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Tag: samsung

  • Samsung Launches its Second Dual-Screen Flip-Phone: the Galaxy Golden


    In a span of weeks, Samsung has launched two new clamshells. The tech giant certainly thinks the flip-phone is not going anywhere any time soon.

    The Galaxy Golden has just been debuted and its similarity to the Folder is rather striking. The Folder was leaked a few weeks ago, just before the official arrival of the Hennessey, under an almost identical model number.

    The Galaxy Golden sports Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, dual 3.7-inch Super AMOLED screens, a 1.7GHz dual-core processor, and an 8 megapixel camera. It is also packed with features designed for the older generation including an "easy mode" that enables optimization of the home screen, an FM radio, a business card recognition function, and a pedometer that works with S Health.

    S Health is a personal wellness app that was initially demonstrated at the Unpacked launch of Samsung Galaxy S III. It is compatible with such healthcare sensors as body composition scales, blood pressure monitors, and blood glucose meters, and collects health data to help maintain a healthy lifestyle.

    It can be expected that those Koreans who are in their golden years and can afford over $790 or about 790,000 won will appreciate the Galaxy Golden's tailored features and its aging form factor.

  • Samsung Already Shipping F9000-Series 4K TVs in Korea


    Samsung     made a recent announcement that it has already started shipping its F9000-Series 4K TVs in Korea. This comes as good news for the 100-plus Koreans who pre-ordered Samsung's 55-inch and 65-inch F9000 TV sets in June.

    At the beginning of the year, Samsung released the largest UHD TV in the world, the 85-inch behemoth. In the wake of its popularity, the company has now released the 55-inch and 65-inch UHD TV F9000 series.

    The picture quality of the F9000 series is four times higher than that of a full HD TV, thanks to a Quad Detail Engine, 4-step quality image processing technology, and super-resolution. This series is a similar alternative to the 85-inch in terms of functionality, but it comes at a more affordable price. This means you can expect the popular UHD Evolution kit support and the Ultra HD screen resolution, but at relatively modest prices.

    The 55-inch TV comes at $5,670 (6.4 million won) and its 65-inch cousin comes at $7,913 (8.9 million won).

  • Samsung to launch a 5.9-inch Galaxy Note III?

    Samsung is already planning the release of the following Galaxy Note, hoping that it will be another big success, coming slightly bigger than the previous one.

    According to The Korea Times, Galaxy Note III will be of 5.9 inches, while Galaxy Note II was 5.5 inches, and it is expected during the year. Phablets are very popular lately, with an expanding group of customers looking for a gadget that is not just a phone, but is also not a tablet. Hence, Samsung knows very well that the very successful Galaxy Note II needs to be replaced by an equally successful gadget. Still according to The Korea Times, Galaxy Note III will sport an 8-core Exynos processor, in order to meet with all our needs for speed and performance.

    Although we are not sure yet whether the rumors are true, we can assume that there is a need for a competitive Galaxy Note, while there is also a trend of creating slightly bigger gadgets. After all, there was another rumor that the Galaxy Note III will feature a 6.3-inch screen. It wasn't that long ago when Samsung launched Galaxy Note II, selling within a few months 10 million units. This was a great accomplishment for the company, which gave them even bigger credit in the phablet market, but this won't necessarily last forever. The competition is higher than ever, with ZTE and Huawei having already released phablets of similar size, trying to win the customers that are looking for more affordable gadgets. Thus, except for the constant threat of Apple, there are also new competitors, who seem ready to claim their percentage of the market.

    It is now Samsung's turn to prove us one more time that they know how to create impressive products. And the first rumors that are related to Galaxy Note III don't seem bad at all. Let's wait for the announcements.

  • Mobile Phone Sales Fell in 2012 While Smartphones Thrived

    Half of last year, the research and market analysis company Gartner warned that sales of handsets are in decline, the final report for last year, which was published today, confirming the trend observed in August.

    The unfavorable economic climate that people from Gartner blame for this negative trend, has affected the sales figure for mobile phones. Producers managed to sell 1.75 billion pieces, a 1.7 percent decrease compared to performances recorded in 2011.

    The least demanded products were the featurephones, in the last three months they managing to attract only 264.4 million customers, a figure that marks a sharp drop of 19.3 percent compared to the same period in 2011.

    In the same three months of last year, smartphone sales reached a record level, the 207.7 million units representing a jump of 38.3 percent compared to the last quarter of 2011. In 2013, Gartner estimates that sales of smartphones will reach one billion and the entire mobile phone market will recover and reach a figure of approximately 1.9 billion pieces.

    Rivals Samsung and Apple have captured 52 percent of the market. South Koreans last year sold 386.4 million mobile phones, of which 53.3% were smartphones, while Apple, which is only selling smartphones, has sold 130 million handsets, an increase of 22 percent from 2011.

    According to Gartner, the Android platform has captured nearly 70 percent of smartphone market in the last quarter, followed by the iOS, down nearly 3 percent, BlackBerry OS, also in decrease, and Windows Phone, which managed to reach a modest market share of only 3 percent, but which represents almost double compared to the situation in late 2011.

  • Samsung to Release a 5.8-inch Android Smartphone Called "Galaxy Fonblet"?

    Samsung seems to be ready to release a brand new Android smartphone in Europe with a 5.8-inch display. According to Sammobile, Samsung recently purchased the trademark for "Fonblet" in order to use it as the name of their brand new mobile.

    The 5.8-inch display will make it look more like a tablet and that's why its name seems to be realistic. What's more, Fonblet will look like Samsung Galaxy Player 5.8, which has only been released in Korea. However, this release, which is destined only for Europe, seems to be more than a media player and more than a smartphone.

    It is rumored to support DUAL-SIM, it will run Android 4.1.2/4.2.1 and it will only be released in white. The big challenge for Samsung will be persuading the customers to buy the "Fonblet" as they did with Galaxy Note II, when others considered it too big for a phone.

    Smartphones are increasing in size lately and this has created two opposite sides of customers. These types of phablets (which are something between a phone and a tablet) should be impressive enough to make us buy them and choose them over a phone or a tablet.

    For the time being, we do not know any other details about "Galaxy Fonblet" but if the rumors are true, we'll know everything about it quite soon.

    After all, Samsung seems to be more than stable on the market lately, with a 23% percent of demand on Samsung smartphones in the first month of 2013, which makes it quite easier for them to conquer the market once again. They don't have the luxury for any mistake and with the loyalty of the customers being increased, all they have to do is justify the demand.

    [image: Galaxy Player 5.8]

  • Samsung Galaxy S Range Sells Over 100 Million Copies

    Samsung has announced in a post on the official blog the number of over 100 million Galaxy S terminals sold.

    It all started two and a half years ago with the Samsung Galaxy S, top of the range at that time and a quite controversial terminal. It was cited often in the Apple-Samsung trial in the United States. From then until now, the No. 1 mobile phone manufacturer in the world sold over 100 million units of Galaxy S, Galaxy S II and Galaxy S III. The latter two models were able to sell each in an impressive number of 40 million units. It is possible that in the total figure to be included the supplies of Galaxy S Plus and Galaxy S III Mini, but the percentage is small.

    The most successful Galaxy smartphone is Galaxy S III, which, according to Samsung officials, at this moment sells about 190,000 units per day.

    Samsung Galaxy S III combines advanced technology developed by Google with high-end components. Thus, users of this top smartphone benefit from the experience offered by the 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display, with 720p HD resolution, supported by a 1.4GHz quad-core processor.

    With such popularity, the next Samsung Galaxy S is already in the top of terminals expected this year. We’d dare to say that the interest in the iPhone 5S or iPhone 6 is significantly lower. Apple has already provided a significant upgrade to the iPhone 5 and the next model could be a sort of facelift. As for the Samsung Galaxy S IV, it is expected even in this spring, with a 5-inch full HD screen. It seems that the “phablets” are on a roll and Samsung cannot get out of the trend.

    South Korean company will announce at the end of this month the quarterly earnings recorded in Q4 2012.

  • CES 2013: Sony Launches Xperia Z and Xperia ZL

    Sony Xperia Z and Xperia ZL are the new flagships of the Japanese manufacturer, who have managed to make waves with their official announcement at CES 2013.

    No matter how new and powerful would be the two Xperia models, they have long been debated in the press and expected in the latter part of 2012. Thus, most of us suspected some of the most advanced specs and features of the new Sony smartphones.

    However, their official announcement has managed to arouse enough curiosity and awe among fans and beyond. Specifically, we are talking about two top smartphones that should help Sony in the fight against other major phone manufacturers, such as Samsung and Apple.

    Sony Xperia Z is based on next-generation hardware, SoC Snapdragon S4 Pro with quad-core processor Krait at 1.5 GHz, graphics processor Adreno 320 and 2GB RAM. Multimedia capabilities promise to be one of the strengths, especially with the 5-inch LED 1080p display which benefits from the latest technology Sony Mobile Bravia 2 Engine. In terms of photo/video, Sony Xperia Z boasts a 13-megapixel Exmor RS sensor capable to shoot Full HD 1080p and take HDR shots.

    Xperia Z is also respecting the IP57 standard, which provides resistance to dust and contact with water and comes in a unibody casing that “hides” a 2330 mAh battery.

    On the other hand, the second phone, the Xperia ZL, resembles the first in big lines, the differences being more in design and size. Xperia ZL will not benefit from water resistance, the rest of hardware specifications being almost identical.

    Both smartphones benefit from the latest communication options: LTE, HSPA +, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC and come equipped with FM radio and supports internal memory expansion with microSD card. Both Xperia Z and Xperia ZL will run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

    For now Sony has not provided too many pricing details, but unofficial sources speak for amounts that exceed $650.

  • Samsung Announces Galaxy Grand

    Samsung has presented a brand new phone, the Samsung Galaxy Grand, which hopes to become the next Galaxy Note II.

    With a 5-inch screen it's not just a smartphone, but more like a phablet, a new term that describes the gadget that is between phone and tablet. It looks like Galaxy S III and hopes to be the next big hit for Samsung. It has a 800×480 resolution, which is relatively low, it runs on Android 4.1.2 (JellyBean), which is the latest operating system by Google, and it has a 1.2GHz Dual Core processor to cover your multitasking needs. What's more, it has a camera of 8MP to capture your moments and also supports 1080p HD video recording. It has a built-in storage of 8GB and it allows expansions up to 64GB.

    Samsung added some useful features, making Galaxy Grand really easy to use:

    "Direct Call enables users to automatically dial a call by raising the device up to the ear; while users can also shake the phone to trigger status updates, or pan it to zoom into a screen. Smart Alert shows missed events such as missed calls and new messages just by picking up the phone. Popup Video, for example, lets users watch video in a pop-up window anywhere on the screen while running other tasks; S Voice lets you control the phone using your voice; and AllShare Play lets you share content across Samsung devices using a single account. "

    Moreover, it is available in Dual SIM version, or in a single SIM version, with the first one providing full communication flexibility and the choice of different billing plans for each SIM.

    For the time being we don't know when will Galaxy Grand be available on market, or how much will it cost, but it is expected to be a relatively low cost phablet, which will make it even more popular. 

  • Samsung not willing to agree with Apple over patents

    The patent war between Apple and Samsung is not over yet and as it seems, it is not expected to end anytime soon. Although Apple has reached an agreement with HTC, Samsung is not willing to do so.

    It was only a few days ago when we were informed that Apple and HTC have agreed to end their patent war, at least for the next 10 years. This agreement created further speculations, whether it was the beginning of a new era, where patent wars would not exist. And although the collaboration between Apple and HTC might have been a step towards that era, the big deal would be a possible agreement on patent cases between Apple and Samsung, the two big rivals on the smartphone market.

    However, Shin Jong-kyun, the head of Samsung's mobile and IT division in South Korea made sure with his words that there won't be any further questions regarding a possible settlement:

    “We have no such intention. … HTC may have agreed to pay 300 billion won (US$276 million) to Apple, but we don’t intend to [negotiate] at all.”

    And just like that, we are informed that the battle cases between Apple and Samsung will keep going in the future. We don't know whether Samsung is extremely confident over their current and future products, but they surely have paid the price quite expensive on the patent war. Just a few months ago the US court have ordered them to pay 1 billion dollars for copying parts of the iPhone and iPad. And even though they have every right to be confident with their current share in the smartphone market, are they certain about the future? Will they manage to survive the following years or should we still expect a possible settlement between the two companies?

  • Samsung Galaxy Note II reaches 3 million sales

    Samsung Galaxy Note II has already been a successful smartphone, since it has already sold 3 million units in just a month from its release. In fact, Samsung announced that it took Galaxy Note II just 37 days to reach the 3 million milestone, which is obviously a success for the brand. However, Apple's fans might say that iPhone 5 sold 5 million units in just 2 days, which raises the competition level even more between the two companies.

    Samsung Galaxy Note II has been one of the first smartphones that came with a 5.6-inch screen and became popular as one of the best "phablets" (phone and tablet) in the market. Although some were cautious about its sales due to its relatively large screen, which might have been uncomfortable in holding it, the numbers show that people like having a smartphone with a big screen. Even iPhone 5 slightly expanded its screen, which proves that the new trend is turning into phablet, instead of a simple smartphone.

    Samsung must feel really proud about their recent sales, since they topped the smartphone market in the third quarter between July and September, reaching the 56.3 sales. Now that we are approaching the Christmas holiday Samsung knows very well the importance of performing well in the last quarter of the year and all the bets are placed on Galaxy Note II, along with Galaxy S III. However, with iPhone 5 on the market, who will make the ultimate win of the year, topping the fourth quarter's sales? We just have to wait and see.