Introducing the Samsung Galaxy Note II

Samsung's IFA 2012 press only event has concluded and various new devices have been announced.
Among the most anticipated is the Galaxy Note II. Just like any other new product announcement, comparisons with older models are inevitable. Just how well does this year's product compare with last year's Galaxy Note? How about with the Galaxy S3? Well, GSMArena has made an easy to see comparison chart.

Below, I've highlighted the features which makes the Galaxy Note2 standout even among the other 2 top phones in the Samsung stable.

Comparison Table from GSMArena.com

As you can see, the main advantages are the large 5.5" HD screen, 1.6GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM and 3100mAh battery. Personally, the screen and super fast quad-core processors are nice to haves. What I really like about the Galaxy Note2 is the 2GB of RAM and 3100mAh battery. Considering that the Galaxy S3 and the Galaxy Note only had 2100mAh and 2500mAh respectively, a 3100mAh simply blows them out of the water.

The only other phones that I know of to sport a 3000+ mAh battery is the Motorola Razr Maxx and Motorola Droid Razr Maxx. Those 2 phones sport a 3300mAh battery which is about 7% bigger than Galaxy Note2.

I know a few people who were slightly let down when the Galaxy S3 was announced. The main reason was the 1GB RAM. Now with the Note2's 2GB RAM and 3100mAh battery, perhaps it is time to give this phone a serious consideration. It even comes with Android Jelly Bean (but since S2, Note, S3 will get their Jelly Bean servings, I do not consider this a big plus).

Link:
GSMArena.com

Huawei Honor for sale

Anyone interested in a Huawei Honor?

Description:
Phone has only been in use for about 3 months as of this posting. The phone is in good condition. Scratches are present on the screen protector (just need to change it). The phone also has extended nationwide warranty (in Malaysia) which will cover until 2014. You will get a free NILLKIN hard case and the 8GB microSD card with the phone along with the rest of the original set box. Phone is loaded with ICS 4.0.3 already.

Price:
A low RM750 (negotiable)

Huawei Honor specs @ GSMArena

Interested parties can contact me via the comments section or by emailing me at the address below.
eric10234 at GMail dot com

Deleting Battery Stats - Fact or myth?

In almost every single Android device out there, the question of battery drain has inevitably been asked before. Along with this question, the subject of battery calibration has became a hot topic of debate among users.

One very common practice of battery calibration includes the wiping of the battery stats file (batterystats.bin). I have done this countless times as I flashed ROM after ROM. However, I was never clear as to how wiping this file would do to help get a more accurate reading in on my phone.

Well, I just came across a post from a Google employee who answers that very question!

The short answer is: Wiping the batterystats.bin does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

Amazed? Confused? Read on.

Samsung Galaxy Ace - S5830: CM9 RC1 released

Hey all Galaxy Ace users,
CM9 RC1 has been released by Maclaw and team. The previous beta's were alright but one of the biggest issues were the camera. CM9 RC1 promises to improve the camera performance and increase the smoothness of the overall operation.

You can bet that I will be downloading this ROM to give it a whirl to see if its worth its RC1 title. If this RC1 lives up to its title, the other ROMs which are based on this RC1 will be viable alternatives as well.

Have you tried it yet?

Link:
http://maclaw.pl/?p=329

P.S. I know that I'm a little behind on my Galaxy Ace ROM review, I'll get part 3 done soon. Been a little busy with work.

Samsung Galaxy Ace - S5830: Droid Ace v2 released

As I've mentioned in my previous post, Droid Ace is a pretty good ROM which had some issues. Well, Droid Ace v2 has been released which promises to fix those issues and provide an even better experience. Does it live up to the hype?

Well, I'm testing it as part of my ROM reviews so watch out for that!

Due to work, it may take another few days before part 3 of my review comes out, so please be patient.

Thanks for reading!

Link
Droid Ace on xda-developers

Samsung Galaxy Ace - S5830: On The ROM Hunt (Part 2)

Samsung Galaxy Ace - S5830: On The ROM Hunt (Part 2)
============================================
On the ROM hunt is a series of reviews to find the best ROM for regular daily use that provides stability, good performance and good battery life for the Galaxy Ace. Everyone's daily usage differs but here is my typical usage scenario:

• 10-15 messages (including Whatsapp, SMS and/or Facebook messenger)
• 5-30 minutes of voice call
• 2-3 hours of casual gaming (like Scramble with Friends, etc)
• 3G data always on (except when WiFi is on)
• 3-4 hours WiFi usage

ROMs:
CM7.2-RC3-AA Update 4.7.12 (FireKernel-OC edition) (Link)
SPeriance ROM 01.08.2012 Final (Link)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Samsung Galaxy Ace - S5830: On The ROM Hunt (Part 1)

Samsung Galaxy Ace - S5830: On The ROM Hunt (Part 1)

============================================

On the ROM hunt is a series of reviews to find the best ROM for regular daily use that provides stability, good performance and good battery life for the Galaxy Ace. Everyone's daily usage differs but here is my typical usage scenario:

• 10-15 messages (including Whatsapp, SMS and/or Facebook messenger)
• 5-30 minutes of voice call
• 2-3 hours of casual gaming (like Scramble with Friends, etc)
• 3G data always on (except when WiFi is on)
• 3-4 hours WiFi usage

ROMs:

Apocalypse 090712 Final (FireKernel-OC edition) (Link)

DroidAce v1 (FireKernel-OC edition) (Link)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Samsung Galaxy Ace - S5830: Speed Test results

As requested by one of my readers from Singapore, I have done a quick (non-definitive) network speed test using the SpeedTest.net Android App. I have selected 4 servers for the purpose of this test:

1. Penang - This is where I am located.
2. Kuala Lumpur - This is roughly half way between my reader in Singapore.
3. Singapore - This is where my reader is located.
4. Hong Kong - This is to test an international destination that is roughly the same distance between us.

SpeedTest.net Results

As you can see, the speeds vary quite a lot on each server. The best Download speed that I've managed to get in my test comes from the Kuala Lumpur server (725 kbps). The best Upload speed is also from the Kuala Lumpur server (360 kbps) albeit from a different run.

Note - This test was done on a Galaxy Ace S5830 with the details below:

Network service provider and plan: DiGi Smart Plan 68

ROM: CyanogenMod-7.2.0-RC3-DroidAce v1

Modem: DXKPD

When I able, I will collect the SpeedTest results on my S2 with the same 4 servers and post it up. What's the best result that you've ever gotten? If you don't mind sharing it with me, I will post it up as well.

Introduction

Hi all,

I am the very same blogger from Local Standpoint over at Wordpress.

I started this post as I felt that my blog posts over at Local Standpoint was getting too narrowly focused on Android related stuffs which sort of veered away from the original goal of Local Standpoint.

Hence, I'm starting this new blog where I will concentrate solely on Android related news and reviews.

Local Standpoint will still be up and available as I've had some very well received posts over there and I do not intend to move the old posts over. I probably will continue posting on that blog but it will be mostly non-Android related stuff. You can still contact me via that blog comments or through my Facebook and Skype accounts.

This blog will start with my coverage on the Galaxy Ace ROM review which I'm currently doing. I hope to keep all my readers satisfied and I'm sorry if I inconvenienced anyone by moving my posts over to this new blog.

Thanks for reading!

Yours sincerely,

eric10234