Flashback: the Samsung Galaxy S II was a best seller, its variants ushered in the 4G era - GSMArena.com news - GSMArena.com | Canada News Media
Connect with us

Tech

Flashback: the Samsung Galaxy S II was a best seller, its variants ushered in the 4G era – GSMArena.com news – GSMArena.com

Published

 on


This week Samsung unveiled three Galaxy S20 phones – well, six models actually, as each phone has a 4G and a 5G version. If you think that’s a lot of models, then you don’t remember what happened when the Galaxy S II was unveiled.

The Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II was announced nine years ago in February 2011 and released in April that year. It was the second edition of Samsung’s new flagship line, packing some of the best tech that the company had to offer, including a 4.3″ Super AMOLED Plus screen and Exynos 4210 Dual chipset.

The Galaxy S II display panel featured a full RGB stripe, which improved the sharpness even as the resolution remained the same (480 x 800px) compared to the original Galaxy S. It was a tad larger too, though 4.3″ is minuscule by today’s standards. But this was the phone that the original Galaxy Note was based on and it was the Note that kicked off the large screen madness.

Anyway, the Exynos was among the first generation chipsets with a dual core processor and it was among the fastest of its day. Motorola tried to advertise the Atrix as “the world’s most powerful smartphone”, but the UK Advertising Standards Authority found that the Atrix processor was not as fast as that of the Galaxy S II.

The latest TouchWiz 4.0 featured support for hardware acceleration, which made its (admittedly busy) graphics animate smoothly. The phone began life with Android 2.3 Gingerbread but it would be updated to 4.1 Jelly Bean before it bowed out.





Samsung Galaxy S II

The camera was upgraded to an 8MP back-side illuminated sensor. Thanks to the new chipset, the Galaxy S II could record 1080p video – with around 2MP resolution per frame, that was quite a feat back in the day. Then again, it’s only 1/16th of the 8K resolution that the Galaxy S20 trio can pull off. Things have changed a lot over the last 9 years.

The Galaxy S II proved to be a hit for Samsung and is one of the phones that helped propel the company to #1 manfacturer globally. The phone was selling like hot cakes, moving 3 million units in 55 days, 5 million in 85 days and going up to 10 million in the first 5 months of availability. In Q3 of 2011, Samsung overtook Apple in terms of smartphone shipments (the South Korean giant had doubled its market share compared to Q3 2010).

This is where things start to branch out. Samsung introduced the I9100G Galaxy S II relatively early – it was virtually the same phone, except the Exynos was swapped out for a TI OMAP 4430 (same CPU, but the Mali-400 GPU was replaced by PowerVR SGX 540).





Samsung Galaxy S II

The reason we wanted to focus on the Galaxy S II for this Flashback article is because it came out right around the time that carriers in North America and South Korea were starting to promote their newly activated next generation networks – 4G.

The Galaxy S II i777 for AT&T was essentially identical to the global S II and was a 3G-only phone. A few months later, the Galaxy S II Skyrocket i727 came out. This one had a slightly larger screen, but more importantly it switched to a Snapdragon S3 chipset, which brought an LTE modem. The Skyrocket and the HTC Vivid were among the first 4G phones on AT&T brand new LTE network. It was so new that when we reviewed the Skyrocket, New York still didn’t have 4G coverage.

There was also this weird version – the Samsung i927 Captive Glide. It was technically part of the Galaxy S II family, but it was almost completely different. It had a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a smaller 4.0″ Super AMOLED display and was powered by an Nvidia Tegra 2 (same chipset as the Moto Atrix).






Samsung Galaxy S II I777 • Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket i727 • Samsung i927 Captivate Glide • Samsung Galaxy S II LTE I9210

Telstra and Optus in Australia, Rogers in Canada, Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile in the USA, even China Telecom all received custom versions of the Galaxy S II LTE I9210. T-Mobile (Galaxy S II T989) and Telus (Galaxy S II X T989D) received an interesting variation of this model, it used the Snapdragon S3 chipset, but featured only 3G connectivity. Qualcomm’s modem was still faster than the one in the Exynos, offering 42Mbps downlink, double what the vanilla Galaxy S II could pull down.





Samsung Galaxy S II LTE I9210 • Samsung Galaxy S II T989 • Samsung Galaxy S II X T989D

The likes of the Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch for Sprint (US Cellular got a very similar device) stuck with the Exynos 4210 chipset but featured CDMA and EV-DO connectivity – this was a competing 3G standard that is now all but dead. KDDI in Japan and LG U+ in South Korea also received EV-DO phones.



Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch

There was a Galaxy S II HD LTE as well, which upgraded to a 4.65″ Super AMOLED screen with 720p resolution – this one one of the first HD panels by Samsung. AT&T was going to get this as the Galaxy S II Skyrocket HD i757 but the model was canceled before release.




Samsung Galaxy S II HD LTE • Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket HD I757

The Samsung Galaxy S II is more than a phone – it’s about a dozen phones. S II branded devices used no less than four different chipsets and four different connectivity configurations. Actually more than that, there were revisions we didn’t even mention – the Japanese phones with i-mode.

Many of these variations were dictated by carrier needs. AT&T’s 4G network went live in September 2011 and needed compatible phones – with LTE phones in stores, it could promote blistering new download speeds and charge a small premium for both phone and contract. T-Mobile wouldn’t begin its LTE rollout until early 2013.






Samsung Galaxy S II LTE

Today, the situation is similar except 5G is the new buzzword. Some carriers already cover the busiest parts of major metropolitan areas and are boasting how fast their new network is. Those carriers are already at work promoting the 5G variants of the Galaxy S20.

The selection of chipsets has narrowed down to just Snapdragon and Exynos, but this time around they are virtually equal in terms of connectivity (both require an external modem). Besides the chipset and some variation in RAM/storage options, however, the Galaxy S20 phones are nearly identical around the world – and none of them have awkward names like “Epic 4G Touch”.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)



Source link

Continue Reading

Tech

Ottawa orders TikTok’s Canadian arm to be dissolved

Published

 on

 

The federal government is ordering the dissolution of TikTok’s Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind the social media platform, but stopped short of ordering people to stay off the app.

Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the government’s “wind up” demand Wednesday, saying it is meant to address “risks” related to ByteDance Ltd.’s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc.

“The decision was based on the information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada’s security and intelligence community and other government partners,” he said in a statement.

The announcement added that the government is not blocking Canadians’ access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content.

However, it urged people to “adopt good cybersecurity practices and assess the possible risks of using social media platforms and applications, including how their information is likely to be protected, managed, used and shared by foreign actors, as well as to be aware of which country’s laws apply.”

Champagne’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking details about what evidence led to the government’s dissolution demand, how long ByteDance has to comply and why the app is not being banned.

A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the shutdown of its Canadian offices will mean the loss of hundreds of well-paying local jobs.

“We will challenge this order in court,” the spokesperson said.

“The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests and for businesses to thrive.”

The federal Liberals ordered a national security review of TikTok in September 2023, but it was not public knowledge until The Canadian Press reported in March that it was investigating the company.

At the time, it said the review was based on the expansion of a business, which it said constituted the establishment of a new Canadian entity. It declined to provide any further details about what expansion it was reviewing.

A government database showed a notification of new business from TikTok in June 2023. It said Network Sense Ventures Ltd. in Toronto and Vancouver would engage in “marketing, advertising, and content/creator development activities in relation to the use of the TikTok app in Canada.”

Even before the review, ByteDance and TikTok were lightning rod for privacy and safety concerns because Chinese national security laws compel organizations in the country to assist with intelligence gathering.

Such concerns led the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a bill in March designed to ban TikTok unless its China-based owner sells its stake in the business.

Champagne’s office has maintained Canada’s review was not related to the U.S. bill, which has yet to pass.

Canada’s review was carried out through the Investment Canada Act, which allows the government to investigate any foreign investment with potential to might harm national security.

While cabinet can make investors sell parts of the business or shares, Champagne has said the act doesn’t allow him to disclose details of the review.

Wednesday’s dissolution order was made in accordance with the act.

The federal government banned TikTok from its mobile devices in February 2023 following the launch of an investigation into the company by federal and provincial privacy commissioners.

— With files from Anja Karadeglija in Ottawa

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Health

Here is how to prepare your online accounts for when you die

Published

 on

 

LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?

It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.

Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:

Apple

The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.

For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.

You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.

Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.

Google

Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.

When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.

You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.

There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.

Facebook and Instagram

Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.

When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.

The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.

You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.

TikTok

The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.

Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.

X

It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.

Passwords

Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?

Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.

But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.

___

Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.

Source link

Continue Reading

Tech

Google’s partnership with AI startup Anthropic faces a UK competition investigation

Published

 on

 

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog said Thursday it’s opening a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.

The Competition and Markets Authority said it has “sufficient information” to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition.

The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation.

“Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” the company said. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don’t demand exclusive tech rights.”

San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude.

Anthropic said it’s cooperating with the regulator and will provide “the complete picture about Google’s investment and our commercial collaboration.”

“We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” it said in a statement.

The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic’s $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft’s deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending

Exit mobile version