Best Samsung Galaxy S8 Deals for April 2017

Where is the best place to buy a Galaxy S8 right now? Let’s find out!

Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are the company’s latest smartphones, and as of right now they haven’t even hit the market. If you’re the type that likes to stay on the breaking edge of technology, you’re probably looking to get your order in sooner than later, so that you can have one when it becomes available. Whether the smaller one is what interests you, or the larger display that pushes the limits even further speaks to you, the last thing you want to do is not find the best deal to buy one.

Pre-orders are available already at a number of retailers and carriers, so let’s take a look at who is offering what, so you know where to go to when you’re ready to place your order. Currently, Samsung’s big promotion is a free Gear VR & Oculus Controller, but some retailers are offering other incentives as well.

Samsung Galaxy S8

• Verizon is offering it for as little as $15/mo with select trade-ins
• AT&T is running a Buy One, Give one promotion
• T-Mobile is offering a free Gear VR & Oculus controller with pre-order
• Sprint’s Galaxy Forever plan will let you upgrade after 12 lease payments
• Best Buy is offering up to $100 off on new payment plans

Samsung Galaxy S8+

• AT&T is running a Buy One, Give One promotion
• T-Mobile is offering a free Gear VR & Oculus controller with pre-order
• Sprint’s Galaxy Forever plan will let you upgrade after 12 lease payments
• Verizon is offering it for as little as $15/mo with select trade-ins
• Best Buy is offering up to $100 off on new payment plans

Your favorite deals?

Have you come across any deals that aren’t listed here? If so, be sure to drop a note in the comments with a link to the deal so others can check it out as well!

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+

• Galaxy S8 and S8+ hands-on preview!
• Galaxy S8 and S8+ specs
• Everything you need to know about the Galaxy S8’s cameras
• Get to know Samsung Bixby
• Join our Galaxy S8 forums

Verizon
AT&T
T-Mobile
Sprint

Samsung Galaxy S8 vs Apple iPhone 7: What’s the difference?

Samsung’s Galaxy S8 launched at the end of March, bringing with it a fabulous design, powerful specs and plenty of features, all hoping to rebuild the consumer confidence lost by the Galaxy Note 7.

It’s a stand out device, there’s no doubt about that, but how does the Galaxy S8 compare to its competition? You can read how it stands up against its predecessor, as well as the LG G6 and Google’s Pixel devices in our separate features, but here we are focusing on how it compares to Apple’s iPhone 7.

Samsung Galaxy S8 vs Apple iPhone 7: Design

• Both offer premium designs with waterproofing
• iPhone 7 is smaller and lighter
• Galaxy S8 has an all-screen front

The Samsung Galaxy S8 has a beautiful design featuring a metal build, almost all-screen dual-edged front with very slim bezels and a glass rear. There is no branding or physical buttons on the front of the device, while the rear sees the square camera lens in the centre at the top with the fingerprint sensor to its right and the flash module to the left.

The Apple iPhone 7 also delivers in the design department, though it has a flat screen and much larger bezels than the S8, making it look a little more dated given the latest trend for big screens. The iPhone 7 has a circular home button with the Touch ID fingerprint sensor on the front, while the all-aluminium rear has a small camera lens in the top left corner in a more subtle form than the S8. 

In terms of physical measurements, the S8 comes in at 148.9 x 68.1 x 8mm and it hits the scales at 155g, while the iPhone 7 isn’t quite as tall and ever so slightly slimmer at 138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1mm. It is also lighter at 138g. Bear in mind that the S8 has a much larger display than both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus though.

Both the Galaxy S8 and the iPhone 7 are waterproof, with the S8 offering IP68 and the iPhone 7 offering IP67 ratings.

• Samsung Galaxy S8 preview

Samsung Galaxy S8 vs Apple iPhone 7: Display

• Galaxy S8 has much larger display
• Galaxy S8 has more than double the pixels per inch
• Galaxy S8 offers curved display and Mobile HDR Premium

The Samsung Galaxy S8 has a 5.8-inch display, while the Apple iPhone 7 has a 4.7-inch display so you get quite a bit more screen on Samsung’s device without having a significantly bigger device, largely thanks to the S8’s 18.5:9 ratio over the traditional 16:9.

Samsung also offers a higher resolution than Apple, with 2960 x 1440 pixels on the S8 compared to 1334 x 750 pixels on the iPhone 7. This means the Galaxy S8 should offer crisper and sharper detail than the iPhone 7 with a pixel density of 570ppi compared to 326ppi. The iPhone 7 still offers a great display though so don’t get too caught up in the numbers.

The iPhone 7 opts for a Retina HD display, translating to an LED-backlit LCD flat screen, while the Galaxy S8 has a Super AMOLED Infinity Display, which means bezel-less and edge-to-edge offering rich and vibrant colours. Samsung also offers Mobile HDR Premium on its S8, making the new flagship compatible with viewing HDR content.

• Mobile HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10 and everything you need to know about future mobile entertainment

Samsung Galaxy S8 vs Apple iPhone 7: Camera

• Both have 12MP rear cameras
• Galaxy S8 has 8MP front camera, iPhone 7 has 7MP
• Excellent results expected from both 

When it comes to smartphone camera capabilities, it is no secret that Apple and Samsung both deliver fantastic results. The iPhone 7 has already proved itself in this department, and while the Galaxy S8 still has to, we’re expecting great things so you’re not likely to be disappointed with either device here, no matter who wins the megapixel battle.

For those of you who do want the details though, the Samsung Galaxy S8 has a 12-megapixel Duo Pixel rear camera with an f/1.7 aperture, optical image stabilisation and phase detection autofocus. Samsung offers multi-frame image processing, which means the S8 snaps three pictures and uses all the information to create one better, more detailed final image.

The front-facing camera on the S8 has an 8-megapixel resolution with an f/1.7 aperture and autofocus over fixed focus. There is also iris scanning technology on board the S8, allowing you to unlock your device quickly and easily.

The Apple iPhone 7 meanwhile, has a 12-megapixel rear camera too with a slightly narrower aperture of f/1.8, though in the grand scheme of things, this is minor. It too has optical image stabilisation, along with plenty of features including a Quad-LED True Tone flash.

The front-facing camera resolution sits at 7-megapixels with a f/2.2 aperture, a Retina Flash and auto image stabilisation. There is no iris scanning on board the iPhone 7 though so unlocking is via the six-digit passcode or Touch ID only. 

• Apple iPhone 7 review

Samsung Galaxy S8 vs Apple iPhone 7: Hardware

• Galaxy S8 offers double RAM and microSD
• Performance on both should be great
• No 3.5mm headphone jack or wireless charging on iPhone 7

The Samsung Galaxy S8 has an Exynos octa-core chipset under its hood, coupled with 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage and microSD support for further storage expansion. Some regions may get the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, but either way, you’re looking at a lot of power.

There is a 3000mAh battery capacity running the S8 show, charged via USB Type-C with both wireless charging and fast charging supported. Samsung says the battery will offer up to 20 hours talk time and up to 14 hours Wi-Fi browsing. You’ll also find a 3.5mm headphone jack for plugging in the AKG in-ear headphones that are bundles with the S8 in the box.

The Apple iPhone 7 has the company’s A10 Fusion chip with embedded M10 motion coprocessor, coupled with 2GB of RAM and storage options of 32GB, 128GB and 256GB, none of which have microSD for storage expansion.

In terms of battery, Apple claims the iPhone 7 will deliver up to 14 hours talk time and up to 14 hours Wi-Fi browsing. It is charged via Lightning and wireless charging is not supported. There is also no 3.5mm headphone jack on the iPhone 7, though Apple does bundle in a Lightning to 3.5mm Headphone Jack adapter in the box, meaning you’ll still be able to use your old headphones. 

Samsung Galaxy S8 vs Apple iPhone 7: Software

• Galaxy S8 runs on Android with TouchWiz
• iPhone 7 runs on iOS 10, with quick updates to latest software
• Both good platforms

The Samsung Galaxy S8 runs on Android 7.0 with the TouchWiz interface over the top, while the Apple iPhone 7 runs on iOS 10, meaning quite different experiences on both, though both great.

It comes down to personal preference as to which platform you prefer, but ultimately both offer similar features – like great app stores – they are just packaged in a slightly different way. Apple offers quicker updates when new software builds are released, while Samsung users normally have a wait a while following an Android update, but the overall experience on both devices is excellent.

The Galaxy S8 will eventually offer Bixby, Samsung’s new AI system, while Apple offers Siri so both devices deliver a personal assistant of some sort. If you’re undecided on which platform you might prefer, try reading our iOS 10 tips and tricks feature and our S7 tips and tricks feature to give you an idea of the kinds of things you’ll be able to do on both. We will do a separate S8 tips feature when we have spent more time with the device.

Samsung Galaxy S8 vs Apple iPhone 7: Price

• Similar price, iPhone slightly cheaper but less storage
• Both come in five colours 

The Samsung Galaxy S8 costs £639 and it is available in five colours, though not all colours will come to every country. The options comprise Midnight Black, Orchid Gray, Coral Blue, Artic Silver and Maple Gold.

The Apple iPhone 7 costs between £599 and £799 depending on the capacity you choose. It is available in five colours too: Jet Black, Black, Silver, Gold and Rose Gold. The Jet Black model only comes in 128GB and 256GB options though, meaning it starts at £699. 

Samsung Galaxy S8 vs Apple iPhone 7: Which should you choose?

The Apple iPhone 7 is a great device, though its battery isn’t awesome, while the Samsung Galaxy S8 has all the potential to be an great device, even if it hasn’t yet proved it. So which do you choose? 

Well, ultimately this decision comes down to which design and platform you prefer. The Galaxy S8 has an amazing design that catapults Samsung into the future, while the iPhone 7 stays safe, offering a design that works and looks great but is perhaps not quite as exciting as newer devices.

In terms of specs, there isn’t a great deal between these two handsets. Both have great cameras, powerful hardware, good software and good displays. They are also both waterproof and they aren’t too far off each other in terms of price so neither is likely to disappoint. 

If you’re swaying towards the iPhone, bear in mind that the iPhone 8 should be appearing in the next six months so it might be worth hanging on a little longer. If you think Samsung is the one for you, pre-orders are open now, with delivery on 21 April.

Facebook and Instagram go down for Virgin Media customers

If you’re a Virgin Media customer and you’re experiencing issues trying to access Facebook or Instagram, you are not alone. The broadband provider has admitted that customers have been unable to access Facebook services, including Facebook.com and Messenger. A fix is on its way, but the company warns that some customers could frozen out of their favourite social networks until later this evening.

When major services like Facebook go down, the cause is often DNS related. Virgin Media confirmed in a tweet that this is indeed the case, noting that it believes the issue lies with Facebook. The provider has also displayed notices on its service status website.

“We’re aware of an intermittent issue that’s affected some of our broadband customers accessing Facebook and Instagram,” the company said in a statement. “We believe this was an issue with Facebook’s servers, which we understand to be resolved. We’re contacting Facebook to confirm our customers can now access these sites.”

DNS, which stands for Domain Name Server, is an internet technology that links website addresses to a corresponding server. If that link is severed then a request to visit an address like Facebook.com won’t reach the intended destination.

Engineers quickly identified the issue and have been working throughout the day to restore access, but that hasn’t stopped customers from venting their frustration on Twitter. Website checking service Down Detector has also collated thousands of reports originating from London, Nottingham, Norwich, Brighton and other major UK towns and cities.

Facebook, Messenger and Instagram are all down – sort it out @virginmedia pic.twitter.com/L5XhVpLhqs

— Louise Clanfield (@LouiseClan) April 12, 2017

Via: BBC News

Tarzan the swinging robot could be the future of farming

Some farmers already use drones to monitor their crops, but a team of researchers from Georgia Tech have created a far more interesting alternative. Instead of designing yet another drone, they created a robot inspired by Kristen Bell’s favorite animal: the sloth. However, they named it “Tarzan” after the most recognizable character who moves by swinging from vine to vine. You see, their machine was designed to move like the fictional jungle dweller. Tarzan will be able to swing over crops using its 3D-printed claws and parallel guy-wires stretched over fields. It will then take measurements and pictures of each plant with its built-in camera while suspended.

Team leader and Georgia Institute of Technology professor Jonathan Rogers said they’re trying to design Tarzan to become very energy efficient, just like real sloths. The researchers are doing that to be able to create solar-powered versions one day, so farms can have a few of these machines always swinging around when they’re needed. There won’t be any need to recharge or refuel them anymore.

While it may take some time to achieve that goal, the researchers plan to start testing the robot soon. This summer, it’s going to a soybean field in Athens, Georgia to take photos for another team of scientists studying different varieties of the plant.

Source: Georgia Institute of Technology

Las Vegas nightclub is turning into an eSports arena

Las Vegas is quickly becoming a hotbed for virtual sports. Allied Esports and Esports Arena have unveiled plans to turn a 30,000 square foot nightclub at the Luxor Hotel and Casino into the Vegas Strip’s first permanent eSports venue. The “multi-level” arena will pack expected amenities like a stage, a massive video wall and a broadcast studio, but it will also be equipped for more mundane uses through “daily gaming stations” and its own food and drink offerings. You won’t need to wait for the next major tournament to show up, in other words. The location should be ready for business in early 2018.

This definitely isn’t the first venue for either Allied Esports or Esports Arena, both of which have established or announced facilities in California, China and Europe. Combined with efforts from Downtown Grand, though, it’s clear that some Vegas hotel operators see eSports as the next big draw to the city. Gambling isn’t as lucrative it used to be — the Strip took a slight loss in 2016, and that’s partly due to younger visitors who avoid the slot machines, assuming they even come in the first place. Competitive gaming theoretically gives you a reason to visit the Strip when you otherwise wouldn’t come, and it could have you spending money at the casino that you’d normally save for a rainy day.

Via: VentureBeat

Source: Esports Arena

Misfit’s Flare is a $60 no-frills fitness tracker

If you’re in the market for a bare-bones fitness tracker, Misfit has just unveiled the $60 Flare. It can track your steps, distance, calories and sleep quality, and you can program the touch-sensitive face to start and stop music or do a few other functions. Don’t expect any fancy call or message notifications, movement reminders or other frills, though — for that, you’ll need to step up to Misfit’s $100 Ray or Shine 2 trackers.

There aren’t a lot of trackers in the Flare’s price range — another option that pops to mind is Fitbit’s original Flex, which runs $80 but can be had online for much less. Others include the $35 Xiaomi Mi Band 2, $47 or so Withings Go and Jawbone Up 2. Misfit used to sell the $30 Flash, but appears to have discontinued it.

As with its other models, Misfit’s Flare is waterproof, but swimmers need to pay an extra $10 to unlock its pool tracking features, for some reason. It comes with a 3-axis accelerometer, single white LED, Bluetooth 4.1 and a capacitive touch sensor. The latter can be programmed to activate your phone’s battery, play music or “control household devices,” presumably speakers or other things with some relation to exercise.

As with other devices from fashion brand Fossil (Misfit’s parent), the Flare looks pretty nice for the price, with an aluminum case and crystal face. As a design-focused firm, Fossil has a unique position in the wearables market compared to tech firms like LG and Huawei — ie, it can make nice-looking watches that people will actually want. Between its own brand and Misfit (with the Vapor), it already has more Android Wear watches than most companies, for instance. The Flare tracker is now available online and in stores for $60.

Via: The Verge

Source: Misfit

Toyota’s FT-4X is an off-road warrior for nerdy yuppies

After years of very good work, the “Toyota” name still conjures up mental images of cheap, functional econoboxes. Efforts to harness the power of cool have led to weird projects like the FJ Cruiser, but we might have seen the pinnacle of Toyota’s work here at the New York Auto Show. Behold: the FT-4X, a concept machine built specifically for tech-loving yuppies.

No, I’m serious. At one point during the press conference, a Toyota exec said the company met with “outdoorsy millennials in the Bay Area” to develop the FT-4X, which said exec later referred to as “casualcore.” (Thankfully, the cringe-inducing platitudes mostly stopped there.)

It’s hard to deny the FT-4X’s chops as a nerdy ride, though: there are power outlets obscured by heavy duty flaps on the thing’s roof, and you’ll find a GoPro Hero5 Session wedged into the driver’s side rearview mirror. You might think it’d be there as a pseudo-dashcam meant to keep track of drivers that rear-end Teslas rolling through SoMa, but not quite. Toyota says it’s actually there to capture more visceral footage, like jets of mud when this thing goes off-road. Most intriguing is the spot above the dashboard instrument cluster for a smartphone to connect. Toyota says that with the help of an app (that likely doesn’t exist yet), those pocketable screens will double as secondary displays for navigation and gauge readouts.

With all that tech crammed into a relatively tiny body — the FT-4X is smaller than the FJ Cruiser — it’s easy to assume the interior would be a testament to modern touch interfaces. Hell no. While Toyota was hesitant to let people inside the car at time of writing, it’s just loaded with knobs and handles instead of screens, all in hopes of creating a satisfying, tactile symphony. I’ll be the judge of that, Toyota: just let me in the damned car.

For better or worse, the rest of the car’s interior design is split between actual useful touches and yuppie wankery. The trunk door, for instance, can split into two doors that open outward — those doors also house a heater and a tiny refrigerator. This is genuinely great. Then you have the center armrest, which is actually a North Face sleeping bag in disguise. If that doesn’t say everything about who Toyota thinks the FT-4X’s real audience is, I don’t know what will.

Play the unsettling opening of ‘Prey’ for free

With epics like Zelda and Persona 5 still occupying many players’ time, the idea of spending more hard-earned cash on another $60 game is a big ask. It seems as though publishers have realized this too, as in a bid to drive sales for the upcoming Prey, Bethesda is letting you try it before you buy. Starting on April 27th, PS4 and Xbox One owners will be able to dive into the game’s unsettling first hour free of charge. With the full game not launching until May 5th, this gives console gamers a week to figure out whether Prey’s worth the cash.

Putting you in the shoes of Morgan Yu, this sci-fi adventure sees players exploring the seemingly idyllic Talos 1 before you discover the space station’s terrifying secret.

Developed by Dishonored creators Arkane studios, Prey is a systemic first person RPG in the same vein as games like Bioshock. Featuring a ton of unique mechanics (including the generation-winning ability to transform into a mug) Prey looks to offer gamers a typically dark and po-faced Metroidvania experience.

While publishers offering free trials of big releases used to be fairly unusual, recently it has become surprisingly commonplace. With both Watch Dogs 2 and Dishonored 2 falling victim to 2016’s crowded release schedule, Ubisoft and Bethesda attempted to drum up sales by offering generous demos of each game a few months after release. Although it might not be the healthiest sign for the gaming industry, this trend certainly makes it easier for gamers to figure out which titles are actually worth buying.

Toshiba Expected to Reject Foxconn’s $27B Bid For Memory Chip Unit Due To China Ties

Early in March, Apple suppliers Foxconn and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company announced their intention to bid for a stake in Toshiba’s memory chip unit, which the company has put up for sale in an effort to offset a nearly $6 billion loss related to its overseas nuclear division. TSMC eventually dropped out of the race, leaving Hon Hai (Foxconn) as the highest bidder at nearly 3 trillion yen, or $27 billion.

Today, people familiar with the sale speaking to Bloomberg said that Toshiba is expected to reject Foxconn’s lofty bid, mainly because of likely opposition from both the Japanese and American governments if Foxconn were to win Toshiba’s memory chip business. Taiwan-based Foxconn has deep ties with China due to its numerous, large iPhone production facilities being located in the country, and those ties are expected to sit unfavorably with Japanese officials watching the bids on Toshiba’s memory chip unit.

According to insiders, Toshiba sees a sale to Foxconn as an inevitable drag through regulatory approvals and delays, and is now willing to give “serious consideration” to lower bids.

Taiwan’s Hon Hai, which has indicated its willingness to pay as much as 3 trillion yen ($27 billion) for the chip unit, would face resistance because of its ties to China, said the people, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. That could drag out regulatory approvals and delay badly needed cash payments to Toshiba, raising the risks of such a deal, the people said. Hon Hai, the primary iPhone assembler for Apple Inc., has most of its factories in mainland China.

Next in line is said to be a potential offer of 2 trillion yen made by Broadcom, but current bids are non-binding and could change at any time, with the next round of bidding coming in the middle of May. The Japanese government is said to be “keeping a close eye on the process” and is expected to protect its interests in any sale that occurs with Toshiba.

On Tuesday, two senior officials, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga and Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko, said Japan would protect its interests in any sale. “We are keeping a close eye on the process,” Suga said. “As a general principle, there would be a requirement to examine any deal under the foreign exchange law.”

The Japan government is organizing an alternative offer from Japanese companies that aims to inject 500 billion yen into the chips unit in exchange for a minority stake, one person said. Current bids are non-binding and could change. The deadline for the next round of bidding is mid-May, one of the people said.

Toshiba’s likelihood in passing on Foxconn’s bid is also said to be backed by a fear of the supplier’s business methodology displayed during its acquisition of Sharp in 2016. In that process, the two companies originally agreed to a $6.2 billion takeover, but the final amount landed around $3.5 billion due to Foxconn’s last minute bidding adjustment. Foxconn said the decision was based on discovering that Sharp had hundreds of billions of yen in “previously undisclosed liabilities,” but the tactics are now said to make Toshiba “reluctant” to agree to Foxconn’s bid.

Toshiba is also looking closely at a bid made by South Korea’s SK Hynix, but the winning bidder isn’t expected to be announced until June, ahead of Toshiba’s next shareholder meeting.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tags: Foxconn, Toshiba
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Amazon’s new Parent Dashboard and Discussion Cards will keep you engaged with your child’s development

As parents, you may not always be aware of what digital content your kids are consuming. There are ways of making sure the content they do have access to is age appropriate and safe, but unless you take a proactive approach and actually look at what they’re viewing, you’ll never know.

• Tablets for kids: How to setup an Amazon Fire tablet for children

Amazon has come up with a way to bridge that gap, with a feature called Discussion Cards. It’s a new feature that integrates with the company’s Fire for Kids content, including books, videos, educational apps and games. Discussion Cards can be found in the new Parent Dashboard area, and are designed to encourage you to talk to your kids about the content they’re accessing.

The Discussions Cards are written by Amazon’s own Content Editors, and include open-ended questions such as, “why do you think it is so difficult for Joe to make friends?”, which refers to “Billionaire Boy”. The Cards also suggest activities for family to get involved with, such as “come up with some fun ideas for inventions, just like Mr Spud’s toilet tissue in the book”.

Kurt Beidler, Director of Kids and Family at Amazon said: “As kids learn and play more independently with their tablets, we want to provide parents with more ways to join that digital discovery”.

“Discussion Cards equip parents with information about an Amazon Fire for Kids book, video, educational app, or game their child is enjoying, and provide questions that parents can ask kids to spark conversations”.

The new Parent Dashboard area provides a complete overview of what content your child is viewing on a daily basis. It can show you how many minutes your child spends on each activity and how it changes over time, if at all, to help you better determine how long they’re allowed to spend on it and what educational goals to set.

• EE Robin review: Putting the kids in control

Amazon’s Discussion Cards and Parent Dashboard for Fire for Kids content is available now and only on Amazon’s Fire tablets, including the Fire Kids Edition, Kindle e-readers and the Fire TV set-top box.

At internetmatters.org parents can find all the advice they will need to keep their children safe online. Designed specifically for parents, the site offers a wealth of up-to-date, unbiased information and advice about how to deal with online safety. Parents can learn about the latest issues and technologies, get great tips on how to talk about online safety with their children and get the best advice on dealing with issues and taking action. Created with experts, Internet Matters provides detailed information, but also signposts to best-in-class resources from individual expert organisations. Our goal is to ensure parents can always access the information that they need, in a format that is clear and concise.