russian

Phone Search:

RSS

Samsung Galaxy Note. First Look

Today, large companies, especially corporate giants like Samsung, do not surprise users with extraordinary products...

First look. Sony ST21i Tapioca Microsoft Windows Phone 7: Reasons for Failure First Look at Samsung Galaxy S3 as a 2012 Flagship

Reviews Editorials

Mobile Phones Editorials MP3 Forum

MWC2011. Odds and Ends or Notes on the Margins

Before the Barcelona congress it became clear that revolutions would not be on the cards. The exhibition promised to be calm and devoid of revelations. Moreover, this year even Samsung was in two minds if to take part or not. Its main rival Nokia decided not to participate in 2010, but still had some pavilions outside the main area. This year the Finnish company only managed to offer several announcements, which repeated what we had heard in London on February 11. There was no intrigue and the time of presentation coincided with events of Samsung and Sony Ericsson, so we had to choose one out of three. Thankfully, the PR team of Nokia warned us they were not going to unveil anything new at the congress for people not to cherish false hopes. Our choice was made for Sony Ericsson and Samsung.

When Samsung finally decided to come to Barcelona they did in style. Baggage lines at the local airport were full of Samsung labeled boxes and you could fill that something big was coming. Near the exhibition premises a team of postal workers were dancing around with similar boxes preparing for the evening event unveiling new products.

What am I driving at? It is not enough these days to develop an interesting product, you also have to wrap and deliver it properly for customers to enjoy. Samsung is getting better in this area and the event showed it quite clearly. The presentation from Samsung was the best and most expensive. Special effects, European speakers with nice English and smooth scenario produced the right impression. Elements of the presentation were transferred to the Samsung pavilion and once an hour visitors could watch the show there. Purpose shot videos about recent products and the use of hi-tech by ordinary people completed the lineup. The presentation was one of the best in the market. There is a big gap in front behind Apple, but Samsung is clearly a player number 2 in this race. The company pays attention to all aspects of its work.

Samsung showed not only devices, but appropriate solutions as well. Not many journalists paid attention to minor details, but they visibly underline main features of products. It was just interesting to taste the best apps for the gadgets in question (some software products were initially created for Apple, but Samsung made them available for Android).

I made six videos and I advise you to watch at least two of them. The first one highlights a solution for hospitals, which allows browsing results of medical tests and X-ray films, participating in doctors' boards and make diagnoses. It is an app from future, but it looks simple and can be used by any person without the special training.

Another piece of software discussed at the presentation represents the system of security and administering for Android phones. An administrator can create different security policies, for example, disable the camera or microphone in particular parts of the building or ban apps and data to be deleted from the phone. It gives you a complete control over the handset and its data. Software has flexible settings and a simple interface. It is one of the best solutions in the area. We have never had anything like that for Android before.

You can watch other videos from Samsung pavilion here.

I knew that Samsung manufactures a full range of devices, but at the conference I also learnt that they even use their own security systems for exhibitions. Look at the box.

Android City and Competitions

This congress had a long shadow of the green "robot" cast over it. It was conspicuous and omnipresent. In pavilion 8 we had Android City with apps for the OS and phones moving on the conveyor with their specs available on screens nearby. Artem made a video about the City.

There was another concept, which made Google and Android hits at the event. In Android City you could get a map with pavilions offering an Android product. In each pavilion was a figure of a man with a bowl hosting not only candies, but special badges as well. All in all there were 80 types of badges. By the third day badges hunt was in full swing and many people traded rare ones at the exchange rate of 3 to 1 or even higher. Ribbon passes featured "robots" of different colors.

This simple approach worked well. People roamed around and competed with each other. Hats off to Android City and those who masterminded the show.

Understandable LG Pavillion

I cannot but praise creators of LG pavilion. They did a great job. We had several attractions to show off advantages of LG phones. How can you explain that an LG smartphone is the lightest? Here come the scales. Weigh you phone and compare it with LG Optimus Black.

Do you want to know which tablet is easier to handle? Look how it works.

Special thanks should go for visual expression. Well done!

Windows Phone 7 and Catalonia Hotel

In the hotel adjacent to the congress facilities lived Microsoft people. Inside and outside everything had Windows Phone 7 ads. Even menus in the bar were like windows into the world of Microsoft technologies. The idea was good, but the execution failed to impress.