jelly Bean version 4.1.2 with Nature UX and it does feel smooth to operate, Icons look slightly up sized and crisp. Camera seems to have improved on center focus capture mode which gives a tilt shift effect while capturing pictures. Animated collapse view visible while accessing apps grouped into folder, S Memo is now merged into S Note app.

Notable features that make an appearance are:

• Google Now
• Multi view and side panel 
• Page buddy
• Customizing notification panel 
• Smart rotation 
• Samsung cloud sync service
• Features like Direct Call, Smart Stay and Pop-up Play
• Updated Music Player with Sound Alive

This upgrade has limited features from the premium suite available on GS3 and Note II. You do not get features like video and other content preview with S-Pen hovering over, pop up note for S-Pen, Burst mode for camera etc.

Interesting part is that Group Play and AllShare play also arrive on Galaxy Note which were announced during Galaxy S4 launch, Galaxy Grand is also due to get both of these soon in India. More screenshots from the upgrade below, share your feedback on any performance improvements, battery life as you upgrade your Galaxy Note via KIES as OTA upgrade currently does not seem to be available.

By the way, Galaxy Note along with some older crop of Galaxy series phones like S2 are due to get their last upgrade up to Jelly Bean version 4.2.2, so hopes for a Key Lime Pie update (Android 5.0) look very bleak as per a recent news published on sam mobile website, Nevertheless finally Jellybean made it to the original note after almost like 9 months Google released this OS code for Android manufacturers.

Galaxy Note 2 packed with computing power

Galaxy Note 2 has sold impressive 5 million units in 2 months, this powerhouse phablet has being put to test in a video feature by a user coldfustion, showcasing how Note 2 can extend it's processor capability as a PC, Turns out this phone performs very well in complimenting basic computing requirements.

With JellyBean updates to roll across most recent Samsung flagship devices it would get interesting to see how would it improve the overall performance of this device, working around with floating browser on the LED monitor is great for multi tasking. Google is also planning to strengthen it's Chromebook positioning in a fiercely competitive portable computing market, however with mobile phones flexing processing power muscles do netbooks and low cost portable laptops stand a chance to compete?

Check out the video below

Nexus 7 review: The 7″ tablet segment performer has arrived

Nexus 7 proved to be a huge success for Google which was important for them make a headway in the tablet market which is still ruled by iPad and a lot of android tablet manufacturers could not even challenge the supremacy of iPad due to challenges around fragmentation issues which exist within the android ecosystem and previous versions of android OS simply lacked the ease of use factor which iOS has always being proud of.

With Microsoft ready to launch Surface tablet along with Windows 8 and recently released Amazon Kindle Fire HD, does Nexus 7 still stand a chance to grow it's presence in the 7 inch tablet segment until iPad mini arrives? and how does Nexus 7 stack up to these expectations that previous android tablets have not being able to achieve?

My iPad 2 was gathering dust by now as my fascination for iOS experience had faded away after I started using android OS first via Samsung Galaxy SII and then Galaxy Note. When I decided to switch over to Nexus 7 from iPad 2 (you may probably think of this as a downgrade) I did consider Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 for once, however I wanted skip Sammy on this one as they are very slow in releasing android OS upgrades even on their flagship devices while they keep tuning it for their proprietary TouchWiz interface compatibility and SGT 2 7.0 scores came out well below Galaxy Note while I was running some benchmark tests on my phone.

I got rid of my iPad 2 and Nexus 7 is officially not available in India yet, so by the time I planned to order via a relative in USA, it was sold out online and in stores, so I chose to order via a seller on E Bay, my shipment was delivered within 15-20 days in good condition, hassle free. Luckily I did not have too may issues unboxing Nexus 7 with the kind of videos I watched on YouTube showing how difficult it was to get the tablet out of the packaging material used by Asus.

Here's my review of this tablet after using it for more than a month now.

Form Factor and Design

Nexus 7 tablet measures at 198.5 x 120 x 10.45mm (lhw) and weighs 340 gm. It surely packs a premium feel to the build quality and a rubberized back which feels like thick textured plastic allows better grip while holding the tablet it also does away with the worry of your tablet picking up scratches or dirt smudges on the rear section with frequent use.

Overall look of the tablet is very minimal, no physical buttons below the lower bezel with the one similar to home screen button on the iPad. There is a power button with volume rocker on the top right hand side of the tablet, has decent bezel space. Nexus 7 does not have a rear camera however there is a front facing 1.2 mp camera with light sensor which can be used for video calls/conferencing, surprisingly the placement of 3.5 mm headphone connector is towards the lower section of the tablet and not on the top, which is slightly intrusive while using tablet in portrait mode.

Nexus 7 scores high on portability, it cannot fit in your regular day to day apparel however it is easy to carry around in a sleeve case and would probably fit well in your suit or rear pocket in your jeans.

Display

Nexus 7 comes with a backlit LED IPS display that has resolution of 1280x800 pixels at 216 dots per inch (dpi) which is 48 dpi short of iPad's retina display at 264 dpi. Watching HD videos, scrolling through pictures in the gallery and accessing other multimedia content looks good however while accessing apps like Facebook, Twitter I noticed that the screen looks slightly washed out on colour and contrast reproduction, maybe it could be something related to poor colour calibration.

You would need to tweak the brightness settings for Nexus 7 as I noticed that screen display scores the highest as a battery hogger. No hassles experienced while reading e-books, minor lag noticed while rendering PDF pages with image content. Display glass is made up of corning scratch resistant material, however catches smudges very easily so a screen guard is a must.

Hardware and Battery Performance

Nexus 7 runs on NVIDIA's Tegra 3 quad core chipset (SoC) with ARM Cortex A-9 processor that clocks at 1.3 GHz, has 1 GB memory and also houses 12 core ULP GeForce @ 416MHz graphical processing unit (GPU) which works great on this tablet to provide a lag free and smooth gaming experience. Takes around 30 seconds to boot, multi tasking between apps works efficiently on this tablet, screen transitions are extremely smooth, I did notice that it took few milliseconds to normalise text display while zooming in and out of web content in Dolphin browser.

There is a definite plus of playing games on Nexus 7 in comparison to those I have played on my Galaxy Note. I noticed less time lag duration in game loading process for titles like Real Football 2012 and Asphalt 7, however the visual quality does not differ in such games even with all the extra juice Nexus 7 posses on GPU front. Rendering overall game environment, colour and contrast reproduction difference is noticeable while playing the game titles which are Tegra HD versions of popular games on Google Play store like Samurai II Vengeance, Dead Trigger, Shadowgun, Galaxy on Fire 2, Max Payne Mobile, Shine Runner which I have installed on my tablet.

If you compare this device's performance to iPad on the gaming front, It would fall a notch behind when it would come to rendering textures, anti-aliasing feature that helps in reducing jagged edges, however Tegra 3 optimized games give you additional eye candy effects within the game environment, like a water splash on screen, improved gun flare and bullet path effects in some FPS games.

With a 4,326mAh battery, Nexus 7 lasted between 6-7 hours on a test I ran with Wi-Fi on throughout, 30% gaming, 50% web browsing(inclusive of uploading and downloading content), 20% watching HD videos on tablet and YouTube. I tried doing a standby test with 30% battery left once which lasted 1 day 12 hours and still 7% battery left. Time taken to complete full charge is around 3 hours, No complaints here in this section. I am posting few tests run on benchmarking tools like NenaMark 2, SmartBench 2012 and AnTuTu with battery test screens as well, link here

Nexus 7 tends to get a little warm on the lower left side of the screen during extended usage, luckily it does not overheat like an oven which I experienced with Samsung Galaxy SII.Speaker performance is not so good, Stereo effect is hardly audible with the external speakers, while listening to videos and music with a headset quality is slightly better.

Connectivity

This tablet has standard Bluetooth and 802.11n WiFi connectivity, Nexus 7 would probably be my first NFC device, yet to use it for any practical purpose. This technology is still at a nascent stage and catching up with mobile and gadget users globally, Samsung and Nokia also have already launched some NFC enabled mobiles in India.

There are two mics provided for noise canceling action on the tablet, which works well for voice based Google Now search service, You can modify settings on this app with English(India) as language and it works! though it has trouble understanding few difficult Indian names and words so you would have to fiddle around with your dialect a little.

Google has recently introduced turn by turn navigation for Google Maps in India, you can take advantage of the live traffic updates allowing you to take a look at estimated travel time from home - work - home, as it covers major cities in India, also check out display cards of places nearby, which makes it worth putting it on the car dashboard for using navigation features on this tablet.

Absence of 3G connectivity is going to hurt Asus in the long run as they are planning to bring this tablet in India this year around Diwali, Samsung is providing calling feature on a 10 inch Galaxy Note 800 tab and Galaxy tab 2 7.0, personally it does not make sense to me for having a camera, calling feature and 3G connectivity on a tablet.

I have used 3G dongle for my laptop, 3G service on my phone connection while travelling and frankly speaking these services are completely dependent on network infrastructure of a mobile service provider, when you leave the safe zone of your home Wi-Fi connection, there is no guarantee you would get seamless connectivity outside and with new radiation norms for cellular towers implemented from 1st September, be ready to notice a drop on quality of service and connectivity related to 3G services, unless you want to show off rarely used features of your gadget do not fall for a "value for money" concept of getting a phone and 3G device in a tablet, however all I can say this is how the taste of Indian consumers has evolved for gadgets and hence the demand exists.

OTG connectivity issue has being resolved with a workaround of installing a paid app Nexus Media Importer available on Google Play store, allowing you to mount flash drives and SD cards from a card reader to transfer content on the go, connecting game pads, keyboards and mouse. (Requires compatible OTG cable)

Storage

Storage is another area of concern for Asus when it comes to lack of expandable memory slot supporting SD cards, even with the 16GB version, actual available memory space you would get would be around 13.2 GB and I would not recommend this tablet in case you want to carry lot of multimedia content on your tablet and downloading few graphic heavy games would clog your tablet memory in no time. I was able to manage my storage needs with the 16GB WiFi version I had of iPad 2, so it does not make much difference to me.

Jellybean experience 

Thankfully Nexus 7 does not come with too much of  bloatware pre-installed and my tablet was immediately updated to version 4.1 after the initial set up process was completed, over and above the smoothness and lag free navigation and usability on Nexus 7, there are features like smart widgets which resize according to the space available on a home screen, you can expand a specific widget which may occupy larger screen space, other widgets would adjust in size accordingly. Push Notifications have also improved on Jellybean OS, you get content preview in the drop down menu while accessing notifications and Smart update feature is a god send, In my opinion it is not possible always to update apps and games over 300 MB in size for a small tweak or improvement patch released by the publisher.

Most popular apps are compatible for Nexus 7 on Google Play store, however there is still work to do for Google to match up to the vast library of apps available for iPad, issues around OS fragmentation and slow adoption rate of new OS releases from Google by manufacturers need to be sorted out in time, even today Gingerbread remains the most installed OS version of Android globally, ICS was just settling in and Jellybean has arrived on the scene and going to be rolled out on major flagship devices of various companies, which allows very little time for developers to adapt themselves to the changing requirement of the OS framework on which apps are developed.

Verdict

Nexus 7 has the ability to shine as a strong performer for Google and without any doubt is the best 7 inch tablet to go for today, A slightly expensive variant offering 3G connectivity and expandable memory would be a big plus for Asus in augmenting sales figures for this tablet.

This tablet works best as an e-book reader, portable gaming device and for watching multimedia content. Even with iPad I could never use it as an extension to my laptop for creating content, which is where Windows Surface would play an important role once launched. Gaming on a 7 inch tablet is much better than getting your fingers sore juggling with touch screen controls on a 10 inch screen,

You may also think aren't budget tablets from Micromax and Karbonn and other Indian manufacturers not worthy enough in case they need to be used just as consumption devices? I have used Micromax Funbook and checked a demo piece of Karbonn Smartab in a store, Indian manufactures are not conscious on building a credible product in this lucrative 7 inch tablet category.

A low cost tablet would comes with performance and lag issues, touch screens are not so responsive in these tablets and overall product build quality from these manufactures leaves a lot to be desired, add after sales service which is again a concern. Micromax Funbook has battery calibration issues also, It loses charge at 50-60% battery levels and the cost of replacing cracked glass on a Rs 6,400 Funbook is Rs 3000, what point does it make to buy a low cost tablet then?

I already mentioned the reason why I skipped the thought of purchasing Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 at the beginning of this review, and being a device promoted by Google you can be rest assured that you would receive OS updates much earlier to tablets made by other vendors. Currently Nexus 7 8GB version is available for around Rs 15,000 and 16GB version for Rs 20,000 on EBay India site.

You can wait for Asus to officially release this tablet in India and the pricing range is going to stay in the similar bracket of current online pricing on e-commerce portals for Nexus 7, it is a true value for money product in the 7 inch tablet category, Amazon's Kindle Fire HD is a noteworthy competitive product and luckily Apple did not reveal iPad mini during their September 12 iPhone 5 announcement event, which gives Asus a chance to expand sales in additional countries where Nexus 7 is yet to be launched and it would continue getting a first mover advantage in those markets.

Please feel free to leave your comments, video review to follow with more updates and tips for Nexus 7

Link to unboxing pics here

My review got featured on Rediff.com, and also the top emailed article on 29th Sep 2012, many thanks to all the readers.

Galaxy Note 2 : Samsung Unpacked event

Galaxy Note 2 unpacked event started with clear emphasis on unleashing creativity with the new "phablet" touted as the next stage of this revolutionary mobile device, It certainly is going to be fastest mobile device in market when released.The magic wand that was visible on the unpacked event symbol turned out to be the new S-Pen for Galaxy Note 2.

So what have we got? 

Galaxy note looks more sleek and similar in design to Galaxy S3, it comes with HD super AMOLED screen of 5.5 inch size, 9.4mm thin and weighs 180 gm, colors available at launch would be marble white and titanium grey. Galaxy Note 2 is scheduled for October 2012 launch.

Processing specs pack the sweetest deal, 1.6 GHz quad core processor which comes with 2 GB RAM and Android Jellybean OS version 4.1, great news is that Samsung has acknowledged that existing Galaxy Note users also would be able to upgrade to Jelly Bean OS very soon.

Galaxy Note 2 would have a 3100mAh battery which is claimed to have better power management and the presenter on stage was pretty confident about it which is an encouraging sign! S-pen also has being improved for performance with 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity included on a 8mm S-Pen providing better precision on handwriting recognition, ease of writing and improved grip.

Notable features shown:
Airview feature - Allows you to preview content without opening app, just by hovering S-pen over the content, gallery display also compatible with the airview. You can also hover the S-Pen on time line of video track to view a video from where you want to see it, it is definitely a handy feature IMO.

Pop up note - Perfect solution for moments when you do not find a pen and paper, while you are on a call and you would want to quickly jot down an address or a number, as you pull the S-Pen out it automatically invokes the S-Note tools, which is slightly irritating as you may not require S-Note tools always.

Idea Visualizer - Helps replace words with images, suggestion of pics automatically comes up. It also enables you to include your own expressions in the library. you can also change color scheme while writing with S-Pen with the toggle feature and flip images taken on your phone to write something down.Samsung is going to release S-Pen SDK 2.2 for developers to customize apps for S-Pen and it has already tied up with few notable app developers to take advantage of the improved S-Pen.

A much better showcase event I must say than the previous unpacked event which was over the top and bragging on S3 launch with "made for human's" tag that lead to eventual "sued by apple's" lawsuit, could sense a toned down show, short and sweet however spot on while highlighting key features of the products. Recent Galaxy S3 buyers are going to either fret about their choice or maybe put Galaxy Note II on the ignore list, but with such powerful specs. It remains to be seen how is Apple going to up match up to 2 powerful mobile devices, with Galaxy S3 again proving to be a runaway success and Galaxy Note II is just going to further strengthen the "phablet" segment.

Samsung has also announced a new range of iLuv accessories range for Galaxy Note 2, I liked the case with a transparent front screen which saves the hassle to put up a scratch guard

Samsung has put up a first Hands On video on their YouTube channel



Check out more details on Galaxy Note 2 here

Battle of Tech Giants: Is it Over?

A court room dispute that remained on top of the technology news marquee for few weeks now has finally come to an end with the verdict landing in favour of Apple, indicating that Samsung indeed was found breaching some patent rights, a sea of opinions and views have flowed in after this news came out.

Apple saw this judgement as an acknowledgement to the fight they have put up against not just Samsung but also with Android as an OS. Samsung commented on this verdict echoing a sympathetic sentiment indicating this was going to be a loss to consumers in the long run.

When I brought Apple iPad 2 on it's launching day in India last year, I was still stuck with Symbian OS on my Nokia N8 phone, my tryst with android had not begun yet. I felt there could be nothing better than this product in tablets for few years at least even if other manufacturers kept playing the catch up game, iPad is still ruling the tablet market, when I got my Samsung Galaxy SII, my experience with android began on sour note as I was still getting used to common pitfalls of switching to android like draining battery, phone heating up etc., however using an android phone made me realise that apple's iOS ecosystem was not suitable to my needs.

I am a heavy user of social media tools, curating web content on the go, blogging and a taste for sharing stuff around art and design because of which I view my mobile as an extension to my computing experience and I expect a portable device like a tablet to meet some of these requirements if not all, I started experiencing suffocation in Apple's walled garden, it feels good to stroll there for a while but very soon you realise that you are missing a bout of fresh air and I took the exit route as my iPad started gathering dust and I was hooked on to my Galaxy SII.

I agree to some extent on Apple's theory to limit data transfer options on their devices, allowing app downloads only via iTunes and other limitations put in place to minimize malicious content damaging portable computing devices. Google's play store is well known for housing malicious apps which raises data security risks. I missed some of the key features in iOS which I found useful on android like customization of home screen, ability to connect wireless/bluetooth mouse, ease of working with data/file transfer, some limited use of eye candy options like live wallpapers. Managing content curation was limited to few social apps in iOS, luckily by the time I started using my Galaxy Note after moving on from SII, app exclusivity started diminishing and we saw some famous apps like Instagram and Flipboard getting ported on Android this year.

In my opinion Apple started a revolution in mobile technology beginning with simplification and took a big leap forward on mobile OS interface and hardware design, while most mobile manufacturers were busy sticking to Symbian and Java based OS's banking heavily on the megapixel mania, producing Walkman phones etc. Apple actually brought smartphones to the right track when everyone else realized the need of the hour was to work on producing useful apps, It made some companies re-think their strategies from the scratch, a lot of them simply started copying Apple's approach towards mobile phone and tablet market growth.

At this stage of the lawsuit verdict coming out, I feel in the past 2 years Apple is still stuck to the guns it has being blazing all along, while Samsung has being riding high on the Android bazooka gnawing away significant share of the USA mobile OS segment, profitability still does not look good in comparison to what Apple is earning, probably Apple may be working hard in the background to maintain the momentum it has gained in all these years with no visible threat to iPad supremacy yet, It had to ensure other manufacturers did not dent their market share further because Google has being providing the right ammunition to mobile companies at all price segments, thus legal swords were just waiting to come out in the open.

Latest news on this feud is that Apple is going to demand ban on sales of Galaxy Note and Galaxy SIII in US, which indicates the so called 'Thermonuclear' battle against Android is not over yet.

Samsung and Google with other Android manufacturer's would definitely have to play safer with OS interface design, product features and hardware design, however I am still baffled on the logic of patents being awarded to Apple which kill competition threat up front and promote monopolistic advantage for a company, take a look at this clip from Matrix Revolutions and imagine Neo to be either Samsung or any other Android vendor and Agent Smith playing Apple, Google as the Deus Ex Machina. Maybe Samsung would have to wait for it's "it is done" moment. I thought of making this as a video meme, however it is best left to your imaginations!