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Is Samsung the Best Android Phone?

Is Samsung the Best?

Toys and Geek Samsung 2012

Samsung is currently the most preferred Android device brand among consumers, according to a new report by iGR research. According to the report, 47% of U.S. Smartphone owners have an Android device, and of that 47% the majority of those users are toting around Samsung handsets.

Samsung is followed in popularity by Motorola, and then HTC and LG. Huawei ranks last, pulling up the end of the pack. The study also shows that close to half of Android owners researched iOS and other options before committing to an Android device, and an astounding 30% of those purchased Android phones because they considered Google a “reputable company” and therefore thought Android would be a good operating system.

“Understanding why consumers select specific brands and certain smartphones is critical to the success of OEMs in the highly competitive U.S. handset market,” said iGR Research Analyst, Sarah Thoman, who was the author of the study. “While a user’s current handset brand influences the selection of a new Android smartphone, many other factors also come into play. For example, handset display quality and functionality also highly influenced the smartphone purchase decision.”

What do you Android owners out there think? Did you research iOS and other options before picking your Android handset? Who do you think makes the best Android phones?

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CES 2012 The Start of A Great Year!

Toys and Geek CES 2012

Hello again friends! This year at CES, the Consumer Electronics Show has unveiled some very impressive hardware.  So far we have seen Ultrabooks, TV’s, Cameras, and Phones.

Samsung really stole the show this year by releasing a ton of amazing products. Ill go more in depth with some of the products that I think are going to make a splash in the industry this year.

Starting off!

Samsung Galaxy Note and Galaxy S II Skyrocket HD

Both coming soon to AT&T, the Note has a 5.3″ screen and is the world’s first HD Super AMOLEDdisplay of that size, with a whopping 1200 x 800 pixel resolution. The android powered device also features the S Pen, a pressure- and speed sensitive stylus suitable for drawing as well as writing. It is also supposed to be coming with LTE Support.

The Skyrocket HD is featuring a 4.65″ HD Super AMOLED display with a 1.5GHz dual-core processor under the hood, Skyrocket HD is also built on the androidoperating system and boasts a super-slim, 9.27mm profile. Some super sweet hardware if i say so myself!

Samsung Series 5 Ultrabooks

The Series 5 notebooks come with 13- or 14-inch displays, with price tags starting at $899. Like the Series 9s, these babies both include Intel Core i5 processors and 4GB of RAM, but they come with traditional 500GB hard-disk drives as standard, not solid-state drives.

Each Series 5 notebook offers eight hours of battery life in between charges, in addition to integrated graphics and a 1366 x 768 resolution matte display. Though neither offers an SSD as standard, they do feature 16GB of express cache for faster boot times and snappier processes. If you choose to, you can have a 128GB SSD fitted into the 13-inch machine before Samsungsends it out, but it’ll bump the price up from $899 to $1,099.

You may be surprised to find that the 14-inch model also boasts an optical drive — making it one of the first certified Ultrabooks on the marketthat’s compatible with your CD’s and DVD’s — and a VGA output. There’s also plenty of other connectivity options: Both machines offer SD card slots (the 14-inch model has a larger reader), Ethernet, HDMI, one USB3.0 socket, and two USB 2.0 sockets. That’s a lot more than you’ll get on most Ultrabooks.

Prices start at a rather pleasing $899 for the 13-inch machine, increasing to $949 for the 14-inch model. Both will be available starting January 30.

As well we also saw the redesigned Series 9 Laptops.

The Korean company has unveiled 13- and 15-inch models at CES in Las Vegas today, priced at $1,499 and $1,599 respectively. Both machines pack Intel Core i5 processors, 4GB of RAM, and solid-state drives as standard.

The new 13-inch model weighs in at 2.5 pounds, which is slightly less that its 2.8-pound predecessor, but isn’t labeled an “Ultrabook.” Instead, Samsung is choosing the market the device as a premium laptop. Though it’s hard not to compare the device with Apple’s Macbook Air, which, let’s face it, is what manufacturers are currently trying to compete with.

For me, the Series 9 does an outstanding job at competing. That solid aluminum unibody is beautiful, and it packs some pretty impressive specifications. Both models feature Intel’s Core i5 processors, 4GB of RAM, 128GB solid-state drives, and backlit keyboards; while the battery will provide up to six hours of use between charges. Both machines are lacking an optical drive, though they do feature SD card slots.

Samsung TV’s

Its latest flagship television set is the ES8000 LED TV. The ES8000 offers a dual-core processor that provides true multitasking and seamless switching between Smart TV applications, allowing you to surf the web while you download or use other applications in the background. For example, you can switch to the NFL app to check the latest score, halfway through a movie you’re watching in Netflix. When you switch back, the movie will resume right where you left off.

All these features are packed into a beautiful set that has hardly any bezel, and a fancy swooping stand that really is a stunner. It has a built-in webcam that allows you to interact with the set using your voice and Kinect-like motion controls with a new featurecalled Smart Interaction.

Not to mention the sweet 55 inch Super OLED TV!

Samsung promises its new TV will eliminate the need for a color filter with RGB sub-pixels, making for unparalleled picture-esque richness and eye-popping brightness. The new technology will all but do away with motion blur in action packed sequences as well (yay for sports!), the company said. The sub-pixels will also allow greater viewer visibility for fine details in the darkest of scenes.

In addition, the TV will feature Samsung’s “Smart Interation” technology through built in mics and an integrated webcam to allow for facial recognition and voice control. On the inside, the TV comes equipped with a dual-core processor that will certainly give it the chops to run the company’s over 1,400 Smart TV apps. Of course, Samsung’s unnamed TV with come with 3D, too.

There is so much more to talk about for CES, but this rounds up what Samsung has to offer to start off the year. Be sure to keep reading for much more on CES and all things Toys and Geek! See you later my friends!

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What’s Up and Coming For 2012?

Whats next in 2012? Ive got high hopes!

Hello my friends, and thanks for coming back!  As 2011 came to a close, we saw many legendary devices come though. By the end of 2011 we saw the downfall of Blackberry and the rise of Android. When Apple released the iPhone 4S, iOS5, and iCloud, it once again changed the mobile world for the better.

There are some things that I am particularly interested to see come into fruition in 2012;

1: Apple TV

In Steve Jobs biography, he said that he was on his way to revolutionize the TV industry. Seeing the rumors about 32 and 37 inch models, and a 42 inch or larger model, to be put against the high powered Google TV, with very high resolution screens. Potentially containing some sort of SIRI integration or voice recognition, and to be able to fully function with any other Apple device through Airplay or Wifi.

2. Samsung Galaxy S III

The Galaxy S line has been one of the sleekest lines of phones released to date. Starting back with the Galaxy S shipping stock with android 2.1 (Eclair) and its Super AMOLED screen took a great leap forward in the android world. The new S III is said to bring us more of everything that we want from our phones. We are looking at a potential 2GHz Quad core processor, Glasses free 3D, 1.5 GB of RAM,  10 MP camera, 1080p video capture at 60FPS, and a spectacular 4.65 Super AMOLED HD Plus display! And of course its going to be coming with the latest version of android, Ice Cream Sandwich.

3. Apple iPhone 5

Though in June we didn’t get a new design, we can expect to see a new design this new year. Hopefully we will see the iPhone keeping up with the times. Having rumored a 4 to 4.3 inch screen with an upgraded Retnia display. I would love to see an LTE version and for it to come to T-Mobile, but its always hard to anticipate what they are going to do.

Those are the top three things on my list to see unfold this year.

What do you think is going to happen this year? Leave a comment and let us know!!

Thanks for reading!

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