Taking Photos with a Samsung Galaxy Pro and Android Apps

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Dragons and Fairy Dust

I am a Samsung Mob!ler and my latest mission was to take a series of photographs using my Samsung phone. I have a Samsung Galaxy Pro which has a 3 Megapixel camera. It has Autofocus and a range of settings to play with including Single Shot, Beauty Shot, Panorama Shot, Action Shot and Smile Shot.

I took my phone on a walk though the local country park and decided to use both the phone and a range of apps to get a series of photos of my journey. I would normally use my phone when out and about like this, it is always handy to have a phone with a camera to snap those unexpected moments.

This is a scenic view across the country park. I love the way the camera captured the contrast in the clouds, even though I managed to snap a bit too much grass.

These are some shots of berries taken in different lighting conditions

I like the way it has dealt with the contrasts in colours and light and shade to make rather nice photos.The camera also allows you to change the effect from normal to black and white or sepia or a negative effect which is useful, but I decided to try some photography applications to get a range of different effects.

Photography Applications

The one good thing about Android is that if you browse the market place you will find plenty of applications and there are certainly a lot of photography applications out there. Some you have to pay for and some are free, I decided to have a look at some of the free applications out there and see what I could do with my camera.

1. Pudding Camera

This offers a range of different style cameras to choose from which give varying film settings. It is quite fun as its free and you can easily share the results. The app is easy to use and produces output in three different resolutions.

This is a picture taken using one of the vintage cameras. The output is a little dark but is has a definite spooky vintage effect. The same photo with a normal camera looks like this:

It is definitely worth playing with as the different cameras produce lots of fab effects.

2. Vignette Demo

This allows you to add film and camera effects to your photos. It has a range of 84 effects and 59 frames to choose from so there will definitely be something for you. These are some pictures I took in the woods using the Vignette camera.

I took the same photo from the same angle with slightly different effects and I really like the colours in the second one.

3. Picsay

This is a photo editiing tool that allows you to add effects and text after the photo has been taken. You can add text, speech bubbles, play around with colours and add different effects. This is a normal photo.

and this is the same photo after I added some distortion

4. Retro Camera

This allows you to take pictures using five different styles of old camera and gives scratching and other vintage effects. These are some photos I took using this camera.

As you can see it is great for vintage retro effects.

It is definitely worth taking your camera phone with you when you are out and about, as you can see you can get excellent photos and tweak them to get interesting effects.

A day in the life of a Samsung Galaxy Pro

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Dragons and Fairy Dust

As you know I am a Samsung Mob!ler and our latest mission was to show a day in the life of our mobile phone. We had to do a video to show this and this is my attempt. I really hope you enjoy it.

If I ever lost my phone I would be totally lost, it has so much information stored on it in the way of contact information, calendars, peoples birthdays and so on. Its only when you start to think what you use your phone for that you realise how much you actually rely upon it. In this video I have only scratched the surface of the things it is possible to do with a phone today, mobile phones have changed so much from the days when they were large bricks with very long aerials. Now a phone is a mobile computer with lots of features which we don’t realise how much we use till they are gone.

Samsung Galaxy Pro Review

Posted on August 6, 2011 by Dragons and Fairy Dust

I was recently sent a Samsung Galaxy Pro by Samsung as part of their Samsung Mob!ler program. The Samsung Galaxy Pro is an Android smartphone that combines a full QWERTY keyboard with a 2.8 inch touch screen. The phone offers a 3 megapixel camera, a media player with FM radio, internet access and wi-fi. It is aiming to gap in the market for smart phones with QWERTY keyboards that has been mainly occupied by Blackberry.

Appearance
The phone is sleek in appearance, although it does feel rather wider than the phones I am used to using. Underneath the main screen you will find four hardware buttons, Home, Menu, Back and Search. These are raised and easy to use. Below this is the keyboard and the keys are domed and have a nice feel to them.

The back is dimpled which makes it easier to grip and makes it look different from other handsets. As well as being wide it is very flat, which makes it rather distinctive. On the top you will find the USB port and the headphone jack. The left hand side has the volume buttons and the right hand side has the power button, which also doubles as a sleep button. The bottom has a little gap which makes it easier to remove the cover.

Interface

The Galaxy Pro runs Android 2.2 (Froyo) and also has TouchWiz 3.0 to make it easier for the novice to use. This includes four icons on the right hand side of the page giving easy access to the dialler contacts, messaging and the app drawer. It has several home pages that can be easily customised. It is shipped with the standard google apps gmail, google maps with navigation and access to the android marketplace and over 150,000 downloadable applications. The phone has an 800 MHz processor so it is reasonably fast and 512MB of internal memory. The memory can be expanded with a memory card, a 2 GB card is supplied but it will support up to 32 GB.

User Experience

The call quality is good and it is really easy to send a text on this phone, the combination of keypad and touch screen come into their own at this point. The contact menu is easy to navigate.

The phone includes a 3.2 megapixel camera, producing pictures of 2048 x 1536 pixels. The camera does not have a flash but is easy to use and navigate with the touch screen. There are basic options allowing you to change the brightness and white balance. It is easy to swap from the camera to the video mode which supports QVGA resolution at 30 frames per second. The camera also has autofocus, but it cannot be used if the SD memory card is not in place.

For those of us who like music there is a FM radio included, along with the Music Player and Video Player. These are easy to use.

The phone has wi-fi connectivity as well as 3G and the internet browser is well integrated and easy to use. Bluetooth 3.0 is also supported. The screen lacks pinch to zoom which can be a little bit annoying when browsing but you can tap to zoom instead.

The Samsung Galaxy Pro has a Li-Ion 13 mAh standard battery that will provide a standby time of up to 610 hours in 2G and 430 hours in 3G. If you are talking you get a talk time of up to 11 hours in 2G and 6.1 hours in 3G.

Summary

This is a nice phone that is easy to use. If you are looking for a phone with a QWERTY keyboard this one is a reasonable middle of the range smart phone. If you want a phone that does messaging, plays music has a selection of cool apps then this phone could be for you.

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