The Launch of the Galaxy Note in Egypt

So I was walking down the mall in City Stars, Cairo, and I stumble across the Samsung stall where they are advertising the Samsung Galaxy Note! I get all excited and say "My Phone!" out loud and everyone looks at me. Still, pretty cool though!

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Advertised in Egypt

The Ultimate...

In celebration of their launch of the Galaxy Note, Samsung have made a series of videos entitled "The Ultimate (insert-adjective-here)". Here are a few of them below:

Galaxy Nexus Videos

A cute little video demonstrating the Face Unlock feature on the Nexus

Android Beam

Panorama mode for the Galaxy Nexus

A cool Advert on the Nexus

Nexus Scratch Test - Madness!

First off, Im glad it wasnt me that did this! But - amazingly - the phone comes off without a scratch! Another reason why you should get the Galaxy Nexus is the phone to get!

(Thanks to fellow Mob!ler Dom Armstrong)

A simply amazing deal! Anyone who has (wisely) invested in a Samsung Galaxy Note recently should definately check this out:

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£120 WORTH FREE MEDIA VOUCHERS FOR SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE OWNERS

Written by Rachid Otsmane-Elhaou. Posted in Android News

Samsung have an offer on for everyone that has bought a Galaxy Note since its release. The offer is quite similar to the one they offered when they released the original Galaxy Tab which offered a whole load of free media content. This offer, gives Note owners the ability to “redeem vouchers worth up to a total value of £120, comprising: £65 voucher to redeem at Samsung Movies and £50 voucher to redeem at 7digital and to download an AVG pro security application worth £6 for free”.

It’s not a bad offer, well its free media content so it can only be good really. If you want to take part you need to go into your Samsung Hub app, click Exclusives and enter your IMEI number. The full details from Samsung are given below, enjoy!

Holiday Wishlist

Its Christmas time and everyone’s in the buying mood, so I thought I’d think out loud about what gadget I would like Samsung to give me next. To be honest, I probably don’t even need to mention it as Im sure you are all probably already know – yep it’s a certain Nexus Ice Cream Sandwich!

With the latest version of Google’s Android Software exclusively built for the phone, this gorgeous piece of equipment combines the latest in technology to offer the most practical phone yet. Here are some of the key new features which make this phone one of the best in the market:

Icecream Sandwich - Android 4.0

The latest Android system is enough of an addition to make the phone worthwhile! Its elegance and smoothness is a magnificent!

Face Recognition Unlocking

This has been one of the biggest things mentioned about the new nexus - the ability to unlock your phone purely from your face! I always love it when companies take a step forward in a new direction as this can only be good for innovation and technology. As well as this, you can now access key features like texts and call directly from the lock screen - a pretty useful addition!

Android Beam

The biggest new feature of this device is Android Beam - an ability to send items from phones to phone simply by touching them against one another. Though this exists in some ways through bluetooth apps, what is exciting about this is the possibility for the future such as a Mobile Oyster card or Google Wallet; two things already in development. Heres to an exciting future!

Data Usage Settings

Ever been in that situation where you phone bill nearly sends you bankrupt because of going over you allowance somehow? Well now the Nexus has introduced a feature which enable you to stop that happening again as you can set a limit on your total usage.

Apps Management

The Nexus has now improved on the Task managing service found on most android systems. With a simple swipe of the thumb (or finger if you prefer!) you can shut down apps instantly to save that oh-so-precious battery power!

My First Year as a Samsung Mob!ler

Its been an honour and a joy being a Samsung Mob!ler. From the moment I was selected till now, I have relished every moment of it and enjoyed nearly every "mission" given to me. To be honest, it still feels kinda surreal that I'm a Samsung Mob!ler... I still remember the moment I found out I was selected - it made my whole week! As the end of the year approaches, here's a look back at the best bits of my time as a Samsung Mob!ler:


The Beginning:
It all began in the Samsung HQ. It was a long drive down from Birmingham for my first evening with the Samsung (the hour long traffic jam didnt help!). To be honest, I still didnt believe it was all real until I actually got there where I was greeted by the Samsung team and enjoyed the company of my fellow mob!lers. That evening we were introduced to project and informed of the importance of the whole scheme. The best bit was when we were handed our first gadget to test - the Samsung Galaxy Pro. It was funny because I remember checking if it was ours to keep, to which I was smiled at and told "yes" :) What was particularly awesome was they had several competitions that evening to win extra prizes. One particular competition involved playing this drag race game on the mobile with the top two players winning either a bluetooth handset or Take That tickets. After a few attempts, I managed to get the second highest score just before the time was up and ended up winning the handset - the first time my gaming skills has ever earned me something!

(video of the launch)

The Gadgets

By far the most exciting thing about joining the Mob!ler project is receiving the latest Samsung products to test out and enjoy. To date, I have received (in order of when I got them) a Samsung Galaxy Pro, a Galaxy Tab 10.1 and a Galaxy Note. Each device has been a joy to play with as I got the chance to test out their capabilities through each of the missions they set us. Whether it was the phone’s camera to my drawing skills, each was put to the test to see how well it puts out. Here is an unboxing and review video I made - one for my Galaxy Tab and the other for my Galaxy Note

The Missions

For each gadget Samsung would send us, we would be asked to complete various different 'missions' for that device. Depending on the quality of what you made, these missions would be awarded with a certain number of points which can then be used to get new gadgets in their place. My missions varies greatly from designing a poster for your phone to indepth reviews on the product I had. One of the most enjoyable of these was the "Day in the life of" video we were asked to make. At the time it was Ramadan so I decided to show how the phone could be used in different ways throughout the typical day of ramadan.

Another I particularly enjoyed was my recent postcard designing where I took photos of various different locations Ive been to during my gap year in Egypt and designed postcards out of them. Heres a few for you to see:

The Events

As part of the project, Samsung would regularly invite us to attend launch events and other tech related events throughout the year. These were always really fancy do's with lots of money splashed out on the event. Most of these would take place somewhere in London, but for the lucky few who who were selected, you could be chosen to fly across the world to Germany or Korea for an event they held there. Our job would be anything from reporters in the event to just playing around with the gadgets. Sadly, I havent managed to make many of these at all because of my gap year here in Egypt, but I know I will definitely be making my way over to these when I'm Back in the UK!

So there you have, 2011 in a nutshell! Heres to a brilliant year! Hopefully 2012 has even more excitement packed in for us Mob!lers!

Where to get your Galaxy Note from:

So, you read all my wonderful posts and now you really want a Galaxy Note? But, you want to make sure you can get it on the best deal possible? Well, heres a few tips:

1) Google Shopping

This is my #1 tip for anyone seeking to by anything.. yes ANYTHING! A quick search can quickly reveal all the different websites you can buy your things from and most of them will be pretty reliable too! Ive managed to save up to £100 (I kid you not!) just by doing a quick search before hand. So, if your looking to buy the handset new without any contract, its a must!

2) Get a Contract!

The vast majority of the time, getting a phone on contract will work out much better than if you buy the handset alone. Ofcourse it will be locked on one network, but who cares cause you have a line to go with it right? If you calculate how much you spend getting the phone and the contract, its usually around half the cost if you were to get the two seperately!

With that, I will always advise to get the contract online. As the internet has much less overhead costs for the firms, you are far more likely to get it cheaper than the equivalent deal in the shops!

Some excellent places to check out are:

• The home websites of all the big networks: Orange, Vodafone, T-mobile and O2, three. If you already have a contract with them, be sure to call them up and see how much you can get an upgrade for. The more you make it seem like you want to leave, the better the deal you get! If you wait until your contact is over and request a PAC code from them, you can end up getting amazing deals and discounts!
• HOWEVER, its definately worth checking out smalled companies like Tesco Mobile and Virgin. The first (Tesco Mobile) shares its network with O2 so its coverage is amazing, and they usually come at a much cheaper price and with amazing clubcard point perks!
• Carphone Warehouse, Phones4U and other such companies usually offer deals the networks wont give like cash-back offers and freebies that other firms cant. This is really good if its your first contract or if you want a free PS3 or somthing!  
• Ebay is also a brilliant place to get good deals! Look for the Buy-Now sales people with very high positive feedback - they are ones you can rely on for technology stuff! Be sure to read the detail carefully to avoid any problems later on. Also, check out websites like www.fatfingers.com which search the whole site for posts with spelling mistakes - something which can often save you a lot of money!
• There are smaller, less-known companies out there too. Its up to you if you would like to take the risk, but remember - if something is too good to be true, it usually is!

So, theres some of my shopping experience! Let me know if you have any tips and tricks and be sure to post up any good deals you find on here!

Postcards - Galaxy Note

The Galaxy Note is a wonderful device to take, edit, and share photographs with friends and family. Over the past three months I have been out here in Cairo as part of my gap year. Here are some of the postcards taken over my stay here in Egypt!

Enjoy, and be sure to comment and share!

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The moment I bid my parents farewell at the airport for the beginning of my 7 month trip

 Mokattam - up in the mountains over looking the whole of Cairo. In the far distance you can even make out the Pyramids

 The graves of one of the most famous men of Cairo - Al-'Iz Ibn Abd As-Sallam - A man who stoof up against the colonial french powers ruling his country at the time.

Horse riding in front of the 9 Pyramids, a spot where great men like Malcolm X once stood

  A wonderful group of Thai brothers after Eid prayer. After agreeing to take their photo for them, they insisted I joined in for the next one with them all!

 Tahrir Square, November 2011. A part of the people's revolution

 Invited over to a friends house for some stuffed pigeon - Yum!

One of the great Scholars of Yemen is in Town speaking live on MBC1 - And I manage to get front row seats!

Sunset on a boat cruise along the Nile.

Samsung Galaxy Note - Review

The Samsung Galaxy Note is a piece of genious! Genuinely enjoyed using it so far as it is definately one of the most advanced devices out in the market todate

Below is an indepth review of the phone with all the benefits and drawbacks of the device!

Samsung Galaxy Note Unboxing

So - Ive finally got my hands on the Samsung Galaxy Note and Im really excited about it! Heres a quick teaser of the unboxing of this magnificent device! A full review to come soon!

Portable Gaming - Redefined!

Gaming has just taken a giant leap forward! As a kid I would always dream of being able to take my console  around with me so that I can play anywhere I go. Gameboys and PSPs were cool, but they were never quite the same as playing your N64 or Xbox 360. Even the new PS Vita and Nintendo 3DS are a generation behind their comparative consoles currently out in the market... 

But now a solution appears to have been found! Onlive has long been on the radar as having great potential, but now it has made what I believe to be its most significant breakthrough yet! Utilizing the advanced specs of the new tablets out on the market, OnLive will soon be releasing its Apple and Android apps compatible with most tablets and smartphones out in the market. The idea is similar to their previous model - games can be played entirely through an internet connection with all the processing being done by the OnLive systems on the other end. The internet connection simply sends the picture over to you when its done!

So.. why is this significant? With the already proven portability and popularity of tablets, we may have finally found a way to carry round our favourite consoles with us! Moreover, with 3G and 4G internet speeds being around or above 1MB speed, this can truely be more portable than we can imagine and accessible for nearly anywhere youd need it to be! Now you can finally play Batman: Arkham City or LS Noire with graphics and gameplay like the real thing (and not some compromised minuture version!)

Below is a video review by IGN on the latest kit.. definitely check it out and download the app!

10 cent app store!

Today, Google is celebrating its 10 billionth - yes thats 10,000,000,000 - app download! In celebration of this momentous occasion, they have put up 10 premium apps for sale for only 10 cents for 10 days!

Hurry and download them before the offer ends!

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Google's 10-cent app sale part of 10 billion downloads promo

By Phil Nickinson   06 Dec 2011 11:16 amLooks like Google's taken the lid off of this 10-cent app thing. The Android Market's now promoting 10 days of offers -- top premium apps -- 10 cents per app. Dive into that Market page and you see the "10 billion promo" page. That 10 billion's got to refer to app downloads -- a milestone if we've ever heard one.

Here are the 10 apps on the 10-cent promotion for the next 10 days:

• Great Little War Game
• SketchBook Mobile
• Paper Camera
• Sound Hound
• Asphalt 6
• Fieldrunners HD
• SwiftKey
• Minecraft
• Endomondo Sports Tracker Pro
• Color and Draw for Kids

Charactures - Drawings on the Galaxy Note

With the new Samsung Galaxy Note, drawing has been made really easy with its wonderful pen tool. Here's a few caricatures and paintings my friends made whilst playing around on the Galaxy Note. Enjoy!

Could Google wallet bring more cash for Samsung?

Its partnership with Google Android has already proven fruitful as Samsung grows to be one of the market leaders in the smartphone market. With Google's constant new innovations, this has consistently brought benefits to all those providing the android system. So will its latest product, the google wallet, prove to be more of the same for Samsung - which is one of the only providers of the service - or is one step to far for risk averse shoppers?

Google Wallet to Pay Customers to Spur Growth

BY KENDRA SRIVASTAVA | TUE NOV 01, 2011 10:41 AM Google Wallet plans to give customers $10 to try its new NFC service, as the company aims to spur growth following initially slow adoption. Top News Samsung Wants IPhone 4S Source Code to Fight Product Ban Ubuntu Eyes Mobile Market RIM BlackBerry 7 Devices May Be Dead on Arrival Texting Turns Adults Into Teenagers Again Angry Birds Store to Open in China More News > "We're excited to give you a chance to try out Google Wallet and experience paying with a mobile phone," the search giant blogged. Google intends to offer this deal at select stores in five U.S. cities before the holidays. Google employees will travel to New York, Chicago, San Francisco, L.A. and Washington, D.C. to host demonstrations and help customers make trial payments from Samsung Nexus S demo devices. Among participating merchants are Jamba Juice, Walgreens, Peet's Coffee & Tea, and many others. Sprint and Samsung are also set to participate in the demos, scheduled for various weeks between now and January 12. Google's move to showcase Wallet follows the service's weak adoption, which likely results from its limited reach on few handsets, but may grow as NFC becomes more popular. For now Wallet is only available on the Samsung's Nexus S, one of the few NFC-equipped handsets on the market. In addition, just a handful of merchants possess the often-expensive NFC-enabled payment terminals necessary for customers to use the service. Wallet may expand to other smartphones and merchants soon, now that industry group NFC Forum has gained support from Isis. The coalition of credit card companies, carriers and smartphone makers may help the Forum standardize wireless mobile payment technology enough that manufacturers and stores become eager to invest in NFC chips and terminals. Wallet is also limited in that it supports just two payment methods, Citi MasterCard and Google pre-paid cards. Rival mobile payment companies Square and PayPal, which don't use NFC technology in their systems, allow all major credit cards, putting Wallet at a possible disadvantage. But the search giant reported licensing Visa's PayWave, which would let Wallet work at thousands of payment terminals already equipped with Visa technology. Google also says it has plans to bring Visa, Discover and American Express on board in the future. In the meantime, Google may spur enthusiasm for its Wallet service with a $10 promotion during the holiday shopping season. The company will need more than justfeatured offers in the long term, however, if it desires to make a sizeable dent in the mobile payment industry.

Samsung + Juniper = Positive Synergies!!

So Samsung has teamed up with Juniper - the mobile security and networking specifalist. This should make for an interesting jump in the Business market following Blackberry's crash in its network just last month. The partnership will provide greater control for businesses over their phones and security and allow for better remote access to content. Lets wait and see how this pans out!

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Samsung teams up with Juniper to secure content on the Galaxy Note, Galaxy Tab

DOUG DRINKWATER November 1 2011, 9:30 am

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Juniper Networks' Junos Pulse is already available on the iPad

Samsung has signed a deal with networking specialists Juniper Networks to provide business customers with advanced VPN and security features for their mobile Android devices.

The companies have extended their existing relationship to take Juniper’s Junos Pulse, a mobile security and management platform, to the Galaxy Note, Galaxy S II smartphone and Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet.


The software integration provides a secure Layer 3 SSL VPN connection, so that the mobile users can interact securely with their enterprise networks, while also allowing IT administrators to remotely scan systems for malware, and manage and remove software. Applications can also be removed without the user’s consent.


Although this announcement is unlikely to be of any significance to most consumers, the news is more crucial for business IT departments, who have so far been slow to test and deploy Android smartphones and tablets.


"Juniper and Samsung are committed to a partnership wherein the two companies will continue to deliver secure, business-ready solutions enhancing security posture for enterprises and enabling new differentiated offerings for service providers”, said Sanjay Beri, vice president and general manager of the Junos Pulse business unit at Juniper Networks.


"We are delighted to partner with Juniper Networks using their Junos Pulse technology as they understand the needs of consumers and enterprise IT leaders in an increasingly mobile world that requires mobile security and device management”, added Jongshin Kim, vice president of the media solution center at Samsung Electronics.


In addition to Android, Junos Pulse is offered for iOS, Windows Phone and Blackberry devices.

BY DOUG DRINKWATER

International Editor of TabTimes

What the future holds...

Its always tough to think where the future of mobile phones will be especially when you consider how far along we have come along in just the last 10 years. I recently saw a Tedx video on a gadget which will truly revolutionise communication and technology. This technology combined a camera, a phone, a projector and the internet in a way that has never been done before to produce something really quire remarkable:

(Tedx link here)

So the question is, what does the future hold? Obviously thats pretty much impossible to answer.. Theres a pretty cool website (http://www.concept-phones.com/samsung/) which looks into some concept phones of what may be coming out in the coming years. Also, there is the now infamous video of the iPhone 5 concept phone which seems to be pushing the boundries of what is possible:

A far more interesting question for now is what can we hope for the future? This opens scope for our own thoughts and perspectives of what we wish to see in the coming years. Heres my thoughts over the time periods:

Short Term Future:

Tablet:

• My hope for the near future is to see a real synergy between the computer and the tablet. At the moment, the Tablet seems to be quite a standalone product in terms of what it can do and how it runs. Much of the flexibility we know and love about PCs doesn't exist on a tablet with programmes restricted to apps available on a market. 
• I want a Tablet which can play any video without the worry of converting it to the right format. 
• I want a tablet which has the freedom to fully multitask. 
• I want a tablet which can run advanced programmes for editing, designing and gaming.
• I want the Tablet to develop a self-contained mouse and keyboard system which is as comfortable as a PC without the need to carry extra equipment. 

Mobile Phones

• Touch screen mobiles have come a long way, but I still think there is a lot to develop. Typing is still an issue for many people as the touch screen just doesn't have the same feel or speed as buttons. I saw a piece of technology on BBC's Click which mentioned an introduction of 'button feel' to touch screens - will be interesting to see how that develops. 
• I think 3D technology is beginning to gain popularity when the glasses idea is removed. Perhaps we can see that better integrated to phones to see how that develops
• Multi-player functionality is still scarce for many phones. Perhaps we will see some development in the app market to allow for more of this
• The Galaxy Note reintroduces a concept which previously never worked but is a common problem - writing on the phone. I would like to see a better way of typing on the phone other than the 3.5inch screen we currently have to work with!
• Typing is a thing of the past as voice technology is developed properly and works! 

Distant Future

• Why should we restrict phone technology to the screen? Maybe in the future we'll see a better use of Holograms or video imagery to allow the screen to come out to us. Or maybe we can find a way of seeing the image directly before us rather than it appearing through the 3.5inch screen?
• Phones should be a thing of the past. Everyone will be able to teleport to the person they want to talk to so there is no need to call them!
• A movie isn't a movie but a real life story which pans out in front of you. Through your phone/tablet, you actually become part of the movie as you sit there and watch what goes on around you!
• We can make inter-galactic calls to other planets where people now live - I wonder what the call charge would be!

Those are just some of my ideas and thoughts! Let me know what you think and any suggestions you may have!

Ergonomics

Being a massive fan of technology, appreciating the finer dimensions that come with each new piece of kit is vital. Its often the things that you don't notice or think of explicitly that make you satisfied with a new piece of kit, things like how it feels in your hand when your using it, how easy it is to call/text someone, how light it is to carry around and so on. These dimensions have come to be recognised by all the major companies as key and gave birth to a science which costs millions to firms in R&D - Ergonomics.


Ergonomics is the study of efficiency in working environments - or more simply put; how easy something is to use and how nice it feels. Over the years, so many people have got it right and so many got it wrong. Here's a look at some of the things which really stood out and some of the not so good ideas:


Perfection

The iPhone

The launch of the iPhone triggered a catalyst of touch screen phones from every company. The touch screen concept had existed for many years but had never really taken off. It was too impractical and inaccurate with the stylus just making its too impractical to use. Steve Job's ingenious invention revolutionised the idea of a touchscreen. It made it simple, easy and efficient - the definition of ergonomics. Nowadays it seems rarer to find a phone with keys than without; a testimony to the success of the ergonomic masterpiece!

The Xbox 360 Controller

Learning from their previous mistakes, Microsoft went back to the drawing board and produced what I think is the masterpiece of all controllers. Its elegant, smooth and light feel combine to just make the perfect gaming experience... AND, the joystick is in the natural place where the thumb is rather than down below.
- I'll leave it at that before I spark a turf war between PS3 and Xbox fans! 

Mouse

For me, the idea of the mouse is exceptional. It offers complete control of your computer with pinpoint accuracy and is easily configured for left or right hand use. Even as new technology has developed, the place for the mouse has never gone as its use is just indispensable. So simple yet so brilliant

Got it wrong

The N64 Controller

Don't get me wrong, im an N64 fanboy all the way... but you have to admit, the controller was odd. The D-pad was basically unusable when playing and the L-button was a stretch. I remember trying to play Turok and the controls were just a nightmare because you needed the D-pad and the joystick! Then theres the combination of the C-buttons and the A&B buttons.. 6 buttons for one thumb was too many! Overall - not a good controller!

The Joystick

Another controller which for me never took off was the joystick. Good as a concept/gimmick when you want to feel like some spaceship commander, the novelty quickly wears off when you realise you have to sit at a table to use it properly and playing FIFA is a constant disadvantage.. We would always fight to use the keyboard as kids!

Clamshell Phones

For me, you see the clamshell on a movie and it looks cool, but it never really works as a phone. For starters it makes it twice as think to carry around and its constantly susceptible to breaking in the middle. Then there's the whole fact that if you ever wanted to use it you had to open it up... That makes the "texting whilst not looking" a whole lot harder as you always had to open it up! Not good when your in school trying to text your mate without being caught.