Samsung's Galaxy S III doesn't boast 41-megapixel captures or top-of-the-line optics. Instead, its camera's strengths are in its intelligent organization and social features, increasing the handset's appeal as a point-and-shoot alternative for casual photographers. Samsung's latest round of compacts and mirrorless dedicated snappers reaffirm suspicions that the company is taking a different approach to photography, focusing on connectivity and social enhancements, rather than updated sensor and low-light shooting technologies. While such decisions may prompt advanced shooters to bring their business to competitors, it highlights Samsung's strengths on a broader level, as a connectivity enabler, rather than a camera maker.
The company is clearly committed to growing its ecosystem and uniting product divisions in an effort to increase penetration throughout different categories, developing sharing tools that simplify workflows and increase appeal. Samsung's latest flagship smartphone packs standard specs, like 8-megapixel stills and 1080p video, but it offers a handful of software features that combine to make the device a compelling upgrade, especially from an imaging perspective. Join us past the break as we detail the Galaxy S III's photography enhancements, from Best Photo to Face Zoom.
Continue reading Samsung Galaxy S III focuses on photography sharing features, not cutting-edge optics
Samsung Galaxy S III focuses on photography sharing features, not cutting-edge optics originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 May 2012 14:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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When Facebook first announced Offers you we're probably wondering if there was even room for yet another coupon service. Between Google, Groupon, Yelp, Living Social and countless others we're not entirely sure there's a niche left untapped for Facebook, but that isn't going to stop Zuck and crew from trying. The service is officially rolling out as we speak, and offering its wares to any business with a Facebook page, regardless of size. The hope is that it'll catch on with smaller businesses in particular, which will now have an easy way to place deals directly into user's news feeds. Of course, after the failure of Facebook Deals, you'd be forgiven for assuming this experiment is doomed from moment one. Check out the video after the break and the source link for more details.
Facebook's massively expanding its Download Your Information service into an all-encompassing archive of the data Mr. Zuckerberg collects about your daily dose of people-stalking. DYL was introduced in 2010 and allowed you to pull down all the photos, posts, messages, friend lists and chat conversations in the archives -- but now will also offer stored IP addresses, previous names you've used, friend requests you've made, with further categories due in the future. It'll have to sate the concerns of privacy organizations worldwide, since it's rumored to collect 84 different categories of information about you (85 if you count all those Instagram photos it just bought). It'll be gradually rolled out to all 845 million users in the coming weeks and is available from your general account settings.
It's no secret that Facebook encourages users to spend as much time as possible on the site, doing things like sharing photos, playing games, chatting, and of course, sharing status updates. Now, the company is giving students a reason to visit that's actually related to academics. 'Groups for schools' creates a virtual venue for collegiate collaboration, letting students and faculty members share un-copyrighted files within the groups created for their sports teams, clubs and even individual classes. There is a file limit of 25MB in play, so consider those dreams of sharing videos and zipped up apps crushed -- you'll also need to provide a .edu address that matches the school before Facebook grants you admission. At first, online cliques will be limited to colleges in the US, though global institutions will eventually be permitted to join in on the fun as well. In the meantime, who knows -- perhaps Dropbox will also launch some kind of super-secret, exclusive club in the near future.
Remember Orkut? You know, one of Google's early efforts at diving into the social networking game. Well, the website's still operating at full force, with more than three quarters of its 66 million users coming from Brazil and India alone. The point is, Big G's still keeping tabs on the O network, thus the news of an improved YouTube integration shouldn't come as a surprise. With the fresh features, Orkut folks are able to watch / listen to videos without having to step out of their current session, saving them an extra trip to YouTube's site. Of course, similar to Facebook or Orkut's more popular relative Google+, friends can see whether you're watching kitty vids or Kony 2012. Voc
Google isn't quite calling it version 2.0, but today's update to its flagship social product is just that. As with most Mountain View projects, the new Google+ will rollout gradually, but as it does it may just lure back some of those who jumped ship early on. The UI has been greatly streamlined with a customizable ribbon of shortcuts on the left and your buddy list moved to the right. The main interface has been tidied up quite a bit and a new focus has been placed on one of the universally beloved features of the beleaguered social network -- Hangouts. The video chat party lines will be getting their own dedicated home page too, allowing you to quickly peruse any Hangouts that are available to you. Even profiles are getting a dramatic facelift with larger photos and Sparks have officially been retired in favor of an Explore tab. Perhaps most welcome though is the enhanced multimedia sharing. To see all the fancy new features in action check out the videos after the break. And, of course, let us know if you're seeing the shiny new layout on your end -- we're still waiting on Google to flip the switch for us.
