Posts Tagged ‘touchwiz’

Review: Samsung Omnia 2 – Software

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

samsung-logoThis is the second installment in the review of the Samsung Omnia 2, the “new” Windows Mobile smartphone from Samsung which has become its Windows Mobile flagship smartphone.  Part 1, dealing with the hardware is here, in case you are interested. TouchWiz These days, manufacturers are beginning to differentiate their phones by adding an additional layer on top of the mobile operating system, and this layer may consist of both a user interface enhancement (ie. the “look-and-feel”) as well as additional or custom applications to replace the ones that come standard with the mobile operating system.  In Samsung’s case, this layer is called TouchWiz, and is present on their Windows Mobile, Symbian and Android smartphones.  In fact, TouchWiz looks almost identical on these platforms, so if you are transitioning from one mobile platform to another, so long as it is a relatively high end Samsung smartphone with TouchWiz installed, you can get up to speed relatively faster. TouchWiz consists of three elements:

  1. the 3 homescreens – what the user sees when he/she turns on the phone.
  2. categorised application tabs when the user presses the “Tab” key.
  3. Cube user interface, a fancy 3D interface which the user can “spin around” to quickly locate and launch commonly accessed applications such as viewing photos/images on the phone, viewing/playing media (songs/videos) on the phone, opening the contacts (ie. phonebook) application, etc.

Homescreens

There are 3 customisable homescreens.  By customising, Samsung means dragging and dropping widgets which are sometimes “live” applications picking data up from the internet (for example, the weather widget) or application shortcut widgets, for example, to launch the Facebook application.  The size of these widgets are not standard, some are larger than others, so a screen may only be able to fit two large widgets in some instances.  You can of course lay widgets on top of one another but this defeats the purpose as it would not be very usable. The widget drawer at the left of the screen opens up when tapped, allowing the user to drag and drop a widget on to a home screen to add it, or the user can drag a widget from the homescreen back to the drawer to remove it from the homescreen.  Additional widgets can be downloaded from the internet.

Out of the box, there are widgets for the most common applications – these number around 23.  Once a widget appears on a homescreen, the same widget cannot be placed on another homescreen. To navigate between homescreens, swipe the screen left or right, on an empty area.  There are three horizontal bars, coloured white, at the top of the screen, to show the user which homescreen is active.  The wallpaper, ie. background image, of each homescreen can be customised.  Obviously a lot of thought has gone into designing this part of TouchWiz so that it is as “personalisable” as possible. Below are examples of the homescreens on my review unit, with some random widgets:

omnia 2 homescreen 1 omnia 2 homescreen 2 omnia 2 homescreen 3

Application tabs

When the centre hardware button is pressed, this launches the TouchWiz application tabs.  It organises the applications on the phone into convenient tabs which the user can rename.  Additional tabs are created as required when the other tabs are full.  The contents of the tabs can be edited as well.  Again, there are horizontal bars at the top of the screen, coloured light yellow, to indicate which tab is active, and how many tabs there are in the entire collection. The Cube UI (covered later) can also be launched from the application tabs screen.

Here are the application tabs on my review unit.  All the applications are standard applications that came with the phone, with the exception of the Shake and Save, My Mobiler, Screen Capture, Garmin Mobile XT and MyPhoneBook (this came as part of the DiGi SIM) applications.

omnia 2 application tabs 1 omnia 2 application tabs 2 omnia 2 application tabs 3 omnia 2 application tabs 4 omnia 2 application tabs 5 omnia 2 application tabs others 1 omnia 2 application tabs others 2

Whatever cannot be categorised is simply lumped into the “Others” screen as you can see above.

Cube user interface

The Cube UI, as described above, is simply a fancy resource consuming user interface which helps the user locate and launch the most commonly accessed applications on the phone.  One can also navigate using the soft buttons at the bottom of the screen.  With the Cube UI open, one cannot navigate to the “standard” Windows Mobile functions – the Cube UI has to be closed first to return to TouchWiz. Once the user selects an application, the bottom bar will show context sensitive menu items specific to that particular application.

omnia 2 cube ui 1 omnia 2 cube ui 2 omnia 2 cube ui 3 omnia 2 cube ui 4

Start button

Pressing the “start” button at the top left of the screen will bring up the familiar Windows Mobile 6.5 honeycomb application screen.  This is the non-categorised view of the “applications tab” screens mentioned above.  Here’s what’s on my review unit – the same comment pertaining to the non-standard applications apply as above.  No matter how hard or fast the user swipes the screen, it will only move up or down one screen length at a time – this is the “standard” WinMo 6.5 behaviour.

omnia 2 start menu 1 omnia 2 start menu 2 omnia 2 start menu 3 omnia 2 start menu 4 omnia 2 start menu 5 omnia 2 start menu 6

The TouchWiz interface can be turned off in the settings – simply deselect the “Samsung WidgetPlus” item.  When TouchWiz is deselected, the standard “Today” screen of Windows Mobile appears, and the user can further configure what shows up on the Today screen, an example of which is shown below.  There is only one “homescreen” in the Today screen, however.  Turning off TouchWiz does save on system resources and makes the entire phone “feel faster”.  This is not surprising considering that TouchWiz is rather complicated and will consume precious system RAM, of which the Omnia 2 does not have a tremendous lot of.

omnia 2 today screen touchwiz off

With that covered, let’s move on to the standard applications on the Omnia 2.

Personal information management applications

These consist of applications such as contacts/phonebook, calendar, memo/notes and tasks/to-do.

The phonebook application is the standard one, not tremendously different in features and functionality compared to other smartphones.  You can view all contacts, view categories (what Samsung calls categories is actually “groups”, since I cannot seem to find an option to create “groups” on the Omnia 2!), speed dial and to reject/accept calls.  The amount of information you can enter for a contact seems to cover all bases – instant messaging ID, email, website, etc.

omnia 2 phonebook 1 omnia 2 phonebook 2 omnia 2 phonebook 3 omnia 2 phonebook 4 omnia 2 phonebook 5 omnia 2 phonebook 6

Calendar shows the appointments created by the user and can be filtered to show only appointments tagged with certain categories.  Month, week, day and entire agenda views are available.

omnia 2 calendar 1 omnia 2 calendar 2 omnia 2 calendar 3

Notes can be a combination of typewritten notes or freehand drawings/text, or one or the other.

omnia 2 notes app 1 omnia 2 notes app 2

Tasks are strangely not integrated into the calendar or schedule, as it is known in WinMo.

omnia 2 tasks app 1 omnia 2 tasks app 2 omnia 2 tasks app 3

Messaging (email and SMS/MMS)

The email application is the standard WinMo outlook client.  It supports rich email, ie. HTML email.  One annoyance I found when using the application is that it will not download the images in an email – I have to click the “Internet pictures blocked…” link, then click the “Download Internet pictures” link to get the images to load.  Further, when the email is wider than the screen width whether in portrait or landscape mode, I have to click the link that says “Tap to scroll right” before I can scroll to the right, and then turn it off again, if I want to scroll the default way.

omnia 2 email app 0 omnia 2 email app 1 omnia 2 email app 2 omnia 2 email app 3 omnia 2 email app 4

The SMS application supports threaded SMS, which is a nice feature.  It’s a part of WinMo and not a customised Samsung application.

omnia 2 sms app 1 omnia 2 sms app 2 omnia 2 sms app 3 omnia 2 sms app 4

Dialer

The dialer supports smart dialling – press a number and the phone will highlight contacts with numbers matching the number pressed, or with alphabets matching the pressed number – for example, if “1″ was pressed, it will also highlight contacts whose names have “a/b/c” in them.  The dialer provides shortcuts to the call log, SMS application and phonebook.

omnia 2 dialer app 1 omnia 2 dialer app 2

Call quality

I used the Omnia 2 as my main phone for a few days and made more than 15 calls with it (I don’t talk much!).  I never experienced dropped calls, and calls were clear for me, as well as the receiving party.  No crackles, hisses nor other disturbances.  The volume through the earpiece was fine, and the other party never asked me to speak louder nor softer, so the microphone was doing its job well.

Camera and video recorder

Samples of the photos taken with the Omnia 2’s camera can be seen in this Picasa web folder.  I took identical shots with the HTC HD2 which I also reviewed recently for comparison purposes, which are located in this Picasa web folder.  The camera has more functions and features compared to the competition – proof that Samsung has deep experience in manufacturing dedicated digital cameras.  Features such as scene mode, shooting modes and more configurable camera settings set the Omnia 2 apart from the competition.

I also shot one sample video – see below.  The video recorder can record up to 720 x 480 pixel resolution.

Here’s an identical scene shot using the HTC HD2’s video recorder application for comparison purposes.  See the HTC HD2 review posts for another video shot using the Apple iPod Nano 5th generation’s video recording application.

Media player

Video playback

Video playback was generally good, with no stuttering nor skipping nor freezing.  Based on my limited testing, audio and video appeared to be in synchronisation.  The built-in media player played back MP4 files with no problems.  However, it encountered difficulties in playing back the following files:

  1. AVI – 624 x 352 pixel resolution, 23 frames per second, mpga audio codec, xvid video codec.  The media player tried to “process” the file, showing the WinMo equivalent of the hourglass “I’m-thinking” icon without actually achieving anything.
  2. MP4 – 852 x 362 pixel resolution, 24 frames per second, mp4a audio codec, avc1 video codec.  The audio played, but the media player complained that the video’s resolution was too high for the phone.  See error message below.

media player resolution errorWhen video played, the sound was very clear, even at 50% volume, surprising indeed for a single speaker phone.  In fact, the sound from the Omnia 2 was louder than the HTC HD2 using the same video file, with both having the same clarity.

To fix the unplayable video files, I installed the commercial CorePlayer software and attempted to play both files again.  The AVI file played without problems.  So did the MP4 file above.  However, attempting to play back the MOV file which I also tested using the HTC HD2 in my review resulted in the audio playing fine on the Omnia 2 using CorePlayer, but the video was unwatchable – it would freeze for long periods of time, and only refresh the picture for a split second before freezing again.  Finally, attempting to play back an MP4 file of 800 x 480 pixel resolution, 30 frames per second, mp4a audio codec and avc1 video codec resulted in the audio playing back fine, but the video was unwatchable – less freezing than the MOV file, but still unwatchable.  It has to be mentioned that both the MOV and this MP4 file played back fine on the HTC HD2, so I’m guessing the processor does make a difference.  I can post both the problematic MOV and MP4 files if anyone is interested to test the files on their own WinMo devices.

Audio playback

As usual, the media player supports album art, and music playback was generally loud enough even at 50% system volume.  Again, the sound was louder using the same audio file compared to the HTC HD2.  There is an equaliser mode, as well as audio enhancement modes such as SRS.

media player 1 media player 2 media player 3

Photo browser

The photo browser supports slideshow mode, and can show the image file’s information/properties.  To zoom in, touch anywhere on the screen until a “+” and “-” symbol appears on the screen – simply slide up to zoom in, and slide downwards to zoom out.  This tap-hold-slide motion to zoom in/out is standard on the newer Samsung phones and is not as intuitive and user-friendly as the multi-gesture pinch zooming in the iPhone and HTC HD2, for instance.

omnia 2 photo browser 1 omnia 2 photo browser 2 omnia 2 photo browser 3 omnia 2 photo browser 4

Web browser

Both Opera Mobile 9.5 and Internet Explorer Mobile are included.  As no one on this earth likes using Internet Explorer Mobile, I shall not mention it here.  The latest version of Opera Mobile is 10, currently in Beta.  The one I reviewed on the HTC HD2 was version 9.7, customised by HTC to include multi-touch, aka pinch zooming support, so as you can imagine, version 9.5 on the Omnia 2 pales in comparison.

omnia 2 opera mobile version

However, with version 9.7 installed, the difference becomes narrower with the HD2 winning only in the multi touch aspect.  Generally, Opera Mobile 9.7 is smoother, and faster than version 9.5.  Websites generally rendered properly, see below.  In my testing, the engadget website loaded slower on the Omnia 2 compared to the HD2, although this could be explained by the different timing of the test, different cellular networks used, etc, but I have a feeling it is because of the slower processor on the Omnia 2, which means that on “heavy” sites, webpages will load slower on smartphones with slower processors.  For what it’s worth, the engadget website loaded at least twice slower on the Omnia 2 than it did on the HD2.

During my testing, there was an occasion where the entire device hung/froze while I was loading my website, and only a “battery-pull” could remedy the situation.  I am suspecting that the slower processor, low RAM and “heavy” website are the reasons for this.  Finally, the version of Opera Mobile I tested, version 9.7 Beta, did not have support for g-sensor/accelerometer support, ie. when I turn the phone into landscape mode, Opera Mobile did not re-orient its display.

omnia 2 opera mobile 9.7 1 omnia 2 opera mobile 9.7 2 omnia 2 opera mobile 9.7 3 omnia 2 opera mobile 9.7 4 omnia 2 opera mobile 9.7 5

Office productivity applications

Microsoft Office Mobile 6.1 and the Adobe PDF Reader are bundled with the Omnia 2.  The Office Mobile suite has editing capabilities, and supports Microsoft Office 2007 file formats.

omnia 2 office mobile 1 omnia 2 office mobile 2 omnia 2 office mobile 3 omnia 2 office mobile 4

The Adobe LE reader has poorer functionality than the one on the HD2 – I could not find a function to rotate the view to force it to display PDF files in landscape mode.  And just like its sibling on the HD2, there is no text re-flow feature when the user zooms in and out – resulting in a very painful and frustrating reading experience for the user who will have to pan left and right, up and down, just to read a single page!

omnia 2 adobe reader 1 omnia 2 adobe reader 2 omnia 2 adobe reader 3 omnia 2 adobe reader 4 omnia 2 adobe reader 5

Task switcher/manager Pressing the middle hard button which is shaped like a 3D cube triggers the task manager/switcher.  It displays a list of open applications to switch to, and the user can terminate selected or all open applications to free up memory.  There are two views – an icon view of open applications, or a more fancy stacked larger icons view – see below.

omnia 2 task switcher manager 1 omnia 2 task switcher manager 2 omnia 2 task switcher manager 3

Other applications and features

  1. etiquette pause – activating this will mute whatever the phone is playing back through its speakers by turning the phone face down on a flat surface.
  2. file explorer – browse folders and files on the Omnia 2 and perform common operations such as copy, delete, etc.
  3. smart reader – business card scanning and optical character recognition software integrating with address book – scan a business card, and the contact details can automatically create a phonebook entry.
  4. FM radio – self explanatory!
  5. Arcsoft video editor – limited functionality video creator/editor to manipulate images/videos on the phone to create some basic customised videos.
  6. Midomi – search for music by humming a part of a song, or identify song that is playing on the radio.
  7. connected home – play media from other connected devices (connected wirelessly or via USB to the Omnia 2).
  8. Arcsoft streaming player – stream music from the internet or a locally connected device on the same network.
  9. Aplix JBlend – download, install and run J2ME applications.
  10. qik – stream live or recorded videos on to the internet using the Omnia 2 – “live videocasting”.
  11. podcast – player which plays podcasts the user subscribes to.
  12. communities – allows posting of photos to websites (Facebook, Flickr, Friendster, MySpace, etc) and blogs.
  13. smart search – search the content of the Omnia 2 except applications.
  14. unit converter – converts between different measurement units, tip calculator, etc.
  15. calculator.
  16. recorder – audio recorder.
  17. digital frame – digital photo frame application which cycles through images on the phone while displaying the clock and calendar, as well as other important phone functions such as signal strength, unread emails, etc.
  18. MSN Messenger – instant messaging client for MSN.
  19. Microsoft My Phone – free phone backup service from Microsoft, introduced in WinMo 6.5.
  20. Marketplace – search for, download and install additional WinMo applications for the phone from one convenient location.
  21. internet sharing – share the Omnia 2’s 3G/internet connection with other connected devices.
  22. MSN Money – shows stock market information, etc.
  23. MSN Weather.
  24. search widget – launches the Microsoft Bing search widget.
  25. YouTube.
  26. Facebook.
  27. remote desktop mobile – a program that allows the Omnia 2 to connect to a networked PC/notebook to “remotely control” that PC/notebook.
  28. games – there are 5 bundled games.
  29. RSS reader – read RSS feeds from the internet.  Unfortunately does not support Google Reader integration.  There are some pre-defined feeds to get the user started on using the application.
  30. Windows Live – synchronise email and contacts on the phone with what is in the user’s Windows Live account.

Soft keyboard

I generally found the performance of the soft/virtual keyboard satisfactory.  It is not as good as the HTC custom soft keyboard on the HTC HD2 however, and most certainly not as good as the one on the iPhone.  While the layout of the keyboard is more “intuitive” in portrait mode, typing is a little difficult, at times, due mainly to two factors:

  1. size of the screen in portrait mode.
  2. resistive screen.

I believe that the Omnia 2 uses the standard WinMo keyboard and not a Samsung custom keyboard.  In landscape mode, the keys are larger, but some of the keys are positioned slightly differently, so if you like to mix it up, you will make mistakes during typing, which may make for a frustrating and slow typing experience, which is what I encountered!  In particular, the location and size of the space bar is an issue for me, in landscape mode.  Very often, when in landscape mode, I would inadvertently hit the button which hides the keyboard when all I wanted was to hit the space bar, resulting in moments of frustration when I tried to figure out why the keyboard disappeared!  I just don’t like the keyboard in landscape mode at all.

My typing speed on the Omnia 2’s keyboard, whether in portrait or landscape mode, was slower than the HTC HD2, and most certainly a lot slower than my typing on the iPhone’s keyboard.

omnia 2 soft keyboard 1 omnia 2 soft keyboard 2

Conclusion

If I had to name one thing that I did not enjoy the most while using the Omnia 2, it would have to be the speed.  The slower processor on the Omnia 2, compared to the one on the HD2, made for a trying time.  Performance, especially with TouchWiz enabled, was sluggish and laggy.  Granted, this has as much to do with the slow dog called WinMo than the processor, but on the HD2, HTC showed how it can be made faster and a lot more pleasant by using a much faster processor.

Widgets, especially widgets which picked up information from the internet, made homescreen refreshes (when moving from homescreen to homescreen) slow.

Generally, there isn’t an area where the Omnia 2 excels in.  Its only advantages, from my personal viewpoint was its AMOLED screen, better camera features and louder speaker compared to the HD2.  You can only do so much with WinMo 6.5, and with TouchWiz and the hardware specifications on the Omnia 2, Samsung unfortunately missed the mark.  And this is precisely the reason why HTC had to do a makeover of their own with the HD2.

There is of course a large RM500 difference in RRP (recommended retail price) between the Samsung Omnia 2 and the HTC HD2.  Both have their share of drawbacks, and in the end, it’s you – the buyer, who has to decide whether the premium is worth it.

To conclude, here are the annoyances I encountered on the Omnia 2:

  1. slow unlocking of the phone from standby state – it can take a second for the slide-to-unlock screen to appear when the dedicated hardware unlock key is pressed, and up to 3 seconds until the phone is totally unlocked for use by continuing to press the hardware unlock key.  To be fair, this also affected the HTC HD2 so it must be a WinMo problem!
  2. when pressing the hardware menu (centre) button, the screen will initially show only three tabs, then refresh to show the actual number of tabs to fit all the applications on the phone – it does this everytime the button is pressed, and can be a disconcerting experience!
  3. g-sensor/accelerometer support is patchy throughout the phone – in fact, there are many more applications which do not have accelerometer support compared to those that do.
  4. no special assisted GPS application to cache GPS data for a faster GPS lock for use in applications.
  5. soft keyboard performance and key placement; inconsistencies and not very intuitive key placement especially in landscape mode.
  6. resistive screen sensitivity – I found that I had to do tap more times on the Omnia 2 compared to the HD2, because the screen somehow sometimes missed my tapping.  Perhaps I did not whack the screen hard enough, or perhaps it was due to the screen protector on the review unit of the Omnia 2 which reduced the sensitivity of the touchscreen (the HD2 review unit did not come with a screen protector).

Finally, do read the comments in part 1 of this review series on the hardware – current users and readers of this blog, namely Jack Lee and skeelee/espskeelee have contributed their thoughts there while waiting for this installment of the review to appear.  Thanks to them for sharing their thoughts, and if you’re interested in the Omnia 2, then do drop a comment here and I am certain they will weigh in with their thoughts.

I hope you found the review useful.  I had fun using the phone and reviewing it over the course of two and a half weeks or so that I had it.

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Samsung “bada” Mobile Operating System

Friday, November 13th, 2009

samsung-logoA couple of days ago, Samsung announced the launching of “bada”, which it terms as a “new open platform that enables a richer user experience in applications on Samsung mobile devices”.  A mouthful to be sure, yes, but essentially bada is Samsung’s new operating system for its mobile phones.  ”bada” means ocean in Korean and I guess it signifies that the potential is vast.  Samsung will release a software developers kit (SDK) designed to help application developers create new applications for the bada platform quicker and easier than other operating systems.  If you’re familiar with Samsung phones, you may have heard of TouchWiz, which is Samsung user interface enhancement layer on top of its Windows Mobile, Symbian and to a limited extent, its Android smartphones.  TouchWiz is also the operating system that powers the Samsung Jet, but bada is a separate entity entirely from TouchWiz, which will continue to be developed going forward.

From the bada website, here’s what Samsung says is one of the key features of bada:

Samsung design principles aim to deliver simple, intuitive, and innovative user experiences through innovative visual design. Samsung bada includes a next generation UI framework with feature sets and design elements that facilitate leading-edge user interfaces for every bada application.

It’s hard to imagine an operating system without pictures, so here’s a purported first bada device from Samsung.  No specifications whatsoever, just that Samsung may announce it sometime in early 2010.

first samsung bada phoneMeanwhile, Samsung is reported to be considering dropping Windows Mobile and Symbian in 2010/2011 to concentrate on bada.  I think makes sense, because if you control the operating system that powers your phone, there is a lot more flexibility that you have in terms of hardware design.  The problem is to attract enough third party developers to build a vibrant ecosystem around bada.

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Samsung Blue Earth And Giorgio Armani

Friday, October 16th, 2009

samsung-logoNow, before you get confused, those are two separate phones.  Because I don’t know Mr Armani personally, I can’t vouch for his “green-ness”.  Jokes aside, I’ve been informed that these two new phones from Samsung have a high likelihood of making it to Malaysia.  And no, before the thought enters your mind, there is as yet no pricing decided for either of these two phones.

The Blue Earth is an environmentally friendly phone.  It’s made out of “Post Consumer Material (PCM), which is extracted from water bottles, helping to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions during the manufacturing process”.  Its packaging is made from recyclable materials.  The phone can be recharged using the solar panels at the back of the phone.  It runs TouchWiz, Samsung’s proprietary user interface and operating system.

Samsung Blue Earth

The Giorgio Armani (“GA” – not to be confused with the great man whose clothes I can never afford in a gazillion years) is a premium phone, designed to compete with the likes of the Nokia’s Vertu and Motorola’s Aura.  It’s touted as the “most elegant and functional mobile on the market”.  The great man himself designed this phone (I reckon if I say it often enough, I may get rewarded with a Samsung GA phone as well, in case you’re wondering why I’m so effusive).  It sports a 3.5 inch ultra brilliant AMOLED display which has become a signature of Samsung lately in its higher end mobile phones.  The GA runs Windows Mobile 6.5.  It’s also equipped with the latest in wireless technologies, supporting HSPA technology, not that any of our local celcos are capable of supporting this in the next decade.

GA-Samsung smartphone 1 GA-Samsung smartphone 2

For the press release as well as specifications of both phones, read on below.

Samsung Blue Earth:

Samsung Launches “Blue Earth”

- the First Full-Touch Eco-Friendly Mobile Phone

Kuala Lumpur, October 15, 2009 – Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. yesterday announced the launch of Samsung Blue Earth, an environmentally friendly mobile phone with a full touch screen. First showcased at the Mobile World Congress 2009 in Barcelona, Samsung’s Blue Earth has been highly anticipated because of its eco-friendly concept as well as its sleek design and advanced multimedia features.

Previously, eco-friendly mobiles meant lower-energy consuming mobile phones with very limited feature sets. However, Samsung Blue Earth combines the latest multimedia features and stylish design harmoniously, while achieving lower energy consumption and incorporating eco-friendly materials.

With the commercial launch of Blue Earth, Samsung reinforces its commitment to protecting the environment through the design of eco-friendly products and a program of activities for its customers.

“Samsung’s Blue Earth is not just another addition to our mobile line-up, but a significant step forward in our commitment to protecting the environment,” said Mr. JK Shin, Executive Vice President and Head of the Mobile Communication Division of Samsung Electronics. “I am very pleased to announce the launch this landmark eco mobile, and Samsung will continue to introduce innovative eco-friendly mobiles like Blue Earth to target the broader consumers ”

Blue Earth is made from Post Consumer Material (PCM), which is extracted from water bottles, helping to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions during the manufacturing process. The device, including the charger, is free from harmful substances such as Brominated Flame Retardants (BFR), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) and Phthalate.

The latest in a series of eco-friendly products, Blue Earth comes with a unique user interface which is designed to draw attention to preserving our fragile environment. With “Eco mode,” screen brightness, backlight duration and Bluetooth can be set to an energy-efficient mode with just one click. The “Eco Walk” function allows users to count their steps with a built in pedometer and calculate the reduction in CO2 emission realized by walking as opposed to using a motor vehicle. This unique function allows users to see the value of walking by calculating the number of trees that have been saved.

The packaging for Blue Earth is designed to be compact. The package is made from easy-to-recycle paper and printed in soy ink. It also suggests a simple DIY idea to reuse the package as a photo frame or a pencil box.

Blue Earth comes with a 5 star energy efficient charger which uses only 0.03W of power in standby mode. As part of the Voluntary Agreement of European Commission IPP (Integrated Product Policy) pilot program, Samsung has agreed to start showing ratings on energy consumption on the no-load mode of the mobile device charger. Furthermore, by charging with the solar panel located on the back of the phone, users can generate enough power to use the device anytime and anywhere. Solar energy is considered one of the most eco-friendly energy sources and it helps users reduce usage of energy from non-renewable sources.

Samsung Blue Earth is launching in Sweden in October and will soon launch in France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Portugal and other European and Asian countries.

Blue Earth Product Specifications

Network

HSDPA 3.6 Mbps 900/2100EDGE/GPRS  850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900

Display

16M WQVGA TFT LCD (3.0”)Capacitive Touch Screen

Camera

3.2 Megapixel CMOS
Face Detection / Smile Shot / Photo Editor

Audio

Audio Format Support (MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA) /WMDRM, OMA DRM
Find Music (Music Recognition) / Music Equalizer
Stereo FM Radio with RDS
Bluetooth Stereo Headset (A2DP)

Video

Video Format Support (H.263, WMV, MPEG4)
QVGA @ 15 fps Video Recording & Playing

Eco Friendly

Features

Solar Charging Panel
PCM from used water bottlesBFR, PVC, Phthalate Free
Eco-Mode, Eco-Walk, Eco- Calendar, Eco-Tips
5 star eco charger / Charger reminder
Eco-friendly and reusable Packaging

Connectivity

Bluetooth® v 2.1 / USB 2.0 HS / Wi-Fi

Memory

Internal Memory : 130MBExternal Memory : microSDHC™ (up to 16GB)

Dimension

108 x 53.6 x 14.2 mm

Weight

119 g

Battery

1080 mAh

Samsung Giorgio Armani:

GIORGIO ARMANI, SAMSUNG AND MICROSOFT

PRESENT THE NEW GIORGIO ARMANI – SAMSUNG SMARTPHONE

Kuala Lumpur, October 15th, 2009 - Giorgio Armani, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., and Microsoft are proud to present the new Giorgio Armani-Samsung smartphone, the most elegant and functional mobile on the market. Giorgio Armani himself personally designed this stylish smartphone, as he did with the first Giorgio Armani Samsung mobile in 2007 and the Emporio Armani Samsung “Night Effect” mobile in 2008. In 2009, the new smartphone makes its debut with more powerful functions and superior usability. The next rendition of this style and technology partnership includes a Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system, a unique two step tilt hinge form factor with both full touch screen and QWERTY keyboard hybrid, and a stunning 3.5 inch Ultra Brilliant AMOLED display.

The Giorgio Armani-Samsung smartphone is part of an innovative brand alliance of portable electronics and household products by Giorgio Armani and Samsung Electronics. This phone stands out due to the innovative blend of Giorgio Armani’s refined style and Samsung Electronics’ cutting-edge technology.

Giorgio Armani, President and CEO of Giorgio Armani S.p.A., commented: “Today more than ever, elegant dressing is part of daily business life. When Samsung asked me to design the new business and lifestyle smartphone I decided to use my fashion aesthetic to create it. I simply aim to create a smartphone which is not only an elegant tool but also functional and useful, perfect for today’s managers. The result is a unique smartphone perfectly suited to every moment of one’s business and private day. This is the Armani aesthetic – to combine beauty with function in a simple and timeless way.”

JK Shin, Executive Vice President and head of the Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics, said: “We are delighted to have reached another milestone in the collaboration between Giorgio Armani and Samsung Electronics. This latest-generation mobile masterfully combines our experience in technology with a design from one of the world’s best known designers, and the functions offered by Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system. What’s more, the Giorgio Armani-Samsung smartphone is a demonstration of our commitment to offering customers cutting-edge technology in our products, along with exclusive design and fashion.”

“Mobile phones armed with Windows Mobile bring together the best of the Web, the PC, and mobile phones so that people can connect instantly to the experiences they care about,” said Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft Corp. “But people want more than just a useful device – they want a phone that offers design qualities that match their personality and lifestyle. The Giorgio Armani-Samsung smartphone we’re announcing today with Giorgio Armani and Samsung combines technology innovation and fashion to deliver a great mobile phone that also fulfills the desire for style and elegance.”

Designed to standout in the crowd

Like previous Giorgio Armani Samsung Mobile, the new device is designed by Giorgio Armani, reflecting his simple and graceful design philosophy. The unique two-step 30-degree tilt hinge form factor combines sophisticated design with exceptional usability. The phone also comes in a distinctive and elegant bronze gold color, which coordinates perfectly with Giorgio Armani’s suits.

Your mobile business partner

The new Giorgio Armani-Samsung smartphone offers always-on connectivity tools including 7.2Mbps HSDPA, 5.76Mbps HSUPA and WiFi access. With its unique form factor supporting full touch and QWERTY at same time, the phone provides a dynamic mobile internet experience through Push e-mail with Microsoft Exchange and full internet browsing.

The Giorgio Armani-Samsung smartphone comes with the new Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system. It’s one of the first phones available with the innovative Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system, which will lead the way to a new generation of mobile services and applications. Windows Mobile 6.5 includes a new start page and dashboard that simply and intuitively displays key productivity features such as e-mails, text messages, missed calls, and calendar appointments.

It also includes a touch interface that provides quick access to the main functions of the smartphone. The free My Phone service, which is a newly added Windows Mobile 6.5 application, lets users access, manage, and easily run backups of the personal information contained in the device using a password-protected Web-based service. Synchronization and automatic backups guarantee users that their contacts, appointments, text messages, and other information is kept up-to-date and is always easy to retrieve if the phone is lost or when changing phones.

Work hard but play harder

To satisfy business professionals, who want to easily and efficiently manage their work and personal lives, the Giorgio Armani-Samsung smartphone offers the latest multi-media features such as a 5-megapixel camera, a music player and a video player supporting various types of multimedia formats. The phone comes with 3.5” ultra brilliant AMOLED screen for viewing videos and slide shows in high-resolution and with reduced power consumption. Furthermore, it offers 8 Gigabytes of internal memory and an extendable microSD slot up to 32GB to store multimedia content.

The Giorgio Armani-Samsung smartphone also offers GPS navigation, so users can get their bearings wherever work or life takes them.

The Giorgio Armani-Samsung smartphone will be available in Italy, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Russia, China, and the UAE (Dubai).

The Product Specifications

Network

HSDPA 7.2Mbps, HSUPA 5.76Mbps (900/1900/2100)GPRS/ EDGE (850/900/1800/1900)
Camera 5 Megapixel camera AF
Display 3.5” WVGA AMOLED (480×800)
Multimedia Audio: SP-Midi, SMAF, MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMAVideo: H.263, MPEG4, WAV, MMV, DivX, XviD

Features

Bluetooth® 2.0 +EDR/ USB 2.0 high-speed/ WiFiTV-Out / micro USB
A-GPS Navigation
8GB internal memorymicro SD™ external memory slot (up to 32GB)
Opera Browser 9.5, Online Widgets, Mobile SNS, MS Office
FM Radio
Size / Weight

118.5 x 58.3 x 16.4 mm / 164g

Battery

1500mAh

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Samsung Omnia 2 Launch Roundup

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

samsung-logoTonight I attended the official launching of the Samsung Omnia 2 in Malaysia in the heart of KL.  What a nightmare it was trying to fight my way through rush hour traffic to get to Jalan Sultan Ismail at 630pm, only to discover the event only started at 740pm due to typical Malaysian tardiness.  Sorry, no pictures this time, wasn’t in the mood to snap any.

Based on my discussions with Samsung representatives, here are the major points:

  1. Omnia 2s shipping from the end of this month will come pre-installed with Windows Mobile 6.5; the current stock on the market only comes with WinMo 6.1, but all Omnia 2s will enjoy free upgrades to WinMo 6.5.  No precise timeframe was given for the “second batch with WinMo 6.5″ though.
  2. the reason for the delay is that Samsung is still finalising the custom firmware.  It’s “custom” because of the TouchWiz user interface enhancement that Samsung has slapped on top of the stock Windows Mobile.  It is still currently only in beta.
  3. Samsung Malaysia is currently “preparing” a website for firmware upgrade where users can download the Windows Mobile 6.5 firmware when it is released.  There will be no “controls” in that the user will not have to enter a valid IMEI to download the firmware.  The firmware file will be self-contained, in an executable (EXE) file, and the user need only run the file to ugprade the firmware on the Omnia 2 when it is connected by USB cable to the computer.
  4. for those who are not comfortable uprading the firmware themselves, they can bring it into the Samsung service centre to get it done.  Depending on the workload, the phone can be flashed with the new firmware in as little as one hour.  If the workload is heavy, the user may need to leave it overnight.
  5. firmware upgrades will not preserve user data – these will have to be backup up before the firmware upgrade.
  6. the “lagginess” of TouchWiz on Windows Mobile 6.5 (beta) is still there.  Not really pronounced, but noticeable.  Compared to the iPhone, most, if not all other phones fall short in the touch sensitivity department.
  7. although the Omnia 2’s screen is only 65000 colours, the screen was bright and produced crisp, vivid colours, hardly noticeable from the Samsung i8910 HD’s capacitive AMOLED screen with millions of colours.
  8. I’m not sure whether WinMo 6.1 with TouchWiz supported kinetic scrolling or not, but it is present in the Omnia 2 with Windows Mobile 6.5.  However, just like the screen transitions, it is not as smooth as the iPhone.
  9. there was no product showcase that I could see, but the demo unit I played with could be operated with fingers alone; there is no need to use a stylus to operate the phone unless the user chooses to use one.

If you have any additional queries, post them here in the comments and I shall try my best to find the answers for you.

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Samsung Pixon 12 Available Locally [UPDATED]

Sunday, October 4th, 2009

[UPDATE] Updated with pricing information.
samsung-logoStealthily, as usual – no surprises there!  No official word, just a status change on the local Samsung Mobile Malaysia website that moves it from the “upcoming section to the “latest” section.  What’s so special about this phone, I hear you ask?  Well, if I’m not mistaken, it’s one of the very first phones, if not the first, to come with a 12 megapixel camera on a phone.  Amazing feat indeed.  And it comes packed with the usual goodies that we’ve come to expect from Samsung phones lately – a gorgeous 3.1 inch AMOLED 800 x 480 pixel touchscreen, and equipped with Samsung’s own proprietary operating system, TouchWiz, the same that powers the Samsung Jet which I reviewed earlier on this blog.

samsung pixon 12

To cap it all off, it’s got a Xenon flash and LED flash to boot!  It supports video recording, though the specifications sadly does not mention the resolution and bitrate, but if it’s the same as the Jet, it’s bound to be of a very acceptable quality.  Click here for the full specifications.  The Pixon 12 is also known as the M8910, not to be confused with the i8910 HD, aka the Omnia HD!

[UPDATE] And I’ve just been informed that the recommended retail pricing (RRP) of the Pixon 12 is RM 2,699.  Yikes!  I guess that 12 megapixel camera lens is very expensive!  :P   At this price, I’m not sure how many units of the Pixon 12 Samsung Malaysia expects to push out…

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