Samsung’s Galaxy Tab A making its way to T-Mobile on August 19th for $320
Alongside Samsung’s big Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ announcements from earlier today, the Korean tech giant also has some tablet news. Starting Wednesday, August 19th, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A will be available both in-store and online from T-Mobile for $319.99 off-contract. If you’re not too fond of paying that much up front, you can also pay $0 down and $13.34 per month for 23 months.
It should be noted that the press release doesn’t specify whether the Un-carrier will sell the 8.0-inch or 9.7-inch variant. But based on the pricing structure, we can infer that T-Mobile is selling the larger of the two variants.
The Galaxy Tab A sports a 9.7-inch LCD display with 1024 x 768 resolution, a 1.2 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410, 1.5GB of RAM, 16GB of on-board storage and microSD expansion up to 128GB. It also comes with a big 6,000mAh battery, a 5MP rear-facing camera, a 2MP front shooter and runs Android 5.0.2 Lollipop. Be sure to check out our full review of both tablets for more information.
Don’t miss: Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 and Galaxy Tab A 9.7 review
We’ll be sure to update this post if we hear anything from T-Mobile regarding the tablet size.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ may come in 128GB variants after all
The brand new Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ are two really great devices. They both sport arguably the biggest and best displays on the market, the speediest processors, and a really attractive design. Unfortunately for many Samsung fans, both large-screened smartphones also come with the same caveats that we saw with the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. Neither the Note 5 nor the S6 Edge+ feature expandable storage. On top of that, according to the official press release and the Samsung reps here in New York, both devices only come in 32 and 64GB variants, not the larger 128GB option like we’re used to seeing.
That’s too bad, right? Actually, according to the official Samsung website, the manufacturer has both devices listed with 128GB variants, alongside the 32 and 64GB options. Although there’s no pricing information available on the site, the larger storage options appear to be available in a variety of colors for different U.S. carriers.
We’re not exactly sure why these storage options are showing up on Samsung’s website. Perhaps Samsung made a mistake, or the company plans on releasing these higher end versions, but not until a later date. We’ll be sure to let you know if we hear anything about this. But for now, tell us – would the addition of a 128GB variant make up for the lack of microSD card support? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ availability – what we know so far
Samsung has just announced its new Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ handsets here in New York. If you can’t tell by the photo attached above, these are some really nice smartphones. And if you’re already wondering where you can pick one up, we’ve got you covered. Just note that since Samsung announced these phones a few hours ago, some carriers and retailers have yet to announce their plans to carry the devices. We’ll be sure to update this post as we learn more.
Both devices will be available on Friday, August 21st, and you can place your pre-orders starting today at 3pm ET. Here’s a list of carriers and retailers who have announced plans to sell the devices:
United States availability
Verizon
Samsung Galaxy Note 5:
- 32GB – $29 per month for 24 months, $696 full retail
- 64GB – $33 per month for 24 months, $792 full retail
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+:
- 32GB – $32 per month for 24 months, $768 full retail
- 64GB – $36 per month for 24 months, $864 full retail
T-Mobile
Samsung Galaxy Note 5:
- 32GB – $28.50 per month for 18 months, $29.17 per month for 24 months, $699.99 full retail
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+:
- 32GB – $25 per month for 18 months, $32.50 per month for 24 months, $779.99 full retail
You can also score one free year of Netflix if you purchase either phone through T-Mobile. All you need to do is pre-register at this link before August 20th and place an order for your phone by September 30th.
Sprint
Samsung Galaxy Note 5:
- 32GB – $249.99 with two-year contract, $25 per month on Sprint Lease, $30 per month on Sprint Easy Pay, $720 full retail
- 64GB – $349.99 with two-year contract, $30 per month on Sprint Lease, $35 per month on Sprint Easy Pay, $816 full retail
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+:
- 32GB – $349.99 with two-year contract, $30 per month on Sprint Lease, $35 per month on Sprint Easy Pay, $792 full retail
- 64GB – $449.99 with two-year contract, $33 per month on Sprint Lease, $37 per month on Sprint Easy Pay, $888 full retail
You can also score a $200 trade-in credit if you turn in your old phone for one of the new Galaxy devices. You can also get a free Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 7.0 with activation and a new two-year service agreement.
AT&T
Samsung Galaxy Note 5:
- 32GB – $249.99 with a two-year contract, $739.99 full retail
- Next 24 (30 months) – $24.67 per month
- Next 18 (24 months) – $30.84 per month
- Next 12 (20 months) – $37.00 per month
- 64GB – $349.99 with a two-year contract, $839.99 full retail
- Next 24 (30 months) – $28 per month
- Next 18 (24 months) – $35 per month
- Next 12 (20 months) – $42 per month
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+:
- 32GB – $299.99 with a two-year contract, $814.99 full retail
- Next 24 (30 months) – $27.17 per month
- Next 18 (24 months) – $33.96 per month
- Next 12 (20 months) – $37.17 per month
- 64GB – $399.99 with a two-year contract, $914.99 full retail
- Next 24 (30 months) – $30.50 per month
- Next 18 (24 months) – $38.13 per month
- Next 12 (20 months) – $45.75 per month
New customers can get a $100 bill credit and $200 buyback credit if they turn in their old phone to AT&T and purchase a new Galaxy device. Current customers on AT&T’s Next program will get at least a $200 trade in value for a new Galaxy Note 5 or Galaxy S6 Edge+.
U.S. Cellular
Samsung Galaxy Note 5:
- 32GB – $199.99 with a two-year contract
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+:
- 32GB – $299.99 with a two-year contract
As of right now, there’s no word as to how much each 64GB variant will cost, or installment plan options. We’ll update this section as we learn more.
United Kingdom availability
As we reported earlier, Samsung has no plans to bring the Galaxy Note 5 to the U.K., let alone all of Europe. The reasons for this decision are currently unknown but we’ll try to reach out for more clarification.
As for the Galaxy S6 Edge+, pre-orders will commence in the U.K. on August 18th, with the handset officially launching on September 4th.
Know any others?
Those are all the regions and carriers we know so far, but we’ll keep updating as we learn more. Did we miss something? Make sure to let us know in the comments. Oh, and if you’d like to learn more about the new smartphones, feel free to check out our previous coverage that we’ve linked below.
Hands-on with Samsung’s clever Keyboard Cover for phones
One of the biggest surprises announced at today’s blowout Samsung media event was also one of the smallest gadgets: An $80 accessory called the Keyboard Cover. As the name suggests, it’s a cover that also lets you add physical keys to the Galaxy Note 5, S6 Edge+, and the smaller Galaxy S6 phones. It consists of two parts, a rear panel that offers some basic protection, and a keyboard panel that snaps onto the front of your phone. We fought through the crowds to get our hands on the Keyboard Cover, and came away mostly impressed. Slideshow-312538
First off, the Keyboard Cover simply feels great. It doesn’t add much heft to the phone, and the keys themselves are well separated and offer a decent amount of feedback. It’s not as fluid as BlackBerry’s keyboards, but I was able to start typing easily with very few errors (and I’m not exactly a master of tiny phone keyboards). The process of attaching and removing the Keyboard Cover was also very simple. Samsung’s phones will automatically readjust their displays to make room for the cover (it relies on sensors to be detected, not Bluetooth), and it stows away easily on the back when you don’t need it.
I’d have to spend more time with the Keyboard Cover to make a final judgement, but overall it seems like a particularly smart product for Samsung. It addresses an issue with a (small) portion of its users, and it’s also surprisingly well implemented. The cover doesn’t feel cheap and the typing experience is pretty satisfying. I’ve gotten used to dealing with software keyboards, but it honestly felt refreshing to have traditional keys under my fingers again.
While it’s hard to imagine many people will shell out $80 for an accessory like this, it might be just the thing diehard keyboard fans might want. If anything, it should be appealing to the productivity crowd that the larger Note phones already target.
Filed under:
Misc, Mobile, Samsung
Tags: KeyboardCover, keyboards, mobilepostcross, samsung, SamsungUnpacked2015
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 vs. Note 5: a thorough comparison
Samsung is definitely trying something new with the Note 5. I guess they weren’t satisfied with the Note 4 sales, and dramatically overhauled the design, as well as eliminating the device from Europe altogether. I honestly have no idea why Samsung would choose to eliminate the Note line from Europe, and I am sure this is quite disappointing to those who wish to buy the Note 5. Samsung claims they have been listening to the consumers, which means the consumers have been clamoring for a drastic change in the core of the Note line. And I guess consumers in Europe must hate the Note because Samsung doesn’t want to sell it to them anymore.
Anyways, the announcement has come and gone, and now it is time for a comparison.
From the live stream, the VP of Samsung mobile said they focused on making the device easier to hold, and making it easier to fit into people’s pants who wear “skinny jeans”. Man those people with skinny jeans sure have a loud voice because they brought about a design revolution in the Note series.
The most obvious change between the Note 4 and the Note 5 is the design and build. Samsung opted to go for a premium build in the Note 5 be removing all plastic and swapping it for curved glass on the back of the phone. They also improved the strength of the metal frame. Samsung claimed to make the Note 5 smaller than the Note 4, and they did but marginally. They shaved almost 2mm from the width, 1mm for the thickness, and reduced the weight by 5g(Note 4 weighs 176g and the Note 5 weighs 171g). I’m not sure how reducing the width by 2mm, and the thickness by 1mm helps those with skinny jeans, but I wear chubby jeans so I would need help with this analysis.
In terms of design, the Note 5 looks like a blown up version of the S6 with a stylus.
As good as it looks, I am not a fan of a glass back because it is one more piece that can shatter if it is dropped and even worse, glass will attract greasy fingerprints. The soft plastic back on the Note 4 was definitely a positive when it came to durability and eliminating fingerprints.
The Note 5 is a revolution in terms of design for the Note line. I think the Note 5 and the S6 both look great, but the Note 4 was not a bad looking device either.
Storage
Like the Note 4, the Note 5 will come in 32GB and 64GB models. But unlike the Note 4, the Note 5 will NOT have expandable memory. For Note 4 users, having the ability to add 128GB of memory through a microsd card offered a cheaper alternative to paying $100 for the 64GB model. It also allowed Note 4 users to interchange memory cards if needed.
Samsung made the decision to remove expandable memory from the Note 5, bucking the trend of what other manufacturers are offering. I really don’t understand this move and I certainly do not believe they were listening to consumers as all other flagship devices offer expandable memory including the 2015 Moto X.
Stylus
The famous S Pen got a minor upgrade in how it is removed from the phone. Rather than using a fingernail to grasp the ridges at the bottom of the S Pen, like on the Note 4, Samsung added a spring loaded mechanism – now you push on the stylus and it will pop out.
In addition, Samsung continued its tradition of adding great features to the S Pen like writing on the device when the screen is off. This sounds cool, but writing without seeing is something that will be new to almost all of us. They also added “Write on PDF” which allows users to edit and annotate PDF documents using the S Pen. This sounds very useful if you deal with PDF files like I do.
CPU and RAM
No iteration would go without an upgrade to the CPU, and the Note 5 did that by taking the processor from the S6 and putting it in the Note 5. The Note 3 and Note 4 both had better processors than their S counterparts, so this is a recent change for Samsung. Benchmark tests for the Samsung Exynos 7420 show that it is the top performing CPU at the moment, although by Note standards, having the same processor as the S6 is disappointing as Note users typically want more.
Although Samsung did upgrade the RAM to 4GB which should help with some of the additional features brought to the S Pen.
Both the CPU and RAM should provide a quality experience. Although the Note 4 is no slouch and still ranks near the top of benchmark tests.
Display
The Note 4 display is fantastic. Samsung’s Super AMOLED display is the best display on the market. Contrast ratio and spectacular colors are something you just can’t appreciate until you see the display for yourself. The Note 5 maintained the Note 4’s display size of 5.7″, pixel density of 500+, and 2k resolution. Simply put, the display is the same and that is nothing to balk at. Samsung still maintains its lead on displays through the Note 4 AND Note 5.
Camera
As shown in Josh’s camera comparison test, the S6 camera is special. Samsung realized they hit the nail on the head with this camera and opted to put it in the Note 5. The camera comes as a 16MP shooter with optical image stabilization(OIS), and features a F/ 1.9 aperture which should help it take better low-light shots. The camera is also capable of shooting 4K video at 30fps, and 120fps for slow-motion. Samsung has bridged the gap between mobile devices and DSLR cameras. There really isn’t much need for a standard point-and-shoot camera these days if you can get your hands on the Note 5 camera.
The Note 4 also has a 16MP shooter with OIS, but doesn’t quite match up to the photo quality of the S6 and and Note 5. If Josh can get his hands on both Note devices, I would love to see a head to head comparison of photos between the two devices.
Battery
Sadly, this is one area where all fans will be disappointed. Samsung decided to shrink the Note 4’s 3220mAh battery down to 3000mAh for the Note 5. Samsung claims their new processor is much more energy efficient than the Snapdragon 805, which allowed them to shrink the battery. The Note 5 is rated at 21 hours of talk time whereas the Note 4 is rated at 20 hours. Regardless, Note users can never have enough power so this is a disappointment to see Samsung sacrifice .9mm in thickness for a smaller battery.
The bigger issue for most Note users is with the new design of a fixed back plate. Samsung allowed users to access their battery in the Note 4, which was a favorite for power users as all they needed to do was swap a battery to get back to 100% power.
However, Samsung did add built-in wireless charging into the Note 5, whereas the Note 4 was capable if you changed the back plate to enable wireless charging.
Summary
When I logged into the Androidguys chat group of writers, I noticed a few of them saying how they are excited about the new S6 Plus and the new Note 5. None of them are Samsung loyalists as they all use everything but Samsung, with exception to Josh Noriega who recently switched to the S6 Edge as his first Samsung device. Maybe Samsung is onto something by focusing on design over function. Those of us who have loved Samsung galaxy devices loved them for being different. We clamored over the ability to swap batteries, add SD cards, and things of that sort. Up until the Galaxy S6 Edge and now the Note 5, the writers I work with never really considered a Galaxy device.
The Galaxy Note 5 is nothing to sneeze at and it is one heck of a powerhouse. It comes with the fastest processor available today with 4GB of RAM running on Android 5.1. It is without a doubt a great phone, but not so much so when you compare it to the Note 4.
Even reading through early analysis on popular sites such as Engadget, I see that many people are excited for the Note 5 and S6 Plus, but I can tell you as an actual Samsung fan I am thoroughly disappointed. I feel unheard and unwanted by Samsung. If they can gain better profits and sales through a new customer base, then I applaud them for appeasing their shareholders. I can without a doubt say I care more about functionality over beauty. The sales numbers will speak for themselves and will prove Samsung right or wrong with their drastic changes in the Note line.
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Samsung Galaxy Note 4 vs. Note 5: a thorough comparison
Samsung is definitely trying something new with the Note 5. I guess they weren’t satisfied with the Note 4 sales, and dramatically overhauled the design, as well as eliminating the device from Europe altogether. I honestly have no idea why Samsung would choose to eliminate the Note line from Europe, and I am sure this is quite disappointing to those who wish to buy the Note 5. Samsung claims they have been listening to the consumers, which means the consumers have been clamoring for a drastic change in the core of the Note line. And I guess consumers in Europe must hate the Note because Samsung doesn’t want to sell it to them anymore.
Anyways, the announcement has come and gone, and now it is time for a comparison.
From the live stream, the VP of Samsung mobile said they focused on making the device easier to hold, and making it easier to fit into people’s pants who wear “skinny jeans”. Man those people with skinny jeans sure have a loud voice because they brought about a design revolution in the Note series.
The most obvious change between the Note 4 and the Note 5 is the design and build. Samsung opted to go for a premium build in the Note 5 be removing all plastic and swapping it for curved glass on the back of the phone. They also improved the strength of the metal frame. Samsung claimed to make the Note 5 smaller than the Note 4, and they did but marginally. They shaved almost 2mm from the width, 1mm for the thickness, and reduced the weight by 5g(Note 4 weighs 176g and the Note 5 weighs 171g). I’m not sure how reducing the width by 2mm, and the thickness by 1mm helps those with skinny jeans, but I wear chubby jeans so I would need help with this analysis.
In terms of design, the Note 5 looks like a blown up version of the S6 with a stylus.
As good as it looks, I am not a fan of a glass back because it is one more piece that can shatter if it is dropped and even worse, glass will attract greasy fingerprints. The soft plastic back on the Note 4 was definitely a positive when it came to durability and eliminating fingerprints.
The Note 5 is a revolution in terms of design for the Note line. I think the Note 5 and the S6 both look great, but the Note 4 was not a bad looking device either.
Storage
Like the Note 4, the Note 5 will come in 32GB and 64GB models. But unlike the Note 4, the Note 5 will NOT have expandable memory. For Note 4 users, having the ability to add 128GB of memory through a microsd card offered a cheaper alternative to paying $100 for the 64GB model. It also allowed Note 4 users to interchange memory cards if needed.
Samsung made the decision to remove expandable memory from the Note 5, bucking the trend of what other manufacturers are offering. I really don’t understand this move and I certainly do not believe they were listening to consumers as all other flagship devices offer expandable memory including the 2015 Moto X.
Stylus
The famous S Pen got a minor upgrade in how it is removed from the phone. Rather than using a fingernail to grasp the ridges at the bottom of the S Pen, like on the Note 4, Samsung added a spring loaded mechanism – now you push on the stylus and it will pop out.
In addition, Samsung continued its tradition of adding great features to the S Pen like writing on the device when the screen is off. This sounds cool, but writing without seeing is something that will be new to almost all of us. They also added “Write on PDF” which allows users to edit and annotate PDF documents using the S Pen. This sounds very useful if you deal with PDF files like I do.
CPU and RAM
No iteration would go without an upgrade to the CPU, and the Note 5 did that by taking the processor from the S6 and putting it in the Note 5. The Note 3 and Note 4 both had better processors than their S counterparts, so this is a recent change for Samsung. Benchmark tests for the Samsung Exynos 7420 show that it is the top performing CPU at the moment, although by Note standards, having the same processor as the S6 is disappointing as Note users typically want more.
Although Samsung did upgrade the RAM to 4GB which should help with some of the additional features brought to the S Pen.
Both the CPU and RAM should provide a quality experience. Although the Note 4 is no slouch and still ranks near the top of benchmark tests.
Display
The Note 4 display is fantastic. Samsung’s Super AMOLED display is the best display on the market. Contrast ratio and spectacular colors are something you just can’t appreciate until you see the display for yourself. The Note 5 maintained the Note 4’s display size of 5.7″, pixel density of 500+, and 2k resolution. Simply put, the display is the same and that is nothing to balk at. Samsung still maintains its lead on displays through the Note 4 AND Note 5.
Camera
As shown in Josh’s camera comparison test, the S6 camera is special. Samsung realized they hit the nail on the head with this camera and opted to put it in the Note 5. The camera comes as a 16MP shooter with optical image stabilization(OIS), and features a F/ 1.9 aperture which should help it take better low-light shots. The camera is also capable of shooting 4K video at 30fps, and 120fps for slow-motion. Samsung has bridged the gap between mobile devices and DSLR cameras. There really isn’t much need for a standard point-and-shoot camera these days if you can get your hands on the Note 5 camera.
The Note 4 also has a 16MP shooter with OIS, but doesn’t quite match up to the photo quality of the S6 and and Note 5. If Josh can get his hands on both Note devices, I would love to see a head to head comparison of photos between the two devices.
Battery
Sadly, this is one area where all fans will be disappointed. Samsung decided to shrink the Note 4’s 3220mAh battery down to 3000mAh for the Note 5. Samsung claims their new processor is much more energy efficient than the Snapdragon 805, which allowed them to shrink the battery. The Note 5 is rated at 21 hours of talk time whereas the Note 4 is rated at 20 hours. Regardless, Note users can never have enough power so this is a disappointment to see Samsung sacrifice .9mm in thickness for a smaller battery.
The bigger issue for most Note users is with the new design of a fixed back plate. Samsung allowed users to access their battery in the Note 4, which was a favorite for power users as all they needed to do was swap a battery to get back to 100% power.
However, Samsung did add built-in wireless charging into the Note 5, whereas the Note 4 was capable if you changed the back plate to enable wireless charging.
Summary
When I logged into the Androidguys chat group of writers, I noticed a few of them saying how they are excited about the new S6 Plus and the new Note 5. None of them are Samsung loyalists as they all use everything but Samsung, with exception to Josh Noriega who recently switched to the S6 Edge as his first Samsung device. Maybe Samsung is onto something by focusing on design over function. Those of us who have loved Samsung galaxy devices loved them for being different. We clamored over the ability to swap batteries, add SD cards, and things of that sort. Up until the Galaxy S6 Edge and now the Note 5, the writers I work with never really considered a Galaxy device.
The Galaxy Note 5 is nothing to sneeze at and it is one heck of a powerhouse. It comes with the fastest processor available today with 4GB of RAM running on Android 5.1. It is without a doubt a great phone, but not so much so when you compare it to the Note 4.
Even reading through early analysis on popular sites such as Engadget, I see that many people are excited for the Note 5 and S6 Plus, but I can tell you as an actual Samsung fan I am thoroughly disappointed. I feel unheard and unwanted by Samsung. If they can gain better profits and sales through a new customer base, then I applaud them for appeasing their shareholders. I can without a doubt say I care more about functionality over beauty. The sales numbers will speak for themselves and will prove Samsung right or wrong with their drastic changes in the Note line.
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Samsung Debuts Galaxy Note5 and S6 Edge+ Phones, Preps for Samsung Pay and Gear S2 Watch Launches
At Samsung’s big press conference today in New York, the company announced two new flagship smartphones: the Samsung Galaxy Note5 and the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+, both of which include large “phablet” sized screens that poise them to be direct competitors to the iPhone 6 Plus. They each include the same 5.7-inch display with 4GB of RAM, 16-megapixel rear cameras, and 5-megapixel front cameras, and even the ability to record 4K video.
The Galaxy S6 Edge+ (left) with the Galaxy Note5 (right)
The Galaxy S6 Edge+ keeps its predecessor’s curved screen design, but increases its screen size from 5.1-inches to 5.7-inches, which is even larger than the iPhone 6 Plus’ 5.5-inch screen. Otherwise, the phone’s internals are only slight bumps from the last generation, with the same rear and front cameras and only a slight RAM increase from the S6 Edge’s 3GB.
The other phone announced today, the Galaxy Note5, is being aimed at a more enterprise-friendly market, with Samsung describing the smartphone as having an “unmatched set of productivity tools” with the traditional stylus removable from the bottom of the device. Samsung notes that today’s upgrades confirm its commitment to the emerging larger-screened smartphone market, “which Samsung boldly pioneered in 2011 with the original Galaxy Note.”
Read more 
Samsung has no plans to bring the Galaxy Note 5 to the UK or Europe in 2015
So, Samsung has just officially announced the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, both smartphones that carry on with the same design cues and some of the same hardware as the Galaxy S6 that was announced back in March at the MWC. Details are emerging about where and when you can pre-order both phones in the United States, but what about in the UK and Europe?
What about the UK and Europe indeed. Those of us in old blighty will be able to pre-order the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus from August 18th, with the handset becoming available from in-store from September 4th. Which brings us to the elephant in the room. Amazingly, according to Samsung representatives at the London event, the Korean handset maker has no plans to bring the Galaxy Note 5 to the UK or Europe in 2015.
Yes, you read that correctly. So, if like me, you were going to order the Galaxy Note 5 as your next handset, think again. Samsung has apparently decided against bringing the Note 5 to the UK and Europe for ‘marketing reasons‘. This is a little strange as according to data compiled by CompareMyMobile, the UK’s Galaxy Note customers would seem to be quite loyal. Over 70% of Galaxy Note 4 owners upgraded by trading in a Samsung device, with 3 of the top five traded in devices being earlier Note devices, as shown below.
Top 5 devices traded in for the Note 4
- Galaxy Note 3 – 17.22%
- Galaxy Note 2 – 16.54%
- Galaxy S4 – 12.29%
- Galaxy S3 – 7.81%
- Galaxy Note – 7.28%
So, looking as those trade-in figures, why does Samsung want to alienate its loyal Note fans? If you were planning on ordering the Note 5 in the UK or Europe, will you now order the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus instead? Or, like me, will you also be looking elsewhere, possibly waiting to see what Sony and HTC have up their collective sleeves later in the year? Why do you think Samsung has decided to hold the Note 5 back? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: AndroidCentral, BBC
Come comment on this article: Samsung has no plans to bring the Galaxy Note 5 to the UK or Europe in 2015
Here’s where you can buy Samsung’s Galaxy Note 5
Samsung announced the all new Galaxy Note 5 during its Unpacked event in New York City today, and it’s quite a showstopper! We’ve put together a comprehensive list as to where you will be able to purchase Samsung’s latest Note device and when.
Hit the break to get the full rundown.
Launch day
The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is quite an impressive smartphone, featuring a gorgeous 5.7-inch 2560 x 1440 Super AMOLED display, 4GB of RAM, and a ton of new smartphone features. Unfortunately, there isn’t a single confirmed price, as Samsung is leaving it up to carriers and retailers to put a fair price tag on Samsung’s Next Big Thing.
Consumers will be able to pre-order the device as of today for around $249 on a new two-year contract or an estimated average of $799 off-contract. Some US-based carriers at the time of this writing are only advertising payment plan pricing of $40/month. The device is set to officially launch on August 21, a week from tomorrow, August 14.
United States
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 5 will be available for pre-order some time today, August 13, through the following major US-based carriers
- AT&T
- Verizon
- Sprint
- T-Mobile
Europe
The Galaxy Note 5 will not be available in the United Kingdom or Europe in 2015, Samsung says. While the company isn’t ruling out the device eventually coming to those markets, it’s certainly not going to happen anytime soon.
For now, those in the United Kingdom and Europe will only have the option of picking up the all-new Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+.
Canada
Those in Canada will be able to pick up the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 in Black Sapphire from a wide variety of carriers:
- Rogers
- Telus
- Bell
- SaskTel
- Videotron
- WIND Mobile
Other carriers have yet to confirm the device’s availability.
Pricing
Pricing is very much up in the air. However, it seems Canadian buyers will be able to pick up the 32GB model for $300 on a two-year contract or $850 outright.
Many carriers in the United States are only advertising the device for $40/month. Sprint is advertising it for $249.99 on a new two-year contract or $720 outright. T-Mobile hasn’t revealed any pricing yet, but if you purchase a Samsung Galaxy Note 5 or Galaxy S6 Edge+, the carrier is giving away a free year of Netflix.
Obviously prices will vary depending on which model you pick up. Hopefully we’ll see some more solid pricing details soon, though.
Come comment on this article: Here’s where you can buy Samsung’s Galaxy Note 5
Samsung Pay to rollout in the U.S. on Sept. 28th
We knew it was coming eventually. In conjunction with the launch of its two new phablet entries, the Note 5 and S6 Edge+, Samsung announced that Samsung Pay is ready for prime time. And it’s aiming to succeed where Google Wallet has been struggling.
The big thing is that Samsung is touting that its mobile payment system will work “virtually anywhere”. Samsung Pay will utilize not only traditional NFC but also Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST). Samsung claims that it will work with most existing point-of-sale (POS) terminals used to read credit cards.
In contrast, Google Wallet transaction have solely relied that the merchant has a NFC-compatible payment system. Unfortunately, this has yet to be widely adopted.
“We are partnering with card networks, issuers and acquirers, and Samsung Pay will also be the first to support contactless payment for store-branded credit cards. The list of partners will only grow.“
Samsung made a point of simplicity with using Samsung Pay. The feature is readily available on your phone for quick access. When you’re ready to make a payment, you will just simply swipe up and scan your fingerprint.
Your credit cards, reward cards, etc. will float on the screen, as if you had them in hand. Samsung also emphasized that the system is safe. Samsung KNOX uses tokenization along with the fingerprint authentication.
Samsung has made sure they have wide support in this venture. The partnership for Samsung Pay covers major credit card companies (American Express, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa) and banks (Bank of America, Chase, and U.S. Bank).
As far as availability, Samsung Pay will debut first in Korea on Aug. 20th, followed by the U.S. on Sept. 28th. Other markets include the U.K, Spain, and China, but no dates have been announced for those markets yet.
The newly launched Galaxy S6 Edge+ and Note 5 will have Samsung Pay pre-loaded. But don’t worry if you have a Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge, a software upgrade in mid-August will bring you up to speed. If you’re antsy to try out the new system asap, Samsung has said that there will be beta trial from Aug. 25th for “select U.S. users”.
What are your impressions of Samsung Pay? Do you like what Samsung is trying to do or dislike the fragmentation in the mobile payment space?
Source: Samsung
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