The Samsung Galaxy Note 5

Its all over the sites of the major telecom players in the Philippines. The latest model of the darling of the Android phablet world, the Galaxy Note is now available. The Galaxy Note 5 is available under so many different plans and if the initial sales are any indication, it looks like it will be another home run for Samsung.

But what are the factors that make this Note model better than its predecessor?

UPGRADED LOOK

The textured plastic construction of the previous Note, with a faux leather finish, was severely criticized by many reviewers. The general consensus was that the Note 4 was lacking in the finish and quality department. The Note 5 however puts all that behind by going with a glass and metal design that exudes quality and feels very solid in hand. It’s a major coup that puts the Note 5 at the head of the finish and build quality line.

PERFORMANCE LEADER

The specs of the Note 5 sound like they belong on a desktop, not a mobile phone. It packs an Exynos 8 core CPU, a separate GPU and 4 GB of RAM! This powerful system allows the Note 5 to run programs and games with ease. Early benchmark tests by independent sites show the Note 5 delivering almost twice the multicore performance of the Apple 6S. Bendgate aside, this Note 5 outclasses the iPhone 6S decisively.

CLASS LEADING CAMERA

The Galaxy S6, S6 Edge and the Galaxy Note 5 all share the same class leading sensor. This sensor is currently rated as the best one by no less than DxOmark Labs. But being a newer model, the Note 5 is set to surpass its siblings by integrating new improved photography modes. It also adds the ability to take RAW files to the mix making the Note 5 a formidable force on mobile photography.

SOME CAVEATS

There are a couple of changes that may not appeal to other users particularly the users with old Galaxy Notes looking to upgrade.

The first is the lack of a microSD slot. The Note 5 only comes with 32 or 64 GB. This may be unacceptable to users who need storage over and above 64 GB.

The second is that the Note 5’s battery is not removable. Therefore, the user cannot keep a spare battery on hand. However, this second point may be relatively minor because the Note 5 has a fast charging mode that takes less than half the time needed to charge the phone with conventional chargers. 

Clearly, the demand for the Galaxy Note 5 is well founded. It is considered the best Note to date and is considered the best phablet currently available today. Check it out at your nearest telecom shop.

The Beginning Of The Global Tablet and Smartphone Wars

It seems that there is trouble brewing on the tablet front. While I was reading the tech and business news, I felt that there was something familiar about the conflict. Upon further reflection, I realized that it was something that seemed almost like World War II.

I am referring to the events surrounding the decision of Hitler to move East and fight a war in 2 fronts. He ended up fighting the Russians and the Allies. Whatever the reasons, it was the beginning of the end. In the books that I read, the analysis was that it was overconfidence on the part of Hitler. He thought that he could overwhelm the Russians with ease, a mistake that would prove fatal for his regime.

Today, we have Apple fighting wars on at least 4 fronts. It is fighting a war on the mobile phone market in the market itself and in court. It is also doing the same thing on the tablet pc front, where they are fighting in the market and in court. It would appear that all sides are gearing up for a battle royale, which could mark the beginning of Apples unraveling.

Some independent industry analysts are thinking that this multi-theater battle smacks of desperate moves on Apples part to regain market share. This scenario is further supported by what seems to be a concerted move on the part of publicists to paint an extremely rosy picture of Apple Inc.

Nearly every day, there is some article extolling the invincibility and financial success which Apple is enjoying. This is actually a move that can backfire. Some analysts are pointing out that Apple is even more valuable than the US and some other large companies. This a scenario that might not sit well with the general public, particularly Apples clients, in the aftermath of the downgrading of USA by Standard and Poor.

Why?

Well, if a company is making too much money, and can spend millions on court cases across the globe, then some people might think that they are making too much money from their customers. Some customers, particularly those who are feeling the crunch, might take a very serious look at the value for money rating of their machines. On the other hand, it could be that the company is losing market share and it is a desperate move on the part of the publicists to make the company seem more viable and attractive.

There is also another factor which could fast become the straw that broke the camels back. Many consumers are beginning to wake up to the fact that ultimately, they will be the ones to bear the burden of all these lawsuits. It costs money to file a suit and it will cost money when you lose one.

These consumers are smart enough to know that this will end up coming from their pockets. It’s ironic that these should come at a time when the competition has shown decisively that quality products can be produced at prices that are less astronomical. Samsung for one, has made the smartphone and the tablet pc immensely affordable putting it within the reach of average Joe.

But this may not last long because as the litigation costs pile up, and these companies lose money due to the inability to sell their products, the prices of these devices will go up once more.

There are many ways to interpret all these events, but one thing is certain. HTC, Samsung and all the other companies involved are not taking this sitting down. The public has also begun to back some players and their choice does not begin with the letter “A”.

Banning the sale of the Galaxy 10.1 in Europe is clearly the opening salvo in this battle which will definitely change the landscape of technology. An massive upset is imminent and that would pave the way for a new, and hopefully a more sober market place where competition will benefit the consumer, which is the way it should be.

The Mobile Phone Patent Wars

I have been watching the flurry of patent related suits being bandied back and forth between major manufacturers. 
I'm sure most of you have heard about all these suits of Apple against Samsung, HTC and Google which were likewise reciprocated with countersuits by the manufacturers involved. Then there is the case of Kodak against Apple and RIM. 
In the midst of these patent wars, there are several thoughts that cross my mind. 
One is I wonder what the end result will be and how substantial would  be its effects. It is possible that one company will end up paying royalties to the other company. Should this be the case then the end user will be the ultimate loser, since it is almost a certainty that the additional cost will be passed on to them. While the foregoing scenario itself is quite an unpleasant and undesirable one, there is one another one that borders on the insidious, with sinister motives. 
I have noticed that some writers are having a heyday predicting the downfall of Android, HTC, Samsung or at least the very least a massive loss of revenue for them as a result of the suits filed by Apple. 
It is quite curious but wherever Apple is involved as a plaintiff, like clockwork, a study or article will crop up painting the equivalent of a doomsday scenario for the companies involved. Yet when Apple is the defendant, like in the case of Kodak, there are no articles that paint the same dismal scenario even though the case of Kodak could stop the importation of Iphones and Rim phones into the US. 
On the other hand again, articles are aplenty about how Android will lose gazillions of market share because it may have to pay $5 to $15 per phone should they lose the suit !?? 
I don't know where these figures came from, but it seems logical to assume that the inability to import your devices is tantamount to massive loss of revenue. But in this equation, a $15 fine spells a catastrophic market loss. Go figure. 
To my mind, it seems that someone is trying their very best to use unsavory methods to eat into a competitors market. Obviously someone is getting desperate and is now pulling out all stops to prevent what appears to be an impending if not current loss of market share. I would not be surprised if one of the players involved is incurring bigger losses than they are admitting. 
Then of course, one must also keep in mind that there is also the question of international politics since the current battle in this market is USA vs Taiwan vs Korea, at least in some areas. In the other area, its free vs paid....  the usual crusade of open source against the "for profit"giants. What is even more distressing is that the case of Kodak has been dragging on for quite a while, but the case of Apple has gone right to center stage, getting a lot of attention, from the agencies involved and the media... It's something with very serious implications.
On my part I believe that someone should at least try to level the field by putting all the facts on the table. So i am rising to that challenge. From this point onwards, I will write a sort of editorial type article for my blog as my contribution to fair and honest writing.

My Vision Board Strikes Again

I am in gadget nirvana right now.

Just a few posts ago, I was facing the unpleasant task of choosing between the Samsung Galaxy S2 and the HTC Sensation.

As I write this, I have in front of me ....drum roll please...

The SGS2 AND the Sensation!

YES! My vision board worked again! The universe somehow collaborated and created circumstances that made the appearance of these two powerhouses nearly painless and close to instantaneous. Two weeks ago, I would never have dreamed that I would have these gadgets at my disposal and yet they are now here.

So for all intents and purposes, I am a happy camper for at 1 year (I hope) or at least 6 months.

Prior to their arrival, I found good homes for my K810, W850, Omnia 2, HD2 and a newly arrived Galaxy Ace. 5 people are so much happier with their new acquisitions and so am I. I am becoming a believer in the saying that the more you give, the more you get back. At least for as long as you are not giving in order to get...

 

Hence, I will be preparing a couple of posts so I can share with my readers  my first impressions about these two new arrivals which are arguable, the 2 best phones in the world today.

A New Object Of My Desire - The Samsung Galaxy S

It is so hard to turn a blind eye to all these newfangled stuff coming around.

Maybe I should stop reading my RSS feeds because knowing what's on the horizon tends to create a feeling of anticipation despite trying to pretend that I don't need anything new.

Case in point is the Android invasion. I have been wanting a Android for the longest time but I am stopped in my tracks each and every time I see the memory on the phones. I wanted the HTC Desire even before it hit the Philippine shores and now that it's here, I saw the spec sheet and all my desire faded away.

The problem now is that I went to Globe Trinoma last weekend with my eldest daughter, a sort of Daddy day with her. My purpose there was to just load my Gcash account to keep my prepaid line alive but I always get the latest matrix from Smart, Globe and Sun whenever I am near their shops. Call it a sort of technological masochism.

So I get the matrix, then I also collected the brochures - yes it's like an addiction, and I make the mistake of picking up the brochure of the Samsung Galaxy S which is currently a Globe exclusive.

My first reaction when I read the specs was THIS IS IT! My Android phone has arrived.

Why is this the case? Well my problem with the other Androids had to do with the small onboard memory. This Samsung I9000 Galaxy S has 2GB ROM, 512 RAM and 8 or 16 GB Storage in the phone. Not unlike my Omnia I8000 which is 16 GB of pure bliss.

Some other great features of the Galaxy is the screen which is 4 inches worth of SUPER AMOLED. Granting, it is a bit less than my HD2 which has 4.3 inches of screen real estate but that's a bit more than the I800 at 3.7 inches.

Fast forward to today. In an attempt to make my vision board work overtime, I downloaded many photos of the phone and read all the reviews.

GREAT! One review states that this is probably the BEST PHONE IN THE WORLD!!! How can I resist??

Come August 2, the exclusivity of Globe will end, which means that my friendly neighborhood cellphone store will put it online at outrageous prices. If I can resist it for a few weeks (which is easy because I have no money to buy it anyway) the price will go down by about 20%. I can't wait....

Footnote: My only worries about the Android has to do with proper syncing with Office 2010 in a way that will not screw up the data on my Windows Mobile phones. Thankfully, the HTC HD3 is on the horizon and is one of the incoming Windows 7 smart phones. With all these new phones, the Iphone 4 is going to get a run for its money.

Some links:

GSM Arena Galaxy S Page

Mobile Phones UK Review Of the Galaxy

GSM Arena HD3 Rumors Page

SUNTEL AND SAMSUNG PROBLEMS INTERIM REPORT

Well its been a couple of weeks already since I started complaining about the service. As recently as this afternoon, I had to return the call of a client from my PLDT landline as we could not hear each other over my SUNTEL line which was supposed to be my business line.

So in connection with this, here's what we have so far:

1. SAMSUNG - its a lost cause. The offer from their service line to bring the unit in for service was a joke. They said to bring it there but it will just sit there for a few months while waiting for the FIRMWARE and the PARTS to be ordered by the MAIN OFFICE after a request from the SERVICE CENTER. That was the ACTUAL statement of the person on the SAMSUNG HOTLINE!

For those in the know, you are looking at a waiting period of about 3 to 6 months. And that's for them to service my month old C5212. Its a dual sim so its like I lose two phones. This kind of turnaround and concern for customer satisfaction will definitely be the downfall of SAMSUNG here. That said I'm still on wait and see mode...

2. SUNTEL - my good friend who manages one of the SUN SHOPS, has been trying to expedite matters on his side. My suggested solution is still what I mentioned in my first post which is for them to either replace the SAMSUNG C5212 with a better unit, better matched to their SUNTEL network. AND to check how the SUNTEL network could be made AT LEAST AS RELIABLE AS BAYANTEL WIRELESS.

My other solution to him was to replace the C5212 with two phones since it was a double unlimited deal. I am actually willing to take one unit for the Sun Cellular line and another DESKTOP unit for the SUNTEL in the hope that this will give me a more reliable service.

Actually they offered to sell me a HUAWEI ETS3023 for P2,700 which is at least P1k more than the equivalent unit in BAYANTEL. This is terrible!

The thought of buying this unit at THAT PRICE doesn't sound right. I mean I'm doing this to get reliable service in a location that is supposed to be a prime area fully covered by all communication networks. To expect good and reliable communication in this area from a so called WIRELESS LANDLINE is not asking too much so I decided to sit and wait for SUN to do the decent thing and resolve this problem either on their own or with minimum financial participation from their subscriber.

So let's see. I'll give a little more time before I finally throw in the towel and just call the DTI complaint line.

The Koreans declare WAR !

Samsung Korea has openly declared war against Nokia and Sony Ericsson with a barrage of new phones that will send techno geeks all over the world writhing from the agony of choice.

How can one possibly choose from the four new handsets unleashed.

One was the flagship Samsung JET which was mentioned in a previous post, its dubbed by Samsung to be
" smarter than smartphones" ..... ohhhkay let's wait a moment for that to sink in. Oh well whatever it means, the word flagship spell trouble to the newly announced Sony's and Nokias.







Another phone that will send new Omnia owners crying to their mobile phone dealers is the Omnia II 8000 Touchscreen Phone with AMOLED display. More info available here

This is a Windows Mobile phone, equipped with a 3.7 inch screen and a 5 MP camera.



Yet another more formidable looking phone is the OmniaPRO B7610 touchscreen smartphone. Official announcement posted on Mobile Burn

This is a Windows Mobile phone equipped with a 5 megapixel camera.




And in a move that looks like it anticipated the arrival of the Nokia E72, Samsung also released a new OmniaPRO B7320 smartphone a candybar QWERTY type. Snapshot review on Mobile Burn is here



And that my fellow techno geeks, is probably just the first salvo in an all out war in the Mobile Phone arena. The good news, we have new objects to lust after. But the bad news is without professional help, these goodies will drive us to bankruptcy.

Nokia E71 successor and Samsung's Flagship phone revealed in Mobileburn

New owners of the E71, it may be time to weep. Potential buyers, rejoice because prices on this highly acclaimed handset will likely fall in the the next few weeks.

This is because the E72, the successor to the E71's throne, has been announced. You can read about it in MobileBurn

The biggest single improvement is in the camera department, the only area where the E71 was found wanting. The E72 now comes with a 5 megapixel camera that may put the imaging criticisms to rest.

Another piece of good news to potential buyers, this time of Samsung phones, the Omnia HD and the Innov8 may be dropping their prices too on the heels of Samsungs launch of its flagship JET.

Further info may be found also on the MobileBurn site.

Personally I'm in gadget limbo. I'm frozen into inaction because I don't know if I should wait for prices to fall on the E71 or get the E72.

And since I also vowed to get a nice Samsung phone, now I'm wondering if I should just wait for Innov8 prices to fall while avoiding all reports about the Jet.

After all ignorance is bliss....

But the truth is, I'm becoming attached to my P1i. Its fulfilling my needs right now and I bought it at a price where I could get my P1 and a second hand N82 for the current selling price of the E71 which is about 16K. That's why I'm not too hot about the E72 or the E71 for that matter.

So maybe I'll go buy that N82 or that 6220 classic and wait for the Innov8 prices to fall. I've sort of narrowed down the choices for my second phone to these 3. Yes I know I said I'd get a Samsung but I'm just a little bit concerned about Samsung parts and service after my conversation with the Samsung service department as mentioned in my "double unlimited" post.

Choices, choices. But that is the spice of life too :)

Thing is, whenever I see the current prices for my K810i which is about 1/3 the price I paid for it, its a reminder that in the mobile phone upgrade world, the wise buyers are the ones who can control their excitement for a year or so. Year old flagship units sell for less than half the original price and give how much tech is in these handsets in the 1st place, that's quite a lot more tech than most of us will need.

I know its hard but as always, ask yourself "what do i need it for?" The fact that you are reading this blog means that you are into tech. And those who know tech naturally want the latest and the greatest. Lucky are those who are single and have a large salary all to themselves. Enjoy happy go lucky spending while you still can. They don't say it but marriage usually means saying goodbye not only to your singleness but to your toys as well.

On my part, with 4 kids, unless I am tapped by my the local phone distributors to test their products, I'll just have to content myself with in depth reviews and photos while waiting for my current objects of technolust to turn a year old.

Sun Double Unlimited User Review

I signed up for the DOUBLE UNLIMITED plan of Sun Cellular about a month ago. The deal goes like you sign up for two plans, a SunTel wireless landline AND a Sun Cellular Plan 350 pre loaded with 24/7 Call and Text Unlimited. For signing up, you get a Samsung C5212 Active Dual Sim phone for FREE.

First, a bit of disclosure I don’t work for Sun or any of its affiliates. I have been a loyal subscriber ever since they started. I have 3 lines, all with SUN because I feel they offer the best value in the industry. Had it not been for them, the Globe and Smart giants would be having a heyday charging P1 for text that used to be free. Yes sometimes its hard to call, but for those of us who remember how it was with Smart when it first launched here against Globe and Extelcom, it’s the bargain of the decade.

When I first got my Smart, it would take HOURS before you would get through. It was unbelievable. The phones for some time, were next to useless. Not to mention the mess these telecom companies made out of interconnection and making it difficult for competitors to call their networks. Believe me, Sun, for all its problems, has been and still is the best value for money and it’s a company that we all should sign up with to ensure that the industry will not be complacent and unscrupulous again.

Anyway let’s move on to how my Double Unlimited thing is going.

The Samsung C5212 was highly acclaimed in the preliminary write-ups on GSM Arena so I had great expectations for this unit.

In the interest of brevity, here are the Pros and Cons summarized:

SAMSUNG C5212

PROS:
- Nice form factor, bit large but fits well in your hand
- Good sized screen
- Polished interface relative to the old D900’s
- Easy SIM management
- Good ergonomics particularly the keyboard
- Excellent call handling unique to Samsung, you can blacklist SMS and/or calls.
- SMS alerts is now user customizable

CONS:
- Battery life is quite short
- Dual band only
- Has a problem acquiring and keeping signals
- Quality control issues, unit has two stuck pixels already
- Inadequate bundle, no memory card, no usb cable (which happens to be Samsung proprietary)
- No CD installer


Now about SUNTEL, first of all, it is a good deal. At least on paper.

You get a landline for P450 with unlimited call to numbers in the 02 service area. This beats out the metered service of PLDT and is dead even with the new Bayantel Wireless P450 plan.
However, the signal in quite a number of areas is unstable despite the reassurance of the SunTel Customer Service that the network is ok in that area. In those areas, it’s so hard to connect and when I do, I can hardly hear the other party and they can hardly hear me. It’s embarrassing particularly in view of the TV commercial about such network problems.

Furthermore, the SUNTEL/ SAMSUNG combination is unusable to me. The SAMSUNG could hardly get a signal in the areas I frequent and even in my house where I get strong SUN signals. What is aggravating is I get better reception and audio from my old Motorola Timeport! When I transferred the SUNTEL sim to my old phone, I was able to call from my work area where the SAMSUNG/SUNTEL combo could not.

Going further, I saw that the signal was still not that good despite being able to call so I transferred the SUNTEL Sim to my 3G Sony K810. To my surprise, it was able to get a 3G signal, a strong one at that. So after making a call and establishing that the connection was the best among the 3 phones, I decided to leave my SUNTEL sim in my K810.

So is the SUNTEL network ok now in the K810? It’s easier to make calls now but signal still needs a bit of improvement if they are to approach the usability level of the Bayantel Wireless which by the way was notorious for signal problems before but sad to say, its better. I know because we have one.

I think the network engineers should test the units they provide to SUNTEL users because landline users have more expectations from their units. We expect reliability and accessibility from our landlines otherwise its no different from an ordinary cellular service.

SUNTEL

PROS:
- Low price
- Good audio quality
- Flexibility since its sim based and will work with most phones with qualifications (see comments above)

CONS:
- Unstable signal
- Congested network in my area (Batasan Hills)
- Cannot connect with some food delivery hotlines

So in the end what would I recommend?

Well I would have said if you want a really good deal for a dual sim bundled with landline and cellular services, this is the way to go. But right now I can’t, because as I said, a good deal on paper fades when confronted with the reality of uselessness.

Most people who buy into this deal obviously are into one thing: COMMUNICATION. That is what I expected. I expect to be always (within reason) within reach of my clients and family. And this is what I don’t get from the SAMSUNG / SUNTEL combo.

The network is wanting and the phone reception needs to be addressed because its pathetic when a nearly 8 year old unit outperforms a newly released one in its primary task of making calls.

I have of course relayed my concerns to both Samsung and my local Sun shop. Samsung has relayed that they have neither the parts nor the software yet to service my phone so I can’t take it back yet for another month or so.

Sun on the other hand has not replied yet nor have I been informed about any testing being done in the problem areas I pointed out.

I would expect that the network would be reviewed as well as the suitability of the SAMSUNG C5212 for the SUNTEL network. For existing subscribers such as myself, I would expect that SUN would either recall the handsets to replace them with ones better matched to the network or maybe they can offer the Desktop Handsets such as the Huawei ETS-3023 at a discounted price to serve as base units for subscribers with signal problems in their homes. Actually I called asking about this but there are no units available for sale.

So in the end I suggest that potential subscribers to this service adopt my stand first which is wait and see. This post will be updated as feedback is received.

The Samsung Upset

I am so disillusioned today. It began when I started receiving nuisance calls from people who desperately need to get a life. I mean why would you call and text the same number day after day sending messages that border on insane practically begging for attention?

Anyway, so I pull out my formidable P1i and first thing I do to prevent further disturbance is to screen my calls, choosing to accept calls from a predefined list. This is just to buy me extra time to set up the phone to reject outright the calls from the nuisance number only. And thats where I got disillusioned. For all its bells and whistles, my mighty P1i cannot be setup to reject or block calls or sms from a particular number!

I would not be this upset if I had not known that the budget Samsung E250 actually has this feature! The Samsung allows you to make a list of numbers whose calls or sms you wish to block. That's 2 separate lists! All this from this budget slider which I had passed on to my daughter.

I do have a Samsung c5212 dual sim which also has this feature but this phone is not exactly ideal to be the main phone for me. Actually my main phone used to be a Sony Ericsson K810 which was relegated to be my 2nd tier phone, after the P1i. I did come across this software that can at least reject my calls the way they should be, the Samsung way, but I just feel bad that I need to install a software on my smartphone to do what my budget slider can do.

Anyway the software is called Advanced Call Manager which I'll probably try out. However, this turn of events just might lead me to reconsider exchanging the P1 for a Samsung i780. Or at least, I might decide to forego geting a Nokia N82 to replace my K810 and just replace it with a Samsung like the G800 or possibly the 8800 Pixon..... Oh and I forgot to mention, the Nokias, at least my 3110C and my 6120C both cannot do what the Samsung can either. Talk about an upset.

The truth is I really do intend to change to two Samsungs, the 8510 Innov8, and the Omnia. But budgetary constraints demand prudence so I have to go back to my spreadsheets and check how I can justify a change of phones.

Whatever happens, one thing is certain, one of the 3 phones I carry will be replaced by a Samsung.

Kudos to Samsung. And watch out Sony and Nokia.