Samsung estimates yet another profit drop for Q2 of 2015
Samsung may still be selling most Android handsets in the world, but their numbers have been dropping earnings report after earnings report for a worrisome time. It was only recently that people were starting to become tired of Samsung’s sub-par design and build quality. Nothing was improving profits and Sammy was falling into its impending doom. In an effort to turn things around, they took their team back to the drawing board and created what would be the solution to their problems – the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge.
Compared to previous Galaxy S smartphones, these new flagship handsets were masterpieces of design and engineering (read our Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge reviews). These handsets are powerful, snappy, full of helpful features and, finally, they offered a design worthy of pride. It was a new era for the Korean manufacturer and Q2 of 2015 was the quarter when they would shine… only they didn’t.
Despite the release of the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge super phones, Samsung is estimating yet another lackluster quarter. Their earnings guidance report for Q2 of 2015 shows the company should conclude the time period with approximately 48.0 trillion Korean won in consolidated sales and an operating profit of about 6.9 trillion Korean won. This would translate to a 4% decline over Q2 of 2014.
Shall these estimations be correct, it would mean Samsung’s 7th consecutive quarterly profit drop in a row. Definitely not a good sign, especially considering this is the very first quarter report in which the new Galaxy devices are taken into account. Is Samsung’s bad reputation preceding them? Likely, but that is probably not the only factor that comes into play.
Samsung has been facing supply issues for the Galaxy S6 Edge, a phone with immense demand from consumers. We all love those beautiful Edge displays and the new elegant design – it’s likely catching a lot of people’s eyes. If Samsung can’t meet demand, we definitely have an issue at hand, and it’s reflecting in their numbers.
We are definitely fans of what Samsung did with its latest high-end smartphones, but we know they could do much better (especially in the battery department). There’s a saying that goes “build up a reputation and then you can go to sleep”. Sadly, this works the same way for negative reputation. Samsung spent many years creating a fame for bad design, and long-time opinions are hard to kill. Maybe things will turn up if they continue to improve their manufacturing strategy.
What do you guys think about this situation, though? Would you say Samsung is on its way out and a new Android manufacturer is soon to take the crown? Which phone maker do you think would be the next ruler?
Pretty much official: Samsung profits are down four percent in Q2 2015 from a year ago
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It was a result that was suspected, but now it’s pretty much official: It was announced today that Samsung profits are down four percent in the second quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago, falling to 6.9 trillion won ($6.13 billion USD). While it’s not quite all bad news – this quarter has been Samsung’s best over the last four quarters – tellingly, this quarter of loss is Samsung’s seventh period of registering annual decline.
There are a lot of subtle factors that have contributed to this result – despite the dam-busting popularity and critical acclaim of the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, they were greeted with a much more competitive smartphone market this year and a decline in demand from China and Europe. The supply issues that initially plagued the Galaxy S6 Edge have also been pointed to as a pain point. It’s also been pointed out that Samsung’s strategy of moving away from low and mid-range devices may have affected overall sales. Samsung’s middling performance is probably the biggest indicator yet that the global smartphone marketplace is changing in ways that see less demand for high-powered, high-performance handsets.
What do you think about Samsung’s quarterly financial results? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Samsung via Reuters, engadget
The post Pretty much official: Samsung profits are down four percent in Q2 2015 from a year ago appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Minecraft Story Mode now officially official for Android
As we previously reported, Telltale games and Mojang have collaborated to create a game based on the ever-popular Minecraft called Minecraft Story Mode. As with Telltale’s other games, Minecraft Story Mode will be a narrative-driven video game, and of course it will be about Minecraft.
Story Mode will focus on Jesse. He and his group of friends revere the legendary Order of the Stone; four adventurers that slayed an Ender Dragon. The Order are the very best at what they do: Warrior, Redstone Engineer, Griefer, and Architect. While at EnderCon, Jesse and his friends discover that something is wrong… something dreadful. Terror is unleashed, and they must set out on a journey to find The Order of the Stone if they are to save their world from oblivion.
It will be released in a 5 part episodic series that will take you to the Nether, the Farlands, the End, and beyond! You will drive how the story flows through the decisions you make: what you say to people (and how you say it), and what you choose to do in moments of thrilling action.
The Minecraft Story Mode voice cast includes some very high caliber voice talent as well.
- Patton Oswalt (Ratatouille, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D)
- Brian Posehn, (The Sarah Silverman Program, Mission Hill)
- Ashley Johnson (The Last of Us, Tales from the Borderlands)
- Scott Porter (Friday Night Lights, X-Men)
- Martha Plimpton (The Goonies, Raising Hope)
- Dave Fennoy (The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games Series, Batman: Arkham Knight)
- Corey Feldman (The Goonies, Stand by Me), Billy West (Futurama, Adventure Time)
- Paul Reubens (Tron: Uprising, Pee-Wee’s Playhouse)
The first episode will be released some time in 2015, and will be available on Xbox consoles, PlayStation consoles, PC, Mac, iOS, and most importantly, Android-based devices.
The post Minecraft Story Mode now officially official for Android appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Ex-attorney general says DOJ could negotiate with Snowden
Edward Snowden might be able to see his family in person again — and (if things go his way) not from behind bars, either. According to former Attorney General Eric Holder, there’s a “possibility” for the Department of Justice to negotiate an agreement with the whistleblower, which will allow him to come back home. One of Edward Snowden’s lawyers admitted back in March that they were doing everything they could to bring him back to the US, so the two parties might have been talking for a while now. Holder didn’t delve into specifics when asked if that meant the government is working on a plea deal, but he said: “I certainly think there could be a basis for a resolution that everybody could ultimately be satisfied with. I think the possibility exists.”
The former law enforcement officer was the one who filed a criminal case against Snowden back in 2013, charging him of three felony violations of the Espionage Act. Now, he believes the government “is in a different place” due to everything the ex-NSA contractor leaked, crediting him for the change in policy when it comes to the bulk collection of phone metadata.
A possible deal privately floated within the government was proposed by a top intelligence official named Robert Litt, according to Yahoo News. Litt proposes letting Snowden come back if he pleads guilty to one felony count and spends three to five years in prison. However, Ben Wizner (one of Snowden’s many lawyers) told the publication that any deal involving prison time is out of the question: “[H]e should not be reporting to prison as a felon and losing his civil rights as a result of his act of conscience.”
A spokesperson for Holder’s replacement, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, wouldn’t say if negotiations are ongoing and maintained that the government’s “position regarding bringing Edward Snowden back to the United States to face charges has not changed.” That Holder’s hinting that a deal is possible is definitely an improvement, though, seeing as the accused was forced to flee to Moscow just a couple of years ago to protect his life.
[Image credit: AFP/Getty Images]
Filed under: Misc
Source: Yahoo News
Paranoid Android finally releases Android 5.1 builds for Nexus devices
Paranoid Android fans with Nexus devices have been suffering for quite some time. Well, don’t you worry, as today is your lucky day! The team has announced via a blog post that the new version of the popular ROM is now available for a select list of Nexus devices.
Unfamiliar with Paranoid Android? Android geeks shouldn’t be, so let’s tell you a bit about them. Paranoid Android makes one of the most popular Android ROMs out there. In fact, they are the biggest ROM aside from CyanogenMod, which makes them an important part of the developer community. They have been forced to go through some major changes lately, though, as OnePlus has hired a large portion of the team’s talent.
While we are not sure this is the direct cause of the delays to Paranoid Android’s Android 5.1 release, the team does state it’s because they “are missing the manpower they had in the past on their core team.” I would bet my money on this being about the people who left for OnePlus! Regardless, the team has brought most supported Nexus devices up to speed with the supported legacy devices.
There are a couple caveats, which we should go through before telling you more about the new build. The team has been working very hard to get this build done, but they haven’t been able to finish everything just yet. As a result you will be missing cool features like Theme Engine, Quick Settings Reordering, App Ops, Advanced Power Menu and Immersive Mode. Also, keep in mind you will have to flash Google Apps.
Without further ado, let’s talk about the newly supported Nexus devices! Today’s release adds Android 5.1 support to the shamu (Nexus 6), hammerhead (Nexus 5), mako (Nexus 4), flounder (Nexus 9), flo (Nexus 7 2013) and grouper (Nexus 7 2012). This leaves only cellular-capable tablets and the Nexus 10 out of the loop, but it’s only because they don’t have the devices in hand. They do suggest owners of these devices come test their builds if they are willing. You can contact Evan Anderson at evananderson@aospa.co if interested.
Paranoid Android is also announcing they are easing up on releases from now on, due to obvious reasons. Instead of offering weekly releases, they are switching to a “release when appropriate” schedule. Makes sense, even if it does sadden us. Hopefully they can get more team members on board soon! As for now, Nexus device owners can go ahead and download the necessary files from their official distribution site. Also, try to help them with coding through gerrit if you can, they need it now more than ever.
Samsung’s profits down again as it misreads demand for newest phones
Samsung predicts that its earnings from April-June of this year will likely be down four percent from last year, suggesting that sales of its newest flagship smartphones have failed to hit the mark. However, it will still be the company’s highest quarterly profit since Q2 2015. The company’s forecast is thin on details — revenue is also down 8.4 percent from the same period last year– but many analysts think supply shortages have stymied sales of Samsung’s S6 Edge. The WSJ‘s sources say that the company struggled to match production to the demand of customers, who wanted the curved Galaxy S6 Edge over the original S6, initially predicting to sell four Galaxy S6 smartphones for each S6 Edge. At the same time, the company’s lucrative component business, which puts parts in rival phones as well as PCs, will likely have another strong quarter, putting an equally strong spotlight on the mobile arm’s struggles.
Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Tablets, HD, Mobile, Samsung
Source: Samsung
The Universe might contain millions of hidden black holes
Black holes are, by definition, impossible to see by conventional methods and are often further obscured by thick blankets of dust or gas. But that’s not an issue for NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR). It can peek through the obscuring layers and monitor the black holes via the high-energy X-rays that they emit. And, after a recent survey that spotted five previously unknown supermassive black holes in the centers of various galaxies, NASA researchers now think there could be millions of of them dotting the Universe like the holes of an intergalactic colander.
“Thanks to NuSTAR, for the first time, we have been able to clearly identify these hidden monsters that are predicted to be there, but have previously been elusive because of their surrounding cocoons of material,” said George Lansbury of Durham University in a statement. “Although we have only detected five of these hidden supermassive black holes, when we extrapolate our results across the whole universe, then the predicted numbers are huge and in agreement with what we would expect to see.” The team’s research has been accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal.
Filed under: Science
Source: NASA
Sony’s Hiroki Totoki says that Sony will never get rid of its mobile business
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Early this year, there was talk that Sony was considering getting rid of its mobile business due to continued poor performance in all its key markets. Sony Mobile CEO, Hiroki Totoki, has spoken about this matter, and more, in an interview to Arabian Business, closing the door on the possibility of Sony Mobile ever being sold off or exiting the smartphone market. On the topic, Totoki said:
“The speculations arose because in 2014 we made a huge loss as a mobile business. It mainly came from the write-off of the goodwill of our impairment asset. When we bought back Ericsson’s share [in 2012], we bought back 100 percent of it. And obviously that price was high. We had to write it down and it made a substantial loss for the company.
“But this was an accounting loss and did not impact our cash flow. Our cash flow is very healthy. But the accounting loss was so huge — that’s why people have speculated like this. Before that rumour, we exited the VAIO business, which was the PC business. That led people to think that Sony would exit the smartphone business, as well. But the smartphone business is very different from PCs.
“Smartphones are completely connected to other devices, also connected to people’s lives — deeply. And the opportunity for diversification is huge. We’re heading to the IoT (Internet of Things) era and have to produce a number of new categories of products in this world, otherwise we could lose out on a very important business domain. In that sense we will never ever sell or exit from the current mobile business.”
All of that really puts Sony’s position into focus, however it doesn’t completely account for the actual loses the mobile division has been making in the last year or so. But of course, Totoki has an answer for this too, saying that 2015 has essentially been “a year of big transformation” and that it hopes 2016 will yield the fruits of these improvements. With the Sony Xperia Z5 on the horizon, we can only hope that these improvements start taking effect earlier rather than later.
What do you think about Totoki’s comments? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Arabian Business via XperiaBlog
The post Sony’s Hiroki Totoki says that Sony will never get rid of its mobile business appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Ramboat: Hero Shooting Game hits the Google Play Store
Finding a good game can be hard, especially considering how many options we get in the Google Play Store. It’s a sea of apps in there, and you can’t really go testing them one by one. Need some help? Here at Android Authority we do Android 24/7 and make the time to check these fun games out. A great new game we have our eyes on right now is Ramboat: Hero Shooting Game. Let’s take a quick look at it.
So you may have noticed the game’s title is very familiar. Did you ever watch Rambo movies? This game offers an uncanny, yet fun resemblance to the style and feeling the Stallone-featuring films portrayed. The main difference is that the game is caricatured and cute… but it sure is no less intense.
This action-packed game will keep you on your toes at all times. You will have one mission and one mission only – to escape. The only issue is that your enemies don’t make that an easy feat. They will be coming from above, below, behind you and in front of you. Your enemies are all over the place, so you will have to make sure you clear the way by taking them down.
The main character is Mambo (funny, right?), but he is not Stallone alone. You can also use 9 other characters as you progress in the game, and it’s even possible to upgrade your boats and weapons.
It’s a very fun game built by Genera Games, a very popular developer with ample experience and a good list of titles in the Google Play Store. Other games by Genera include RunBot, Zombie Hunter: Apocalypse and Death Race: The Game. You know this will be a quality game!
Ramboat: Hero Shooting Game is now available from the Google Play Store and you can download it for free. They do make money via in-app purchases, though. You can buy in-game currency to speed up your progress, if you choose to support the developer. If you don’t, you should be able to have some great fun without paying cash. Might as well go try it and have some fun.
Who is playing Ramboat? Are you liking it? Come back and hit the comments to let us know how you feel about the game!
Gene-modded mosquitoes will fight Dengue Fever in Brazil
The Brazilian city of Piracicaba has a potent new weapon in the ongoing fight against Dengue Fever, which infects more than a million people annually: genetically modified mosquito lotharios Created by Oxitec of Abingdon, UK and bred locally within Brazil, these GM mosquitoes (all of which are male) are designed to crash the local population before they can spread the tropical disease. More than six million have been released throughout Piracicaba since April. When a GM male mates with a wild female, his sapper genetics cause the resulting larvae to die before they can reach adulthood. What’s more, the larvae also carry a genetic mutation that causes them to glow red under UV light, giving researchers an easy way to identify them on sight. “It gives an instant readout of how successfully you’re driving down the native population,” Hadyn Parry, chief executive of Oxitec, told New Scientist.
And driving down the native population is exactly what Oxitec is trying to do. Reducing the disease-spreading population by at least 95 percent should be enough to prevent its spread. However, that result hasn’t yet been confirmed. “In theory, if you have fewer mosquitoes you have less transmission, but in reality, this is something we still need to investigate,” Margareth Capurro of the University of Sao Paulo, told New Scientist. “You can have lots of mosquitoes with only a few infected, or very few with all of them infected. If this happens, you suppress the population but don’t affect dengue transmission.”
Still, the method appears effective enough for the FDA to look into its deployment as a preventative measure in Florida. The agency has already completed its initial review and will open its findings to public comment prior to making a final decision. Oxitec recently published its study in PLOS: Neglected Tropical Diseases.
[Image Credit: Arnulfo Franco/Associated Press]
Filed under: Science
Source: New Scientist
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