Tech Times: Samsung Galaxy Note 5 - The next big thing! - Alcatel gives advice on Malware

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 - The next big thing!

Samsung went back to the drawing board and totally overhauled the Note line of phones. Depending on the type of Note user you are, this might be something that causes you to rejoice or panic. The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is here, and the changes are significant. For the past two weeks, Tech Times had the phablet to see if it is still the king of smartphones.

 

What are the internal components?

 

Owning a Galaxy Note means you are not an average Android user, and you are looking for the best that Android has to offer. This year, the Note line comes in a variety of colours and some changes that a familiar user might have to adjust to. The one thing that hasn't changed is the fact that you will be getting a top-of-the-line phone with some pretty high specifications.

 

General Specification

 

- Fingerprint sensor (PayPal certified).

-QHD Display (1440 x 2560 pixels).

- Camera: Primary 16 MP, 5312 x 2988 pixels, phase detection autofocus, LED flash. Secondary 5MP.

- Video: 2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps, HDR, video stabilisation, dual-video rec.

- Exynos 7420 CPU: Quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & quad-core 2.1 GHz Cortex-A57.

- Heart Rate Monitor.

It seems like Samsung is still dedicated to stack their devices with high-end parts. So, at least that point hasn't changed.

Everything else has changed, though!

This year, Samsung threw out the build and the design of the Note 4 and started from scratch with the Note 5. So, to make things a little bit easier to explain, I'll point out what has changed since the Galaxy Note 4.

1. No IR Blaster. The Note 5 doesn't have the ability to control your TV, cable box or fan anymore. This can be troublesome if you are like me and use this phone feature a lot.

2. No removable battery. This change might not affect most people, since the majority of the public only uses the single battery that comes with the phone. The battery life is just as reliable as the Note 4 and does better in standby time. The Note 5 also has the ability to be charged wirelessly with the Samsung Wireless Fast Charger.

3. Fingerprint Scanner - this has been redone, and you no longer have to swipe across the home button. A simple tap and hold is sufficient, and it works more than 90 per cent of the time.

4. The 16-megapixel camera with 1.9 f aperture is the most talked-about feature for this phone, and after two weeks with the device, I must confess that the camera is superb! Pictures are extremely detailed, no matter the conditions they are taken under.

5. The new premium design of metal and glass is new to the Note line, and, yes, it is certainly a fingerprint magnet, but it is great to look at when cleaned and shined.

6. No SD card slot. Yup, one of the few phone series that had this option is no more. After a week of using the Note 5, I can honestly say if you are not careful, you can fill up the 32 GB version of the device pretty easily. Fortunately, the 115GB of free online ONE Drive storage does help.

 

Final thoughts

 

The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is a bittersweet upgrade over last year's Note 4. The Note 5 does have an excellent camera, octa-core processor, fingerprint scanner, latest Android OS, and a better battery life. The hard part is what you'll give up to get these improvements. The product mentioned in this article was provided by the Samsung Experience Store in Tropical Plaza; telephone#: 754-6370.

Writer: Payton H. Wilmott

 

ALCATEL gives advice on Malware

ALCATEL ONETOUCH has released information from Trend Micro, a security company in computing that says from October 2014 to March 2015, there has been an alarming increase of 42 per cent from malicious threats targeting Android devices, from 3.8 to 5.4 million. The vast majority were identified as unwanted applications that were installed on phones without authorisation and posed a risk to users' data.

"Millions of users store important information on their mobile devices and use them to surf the Internet, read emails and conduct financial transactions," said Jesus Hung, regional director for the Caribbean and Central America for ALCATEL ONETOUCH. "We want our users to always be protected, so one of the priorities for ALCATEL ONETOUCH is to keep consumers aware of industry trends and what is being done to keep their information safe."

ALCATEL ONETOUCH offers the following advice to smartphone users to keep you secure:

ACCESS - Always use passwords containing at least one number and one capital letter to access your computer, phone and your applications.

Search - When finding information on the Internet, use popular search engines.

Procurement - When making purchases online, use known sites which state in their terms that transactions are secure, and always use those with the web address https://

Downloads - Download applications and files only from reputable sites, such as Google Play, ensuring applications are certified by the developer, whether free or paid. Accept file transfers from reputable sources only.

LINKS - Think before you click: do you really want or need to open that page? Hackers place unnecessary links, and we click without realising what we are viewing.