Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus, Meet The Successor! [Video]

Update: A new user interface video has now been released. Seems like Android 4.0 ICS is a no go. What can we say, except bad idea Sammy!! What do you think? Comment!

Just like Motorola Defy, Samsung Galaxy Ace has found its successor, The Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus!

Original:
Last year, Ace was introduced. Since then it has outperformed may other similar phones in 15k range with its outstanding looks. The toughest competition being offered by Motorola Defy. But Defy was expensive to start with & virtually has no sales & service support in India. A quick look at Google Trends will show how much popular Samsung Galaxy Ace is in comparison to Motorola Defy & LG Optimus P500.

The Galaxy Ace Plus has a larger screen than its predecessor and a slightly faster processor.
According to Samsung Netherlands, the new Galaxy Ace Plus will retail around a  price of 299 euros. The price is expected to decline rapidly as it was with his predecessor the case. The Galaxy Ace Plus features a  slightly  larger screen i.e  3.65-inch capacitve touch screen in comparison 3.5-inch previously. The 800MHz processor has been given a bump to 1GHz. But whether it is still armV6 is unclear. RAM has been increased up to 512MB and the internal memory has changed to 3GB. Thank GOD!

The penultimate question is whether Ace Plus will we see Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or not?
Here are the leaked specs for the curious ones..

Our Recommendations to Sammy:

• Android 4.0
• Bump processor Architecture to ARMv7
• In built 720p video Recording
• Keep the price around 15K in India

So with its dashing looks & removed shortcomings, will you upgrade your Galaxy Ace?

Buy Aakash/Pre-Order Ubislate 7 Now!

From website:

The much awaited India’s ultra low cost Aakash tablet is finally here and is creating ripples all around. Datawind launched Ubislate7 in India, and the student version is named as the Aakash tablet. It offers a web delivery platform that enables quality and interactive knowledge over the internet.

We covered the announcement of Aakash/Ubislate7  tablet before. As you might know,the Lower version aka ‘Aakash’ Tablet includes an Arm11 – 366Mhz Processor, 2100 mAh battery, Android 2.2 and Wifi connectivity at a price of just INR 2500/- . This has gone on sale now with orders being delivered within 7 days. Please note that the Cash On delivery option is also available.

However, the higher version aka Ubislate 7, the higher end brother with a Cortex A8 – 700 Mhz processor, 3200 mAh battery, Android 2.3 along with WiFI and GPRS + with a SIM slot will go on sale for just Rs. 499 more at INR 2999/-. It comes with a headphone/mic plus integrated speaker.

We will recommend you to wait for the higher end one since 366 MHz is really a deal-breaking feature. Plus, the Sim slot is a must seeing the excellent(!) wifi conditions in India.

To Pre-Order Ubislate, follow this link: Pre-Order Ubislate 7
To Order Aakash, follow this link: Order Aakash

Main Website

Related Articles:
Aakash Tablet: Hands On, Review, Pics, Insights
Is Aakash really the world’s cheapest tablet?

Official Samsung Galaxy Nexus Specs Revealed & New Android 4.0 Features (Exclusive Coverage + Price)

Here are the specs of this super awesome phone.

• 4.65″ high-definition super AMOLED HD display
• Edge-to-edge 720p screen high-definition. The unique Contour Display curves nicely to the shape of your face and makes it easier to hold.
  
• No button design. 8.84mm thick. Thinner bezel 4.29 mm with 10000:1 contrast ratio.
• 1280 by 720 resolution with 16:9 Aspect ratio
• 1.2 Ghz Dual core Qualcomm Processor (TI OMAP 4460 Cortex A9)
• Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
• 5MP HD camera with 1080p video recording with zero shutter lag
• 1 GB Ram. 32GB memory
• Gorilla Glass
• Barometer sensor with other standard sensors
• 1750 mAh battery
• 4G (LTE or HSPA+) speeds.
• NFC support with Android Beam
• Notification LED
• Pogo pin accessory

It will be launched in November across the world.
Update: The Galaxy Nexus Website is now live! Link
The expected Price for Galaxy Nexus is yet announced but we expect it to be lower than S2 which takes it somewhere near to 25K INR.

The new ICS is based on ‘Roboto’ typeface which is very pleasing to the eyes.
Android 4.0 new features: (This is just a quick list)

• Redesigned app drawer
• New Action Bar
• Native Screenshot support
• Selective notification removal (like CyanogenMod 7)
• Redesigned lockscreen with new unlock animation
• No button support.Virtual menu & back keys that make hardware keys optional for manufacturers.
• Inline spell checker
• Improved Cut/Copy/Paste
• Instant Voice Typing
• Face Unlock (which didn’t quite work live at conference!!)
• Improved Task Manager
• Improved Tab Management in stock Browser with private browsing support
• Updated Gmail app with action bar & 2 line previews + Offline search support
• Streamlined Calendar app with pinch to zoom support
• All others apps like google+ , maps have been updated with a new interface & streamlined controls.
• New data usage setting with limit warning & control. ( Very advanced feature)
• Photo sharing right from Camera App. Zoom support. ‘Single motion Panorama‘ Feature
• New redesigned slick Gallery with Magazine UI & native Photo Editor with cropping/red-eye/filters etc.
• New Video Recording features: Continuous Focus, Time Lapse support, Zoom whilst in Recording
• People App: Evolution of Contact app with a social network mix.
• Redesigned Call/Recieve UI (similar to Lockscreen UI) with a new feature called ‘Quick Response’
• An extraordinary new sharing feature: Android Beam (proximity based interactions). You touch the 2 phones back to back and touch the screen to beam image/map/video/people card to the other phone.

The event is still live at youtube.
You can watch the recording of this event here at Youtube.

So what do you think of these changes? Did we miss any?

Related Articles:
Galaxy Nexus with Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) 5 min video

Gingerbread 2.3.4 DDKQ6 (Kies Update India) & Differences

Yes!! The latest firmware for India region is now DDKQ6 Android 2.3.4.

Method 1: Update using Samsung Kies
Method 2: For flashing with Odin. here is the link to the firmware: DDKQ6 (Pass: sampro.pl)
Then just follow the ODIN tutorial.
We were unable to spot any differences from KQ5 so far. Did you?

Update: One of our reader Ramit has informed that the process of taking screenshots has changed. (by pressing back and home key simultaneously)
Simply press & keep holding the Home key. Task manager will pop up. Press back. Now press lock key to take a screenshot.
This way you can even navigate in the menu (still holding the home key) or some app and take multiple screenshots at a time conveniently.

Related Articles:
How to upgrade Samsung Galaxy Ace through Samsung Kies?

How to upgrade Samsung Galaxy Ace through Samsung Kies?

The latest firmware for Indian region is now Android Gingerbread 2.3.4 KQ5. Ace originally shipped with Froyo 2.2.1 KC1.
Here is a comprehensive tutorial to upgrade your phone via Kies.Agreed that Kies 2.x isn’t the best & most reliable Piece of software around, but frankly if you have seen Kies 1.x, you will relieved to be using 2.x.

So you might run into trouble while upgrade, but I have provided fix for that.

Without further ado… Here you go…

1. Install Samsung Kies from the CD provided with the handset. If you don’t have the CD, you can download Kies from Samsung’s website here. You need a latest version of Kies otherwise you will not get the latest version of Android. If you installed Kies from CD then check for any Kies updates.
   Note- If you installed Kies after downloading from website then install USB drivers manually by going to Tools->Install Driver in kies.
2. When the installation is complete. open Kies and connect your phone using data cable.
3. As soon as you connect your phone to your PC, you will get a notification that a new firmware version is available and it will ask you to upgrade. Choose Update button to update it now.
   
4. Click on Start upgrade. (Note- A full battery is not necessarily required)
   
5. When the update process starts, it will start downloading firmware upgrade components. You can take a backup of your contacts and bookmarks when prompted. The upgrade won’t result in losing your data, sms, contacts or Apps. But it is still a good idea to have in case something might go wrong.
   
6. Now the firmware download will start and it will take around 5 minutes to download the necessary files (I was on a fast connection, it might take you more time). Don’t disconnect your phone while upgrade is under process. After the download, the dialog will say “upgrading firmware” & your phone will boot into recovery. But it has a bad habit of getting stuck at 0%. So if you are stuck, do this-
   • Disconnect cable (though the dialog explicitly says not to do this)
   • Restart phone.
   • Close kies (or force close if it goes unresponsive.)
   • Try to reconnect. If Kies doesn’t detect your phone now, then don’t worry, reinstall kies and usb drivers.

   

7. When the update process will finish, a window will pop up saying Firmware upgrade complete.
   Your phone will reboot & voila!!
   

Now you are using Android 2.3.4 DDKQ5 on Samsung Galaxy Ace officially.

An easier but unofficial method will be to update your phone directly by ODIN.  Here is the tutorial-
>> How to upgrade Samsung Galaxy Ace via ODIN.

Leave comments if you ran in trouble.