Yup, yesterday was the big day for Samsung in Jamaica and I was on site (Digicel in Tropical Plaza) to watch it unfold. The Galaxy S4 went on sale at 10 am on April 27, 2013 for a special price of $75,000 plus GCT, and their were persons forming lines to purchase this eight core, 5 inch display Goliath of a phone called the S4. Spirits were high as you can see from the photo below, but not as high as the Facebook winners of the phone. So, as promised... I have gotten a hold of a Galaxy S4 and I'll be putting it through it's paces for the weekend, so by Monday I should have a short review for persons to enjoy. Until then... I have left an unboxing video below to enjoy.
 |
Mr. Desmond Thompson (centre) is all smiles as he was the first person to purchase the Galaxy S4.
he's flanked by Mrs. Nicolene Worthy-Donaldson, Sales Manager, Mobile Communications Division, Samsung Electronics and Mr. Patrick King, Distribution Director, Consumer Sales Digicel.
|
Have you ever played a game that was so good but half way
through it you realize that... Wait, am I the bad guy?!?!... I am the one doing the
most sinister things in the game and it feels wrong, but enjoyable. Well, let's
start this first game review with a small dedication to the good/bad guys that starred
three of the most enjoyable games I
played last year.
Syndicate 8 out 10
Oh the humanity... The
main character for this game... "Kilo" is somewhat of a mindless assassin for a globe
corporate company that has a ruthless CEO at its core, and is being mentored
throughout the game by a sadistic sidekick that seems to be listening too much
Tommy Lee songs. Anyhow, this game delivers a great FPS (First Person Shooter)
experience and some of the most intense boss battles I have experience since my days of gaming in 2012. If you are looking for some fun and a bit of
dark humor, then this is your one stop game.
Main Character Mental
State: Silent and Ruthless
Fun factor: High
Graphics and Sound:
Borderline Amazing
Overall : Great
game that has a lot of replay value.
Sleeping Dogs 8 out
10
Ok, this game surprised me in a lot of way... Imagine a GTA (Grand Theft Auto) game that
doesn't give you access to weapons tell half way through the game. The result
is you having a ball beating bad guys with everything else senseless kung fu
style. In the game you play as a undercover cop "Wei Shen" in...
Main Character Mental
State: Hardened Cop with no respect for authority... sound like a Jamaican.
Fun Factor :
Extremely High
Graphics and Sound :
Great
Overall : Addictive
gameplay that keeps you wanting more.
Darkness II 9out 10
A mob boss that is
possessed by an ancient demon named "Darkness" that grants him
immortal pow... wait,wait... Tommy Lee made a video game??? Anyway, with a plot
like that... just imagine how bad the villains are. You play as the boss "Jackie Estacado" with all his supernatural powers to your
disposal , which is quite a lot of powers. If this game wasn't made to look
animated I would certainly be having nightmare after each play through. At,
times you may feel sorry for the villains in this game because you are so
mighty and they are just weaklings... it's like Godzilla stepping on an ant...
or Kiprich clashing Tony Matterhorn. The
game itself is a good FPS with some cool ideas added that aren't in most
shooter today.
Main Character Mental
State: Tormented, Demented, Possessed, and Borderline Crazy.
Fun factor : Extremely
High
Graphics and Sound :
Great
Overall : Great
game that has major replay value.
Final Thoughts
Sometime having a main character that doesn't fit our social
idea of being a general all round good
guy makes a game appealing and enjoyable. All hail the mentally
unstable sadistic paranoid heroes that make video games cool. The product
mentioned in this article was provided courtesy of Royale Computers and Accessories telephone#: 906-1067, 906-1068, and 754-5048.
Monday the 22 of April I had the time of my life at the
Jamaica launch of the Samsung Galaxy S4
which is the flag ship phone for Samsung or should I say the flag ship phone for
Android. So, was the event an eventful one? I was wowed again... Didn't know
that was possible, but l was struck again by the lightening called Samsung. A lot of information was
passed on to the media but I'll be the middle man and break the information down
to it simplest terms for my readers.
Keynotes
Digicel will be the first provider of the Galaxy S4 then maybe LIME after.
Price not confirmed as yet, but it will be on sale April 27, 2013.
Jamaica (Our blessed country) is one of the few countries that will have the Octa-Core version for sale.
I real think I should repeat this... Jamaica (Our blessed country) is one of the FEW countries that will have the Octa-Core version for sale.
Samsung is giving away one Galaxy S4 a day on their Facebook page. Samsung Electronics Co. is offering the chance for consumers in Jamaica to win the coveted Samsung GALAXY S4 through the “Be the First” contest on its “Samsung Mobile Caribbean” Facebook page. Samsung is making it simple for users to be the first to get their hands on the highly-anticipated Smartphone, which has not yet arrived in Jamaica. Users can simply enter the “Samsung Mobile Jamaica” Facebook page and click on “Be the First.” On that page, you can choose from a list of posts about the GALAXY S4 and share it on your wall. Your friends play a vital role in your chance of winning the coveted Smartphone, as posts with the most “Likes” for the day wins. If you end up in first place in the contest, you are assured of taking home the prized GALAXY S4. Samsung will be giving out one phone per day to first place winners from April 22 through April 27. Winners will receive a GALAXY S4 on Saturday, April 27 at Digicel Store in Tropical Plaza at the Samsung product experience area.
Digicel will be the first provider of the Galaxy S4 then maybe LIME after.
Price not confirmed as yet, but it will be on sale April 27, 2013.
Jamaica (Our blessed country) is one of the few countries that will have the Octa-Core version for sale.
I real think I should repeat this... Jamaica (Our blessed country) is one of the FEW countries that will have the Octa-Core version for sale.
Samsung is giving away one Galaxy S4 a day on their Facebook page. Samsung Electronics Co. is offering the chance for consumers in Jamaica to win the coveted Samsung GALAXY S4 through the “Be the First” contest on its “Samsung Mobile Caribbean” Facebook page. Samsung is making it simple for users to be the first to get their hands on the highly-anticipated Smartphone, which has not yet arrived in Jamaica. Users can simply enter the “Samsung Mobile Jamaica” Facebook page and click on “Be the First.” On that page, you can choose from a list of posts about the GALAXY S4 and share it on your wall. Your friends play a vital role in your chance of winning the coveted Smartphone, as posts with the most “Likes” for the day wins. If you end up in first place in the contest, you are assured of taking home the prized GALAXY S4. Samsung will be giving out one phone per day to first place winners from April 22 through April 27. Winners will receive a GALAXY S4 on Saturday, April 27 at Digicel Store in Tropical Plaza at the Samsung product experience area.
Sigh, wish I had a lot of Facebook friends... Oh well... Anyhow, I'm crossing my fingers and toes that the Galaxy S4 reaches in my office soon for a review, I and promise that you as my readers will be the first to see the joys that is Samsung. So until next time... hustle safe.
The saying goes... bigger is better but these days tablets
are being built in all shapes and sizes to please the consumer. The most
popular size in tablets these days are the 7" inch and 8" inch
tablets. So we got hands on the Nexus 7 and the iPad Mini to what's the fuss. I
know that having an iOS device and an Android device in the same article might
cost me my sanity afterwards with the horde of Apple supporters arguing their
points and the allegiance of Android supporters arguing theirs... So I have
broken this article in two to keep my safety.
iPad Mini
Hey, I flipped a coin to see which device went first folks;
so don't start the complaining just yet. The iPad mini is the latest addition
to Apple's line of products and it seem to be what most consumers were waiting
on. This device has a very impressive specification sheet and an 8" inch
display that is argued to be its weakest link. But, before I point out this
device strong points and short comings let me provide readers with a compound
version of the specification sheet.
Weight : 308 g (10.86 oz)
Display
: LED-backlit IPS LCD capacitive touch screen, 16M colors, 768 x 1024 pixels
(162 ppi pixel density), 7.9 inches.
Memory
Card slot : No
Internal
: 16/32/64 GB storage, 512 MB RAM
WLAN
: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band
Bluetooth
: Yes, v4.0 with A2DP, EDR
Camera
: Primary - 5 MP, 2592x1944 pixels, 1080p@30fps, video stabilization,
autofocus, Secondary - 1.2 MP, 720p@30fps, face detection, Face Time over
Wi-Fi.
Operating
System (OS): iOS 6, upgradable to iOS 6.1.3
CPU
: Dual-core 1 GHz Cortex-A9
GPU
: PowerVR SGX543MP2
Sensors
: Accelerometer, Gyro, Compass
Siri
natural language commands and dictation
After viewing an impressive specification sheet like that
you would be wowed until you notice... The display is not Retina Quality!!!
(Song of doom playing in the background.... Muhahahahha). Which leads me to the Pros and Cons section of
my article. This section is to highlight points that consumers may consider a joy or a pain to deal with.
Pros
- Battery Life ( 10 - 11 hours of heavy usage)
- Weight (It's incredibly light... any lighter and it would float off my desk when the wind blows).
- Build Quality (It feels sturdy enough to be used as surf board and still be functional).
- Access to Apple's highly successful App store.
Cons
- Lower resolution display than competitors.
- Price (It's an Apple product... enough said)
Final ThoughtsThis device is amazing when it comes to power and performance and there is no doubt about that. Apps (applications) load up instantly and navigating through the OS is smooth and quick without any lag. The rear camera is the best I have seen on a tablet to date the only component missing is a flash. The display may not be this best on the market but it isn't awful as some may paint it. For around $40,000 or $50,000 dollars you can get 16gb Wi-Fi only version locally brand new which is not bad compared to what large 10" inch tablets are being sold for locally. The iPad Mini is the only Apple Tablet I wish I owned personally because it just feel perfect in the palm of your hands... Please don't hurt me android users. The product mentioned in this article was provided courtesy of Royale Computers and Accessories telephone#: 906-1067, 906-1068, and 754-5048.
On Thursday the 14 of march I had the privilege to be at the launch of a new line of
electronic products being introduced to the Jamaican market by the company NUQLEO. At the launch Oscar Gordillo
who is the Regional Sales Manager for NUQLEO spoke of the new line of tablets
and phones being cost efficient and premium built. Also the launch had various
phones and a 7" inch android tablet to tinker with and evaluate. One
obvious observation that could be concluded was that all phones would be Dual
SIM and have the ability to use memory cards
for a variety of purposes. A few guest speakers were present at the launch to
endorse and give testimonials about some of the NUQLEO line of products. Matthew Deleon who's the Managing Director
INTCOMEX Jamaica explained that they
were fully backing the NUQLEO line
of products and that they were their main distributor. The Quantum 7 (7 inch tablet) was the spotlight for most of the event
with its mid range specs but low end price. This 7" inch tablet will
retail between 13,000 to 15,000 dollars (the price is determined by the
retailer)and is pretty decent specification wise. Andre Sewell owner of
Techshopja.com which an online electronic sales company; purchased the tablets from INTCOMEX started selling them last
December and commented that the response
has been tremendous. "It works pretty well. The display is pretty clean.
It doesn't work the fastest, but it won't frustrate you," said Sewell
commenting on the tablet. He retails them for $13,000 and has sold 70 to date.
Wow, yet another launch event... work is certainly keeping
me busy this year. Anyhow, most might not know this but March 22, 2013 was Microsoft
day and a couple of events were held across the island to celebrate. Lucky
for us I was at one such event being held at Royale Computers and Accessories in Pavilion Mall Shop 31 located in Half Way Tree.
 |
| [From right to left] Michael Lea(Microsoft Retail Account Manager), Kaylah Bogle (MC3 Rep.), Shanice Tomlinson (MC3 Rep.), Marcelle Smart (General Manager of Microsoft Jamaica), Queenie Ko (Microsoft Education Lead), Jack Khemlani (CEO of Royale Computers and Accessories), and Nneka Brown (Microsoft Partner Account Manager) |
 |
| Queenie Ko (Microsoft Education Lead) |
 |
| Royale Technician setting up PC's for Windows 8 and Office 13 demonstration |
The launch of Microsoft
Office 2013 was the occasion, and there were prizes, giveaways and
Microsoft representatives to help consumers understand more about Microsoft office 2013 and Windows 8. Although the main focus was Office
2013, there were a lot of other Microsoft products on display and sale. Most
consumers at the event were astonish by the share number of items that were
Microsoft branded. Plus "All Microsoft products have at least a one year
warranty" this was a statement that was pleasing to hear after speaking
with Michael Lea (Microsoft Retail Account Manager). The event was well
supported by representatives of Microsoft
Jamaica and MC3 who are the
local distributors for Microsoft. Maraelle
Smart (General Manager of Microsoft Jamaica),Queenie Ko (Microsoft Education Lead) and Nneka Brown (Microsoft Partner Account Manager) were in attendance
showing their support and browsing through some of the Microsoft product being
offered by the store. But the question
still remains... what makes Office 2013 better on Windows 8? Well, being lost
just as much as you are... things seemed clearer with this explanation which
was given by Jack Khemlani (CEO of Royale Computers and Accessories)
" Office 2013 can work on Windows 7, but because Office 2013 is a newer
software and Windows 8 is the newer Operating system, Windows 8 will enhance
the experience of Office 2013, and Office 2013 will enhance the experience of
Windows 8. They both work seamlessly together." . The going retail price
for Microsoft Office 2013 is
$14,620.00 and $7,750.00 for Windows 8
Pro which is currently the being discounted. The only sad part to the event
is that I had to leave without one of those Windows 8 tablets... the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 looked
amazing!
