Samsung Galaxy Axiom launches on US Cellular, provides S3 Mini looks with 4G LTE for $80

The Samsung Galaxy Axiom is the latest Android phone to launch on U.S. Cellular, and although it bears a distinct resemblance to the Galaxy S3 Mini, there are some subtle alterations internally.

Looking for some budget 4G Android thrills? U.S. Cellular has announced a phone which could be of interest: The Samsung Galaxy Axiom. Leaked earlier this month, the new Galaxy device has now been made official by the network, although it may look familiar to mobile fans with an eye for design.

Here’s what it’s all about. The Galaxy Axiom has a 4-inch display with a 480 x 800 pixel resolution, and it runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich; not the very latest version, but still acceptable enough. Inside is a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, while on the outside is a 5-megapixel primary camera and a 1.3-megapixel secondary video-call lens too.

There’s 4GB of storage memory built-in and a microSD card slot to boost this by up to 32GB, plus a variety of other features such as NFC support, a 2100mAh battery, DLNA and Wi-Fi, plus the aforementioned 4G LTE connectivity. Some of Samsung’s software goodies are present, with U.S. Cellular specifically mentioning S Beam and S Voice, and Google Wallet is also standard too.

If you’re looking at the Axiom and thinking, “My, you look familiar,” it’s because the phone is visually almost identical to the recently launched Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini. However, while it may look the same, the Axiom’s spec is slightly different. It’s swings and roundabouts too, as the S3 Mini has Android 4.1 Jelly Bean installed, plus the option of 8GB or 16GB of built-in storage, but lacks 4G LTE connectivity.

The processor inside the S3 Mini is a dual-core, 1GHz ST Ericsson NovaThor chip, but the Axiom has been given a 1.2GHz processor, which according to GSMArena is a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4. It probably won’t make much difference, but it’s worth knowing.

U.S. Cellular has priced the Galaxy Axiom at $80 with a two-year contract, or for those wishing to avoid such a lengthy commitment, it’s available SIM-free for $400, and is ready and waiting for you on the network’s website now.

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Brookstone Big Blue Media Tower looks to dominate your living room’s skyline

The Big Blue Media tower from gadget-guru Brookstone packs 2.1 audio into a vertical sound bar solution.

Brookstone recently introduced its new Big Blue Media Tower, the third entry in a line of Bluetooth-enabled speakers. It’s described as a 38-inch tall vertical sound bar and supports streaming from phones, tablets, computers, and any other Bluetooth devices you might possess. Despite its focus on wireless technology, however, the Big Blue includes a analog audio inputs, an auxiliary output jack and a digital optical audio input. Brookstone has even tossed in a six-foot optical cable as well.

The new kid on Brookstone’s block features dual 1.5-inch tweeters and 3-inch mid-range drivers. The tower also houses a ported, 30-watt powered subwoofer. Brookstone has designed Big Blue’s speakers so that they are aimed at different angles, a move which is said to produce an omnipresent sound. We saw speaker orientation make a difference with Boston Acoustics’ MC200air, and if the tower can produce a similarly immersive sound, we’d be excited to check it out.

The Big Blue Media Tower will be available online and in Brookstone stores on December 5th and is set to retail for $400

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Some Vodafone customers experiencing BlackBerry outage *Update* - looks like it is back up and running

Vodafone users may be experiencing a bit of an outage this morning in Europe. An anonymous tipster emailed in letting us know that BIS services are down following some planned maintenance last night. While it's unclear so far whether the problem is Vodafone's or RIM's, we're hoping it will be resolved shortly. In the meantime, let us know in the comments if you're on Vodafone and your BlackBerry services are down this morning. We'll provide updates as they become available.

*Update from RIM*
We are currently experiencing a BlackBerry service issue impacting some users in Europe, Middle East & Africa. All relevant support teams are working to resolve the issue. We apologize to any customers who may be affected.

*Update* - I have now been able to BBM my Vodafone friends so looks like things here in the UK are back to normal. Everyone else ok? (James)

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Google Nexus 7 looks set to launch in India in November

Let's face it, Android fans around the world want to be able to get their hands on the Nexus 7. And rightfully so. Google has hit a sweet spot with the Nexus 7 in terms of value for money. The list of official markets that can purchase the Nexus 7 is still pretty slim, so the news that the device is expected to become available in India is welcome. 

The good folks over at AndroidOS.in recently attended a press event thrown by ASUS India, where they were told to expect the Nexus 7 to arrive there in November. Originally, the Nexus 7 was expected to ship in October in India. Google still needs to work on providing their content services globally, but getting the Nexus 7 into hands is a good place to start. 

Source: AndroidOS.in

"Other Brit Richard is usually found working hard, or hardly working"

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Nokia photo sensor patent looks to take the hump out of Pureview Cameras

New sensor technology could put a larger cameras into smaller packages

Nokia may have the best smartphone camera system around with its 41 megapixel Pureview camera. We are all hoping to see similar Pureview technology (but on a smaller scale) with the Lumia 920 Windows Phone 8 devices. While the Pureview cameras have turned heads, what Nokia has up it's sleeve should take the Nokia cameras to a new level and eliminate that pesky hump in the process.

Nokia has filed a patent application for the sensing of photons utilizing graphene technology. Graphene is a two-dimensional material made of a single atomic layer of carbon layers. It allows photo sensors to be smaller than the current crop of CMOS sensor and capture light photons across a broad spectrum of frequencies of visible light. Combined with the transparency of the graphene layers, this should make the graphene sensors better low-light performers than what we have today.

In a nutshell, we are looking at potentially a smaller, thinner, better low-light performing photo sensor that may give us the 41 megapixel Pureview camera without the hump.

Graphene has been around for some time and is found in a wide range of applications ranging from solar cells to sensors capable of detecting a single molecules of toxic gases. The challenge is adapting the sensitivity of the graphene layers for photographic purposes.

The patent application calls for a image sensor comprised of one or more photo sensing layers of graphene. The graphene will absorb photons effectively in visible, infrared and ultraviolet frequencies. The improvement in low light performance rests with the transparency of the graphene layers. Only 2.3% of passing light is absorbed by the graphene layers, filtering light more evenly across the light spectrum.

We should see lower manufacturing costs, due to the lower materials cost, and an overall smaller sensor with the graphene. While the technology is promising there are still a lot of questions to be answered as this new photon sensing technology emerges. What type megapixel count are we looking at?

While Nokia seems to be getting a handle on things with the patent filing, I don't think we'll see graphene sensors any time soon. Still the prospect of a smaller, thinner high resolution sensor with better low light performance does sound very appealing.  We could see that 41 megapixel camera easily fitted inside the form factor of the Lumia 9xx phones.  Now if we could just get a mechanical shutter....

If you're feeling adventurous, you can find Nokia's patent filing here at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Source: unwiredview; Thanks, Miguel, for the tip!

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