It’s been almost a year since I moved up to a Smartphone. I did not jump on the first wave of Apple Smartphones because I wanted to see how the market shook out and what competitors would offer. It is so typical to see technology get refined in a short period of time after the market becomes established.

My final choices at the time were the Apple iPhone i3 and the new-on-the-market “dark horse” at the time, the Samsung Galaxy 3 that I eventually bought.

My advice: Never buy first-generation, always buy the next generation of products where everything becomes more refined.

Within the last year, I have used the Galaxy 3 and have been satisfied with it. The pictures taken from the internal camera have been great and have a crisper resolution than most other digital cameras I have used.

It also had the NFC chip in it that provides the “digital wallet” capability that is becoming an interesting option in the area of retail purchases. An NFC chip lets you check out your purchases with your Smartphone without having to use any credit cards. That capability was not available on the Apple i3 at the time and it did not come out on the Apple i4.

ADDING OPTIONS

When I bought the Galaxy 3 last year, I added another 16GB of memory, so that the total storage was 32 GB of memory. On the new (Galaxy 4) phone, it can expand to 64GB of memory. Overkill? With the apps that are out there today, I would say no. Plus, memory is so cheap, just add it on.

Another “option” that I was talked into by the salesperson was a Motorola “hands free” Roadster 2 Bluetooth Speakerphone which would give you hands-free capabilities in the car. I usually buy something without adding a lot of options, but I decided to take her advice and I am glad I bought the unit.

I am very satisfied with it, but I have heard others have had mixed reviews on its quality. Bottom line, research all the brands and get one for the car. It is a very good investment and portable – you can take it from car-to-car. It makes your Smartphone (no matter what brand) much more versatile.

Overall, I was satisfied with the selections and have followed some of the issues and concerns of people within the Smartphone market. More people are buying them and the whole Smartphone market is changing many other markets like retail industries, entertainment venues, convention centers and sports stadiums.

Smartphones have become the new “edge technology” that interacts with systems in these other areas to provide new capabilities like buying merchandise, watching instant replays, ordering food and teamwear from a stadium seat, and other new capabilities.

I have written a white paper that includes the adoption and usage of the Smartphone in next-generation real estate and IREC (Intelligent Retail/ Entertainment/ Convention Center) complexes: “Intelligent Infrastructure and Its Impact on Regional Sustainability”

(http://iwcs.omnibooksonline.com/ – Look up Carlini in author index)

SO WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE SAMSUNG GALAXY 4?

The Samsung Galaxy 4 is going to come out on March 14, 2013. Early previews and “leaked” announcements of the Galaxy 4 cover new features and functionalities. Rumored capabilities include:

A quad-core processor running at 1.7 GHz, upgraded from a 1.4-GHz chip in the S3 (with a 30% lower power consumption – rumored to be the Samsung Exynos 5 Dual – http://www.samsung.com/global/business/semiconductor/minisite/Exynos/products5dual.html )

13-mega-pixel camera with a 2.2. mega-pixel front-facing camera

Wireless battery charging (with an optional dock)

Eye-tracking capability where it will be able to detect when you finish reading and automatically move ahead and scroll forward (this is getting a lot of industry attention)

Improved power saving over the Galaxy 3 (which was better than most other Smartphones last year – my wife’s LG Smartphone bought at the same time needs more frequent re-charging)

GALAXY IS HERE TO STAY

Apple tried to litigate Samsung out of the market and lost on that strategy. The real winner from that failed litigation is the consumer. The Smartphone market is moving forward fast and the new capabilities that are coming out so rapidly are changing the way people interact in society. From watching instant replays on a Smartphone at a stadium to buying items without having to pull out a credit card,

With the product launch tomorrow, they are building a lot of excitement through YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/SAMSUNGmobile?v=YzkfC7–jog

Now is the time to upgrade to a Smartphone if you are still walking around with older technology. I am thinking of getting one just to see how the new improvements work within the wireless environment of retail, telemedicine and other industries clearly affected by this technology.

CARLINI-ISM : Smartphones are impacting more than the communications industry. They are impacting retail transactions, customer service interactions, medicine, and everyday life.

Follow daily Carlini-isms at www.TWITTER.com/JAMESCARLINI

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