As the title of the post says, Samsung have just issued a press release stating that their flagship Android Superphone has already seen it’s 3 millionth sale. What’s even more staggering is that it achieved that lofty milestone in just 55 days, that’s day quicker than its Galaxy S predecessor.
An impressive achievement that is for sure but it’s perhaps not that surprising being the first there with the Dual-core CPU it’s performance is certainly very impressive as we detailed in our Samsung Galaxy S2 review back in May of this year, it remains one of our top picks.
Excerpts from Samsung’s official press release follow:
Ok, I know what many of you are thinking having looked at the title of the post but no I haven’t gone mad. As you know I love all things gadget but even I have to admit that when I got the email asking if I’d like to review a new vacuum cleaner I was a little hesitant but figured what the hell lets give it a whirl.
Now these robotic autonomous aren’t a new idea, they have been around for a while but this Neato XV-11 is one of the latest to appear. The XV-11 was previously only available in the USA but is about to go on sale here in the UK. I believe that it’s going to be the XV-15 in the UK though.
So what’s special about the XV-11 then? Well first of all it’s a very cool gadget. It has its own power dock that it returns to after cleaning your room/house and puts itself back in charge. Unlike other robotic cleaners the Neato has an array of laser sensors that it uses to create a map of walls, furniture and other obstacles once it knows the layout of the room it works out the most effective way to vac the whole of that area before moving on to another room.
I’ve tried the Neato XV-11 out a few times already and have to say I am impressed. I honestly thought it would get stuck in places or need help but it’s very effective in methodically cleaning the whole of the downstairs of our house, a process that takes it around an hour. As cleaning can be scheduled we’ve got it set up to make one pass every day. As a cleaner it’s very effective and does a great job and while it isn’t a complete replacement for a human driven vacuum cleaner it does help to keep human vac-ing to a minimum. However, if you want to hire a traditional cleaner in Blackpool, contact Diamond Home Support to assist you.
A few days ago we spoke about the Samsung Galaxy Z, the Galaxy S2’s smaller brother. It’s already been offered for pre-order in Sweden and it was thought to be coming to the UK soon too. However, according to several sources that have apparently had word direct from Samsung the Galaxy Z will not be making a UK appearance after all.
Although it is entirely possible that Samsung will change their minds, they seem all too keen to put the Galaxy name on anything and offer it for sale. Personally though I had thought this one made a great deal of sense filling a small gap in the market. The 1GHz dual-care CPU and slightly smaller than Galaxy S2 screen with Super LCD rather than AMOLED screen set it up to be that little bit cheaper than the beefy S2 whilst still offering a great deal of spec for the money.
Don’t be surprised if we see this go on sale in a month or so!
Posted by: Matt
Samsung are really milking that Galaxy name and now we’re looking at another, the Samsung Galaxy Mini.
The Galaxy Mini is very much an entry level Android powered handset very much on par with the Vodafone 858 Smart or the Huawei IDEOS. The Mini is a decent looking little phone though and that’s one thing that helps to set it apart from the strong competition.
Spec-wise the Galaxy Mini is ‘ok’ with 3.1″ QVGA screen, 600MHz CPU and limited RAM it still does a decent enough job and seems to run quite smoothly considering.
The one we have was provided by 3 and will set you back just under £100 on PAYG, a good price but still a little more than the other handsets mentioned above but then you are getting Samsung build-quality. To see if it’s worth the extra few pounds you’ll have to sit tight for the review in a week or so. For now I’ve got a little unboxing video for you to get a taster of the Samsung Galaxy Mini in action.
Great news for BlackBerry PlayBook owners as RIM have just provided an update for BlackBerry Desktop Manager for the Mac to now include PlayBook support.
Until now if you had a BlackBerry PlayBook you’d have been forced to use the PC version of Desktop Manager in order to backup and sync your device or if you wanted to add media to the PlayBook it was WiFi or nothing, leaving Mac owners out in the cold.
Thanks to this version 2.1 update, Mac users can now automatically sync music, movies, and photos between the PlayBook and their Mac via iTunes and iPhoto over USB. Awesome!
If you want to download the update head on over to BlackBerry.com to find the latest version.
Posted by: Matt
Orange has announced that it is working in conjunction with Microsoft to give its Windows Phone pay monthly and pay as you go customers a free app every day in July.
For customers new to apps or simply wanting to extend their collection, the move will provide them with the perfect opportunity to try a series of premium pre-paid apps, spanning everything from games to travel information to sport.
All customers with an Orange Windows Phone can download the free apps from the exclusive ‘Orange Selects’ folder on Windows Marketplace. Here they will see a selection of the best apps, with the top app available to download for free – just for that day. This list will change every day, with the customer able to download a total of 31 individual apps worth more than £70.
Neil Holroyd, Senior Multimedia Product Manager, Everything Everywhere, said: ”We’ve been working with Microsoft to provide a more enriched app experience for our Windows Phone customers. By offering a selection of the most popular apps for free, we hope to continue to enhance our customers’ smartphone experience by allowing them to try something new.”
For more information go to www.orangeworld.co.uk/apps
Posted by: James
This one is not available here in the UK yet and has only recently become ready for pre order on the Three network in Sweden. To sum the device up it is clearly a cheaper and not quite so well specced version of its big brother the Samsung Galaxy S II.
So how is the Galaxy Z different. To start with it is a smaller device with a 4.2 inch screen as opposed to the 4.5 on the SGSII. We also lose the Super AMOLED Plus screen and in place we get a S-LCD. The camera has been downgraded to a 5MP but is capable of recording video in 720P HD. It is not quite as sleek and slender but still packs a punch when it comes to specs. Running Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread this new Galaxy could well be what many people have been looking for that could not afford or justify splashing the cash on a SGSII.
Lets just hope we get a UK announcement for this one. If the price is right I see it doing real well.
More specs can be seen below:
Earlier this week HTC announced their new 3D super phone, the EVO 3D. However, LG are somewhat ahead of HTC on this occasion as their LG Optimus 3D is just about to go on sale already.
Our friends over at Clove Technology have provided us with a pre-retail Optimus 3D to use for a few days so I thought I’d record something of a hands-on video for you to have a look at. I didn’t think it was right to call it an unboxing video this time as we’ve only got the handset!
The Optimus 3D is impressive with a dominant 4.3" 480×800 pixel display complete with 3D technology. The 1GHz dual-core CPU seems to be doing a great job if the benchmark score is anything to go by and this in spite of only 512MB of RAM.
As with other 3D devices the nature of the 3D technology means that the 3D effect only works with the screen in the landscape orientation so, although there is a 3D user interface, the use of 3D is limited more to media and games but the dual 5 mega-pixel cameras allow you to capture video in 3D at 720p or stereoscopic stills too.
Check out the video below to see a bit more of the LG Optimus 3D in action. Sadly we cant really show you the 3D elements too well but there’s plenty of other things to look at!
With the announcement of a new European office in Slough this week HTC has appointed Everything Everywhere director of devices Phil Roberson as its UK head.
The move follows former HTC UK & Ireland country manager Jon French’s promotion to a global role. In his new role, Roberson will be accountable for HTC UK’s performance, reporting to French.
During the last year Roberson is credited with brokering deals to get the iPad and iPhone on the T-Mobile network in his role as director of devices. He has also been championing the benefits of a multi-OS strategy within Everything Everywhere.
Prior to that he was head of terminals at T-Mobile. As well as overseeing the company’s handset portfolio his scope of influence extended to purchasing, trading, stock control and more.
I am pretty sure I sat next to Phil last year on a train and he was a very nice chap!
Posted by: James
Rewards for users on prepay plans revised while call and text message charges rise slightly
Orange will refresh its price its prepay price plans and rewards in a move it said would make them richer to more customers. The changes are effective as of tomorrow (July 1).
Customers on the Dolphin and Monkey plans will receive 400 free text messages (an additional 100 SMS) plus free internet as a monthly reward for topping up £10 a month.
Canary plan customers will now be able to purchase the operator’s unlimited texts extra for £5 by texting ‘5’ to 6620.
In addition, call charges are rising from 20p to 25p on the Dolphin, Monkey and Canary plans while users on these plans, as well as Starter users, will be charged 12p per text as opposed to 10p.
An Orange spokesperson said: “Following a review of our pricing structure, we can confirm that Orange will be making some changes to its PAYG price plans from 1st July including improvements to Orange top up rewards and Extras. Orange PAYG top up rewards are now richer and Extras are available to more customers.
Source: mobilenewscwp
Posted by: James
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