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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Tech toys
Galaxy S III, Samsung (POSTMEDIA)
Braven 600 wireless Bluetooth speakers (POSTMEDIA)
www.swivl.com (POSTMEDIA)
GALAXY S III
Samsung has launched the Galaxy S III, its latest contender in the hotly competitive smartphone market. It will be a few weeks before the new phone arrives in Canada, but according to Samsung we can expect an LTE version to be available before the summer. Its appearance is not that different from its predecessor, the Galaxy S II -- a bit larger, measuring 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 millimetres and weighing 133 grams. And the screen has been bumped up to a 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display from the 4.3-inch screen of the Galaxy S II.
The new Galaxy S III brings some intuitive smartphone features that boost usability and should help Samsung sales, particularly in the coming months before Apple launches its next iPhone. These features include:
Automatic launch of the camera when you hold the phone in the landscape position so you don't have to unlock the screen and look for the app to shoot a photo. The camera also has a burst mode that takes multiple shots, letting you choose the best one.
It has a sensor that can tell when you're looking at the screen, so even if you have your phone set to save battery by dimming after a short period of inactivity, your Galaxy S III will know if you're reading something and assume you don't want the screen dimmed.
Pop-up play mode: A little like a TV's picture-in-picture mode, you can pull up an app in a little box right on the screen while you're watching a video.
The Galaxy S III runs on the Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) operating system and it comes in two colours -- white and pebble blue, a dark, almost-black shade. Its battery is 20 per cent larger, promising improved battery life (www.samsung.com, price not announced).
BRAVEN 600 WIRELESS BLUETOOTH SPEAKERS
These Bluetooth speakers do more than just stream sound from your iPod, smartphone or other Bluetooth device. They also act as a USB charger. Made from aircraft-grade aluminum, they come in two colours -- mountain ash and red. You can daisy chain two or more of these speakers together and they will give you 12 hours of continuous play. You can also hook up non-Bluetooth enabled devices, using the 3.5 mm audio cable that comes with the speakers. Available for pre-order now through braven.com, with delivery promised for June; $160.
SWIVL-IT
I wrote about an earlier version of this camera mount, which follows you as you shoot video. Now the company has released a cheaper version of the original $180 Swivl -- the $130 Swivl-it. It has the same features that let allow your pocket video camera or smartphone to follow you as you video and it can be operated by remote control. This version doesn't have the automatic tilt of its pricier counterpart but it has manual tilt. There's no built-in microphone but you can buy one separately (www.swivl.com).
-- Postmedia News
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 12, 2012 E2
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