Samsung Galaxy S2 to get Ice Cream Sandwich

All ready caught up and overtaken in some cases (experia .  It's apples turn now to play catchup with the iphone 5.

On a seperate note, I was playing with a windows 7 phone (lumina) the other day.  They are actually really nice.  The processor on paper is not all that, but in practice the phone is really smooth and nice.  The GUI is a little more interesting than the current iphone / android operating systems too.

Might even be my next choice.  It's nice to be different

I had a Samsung Galaxy Portal and upgraded to an S2.  Both have the same resolution but the S2's screen is larger so the PPI is less.  Using the Kindle reader on both phones, the first thing I noticed was how jagged characters looked on the S2 compared to the Portal because of the reduced PPI.

I love my S2, but do wish for a higher-res screen, the same way that the new iPad has caught my attention with it's higher res screen.  Prior to that, I'd not been interested in any tablet device because compared to my 1080p and 1920x1200 laptops, the resolution on most tablets is too low to interest me and this makes such a difference when browsing the web.

300ppi is probably enough though.

Anyway, looking forward to the ICS update for my S2

I was surfing WHF over a coffee yesterday (no zoom but in 'landscape' orientation) easily, from the distance of the tabletop, on my iPhone 4.

I was also reading this extract from a book review (again, no zoom, using  landscape* and from tabletop distance)...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/9088694/Capital-by-John-Lanchester-Exclusive-extract.html

I don't think I have 'golden eyes'.

*Just tested it again and 'landscape' or 'Portrait' makes no difference to font size as the text is just reformatted to a wider or thinner column respectively.

Last time I went for an eye test I was told I was one of the lucky ones who has 20-20 vision.  Does that mean I have golden eyes?  Hold on, doesn't David Beckham have golden..... ah yes, that was something else and I definitely don't have them!

You realise that dpi on a 15" 1920x1200 laptop is less than 150? Less than 130 on a 17".

I am getting tempted to buy a tablet, probably the Samsung Galaxy 8.9". 1280x800, ppi of around 170. More than enough

If ppi was of no relevance then an sd tv would be as sharp as a hd tv. But of course they're not. But once a ppi has been reached-in relation to viewing distance and screen size, that makes pixels impossible to see, no gains can be had from a higher ppi. That's why 4k2k is pointless. 

I'd call that very good near-sight! There's no way I could do that, no matter the resolution, the text is simply too small. I just tried it on my Desire HD, and I have to bring it within a foot to read it, and then it's not particularly comfortable.

To be fair, I am slightly long-sighted though ! :=)

Indeed, it's just that I appreciate the higher ppi on my phone because I use it everyday for reading books.  However, I'd love to have higher-res screens for my laptops and work PCs too.  I stare at the damn things enough!

I don't know at what point the human eye can no longer make out individual pixels and I'm sure it's different for each of us.  I remember years ago when printers output at less than 300dpi and that was seen as the level to aim for for good-quality printing.

For reading I use a Kindle. Far better than any tablet or phone I've tried But obviously it needs a light on at night

Perhaps you could get a pair of those distinguished looking 'half moon' reading glasses (with a neck chain). Peering over them at people must be good fun...

(He is indicating the width of his iPad I think...)

I'd like to use a Kindle too (my wife has one and loves it), but I already carry a phone, headphones, 3DS and laptop (+ full set of waterproofs) in my bag so I'm trying to avoid carrying around anymore devices on my daily commute.

I disagree, and didnt say it was of no relevance, that would be dumb. But screens are getting bigger. There is a clear difference even to me with my obviously average eyesight between 720 and 1080 on my 55" screen, sitting about 10 ft away.

4k2k will be worth having when 55" is the norm and people are watching 60" + screens or projectors (which they will).

It's one of the reasons I hate the cinema...the poor quality of the picture compared to blueray. I watched "Inception" at the flicks, then on BR recently, and the home experience was far better imo. Much (much) better picture quality.

SD is very low ppi, so it's obvious HD will be better... ppi on most smart phones (even low spec) is way higher than on say a 17" laptop.

I think I'd prefer one of these...

...for the sheer audacity

Ah, Panasonic's new 1.5D monocle and head mounted subwoofer combo.

You're gonna need a bigger car...