Page 22 - ARUBA TODAY 28 AUG,2015

TECHNOLOGY A23
Review: New phones, tablets keep Samsung at Android helm
ANICK JESDANUN
AP Technology Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Sam-
sung’s new smartphones
and tablets might not of-
fer enough to entice cur-
rent iPhone and iPad users
to switch, but they keep
Samsung at the head of
the class among Android
gadget makers.
The new Galaxy devices
come weeks before com-
parable updates from
Apple are expected. In
a sense, if Samsung can’t
beat the competition in
sales, it can at least beat it
to store shelves.
Samsung has been facing
competition not just from
Apple but also from An-
droid manufacturers such
as Motorola and Xiaomi,
which offer good-enough
features while keeping
prices low. Consumers will
have to decide whether
the premium features in
the latest Samsung devic-
es will be worth the premi-
um price tags.
The Galaxy S6 Edge Plus
and Note 5 phones arrived
last week, while the Gal-
axy Tab S2 tablets come
out next Thursday.
Here’s a closer look at the
devices:
___
JUMBO SMARTPHONES
Samsung pioneered jum-
bo phones with the origi-
nal Note in 2011, but lost
its edge after Apple came
out with its own, the iPhone
6 Plus. Samsung’s new 5.7-
inch phones seek to re-
store some of that edge.
Of the two, the Edge Plus
is likely to appeal to more
people. The screen’s
left and right edges are
curved like a waterfall and
blend into the phone’s
aluminum casing. You get
a better grip and a more
immersive viewing experi-
ence, even from an angle.
As with the smaller S6 Edge
phone from this spring, you
can access frequent con-
tacts and have the edge
light up in a different col-
or, depending on who’s
calling. With your phone
face down, you know
whether the caller’s impor-
tant enough to interrupt
a meeting. The Edge Plus
model adds quick access
to frequently used apps.
Friday 28 August 2015

mini version is 8 inches in-
stead of 8.4 inches. Sam-
sung also dropped the
camera flash, something
rare in tablets to begin
with. Battery capacity is re-
duced, though you don’t
need as much power to
light up a smaller screen.
In any case, the 12 to 14
hours promised for video
should be enough for
most flights or evenings at
home.
As with the Samsung
phones and the original
Tab S, the new tablets use
Amoled screen technolo-
gy for vivid colors. This type
of screen is rare for tablets
because it’s expensive
to produce at such sizes.
In this Aug. 13, 2015 file photo, a product expert demonstrates the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus Colors are amazing when
watching streaming video,
during a presentation at Lincoln Center in New York. Associated Press as long as you overlook
The side screen also dis- percent in an hour. that happen. the occasional unnatu-
plays headlines and clock The new phones borrow a The $500 full-size model is ral tone. One excellent
functions. number of features from now 9.7 inches rather than change: The dimensions
The Note 5 model comes the iPhone. They use metal 10.5 inches, while the $400 are now 4:3.q
with a regular, flat screen and glass just like the latest
and is notable mostly for iPhones, while earlier Sam-
its stylus. It will appeal pri- sung phones used plastic.
marily to professionals who And like the latest iPhones,
do a lot of note-taking and Samsung phones will be
messaging. You can write capable of making card
instead of type an e-mail payments by tapping a
or reminder. Software con- store’s payment terminal.
verts the handwriting — Samsung Pay will debut
even my chicken scratch next month.
— into computerized text. So why don’t I believe
You can jot down a note these new phones will
even with the screen off, entice iPhone users to
so you don’t lose your train switch? Being just as good
of thought in turning on isn’t enough. They need
the phone and opening to be much better, given
an app first. You can also that switching means buy- In this March 25, 2015 file photo, Mark Zuckerberg talks
annotate documents and ing new apps and learning about the Messenger app during the Facebook F8
Web pages to share with new ways to do things. The Developer Conference in San Francisco. Associated Press
others. pen and the edge screen For the first time,
Both phones have great help, but they won’t ap-
screens with vivid colors, peal to everyone. 1 billion people used
though colors sometimes Samsung has a better Facebook in a day
look unnatural. Faces ap- chance at luring back
pear too orange at times, some Android users — at
for instance. The cam- least those willing to pay
eras are excellent, but $696 to $740 for the Note NEW YORK (AP) — For the discloses each quarter
have color challenges, 5 and about $75 more for first time, a billion people when it reports its finan-
too. Grass at a baseball the Edge. Decent Android used Facebook in a sin- cial results. Those are the
game appeared yellowish phones are available for a gle day on Monday. average number of daily
rather than green. On the few hundred dollars less — CEO Mark Zuckerberg users, counted over a 30-
other hand, many people without the pen or edge marked the occasion day period. Facebook
want photos to look stun- screen features. with a post on his Face- had 968 million daily ac-
ning rather than accurate, ___ book page, saying that tive users in June.
judging by the popularity NEW TABLETS one out of seven people Overall, Facebook has
of Instagram filters that do Compared with the origi- on Earth logged in to the nearly 1.5 billion users
just that. nal Tab S, the Tab S2 social network to con- who log in at least once
The phones have great update sheds bulk and nect with their friends a month. It hit the 1 bil-
battery life — 13 to 15 hours weight, akin to what Ap- and family. lion user milestone in Oc-
of Hulu video, while the in- ple has done with the full- The 1 billion figure is dif- tober 2012. Most people
cluded wall charger gets size iPad Air and Air 2. But ferent from the daily on Facebook live outside
you a quarter charge in 15 Samsung also scaled back user numbers Facebook the U.S. and Canada.q
minutes and more than 85 on some features to make