Samsung Unveils Galaxy Portal android phone

Samsung officially announced its newest Android powered smartphone for the UK – the ‘Galaxy Portal’, i5700 (named ‘Galaxy Spica’ outside the UK) this week.

The latest Android device from Samsung is on sale now, and will be available exclusively on the T-Mobile network for the first month, with the black variant available exclusively on T-Mobile for the first three months.

Samsung Galaxy Portal is a powerful Android-powered smartphone that offers seamless connectivity, with smooth access to Google mobile services and easy connection to popular social network sites such as Facebook and MySpace.

Galaxy Portal will launch with embedded content using Layar, the augmented reality browser which lets people access detailed visual guides to what’s around them by pointing their handset at their surroundings. For example, The Samsung Football Pub Finder shows users which nearby pubs are showing that all important football match, simply by pointing the phone at them.

The Android Operating System means people can customise the content on their Galaxy Portal so they build a handset to suit their needs. The Galaxy Portal acts as a blank canvas, so you can choose the content, applications and widgets that you want and make them available at a touch of a button. Android also lets you run several applications at once so it’s perfect for multitasking.

Designed, for those who want everything, the Samsung Galaxy Portal comes equipped with DNSe 2.0 for better sound quality and 3.5 mm ear jack, the Galaxy Portal offers is perfect for listening to music and playing videos.

The phone, which boasts a 3.2” TFT screen and stylish, compact design, at just 13.2 mm thick, also has a long battery life (1500mAh), which should mean people won’t have to worry about their phone running out of juice while on the move and can enjoy the applications and multimedia content without having to constantly recharge.

“The launch of this stunning device clearly underlines our commitment to smartphone products and forms part of our strategy to deliver a wide range of handsets designed to suit a multitude of users,” said Mark Mitchinson, Vice President Samsung Mobile UK & Ireland.

“The Samsung Galaxy Portal gives consumers the benefits of the Android platform – including an extensive range of innovative apps to download, multi-tasking with apps running in parallel and pre-installed Google services – at an affordable price”.

“We were the first network to introduce an Android mobile to the UK back in October 2008," added Nicola Shenton, Head of Handset and Device Marketing, T-Mobile UK, "and since then Android-based handsets have been a huge hit with our customers. The addition of the Samsung Galaxy Portal to our Android range means we can now offer all the benefits of Android technology for just £20 a month on a pay monthly contract.”

• The Samsung Galaxy Portal supports the full suite of Google services, including Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, and Google Talk, meaning users enjoy the familiar desktop computer experience while on the move.


• The Samsung Galaxy Portal (i5700) is available in the UK on T-Mobile exclusively for one month from Monday 12th January 2010. T-Mobile will be stocking the black Galaxy Portal exclusively for 3 months. More info: www.t-mobile.co.uk

Samsung I5700 Product Fact Sheet

Network HSDPA 3.6Mbps (900/2100Mhz)
EDGE/GPRS (850/900/1800/1900Mhz)
OS Android (ver. Android 1.5)
Display 3.2” HVGA(320x480) TFT
Camera 3.2MP Camera (Auto Focus)
Video / Audio Video: MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV,DivX
Audio: MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA
Value Added
Features Full Web Browser, Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail,
YouTube, Google Talk, Android Market, 3.5mm Ear jack, GPS
Connectivity Bluetooth® 2.1, USB 2.0, MicroUSB, WiFi
Memory Internal memory: 180MB
External memory: Micro SD (Up to 32GB)
1GB Micro SD supplied with handset
Battery 1500 mAh
Size 115 x 57 x 13.2mm

Android, Google, Android Market, Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Google Talk are trademarks of Google Inc.

islate? ipad? Has Anyone Got An iota?

Above: a mock up of what Apple's "iSlate" might look like, as conceived by Fotoboer.nl, modelled in 3dsmax from scratch

Apple will introduce their new creation this week (Wednesday 27 January) to great fanfares in San Francisco – but does anyone know what it will be called?

What is known is that Apple plan to unveil their new media tablet, but such is the secrecy no one appears sure as to what it will be called! Reports suggest the new invention will be called ‘iSlate’ however fresh rumours emerged today that bosses were thinking of making a last minute name change in an effort to differentiate the new tablet from Microsoft’s new Slate PC.

The rumours have left everyone guessing and Paddy Power betting as to what jazzy name will be unveiled to them next week.

The odds on Apple sticking with iSlate are 4/5 with while it’s 7/4 they switch to iPad, 6/1 they opt for the name iTablet, 8/1 for iPage and 25/1 they completely change the name to iCon. There are even 500/1 odds available that bosses will go for Etch-a-Sketch after the popular 1970s toy the new gadget is said to resemble.

Paddy Power said: “Everybody is eagerly anticipating Apple’s new creation – and while there seems to be a question mark over its name it could also be a clever ploy by Apple to get people talking ahead of next week.”

What will Apple's New Product be called?

4/5 iSlate
7/4 iPad
6/1 Tablet
8/1 iPage
9/1 iPaper
12/1 iRead
16/1 iProd
20/1 iCan
20/1 iBoard
25/1 iCon
33/1 Magic Slate
50/1 The Apple Core
100/1 The Googlebuster
100/1 The Microsoftener
100/1 The Apple Peeler
200/1 iCan't believe it's not a paper
500/1 Etch-a-Sketch

A prominent investment baking firm said this week that the new device may sell an estimated five million units in its first year as a "base case" scenario, and Apple's tablet would earn the company $2.8 billion in additional revenue and solidify it as more than a niche product.

• For a comprehensive archive of all rumors surrounding Apple's tablet device, check out the AppleInsider website's Newton and tablet topics pages, or review its exclusive reports on the product (below) dating back to the fall of 2007. Also of potential interest may be a recent feature article: The inside track on Apple's tablet: a history of tablet computing.

The Time Traveller's Cheat Sheet

(via BoingBoing, Geekology and others): “Let’s say you’ve gone back in time. Nice one. Okay, we’re going to assume that you’re on earth and you can read English. So far, so good. But how can you build all the amenities of tomorrow when you’re stuck in the past?”

We love a good viral and this one, the creation of that longtime genius, Ryan North of Dinosaur Comics, definitely counts: it's just started doing the rounds again thanks to boingboing and others.

It's a available as both a t-shirt and poster from Ryan's web site (http://qwantz.com) in his shop.