Live from the Galaxy S3 Launch in Sydney May 31, 2012
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Dateline: The Capitol Theatre, Sydney, 31 May 2012.
Purpose: Australasian Launch of the Galaxy SIII smartphone.
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Galaxy SIII (S3) Hands On Review May 26, 2012
Posted by John Buckley in Gadgets.Tags: breakfast, gadget guy, Hands On, S3, Samsung, SIII, Test
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What’s the old saying? When it rains, it pours? Well, at the moment we are experiencing a deluge of super spec’d up smartphones. Mere weeks after the HTC One X hit the market the new Samsung Galaxy S3 has swooped into view.
For those of you who don’t know, the previous version of the Galaxy (the S2) was just about the only phone that managed to keep up with the all powerful iPhone. 20 million units of the S2 were shipped in it’s life cycle – and Samsung are expecting 30m unit sales for the S3. That may sound like a tall order but you’ll be pleased to know that they have already clocked up 9m pre-orders before it goes on sale in the middle of this week.
A limited number of test units made their way into New Zealand this week and I’ve been lucky enough to have one for the past 24 hours. Many, many blogs have already benchmarked the S3 technically (links below) so I decided to put it through some “real world” tests.
First up – The Ponsonby Road Media Lunch test. As you know, this is a critical test. There is absolutely no point in owning a high end smartphone if it doesn’t get envious stares when placed on the table in front of you during lunch.
At lunch, the S3 was on the table for 1m 20seconds before I was asked “is that the the new Samsung?” Not a bad start given the phone has a fairly sleek profile. The phone was then passed around a group of smartphone users (four iPhone and one Galaxy 1st generation owners). The general consensus was 1. It’s lighter than you expect. 2. It’s big (meaning larger in physical terms than an iPhone). 3. It looks great (screen resolution) and finally 4. It’s “nice”. Phew, social embarrassment neatly avoided.
Later, having had a chance to use a few of the features I drew a few more conclusions. I like the size of the phone. The 4.8 inch screen displays rich content so nicely the S3 is a must have on my gadget shopping list. (read on below)
Click the image to view the review on TVNZ.co.nz
The next feature I tested was the dual wifi ability. The phone has the ability to pull two signals down from a wifi router and provide a smoother faster stream of video content.
The guys at Samsung suggested I try out a Youtube test and have a “race” between the S3 and my iPhone 4. So I did. I streamed the Prometheus 2minute trailer to both devices and yes, the first thing that became apparent was that the S3 delivered the stream faster. However the more important thing was the fact that the trailer looked beautiful on the S3 and it looked woeful on the iPhone 4.
There were two reasons for this, the S3 has a 4.8 inch screen versus the iPhone’s measly 3.5 inch screen. Secondly the rendering of colour on the S3 was just much better than on the iPhone. Personally I have always preferred the screen on the Galaxy range to the display on the iPhone 4 series. Some people think the colour and brightness on the super AMOLED screens are too brash. Not me. But then I have already admitted to being a Ponsonby-Road-Media-Lunch-Goer so I have no problem with brash.
Other notes? I like the feel of the S3 in the hand. Apparently inspired by nature, the phone is supposed to feel a like a large, smooth, river pebble. I have no doubt it would skip merrily across a body of water if thrown with the right force at the right angle.
The rest of the “natural” effects don’t quite do it for me – the rain drop sound when you touch the screen, the nature inspired ring tones (including Blowing Dandelion Seeds and Fairy Fountain) are just a bit too tree-huggy for my sensibilities – and I’m a Green voter!
I could go on for a lot longer but I won’t, I’ll give a thumbs up to these additional features:
Smart Stay: As long as you are looking at it it stays backlit. Not exactly a must-have feature but smart, innovative and its inclusion is gift to the PR and marketing people looking to capture attention.
Direct Call: It knows when you want to talk to someone. If you are typing a txt message then decide to call the person you’re txting, you simply have to lift the phone to your ear and it will automatically dial that number for you.
S Beam: Place two GALAXY S3′s back-to-back and you can transfer pictures, music, videos, and more.
Finally, if you’re in New Zealand and you want to buy one of these phones, Vodafone has an extra incentive for you. Vodafone is giving smartphone lovers who purchase the new Samsung GALAXY S III the opportunity to win a trip of a lifetime into space, valued at $270,000. This is the first time a space travel prize has been offered in New Zealand, and all customers who purchase the new Samsung GALAXY S III from Vodafone between 31 May and 15 July will be eligible to enter.
The first phones go on sale from 12:01am on Thursday 31 May at the Queen Street, Auckland and Riccarton Mall, Christchurch Vodafone stores. I can’t wait to see how that goes.
External reviews:
Big Screen Star – HTC One X May 21, 2012
Posted by John Buckley in Gadgets.Tags: Gadgets, htc, one x, smartphone
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If I had to choose a music track to sum up the HTC One X it would be Superstylin’ by Groove Armada. That’s because there’s a whole lot of stylin’ going on with this great new top of the range smartphone.
As you can see from the pic above, the case is a smooth plastic, semi-curved, shell. While it looks very tasty, you actually have to see it in real life to get some perspective on the size of the phone. Without fail, the first thing people say when they see it is “wow, that’s a massive phone”. I suspect that when they say massive, they mean “bigger than my iPhone which has a 3.5 inch screen”. That’s because the One X sports a luscious 4.7 ” hi-def touch screen. That means you get a hell of a lot of screen real estate on a phone that feels slightly larger in the hand than a phone normally should. It’s another phone, like the Samsung Note, which follows the philosophy of “if less is more, just think how much more more would be” (I think I read that quote somewhere else but it works well here).
So, the design is beautiful and the screen gorgeous, deep and rich; could there possibly be any drawbacks? I have to say yes. The sound promises much, but delivers little. The beats audio logo is unmissable on the case of the phone, appearing to promise great sound reproduction. Unfortunately, during my testing, I can only say that the inbuilt speakers provided a similar sound to any other high end smartphone. That is to say, not great, and certainly not as “rich and authentic” as the literature promised.
One area where the One X does excel is in the camera department. For a phone, the optics and features are really quite good. The 8mp camera and smart LED flash work well in low light conditions. My favourite feature though is the ability to take a photo while recording in HD.
The HTC One X is a great quad core powered, Ice Cream Sandwich toting beaut of a phone. Some users will take a while to adjust to the size, others will opt to reject the smooth white casing in case it attracts scuffs. However anyone looking for a super stylish Android phone with a bunch of high powered connectivity apps and features will be throwing money at this handset. It’s definitely going to be an interesting battle between this and the soon-to-be-released Samsung Galaxy SIII.
The HTC One X is available now on the Telecom Smartphonenetwork priced at $0 on a 24 month $100 smartphone plan.
Our Place, Our Space – Reshaping Communities (PRINZ Conference 10th-11th May 2012) May 9, 2012
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The Public Relations Institute of New Zealand will be holding its annual conference over the next two days in Auckland. The conference will be tightly focused on communications practice in the socially connected age (as you can see from the outline below). I will be presenting an overview of the Digital Kiwi to the audience at tomorrow afternoon’s session.
This 45 minute presentation, specially developed for the conference, will look at how Kiwis are adopting new technology and what impact always-on, internet enabled devices are having on society and the way we communicate. You can expect an entertaining review of the latest tech trends and a glimpse into the near future.
About #prconf12:
Communities are places where we come together. But today, place becomes space and physically located communities are inter-layered with online communities of interest.
How do place and space co-exist and interact? And, how do we communicate effectively when our audiences are online as often as they are on-the-ground?
As our audiences and stakeholders move between place and space, so must we as communicators, with increasing pace and agility. Understanding how communities are changing and the forces that drive them will inform successful communications practice for the next decade.
This year’s PRINZ Conference offers a line-up of local and international speakers who will present case studies, research and insights to help you address a changing world as communities reshape.
http://prinzconference.weebly.com/index.html
Here’s a snapshot of some of the slides from my presentation
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The next Galaxy to be revealed in the morning May 3, 2012
Posted by John Buckley in Uncategorized.Tags: Gadgets, nz time, technology
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Fans of the Samsung Galaxy Smartphone series will have something to savour in the morning. The latest iteration of the smash smart-phone will be revealed at an event in London at 7pm local time.
If you want to tune in and see it for yourself live, head over to www.thenextgalaxy.com at 6am NZ time. What can we expect? Well the teaser ad promises hi fidelity graphics, massive power that fits nicely n the palm of your hand and – enticingly – a design that helps you stand out from the crowd. I’m no professor of semiotics but I think the reference to sheep and “standing out from everyone else” is really subtle dig at iPhone users. Am I right or am I right? Still – I’m looking forward to the big reveal.
Samsung Smart TV Launch – April 2012 April 24, 2012
Posted by John Buckley in Gadgets.Tags: Samsung
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Ah television, let me count the ways I love thee.
Fans of the goggle box would have got a buzz out of Samsung’s 2012 TV Range launch at The Wharf in Northcote Point this morning.
Samsung rolled out their 2012 Smart TV range at the premium Auckland location where the TV’s (just) held their own with the amazing water view.
These TV’s look stunning, of course, particularly the top of the range ES8000. I want one. Dammit, I want two.
Glen Chean MC’d us through the range, giving us a great “remote-free” demonstration of Samsung’s new voice and gesture control system.
The pitch is “5 different entry methods before you even need a remote.”
These are:
- Voice.
- Gesture. (through the buit in unobtrusive webcam)
- USB wireless keyboard.
- Mouse.
- Galaxy S2 touch interface.
It seems that the hot new thing after 3d (2010) and apps (2011) is remote free navigation a la the Xbox Kinect. We’ll have to wait and see whether this is what TV purchasers really want or whether it’s a solution in search of a problem.
In other news Samsung announced that all tv’s from the ES range up will have built in Freeview and PVR recording functionality. Even though you will have to hook up your own USB hard drive this does seem like a great value add for TV buyers.
The top of the range ES8000 with voice and motion gesture control.
Step back in time – TV’s through the ages.
Glen Chean from Samsung demonstrates latest range of Smart TV’s.
While similar to the XBox Kinect gesture controls system, Samsungs solution uses proprietary technology.
A Happy Marriage? The Specials in Auckland, April 2012 April 11, 2012
Posted by John Buckley in Uncategorized.Tags: hey little rich girl, message to you rudy
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Al Capone’s guns don’t argue – and neither do I when I’m offered a ticket to see The Specials play live. After all, these guys are my childhood musical heroes.
I really enjoyed the night (surprise surprise). There was a party atmoshpere for the virtually the whole gig although the pace slowed down at two important points. Firstly when the band stopped to pay tribute to their great friend, Amy Winehouse (dedicating Hey Little Rich Girl to her). The second time was when guitarist/vocalist Lynval Golding apologised to the audience for “only playing here twice” the other time being 2009. “We should have come here thirty years ago” he said – and the crowd roared in agreement.
Highlights: A Message To You Rudy – honestly, all I could see were beaming faces from young and old during this song’s performance.
Lowlight: Attempted stage invasions and altercations with the bouncers? Honestly sir, at your age?
Right, so that’s Bad Manners and The Specials ticked off so far in 2012, must I see The Beat to complete the Ska trifecta?
Here’s that live cross to the iPad3 launch event from TVNZ Breakfast March 8, 2012
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Here’s the live cross to the event in San Francisco (link opens in a new window).
We will get our hands on the new iPad the morning it launches in New Zealand on the 23rd of March. Expect the price to be the same as the current iPad 2 range (these will drop in price to create difference between the “old” and the new iPad).
Here’s a shot of the New iPad, taken from the old iPad 2 – at this resolution you’re not going to get a real taste of the new hi-def screen.
Live from the iPad 3 Launch – TVNZ Coverage March 8, 2012
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11 am – Lots of demonstrations now – video editing, video games, Garage Band.
Okay New Zealand, you got a mention. The new iPad (for that’s all they are calling it) goes on sale on the 23rd of March. Price (probably) the same as the ipad 2.
10.36 Phil Schiller is on by the way – and in summary, the new ipad has voice dictation, retina display, 5mp rear camera, HD recording and 4G LTE wireless. They still haven’t told us the name yet however.
10.30 New Camera in in new iPad 5MP. Screen has retina display.
10.23 Now looking at iPad and bagging the other tablets in the market. Looked at Twitter on iPad versus Twitter on Samsung Galaxy Tab.
10.15 iCloud will now support movies. Also Apple TV will be upgraded – new user interface and 1080p hi def capable.
10.10 Tim Cook is presenting – having looked at retail he has now announced Siri will be in Japan. We’ve heard the Aussie, French and now Japanes Siri.
Well, we’re finally here. Two hours of qeueuing and now comfortably seated. Apple execs we’ve seen so far include Scott Forstall – head of ipod iPhone development (and potential future CEO).
Here’s a pic from the cheap seats.
Travelling to California for the Apple Event March 7, 2012
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Update: As we got to customs the entire United States immigration computer system crashed. This meant we had to stand in a queue and look at angry and dishevelled travellers for one and three quarter hours. Let this not be an omen about American technology. Anyway, back to the story….
Two Tuesday’s in one day.
Well, the first leg went well. I managed to check in to Air New Zealand quite early. Which is just as well because it turns out, I don’t have a visa for the US. The Air New Zealand desk lady ejoyed telling me that a little too much, allowing me to visualise the walk of shame out of the airport, before saying “but you can buy one here”. Phew.
I was put into the capable hands of Christine who entertained and amused through the painful $70 process of requesting a visa waiver online. So, people who are less dumb than me know this, but if you are a foreigner travelling to the states you have to buy a visa waiver online for $40 US. If you get Air NZ to do it for you it’s another $30NZ on top.
Made it to my seat in Business Premier. It’s pretty, pretty good. You are right up against the other passengers but a sense of privacy is maintained by the walls of your pod. The tv screen is adequate and the movie selection excellent (The Artist really is lovely isn’t it)?
The best part of course is the techno seat which converts into a lie flat bed at the touch of a button. I’ve only flown Business long haul once before, that was with Cathay to Hong Kong. While I agree with comments that Cathay’s better in terms of overall quality, Air NZ’s bed is better. And that counts for a lot if you only have a short time in the city you’re visiting snd want to arrive fresh as a daisy.
Anyway, my overnight thoughts on the iPad 3. I wonder whether the enhancements will be outside of the device. Some new service which only the 3 can manage (like a Siri on the iphone 4S) or an accessory like the smart cover. Given the iPads extensive use in the real world, what layer can Apple add to boost its utility?
Well, all will be revealed shortly as they say.
