Senior Contributing Editors:
Jesus Diaz
| AIM | Twitter
Mark Wilson, Reviews
| AIM | Twitter
Contributing Editors:
Matt Buchanan | AIM | Twitter
Adam Frucci | Twitter
Sean Fallon | Twitter
Jack Loftus | Twitter
John Herrman | Twitter
Dan Nosowitz
Chris Mascari
Danny Allen | Twitter
Rosa Golijan | Twitter
Chris Jacob
This is exactly what I wanted to see going into 2010. A new company finally stepping up to offer all the features we want in a phone that no one's been courageous enough to give us. Like 3G. And multitouch.
Not to mention Samsung is leading the way into next-generation technobabble. Flash control? WEB control?! Baby, sign me up! Oh, and not to mention, with the Oceanic theme they're going for, teens and young adults the world over will never be without an excuse to sing "I'm on a boat!" The possibilities are endless!
And as if that wasn't enough, they'll be including the TouchWiz interface! As a young man who grew up in the tech generation, I can't tell you how cool TouchWiz sounds. I can't tell people about my phone's TouchWiz. And the multimedia cube! Man, kids are all about the cubes these days. I mean, I saw a Rubik's cube the other day at Wal-Mart......and also there was that cube in the first Transformers. See? They're everywhere!
I'll reserve judgement until I've seen it but it seems to me the last thing the mobile community needs is another "open" OS. This is a contrarian move by Samsung.
I picked up a 40" Sony Bravia S-series for $598, and I love it. There is a slight trail but hardly noticeable, you have to really try to look for it. I was surprised because this was suppose to be the chief complaint about the TV. It is offers great video and audio customization in the built in Menu system. The contrast is only 30,000:1 but after playing with settings is better then I had anticipated. This TV is bright, with the backlight cranked up you could watch this outside on a sunny day (no joke). The sound quality on this TV is without equal in its price range. I have an older model Sony amp and so I run all my audio into TV out into the Amp. (Another Sony bonus, tons of input ports). I probably could have spent an additional few hundred for a new 7.1 sound system, but like I said the quality now is already great. So Sony has its ups and downs, but if you are looking for a beautiful TV to pair with your PS3 and don't have an entire grand to slap down - the Bravia is a good bet.
Can Samsung come out with a decent, respectable smartphone WITHOUT this TouchWiz crap? Every time I see it it screams "dumbphone" and every time I see it in action it screams "put me out of my bloody misery".
Speaking from a neutral standpoint, I totally get it when Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone in 2007. He was doing that 'business chart' that showed how complicated dumbphones were and how even more asinine some smartphone developers, ending up with even more inconsistent and convoluted interfaces.
Some manufacturers really (and I mean REALLY) need to go back to the paper napkins to draw and map out user interfaces that are simple, effective, contagious, and universal.
Can't say I disagree with anything in this review. Samsung needs to take a good look at their phones and realize that nobody with a functional cerebral cortex considers their UIs as intuitive.
It's a shame because their hardware is top notch. The other day, I bought a Sammy F400 B&O edition as a backup phone. Brilliant sound output, but I can't for the love of god; figure out how their menu system worked.
"It gives you a headache to use, like reading tiny text in the dark, or reciting the alphabet backwards when drunk"
Whenever I see Cops where they make drunk people recite the alphabet backwards, it scares me. I don't think I could do that sober without having to think a lot.
With respect to the review, for some reason I couldn't stop laughing as I was reading it. The tone of your writing just seems like you are genuinely frustrated and it's quite funny. The first two lines summarized how the review was going to go and everything after that was just a bonus.
You guys can tell that a phone is going to suck. Why do you review phones that look like crap? I mean, you couldn't smell the sweet scent of [insert disgusting smell] from a mile away? I know I could.
I know HDTV's are flat and all, but they are all three dimensional, aren't they?
I still think this concept of everyone wanting to sit around watching TV with special glasses is ridiculous. I experienced a number of the 3D movies this summer in both formats and (for me) all of them were a more enjoyable experience without the glasses. I am not saying the extra dimension did not add an extra element, but they are uncomfortable to wear for an entire movie. The troublesome short versions of me ended up watching half the movie without the glasses because they were annoying for a couple of the movies. All of which is to say - I just have a tough time imagining an entire family sitting in front of a TV every night with 3D glasses on.
12/08/09
Not to mention Samsung is leading the way into next-generation technobabble. Flash control? WEB control?! Baby, sign me up! Oh, and not to mention, with the Oceanic theme they're going for, teens and young adults the world over will never be without an excuse to sing "I'm on a boat!" The possibilities are endless!
And as if that wasn't enough, they'll be including the TouchWiz interface! As a young man who grew up in the tech generation, I can't tell you how cool TouchWiz sounds. I can't tell people about my phone's TouchWiz. And the multimedia cube! Man, kids are all about the cubes these days. I mean, I saw a Rubik's cube the other day at Wal-Mart......and also there was that cube in the first Transformers. See? They're everywhere!
This is a good idea.
12/08/09
who are they going to choose as their search Partner?
12/08/09
12/05/09
12/03/09
12/03/09
Some manufacturers really (and I mean REALLY) need to go back to the paper napkins to draw and map out user interfaces that are simple, effective, contagious, and universal.
12/02/09
It's a shame because their hardware is top notch. The other day, I bought a Sammy F400 B&O edition as a backup phone. Brilliant sound output, but I can't for the love of god; figure out how their menu system worked.
...and It's a dumbphone.
Sufficed to say, I sold it within a day.
12/02/09
Windows Mobile is shit. I worked with it for 3 years. Over at XDA chefs do all they can to make it better but at the end of the day, it's shit.
Most of the disguises that phone makers use to cover this shit known as WM with turn out just as bad.
I seriously don't understand how people still stick to WM. Freaking symbian functions/looks better, crashes/freezes less.
12/02/09
Whenever I see Cops where they make drunk people recite the alphabet backwards, it scares me. I don't think I could do that sober without having to think a lot.
With respect to the review, for some reason I couldn't stop laughing as I was reading it. The tone of your writing just seems like you are genuinely frustrated and it's quite funny. The first two lines summarized how the review was going to go and everything after that was just a bonus.
12/02/09
12/02/09
12/02/09
12/02/09
12/02/09
I agree I'm probably not going to hold of any phone purchase because of it but they could surprise us.
12/02/09
12/02/09
11/30/09
I still think this concept of everyone wanting to sit around watching TV with special glasses is ridiculous. I experienced a number of the 3D movies this summer in both formats and (for me) all of them were a more enjoyable experience without the glasses. I am not saying the extra dimension did not add an extra element, but they are uncomfortable to wear for an entire movie. The troublesome short versions of me ended up watching half the movie without the glasses because they were annoying for a couple of the movies. All of which is to say - I just have a tough time imagining an entire family sitting in front of a TV every night with 3D glasses on.