Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Cases & Covers with prices

Cases and covers are one of the important accessories which you should consider while buying a smartphone. Covers do not only protect your smartphones but reflects your attitude and the personality. Samsung Galaxy Note 3 has plenty of covers and cases to choose from. It's been just few days and plenty of manufacturers have already rolled out flip covers, silicon as well as hybid cases and the orthodox leather covers.Let's have a look at some of the covers you could consider buying to get beautify your Galaxy Note 3.

NILLKIN Note 3 Fresh Series Leather Case

Nilking brings a series of leather cases for Note 3. Created with premium leather and it's an anti- skidding and wear- resistant case. Fits your Note 3 perfectly and there's a receiver's hole to answer your calls without opening the case.



Colors available: black, blue, yellow

NILLKIN Super Frosted Shield cover

It's made up of environmental PC material and looks quite elegant. It's easy to clean and comes with special features like anti skidding,  If you are not a fan of clip covers then this Frosted Shield is perfect choice for as  Note 3 case.

Colors: black, bright red, white, brown

Belkin FormFit Coverlet for Galaxy Note 3

Belkin rolls out Coverlet for Note which has made up of premium materials. Belkin FormFit cover has a minimalist design which makes it easy to take on and off.

It's designed in such manner that all the keys , ports and speakers are properly exposed.

Price: $39.99
Colors: Black,Pink

SPIGEN Protective (Neo Hybrid) TPUCase 

Perfectly slim and form fitted to show the perfect shape of Galaxy Note 3. The material is good combination Polycarbonate and TPU for drop protection.

Note 3 Case Black PU Leather Wallet 

The case is well packaged and the quality is superb. You don't need to carry a wallet as it has card slots which can be used to keep credit cards. It comes with magnetic Closing Flip which protects it from accidental dents.
Price: £5.90
Colors: Black

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Samsung Galaxy Mega: Remove Multi window Sidebar

Samsung continues it's mission to bring bigger phones in 2013. The Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 -Galaxy Mega 6.3 are latest devices to fill the array of 'phablet' devices. Mega Smartphone has one of the distinctive touchwiz features - Multi window Sidebar. Not all users are fond of the 'ugly' sidebar and here's how you can get rid of sidebar on Samsung Galaxy Mega. The bar is usually docked to the left or right of your screen and read following steps to hide it.

You might like to read how you could enable/disable the sidebar on Galaxy Note 2 and Galaxy S3.

Disable Multi window Sidebar

The Mega series has Android jellybean 4.2.2 and it follows the same convention. There are 2 ways to get rid of the sidebar. In 4.1.1, Samsung didn't include any option to disable the feature but 4.1.2 os update came up with a new option in the notifications bar.

Touch and Hold the back button

Easiest way to hide the sidebar is touch and hold back button of your Galaxy Mega. Hold the back button for 2 seconds and you can see the docked bar. You can follow same steps to enable the feature in again. This is 'soft' way to hide/ unhide the sidebar.

Notification panel 

Now we can move to the disable it. Just go to notification panel and check out some of the shortcuts present at the top. You will be able to see an option called 'Multi-window'. Just uncheck it and you have completely disabled the multi-window sidebar.

This trick works for all the galaxy devices which exclusively feature the sidebar.

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Why you shouldn't buy HTC One (M7) and go for Samsung Galaxy S4

The HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 arrived at the same time in March - April 2013. It's been 3 months and with millions of units sold and currently being used, we will see how these devices performed in past few months. This review is not about the specs or benchmarks, but how they stood up to the expectations and why you shouldn't buy HTC One and go for Samsung Galaxy S4. HTC One is an impressive smart phone and in terms of looks, HTC one scores more than it's Galaxy competitor. What sets the HTC One apart from the Samsung Galaxy S4 is its use of aluminium. The aluminium body gives the premium feel to the phone. S4 which follows similar ergonomics of  the previous Galaxy devices and it is definitely not a head turner.

Build quality concerns

While HTC One impressed us at first glance, the build quality and the HTC sense was the biggest disappointment. HTC users have raised serious concerns about the phone's build quality. Initial batches of HTC One M7 had suffered major issue like-

• Noticeable gaps in the device
• Unresponsive home and back keys
• Overheating of the device
• Dead and Stuck Pixels
• Background noise and faulty speakers

Lot of buyers exchanged their handsets twice or thrice to get the perfect unit.On the other hand,Galaxy S4 users are pretty happy. There were issues but Samsung managed toact fast and get rid of the problems in  few quick updates. One of popular problem reported by a most of the Galaxy S4 users was smearing of screen on black background.

Slower OS updates

Galaxy S4 was launched with the newest android os 4.2.2. Any smartphone's OS is one of the selling factors and somehow Samsung has taken lead over HTC.  HTC came out with android 4.2.1 and started rolling out HTC One's jellybean 4.2.2 update in past week. HTC has not released an officiela word on update for North American countries.

Ridiculous battery performance

Battery performance may vary depending on individual usage. Galaxy S4's battery somehow manages to keep the phone alive for a day. That's pretty average but much better than what HTC One offers. Though HTC one uses bigger 2300mAh battery, there are no big improvements over the One X's pathetic battery life. You can always try tricks & tips to save battery life of HTC One.

The Samsung touchwiz has tons of options for almost everything where as HTC sense has long way to go. People love having options and Samsung has packed every possible feature in it's flagship device.Samsung has better customer support and it has bigger network of developers working on S4 which means more rooting method, more ROMS and more widgets for your phone.

If you are ready to live with limited features of HTC sense UI and looks is what all about, definitely go for the HTC One.

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Galaxy S4 - Best Car Charger with fastest charge rate

Samsung Galaxy S4 comes with one of largest batteries ever used in a Smartphone and you need a powerful charger to charge it with a good speed. We recently wrote about solution for slow charging of Galaxy s4. Similarly, usual car chargers are not powerful enough to charge with 2000mAh charge rate and that’s why users experience slower charging. We have found out an official car charger which is capable of charging your device as fast as the stock charger does.

Samsung Galaxy S4 official Car Charger

It’s a USB charger itself is capable of handling any USB-to-MicroUSB cable.  You will need a stock USB cable of your galaxy device and just connect your galaxy s4 to the charger. Stick to the stock USB cable as it is another issue which might affect the charging of your device.

There are plenty of reasons to recommend this charger. First of all, it is powerful and compatible with galaxy s4. The charger charged with the rate of 2000mAh and it will take just 1.5 hours to complete the entire charging. It will save your time and it will not affect the life of your battery. There are plenty of other chargers around which might offer similar features and we will be covering those in our future posts.

You can buy the charger from amazon store.

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Problem - Slow Charging of Samsung Galaxy S4 | Fix for the issue

Have you experienced slow charging of your Galaxy S4 ? Lot of users have taken issues with S4 about charging time and they say it takes more time to get charged, - Compared to the older device. The Samsung fans who switched from Galaxy S3 and Note 2 have been complaining about the slower charging of the latest flagship device S4. We did some research to find the root cause of this problem. There are reasons why your S4 takes more time to charge than you anticipated.

We tested our S4 device with various chargers. We used USB cable, Sony Xperia charger and the stock S4 charger. here's the complete breakdown and please note that the time has been calculated for the charging started at  0% and ends at 100%.

Stock charger	2 hour 21 minutes
USB	6 hours
Xperia X10 Charger	4 hours 30 minutes

Charging through USB

This can be the probable cause why your phone takes more time to charge. Charging via USB-port will always be slower than the original charger. USB pulls between 300mA and 500mA while charging. That too depends on if you're using front or back the USB. The quality of the USB also affects the rate at which it gets charged. Every smart phone has battery of a particular size and it is to be charged at  the pre-decided rate.

We have also noticed that the stock charging cable provided with a device charge faster than the other cables. So make sure to use stock cables while you charge through USB.

Charging with different charger

Charging will be slower if you're using chargers manufactured by other brands -BlackBerry, Sony, HTC or even Samsung chargers (Galaxy S3, note 2).  If you're trying to charge 2600mAH with any other chargers including any Samsung charger,  the rate at which it gets charged will be slower and it will affect the life of your battery.

Solution

Original Galaxy S4 Chargers Chargers with 2000mA which is a huge difference compared to the USB chargers. With original charger S4 recharges from 0 to 100 in 2 hour 21 minutes which is pretty good for a phone with monstrous battery of 2600 mAH. Just use the stock Chargers provided  with Samsung Galaxy S4 and avoid using charging via USB ports.

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Android OS 4.1 jellybean update for Samsung chat B5330 : Download using kies

Samsung has just rolled out its Android 4.1 Jellybean update for Samsung Chat B5330. The Samsung chat is a QWERTY keypad and touchscreen Android smart phone from Samsung. It's a good sign for other low-end phone users as they are getting the latest OS updates. You can download the update for your Samsung Chat phone using Samsung Kies software. The update is also available over-the-air so you can update your firmware right from your phone.

How to update Jellybean 4.1 on Samsung Chat phone

The new update has a serial code  B5330XXUBMD2. Once your device is ready for an update, you'll get a notification to download and install it. You can manually update the phone via Settings >> About Phone >> Software Update >> Update. This update will bring some of the latest features of Android to this QWERTY phone. We're expecting to see lot of improvements over the 4.0 ICS but not all the features like multiwindow screen - split screen will be supported by the phone as it might not have enough power to run them.

The total size of the update is 322 MB and the update is being rolled out in phases as usual. So if you don't see an update notification in your phone then you can go to the authorized Samsung Service Center and get your phone updated with the latest OS. 

Generally the low and mid tier smart phones are usually left on the older operating systems but it seems like Samsung is starting to give more importance to its more popular phones irrespective of their market price.

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Samsung unveils Galaxy Win GT-I8552 with Quad core CPU & 4.7 AMOLED Screen

Samsung continues to flood the Android smartphone market with more phones as Galaxy Win is another Android JellyBean device released specifically for China and Vietnam. After the Galaxy S4, Samsung has expanded their inventory by adding some low end handsets like Galaxy Fame and Young. One of the latest addition to the clan was Galaxy XCover2 which is a waterproof phone. Galaxy Win which is also referred to as Samsung GT-I8552 is packed with a quad core processor and follows the Samsung's signature to create phones with bigger display screens.

Also read - List of Galaxy Phones in 2013

Samsung Galaxy Win features & Specs

• 4.7-inch Super AMOLED WVGA display
• 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 Processor
• Adreno 203 GPU
• 5MP Rear Camera
• VGA Front Camera
• Android 4.1.2
• 2000 mAh battery

For the time being, Samsung has targeted China and Vietnam for the promotion and sale of Win but eventually it will be released in other countries in Europe as well as North America. There is no sign of dual sim version of the Galaxy Win but they might come up with dual sim version of the phones. The Win is likely to get launched with dual SIM support and will be available for sale in the month of May 2013. Here's quick link how can you connect your phone using Samsung kies PC suit.

Samsung has a lot of devices with very similar features and they they all belong to same segment. It's still unclear how Samsung is going to target the buyers for a particular phone as there are lots of Samsung gadgets are in the market. It would be interesting to see how Galaxy Win finds a place for itself in the crowded Android market as a whole.

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Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini Leaked Photos, Specs & features

It's been just 2 weeks after Samsung introduced most awaited smartphone of the year - galaxy S4 and the glimpses of  Galaxy S4 mini have appeared on the web. The rumored Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini's first leaked photos have been released. Samung mobile continues their strategy to flood the markets with diferent devices and S4 Mini is how Samsung will offering an opion for user who are lookng for compact and cheaper version of legendary S4.

Galaxy S4 Mini Specs & features

S4 mini is loaded with a 1.6GHz dual-core CPU and has sharp Super AMOLED display of 4.3 inch. S4 mini will arrive in single as well as dual sim and the version number will be (GT-I9190) & (GT-I9192) respectively.

The smartphone will hold the 8 MP camera and will run on the latest Android OS jellybean 4.2.2. The device has biggers size than the S3 mini which was launched in 2012, right after the success of galaxy S3.

Release date for S4 Mini

Galaxy S4 Mini is likely to hit markets by end of June and starting week of July 2013.

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What is new in Samsung Galaxy S4 - Cool Features of Galaxy S4

What's so new in Galaxy S4 ?

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is one of the most awaited Android phones of 2013 and everyone who is an Android fan has kept his eyes open for any details on the S4 smartphone. Galaxy S4 will be the Samsung's new flagship device for 2013 taking over from the widely successful Galaxy S3 and we are sure that it will be packed with lot of cool features. Some of the innovative features of Samsung Galaxy S4 have been leaked. Galaxy S3 lot lot of new features like Smart eye scrolling, Smart alerts and the updated S pen software.

The Samsung S series phone are always the first phones to get coolest and most innovative features from the Samsung developer team and are also usually the first to get the latest Android firmware updates too owing to their popularity.

Smart Eye Scrolling

Samsung supposedly invented and developed the technology called the smart eye scroll where the sensors present at the top of Galaxy S4 tracks the user eye movement and if the user is facing the screen the phone will scroll accordingly. This seems like an advanced version of Smart Stay feature which was used to find if the user is looking at the screen or not.

Update: Samsung decided not to include the Smart Scroll feature with the S4 this time which is unfortunate as it sounded like a great feature to have.

Floating Touch

The Samsung Devs have included floating touch gestures into the S4 similar to the floating touch features of the Note and its S Pen gestures where you can hover your finger over the screen to view previews of the tasks.

8 Core Processor chip (Exynos 5 Octa core)

Samsung has created a latest version of its popular Exynos Chip which are the next generation processor which is extremely fast and efficient. Samsung claims that they can save battery life upto 70% using this chip which sounds great. We are looking forward to see this marvel in Galaxy S4 as the most popular complaint of users usually is that their smartphone battery life isnt very good. This feature is going to attract lot of android lovers who want next generation feature rich phone.

13 megapixel camera

Galaxy S4 is likely to get packed with 12 or 13 megapixel camera.Most of the recent premium phones have been released with 12 or 13 megapixel camera so most probably Samsung will be releasing its first 13 megapixel camera phone to stay in the league of the premium Android phones available in the market.

Galaxy S4 Screen size - 5 inch Green PHOLED

Compared to the successor Galaxy S3, S4 will be featuring more 0.3 inches which takes S4 to the section of 5 inch screen phones. That's something Samsung should have avoided as there are already a lot of  Samsung devices with a screen of 5 inches like Galaxy grand and Note 2. Also the screen is rumored to be a Green PHOLED Screen which is said to increase the power efficiency by atleast 20%

As you can see the Samsung Galaxy S4 is rumored to contain a lot of great and innovative features and we cant wait to see what Samsung can do with them as Samsung is determined to maintain its lead in the Android smartphone race.

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Samsung Galaxy S4 vs HTC One - Feature Comparison, Pros and Cons

Samsung Galaxy S4 vs HTC One Feature Comparison

The smartphone market is in a flurry upcoming launch of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and March 14th being the day of release. A lot of Samsung and Android fans are eagerly waiting to see what the phone is going to offer and even though most of its features have leaked out online, the launch will put all those rumors to rest. Last year when the S3 was launched, Samsung had a top notch smartphone with HTC One X being the only close rival but still not good enough and this year all the OEM makers have stepped up their game most notably HTC and Sony with HTC recently launching the HTC One as a rival to the upcoming S4. HTC has made some drastic changes to its smartphone strategy in the past year to make itself known in the market and the HTC One is proof of that as it features lots of new innovative technologies. In this post we compare the features of the HTC One Smartphone with the rumored features of the Samsung S4 to see which phone trumps the other to become the newest best seller.

Also Read: Samsung Galaxy S4 vs Sony Xperia Z - Feature Comparison, Pros and Cons

Display: Galaxy S4 is larger but HTC One is sharper

In this section both the phones are pretty much similar with both of them offering an approximately 5 inch screen with a stunning 1080p display. The HTC One has a 4.7 inch SuperLCD3 screen with a  resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels which comes to a pixel density of a staggering 469 ppi and Samsung is reported to offer the similar resolution with a 5 inch screen. One thing which Samsung S4 might have as the rumors suggest is a new 'Green PHOLED' technology for the screen which if true might mean a the screen offering better battery efficiency. So by the looks of it, both phones are offering something new in the Display area.

Processor: Samsung may shake the market with its Exynos 5 Octa eight-core processor

The HTC One sports a  1.7GHz Snapdragon 600 Quad Core processor with Adreno 320 quickly becoming the new standard GPU unit which as we know is more than enough to support the Android OS and all the graphics intensive games along with it. The S4 on the other hand is rumored to have a 1.8GHz Quad Core processor or as recent reports are leaning towards an Exynos 5 Octa processor which is an eight core processor, could be there will be two versions of the S4 similar to how the S3 was marketed with the US version being a quad core and the international version shipping with the octa.

Memory: Both phones are at par though HTC One isnt expandable

Memory wise both the phones are packing a 2GB RAM with the the HTC One having internal memory options of 16/32GB which sadly cannot be expanded using a microSD slot. The Galaxy S4 may take a similar route as that of the S3 and come in various internal memory configurations of 16/32/64GB

Camera and Battery: 'Ultrapixel' Camera is HTCs massive leap in innovation

Camera is another area where the innovation has recently come to a standstill with most of the phones offering a 13 MP rear shooter. The S4 goes the same route with the standard 13 MP rear camera while the HTC One sports a 4 MP camera. You read that right... a 4 MP Ultrapixel camera which going by the leaked shots can easily eclipse almost all the smartphone cameras that are available in the market. HTC has always been interested in offering better cameras with the HTC One X last holding the lead as the best Camera on any Android smartphone and looks like this year they'll be winning by a mile. Battery wise both may be similar with the HTC One sporting a 2300 mAh Li-Ion battery.

Design: HTC wins here by miles

HTC recently licensed the design patents from Apple to incorporate them into their smartphones and boy have they nailed it. The HTC One looks elegant, beautiful in its aluminuim body and in simpler words its absolutely stunning. The Samsung S4 on the other hand is rumored to borrow its looks from the S2 instead of the S3 and Samsung sure has their work cut out for them to try and one up the HTC One in terms of look and design and will definitely lose if they retain their plasticky look.

Price: One is overpriced

And the price is what it all comes down to. No matter what the features or the design the HTC One is a pricey one at approximately $650-670. If Samsung can market its phone at a competitive pricing like it did with the S3 there is no doubt that S4 will rule the market as more people will choose a cheaper phone with a better processor than a better looking/designed one with a slightly lesser spec.

HTC One and Galaxy S4 Pros and Cons 

As with all things, both the phone have their pros and cons, their advantages and disadvantages. Let us assume that Samsung markets the phone at a similar price range as the HTC One. In that case the advantages HTC One has is that it is designed as a much more elegantly designed phone borrowing its design slightly from the iPhone and innovating rapidly in its camera technology which could be leagues ahead than any other in the market. The con for the HTC One and pro for the S4 is that Samsung bundles its phones with some amazing piece of software like the Premium Suite which might sway the users away from the HTC Sense UI which has earned its reputation of being clunky and inconsistent. On the other hand one drawback for the Samsung phones is that they are not known to be the most reliable in the market where HTC is now changing its strategy to make phones of a superior build than it used to.

So there it is folks... What do you think of the two phones? Do you think the HTC One has what it takes to dethrone Samsung as making the best Android smartphones? Let us know in the comments!

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Samsung Galaxy S4 vs Sony Xperia Z - Feature Comparison, Pros and Cons

Samsung Galaxy S4 vs Sony Xperia Z Feature Comparison

The mobile market is in a flurry with the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S4 coming close with March 14th being the day of release. A lot of Samsung and Android fans are eagerly waiting to see what the phone is going to offer and even though most of its features have leaked out online, the launch will put all those rumors to rest. Last year when the S3 was launched, Samsung had a killer smartphone with absolutely no rival with HTC One X being close but still not good enough but this year all the OEM makers have stepped up their game most notably HTC and Sony with Sony launching the Xperia Z as a rival to the upcoming S4. In this post we compare the features of the Sony Xperia Z with the rumored features of the Samsung S4 to see which phone trumps the other to become the newest best seller.

Also Read: Samsung Galaxy S4 vs HTC One - Feature Comparison, Pros and Cons

Display: Both are similar with Samsung S4 sporting 'Green PHOLED'

In this section both the phones are pretty much similar with both of them offering a 5 inch screen with a stunning 1080p display. The Xperia Z has a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels which comes to a pixel density of a massive 441 ppi and Samsung is reported to offer the same specs. One thing which Samsung S4 might have as the rumors suggest is a new 'Green PHOLED' technology for the screen which if true might mean a the screen offering better battery efficiency.

Processor: Samsung might be rocking an Exynos 5 Octa eight-core processor

The Sony Xperia Z sports a 1.5GHz Krait Quad Core processor with an Adreno 320 GPU which as we know is more than enough to support the Android OS and all the graphics intensive games along with it. The S4 on the other hand is rumored to have a 1.8GHz Quad Core processor or as recent reports are leaning towards an Exynos 5 Octa processor which is an eight core processor, could be there will be two versions of the S4 similar to how the S3 was marketed.. At this point you have to wonder that is there even a reason to have eight cores into a CPU and if the OS will ever make use of the resources given to it. In both the cases Samsung still comes out on top.

Memory: Both phones are at par

Memory wise both the phones are packing a 2GB RAM with the Xperia Z having an internal memory of 16GB which can be expanded using a microSD slot. The Galaxy S4 may take a similar route as that of the S3 and come in various internal memory configurations of 16/32/64GB

Camera and Battery: Both sporting the standard camera technologies

Camera is another area where the innovation has come to a standstill with both the phones offering a 13 MP rear shooter and the Xperia Z having a 2.2 MP front cam while the Galaxy S4 having a 2 MP one. The Sony Xperia Z has a non-removable 2330 mAh Li-Ion battery and while no news has come out on the battery of the S4 we're pretty sure it'll be around the same range only as Samsung will keep the battery as a removable one for the convenience of the user.

Design: The design of the Xperia Z looks like its hard to beat

From a Design perspective the Xperia Z is a beautiful piece of hardware with the finish and build quality matching that of an iPhone itself and the phone design made to keep the phone as elegant and as simple as possible. While the S4 is said to be sporting the rectangular minimalist form factor of the S2 instead of the more popular S3, we cant wait to find out what the phone looks like.

Price: Samsung needs to price the phone right or risk losing marketshare

And the price is what it all comes down to. No matter what the features or the design the Xperia Z is a pricey one at approximately 650 USD. If Samsung can market its phone at a competitive pricing like it did with the S3 there is no doubt that S4 will rule the market.

Xperia Z and Galaxy S4 Pros and Cons 

Now that it comes down to it, both phones have their pros and cons respectively. Let us assume that Samsung markets the phone at a similar price range as the Xperia Z. In that case the advantages Xperia Z has is that it is a much better designed phone with Sony slowly emerging as the dark horse of Android phones. The con for the Xperia Z and pro for the S4 is that Samsung bundles its phones with some amazing piece of software like the Premium suite which might sway the users away. On the other hand one drawback for the Samsung phones is that they are not known to be the most reliable in the market where Sony is showing real quality in its phones.

So there it is folks... What do you think of the two phones? Do you think Sony has what it takes to dethrone Samsung from its throne as making the best Android smartphone? Let us know in the comments!

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Samsung Galaxy Note 2 vs LG Optimus G Pro Compare Features

LG Optimus G Pro vs Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Compare Features

The LG Optimus G Pro is the latest phone that was launched by LG and it comes with a 5.5 Inch screen and a 1080p display. With its specifications and impressive features one cant help but think this is LG's answer to Samsung's Note 2 and HTC's Droid DNA. LG has been recently seen stepping up their game in the Android market ever since the Nexus 4 offering great choices like the Optimus L9 and now the new G Pro. In this post we compare Samsung's hugely popular phablet Note 2 with the Optimus G Pro across the various features they offer.

Display: Optimus G Pro offers a better ppi

The screen and the display is the major buying point for any user these days with a good display causing the phone to be extremely successful and a bad one causing it to fail no matter what. The LG Optimus G Pro offers a phablet size 5.5 inch Ture HD-IPS+ screen similar to the Galaxy Note 2's 5.5 inch Super AMOLED one but the Optimus G Pro gets an upper hand due to its brilliant 1080p display compared to Note 2's 720p one. This results in a huge gulf of pixel sharpness with the Optimus G Pro at a solid 401ppi while the Note 2 stands way lower at a 267ppi

Processor, GPU and OS: Both are pretty similar

The Optimus G Pro comes with a Qualcomm MDM9615/APQ8064 which is a Quad-core 1.7GHz Krait processor with an Adreno 320 as its GPU. The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 on the other hand comes with Samsung's own Exynos 4412 which is a similar quad-core 1.6GHz A9 processor and has a Mali 400 as its GPU. Both the phones comes with Android JellyBean, however the Optimus G Pro has Android 4.1.2 whereas the Note2 has 4.1.1

Memory: Note 2 offers more options

Both phones have 2GB of RAM which seems right considering the huge 5.5 inch screen they have to back and the LG Optimus G Pro comes with 32GB memory and a microSD slot with upto 64GB expandable memory. The Note 2 on the other hand comes with varied options of 16/32/64 GB and an expandable memory of upto 64GB.

Camera and Battery: Both are pretty much equal

In the Camera department the Optimus G Pro takes the lead again offering a 13 megapixel rear camera and a 2.1 megapixel front and offers 1080p video recording at 30fps and the Note2 isnt lagging very far behind with an 8 megapixel rear and a 1.9 megapixel front camera.
The battery on both the phones is almost at par with a 3140 mAH Li-Po on the LG Optimus G Pro and a 3100 mAh Li-Ion on the Note2.

Design: Optimus G Pro looks like its from the future!

Strictly on the basis of the looks, I would pick the LG Optimus G Pro over the Note2 any day. While the Note2 goes with the simple, elegant business look the Optimus G Pro looks sleek and superb with its back having the slight shimmering effect borrowed from the Nexus 4 which makes it look absolutely gorgeous.

Price

While the LG hasnt announced the official pricing of the LG Optimus G Pro yet, there seem to be rumors floating around that the phone will cost somewhere between 650-900$ while the Note2 is presently being sold at approximately 650$ off contract internationally. The Optimus G Pro might be a beautiful phone but if LG doesnt approach the market with a competitive pricing it will lose all its customers to other options like the Note2 or the HTC DNA.

Taking a look at both the phones, barring the price factor the LG Optimus G Pro is miles ahead of the Galaxy Note 2 and if LG is smart enough to release the phone at a good price it can wipe the market before Samsung releases the Note3 later in the year. What do you think? Will LG be able to dethrone Samsung's best selling phablet? Let us know in the comments.

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Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2 GT-S7710 - dust proof and water proof android phone

We're pretty sure that you must have not heard much about the Galaxy Xcover 2 - The new waterproof phone from Samsung Galaxy series. What makes it different from other arrays of Galaxy phones you ask? The answer is pretty straightforward - it's a waterproof and dust proof Android Smartphone. The Galaxy Xcover 2 has got its IP67 certification and as for the statistics, the phone can stay under water for 30 minutes.

The key features included into the Xcover 2 will be Android JellyBean 4.1.2 and its 5 megapixel camera.

Galaxy Xcover2 Specs

Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2 GT-S7710 comes with 4 inch LCD capacitive display screen. The smartphone offers a resolution of 480x 800 and one of the prime features of Xcover2 is that it comes with Android JellyBean 4.1.2. The phone is powered by 1 GHz dual core cortex-A9 CPU and a Mali 400 GPU. Another great feature about the phone is the 1 GB RAM which is sufficient to support all your multitasking needs.

Galaxy Xcover2 Camera and Connectivity

The Xcover 2 has got 4 GB of internal memory with an expandable MicroSD slot which supports 32 GB memory. Xcover2 GT-S7710 is bundled with a decent 5 megapixel camera and as a pleasant surprise, a VGA front camera too as well as the standard sensors like gyroscope, proximity sensor and accelerometer.

Why you should buy Xcover2

In our honest opinion, there's nothing special and unique apart from IP 67 certification. If you really worry about dust or water and ready to carry a heavy phone with the look and average display screen - the Galaxy Xcover2 is your phone to buy because if not for its dust proof and waterproof guarantees, the phone is likely to get lost in the series of Galaxy phones like many other experiments have before.

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Remove multi window sidebar in Samsung Galaxy Note 2 & Galaxy S3

How to remove Multi-window Sidebar

This article explains how to disable the multiwindow sidebar present in the Samsung Galaxy smartphones like Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy grand, Galaxy Mega etc.
Galaxy Note 2 was the first Samsung phone to get launched with Android JellyBean out of the box. One of the exclusive features of Galaxy Note 2 was a Multi-Window functionality which was initiated from a sidebar.
Another Feature was a new Sidebar to replace the dock, which usually lies at the bottom of your display screen. The multi window Sidebar can be customized & as well as removed from the screen. Some of the users could not found way to get rid of it in Galaxy Note 2 as well as Galaxy S3 Premium Suite.

How to remove the Note 2 Multi-Window on Android 4.1.1

The sidebar can be docked in the left or right orientation of your phone. Hiding the Multi-Window from your phone is simple though it is not readily apparent to some, all you need to do is touch and hold the back button of your Android device - Note or Galaxy S3 for a moment and sidebar will be hidden.

Holding the back button works for Android JellyBean 4.1.1 as well as 4.1.2 You can use this trick to toggle your Android sidebar on and off on your device. Another way to do this is to pull out the notification center, go to the settings and toggle the multi window feature. Disabling the Multi window will remove the unwanted sidebar from your display screen.

How to remove sidebar from Jellybean 4.1.2

Samsung S3 has already received Android JellyBean 4.1.2 and the Premium Suite along with it in which there is new edition of  an option called 'Multi window' in notification panel. You can easily enable and disable the Multi window function from the notifications quick shortcut.

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Compare Samsung Galaxy Grand vs Samsung Galaxy S2

Comparing Samsung Galaxy Grand vs  Samsung Galaxy S2

Samsung Galaxy Grand is newest entry in Galaxy series of Smartphones. On the first impression of Galaxy grand is that it is a low budget sibling of the popular Note 2. It offers option for Android lovers to enjoy the whopping 5 inch screen while still keeping their pockets intact. Let's see how Samsung's Galaxy S2 fares in terms of hardware and software. Both the phones will have their respective group of loyalists but it would be interesting to see the comparison.

Display : S2's AMOLED screen is better

The most impressive parts of S2 was it's  AMOLED screen. Though it looked little pale every time, the picture quality offered was crisp and colors were vibrant. Grand's 5 inch screen offers just 187 ppi which is just barely average. Galaxy S2's display offers same  resolution of 480 x 800 pixels with better 217ppi. The AMOLED screen of S2 beats the plain Capacitive touchscreen of Grand. You could easily separate one pixel from another on the larger screen which is an indicator that the display is not upto the mark.

If picture clarity and colors is what matters to you the most, go for Galaxy S2 or if you are a fan of bigger screen and dont mind sacrificing on the picture sharpness, the Grand is for you.

Processor & O.S. -  Grand gets an edge

Both the Galaxy Grand as well as Galaxy S2 are powered by similar 1.2 GHz dual core processors. The Galaxy S2 has a Mali 400 GPU to backup its processor. Though there is not much difference in terms of processor, Grand comes with out of the box Android Jellybean 4.1 which is much better than ICS that is shipped with Galaxy S2.

Samsung yet to provide JellyBean update for S2 which means Grand gets clear edge in terms of Operating System thanks to upgrades and features like Google Now. Grand is the second Samsung phone that comes with JellyBean out of the box after Note 2.

Design and body

We always loved S2's design. It's slim, sleek and very light device. Galaxy Grand's bigger screen makes it cumbersome to hold but once when you will get used to it, you will enjoy the charisma of bigger screen.

In sprite of the fact that both the phones have 'plasticky' look , Grand has a touch of that 'premium' class which can not ignored. Grand is slightly heavier thanks to its size but it feels great to hold the device in your hand and look at the big screen.

Apart from these major factors, S2 has internal memory of 16 GB compared to the 8 GB of Galaxy Grand.

Price - Grand is our Pick

We were quite amazed to see the fact that Galaxy Grand has been launched with an introductory price  lesser that that of S2's. Galaxy Grand features 8 MP back camera, 2 MP front camera and 5 inch screen and still costs less that current market price of the Galaxy S2. Galaxy Grand wins when it's about affordability it is definitely worth buying as it is much more newer compared to the S2 which even though is a great phone is now ancient in the electronic world.

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List of Samsung Galaxy Phones in 2013 - New Phones getting launched this year

2013 - List of Samsung Galaxy series Android phones

After giving Android its current weight against the competition by having record breaking sales, what Korean giant 'Samsung' has got in their sack for the year 2013? Let's have the look at some of the new phones Samsung might/will launch this year. Samsung has announced some of the phones like Galaxy Grand, Young & Fame. As per the rumors, Samsung might launch S4 in 2nd quarter of 2013. It would be interesting to see Samsung's first Key Lime Pie Phone.

We have listed some of the major as well as minor Samsung Galaxy devices which are getting ready to be launched in 2013. Samsung is likely to continue it's strategy to fill every price range with all the possible devices and give more and more options to their buyers in the latest smartphone tech.

Samsung Galaxy S4  Might release in March 2013

One of the most anticipated device for year 2013. As per the rumors, Galaxy S4 should be launched in March-April in the year 2013. The successor of Galaxy S3 is likely to have powerful Snapdragon 2 GHz quad core processor, 2 GB RAM and a large 4.8 inch display.
S4 will probably launch with the Android 4.2.2 JellyBean and buyers can rest assured that it will be getting the Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie update in future.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3

Samsung Galaxy's phablet - Note 2 sold millions of devices and we can expect the same if not better for Note 3 which rumored to have 6.3 inch huge display screen. The Galaxy Note 3 will probably get released at the end of Q3 allowing the S4 some time to capture the market.

Samsung Galaxy Phones for the Mid-level Price Range

Samsung Galaxy Grand

Samsung has already released Galaxy Grand in all the major countries. Grand is an ideal choice for people who wish to enjoy the whim of having a device with a bigger screen in affordable pricing. The smartphone  has key features like Android Jellybean 4.1.2, 1.2 GHz dual core processor and whooping 5 inch screen though it falls a little short on the screen resolution.

Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus

Samsung's first bestseller in the Android line was Galaxy S2 and they want repeat the magic once again with S2 Plus - an improved and advanced  version of legendary S2. S2 plus missed that plus factor sadly and everything was same except the design.

Samsung Galaxy Young & Galaxy Fame

After premium segment, Samsung has even plans for mid range segment. Galaxy Young and Galaxy Fame have been designed with lower hardware but come at a really interesting price range. It's amazing to see that both phones are running on Android jellybean with such lower hardware and offer most of the coveted features of every smartphone at such an affordable pricing.

Galaxy Xcover 2

The key features included into the Xcover 2 will be Android JellyBean 4.1.2 and its 5 megapixel camera. it's a waterproof and dust proof Android Smartphone.Galaxy Xcover 2 GT-S7710 comes with 4 inch LCD capacitive display screen and powered by 1 GHz processor.

(Last updated on 26 Feb,2013)

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Samsung Galaxy Fame Vs Galaxy Young - Android 4.1.2 Jellybean Review, Pros & Cons

The ever-expanding Samsung Galaxy Series of smartphones now gets even bigger with two new phones that offer the latest in the Android JellyBean OS - Galaxy Fame and Galaxy Young. Samsung's strategy to fill every price range with multiple options for their customers seems to be working for them pretty well as the sales figures show Samsung is turning out to be the only real competition for the iPhone. After Samsung's latest entry - Samsung Galaxy Grand, lets see how Grand and  Fame offer compared to each other which have been released for the more budget conscious market.

Check out the short review comparing galaxy Fame vs Galaxy Young.

Display - TFT Capacitive

The Galaxy Fame as well as Galaxy Young both sport the same TFT capacitive touchscreen display with 256K colors. Samsung Galaxy Fame has a larger display of 3.5 inch compared to Galaxy Young's display which is of 3.27 inch.Galaxy Young S6310's display is though is sharper than Galaxy Fame S6810 as it offers a higher ppi compared to the Fame. The Young offers 176 ppi with a display resolution of 320 x 480 pixels. On the other hand, Samsung Galaxy Fame's is around 165 ppi with 320 x 480 pixels resolution.

Design - Just another Samsung phone

Samsung Galaxy Fame S6810 has a thickness of 11.6(4.46 mm & has footprint dimensions of 113.2x61.6mm. The Galaxy Fame S6810 weighs around 120.6 gms which is heavier than Young which weighs around 112 gms owing to its smaller size. Both the cellphones have 3.5 Audio jack to connect headphones. Both Gadgets even support the standard functionalities like multi-touch etc.

Processor & OS

Samsung has added the now standard 1GHz processor for both the devices. It has made the decision to keep the prices as low as possible while offering a decent feature specification. Samsung Galaxy Fame has the Android OS with version v4.1.2 (Jelly Bean). Its competitor, Samsung Galaxy Young S6310 also has the Android OS with version v4.1.2 (Jelly Bean).

Memory - 4GB internal

The Galaxy Fame S6810 equipped with 512 MB RAM & contains 4 GB of internal memory. Samsung Galaxy Young has 4 GB capacity and 768 MB RAM. Samsung Galaxy Fame S6810's memory is expandable up to 64 GB using microSD and Galaxy Young's memory can be increased up to 64 GB using microSD.

Camera- 5 Mp vs  3.15 Mp

Samsung Galaxy Fame S6810's has a better main rear camera compared to Galaxy Young S6310's primary shooter. Young sports a camera with 3.15 mega pixels &  Fame is loaded with camera of 5 mega pixels. Samsung Galaxy Fame's primary camera has Auto Focus as well LED Flash. Galaxy Fame sports a secondary camera with VGA, where as Galaxy Young lacks secondary camera which one of the cons of this mobile. Both the Phones are capable of shooting great videos at VGA@25fps(frames per second) & VGA@24fps respectively.

Fame as well as Young comes with 1300mAH battery which is a very common Li-ion battery. 1300mAh battery is decent for any smartphone today and the phones wont have a problem lasting through the day.

Pros - Cons of Galaxy Fame and Young

Young has a better RAM of 768MB compared to Fame's 512MB.
Galaxy Fame has a better camera - 5 Megapixel
Both the phones have the dual sim feature in them making it a good choice as a phone.

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Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus Announced - Features 4.3 Inch Display, 1.2 GHz Dual Core CPU and Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2

Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus Announced

The original Samsung Galaxy S2 was one of the first Samsung phones which became extremely popular before the Galaxy Nexus and the Galaxy S3 and now Samsung has decided to get a little more out of the S2 line by announcing the Samsung S2 Plus and the phone comes with pretty much the same specs as the Original Galaxy S2. However unlike its predecessor, the phone has nothing special to ensure that it stands out among the horde of Android devices today. As the pricing of the Samsung Galaxy S2 isn't yet decided, there is no way to know where it actually stands but the newest offering by Samsung fails to make a good first impression, especially considering that the original S2 was so popular when it was released. One way the Galaxy S2 Plus can make an impression is if it releases at a competitive price as the offered specs would be a great buy for an lower-mid tier Android phone.

Samsung Galaxy S2 Features and Specs

• 4.3-inch (800 x 480 Pixels) Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touch with Gorilla Glass
• 1.2 GHz  dual-core ARM Cortex A9 processor
• Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)
• 8.5mm thick (for non-NFC version) and weighing 122 g grams
• 8MP Auto Focus Camera with LED Flash, 1080p video recording 30fps and 2MP front-facing camera
• 1GB RAM, 8 GB internal memory, expandable up to 64GB via microSD card
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, WiFi Direct, Bluetooth v 3.0, GPS/GLONASS and NFC (optional)
• 1650 mAh battery

What do you think of the new Samsung Galaxy S2? Will it make its mark on the market and become as popular as the original S2? Let us know in the comments.

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Samsung Galaxy Grand - 5 Inch LCD, 1.2Ghz CPU & Android 4.1.2 Jellybean

Samsung releases out Dual Sim Galaxy Grand - 5 Inch display

Samsung is about to launch a cheaper version of its Galaxy Note 2 - the new Samsung Galaxy Grand. The Grand will feature a huge 5 inch AMOLED screen, 1.2 Ghz dual core processor and a solid 8 megapixel camera. It will run Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2 out of the box and would be the real treat for budget conscious buyers who want a phone with solid specification but cannot afford to spend on a S3 or a Note 2.

 

Samsung will be rolling the new Samsung Grand phone in 2 versions - a single sim version and a dual sim one. The phone has an 8 megapixel camera as a primary rear shooter and a 2 megapixel front camera. Grand features the 5 inch WVGA (800x480) screen is of the TFT LCD variety.

Dual Sim Version -  (GT-I9082)
Single Sim version -  (GT-I9081)

Samsung Galaxy Grand Specs & features

• 5-inch WVGA LCD screen
• Android Jellybean 4.1.2
• Display resolution of 800x480
• 1.2 GHz dual core processor( rumored to be exynos)
• 8 GB of internal memory
• 1 GB RAM
• microSD card upto 64 GB
• Li -ion 2100mAh battery

Samsung is yet to disclose the selling price of the new Samsung Galaxy Grand but likely to cost around $500 for an unlocked version of the phone. Samsung is starting to cover its entire market with an array of releases of every configuration conceivable to increase its market share and its working so far with Samsung being the only OEM maker actually being profitable. Do you think this is a good idea in the long run? Let us know in the comments.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 3 to launch with a huge 6.3 inch Display - Rumor

The Note 3 Rumor

I'm sorry to be starting off so negatively, but this is just getting ridiculous. Samsung is said to be making displays for the upcoming version of its Galaxy Note Series, the Galaxy Note 3, and according to “officials from a local supplier” in Asia, they measure in at a massive 6.3 inches diagonally. That’s 0.75 inches bigger than the already huge display of the Galaxy Note 2, and a whopping 1.3 inches bigger than the original Galaxy Note display.

Smartphone to Phablet to Tablet

So when does a phone stop becoming a phone and become a tablet? The release of the original Galaxy Note made the industry coin up a word, the 'phablet' - a phone which is not really small enough to be a phone and not large enough to be a tablet.
I like the Galaxy Note phones, they have an amazing polish to them and are extremely stylish and despite mostly being an iPhone user, there were a lot of great things about the original phablet that I really liked like how they actually made the use of a stylus valid again. Those who have never used the device may scoff at its huge display. We all did when Samsung first announced it, but once you hold it in your hand or use it for a couple of days, you start to like it and actually get used to it.

The increase in Display from the original to Note 3

When Samsung released the next version the Galaxy Note 2, Samsung made the display a little larger, from the oddly comfortable 5-inch display to a slightly uncomfortable 5.55-inch one. It may not a massive difference, and Samsung made the bezel around it thin so the handset itself isn’t noticeably wider. But even then, the phablet got a little bigger. Is slightly uncomfortable a good place to leave a phone? Looking at the rumors, Samsung decided to go to making the phone 'extremely uncomfortable' to use with a single hand.

The Korean Times cites their sources are from local parts suppliers in Asia, who say Samsung’s currently developing a 6.3-inch OLED panel for the Galaxy Note 3. That is really huge for a smartphone, its 1.3 inches larger than the original Galaxy Note’s display, and just 0.7 inches shy the Nexus 7’s display. So theoretically, its closer to a tablet than a smartphone.

Is it really a good Idea?

Samsung might take the decision the bezel even thinner, giving the handset an ‘edge-to-edge’ display. But there’s only so thin that bezel can be, and those extra 1.3 inches when you hold the phone might not be as good an idea as Samsung thinks it to be. I’m not sure I could ever buy with a smartphone so big, and that gives me one reason to believe that the rumors might not really be true because surely Samsung will have an idea of what their customer wants. But then Again this is Samsung, which makes its sales by keeping its targetted audience as wide as possible by releasing arrays of phones each year with every configuration imaginable.

The report doesn’t tell us what other specs or hardware the Galaxy Note 3 might offer but it does say that the Galaxy S IV will be unveiled at Mobile World Congress in February and not at CES a month earlier.

What do you think about these new rumors? Is a 6.3 inch phone really a good idea? Let us know in the comments.

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