Iron Man Samsung Galaxy S6 edge sells for $91,000 in China
When Samsung announced the Galaxy S6 edge Iron Man Limited Edition, they knew the red color on the front and back of the device would help make it popular outside the comic book fandom. In particular, they knew buyers in China would likely flock to the device. Combined with limited supplies, Samsung if finding their projections may have been underestimated a bit as shown by a recent auction where one of the devices sold for over 1 million won.
Chinese retailer JD.com recently put one of the Iron Man inspired models up for auction with a closing date of June 11th. Once all the dust settled, the winning bidder had put up a bid of 118.6 million won, roughly $91,635 USD. That is in the neighborhood of 100 times the original South Korean price of 1.199 million won or $1,079 USD.
While Samsung knew it would be popular thanks to the color scheme, they only produced 16 million units to be sold in China. That seems like a large number of devices, but considering the population of China, it is a mere pittance.
For the particular unit that was sold in the JD.com auction, the serial number was 66. Reports indicate the number 6 is recognized as bringing good luck in China and the doubling of it to 66 means things will be twice as lucky. Apparently that also made it more than twice as desirable.
source: BusinessKorea
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David Attenborough dives into VR with special museum exhibit
Wildlife documentarian and hypnotizing narrator Sir David Attenborough will finally lend his storytelling expertise to the fledgling medium of virtual reality later this month, in a special exhibit opening at London’s Natural History Museum. As stunning as the HD footage that typically accompanies Attenborough’s shows may be, for the past year the presenter has been working with Alchemy VR, a partnership of Atlantic Productions and Zoo VFX, to create even more engaging experiences using VR. A 15-minute adaptation of 2010 miniseries First Life, which uses CGI to reconstruct our prehistoric oceans and the beasts lurking within, is the first Attenborough VR project ready for general release, and it’ll be debuting at the museum on June 19th.
For £6.50 a pop, visitors will be invited to don one of Samsung’s Gear VR headsets and get face-to-face with some of the earliest forms of life to inhabit our seas. Attenborough’s mellow narrative will be your personal guide, of course, but to some extent, exploration of this virtual world will be in your hands. The First Life experience is one of a number of VR projects Attenborough and Alchemy are invested in. The next is expected to be released later this year, and should serve as further proof virtual reality as a medium has plenty to offer non-gamers.
Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, Samsung
Via: Wired
Source: Natural History Museum (1), (2)
Rumors point to 5.7-inch Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, but trademark hints at S6 Note moniker
There have been plenty of rumors circulating in the past month or so about a large version of the Galaxy S6 Edge, which some have taken to calling the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus. A little over a week ago, a leaked image appeared online and Korean media sources seemed to back up the claim that a larger handset is indeed under development, possibly with an August release.
The latest rumors hint at a 5.7-inch display, complete with the dual curved edge display of the Galaxy S6 Edge. Previously a 5.5-inch model had been rumored. Furthermore, SamMobile suggests that the handset will ship with Android 5.1.1 out of the box and that the smartphone will arrive in Q3 2015. We have already seen an early build of Android 5.1.1 running on the Galaxy S6, so a newer version of Android seems quite likely for Samsung’s upcoming smartphones.
In further developments, a new trademark for a Samsung handset has just been spotted in South Korea, which points to a product called the S6 Note. Although the trademark doesn’t contain any hardware details, the Note nametag suggests that this is a larger handset. It’s possible that the S6 Edge Plus’ actual name could end up being the Galaxy S6 Note.
If true, this all has particularly interesting implications for Samsung’s much anticipated Galaxy Note 5. Given the S6 Note trademark and rumored August / Q3 release date, there is looking to be a major cross-over between these two large phones which could cause major confusion. Unless, they are somehow linked? Perhaps a new naming scheme is in the works for the Note series?
Alternatively, rumors have previously hinted that Samsung was worried about causing confusion between the Note 5 and this larger S6 handset, leading to speculative suggestions that Samsung could be prepared to increase the size of the Note 5.
Regardless, the larger smartphone is expected to launch sometime in the third quarter of the year. I’m sure that the picture will become a little clearer before then.
Samsung’s Tizen is doing better than anticipated in India
The arrival of Samsung’s Tizen OS for smartphones was a rather drawn out process, but its Tizen powered Z1 handset finally landed in the major Indian market back in January. Since then Tizen has exceeded initial industry expectations, grabbing some significant market share in its short time on the shelves.
According to anonymous industry sources, the Samsung Z1 has shifted over 500,000 units in the Indian market since launch, which isn’t bad for 6 months. Samsung had sold 100,000 Z1 smartphones in total back in February. Perhaps even more impressively, the Z1 managed to grab a 23.4 percent market share in Bangladesh during the first quarter of 2015.
Tizen isn’t just reserved for smartphones and wearables, Samsung is also using the OS to power a range of smart home appliances
Despite being powered by Samsung’s personalized OS, this early success is mostly due to the company’s aggressive pricing strategy in the fast growing Asian market. The Z1 launched for just Rs.5,700 ($95 US) in India.
The Z1 was initially supposed to debut in Russia, but this plan was scrapped in favour of the Indian and SE Asian markets, which are growing quickly based on demand for accessible, affordable smartphones. Samsung’s more lightweight Tizen OS has helped the company make the most out of the Z1’s more limited hardware.
Based on this better-than-expected performance, Samsung is apparently preparing a successor to the Z1 (the Z2?), which will launch in Russia, China, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka. Although a launch time frame has not been given.
Samsung is using Tizen for much more than smartphones and wearables.
Tizen isn’t just reserved for smartphones and wearables, Samsung is also using the OS to power a range of smart home appliances, including SUHD TVs, its Q9000 smart air conditioner, and the Chef Collection Refrigerator. The range of products powered by the OS is expected to continue to increase, as Samsung has placed it at the centre of its smart product line-up.
Samsung also appears keen to gather third party developer support for its Tizen platform, as it will be hosting a Tizen Developer Summit India 2015 in Bangalore this July and is also planning a Developer Conference in Shenzhen, China this September. A broader Tizen software development kit is also said to be in the works, which will expand on the SDK designed for Samsung’s wearable products that was unveiled back in March.
Tizen is gradually evolving into a wide-ranging platform for Samsung, and the company clearly has ambitious plans for its spin-off OS. We will likely continue to see Tizen help Samsung branch out into new business segments and it looks like bringing it to emerging markets has worked out quite well.
Samsung’s working on a larger variant of the Galaxy S6 Edge
According to a report posted online, Samsung is in the midst of working on an upscaled, curved variant of its current flagship smartphone, which it plans to launch later this year. The handset has been dubbed the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus and is rumored to sport a whopping 5.7-inch display.
In addition to the bigger screen size, the South Korean company is expected to cram a larger battery into the handset too, which should solve many if not all of the juice issues faced by its smaller brother. The new device will run the latest build of Android 5.1.1 Lollipop with the usual TouchWiz user interface plastered over the top.
Unfortunately, that’s all the information we have on the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus for now, but stay tuned as it shouldn’t be too much longer until we have more details.
Source: SamMobile
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Details surface for Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime Value Edition
Samsung is set to introduce a Galaxy Grand Prime Value Edition in the near future, according to rumors surfacing in the past day. Reportedly, the 5-inch device will run Android 5.0 and feature some entry-level specifications.
Details are alleged to include a 5-inch 960 x 540 pixel display, an 8-megapixel rear camera, and 5-megapixel front-facing shooter. Powered by a 64-bit quad-core Cortex-A53 Marvell processor, other rumored specs may include 1GB RAM, 8GB internal storage, and a 2600mAh battery.
If the aforementioned hardware pans out it feels like this one is more of a gentle refresh of the existing model. Should that be the case then the price could stay rather low.
It is likely that the Galaxy Grand Prime Value Edition could be offered in emerging markets. If it comes to the US, it’s possible it might find a home at smaller or prepaid carriers. Cricket, for instance, sells the Galaxy Grand Prime for only $129.
The post Details surface for Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime Value Edition appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 may feature a USB Type-C port
This morning we caught a rumor floating around that the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 5 will indeed arrive equipped with the new USB 3.1 Type-C standard. This actually shouldn’t be too surprising, as the Note series tends to keep up with the times, but it is always nice to hear some form of heads-up. It is a departure from Sony’s recent comments that it will be some time until they adopt the standard.
The report comes from a Korean news site, Navor. They also hinted that the Note 5 will house a larger display than before, at 5.89 inches, but maintains its QHD resolution. The battery is said to be 4100 mAh, which would be quite a bump up from the 3,220 mAh battery in the Note 4.
USB Type-C will soon phase out the micro USB ports we’re so used to, Google discussed its importance to Android at this year’s Google I/O. The benefits of Type-C include reversible connection, faster charging, and a unified port that handles power, data, and display. Also, transfer rates are double the previous USB 3.0 standard, at 10 Gbps vs. 5 Gbps.
Here’s where we remind you to take these tidbits with a grain of salt. The Note 5 is expected to make its usual debut at IFA in early September, so stay tuned! More will come to light the closer we get.
The post Samsung Galaxy Note 5 may feature a USB Type-C port appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Update to budget-oriented Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime gets Taiwanese certification
Samsung is working on a new variant of the budget-oriented Galaxy Grand Prime which appears will be named the Galaxy Grand Prime VE, the VE standing for Value Edition. It is not clear how much more value in terms of lower cost can be squeezed from a budget smartphone, but Samsung does appear to be planning some hardware and operating system changes to help enhance the value of the device. Much of this new information was learned after the device passed through the Taiwan equivalent of the FCC for certification in that country.
Sources indicate Samsung is replacing the Snapdragon 410 processor in the original Galaxy Grand Prime with a Cortex-A53 Marvell PXA1908 quad-core 64-bit chip. The other change in the new Value Edition variant will be Android Lollipop running on the device out of the box instead of Android KitKat.
The current Galaxy Grand Prime is available in the U.S. through Cricket for $179. Samsung has not announced any information as to what markets will get the new Value Edition version of the device or what pricing will be.
source: Tech Gadgetsz
via: SamMobile
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Researchers able to access private data on smartwatches
Over the years owners of smartphones have learned the hard way that they need to keep their devices secured against attempts to get private information off of the devices. The worry is not so much that someone will intercept data on the fly, but that a misplaced device could fall into the wrong hands that have plenty of time to try to break through security to access private data. Researchers from the University of New Haven have started work on examining how secure a new crop of devices – smartwatches – may be and the results are not promising.
In testing that was conducted on an LG G Watch and a Samsung Gear 2 Neo, the researchers found they could access several pieces of personal information. On both devices they found they could access both the user’s email address and contacts. On the LG G Watch, powered by Android Wear, they were also able to access the calendar and pedometer data. For the Samsung Gear 2 Neo, powered by the company’s Tizen operating system, the researchers were also able to grab health information and messages. A contributing factor to their success in pulling this data off the devices was the fact that it was not encrypted.
Even with encryption, there may still be limits to how secure the devices may be. In their testing, the researchers not only poked around the file systems on the devices, but they were also able to utilize the Android-powered smartphones the smartwatches were linked to.
The research being conducted will be presented at a digital forensics conference in August. We can expect more attention to issues of data privacy to be brought up as more devices are made “smart” devices. As the researchers note, mere encryption is only a first step as it needs to be implemented properly. They also note that privacy measures need to take into account how our information is increasingly flowing between devices as we enjoy the benefits of a more connected world.
source: CNET
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Samsung (and Apple) are looking into dual-camera technology
While HTC has been tinkering with dual-camera setups for a couple of years now, with its One M7 and One M8 smartphones featuring Ultra-Pixel technology (before abandoning it for the One M9), it hasn’t really caught on. While it was praised for delivering good quality low-light images, HTC‘s take on the dual-camera was lacking when compared to its competitors singular sensors with a higher Mega-Pixel count. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a future for a dual-camera setup though, as there are reports that both Samsung and Apple are looking into the technology for use with future handsets. China’s Huawei is also getting in on dual-camera technology, with its Honor 6 Plus handset making use of the ‘bokeh‘ effect.
At present, flagship smartphones are using 16MP or 20MP sensors, with more and more features being crammed inside of them. But with the never-ending need to make the device thinner and lighter, the single camera setup might be pushing the limits in regards to the number of features that can be packed inside. It’s thought that with the might of both Samsung and Apple pushing development of the dual camera technology (separately, of course), that using a twin camera setup will be the way forward. One thing is for sure, if dual-cameras were to become the norm, component manufacturers would be pretty happy seeing their sales increase. Time will tell, I would be extremely surprised if we were to see the upcoming Note 5 sport a dual-camera setup, but who knows about the Galaxy S7 next year?
Source: ETNEWS
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