MWC 2014 Barcelona Spain – This is the time of the year where all Mobile manufacturers showcase their yearly flagships. For Samsung their Galaxy S5 has been anticipated that we’ve been reading leaks left and right.

What’s new with the Samsung Galaxy S5? What are the upgrades they added and other features that you might need as a user? If so happen you read a lot about the Galaxy S5 since its announcement you will not be surprise to my criticisms both bad and good about the S5.

Let us start with the external. The design of S5 is much like a hybrid of S4 and S3 but I was reading some comments in Reddit that they suggest that this much look like the Galaxy S2 that for me is the most beautiful Samsung phone ever made. The curve and bezel is much a like the S4. Samsung is still using non-capacitivie or physical home button and capacitive buttons for the side buttons.

Its display is a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display with resolution of 1920×1080 pixels, yes it is a full HD screen much like of the S4 giving a true to life colors. The processor is very powerful at 2.5Ghz quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM for multi-tasking.

The 16-Megapixel rear-facing camera has new features for more stabilization and focus and 2-Megapixel front-facing for video calling for example. Yes some uses it for selfies! This new Samsung flagship has fingerprint scanning feature mainly use to unlock your device or do some payment just like the Apple iPhone 5S. The back casing is removal and it is like the Nexus 7 backplate made of rubber. The S5 is IP67 certified meaning it is water proof up to 3-feet and would last up to 30mins.

The win-win for this phone for me is the expandable memory up to 128GB if you like to store HD files and lossless music files. If you store HD files you need a faster connectivity and Samsung put USB 3.0 to the new S5, 5x faster than the USB 2.0.

The most notable of all the feature is the battery capacity at 2,800mAh. The battery capacity of our smartphone nowadays is mediocre for our needs especially for those who travel a lot.

The Software side:

Samsung and Google agreed that Samsung will reduce the S-branded apps bundled with the device to give way more to Google’s own native apps. Samsung also gives emphasis in Health. We have to admit that many of the users are more health conscious that they use their phones to track their health with the use of 3rd-party monitoring apps and Samsung joins this trend. The Galaxy S5 has a heart rate monitor and connected to its app S-Health 3.0.

There is no price release for the Galaxy S5 but it will be available this April 11 worldwide including the Philippines.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Specs:

• Display 5.1″ FHD Super AMOLED (1920 x 1080)
• Processor 2.5GHz quad-core application processor
• OS Android 4.4.2 (KitKat)
• Network LTE Cat.4 (150/50Mbps)
• Camera 16MP (rear), 2.0MP (front)
• Video UHD@30fps, HDR, video stabilizationVideo Codec : H.263, H.264(AVC), MPEG4, VC-1, Sorenson Spark, MP43, WMV7, WMV8, VP8
• Video Format: MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM
• Audio Audio Codec : MP3, AMR-NB/WB, AAC/ AAC+/ eAAC+, WMA, Vorbis, FLAC
• Audio Format: MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA
• Camera Features HDR (Rich tone), Selective Focus, Virtual Tour Shot, Shot & More
• Additional Features IP67 Dust- and water-resistant
• Ultra Power Saving Mode
• Download Booster
• S Health 3.0
• Quick Connect
• Private Mode
• Kids Mode
• Google Mobile Services Chrome, Drive, Photos, Gmail, Google, Google+, Google Settings, Hangouts, Maps, Play Books, Play Games, Play Newsstand, Play Movie & TV, Play Music, Play Store, Voice Search, YouTube
• Connectivity WiFi: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac HT80, MIMO(2×2),
• Bluetooth: 4.0 BLE / ANT+
• USB 3.0
• NFC
• IR Remote
• Sensors Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, Hall, RGB ambient light, Gesture(IR), Finger Scanner, Heart rate sensor
• Memory RAM: 2GB
• Internal Memory: 16/32GB
• microSD slot up to 128GB
• Dimensions 142.0 x 72.5 x 8.1mm, 145g
• Battery 2800mAh
• Standby time: 390 hrs / Talk time: 21 hrs

Image: Khidr Suleman / itpro.co.uk/authors/khidr-suleman

Samsung main man JK Shin proudly said that their latest flagship Smartphone, the Galaxy S4 has sold 40 million units since it was announced earlier this year. This, according to Shin is a followup on the report that 20 million S4′s were sold in just two months prior to its release.

Samsung’s CEO also noted that 30 million S3 units were released in 2012, making it a double celebration for the Korean mobile manufacturer.

The company also has a lot of things to look forward to, considering that they just outed the Galaxy Note III, the Galaxy Gear and the soon to be announced Galaxy Round as the world’s first Smartphone with a curved display screen. Also in line is the recent development of the Galaxy S5 and the company’s next flagship, the Galaxy F series.

Bravo, Samsung, bravo.

The Galaxy Gear can be a hard sell considering that after its launch, it only supported the Galaxy Note III. Those, on the other hand who doesn’t want to ditch their already perky handsets and/or doesn’t have that much cash for the Note III AND wants to own the Smart watch will be completely left in the dark. What else can they do but hope that Sammy’s gonna extend the Gear’s compatibility to other devices aside from the newly released Note.

The Galaxy Gear will now be compatible following the recent Android 4.3 update on the Samsung Galaxy S4, S3 and Note II, just after what the Korean company did on Germany’s S4 earlier this month.

S3′s and Note II’s update will include easier text inputs, hyped graphics and a handful of Samsung related perks, including:

• Samsung KNOX＊, a secure and comprehensive mobile solution for enterprises and consumers. (＊Galaxy S III 3G version will get Samsung KNOX with a platform security only in select countries.)
• Smart Switch to seamlessly transfer content from other smartphones to Samsung devices
• HomeSync to store, share and enjoy content securely wherever you are
• Group Play 2.5 with shared video support

The support will also come to the S4 Mini, S4 Active, S4 Zoom, the Mega line (5.8, 6.3) at the end of October and will vary on the country and carrier that your’e on.

In the past few weeks, every Android geek in the world was almost as excited as I was when buzzes around Samsung next flagship Smartphone, the S5 started to tingle with its leaked specs and hardware ingredients. Now, word has it that it will incorporate a Galaxy Note 3-esque plastic casing with faux leather on its behind.

That, and a 16-megapixel camera.

We were also living up to the expectation that the S5 would be dust and water proof, just like Sony’s Xperia Z line. It’s kinda disappointing now that Samsung held back this property and slapped it with a semi ridiculed polycarbonate and leather which is, too me is way behind the supposed “proofing” the company had first imagined. Again, let’s just make everything safe that Samsung will ditch plastic and go with a more modern flair with metal on the Galaxy F family.

In addition, the biometric eye scanner that we also heard plus a 65-bit processor is now hanging over nothing in terms with the S5 and again, playing the good advocate, we’ll pray that it’ll somewhat be with the Galaxy F, too.

Let’s move on, shall we? The last of Samsung S line will be announced in mid January of next year or at the MWC 2014 in February.

Tip: Carrier branded Galaxy S4 like from Globe & Smart can be updated to this version but will void your warranty but if you perform NanDROID Backup (rooted) you can keep an untouched image of your device OS and if you want to warranty it just restore the stock image.

Note: Installing firmware from leak sources will void your warranty. Make sure you have a NANDROID Backup just in case you like to restore it to stock/non-rooted. For those under a carrier you will also void your warranty and NANDROID Backup is recommeded.

How to Update Samsung Galaxy S4 to Android 4.3

Model: GT-I9505
Country: Open Asia
Version: Android 4.3
Changelist: 1840064
Build date: Tue, 8 Oct 2013 23:29:05 +0000
Product Code: OLB
PDA: I9505XXUEMJ3
CSC: I9505OLBEMJ2
MODEM: I9505XXUEMJ3
Download: I9505XXUEMJ3_I9505OLBEMJ2_OLB.zip

NOTE

• This firmware will WIPE your device (Perform a backup before flashing)
• This test firmware will NOT increase your binary counter NOR void your warranty.
• This test firmware will NOT trigger your KNOX Warranty Counter (If it’s 0×0 before flashing, it will remain 0×0 after flashing and vice versa).
• This test firmware is a pre-release firmware and not official from Samsung.
• We have fully tested this firmware and this firmware works perfectly as any other official firmware.

Updating firmware via Odin Tool:

1. Extract (unzip) the firmware file
2. Download Odin3 v3.09 (From here or here)
3. Extract Odin .ZIP file
4. Open Odin3 v3.09
5. Restart phone in download mode (Press and hold Home + Power + Volume down buttons)
6. Connect phone and wait until you get a blue sign in Odin
7. Add AP_I9505XXUEMJ3_1840064_REV06_user_low_ship_MULTI_CERT.tar.md5 to AP
8.  Add BL_I9505XXUEMJ3_1840064_REV06_user_low_ship_MULTI_CERT.tar.md5 to BL
9. Add CP_I9505XXUEMJ3_1840064_REV06_user_low_ship_MULTI_CERT.tar.md5 to CP
10. Add CSC_OLB_I9505OLBEMJ2_1765174_REV06_user_low_ship_MULTI_CERT.tar.md5 to CSC
11. Make sure re-partition is NOT ticked
12. Click start button, sit back and wait a few minutes.
13.  If you encounter any issues with the firmware (Any FC, Bootloop etc)
14. Boot into recovery mode (Home+power+vol up)
15.  Choose to wipe/factory reset. (THIS WILL ERASE ALL OF YOUR DATA INCLUDING YOUR INTERNAL SD CARD!)
16. Then choose reboot and you should be good to go!

 Samsung Galaxy S4 Android 4.3 Video

Image, Instruction and Links: SamMobile

If you have questions, just leave a comment below.

I think it’s time to tone down on the Nexus 5.

I’m a fan, no doubt about it. But with all the leaks and the supposed specs that has been pushed on our faces for the last month, I do realize that the Smartphone universe is as wide as the galaxy that we live in. There will be many, and I mean many more devices that we ought to anticipate in the months to come and one of these is the Samsung Galaxy S5.

Yes, the Samsung Galaxy S5 will be the company’s next flagship Smartphone and, according to rumors will be dust and waterproof like the S4 Active and will sport a 13 megapixel camera with Optical Image Stabilization a la HTC One and Nokia’s Pureview line.

Also grinding along with the aforementioned specs is the S5′s supposed OS. According to previous reports, the Galaxy S5 will come in two Operating Systems: the Usual Android (supposed KitKat or the latest Jellybean, maybe) and Tizen, an OS that has long been under the Korean powerhouse’s vault.

We also saw a fan made render of the S5 and by his imaginative output, he sees that the soon be mega Smartphone is encased in metal, rather than plastic Samsung is using in their current devices. There’s also this buzz around Samsung future plans to out an aluminum-clad, “super premium” Galaxy F series sometime in 2014 and that it will replace the current Galaxy S line. And also, there’s the “Design 3.0″ word that will be used on the upcoming S5 handset. What are we expecting, by then? A lot, if you ask me. Not just on the inside, but on the physical structure of future Samsung units as well. Aluminum isn’t a bad idea and ditching plastic will do a lot, especially for the environment

The best thing for me (as of this moment) is the fact that the supposed S5 is rugged to go with the likes of Sony’s Xperia. A water and dust proof Smartphone with a touch of class is exactly what most of us wants to have and, with all due respect to the S4 Active, visible screws will most likely be out of the picture. Physical buttons? I would rather have one, or none at all.

We might also see a flexible HD LCD on the Galaxy S5, for all we know. And, for those not a fan of Android or those wanting to do more rather than rooting their devices, Tizen might just be the next best thing that will happen to the Smartphone world – outside the former OS and iOS , that is.

Oh, well; rumors like these never cease to entice us. But if you ask me, the Samsung Galaxy S5 is gonna be S-W-E-E-T.

Aside from the Nexus 5 hype, curved screens are the next big thing to tickle our Smartphone taste buds.

Companies like Samsung and LG are one the forefront in this category, and each have their own idea on how to incorporate a somewhat flexible LCD screen to a device and that it will not look like an old wallet. On their part, LG expressed their intent a week back but was overtaken by Samsung as they recently revealed the Galaxy Round.

Yes, the OLED technology of Samsung, paired with the best of their acclaimed insides comes together in a 5.7-inch phablet with a flexible 1080p LCD display and a Note 3-esque 3GB RAM, 13 megapixel main clicker enclosed in a sweet and sexy 7.9mm curved chassis. It may look (or feel) like the Note 3 (minus the curve), but the Round, as its name suggests has this “roll effect” as demonstrated on the video. Not exactly the thing you have in mind, but it’s a breath of fresh air, if you ask me.

As per the news, the Galaxy Round will, as of the moment be available ONLY in South Korea for about P44,000. International release were not mentioned YET by Samsung.

SamMobile brings forth good news for Samsung Galaxy S4 owners as the Korean powerhouse flagship Smartphone is scheduled for an firmware upgrade this month.

That’s right, folks; the Galaxy S4, according to the generous news giver is slated for an upgrade as well as its predecessors. By this, Android Jellybean will go up one notch to 4.3 and, just like other updates will come also come with enhancements here and there.

SamMobile also blurted that the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 will also cater the upgrade but on a later month, or somewhere on the boxes of November or early December.

Other devices included to get the Android 4.3 are the Mega 5.8 and 6.3

On the other side, expect the roll-out to go with the region-to-region and telco-to-telco fad. Keep waiting, people: your new Jellybean will soon be with you.

Samsung plans to install the S5 with an “Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) camera that, according to them will produce quality photos that those captured by digitally enhanced clickers. The OIS technology is currently being used by Nokia on their PureView devices as well as HTC’s “Ultrapixel” technology.

The advantages of having an OIS camera technology should include the following:

• Reduced blurring when capturing in motion
• Compensates panning and tilting the camera
•  Stabilises the recorded image by varying the optical path to the sensor
• It is compatible with Digital Image Stabilisation
• Zooming out to its maximum magnification will make the camera extremely sensitive to motion

Another rumor is that Samsung is (finally!) ditching the polycarbonate material used on their devices. Not only does it provide little or no protection, it tends to get slippery and full of grease at the end of the day. News are now saying that Samsung sent some of their engineers to Vietnam “to investigate the possibility of using aluminum and magnesium” materials for their future devices. This, for me will be the dividing line and the trampoline to elevate Samsung’s name as the top Smartphone manufacturer known to man.

Samsung needs to do away with plastic; Apple is doing it, HTC and Sony are also dealing with metals. It’s not copying in general, but a motion to compete with others in terms of physicality and sturdiness.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 is, according to the company set to be launched by March 2015, although they didn’t include a specific date.

Eyes and ears on us!

Since the release of the Samsung Galaxy S4 many die hard Galaxy Note user asked “Where is our upgrade?” so after 5 months of waiting Samsung announced the 2013 upgrade of the venerable Galaxy Note 3  in IFA Berlin along with their new product the Samsung Galaxy Smart gear which is a smartwatch per say.

Many giant Android techblogs went to Germany get an exclusive hands-on to the device but since we can’t afford to be there Samsung released two videos, an advertisement ad and the 18-minute hands-on demo paired with the Samsung smartwatch.