Although I have been a – heavy – Galaxy SII user for almost one year now I, sometimes, go back to my Nexus One, not only to see how amazing is the Galaxy SII compare to what smartphones were before but also for various activities. For instance, we were in vacation in South-East Asia this summer and we traveled in pretty harsh conditions – it was the time when Thailand and Cambodia got flooded – I was happy to use my (survivor) N1 to listen to music – stored on a 32 Go micro SD-card -, to browse the web -although Cambodian’s wifi doesn’t work often – and, it was a life savior, to get GPS localization. Of course having music and internet was essential, especially for nerds like us, but GPS, in Cambodia, where we traveled using buses and where people don’t speak very well – if they speak – English, was absolutely essential to get out of trains or buses at the right stop. Even though the N1 is – hardware wise – quite limited, with its old AMOLED display – you can’t see anything during sunny days -, its lack of big internal storage and its funky tactile buttons, it is still a good companion and it does the work! I was running CM7 during our trip.

Anyway, I was still really happy to go back to the GSII. It was harsher to go back, for a brief moment, a few days ago, to my old N1, while my GSII had to be repaired. I installed the Alpha version of the ICS based MIUI 4, but realized – even with the hardware accelerated graphics working – how laggy ICS would be on the N1 and went back to CM7. The N1 grew even older with ICS, since it obviously runs better with GB on it. But, you know, it felt quite nice to go back to GB for a few days, after more than two months of ICS experimental use!

I am a new Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) user. I installed the Alpha Cyanogen Mod 9 version for the Galaxy S II a few days ago and played with a Galaxy Nexus (GN) for a few hours now.

ICS is the latest Android OS version, I will give you my main impressions about it right now: it makes Gingerbread (GB) and Froyo look absolutely obsolete. I have used the 3 last Android OS versions – Eclair, Froyo and GB, every version is a big step forward for Google in the mobile world.

A brand new UI

The first time you get to play with ICS, you will be stuned by the new UI that Google developed. This is the main new feature. It looks amazing, the blue and dark atmosphere feats perfectly with the UI, every moves and interface elements seem natural and perfectly thought.

The new applications deck is well though but not revolutionary, the widget deck as well, but the new multitask interface and notification bar are pure genius. The old, but practical, multitask interface that the previous Android versions were featuring has been replaced by a list of previewed apps that were opened previously and that are running in the background. That way, you can clearly see what you opened and switch between applications. Also, you are now able to close an app just by swiping it away. The new notifications bar, when unscrolled,  looks like what Android OS is famous for, but Google added some great ideas: you have now more information regarding your incoming email, messages, … You also can select which notification you are going to remove, you don’t need anymore to remove every pending notification at once, this is a great addition. A “general parameters” shortcut has also been added at the top of that bar. Too bad Google didn’t add the wifi/bluetooth/gps/sound CM widget at the top of that bar, but this is already great (you can get that by installing CM9). The new parameters interface is really well thought too, it gives you a direct access to wifi and bluetooth switchs, it gives you battery and data usage statistics, you have now more settings to “play” with.

The new files on the home screen are now as nice as what you can find in IOS, you can also create folders on the dock, which is great. The contacts, phone and camera interfaces are really nice and fast/easy to use.

Overall, every aspect of the UI have been enhanced, this is an entirely new design, and that is great – that is what IOS has been lacking for years, design and UI novelty.

New Google apps versions

The new Google applications versions are great, I think about Gmail for instance which is clearer and faster, but also the widgets that go with these apps – Calendar, Gmail, … I will only talk about the Google apps that I use. The new Android browser is great. I am a convinced Dolphin browser and Opera browser user but with ICS I will stick to the stock browser. It is blasting fast, it synchs with your desktop Chrome’s favorites, it has a new multi-pages interface, there are a lot of settings and it is almost taking advantage of the totality of your screen. The new Gtalk version is amazing, it is very fast, stable and clear, the video works really well, even on 3G. The Google Music app works really well with ICS, it is faster and prettier. I am not a big fan of the new Email app version, but I never really used that app. The Google Maps app is still as useful as before – although a bit laggy I think, but maybe this is linked to this very early CM9 alpha build.

Great performances – CM9 will be amazing

I have to say that I wouldn’t go back to GB now that I tasted that sweat sweat Google ICS – nor another OS actually. Beside its new UI, ICS is considerably faster at every level. I have to admit that I mostly used the CM9 build, which is amazing, but the Galaxy Nexus provides also a smooth, fast and flawless experience. Faster to boot and reboot, to load data and to open and close apps, ICS is really great tu use. I couldn’t detect any lag. Again, maybe CM teams made an AOSP ICS version even more efficient than the stock GN ICS firmware, but I doubt it since the current build is at the Alpha stage, not even Beta. It gives huge expectations to all of us regarding the future CM9 RC version and the final CM9 build. I didn’t experience lags, even while scrolling between homescreens, loaded with many widgets. An amazing experience while using Android! Even with GB lags – if you were not using launchers like Launcher pro – were often experienced, at every level of the Android UI.

It’s difficult to evaluate the actual battery life that ICS provides when you used a Rom for only 2 days and when you are using an Alpha build of CM. Although, my current feeling is that the battery life using that build is sightly worst than with the latest GB Samsung Rom. Although, I have the feeling that the battery life will be similar with ICS, compare to what we could experience with GB.

A great user experience

In conclusion, I really think ICS is a huge step forward. This is, to me, the best OS currently available, and I truly wonder what Google will bring with its next Android version, it will be hard to do better. I guess this new UI won’t be changed for a while, and I won’t complain.

I would like to thank CM teams, and especially Codeworkx, the amazing dev who brought an AOSP ICS rom to the GSII, especially that early.

You can find the latest CM9 ICS build for the Galaxy SII, developed by Codeworkx here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1410400.

Airbus announced a few weeks ago some sad news: no more A340 will be built, the program is dead, the A340 is no more – well there is still a couple of hundreds of A340 that will be flying for years all around the world but the A340 won’t be sold new anymore. Beside a few business configurated A340, no more A340 will be built and delivered.

I had amazing experiences aboard of A340s, I flew aboard of a couple of Turkish Airlines A340-300s a few years ago, but also, for one of the best flight of my life, I flew aboard of a Qatar Airways A340-600 – that you can see below. The A340-600 is to my opinion – I am not the only one who thinks that – the most comfortable “main stream” jetliner ever built – maybe with the A380. It offers a quiet and comfy experience – it is usually configurated with a sweat 2-4-2 set and the 4 engine jet is well known for its incredibly quiet cabin.

The A340 was created in the 80s by Airbus to compete with Boeing’s 777. In 1991 the first A340, a A340-2, flies. The A340-3 was sold at the same moment. At the end of the 90s, Airbus launched the A340-5 and A340-6, against the Boeing’s 777-2LR and 777-300(soon to be ER). Even though the last two variants were a commercial failure, Airbus sold less than 30 A340-5s and less than 100 A340-6s, the A340 has been pretty successful – Airbus sold around 400 A340s. The A340 was killed by the last gen Boeing 777-300ER, which was better in anyways, and by the on-going Airbus A350 program. The A350 is suppose to replace the A340 in Airbus’ catalog. Airbus hadn’t sold – to not business carriers – a A340 for years, it was almost natural to stop the program.

The A340 family fulfills many roles, the A340-2 is a 300 passengers plane which has a long range of 8 000 nm. It is smaller than the A340-3 which is able to carry more than 300 passengers – 335 with a 2 class configuration, it has a lower range of 7 400 nm. The A340-5 was launched to compete with Boeing’s 777-2LR, it has a 8 650 nm range, it can carry more people than the A340-300 (around 350). It is bigger than the A340-2/3, the A340-6 being even longer and taller, which allows it to carry more than 400 passengers, with a maximum range of 7 700 nm. The A340-6 was a true 777-300ER competitor, but like its other A340s brothers, its 4 engines make it more fuel hungry and its range doesn’t compete with the 777-300ER.

The 777-300ER is the true reason why the last launched A340-5/6 were a “commercial failure”. The 777-300ER reaches a max range of 7 930 nm, with a seating capacity of more than 400 passengers. It is close to the A340-6′s performances but the 777-300ER burns less fuel, it is the current most important point.

The A340 is a huge success in many ways

First, it allowed Airbus to compete with Boeing on the “big plane” market – even if the A340 program is based on the A310 design and the A320 cockpit design, it was a necessary step to launch the A380 and the A350. It made of Airbus a serious player.

Second, the A340 is a great plane, and it is still a relative commercial success. As I said before, Airbus sold around 400 A340s, which is a good number. The A340 is also a safe and reliable plane, even if a few A340s were written off, no “serious crash” – and mortal crash- occurred with the A340 – yet. Many of the biggest international carriers use or used the A340, Air France being one of the main A340 operator.

Third, this is – to me – one of the prettiest bird ever created. The A340-5 is a beautiful aircraft for instance.

Thank god we will still be flying the A340 all around the world for years, but more and more carriers are getting rid of their A340s. By the time the A350 will be flying for a carrier, the A340 will be more and more a rare bird. The “big players” – like Emirates, Air France, Lufthansa, … – are already planning on using A350s, 787s, 747-8s and A380s to replace their A340s.

I say bring it on Google!

It was yesterday that Apple announced its new iPhone 4S and the release of IOS5. Even if we underlined that Apple made important improvements regarding its mobile platform and its new iPhone version, many of us have been disappointed by the firm’s yesterday announcements. I’ll tell you why: for the first time since the first iPhone Apple is behind, this year the company only tried to reduce the gap that appeared between Android and IOS and between the iPhone and the current high end Android devices.

It’s going too fast

Even if it is fairly disappointing, Apple didn’t innovate much this year, but tried to create a device and a platform that would stay competitive against its competition, this is understandable:  Android truly changed the way things are evolving. Before, the mobile world was encountering one big wave of innovation by year, in 2010 it was the 1Ghz processor, the 521 Mo of RAM and many features like the front camera, …. Apple was always leading against an immature OS, Android, and obsolete WP OS and WebOS. Now, with Android dominating the world markets, everything is going way faster: new powerful devices  are rolling out almost every month, and Android is always evolving, through new versions – Ice Cream Sandwich will be launched very soon, but also through constructors’ skins, core apps updates, developers creations… IOS only evolves once a year, and the iPhone is now always keeping up with the competition, cause it’s going way faster.

The end of an era?

Apple is not losing though, the company is selling more and more iPhones and iPads. But Android has the advantage, with IOS5 Apple succeeded to put its platform almost at the same level as Honeycomb and Gingerbread, we will see how big the gap will be with Ice Cream Sandwich. At the end of the day Apple’s strength is still effective: marketing, design and stability. And that’s good enough for the mass market. We will see if the new situation that we talked about will play against this fact.

No it won’t be the iPhone 5 nor the iPhone 4GS but the iPhone 4S: the new iPhone.

Oh surprise it will be better!

It will be featuring a A5 dual core processor, it said to be at least twice faster than the A4. The phone has apparently has better graphic performances (7x faster) than the iPhone 4 – thanks to its A5 processor I guess.

It will have a better autonomy: 40 h for music, 8 h for 3g, … – hm hm I can’t wait to test that.

Faster download/data speed: it said to be twice faster – 14.4 Mbps down and 5.8 Mbps up against 7.2 Mbps down and 5.8 Mbps up for the iPhone 4. It’s said to be as fast as the Atrix and other Android “4G’ phones.

A better, faster and lighter camera: 8 MP, more than 30 % faster. 1080p video recording.

It is said to be, and I quote, “The most amazing iPhone yet” – and I will add “until next year!”.

The prices – with contract: 199$/€>16 GB, 299$/€>32GB and 399$/€>64GB. It will be available starting October 14th in France, USA, Canada, Australia, UK, Germany and Japan. On October 28th for “the rest of the world” (where Apple sells its iPhone).

The iPhone 4 is still available for 99$ and the 8GB iPhone 3GS will be free (with contract of course).

IOS5′s new features are being detailed right now. Nothing stunning in the mobile world, but a huge evolution for IOS.

First, iCloud: nothing surprising here, a free cloud service that will push your documents to all your IOS devices. It will sync your pictures, music, … (I wonder how much data you will need to use that service properly!)

Second, the new notification bar. Like Android, IOS will be now featuring a notification bar, you will have to scroll down the notification center. Nothing very surprising here either – maybe Google will sue Apple for that “invention”…

Third, the Twitter integration. Apple said to have “deeply integrated” Tweeter into IOS. No need to log in anymore, no need to use an app to share pictures, …

Fourth, iMessage, a BBmessenger like service that allow you to communicate directly with other iOS devices. It sounds like Gtalk as well.

Fifth, Siri: a new voice control  that looks like what you can have with Android: you can now command you iPhone with you voice – to text, set an alarm, …. This last feature seems quite nice though, very efficient. It also allows you to dictate e-mails/messages. It will support, at launch, English, French and German.

And a lot of small features: Find my iPhone, for some obvious purposes, the possibility to add shortcuts on you lockscreen, Cards, a weird service that give you the “chance” to create postcards that Apple will send for you for a fee, …

IOS5 will be available on October 12th for the 3GS, 4 and 4S – that will be launched on October 14th.

This week Amazon announced a whole new family of e-readers, Kindles, but also the heavily rumored Amazon Tablet, Fire. This Android tablet is – hardware wise – very 2011: it is featuring a 7″ multi-touch IPS display (which is very nice) with a 1024 x 600 pixel resolution, a Gorilla glass screen, 512 of RAM (I’m guessing here), 8 GO of ROM – with an unlimited and free cloud storage, Wi-fi (b,g,n,…), a micro-USB connector, … nothing special (No 3G here nor SD card slot). It really looks like RIM’s Playbook. But with this baby Amazon has shaken the world of tablets, for two reasons:

- First, the price tag: 199 $. If you compare that price with what Samsung, HTC, Apple, … offer, this is extremely low! Even if the Fire’s hardware is not very impressive – it is not bad though, for that price it is a great deal.

- You will have access to the whole Amazon store: music, books, videos, …. This is where Amazon beats the competition – even Apple.

Now that I said that, here are my apprehensions concerning that product:

- There is no SD-card slot. I know, 8 GO is not that bad, and the cloud will give you plenty of space to stock your movies, books, … But you need to have access to Wi-fi – We come back from a trip from Asia and while you’re travelling you don’t always have access to internet, sometimes for days, even weeks. I think Amazon should have added a SD-card slot, to let you manage, yourself and with your own content, your tablet. But this is a smart move from Amazon, it pushes the user to get content from their stores. You will still be able to transfer your content from your computer through USB and Wi-Fi, but the lack of a SD-card slot is a bad thing for me – if you compare to what the others manufacturers offer. Amazon is stating that “You don’t need a computer anymore”, the message is clear: the Fire is a tablet for Amazon content.

- The software: Amazon didn’t underline much that the Fire is running Android. This is mostly due to the fact that Amazon created a very intrusive skin that almost make the Android UI vanish. There is also no Android Market. Even if I think that it is great that Amazon was able to create something new with Android, it will limit the user’s experience – in terms of apps variety, tweaks and customization, and surely push the device  away from further Android updates – IceCream Sandwich and Co. Sure the Fire is not the only device that will encounter those problems – Samsung and HTC’s skins are very heavy, and developers’ community will surely allow you to enjoy new innovative firmwares, but I think Amazon had the intelligence and the stupidity to create a device that stands very far away from the Android world.

We’ll need to see how the device performs and what Amazon is planning regarding its future – in 2011, someone smart doesn’t buy a device without thinking about how it will evolve, or if it has a chance to evolve. Anyway, the huge strength of the Fire is its price, for sure.

Apple has been suing many companies for years, but the firm has attacked many big players this year, Samsung and HTC in particular. Apple is constantly complaining that other manufacturers, the big players HTC, Nokia and Samsung mostly, are copying IOS and the Iphone designs. Even if it is understandable that Apple wants to protect its creations, yes it is true that the Samsung’s Galaxy S really looks like the Iphone 3G/3GS, or that Google took a look at IOS to create Android, … okay, but man you’ve got to innovate and to look ahead if you want your competitors to go down. That’s what Apple did for years, but now that Google is moving faster than anyone, Apple is trying whatever it can to stop struggling. I think this is sad, since the creation of Android, its main competitor, Apple played it safe, the company tried to stop their opponents using law, less innovation is now Apple’s everyday reality…  Apple keeps its platform closed and refuse to introduce useful innovations (Widgets anyone?). Not that many innovations appeared since IOS 3, Apple is now trying to keep up, introducing multitask after every mobile systems did, video conference, …

Apple you need to focus on innovation, like you – almost -always did in the mobile sphere, and stop to try to stop others to innovate.

Few months ago, I quickly understood the heavily leaked Samsung Galaxy SII would be my next phone. My Nexus One being a bit tired (just a little bit) and this new phone being ahead of its time, I was sure about that. And I was right, I ordered a few days ago and received it last week, I’ll give you my first impressions regarding this device.

Hardware

Some people say the Galaxy SII is too plasticky. Alright, it isn’t made of aluminium and its Gorillaglass screen doesn’t look like glass. Anyway, even if it is made of plastic, it looks great, it’s super thin – it makes the Iphone 4 look fat – and the device’s built quality is simply perfect. The back of the phone is a little bit scary to remove and to replace, but it is solid. Overall I think it is one of the best looking device on the market right now.

Beside its look, the SGII is featuring some amazing specs. The Super AMOLED Plus device is simply stunning, it puts the Iphone 4 to shame.

Performances

No surprises there, the GSII is one of the first dual cores processor phone on the market and it is blasting fast, it is completing every task super fast. With 1 GO of RAM, multitasking is lag free. The 16 GO of ROM are useful (around 2 GO for the system), moreover with its Micro SD port, you can easily add 32 GO of ROM to your device. I think the GSII is the fastest and the most efficient smartphone on the market today. It will surely quickly evolve, but I think this device being capable to be solid enough to perfectly support the next Android OS version (and even more).

Software

I must admit that, like many people, my main disappointment regarding the GSII is Touhwizz. As a N1 user, I have a hard time enjoying this skin – which is more than a skin. It looks uglier, adds useless features, replaces stock android features with crappy widgets/apps, … As you can read, I don’t really like Touchwizz, even if I have to admit that it is way better than what HTC or moreover Motorola are “adding” to Android. Not everything is bad about Touchwizz, the way you can navigate through the home screens is really pleasant and the overall experience is really smooth. It is a shame that not much is customizable. Anyway, with a launcher and some tweaks – or with alternative ROMs – you can enhance the experience. Beside that, the Samsung apps are quite useless (Their hubs and co), it is certainly not why you gonna buy this phone. Kies allows you to browse your phone’s contents and messages/features on your computer through the air, this is quite nice, but then again not that useful.

Beside Touchwizz, Android 2.3.3 is great, nothing much to add except that the OS version is taking a all new level with a dual core processor and 1 GO of RAM.

Update: The GSII’s 2.3.4 ROM leaked, there now several alternative ROMs available. Check the XDA’s forum for more informations.

Camera

The GSII’s 8 Mega-pixels camera is quite good, similar to the Iphone 4′s camera. It is capable of filming at 1080p. The camera is snappy and produces good pictures. My main complain: the sound that it makes when you take a picture that you can’t disable… there are already some tricks to disable it and alternative ROMs are featuring a better option. Samsung, I don’t understand your choices here… Who really wants that sound? It is really loud!

Here are some pictures taken with the GSII:

(A little test, that shows that even at night and during a storm the device’s video recording capability gives good results)

Sound

Some of you will be interested to know more about the device’s sound quality. Well its speaker is loud and clear, when used with headphones the quality is decent. With some tweaks – apps like powamp or/and DSP Manager, or any equalizer – the sound is getting better. As an Ipod user I’m quite impressed by the device’s sound quality (using poweramp).

Autonomy

With its big battery, the GSII is able to last around a day and a half, or a day of heavy use. It is performing better that a Nexus One for instance. Anyway, we still can feel the device’s display draining a bit the battery. I must add that I used the phone in summer, during sunny days, it can explain my feeling. The GSII is a smartphone, which means that it has a short autonomy.

Update: Reception

The device’s reception is quite good, at least as good as the N1 reception. The major problem is the way the device seems to manage the 3G – HSPDA reception, many users complained about a weird problem – I confirm this major problem: while the phone can access the HSPDA network, it is always switching between 3G and HSPDA and it is harder to load anything. This is a big problem, some services, like the Google Music Beta, are almost useless… Let’s hope Samsung will release a solution to that problem, the last leaked ROM seems to bring so major ameliorations, without fixing entirely the problem.

Update: It seems that the two latest leaked firmwares KKG3 and KKG6′s radios fix this problem. I tested both radios, KKG3 removed almost it, KKG6 seems even better regarding that matter, we’ll see how it really works with time…

Conclusion

The Samsung Galaxy SII is today, to me, the best smartphone on the market. With its amazing display, its thin body, its good autonomy, and moreover its 1GO of RAM, 16GO of ROM and its Exynos dual core 1.2 Ghz processor, the Galaxy SII is “the must have device”. With all that and its HD capability (recording and reading), featuring a 8 MP camera and a 2 MP front camera, this device is a good camera/Multimedia Player/Game Console/Phone,… It is hard to go back to an Iphone 4 or to a N1! I just can’t wait to put CM on this baby to make it even more perfect!