Samsung @ CES 2014

At CES 2014 Samsung unveiled a wide variety of devices that would be made available to consumers in the near future. Here’s a quick run through of what will be available from the Korean tech giant.

Samsung SMART Camera

Samsung also introduced a variety of professional cameras two of which caught our eyes were - the Samsung SMART camera WB1100F and WB2200F.

The Samsung WB1100F camera feature a 35x optical zoom lens, 25mm wide angle; 16.2 effective megapixels CCD sensor; 75.0mm (3.0inch) HVGA LCD screen; Including NFC and Wi-Fi connectivity. The WB1100F measures 124.5 X 86.5 X 96mm and weighs 462g without the battery.

Samsung WB1100F SMART Camera

The Samsung WB2200F camera also features 60x optical zoom lens, 25mm ultra wide angle; 16.2 effective megapixels 1/23” BSI CMOS sensor; 75.0mm (3.0inch) HVGA LCD screen; Including NFC and Wi-Fi connectivity. The WB2200F measures 119 X 121.8 X 35.5mm and weighs 608g without the battery.

Samsung WB2200F SMART Camera

Samsung ATIV

Samsung also unveiled its latest updates for its high-end personal computing offerings, the Samsung ATIV Book 9 2014 Edition and the Samsung ATIV One7 2014 Edition. 

The ATIV Book 9 is a high-end notebook computer more commonly known as an Ultrabook. The ATIV Book 9 is running Windows 8 on a Core i5/i7 ULV processor, with 8GB of RAM, 15.6” Full HD screen and 1TB HDD. It boasts a 14 hour batter life weighing at only 1.85kg and measuring 374 X 249.9mm.

Samsung ATIV Book 9

The ATIV One7 2014 Edition is a high-end desktop computer. The ATIV One7 is also running Windows 8 with a 4^th generation i3/i5 processor, with 8GB of RAM, 24” LED Full HD touchscreen, surround sound and 1TB HDD.

Samsung Galaxy NotePRO and TabPRO

Samsung also unveiled its latest upgrades to its tablet range, the Samsung Galaxy NetPRO and TabPRO. The Galaxy TabPRO comes in configurations of 12.2”, 10.1” and 8.4”, while the NotePRO is a 12.2” tablet which comes with an S-Pen. Here’s a brief breakdown and comparison of each tablet specifications.

Samsung Galaxy Pro Tablet Comparison

As an added bonus these devices will also have pre-installed the following apps; Bitcasa, Bloomberg Businessweek, Blurb, Cisco WebEx Meetings, Dropbox, Easily Pro, Evernote, Hancom Office, LinkedIn, LIVE SPORT.TV, NY Times, Oxford Advanced Learners A-Z, Remote PC and Schedule Pro.

Samsung Galaxy NotePRO 12.2"

So that concludes our Samsung CES 2014 round-up. Which of these devices are you looking forward to this year? Don’t be shy let your voice be heard in the comments bellow!

Sony @ CES 2014

Sony Xperia Z1s and Xperia Z1 Compact Overview
It was only a year ago when Sony introduced its groundbreaking flagship mobile – the Xperia Z, this year is no different Sony introduces the Xperia Z1s and Xperia Z1 Compact.

Sony Xperia Z1s

The Xperia Z1s, exclusive to T-Mobile U.S. – it boasts a 5” Full HD screen powered by Sony’s TRILUMINOS HD display and X-Reality technologies; incorporates a quad-core 2.2 GHz krait 400 processor; award winning 20.7MP G Lens camera powered by Sony’s Exmor RS for mobile CMOS image sensor and BIONZ for mobile image processing engine with 1080p@30fps HDR video recording; running Android Jellybean (v4.3); 32GB Internal Memory, NFC, LTE and did I mention its water resistance too? IP58 certified – meaning it will withstand being submerged in fresh water at a depth of 1.50 meters for up to 30mins. Shame it’s only been announced for T-Mobile subscribers in the U.S. 

Turn that frown upside-down! Sony also announced a device for the masses (please excuse the expression) a little something that goes by the Xperia Z1 compact – see what I did there? What? WHAT!? Not entertained? Tough crowd, sadly that concludes the witticism for this article – but I digress.

Full Story: Sony @ CES 2014

CES 2014 Round-up

Out with the old and in with the new – It’s that time of the year again, the Consumer Electronics Show 2014 (CES 2014) is upon us and the True Tech Kings are here to give you a digest of the best bits from your favourite electronics brands. 

But what is CES you ask? Well I’ll tell you, CES is the world’s largest tradeshow for consumer technology and America’s largest annual tradeshow of any kind. CES reaches across global markets, connecting every major player in the tech industry also enabling the growth of consumer electronic innovations. So yea, it’s a big deal. Without any further a due let’s jump right in it!

Sony @ CES 2014 | Samung @ CES 2014

Ling Ling Français – Learn French in Just 10 months

Ling Ling Français is a free app developed by Hepilabs - that claims it will be able to teach French in 10 months. Well when I saw that bit, I couldn’t resist downloading it from the Google PLAY Store - I’ve been trying to learn French for years! Here are my thoughts on using the app for a few days.

Don’t be fooled by the app’s appearance though childish, it’s by far one of the most useful apps I’ve come across in a long time. Before you start, you have to pick the language you want to use to learn French and difficulty level. There are a wide range of Languages and three difficulty levels; beginner, intermediate and expert. I chose English for my Language and beginner for the difficulty setting (better safe than sorry) which took me to the very colourful title screen. To start your first lesson you tap the purple light bulb icon.

Ling Ling Francais - Main Menu

First Lesson

At first I was overwhelmed by the amount of words I don’t know and felt almost inadequate as I pressed the red button frantically. You press the red button when you’re unfamiliar with a word and the green button when you’ve memorised it. You can tap the French word to hear it pronunciation aloud. The app allows you to practice new French words over and over again with the audio prompting and soon you start to get it. You gleefully feel the words becoming second nature and the Ling Ling character on the screen does a little dance to celebrate with you as you make progress.

Ling Ling Francais - Lesson

Pop Quiz

Once you’ve ticked off all the words it’s time for a quiz. The quiz starts off quite slow but gradually increases from snail slow to how do you stop this thing! You have to match each word in your chosen language to the correct word in French. The quiz is based on the words you learn in the lesson and each day after a new lesson another 25 words (which you’ve just learned) are added to the quiz. When you get aconsecutive amount of answers right, you are rewarded with one of five very silly mini games.

Ling Ling Francais - Quiz

Here’s a quick warning for those of you who found Fruit Ninja unnerving, there’s cartoon violence against fruits i.e. smashing them to smithereens.

Ling Ling Francais - Mini Game

Extras

If you get bored, there’s a section that allows youto edit your Ling Ling character. You can also create a Ling Ling inspired wallpaper for your device here’s mine.

Ling Ling Franceis - Wallpaper

Conclusion

Overall I found the app quite educational and surprisingly also very entertaining. It makes learning a new language so much fun. There are other languages in the Ling Ling genre; Spanish, Chinese and so much more. I love the fact there’s a reminder in your notification bar everyday so it makes it harder to procrastinate. 

The audio prompts not only help you to remember the words but also teach you how to pronounce them. I’m also learning at an accelerated pace of 25 words a day. The quiz allows you to practice words and their meanings as many times as you would like in a day.I also find it important to point out that the quiz lets you practice all the words you’ve learned since you started using the app in addition to the words you learn each day. I wish the app would let you focus on the 25 words for the day before adding in the ones you’ve already been memorizing.
 

Overall it is a great app and I would definitely recommend it to a friend.  As for the ten months claim, it could be plausible but probably only if you use the app every single day quite studiously. Ling Ling Français is available for download now at the Google PLAY Store.

Infograph: What to do when the Internet is down

Living in Nigeria we have grown accustomed to the fact that things just don’t work. Irrespective when the for-mentioned inevitable occurs we still find ourselves asking, almost rhetorically – ‘Why?’

This leads me to that all important scenario every techie must deal with at some point in time.

So what do you do when the internet is down? Leave a comment below.

Infograph: The Story of Android

With the rate at which the Android OS is advancing it pretty difficult to keep track of what version on android is the latest and what the version your running offers. We stumbled across an awesome graphic that says it all. Hope you like it.

Google Translate Introduces Support for Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo) and Hausa

Google recently added Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo) and Hausa to its online language translating services, I took it for a quick spin and here are my thoughts. 

Google Translate, English to Yoruba - Good Morning

It seem to be an early attempt as the translations are hit and miss it terms of accuracy, also the speech option – which would say aloud the translated word or phrase in the language it was translated to was unavailable. 

At this stage I wouldn’t recommend using if for any serious work that required translation into Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo) or Hausa, but it does make a good novelty or gesture to the Nigerian demographic.

Google is also looking for volunteers to help improve the quality of its translator service. It is also available on android powered devices through the Google Translate app form Google Play. 

So why don't you guys give it a spin and let us know how you feel?

Eight Great Budget Smartphones

As we all know t’is the joyous time of years and for those of us who chose to embrace the holiday spirit will understand gifts are in order.

As we all know times are hard and all year we’ve all been feeling the squeeze, but that’s not a good enough excuse for stealing the smile from our loved ones faces. So to aid you we’ve compiled a list of 8 budget smarphones to aid you spread holiday cheer – Santa would be proud!

HTC Desire V - NGN 28,200 (Twenty Eight Thousand Two Hundred Naira)
 

HTC Desire V

Highlights

Android v4.0(Ice Cream Sandwich)

4.0 inch, Capacitive Touchscreen

5MP Camera, w/ LED Flash

1 GHz Processor

4GB Internal Storage

Sony Xperia E Dual – NGN 23,000 (Twenty Three Thousand Naira)

Sony Xperia E

Highlights

Android, v4.0.4(Ice Cream Sandwich)

3.5 inch, Capacitive Touchscreen

3.15MP Camera

Dual SIM

1 GHz Processor

4GB Internal Storage (2.2GB User Accessible) 

HTC One V – NGN 28,200 (Twenty Eight Thousand Two Hundred Naira)

Highlights

Android, v4.0.3(Ice Cream Sandwich)

3.7 inch, Capacitive Touchscreen

5MP Camera, w/ LED Flash

720p HD Video Recording

1GHz Processor

1GB Internal Storage  

Sony Xperia Miro - NGN 23,000 (Twenty Three Thousand Naira)

Sony Xperia Micro

Highlights

Android,v4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)

3.5 inch, Capacitive Touchscreen

5MP Camera, w/ LED Flash

1GHz Processor

4GB Internal Storage

HTC Desire U - NGN 26,300 (Twenty Six Thousand Three Hundred Naira)

HTC Desire U

Highlights

Android,v4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)

4.0 inch, Capacitive Touchsceen

5MP Camera, w/ LED Flash

1GHz Processor

4GB Internal Storage

Sony Xperia Tipo Dual – NGN 19,600 (Nineteen Thousand Six Hundred Naira)

Sony Xperia Tipo

Highlights

Android, v4.0.3 (Ice Cream Sandwich)

3.2 inch, Capacitive Touchscreen

3.15MP Camera

Dual SIM

800 MHz Processor

2.9GB Internal Storage (2.5GB User Accessible)

HTC Desire X – NGN 26,600 (Twenty Six Thousand Six Hundred Naira)

HTC Desire X

Highlights

Android,v4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)

4.0 inch, Capacitive Touchscreen

5MP Camera, w/ LED Flash

 1GHz Dual-Core Processor

4GB Internal Memory 

Nokia Lumia 520 – NGN 19,900 (Nineteen Thousand Nine Hundred Naira)

Nokia Lumia 520

Highlights

Window 8 Mobile  

4.0 inch, Capacitive Touchscreen

5MP Camera

720p HD Video Recording

1GHz Dual-Core Processor

8GB Internal Memory 

Will you be getting any of these devices for Christmas? Do you have any devices in mind that you feel should be on this list?

True Tech Kings New Logo

We’ve been around for just over two years now - being the most joyous time of the year and as a second anniversary gift we would like to officially unveil the new True Tech kings Logo.

It’s hip! It’s cool! It’s now! – It’s a reflection of what we stand for, hope to achieve and how we view ourselves and cause. Hope you love it as much as we do!  

New True Tech kings Logo

Introducing Upp – the hydrogen powered portable device charging solution.

UK based company Intelligent Energy introduces Upp, a personal energy devices designed to charge and power USB compatible portable devices such as smartphones and tablets with its focus on Nigeria and South Africa. Upp is capable of providing instant energy on the go through replaced fuel cartridges – it is claimed to be able to deliver one week of charge to even the most demanding devices.

Upp - Hydrogen Powered Charging Solution

How does it work?

The Upp fuel cell uses hydrogen – provided by specialized fuel cartridges, and combines it with air to produce clean electricity with water vapour as a by-product. Users simply need to combine the Upp fuel cell with a fuel cartridge and can begin powering their devices.

Upp cartridges can be refuelled for less than $5 (NGN 850) or less than 1$ (NGN 170) to charge your phone. The entire device will cost less than $200 (NGN 34,000), which is rather expensive for device peripheral no matter how you decided to look at it.

Feasibility Study  

In Nigeria today is true that the national electrical grid does not provide a reliable electricity supply for the country, as a result every household has at least one power generator capable of supplying an entire home with electricity. With the growing number of smart-devices in the region and the projected increases over the next few years this is lucrative avenue to explore. But others before Upp have successfully provided more economic alternatives to this problem. 

In Lagos, Nigeria – the economic hub of the country, you can readily find crude yet effective mobile phone charging kiosks, usually powered by small petrol powered electric generators. At these kiosks charging your device will cost you between NGN 50 – 100 ($ 0.29 – 0.58). 

Local Charging Kiosk - Lagos, Nigeria   

Photo Credit:  Elizabeth Musa

 

 

 

 

For those who prefer more mobile charging options you can buy a portable battery charger, which is essentially a battery pack that once fully charged can be used to juice up your device up to 4-5 times without any extra cost to you. These devices on an average go for NGN 5,000 ($30), significantly cheaper than the $200 price point estimated for the Upp.

Conclusion 

I feel the Upp is a welcome addition to the list of solutions provided to help the Nigerian populous cope with the lack of reliable electricity. But due to its high price point and cost of maintenance – not to mention Nigeria being a country with most of its population below the poverty line, I worry about its level of adoption. It most-likely will be only adopted by individuals within the higher middle class and upper class minority, which may or may not be a bad thing depending on the expectations of Intelligent Energy for the device.

The Upp will be available for purchase in Nigeria and South Africa from mid – December before being made available in the rest of the world next year. 

So what do you think about the Upp? Will you be getting one? I would make a neat Christmas present wouldn’t it?

Sources - 1

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear Overview

On the 4th of September at the IFA 2013 in Berlin, Germany Samsung announced its Galaxy Note 3 the latest instalment of the Galaxy Note product line. The new device boasts enhanced S Pen features and impressive multitasking capabilities; it features 4G LTE capabilities, 5.7 inch screen, 32/64 GB configurations with microSD support of up to 64GB, 3GB of RAM – an industry first, NFC functionality, a 13 MP camera, with up to a 2.3GHz quad-core krait 400 processor paired with a 1.3GHz quad-core cortex-A7 processor – making eight (8) cores in total and twice its predecessor, all powering on Android v4.3 (Jellybean) OS.

Samsung also announced its first ever Smartwatch, the Samsung Galaxy Gear – this is Samsung first attempt at wearable technology. The primary function of this device is for quick access to notifications and basic features on your mobile phone or tablet. The Samsung Galaxy Gear has a built-in speaker and microphones which allow the device to be used as a hands-free and can function independently also as a digital watch.

One drawback about the Samsung Galaxy Gear is it’s only currently compatible with the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, but Samsung promised compatibility with more Galaxy devices with their next scheduled OS update. Both devices will be available for purchase from September 25, 2013 in Nigeria.

Sources -1, 2, 3