Samsung Wave Y LeFleur edition on sale for $165

Samsung takes the road less traveled with their Samsung Wave Y LeFleur edition, where this particular handset is not powered by the Android platform, but rather, it will run on Samsung’s very own Bada operating system. There were a couple of LeFleur edition handsets that we looked at in the past, and this will clearly take its position with the other two in the big scheme of things. While the Samsung Wave Y is already on sale, the LeFleur edition will bring an added touch to the design which might just appeal to those who want a more feminine look, and best of all is, this fashion accessory, if I may take the liberty of describing this as such, will retail for a mere $165. Basically, the only changes between this and the vanilla version are cosmetic, everything else underneath the hood would remain the same.

Acer Aspire S3 Review

The Acer Aspire S3 looks very nice in the product photos, and it is often associated with Ultrabooks because this type of design, which is inspired from the Macbook Air, has been used by many PC manufacturers in their recent designs. I like the new look very much, and I have been pretty bullish about Ultrabooks, at least much more than I ever was about Netbooks. Although Ultrabooks often share a similar hardware platform from Intel, they differ more than one may think, and depending on how they were designed, the end-user experience can be very different from one model to the next, so don’t let the superficial resemblance fool you. In this review, I will tell you how it felt to use the Acer Aspire S3 and we will look at what I felt was its strengths and weaknesses. Ready?

Technical highlights

13.3” WXGA (1366×768)
Core i5 2467M (dial-core) 1.6Ghz, 4GB RAM
GPU: Intel 3000
Windows 7 Home 64
320GB HDD (283GB formatted), 5400rpm, 8MB cache, 3Gb/s
WiFi B/G/N, Bluetooth 4.0
3-Cell battery 3260mAh
0.7 x 12.7 x 8.6”
2x USB 2.0
Acer Aspire S3 official specs

Industrial design

Our unit had a custom paint job

The Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook has an agreeable design. It is thin, compact, and light. The loaner unit that we have even has a custom paint job that was done for Intel. The case seems to be built with a Magnesium alloy, which is a classic material for laptops and notebooks. Overall, it feels rigid enough, but there is a little bit of “flex”, especially with the display – it’s not as flexible as the Toshiba Ultrabook Z830 whose screen is *very* flexible, but we’re definitely not in the rigidity territory that the Macbook Air or Asus Zenbook are in.

In the back of the computer, you will find one HDMI port, two USB 2.0 ports, and the power connector. This is a good placement if you mainly use the computer on a desk as there won’t be any cables popping out from the sides, but if you need to plug and unplug things regularly, this may be a bit annoying. For example, we often use a 3G USB modem, and with the USB port in the back, it is possible (or probable) that backwards tilting would apply pressure to any USB device. You’ll have to think about this a little, and decide what works for you.

Because most of the ports are in the back, the sides are left clean with just a 3.5mm audio jack (left) and a full-size SD slot on the right (see photo gallery at the bottom).

Overall, I found the build quality to feel a bit “plastic”, and I think that Acer should improve upon this, because with its XPS 13 Ultrabook ($999 with 128GB SSD), Dell has a much nicer (partial) carbon-fiber construction and a better “soft touch” finish wherever carbon-fiber is not used. TheHP Envy 14 Spectre (see Envy Spectre 14 demo) is also extremely nice, and the build quality is even higher than the XPS 13. However, it is much more expensive, and at 4+lbs, it is heavier.

Keyboard (average, no back light): for the most part, the keyboard is decent and there are no major complaints. The only thing that should really be different are the arrow keys. They feel tiny, because they *are* tiny. I don’t know for you, but if you type a lot of text, chances are that “Shift/CTRL + arrow” is a pretty big deal because that allows one to quickly navigate within a sentence. Also, I wish that there was a backlit keyboard, but this is not the case. Again, some people care, while others don’t. Find out in which category you stand.

Samsung introduces Star 3, Star 3 DUOS phone with dual-SIM capabilities

For international travelers, if you’re looking for a smartphone with dual-SIM capabilities (one for your home country, and the other for the country you’re visiting), Samsung may have the solution for you with their new Samsung Star 3 and Star 3 DUOS mobile phones, with the difference being that the latter device will feature dual-SIM capabilities, but other than that it appears that both phones remain the same as far as hardware is concerned.

Both the Star 3 and Star 3 DUOS feature a 3” QVGA display along with a 3MP rear-facing camera. It will also feature a microSD card slot for memory expansion and will run on the latest Samsung TouchWiz UI and does not appear to be powered by Android. These appear to be rather basic phones and will provide connectivity up to EDGE with both 3G and GPS apparently missing from the picture.

However we’re guessing that EDGE should be fast enough for users to utilize Samsung’s very own ChatON service. Both devices are expected to see a launch by the end of the month starting with Russia and then followed by the rest of the world. No word on how much either the Star 3 or Star 3 DUOS will cost.

BlackBerry PlayBook : A tab at smartphone cost(INR 20999)

With a name that sounds like something you'd use at a sporting event, the BlackBerry PlayBook is the latest – and most unique – Apple iPad 2challenger.

Running a new OS called QNX, with quirky features like bridging to a BlackBerry phone for secure email and an oddly confusing initial setup, the PlayBook is a stark departure from the more iPad-likeMotorola Xoom. Business-minded features such as built-in viewers for spreadsheets and word processing files are welcome, and the PlayBook gets extra credit for being fast and nimble on a dual-core 1GHz processor.

Throw in a 3MP front-facing camera, a 5MP rear-facing one, a bright and crisp 1200x600 resolution screen, a light 425g body and all the typical gyro, accelerometer and GPS sensors and you have the makings for a powerful 7-inch tablet.

As we discovered in our first hands on test, the PlayBook is sorely lacking third-party apps, but does show promise.

The powerful multi-tasking, where you can run a video in one window and play a game in another with both apps running concurrently, is a first of its kind for a mainstream tab.

File storage capabilities, support for an HDMI connection for playing 1080p video and a slick interface make the PlayBook an interesting anomaly. Unfortunately, the overall experience can't compete with either the iPad 2 or the Xoom, and even falters compared to the original Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Yet, we're still hopeful that Research in Motion (RIM) will keep working with developers (it gave them free PlayBooks if they created an app) and boost the device out of niche territory.

At $500 (£300) for the 16GB model we tested (there are also 32GB and 64GB versions available), the PlayBook is the same price as the entry-level 16GB Apple iPad 2.

Samsung announces the Galaxy M Style

Samsung Electronics has unveiled a new smartphone with a 4 inch super AMOLED display titled "Galaxy M Style" in Korea.

Running Android 2.3 OS. the device has a 1 GHz single core processor, a 3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 3.0, 4GB memory internal memory, DMB and 1650 mAh battery.

Running Android 2.3 OS. the device has a 1 GHz single core processor, a 3 megapixel camera.

The smartphone is just 9.9 mm thin that is said to give users a a comfortable grip. It comes in three colors - Platinum Silver, Blue Black and Lavender Pink with a price of more and less 500 US dollars.