SYNAPSE CIRCUIT TECH-NEWS DECEMBER 2012: Apple, Google & Samsung...

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT
TECH-NEWS DECEMBER 2012

Dear Synapse Circuit Readers!

It’s great to see that you have been reading the Christmas issue! That’s awesome! Thank you! I was so relieved to get the Christmas issue up online; that was a lot of hard but rewarding work! Once again, YOU have helped to make Synapse Circuit rewarding! Thanks again!

GOOGLE RELEASES THEIR MAP APP FOR THE iPHONE

December 12, 2012 Google releases their Map App for iOS devices. This is great news for Apple as they have lost their way – literally! iPhone fans must have breathed a heavy sigh of relief! This move by Google may actually cause the sales of the iPhone 5 to rise! As it goes Apple shares are down below $500! Not good; but I believe that this situation is temporary and the share value will be up again in 2013. I think that Apple is going through a transitional phase what with their new lightning socket they obviously thought it was better to launch the iPad 4 sooner than later to solidify the arrival of lightning. Plus the iPad mini wasn’t well thought out... ...add the disappointing iPhone 5 to the mix. It’s a shame, but Tim Cook’s reshuffling of staff should see Apple coming back and hopefully with some innovation.

But, yes, it could very well be that Google’s Map app for iOS devices will help iPhone sales to climb up a little.

JUDGE REJECTS APPLE INJUNCTION BID VERSUS SAMSUNG

As a Samsung / Android fan I can say that this news has come as a relief because I don’t see why Apple have been relentlessly gunning for Samsung... What, because they are innovative? But I am glad that Apple’s bid to permanently ban Samsung devices from the US market has been rejected. On the other hand the same judge, Lucy Koh, has denied Samsung - in a separate order on Monday - a new trial based on an allegation that the jury foreman was improperly biased in favour of Apple.

Who knows where the two tech giants will go from there; if the recent patent denial is upheld against Apple then Samsung may win an appeal. We’ll see...

SAMSUNG RELEASES MORE ANDROID HANDSETS

What’s going on with Samsung, huh? They are producing Android handsets like a virus! They have recently announced the Galaxy Premier which is a mid-high-end handset to be released for the Russian and Southeast Asia, China and South Korea markets. It will be available on 3G and LTE networks dependent on territory and carrier. It looks pretty good; it’s sort of like a slight cut down version of the popular SIII! Here’s the spec:

Network:

HSPA＋ 21/5.76 (850/900/1900/2100 MHZ)        

EDGE/GPRS (850/900/1800/1900 MHZ)

Display:

4.65” HD (720x1280) Super AMOLED

Dimension:

68.02 x 134.2 x 8.99 mm, 130g

OS:

Android™ 4.1 (Jelly Bean)

Camera:

Main(Rear) : 8 Megapixel Auto Focus camera w/ LED Flash

Sub(Front) : 1.9 Megapixel HD camera

Video:
MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV, RV, DivX, Xvid, VD-1

Recording & Playback : 1080@30fps

Audio:

Codec : MP3, AAC, AAC＋, eAAC＋, WMA, RA

Music Player with SoundAlive

3.5mm Ear Jack

Memory:

8 / 16GB User memory ＋ microSD slot (up to 32 GB)

Battery:

2,100mAh

It also features NFC, Bluetooth 4 and WiFi. No details as of yet regarding the processor; I’d hazard a guess that it’ll be a dual-core 1.2 GHz.

As you can see the Galaxy Premiere is a hefty-ish handset. Who knows if it will ever reach the UK / European and US markets?

Now here’s the Galaxy Grand... The Grand is a 5” handset that is probably a version of the Note II! Well, it certainly looks like the Note II! For a start the screen is a 5” 800 x 480 WVGA TFT LCD display instead of Super AMOLED HD; I presume this is to keep the costs down.

Furthermore there’s a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor and 8-megapixel camera, available in both single and dual-SIM models. There’s more... 1GB RAM, 8GB of internal memory and a large 2,100 mAh battery. Its bodywork is 9.6mm thick, which is slightly thicker than the 4.8-inch Galaxy S III. While it’s very powerful the Grand is very much a mid-range handset presumably aimed at those who prefer a large screen but have no need for an HD screen and some of productivity offered by the Note II software and stylus. The Grand could be another hit in the budget sector of the market; the big brother to the Galaxy Ace 1 & 2. GT-I9082 is the dual SIM version and will be followed shortly by the single SIM GT-I9080 model. At the moment there’s nothing on costs and availability.

Interesting stuff! But knowing Samsung the best is yet to come... Will they reveal the SIV at CES in January 2013 or will they reveal it at the Mobile World Congress in February 2013? Probably neither! Samsung, of late, have taken to revealing their top of the range models at their own events and quite rightly too! I’d be very surprised if Samsung reveals the Galaxy SIV before May. It’d be cool though! I am due for an upgrade in April... Lol! I am crazy about Samsung Android phones! Well, I am crazy about handsets in general! I hope 2013 brings more of these high-end handsets that have only been seen in places like China...

I will keep you updated!

In the meantime keep reading Synapse Circuit magazine! Here: www.synapsecircuit.com