Samsung Launches New 840, 840 Pro SSD Series at Global SSD Summit

Subject: Storage | September 23, 2012 - 10:00 PM | Allyn Malventano
Tagged: ssd, Samsung, pro, mdx, 840

Good morning from Seoul, Korea!

I'm here at the Samsung Global SSD Summit, where Samsung has officially launched their 840 Series of SSDs. This new controller features many advancements which enable it to climb past 100,000 IOPS in random reads (!!!). Samsung also claims peaks of 90,000 IOPS in random writes. These are seriously high numbers for any SATA SSD, and we will be publishing our full review of the 840 Pro once the NDA lifts later this evening (tomorrow morning for everyone back in the states).

Unfortunately there is nothing more I can disclose at this time, but stay tuned for more info! While all of you are sleeping tonight, I will be attending several briefings covering the 840, and those juicy tidbits will all be filtered into our review, so don't miss this one!

Press Blast after the break:

Samsung versus Qualcomm; don't judge a tablet by its cover

Subject: Mobile | September 13, 2012 - 07:16 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: tablet, Snapdragon S4 Pro, Samsung, qualcomm, ice cream sandwich, Exynos 4412

You are likely already somewhat familiar with the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, running Ice Cream Sandwich on a 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos 4412.  Externally it looks almost identical to the 10.1" engineering sample that Qualcomm pulled out in front of The Inquirer today but internally they are very different.  Inside the Qualcomm tablet is the new 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro, running a hair faster than the Exynos and with a different architecture.  That customized architecture showed up in the testing, the Qualcomm tablet benchmarked higher the Samsung, much higher than the 100MHz speed difference would imply.  However not all was perfect with the usability of the tablet, though The Inquirer does point out this is a tablet still in development and the software is not quite ready for prime time.

"The INQUIRER took the chance to test Qualcomm's developer tablet Snapdragon processor against the Exynos quad-core chip used in Samsung's popular Galaxy Note 10.1.

On paper, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 and the Qualcomm development tablet are quite similar. Both devices run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and have 10.1in touchscreens."

Here are some more Mobile articles from around the web:

Mobile

• Traveling with an iPad: Impressions & Accessory Survival Guide @ Techspot
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 4G @ Tweaktown
• Amazon Kindle Fire HD (7", Wi-Fi) Review @ TechReviewSource
• Amazon Kindle Preview: Paperwhite, Fire (2012), and Fire HD 7" & 8.9" @ AnandTech
• Cooler Master NotePal ERGO 360 Laptop Cooler @ Pro-Clockers
• Sony VAIO S13 (SVS13112FXW) Review @ TechReviewSource
• Dell Inspiron 15R SE Review @ TechReviewSource
• MySN XMG P502 (Clevo P150EM) @ Kitguru
• HP EliteBook 8470p Review @ TechReviewSource
• HP Folio 13 Ultrabook Laptop @ Tweaktown
• Zalman ZM-NC3500 Plus Notebook Cooler Review @ eTeknix
• Cooler Master Wave Stand Review @ Ninjalane
• LG Optimus L7 and Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus review: different looks, same hardware @ Hardware.info
• Motorola Atrix HD Review: Fast, Sharp, Bargain @ AnandTech
• Alcatel One Touch 995: big smartphone, small price @ Hardware.info
• Samsung Galaxy Note @ Tweaktown

Samsung Unveils ATIV S WP8 Smartphone at IFA 2012

Subject: Mobile | September 6, 2012 - 07:16 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: wp8, windows phone 8, Samsung, microsoft, ifa, ativ s

Tablets and ultrabooks are not the only devices Samsung is unveiling at IFA 2012. The company also showed off its first Windows Phone 8 smartphone, the ATIV S.

Featuring a brushed aluminum chassis, the ATIV S is 8.7mm thin and weights 135 grams (just under 0.3 pounds). It is approximately 5.4” tall and 2.8” wide at 137.2mm x 70.5mm. The front of the smartphone features a large 4.8” HD Super AMOLED touchscreen display covered with Corning Gorilla Glass 2. Below the display is a slightly raised physical Windows button along with capacitive back and search buttons on either side. Above the display is a 1.9MP webcam and aluminum speaker grill. On the rear of the ATIV S is an 8MP autofocus camera, rear aluminum speaker bar, and a compartment that holds a 2300 mAh battery.

Inside the smartphone running Windows Phone 8 is a 1.5 GHz dual core ARM SoC, 1GB of RAM, and 16 or 32 GB of storage. The ATIV S also includes a microSD card slot. According to the Windows Team Blog, the ATIV S is noticeably thinner than Samsung’s other Windows Phone (7) smartphones. On the other hand, the phone is wider and taller, so it is less pocket-able. Thanks to the slightly curved edges of the phone, it is easy to hold and use with one hand despite the larger form factor (I’m sure Josh is making a joke for the podcast as we speak).

Overall, it looks like Samsung has put a lot of work into its new ATIV S Windows Phone 8 smartphone. While I’ve been intrigued with the Windows Phone mobile OS for a while now, I have not found a phone running it that I like; Nokia is great and all but the Nokia 920’s design just isn’t my thing. Personally, I think the ATIV S might be the perfect replacement for my Samsung Infuse 4G. You can see more photos of the ATIV S over at the Windows Team Blog.

Read more about Windows Phone 8 at PC Perspective.

Samsung Shows Off Ultrabook With 2560x1440 Display at IFA

Subject: Mobile | September 2, 2012 - 09:50 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: ultrabook, Series 9, Samsung, retina display, prototype, ifa

The Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin (IFA) 2012 electronics show in Berlin has seen numerous Windows 8 tablets, but those are not the only mobile devices on the show floor. Samsung is at the event with its lineup of Series 9 Ultrabooks, for example.

The most interesting model is a prototype (engineering sample) Series 9 ultrabook that sports a WQHD display. That’s right, the 11.6” and 13.3” ultrabooks have displays with a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels! The new display has a pixels-per-inch (PPI) rating of 220.84, which is a major improvement over the current 13” Series 9 ultrabook’s 1600x900, 138.03 PPI display. The new prototype Series 9 has a total display resolution lower than the 2880x1800 “Retina” display in the 15” Macbook Pro, but due to its overall smaller size at 13,” the PPI is comparable. In fact, it is ever-so-slightly higher at 220.84 PPI versus 220.53 for the Apple Macbook Pro. In addition, the Series 9 display features a matte finish, which is something road warriors will appreciate.

Image credit: Engadget.

It seems that – except for the new higher resolution display – the prototype spotted by Engadget at IFA is exactly the same as the latest Ivy Bridge-powered Series 9 ultrabook. It features a full QWERTY keyboard and click-able multitouch trackpad. The right side of the Samsung ultrabook includes a microphone, HDMI output, combination headphone/microphone jack, and a USB 2.0 port. There is also a covered slot for a full-size SD card on the underside of the chassis. On the left side of the ultrabook is a power jack, USB 3.0 port, micro-HDMI port, and micro RJ45 Ethernet port.

Powering the Series 9 prototype is likely an Intel Ivy Bridge processor, at least 4GB of RAM and an SSD. Further, the computer comes loaded with Microsoft's latest Windows 8 operating system. Beyond that, it is impossible to know the exact parts being used as Samsung isn’t ready to unleash this notebook yet. Unfortunately, that also means that pricing and availability are also not known.

With rumors that Apple is working on a new 13” Macbook Pro with “retina” display of its own, one possibility is that the prototype Series 9 is just that – a prototype (and proof of concept) – from which the company will sell the panels to Apple for its Macbook while not coming out with its own high resolution ultrabook. On the other hand, Samsung may be pursuing this and trying to beat Apple to market with a smaller notebook packing a comparible display to Apple's current Macbook Pro.

Personally, I’m rooting for the Series 9 with 2560x1440 display to at least come to market even if the panels also end up in Macbooks (though with Samsung’s luck that would just give Apple yet another device to attempt to get an injunction on….).

Either way, the concept is certainly promising, and here’s hoping that it inspires other OEMs to step up their ultrabook designs by using higher resolution displays!

Below is a hands on video by Mat Smith over at Engadget. For more information, you can find our Series 9 review as well as an editorial on the "Retina Macbook Pro from a PC Perspective" (see what we did there?).

Stay tuned to PC Perspective for more IFA 2012 coverage!

Is Samsung's Galaxy S III really the best Android out there?

Subject: Mobile | August 30, 2012 - 04:18 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: Samsung, galaxy s III, Android

Android 4.1, aka Jellybean, is not yet available for the Samsung Galaxy S III, so The Tech Report tested out Samsung's existing TouchWiz software and UI tweaks to the current Android OS present on the phone.  They liked that a lot of the special functions available on the phone were controlled with the body as opposed to swiping motions on the screen, as you wouldn't want to smear that 720p screen.  They did run into some quirks with the phone which they were less than impressed with as well as the history Samsung has of delaying the release of updated operating systems.  That is probably why they ended up getting a Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

"Samsung's Galaxy S III is the hottest Android handset on the market right now. We spent a few weeks with one to see what it's like."

Here are some more Mobile articles from around the web:

Mobile

• Nokia Lumia 710 Cell Phone Review @ Hardware Secrets
• LG Optimus 4X HD: Tegra 3 Handsets Stay Global @ AnandTech
• Sony Xperia P @ Hardware.info
• Cygnett Form, Frost & TubeMap Samsung Galaxy S III Case Reviews @ Legit Reviews
• Toshiba Excite 7.7 Tablet Review: AMOLED in a Fun Size @ AnandTech
• Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Android Tablet Review @ HardwareHeaven
• Google Nexus 7 Indepth @ Kitguru
• The Archos 101 XS Review: Prettier, Faster, So Much Better @ AnandTech
• Archos 101 XS Android Tablet Review @ HardwareHeaven
• Lenovo IdeaPad U410 Ultrabook Review @ HardwareHeaven
• Fujitsu Stylistic Q702 preview: Windows 8 tablet/notebook @ Hardware.info
• Acer Aspire TimelineX 4830TG-6808 Review @ TechReviewSource
• Acer Aspire V5-171-6605 Review @ TechReviewSource
• HP Envy 14 Spectre Ultrabook Review: Something More Than Envy @ AnandTech
• ASUS UX31A: Putting the Ultra in Ultrabooks @ AnandTech
• Apple MacBook Air 11-inch (Mid-2012) Review @ TechReviewSource

Looking for upcoming mobile PC and smartphone release information?

Subject: General Tech | August 29, 2012 - 06:09 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: smartphones, Samsung, release

The Inquirer is the place to be if you are desperate for news from the IFA Technology Conference in Berlin.  It seems that most of the major smart phone manufactures are there showing off their upcoming products.  You have Samsung showing off the Windows 8 powered Ativ S, the Galaxy Note 2 smart phone, a tablet and a pair of hybrid systems while Sony is showing off three new Xperia phones and an Xperia Tablet.

From ASUS comes a quartet of devices, the dual screen Taichi, Transformer Book, Zenbook U500VZ and Zenbook Prime UX21A Touch.  The Transformer Book will look similar to the existing Pad models on the exterior but the interior will be very different as it will be an Intel processor running Win8.  All of the above will sport SSDs and the Prime will sport an IPS display, the details on the displays of the other devices were not specified. 

You can also check out a review contrasting Apple's new Ipad against the Tegra powered Asus Transformer Pad Infinity which is due for release in Europe in the near future.  As this conference is taking place in Europe, many of the phones and other devices on display may never make it to North American markets though you can bet similar devices will.

"SAMSUNG HAS LAUNCHED its first Windows Phone 8 device, the Ativ S, as well as a tablet and two laptop/tablet hybrids that will run Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 operating system.

The launch comes a week ahead of Nokia's expected launch of its first handset running the next generation Microsoft Windows Phone 8 mobile operating system."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• Western Digital shakes off Thailand flood impact, retakes HDD market lead in 2Q12, says IHS @ DigiTimes
• Why the Apple-Samsung verdict is GOOD for YOU, your KIDS and TECH @ The Register
• VMware sees multi-device future on Horizon @ The Register
• Buffalo AirStation 11AC Equipment with 802.11ac Standard Support @ X-bit Labs
• Why AMD FirePro Still Cannot Compete Against NVIDIA Quadro, Old or New? @ VR-Zone/A>
• Firefox 15 offers fewer leaks, more frags @ The Register
• Tale of the Dead Staples Omnitech Shredder - Why Not Fix it Yourself? @ PCSTATS
• Actiontec PWR500 - 500Mbps Powerline Network Adapter Kit Review @MissingRemote

ARM-A9 SOC showdown, Tegra 3 versus ODROID-X

Subject: Mobile | August 21, 2012 - 04:00 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: tegra 3, Samsung, nvidia, Exynos 4412, cortex-a9, arm

The participants in this System on a Chip showdown both bear long names, on one side is NVIDIA's Tegra 3 ARM SoC and on the other the ODROID-X Samsung Exynos 4412 quad-core ARM Cortex-A9.  NVIDIA's offering is well known by now but the ODROID-X is a relative newcomer to the market, offering their product for about $130.  After setting up Linux on these systems Phoronix got to benchmarking and the results will surprise NVIDIA fans as the ARM based system actually came out on top on quite a few of the tests.

"While not as popular as NVIDIA's Tegra 3 ARM SoC, the Samsung Exynos 4412 quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 found on cheaply priced ODROID-X can actually outperform the quad-core NVIDIA ARM processor. Here are benchmarks of the $129 USD ODROID-X benchmarked against the NVIDIA Tegra 3 reference tablet and a PandaBoard ES running the Texas Instruments OMAP4460."

Here are some more Mobile articles from around the web:

Mobile

• Asus N56VZ-DS71 Review @ TechReviewSource
• iBuyPower Valkyrie CZ-17 Notebook Review: MSI and iBuyPower Tangle With Alienware @ AnandTech
• Samsung Series 7 NP700Z7C @ AnandTech
• Dell Latitude E6430 Review @ TechReviewSource
• Acer TimelineU M5 Review: A 15-inch, 5lb Ultrabook @ TechSpot
• Zero Halliburton S1 @ Phoronix
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 vs Toshiba AT300 review: old versus new @ Hardware.info
• Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 @ The Inquirer
• Wacom Intuos5 touch Medium Tablet Review @ Techgage