Beautiful Design and Out of This World Camera Features Make the Galaxy S7 a Winner

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It is no secret that I’m a fan of Samsung products. I reviewed almost all of the Samsung Galaxy S models, falling in love with each one more deeply than the last. So what’s new with the Samsung Galaxy S7 by Verizon? Plenty! There are so many new features and so many new things to cover.

Beautiful Design

Let’s start with the looks. Just wow. It’s by far one of the most beautiful phones on the market. I was given the gold, model which really is more like a platinum color, to test and it’s just a gorgeous phone. Of course, most people put their phones in case and that covers up much of the beauty of the phone. But I found a workaround. The day I sent the phone back to FedEx, I purchased the same phone. I put the gold S7 in a clear case by Speck, which is “Military-Grade protection that meets or exceeds MIL-STD-810G drop Tested standards.” I also applied a Zagg Invisibleshield Glass screen protector. Love the lifetime guarantee on this product. If you scratch or chip the glass, they will send you a new one!  

In just 24 hours, at least 10 people commented on how beautiful my phone is.

Camera: Dual-pixel technology

The camera is by far my favorite most useful feature on this phone.

Most smartphones take beautiful photos. It’s just a given. So what makes this one unique? Dual-pixel technology.  What is that? Well, previously you only found this in DSLR cameras. This is the first instance of dual-pixel technology in a smartphone. What does that mean for you? You can leave the DSLR and your iPhone at home.

But seriously.  For you, it means rapid auto-focus, which gives you faster shooting capabilities while producing premium image quality, even in low light situations. At the private Samsung party held at the Evansville Verizon Wireless store, the Samsung rep did a great job demonstrating this. She challenged one of the guests with an iPhone to a shoot out. The true-to-color difference was incredible. The zoom was way better and there just was no comparison in the low light test.

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Samsung cameras are way better than my iPhone. #VZEvansville http://ift.tt/1WqdLUk

The Galaxy S7 is the first smartphone with dual-pixel technology, so it captures better photos in low-light environments and focuses faster than the blink of an eye.

The golden sun made it look more yellow. White magnolia.

See this Instagram photo by @danamnelson * 7 likes

I love to take photos of flowers. I also like getting really close. In the past I have found this to be challenging. If the flower moves at all in the wind, the shot is blurry. I usually back out farther than I want and zoom in. It helps getting clearer, more in-focus photos. With this camera, I was snapping pics all over the place in high winds and really close up. The dual-pixel technology was able to grab the image and take clear, close-range shots that were moving!

The wind was blowing. No time to focus, yet the result is stunning. #nofilter @SamsungMobileUS #S7

See this Instagram photo by @danamnelson * 7 likes

Camera: Add ons There are some amazing camera add ons that you can download from the Samsung store. They are free, but you do need a Samsung account, which is also free. I want to cover two of them for you. Animated GIF camera and the Surround Shot. There are some others that are well worth the time to investigate – these were just my favorite. Camera: Animated GIF20160417_153046 Ok – I have to admit something. When GIFs started making a comeback I was a tad worried. I remember a time when GIF on your website was all the rage… Wait! What? Some are still around? Ok, so this is what I was afraid of: http://www.dpgraph.com/ I also confess that even as a tech person, I find making your own GIFs time consuming and annoying. There are more and more programs out there that will let you make them, but uploading them is often a challenge.  The Animated GIF app is a free download that is so super-simple to use. You just hold down the shutter button and the phone automatically stitches them together. Go to the gallery and share on your favorite social network, or email it to a friend. Camera: Surround Shot At the Verizon store, they showed us a virtual tour of a local area using the Gear VR and the Samsung Galaxy S7.  The sales rep told us about Surround Shot. Again, it’s a free app that you download. Capturing a Surround Shot is easy, but takes some patience. It shows you a grid with a circle and a dot. When you pan the camera over to get the dot right in the center of the circle, the camera captures an image. Then the grid has blue arrows showing you which way to go to get the next dot in the circle. You go all the way around in a circle. Once an initial 360 degree shot is taken, you start over moving up or down on the grid until you have captured the entire view. This can be viewed on the phone or used in the Gear VR.   Surround Shot: An issue I first noticed that when you try to text or email a Surround Shot, it sends it as a really flat squishy .jpg. I looked online and didn’t find much. This blog by Alex Dobie was the best I found. He suggests that you share it to Google +, which converts it and maintains the image. 

Dana M. Nelson – Google+

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Camera: Double Tap to Take a Shot

Ever needed to take a photos really quickly, you grab your phone and unlock, only it doesn’t? So you do it again and this time you opened another app because you were stil swiping and it had already opened. Then you finally get the camera open and your shot is gone. Sound familiar? The Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S7, and the Galaxy S7 edge all have the double tap to take a shot feature. You simply hit the home button 2 times and your camera is open and ready.

S6 Issues Resolved

Remember my S6 review? It was a deal breaker for me for a phone not have an SD card. The S7 has a SD card slot! And with this camera, you are going to need it! I also only noticed a few times, and only with continuous use, did it get hot. Well done Samsung!

As you noticed, I had to buy it. I was so impressed with the photos, ease of use, and the beauty of this phone, I just had to own it. If you are looking to upgrade to a really powerful phone, the Samsung Galaxy S7 is my top pick! Click here to view the current deals for Verizon that make buying this phone a little easier.

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The Turbo Experience

 

It’s no secret – I have become a Samsung convert. I used to be easily enamored with most any new phone. But since becoming a Samasung convert, not many phones have really grabbed my attention. There have been many that have passed the test and would be good for an average user. But for my personal use device, I have never even considered anything but a Samsung –  until now.

Meet the Motorola Droid Turbo from Verizon.

Top 5 reasons to buy one:

#1: It’s Sexy and sleek, but tough

The 5.2-inch Super AMOLED screen has a resolution of 1440 x 2560 pixels and is made from Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3. If this chemically strengthened display becomes damaged during the first two years, Motorola will replace it one time for free.

The body is reinforced with DuPont™ Kevlar® fiber. While its function is to add durability, it also adds an element of sleek beauty. I have received several questions asking about what it’s made of.

I am not easy on phones. My personal phones don’t come out of the store without a case. I’m not any easier on test phones. This one looks as if it’s never been touched, even though I’ve had it for over a month!

#2 Speed

I have to have speed. I multitask, move from app to app, and back again. I leave apps open, have apps continuously running in the background, and not once did this phone waver or pause. With 3GB of RAM and a 2.7 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor, you can work or play to the max and be confident your phone will keep up.

#3 Battery and Turbo Charge

I used and used this phone, and on average charged my other phone twice for each charge on the Turbo.  It boasted “48 hours” of mixed use. I was able to drain it in about 18 hours with hard core continuous use and hotspot running, but that’s a long time to go nonstop.

When it did hit the low battery point, charging for a mere 15 minutes gave me another full day. 15 minutes!

Say yes to Turbo Charge!

 

#4 Say Cheese

Boasting a 21MP camera with 4x digital zoom and the ability to capture video in 4K, the camera is easily a top reason to buy. The camera on my current Samsung 4S is a 13MP. Combine the strong camera with the beautiful screen resolution, and  you are sure to wow your friends and family.

 

#5 Price

This phone is only $199.99 with a two year contract ($599.99 without).

This workhorse phone will not disappoint. If you are constantly saying,“wait a minute…. it’s loading,” it might just be time to kick your phone to the curb and make the jump to the Motorola Turbo.

Verizon / Samsung Preview Party

That’s So Cool

People tell me all the time how cool it is that I get to review new tech for Verizon. I tell them it’s cool and fun, but remind them that I have to return it all, and I’m left wanting the newest item. That part isn’t so fun.  I recently experienced another perk of being a tech reviewer for Verizon: The Private Preview party.

I was given a date and was allowed to invite a few tech savvy friends for this event. I wasn’t sure what to expect, just that it was going to be a rep from Samsung Mobile USA, the Verizon Wireless store employees and us.

The Event

VWZ Party1

We arrived and were greeted by the store personnel, who locked the doors behind us, preventing party crashers. There were donuts, water, and orange Juice provided, and after introductions, we were allowed to wander and explore the store. We asked questions – tough questions. Tried on, played with and drooled over the latest products on the market. Andrew Epperson and I, along with the Samsung rep, theorized about new products expected to launch.  I made a wish list of all the gadgets I wanted.

 

More Than Phones

VWZ Party5

There were more than just phones. We played extensively with the Galaxy Gear (WANT SO BAD) and the Galaxy Note 10.1. We inquired about the staff picks on bluetooth sound systems and headsets. We were given an education on the hotspots, home wireless and the Samsung AllShare Cast.<– If you haven’t seen that, you should go check it out.

 

 

 

Swag

VWZ Party4

As we left, we were given some cool Samsung mobile swag.  The best part is, I get to do it again! Not sure when, but near or just after another big product launch, I will see what I can do to secure another date.

 

It Could Be You

My party guests this time included: Missy Bentley, Andrew Epperson, Cathy Finch, and David Sobotka. Would you want to be included in the next one? Comment below: Leave your name, current carrier, current phone model and product line you would be interested in previewing (Samsung, Motorola, LG….) VWZ Party3

5 Reasons you Need a Jetpack from Verizon

#5  Road Warrior Woes

Whether  you travel for business or you’re just hitting the road with the family for the summer,  WiFi  connections can be a complete source of frustration and pain. Many hotels offer “free” WiFi. They can be  slower than dial up speed, while they tout the use of  a higher speed.

  #4 How Much Does Free Cost?

Hotels aren’t the only people offering free WiFi.  I just saw that Khol’s  offers WiFi. For the husband waiting for the wife to shop, I suppose?  Many business people and travelers take advantage of free WiFi at coffee shops but there are dangers connecting to open WiFi networks.

 ” An estimated 90% of public WiFi hotspots at places like airports, hotels, and coffee shops lack the security to prevent even a moderately skilled teenager from hacking into an unassuming mobile user’s internet connection.”  Forbes

 

#3 How Much is it Worth to You?

So how much is it worth to have your own source of WiFi? We just discussed the dangers of using “free” WiFi.  If you’re traveling at all, this device is only $9.99 (pre-owned) and only cost $20/month to add to your Share Everything plan. So how much is it really worth for you to be without your internet? Why put up with slow internet, or put yourself and your data at risk?

 #2 Everyone Needs to be Connected

This device allows you to connect up to ten devices. That means you can have all of your tech necessities as well as allowing your traveling companions to connect. Whether you’re traveling with  business associates or family, everyone needs to stay connected these days.

 #1  Need for Speed

Remember the hotel and coffee shop WiFi we talked about? It’s so frustrating when you use free WiFi,  knowing that everyone in the shop is also on your same bandwidth. Chances are  they’re all streaming Netflix and Spotify. On average, it leaves you with 1Mbps or less download speed  to try to work. With your own Jetpack, you typically get average  download speeds of 5 – 12 Mbps down and 2 – 5 Mbps up. During my short time with the unit I saw speeds of up to 17.83 Mbps

So don’t risk the frustration and dangers of “free WIFI” any more. Get a Jetpack and get connected today.

Putting it to the test

For me, testing a device on the road is critical. Seeing how it reacts in various mobile networks and testing coverage in a larger geographical space are key.  But testing on the road also forces me to test it when I’m least forgiving.

So I was off to a weeklong business travel excursion hitting over 5 cities in 7 days, balancing work and fun events. I went taking 4 devices to test: The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, The Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot SCH–LC11 hotspot, the Droid Bionic and its Lapdock.

As a seasoned traveler who is addicted to technology, I was happy to have such great tools at my disposal.

 

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

I love that when interacting with facebook and twitter from this tablet I never get “Unable to view” message. It just works. When I reviewed the Xoom, another android tablet, I was smitten with the android tablet’s ability to work no matter the website I was trying to view. This tablet is much slimmer than the Xoom and has a sleek, stylish look and feel. The textured gray backing is just begging to be held. Camera specs, 4G, and ease of access to Google products made this a hit for me.

To be fair, I was also packing an iPad. For a head to head comparison, they each had their own qualities that made me want them for professional use.

 

Bionic

No comparison! People who know me know that have been completely smitten with the Thunderbolt. I am always keeping it in hand while testing the other phones that have been sent my way.  This phone was tested to the fullest, while my Thunderbolt took a vacation.  The Droid Bionic is sleek and has a very pleasing feel when using it as a phone. This may not seem like a big deal to some, but when you’re not zipping through the social scene, or keeping up to date with your work on the go, and actually using it as a phone, it matters. The sound quality, both outgoing and incoming, are superb.

Favorite things:

  • Sound quality
  • 4G and processing speed
  • Screen clarity and touch screen reaction
  • Camera quality

Cons:

  • Camera speed: This was the most disappointing feature. Click and wait. This seems to be one of the hottest topics on the droid forums regarding this phone with no resolution as of this post.

 

Lapdock:

I was so excited to get my hands on this little slice of geek pie! The ability to interact with your phone, with the ease of a full keyboard, mouse, and screen, seemed very appealing.

Day one with any new phone always starts the same. I hop onto the Android store, and send all my apps to the new phone. Then I usually spend the better part of a day logging into the various accounts that I have: facebook, twitter, lightbox, dropbox, evernote. For even the seasoned touch screen typist, this is a tedious process. With the lapdock, this was a breeze!

The honeymoon was over quickly. After a few trails of texting and answering e-mail with the same ease of a laptop, I drifted to web browsing and trying out some of the featured web apps.

Error: Low Memory

This device runs on the processors of the phone, but at the end of the day, it is a phone. It is not strong enough to run complex websites and apps.

Glorified Charging Station

For me, at the end of the day, all this accessory was good for was a glorified charging statin.  But, it did that really well! Yo’ve been there. You’re at a conference or an all-day meeting. You’re tweeting, taking notes, and answering urgent e-mails. Then, your battery is dead before lunch. You have to move to sit near an outlet or do without while it charges. Not me, not this trip. I slapped the phone on the dock and kept on notetaking. After a short while, the phone is charged and the battery on lapdock is still close to full.

A more practical application

While this is not my next purchase, it has potential for a large number of people. For the aging population, for the non texting generation with texting teens, and people with impaired eyesight, this tool is worth the money. Being able to use the full keyboard to keep up with the lighting speed of the texting teen, and utilizing the full screen size will be a big help to many.

 

Hotspot:  Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot SCH–LC11

Staying connected while traveling is really important to me. Many airports and hotels have WiFi, but at a not-so-convenient price.  Enter the hotspot. I had my laptop, iPad, and phone, as well as a second laptop connected to this one device and still had normal web surfing speed. I connected to the hotel’s paid wireless and found the speed of the hotspot to be almost double. This is definitely something that needs to be in  my stocking this Christmas. Well worth the money.

If you have a can’t live with out tech device you travel with, please share it in the comments!

 

These devices were sent to me to demo free of charge by Verizon. I was not paid, nor did get to keep any of the items, so feel free to add a few of them to your Christmas list for me. ;0

 

Xoom Test Drive

(This article originally appeared in the Evansville Business Journal )

With less than a month on the market, I was given the opportunity to test drive a Motorola Xoom. This tablet has a lot of veryinteresting features that make it more desirable in some ways than an ipad2. Ifyou’re an Apple fan, and are used to Mac products, you might be more comfortablewith an ipad.

This tablet is comparable in price, processor and screensize. The resolution on the Xoom is slightly higher, and it has a 32 GB microSD, expandable memory that you can’t get with the ipad2.

The cameras arenotable better.  While the addition of a backcamera with the release of the ipad2 was a big selling point, it was also a biglet down in the quality of camera.  Thefront camera on the Xoom is a two MP and the back camera has a full five MP. Ifthe camera is important to you, the Xoom will win your heart.

Another big benefit ofthe Xoom is its ability to support flash within the web browser. If you do alot of browsing on your tablet, this might be a very important feature for you.Another feature that sets Xoom apart from the ipad2 is the extra ports.

The Xoomhas a micro USB 2.0 and an HDMI out, so if you’re into playing angry birds, youcan connect your Xoom to your 32 inch flat screen, and play some big angrybirds.

While Evansville is not on a 4G network at this time, the Xoomwill be capable of data transfer on this faster network when it does arrive. Ifyou travel, chances are many places you currently go are already equipped withthis faster network.
While we’re talking about the network, you can buy an ipad2 currentlywith no additional contract for a data plan. If you decide you need one you canpurchase it for the month or months you’ll need it. The Xoom isn’t currentlyoffered with a WiFi-only option.

After using this tablet for a few weeks, Ihave to say I really appreciate being on a data plan, as opposed to only havinga device that accesses the information I need when I’m near WiFi. If thenetwork was detected, and I had previously joined to that network, thetransition from 3G  to WiFi was seamless.

There are a variety of ways in which I could use this tabletas an e-reader. It came with an application called “Books.” This was verysimilar to the “Kindle” app, which was also available for this tablet.

The Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library has a system online that allows you to checkout e-books. You have to use their application called “Overdrive.” You simplygo to the EVPL website and enter your library card number. You open the bookwith this application, which is very similar most other readers. If you have atablet, whether it’s an ipad or a Xoom, I strongly encourage you to try thise-book borrowing system.

When the iPad was first released, many of the applicationsin the Apple market would work on their tablet. It took some time for thedevelopers to catch up and create a variety of applications that werespecifically for the larger screen, but it eventually did happen. The same istrue in the Android market. There are currently only a handful of apps that arespecifically designed for a tablet on the Honeycomb system, but just as theApple market caught up, I fully anticipate that developers will have the Androidmarket caught up in no time.

Watching TV episodes, like Fringe for example, directly fromtheir website, was done with ease. The sound and video were incredible, and theoverall use of the Xoom as multimedia player left me very impressed. I wasdisappointed to learn that Netflix, at this time, will not play on Android devices.  They’re working to remedy this issue. You can as of June, watch Netflix on the Xoom!  There are still issues with viewing content from Hulu.

My overall experience with the Xoom tablet left me veryimpressed with this device. If you’re that Mac user who’s more comfortable withApple products, and are hesitant to transfer because of the loss of music, besure to check out Double Twist, the itunes for Android, that will seamlesslyimport all your itunes.

The Corporate Breakup

When I ran a computer consulting business, I started noticing some trends with businesses that were confusing to me.

  • We don’t like change, even if it is good, even if it saves us money and time.
  • That fear of change makes us very forgiving.
  • We fear conflict that ultimately leads to change.

For example, old antiquated hardware and software that breaks and requires constant maintenance cost us more than money. It costs frustration, employee productivity and happiness.  But we keep calling in the IT guy who band-aids us back together.  We fear the hassle of learning new software. Again time, money, productivity and company morale are all at stake.

But now I’ve noticed this pattern in other areas of business, not just where it relates to tech.

We forgive the mistakes of vendors over and over. It’s easier than finding a new one and making a change.

We forgive employees. There are times when managers and business owners look the other way because they fear the process of hiring and training a new replacement. We forget that by “protecting them” – we’re really protecting us from the hassle and fear; we’re hurting our other employees in the process.
We hang on to dead weight accounts. Yes, sometimes you need to let a customer go. The one who has burned you, taken more time, energy and effort than they’ve invested in your business; the one who refused to pay you or takes forever to pay. We forgive them too, for fear we won’t replace the income they represent. (If you have one of these customers… let him go. You’ll more than make up for it in time and happiness.)

I’m not suggesting that at the first mishap you drop a vendor, employees, or clients.  I’m saying if you’ve been dealing with the same old story from one of them for a long period of time, maybe it’s time you step back take an objective review, and evaluate that relationship.

You can be friends with any of those people; social media makes it so easy to fall into friendships with business acquaintances.  You need to remember, however, this is your business. We do forgive friends, but even with friendships, when a relationship is toxic to one party, it’s time to end it.

If you benefit from this post, great, but I wrote it for me.  I wrote it because after:


  • repeated bad customer service
  • hours and hours on the phone caught in a phone maze, transferred to the wrong department repeatedly, where I had to tell my story again
  • repair request after repair request; it took over 4 months to get help
  • help arrive and made the problem worse
  • a major cell tower went down and is still not replaced
  • countless dropped and missed calls
  • I have been emotionally and financially abused

I am leaving AT &T.

I’m standing up for myself and my business. I’m done forgiving and I’m taking back control of my communications.

My home box AFTER the 1st repair
My home box AFTER the 1st repair

 

Review: iphone Shoot Out

A few months ago I was approached by Verizon to test some equipment.  I happily agreed. I was traveling to a 4G city and wanted to take it for a spin.  At the time they also offered me an iphone 4.

“No thanks I have one of those.”

LOVED the 4G goodies – more about them another time.

After returning the items, again they wanted me to try out an iphone 4.

“No thanks I have one of those.”

“But yours is AT&T. “

 

 

So for 3 weeks I forwarded my AT&T iphone 4 to my Verizon iphone 4 and put it to the test. I have been an AT&T customer for a very long time. I know everywhere AT&T drops calls. (And that’s quite a few places.)

For 3 weeks I called, I e-mailed, I texted, I tweeted, I posted on every platform. When I had down time, I played games.  I used, really used, that phone.

Not once… yeah, you AT&T people who drop calls while driving down the Lloyd heard me, not once did I drop a call. I went from Newburgh to USI, from the Lloyd up 164 and out Boonville New Harmony all the way to Highway41 and back again. Not once did I drop a call or have a complaint of voice quality.

Using the Wifi, both phones preformed about the same, with the exception of time spent finding a network. I could find and join networks much faster with the Verizon phone. Once connected, however there was no noticeable difference.

The big difference: Not being able to multi-task. On my AT&T iphone I can be carrying on a conversation, put the other person on speaker, and look up an address or event time on the web.  With the Verizon iphone you can’t be talking and use over the air internet.

So the big question is:

How much do you value undropped calls?

Everyone, even AT&T employees, know AT&T has customer service issues.  But over and over, as I dealt with local and national Verizon people I was always treated with kindness, and respect.

Is customer service important to you? Dropped calls Important to you? Then Verizon is the way to go.

Stuck with At&T?

On a side note; if you, like me, have an AT&T iphone and are “locked-in” to a contract, but want to make the jump to Verizon, E-bay is buying AT&T Iphones flat out. In most cases selling your AT&T phones will more than cover these pesky early termination penalties.


Thanks to Wireless Zone for the iskin case that protected my Verizon phone for this trial.

 

 

 

 

 

A Green Geek

I’m a proud geek. I love all things tech. I owned a Commodore 64 in 1982. I’m not always the first in line to get the newest product, but I do trade up, and often. Phones, computers, laptops, televisions… But with the desire and acquisition of the latest and greatest of new tech, comes the forgotten tech.

What do you do with your old tech? If you’re like many folks, you don’t know what to do with it.  Know this;  you can’t throw it in the trash. Most tech has toxic material that will be harmful to the environment, and plastic that just won’t break down. ( It’s illegal to chuck it in the trash in Indiana, BTW.)

I spent part of the evening going through old phones, PDA’s, lap tops, and monitors. What am I doing with all of it? My van is loaded up and I am headed to Electronics Recycle Day. <– That is a link to the recycle day information for Evansville, IN that will take place on Saturday May 14th.

Why not be a green geek, de-clutter your home or office, do some good for the earth, and get rid of the old tech by finding a recycle day near you?