Let's Talk Tech
In the past, rugged phones have come with compromises. Features like the camera and speaker are often sacrificed to reach a certain price point. Now into their third iteration of rugged Galaxy, does Samsung fall into the same trap with the Galaxy S6 Active? Let’s take a look!
Galaxy S6 Active and Accessories on Amazon.
Galaxy S6 Active Speaker Test.
Galaxy S6 Camera Review.
Galaxy S6 FFC VLOG Test.
Samsung abandoned memory cards on the Galaxy S6, so while it has a fantastic camera, you can fill up that storage pretty quick with UHD video. Thankfully with USB host capabilities we have a couple options available to handle file management. Here are the two solutions I’m currently using on my GS6!
Leef MicroSD Card Reader Review.
Shop the Leef on Amazon.
Shop for USB OTG Host cables on Amazon.
We’re all a little on edge about what our phones can do, how they store our information, and how other people might be able to access things like our location. It’s easy to get a little freaked out by technology you don’t understand.
Case in point, Nick Browne posted this video on Facebook, as he was concerned about something strange attached to the battery of his Samsung phone. (Language in video might be a bit NSFW)
Remember, every time you shoot video in portrait, God kills an orphan girl’s kitten…
That is a strange looking antenna to be found on a battery, but what Nick has torn off here is his NFC antenna. That’s the radio you can use for things like “tap and share” or “tap and pay”. It’s kind of odd that Samsung builds it into the battery, but it likely discourages folks from buying third party batteries that don’t include the antenna as it’ll disable the NFC function on their phones.
And let’s be honest here, while Nick seems to have some issues with race relations, if someone really wants to hack your phone, and steal your photos, they certainly don’t need to install an antenna on your battery to do it.
It does look a little strange, but we can learn from Nick here not to freak out and start tearing pieces off of our gadgets if they’re things we don’t understand. Thankfully for Nick, to restore NFC on his Samsung, all he needs to do is buy a new battery, and NOT tear off the label again…
UPDATE!
AT&T has finally weighed in! The Galaxy S6 Active will be available starting June 12. They’re being frustratingly coy about pricing, just giving us the Next monthly payment pricing. At $23 a month on Next 24, that would put price near the HTC One M9 and LG G Flex 2. We can expect an off contract price over $700.
Also interesting, AT&T is listing the battery at 3500mAh, instead of the 2550mAh that Samsung listed the battery at. If this is true, we could have a monster variant of the S6 on our hands, as battery life on the regular S6 is often criticized.
You can catch AT&T’s full press release after the original blog post below.
Continue reading “UPDATE from AT&T – Samsung Announces Galaxy S6 Active”
For Android fans, this will likely be the biggest fight of the year!
Samsung and LG have produced very different phones for this generation of flagship Android. The Galaxy S6 is a radical departure from the GS5. The G4 is more of a refinement over the G3. Which manufacturer is traveling down the better path? Let’s take a look!
Shop the Galaxy S6 on Amazon.
Shop the LG G4 & accessories on Amazon.
LG G4 Full Review.
Galaxy S6 Full Review.
LG G4 Camera Review.
Galaxy S6 Camera Review.
LG G4 Speaker Test.
Galaxy S6 Speaker Test.
LG G4 Front Facing Camera VLOG.
Galaxy S6 Front Facing Camera VLOG.
LG G4 vs GS6 Camera Comparison.
You decide the winner in this UHD Video showdown!
Watch the video embedded and then vote in the poll below! Who made the better smartphone camera? LG or Samsung? FIGHT!
Two phones enter! YOU decide which phone leaves!
Watch the video, pitting the Galaxy S6 against the Lumia 930 (Icon) in an Ultra HD showdown, make sure you go fullscreen and bump up the quality, then vote in the poll below!
VR tech is heating up and we’re getting more options for consumers.
If you’re a Galaxy S6 owner, you can now pick up a Gear VR headset built on Oculus Rift tech. Utilizing the screen and processing power of your S6, you can strap this puppy to your face to experience immersive gaming and video.
Samsung is also touting their Milk VR service which streams 360 degree video, similar to Youtube’s roll out of their 360 video service.
The Innovator Edition is available online now for $199 and thankfully works with both the S6 and the S6 Edge (unlike the Note 4 version of the Gear VR). The headset should be available to purchase in store at Best Buy later this month.