ZTE Grand S3 hands on and first impressions
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We see a lot of smartphones launched at MWC every year, and sometimes, smaller players have had the tendency to get lost in the crowd, especially if there are any big hitters around that steal the spotlight. While that is somewhat the case this year as well, especially with HTC and Samsung introducing their respective flagships, what the other lesser known names in Android have done extremely well is to offer something unique with their products, that go beyond what their otherwise standard nature, or price point, would suggest. One such device is from ZTE, that takes smartphone security to a whole other level. We got to spend some time with this phone, and here is our first impressions about the ZTE Grand S3!
In terms of design and specifications, the ZTE Grand S3 is no different from the slew of other mid-range to high-end smartphones, so lets get that out of the way first. The design of the Grand S3 is definitely more functional than flashy, with a soft touch plastic back cover that is removable. Opening the back cover gives you access to the replaceable battery and the dual SIM card slots. The volume rocker and power button are found on the right, with the power button placed perfectly to make it easy to reach. With its metal frame, the Grand S3 does offer a premium look and feel in the hand, and it certainly is a good looking device.
The Grand S3 features a 5.5-inch IPS LCD display with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, with a resulting pixel density of 401 ppi. The device is powered by a 2.5 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, backed by the Adreno 330 GPU and 3 GB of RAM. While not the latest and greatest, the Snapdragon 801 is still a fantastic processor, so performance shouldn’t be a concern with this phone. 16 GB of on-board storage is further expandable via microSD card, and a full suite of connectivity options are also available. On the battery front, the Grand S3 packs a large 3,100 mAh unit, which should allow for more than decent longevity.
On the software side of things, you will find ZTE’s highly customized UI on top of Android 4.4 Kitkat, which is a little disappointing for a new device releasing in 2015. As expected, there is no app drawer, leaving you having to depend on folders to keep things organized. It is a bright and colorful interface, and the processing package helps the phone fly through its various elements.
When to comes to the camera, the Grand S3 packs a 16 MP rear camera and an 8 MP front-facing unit. The camera interface itself is quite simple, especially in the Auto mode. There is a Pro mode available, that opens up a slew of settings that you can manually adjust, such as ISO, white balance, and more, that will help you really cater the shot to your liking. Of course, it’s too early to comment on the quality of the pictures and videos, which will get to during the upcoming comprehensive review of this device.
Finally, we come to what makes the ZTE Grand S3 stand out from the crowd, by being one of the first smartphones to offer a new biometric security feature that scans your eye via “Eyeprint ID” technology. To set it up, what you have to do is go into the Security settings to Sky Eye to start the setup process. The device uses the 8 MP optics of the front-facing camera to not only capture a video of how your eyes look, but also see the blood vessels inside of the eyeballs.
Once set up, all you have to do to unlock the smartphone is swipe down from the top of the lockscreen, and the phone will scan you eye and unlock it. Using this feature multiple times helps improve the experience as well, as each time you unlock the phone, the scan details are also updated. It’s not the fastest unlock solution though, but can be very useful if you’re worried about keeping your device locked and secure.
So there you have it – a quick look at the ZTE Grand S3! The ZTE Grand S3 is definitely a solid device in terms of design, build quality, and specifications, but the addition of the Eyeprint feature is what makes this smartphone very unique, and should be a lot of fun to use, apart for being very good for security.
Stay tuned with Android Authority as we continue to bring you more from ZTE, along with all our other great coverage from MWC 2015!
Huawei planning to take on the U.S. market
Huawei has managed to stake a claim as China’s second largest smartphone manufacturer, yet it is a name most U.S. consumers have probably never heard. If they are aware of Huawei, there are decent odds it stemmed from action by Congress a couple years ago to label Huawei a national security threat amidst concerns they would use network hardware for spying purposes. Despite that incident and the potential stigma of being seen as a producer of cheap Chinese goods, Huawei is indicating they have plans to step up marketing and try to make a push into the U.S. market during 2015.
One clue to the company’s plans to expand may be seen in their announcement of the Huawei Watch at MWC 2015 this week. As part of the reveal of their entrant into the wearables market, Huawei included the U.S. in the list of the initial 20 markets where the device will be sold. Huawei also recently took out a billboard in Times Square touting the Honor 6 Plus smartphone, a move Huawei’s U.S. spokesman Bill Plummer described as “a sing of things to come.” Among the marketing avenues available for Huawei in the U.S., one might be a tie-in with a sports team similar to their sponsorship of the Arsenal soccer team in London, cricket teams in India and rugby clubs in Australia.
For the short term at least, it appears Huawei may have to focus on advertising efforts that are aimed directly at potential buyers. The majority of smartphones sold in the U.S. are sold through the major carriers, none of which carry Huawei devices and may be reluctant to add them to their portfolio. The carriers seem to favor major brands like Samsung, Apple, and HTC. Even a company like Sony has been challenged to get their devices carried by the big four.
One path Huawei could take would be one employed by ZTE, which started striking deals with lower-tier carriers like Boost to make their devices available in the prepaid space. That might be a way to get a foot in the door. Eventually Huawei will want to get their higher end devices into the market though, which would probably be welcomed by some buyers who know Huawei has a reputation for producing some attractive higher-end handsets.
Are you interested in seeing Huawei enter the U.S. market?
source: Reuters
Come comment on this article: Huawei planning to take on the U.S. market
Valve’s new, free game engine is ‘Source 2’
Half-Life 2. Counterstrike: Source. Team Fortress 2. Left 4 Dead. Portal. Besides being developed by Valve, what else do those games share? They all run on the company’s Source Engine that’s been used since the first two released 11 years ago. Well, Valve has a new engine coming, officially, and it’s aptly dubbed Source 2. Valve says that the focus of the engine this time ’round is “increasing creator productivity.” The idea is to democratize game development and make it easier for amateurs (and budding indies) to use the toolset and enable them to, as Valve tells it, participate in the creation and development of their favorite games. In fact, the company specifically calls out the importance of user-generated content as a reason for making the engine easier to work with, which, undoubtedly plays into the millions of dollars its paying out to Steam Workshop creators.
Oh, and like Unity and Epic’s Unreal Engine, Source 2 will be free for content developers. Maybe, just maybe, Valve’s been waiting for Source 2’s debut to announce Half-Life 3. One can hope, right?
Don’t miss out on all the latest from GDC 2015! Follow along at our events page right here.
[Image credit: getaround3/Flickr]
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD
Apple Surpassed Samsung as World’s Largest Smartphone Maker in Fourth Quarter
The latest numbers from research firm Gartner reveal that Apple surpassed Samsung in worldwide smartphone sales during the fourth quarter of 2014 to become the world’s largest smartphone maker. Samsung lost the top spot to Apple for the first time since 2011.
Apple narrowly edged Samsung as the two rivals had quarterly sales of 74.8 million and 73 million smartphones respectively. Apple’s 20.4% market share was also marginally higher than Samsung’s 19.9% share during the three-month period ending December.
“With Apple dominating the premium phone market and the Chinese vendors increasingly offering quality hardware at lower prices, it is through a solid ecosystem of apps, content and services unique to Samsung devices that Samsung can secure more loyalty and longer-term differentiation at the high end of the market,” said Roberta Cozza, research director at Gartner.
Strategy Analytics reported in January that Apple and Samsung were tied as the top smartphone makers during the fourth quarter, although its findings were based on overall shipments and not actual sales. Samsung smartphone sales figures always have a margin for error, however, as the South Korean tech giant does not officially disclose smartphone sales and leaves research firms to estimate.
Samsung remained the top worldwide smartphone vendor in 2014 overall, with an estimated 307.6 million smartphone sales to capture 24.7% market share. Apple was runner-up with 191.4 million iPhones sold during the year, representing 15.4% market share. Lenovo, which acquired the smartphone making division of Motorola, finished third with 81.4 million smartphone sales in 2014 for 6.5% market share.
Samsung recently announced its latest flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, each compatible with a new mobile payments service called Samsung Pay. The smartphones will be released April 10 in several countries. In the United States, the handsets will be available on AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile and also on sale through Amazon, Best Buy, Costco, Target, Walmart and Sam’s Club.
AT&T Modio LTE Case for Wi-Fi iPad Mini Launches March 20 for $49.99 with Contract [iOS Blog]
Following its unveiling at CES earlier this year, AT&T today announced that its new Modio Case for iPad Mini, which enables Wi-Fi only iPads to connect to 4G, will be available for purchase March 20 for $49.99 with a two-year agreement.
The March 20 release is set only for the iPad Mini, iPad Mini 2, and iPad Mini 3 compatible cases, with a launch for the iPad Air models planned for later in the year. As detailed at its CES reveal event, the Modio smartcase will allow iPad owners with Wi-Fi models to connect to AT&T’s 4G LTE network using data available on a user’s Mobile Share Value plan. The case connects to the network when prompted, and automatically disconnects when the folio is closed.
Available for $49.99 on a two year contract, AT&T also plans to sell the new case on the AT&T Tablet Installment plan of $10 per month for 20 months. Those wishing to simply buy the Modio outright with no annual commitment can expect to pay $199.99. All Modio users will be required to pay a $10 monthly access charge for using the case on a Mobile Share Value plan.
“The AT&T Modio LTE case is both convenient and a great value for our customers. The case’s durability also makes it a natural choice for iPad mini with Wi-Fi users. Connect your iPad mini with Wi-Fi to AT&T’s 4G LTE network – the nation’s strongest LTE signal – and protect it at the same time.” – Jeff Bradley, senior vice president, Device Marketing and Developer Services, AT&T Mobility.
The case also includes a 4,600mAh battery that’ll give users “up to 16 hours of continuous use” and a micro SD slot that supports up to 32GB of storage. The case needs to sync up with the AT&T Modio Data app, which monitors data usage and various data plans, to function. After the first set-up, the case will remember a user’s iPad and preferences upon subsequent usage.
The Modio LTE Case will be available in AT&T retail stores, AT&T’s official website, and at “select retailers” across the country on March 20.
7 reasons why your next smartphone should be from Samsung
I’ve been fortunate and used almost all of the Android flagships from last year. What that means is I’ve been able to test features for myself, rather than going on the words of other writers. I also can say I paid for every single device I used, and all of them were brand new. They weren’t purchased from ebay, Craigslist, or any other reseller websites which means every device I used was given a fair chance.
Here is a list of phones I used in 2014/2015
Samsung Galaxy Note 3
iPhone 5S
iPhone 6
LG G3
HTC One M8
Samsung Galaxy S5
Samsung Galaxy Note 4
Moto x 2014 2nd generation
Nexus 6
Missing from this list of flagships is
Sony Xperia Z3
After using all of these phones, what I can tell you with 100% certainty is no phone is perfect. Every single phone has at least one downside. I am here to tell you why the best all around devices are made by Samsung.
- Samsung is second in the world in investing in our future
In 2013, and 2014 Samsung was second, only to Volkswagen, in dollars spent on research and development. Samsung is not all about making tons of money just to give back to its investors or to a build fancy Spaceship headquarters. Samsung takes on the responsibility to make our future better through technology as a global leader in innovation.
I am a medicinal chemist by trade, and work for a Biotech who has seen its ups and downs. I know how much money companies like mine spend on research and development and it is not cheap to research new, life-changing, technologies. Just a small example, my company in 2006 had a potential drug candidate fail at the FDA approval status phase, and just like that, 1 billion dollars was flushed down the toilet on researching and developing that drug candidate.
Of the top 10 spenders in R&D in 2014, 4 of the top 10 were pharmaceutical companies whose profits are second only to oil. 2 of the 10 came from the automotive industry. The remaining four came from the tech sector, and rank in this order of spending 1. Samsung 2. Intel 3. Microsoft 4. Google. The most interesting part of this list is that the company worth the most money in the world right now, is not on this list of spenders in R&D. Apple truly does not invest in our future, they invest in making things look beautiful, and they look to maximize profits as evidenced by their inferior products. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, and if I was an investor, that’s probably the company I would invest in…the problem though is long-term. While Apple continues to hoard its cash, they are not investing in their own future or ours. They don’t have Steve Jobs anymore to hand Apple golden ideas, which means they can’t survive on pure genius anymore. They need to invest more in R&D, and their phones are proof that they are falling behind the smart-phone wars. Interestingly, Apple is the top spender in advertising among Samsung, Microsoft and Google.
Now compare that to the 17th most valuable company, Samsung, who are investing in our future. Over the past few years, no cell phone manufacturer has taken a worse beating by the Android purists more than Samsung. Why is that? Because they offer us TOO many features. How spoiled are we, when we are actually complaining about getting too much stuff? The last time you bought a car, wouldn’t it have been nice if the dealership threw in navigation, sport wheels, and whatever else your heart desires all for free?
R&D spending 2014
Sure, many of the features can be useless. But isn’t the beauty of Android is that it is open-sourced? Isn’t this one of the main features what differentiates Android from iOS? Many of us love Android because of all of the extra features you can get with your phones.
One thing I love about Samsung phones is that they build in features to help improve your health. When turning up the volume with headphones, the S5 and Note 4 warn you when the volume is so loud that it may damage your hearing. Can I tell you I used to think this feature was annoying, until I thought I was losing hearing in my left ear. I have been listening to mp3s since the days of the Rio. I work out at the gym to stay healthy, 5-8 hours per week, every week for the past 17 years. Every single time I go to the gym I blast music though IEMs. About 3 months ago, my hearing was far worse in my left ear vs my right. For two weeks I had a hard time hearing out of that ear…the most frustrating part was struggling to hear my friends and family try to talk to me. It’s embarrassing to a degree to keep asking people to repeat themselves, but it incredibly frustrating when you cannot hear them because you feel like you’re not communicating. With my Note 4, I am truly grateful that it warns me when I try to turn the volume past limits where it will damage my hearing.
Also, the phone has a built in pedometer, which again may seem like a useless feature until you turn it on and actually see how lazy you are and finally get off the couch. It can serve as motivation to get outside, get some air, and most importantly get outside to exercise so the loved ones around you get to spend more time with you.
Oh and one more thing, Samsung is the leader in virtual reality. They just announced a new premium app store dedicated to immersive apps in VR.
All of these features are not free to research and develop, and that is why Samsung is atop the heap of spenders in the world.
- Touchwiz is incredibly useful and other manufacturers copy features added by Samsung
Many Android writers that I follow and work with tend to favor Android in its pure form, or near pure form. Touchwiz is arguably the most adulterated Android version, outside of Amazon’s heavily modified platform. Many purists have reason to hate Touchwiz, just a couple of years ago, Touchwiz got too bloated and slowed performance of those devices. Again, let me reiterate, no phone is perfect, not even the Nexus line. Sure Samsung made some mistakes, but they are perfecting their phones quickly while introducing us to new concepts like curved phones. Of the many people who I know who use Samsung phones, outside of Android enthusiasts, rarely ever complain to me about something touchwiz related. And many of them are still using their Note 3, Note 2, Galaxy S3, and Galaxy S4…if the software was so terrible, why isn’t the general majority of users complaining?
Those millisecond delays enthusiasts complain about, in my humble opinion, is not a reason at all to forgo features like split screen functionality, S health, quick buttons (which google later copied and added to stock android), and MOST importantly, the S pen!!!!! I absolutely love my Galaxy Note 4, mainly for its stylus. As a chemist, it is the easiest way for me to draw chemical structures. There is no better experience on a mobile device using a stylus.
- One size does not fit all
Apple is the king of marketing. They have half of the smartphone world eating out of the palms of their hands and made people believe there is only one correct sized smartphone. Yet again, Samsung proved their research was correct and released the Note line. The Note paved the way for all other large phones. Even apple owes its share of gratitude considering, they released a small flagship and a large one.
Galaxy Note 4
Many Android manufactures have one or two premium devices. HTC and Oneplus have one device. Take it or leave it, it’s what you get. Same for Sony. Same for LG. Not for Samsung…Samsung Galaxy Alpha, if you want a small phone with a premium experience. Samsung Galaxy S5, if you want an everyday workhorse that can withstand everyday challenges such as rain and dirt. Samsung Galaxy Note 4, if you want the ultimate premium experience and need a device that can function for fun, education, and business. Samsung Galaxy Mega, if you want a tablet for a phone. Samsung Galaxy Edge, if you want to optimize your screen space while being different than the crowd with every single feature the Note 4 has to offer. Not to mention the countless other budget devices if you simply cannot afford to spend 500-900 dollars on a device, or if you just don’t care about 95% of the features. Regardless of what you want, Samsung has the right device for you.
- Easily accessible customer service at Samsung Experience shops at Best Buy locations
One of Apple’s best services is having the ability to go to an Apple store if you need help. HTC, LG, OnePlus, Google, do not have customer facing storefronts where you can get help from experts. Samsung on the other hand has been more customer facing ever since creating Samsung Experience shops at Best Buy locations. Their shops are staffed by Samsung, not Best Buy. I’ve been to a few of them around San Diego, and can say with full authority that the Samsung Experience employees are very knowledgable and helpful. This is important to people like my Mom, who rather than bug me for every question about her phone, can go to an expert where she knows she will get help relevant to her device.
Samsung Experience Shop
- Truly flexible devices
A couple of very important features many others overlook is having the abilities to swap batteries and also having the ability to add external memory. If Android purists had their way, and Android was not open-sourced, Google would have done away with expandable memory. Thank Samsung for being the external memory champion.
I love to not worry about downloading as much music as I want. Since I have switched to Samsung, I have never gotten a message that says, picture not taken due to memory being full(APPLE). I usually have 2-3 full length movies on my device for when I do my daily cardio workout. For devices without expandable memory, you can pay upwards of 100 dollars extra, just to go from 16gb of storage up to 32gb. For a meager 20 dollars, I can buy an external MicroSD card with 64gb of memory and I can expand on my device.
- Samsung always gives users the latest and greatest hardware
Samsung releases two flagships per year, the S-line and the Note line. The S-line is typically released in the Spring and comes fully packed with maximum memory, best processors, and the best displays. Without a doubt, Samsung’s Super AMOLED 2k displays are the best on the market. The contrast ratio is off the charts, brightness levels in full sun are incredible, and the colors make my friends say,”WOW!” when I show off my phone to them.
By buildings devices with the latest hardware, it future proofs the phones. Samsung wants you to get the most value from their devices by giving you a device that can last several years. They have taken a lot of flak for poor design, but plastic does not wear down like metal does. Heck, plastic bags are being banned all over California because they do not decompose! When I had the iPhone 5, the HTC One M7, and M8, the metal always scratched and nicked to the point where customer service would not take them back. There’s no point in buying a beautiful phone if you are just going to throw a case on it.
- Accessories, accessories, accessories and free gifts
One of the biggest advantages in owning a Samsung device is that millions and millions of other people have the same device. That allows third-party manufacturers like Belkin, Otter-Box, Spigen, Trend-On, etc., to capitalize on accessories made for Samsung devices. With niche phones like the Sony Xperia Z3, Oneplus One, LG G3, Moto X, and HTC One the accessories are slim to none. Users pretty much have to rely on the manufacturer to make purposeful accessories.
Samsung also has a wide range of smart watches, health monitors, and things like GEAR VR. We just saw HTC copy Samsung’s lead by releasing their own VR.
Everyone loves free stuff. Especially premium stuff. Samsung has been giving away gifts with their devices for years. It truly has been a differentiator for them, as they partnered with other companies to give away free cloud space, free Google Play credit, free premium music from Milk, and the list goes on and on. You can look for yourself here.
I know I sound like a fanboy…
Because I am. I don’t like technology for the sake of having the latest and greatest thing. I like technology because it can improve the quality of life. In my field of work, information is the most important thing when making decisions. The Galaxy Note 4 is my daily driver, and again, it was not given to me by Samsung. The Note 4 allows me to be quite functional at work. I use the stylus daily. I swap my battery daily. That is not an indication of poor battery life, but an indication of how much I use my smartphone. When I used the HTC One or the LG G3, all I could think was, “sure these phones are beautiful, but they’re just that.” The speakers on the HTC One are hands down the best. But, that is just about the only feature I desire on my Note 4. The LG G3, OnePlus One, Nexus, and the iPhone have absolutely nothing I desire on my Note 4.
I recently switched my very own mother, an iPhone user, to the Galaxy Note 4. After spending 15 minutes with her, she was off and running saying,”OK Google”, or downloading her Bible apps, etc. etc. etc. The most poignant sentences she said,”I can’t believe people would stick with their phones when this phone is so incredibly beautiful and functional. iPhone’s can’t do the things the Note can.” My brother will be the next Apple victim to fall, followed by my brother and sister, they are just a little slower than the typical enthusiast.
You will not get a better device from any other manufacturer. Go with Samsung.
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The Cherry Mobile Alpha is a nice lower-end Windows Phone for the Philippines
While hanging out with the Microsoft OEM Partners division at Mobile World Congress we got chance to see a bunch of different Windows and Windows Phone devices that are sold by regional partners and retailers. Like this, the Cherry Mobile Alpha, a lower-end Windows Phone for the Philippines. And it’s not bad.
Microsoft gears up for online Band sales again as preorders go live, shipping in 2 weeks
The Microsoft Band was meant only be a platform demonstration device for Microsoft Health ( read our analysis here). As such, Microsoft never intended to take on FitBit and other fitness wearables. There was only one problem: people really like the Microsoft Band.
Online orders for the Band have been offline for weeks, if not months now. Microsoft Store availability – the physical ones – is much better, but most US citizens still do not live in driving distance of one.
We are proud to report that Microsoft is finally getting stock back online, with preorders for those who signed up via email getting first dibs.
Galaxy S6 versus iPhone 6: first-glance similarities aren’t a bad thing
Let’s get this out of the way: there are some similarities between the recently announced Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6. A lot of ink has been spilled over Samsung copying Apple’s designs, but it’s not as bad as you might think.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 and Apple iPhone 6 both have glass fronts, a physical home button below the screen and metal around the sides. They have LTE radios and are technically smartphones. And if you happen to look at them from below, they look a little similar from that one angle.
Yes, from below, the Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6 share some serious visual similarities. In that, they’re machined out of aluminum and have machined holes for the 3.5mm headphone jack, a center-mounted USB or lightning port, and holes for speaker grilles drilled into the right side. There are even the Apple-style plastic-filled stripes that break it up into visual segments and a color-matched chrome-ringed home button. From the bottom you might think that the Galaxy S6 is another version of the iPhone.
Samsung starts rolling out Lollipop update for Galaxy S4′s in the UK
Samsung has finally started rolling out the long-awaited Lollipop update to unlocked models of the Galaxy S4 located in the United Kingdom. This upgrade brings the latest version of the Android operating system, together with a multitude of new features, bug fixes and stability improvements to your handset.
The full changelog can be seen below:
- Android 5.0 Lollipop update
- Lock screen and Notification: New Lollipop UI style with enhanced privacy features
- Recent apps: Support multiple pages
- Addition of search function within settings
To start the upgrade, make sure you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network. Then, from the home screen, press the Menu key, followed by Settings. Scroll to the bottom and tap ‘About Device’, followed by ‘Software Update and ‘Update Now’.
Alternatively, if you don’t feel like waiting for the OTA, you could always download a copy of the ROM and flash it on to your device using the ODIN tool for PC. We highly recommend that you only attempt to install this software, in this manner, if you’ve had some previous side-loading experience, otherwise you could render your unit useless.
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