Samsung Galaxy S5 Rumor Watch Begins!

SAMSUNG SET TO RELEASE GALAXY S5 IN SPRING OF 2014

Well folks, it's time for me to start reporting on the rumors of "The Next Big Thing" by Samsung, the Galaxy S5 smartphone. It's gonna drop sometime in the spring of 2014, so let's get this rumor roundup started and see how accurate my guesswork pans out to be!

I'll run through all the worthwile details that the rumor mills are sharing, and give you my thoughts on whether or not I think they will have a chance of becomming reality on release day.

DISPLAY

It's gonna be bigger. That is a foregone conclusion. The tech blogs are saying it will sport a 5.2" diagonal, and that's pretty realistic. They might be able to get that slight increase just by reducing the bezel and stretching out to the limits of the case. 1080x1920 resolution with 423ppi is the call, and I think this is entirely reasonable aso. I don't think this will be the upcomming flexible OLED display, but it will be the best we've ever seen from Samsung. Count on that!

THE HOUSING

The Galaxy S5 will more than likely be made from the same lightweight plastic material that we've seen thus far. I don't believe Samsung is ready to dump what has worked for them thus far, just because there are heavier smartphones on the market that are made of glass, metal, or polycarbonate material. I hope this is the plan, because this makes the handset far more durable, and it will survive drops much better than its heavier competitors.

FINGERPRINT SCANNER

I'm calling this a foregone conclusion also. Why? Because it's already on the iPhone 5S. The market for fingerprint recognition is heating up, and "biometric security" is where everything is headed in tech. I think there will be a slight chance that Samsung will "one-up" Apple by burying their fingerprint detector under the screen, which would keep the surface perfectly flat.

PROCESSOR

Look for a Quad Core 32-bit Snapdragon 800 under the hood of the Galaxy S5, which will be supplied "in-house" from Samsung itself rather than outsourcing to other CPU suppliers. This is in line with the natural progression of smartphone processing power, and will bring it to the next level of multitasking capability and speed of operation. The processor will be supported by 3Gb of RAM, which again is what we would expect.

CAMERAS

The rumor mills mostly agree that we will see a 16MP rear camera and a 2MP front facing camera in the Galaxy S5. I would bet that the camera capability will be that of the current Galaxy Note III, but possibly with more advanced special effects and picture taking options. I'm hoping it will be a serious improvement over the camera in the Galaxy S4, though.

GIMMICKY STUFF

All of the crazy extra gimmicks and tricks that came with the Galaxy S4 will probably be carried over to the Galaxy S5, but rumor has it that they will be adding 3D gestures into the mix. I found most of the crazy extras that were packed into the TouchWiz 4.0 overlay to be quite useless, but a few were really useful. I'm hoping the new tricks will have real utility.

ADVANCED MODEL

Many blogs are reporting that Samsung will release a "standard" and an "advanced" model of the Galaxy S5. I'm not completely convinced of this yet. The reason being is that Samsung has stuck to the formula for providing a standard price mainline Galaxy smartphone while the Note series carries a higher price tag thanks to the extra digitizer layer for the S Pen. But anyhow, word has it that the standard model will only have 2Gb of RAM (I don't believe that) while the advanced model will get 3Gb plus a display with an even higher resolution and pixel density. I don't see the masses paying extra for that, but we'll see.

CONCLUSION

My prediction is that Samsung will keep the options tight. The only realistic scenario I see for a higher priced version would be for one that has more flash memory, similar to what we see with the iPhone line. The company has so many handsets out on the market, I just don't see why they would splinter their flagship smartphone into too many variations.

My biggest struggle will be staying content with my Galaxy S4 when this is released. My bonus prediction? I sell my S4 on eBay before the end of May and scrounge up the extra cash to buy a Galaxy S5 straight-out. Then I pout and whine when the Galaxy Note 4 is released shortly after I drop the load.

Stay tuned and we'll watch for more developments on what this thing will actually look like, along with a firm release date. What would YOU like to see in the Galaxy S5? Shout it out!

Carlton Flowers
Watchman of the Galaxy

Craptastic Samsung Galaxy S3 Reports - Debunking "HUB" Writers

ARE TECH WRITERS SUFFERING FROM "HUB" ON GALAXY S3 CRITICISM?

Today marks Day 4 of my test for the Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone from AT&T. I'm not even ready to start my official report of this phone, but I have to rant... about the crappy reports circulating around the blogosphere about this great device.

What in the world is wrong with the tech writers out there who are seriously dissing this phone? Are they using the same device that is in my hot hands? I have come to the conclusion that the critics of the SGS3 are suffering from "HUB"... that's "Head-Up-Butt" disease.

I'm sorry to say that, but the only way that I can conceivably think that someone wouldn't like this amazing smartphone is if their heads were secured in a warm, moist place. That is because this is the single most incredible gadget I have ever tinkered with.

The Samsung Galaxy S3 has gone beyond my expectations. Maybe that is due to the fact that so many writers dogged it, and didn't give me a chance to avoid preconceived notions. But it clearly gets the "best-of-show" for every smartphone I have tested this year. Or ever.

First of all, the design is beautiful and ergonomic. When I first saw pictures, I did not like it. I thought it was a mistake for Samsung to go away from the square, angular design of the Galaxy S2. I thought the rounded corners made the phone "weak" looking. But I was wrong.

The Galaxy S3 feels like a work of art in my hands, compared to the feeling of the squared-off Galaxy S2. Yes, the Galaxy S2 does feel 100% better than the archaic iPhone 4 with its hard edges and brick-like structure, but the SGS2 will never feel the same way for me.

I seriously did not think the design would end up being so lovely to the touch. But it is. Even the edges of the screen are rounded and contoured into the side of the phone, much like the HTC One X. It just gives it such a natural feel.

The physical home button is a grand slam. I love it. I miss not having a real home button on my SGS2. That is one thing I did like about my iPhones (besides the fact that they stopped functioning after 6 months). I think the design of the SGS3 home button will afford it long-lived usage.

What I really don't understand would be all the whining from writers about the Samsung Galaxy S3 feeling "cheap" and "plasticky". What in the world motivates people to think this? Since when do you need a phone to feel like a heavy brick? Do we want a solid, shatter-crazy design like the iPhone 4S? I think not!

The weight and feel of the Galaxy S3 is perfect, in my opinion. For me, lighter is better. If I wanted a heavy phone I would have bought an HTC device. I will be just fine sticking with the Samsung line of smartphones that do not feel like lead weights in my pocket.

As I mentioned, I am nowhere near ready to start to talk about the functionality of this smartphone, but I will tell you that I have been completely flabbergasted. I have not scratched the surface of what this phone can do, but it has amazed me thus far.

With the level of success in sales that the Galaxy S3 has already achieved, it just makes me wonder what the real motivation for slamming this device must be. Are these people trolls? Or are they just suffering a bad case of HUB disease?

I don't know... but if you'll stick with me for about a week, you will get the REAL review of this most amazing device withought any fluff or crap. See ya then.

Carlton Flowers
The Real Galaxy S3 Reviewer