Today we have the Samsung’s current flagship, the Galaxy S4 and LG’s first phablet – Optimus G Pro. Samsung’s Galaxy S4 was announced in March and has been available in the market since April while the G Pro was announced in February, but has been available in the market only since July. Both the devices pack powerful processors under their Full HD display. The Galaxy S4’s more fierce competitor is the newly launched LG G2 and we will be bringing you that comparison pretty soon.
Category: Samsung
Samsung introduces ISOCELL CMOS camera sensor technology for smart devices
Samsung has introduced ISOCELL, the company’s new advanced pixel technology for CMOS image sensors that increases light sensitivity and effectively controls the absorption of electrons that would offer higher color fidelity even in poor lighting conditions. This also improves image quality and enhances the user experience. This sensor tech is aimed at smartphones and tablets. Continue reading “Samsung introduces ISOCELL CMOS camera sensor technology for smart devices”
Sony Xperia Z Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3
Two of the largest phablets in the market are the Sony Xperia Z Ultra and Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3. The Xperia Z Ultra was announced in June and launched in July while the Galaxy Mega 6.3 was announced in April and launched in June. The Xperia Z Ultra is Sony’s flagship with top of the shelf specifications while the Galaxy Mega is just a big phablet from Samsung. 
Continue reading “Sony Xperia Z Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3”
Samsung Galaxy Trend Duos with 4-inch display and Android 4.1 now available in India for Rs. 8490
Samsung India recently announced that they would release couple of Android mid-range Android smartphone. The Samsung Galaxy Trend Duos (GT-S7392) is now available in India from online retailer Snapdeal. Even though Samsung has not announced the smartphone officially, it is available in China in a different name. The phone has a 4.0-inch WVGA(480×800) capacitive touch screen display similar to the Galaxy S Duos and also comes with Dual SIM support with Dual SIM always-on feature that automatically forwards calls from the phone number on SIM 2, even if a user is on the phone with SIM 1’s number. Continue reading “Samsung Galaxy Trend Duos with 4-inch display and Android 4.1 now available in India for Rs. 8490”
Samsung leads the Indian tablet market as shipments surpass 1 million again in Q2 2013
Samsung is leading yet another consumer electronics segment in India, and this is after conquering the mobile category. Yes, the company is now leading the rapidly growing tablet segment too, with 21% of marketshare according to CyberMedia Research’s analysts. The overall tablet market too has massively improved in India, with about 1.15 million shipments in the last quarter – Q2 of 2013. This is a 27& QoQ increase and a huge 107% increase year-on-year. But the Indian market is predominantly 7 inch and other similarly sized small tablets, with about 70 vendors actively part of the whole market making it highly fragmented.
Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos Android 4.2.2 update starts rolling out in India
Samsung has finally started rolling out the Android 4.2.2 update for the Galaxy Grand Duos (GT-I9082). The update started rolling out for the Grand Duos starting from Russia last month. . The phone was announced in December last year running Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean). It was launched in India back in January. Continue reading “Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos Android 4.2.2 update starts rolling out in India”
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 211 Unboxing
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 211 was launched in India a couple of months ago and we finally have it in our labs for testing. The updated version of the Galaxy Tab 2 311 has a new S3-inspired design and almost the same internals as before. The bezels have become shorter though, making it easier for one handed usage. Anyways, we put it in front of the camera to see what the box contents are and gave a quick hardware walkthrough on video, watch –
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naiqZJmm6yk
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition Hands-on
In addition to the Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear, Samsung announced a third device at the IFA 2013 – Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition. The Galaxy Note 10.1 is basically a huge version of the Galaxy Note 3. You can check out our quick hands-on video right below.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNGlO5XXeD4 Continue reading “Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition Hands-on”
Galaxy S4 S-View cover vs LG G2 Quick Window case
Alongside the Galaxy S4 earlier this year, Samsung announced their new range of cases, which included the S-View cover that comes with a unique window on the front. The S-View cover offers a glance at the clock and notifications and was the first to be used in that way. At IFA we managed to grab a look at the official Quick Window case for the LG G2, which comes with a similar touch window in the cover to display information at a glance.
With LG also launching their accessories range, how do the two covers compare? Continue reading “Galaxy S4 S-View cover vs LG G2 Quick Window case”
Samsung Galaxy Gear launched in India for Rs. 22990
Samsung has launched the Galaxy Gear, the company’s first Smartwatch in India as we reported last week. It was announced earlier this month at the IFA 2013 and is a great companion to the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 that was also launched in India today. It has a 1.63 inch (320 x 320 pixels) Super AMOLED display, powered by a 800 MHz processor and packs a 315 mAh battery. Once you connect it with the smartphone, it gives quick previews of incoming texts, emails and more. If you want to read the whole message, you can simply pick up smartphone, and the Smart Relay feature will reveal the full message on the screen. Continue reading “Samsung Galaxy Gear launched in India for Rs. 22990”
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 launched in India for Rs. 49900
Samsung has finally launched the Galaxy Note 3 in India as we reported last week. The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 was announced at the IFA 2013 and the pre-bookings for it started few days back on the official Samsung eStore. It packs a 5.7-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD Super AMOLED display, powered by 1.9 GHz Octa Core ( A15 1.9 GHz ＋ A7 1.3 GHz) Processor and runs on Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean). It has a 13MP rear camera with LED flash and a 2MP front-facing camera. It packs 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal memory, microSD slot (up to 64GB) and 3200 mAh battery. Continue reading “Samsung Galaxy Note 3 launched in India for Rs. 49900”
Samsung plans to launch sub-Rs.15000 smartphones in India this month
Samsung plans to launched two new devices this month priced less than Rs. 15,000 in India, according to a recent report from PTI. Samsung launched the Galaxy S4 zoom and the Galaxy S4 mini in India back in July that are price more than Rs. 25,000. The company also launched a range of tablets in the Tab 3 series and the Tab 3 210 went on sale earlier this month. Both these phones are aimed at mid-segment market. Continue reading “Samsung plans to launch sub-Rs.15000 smartphones in India this month”
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear pre-booking starts in India
Samsung would launch the Galaxy Note 3 and the Galaxy Gear in India at an event on September 17th. Samsung India has started taking pre-orders for the Galaxy Note 3 from the official eStore The pre-order price is Rs. 2000 . The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 along with the Galaxy Gear is also available for pre-order separately at the same cost. This was first reported by BGR.in. Continue reading “Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear pre-booking starts in India”
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear launching in India on September 17th
Right out of IFA 2013, the most anticipated Android handsets of the Berlin event will come to India, next week between Sept 17- Sept 18. Samsung will show-off its two big creations Galaxy Note 3 and Samsung Galaxy Gear Smartwatch on 17 September in the national capital. Continue reading “Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear launching in India on September 17th”
Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 vs LG Optimus G Pro
Samsung has a wide range of Android smartphones in the form of its Galaxy series and it even touched the 6inch+ phablet territory with its Galaxy Mega 6.3. LG announced the Optimus G Pro with dimensions similar to Samsung’s yesteryear phablet champion – the Galaxy Note 2.
Samsung announced their Galaxy Mega 6.3 at the end of May earlier this year and it has been available since June. LG announced the Optimus G Pro way back in February, but it was launched in India only in India to very little fanfare. The Samsung Galaxy Mega is on its way to become the most wanted big phone while Optimus G Pro tries to succeed as a LG smartphone.
Lets check out how they perform.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiC7pYpMYCM
Design, Build Quality
The Galaxy Mega 6.3 looks like any other Samsung Galaxy phone and has an all plastic build with a plastic aluminum running across the device. The LG Optimus G Pro, on the other hand, has a solid glass front and back supported by a solid and heavy metal rim at the center . The Optimus G Pro feels quite solid and feels extremely premium than the huge and sturdy all plastic Galaxy Mega 6.3.
The Galaxy Mega 6.3 is taller and wider than the Optimus G Pro, but is considerably thinner. The Galaxy Mega 6.3 weighs around 200 grams while the Optimus G Pro weighs around 170 grams.
On the front of the phones, we have the display above which we have the earpiece and front cameras along with ambient and proximity sensors on the right side. The earpiece on the LG Optimus G Pro is along the edge.
Below the display, we have a physical home button with capacitive touch keys on either side on both the phones, but the home button is surrounded by LED light only on the G Pro. The LED notification is found on the left side of the earpiece in the Galaxy Mega.
The positioning of keys is similar with only the power lock key on the right side.
The bottom of both the phones have the microUSB port and the microphone.
On the left side, the Galaxy Mega has just the volume rocker while we have the volume rocker and a special Q-Slide key that is customizable for various functionalities.
On the top, we have the IR blaster and 3.5mm audio jack along with secondary microphone on both the phones.
Moving to the back side, the 8MP camera on the Galaxy Mega is at the top center along with the LED flash while we have the 13MP camera on G Pro with LED flash and speaker grill on its sides. Both the phones have a very glossy textured back, however, we liked the glassy finish on the G Pro.
The back cover is removable on the both the phones and removing it, we have the 3200mAh battery along with the microSIM and microSD card slot in the Galaxy Mega while we have a 3140mAh battery and microSD and microSIM card slots.
Overall, the LG Optimus G Pro has a very premium finish and solid build quality while the Galaxy Mega has a more common all plastic build which makes it less solid.
Display
The Galaxy Mega 6.3 has a 6.3inch HD(1280×720 pixels) SC LCD display with a pixel density of 230ppi while the Optimus G Pro has a 5.5inch Tru IPS+ Full HD display sporting a pixel density of 401ppi. The Optimus G Pro is way ahead of the Galaxy Mega in terms of pixel density. The display on the LG Optimus G Pro is better than the Galaxy Mega in almost all factors like Contrast, viewing angles, color reproduction and sunlight legibility.
Hardware and Performance
The Galaxy Mega 6.3 is powered by a 1.7GHz Snapdragon 400 SoC with two Krait cores, has 1.5GB RAM and graphics is taken care by the Adreno 305 GPU while the LG Optimus G Pro is powered by a 1.7 GHz QuadCore Snapdragon 600 SoC, has 2GB RAM and Adreno 320 GPU.
The Galaxy Mega 6.3 comes in two variants ( 8GB/16GB variants – we have the 16GB variant) and the Optimus G Pro has 16/32GB variants(we have the 16GB variant). Out of the 16GB, both the phones have around 12GB user accessible memory and have a microSD card slot for expansion.
Out of the 1.5GB RAM in Galaxy Mega 6.3, only 1370MB is usable and when the device is idle, there is 700MB available. On the Optimus G Pro, out of the 2GB RAM, 1.8GB is usable and when the phone is idle, there is 1.3GB usable RAM.
The faster processor and more RAM give the LG Optimus G Pro a big upper hand in terms of performance. The G Pro is smoother and faster in opening apps and switching between them.
In benchmarks, the Galaxy Mega 6.3 is no competition to the LG Optimus G Pro.
Camera
The Galaxy Mega 6.3 has a 8MP camera at the back and 1.9MP camera at the front while the Optimus G Pro has a 13MP camera at the back and 2.1MP camera at the front. Both the phones can record 1080p videos at 30fps with stereo sound from the rear camera while only the Optimus G Pro records 1080p videos from the front camera as well.
The camera UI is different on both the phones as it is always the case with Samsung and LG phones. The camera app on the Galaxy Mega 6.3 is borrowed from Samsung’s Galaxy S4, but it does not have all its shooting modes. The LG Optimus G Pro’s camera app is better than it was on the Optimus G and has more shooting modes. It can record dual videos(both front and rear camera) and there is a HDR mode for videos as well.
In terms of image clarity, the Optimus G Pro was much better with less noise, more details, better contrast and true colors.
Software features
Galaxy Mega 6.3 has the Samsung’s custom TouchWiz UI on top of it while LG Optimus G Pro has LG’s own UI. Underneath, the Galaxy Mega runs on a more recent Android 4.2.2 Jellybean while the G Pro is still stuck on Android 4.1.2 JB. So, features like quick toggles in the notification bar, lockscreen widgets and other under the hood optimizations are currently restricted to Galaxy Mega until Optimus G Pro gets a software update from LG. The Galaxy Mega has a lot of Samsung software goodies like Smart Stay and Multi-window, Samsung’s Beam while the Optimus G Pro comes with its own version of those features like Q-Slide. There are small floating apps that can be used in LG’s phone which reminds us of Sony’s small appss.
Galaxy Mega 6.3 is better in terms of software features.
Gaming
Both the phones are quite good for gaming and the Galaxy Mega was mainly good because of its bigger screen. All the games ran smoothly on both the devices although there were a few occasional glitches on the Galaxy Mega, but the gameplay experience was good. The Optimus G Pro is an excellent device for gaming as all the games ran lag free and very smooth. After continuous gaming, we noticed that the Optimus G Pro got heated up near the home button.
Battery
The Galaxy Mega 6.3 has a 3200mAh battery while the Optimus G Pro has 3140mAh battery. In terms of battery life, the bigger battery in the Galaxy Mega is definitely better as it has to power a relatively low resolution display and less power hungry chipset.
In terms of connectivity, both the devices are equipped with features like WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G, NFC, WiFi Direct and microUSB(MHL) connectivity.
Conclusion
LG Optimus G Pro was meant to be LG’s bet in the phablet market and it pretty much gets the job done. The Samsung Galaxy Mega on the other hand was not Samsung’s flagship with top of the shelf features, but it was meant to be a huge phone with decent specifications and it does pretty well.
Advantages of Galaxy Mega 6.3 over Optimus G Pro
- Bigger display
- Relatively cheaper price point
- Better battery
- Better software features
Advantages of Optimus G Pro over Galaxy Mega 6.3
- Solid build quality and premium feel
- Pocketable size
- Better performance
- Better camera
- Better gaming performance