Tag Archives: Samsung

SAMOLED and What it Means for you!

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After Christmas, there’s no doubt that some of you have picked up the latest Android phone: Nexus S. The Nexus S is highly reminiscent of other phones from Samsung’s Galaxy S series, such as the Vibrant, Fascinate, and Captivate. Most of these phones share the same form factor, 5 MP cameras, and Samsung’s 1 GHz Hummingbird processor. More importantly, they also all share a Super AMOLED 4″ touch display, which will be the topic of this article.

AMOLED stands for active-matrix organic light emitting diode and it contrasts with the LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) of other mobile phones, such as the iPhone or Motorola Droid. Super AMOLED is simply a display that integrates the touch technology with the screen. When comparing technologies for screen displays, there are several factors to consider including: picture quality, viewing angles, response time, and power consumption.

Picture quality: In general, the colors and sharpness of the Samsung Vibrant’s SAMOLED screen is superior to the Motorola Droid’s LCD screen.

In the following images, you can see that Samsung’s display colors are more vibrant (pun intended) than the Motorola Droid’s.

Viewing angles: As you can see, the colors display the same at various viewing angles for the Samsung Vibrant’s SAMOLED, while the Motorola Droid’s LCD colors are washed out.

Response time: AMOLED displays have much faster response times compared to LCD’s. This is important for watching fast paced scenes in movies or videos, reducing the effects of motion blur. It also improves gaming experiences with rapid full animation.

Power consumption: This is one of the main selling points of AMOLED. Note that LCD’s typically have a backlight that is another source of battery drain. Even displaying a black background entails using the backlight. AMOLED displays do not require a backlight, and because the display background is already black, it simply does not power the pixel and the black naturally appears. This is hugely beneficial towards battery life and it is also the likely explanation for the color scheme of Gingerbread on the Nexus S (mainly black with green). Note, this also leads to one of the disadvantages of AMOLED. Emitting white colors on an AMOLED actually drains more power than on an LCD. Let this be advice to developers: when designing your applications, consider using black backgrounds with white text in order to save power on phones with AMOLED displays.

Expect to see SAMOLED to be used in more smartphones in the future, as costs of constructing AMOLED displays are going down. There are even more advantages to the technology and if you wish to read more about them, visit this presentation here.

Samsung Omnia Gets an Unofficial Android Port

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Image Courtesy of OnlyGizmos

Samsung Omnia hackers have been able to get Android OS to boot up on the Omnia, which is normally a Windows Mobile device.  Basically the Omnia finally has hope in one day fully supporting Android on it.

The Omnia is said to be a wonderful phone, however its the Windows Mobile aspect of it that frustrates most users as well as the fact for hardly any support for the Android OS on it.

So far, programmers at MoDaCo Forums have been able to dual-boot the Omnia with Windows Mobile and Android.  But the Android OS only has the touchscreen access and clock widget functioning right now.  Thus you will not be able to do secondary type things like make a phone call.

Image Courtesy of Mirror.co.uk News

If you’re willing to try this out though, its not an easy task.  It requires formatting the microSD card containing the OS with a Linux system.  But the good thing about experimenting is that the Android OS won’t actually damage your phone since its not installed onto the hardware itself.

Hopefully Samsung will take this as inspiration to make Android more compatible with the Omnia.  However at this time there is no word on that so its just up to the hackers now.

Is "Houdini" the i7500?

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samsung_houdini1

In continuing our previous post about the leaked T-Mobile release schedule, which shows 3 new android phones being released in the second half of this year, it has been rumored that the Samsung “Houdini” will be the i7500.  For fun, let’s assume it’s true and take a look at the i7500.

Samsung i7500 Specifications
Operating System:  Android 1.5
Screen:                        3.2″ AMOLED Touch
Resolution:               480×320
Processor:                 528 MHz Qualcomm
Memory:                    8GB, 1500 mAH
                                       Camera 5.0 MP
                                       LED Flash
                                       GPS
                                       Wi-Fi
                                       Bluetooth 2.0

Check out this video for a demonstration:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDwur5-T_YE

Also shown in the release schedule was the G1 version 2 “Bigfoot”.  While people are claiming hoax on account of the name, it doesn’t seem unlikely that a version 2 G1 is scheduled for release in a few months.  The picture shows us a new pull-out keyboard and rounded edges for the version 2, but there is little indication what new capabilities the new phone will have or what it will be called on release.

Fall 2009 bringing multiple new Android phones

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We spotted this chart at Androidguys.com

samsung_houdini1

 

This screenshot was submitted by email to cellphonesignal.com, which is being cited as T-Mobile’s release schedule for 2009.

 

The image shows fall releases of three new Android handsets:  The “HTC Sapphire”, the G1v.2 “Bigfoot”, and the Samsung “Houdini”, with the HTC Sapphire being scheduled for late summer/early fall and the other two a little later in the year.

 

A further look at each of these phones is forthcoming, we’ll start with the HTC Sapphire.

 

The HTC Sapphire/ MyTouch 3G

“HTC Sapphire” is listed on the chart at $179.  The HTC Sapphire will be released in the US as the MyTouch 3G.  Another leaked screenshot shows the MyTouch 3G in a T-Mobile price schedule with a white, black, and merlot color option.  According to Boygenius.com, “MyTouch 3G” was a choice in a survey distributed by T-Mobile looking for a release name for the HTC Magic.   

 

 htc_pioneer_h1.png

 

The likelihood is high that the MyTouch 3G is the HTC Magic.  The HTC Magic was released by Vodafone in the UK and Spain earlier this week and is set to come out in Germany today.  (Vodafone UK is offering it free with monthly contracts at £30 and up, and a similar deal exists in Germany.)  The Sapphire graphic in the chart definitely looks like a compressed little HTC Magic.

 

We’ve certainly seen the HTC Magic before and specs can be found in this previous post: http://www.blog.droidweb.com/?p=111

 

And are summarized here:

 

HTC Magic Specifications

Dimensions

113 x 55.56 x 13.65

Weight

116g

Screen

3.2″ touch screen, 3.2 MP resolution

Internal Memory

Flash: 512 MB; RAM: 192 MB

Bandwidth

7.2mbps

Features

Wi-Fi supported

 

Bluetooth (Voice only)

 

Built-in GPS

 

HSDPA

 

MP3 Player

 

Video Calling

PC Compatibility

Windows 2000, XP, Vista

 

Check back for further information regarding the

G1v.2 “Bigfoot” and the Samsung “Houdini”.

 

 

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Samsung Joins Android Bandwagon… In Europe

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Announcements have been made about the next Android phone.  If the rumors hold true, this will be the third Android powered device to come to the market following the G1, and recently the G2.

Named the I7500, this phone will arrive in Europe in June.  O2, a German telecommunications company will be the first carrier with the device.

Samsung I7500 Android Smartphone
The specs on this phone are pretty sweet.  Here’s a list of the features available in this next iteration of Android.

Specifications:

  • 3.2″ screen
  • 320 x 480 pixel OLED display
  • 5 megapixel camera
  • 8 GB internal memory
  • Go back and look at that last point
  • Room for 32 GB more via SD card
  • Bluetooth 2.0
  • USB 2.0
  • integrated WiFI
  • GPS
  • quad-band GSM
  • tri-band HSDPA 7.2Mbps connectivity

Release dates are to be announced… I hope this phone makes it to North America.