Thursday, July 25, 2013

Samsung Galaxy S4 and Me

Everyone surprised with a new Samsung Galaxy S4

As a Brand Ambassador and Life Style Blogger for Verizon #VZWBuzz. I'm given fun products by Verizon to try out, like the Jawbone UP and Samsung Galaxy Camera. I give my honest feed back. My opinions are my own.

Recently, I was invited to the Verizon headquarters in Orange County to learn more about Verizon and their products. That will be in another blog post.

During dinner that night with great food and friends. Verizon surprised everyone with a new Samsung Galaxy S4 Phone. The crowd goes wild!!

I really wanted to check out the Samsung Galaxy S4, even though I am more of a iphone guy than Android. After using the S4 for couple weeks. I am really surprised how much I like it. Dare I say, I love it.

Fun with Ann Tran during dinner and receiveing our S4

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is pretty powerful with a Qualcomm 1.9 GHz Quad Core Processor and
Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. It's pretty speedy and responsive. I'm always on the go and at events. As you may or may not know, I'm a tweeting and social media maniac! I need all the speed I can get.

I'm also loving the 5” Full HD Screen at 1,920 x 1,080 resolution. The larger screen is such a plus but not overly huge. S4 fits in your hands well. With the larger screen, it really helps me to see my photos, websites and smartphone text much better now.

Great time with Chris Fluery and the ladies

The 13 mega pixel camera takes great photos. I love that it has different settings that help you take better photos depending on the lighting conditions. One of my favorite modes to use is HDR. I use that one a lot in dark environments or in general.

I also like the fact that there are many photo editing apps on Android. Not just photo editing apps but advanced editing apps for free. Like Snapseed, Aviary and Photo editor.

All the apps are very useful to me. I usually, edit the photos on the fly. Then push out to all my social networks during events and conferences. I also use Photo Grid, a photo collage app. I use Photo Grid so not to flood my social stream with too many photos at once.

Loving her new Samsung Galaxy S4

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Posted by Calvin Lee at Thursday, July 25, 2013 | | Comments

Monday, April 01, 2013

Love my Social Samsung Galaxy Camera

Disclosure: I won the Samsung Galaxy Camera at a Verizon #VZWBuzz event during #CES. All opinions are my own.

I really like the Samsung Galaxy Camera a lot, even love! It's a really fun camera! It's running on Android, Jellybean  4.1. It's basically a Samsung Galaxy smart phone minus the phone. You can download apps and share your photos to all of your Social Networks through a Verizon, AT&T plan or a wifi connection.

Most of the photos that were taken during my trip at SXSW was with the Samsung Galaxy Camera. Check out the photos on my flickr page. 

Samsung Galaxy Camera Specs.
  • 16.3MP backlight-illuminated CMOS sensor
  • 21x zoom with 23-481mm equivalent focal length
  • 1080p 30 fps video capture
  • 4.8", 308ppi HD Super Clear LCD, 1280x720 pixels
  • Android 4.1 'Jelly Bean' operating system
  • 1.4 GHz Quad-core processor
  • Wi-Fi and 3G or 4G connectivity
  • 15 'Smart' shooting modes
  • Voice commands
  • Manual mode
What I loved about the Galaxy Camera

1. The Samsung Galaxy 16.3mp photos are crisp and clear. The photos are incredible, even taking the resolution down to 300dpi, the size was still at 11"x15". I've even started using the Galaxy Camera more than my iPhone.

2. The 21x optional zoom is awesome for photos and videos. I have zoomed 21x during a concert taken from the nose bleed seats. The photos/video looked incredible and sharp, considering how far away I was.

3. It handles lower light situations pretty well, much better than most smart phones but still can't handle very dark situations.

4. Android camera combo. The ability to go online and share your photos directly from the camera to all of your Social Media networks like Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Linkedin.

5. Make new friends by using the camera. People love shiny new toys they've never seen before and want it. The quality of the photos help a lot!

6. I love how wide the lens is and the ability to capture so many people in one photo.

What I didn't like so much about the Galaxy Camera

1. It's a little too heavy and bulky. If you ever dropped the camera, it would not survive.

2. It has problems focusing in really dark low light situations even with a flash.

3. No force flash mode or the ability to lower the intensity of the flash, only in manual mode. The flash is too bright and sometimes the flash wouldn't fire.

4. It needs a view finder. Very much like most smart phones on sunny days. It can be hard to see anything on the display.

The bottom line

Even though the Samsung Galaxy Camera is the first generation combining an Android OS with a camera. It's still a pretty good one. With that said, it's not perfect. It still has a few bugs. 

The camera is a little laggy when the camera power save mode was turned on. Once I turned it off, it was pretty fast. Pulling up photos from the photo gallery to share takes a little too long. 

The price is a little high but I would still recommend the Galaxy Camera. The ability to get online and share from the camera is a big plus.

Samsung announced that they will be releasing a wifi only model with the same specs. and a lower price of $450. It will be available at the end of April 2013.

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Posted by Calvin Lee at Monday, April 01, 2013 | | Comments

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Samsung Droid Charge on the Verizon 4G LTE Network


Disclosure: The Samsung Driod Charge was provide to me by Samsung for me to test and keep.

I've been pretty much a mac and iphone guy my whole life. Using an Android phone never crossed my mind until now. A friend of mine, Alana Joy working with Samsung  approached me about testing the Samsung Droid Charge and giving it an honest review.

I was very excited to take the Samsung Droid Charge for a test drive before it was officially released. Here are some features of the phone.

+ 4.3” Super AMOLED Plus Touch Screen Display
+ 8MP camera: Front-facing camera
+ HDMI
+ 1GHz processor with Android™ 2.2 platform
+ 4G LTE speeds on Verizon

The feel and look of the Samsung Driod Charge is very similar to the iPhone. Even  playing around with the Driod Charge for a few hours, it felt very comfortable. It would be a smooth transition from the iPhone to the Driod Charge, if I decided to switch. 

I have to admit, the larger 4.3" super Amoled screen on the Droid Charge is pretty nice compared to the iPhone's smaller 3.5" screen. The screen itself is so clear and vibrant, that is one of the biggest selling points for me. With That being said, the screen is also a big battery suck.

Having a 8mp camera doesn't mean it will take better photos. The Droid Charge takes some pretty decent photos but seems a little muddled. I have seen better photos with less mega pixels. I wish the colors and white balance was a little better. 

I like some of the default settings on the camera like Panoramic. Pretty awesome how it can stitch together eight photos and pretty seamless.

I found the Samsung Driod Charge to be pretty responsive and quick with the 1GHZ processor, being on the Verizon 4G LTE network helps a lot. Speeds are blazing on Verizon 4G LTE, anywhere from 3mb-18mb down and 3mb-5mb up depending on your area. The average I got around town was 10mb/5mb.

The battery life was a big negative for me. The Droid Charge battery only lasted four hours and it took a long time to recharge. 

My final word, the Samsung Droid Charge is great phone on the Verizon network, which you can't go wrong with. It's very responsive, fast and a great value.

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Posted by Calvin Lee at Tuesday, May 10, 2011 | | Comments


About me

  • Mayhem Studios is a small award-winning design firm located in Los Angeles, California, developing identity and brand recognition for the business sector across the nation. The Studio uses strategic and creative design with effective messages targeted to the client's specific audiences to produce identity and branded collateral pieces, annual reports, brochures, logo design, advertising and interactive web sites. Calvin Lee, Principal & Creative Director of Mayhem Studios is a graduate of Platt College and serves as a member of the Platt College Advisory Board for the Visual Communications Department, NO!SPEC Committee and on the Creative Latitude Management Team.
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