Samsung Estimates First Profit Growth in Two Years Thanks to Sales of Chips, Not Hardware
Samsung this morning announced its forecast predictions for the company’s third quarter, suggesting an overall year-over-year profit growth of 79.8 percent, which would be its first since 2013.
The company didn’t provide specifics regarding where the profit came from, but analysts speaking with The Wall Street Journal attributed it to the “robust sales” of various chips and displays used in smartphones and other devices throughout the year. Specifically, those analysts believed Samsung’s earnings this year are being fueled by the chip sales “due to tight supply and firm pricing.”
Overall, the company’s chip unit will likely account for nearly half of its total profit in the third quarter of 2015, with the addition of display sales bolstering the rest of its foreseeable monetary gains.
The South Korean technology company said Wednesday its operating profit for the three months ended Sept. 30 likely rose 79.8% to about 7.3 trillion Korean won (US$6.3 billion), its first year-over-year growth since the third quarter of 2013 when the company posted a 26% increase. Revenue likely rose about 7.5% to 51 trillion won.
Analysts were expecting Samsung to post an operating profit of 6.5 trillion won on revenue of 50.5 trillion won, based on a poll of nine analysts.
Most recently, Samsung announced the newest iterations of its smartphone lineup, the Samsung Galaxy Note5 and the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+, whose 5.7-inch displays make them slightly larger than Apple’s iPhone 6s Plus and are marketed as a direct competitor to the Cupertino company’s large-screened device. Announced and launched in August — alongside services like Samsung Pay and the new Gear S2 Smartwatch — the new smartphones were pegged as an early competitor for Apple’s iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.
But, if the analysts’ predictions today are correct, Samsung saw most of its profits from its contribution to chip production within Apple’s own smartphone line-up. When initially discovered a few days after the launch of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, the split of A9 chips between Samsung and TSMC met a small wave of controversy, with one iOS developer going so far as to calculate the percentage split between the two manufacturers. Even though the 60/40 percentage was in favor of TSMC, it appears Samsung’s chip manufacturing for the 6s and 6s Plus was enough to help in some way boost its overall quarterly growth.
Samsung’s 18.5-inch Galaxy View tablet hits the FCC sporting AT&T branding
Samsung’s mammoth 18.5-inch Galaxy View tablet has been spotted being put through its paces on GFXBench recently, and now a possible LTE variant has cleared the FCC sporting AT&T branding. This variant goes under the model number SM-T677A.
From the FCC listing, we can see that the Galaxy View could be sporting dual speakers on its rear, the AT&T logo, along with the FCC certification. It’s anyone’s guess about what the two square items are between the speaks, or what the item is to the left of the FCC certification, although with a tablet this size, perhaps a kickstand of sorts? The Galaxy View is definitely not going to be the most portable tablet you’ve ever held.
Hardware-wise, the Galaxy View is believed to sport a mid-range level of hardware, which includes:
- Android 5.1.1 Lollipop
- 18.5-Inch display with 1980 x 1080 resolution
- Exynos 7 octa-core processor @ 1.6GHz
- Mali-T720 GPU
- 2GB RAM
- 32GB Internal storage
- 2MP front camera
- 5,700mAh battery
What do you think of the Galaxy View tablet? Does anyone else think the battery seems a little on the small side for such a monstrous tablet? Is the Galaxy View too big for normal people to use? Or is there a market for massive tablets like this? Personally, I could maybe see a use for the Galaxy View if there was an S Pen present. Maybe. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: FCC
Via: PhoneArena
Come comment on this article: Samsung’s 18.5-inch Galaxy View tablet hits the FCC sporting AT&T branding
Waterstones stops selling Amazon Kindles over ‘pitiful’ sales
Waterstones, the UK’s largest book retailer, surprised many when it put plans for its own e-reader on ice to start selling Amazon’s range of Kindle readers. It’s been more than three years since it began making extra space in stores for one of its biggest rivals, but it won’t for much longer. The Bookseller reports that the company will remove Amazon’s e-ink Kindles from most of its locations as sales “continue to be pitiful”.
That’s according to James Daunt, managing director of Waterstones, who told publication: “We are taking the display space back in more and more shops. It feels very much like the life of one of those inexplicable bestsellers; one day piles and piles, selling like fury; the next you count your blessings with every sale because it brings you closer to getting it off your shelves forever to make way for something new. Sometimes, of course, they ‘bounce’ but no sign yet of this being the case with Kindles.”
Space that was normally reserved for Amazon devices will be dedicated to paperbacks and hardbacks instead as Waterstones attempts to capitalise on the slow resurgence of physical book sales. In January, the retailer confirmed that sales of the Kindle had plunged over Christmas while sales of paperbacks and hardbacks rose by 5 percent over the same period.
Source: The Bookseller
HP’s updated Stream laptops offer better battery life for your buck
HP’s inexpensive Stream laptops weren’t perfect by any means, but with a starting price of $200, we were able to forgive a lot, including so-so displays, sluggish performance and sometimes-flaky touchpads. Today HP is refreshing both the Stream 11 and 13, and while neither seems to address the flaws we found in the original, they at least keep the same price, all while bringing longer battery life — and in the case of the smaller one, a lighter design. In particular, the 11.6-inch model now weighs 2.6 pounds, down from 2.74. The 13.3-inch version remains unchanged at 3.42 pounds, and there’s an optional touchscreen for the larger model as well. In both cases, you can expect better runtime: up to 10.5 hours on the 11 (up from 8:15) and 8.5 hours on the 13 (versus 7:45 on the last generation). That’s important, as the Stream line competes in part against Chromebooks, some of which have no problem reaching the 10-hour mark.Slideshow-324983
Otherwise, the upgraded Stream laptops are mostly the same, save for a new color palette (cobalt blue, bright purple and ash silver) and an updated Intel Celeron processor. Even then, we’re not expecting a significant performance leap here — these machines will always be serviceable for the basics, but not much more. As ever, too, the Stream laptops come with 32GB of built-in storage and 1TB of OneDrive space, free for one year (yet another reason HP’s Stream laptops welcome comparisons with Chromebooks). Like last time, you’ll also get a free one-year subscription to Office 365, along with 60 Skype minutes per month.
The upgraded Stream 11 and 13 ship October 18th at the same prices as before, with the 11 starting at $200 and the 13 at $230.Slideshow-326591
HP’s new PCs include an updated convertible, a thin-and-light and some all-one-ones
Of all the products HP is announcing this morning, its Surface Pro competitor is likely to get the most attention. That said, the company’s new line of PCs doesn’t end there. HP is making some minor tweaks to its premium Spectre x360 convertible, which we liked very much the first time around. For those with simpler tastes, the firm unveiled a new thin and light notebook that keeps its weight (and waistline) down by forgoing a touchscreen and sticking with a basic clamshell design. And, completing the gamut, HP also introduced some new all-in-one desktops.
Starting with that thin-and-light, the Envy 13 weighs in at 2.8 pounds and measures a slim 12.95mm (0.51 inch) thick, all while packing full-fledged sixth-gen Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 processors (none of this watered-down Core M business). It also promises up to 10 hours of battery life, which, if accurate, would be impressive for a laptop this thin. Additionally, the metal chassis has a rounded hinge that lifts the machine off the ground when the lid is open — a design touch that’s not just pretty, but should also help keep the bottom side cool. Other perks include Bang & Olufsen audio and a fingerprint reader that allows users to take advantage of Microsoft’s Windows Hello biometric login. That can’t be said of all new notebooks — heck, even HP has some new models that don’t make the cut for Hello. The main trade-off, as I mentioned, is that the screen is a non-touch panel — with a thick bezel to go with it. Expect the Envy 13 to ship on October 18th for $850 and up.Slideshow-324982
As for the x360, it looks the same as ever, with a 3.2-pound, CNC-machined aluminum body and a 360-degree hinge that allows the 13.3-inch touchscreen to fold back into tablet mode. Under the hood, however, HP has upgraded to sixth-gen Core processors. Thanks in part to those new CPUs, battery life is now rated between 13 and 15 hours, up from 12.5 in the original. Why the two-hour range, you ask? It seems HP padded its estimates to account for whether the system has an i5 or 7 processor, and either a Full HD or Quad HD display. In addition, the x360 is now available in a special Bang & Olufsen edition (pictured above), with an “Ash Silver” color that to my eyes looks like dark a metallic brown-gray with gold accents. The refreshed version starts at $900, the same price as before, though the Ash Silver version will start at $1,300 when it arrives on November 8th.Slideshow-324980
Finally, HP also trotted our three new desktops, including two plainer ones and one with a curved display. The curved model, aptly called the Envy Curved All-in-One, has a 34-inch, 3,440 x 1,440 panel with a 21:9 aspect ratio and a tilting hinge that allows the screen to dip 25 degrees. The screen is also Technicolor-certified, promising high color fidelity. Under the hood, it runs sixth-gen Core i5 or i7 processors with either 8GB or 16GB of RAM and an optional NVIDIA GTX 960A graphics card. Storage options include a 128GB solid-state drive, up to a 2TB HDD or a hybrid disk. For the money, it also has six Bang & Olufsen speakers and a RealSense camera setup that, like some of HP’s other PCs, allows the user to log in through Windows Hello — this time through facial recognition. It lands on November 8th starting at $1,800, making it far more expensive than the other two desktops HP announced.
Speaking of the sort, the new Envy all-in-one comes in 23.8- and 27-inch screen sizes, with a flat screen that can be configured with either Full HD or Quad HD resolution. Other than having a more traditional screen, the specs are somewhat similar to the curved model, in that you get a sixth-gen Core processor; up to 16GB of memory; your choice of an SSD, HDD or hybrid disk; a Technicolor-certified screen; and Bang & Olufsen audio, albeit with four speakers here instead of six. Look for them on November 1st, starting at $1,000 for the Envy 24 and $1,200 for the 27.
The HP Spectre x2 is like the Surface Pro, but cheaper and lower-specced
What timing: Just a day after Microsoft announced the Surface Pro 4, HP is unveiling a similar-looking 2-in-1 of its own. Though HP has made laptop/tablet hybrids before, the new 12-inch Spectre x2 is the first from the company to rock a built-in kickstand, à la Microsoft’s tablet. Far from being just an imposter, though, the x2 sets itself apart in several key ways, with a more adjustable kickstand and a sturdy, potentially more comfortable keyboard. Oh, and that keyboard actually comes in the box (ahem, Microsoft).Slideshow-324981
With a 12-inch display, the x2 is roughly the same size as the last-gen Surface Pro 3, and weighs 1.85 pounds (the new Surface Pro 4 weighs less, ranging from 1.69 pounds to 1.73). Also like the Surface’s stylus setup (likely based on N-trig tech), the x2 works with a pressure-sensitive Wacom-made active pen, although in this case, it’s sold separately. So far, then, the general concept is the same: a thin and light tablet that magnetically clicks into a keyboard cover. The biggest difference lies in the hinge. Whereas the Surface’s kickstand is flush with the chassis, the x2 has a U-shaped, easel-like frame that pops out when you press a release. Aside from the fact that this design allows the tablet to have a thin 8mm-thick profile (just slightly thinner than the SP4), the main benefit is that the kickstand can be arranged at any angle, as opposed to just two or three stages. Though it is indeed versatile, I quickly found in my demo that it wasn’t any easier than the Surface to balance in your lap.
As for the keyboard, the keys here are far more substantial than what you’d otherwise get on a product like this. Specifically, the buttons have 1.5mm of travel, making them nice and cushy, and they’re backed by a sturdy panel and palm rest that doesn’t flex or bend under pressure. In my short time with the device, I made all but one typo — otherwise, my typing was flawless, if I do say so myself. As a bonus, the touchpad is quite spacious too. Just keep in mind that the price of a more substantial keyboard is more substantial heft: Though the tablet itself weighs just 1.85 pounds, that weight balloons to 2.69 pounds with the keyboard attached. Also, the Surface Pro 4 now has a new (and supposedly sturdier) keyboard, so this might be less of a differentiating point than HP thought it would be.
Again, what’s nice is that the x2 starts at $800 with the keyboard included in the box, as opposed to being sold as a separate $130 accessory — something Microsoft’s gotten away with for years. Meanwhile, the Surface Pro 4 not only comes without the keyboard, but also starts at $899 with the same RAM and storage, nearly a hundred bucks more. All told, then, it has the potential to be a good deal, but that lower total price comes somewhat at the expense of specs. In particular, the display tops out at 1,920 x 1,280 resolution; though that’s probably fine for most users, it’s still lower than the 2,763 x 1,824 offered on the SP4. On the inside too, the x2 makes do not with new sixth-gen Core i5/i7 processors, but sixth-gen Core M chips instead. (Although it’s worth noting the base SP4 also comes with a Core M chip.) As we’ve found in our own reviews, Core M is lower-powered than more robust Core-series CPUs, but doesn’t actually offer a big advantage in battery life. Speaking of the sort, HP is promising 10 hours of runtime.
In addition to a choice of Core m3, m5 and m7 processors, the x2 will be sold with either 4GB or 8GB of RAM, and a solid-state drive with 128GB, 256GB or 512GB of storage. (The Surface Pro 4 goes up to 16GB of memory and a full terabyte of storage.) The x2’s tablet piece has two reversible USB Type-C ports, with a dongle included in the box for connecting to devices that use the older USB-A standard. You’ll also find a microSD reader and three cameras, including an 8-megapixel shooter and Intel’s depth-sensing RealSense setup around back, with two 5MP cameras taking stereoscopic shots. Unfortunately, though, because the RealSense cameras are located on the rear side, you can’t use them for the Windows Hello login feature in Win 10. Rounding out the spec list, there are also four speakers, including two on the tablet, and two Bang & Olufsen ones on the keyboard. (This, too, helps explain why the keyboard cover is heavier than on competing devices.)Slideshow-326590
The Spectre x2 starts at $800. All models come standard with a Verizon-compatible LTE radio, though you’ll need to either purchase a data plan or add it to an existing one. That means if you otherwise use AT&T or some other carrier, you can just ignore that bit.
HP wants you to use its new 8-inch Windows tablet to get work done
The nice thing about 8-inch Windows tablets, aside from how portable they are, is that they’re often super inexpensive and come with Microsoft Office pre-installed. The challenge for big tech companies is getting consumers to actually want to use the desktop on such a tiny screen. HP is the latest to try its hand, with a new device called the Envy Note 8. As you’d expect of any tablet being billed as a productivity device, it comes with a keyboard — in this case, a Bluetooth accessory that allows you to view the tablet in landscape or portrait mode, and that has a slot in the back where you can stow the device when you’re not using it. This is a design we’ve seen before, but it’s the first time HP is attempting it. Also, for what it’s worth, HP will include a stylus in the box, which not all of its rivals bother to do.Slideshow-324985
While an 8-inch tablet might look a little silly paired with a much bigger keyboard, it’s necessary to ensure an acceptable typing experience; a keyboard flush with an 8-inch tablet would be even more cramped than a netbook. Indeed, the aluminum keyboard here is sturdy, and offers a good deal of travel, with the buttons measuring 1.5 millimeters deep. The touchpad is also more spacious than what you’d find on competing devices, including the Surface’s optional Type Cover. At the same time, the fact that there’s a stowaway slot in the back means you don’t have to pack a separate tablet and Bluetooth keyboard, which could quickly get annoying.
Even with a comfortable typing experience, though, it’s still your call if you want to run Office on an 8-inch display. As it happens, the quality here isn’t bad: 1,920 x 1,200 resolution (a high pixel count for a screen this size), with decent viewing angles to match. Processing power is also an issue. While the Intel Atom x5-Z8300 CPU inside is surely sufficient to handle the basics (email, web surfing, et cetera), we’ve found that even Intel’s Celeron processors can make for sluggish performance on Windows, so that doesn’t bode well for the even lower-end Atom. Somehow, despite that power-sipping chip, battery life is rated a little over six hours, which seems skimpy.
All told, then, while the keyboard and free Office install are nice to have, the Note 8 is still a tablet-first sort of device, which means you’d better be happy with the selection of touch-friendly apps in the Windows Store instead of expecting to rely just on desktop programs. The stylus here might help too. You could use it with common apps like OneNote, for instance, and HP also built in some radial shortcut menus for copying, pasting and accessing a couple apps, including HP’s own “Notes Hub” and “Instant Note.” In case you intend to use this small tablet as a camera, the specs here should make for some serviceable, if unremarkable, shots: a 2-megapixel webcam up front, paired with a 5MP autofocusing camera around back.
The Envy Note 8 ships November 8th, starting at $329 with the stylus included. You can also get it with the keyboard bundled for $429.Slideshow-326589
HP’s newest gaming notebook is for more casual users
After taking a long break from making gaming notebooks, HP finally got back in the saddle last year when it unveiled the Omen, a slim gaming laptop priced at $1,500. It generally earned respectable reviews on account of its stylish design and decent performance, but had lots of competition at that price, and its rivals often won when it came to sheer horsepower. To cover its bases, then, HP announced the Pavilion Gaming notebook, which starts at a more palatable $900 — and might have fewer competitors at that price.Slideshow-324979
Though the Pavilion looks the part of a gaming laptop with its backlit green keyboard, it’s heavier than the Omen, weighing in at 5.46 pounds, versus 4.68 for the more expensive model. As you’d expect, it runs Intel’s new sixth-generation Core processors, which is a good thing because the Omen was dinged in reviews for running older silicon than competing machines. Also, the 15.6-inch screen starts at mere HD (1,366 x 768) resolution, with Full HD offered as an upgrade option. (The Omen comes standard with 1080p.) As for graphics, the Pavilion uses an NVIDIA GTX 950M GPU — a step down from the 960M offered in the more expensive Omen. Storage options include up to a 2TB HDD, up to a 1TB hybrid drive or a combination 2TB hard disk and 128GB SSD.
Other specs include up to 16GB of RAM and battery life rated at a little over eight hours (that’s presumably with no gameplay going on). The Pavilion is also offered with an optional RealSense camera setup in lieu of a normal webcam, which would allow you to take advantage of Windows Hello. Rounding out the feature set, you’ve got dual Bang & Olufsen speakers, three USB ports (two of them 3.0), HDMI output and an Ethernet jack. The Pavilion arrives November 8th with a starting price $900. That puts it in the same class as machines like the Alienware 13, which costs around the same, but has a slightly better 960M GPU.Slideshow-326586
Thailand’s gamers fight to save the open internet
Thailand’s military junta has already banned Facebook (a few times), Bitcoin and the game Tropico, but that’s not enough for the censor-happy dictatorship. The nation is now kicking around the idea of a single gateway — effectively one internet connection between Thailand and the rest of the world. With that in place, the government would have complete control over the country’s internet traffic, making censorship and surveillance a breeze. Naturally, this so-called Great Firewall of Thailand isn’t something that its citizens are taking lying down, which is why several government websites were taken down in a co-ordinated DDoS attack last week.
The cause is uniting several disparate groups from privacy campaigners all the way through to gamers. The attacks themselves were co-ordinated using Facebook, with the Anti-CAT Tower Mob among several to run the show. Users were encouraged to constantly refresh government websites, like that of the Ministry of Defense, until their servers fell over — and even that is over the limit of what’s considered a lawful protest. The movement has even created a cartoon character to represent the plan in the form of Nong Kalaland.
Shortly after the DDoS attack was launched, the country’s minister for information, Uttama Savanayana, spoke to allay fears about the project. He said that the single gateway was designed to improve internet speeds while making it cheaper for the government to run. In addition, Thailand’s leader General Prayut Chan-o-cha said that the plan wouldn’t go ahead if it was found to be a breach of human rights. We’re not entirely sure we’ll take on trust the word of a military dictatorship, so we’ll expect to see a spike in people searching for privacy tools like Marionette in the country.
[Image Credit: Getty]
Via: The Grugq (Twitter)
Source: Khaosod English, (2)
NASA’s rocket launch to paint the night sky with colorful vapor clouds
If you live in a mid-Atlantic state and see an aircraft leaving trails in the sky on October 7th, don’t panic: those aren’t chemtrails. NASA’s just testing a handful of new spacecraft technologies by launching a suborbital or “sounding” rocket from its Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia between 7 and 9PM. One of the technologies onboard is a deployment system for vapor clouds that will be used for wind and ionosphere research. The agency will be trying it out tomorrow by releasing a barium and strontium mixture, which will create blue-green and red trails in the sky, 130 miles above the ground.
The main tech that the launch will put to the test, however, is the Black Brant sounding rocket itself — mainly its motor in a two-stage configuration. In addition, the launch will test a new way to fabricate payload, as well as three new carbon nanotube composite materials.
According to the agency:
These technologies will bring significant value to a wide range of aerospace and defense products –including launch vehicles, spacecraft, aircraft and marine vehicles — from the estimated 40-60 percent mass savings, increased technical performance and reduced maintenance over traditional materials.
The encircled parts in the map above show areas where the launch and the vapor clouds will be visible, but if you live elsewhere, you can watch the live coverage on UStream. Note that if the weather isn’t ideal for a rocket launch tomorrow, NASA will postpone it (in fact, the original date was October 6th), as it has a launch window of October 6th to 12.
Via: USA Today
Source: NASA
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