WebProNews

Tag: Samsung

  • First Galaxy Round Ad Is All Kinds Of Weird

    First Galaxy Round Ad Is All Kinds Of Weird

    Earlier this month, Samsung introduced the world to the first curved smartphone with the Galaxy Round. It’s a Galaxy Note 3 with a slightly curved display that supposedly makes it easier to hold. Now the company has put out its first ad for the device, and it’s a little weird.

    In the ad below, you’ll see the Galaxy Round being compared to the following items – a baby’s hand, a shell, an egg, a lemon, an avocado, a microphone, a matryoshka and more. What do all these items have to do with the Galaxy Round? They all have round edges and that’s about it.

    Samsung is solely selling this device on the fact that it has a rounded front. Does it make the device easier to hold? Probably not. Will you be paying more for the curved display? Of course you will.

    I’m still confused as to what the point of the Galaxy Round is. Sure, a curved display is cool, but we were kind of expecting the curved displays we’ve seen at trade shows. You know, the displays that can curve around an entire wrist to form a smart bracelet of sorts. The Galaxy Round just seems like a gimmick doomed to failure.

    But hey, at least it’s not as stupid looking as the LG G Flex.

    [Image: SamsungMobileKorea/YouTube]

  • Samsung Acquires Over 7% of Corning

    Samsung Acquires Over 7% of Corning

    Of all the component manufacturers supplying the many pieces that make up modern smartphones, Corning has perhaps been the most important. Though early iPhones were prone to broken displays, Corning’s Gorilla Glass has consistently improved to the point where a small drop is now no worry for smartphone or tablet owners. Samsung, which has been making strides in recent years to become Apple’s biggest competitor, has now assured that it will have a piece of Corning’s lucrative display glass.

    Corning today announced that Samsung’s display division will acquire a estimated 7.4% stake in Corning. The transaction will cost Samsung nearly $2 billion and is expected to be completed sometime during the first quarter of 2014.

    “We are excited to enter this new era of collaboration in our 40-year equity relationship with Samsung, one of the world leaders in consumer electronics,” said Wendell Weeks, chairman and CEO of Corning. “The agreements provide important financial and strategic benefits to both Corning and Samsung.”

    As part of the agreement, Corning will obtain ownership of an equity partnership between the companies named Samsung Corning Precision Materials, a Korean company manufactures LCD glass panels. Samsung will transfer its 43% stake in the company to Corning, and Corning will pay for the rest of the minority shareholder stock.

    In addition to paying $1.9 billion for its Corning shares, Samsung will also pay $400 million for special convertible preferred shares of Corning. The companies have also, of course, formed a long-term supply deal for LCD displays that lasts through 2023. The companies will also partner on product development and “commercialization initiatives.”

  • Galaxy S 4 Mini Comes To The U.S. In November

    Galaxy S 4 Mini Comes To The U.S. In November

    Just like with the Galaxy S III before it, the Galaxy S 4 was miniaturized into a more affordable version of its flagship brother. The device – known as the Galaxy S 4 Mini – was unveiled in May and released in Europe this past July. Now the device is finally coming to America next month.

    Samsung announced today that the Galaxy S 4 Mini will hit the U.S. at some point in November. The company didn’t offer a specific date which is a sign that it’s leaving those details up to the carriers that will be offering the device.

    “Samsung continues to provide a wide range of products to fit consumers’ needs,” said Gregory Lee, president of Samsung Mobile. “The Galaxy S 4 mini continues that commitment by bringing the paramount features of our flagship Galaxy S 4 smartphone to a smaller, more compact form factor.”

    So, what will you get with the Galaxy S 4 Mini? The miniaturized S 4 sports a 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED display powered by a 1.7GHz dual-core CPU, 1.5GB of RAM, a 1900 mAh battery and 16GB of onboard storage. The S 4 Mini runs on Android 4.2.2 and it supports up to 64GB of expandable memory. Samsung also notes that the S 4 Mini will receive an update shortly after launch that will make it compatible with the company’s Galaxy Gear smart watch.

    Samsung says that AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and U.S. Cellular will all carry the S 4 Mini. It doesn’t offer a price, but it will be substantially cheaper than the Galaxy S 4. If I was a betting man, I’d wager that the S 4 Mini will cost $99 with a new two-year contract.

    [Image: SAMSUNGMOBILEUK/YouTube]

  • Here’s Everything You Need To Know About The New Galaxy Note 10.1

    Here’s Everything You Need To Know About The New Galaxy Note 10.1

    The 10-inch tablet seems to have taken a backseat in recent years thank to the proliferation of smaller 7-inch tablets. Despite this, the 10-inch tablet moves on with great products like the Nexus 10, or in this case, the Samsung Galaxy 10.1.

    In a new video released today, Samsung details all the new hardware and features that users will find in the 2014 edition of its flagship 10-inch tablet. For starters, you’ll notice that its newest tablet sports a massive resolution of 2560×1600. It manages this with a 2.3GHz quad-core processor, 3GB of RAM and Android 4.3. It also sports up to 64GB of internal memory and a 8220mAh battery to ensure long-lasting performance.

    Hardware isn’t the only the Galaxy Note 10.1 has going for it though as the video demonstrates how its new software features can be used for both work and play. I would just recommend that you not take it out in a fancy cafe or near any food really. The Galaxy Note 10.1 is not waterproof, and Samsung is just encouraging the worst to happen with all these examples taking place near food.

    [Image: SamsungMobile/YouTube]

  • Samsung Announces Galaxy Round, Features Curved Display

    Samsung Announces Galaxy Round, Features Curved Display

    For the past few years, display manufacturers have been tempting us with curved displays that can bend, but not break. Most would have assumed we’d start seeing them in futuristic smart bracelets, but Samsung has decided its first foray into curved displays will be hopelessly generic.

    Samsung announced the Galaxy Round – a smartphone with a slightly curved display – yesterday evening. The Galaxy Round packs the same guts as the Galaxy Note 3 so don’t expect any surprises as far as specs are concerned. It does, however, sport some unique functionality thanks to the curved display. For starters, you can tilt the phone to check for missed calls, the current time, etc. You can also tilt it back and forth while playing music to skip tracks.

    Beyond the slight curve and somewhat unique features, the Galaxy Round doesn’t really deliver on the promise of curved displays. Sure, it’s kind of cool, but a lot of us got our hopes up when we saw device manufacturers bending a display backwards. Such functionality doesn’t make much sense in a phone, but surely Samsung could have done something cooler with the world’s first curved display smartphone.

    My own complaining aside, the Galaxy Round is only available in Korea for now. There will probably be an international release, but we won’t see it in the states for quite some time. After all, the Galaxy Note 3 just launched stateside earlier this week.

    If you want to see the Galaxy Round in action, check out this short video that shows off one of the “amazing” possibilities that a curved display provides:

    With Samsung’s curved smartphone being such a disappointment, maybe LG’s curved display that’s expected to launch next month can do better.

    [Image: Samsung Tomorrow]

  • Galaxy Note 3 Now Available in the US

    Galaxy Note 3 Now Available in the US

    The Galaxy Note 3 is now available in the US through AT&T, Sprint and TMobile, and most of the early reviews seem to be positive for the phablet from Samsung.

    Techradar reports in its top 10 reasons to get the 3 that the design comprises the best screen to date, allowing for enhanced multi-tasking, and it writes about the tactile feel like one would a lover. They also highlight the upgraded S Pen function, amplified technical specs and built-in software sophistication.

    But the list toppers that may have the most impact are those related to security. Samsung KNOX, provides a fortified “Fort Knox” style space inside the 3 where security-sensitive apps and data can be protected against attacks. As a benefit for those who often work remotely, it permits a hook-up to secure office systems. In addition, a feature called Find My Mobile, allows the owner to locate and disable the 3 should it be lost or stolen, or buried in the sandbox by your toddler.

    Galaxy Gear

    Number 8 on Techradar‘s list is the Galaxy Gear, which seems to be the Yoko Ono of the product teaming; though the ads are impressing viewers. It is a device a user wears like a wristwatch that syncs with the Galaxy Note 3 to display the same screen, show your texts and emails and act as a hands-free phone.

    Tshaka Armstrong, of the Los Angeles Fox affiliate, tried the Gear for 24 hours and came to the conclusion that it falls in the “toy” column, “rather than it being a device which actually adds some significant value in my life.” Armstrong claims to be a watch lover and doesn’t mind the general aesthetic of the Gear though he notes the bulk could be a deterrent for some potential users. Highlights seem to be the voice memo function, display appeal and user-friendliness. Items for improvement, transcription of voice memos, battery life and augmenting the Gear from a nice-to-have to a need-to-have.

    [Images via Samsung Official Twitter.]

  • Samsung Working on a Google Glass Competitor [RUMOR]

    Samsung Working on a Google Glass Competitor [RUMOR]

    For over one year now, Google has been hyping up its Google Glass project, a wearable computer with a tiny display that hovers over a user’s right eye. Now, with the presumed release of the device less than one year away, other manufacturers are beginning to take notice.

    Eldar Murtazin, founder of the website Mobile-Review, tweeted today that Samsung is developing its take on the head-mounted computer. He claims that the device will be called the “Gear Glass” and will be released sometime in spring 2014 – around the same time the Google Glass is supposed to be available to consumers.

    There are no more details about what Samsung may be designing, or if Samsung will use Google’s operating system for the device. Given the company’s history, however, it’s likely that this “Gear Glass” will be very similar to Google Glass.

    If this rumor turns out to be true, then computing eyewear represents yet another unproven market that tech manufacturers will be stumbling over each other to establish market share in the coming years. Already this year Samsung announced its Galaxy Gear smart watch, and Sony refreshed its existing smart watch product. Those products were made available following rumors this year about an upcoming smart watch from Apple, making it seem that manufacturers will continue to chase Google and Apple at every opportunity.

    (via 9to5Google and BGR)

  • Apple Smartphone Market Share Still Rising, HTC Now Falling Fast

    Apple Smartphone Market Share Still Rising, HTC Now Falling Fast

    145 Million Americans now own smartphones, making up nearly 61% of all cell phone users. Though analysts are beginning to predict a market saturation in the west and look toward developing markets such as Brazil and China for growth, the big players in the smartphone space are still gaining traction in the U.S.

    The latest comScore numbers are now out, and Apple and Samsung are unsurprisingly still in the lead. Apple is the leading smartphone manufacturer in the U.S. with a 40.7% share of the market, up 1.5% from the previous quarter. Samsung is in a distant second with a 24.3% market share, up 1.3% from the previous quarter.

    The gains of Apple and Samsung came from Android manufacturers that aren’t Samsung. HTC and Motorola in particular were losers over the previous quarter, dropping to 7.4% and 6.9% market shares respectively. HTC recently announced its first quarterly loss. LG was able to hang on to its 6.7% market share, which is unchanged from the previous quarter.

    As for software, Android still runs on the majority of U.S. smartphones with a 51.6% share. However, that share is down 0.8% from the previous quarter, meaning Android rapid growth over the past few years may be coming to an end. Apple meanwhile improved its iOS market share another 1.5% to 40.7%. Microsoft’s Windows Phone platforms managed to see slight market share growth, up 0.2% to now make up 3.2% of the smartphone OS market.

    BlackBerry OS now makes up just 4% of the smartphone OS market, having dropped 0.8% over the last quarter. BlackBerry is now up for sale, with a a $4.7 billion deal on the table and several other companies possibly interested. Windows Phone, Android, and iOS are all likely to benefit from from a BlackBerry pull-out of the consumer smartphone market, as they have been absorbing the company’s market share losses for the past two years.

  • Google Is Having Asus Make The Nexus 10 [Rumor]

    Google Is Having Asus Make The Nexus 10 [Rumor]

    Asus and Google are the best of pals. The former makes the Nexus 7 for the latter, and the two couldn’t be happier with the sales. Now it looks like the two will be joining forces on Google’s upcoming 10-inch tablet as well.

    On Wednesday, @evleaks did what he does best and leaked some new information regarding Google’s Nexus 10:

    As you can see, the screenshot clearly says Asus Nexus 10. If true, that means Google has ditched Samsung in favor of having Asus make both of its Nexus tablets.

    What would necessitate this change in partner? It might be due to which tablet Google wanted to copy for its Nexus 10. Samsung has the Galaxy Note 10.1 while Asus has the new Transformer Pad Infinity. Both devices have a 2560×1600 display which the Nexus 10 is expected to also sport, and both sport similarly powerful CPUs. The Galaxy Note 10.1 rocks a 1.9GHz octa-core CPU while the Transformer Pad Infinity is equipped with Tegra 4 quad-core CPU clocked at 1.9GHz.

    If both tablets are so similar, is there any reason for Google to switch to Asus? My guess is that Asus offered Google the better deal on pricing. It could also be that Google just likes working with Asus and wants to involve the company in more of its hardware design. It’s all up in the air at this point, but we can probably say with little doubt that the Nexus 10 will be a rebranded Transformer Pad Infinity.

    [Image: @evleaks/Twitter]
    [h/t: CNET UK]

  • Samsung’s ChatON Messaging App Hits 100 Million Users

    Samsung’s ChatON Messaging App Hits 100 Million Users

    Samsung today announced that 100 million smartphone users are now also using its ChatON messaging app. The app had hit 50 million users just this past May after having launched in 2011. The news comes as mobile messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Snapchat have become hits in the mobile app space. Even BlackBerry Messenger saw a multitude of downloads when it recently launched for Android devices.

    Samsung is attributing the significant and rapid growth of ChatON to the app’s availability internationally and on various platforms, including iOS and PC. The reality, though, is much simpler.

    The ChatON app is not popular in Apple’s App Store or on the PC. Samsung admits that much of the app’s success is due to it being the default messaging app that comes pre-loaded on its latest Galaxy-branded devices. The Galaxy S III, launched just over one year ago, was the first Samsung device to come with ChatON preinstalled. Following that the Galaxy Note II, Galaxy S 4, and the Galaxy Camera all came with the app. The new Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear smart watch will also have ChatON messaging.

    As Samsung points to ChatON growth in markets such as the U.S., China, and India it is, in reality, pointing to the growth in Galaxy device sales in those same markets. Even so, ChatON is one of the most diverse messaging apps currently available, with 63 different languages supported and a variety of region-specific features.

  • Samsung Revives The Lost Art Of Creepy Puppets For Its Galaxy Gear Ad

    Samsung Revives The Lost Art Of Creepy Puppets For Its Galaxy Gear Ad

    The Galaxy Note 3 and the Galaxy Gear are now both out in the UK. You could certainly buy one or the other, but Samsung wants you to know that they work best when used together. That’s why it’s latest has nothing to do with that.

    In its latest ad for the Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear, Samsung has created what may be the most terrifying mobile device ad ever made. Of course, that will all depend on your tolerance of demonic puppets dancing to a bastardized version of the Eurythmic’s Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This).

    While the above may be terrifying, it has nothing on Samsung’s recent ad for Iceland. That one had a man trying to use an apple as a phone while dancing with a goat and a team of female terrorists or something.

    Despite Samsung’s efforts with the aforementioned ad, it still can’t dethrone HTC’s ad campaign starring Robert Downey Jr. It seems normal enough at first, but then things get really weird once the hipster troll carwash appears.

    Look, the point is that mobile device ads are getting weird, and will probably get weirder down the road. I just hope that the next one doesn’t prey upon my fear of puppets.

    [Image: SamsungMobile/YouTube]

  • Blackberry Z30: 5 must know details and future predictions

    Blackberry Z30: 5 must know details and future predictions

    Blackberry Ltd, formerly Research In Motion (RIM), launched its flagship phone Blackberry Z30 on Wednesday, in a desperate do or die bid to survive the Darwinian competition from East Asia.

    It is no secret how ruthless the smartphone world has become. In this globalized marketplace, customers are extremely picky. They want the best design, best hardware, best software, best Apps and best audio-visual experience.

    So is the Z30 up to the task in stemming the hemorrhaging Blackberry has suffered in its market share, profits and stock price? Let us find out.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQVKISYQ31s

    1. Display

    The Z30 sports an all new 5-inch AMOLED touch-screen with 1280 x 720 resolution and 295 ppi. This may be news to Blackberry fans, but ancient history for Samsung, the reigning king of smartphones. Samsung, Sony, and even the upstart Huawei from mainland China have introduced sharp, clear, stunningly beautiful screens as large as 6-inches.

    Sony is a particularly apt example since it has been at the losing end of the smartphone wars for many years. So how did Sony use its manufacturing prowess to grab the limelight? Introduce a smartphone with the world’s largest screen. At 6.4 inches of full-HD display, potential customers will certainly take note.

    Not so for poor Blackberry with its puny little 5-inch screen, dependent on the mercy of its off-shore manufacturing suppliers in East-Asia.

    2. Hardware

    The Z30 has a 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro dual-core processor, Adreno 320 graphics, 2GB of RAM and 16GB storage. You can expand the 16GB to 64GB using a microSD.

    Along comes a 2-megapixel front-facing camera and an uninspiring 8-megapixel rear camera with f/2.2 lens and 1080p HD video recording capability. The non-removable 2880 mAh battery is a welcome addition and is estimated to run 12-hours of video playback. In addition, the Z30 includes the obligatory wireless functionality including 4G LTE, dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, NFC and Bluetooth.

    The hardware is certainly no push-over, but not class leading either. This means potential customers will have a hard time figuring out the vow factor and rush to their nearest wireless provider to try out the Z30.

    3. Blackberry 10 operating system

    Let me ask you this. When was the last time you used your friend’s (or your dad’s) Blackberry and said, “Amazing, its one of the coolest OS I have used!” Nevertheless, here is what Carlo Chiarello, Executive Vice President for Products at BlackBerry had to say,

    “The… Z30 smartphone builds on the…BlackBerry 10 platform with features like the powerful BlackBerry Hub, its exceptional touchscreen keyboard and industry leading browser…The smartphone rounds out the BlackBerry 10 portfolio and is designed for people looking for a smartphone that excels at communications, messaging and productivity. Having apps like the full Documents To Go suite that comes pre-installed…Z30 smartphone gives you a best in class productivity experience on the go.”

    With 80% of the operating system market-share cornered by Android in less than 5 years, Blackberry has been caught flat-footed. It would be a miracle of the 21st century, if the market-share of Blackberry 10 v10.2 crosses even 5%, let alone trounce the Android-iOS duopoly.

    4. Blackberry Stock

    If there was any doubt that Z30 was a game changer, it would have immediately reflected in Blackberry’s stock price. But the almighty market offered a tepid response to the release. In coming days, as more fans and potential customers use the new OS, things might change for the better. But don’t hold your breadth. Nokia learned the hard way and ended up latching on to Microsoft’s teat, so the clock is definitely ticking for the boys from Waterloo. Blackberry Stock

    5. Waterloo at Kuala Lumpur?

    Blackberry unveiled the Z30 at an event in Kuala Lumpur. Kuala Lumpur? What is that? For the curious, but geographically challenged, it is the capital city of Malaysia, a newly industrialized country in the heart of South-East Asia, and close to Bangkok, the popular tourism destination for Westerners. Now I have nothing against Kuala Lumpur. It is a beautiful city, famous for spicy Malaysian cuisine and the architecturally dazzling Petronas twin-towers.

    But if you are a smartphone company struggling to survive in the intensive care unit, why choose a venue that lacks the demographic heft or the gravitational pull within the design, fashion and tech-world? London, Paris, Shanghai, San-Francisco, Singapore, New York, even Tokyo would have been far savvier destinations for unveiling the Z30. Huawei, Lenovo and ZTE should send a thank you note to the individual in-charge of choosing Kuala Lumpur.

    Finally, I do not want to hurt the feelings of Blackberry faithful, but unless the “free” trade policies that have destroyed the American manufacturing are abolished, sell your Blackberry stock and phone as soon as you can. Apple remains the last great Western-origin consumer electronics giant standing, and Sony, Samsung, LG, Huawei, ZTE and Lenovo are not going to raise the white-flag anytime soon.

    East Asians – the Japanese, Koreans, Chinese – are not as naive when it comes to manufacturing and trade policies.

    [images from youtube and yahoo finance]

  • Entertainment, Social Media Top Tablet Use Survey

    Entertainment, Social Media Top Tablet Use Survey

    With tablet sales now taking a bite out of traditional PC sales, it’s worth it to ask the question of what exactly consumers are using the devices for. Market research firm Gartner has done just that, and the results shouldn’t be too surprising to anyone familiar with mobile device use.

    The top use of tablets, according to the survey, is entertainment. Consumers are spending 50% of their time on tablets playing games, watching video, listening to music, or reading books. The “communication” category came second, taking up 26% of consumer time on tablets. This includes social media and email use. “Production activities” (writing or editing video) came in third with 15% and tasks such as news-reading, weather watching, and product research came in fourth, taking up 9% of consumer tablet time.

    “Of the different types of activity, people spend by far the most time on entertainment, and people often use several devices at once, so it seems we are turning into a society of multitasking, multiscreen users,” said Meike Escherich, a principal research analyst at Gartner. “Tablet users, for example, continue to use tablets most in the evening, between 7pm and 10pm. This suggests the use of tablets as companions to television viewing and other living-room activities. Smartphones are used more for ad hoc research or quick sessions on social media websites while on the move or engaged in another screen activity.”

    Oddly, the survey found that consumers with Apple or Samsung tablets spend more time than others on entertainment. Those tablet owners spent an average of 30 extra minutes viewing entertainment on their tablets each day. This may have something to do with the fact that 80% of Apple tablet owners were found by the survey to be “heavy users” who use their tablets 10 or more times per day.

    “Other tablet providers need to understand why owners of their tablets spent significantly less time on their devices,” said Annette Jump, a research director at Gartner. “Unless consumers use tablets regularly and find them valuable for specific activities, they are unlikely to purchase the same brand or, indeed, any replacement tablet after a couple of years.”

  • Galaxy Gear Might Be Replaced By Newer Model Within A Year

    Galaxy Gear Might Be Replaced By Newer Model Within A Year

    The consumer electronic market runs on an annual cycle. After a device has been on the market for a year, the company will then introduce a newer model. For Samsung’s smart watch, the wait for a new model may come even sooner.

    Korean news site Daum reports that the Galaxy Gear shown off earlier this month in Berlin at IFA was merely a test device to see how the market would react. Samsung will use the feedback it receives and then introduce a new Galaxy Gear smart watch early next year at either CES or Mobile World Congress.

    So, why would Samsung already be working on a new Galaxy Gear when the first iteration isn’t even out yet? For starters, Samsung saw that the initial response to its smart watch wasn’t entirely positive. Many who were at the show pointed out that the Gear didn’t have a long enough battery life, had input lag and cost too much. It didn’t help matters that the Galaxy Gear only supports two devices – the Galaxy Note 3 and the Galaxy Note 10.1 – at this time.

    With the next Galaxy Gear reportedly already being worked on, what kind of improvements will Samsung include with the next iteration? That much isn’t known at this point, but we can make a few educated guesses. For starters, Samsung needs to work on improving the battery life and the list of devices that the Gear is compatible with. It needs to move outside of its own devices and make the Gear compatible with a wide variety of Android devices. It can promise additional functionality with its own devices, but keeping it exclusive to Samsung devices in an open Android ecosystem is foolish.

    Samsung will also have to work on the price if it wants to be competitive in what may become a large segment of the consumer electronic market in coming years. Apple and Microsoft will both be rolling out their own smart watches within the year, and Samsung has an opportunity to capitalize on the millions of Android devices currently on the market with its own smart watch. A competitive price will ensure that it can tap into the ever growing Android market more readily.

    Despite these reports, the current Galaxy Gear will still go on sale in October for $300. Before picking one up, you might want to wait until early next year to see if these reports come to fruition.

    [Image: Samsung]
    [h/t: The Guardian]

  • Samsung Slashes Notebook Orders Ahead of the Holidays

    Samsung Slashes Notebook Orders Ahead of the Holidays

    For over one year now, the PC market has seen falling shipment numbers, accompanying lowered demand for both desktop and notebook PCs. The rise of low-cost tablets and the failure of Windows 8 helped contribute to the market slowdown. Though PC shipments were expected to pick up during the back-to-school season, it now appears that manufacturers do not foresee a pick-up in sales this holiday season.

    DigiTimes today reported that Samsung has cut its notebook component orders for September in half. The report’s unnamed “sources from the upstream supply chain” also stated that the Korean manufacturer may cut its entire notebook shipment forecast for 2013, down to just 13 million from a planned 13.8 million. According to DigiTimes, Samsung had, at the outset of 2013, expected its notebook shipments to grow up to 20%.

    Though Samsung is not the largest notebook manufacturer, the company’s shipment predictions are another sign that the PC industry in general is in for a sizable contraction. As the world’s seventh-largest notebook manufacturer last year, Samsung had been looking to move more units this year, re-branding its entire notebook lineup under the ATIV banner. The company is currently making inroads into the Notebook segment by way of emerging markets such as China and Brazil

    (via DigiTimes)

  • Wearable Technology Is Drawing A Great Deal Of Interest (If Search Trends Are Any Indication)

    Wearable Technology Is Drawing A Great Deal Of Interest (If Search Trends Are Any Indication)

    Yahoo shared some search data with us today indicating that people are quite interested in smart watches and other wearable technology. A long-rumored Apple watch was absent from the company’s big event on Tuesday, but such a product could end up being a hit if it ever comes out.

    Samsung recently unveiled the Samsung Galaxy Gear, and according to Yahoo, searches for [Samsung smart watch] have spiked 787% this month. It’s the top searched product with at least ten times more searches than both [sony smart watch] and [apple smart watch].

    “Men are most interested in the new watch as 77% of the searches come from them,” a Yahoo spokesperson tells WebProNews. “Other top searches for smart watches include [casio smart watch bluetooth], [samsung smart watch price], [samsung galaxy smart watch features], [pebble smart watch], [omate trusmart watch].”

    More findings from Yahoo:

    • [fitbit] is the top searched wearable tech item on Yahoo over the past 30 days
    • Ranked in order, top searched wearable tech items on Yahoo this month are: [fitbit], [google glass] (merged with google glasses), [smart watch], [samsung smart watch], [jawbone up], [sony smart watch], [apple smart watch]
    • Searches for [google glass] are nearly 3x higher than [samsung smart watch] this month on Yahoo
    • [fitbit] is searched by women 61% of the time and [jawbone up] is searched for by women 70% of the time – clearly, ladies are more interested in the fitness bands
    • [google glass] is searched for men 74% of the time
    • [samsung smart watch] is searched for 76% by men and [sony smart watch] is searched for 92% of the time by men – guys are more interested in smart watches than women
    • Over the past week on Yahoo, [samsung smart watch] has spiked 791% and has been searched for nearly 2x more than [google glasses]

    Five million smart watches are predicted to ship next year, according to Canalys. More PC companies and Microsoft are expected to enter the smart watch space in the coming year.

    Image: Samsung (Youtube)

  • iPhone 5S: As Apple declines, Samsung, Chinese smell blood

    iPhone 5S: As Apple declines, Samsung, Chinese smell blood

    Tomorrow, Apple is slated to bring fresh produce to the technology meat-market with an evolved iPhone 5 dubbed iPhone 5S.

    The Apple faithful are also expecting a cheaper version positioned towards East and South Asian markets where the computer giant is being mauled by insular and cut-throat Korean and Chinese rivals.

    But the level of excitement that Apple used to garner in its hey days is gone. With Steve Jobs deceased, there is a palpable sense that Apple no longer commands the status of Sun at the center of consumer electronics Solar System.

    Sure, there are confirmed reports that Apple is going to introduce innovative security features based on fingerprinting technology, the obligatory faster processor, and a more sophisticated camera at its Cupertino conference tomorrow. Needless to say, there will be plenty of stuff to feast your eyes on. And who can forget that Apple stock is still at a respectable $506.17?

    So why the lack of bated breadth, clenched lips, tense foreheads?

    The answer to that lies in two words. Offshore Outsourcing.

    Apple’s addiction to outsourcing is not unique. Most big American corporations in their headlong rush for a tiny slice of East Asian market, have outsourced vast swaths of manufacturing know-how to Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China. With little to no manufacturing base left in America, companies like Apple are completely at the mercy of their East-Asian suppliers.

    It does not take a fertile imagination to realize that sooner or later these suppliers would gain all the core competencies and no longer be content to sit in the kitchen making dinner for their American counterparts. Now they want to wine and dine themselves and send Apple to the dumpster.

    This is what has been happening to Apple’s phone business, as it is being shoved aside by rivals such as Samsung, ZTE, Huawei, Lenovo in the world’s largest phone market – China, and beyond.

    Consider Samsung. In 2009, the Korean behemoth’s global share in smartphones was a puny 5.9%. Fast forward to 2013, Samsung is rocketing towards almost one-third of global market. How did Samsung catch up so quickly and surpass Apple in global market-share?

    The explanation is simple. Remember how Apple outsourced the manufacturing of iPhone’s processor to Samsung? Why would you outsource the heart and soul of your hardware to your rival and not expect them to accelerate their own design and development process and then come back at you like a Frankenstein?

    Probe further into iPhone 5, dismantle it, count all the critical components and what do we see?

    That it is more Japanese than American. If Apple were to stamp all its iPhones with Made in East Asia, it would outrage the Apple fanatics, but won’t be too far from the truth.

    So what? Comes the cheap rhetoric. We live in a globalized world, where people are free to exchange goods and services as they see fit. What is so wrong with East-Asians producing all the advanced materials and components? Apparently, the Asians beg to differ. When was the last time Samsung, Sony, Huawei outsourced most or all of their advanced manufacturing to America (or Europe)?

    If Samsung is harbinger of things to come, then imagine what will happen when one of these days two or three new Chinese rivals with 30 times the population and resource base of South Korea give Apple a run for its money.

    If Apple does not bring back manufacturing of advanced components and materials back to America, that day may not be too far when this once great company will go the same way as RIM and Motorola did. Until then, enjoy Siri’s sweet voice.

    [images via Flickr and Asahi Shimbun]

  • Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Sales Predicted to be Slow

    Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Sales Predicted to be Slow

    Earlier this week, Samsung unveiled its new Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet. The device is Samsung’s direct competitor to the iPad, and comes with impressive specs and software. However, the tablet industry is currently in a shift toward smaller tablets. The less-expensive 7-inch tablet category is already taking a bite out of the sales of larger tablets, a trend that seems likely to continue even as mini-tablets edge up toward 8-inch screens.

    Today DigiTimes is reporting that even the tech supply chain isn’t bullish on the Galaxy Note 10.1’s prospects. The report cites unnamed “industry sources” as saying ititial sales of the Note 10.1 are expected to be only 400,000 to 600,000 units per month. That’s an estimate for worldwide unit sales. These same sources expect Samsung to cut component orders for the Note 10.1 shortly after its September 25 release.

    The report blames the low expectations squarely on the popularity of 7-inch tablets. Smaller tablets now account for a clear majority of tablet sales, and even Apple is rumored to have lowered its orders for its full-sized iPad. DigiTimes’ sources even put forth the theory that even Samsung has low expectations for the Note 10.1, and that the company is releasing the tablet simply to defend its market share of the premium tablet market.

    (Image courtesy Samsung)

  • Galaxy Note 3 Verizon Pre-Orders Start Tomorrow, New Demo Video Released

    Galaxy Note 3 Verizon Pre-Orders Start Tomorrow, New Demo Video Released

    Yesterday at the IFA conference, Samsung unveiled the long-awaited Galaxy Note 3 smartphone. Leaks in the weeks leading up to the announcement had already revealed the device’s hardware, but now customers are actually close to getting their hands on the device.

    Unlike in Europe, where manufacturers can actually provide a launch date, the U.S. is still caught in the grip of mobile provider subsidies. The Note 3 will be launching on different dates for each of the carriers in the U.S. beginning in October. Though specific dates are not available, customers can at least begin to pre-order their device.

    Verizon has announced that it will begin taking pre-orders for the Note 3 starting tomorrow, September 6 at 9 am EDT. In addition to Note 3 pre-orders, customers can also put down money for the new Samsung Galaxy Gear smart watch.

    With the official announcement out of the way, Samsung has also begun to detail all the new features of the Note 3 and the Gear. A trailer for the smartphone released earlier this week showed off the new “S-Pen” stylus and accompanying features. Today, a new video is out showing off the device in even more detail.

    The 18-minute video goes through every detail of the Note 3 and the Gear, starting with their design and delving into minute details about the new software Samsung has packed in on top of the Android operating system:

  • Here’s Everything You Need To Know About The Galaxy Note 3

    Here’s Everything You Need To Know About The Galaxy Note 3

    At IFA 2013, Samsung unveiled the new Galaxy Note 3. Just like the Galaxy Note 2 smartphone before it, the Galaxy Note 3 sports an impossibly huge display powered by some of the best hardware in the mobile industry.

    Of course, reading about the Galaxy Note 3 only gives you part of the story. For the rest, here’s a 6-minute video tour of everything new in the Galaxy Note 3 courtesy of Samsung:

    The trademark S Pen is back with the Galaxy Note 3, and it can do even more this time around. Samsung brought the Galaxy S 4’s Air View feature to the Note 3 for a new feature called Air Command that allows users to effortlessly select from a list of commands by simply bringing the S Pen close to the screen.

    I would still argue that the Galaxy Note is too big for a smartphone, but that’s kind of the point of a phablet. Unlike its competitors, Samsung at least understands that most users will be using the Note 3 for tablet functions. In that regard, the Note 3 makes more sense than even Samsung’s own Galaxy Mega.

    The Galaxy Note 3 will be released on September 25 in Europe, but there’s no U.S. release date just yet. All we have is an AT&T announcement saying they will carry both the Galaxy Note 3 and the Galaxy Gear.

    [Image: Samsungmobile/YouTube]

  • Samsung Launches Consumer Version of KNOX

    Samsung Launches Consumer Version of KNOX

    In addition to its household appliance and smartphone announcements during its IFA presentation, Samsung also focused a bit on software. Of particular note is that the Korean company has now launched a consumer version of its KNOX security software.

    The KNOX software, which has been available to enterprise customers since earlier this summer, allows companies to lock off “containers” of smartphone apps and information that will not interact with employees private data, while protecting business data from misuse or malware. The new consumer version of KNOX could be used by smartphone owners to store private data in a more secure place.

    “We are delighted to see Samsung KNOX provide advanced data and privacy protection for both enterprises and consumers,” said Injong Rhee, SVP of KNOX at Samsung. “The availability of Samsung KNOX to consumers will accelerate the adoption of Samsung devices for BYOD as prosumers can now readily experience Samsung KNOX with ease at no cost.”

    The KNOX software is secure enough that it has been approved by the U.S. Department of Defense. Samsung is currently expanding its enterprise solutions business. With KNOX, the company is betting that as more businesses shift to allow employees to bring their own smartphone into their workflows, both employees and employers will need a security solution to keep their private and professional lives separate on the same device.