Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G Review: Blazing Fast

 While it may look like another rehash of the old Galaxy S, under the hood the new Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G packs blistering speed, with a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor and lightning fast 4G. Does the rest of the device measure up? We take an in-depth look.

This model is available exclusively at T-Mobile USA for $150 with a two-year service contract and $50 mail-in rebate. Without the contract it's $450.

 Build & Design

Given its name, you would expect that the Galaxy S Blaze 4G is a rewarmed version of the two-year-old Galaxy S in a new package. Well, not exactly. While it has undeniable similarities, it's clear that the Blaze has been through quite a retrofit, delivering a much more modern experience.

The first impression you get from holding the Blaze is that it's remarkably light, even for a keyboard-less device. There's several reasons for that, including the screen (which we'll talk about in a minute) and the relative simplicity of the design.

This smartphone's design is very minimalist: no clutter, no extra parts, it's pretty much just literally the screen and the battery. Nicely enough, the microSD card is accessible from a side door without removing the main battery cover.

The Blaze probably isn't the most bulletproof device in existence, given how light it is, but there's nothing really to complain about with the build quality. It's simple, it's solid, and northing's going to pop off or go bad too quickly. It's simplicity in action.

Screen

Part of the reason for the Blaze's lightness is its Super AMOLED screen. Displays of this type use a single layer of glowing elements to form the picture, instead of regular LCDs which have one layer to create a picture and another to light it up. This makes Super AMOLED thinner and lighter than other screens, as well as providing better contrast, with black actually appearing as black rather than dark grey. The Blaze uses the same basic Super AMOLED screen seen in a lot of Samsung's older or mid-range models, not as clear and vivid as the ones in the Galaxy S II and Samsung Infuse, but still nice. Even contrasted against your average, more modern LCD, it's going to hold up very well.

Performance

Without a doubt, the Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G's highest end spec is its processor: a whopping 1.5 GHz dual-core chip gives it as much raw power as just about any smartphone out there, even the higher end stuff. That makes it an ideal choice for games and high-end video for those who don't want to break the bank. Using Quadrant Standard benchmarks, the Blaze earned a whopping 3565 average. When you consider that the Verizon flagship Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX only scores around 2700, that's impressive.

Once you branch out past the processor though, the Blaze is pretty standard mid-range fare. Running on the slightly older Android  OS 2.3 (Gingerbread), it isn't the sort of device I'd expect to see get an Android 4.0 upgrade, so don't count on it. But then, there's as yet very little real advantage using 4.0, as most apps are still designed for 2.3.

A lot of the online spec sheets about the model are wrong: it definitely does not have 16 GB of memory. Instead, it has 4 GB internal (of which 2 GB are available) and is pre-loaded with a 4 GB microSD card. That adds up to a reasonable amount for a middle of the road device, but not nearly so exciting as if the spec sheets had been right.

One unfortunate quality is that the Blaze comes stocked with a lot of T-Mobile branded "bloatware" apps. While it's not quite as bad as some of the Verizon models, the ten -- yes, ten -- T-Mobile branded apps like their own app store, their own version of 411, their own version of caller ID, etcetera, do tend to be tiresome. And they can't be uninstalled, although you can at least remove the widgets that come plastered all over the home screen.

Communication

While T-Mobile is currently the only major provider that isn't deploying an LTE network, that doesn't mean you should underestimate their own high speed internet options. The carrier's souped-up HSPA network is still amply capable of delivering broadband at speeds of 10 to 12 megabits downstream, which is competitive with even Verizon's 4G LTE service. Uploading is slower, but not so slow that it should bother you unless you're sending 50 MB videos on a regular basis.

A nice thing about T-Mobile's service that you can't get elsewhere is their WiFi Calling option. Basically, whenever you're hooked up to WiFi your T-Mobile Android phone will default to running your phone's voice, data, and messaging all over the WiFi connection. This effectively gives you the same thing as native T-Mobile service anywhere you can get WiFi, even if you're way, way out in the boondocks, or buried deep in an office building with no other reception. And unlike the signal boosters offered by other providers, you don't need any special hardware or setup, and it works anywhere.

One slightly surprising inclusion on the Blaze is Near Field Communication, or NFC. This is a means to transmit small bits of information such as URLs, contact information, or other bits of text. This can be device to device, like sharing a contact; picking up a URL from an NFC-enabled poster or advertising display; or transmitting data or an authorization from your phone to another device. NFC hasn't seen much adoption in the US, but Google has been pushing it for use with their "Google Wallet" service, essentially trying to make your smartphone into also being your credit card. Although why you'd want that, I have a hard time imagining.

Productivity

Unfortunately the Blaze doesn't stock over-much in the way of productivity software. Beyond the standard email, contacts, and organization apps, the only other particularly useful thing it sports is a copy of Polaris Office, allowing you to work with Microsoft Office documents while on the go.

Entertainment

There's much more of an emphasis on entertainment with the Blaze, with not just Google's own music, books, and video apps included, but also clients for T-Mobile's version of MobiTV, Netflix, and Zinio. All of which, unfortunately, require paid subscriptions to get the most out of them, but at least they mostly offer free trials too.

Camera

In the camera department, this Samsung smartphone unfortunately hasn't gotten an upgrade from its ancestors. While its 5 megapixel camera is a fairly standard resolution, the optics leave a lot to be desired, giving you fuzzy photos lacking in detail compared to other phones based on more recent designs. Even in good light, you will lose a lot of detail.

Battery Life

Despite being a fairly slim and light device, the Blaze packs a 1750 mAh battery. That's close to standard size if you're talking about devices running on LTE, but for T-Mobile's network it's well above the rest of the crowd, giving the device excellent battery life. It's pretty safe to say that you'll get through the day with this thing even if you're using it roughly with a lot of 4G and the brightness cranked up.

Conclusion

 All in all, the Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G makes for a fairly good Android phone. Is it worth your $150? I would give it a conditional yes. Of all the major carriers, T-Mobile probably has the scarcest options in terms of good Android devices. Compared to the rest of the carrier's offerings, the Blaze makes a decent mid-point between the newer Samsung Galaxy S II on the higher end, and the truly cheap options like the T-Mobile Sidekick 4G and the Samsung Exhibit II.

That said, the Blaze isn't going to match up with the amount of bang for your buck that you'd get on other carriers. The same price on AT&T or Verizon would net you a better phone -- but also a higher monthly bill than you'll get with T-Mobile. Either way, you get what you pay for.

Although it may not be the best Android phone available for its $150 suggested retail price, the Blaze is still a pretty good device, and it's one of the few "small" Android devices on the market that still has a truly high-end processor in it. That alone may merit some attention. Otherwise though, I would call it a solid mid-range choice for those who don't need the Galaxy S II, and one they'll likely be very happy with.

 

Pros:

Slim and light

Great battery life

Fast processor

Cons:

Other specs are less impressive

Lots of clutterware

Slightly higher price than comparable devices on other carriers

Bottom Line

A decent but not extraordinary device, the Blaze 4G is a good choice for those who want a mid-range device on T-Mobile, or a compact Android phone with a fast processor.

Samsung NX20: First Impressions

On a recent trip to Samsung's Seoul headquarters I got the opportunity to use the new NX20, and get a feel for how it performs. I only had a short time with a pre-production camera, but overall, my impressions of its handling and performance are very positive. Certainly, anyone who has used and liked the NX20's predecessor, the NX10, will find little to complain about in the new model, and much that is very familiar. 

Where it sits in the lineup

The NX20 sits at the top of Samsung's totally refreshed NX lineup, above the NX210 and NX1000. All three are based around the same 20MP CMOS sensor and all offer eight frame-per-second continuous shooting and Wi-Fi-connectivity and control, but the NX20 includes a handful of feature unique within the range.

The NX210 doesn't include a viewfinder, nor is its OLED screen articulated - making it less expensive - but it steps forward from the NX200 by adding Wi-Fi, faster continuous shooting and the option to use a cable shutter release and proprietary external microphone. The NX1000 is less expensive still, and features a plastic body, VGA rear screen and retractable kit zoom. Here we'll mainly look at the features of the NX20 that it offers over these other cameras, since they are what makes it the range-topping model.

Articulated 'Clear' AMOLED display

Externally, the most obvious difference between the NX20 and its predecessor is an articulated rear screen. The 3" AMOLED display offers VGA-equivalent resolution in the now-familiar Samsung 'pentile' arrangement, giving a perceptual resolution higher than its relatively-low dot-count of 614k dots might suggest. It's the same underlying OLED panel that we've seen on all of the NX models so far, and as such it is contrasty and detailed, with a wide viewing angle. Articulation makes the screen that bit more usable, of course, especially when it comes to shooting video or stills from high and low angles.

 

The NX20's display itself might offer the same specification as the previous-generation NXs, but there is one significant design change - the air-gap between the display and protective covering has been eliminated by filling it with a UV-cured resin that reduces internal reflections to improve contrast and visibility in bright lighting conditions. Samsung claims that this 'Clear AMOLED' display offers a 20% improvement in contrast ratio and, although I wasn't able to test the NX20 alongside an NX10, it does seem to deliver a genuine benefit in terms of clarity, and I was impressed by how usable the screen is in direct sunlight.

Aside from the articulated screen, the NX20 handles in a very similar way to the NX10. The main difference from more recent cameras like the NX100 and NX200 the provision of an electronic viewfinder, but the grip too has been changed - it is now more pronounced, making the NX20 a generally 'rounder' and more comfortable camera to hold. Where the NX200 looks sharp and stylish, the NX20 looks softer, curvier and more welcoming.

 

The softer, more rounded design belies a serious feature set though - 8fps at full-resolution and an electronic first-curtain shutter allowing a maximum shutter speed of 1/8000 sec with reduced shutter lag (40 milliseconds) are both pretty impressive. These improvements will be welcomed by enthusiast photographers, as will a new 'Custom Mode' feature that allows you to save up to three shooting setups as custom shooting modes. These can then be recalled, either from the Smart Panel, or from a dedicated 'C' position on the exposure mode dial.

Custom shooting modes can be named using an on-screen text-entry dialog or if you're in a hurry, saved automatically by date. Existing features have been given a refresh too - we've been very impressed by the evolution of Samsung's 'iFn' on-lens function feature in the NX range, and iFn 2.0 adds even more options. It's great to see an electronic spirit level added to the NX20, too, which indicates roll and pitch.

 

The 100% coverage electronic viewfinder is the key differentiator between the NX20 and the NX210, and although I was using an early sample which I was told may not have been up to production quality, I enjoyed using the finder for image composition. The resolution of the NX20's EVF is SVGA (800 x 600 pixels, 1.44M dots), and in my experience remains pleasantly contrasty and detailed in all but the strongest side light (where like the NX10, the screen image is prone to 'flaring out').

The only serious annoyance that came out of my short time with the NX20 was related to the position of its direct movie recording button. I shot a lot of movie clips on the NX20 when I used it, but most of them were recorded accidentally thanks to the prominence of the movie record button on the upper right shoulder of the camera.

 

Apart from this minor irritation though the NX20 is, like its predecessor, a pleasant camera to use, with an interesting and competitive feature set. The addition of Wi-Fi is of huge significance to Samsung as a step on the way to achieving its stated aim of creating a generation of 'connected cameras' and refinements like increased continuous shooting speed and display articulation add real benefit in day to day shooting.

I wasn't able to save (or even closely examine) images from the NX20 that I used in Korea, but there is nothing to suggest that image quality won't be broadly in line with our expectations based on experience with the NX200, which uses the same 20MP CMOS sensor. We should be receiving an NX20 shortly, and we will publish a more in-depth assessment and sample images as soon as possible.

Kiriman ini mengonfirmasi kepemilikan saya terhadap situs dan situs ini mematuhi kebijakan program dan Persyaratan dan Ketentuan AdSense. ca-pub-9430120439723098