So you've got an iPad and have come to the dawning realisation that you've gotno cash left to buy any games for it.
Have
no fear, because the App Store offers plenty of iPad gaming goodness
for the (unintentional or otherwise) skinflint. Our pick of the 70 best
free iPad games is listed below.
Note that apps marked "universal" will also work on an iPhone or iPod touch, scaling down controls and graphics accordingly.
Tips, tricks, and hidden features explained for all popular smartphone models. News and reviews from the smartphone world.
30 June 2013
80 best free iPad apps 2013
On comparing iPad apps with iPhone equivalents, one thing rapidly becomes clear: apps for Apple's tablet are pricier.
Many of the best free iPhone apps cost 59p or more in their iPad incarnations, and the quality level of what's still free is often ropey. But among the dross lie rare gems – iPad apps that are so good you can't believe they're still free.
Of those we unearthed, here is our pick of the best free iPad apps. Note that apps marked 'universal' will run on your iPad and iPhone, optimising themselves accordingly.
Many of the best free iPhone apps cost 59p or more in their iPad incarnations, and the quality level of what's still free is often ropey. But among the dross lie rare gems – iPad apps that are so good you can't believe they're still free.
Of those we unearthed, here is our pick of the best free iPad apps. Note that apps marked 'universal' will run on your iPad and iPhone, optimising themselves accordingly.
25 June 2013
Samsung Galaxy Young review
What is the Samsung Galaxy Young?
The Samsung Galaxy Young is a compact 3.27-inch Android phone that, at a smidge less than £90 on a SIM-free basis, is a true budget phone. It's the smaller sibling to the Samsung Galaxy Fame and the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2.
As its name suggests, it is aimed at the pre-teen, first-time smartphone user who has few demands that will trouble the 1GHz single-core processor. The Young is a very basic phone with a 3-megapixel camera and just 4GB of internal storage.
24 June 2013
Samsung Ativ Tab 3 - First Impressions
What's that? Another Samsung Windows 8 tablet running atop an Intel
Atom Z2760 CPU that uses polycarbonate for a chassis and looks a lot
like the Galaxy Tab 3 range that was recently announced?
Yes, indeed: that's what Samsung has just unleashed on the unsuspecting public with the Ativ Tab 3, most thinking they were safe from the deluge of tablets that the South Korean firm was throwing onto the market.
It's not fair to disparage the new Windows 8 tablet just because it looks so similar to other devices from the mothership - it's actually a decent device in its own right.
Yes, indeed: that's what Samsung has just unleashed on the unsuspecting public with the Ativ Tab 3, most thinking they were safe from the deluge of tablets that the South Korean firm was throwing onto the market.
It's not fair to disparage the new Windows 8 tablet just because it looks so similar to other devices from the mothership - it's actually a decent device in its own right.
15 Hidden iOS 7 Features Apple Didn't Tell You About
Apple recently unveiled its latest mobile operating system for iPhones and iPads called iOS 7.
The operating system has a brand new look and several new features, but Apple didn't have time to go over all the changes during its big presentation last week.
So what didn't Apple tell us about iOS 7? We've been using the beta version of the software for a few days now and uncovered a few lesser-known features.
Here's what you can look forward to.
The operating system has a brand new look and several new features, but Apple didn't have time to go over all the changes during its big presentation last week.
So what didn't Apple tell us about iOS 7? We've been using the beta version of the software for a few days now and uncovered a few lesser-known features.
Here's what you can look forward to.
23 June 2013
Samsung Galaxy Fame review
The Samsung Galaxy Fame is a phone that comes with a celebrity name, but certainly no celebrity price tag. Available SIM-free and unlocked from around £180/US$200 and free on UK contracts starting as low as £10 per month, the Samsung Galaxy Fame will certainly not drain your bank balance.
It is unsurprising that Samsung has the most prolific smartphone sales figures. With Galaxy devices as numerous as stars in the night sky spanning every corner of the market, from the highest end Samsung Galaxy S4 and announced Samsung Galaxy S4 Active, the super-sized Samsung Galaxy Note 2 right through to the ageing Samsung Galaxy S3 before hitting the lowest ends with the Samsung Galaxy Fame and the Samsung Galaxy Young.
Read Samsung Galaxy Fame tips and tricks
This puts it square in contention with the Samsung Galaxy Young, the ageing Samsung Galaxy Ace and Samsung Galaxy Y, as well as the newer LG Optimus L3 2 and Nokia Lumia 520.
Samsung has clearly got a design ethos in mind, one that has been apparent since the Galaxy S3. The Samsung Galaxy S3 was far curvier than its predecessor, with its successor following very much in its footsteps.
With the Samsung Galaxy brand all very much in line, the Samsung Galaxy Fame is positioned at the very bottom, alongside the Samsung Galaxy Young. With vital statistics sitting at 113.2 x 61.6 x 11.6mm (4.46 x 2.43 x 0.46) in size and 120.6g (4.25oz) in weight, Samsung has created a handset that sits very comfortably in the hand, if a little heavier than expected.
Clues to the smaller price tag are certainly evident from the off, the smaller 3.5-inch screen with a 320 x 480 HVGA resolution and plastic body being the biggest clues. That said, Samsung has been a fan of using plastics on its devices since the off, with its appearance on its flagship smartphones always being a talking point. On the Samsung Galaxy Fame, the plastic feel fits the phone.
Sticking with the design of the Samsung Galaxy S3, the Samsung Galaxy Fame comes in two colours, our review model coming in white, with blue also being available. A faux metallic band surrounds the bezel, which is noticeably thicker than on premium handsets. The curved back wraps tightly round the back of the Fame, offering a reassuringly snug fit.
As with every modern smartphone, the screen dominates proceedings. The aforementioned HVGA resolution was always going to be a bit of a worry, but its diminutive size goes some way to helping.
Thankfully, the resolution doesn't greatly hinder the phone, since Samsung's screen tech keeping things vivid and a lot brighter than expected.
Elsewhere on the front of the Samsung Galaxy Fame is the traditional Home button, sandwiched between the Menu and Return soft keys. At the opposite end is a metallic speaker, the VGA front-facing camera and a couple of sensors.
Underneath this, Samsung has powered the Galaxy Fame with a single core 1GHz processor, as well as 512MB of RAM. These sit alongside a VGA front-facing camera, 5MP rear snapper (with flash) and 4GB of internal storage, of which a mere 1.95GB is free.
Externally, the Samsung Galaxy Fame comes with the standard micro USB port at the bottom, sat alongside the microphone, with the 3.5mm headphone jack at the top.
Unsurprisingly, the volume rocker is on the left and the Power/Lock button is directly opposite, on the right-hand side. Being such a small phone, every inch of the screen - as well as every button - was easy to hit one-handed, which is ideal for the younger generation that Samsung seems to be aiming the Galaxy Fame at.
Behind the wrap-around back cover, which sits reassuringly tightly to the back of the Fame, the 1300mAh battery sits over the SIM slot. Thankfully, as with all Samsung Galaxy devices, the Samsung Galaxy Fame also comes equipped with a microSD slot, which even more thankfully is hot-swappable.
The Samsung Galaxy Fame shapes up to be an interesting prospect. The budget market has become increasingly packed with Android phones, with last year's flagship devices slipping down the price scales to sit alongside newly launched tech. The question is, will the Samsung Galaxy Fame live forever? Or will it crash into the ground while learning to fly?
Since the very first Samsung Galaxy phones, such as the Samsung Galaxy Portal, the Korean firm has been creating and tweaking its TouchWiz overlay. Samsung has fitted the Samsung Galaxy Fame with Android 4.1.2, treating you to the sweet sugary goodness of Jelly Bean, if not in its latest iteration.
Android Jelly Bean tips and tricks
The 1GHz of power underneath the Samsung Galaxy Fame's hood is almost instantly noticeable from the lock screen. The usefulness of being able to have three apps that can be launched directly from here is somewhat subdued when it takes a couple of seconds to load the camera.
Which apps you choose to launch are customisable, but by default are ChatOn - Samsung's answer to BBM and iMessage - as well as the Google Now search engine and the Camera. Don't go expecting any fancy lock screen animations, such as a ripple, either.
The lack of power wasn't so noticeable once we got past the lock screen. The Samsung Galaxy Fame seemed to flow a lot better. There was a definite hesitation, but nothing frustrating.
TouchWiz has been built to be an intuitive interface, and it succeeds. Everything is simple to use, with Samsung providing some helpful little tips when you first use the Galaxy Fame. The biggest let down of the phone is one that seems to have appeared on a lot of lower-end handsets - namely the lack of an auto brightness feature. We really can't figure this one out.
The dock can only handle three apps alongside the app drawer launcher, given the smaller stature of the screen. This frustration is somewhat alleviated with the ability to create folders and put them in the dock. When creating folders you can't drag icons onto one another, rather you have to long-press and tap folders instead.
Throughout the phone, Samsung's tweaks are evident, no more so than with the widgets. The weather clock widget available on the Samsung Galaxy Fame is a very smart affair, reflecting the time and weather conditions based on your location.
Apps and widgets can be accessed via the phone's app drawer on the bottom-right, with long-presses dragging them over onto one of the home screens, and up to seven available. Samsung has also kindly given us the option to hide apps within the app drawer, so apps that can't be removed can at least be hidden.
One of the key features of any Android experience, emulated on later iOS versions, is the notifications bar.
Swiping the bar down gives access to the notifications screen, complete with the quick settings that Samsung has put in every TouchWiz iteration.
There are a lot more options available than you may previously have been used to, and as we mentioned before, it moves across every time you open the bar. We could list all the available power saving options, but needless to say they cover GPS and Wi-Fi, as well as the mobile data and an interesting setting known as Blocking Mode.
Blocking Mode disables notifications, including calls from people who aren't on a set list. It can also be set to a timer, making it ideal for when you're asleep.
Elsewhere in the Samsung Galaxy Fame notifications bar is a brightness toggle, as well as the very smartly laid out clock and date in the top-left, opposite access to the phone's settings.
The Android Jelly Bean experience with swiping away notifications and expanding notifications is also present, making it easy to dismiss the spam emails or a Facebook message that you "don't want" when you're at work.
In all, the Samsung Galaxy Fame's interface is a pretty standard Samsung affair. Anybody used to playing with one of the Korean firm's handsets will feel immediately at home. TouchWiz isn't without its faults, but it is right up there with the best, with the Samsung Galaxy Fame's biggest flaw being the single-core heart beating at the centre.
Samsung's tweaks extend into the Contacts and Phone apps. This is neither a good nor a bad thing. The intuitive ability to phone or message contacts by side-swiping directly from the contacts list is a big bonus.
The Contacts app is little more than a very plain list of contacts. It's by no means an attractive app, but it certainly is very functional. Android has the ability to pull in all your contacts from a variety of different social accounts.
The two main ones we foresee being of interest - Facebook and Google - are both there, with Samsung continually omitting Twitter. Thankfully, downloading the app from the Play Store resolves this issue.
Each contact is adorned with a profile picture, taken from either the Google assigned one or their Facebook profile picture. The contact list also shows you which accounts are linked to each contact.
Opening up the contact provides that person's details. A tiny low-res picture sits to the left, leaving a massive gap on the right. This is very disappointing, since the gap is left solely for Google+ updates (for those who have Google+ contacts). This area could be far better used for Facebook or Twitter updates, or a higher resolution image.
Unfortunately, Samsung's TouchWiz interface has suffered in comparison to other handsets, notably HTC's offerings, since there is very little social integration within the contacts app. As we mentioned, there are no social updates other than from Google+ (we actually had to think of conversation starters), and merging contacts from multiple accounts had so be done manually.
We could, and have, bemoaned Samsung's contact list for being a bit poorer than other offerings. In reality, it is little more than a very functional app based on the fantastic stock Android offering. This means that your list of contacts can be sorted into groups, have favourites or widgets, or go so far as assigning different contacts their own individual ringtone and vibration pattern.
In order to keep its title as a smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Fame needs to make phone calls. Thankfully, unlike higher-level processors and better cameras, this is a feature that Samsung hasn't omitted to keep costs down.
Call quality was as we expected - nothing mind-blowing, but perfectly reasonable. With no second microphone to speak of, there was no super fancy noise reduction, but that wasn't a hindrance, because all of our contacts were able to hear us well, except in very windy conditions, or with a lot of traffic nearby.
Calling options are also out in force, with the ability to make a second call, access the keypad, put the call on speaker or mute, transfer the call to a bluetooth headset, or end the call all together. Nothing special there, but we are still glad to see them.
Samsung's biggest winner here is the set of post-calling options. All too often we have made a call and then forgotten to mention something, or have said "I'll text you the details". The Koreans must have known this, because for a second after the call has ended, there are quick buttons to recall, video call or text that contact. It may be a small feature, but Samsung phones really benefit from it.
Within the Phone app, a large white T9 dialler greets you. Continuing Samsung's functional theme, there is very little to say about the looks. Thankfully, smart dialling is on offer - typing 323 bringing up both Dad, as well as any contacts with 323 within the phone number.
While many people would consider it a staple of the smartphone diet, its inclusion on the Samsung Galaxy Fame is well received given that it doesn't appear on iOS or Windows handsets such as the Nokia Lumia 520.
With the inclusion of a front-facing camera, the Samsung Galaxy Fame is also able to support video calls. These can be made normally, although we'd suggest that the majority of conversations will take place over apps such as Skype.
With the feature phones of old relying on a very heavy mix of SMS and calls, smart handsets such as the Samsung Galaxy Fame rely more on IM and email services such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Gmail.
If we start with the SMS app, again this is another functional and unattractive app. This is highly disappointing, because LG has shown on the Optimus L3 2 just how nice the app can look. The blue and yellow bubbles can be changed, as can the background. It's a bit of a shame that one of the others isn't set by default, since we don't see many people actively searching these changes out.
One useful feature of the SMS app is the ability to change the text size by using the volume keys, which is ideal for older users. Given that we see the Samsung Galaxy Fame being heavily targeted and used by much younger audiences, this feature may prove to be a little redundant.
Group messaging is also very easy. For this, selecting the small icon that looks a little like the contacts icon brings up your contacts list, meaning you can choose to text multiple people, even from your list of favourites and recently contacted people.
Because SMS is slowly being replaced by alternate messaging apps, such as WhatsApp, BBM and iMessage, Samsung is keen to get in on the action. WhatsApp is proving to be very popular across multiple operating systems, and is thankfully available on the Samsung Galaxy Fame. BBM has been announced for iOS and Android phones, though Apple's iMessage is unavailable on devices other than iOS-powered ones.
Samsung has also provided its own option, dubbed ChatON. While having all the right ingredients to prove a successful IM app, the large amount of other OEM devices and other IM services, coupled with the lack of contacts we found, make ChatON a little disappointing.
Google Talk has also been replaced with Google Hangouts, its newly branded instant messaging and video calling service. This service links in with your Google accounts, making it easier to find contacts who are online and available to message. There is also a dedicated Google+ Messenger app, which is highly confusing.
In order to type all the messages, you need a decent keyboard. We can't put our finger on the exact reasons why, but we found that the Samsung Galaxy Fame keyboard was a little sub-par for what we hoped. The smaller screen makes the whole keyboard a little cramped, and the autocorrect feature is hardly the best we've ever seen.
Samsung's offering does give you continuous input (the Korean firm's answer to Swype) and we were also impressed with the ability to swipe the entire keyboard to the side in order to switch between different keyboard inputs - it's a slightly easier option than finding the tiny button in the corner.
One of the major bonuses of the Samsung Galaxy Fame's screen size is that it means you can use the keyboard one-handed. Unfortunately, the compromise is that it makes it slightly more squashed, which given the poorer autocorrect meant we had to type a lot slower.
On the flip-side, we've commented before that on 4-inch screened phones, landscape typing can be a little more difficult, given the size. The smaller screen on the Samsung Galaxy Fame is the complete opposite, with the screen size being nigh on perfect for two-handed landscape typing.
Best SMS text messaging apps for Android
Email
Email is also well catered for on the Samsung Galaxy Fame, in much the same way that it is on every Android phone on the market. Google has created Gmail and Email apps that are very functional and very easy to use.
The newly updated Gmail app is a far cleaner and more attractive option than before, and is still highly usable. The new colours make it brighter, and it comes packed with all the features that you can get from the desktop version.
The update also throws in contacts' pictures, making the whole app feel clean and well put together. Labelling and archiving emails also shows just how intuitive the Gmail app is.
For other email accounts besides Gmail, the stock Android Email app is available, and is very easy to set up. Pop in your account information and the necessary details are all drawn in automatically. On the odd occasion, you may need to manually input POP or IMAP settings.
Inside the app is just about everything you could wish for from an Email client, including an aggregated inbox to handle multiple accounts.
As with every Android Jelly Bean device since the Google Nexus 7 tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Fame comes with both Google Chrome and a stock internet browser. We've said it before, and we can say it again, that both browsers are pretty much identical, with the stock Android browser having come on in leaps and bounds since its inception.
Unsurprisingly there is no 4G LTE chip in the Samsung Galaxy Fame. Yes you heard that right. Shame really. Well, not really, because the 1GHz internal chip is able to cope with 3G speeds, but the speeds of 4G would still be hampered by the slower clock speed.
The 1GHz internals really do seem to slow the whole internet experience down, more so than we have seen on other, identically specced handsets. The LG Optimus L5 2, for example, has the same size chipset yet provided a much smoother experience.
The screen was also a problem when it came to using the Samsung Galaxy Fame. 3.5 inches is just not sufficient for anything other than very basic use, such as light reading on a mobile site, or checking up on your team's scores on a sports site.
When surfing the net (do they still say that?), we'd recommend the standard internet app for once, even though the Chrome app ties in a lot better across multiple devices and platforms.
That said, both browsers can pull in your saved Google bookmarks if you sign in with your Google account, and both browsers offer incognito browsing too.
It's a real shame that we couldn't find a way of getting text reflow to work on the Samsung Galaxy Fame - all the methods we could think of, such as a double-tap on the screen, didn't work. There was a certain level of zooming that worked, but the text didn't reflow itself.
A useful feature of the native browser is offline viewing. This is useful to an extent, because pages are saved as images. While functional, this means that there is no ability to open links within the page, even when your data connection returns.
Standard Android options present on the Samsung Galaxy Fame include the ability to select text easily, by long-pressing on an area of text. This brings up two sliders, marking the beginning and end of highlighted text. These can be adjusted so you can select as much or as little text as needed, then tap again to copy the words you've highlighted to the clipboard, to be pasted into another app.
Elsewhere in the settings there are varying toggles, such as the useful ability to turn off image loading and disable plug-ins, which is ideal for those on restrictive data plans. Settings also highlights the security features on offer, such as password management and location features.
The internet experience on the Samsung Galaxy Fame is generally very poor. It might just have been our review handset, but we found Chrome almost unusable, as every page we went to load just gave us a black screen. Speeds over Wi-Fi and 3G connections were generally acceptable, although for serious web browsing, the Samsung Galaxy Fame is definitely not the phone for you.
For a phone that comes in significantly cheaper than some of its higher-end rivals - such as the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2, Huawei Ascend G510, Sony Xperia J and LG Optimus L5 2 - the Samsung Galaxy Fame also packs in a 5MP rear-facing sensor, complete with a front-facing camera that was notably omitted on the latter of the aforementioned rivals.
Being able to launch the camera from the lock screen initially seems to be a major bonus, one that seems to be making its way over to many smartphone operating systems and interfaces. The lack of internal grunt is a major problem, however. We swiped to unlock to the camera, and were given the home screen, leading us to believe that we hadn't opened the camera, but then a second later the camera opened.
This is a really frustrating problem. We've seen that it takes a few seconds on other smartphones, but it really did seem to take an age to load the camera app. That funny cat pose, baby's first steps and that pretty butterfly will have long gone before you even get the camera to focus.
The lack of a dedicated shutter button for the camera app is also an annoyance, but one that we have come to accept, since it is so often omitted on smartphone cameras. We were very happy to find that customisable autofocus points can be selected by tapping on the screen, and we found that the volume rocker can double up as a zoom changer.
There isn't a massive level of zoom available on the Samsung Galaxy Fame - it just goes up to 2x. We know that a digital zoom is hardly worth having anyway, because it reduces the image resolution, but for those who like to use it, only zooming in to 2x is really poor.
In terms of features, the Samsung Galaxy Fame camera has just about all you would expect - a flash, image size, geotagging, three colour effects (black and white, sepia and negative), scene modes, ISO, white balance and a timer.
Generally we found that these features aren't of much use on phone cameras, tending to be for the more serious photographer - someone very unlikely to use the Samsung Galaxy Fame.
Samsung does provide different shooting modes, such as Single Shot, Panorama, Share Shot and Smile Shot. We see the Single Shot being the one you'll most frequently use, because Share Shot shares your photos via Wi-Fi direct connections (something that is only really prevalent on other Samsung Galaxy devices), and Smile Shot is dedicated for portrait pictures.
Tips on taking better photos with your phone
As with just about every smartphone these days, the Video app here is just a continuation of the camera app. The Samsung Galaxy Fame therefore includes the same black and white, sepia and negative effects alongside white balance and exposure adjustments.
Samsung has also provided the Galaxy Fame with the ability to limit video sizing for MMS, fitting in with the idea that the video isn't designed for the big screen, but more for messaging to friends. That becomes even clearer when you find out that the video recording is limited to VGA resolution (640 x 480).
In all, the video app is very lacking. Given that we see the Samsung Galaxy Fame in the mitts of the younger generation, being used at high school to record the day's nonsense, we highly doubt that any other features would have been used anyway.
Looking at the Samsung Galaxy Fame, it is immediately obvious that media consumption was not at the fore of the designers' minds. The smaller screen being too small, with a lower resolution, makes it a poor choice for watching anything other than short YouTube clips.
Plus the tiny 1.95GB of storage available after Android and others have taken up a chunk of the 4GB memory is uninspiring, though it can be expanded via the phone's micro SD card slot or cloud storage via the Dropbox app.
The Music app is again another basic affair, with some of Samsung's touches popping up. The most notable special touch is the Music Square. This is a very peculiar piece of tech, one that we have seen before in other phones but that we have very high reservations about nevertheless. In simple terms, the Samsung Galaxy Fame will sort your music by its mood, so that you can select the appropriate square to match the way you're feeling, and have the phone play songs to match.
Load up the music player and you are greeted with a rather fancy stock Android player. This also brings up a little bar in the notifications area, as it has on Samsung Galaxy phones for years. From here you can play/pause and skip tracks.
There is also a widget to accompany it, which again we were glad to see. Our only slight disappointment was the inability to control it all directly from the lock screen. Within the Samsung Galaxy Fame's music player are the usual shuffle, skip and repeat functions.
The music player also offers equaliser settings that have been put into a Sound Alive screen, which includes quite a long list of settings, such as Pop, Rock, Jazz through to Virtual 7.1 and Concert Hall. There's even a custom setting, should you really feel the need to go to town with it.
When it comes to video, we were a little shocked to find that the Samsung Galaxy Fame didn't wish to play our test video. We've found on a few of the lower end handsets that we are greeted with a warning on the desktop showing that the phone might not be able to play the video, but until now they have all managed it anyway.
Thankfully there is the option to convert it, however the estimated conversion time of the 90 minute video was around an hour. We left the video to convert, but in its new WMV format, the Samsung Galaxy Fame was still unable to play the file.
Samsung claims that the Galaxy Fame can play MPEG4, 3GPP, MKV and WebM file types, yet our test video was originally in MP4 format.
The video player itself is a basic affair, offering play, pause and manual selection of timing placements. Don't expect to see pop-up play on the Samsung Galaxy Fame, although with a screen that small we're not entirely surprised or bothered.
Samsung has equipped the Galaxy Fame with an FM radio, however. We found that it had some trouble picking up some of the stations that we expected it to, which was a little disheartening. The app itself is well designed, again being perfectly functional.
The Gallery app is again another functional app. Tiles show each folder, with the Samsung Galaxy Fame able to pull in our Picasa/Google+ photo albums, though not our Facebook shots. Editing photos taken on the Samsung Galaxy Fame is, unfortunately, not possible.
When we were told that the Samsung Galaxy Fame was only being graced with a 1300mAh battery, we scoffed a little. Dealing with flagship phones with massive screens must have left us with the idea that massive batteries were the in thing.
In truth, with a tiny screen and a lower clocked processor, 1300mAh is more than sufficient. We did find ourselves leaving the screen on maximum brightness most of the time, because the lack of an auto brightness feature meant that we forgot to turn it down.
With the small screen and the low powered processor, the whole use of the phone is geared towards stretching out a longer battery life. Media consumption and game playing were kept to a minimum as the Samsung Galaxy Fame struggled to cope with anything too strenuous, although it coped admirably with our need to update social media accounts and send messages to all of our friends.
Elsewhere, Samsung's TouchWiz interface means that quick settings are in the notifications bar, enabling you to disable and enable Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth and other such battery draining settings at will.
How to make your smartphone battery last longer
When it comes to connectivity, the Samsung Galaxy Fame comes packed with everything that you could imagine a phone at the bottom end of the market would.
3G/HSUPA is supported to HSDPA 7.2Mbps and HSUPA 5.76Mbps, along with Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, NFC, Bluetooth with A2DP support and GPS/GLONASS.
Wi-Fi Direct, which has already been available across Samsung Galaxy phones for a while, is also available.
For those who are unaware of what GLONASS is, it's a Russian developed, slightly less accurate location system, that we've heard is necessary to avoid import taxes to Russia. It does mean that location tracking is even faster.
Connection to a PC is done via the supplied micro USB cable, with file transfer available via mass storage or via digital camera software. Mass storage is the easiest, so you can hook up the Samsung Galaxy Fame as a standard USB storage device for dragging and dropping files. On the Galaxy Fame, Samsung has provided a file manager, meaning that any files you put onto it are easily located.
Samsung also has its proprietary Kies software, should you want a desktop manager for your Galaxy Fame.
With the Google Play Store pushing Apple further than ever, and holding off the Windows app store too, apps are very easy to get hold of on the Samsung Galaxy Fame. Usefully, games and apps in the Store are viewable by Top Free, Top Paid, Top Grossing, Top New Free and Top New Paid groups, helping to filter out the excess rubbish.
Pre-installed apps are kept to a minimum, with Samsung's Game and Apps hubs on offer alongside the standard Google offerings in the way of Google+, Hangouts, Gmail, Google Play, Play Music and YouTube, and alongside the Mapping apps such as Maps, Local and Navigation.
The Samsung Galaxy Fame comes with very little in the way of S-inspired apps that have made themselves famous on larger, more powerful Samsung Galaxy handsets. So there's no S Translate, S Travel, S Suggest or S Voice, but there is the S Planner, which is a fancy name for a calendar app.
Facebook also comes pre-installed, making it easier to set the Samsung Galaxy Fame up from the very start. Twitter, however, must be located and downloaded from the Google Play Store.
Dropbox is also included, in order to help relieve the stress on the tiny 1.95GB of storage available from the 4GB that is initially stated.
Samsung's Game and Apps hubs are just more app stores, really. We've seen OEMs input their own stores onto phones before, but we have yet to see a massive point in any of them, because the Google Play Store is so well populated.
50 best Android apps of 2014
As you have heard it all before, we won't go into much detail with regards to the Google Maps app. If you've used the desktop version, you'll have a fairly good understanding of how the app works and what it can do.
Being possibly the most well-known Google product, after its search function, Google Maps was always going to get a lot of love and attention. As with every iteration on every device, the application is absolutely superb, if hampered by the really poor processor.
GPS lock on was rather snappy, aided by the GLONASS system.
Google Maps also includes Navigation software. We've always been impressed by Google's effort here, not least because it's free. There are other sat nav apps available from the Google Play Store, of course, but when you're in a spot of bother, Google will easily sort you out.
One feature we are fond of is that it taps into traffic data, and can tell you how long your route is set to take in those conditions. This means if you pull to the side of the road - we're safe drivers - you can easily reroute. We'd have liked active rerouting, but for a free app we're not arguing.
The Samsung Galaxy Fame is another Galaxy handset designed to sit towards the bottom of the range, competing in the challenging budget smartphone market. This leaves it to play against the likes of the LG Optimus L3 2, the Nokia Lumia 520 and Samsung's other offering, the Samsung Galaxy Young.
As the song goes, we looked, and now we're going to tell you what we saw. Given time though, we really don't see the Samsung Galaxy Fame making us forget the rest.
If we see it, we like it. We're talking about microSD card support. We put it in our "we liked" section a lot, but that is purely because it is omitted from so many modern smartphones. Having support for microSD cards really boosts the internal storage, of which the Samsung Galaxy Fame has very little.
We also like the TouchWiz interface. It has got a lot better since its early days, increasing to become a highly usable and intuitive UI. It gives Android Jelly Bean a really nice feel, being simple enough for novices, yet with enough features to satisfy more seasoned users too.
The design is also very nice. It sits nicely in the hand, is easy to use one-handed, and fits very well into the existing Samsung Galaxy range, being very much the baby brother to the flagship phones. The plastic feel suits the Samsung Galaxy Fame too, given the much smaller price tag.
NFC is also making its way onto the lower-end phones, so it is nice to see that the Samsung Galaxy Fame is another handset that includes it even at the low end cost.
Our biggest bugbear is the processor. We've used phones with a single-core 1GHz processor before, and it wasn't too long ago that they were gracing the likes of the HTC Desire or the Samsung Galaxy S.
They have since popped up in the cheaper devices and been fine, yet the Samsung Galaxy Fame really seems to suffer. Loading the camera app from the lock screen is the biggest culprit, with it taking more than a few seconds to kick into gear.
The tiny screen is also a problem. It is low resolution, has no auto brightness feature, and results in a tiny keyboard. This made it very fiddly to use, and the autocorrect function is not really up to the standard we have come to expect from a modern smartphone.
The camera is also really poor. The 5MP sensor takes decent enough photos in the right lighting conditions, but on a bright sunny day, light areas lose a lot of detail. Video recording is also really poor, with the 640 x 480 VGA resolution not enough for filming anything of note.
The Samsung Galaxy Fame is not a phone that will live forever, and it hasn't quite learned to fly. It is clear from the very outset that Samsung has used the ingredients to create a lower-end smartphone, such as the smaller internal chipset, the smaller screen and the low internal storage.
In doing so the Samsung Galaxy Fame, in a continuation of the Samsung Galaxy range's design, feels a little underpowered. The feel of the Samsung Galaxy Fame, with the TouchWiz interface and external design, is reminiscent of the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini, and makes you want to see it as a more expensive handset.
The smaller chipset generally nipped along fairly well when swiping between home screens, but when waking up to the camera or loading slightly larger apps, the Samsung Galaxy Fame struggled really quite noticeably, to the point where we were feeling rather frustrated.
We can see the Samsung Galaxy Fame selling a fair few units, especially given its super low price tag, and we don't see that as a bad thing, given that the majority of users will likely be young, and wanting a way of connecting to Facebook, but for anything more substantial, the handset really struggles.
Read Samsung Galaxy Fame tips and tricks
It is unsurprising that Samsung has the most prolific smartphone sales figures. With Galaxy devices as numerous as stars in the night sky spanning every corner of the market, from the highest end Samsung Galaxy S4 and announced Samsung Galaxy S4 Active, the super-sized Samsung Galaxy Note 2 right through to the ageing Samsung Galaxy S3 before hitting the lowest ends with the Samsung Galaxy Fame and the Samsung Galaxy Young.
Read Samsung Galaxy Fame tips and tricks
This puts it square in contention with the Samsung Galaxy Young, the ageing Samsung Galaxy Ace and Samsung Galaxy Y, as well as the newer LG Optimus L3 2 and Nokia Lumia 520.
Samsung has clearly got a design ethos in mind, one that has been apparent since the Galaxy S3. The Samsung Galaxy S3 was far curvier than its predecessor, with its successor following very much in its footsteps.
With the Samsung Galaxy brand all very much in line, the Samsung Galaxy Fame is positioned at the very bottom, alongside the Samsung Galaxy Young. With vital statistics sitting at 113.2 x 61.6 x 11.6mm (4.46 x 2.43 x 0.46) in size and 120.6g (4.25oz) in weight, Samsung has created a handset that sits very comfortably in the hand, if a little heavier than expected.
Clues to the smaller price tag are certainly evident from the off, the smaller 3.5-inch screen with a 320 x 480 HVGA resolution and plastic body being the biggest clues. That said, Samsung has been a fan of using plastics on its devices since the off, with its appearance on its flagship smartphones always being a talking point. On the Samsung Galaxy Fame, the plastic feel fits the phone.
Sticking with the design of the Samsung Galaxy S3, the Samsung Galaxy Fame comes in two colours, our review model coming in white, with blue also being available. A faux metallic band surrounds the bezel, which is noticeably thicker than on premium handsets. The curved back wraps tightly round the back of the Fame, offering a reassuringly snug fit.
As with every modern smartphone, the screen dominates proceedings. The aforementioned HVGA resolution was always going to be a bit of a worry, but its diminutive size goes some way to helping.
Thankfully, the resolution doesn't greatly hinder the phone, since Samsung's screen tech keeping things vivid and a lot brighter than expected.
Elsewhere on the front of the Samsung Galaxy Fame is the traditional Home button, sandwiched between the Menu and Return soft keys. At the opposite end is a metallic speaker, the VGA front-facing camera and a couple of sensors.
Underneath this, Samsung has powered the Galaxy Fame with a single core 1GHz processor, as well as 512MB of RAM. These sit alongside a VGA front-facing camera, 5MP rear snapper (with flash) and 4GB of internal storage, of which a mere 1.95GB is free.
Externally, the Samsung Galaxy Fame comes with the standard micro USB port at the bottom, sat alongside the microphone, with the 3.5mm headphone jack at the top.
Unsurprisingly, the volume rocker is on the left and the Power/Lock button is directly opposite, on the right-hand side. Being such a small phone, every inch of the screen - as well as every button - was easy to hit one-handed, which is ideal for the younger generation that Samsung seems to be aiming the Galaxy Fame at.
Behind the wrap-around back cover, which sits reassuringly tightly to the back of the Fame, the 1300mAh battery sits over the SIM slot. Thankfully, as with all Samsung Galaxy devices, the Samsung Galaxy Fame also comes equipped with a microSD slot, which even more thankfully is hot-swappable.
The Samsung Galaxy Fame shapes up to be an interesting prospect. The budget market has become increasingly packed with Android phones, with last year's flagship devices slipping down the price scales to sit alongside newly launched tech. The question is, will the Samsung Galaxy Fame live forever? Or will it crash into the ground while learning to fly?
Interface
Since the very first Samsung Galaxy phones, such as the Samsung Galaxy Portal, the Korean firm has been creating and tweaking its TouchWiz overlay. Samsung has fitted the Samsung Galaxy Fame with Android 4.1.2, treating you to the sweet sugary goodness of Jelly Bean, if not in its latest iteration.
Android Jelly Bean tips and tricks
The 1GHz of power underneath the Samsung Galaxy Fame's hood is almost instantly noticeable from the lock screen. The usefulness of being able to have three apps that can be launched directly from here is somewhat subdued when it takes a couple of seconds to load the camera.
Which apps you choose to launch are customisable, but by default are ChatOn - Samsung's answer to BBM and iMessage - as well as the Google Now search engine and the Camera. Don't go expecting any fancy lock screen animations, such as a ripple, either.
The lack of power wasn't so noticeable once we got past the lock screen. The Samsung Galaxy Fame seemed to flow a lot better. There was a definite hesitation, but nothing frustrating.
TouchWiz has been built to be an intuitive interface, and it succeeds. Everything is simple to use, with Samsung providing some helpful little tips when you first use the Galaxy Fame. The biggest let down of the phone is one that seems to have appeared on a lot of lower-end handsets - namely the lack of an auto brightness feature. We really can't figure this one out.
The dock can only handle three apps alongside the app drawer launcher, given the smaller stature of the screen. This frustration is somewhat alleviated with the ability to create folders and put them in the dock. When creating folders you can't drag icons onto one another, rather you have to long-press and tap folders instead.
Throughout the phone, Samsung's tweaks are evident, no more so than with the widgets. The weather clock widget available on the Samsung Galaxy Fame is a very smart affair, reflecting the time and weather conditions based on your location.
Apps and widgets can be accessed via the phone's app drawer on the bottom-right, with long-presses dragging them over onto one of the home screens, and up to seven available. Samsung has also kindly given us the option to hide apps within the app drawer, so apps that can't be removed can at least be hidden.
One of the key features of any Android experience, emulated on later iOS versions, is the notifications bar.
Swiping the bar down gives access to the notifications screen, complete with the quick settings that Samsung has put in every TouchWiz iteration.
There are a lot more options available than you may previously have been used to, and as we mentioned before, it moves across every time you open the bar. We could list all the available power saving options, but needless to say they cover GPS and Wi-Fi, as well as the mobile data and an interesting setting known as Blocking Mode.
Blocking Mode disables notifications, including calls from people who aren't on a set list. It can also be set to a timer, making it ideal for when you're asleep.
Elsewhere in the Samsung Galaxy Fame notifications bar is a brightness toggle, as well as the very smartly laid out clock and date in the top-left, opposite access to the phone's settings.
The Android Jelly Bean experience with swiping away notifications and expanding notifications is also present, making it easy to dismiss the spam emails or a Facebook message that you "don't want" when you're at work.
In all, the Samsung Galaxy Fame's interface is a pretty standard Samsung affair. Anybody used to playing with one of the Korean firm's handsets will feel immediately at home. TouchWiz isn't without its faults, but it is right up there with the best, with the Samsung Galaxy Fame's biggest flaw being the single-core heart beating at the centre.
Contacts and Calling
Samsung's tweaks extend into the Contacts and Phone apps. This is neither a good nor a bad thing. The intuitive ability to phone or message contacts by side-swiping directly from the contacts list is a big bonus.
Contacts
The Contacts app is little more than a very plain list of contacts. It's by no means an attractive app, but it certainly is very functional. Android has the ability to pull in all your contacts from a variety of different social accounts.
The two main ones we foresee being of interest - Facebook and Google - are both there, with Samsung continually omitting Twitter. Thankfully, downloading the app from the Play Store resolves this issue.
Each contact is adorned with a profile picture, taken from either the Google assigned one or their Facebook profile picture. The contact list also shows you which accounts are linked to each contact.
Opening up the contact provides that person's details. A tiny low-res picture sits to the left, leaving a massive gap on the right. This is very disappointing, since the gap is left solely for Google+ updates (for those who have Google+ contacts). This area could be far better used for Facebook or Twitter updates, or a higher resolution image.
Unfortunately, Samsung's TouchWiz interface has suffered in comparison to other handsets, notably HTC's offerings, since there is very little social integration within the contacts app. As we mentioned, there are no social updates other than from Google+ (we actually had to think of conversation starters), and merging contacts from multiple accounts had so be done manually.
We could, and have, bemoaned Samsung's contact list for being a bit poorer than other offerings. In reality, it is little more than a very functional app based on the fantastic stock Android offering. This means that your list of contacts can be sorted into groups, have favourites or widgets, or go so far as assigning different contacts their own individual ringtone and vibration pattern.
Calling
In order to keep its title as a smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Fame needs to make phone calls. Thankfully, unlike higher-level processors and better cameras, this is a feature that Samsung hasn't omitted to keep costs down.
Call quality was as we expected - nothing mind-blowing, but perfectly reasonable. With no second microphone to speak of, there was no super fancy noise reduction, but that wasn't a hindrance, because all of our contacts were able to hear us well, except in very windy conditions, or with a lot of traffic nearby.
Calling options are also out in force, with the ability to make a second call, access the keypad, put the call on speaker or mute, transfer the call to a bluetooth headset, or end the call all together. Nothing special there, but we are still glad to see them.
Samsung's biggest winner here is the set of post-calling options. All too often we have made a call and then forgotten to mention something, or have said "I'll text you the details". The Koreans must have known this, because for a second after the call has ended, there are quick buttons to recall, video call or text that contact. It may be a small feature, but Samsung phones really benefit from it.
Within the Phone app, a large white T9 dialler greets you. Continuing Samsung's functional theme, there is very little to say about the looks. Thankfully, smart dialling is on offer - typing 323 bringing up both Dad, as well as any contacts with 323 within the phone number.
While many people would consider it a staple of the smartphone diet, its inclusion on the Samsung Galaxy Fame is well received given that it doesn't appear on iOS or Windows handsets such as the Nokia Lumia 520.
With the inclusion of a front-facing camera, the Samsung Galaxy Fame is also able to support video calls. These can be made normally, although we'd suggest that the majority of conversations will take place over apps such as Skype.
Messaging
With the feature phones of old relying on a very heavy mix of SMS and calls, smart handsets such as the Samsung Galaxy Fame rely more on IM and email services such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Gmail.
If we start with the SMS app, again this is another functional and unattractive app. This is highly disappointing, because LG has shown on the Optimus L3 2 just how nice the app can look. The blue and yellow bubbles can be changed, as can the background. It's a bit of a shame that one of the others isn't set by default, since we don't see many people actively searching these changes out.
One useful feature of the SMS app is the ability to change the text size by using the volume keys, which is ideal for older users. Given that we see the Samsung Galaxy Fame being heavily targeted and used by much younger audiences, this feature may prove to be a little redundant.
Group messaging is also very easy. For this, selecting the small icon that looks a little like the contacts icon brings up your contacts list, meaning you can choose to text multiple people, even from your list of favourites and recently contacted people.
Because SMS is slowly being replaced by alternate messaging apps, such as WhatsApp, BBM and iMessage, Samsung is keen to get in on the action. WhatsApp is proving to be very popular across multiple operating systems, and is thankfully available on the Samsung Galaxy Fame. BBM has been announced for iOS and Android phones, though Apple's iMessage is unavailable on devices other than iOS-powered ones.
Samsung has also provided its own option, dubbed ChatON. While having all the right ingredients to prove a successful IM app, the large amount of other OEM devices and other IM services, coupled with the lack of contacts we found, make ChatON a little disappointing.
Google Talk has also been replaced with Google Hangouts, its newly branded instant messaging and video calling service. This service links in with your Google accounts, making it easier to find contacts who are online and available to message. There is also a dedicated Google+ Messenger app, which is highly confusing.
In order to type all the messages, you need a decent keyboard. We can't put our finger on the exact reasons why, but we found that the Samsung Galaxy Fame keyboard was a little sub-par for what we hoped. The smaller screen makes the whole keyboard a little cramped, and the autocorrect feature is hardly the best we've ever seen.
Samsung's offering does give you continuous input (the Korean firm's answer to Swype) and we were also impressed with the ability to swipe the entire keyboard to the side in order to switch between different keyboard inputs - it's a slightly easier option than finding the tiny button in the corner.
One of the major bonuses of the Samsung Galaxy Fame's screen size is that it means you can use the keyboard one-handed. Unfortunately, the compromise is that it makes it slightly more squashed, which given the poorer autocorrect meant we had to type a lot slower.
On the flip-side, we've commented before that on 4-inch screened phones, landscape typing can be a little more difficult, given the size. The smaller screen on the Samsung Galaxy Fame is the complete opposite, with the screen size being nigh on perfect for two-handed landscape typing.
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Email is also well catered for on the Samsung Galaxy Fame, in much the same way that it is on every Android phone on the market. Google has created Gmail and Email apps that are very functional and very easy to use.
The newly updated Gmail app is a far cleaner and more attractive option than before, and is still highly usable. The new colours make it brighter, and it comes packed with all the features that you can get from the desktop version.
The update also throws in contacts' pictures, making the whole app feel clean and well put together. Labelling and archiving emails also shows just how intuitive the Gmail app is.
For other email accounts besides Gmail, the stock Android Email app is available, and is very easy to set up. Pop in your account information and the necessary details are all drawn in automatically. On the odd occasion, you may need to manually input POP or IMAP settings.
Inside the app is just about everything you could wish for from an Email client, including an aggregated inbox to handle multiple accounts.
Internet
As with every Android Jelly Bean device since the Google Nexus 7 tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Fame comes with both Google Chrome and a stock internet browser. We've said it before, and we can say it again, that both browsers are pretty much identical, with the stock Android browser having come on in leaps and bounds since its inception.
Unsurprisingly there is no 4G LTE chip in the Samsung Galaxy Fame. Yes you heard that right. Shame really. Well, not really, because the 1GHz internal chip is able to cope with 3G speeds, but the speeds of 4G would still be hampered by the slower clock speed.
The 1GHz internals really do seem to slow the whole internet experience down, more so than we have seen on other, identically specced handsets. The LG Optimus L5 2, for example, has the same size chipset yet provided a much smoother experience.
The screen was also a problem when it came to using the Samsung Galaxy Fame. 3.5 inches is just not sufficient for anything other than very basic use, such as light reading on a mobile site, or checking up on your team's scores on a sports site.
When surfing the net (do they still say that?), we'd recommend the standard internet app for once, even though the Chrome app ties in a lot better across multiple devices and platforms.
That said, both browsers can pull in your saved Google bookmarks if you sign in with your Google account, and both browsers offer incognito browsing too.
It's a real shame that we couldn't find a way of getting text reflow to work on the Samsung Galaxy Fame - all the methods we could think of, such as a double-tap on the screen, didn't work. There was a certain level of zooming that worked, but the text didn't reflow itself.
A useful feature of the native browser is offline viewing. This is useful to an extent, because pages are saved as images. While functional, this means that there is no ability to open links within the page, even when your data connection returns.
Standard Android options present on the Samsung Galaxy Fame include the ability to select text easily, by long-pressing on an area of text. This brings up two sliders, marking the beginning and end of highlighted text. These can be adjusted so you can select as much or as little text as needed, then tap again to copy the words you've highlighted to the clipboard, to be pasted into another app.
Elsewhere in the settings there are varying toggles, such as the useful ability to turn off image loading and disable plug-ins, which is ideal for those on restrictive data plans. Settings also highlights the security features on offer, such as password management and location features.
The internet experience on the Samsung Galaxy Fame is generally very poor. It might just have been our review handset, but we found Chrome almost unusable, as every page we went to load just gave us a black screen. Speeds over Wi-Fi and 3G connections were generally acceptable, although for serious web browsing, the Samsung Galaxy Fame is definitely not the phone for you.
Camera
For a phone that comes in significantly cheaper than some of its higher-end rivals - such as the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2, Huawei Ascend G510, Sony Xperia J and LG Optimus L5 2 - the Samsung Galaxy Fame also packs in a 5MP rear-facing sensor, complete with a front-facing camera that was notably omitted on the latter of the aforementioned rivals.
Being able to launch the camera from the lock screen initially seems to be a major bonus, one that seems to be making its way over to many smartphone operating systems and interfaces. The lack of internal grunt is a major problem, however. We swiped to unlock to the camera, and were given the home screen, leading us to believe that we hadn't opened the camera, but then a second later the camera opened.
This is a really frustrating problem. We've seen that it takes a few seconds on other smartphones, but it really did seem to take an age to load the camera app. That funny cat pose, baby's first steps and that pretty butterfly will have long gone before you even get the camera to focus.
The lack of a dedicated shutter button for the camera app is also an annoyance, but one that we have come to accept, since it is so often omitted on smartphone cameras. We were very happy to find that customisable autofocus points can be selected by tapping on the screen, and we found that the volume rocker can double up as a zoom changer.
There isn't a massive level of zoom available on the Samsung Galaxy Fame - it just goes up to 2x. We know that a digital zoom is hardly worth having anyway, because it reduces the image resolution, but for those who like to use it, only zooming in to 2x is really poor.
In terms of features, the Samsung Galaxy Fame camera has just about all you would expect - a flash, image size, geotagging, three colour effects (black and white, sepia and negative), scene modes, ISO, white balance and a timer.
Generally we found that these features aren't of much use on phone cameras, tending to be for the more serious photographer - someone very unlikely to use the Samsung Galaxy Fame.
Samsung does provide different shooting modes, such as Single Shot, Panorama, Share Shot and Smile Shot. We see the Single Shot being the one you'll most frequently use, because Share Shot shares your photos via Wi-Fi direct connections (something that is only really prevalent on other Samsung Galaxy devices), and Smile Shot is dedicated for portrait pictures.
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Video
As with just about every smartphone these days, the Video app here is just a continuation of the camera app. The Samsung Galaxy Fame therefore includes the same black and white, sepia and negative effects alongside white balance and exposure adjustments.
Samsung has also provided the Galaxy Fame with the ability to limit video sizing for MMS, fitting in with the idea that the video isn't designed for the big screen, but more for messaging to friends. That becomes even clearer when you find out that the video recording is limited to VGA resolution (640 x 480).
In all, the video app is very lacking. Given that we see the Samsung Galaxy Fame in the mitts of the younger generation, being used at high school to record the day's nonsense, we highly doubt that any other features would have been used anyway.
Media
Looking at the Samsung Galaxy Fame, it is immediately obvious that media consumption was not at the fore of the designers' minds. The smaller screen being too small, with a lower resolution, makes it a poor choice for watching anything other than short YouTube clips.
Plus the tiny 1.95GB of storage available after Android and others have taken up a chunk of the 4GB memory is uninspiring, though it can be expanded via the phone's micro SD card slot or cloud storage via the Dropbox app.
Music
The Music app is again another basic affair, with some of Samsung's touches popping up. The most notable special touch is the Music Square. This is a very peculiar piece of tech, one that we have seen before in other phones but that we have very high reservations about nevertheless. In simple terms, the Samsung Galaxy Fame will sort your music by its mood, so that you can select the appropriate square to match the way you're feeling, and have the phone play songs to match.
Load up the music player and you are greeted with a rather fancy stock Android player. This also brings up a little bar in the notifications area, as it has on Samsung Galaxy phones for years. From here you can play/pause and skip tracks.
There is also a widget to accompany it, which again we were glad to see. Our only slight disappointment was the inability to control it all directly from the lock screen. Within the Samsung Galaxy Fame's music player are the usual shuffle, skip and repeat functions.
The music player also offers equaliser settings that have been put into a Sound Alive screen, which includes quite a long list of settings, such as Pop, Rock, Jazz through to Virtual 7.1 and Concert Hall. There's even a custom setting, should you really feel the need to go to town with it.
Video
When it comes to video, we were a little shocked to find that the Samsung Galaxy Fame didn't wish to play our test video. We've found on a few of the lower end handsets that we are greeted with a warning on the desktop showing that the phone might not be able to play the video, but until now they have all managed it anyway.
Thankfully there is the option to convert it, however the estimated conversion time of the 90 minute video was around an hour. We left the video to convert, but in its new WMV format, the Samsung Galaxy Fame was still unable to play the file.
Samsung claims that the Galaxy Fame can play MPEG4, 3GPP, MKV and WebM file types, yet our test video was originally in MP4 format.
The video player itself is a basic affair, offering play, pause and manual selection of timing placements. Don't expect to see pop-up play on the Samsung Galaxy Fame, although with a screen that small we're not entirely surprised or bothered.
Radio and photos
Samsung has equipped the Galaxy Fame with an FM radio, however. We found that it had some trouble picking up some of the stations that we expected it to, which was a little disheartening. The app itself is well designed, again being perfectly functional.
The Gallery app is again another functional app. Tiles show each folder, with the Samsung Galaxy Fame able to pull in our Picasa/Google+ photo albums, though not our Facebook shots. Editing photos taken on the Samsung Galaxy Fame is, unfortunately, not possible.
Battery, connectivity, maps and apps
Battery life
When we were told that the Samsung Galaxy Fame was only being graced with a 1300mAh battery, we scoffed a little. Dealing with flagship phones with massive screens must have left us with the idea that massive batteries were the in thing.
In truth, with a tiny screen and a lower clocked processor, 1300mAh is more than sufficient. We did find ourselves leaving the screen on maximum brightness most of the time, because the lack of an auto brightness feature meant that we forgot to turn it down.
With the small screen and the low powered processor, the whole use of the phone is geared towards stretching out a longer battery life. Media consumption and game playing were kept to a minimum as the Samsung Galaxy Fame struggled to cope with anything too strenuous, although it coped admirably with our need to update social media accounts and send messages to all of our friends.
Elsewhere, Samsung's TouchWiz interface means that quick settings are in the notifications bar, enabling you to disable and enable Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth and other such battery draining settings at will.
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Connectivity
When it comes to connectivity, the Samsung Galaxy Fame comes packed with everything that you could imagine a phone at the bottom end of the market would.
3G/HSUPA is supported to HSDPA 7.2Mbps and HSUPA 5.76Mbps, along with Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, NFC, Bluetooth with A2DP support and GPS/GLONASS.
Wi-Fi Direct, which has already been available across Samsung Galaxy phones for a while, is also available.
For those who are unaware of what GLONASS is, it's a Russian developed, slightly less accurate location system, that we've heard is necessary to avoid import taxes to Russia. It does mean that location tracking is even faster.
Connection to a PC is done via the supplied micro USB cable, with file transfer available via mass storage or via digital camera software. Mass storage is the easiest, so you can hook up the Samsung Galaxy Fame as a standard USB storage device for dragging and dropping files. On the Galaxy Fame, Samsung has provided a file manager, meaning that any files you put onto it are easily located.
Samsung also has its proprietary Kies software, should you want a desktop manager for your Galaxy Fame.
Apps
With the Google Play Store pushing Apple further than ever, and holding off the Windows app store too, apps are very easy to get hold of on the Samsung Galaxy Fame. Usefully, games and apps in the Store are viewable by Top Free, Top Paid, Top Grossing, Top New Free and Top New Paid groups, helping to filter out the excess rubbish.
Pre-installed apps are kept to a minimum, with Samsung's Game and Apps hubs on offer alongside the standard Google offerings in the way of Google+, Hangouts, Gmail, Google Play, Play Music and YouTube, and alongside the Mapping apps such as Maps, Local and Navigation.
The Samsung Galaxy Fame comes with very little in the way of S-inspired apps that have made themselves famous on larger, more powerful Samsung Galaxy handsets. So there's no S Translate, S Travel, S Suggest or S Voice, but there is the S Planner, which is a fancy name for a calendar app.
Facebook also comes pre-installed, making it easier to set the Samsung Galaxy Fame up from the very start. Twitter, however, must be located and downloaded from the Google Play Store.
Dropbox is also included, in order to help relieve the stress on the tiny 1.95GB of storage available from the 4GB that is initially stated.
Samsung's Game and Apps hubs are just more app stores, really. We've seen OEMs input their own stores onto phones before, but we have yet to see a massive point in any of them, because the Google Play Store is so well populated.
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Maps
As you have heard it all before, we won't go into much detail with regards to the Google Maps app. If you've used the desktop version, you'll have a fairly good understanding of how the app works and what it can do.
Being possibly the most well-known Google product, after its search function, Google Maps was always going to get a lot of love and attention. As with every iteration on every device, the application is absolutely superb, if hampered by the really poor processor.
GPS lock on was rather snappy, aided by the GLONASS system.
Google Maps also includes Navigation software. We've always been impressed by Google's effort here, not least because it's free. There are other sat nav apps available from the Google Play Store, of course, but when you're in a spot of bother, Google will easily sort you out.
One feature we are fond of is that it taps into traffic data, and can tell you how long your route is set to take in those conditions. This means if you pull to the side of the road - we're safe drivers - you can easily reroute. We'd have liked active rerouting, but for a free app we're not arguing.
Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy Fame is another Galaxy handset designed to sit towards the bottom of the range, competing in the challenging budget smartphone market. This leaves it to play against the likes of the LG Optimus L3 2, the Nokia Lumia 520 and Samsung's other offering, the Samsung Galaxy Young.
As the song goes, we looked, and now we're going to tell you what we saw. Given time though, we really don't see the Samsung Galaxy Fame making us forget the rest.
Pros
If we see it, we like it. We're talking about microSD card support. We put it in our "we liked" section a lot, but that is purely because it is omitted from so many modern smartphones. Having support for microSD cards really boosts the internal storage, of which the Samsung Galaxy Fame has very little.
We also like the TouchWiz interface. It has got a lot better since its early days, increasing to become a highly usable and intuitive UI. It gives Android Jelly Bean a really nice feel, being simple enough for novices, yet with enough features to satisfy more seasoned users too.
The design is also very nice. It sits nicely in the hand, is easy to use one-handed, and fits very well into the existing Samsung Galaxy range, being very much the baby brother to the flagship phones. The plastic feel suits the Samsung Galaxy Fame too, given the much smaller price tag.
NFC is also making its way onto the lower-end phones, so it is nice to see that the Samsung Galaxy Fame is another handset that includes it even at the low end cost.
Cons
Our biggest bugbear is the processor. We've used phones with a single-core 1GHz processor before, and it wasn't too long ago that they were gracing the likes of the HTC Desire or the Samsung Galaxy S.
They have since popped up in the cheaper devices and been fine, yet the Samsung Galaxy Fame really seems to suffer. Loading the camera app from the lock screen is the biggest culprit, with it taking more than a few seconds to kick into gear.
The tiny screen is also a problem. It is low resolution, has no auto brightness feature, and results in a tiny keyboard. This made it very fiddly to use, and the autocorrect function is not really up to the standard we have come to expect from a modern smartphone.
The camera is also really poor. The 5MP sensor takes decent enough photos in the right lighting conditions, but on a bright sunny day, light areas lose a lot of detail. Video recording is also really poor, with the 640 x 480 VGA resolution not enough for filming anything of note.
Final verdict
The Samsung Galaxy Fame is not a phone that will live forever, and it hasn't quite learned to fly. It is clear from the very outset that Samsung has used the ingredients to create a lower-end smartphone, such as the smaller internal chipset, the smaller screen and the low internal storage.
In doing so the Samsung Galaxy Fame, in a continuation of the Samsung Galaxy range's design, feels a little underpowered. The feel of the Samsung Galaxy Fame, with the TouchWiz interface and external design, is reminiscent of the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini, and makes you want to see it as a more expensive handset.
The smaller chipset generally nipped along fairly well when swiping between home screens, but when waking up to the camera or loading slightly larger apps, the Samsung Galaxy Fame struggled really quite noticeably, to the point where we were feeling rather frustrated.
We can see the Samsung Galaxy Fame selling a fair few units, especially given its super low price tag, and we don't see that as a bad thing, given that the majority of users will likely be young, and wanting a way of connecting to Facebook, but for anything more substantial, the handset really struggles.
Read Samsung Galaxy Fame tips and tricks
Samsung Galaxy S4 Active - First Impressions
Samsung might have shot itself in the foot here - the new Active version is a champion in its own right.
For the most part we've understood the idea behind the new members of the Samsung Galaxy S4 family. The S4 Mini for the budget, the S4 Zoom for the camera lovers. Makes sense, and they're suitably dulled down in certain spec areas to make up for it.
But with the Galaxy S4 Active, it's like the normal phone has been given a supercharged health kick to make it into a handset you can enjoy from a spec sheet perspective, but also feel secure about carrying around.
For the most part we've understood the idea behind the new members of the Samsung Galaxy S4 family. The S4 Mini for the budget, the S4 Zoom for the camera lovers. Makes sense, and they're suitably dulled down in certain spec areas to make up for it.
But with the Galaxy S4 Active, it's like the normal phone has been given a supercharged health kick to make it into a handset you can enjoy from a spec sheet perspective, but also feel secure about carrying around.
Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini - First Impressions
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini has arrived with exactly zero surprise
factor, as the Korean firm looks to milk its flagship brand for all its
worth.
It takes over from the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini which launched a few months after the Galaxy S3 last year, but Samsung has not given the S4 as much time to find its feet before bringing out its smaller, cheaper brother.
It takes over from the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini which launched a few months after the Galaxy S3 last year, but Samsung has not given the S4 as much time to find its feet before bringing out its smaller, cheaper brother.
Android for beginners: Setting up your phone
A smartphone is a very powerful tool if used properly and getting the
best out of it could seem like a daunting task at first. Hopefully,
this article will help you find your way through the hundreds of
settings and thousands of apps.
Android is an open source mobile operating system by Google. It's exactly the search giant who's doing all the development and there are some core Google apps for Android that should be taken care of before proceeding. Apps such as Search, Maps and Gmail are likely to have updated versions waiting for you on the Play Store.
Android is an open source mobile operating system by Google. It's exactly the search giant who's doing all the development and there are some core Google apps for Android that should be taken care of before proceeding. Apps such as Search, Maps and Gmail are likely to have updated versions waiting for you on the Play Store.
21 June 2013
Video on Instagram: first impressions
Instagram today unveiled a chic cure to capturing and sharing videos through its iOS and Android mobile apps, one that will no doubt give Twitter pause as to what it wants to do next with Vine.
Called Video on Instagram, the feature is more nuanced than its GIF-y counterpart. The Twitter-owned, 6-second video taking Vine has its merits, but Instagram's take on video comes packing a few more features and lacking loops.
Called Video on Instagram, the feature is more nuanced than its GIF-y counterpart. The Twitter-owned, 6-second video taking Vine has its merits, but Instagram's take on video comes packing a few more features and lacking loops.
Samsung ATIV Tab 3 unveiled as world’s thinnest Windows 8 tablet
Samsung has expanded its tablet range with the Samsung ATIV Tab 3 lining up as the world’s thinnest Windows 8 tablet.
Cut from the same cloth as the company’s Android range of Samsung Galaxy Tab offerings, the ATIV Tab 3 pairs a sleek form factor with Microsoft’s OS and a range of premium innards. The Microsoft Surface Pro rival lines up at just 8.2mm thick and has been announced alongside the convertible Samsung ATIV Q.
Cut from the same cloth as the company’s Android range of Samsung Galaxy Tab offerings, the ATIV Tab 3 pairs a sleek form factor with Microsoft’s OS and a range of premium innards. The Microsoft Surface Pro rival lines up at just 8.2mm thick and has been announced alongside the convertible Samsung ATIV Q.
20 June 2013
Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom first impressions
What is the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom?
The Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom is a camera-centric spinoff to the manufacturer’s flagship Samsung Galaxy S4 offering. Although the Zoom shares few similarities with the original S4, its camera credentials are second to none.
The thinnest phone in the world: Huawei Ascend P6 first impressions
Key Features: World's slimmest smartphone at 6.18mm thick;
1.5GHz quad-core processor
Manufacturer: Huawei
Huawei Ascend P6
What is the Huawei Ascend P6?
The Huawei Ascend P6 is the world’s slimmest smartphone at just 6.18mm thick. It is the latest flagship phone from the Chinese manufacturer and is looking to challenge the Google Nexus 4 for the mantle of the best smartphone on the market at a wallet-friendly price point.
10 Best Google Nexus 4 Apps
The Nexus 4
has it all as far as most Android users are concerned. A gorgeous slim
design, a sharp display, enough power and RAM to run games and Twitter
with ease, and those critical sparkly bits on the back of it that give
you something else to look at when you're done trawling your usual apps
and feeds.
More importantly, being a Nexus device means it's always first in line for software updates direct from Google, so it always features the very latest pre-loaded apps and tools that other Android users have to wait for their makers to port across.
More importantly, being a Nexus device means it's always first in line for software updates direct from Google, so it always features the very latest pre-loaded apps and tools that other Android users have to wait for their makers to port across.
19 June 2013
Huawei Ascend P2 review
So what's the world's fastest smartphone? The Samsung Galaxy S4? HTC One? iPhone 5?
Wrong, wrong and wrong - if you're talking about mobile data speeds the
Huawei Ascend P2 is the unlikely hero stealing the crown.
The reason the Ascend P2 lays claim to the world's fastest title is due to the Cat 4 LTE innards it sports, which can provide a theoretical speed of up too 150Mbps, but you're never going to actually see that.
With 4G baked inside the handset you can expect EE will be picking up the Ascend P2 pretty quickly in the UK, although we're yet to see any network commit to Huawei's latest flagship smartphone just yet.
You can pre-order the Huawei Ascend P2 with some online retailers, with the SIM-free handsets setting you back around £339.99 (around $530, AU$560), and we reckon this will probably translate into around £25 per month on a 3G contract.
The reason the Ascend P2 lays claim to the world's fastest title is due to the Cat 4 LTE innards it sports, which can provide a theoretical speed of up too 150Mbps, but you're never going to actually see that.
With 4G baked inside the handset you can expect EE will be picking up the Ascend P2 pretty quickly in the UK, although we're yet to see any network commit to Huawei's latest flagship smartphone just yet.
You can pre-order the Huawei Ascend P2 with some online retailers, with the SIM-free handsets setting you back around £339.99 (around $530, AU$560), and we reckon this will probably translate into around £25 per month on a 3G contract.
iOS 7 vs Android Jelly Bean vs Windows Phone 8 vs BB10
The battle for dominance of the smartphone world is one that has been
raging for a few years. With the migration of consumers from feature
phones to modern wonders such as the iPhone 5 and the HTC One, or even the cheap as chips offerings like the Nokia Lumia 520 or Huawei Ascend G330, it is clear where the money, and the future lies.
We've seen some impressive hardware come and go, quad-cores grace most flagship devices (i.e. Sony Xperia Z or HTC One) and there is even the quad/octa core that sits inside the Samsung Galaxy S4, dependent on your location.
We've seen some impressive hardware come and go, quad-cores grace most flagship devices (i.e. Sony Xperia Z or HTC One) and there is even the quad/octa core that sits inside the Samsung Galaxy S4, dependent on your location.
18 June 2013
Huawei Ascend P6 unveiled as world’s slimmest smartphone
The Huawei Ascend P6 has been formally unveiled following months of teasing leaks, with the Google Nexus 4 rival lining up as the world’s slimmest smartphone.
A mid-range handset of that might not rival the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC One, the Huawei Ascend P6 lines up at just 6.18mm thick and sports Google’s Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean OS at its core.
Unveiling the new streamline handset, Huawei CEO Richard Yu described the phone as “the embodiment of elegance but with edge.” He added: “The six in P6 is more than a name, it is the thickness of the device. It is very, very difficult to do a smartphone this thin.”
A mid-range handset of that might not rival the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC One, the Huawei Ascend P6 lines up at just 6.18mm thick and sports Google’s Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean OS at its core.
Unveiling the new streamline handset, Huawei CEO Richard Yu described the phone as “the embodiment of elegance but with edge.” He added: “The six in P6 is more than a name, it is the thickness of the device. It is very, very difficult to do a smartphone this thin.”
17 June 2013
10 best wedding planning apps
Getting married is magical. Planning a wedding on the other hand can
require you to be somewhat of a magician – juggling budgets, bookings,
suppliers, guest lists, playlists and to-do lists on a daily basis.
Luckily, there are some brilliant apps on the market for brides to be, designed to make your life easier.
If you're drowning in a sea of receipts, wondering how much cash you spent so far, worried about your iPod playlist screwing up at your reception, or worrying about when you are going to find the time to track down the dress of your dreams or plan the honeymoon of a lifetime, you need our top 10 apps for brides to be.
Luckily, there are some brilliant apps on the market for brides to be, designed to make your life easier.
If you're drowning in a sea of receipts, wondering how much cash you spent so far, worried about your iPod playlist screwing up at your reception, or worrying about when you are going to find the time to track down the dress of your dreams or plan the honeymoon of a lifetime, you need our top 10 apps for brides to be.
10 best mapping apps for Android
Need a guide through the maze of mapping apps out there? Lost in a
Spaghetti Junction of software? Go straight ahead for two sentences.
Ignore this one. You have reached your destination.
There are loads of reasons to use a smartphone - but one of the best is to get from A to B. Android really has that sewn up for the basics, but there's loads more to be gained from having a quick run through the Google Play Store.
There are loads of reasons to use a smartphone - but one of the best is to get from A to B. Android really has that sewn up for the basics, but there's loads more to be gained from having a quick run through the Google Play Store.
10 Best Nokia Lumia 620 Apps
The cheap, chunky and usually quite cheerful Nokia Lumia 620 is one
of the more affordable ways to get into the Windows Phone 8 universe,
with Nokia and the networks managing to get it into the hands of buyers
for around £150 on PAYG SIMs.
Nokia and Microsoft have already done a pretty decent job of pre-loading the Lumia 620 with loads of awesome apps. Nokia's Maps location tool is useful, its integrated Drive satnav software helpful, plus the excellent Nokia Music and the... interesting City Lens, so new smartphone buyers can find some top drawer stuff on the 620 to amuse them for the first few days of loving exploration.
Nokia and Microsoft have already done a pretty decent job of pre-loading the Lumia 620 with loads of awesome apps. Nokia's Maps location tool is useful, its integrated Drive satnav software helpful, plus the excellent Nokia Music and the... interesting City Lens, so new smartphone buyers can find some top drawer stuff on the 620 to amuse them for the first few days of loving exploration.
10 best fitness apps for Android
It used to be easy to tell a couch potato from a gym bunny. But
nowadays even the most healthy among us has an HD screen in their
pocket, and sofa surfers are as likely to move for a Wii as a wee.
Tech and pecs are no longer mutually exclusive, so which bits of fit kit should we all have on our handsets?
Despite the Nike FuelBand's well-reported issues with Android, there are plenty of other fitness options on Google's operating system.
Tech and pecs are no longer mutually exclusive, so which bits of fit kit should we all have on our handsets?
Despite the Nike FuelBand's well-reported issues with Android, there are plenty of other fitness options on Google's operating system.
The best apps for the S Pen
If you are the lucky owner of a Samsung GALAXY Note II then
you need to check out our video guide to the best apps to make the most
of Samsung's innovative pressure sensitive S Pen.
The real beauty of the Samsung GALAXY Note II is the fact that it opens up a whole new world of apps that work even better with the S Pen. Check out the video above for a run through of our current favourite apps on the Google Play store that make the most of the S Pen.
The real beauty of the Samsung GALAXY Note II is the fact that it opens up a whole new world of apps that work even better with the S Pen. Check out the video above for a run through of our current favourite apps on the Google Play store that make the most of the S Pen.
16 June 2013
How to earn money fast? Build a Windows Phone app and get £60,000
Microsoft is looking to encourage developers to produce apps for
its Windows Phone platform, paying out vast amounts of money to get
devs on board.
With the Windows Phone ecosystem still struggling to gain a serious grip on the market, being dwarfed by iOS and Android, latest reports have claimed that Microsoft is giving developers up to $100,000 (£63,000) to get high-profile app developers to turn to the Windows platform.
With the Windows Phone ecosystem still struggling to gain a serious grip on the market, being dwarfed by iOS and Android, latest reports have claimed that Microsoft is giving developers up to $100,000 (£63,000) to get high-profile app developers to turn to the Windows platform.
Three fun ways to personalise your Android home screen
One of Android's benefits (or weaknesses, depending on your
perspective) is the ease with which you can tweak various aspects of the
software, including apps, settings, widgets, home and lock screens and
icons.
You can get under the hood of the operating system in a way that just isn't possible on Apple devices without resorting to jailbreaking, and with the right tools to hand, you can put together a home screen that looks completely different from anyone else's.
You can get under the hood of the operating system in a way that just isn't possible on Apple devices without resorting to jailbreaking, and with the right tools to hand, you can put together a home screen that looks completely different from anyone else's.
How to move your iTunes library to an external drive
Apple's iTunes Match
service lets you store all your music in the cloud, but some people
prefer to have a local copy of all their music instead. It's free, and
doesn't disappear if your internet connection goes down.
You might have thousands of tracks you've ripped from CD over the years, for example. This is the more conventional way to use iTunes and it's great, until your library starts to get too big for your hard drive. And with more and more people using ultraportable MacBook Airs, storage capacity can be an issue.
You might have thousands of tracks you've ripped from CD over the years, for example. This is the more conventional way to use iTunes and it's great, until your library starts to get too big for your hard drive. And with more and more people using ultraportable MacBook Airs, storage capacity can be an issue.
Guide: Email tips and tricks for Note II power users
Believe it or not good ol' Gmail has now been around since April
2004, yet way back on 26 March 1976 The Queen of England sent her first
e-mail – and 37 years on it is hard to imagine how any of us could cope
without it.
Here are our expert tips and tricks on managing your email on your Note II, ensuring that you know how to get the most out of Samsung's native email app and how to use the best features and apps to have fun creating and composing your work and personal mail. And how to avoid it becoming the bane of your life!
Most people using Android phones and tablets have their Gmail accounts synced up to their phone's native Gmail app.
Here are our expert tips and tricks on managing your email on your Note II, ensuring that you know how to get the most out of Samsung's native email app and how to use the best features and apps to have fun creating and composing your work and personal mail. And how to avoid it becoming the bane of your life!
Most people using Android phones and tablets have their Gmail accounts synced up to their phone's native Gmail app.
Summer holiday app round-up: Last minute getaway tips
Summer's soon here and if you don't want to suffer the indignity of
being stuck in the house with bored, screaming kids for the duration of
the sun-friendly months ahead, you need to book yourself a last minute
bargain getaway.
And the GALAXY Note II is, as ever, your friend in this most worthwhile of endeavours, with a welter of great apps that work a treat on its expansive 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED screen.
Here's our choice of the top ten best last minute getaway tips for your Note II this summer.
The latest update of this all-encompassing hotel search app is designed specifically with GALAXY Note II users in mind.
And the GALAXY Note II is, as ever, your friend in this most worthwhile of endeavours, with a welter of great apps that work a treat on its expansive 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED screen.
Here's our choice of the top ten best last minute getaway tips for your Note II this summer.
Hotels.com
FreeThe latest update of this all-encompassing hotel search app is designed specifically with GALAXY Note II users in mind.
Top 10 social networking tips for Samsung Galaxy S4
There's never been a better time and place to social network than
right now, and chances are, at any given 'right now', you'll have your
phone to hand.
The smartphone has therefore unsurprisingly become social networking's best friend.
With that in mind, here are our top ten tips for social networking on arguably the smartest of phones, the Samsung GALAXY S4.
The smartphone has therefore unsurprisingly become social networking's best friend.
With that in mind, here are our top ten tips for social networking on arguably the smartest of phones, the Samsung GALAXY S4.
15 June 2013
How to root the Samsung Galaxy S4
So you've just received your gorgeous new Samsung Galaxy S4.
Isn't it lovely? After you've finished caressing its sleek lines,
admiring its gorgeous Super AMOLED screen and gasping in amazement at
its insanely powerful processor, you might want to consider taking more
control over it -- and in Android terms that means rooting.
Rooting your device is basically like gaining administrative rights on a PC. You're able to install custom firmware, remove unwanted bloatware applications and generally get a little more hands on with the core functionality of the phone. For seasoned Android veterans, rooting is practically the first thing they do when they take a new phone out of its packaging, but if you're a novice, then you might want to exercise a little caution.
Rooting your device is basically like gaining administrative rights on a PC. You're able to install custom firmware, remove unwanted bloatware applications and generally get a little more hands on with the core functionality of the phone. For seasoned Android veterans, rooting is practically the first thing they do when they take a new phone out of its packaging, but if you're a novice, then you might want to exercise a little caution.
14 June 2013
15 best Android tablets in the world
If you're looking for a tablet and don't fancy an iPad, then Android is currently the way to go.
There are other options out there; Windows 8 tablets such as the Surface, Ativ Tab and VivoTab Smart are starting to creep out, plus the BlackBerry PlayBook is still somehow on sale - but Android Jelly Bean is currently the main OS rival to the iPad 4 and iPad mini.
We saw the launch of Nvidia's next-generation Tegra 3 chip, which took 2012's quad-core Android tablets to new heights and with the likes of the Google Nexus 7 and Transformer Pad Infinity beckoning in the new era, the iPad is starting to feel the heat.
Some tablets have 10-inch screens, others seven, and there are big differences in battery life, processing power and onboard RAM. So while we wait for the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 and Sony Xperia Tablet Z, let's see what the current best tablets are...
Manufactured by Asus to Google's specifications, the Nexus 7 ushers in a new era of affordable, quality Android tablets.
There are other options out there; Windows 8 tablets such as the Surface, Ativ Tab and VivoTab Smart are starting to creep out, plus the BlackBerry PlayBook is still somehow on sale - but Android Jelly Bean is currently the main OS rival to the iPad 4 and iPad mini.
We saw the launch of Nvidia's next-generation Tegra 3 chip, which took 2012's quad-core Android tablets to new heights and with the likes of the Google Nexus 7 and Transformer Pad Infinity beckoning in the new era, the iPad is starting to feel the heat.
Some tablets have 10-inch screens, others seven, and there are big differences in battery life, processing power and onboard RAM. So while we wait for the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 and Sony Xperia Tablet Z, let's see what the current best tablets are...
1. Google Nexus 7
Manufactured by Asus to Google's specifications, the Nexus 7 ushers in a new era of affordable, quality Android tablets.
12 June 2013
Vodafone Smart Mini launched
Vodafone has launched its latest affordable smartphone, the Vodafone Smart Mini, which is available to buy now.
The compact smartphone is an entry-level handset that packs a 3.5-inch 320 x 480p HVGA Capacitive touch screen and a 1GHz processor.
The compact smartphone is an entry-level handset that packs a 3.5-inch 320 x 480p HVGA Capacitive touch screen and a 1GHz processor.
5 June 2013
Best cheap smartphones: PAYG mobiles compared
With the mobile marketplace teeming with a multitude of highly priced
smartphones, one might wonder whether cheap phones still have a place
in the mobile infrastructure.
With massive innovation in both hardware and operating systems, phones now do a lot more than just let you talk and text, with handsets like the Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One and iPhone 5 stealing headlines around the world these days.
Sadly all this innovation isn't cheap – and most of it is reserved for high-end contract handsets. So, is there such a thing as the 'best phone on a budget'?
We've been through our extensive mobile phone reviews to find the best cheap phones at the moment, so if you're looking to pick up a decent handset for not much wonga, these are the best budget phones going.
SIM-free: from £139.95
PAYG: from £99.95
The Nokia Lumia 520, much like its big brother the Lumia 620, is a jack of all trades and a master of none - although it really manages to make a good fist of everything it tries, for the price.
It looks good, it's got a decent screen both in terms of size and resolution, it rarely stutters or slows down, it's great for calls and messaging, reasonable for media and okay for photos.
With massive innovation in both hardware and operating systems, phones now do a lot more than just let you talk and text, with handsets like the Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One and iPhone 5 stealing headlines around the world these days.
Sadly all this innovation isn't cheap – and most of it is reserved for high-end contract handsets. So, is there such a thing as the 'best phone on a budget'?
We've been through our extensive mobile phone reviews to find the best cheap phones at the moment, so if you're looking to pick up a decent handset for not much wonga, these are the best budget phones going.
Nokia Lumia 520
SIM-free: from £139.95
PAYG: from £99.95
The Nokia Lumia 520, much like its big brother the Lumia 620, is a jack of all trades and a master of none - although it really manages to make a good fist of everything it tries, for the price.
It looks good, it's got a decent screen both in terms of size and resolution, it rarely stutters or slows down, it's great for calls and messaging, reasonable for media and okay for photos.
LG Optimus L3 2 review
LG might mostly be known for the popular Nexus 4
and other premium smartphones but that only accounts for one end of its
range. The LG Optimus L3 2 takes a position right at the other end as a
truly entry level handset.
With a price tag of roughly £90 SIM free, or available free on contract from around £7.50 a month the LG Optimus L3 II is going up against the likes of the ZTE Blade 3, HTC Desire C and the Huawei Ascend G330.
With a dinky 3.2-inch low resolution screen, a 1GHz single-core processor and just 512MB of RAM the LG Optimus L3 2 might not be up to much, but in this sort of price range that doesn't necessarily matter.
With a price tag of roughly £90 SIM free, or available free on contract from around £7.50 a month the LG Optimus L3 II is going up against the likes of the ZTE Blade 3, HTC Desire C and the Huawei Ascend G330.
With a dinky 3.2-inch low resolution screen, a 1GHz single-core processor and just 512MB of RAM the LG Optimus L3 2 might not be up to much, but in this sort of price range that doesn't necessarily matter.
4 June 2013
Asus Fonepad Tips and Tricks
The 7-inch Asus Fonepad is at the head of a new trend of tablet devices
offering a big screen and full phone functionality along with the likes
of the recently announced Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0. It takes expandable
memory (up to 32GB), sports a 1.2GHz Intel Atom single-core processor,
runs an Asus modified version of Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean and is
extremely affordable at just £179 SIM-free.
If you’re thinking of picking one up, here are a few pointers to help get the most out of this unique device.
If you’re thinking of picking one up, here are a few pointers to help get the most out of this unique device.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 tips and tricks
As part of Samsung’s throw-everything-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks
strategy, the Galaxy Note 8.0 looks like a winner. It’s a nice
manageable size; the Super AMOLED screen looks great; it’s got plenty of
power under the hood; and the built-in S-Pen stylus is very handy.
If you want to take full advantage of the S-Pen and create shortcuts to specific functions then you need to get to grips with the Quick Command feature. Hold down the S-Pen button and draw a straight line upward on the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 screen and you’ll get the Quick Command pop-up. You can now draw a symbol to launch an app. For example, draw the @ sign and you’ll launch email. You can set up your own quick commands via Settings > Quick Command settings > Add a command.
Samsung offers a multi-tasking slide out menu on many of its devices. You simply hold the Back button down until you see a tab pop-up on the left hand side of your screen (tap and hold on it in order to move the tab elsewhere). Tap on the tab and a tray of apps slides out. You can edit what appears in it and use it as a quick access point for your favorite apps.
It has never seemed like a very useful feature, but on the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 it is rendered awesome by the addition of a feature called Dual Screen View. You can have two apps on the screen at once, so you could watch a video and write in a document at the same time. To use it, open the tray and select the first app that you want, and it will open full screen. Now, drag the second app you want from the tray onto the screen and you should get a split screen view with both of them. You can also resize the screens using the standard pinch gesture.
This multi-window functionality is extended to pop-up browser and pop-up video functions which allow you to click on links and open a browser window or play a video without closing or leaving the app you are in.
Being able to get a sneak peek at the content of an email, a folder, or even a news story without having to fully launch it can be very handy. Samsung calls this Air View, but it is essentially a hovering preview function, or a sneak peek. All you have to do is hover your S-Pen over an email, a folder, a gallery, or a news story in the Flipboard app, without touching the screen, and you’ll see a preview of what’s inside.
This preview function also works for tool tip pop-ups if you hover over certain menu options in apps such as Samsung’s S Note.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 is a good size for reading and you’ll want to browse the Web on it and maybe read magazines or books. If you activate Reading mode then the screen brightness tone down so that’s it’s easier on the eyes, and the background will look more like paper. The Smart Stay feature will also automatically turn on, which prevents the screen from sleeping while you are looking at it. Just drag down the notification bar and tap Reading mode to turn it on or off.
It’s also worth mentioning that if you use Samsung’s Readers Hub app, you’ll enjoy page turn animations and the ability to highlight text and annotate books using your S-Pen.
You’ve got a choice when it comes to employing your Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 as a universal remote control and TV guide. You can either use Samsung’s Watch ON app or you can use the pre-installed Peel Smart Remote app. The tablet features an IR blaster, so it can control a wide variety of devices.
The Peel app is best employed as your remote, because it’s very intuitive and easy to set up. You’ll need to make sure that Power saving mode is turned off on the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 for it to work properly. You’ll also get a TV schedule on this app and all the basic controls that you need.
Watch ON is more focused on selling you content, but it does have a handy search function and it can pull in results from on demand services, which is handy when you want to find a specific movie or show. Search for what you want and you’ll get info, with IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes links, as well as an option to watch, which lists where you can buy, rent, or stream it from.
If you want to be able to get your bookmarks, and even see the open tabs from your computer or laptop, on your Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 as well, then you should download the Chrome browser. Assuming you have a Google account, and that you use Chrome elsewhere, you can install the app on your Note 8.0, sign in to your Google account, and your bookmarks will be shared automatically.
Anyone with a video collection on their PC or laptop, looking to load videos onto their Note 8.0 and watch them there should download two free, handy apps. First of all, you want ES File Explorer File Manager, so that you can easily find and manage your files. Secondly, you should download MX Player, as it can handle just about every video format under the sun. It offers support for subtitles and a really handy kid’s lock option, too.
There are plenty of cloud storage services now, including SkyDrive, Box, Google Drive, and Dropbox. They all offer Android apps and some free space, so you can quickly and easily transfer files wirelessly. We recommend Dropbox, and if you find that the app is pre-installed on your new Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0, and you carrier is participating in the promotion, then you could get 48GB of space for free, for two years.
How to take a screenshot
There are three ways to take a screenshot on a Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0. Whatever method you choose, the screenshot will appear in your Notifications, and also in a Screenshots folder in the Gallery.- Hold down the Power key and the Home key simultaneously until you hear the shutter sound.
- Go into Settings > Motion and tick the box next to Palm swipe to capture. Now you can simply swipe your palm across the screen to capture a screenshot.
- Your final option with the Note 8.0 is the best and it uses the S-Pen. You can take a screenshot by pressing and holding the S-Pen button and then touching the screen until you hear the shutter sound. If you want to annotate the screenshot before saving, then tap and hold the S-Pen on the screen with the button depressed. You can also press and hold the button, and then circle an area of the screen to capture a specific section. If you want to annotate or edit your screen capture, you can choose an app from the pop-up menu and drop it straight in there.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 tips and tricks - How to use Quick Command
If you want to take full advantage of the S-Pen and create shortcuts to specific functions then you need to get to grips with the Quick Command feature. Hold down the S-Pen button and draw a straight line upward on the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 screen and you’ll get the Quick Command pop-up. You can now draw a symbol to launch an app. For example, draw the @ sign and you’ll launch email. You can set up your own quick commands via Settings > Quick Command settings > Add a command.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 tips and tricks - How to use split screen
Samsung offers a multi-tasking slide out menu on many of its devices. You simply hold the Back button down until you see a tab pop-up on the left hand side of your screen (tap and hold on it in order to move the tab elsewhere). Tap on the tab and a tray of apps slides out. You can edit what appears in it and use it as a quick access point for your favorite apps.
It has never seemed like a very useful feature, but on the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 it is rendered awesome by the addition of a feature called Dual Screen View. You can have two apps on the screen at once, so you could watch a video and write in a document at the same time. To use it, open the tray and select the first app that you want, and it will open full screen. Now, drag the second app you want from the tray onto the screen and you should get a split screen view with both of them. You can also resize the screens using the standard pinch gesture.
This multi-window functionality is extended to pop-up browser and pop-up video functions which allow you to click on links and open a browser window or play a video without closing or leaving the app you are in.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 tips and tricks - How to preview content
Being able to get a sneak peek at the content of an email, a folder, or even a news story without having to fully launch it can be very handy. Samsung calls this Air View, but it is essentially a hovering preview function, or a sneak peek. All you have to do is hover your S-Pen over an email, a folder, a gallery, or a news story in the Flipboard app, without touching the screen, and you’ll see a preview of what’s inside.
This preview function also works for tool tip pop-ups if you hover over certain menu options in apps such as Samsung’s S Note.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 tips and tricks - How to use Reading mode
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 is a good size for reading and you’ll want to browse the Web on it and maybe read magazines or books. If you activate Reading mode then the screen brightness tone down so that’s it’s easier on the eyes, and the background will look more like paper. The Smart Stay feature will also automatically turn on, which prevents the screen from sleeping while you are looking at it. Just drag down the notification bar and tap Reading mode to turn it on or off.
It’s also worth mentioning that if you use Samsung’s Readers Hub app, you’ll enjoy page turn animations and the ability to highlight text and annotate books using your S-Pen.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 tips and tricks - How to search and control TV
You’ve got a choice when it comes to employing your Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 as a universal remote control and TV guide. You can either use Samsung’s Watch ON app or you can use the pre-installed Peel Smart Remote app. The tablet features an IR blaster, so it can control a wide variety of devices.
The Peel app is best employed as your remote, because it’s very intuitive and easy to set up. You’ll need to make sure that Power saving mode is turned off on the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 for it to work properly. You’ll also get a TV schedule on this app and all the basic controls that you need.
Watch ON is more focused on selling you content, but it does have a handy search function and it can pull in results from on demand services, which is handy when you want to find a specific movie or show. Search for what you want and you’ll get info, with IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes links, as well as an option to watch, which lists where you can buy, rent, or stream it from.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 tips and tricks - How to sync bookmarks
If you want to be able to get your bookmarks, and even see the open tabs from your computer or laptop, on your Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 as well, then you should download the Chrome browser. Assuming you have a Google account, and that you use Chrome elsewhere, you can install the app on your Note 8.0, sign in to your Google account, and your bookmarks will be shared automatically.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 tips and tricks - How to manage and play videos
Anyone with a video collection on their PC or laptop, looking to load videos onto their Note 8.0 and watch them there should download two free, handy apps. First of all, you want ES File Explorer File Manager, so that you can easily find and manage your files. Secondly, you should download MX Player, as it can handle just about every video format under the sun. It offers support for subtitles and a really handy kid’s lock option, too.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 tips and tricks - How to transfer files wirelessly
There are plenty of cloud storage services now, including SkyDrive, Box, Google Drive, and Dropbox. They all offer Android apps and some free space, so you can quickly and easily transfer files wirelessly. We recommend Dropbox, and if you find that the app is pre-installed on your new Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0, and you carrier is participating in the promotion, then you could get 48GB of space for free, for two years.
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