Fresh Galaxy Note 8.0 photos emerge showing S Pen, software

Just a day after we got our first look at the Galaxy Note 8.0 in leaked spy shots, a couple more photos of the 8-inch tablet have emerged online. Today's pics come via French Android community Frandroid, showing apparently the Note 8.0 alongside its 5.5-inch sibling, the Galaxy Note 2. As with yesterday's images, we see a tablet with a curved design and a phone-style three-button setup on the bottom bezel instead of traditional on-screen keys. And this time around we get to see the larger "S Pen" stylus, which was docked away in yesterday's images.

Yep, there's an earpiece up top for making calls, as we saw in yesterday's shots. But that's nothing new — 7-inch Samsung tablets have been doing that since the original 2010 Galaxy Tab.

Today's shots also reveal a little more about the device's software. Unsurprisingly, the Note 8.0 is running Samsung's TouchWiz UI, but it also seems to be using a "phone-style" launcher, similar to the direction taken with the stock tablet launcher in Android 4.2 (which this device is rumored to be running). The presence of floating windows suggests that Samsung's included its multi-window tech in this tablet, too. In addition, we can also clearly see a notification bar up top in both shots.

Samsung's expected to make the Note 8.0 all officially official at Mobile World Congress at the end of February. Leaked spec sheets suggest we can expect similar internals to the Galaxy Note 2 — a 1.6GHz Exynos 4 Quad CPU, 2GB of RAM and 16 and 32GB storage options, expandable via microSD slot. Stick with Android Central for full coverage of the Note 8.0 and other Samsung devices at MWC.

Source: Frandroid

Pantech Marauder

The Pantech Marauder is my first Pantech phone, and its first Ice Cream Sandwich phone for Verizon. While handling the phone for the first time, I knew it was a mid to low tier smartphone, however, the software from Pantech disguises any blemishes and preconceptions you may have about the word “budget.” Maybe it’s ICS, maybe it’s the fact that Pantech basically left ICS alone, or maybe it’s a result of significant hardware/software growth in the past two years, but I can barely distinguish the microseconds between scrolling and opening an app.

Hardware

The Marauder is as simple as it comes. The power button (at the top of the phone instead of the side), volume rocker, headphone jack, and USB charging port are all that surrounds the outside of the phone. A front and back camera are standard and unobtrusive. Pantech decided to go with capacitive buttons (Back, Home, Tasks, Menu) instead of on-screen keys which I personally dislike, but I know a lot of people still like having the menu button around.

The Marauder is very much a hardware vs software phone. While the phone lacks things like a camera flash, an ambient light sensor for automatic brightness, and a large screen, ICS runs very smoothly. Without a quad core processor it doesn’t handle apps like a Galaxy S 3, but its keyboard appeals to business consumers otherwise turned off completely from Android.

The keyboard is completely foreign to me. It has convenient shortcuts for the SMS app and browser, but it lacks shortcuts to the regular Android keys (home, back, tasks, and menu). The buttons have a decent tactile feel to them, however, my fingers were too big for the spacing between keys, and I found myself mashing multiple keys at once. All in all, I can type much quicker and much more conveniently with Swiftkey or Swype than I ever could with physical buttons that I have to physically press down with no auto-correction.

Screen/Camera

Even compared with other devices in its price range, the Marauder is still on the small side it terms of screen size. With a 400×800 resolution, the quality of the screen isn’t something that will blow you away, and it has no fancy name like SuperAmoled Plus to make it stand out. The contrast and clarity of the colors are strong, but not on par with the upper echelon of devices (i.e. Samsung Galaxy S III, HTC One X, etc). The glare from windows or being outside in the sun noticeably washes away the screen, and with no light sensor for an automatic brightness setting, it’s a chore to change the brightness from blinding in the dark to a dim nothingness in the sun. Unlike newer devices like the Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy S 3 that have a black, seamlessly integrated screen and body, the Marauder’s screen is a grey color when turned off which doesn’t blend in well with the black body.

The Marauder comes with a 5MP back camera and a VGA front camera. Nothing spectacular, but if you’re just pointing and shooting, the Marauder will take decent shots. Pictures don’t have sharpness and are darker than I would expect, even from a $50 phone. Without a flash, the Marauder isn’t a phone that will replace even a budget digital camera. The Marauder’s camera takes a long time to focus and take the picture, and I don’t really understand how Pantech devolved the stock ICS camera into something this slow.

Software Performance

Finally, the Marauder shines with the Ice Cream Sandwich OS and very few UI changes. If nothing else, the Marauder is proof that ICS is Google’s big leap in perfecting their OS. The Marauder is fast with a sleek color scheme and design. A noticeable deviation from ICS, but extremely helpful, was Pantech’s option to change to a starter or standard interface. Pantech clearly understands its target demographics, and the starter mode, for very basic and new Android users, is almost feature phone simple. The homescreens contain only a big dial pad, weather, favorites, bookmarks, and contacts. Users can add and edit some of these, but most standard functionality is removed in favor of simplicity. This is a great, necessary feature.

The standard mode is very similar to AOSP. You can edit the dock, there are quick toggles, and the lock screen has multiple shortcuts to apps. While it’s still on the basic side compared to Sense or Touchwiz, I enjoyed having a similar setup to AOSP with a couple extra features. I also enjoyed the slate/turquoise color scheme throughout the phone even if it’s missing in a few places. There are tons of personalization settings in the settings menu, and probably the most convenient is the default programs which lets you choose what programs are the defaults.

Unfortunately, the 4G LTE radio was extremely spotty before I completely reset the device. Since then, it has been better, but once a day, I will completely lose a signal for a few minutes where my Nexus is fine. I also found the speaker to be tinny instead of clear, but the call quality was good through the ear piece. Another positive was the GPS. Every time I used Google Maps I had instant lock-on within seconds. The Marauder is easily one of the best GPS devices I’ve used.

App Performance

I’m really starting to question my GNexus after the Marauder beat it opening apps handily. Too handily for a “budget” device. The scrolling was a little laggy on the home screens and in the app drawer, but apps ran remarkably well. Even the recent tasks was quick and could switch between apps just as quick as my Nexus running Jelly Bean with Project Butter. It’s honestly amazing how fast this device is with no extra help from replacement launchers or ROMS.

Battery life was mediocre for me. I’ve seen a few different reviews for the battery life, but it lasted about 15 hours with moderate usage for me. Nothing to gush about, but it can certainly last a day if you’re on the semi-cautious side. As I mentioned, I like the theme and overall look of the device. There are some nice animations when moving around screens and adding widgets.

Motorola DROID RAZR HD leaks online, inches closer to launch

Sure, the Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX is a great phone, but Verizon customers uninterested in the Samsung Galaxy S III are anxiously awaiting for the successor to the RAZR MAXX in form of the RAZR HD.

Sprint is reportedly prepping a Motorola Android 4.0 QWERTY Slider

It’s been a while since Sprint’s had a solid QWERTY Slider Android device on its network — not since the HTC EVO Shift 4G and the Epic 4G.

Sprint is reportedly prepping a Motorola Android 4.0 QWERTY Slider

It’s been a while since Sprint’s had a solid QWERTY Slider Android device on its network — not since the HTC EVO Shift 4G and the Epic 4G.

New Juno?s Piano App Teaches Children (and adults!) Piano Playing Basics

The Juno Company, which specialises in the creation of innovative and musical education products, this week launched a really delightful-looking app called Juno?s Piano, which provides children of all ages with a unique and fun way to learn the real-life basics of playing piano.

The universal iOS app, ideally suited to the iPad?s larger screen, of course, features Juno, the main character of the award-winning series Juno Baby and Juno Jr. It has three modes (Free Play, Learn a Song and Play with a Parent) and aims to break down some of the traditional barriers facing children who are trying to learn how to play the piano. Juno?s Piano lights up the on-screen keys, guiding children to press the correct keys and play with different colours representing the note, ensuring a fun and enjoyable learning experience. Your child?s progress will also be encouraged by cheers and praise from Juno, and he or she can sing along with the piano playing to their favourite Juno Baby songs.

The Juno Company was founded by mother, composer and Ph.D. Belinda Takahashi, and is dedicated to inspiring a lifelong love of, and appreciation for, music in children. It?s probably best known for its Emmy-award winning Juno Baby line of products and the Juno Jr. line. With the strong belief that beautiful music enriches lives, The Juno Company, in partnership with the National Head Start Association, donates a music education DVD to a child in need for every Juno product that is purchased.

Click here to download Juno?s Piano for $0.99: Juno’s Piano – Learn Songs, Play with Parents, and Free Play for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App Store

Source: The Juno Company