Tag Archives | samsung

Samsung Galaxy S10 Now Available for Preorder in Lebanon

By Rami on February 21, 2019 in Lebanon, Technology

Samsung unveiled yesterday the latest version of its Galaxy S series, the S10, and this year it is coming in 3 models. The S10e (relatively cheaper model), the S10, and S10+ with 5.8 inch, 6.1 inch, and 6.4 inch displays respectively.

In comparison to last year’s version, and without going much into numbers and detailed specifications, the S10 now has a bigger display with more screen rel estate and smaller bezels, an in-screen ultrasonic fingerprint reader, an upgraded triple-lens camera with the ability to take wider scenes, and reverse wireless charging allowing you to use your phone to charge other devices. I am personally currently using the S9 and already feel tempted to do the upgrade (I hope I’ll be able to get my hands on a test unit).

The S10e, S10 and S10+ are already available for pre-order on Samsung CTC website for $779, $929 and $1,029 (for the 128GB models) and they all come with free gadgets (Galaxy watch and wireless charger for the S10 and S10+, or a bluetooth Speaker and battery pack for the S10e).

I also noticed you can also save $179 on the S10 and S10+ if you preorder via Phonefinity.net who is offering the same bundles at a less price with 1-year CTC warranty, which is a pretty good deal tbh!

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ Already Available at Amhaz

By Rami on April 19, 2017 in Technology

The new Galaxy S8 and S8+ are set to be released on April 21st in the U.S. and on April 28th around the rest of the world. However, Amhaz is as usual a step ahead of the official resellers in Lebanon and is currently offering the two phones at City Centre and Bir El Abed for a ridiculous $950 and $1150. Still, as in the case with any new smartphone the prices should decrease by the day.

On the other hand, the official prices for the S8 and S8+ are set by Samsung Lebanon to $799 and $899 respectively, and you can pre-order your device while benefiting from free bundles by placing an order on their website.

I personally briefly passed by Samsung’s Dbayeh showroom today and found the S8 to be absolutely gorgeous, and I’m now having a hard time resisting the urge to get one even though my current S7 is still running perfectly. Disregarding all the phone features and specs, the infinity display alone is guaranteed to make you fall if in love with the S8.

Price wise, I expect Amhaz and other stores to soon start selling at a price lower than Samsung’s once the S8 is officially released, but after the issue I enountered with my old S7 Edge, if I’m buying the S8 then I will certainly get it from an authorized retailer because the official warranty is definitely worth it.

Review – Samsung S7 Edge and Gear VR

By Rami on June 9, 2016 in Reviews

s7edge

I’ve been using an iPhone 5 for exactly 3 years now and recently started looking for an alternative. Among the current flagship mobile phones I was basically tempted to either get a 64GB iPhone 6s or a Samsung S7 Edge, still having never owned an Android mobile before, I didn’t want to get the S7 Edge and end up regretting it, so I thought of asking Samsung for a test unit and they were kind enough to send me one along with a Gear VR.

Long story short I’ve been using the S7 Edge for a couple of weeks now and totally loving it! In this review I won’t go all techy on you with specs and stuff, but rather describe how I found the S7 Edge fitting my needs as a blogger and someone who uses the phone camera very frequently.

Design

Plastic covers on older models of the Samsung S phones were the main reason that made me avoid them, they just made the handsets look cheap. This however has changed with the S6 and its rear glass which made it look more elegant, while the S7 Edge is a further enhancement with beautiful curves. The unit I got looked premium with the gold color on it.

The S7 Edge is also considered a compact phone. It is almost the same size of an iPhone 6s but has a larger display (5.5″ vs 4.7″), and this was made possible by minimizing the amount of bezel above and below the screen which increased the screen-to-body ratio by a great deal.

Screen

The QHD display on the S7 Edge is absolutely gorgeous! A friend of mine always bugs me with how good AMOLED screens are, but I honestly didn’t know they were THAT good. Colors looked much more vibrant and made it hard for me to go back to watching media on an LCD screen.

Still, and even though it isn’t a deal breaker, the screen was a bit reflective for me when I was using it outdoors.

Camera

Having a 3 year old kid I always find myself using my phone camera whenever he’s fooling around. And for that, I really appreciated how quick is the autofocus in the S7 Edge camera. It also performs pretty well in low light.

Here are a sample of unedited photos I recently took. (Click on each photo for the original size)

Usage

It’s not a secret Android wasn’t the friendliest mobile operating system. And being a longtime iPhone user, I really hate to say it but Android has come a long way in being much more user friendly. In fact, I found it easier for me to write a blog post on the S7 Edge than on my wife’s iPhone 6s.

Moreover, since Android is a more open platform, I found it much easier for me to deal with some files I usually need to upload to my server from time to time. All in all, Android is indeed more flexible if you’re a tech person.

Gear VR

I’ve never used a virtual reality headset other than Samsung’s, so I really cannot compare the Gear VR to other products.

I personally found the Gear VR very easy to setup, and the available 360 videos and images were quite entertaining. I was mostly interested in travel videos showing places from exotic parts of the world and I really enjoyed them, it was cool sitting on my couch and feeling like I was somewhere totally different.

The headset however felt bulky on me after 20 or 30 minutes of usage, so watching full length movies on it wasn’t my thing.

The Verdict

With a cool design, a stunning camera, and a sharp display, I really can’t ask for more. In fact, I’m honestly having a hard time returning the test unit! 😛

If you’re interested in buying the S7 Edge along with the Gear VR, the guy I usually get my handsets from is offering them both for $690. (Note that his prices differ from day to day)

A smart phone decision!

By on September 29, 2014 in Random

smartphones

If you’re on the market looking to upgrade your smartphone, you might get lost looking at all the offerings currently available. Since all current smartphones are more than capable of handling whatever you throw at them, i will refrain from going through detailed spec sheets. Instead, I’ll try to focus on specific features that are offered by the various manufacturers that would make you choose their handset over others.

LG: The current flagship smartphone from LG is the G3. Having a 5.5″ QHD screen, the G3 holds the highest pixel density among all phones to be highlighted in this article. What’s more impressive however, is it’s compactness a.k.a. screen to phone size ratio which stands at spectacular 76.4%. To get a better idea of what I’m talking about here, check the picture below comparing it to the 5.5″ screened iPhone 6 plus (note that when bent, the iPhone 6 plus is actually the shorter phone). Another highlight feature of the G3 is laser focus, which LG says improves the camera’s auto-focus time.

Ip6 M8 .

HTC: The HTC one (M8) is undoubtedly the most premium android phone on the market offering an impeccable build quality surpassing that of any other phone maker (we’re looking at you apple). The aluminum-clad 5″ screened M8 offers dual speakers but a so-so camera. Also, having been on the market for a while now, its price is easily accessible. Note that the same applies to the G3.

SONY: The Z3 is the latest entry in Sony’s Xperia line of smartphones. Building on the features of the Xperia Z2, the Z3 offers a 5.2″ screen, dual speakers, a 20.7 Mp camera with a larger than standard camera sensor, noise cancellation and high-resolution audio, all tucked inside a water-proof glass body with aluminum edges. An impressive feature that will grab gamers attention is ‘PS4 remote play’ that allows you to stream PS4 games using your wifi network to the phone. In regards to build quality, The Z3 just falls short of beating that of the M8 but comes very close. Note that Sony offers a compact version of the Z3 called Z3 compact (duh!) providing the same experience in a smaller (4.6″) more ‘pocketable’ device. Both phones are promised to provide a 2-day battery life.

SAMSUNG: The Korean manufacturer is infamous for flooding the market with endless iterations of its Galaxy lineup. The Galaxy S5 is its current flagship offering a 5.1″ super saturated screen, a solid camera, a heart-rate sensor and a fingerprint sensor (a la iPhone 5s/6/6 plus) tucked in a water-resistant plastic body. The S5 is the least premium-feeling device among all android flagships. Samsung also recently released the Galaxy Alpha (aimed at competing with the iPhone 6) offering a 4.7″ screen in a plastic, metal-framed body.

APPLE: The iPhone 6 and 6 plus are Apple’s latest gadgets. Having a respective 4.7″ and 5.5″ screen, both phones provide the usual simplicity and ease use of iOS while offering a fingerprint scanner and an enhanced yet protruding 8 Mp camera with improved auto-focus in premium looking devices. On a subjective side note, I hate how the back of both phones look and much prefer the 5/5s in that perspective.

iPhone

When looking to purchase a new smartphone, my advice is to look for the one that provides you with the features you need or might need in the future, and of course all while considering its price.

For example, photography oriented users might lean more towards the Z3 or even the S5. Others looking for the most premium looking device would go for the M8 and iPhone siblings. If you consume lots of multimedia the choice would definitely be the M8 and Z3 for their dual speakers (and the Z3’s audio capabilities). Looking for a smartphone that’s not afraid to get wet you got the water-resistant S5 and the water-proof Z3.

photos via phonearena using their phone size comparison tool.

Mobile phone prices in Lebanon increasing already

By Rami on June 1, 2013 in Lebanon

mobile phones

As you all know, and in order to stop mobile phones smuggling in Lebanon, the ministry of telecommunications is now requiring all traders to register the IMEI (a unique ID assigned to each mobile device) of every legally imported mobile phone or tablet.

The collected IMEIs will then be used as of today June 1st to filter the devices that are allowed access to our mobile networks (alfa and touch). So typically speaking, a legally imported mobile phone with its due taxes paid will be allowed to connect to the mobile networks, while other smuggled ones will be denied access since their unique identifiers are not registered at the ministry.

The weakest ring in the process is of course the group of people who will be responsible of the data entry of the registered IMEIs. Since they will be easily able to register and IMEI of some untaxed mobile if there was not much control over them.

As a result, mobile phone prices ended up notably increasing over the last week. For instance, the guy who sold me my mobile was listing the iPhone 16 GB for around $650 since mid-May I guess, then he increased the price 2 days ago to $745. Logically due to the fact that the handsets he’s currently offering were legally imported and subject to some import tax.

Everybody is eventually complaining about all of this, especially that it gets a bit complicated when you buy some used handset from abroad. And I know it’s wrong to complain about a price increase when it’s a result of complying with the government taxation rules, but still, a $100 increase totally sucks!

Beirut’s mobile phones guy

By Rami on March 27, 2013 in Lebanon

apple-iphone-5

I was recently on the hunt for a new mobile phone and decided to first go check Amhaz prices since they’re known to be among the lowest in the market. Their branch at Beirut Mall was selling the iPhone 5 for a reasonable price at $689 but I got so irritated when the sales guy tried to sell me the A1428 model which doesn’t support our 4G network instead of the A1429, claiming that a software update has resolved the issue and made the A1428 compatible with our network!

So I started searching for another place until @CAbN mentioned a guy called Mohamad selling mobile phone at a similar prices as Amhaz if not lower, and based on several people’s feedback, Mohamad was quite reliable. The guy turned out to have a profile on elmazad.com under the name of “mhdskr” where he maintains a pricelist of all the models he deals with, and the iPhone 5 A1429 was listed for $680 (sealed in its original box), so I immediately called him and agreed to meet up somewhere so I can pick up my phone as he doesn’t operate a shop.

Upon meeting Mohamad I found him to be quite nice and friendly, and never trying to bullshit you with stuff like “khod l A1428 w byimsheh 3a mas2ouliyteh”. He also offers to deliver you the phone wherever you are in Beirut, in addition to granting a 7 day trial period after which you get your money back if the phone turned to have any glitch. So I totally recommend that you contact him in case you’re looking to buy some new mobile.

You may check his pricelist here, and call him on 70 686406 to either agree on a place to meet or simply give him your address to get your phone delivered to you.

Stars Communications (Amhaz) – Mobile phones at cheaper prices

By Rami on March 21, 2012 in Lebanon

I bet at least half of those who will read this post already know about Stars Communications, so this goes to the other half. Stars Communications (aka Amhaz) is a cell phone shop in Dahyeh known for its very competitive prices, probably the cheapest you’ll ever find around Beirut!

Some people claim that Stars Communications are able to lower their prices that much because they don’t pay any custom fees for the mobiles they get since they’re backed up by some politician. But who cares anyway when we’re paying less? I already bought a couple of phones from there and never face a problem with them.

If you’re interested to check out the shop, they have two branches, one off Sayed Hadi Nasrallah street in Dahyeh (just go there and ask about “Amhaz”), while the other is at Beirut Mall in Tayouneh and is usually few dollars more expensive than the first branch.

Update:

Seems like there’s a third branch in Verdun under the name of LibanNet. And you may check their latest prices on this Facebook group.

Thank you Amer.