Category: Samsung

Samsung Sends Out Invites For a Probable S6 Unpacked Event on 1st March

Samsung may be all set to bring out the next version of its S line of devices. If reports are to be believed than the Korean electronics giant is about to bring a completely redesigned device.

The invite sent out by the company for the unpacked event simply shows a curved edge of a device with the title “What’s Next.” The device is widely expected to be the upcoming S6 and is said to come with a curved display.

The Galaxy S6 is expected to flaunt an Ultra HD 4k display with 4GB RAM and a 20MP camera. The device is expected to be powered by a 64-bit Exynos 7420 and Broadcom’s new sensor chip. Samsung was previously working with the Snapdragon 810 processor but faced overheating issues. The company will now deploy Exynos 7 with LTE while Qualcomm has said that it will be reworking the Snapdragon 810 chipset for Samsung’s flagship devices.

…#GalaxyS6?… :) pic.twitter.com/2VUrPOcwsb

— Antonio Monaco (@Cinquetacche) January 31, 2015

A leaked render from a journalist named Antonio Monaco shows a device with slight curves on the edges. The render was confirmed by Sammobile to be authentic. The render shows the usual Samsung design features including the physical button. Samsung had said previously that it would be redesigning its product line to keep with the times. But if this render is what they have in store for us then it isn’t exactly a departure from the design philosophy that it has gone with in past five years.

February 3, 2015
Samsung Expected to Extend Gear VR Support to Galaxy S Edge and Galaxy S6

Samsung’s recent innovation Gear VR, apart from latest smartphones and TVs, is far from reaching of masses. The reason was the fact that its compatibility with only one device, Samsung Galaxy Note 4. The company is putting effort to make the virtual reality headset a regular feature with smartphones, and is pushing support to more devices. According to SamMobile, the South Korean producer is adding two more devices to the compatibility list of Gear VR – Galaxy S Edge and Galaxy S6.

This doesn’t sound something really bizarre as the latest devices are likely to support the new invention. But it isn’t as simple as it seems.

The Gear VR, powered by Oculus, is a wearable put on the head that encloses Samsung Note 4. The gadget has been designed to fit a display of Note size, more that 5.3-inch, so that a viewer can get 96-degree viewing angle. According to the rumours, the Galaxy S Edge and Galaxy S6 will sport a 5.1-inch Quad HD display that cannot fit in to the big screen of the virtual reality headset. If the sources of SamMobile are to be believed, then the upcoming flagships may feature a display larger than 5.3 inches.

However, the company hasn’t confirmed its adaptability with both the devices and users have to wait for an official announcement.

January 29, 2015
Tizen-Powered Samsung Z1 Gets a Poor Response from the Indian Market

Samsung’s latest offering, the Tizen-powered Z1, was meant to be a ray of sunlight for the South Korean-based firm. The company expected to gain a foothold in the market by reaching maximum number of customers, subsequently boosting its declining market value. But things didn’t go as planned.

After its release on 14^th January, Samsung Z1 gained many responses, but almost all negative. The phone reviewers, as well as consumers, criticised its camera resolution and the dearth of applications for the device.

Samsung Z1 packs an ordinary set of specs, but what makes it stand out from the other available choices is the Samsung’s own operating system,Tizen, that has been developed to compete with Google’s Android.

For now, Tizen has a long way to go before it can battle with the already established contenders. The lack of apps turns out to be the biggest disappointment of the Tizen-powered smartphone.

Customers responded that it’s not the cheap smartphones they look for, but its the specifications that make the device. The South Korean electronics producer put its point forward saying that the Z1’s exclusive benefits are its simple interface, long battery life and faster page-loading speeds, which are all thanks to Tizen.

If Samsung puts an effort to expand its Tizen-based smartphone line-up beyond televisions and watches, they will get in touch with that segment of the Indian market which is still not accessible to smartphones. Meanwhile, the company hasn’t stated its plan to launch the Z1 in other countries. It says that its only focus, as of now, is India.

January 21, 2015
Samsung Wants to Partner With BlackBerry, Not Acquire it

Few days back, rumours about Samsung’s plans to acquire BlackBerry made the rounds. It was said that the South Korean company had offered close to $7.5 billion for the buyout. However, when the companies were approached for comment, both Samsung and BlackBerry denied the story. To reaffirm the same, the Co-Chief Executive of Samsung Electronics, J. K. Shin, made a statement that the company wants to work on an extended partnership but doesn’t aim to acquire BlackBerry at all.

[quote text_size=”small” author=”J.K. Shin”]

We want to work with BlackBerry and develop this partnership, not acquire the company.

[/quote]

Shin further added that they wish to extend the existing agreement, however, they are carefully keeping the details under wraps.

Late last year, Samsung closed a deal with BlackBerry which gave access to both the companies to sell mobile security technologies of the other company. Samsung also signed similar agreements with other companies such as Trix Systems Inc., Good Technology Inc., MobileIron Inc. and AirWatch.

The world’s largest maker of handsets respects its relationship with other companies and clarified that it is not eyeing the patent portfolio of BlackBerry, which carries the highest value in the technology world.

January 20, 2015
BlackBerry and Samsung Dismiss Reports of a Possible Merger

Earlier today, Reuters broke an exclusive news saying that Samsung is planning to buy BlackBerry. According to the international news agency, the South Korean electronics producer offered BlackBerry as much as $7.5 billion in view of its valuable patents.

As per the inside source of the agency, Samsung proposed to buy individual shares of the Canadian equipment manufacturer at a price of $13.35 to $15.49 per share, which is 22 percent higher than the current trading price of BlackBerry. Samsung is not the first company who has showed interest in acquiring BlackBerry. Back in 2014, Lenovo and few other firms were in rumours of the same buyout.

Meanwhile, both Samsung and BlackBerry have declined the ongoing acquisition reports. A spokesperson from Samsung simply commented:

Media reports of the acquisition are groundless.

BlackBerry also replied in the same tune and said that it had not engaged in any such discussions with Samsung with respect to purchase offer.

The news is no surprise and there are chances of these cries to be true as both are companies have reasons to sign this deal. BlackBerry is going through a rough patch and needs financial backing, whereas if Samsung cracks this deal, it might help it rebrand its image.

There are major reasons for these rumours to be true. First, if Samsung takes over BlackBerry, they would acquire the world’s best smartphone security systems. Secondly, we know that Samsung has shut dow its IM service ChatOn as it failed drastically to connect Samsung users.Meanwhile, BBM has 85 million monthly active users and Samsung could integrate the IM service to its devices to get hold of this large user base.

The third and the most vital cause of this could be the robust patent portfolio of BlackBerry. If Samsung succeeds in purchasing the Canadian star, it will get a hold of its networking, security and other important patents. Well, as of now, these are just rumours and nothing can be said until and unless these electronics giants stamp on these reports.

January 15, 2015
Hands On with the New Tizen-Based Samsung Z1

Android has taken over the market share and is widely available across multiple brands. Companies like Samsung, LG, Motorola and a lot of other companies have greatly benefitted from the Google’s open source operating system. But several electronic giants are attempting to come out of Android’s shadow and set up their own operating systems.

Samsung is attempting to break free from Android’s dominance with its homegrown Tizen OS. Samsung had already inducted Tizen in its Gear family of smartwatches and now they have launched the first phone based on the OS.

We got our hands briefly on the new Samsung Z1 which is the first phone based on the new operating system.

The Samsung Z1 totally looks like something that came out of Samsung’s stable. It has recognizable features including the physical button at the center. The phone has a metal-like casing that along with the polished back panel gives it a premium feel.

The Z1 is being marketed as a multimedia device and offers multitude of content through its tie-up with hungama.com and live tv options like BoxTv. But it comes with a 4-inch WVGA display that doesn’t feel adequate for a complete multimedia delight. The bit that is appreciated is the expandable storage option which is up to 64 GB; an amount great for multimedia hoarders.

Tizen OS looks and feels like the TouchWiz UI

Tizen OS looks and feels like the TouchWiz UI on Samsung’s Android devices. The only thing missing is the app drawer. The drop down menu too looks exactly the same as TouchWiz UI with similar setting options. It will be familiar interface for anyone switching from an Android device or upgrading from a feature phone into a smartphone.

Samsung claims most of the major apps are available on Tizen OS

The company has attempted to bring features from its higher end devices on Z1 like the ultra power saving mode, which up until now has been available on premium handsets like the Galaxy S5 and Note 4. It also offers 500 MB of free data plan with Reliance and Aircel for six months.

Overall, in the brief amount of time we spent with the device, we were excited to see Samsung trying to bring something new to its consumers. The device still falls short of competing with products like the Redmi 1S and the Moto E but is still a good effort. The company said that they will be refreshing their line-up of devices over the future and we would like to see where the new path leads Samsung.

January 14, 2015
Samsung Reportedly Working on Cheaper Galaxy Tab and Galaxy Note Alternatives

Even with all the competition, Samsung still holds the top position as the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer, but the passing year didn’t go so well for the company. Samsung is quite aware of the ground reality and it seems like the maker is working on restoring its lost authority in the smartphone market. According to an exclusive by SamMobile, Samsung is working on a line of four tablets, that might be the successors of Galaxy Tab 4 7.0 and the Galaxy Tab 4 10.1.

According to the report, the company might release four or more tablets. These offerings will be a part of the Galaxy Tab and Galaxy Note line-up. The Galaxy Tab AS (SM-T350/351) will be small and a successor of Galaxy Tab 4 7.0, while the larger Galaxy Tab AL (SM-T550/T551) will be a sibling of Galaxy Tab 4 10.1.

The other two speculated tablets, SM-P350/351 (Wi-Fi/Cellular) and SM-P550/551 (Wi-Fi/Cellular), may be the successors of Galaxy Note and Galaxy Note Pro series. The SM-P350/351 will flaunt a display of 7-inch or 8-inch and, on the other hand, the SM-P550/551 might sport a screen of 10 or 12 inches. The tablets will have the latest version of Google’s OS, Android 5.0 Lollipop, onboard.

The source states that the tablets are in its early stages and consumers can expect to get their hands on them by the second or fourth quarter of this year. No other details have been provided regarding their hardware, software or any other specifications. For now, we believe that Samsung will leave no stone unturned in appealing its mass audience and will bring out the devices in metallic finish, just as the Galaxy Note 4. With sales figures showing a negative graph, the company is expected to pack the devices with something really extravagant.

January 14, 2015

Samsung Launches its First Tizen-Based Smartphone in India

Samsung has finally launched its much awaited Tizen-based Z1 smartphone in an event held in New Delhi. As expected, the new Tizen OS powered smartphone is a budget smartphone. It sports a 4-inch WVGA (480x800p) PLS display and is powered by a 1.2GHz A7 dual-core processor and comes with 768MB RAM. The Z1 has 4GB of internal storage expandable up to 64GB via a microSD card.

On the imaging side, Z1 flaunts a 3.1MP rear camera with LED flash and a VGA front camera. It is powered by a 1500mAh battery. It will support 3G, Bluetooth 4.1, Wi-Fi and A-GPS connectivity option. Additional features include accelerometer, ultra power saving mode, private mode and ability to access browser pages offline.

Samsung, ultimately, aims to make Tizen the ‘OS of Everything’, making it the direct rival to Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS mobile platforms. At CES 2015, announced that all the 2015 TVs will be powered by Tizen OS.

However, the delays and the consumer skepticism for anything other than Android and iOS have meant that the devices running on Tizen haven’t been able to emerge from its initial stage.

With the launch of Tizen-OS powered Z1, the company has shifted its strategy, setting aside its high-end ambitions and aiming at emerging markets like India with cheap devices powered by the OS. Samsung Z1 is priced at Rs. 5,700 and will go on sale today, on both online and offline stores.

Specs	Samsung Z1
Processor	1.2GHz A7 dual-core
RAM	768MB RAM
Display	4-inch WVGA (480x800p) PLS
Operating System	Tizen 2.3
Camera	3.1MP rear camera with LED flash and a VGA front camera
Battery	1500mAh
Storage	4GB, expandable up to 64GB
Price	Rs. 5,700

January 14, 2015

Report: A Windows-Based Samsung Smartphone Might Arrive This Year

Samsung has been ruling the smartphone market with its high-end Android devices, but it has recently been learnt that the company is keen on including Windows-based phones in its smartphone line-up. According to a report by Korean Times, the South Korean multinational giant is interested in making an affordable Windows Phone.

According to their source, the company is testing a “pilot programs on the stability of Windows 8.1 software on devices.” However, it cannot embed Windows onto the devices until the company settle down on the previous dispute with Microsoft. For those who don’t remember the story; Microsoft sued Samsung in August saying that the company had failed to make payments as per the signed contract.

Samsung ATIV SE, The Last Windows Phone by Samsung

It seems like the firm is reducing its dependability on Google’s Android and is prepping to get a stronghold on the Windows platform.

If the report turns out to be true, then customers can expect a Windows-based device as early as this fall. It might run on Windows 8.1 or the upcoming Windows 10. We’ll still emphasise the fact that it’s just a report and neither Samsung nor Microsoft have confirmed the story. The last Windows Phone by Samsung was Samsung ATIV SE, a Verizon Wireless exclusive based on Windows 8. The firm hasn’t released any Windows devices since.

January 12, 2015
Samsung’s Ultra-Thin Metal Body Galaxy A7 Goes Official

After months of speculations and rumours, Samsung has finally unveiled the much-awaited Galaxy A7 in Philippines. The metal-clad smartphone with optional dual-SIM functionality will be available at the end of Q1 this year in two different chipset configurations.

The slimmest Samsung smartphone yet, Galaxy A7 measures 6.3 mm in thickness and sports the same metallic uni-body design we see in the flagship Alpha series. The smartphone flaunts a 5.5 inch AMOLED display and runs on Android 4.4 KitKat OS skinned under Samsung’s own Touchwiz UI.

The Galaxy A7 comes with 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 SoC or a 32-bit Exynos 5430 with both chipsets featuring octa-core CPU. Both versions of the smartphone will offer 2GB of RAM and 16GB of built-in memory. A microSD card slot for further expansion will also be available.

On the imaging side, the slim smartphone sports a 13MP main camera and 5MP front-facing unit with several Samsung customizations. It includes several selfie features, including Wide Selfie and Rear-cam Selfie. A 2,600mAh battery powers the device.

Considering it is the slimmest phone by Samsung sporting a metallic design, it is quite likely the handset will do good in the market. While some folks would prefer a higher-resolution display, the rest of the A7’s spec list looks good for an upper mid-range/lower high-end Android smartphone.

Samsung Galaxy A7 will be available in dark blue, white, and gold color schemes. The Korean giant promises a “competitive price point” for the device. While we have no official date or price, the Samsung Galaxy A7 should be available at the end of Q1 2015 for an expected price of Rs. 35,000.

January 12, 2015
Samsung Launches Yet Another Mid-Range Handset

The South Korean electronic giant, Samsung, seems to be on a launching spree. After launching a couple of devices in the Galaxy E series – E5 and E7, and Galaxy A series – A3, A5 and A7, it seems company is not done yet. The South Korean manufacturing giant has released a new mid-range smartphone, the Galaxy Grand Max, in their domestic South Korean market.

The handset boasts a 5.25-inch 720x1280p HD TFT display. It is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor with an unspecified chipset. The Android-based phone packs 1.5 GB of RAM and has 16 GB of internal storage capacity, which can be extended using a MicroSD card slot. The device sports a 13MP rear snapper and a 5MP front shooter along with wide-angle lens. The smartphone is housed by a powerful 2,500mAh battery.

The Galaxy Grand Max goes on sale starting 9^th January at a price of 319,000 Won which translates to Rs. 21,200 approximately or USD $290,. However, the firm hasn’t revealed as to when it will be available in other markets, namely India

Additionally, the South Korean firm released another device in Malaysia, called the Galaxy A7. The Galaxy A7 is a comparatively better device than other phones in the A series. It has a 5.5-inch full-HD display, 64-bit Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz, 2GB of RAM and 16 GB internal memory. The device is rumoured to launch in South Korea on 14^th January.

January 8, 2015
CES 2015 : Samsung Eyes The Internet of Things as its New Cash Cow

Samsung hasn’t had a good time with its smartphone business in the past couple of years. As the smartphone market gets more saturated by new players, Samsung is looking for a new arena’s to assert its dominance before the other players catch-up. The company says that by 2020, all its devices will connect to the internet and to each other, thereby creating an internet of things ecosystem.

During its presentation at CES, Samsung showed its dedication to the cause of the Internet of Things (IoT). Samsung, of course, is one of the biggest manufacturers of consumer electronics and hence it has a massive research background to play around with the technology. The company wishes to grab a big portion of the IoT market which is estimated to be worth $7.1 trillion by 2020.

Samsung acquired SmartThings last August which makes hubs that allow various devices to interact with each other.

If you don’t already know, Internet of Things is a concept where all devices are interconnected and provide intuitive functionality and provides immense convenience to the users. For example, if you run out of milk, your refrigerator will recognize it and order milk for you. Another example could be that your keys can recognise when you have left the house and power down the house and when you are coming back it can set the lighting and temperature according to your needs.

Samsung bought a company called SmartThings, last year in August. SmartThings makes hubs that allow internet connected devices to interact with each other. This is what Samsung is banking on for setting up its initial IoT infrastructure. But a proper channel and language for interaction between the various different kinds of devices is still in the process of development. There are some equipments in the market that provide limited experience of IoT, for e.g Google Nest, but a seamless interaction between the devices is still a few years away. Google Nest has an initiative called ‘Work with Nest’ where they are currently working with many companies including LG and Samsung to make the companies devices “smart.”

One good act on the part of Samsung is that it has decided to keep this ecosystem, meaning that the devices will not be locked inside the Samsung infrastructure. This might help the devices to gain more acceptability in the market as people won’t be enthusiastic about investing in Samsung devices only for their houses.

The arena of the Internet of Things is wide open for companies and innovators to plant a flag. This industry is still in the beta stage but once IoT is unleashed to its full potential, it will radically change the way we interact with technology. We hope Samsung does a far better job in this arena than it has done with its popular smartphone arm in the last few years.

January 6, 2015
Samsung Brings the Metallic Galaxy A3 and Galaxy A5 to India

Samsung has been doing well at the ongoing Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas. While launching gadgets at the international platform, the South Korean multinational firm hasn’t forgotten the Indian subcontinent and announced their two latest models in the Indian subcontinent. Samsung today launched the Galaxy A3 and Galaxy A5 in India. Both the smartphones were introduced by the company late last year.

The Galaxy A3 is priced at Rs. 20,500 and sports a mid-range specifications. The phone flaunts a 4.5-inch Super AMOLED qHD display and is powered by a 1.2GHz Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor. It packs 1.5 GB of RAM and the internal storage capacity of 16 GB that can be expanded up to 64 GB. The device houses a battery of 1,900mAh and the rear snapper of 8 MP along with a 5 MP front shooter.

The Galaxy A5 costs Rs. 25,500 and packs relatively higher-end hardware. With a 5-inch Super AMOLED HD display, the device is powered by a 1.2GHz Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor. Stuffing 2 GB of RAM onto the device, the phone gets its juice from a 2,300mAh battery. It has a 13MP rear end camera along with a 5MP front end camera.

Both the models have front cameras with 120-degree wide range angle and features support for palm and voice gestures. The smartphones have full metallic body and are comparatively thinner. Other exclusive features include Wide Selfie, Palm Selfie, Rear Cam Selfie, Beauty Face, along with gif mode shooting option. The phones come in seven colour options – pearl white, midnight black, platinum silver, light blue, soft pink, and champagne gold.

January 6, 2015
CES 2015 : Samsung Announces a Diverse Range of Consumer Electronics

Samsung’s keynote at Consumer Electronics Show 2015 brought us some big announcements. One of the main highlights of the show was the the Korean brand’s upcoming flagship TVs; these aren’t just UHD TVs any more but are SUHD TVs now. Other than this, the company also pulled the wraps off Milk VR, portable SSDs and a surprising new Chef Collection.

1.Super Ultra High Definition TV’s

The company launched the much talked about 2015 4K lineup of its flagship TVs called SUHD TV where S stands for Super. SUHD lineup, which uses quantum dot tech, comprising of three series and nine screen sizes that range from 48-inches up to 88-inches. According to the company the new TV lineup will support both 10-bit color and High Dynamic Range.

Samsung 65JS9500

High Dynamic Range or HDR means that the TVs, which will be available in 65, 78 and 88-inch versions, will be bright enough and powerful enough where colour processing is concerned to handle sources mastered to deliver a much wider colour space than you get with the usual industry video standards.

As the company announced previously, all the 2015 TVs will be powered by Tizen OS. The company said that the Tizen smart TVs will automatically search for nearby Samsung mobile devices and connect to them. The home network will allow the content to be easily shared back and forth. “Users can also watch live broadcasts or TV on their mobile devices, anywhere on their home network, even when their TV is powered off,” Samsung said.

Samsung SSD T1

2. SSD T1

The company has also added three new variants of SSD T1 in its offerings. Available in 250GB, 500GB and 1TB variants, the drives measure a mere 71 x 53.2 x 9.2 mm, which is smaller than a business card, the company claims. It supports AES 256-bit encryption, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 along with transfer speeds of up to 450MB/s. The SSD T1 models will be made available later this year.

3. Milk VR

The company has entered the virtual reality space with the Milk VR, available exclusively for its virtual reality device Gear VR. It will allow users to stream 360-degree video. Along with Milk VR, Samsung has announced the expansion of Milk Music and Milk Video to the web and smart TVs, respectively.

Chef Collection

4. Chef Collection

The most intriguing announcement was in the lifestyle section. The company introduced the Chef Collection(hardware for the chefs) along with a new app that comes with recipes and tips from expert chefs which will be available for download for free from Google Play starting next month.

The announcements for home products also include new Activ Wash+ technology by Samsung washing machines. The new top-load washer comes with built-in sink, water jet and scrubber and Super Speed technology that helps cut down on wash time.

January 6, 2015
Samsung Reportedly Working on Galaxy S6 Edge and Dual Edge

Samsung will probably be launching its new flagship, the Galaxy S6 sometime in the first or second quarter of 2015. The company has codenamed the Galaxy S6 as Project zero which signifies that the company is building it from zero-base.

Apart from confirming that Project Zero is the real deal, rumours also revealed some more important information about the device.

Along with this, the publication also pointed out that the company usually tests multiple variants of its flagship device before actually releasing them. According to the conversation on Reddit, it seems that Samsung is testing at least three variants of the Galaxy S6, one with a one-sided curved edge display, another with a dual-sided curved edge display, and one more with a normal display.

The new flagship is expected to come with a Snapdragon 810 or Exynos 7420 processor, with octa-core technology. Although internal storage is not expected to be increased beyond 128GB. That said, a AnTuTu leak revealed that the S6 may come with a 64-bit octa-core Exynos 7420 processor and ARM Mali T-760 GPU backed by 3GB of RAM. Samsung, however, has been raving about 4GB RAM developments so we’d expect them to appear in the S6. It also was shown with 32GB storage. It is being rumoured that the Galaxy S6 might feature a 20-megapixel camera with OIS and 4K video recording.

Recent rumours have also revealed that Xiaomi is working on a dual screen device; it will be interesting to see who wins the dual edge screen war!

January 2, 2015