Report: Samsung prepping Galaxy Grand On and Mega On
A short while ago, rumors began to spread about Samsung’s newest member of the alphabet: the mysterious “Galaxy O” series. The latest in letters, this year it has been preceded by the Galaxy A, Galaxy E, and Galaxy J, While nothing specific was spoken, new details have been leaked that offer some more concrete information as to just what Korea’s largest OEM is cooking up.
The Galaxy Grand On will go by the product code SM-G550. It will include a 5-inch HD screen, 1.3GHz Exynos 3475 SoC, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of on-board storage, an 8-megapixel rear camera, 5-megapixel front facing camera, and a 2,600mAh battery. The device will ship with Android 5.1, will include microSD support, and will be 142×71.9×8.5mm thick and weigh 140 grams.
The Galaxy Mega On will be released with the product code SM-G600. It will include a 5.5-inch HD display, a 1.2GHz Quad Core Snapdragon 410, 1.5GB of RAM, 8GB of on-board storage, a 13-megapixel rear camera, 5-megapixel front camera, and a 3,000mAh battery. It will ship with Android 5.1, include microSD support, and be 151.8×77.5×8.2 mm thich and weigh 145 grams.
How different will the Galaxy On phones look compared with the similar-specced Galaxy J5 and J7 (pictured)?
Given that the specs are quite similar to those of the Galaxy J5 and Galaxy J7, it has been suggested the main differential will be related to build or design. As the Galaxy J series makes complete use of plastic, perhaps these will employ metal in some regards like the Galaxy E series, or else will have a wildly different design. There is also currently no indication of the screen type, thus it’s possible these could use LCD panels as opposed to Super AMOLED.
It is also mentioned that the name itself will depend on the area of release, with some receiving the Galaxy O, and others the Galaxy On. This would not be the first time Samsung has done this: the Galaxy K Zoom experienced a similar dual-naming nomenclature depending on if the device was sold in Korea or outside.
Samsung Galaxy J5
Perhaps the real test for these devices, assuming they do eventually materialize, will be just where Samsung plans to place them price-wise. The company has been criticized by some in recent times for charging a premium price for under-specced devices. The problem? Countless Chinese and now Indian OEMs have similar or superior hardware available at a near fraction of the cost. In particular, if Samsung were to price the Galaxy Mega On in upwards of $300, it would immediately be compared with the OnePlus Two, a device that costs only a bit more cash yet is a true flagship.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 pre-orders start today
We know what the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 looks like, but what about the important stuff? Namely, when we’ll be able to get our paws on it and how much it’ll cost? Well, boy howdy the Korean electronics juggernaut’s answered both of those questions this morning. You can pre-order the slate starting today and the device hits “select” US retailers and carriers come September 3rd. A WiFi model packed with 32GB of storage and a 9.7-inch screen will set you back a cool $499.99 while the 8-inch model with the same capacity is $100 less.
Both sizes are available in black (AT&T, Sprint, US Cellular, T-Mobile), gold (WiFi only) and white (Verizon), and Samsung says it’s working with Amazon and Best Buy for a sort of trade-in deal where bringing in a qualifying tablet will knock $100 off the S2’s purchase price. Meanwhile, if you want something with mobile data, the required ducats will vary based on the carrier of your choice. Now, who’s ready for breakfast?
Filed under:
Tablets, Mobile, Samsung
Tags: GalaxyTab, galaxytabs2, mobile, mobilepostcross, preorder, samsung, september, tablets, whobuysthese
The Note5 Stylus design flaw is Samsung’s “Antennagate”
I’m a Samsung Galaxy Note 5 owner. I picked it up on launch day after previously owning the Galaxy S6 and still owning the Galaxy S6 Edge. I love the premium materials, design and their new take on TouchWiz (even if I still do have some issues with it). To say the least, I’m a big fan of Samsung’s recent moves.
But the issues with the S-Pen recently coming to light are a huge problem and shows a massive oversight on Samsung’s part.
If you haven’t heard of the design flaw yet here’s what the issue is. If you eject your S-Pen, flip it around and enter it backwards (clicky end first) the S Pen will catch on the stoppers that hold the pen in place and you won’t be able to pull it back out. The phone isn’t broken at this point, it’s removing the pen which destroys the sensors that tell the phone whether the pen safely inside or not. Since there’s no way to release the stoppers from outside the phone you’re forced to yank the pen out and destroy everything in it’s path. Some users have been able to wiggle it out but the fact that you can destroy a major part of your phone this easily is a big design flaw.
We’ve seen multiple professional bloggers break their Note5’s by inserting the the pen backwards. These are people who know about phones, knew about the issue in advance and are still stunned by how easy it was to break. The pen simply slides in backwards with zero issue. Such a design flaw by Samsung should not be forgiven so easily just like it wasn’t for Apple with Antennagate.
To refresh your memory, when the iPhone 4 was released there was a flaw with how the antennas were designed and if you put your hand on the break between the two bands, there were cell signal issues often times resulting in dropped calls. The initial response from Apple CEO Steve Jobs, was simply not to hold your phone like that. Obviously that consumers were disappointed with that response. Consumer Reports refused to recommend the phone to its readers and shortly thereafter recalls were issued.
Samsung apparently didn’t learn the lesson from Apple’s sins. As reports have surfaced of many people permanently breaking their new Note5’s, Samsung’s response has been as disappointing as Apple’s first was.
““We highly recommend our Galaxy Note5 users follow the instructions in the user guide to ensure they do not experience such an unexpected scenario caused by reinserting the S pen in the other way around.”“
Telling your customers they’re doing it wrong and to read the manual is a serious PR issue. Almost as serious as designing an accessory that can so easily break a major part of the feature.
Samsung, you need to redesign your phone. Issue a recall if you need to but this is a huge issue and the public shouldn’t let you off the hook just like they didn’t let Apple off the hook.
The post The Note5 Stylus design flaw is Samsung’s “Antennagate” appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Samsung talks up Note 5 / S6 Edge+ charging features
Samsung’s Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge earlier this year were the world’s first handsets to be compatible with two wireless charging standards and also came with fast charging built in, with the latter letting you charge your phone battery quickly and easily.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 / S6 Edge+ in video:
.rvs_wrapper
width: 350px;
.rvs_wrapper.align_left
float: left;
.rvs_wrapper.align_right
float: right;
.rvs_wrapper.align_center,
.rvs_wrapper.align_none
width: 100%;
.rvs_wrapper.align_center
text-align: center;
.rvs_wrapper.align_center.cbc-latest-videos ul li
float: none;
display: inline-block;
vertical-align: top;
.rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos:not(.align_none) ul li:nth-child(2n+1)
clear: both;
.rvs_title
font-weight: 600 !important;
margin: 0 !important;
font-size: 24px !important;
.rvs_wrapper.align_right .rvs_title
padding-left: 20px;
.rvs_title a
font-family: ‘Roboto Condensed’;
color: #3a3a3a;
.rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul
padding-top: 10px;
.rvs_wrapper.align_left.cbc-latest-videos ul li,
.rvs_wrapper.align_none.cbc-latest-videos ul li
padding: 0 15px 0 0;
.rvs_wrapper.align_right.cbc-latest-videos ul li
padding: 0 0 0 15px;
float: right;
.rvs_wrapper.align_center.cbc-latest-videos ul li
padding: 0 7px;
.rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul li > a
font-weight: 400;
.rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul li > a .yt-thumbnail
margin-bottom: 0;
@media only screen and (min-width : 480px)
body #page .rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul
width: 100% !important;
@media only screen and (max-width : 480px)
body #page .rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos
width: 100%;
float: none !important;
overflow-x: auto;
overflow-y: hidden;
body #page .rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul
overflow: auto;
max-height: none;
body .rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul li
float: left !important;
clear: none !important;
In the new Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+, Samsung sought to improve the experience and at the launch, it revealed that its two new handsets came with faster wireless charging and wired charging. It wasn’t clear just how much faster they were, however and in a blog post today, the Korean manufacturer has revealed more details about the improved charging in its new smartphones.
Both smartphones feature 3000 mAh batteries, which is 450 and 400 mAh larger than the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge respectively. Despite the significant increase, the Galaxy S6 Edge+ can charge to full in just five minutes more than the Galaxy S6 Edge. By way of comparison, if the S6 Edge+ battery was the same size as the S6 Edge, it would take approximately 78 minutes, which is 7 minutes faster than the current S6 Edge charging speeds; it may not seem that much faster but it works out to be 9 percent faster, which is certainly a welcome improvement.
Samsung has achieved these improvements using Adaptive Fast Charging (AFC), which lets the charger communicate with the smartphone and when the charger recognises a device is compatible with AFC, it ramps up the voltage and delivers faster charging. As Samsung wrote in its blog post:
Not only is the charger discharging more power at a faster speed, the device battery receives the power properly and stores it cell by cell, to further accelerate the battery charging.
The charging improvements in the new smartphones are not just limited to the wired charger as Samsung has also introduced a new much faster wireless charging pad. Using the new charging pad, the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ can charge to full in just 2 hours, which is much faster than the S6 Edge, which takes three hours to charge to full with a wireless charging. If the Galaxy S6 Edge+ had the same battery size as the S6 Edge, it would take just 104 minutes to charge to full wirelessly, which is approximately 43 percent faster than the current S6 Edge wireless charging speeds.
What do you think of Samsung’s improvements in the charging speeds and do you use fast charging / wireless charging? Let us know your views in the comments below guys!
Samsung Pay is already proving popular in Korea
Samsung Pay may only have launched in Korea last week, but the mobile payment service is already proving highly popular, according to sources in the South Korean credit card industry. The service apparently logged 10,000 credit and check card registrations on its launch day, which jumped up to around 80,000 cards within the following four days.
According to sources, Samsung Pay is proving particularly popular due to its simplicity and the fact that it can be used with a broad range of existing card readers. While mobile payment methods aren’t new in the country, most rely on NFC-enabled terminals in order to function. Less than 25 percent of affiliated stores work with NFC technology, resulting in stunted adoption. Samsung Pay works with both NFC and existing magnetic strip readers, meaning that almost every payment terminal will work with Samsung’s technology.
“Since Samsung Pay is an MST-enabled service, it can be used in most affiliated stores. I think that it played a decisive role in attracting users.”
Furthermore, customers are apparently happy about the use of a smartphone fingerprint scanner, both for security purposes but also for ease of use. Competing services such as app cards, which use bar and QR codes for payments, have had some success in Korea, but are said to be rather complicated to setup and use.
Samsung Pay is compatible with the Galaxy Note 5, S6, S6 Edge and Edge+ smartphones. The two most recent handsets in the range are said to be off to a strong start in South Korea, partly due to the introduction of Samsung Pay. More than 100,000 handsets had been sold in the country just four days after the products launched.
Read More: Video demo: here’s how Samsung Pay will work in stores
Samsung will be bringing its mobile payment method to other countries in the coming months. The US is next, with a launch date scheduled for September 25th, and Samsung has confirmed that the service will be coming to Europe too, but has not specified a release time frame yet.
Samsung executive teases Gear S2 smartwatch
We all know that the Samsung Gear S2 smartwatch is on its way, thanks to the official pictures and previous leaks about the device. Today, Samsung mobile executive Dennis Miloseski posted a nice close-up of the smartwatch to Instagram, to fuel our appetite for a new gadget.
The picture treats us to a nice close up of what appears to be a metal frame around the display, which certainly looks rather nice. We can also spot a couple of buttons on the side of the Gear S2, perhaps to assist with navigating through the OS, which I’m assuming will be Tizen rather than Android Wear. Miloseski doesn’t say much else along with the picture, other than that he’s “Giving the new Samsung Gear S2 a test drive”.
In case you missed it, Samsung also posted the following video teaser earlier in the month. The clip gives us a little look at what we can probably expect from the software that will ship with the Gear S2. There are references to health, weather, calls, and plenty of other features.
We don’t know too much else about the smartwatch at this point, but we have also seen the smartwatch appear in a few fashion shots. Fortunately, Samsung will be unveiling the Gear S2 in Berlin at IFA on Thursday, September 3rd. There isn’t very long left to wait for all of the juicy details.
Samsung has a solution for the S-Pen issues: read the manual
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();
Yesterday, we covered the story of how some users were finding that their Samsung Galaxy Note 5 S-Pen functionality could be irreversibly broken if it were to be inserted backwards into the device. While the chance of this occurring is low and it seemed almost ludicrous to be concerned about this happening, Samsung has a solution for the S-Pen issues and it’s as simple as they come: read the manual.
“We highly recommend our Galaxy Note 5 users follow the instructions in the user guide to ensure they do not experience such an unexpected scenario caused by reinserting the S-Pen in the other way around.”
This will likely be Samsung’s get-out-of-jail card if any users try to get a refund for their now defective Note 5, however I’m sure many people would have a bone to pick if this happens. Personally, I’m surprised that this happened at all – this isn’t Samsung’s first Galaxy Note device and changing what is arguably its defining feature should have gotten more attention than just just putting a note in the manual. Vijay Michalik, analyst of Frost & Sullivan words it even more strongly:
“It seems like the sort of thing that shouldn’t be overlooked… If they lose their brand equity by pushing out these sub-standard handsets then that could be disastrous for them.”
What do you think about Samsung’s response?
The post Samsung has a solution for the S-Pen issues: read the manual appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Check out the 14 Galaxy Gifts you’ll receive when you buy a Galaxy Note 5 or Galaxy S6 Edge+
Samsung normally offers Galaxy smartphone buyers some great exclusive content, including application and game freebies, premium trial subscriptions to popular services and much more. Now that the brand new Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ have been released to the masses, we’re getting a good look at what goodies the company is offering with the purchase of a new handset.
From free card packs in Hearthstone to new ebooks at no extra charge, here are the 14 Galaxy Gifts you’ll receive if you purchase a new Galaxy Note 5 or Galaxy S6 Edge+:
- ArtRage – Paint and draw as you would on real paper with a toolbox packed with realistic painting tools such as oils and watercolors. Download for free.
- Driver Speedboat Paradise – Take to the water with thrilling high-octane boat races through exotic locales with a free speedboat in the game.
- The Economist – Stay informed on international news from this weekly publication with a 6-month subscription (valued at $64).
- Empire: Four Kingdoms – Build, trade and conquer in a world with millions of players. Raise your banners now with a starter package.
- The Guardian – Get premium content from breaking news to commentary with an ad-free subscription for 6 months (valued at $24).
- Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft – Jump into the action with 3 card packs and 1 exclusive card back for the hit strategy card game from Blizzard Entertainment.
- Kindle for Samsung – Look forward to reading an ebook for free every month through Samsung Book Deals (valued at $50).
- komoot – Go hiking or bicycling in the great outdoors with 3 regional bundles which include topographic maps, real-time navigation and more.
- Lifesum – Achieve your goals with 6-month free Gold subscription which includes personalized guides to dieting, exercise, and more.
- NY Times – Latest NewsStay on top of the headlines with a 6-month subscription (3 months in the US and Canada).
- OneDrive – Share files and photos across all your devices with an extra 100 GB of storage space for 2 years (valued at $48).
- Scribd – Get 3 months of unlimited access (valued at $27) to a library of 1 million ebooks and audiobooks.
- SketchBook for Galaxy – All features and brushes are unlocked in this great app for anyone who loves to paint and draw. Available for free download.
- TripAdvisor – Take 15% off your total (up to $100) the next time you book a tour through TripAdvisor. Offer is valid for one purchase.
Related Videos
.rvs_wrapper
width: 350px;
.rvs_wrapper.align_left
float: left;
.rvs_wrapper.align_right
float: right;
.rvs_wrapper.align_center,
.rvs_wrapper.align_none
width: 100%;
.rvs_wrapper.align_center
text-align: center;
.rvs_wrapper.align_center.cbc-latest-videos ul li
float: none;
display: inline-block;
vertical-align: top;
.rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos:not(.align_none) ul li:nth-child(2n+1)
clear: both;
.rvs_title
font-weight: 600 !important;
margin: 0 !important;
font-size: 24px !important;
.rvs_wrapper.align_right .rvs_title
padding-left: 20px;
.rvs_title a
font-family: ‘Roboto Condensed’;
color: #3a3a3a;
.rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul
padding-top: 10px;
.rvs_wrapper.align_left.cbc-latest-videos ul li,
.rvs_wrapper.align_none.cbc-latest-videos ul li
padding: 0 15px 0 0;
.rvs_wrapper.align_right.cbc-latest-videos ul li
padding: 0 0 0 15px;
float: right;
.rvs_wrapper.align_center.cbc-latest-videos ul li
padding: 0 7px;
.rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul li > a
font-weight: 400;
.rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul li > a .yt-thumbnail
margin-bottom: 0;
@media only screen and (min-width : 480px)
body #page .rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul
width: 100% !important;
@media only screen and (max-width : 480px)
body #page .rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos
width: 100%;
float: none !important;
overflow-x: auto;
overflow-y: hidden;
body #page .rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul
overflow: auto;
max-height: none;
body .rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul li
float: left !important;
clear: none !important;
All of these deals might not appeal to you, but they’re there for the taking if you happen to purchase one of these new handsets. Have you bought a Note 5 or S6 Edge+? If so, how are you liking it so far?
Batch of Android Wear smartwatches ready for IFA 2015
Despite quickly taking over the top spot for smartwatches, the Apple Watch has not been the roaring success some may have hoped for. Manufacturers of Android-based smartwatches have already discovered this truth, that the wearables market has not yet caught on fire, as shown by poor results for 2014 sales when only 4.6 million units were shipped. Nevertheless, several companies are preparing to introduce a new wave of smartwatches at the IFA 2015 show next week in Berlin, including ASUS, Huawei, LG and Motorola, with a heavy focus on the use of Android Wear for the operating system.
Google’s Android Wear has been on the market since 2014, but it is really only since the Apple Watch launch that the company had something to benchmark against in terms of delivering a superior user experience. The only other alternatives prior to that were solutions like Samsung’s Tizen that ran on their Gear devices or even the WebOS used by LG on the LG Watch Urbane, although these were very similar to what Android Wear was able to offer.
Strategy Analytics’ Neil Mawston has noted that “Apple Watch has clearly raised the bar for the global smartwatch industry. The ball is now in the court of rivals, like Samsung, to respond.”
Amongst the devices expected to be unveiled or put on greater display next week are the successor to the LG Watch Urbane, the new Huawei smartwatch, the ASUS ZenWatch 2, the next version of the Motorola Moto 360, and the Samsung Gear S2. Other companies will likely have something to offer for the wearables market as well.
source: CNET
Come comment on this article: Batch of Android Wear smartwatches ready for IFA 2015
Samsung executive shows off the Gear S2 ahead of launch
Ahead of its September 3 launch at the IFA trade show in Berlin, Samsung has fully revealed the design of its much anticipated smartwatch, the Gear S2. As part of the company’s latest teaser, a Samsung executive has posted an image of the wearable on his Instagram account showing off the Gear S2 in its full glory.
In this image, Samsung Design America’s Head Dennis Miloseski appears to be wearing the Gear S2, which we have already seen in a number of promos earlier teased by the Taiwanese company.
Miloseski, who is also heading Samsung Mobile UXCA, wrote in his Instagram post, “Giving the new Samsung Gear S2 a test drive. #samsung #watch #wearable #nextlevel.”
If you are curious about the wearable’s internal specifications, you may have to wait for its official release next month, but rumors have been suggesting that the smartwatch will feature a 360×360 display, a dual-core Exynos 3472 processor clocked at 1.2 GHz, 768MB of RAM, 4GB of storage and 250 mAh battery. Rumors are also rife that the Gear S2 could come with a nano SIM card slot in addition to a host of sensors including accelerometer, barometer and a heart rate monitor. On the software front, it is likely to run a special version of Tizen.
Source: Dennis Miloseski (Instagram)
Come comment on this article: Samsung executive shows off the Gear S2 ahead of launch
AIVAnet 