Samsung Galaxy SIII : it’s finally here !

After all those rumours and leaks (some more accurate than others, of course) since several weeks already, the successor of the Samsung Galaxy SII is finally here! This smartphone, which has got around 9 million pre-orders, was announced as the best smartphone of all times. 4.8 inches screen, 1.4 GHz quad core processor, 12 MP camera were mainly what we expected from it and it finally turned out that our leaks were quite accurate. Here are the actual specifications of the Samsung I9300 Galaxy S3 : -

Dimensions: 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm (133 g)
Screen: 720 x 1280 pixels, 4.8 inches (Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen)
Memory: 1GB RAM – 16/32/64 GB storage
Camera: 8 MP (Rear), 1.9 MP (Front)
CPU: Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A9
OS: Android  v4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich)

You should agree that this is quite an impressive specs list despite the fact that some of you will be a bit deceived by the rear camera for which we expected an increase in resolution. From a design perspective, the Galaxy S3 has more in common with the Galaxy S than the Galaxy S2 with its curved edges and looks really beautiful. Many of us expected some voice control feature to compete with Siri. Samsung brought us S Voice. Sincerely we don’t believe that it will be as good as Siri but we sincerely expect it to be better than the voice control of the Galaxy S2. Another interesting feature brought about by Samsung is mirroring where you can send whatever is on the screen of your Galaxy S3 and have it show on a larger display and with this eventually your phone could be used as a game controller.

If we consider the specifications, this actually looks like the best Android phone which we ever had and I’m sure that you are as eager as me to hold one of these jewels in your hand. But we are a bit sceptic specially concerning the battery life. More processing power and improved GPU could suck power a little too dramatically and we still need to actually see if S Voice is worth it. So just keep in touch for a more detailed review.

Samsung Galaxy S3 coming…

Finally  a date…3rd of May 2012!! This is the rumoured release date for the Samsung Galaxy S3, the smartphone that you are all waiting for. Apart from the release date, there were other breaches which gave us some interesting details about various features of what is certainly the most anticipated smartphone. [Read more...]

Instagram for Android

After iOS, Instagram is now also available for Android and can be downloaded from Google Play. In fact, the app has already been downloaded more than 1 million times (we don’t know the exact number yet but it should be between 1 and 5 millions according to the app’s page on Google Play) only 24 hours after its release on Android! [Read more...]

ViewSonic ViewPhone 3

Approximate Price: Rs 10,000

The ViewSonic ViewPhone 3 is ViewSonic’s newest Android-powered smartphone and actually runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). The phone comes with a 3.5″ capacitive touch display (320 x 480 pixels resolution). ViewSonic has added a couple of extra features with the customised skin which are quite interesting. For example, each screen can have a different animation and you can also have a 3D view where you can drag and drop the different panels. Of course if you wish you can revert back to the original Android interface. [Read more...]

Alcatel OT-990

Approximate Price: Rs 7,000

The first thing we can say about the Alcatel OT-990 is that it is a nice looking and solid phone with no hint of creakiness when you hold it tightly in your palm. It doesn’t at all feel cheap and plasticky as its predecessors. The smartphone comes with a 3.5 inches display having a resolution of 320×480 pixels but despite it possesses a TFT capacitive touchscreen (one of the most expensive capacitive type), it doesn’t respond as well as we might have expected. [Read more...]

HTC Explorer

Approximate Price: Rs 10,000

If you are looking for an economical and easy to use Android phone, the HTC Explorer might be the right smartphone for you. It is basically quite a small phone (compared to the Galaxy S2 for example) having dimensions 102.8 x 57.2 x 12.9 mm for a total weight of 108g. Its screen measures 3.2 inches and has a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels. You might be worried by the small screen and low resolution of the display but in fact the screen colours are very bright and beautiful (with a nice viewing angle) and the pixellation only lightly noticeable. Moreover, the touch screen responds nicely. A last point concerning its external design is that the phone has got a rubber casing which makes it very nice and easier to grip. [Read more...]

Robin : new Android voice assistant

After Siri for iOS and Angie for Windows Phone, here comes Robin! However, unlike the two others, Robin has been designed specifically to be your in-car assistant. It is to be noted that Robin is still in its beta version and has been launched on Google Play by Magnifis. Despite Robin might not be your typical voice assistant, it actually has some interesting cards up its sleeves. [Read more...]

Android 6 codenamed Key Lime Pie

Android 4.0 aka Ice Cream Sandwich apparently has not conquered so much hearts as expected. Consequently, there were rumours about Android 5.0 which would be codenamed Jelly Bean. Rumours which have recently been confirmed by one of the vice-presidents of Asus, Lin Benson who also said that Asus is supposed to release one of the first tablets powered by this OS. But apparently Google doesn’t want to stop here. As soon as a rumour has been confirmed, another one pops up. [Read more...]

Android user of the week #1

This week we are going to meet someone among the thousands of Android users in Mauritius. His name is Thierry and he has been using Android for two months now. Thierry actually has chosen the Samsung Galaxy S2 which according to him is the best phone of the moment. When asked the reason why he has chosen this phone, here is what his answer was:

“Actually I liked the look of the phone. But that couldn’t be my only motivation. However, after reading some reviews over the internet, I finally made my mind to purchase the Galaxy S2. [Read more...]

HTC Sensation XL

Approximate Price: Rs 25,000

Let’s take a look at the latest entrant in the Sensation line of HTC phones.The main difference between the HTC Sensation XL and its other peers is obviously its 4.7″ LCD display. As a whole, the new Sensation is a very attractive device. The Super LCD panel in itself is really beautiful (with bright and vibrant colours despite the 480 x 800 pixels resolution) and impressive (with a great viewing angle). There is also the design of the aluminium casing which HTC seems to like so much. The Sensation XL possesses an 8MP camera capable of recording 720p HD video at the back and a 1.3MP camera in front for video calls. [Read more...]