The Difference Between AMOLED and SLCD Screens

The Difference Between AMOLED and SLCD Screens



Remember a few months ago, when HTC decided to  stop using AMOLED screens because of shortages? And how they decided to switch to SLCD screens instead? Well, the guys over at Engadget have looked at the differences in SLCD and AMOLED screens on two HTC Desires. One Desire had an AMOLED, the other had a SLCD display. See below.


At first glance, there aren’t really any noticeable differences. But upon closer inspection, they found that the AMOLED still beats out the SLCD in terms of vibrancy and brilliance. However, the SLCD appears to have warmer tones, giving it better color definition than the AMOLED display. This is surprising, considering that AMOLED screens are almost the best money can buy, next to the Super AMOLED displays found on the Galaxy S phones. It looks like HTC made the right decision when it went with SLCD displays. Pretty damn close!
This observation begs the question: how many people will notice? Obviously, those of us in the Android community will always know, but will anyone in the consumer market really notice the difference between AMOLED and SLCD screens? Can you tell the difference? Does it bother you?
Source Engadget
The Complete Overview:

AMOLED means Active Matrix Organic light emitting diode

Active matrix (AM) OLED displays stack cathode, organic, and anode layers on top of another layer – or substrate – that contains circuitry. The pixels are defined by the deposition of the organic material in a continuous, discrete “dot” pattern. Each pixel is activated directly: A corresponding circuit delivers voltage to the cathode and anode materials, stimulating the middle organic layer. AM OLED pixels turn on and off more than three times faster than the speed of conventional motion picture film – making these displays ideal for fluid, full-motion video.
SLCD MEANS SUPER LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY
SLCD is the latest generation of LCD technology ( By Joint venture between Samsung Electronics and Sony) that offers improved performance from earlier LCD panels including approximately five times better power management. SLCDs also offer an enhanced viewing experience with wider viewing angles that are enabled by Sony’s new VSPEC III™ technology.

New Apple iPod touch: An Overview

New iPod touch
The iPod touch has been the most popular iPod for Apple. In fact, it has been the most popular product for Apple, a title that was previously held by the nano. People seem to have taken very well to the touch, a device that offered them all the iOS goodness of the iPhone without the phone (and contract). It has been a huge success as a gaming platform too, selling more than the number of handheld consoles that Nintendo and Sony sell combined, with 50 percent of worldwide market share. So how can you make something so great even better?



Well, the first thing that Apple probably has in mind when making newer versions of existing products is how they can make it smaller. The older iPod touch was impossibly thin. They just couldn’t make it any thinner. But that’s what we think. To prove us wrong, Apple has done just that. Not only did they make it thinner they also added in more stuff to it, including two cameras, one of which records in HD!
The older iPod touch was 8.5mm ‘thick’, while the new one is just 7.2mm. When you look at that figure and what all Apple has added in the new touch, you realize that Apple’s engineers are a different breed of people, capable of bending the laws of physics in a way that a common man cannot even comprehend (nor can the engineers of other companies for that matter).



There are five major additions to the new touch. First is the Retina display, which debuted on the iPhone 4. It’s 960 x 640 pixels, which is four times the resolution of the older iPod touch displays and since the size has remained unchanged at 3.5-inches, it has an amazing pixel density of 326 ppi, which is the highest for any mobile device, so high that you cannot see individual pixels with the naked eye.
The second addition is the A4 chip, same as the one found on the iPhone 4. Rumored to be clocked at around 1GHz, the new chip will make the iPod touch much faster and will also significantly improve the gaming experience as now the developers can make more detailed and high quality games knowing that the processor is fast enough to handle them.
Another thing that will make gaming better is the addition of a gyroscope, which is the third important addition. The three-axis gyroscope will make motion based gaming a lot more precise, while adding new ways to control the games.
The next important feature is the addition of a front video camera. It can record videos and images in VGA resolution. With it you can make FaceTime calls with people using the new iPod touch as well the iPhone 4.



The last major addition is the camera on the back of the device. With it the new iPod touch can record videos in 720p resolution at up to 30 frames per second and also take pictures in 960 x 720 resolution. Just like on the iPhone 4 the rear camera can be used during a FaceTime call to show the person on the other side what you are looking at. You can geo-tag the images using Wi-Fi. Whether the camera on the back supports autofocus or not is not mentioned. However, my guess is, it doesn’t. But for such a thin device, it is a miracle they managed to put in a camera capable of recording HD videos.
Visually, you will notice that the back is now completely flat and not curved as on the older model. Also, the tiny spot on the top left, which was the Wi-Fi antenna, has now disappeared and one wonders where Apple could have relocated it. I guess we will have to wait for iFixit’s teardown for that. Apart from that the new touch is identical to the older model.
The battery life on the new model is rated at 40 hours for audio and 7 hours for video, which is longer by 10 for audio and 1 hour for video than the older model. This, despite the thinner size and added battery-consuming features. It’s sorcery, I tell you!
The new iPod touch will be sold in three capacities; 8GB, 32GB and 64GB models, and unlike the previous generation, this time it seems they all will get the same hardware. They will be priced at Rs. 15,400, Rs. 19,900 and Rs. 25,900 respectively.
The Good:

• It’s impossibly thin
• Retina display
• A4 processor
• 3-axis gyroscope
• Front VGA camera for FaceTime
• Rear camera for recording HD videos and stills
• Improved battery life, despite all the above additions and size reduction!
• There is still a loudspeaker somewhere in there
• Did I mention how thin it is?

The Bad:

Only 256MB of RAM

Display does not use an IPS panel like the iPhone 4

64GB is still the maximum limit

An FM radio would have been nice

No autofocus for the rear camera, and low resolution still image capture

New Apple iPod shuffle: An Overview

iPod shuffle
The iPod shuffle has always been very small, but with the third generation model, Apple just broke all notions of what a small player should be with what looked like an eraser. It was the smallest music player ever, but unfortunately, this size zero came at a cost, which was the loss of buttons on the player itself. The shuffle was then dependent on its earphones to control the music for it and without them it was as good as a paper clip.



This also meant that users could not use their own headphones with the shuffle as then they would have no way to control it. An alternative would be to buy expensive adaptors that would let you plug in your own headphones and control the player.



Apple realized the problem with this design and so for the fourth generation model they have gone back to their older device. The new shuffle looks a lot like the second generation model, but is now smaller. It uses an anodized aluminum body and comes in five different colors. As with the previous two generations, it comes with a clip on the back, so you can wear the player without the need for any other accessories. The controls are now on the player itself, so you can use any headphones with the device. The new shuffle still retains the VoiceOver feature, which debuted with the previous generation model.



The new shuffle has a battery life of 15 hours, which is pretty impressive for such a small player. Only a 2GB model will be sold, which will be priced at Rs. 3,200.
The Good:

• Brings back the familiar buttons that we all know and love
• Really, really small
• A really really good sound quality

The Bad:

No display, but that’s okay

Nokia unveils three new smartphones

Nokia, the world's largest cellphone maker, unveiled three new smartphones models on Tuesday in the international market.
Nokia is in the middle of a major management revamp, with the departures of its chief executive and chairman announced last week and its top internal candidate for the CEO post resigning on Monday.






The new models -- E7, C7 and a new version of the C6-01 -- all come with large touchscreens and use the latest Symbian software (Symbian^3). They were unveiled in London.
Nokia still controls around 40 percent of the global smartphone market volume, but has lost out to Apple and Research in Motion's Blackberry in the fatter-margin market for the most expensive cellphone models.
"The products are a clear improvement from the N97 but we know they are not where Nokia needs to be yet, and any other promise around 'we are working on it' would have not convinced anyone," said Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi.
"A new CEO and the old guard stepping down might give investors more confidence that things are really changing."
Last week, Nokia announced it was hiring Stephen Elop, a Microsoft executive with Silicon Valley credentials, to replace embattled chief executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo and renew its drive to compete with Apple.
On Monday, Nokia's smartphone and services chief Anssi Vanjoki -- an outspoken and respected figure in the mobile phone industry who had been considered the most likely internal candidate to replace Kallasvuo -- announced his resignation.
Underlining the scale of the change, chairman Jorma Ollila, who led Nokia's transformation from a rubber boots-to-TVs conglomerate into a mobile phones giant in the 1990s, said last week he would step down shortly.
More About Products:
Nokia E7:

The E7 will have a large touchscreen and a full QWERTY keyboard and will probably run on Symbian^3. It also features a 640*360 display.
The last time Nokia labelled Nokia N97 as their flagship model, the company stocks began to dip drastically as the device failed to impress the market. Hope this time, Nokia gets it right with its flagship model.
The business features of the E7 include support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, Mail for Exchange, Microsoft Communicator Mobile and Microsoft Share Point Server.
With 18 days of standby time and up to 9 hours of talktime, the E7 is expected be available by the end of 2010 at a price of € 495 (Rs 29,500).

General	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G Network	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 2100 /1900
	Announced	2010, September
	Status	Coming soon. Exp. release 2010, Q4

Size	Dimensions	123.7 x 62.4 x 13.6 mm
	Weight	176 g

Display	Type	AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	360 x 640 pixels, 4.0 inches
		- QWERTY keyboard - Multi-touch input method - Proximity sensor for auto turn-off - Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate - Scratch-resistant surface - Touch sensitive controls

Sound	Alert types	Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
	Speakerphone	Yes
		- 3.5 mm audio jack

Memory	Phonebook	Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall
	Call records	Detailed, max 30 days
	Internal	16 GB storage, 256 MB RAM, 1 GB ROM
	Card slot	microSD, up to 32GB

Data	GPRS	Class 32
	EDGE	Class 32
	3G	HSDPA, 10.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 2 Mbps
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
	Bluetooth	Yes, v3.0 with A2DP, USB On-the-go support
	Infrared port	No
	USB	Yes, microUSB v2.0

Camera	Primary	8 MP, 3266x2450 pixels, autofocus, dual-LED flash
	Features	Geo-tagging, face and smile detection
	Video	Yes, 720p
	Secondary	No

Features	OS	Symbian^3 OS
	Messaging	SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
	Browser	WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, RSS feeds
	Radio	Stereo FM radio with RDS
	Games	Yes + downloadable
	Colors	Dark Grey, Silver White, Green, Blue, Orange
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support; Ovi Maps 3.0
	Java	Yes, MIDP 2.1
		- TV-out (720p video) via HDMI and composite - Dolby Digital Plus via HDMI - MP3/WAV/eAAC+/WMA player - MP4/H.264/H.263/WMV player - Voice command/dial - Document viewer (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF) - Video/photo editor - Flash Lite - T9

Battery		Standard battery, Li-Ion 1200 mAh (BL-4D)
	Stand-by	Up to 432 h (2G) / Up to 480 h (3G)
	Talk time	Up to 9 h (2G) / Up to 5 h (3G)

Nokia C7:
This device has been leaked several times already, but it won’t be available in stores until the end of 2010 or early 2011 according to the infamous reviewer Eldar Murtazin. In short, he thinks the Nokia C7 is basically the Nokia N8 in a different body with a lower price.

Here are snippets from Eldar’s Nokia C7 Preview:

• Nokia C7 will sell better (than the Nokia N8) due to lower price and will prove that cameras in phones are not so important for average consumers.
• The quality of plastic in the white version is similar to Nokia C6 and Nokia N97.
• Featurewise this model is a copy of Nokia N8 apart from an 8 MP camera and the absent HDMI.
• It has the resolution of 640×360 pixels, 3.5-inches, covered with glass (like the N8) and allows up to 16 million colors. It is based on AMOLED
• The handset also has 256 MB of RAM.
• BL-5K battery has the capacity of 1200 mAh and offers up to 390 hours in the standby mode and from 5.5 to 12 hours of talk time (UMTS/GSM).
• He could not realistically review the camera, because it is a prototype.
• Nokia C7 will not attract new customers, but Nokia fans will choose it quite consciously. After all it is the best value for money on Symbian S^3

General	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G Network	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 /1700
	Announced	2010, September
	Status	Coming soon. Exp. release 2010, Q4

Size	Dimensions	117.3 x 56.8 x 10.5 mm
	Weight	130 g

Display	Type	AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	360 x 640 pixels, 3.5 inches
		- Proximity sensor for auto turn-off - Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate

Sound	Alert types	Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
	Speakerphone	Yes
		- 3.5 mm audio jack

Memory	Phonebook	Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall
	Call records	Detailed, max 30 days
	Internal	8 GB storage
	Card slot	microSD, up to 32GB

Data	GPRS	Class 32
	EDGE	Class 32
	3G	HSDPA, 10.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 2 Mbps
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
	Bluetooth	Yes, v3.0 with A2DP
	Infrared port	No
	USB	Yes, microUSB v2.0, USB On-the-go support

Camera	Primary	8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, autofocus, dual-LED flash
	Features	Geo-tagging
	Video	Yes, 720p@25fps
	Secondary	Yes

Features	OS	Symbian^3 OS
	Messaging	SMS, MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
	Browser	WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, RSS feeds
	Radio	Stereo FM radio, FM transmiter
	Games	Yes + downloadable
	Colors	Charcoal black, Frosty metal, Mahogany brown
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support; Ovi Maps 3.0
	Java	Yes, MIDP 2.1
		- Web TV - TV-out - Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - MP3/WMA/WAV/eAAC+ player - MP4/H.264/H.263/WMV player - Quickoffice document viewer (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF) - Adobe Reader - Flash Lite - Voice memo/dial/command - T9

Battery		Standard battery, Li-Ion 1200 mAh (BL-5K)
	Stand-by	Up to 552 h (2G) / Up to 648 h (3G)
	Talk time	Up to 9 h 30 min (2G) / Up to 5 h (3G)
	Music play	Up to 54 h

Nokia C6-01
Photos of an unannounced Nokia C6-01 are online at the official store! We already know that the Nokia C6-00 has a 5MP camera and LED flash, but the leaked photos reveal that the C6-01 has an 8MP camera with dual-LEDs flash.

The front of the Nokia C6-00 and C6-01 look very similar, but it has some differences from it's sides.

The nerds over at Mobile Geek Inc did a nifty investigative piece revealing more details about Nokia's mid-level C6-01 candybar. After making an awkward early appearance on Nokia's Dutch online storefront, more pics along with the user agent profile have been located thus confirming its lack of QWERTY, 8 megapixel camera, and Symbian^3 OS. A nice alternative to the 5 megapixel C6-00 slider shackled to S60 5th. Look for the new C6 to get official with a very nice price either at, or around, Nokia World 2010 which kicks off September 14th in London. One more front-side pic after the break.

General	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G Network	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 /1700
		HSDPA 900 / 1900 / 2100 /1700
	Announced	2010, September
	Status	Coming soon. Exp. release 2010, Q4

Size	Dimensions	103.8 x 52.5 x 13.9 mm
	Weight	131 g

Display	Type	AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	360 x 640 pixels, 3.2 inches
		- Nokia ClearBlack display - Proximity sensor for auto turn-off - Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate

Sound	Alert types	Vibration; MP3 ringtones
	Speakerphone	Yes
		- 3.5 mm audio jack

Memory	Phonebook	Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall
	Call records	Detailed, max 30 days
	Internal	340 MB
	Card slot	microSD, up to 32GB, 2GB card included

Data	GPRS	Class 32
	EDGE	Class 32
	3G	HSDPA, 10.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 2 Mbps
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
	Bluetooth	Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
	Infrared port	No
	USB	Yes, v2.0 microUSB, USB On-the-go support

Camera	Primary	8 MP, 3266x2450 pixels, autofocus, dual-LED flash
	Features	Geo-tagging
	Video	Yes, 720p
	Secondary	Yes

Features	OS	Symbian^3 OS
	Messaging	SMS, MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
	Browser	WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, RSS feeds
	Radio	Stereo FM radio with RDS
	Games	Yes + downloadable
	Colors	Silver Grey, Black
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support
	Java	Yes, MIDP 2.1
		- SNS integration - WebTV - MP3/WMA/WAV/eAAC+ player - MP4/H.264/WMV player - Document viewer (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF) - Flash Lite - Voice command/dial - T9

Battery		Standard battery, Li-Ion 1050 mAh
	Stand-by	Up to 408 h (2G) / Up to 372 h (3G)
	Talk time	Up to 11 h 30 min (2G) / Up to 4 h 30 min (3G)
	Music play	Up to 50 h

Samsung Monte S5620

Full Review

The Samsung Monte S5620 might not be as exciting a phone as the latest iPhone or the latest Android super-phones but it’s an exciting phone nonetheless. After all, it’s extremely rare for a phone to boast of all the features of smartphones and still be priced low. The Monte falls into this category.
Features
Like I mentioned above, the Monte offers a full fledged suite of connectivity options including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3G and even GPS. I can’t emphasize on how great it is to finally see a mobile phone that doesn’t break the Rs. 10K price barrier but still doesn’t compromise on features. To put it in perspective even great phones that fall within this price bracket like the Nokia E63 and the Nokia 5233 or the LG Cookie Pep leave out some of the features mentioned above.
The Monte uses Samsung’s proprietary TouchWiz UI and OS. The OS allows for three homescreens and you can customize each screen with a bunch of widgets and shortcuts. The Monte has a 3-inch screen with a resolution of 240x400 and a color output of 256K. The Monte also has a 3.15MP camera but with no auto-focus and flash. The Monte comes with 200MB of internal memory and a microSD card slot that supports cards up to 16GB.
Design & Usability
The Samsung Monte has a curvy body that’s quite slim. The review unit I received had orange stripes on the sides and a black glossy body. Overall, the look is aimed to please everybody and the phone won’t look out of place in the hands of either an executive or a college student. The phone is however a big, big fingerprint magnet and you will find yourself cleaning the body every so often. In spite of its entirely plastic body, I didn’t find the Samsung Monte’s build quality wanting.
The Samsung’s 3-inch screen is colorful and sharp. The only issue was that visibility dropped by a considerable amount under direct sunlight. The TouchWiz UI is responsive, accurate and relatively fast. There is however some sluggishness when scrolling through lists and it feels less organic than on the iPhone or even the Nokia 5233. Unfortunately, in spite of the 3 inch screen, Samsung felt that the Monte didn’t need a virtual QWERTY keyboard. The virtual alpha-numeric keypad works well but it seems like a wasted opportunity to not add a QWERTY keyboard.
Browsing, Multimedia etc.
The Samsung Monte’s default browser is quite fast and suited to browse websites designed for mobile phones. It also lets you manage bookmarks but can’t render full web-pages very well.
The S5620’s 3.15MP camera is disappointingly poor. Images that I shot came out with plenty of noise but very less details. No autofocus means that shooting close-ups are going to be a frustrating experience. The upside is that the camera gives you plenty of options to tweak the camera settings and also lets you shoot images in panorama mode.
The Monte’s music playback capabilities are very good. Music from the Samsung sounds very good with good mids and an overall rich sound. The bass is slightly loose and could have been punchier. Overall, the Monte is ideal for listening to guitar driven rock music. The external speaker is also quite loud. Video playback is also fine although videos don’t look exceptional on the Samsung’s screen. Videos can be encoded and transferred quite easily using Samsung’s Kies application.
The Monte has a powerful FM receiver complemented by a very good interface. Auto-scanning for stations happened very quickly and the phone manages to hold on to FM reception well. To top it off, the radio’s interface is easy to navigate and manipulate.
The Monte doesn’t come with any pre-installed games, which is somewhat disappointing. However, Samsung does provide a Web shortcut using which you can download plenty of free Java games.
The Samsung Monte has an exceptionally powerful battery and it lasted me close to three days without a single charge. Call quality on the S5620 is also quite clear, although at times static was audible.

Bottom Line

The Samsung Monte S5620 is priced at Rs. 9,300. Keeping in mind its connectivity features, one point of view would term it as an excellent product that has the right amounts of performance, features, looks and price in the perfect ratio. However, under the 10K barrier, an extra Rs. 1,000 also means a lot and the Rs. 3,000 difference between the Monte and the other phones like the Nokia 5233 and the LG Cookie Pep could mean a lot to plenty of readers. Therefore, if you are looking for a full-featured phone and don’t mind paying close to Rs. 10,000, then the Monte is an absolute deal. However, if you are looking for a phone close to the Rs. 5,000 mark then also consider the Nokia 5233, the Nokia 6303 Classic and the LG Cookie Pep.






Samsung Monte S5620 Full specifications

General	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G Network	HSDPA 900 / 2100
	Announced	2010, February
	Status	Available. Released 2010, March

Size	Dimensions	108.8 x 53.7 x 12.4 mm
	Weight	92 g

Display	Type	TFT capacitive touchscreen, 256K colors
	Size	240 x 400 pixels, 3.0 inches
		- Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate - TouchWiz UI 2.0 Plus - Turn to mute - Smart unlock

Sound	Alert types	Vibration, MP3 ringtones
	Speakerphone	Yes
		- 3.5 mm audio jack - DNSe (Digital Natural Sound Engine)

Memory	Phonebook	2000 contacts, Photocall
	Call records	Yes
	Internal	200 MB
	Card slot	microSD, up to 16GB, buy memory

Data	GPRS	Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
	EDGE	Class 10, 236.8 kbps
	3G	HSDPA 3.6 Mbps
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
	Bluetooth	Yes, v2.1 with A2DP
	Infrared port	No
	USB	Yes, microUSB v2.0

Camera	Primary	3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels
	Features	Geo-tagging, smile detection
	Video	Yes, QVGA@15fps
	Secondary	Yes, CIF

Features	Messaging	SMS, MMS, Email, Push Email, Palringo IM
	Browser	WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML
	Radio	Stereo FM radio with RDS; FM recording
	Games	Yes + downloadable
	Colors	Black
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support
	Java	Yes, MIDP 2.0
		- Social networking integration with live updates - Google Maps 3.0 - Image editor - MP3/WMA/eAAC+ player - MP4/H.263/H.264 player - Organizer - Voice memo - T9

Battery		Standard battery, Li-Ion 1000 mAh
	Stand-by	Up to 760 h (2G) / Up to 450 h (3G)
	Talk time	Up to 9 h 40 min (2G) / Up to 4 h 50 min (3G)

Misc	SAR EU	1.02 W/kg (head)
	Price group	Rs. 8,500/- to 9,300/-

Summary

The Samsung Monte S5620 is a feature-rich phone with an affordable price-tag.

Pros:

• Wi-Fi, 3G & GPS Support
• Swift, Responsive UI
• Ultra-powerful Battery
• FM Radio Works Well

Cons:

• No Virtual QWERTY keyboard
• Plastic Body Attracts Plenty of Fingerprints

Full Performance:

Call Reception Quality	Very Good
Messaging	Good
FM Quality	Superior
Imaging	Poor
Audio/Video playback	Very Good/Good
Gaming	Fair
Battery Life	Superior
Screen Quality	Very Good