Samsung Chrono 2 (U.S. Cellular)

If phones like the Chrono 2 were your only frame of reference for Samsung, you might think that the company hasn't progressed at all in the last decade. Indeed, Sammy has replicated this simple flip-phone design many times. Like the original Chrono, it has a postage-stamp-size external display, a flat alphanumeric keypad, and a smooth, slender profile that resembles a pebble.

Thankfully, Samsung has grown quite a bit in the last 10 years, but it's good to know that the company hasn't completely abandoned the tried and true. Like its many predecessors, the Chrono 2's retro design is perfectly suited for making calls and basic phone functions. No, you don't get the kitchen sink, but you do get a user-friendly phone that does exactly what it's supposed to do.

The Chrono 2, aka the SCH-R270, is available with U.S. Cellular for free by singing a new contract or just $19.99 if you prefer to go prepaid.

Design
I have to admit that in this age where almost everyone has a smartphone, I felt a little strange using the Chrono 2 on the street. Indeed, it's been years since I've owned a flip phone or even had one in for review. Yet, I have to admit that it also left me feeling comfortably nostalgic. Perhaps it was a combination of flipping the phone open, the familiar clacking sound when it closes, or trying to remember how to text using T9 (believe me when I say that T9 isn't like riding a bicycle). Then again, maybe it was the fact that the Chrono 2 is so small (3.79 inches long by 1.88 inches wide by 0.73 inch deep) and lightweight (3.6 ounces) that I forgot I had it in my pocket. As far as I could tell, only one person gave me a weird look when I was using the Chrono 2 to snap photos, but that could have been due to entirely different reasons.

As I mentioned, the Chrono 2's smooth lines and rounded ends will remind you of a small stone that you find on the beach. The red accents add some style to the basic black skin, and I like the textured battery cover. The skin is plastic, so I'd avoid banging the phone around, but the hinge is large and sturdy. The 1.3-inch external display supports full color and you can change the wallpaper and clock style. It shows the date, time, battery, life, and signal strength and you can use it as a viewfinder when taking self-portraits. One word of caution, though, is that the display disappears entirely when the backlighting is off. What's more, you can't change the backlighting time and you have to open the Chrono 2 to get it to get it to light up again (none of the side buttons will activate it).

Above the display is camera lens and around back is the single speaker. On the left side there's a large volume rocker and a Micro-USB charger port and the right side is the camera shutter and a 3.5mm headset jack. The rear cover is easy to remove, but there's nothing behind it except the 1,000mAh lithium ion battery.

 The Chrono 2's keypad is flat, but spacious.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Inside is a 2.2-inch TFT display. Obviously, its resolution won't blow you away, but it's perfectly fine on such a simple phone. You can change a few options including the backlighting time, the color theme, the wallpaper, and the font size. The menu interface is easy to understand, from the grid of icons on the first page to the simple lists on the internal pages. The navigation array has a rectangular toggle with a central OK button, two soft keys, a clear control, and the Talk and End/power buttons. Though it's a spacious arrangement, all of the keys are flat. It's the same story with the alphanumeric keypad. Though you get a lot of room and the backlit keys are covered in a comfortable rubbery material, it's difficult to dial by feel.

Features
The Chrono 2's phone book holds 1,000 contacts with multiple fields for each entry. You also can save contacts to groups and pair individuals with a photo and one of 26 polyphonic ringtones. Other basic features include speed dialing, text and multimedia messaging, a calculator, a calendar, a world clock, an alarm clock, a tip calculator, and a unit and currency converter. On the whole, that's everything I expected, but I was glad to find that Samsung also added Bluetooth, USB mass storage, and voice commands and dialing.

 The Chrono 2's camera lens lens sits above its external display, which is invisible when the backlighting is off.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

The 1.3-megapixel camera is straight out of 2004. There's no flash and you get just three resolutions, but it also has a decent set of editing options, including a self-timer, three image quality choices, an adjustable white balance, a night mode, 29 frames, a digital zoom, a brightness meter, a mosaic mode, and a series mode. Just keep in mind that not all options are usable at the highest resolution. And in a real blast from the past, the Chrono 2 will not shoot video.

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Samsung Freeform 4 (U.S. Cellular)

Lightweight and compact, the Samsung Freeform 4 isn't anything fancy. But its BlackBerry-esque QWERTY keyboard is great for fans of texting, especially those with petite hands.

However, because of its low specs, don't expect it to wow you in other areas. Its 2-megapixel camera understandably takes poor photos, and its data speeds are slow.

But if you're not on the lookout for a high-tech handset, this sleek feature phone might do the trick to let your messaging fingers fly. By itself, the device will set you back $160, but if you agree to a two-year contract with U.S. Cellular, it'll be free.

Design
The Samsung Freeform 4 has simple rounded corners, tapered top and bottom edges, and a sleek dark strip of chrome framing the device. It measures 4.38 inches tall, 2.38 inches wide, and 0.42 inch thick. It is extremely light, weighing only 2.4 ounces. Due to its small frame, I was able to type out messages, albeit slowly, with just one hand using my thumb. You can easily throw it in a small purse or clutch, and it's compact enough to fit in front or back pockets of jeans.

To the left are a volume rocker and a slot for a microSD card, which is covered by a small piece of plastic. Up top is a 3.5mm headphone jack, and on the right is a shortcut camera button. At the very bottom is a Micro-USB port.

The handset sports a 2.4-inch TFT display that has a 320x240-pixel resolution. Though it's bright and text rendered crisply, the screen has a narrow viewing angle and menu icons were ill-defined. Color gradients were streaky and the default wallpaper designs were grainy and pixelated.

Below the display are send, speakerphone, back, and end/power keys. There are also two soft keys that change functions depending on what you're doing, four directional keys, and a select key in the center. Below this entire set of buttons is a QWERTY keyboard.

The Freeform 4 has a small four-row QWERTY keyboard.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

The QWERTY keyboard is not for large fingers. I have small hands, so typing was cramped but not painstaking or impossible. I also appreciated some of the built-in shortcuts: holding down the space bar puts the phone on vibrate, and there are two designated keys to open the calendar and e-mail applications. Each button is elevated with a bubbled texture.

The backing is made of a smooth plastic that's textured with a small diamond pattern. The black plate's glossy finish is slippery, and the phone almost slid out of my hands a couple of times. In the top center is a 2-megapixel camera and on the right of that are two small slits for the output speaker. To get to the 1,000mAh battery inside, you can remove the backing using a small indentation at the top.

Features
The Samsung Freeform 4 is powered by a 480MHz Qualcomm processor. The phone holds up to 1,000 contacts, each of which can be associated with multiple phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and a note. Every contact can be differentiated with a photo ID and one of 29 ringtones. The device also employs calling groups, speed dials, and favorites.

Basic task managing apps include: a calculator, a calendar, an alarm clock, native music and video players, Bluetooth, voice command, a stop watch, a world clock, and a memo pad. There's also a Web browser and an app called Social Scene, which connects you to online news, as well as your Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, and Google Talk accounts. In addition, there's U.S. Cellular's app store for feature phones called easyedge, where you can download games, ringtones, and other apps like AccuWeather.

 The Freeform 4 has a 2-megapixel camera on the back.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

The 2-megapixel camera includes a few options like three different shots (single, series, or mosaic); four photo sizes (ranging from 1,600x1,200 pixels to 320x240 pixels); three qualities (superfine, fine, and normal); five white balances (auto, sunny, cloudy, tungsten, and fluorescent); a timer; and six color tones (normal, black-and-white, sepia, negative, green, and aqua).

Video options include the same white balance, timer, and color tone modules, but video quality is restricted to only normal and there are two video length options (30 seconds for MMS, and normal, which depends on how much memory you have). The device has 80MB of internal memory, and up to 32GB for external storage through the microSD card slot.

Performance
I tested the tri-band (800, 1900, 1700) Samsung Freeform 4 in San Francisco on U.S. Cellular's network. Both signal and call quality were impressive. No calls dropped, audio didn't cut in and out, and there was no extraneous buzzing or static. Voices sounded excellent and clear, even on low volume. Speaker audio was also solid, though at times my friends sounded tinny. I was told that I sounded crisp as well, and one of my friends couldn't even tell the difference in my voice when I was speaking through the in-ear and speaker mics.

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Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III available on July 10th

Samsung‘s flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S III will be hitting Big Red’s 4G LTE network –this time in a more specific date on the 10th of July. The Galaxy S III 16GB model will be available on online and retail stores on the said day, while you still have to wait a little bit (in coming weeks) for the 32GB model to be available in retail stores while initially it will be offered online. The smartphone will be in white and blue, and will cost you $200 for the 16GB model and $250 for the 32GB model. Learn more after the break through a press release.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S® III AVAILABLE ON THE VERIZON WIRELESS 4G LTE NETWORK STARTING JULY 10 

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. and DALLAS – Verizon Wireless and Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile) today announced that the 4G LTE-powered Samsung Galaxy S® III will be available in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com/galaxys3 starting July 10. Galaxy S III customers will have access to the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network which is available in 304 markets across the United States. Verizon Wireless 4G LTE will be in 400 markets covering 260 million people by the end of this year. 

Customers can take advantage of 4G LTE-optimized apps like Color to share live video broadcasts of life’s special moments with their Facebook® friends. Sharing live video with audio is an exclusive feature of the Color app on Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network. Customers can broadcast real-time footage of a newborn’s first step with family members who are miles away or share a beautiful view of a vacation spot to make friends at home jealous. Combining America’s largest 4G LTE network with the Galaxy S III’s 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED™ display creates the perfect duo to watch movies, television shows and other video content with apps like viewdini. Viewdini brings the power of Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network to the screen by streamlining access to videos from a wide range of content providers, including cable operators, websites and other popular video sources. The viewdini app can be downloaded from Verizon Apps and Google Play. 

Additional features: 

Android™ 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
Mobile Hotspot – Share a 4G LTE connection with up to 10 Wi-Fi-enabled devices
1.5 GHz dual-core processor and 2 GB RAM
Share Shot – Create a temporary photo sharing network with a group of friends who are nearby at the same party or event; photos can be taken by any member of the group and shared with the entire group
S Beam – Share pictures, videos, documents and more by simply touching two Galaxy S III devices’ backs together
S Voice™ – Featuring natural language recognition, you can control the apps and services used most with words instead of touch
Pop Up Play – Videos can be played in a small window while customers use the rest of the display to complete other tasks such as typing emails, organizing calendars and updating their social networks
Evolved camera capabilities – Burst Shot mode instantly captures 20 continuous shots and Best Photo feature selects the best shot to display
Enhanced camera – 8-megapixel rear camera with zero-lag shutter speed and a 1.9-megapixel front camera so customers can capture pictures and videos of themselves or video chat with family and friends
microSD™ card slot for expandable memory 

The Samsung Galaxy S III is available in 16 GB and 32 GB models for $199.99 and $249.99 respectively with a new two-year customer agreement. The 16 GB model will be available in stores and online starting July 10 and the 32 GB model will be available online starting July 10 and will be in stores in the coming weeks. Customers will also have the choice of the Galaxy S III in two colors: Marble White or Pebble Blue. Customers can visit www.verizonwireless.com/galaxys3 for more information on the Samsung Galaxy S III for Verizon Wireless.

Source: Engadget

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Samsung launches Galaxy Beam and Galaxy Ace 2

Back in February, Samsung introduced the ‘world’s thinnest phone projector’ Galaxy Beam and the Galaxy Ace 2 in MWC 2012 at Barcelona. We don’t heard anything from then on for both handsets, luckily the two new phones have just been launched properly in Singapore and Taiwan.

The Galaxy Beam will be available on July 7th in Singapore and mid-July in Taiwan for S$648($513) or NT$16,900($566) free of contract. While the mid-entry mini-dual-core Galaxy Ace 2 will be available in Singapore at the end of the month for S$438 ($352) off contract too, note that there’s still no word on where else the Ace 2 will be available.

Check out Galaxy Beam and Galaxy Ace 2 listings:


Source: Engadget
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iSung Galaxy V: iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S III combined

The most anticipated iPhone 5 concepts have gone on our thread recently giving you tons of creative ideas to preview the expected super-phone from the Cupertino-giant Apple not just aesthetically but what might be under-the-hood and feature-wise. But what if you’ll be fusing the new iPhone 5 and to Samsung flagship Android smartphone —-the Galaxy S III. Watch the video after the break.




Several features that were notable on this design, such memory card slot, NFC, the ultra-shutter and “back and menu keys” which is normal on Android devices on both sides of the iconic iPhone home button. These features are some of the qualities we want on either Android devices or Apple iPhone.

Now if you’re asking if when or if this collaboration will come true, which Techradar called iSung Galaxy V, maybe you can just drop your comments, violent or not.

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Samsung GreatCall r220 - silver (Jitterbug)

It's been three years since Great Call's last new Jitterbug phone, but its newest model has been released.
The Jitterbug Plus is sleeker than previous models and it sports a narrower body. It also has a camera, which users can link to their Facebook accounts and upload photos directly.

But while incorporating Web 2.0 may be a good step forward, this phone skimps on a few fundamental needs. And if users are going to have to fork over $119 (or $99 for the introductory price), these missing features are more important than the ability to get someone to Like and comment on a photo of your grandson.

Design

It's refreshing to see that with the Samsung Jitterbug Plus, the fanned-out, bulbous design has been done away with. The device is narrower and more aligned with today's flip phones. It measures 3.06 inches tall, 2.01 inches wide, and 0.77 inch thick, and it weighs 3.76 ounces.

It can tuck inside front and back jeans pockets, but it makes for a snug fit. Its plastic build is very smooth, as if it's coated with a thin layer of gloss, which gives it a slightly more luxurious feel.

On the front is a 1.3-inch display, which tells you the time, date, and day of the week in bold, black lettering. Directly on top of it is a small light that flashes every time a call comes in and above that is 1.3-megapixel camera. To its left is a volume rocker and to the right are a 3.5mm headphone jack and a Micro-USB port for charging.

On the back, at the very top center, is a small lanyard connector you can use to loop through a lanyard. Below that is the audio output speaker. To remove the back plate, the manual says you need to push against the plate and slide it down. This isn't as easy as it seems, however, and I eventually had to pry the plate off by sticking a small screwdriver in. I nearly split my nail trying to pry it off on my own.

When you open up the phone, you'll immediately hear a dial tone, much like when you pick up a landline phone. Once opened, you'll see the Plus' 2.2-inch internal display. Above the screen is an earpiece speaker grill. The screen has no icons, just a text menu that you scroll through using the physical up and down buttons. Your phone number is also displayed above the listed items.

The number pad is big and easy to read from far away. Even though they aren't particularly spaced out, each button is large and squarish, with raised borders. When in use, small white circles that surround the keys will light up for even more clarity in low-light conditions. In addition to the numbers, pound, and star keys, you'll get a yes and a no key (the former is essentially an OK key and the latter works similar to a Back key), a speaker key, and an on/off button.

Features

The Jitterbug Plus includes the bare minimum for feature phones. Your phonebook can hold up to 50 contacts. When you order your device online, you can choose three numbers you plan on calling the most, and they will come preloaded into the handset.

There are four ways that you can add numbers into your contact list other than manually typing them in. You can call a GreatCall Operator by holding the 0-key down and they'll update it for you, go to MyGreatCall.com and enter your numbers online, fax GreatCall your numbers, or call customer service.
With your phone you can text, check voice mail, look up your call history, and connect with Bluetooth. Settings include five colors to customize your screen with (black, gray, green, blue, and red), seven ringtones that you can adjust at three different volumes (low, medium, and high).

There's also a calendar, but mind you, instead of seeing a graphic monthly calendar, you'll be taken to lists of specific days, weeks, or months that you'll need to scroll through. To add events to your calendar, you must sign up for the MyCalendar services, where you can go online and you (or a relative) can add events and set reminders for things like doctor's appointments and birthdays. Mind you, it takes a few minutes for what you add online to the calendar to show up on the phone.

The 1.3-megapixel camera has no editing options and no flash. To take a photo, use the yes button as a shutter key. You can choose to save or keep the photo, and if you want to forward it to anybody. When you set up your Plus, you also can choose if you want your pictures to upload to Facebook, Picasa, or Shutterfly. Just link these accounts together online or with the help of an operator, and the photos you choose to upload will appear on these sites in their own separate mobile uploads folder.

Because the device is aimed at senior citizens, Great Call has provided several emergency and wellness services that tie in with the handset. One is 5 Star Urgent Response. When you're in an emergency situation or feel the slightest bit endangered (Great Call reps say you can even call if you feel unsafe walking to your car at night), you can call an agent (a real person), who is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The agent can then analyze whatever situation you're in, track your location, stay on the line with you, and if need be, contact emergency response personnel.

Others include a hotline called LiveNurse, where you can talk to a registered nurse 24-7, and a wellness interactive "coaching" hotline that dispels tips on improving optimism and daily health. Other services include an automated reminder call for taking medication, and regular automated calls that will check on your well-being (for example, you'll get calls asking how you're sleeping and if you're eating well) in case your terrible children won't do it themselves.

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Samsung Series 7 700Z7CH - 17.3" - Core i7 3615QM - Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - 8 GB RAM - 1 TB HDD

We have yet to see any officially branded 17-inch ultrabooks, but I suspect the Samsung Series 7 Chronos 700Z7CH would be an excellent approximation of one. At first glance, at least, this thin desktop replacement seems like it has everything going for it. A new quad-core third-gen Intel Core i7 CPU, Nvidia GeForce 650M graphics, and a body that's just under 1 inch thick.

Samsung lists this model at $1,499, but I've seen it in stores for $1,399, and at that price, if not a steal, then it's at least a pretty good deal, especially as you can't even buy a similarly slim 17-inch MacBook Pro any more (and that system was much more expensive when you could).

My main knocks are the slower 5,400rpm hard drive (but it's still a large one, at 1TB), and the lack of high-end options, such as SSD drives or Blu-ray. The system also got noticeably hot on the back part of the bottom panel, hitting 120 degrees while gaming.

Gaming performance was also a little underwhelming considering the high-end CPU and midrange GPU inside, but if that's your main goal, Samsung does make a thicker, more expensive ($1,899) version with an Nvidia 675M GPU, called the Series 7 Gamer.

Nvidia GeForce GT 650M / Intel HD4000System weight / Weight with AC adapter
With the 17-inch MacBook Pro now relegated to the dustbin of laptop history, finding a 17-inch desktop replacement that doesn't look and feel like a overstuffed beast is a bit of a trick. Taking its design cues from other Series 7 and Series 9 laptops, this 17-inch Series 7 is one of the slickest-looking big-screen laptops I've seen.

The curved silhouette of the Series 9 is flattened out here, but the basic lines are similar. A sunken keyboard tray extends to the left and right edges of the chassis, giving each side a little dip, as the lid remains completely flat. In that sense, it's very close to the 15-inch Series 7 we reviewed late last year.

Like that other Series 7, the clean-looking aluminum design is not a MacBook-like unibody, but the large one-piece keyboard tray nevertheless feels very solid and sturdy. There's a little bit of flex to the lid, and the entire lid wobbles a bit with every movement of the long center hinge.

But at just under 1 inch thick, the entire chassis looks great, especially when closed. Few desktop replacement laptops bother much with aesthetics, which is unfortunate, as they're so much harder to hide than smaller computers.

The keyboard and accompanying number pad span nearly the entire width of the system. The raised island-style keys have tightly rounded corners, and a very pleasing matte surface. Not simply backlit, the keys have both glowing letters against a black face, and translucent white sides that glow blue-white, making the key faces feel like they're floating in low-light situations.

The keyboard is overall excellent, but I wish the multimedia controls, such as volume and mute, were mapped to the primary function of the F-keys, rather than requiring a Fn+F-key combo.

The large touch pad is very Apple-like, with a single surface integrating the buttons, rather than separate left and right mouse buttons (this is often called a click pad). The matte metallic surface had just the right amount of drag, but note that it's offset to the left side, so as to sit directly under the space bar. Some people prefer touch pads to be in the exact center of the body, even if a number pad moves the QWERTY keyboard off to the side. Multitouch gestures such as two-finger scrolling worked, but not as smoothly as you'd find on a MacBook or even Dell's new XPS 14.

One of the definite highlights of the system is the 17.3-inch display. Samsung calls its screen technology Superbright, and claims it's 36 percent to 50 percent brighter than other laptop displays. That would depend on what you're comparing it with, but I was very impressed by the brightness, image quality, and even the off-axis viewing. The bezel is also very small for a 17-inch laptop. And, finally, the screen has a matte finish, something rarely seen in consumer laptops, but it's something my colleagues and I generally prefer for fighting glare.

The built-in audio, with two JBL-branded speakers and a subwoofer, was fine, above average, even. Laptop speakers still can't push the kind of air required for a real cinematic or musical experience, so headphones are recommended for serious gaming or movie watching.

Stereo speakers with subwoofer, combo headphone/mic jack.Stereo speakers with subwoofer, headphone/microphone jacks.2 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0, SD card reader2 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0, SD card reader, eSATAEthernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi, BluetoothEthernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi, BluetoothDVD burner, optional Blu-ray player

On a larger desktop replacement, you may need a different collection of ports than, say, an ultrabook. You'll probably want plenty of USB connections to hook up backup hard drives, game controllers, or a mouse, for example. This system has two each of the USB 2.0 and 3.0 variety, although I hope it's sooner rather than later that we all switch to USB 3.0-only. I've always liked an eSATA connection for external drives, but the faster USB 3.0 makes that less necessary, unless you've already got an eSATA-only drive.

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Samsung Galaxy S III vs Apple iPhone 4S Drop Test: Which one is more durable?

The most entertaining testing for new and popular devices could be the drop test, no questions. And the new Samsung flagship isn’t exempted on this durability test fared along with the consider ‘yardstick’ of smartphone or shall we say dropping the new device with the latest iPhone version –just to build the perfect hype for the glass-breaking drop test. Check out the two video of we have after the break, featuring the AndroidAuthority concrete drop test and SquareTrade concrete drops, sliding from a car and thrown around by kids for their common mishaps the phone could encounter in its daily usage.


Source: YouTube (SquareTrade, AndroidAuthority)

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