Like other tech lovers (especially Galaxy Note owners), I had also been closely following Galaxy Note 2 news and eagerly looking forward to August 29 for experiencing the Samsung Unpacked event at IFA 2012, Berlin. Finally, the wait is over. I feel rather relaxed now knowing I wont have to digest heaps of Galaxy Note 2 rumors anymore.
The other day i was wondering what IFA actually stands for but after knowing it is ‘Internationale Funkausstellung’, I think I’m rather cool with plain ‘IFA’.
Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much; for me, it was purely a Galaxy Note 2 event. But Samsung has taken everyone by surprise by throwing a slew of devices in this one event.
Lets take a look at all of these:
Galaxy Note 2
Though Galaxy Note 2 was just one of the total six devices unveiled that night, yet it took center stage at the event. It seems like a hybrid of Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note …… and probably Galaxy Note 10.1.
Here’s a quick look at the hardware specs: 5.5″ HD Super AMOLED display, Quad core Exynos CPU clocked at 1.6GHz, 2GB of RAM, 8MP camera with Full-HD video capture, 16/32/64 GB Built in storage, NFC and all major sensors and connectivity options Samsung is known for offering. Also it is the first Samsung mobile to offer Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box. S-Pen has also seen many needed improvements which range from its physical dimensions to its pressure sensitivity to its functionality and integration with the device.
All in all, 2nd gen Note has substantially improved both in terms of hardware/software and overall usability compared to its 1st gen counterpart. It in fact looks a lot more mature now! I’m gonna cover it in complete detail in my next post; so hold your breath till then 🙂
Galaxy Camera
Now that’s the mother of all surprises! Its decided that I’m gonna take all rumors seriously from now on.
I’m literally having a difficulty describing this device. It is a full fledged super zoom camera with a 1/2.3″ BSI-CMOS sensor that captures 16.3MP stills and 1080p videos. It also offers a stunning 21x optical zoom and 8GB of on-board storage. These specs almost completely match with Samsung’s WB850F digital camera.
Now lets talk about the ‘Galaxy’ part of it. This camera is powered by a 1.4 GHz Quad-Core CPU and probably is the first to run a full fledged Android OS and that too the latest Jelly Bean. It has a 4.8″ HD Super Clear LCD Multitouch display which is pretty impressive for a digital camera. Alongwith Wifi connectivity, it offers 3G/4G as well which clearly makes it the first most-connected-camera of the world. Telephony is not supported but VoIP functionality would most definitely be due to availability of all these connectivity options and access to all Play Store apps. UI has also been tweaked a lot to facilitate efficient camera usage.
Well, its a completely new concept and therefore a little hard to accept for now but then we used to say the same about Galaxy Note as well or didn’t we? Lets just hope it doesn’t prove to be the first camera to have UI lags 😉
Samsung ATIV
That’s not a device; it is a new line of devices…..a surprise again! Samsung ATIV devices all run Windows 8 and range from mobile to tablet to PCs.
Here’s a brief intro of each of these:
Samsung ATIV Smart PC/Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro: Both of these come with detachable keyboards, S-Pen, an 11.6″ multitouch display, USB and uHDMI ports, rear facing Cameras and 3G/4G connectivity. The non-Pro version has an HD display, Intel Atom CPU, 2GB RAM, and 128GB SSD. The Pro version, as is obvious from the name, is more powerful with a Full-HD display, Intel Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM and upto 256GB SSD.
Samsung ATIV Tab: This Windows 8 tablet is touted as providing ‘PC experience on tablet’. It has a 10.1″ Multitouch display, 1.5GHz Dual-Core CPU, 5MP rear facing camera, Stereo speakers, USB and uHDMI ports and expandable storage.
Samsung ATIV S: That’s a smartphone powered by Windows 8. It has a 1.5GHz Dual-Core CPU, 4.8″ HD Super AMOLED Multitouch display, 8MP Camera, NFC and 8.7mm slim profile.
….and lastly there was a mysteriously brief announcement of Samsung Series 9 laptop.
Lets be honest…..we have seen some weird stuff at this event. PCs with removable displays, Camera running apps, widgets & games, PCs with rear facing cameras. That’s a whole lot of mutation! My advice: take it all with a grain of salt.
Watch full video of Samsung Unpacked event here.
Technically Non-Tech 