Tag: Samsung

By November 20, 2013 Read More →

Samsung Galaxy Gear shipping higher amounts than anticipated

Galaxy-Gear-006-Set1-Front_SixDespite critical reviews and an unappealing price-tag, it appears that Samsung’s Galaxy Gear smartwatch is turning out to be a solid success. According to a couple of reports, Samsung has shipped using freight forwarders around 800,000 units to retailers world-wide. Additionally, 50,000 units have already been actually sold to customers in South Korea alone. This has far surpassed Samsung’s own initial expectations. These numbers also put it far ahead of competing devices from both Pebble and Sony.

Samsung issued a statement regarding the surprise success of the device, “It’s the most sold wearable watch available in the market place…and we plan to expand its availability by expanding mobile devices that work with the Gear.”

One of the reasons for the increased success of the device can mainly be attributed to incentive programs to help push the device out the door. This includes bundling it with the Galaxy Note III, and there were even UK carriers currently offering it for free if customers purchase the Note III on a two-year contract.

Of course, there have also been reports that up to 30% of consumers in the U.S. have returned the device, which does not bode well for its future sales. It will be interesting to see how the sell-through numbers match up with the shipping to retail numbers when everything is finally tallied. Regardless, shipping out 800,000 units to retailers in only 2 months is nothing to sniff at.

Posted in: News, Phones
Tags: ,
By November 15, 2013 Read More →

Samsung thinks size matters

12-point-2-inch-gnote-tab-fccWe have mentioned this device before, however a new 12.2-Inch Samsung Galaxy Note tablet is likely coming this holiday season. A new FCC filing confirms the existence of the device. This one is a 3G capable model with 850/1900MHz frequencies and a Samsung SM-P901 model name. 

So far, the rumored specs of this device suggest a robust and powerful feature-set:

  • 2560 x 1600 pixel display
  • Quad-core Snapdragon 800 SoC
  • 3GB of RAM
  • 8MP camera on the back
  • 2MP cam in front
  • 32GB of storage
  • Android 4.3 Jelly Bean

A top notch tablet also useful for beating off intruders or jungle animals.

Posted in: News, Tablets
Tags:
By November 8, 2013 Read More →

Samsung 46″ F7000 Series 7 review (UE46F7000ST)

Samsung 46" F7000 Series 7This month I started my Samsung 46″ F7000 Series 7 review. It has been a while since we last had a TV here to review in the office and a lot has changed since then. Prices have plummeted while screen sizes have increased and the thickness of display panels has dramatically reduced.

Much of this is thanks to LED back lighting technology and no one seems to be using this technology quite as much as Samsung and their range of LED HD TV’s is huge.

The Samsung F8000 is the top end of the Samsung range and has a price tag to match. However, many of the top-end features from the F8000 range can now be found on the 2013 F7000 models. Features such as build-in camera, voice and motion control, micro dimming and a touchpad controller are all added to the F7000 range yet it’s still able to come in at several hundred pounds cheaper than the F8000’s

We are looking at the 46″ version but the range offers sizes from 40 to 60 inches and, at the moment, the 46″ can be found on Amazon for just under £1100.

You do get a lot of hardware for your money there too. This smart TV comes with built in WiFi, integrated webcam, motion and voice control features, 2 bundled 3D glasses and two remote control units.

By November 6, 2013 Read More →

Will we see the Samsung Galaxy Note 13.3?

Samsung Galaxy Note 13.3No, this isn’t a duplicate post, Samsung is working on a 12.2-Inch Galaxy Note tablet. However, that is not the only giant Android tablet they are working on. Supposedly, Samsung is also developing a 13.3-inch Android tablet to launch later next year.

It looks like Samsung believes 2014 will be the year of the tablets. Not only are they throwing out a ton of new tablet devices, they have upped their estimated tablet sales projections to a whopping 42 million. Of course, this will be for all of their tablets which will range in size a great deal. If this newest rumour is true we will have a wide range if new Samsung tablets: 7-inch, 8-inch, 10-inch, 12-inch and 13-inch. We will know something more concrete in January at CES.

Posted in: Rumours, Tablets
Tags: , , , ,
By November 5, 2013 Read More →

Will we see the Samsung Galaxy Note 12.2?

Samsung Galaxy Note 12.2Rumours are surfacing on the net that Samsung is currently working on a Samsung Galaxy Note 12.2″ tablet which will launch in early 2014. The source of these rumours are that the device has already passed through the FCC. Here’s what we know about the specs…

Samsung Galaxy Note 12.2 specs:

  • 12.2-inch 2560 x 1600 display
  • 2.26GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor
  • 8-megapixel camera
  • 2-megapixel front-facing camera
  • 3GB of RAM
  • 32GB of storage
  • Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and LTE support for the cellular version
  • S Pen Stylus

As the sizes of devices continue to trend upward, it makes you wonder at what point will a tablet become too big to be useful? On the other hand could it be that this is an edge to edge screen, loosing the bezel almost entirely?

bluetooth-sig-sm-p901

Posted in: News, Rumours, Tablets
Tags: ,
By October 24, 2013 Read More →

Samsung rapped on the knuckles

wpid-Samsung_Logo.svg_.pngIt seems Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission has fined Samsung $340,000 (£210,000) for paying a company to post fake online reviews and comments praising its own products whilst criticising its competitors. The company, OpenTide, employed “a large number of hired writers and designated employees”, to post on Taiwanese forums about several rival companies. HTC is rumoured to have been one of the victims of Samsung’s tactic to “highlight the shortcomings of competing products”

Samsung is also said to have taken part in the “disinfection of negative news about Samsung products” and posting positive evaluations of their own products. The investigation began in April and has recently concluded with Samsung admitting: “The recent incident was unfortunate, and occurred due to insufficient understanding of these fundamental principles.” They continued “We regret any inconvenience this incident may have caused. We will continue to reinforce education and training for our employees to prevent any future recurrence.”

This on top of recent allegations that Samsung have been ‘cheating’ with their device benchmarks, it hasn’t been a good few weeks for them!

 

Posted in: News
Tags: , ,
By October 22, 2013 Read More →

Samsung Galaxy Express 2 coming to the UK

Samsung Galaxy Express 2Samsung today announced that the updated LTE version of the popular Samsung Galaxy Express will be available here in the UK

The Samsung Galaxy Express 2 will be a Vodafone exclusive from the 23rd October but other UK retailers will stock the phone from a yet undisclosed date.

Looks like the Galaxy Express 2 will be popular,  it has a powerful quad-core 1.7GHz CPU and a large, 4.5 inch display. No word in the cost as yet but if Vodafone can get the price point right I’d expect them to sell plenty of these.

SAMSUNG GALAXY EXPRESS 2 COMING TO THE UK

Samsung’s latest Galaxy device available exclusively at Vodafone stores across the UK

 

London, UK October 22nd, 2013 –Samsung has today announced that the Galaxy Express 2 LTE version, an updated version of the popular Galaxy Express, will be available to buy in the UK from 23rd October exclusively from Vodafone stores at launch with additional retailers to follow at a later date.

The Galaxy Express 2 is powered by Android 4.2, and with a 1.7GHz dual core processor and 4.5 inch display it allows you to watch multimedia content on the go. The new device features a number of Samsung’s smart functions such as Smart Stay, which uses advanced facial recognition to detect when the phone is in use, as well as Group Play which allows you to share music, documents and photos with other compatible Samsung devices. In addition, the new handset also features S Travel, Story Album and S Translator making Samsung’s latest device the perfect travel companion.

Simon Stanford, Vice President of IT & Mobile Division, Samsung Electronics UK & Ireland said: “Our latest addition to the Galaxy portfolio, the Galaxy Express 2 has been designed to provide a faster and smoother user experience. As with all smartphones in our Galaxy range, the Galaxy Express 2 is packed full of intuitive features and smart functions, offering customers superior performance.”

The Galaxy Express 2 will be available in Ceramic White in the UK exclusively at Vodafone stores at launch and further retailers from a later date. Vodafone will also be offering an exclusive shade of Rigel Blue.

Samsung GalaxyExpress 2 LTE Version Product Specification

Network

LTE (800,900,1800,2600) HSPA+, EDGE/GPRS

Processor

1.7GHz Dual Core processor

Display

4.5” qHD PLS TFT

OS

Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)

Camera

5MP AF with Flash + VGA front facing

Video

MP4(Video: H.264 Audio: AAC LC)

Recording HD@30fps / Playing FHD@30fps

Audio

AAC+, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, eAAC+, MP3, OGG, WAV, WMA

Services & Additional Features

 

Smart Stay, Group Play, Motion UX, S Travel, StoryAlbum, S Translator

Connectivity

BT4.0, USB2.0

WiFi 802.11 b/g/n

MicroUSB

NFC

Sensor

Accelerometer, Geo-magnetic, Proximity Sensor

Memory*

1.5GB RAM, 8GB ROM, MicroSD card slot (up to 64GB)

GPS

GPS/GLONASS

Dimension

132.43 x 65.75 x 9.8

Battery

2100mAh
Posted in: News, Phones, Press Releases
Tags: ,
By October 15, 2013 Read More →

Which Chromebook is right for you?

Which ChromebookThere has been a flurry of Chromebook’s over the last week and whilst they are largely the same, there are a few subtle differences to distinguish them. Here is a brief overview of the main contenders, there will be more, many more over the next year or so however you might need one right now and this little table may help:

71Kxp0Q1WjL._SL1238_ images ch2_2373074b 61H bxJ6WUL._SX342_

Acer C720

HP Chromebook 11

Samsung Chromebook

HP Chromebook 14

Screen

11.6″ 1366 x 768

11.6″ IPS display 1366 x 768

11.6″ 1366 x 768

14″ 1366 x 768

Ports

1 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.0

2 x USB 2.0

1 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.0

2 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.0

Weight

1.27kg

1.04kg

1.08kg

1.9kg

CPU

1.4 GHz Intel Celeron (Haswell)

1.7 Exynos 5250

1.7 GHz Exynos 5000 Series

Intel Celeron 1.4 GHz

Memory

4GB

2GB

2GB

2GB

Storage

16GB SSD + 100 GB Google Drive

16GB SSD + 100 GB Google Drive

16GB SSD + 100 GB Google Drive

16GB SSD + 100 GB Google Drive

Battery life

8.5 hours

6 hours

6.5 hours

9.5 hours

Network

802.11a/b/g/n

802.11 a/b/g/n

802.11 a/b/g/n

802.11 a/b/g/n

Connections

1 x HDMI, Bluetooth 4.0

Bluetooth 4.0, MicroUSB

Bluetooth 4.0, SD card slot.

Bluetooth 4.0, 1 x HDMI, SD card slot.

We’ll be going hands on sith several of these over the next week so be sure to came back to see unboxing videos and reviews soon! 🙂

Posted in: Editorial, Laptops
Tags: , , ,
By October 13, 2013 Read More →

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 – Video Test

Galaxy Note 3 video testOne of the best ways to test a video camera is to take it out at dusk. At dusk the light levels vary greatly as you have light sunlight, car headlights, shadowed areas and, for the most part, ideal lighting conditions. The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is taken for a drive in to see just how well the video deals with many of the different elements that the phone will have to deal in it’s lifetime. Check below for the video.

The drive gives the anti shake mechanism a workout, auto focus is constantly being pushed thanks to a bit of dirt on the windscreen and the microphone isn’t terribly distorted by the mighty 3.0ltr engine. For the most part the video camera performs rather well.

By October 7, 2013 Read More →

Samsung developing its answer to Google Glass

Google GlassSeems that everyone wants to get their hands on Google Glass and the massive demands has apparently been too much for Samsung to ignore and rumour has it that the Korean giant has decided to work on its own “Gear Glass” hardware.

In a tweet from Russian blogger Eldar Murtazin, he states:

Samsung developing own version of Google Glass. We will see it (probably) around april-may under Gear Glass brand.

There are no further details as yet but it certainly would make sense for Samsung to release another wearable product to compliment their Galaxy Gear Smartwatch.

According to retailers, the demand for the Smartwatch 2 has been so high that they are unable to satisfy the existing demand and the back-order list is growing daily.

https://www.ukmeds.co.uk/surgical-face-masks