Video: Slickwraps sends Galaxy S6 to the edge of space, phone lives to tell the tale
You probably know Slickwraps for its skin protections for smartphones, laptops and other devices. The Kansas-based company is making wraps for all major Android devices, in a variety of colors and materials, allowing you to customize your device and give it a little protection from bumps and drops. But how about a drop from the edge of space?
That’s the premise of this video from Slickwraps, showing the Galaxy S6 being tied up to a weather balloon and sent soaring up to 122,264 feet (37,266m). That’s more than three times the cruising altitude of a commercial jetliner and high enough to see the Earth’s curvature and the blackness of space.
During the Galaxy S6’ three hour flight, the device travelled across 111 miles (233km), encountered speeds of 110mph (177km/h), with temperatures dropping to -65F (-54C). Now that’s well beyond the normal operating range for just about any electronic, but the Galaxy S6 (covered in Slickwraps’ natural bamboo skin) seems to have survived the trip (and the fall) intact.
Of course, the Galaxy S6 is not the first device to skirt the edges of the atmosphere – its ancestor, the Galaxy S2, hit 30,000 meters in 2011; the LG G2 captured some beautiful imagery in 2013; and last year, British mad scientist Colin Furze sent dozens of HTC One M8’s up to 100,000 feet. But nothing compares to the achievement of the venerable of Nexus One, which NASA used as the brains of its PhoneSat nano-satellites.
Want the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Iron Man limited edition? Get ready to pay upwards of $3,000 on eBay
<ins class="adsbygoogle"
style=”display:block”
data-ad-client=”ca-pub-8150504804865896″
data-ad-slot=”8461248232″
data-ad-format=”auto”>
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();
Last week, Samsung unveiled the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Iron Man limited edition, a gob-smacking nerdfest of red and gold featuring an Iron Man inspired handset as well as an arc reactor inspired wireless charger. There’s probably not a self confessed comic book enthusiast that wouldn’t want this device, but would you be willing to pay more than $3,000 USD? Well, you might have to based on some current eBay listings which range from $3,000 right up to $9,000, which is well and truly into Tony Stark territory.
We doubt that even Samsung would make the actual cost of the S6 Edge Iron Man edition that high, so perhaps some opportunistic retailers are just taking advantage of the hype surrounding the device at the moment. However, we will still have to wait for Samsung to give us the official pricing of the device, presumably some time in May when the device is due to be available, and we hope we won’t need to be Tony Stark to afford one.
What do you think about the price of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Iron Man limited edition on eBay? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: SamMobile
The post Want the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Iron Man limited edition? Get ready to pay upwards of $3,000 on eBay appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus rumoured to be in the pipeline
<ins class="adsbygoogle"
style=”display:block”
data-ad-client=”ca-pub-8150504804865896″
data-ad-slot=”8461248232″
data-ad-format=”auto”>
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();
The dual curved edge Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge has turned out to be a surprising hit, particularly considering than less than a year ago Samsung launched the Galaxy Note Edge with one curved edge to test the waters. So successful that Samsung is rumoured to be producing another dual curved edge device between now and the inevitable Galaxy Note 5 announcement at IFA 2015 in September. Tentatively called the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, it’s alleged this device will essentially be a bigger Galaxy S6 Edge, but unfortunately that’s really all the detail we have right now.
We do know, however, that the project is known as “Project Zero 2″ internally at Samsung, which is the natural successor to “Project Zero” which birthed the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. Given Samsung’s track record, it’s possible this could be more of a mid-range device à la the Galaxy Grand or Galaxy Mega line of devices, or it may simply be a larger Galaxy S6 Edge for those who think the 5.1-inch display is much too tiny. As always, we’ll just have to wait and see, but the rumour places an announcement in the next few weeks.
What do you think about a bigger Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: hdblog.it via Phone Arena
The post Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus rumoured to be in the pipeline appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Samsung Galaxy S6 Plus to launch in next few weeks, report indicates
Samsung will introduce a Galaxy S6 Plus smartphone in the coming weeks, according to oft-reliable blog SamMobile. The device, which is alleged to feature a 5.4-inch or 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display, should also feature the dual-curved edges like those found in the Galaxy S6 Edge.
Specifications are purported to include a hexa-core Snapdragon 808 processor and 32GB internal storage. As for the cameras, we are told to look for a 16-megapixel rear shooter and 5-megapixel front-facing unit.
It is not yet clear where the Galaxy S6 Plus might be offered or whether it will be available in all traditional markets. Also unknown is what sort of price point we could be looking at.
The post Samsung Galaxy S6 Plus to launch in next few weeks, report indicates appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Samsung to Further Confuse Shoppers, Will Launch Galaxy S6 Plus
Everything is better with a Plus. Don’t believe me? Hop in an Audi A8’s rear seat and then try an A8 L. Right? You know you love it. Also, clothes are more fun when larger. I defy you to prove that tight hipstery nonsense is somehow better for my circulation and/or general contentment.
But I digress.
Hot off the heels of a maybe-successful–maybe-not launch of the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, Samsung is now allegedly slated to release the S6 Plus, which we are required to tell you is not the Note 5.
The S6 Plus, model SM-G928 – code named Project Zero 2 – will reportedly sport a 5.4- or 5.5-inch Super AMOLED dual-edge curved display, like the S6 Edge, as well as 32GB of internal storage, a hexa-core Snapdragon 808 processor, as well as 5 MP front camera and a 16 MP rear shooter.
For Note aficionados, the next iteration of what is arguably Samsung’s most consistently great phone will have a 2K or 4K non-curved screen, an octa-core Exynos 7422 processor, and the beloved S Pen.
So we’re looking at a difference of .2-.3 inches in screen size between the two models, which isn’t much. We’d normally assume the S6 Plus won’t have as high resolution a screen as the Note in keeping with the Note’s premium tier in the Samsung lineup, but the S6 Edge already has a Quad HD (2560 x 1440) screen, so there’s not much wiggle space between DPI.
One has to wonder whether iPhone 6 Plus sales have dinged Note 4 sales enough to cause Samsung to release what amounts to a larger, slightly juiced up S6 Edge without the extra bells and whistles of a Note.
Also, of course, we’re likely a few months out from the Note 5, so a nice and easy Plus release could satiate hungry Samsung devotees who just want more real estate.
To recap, we’re potentially looking at three phones of the following screen sizes: 5.1-inch, 5.5-inch, and 5.7-inch. Makes you miss the good ol’ days of 4-inch screens, right?
Source: SamMobile
Come comment on this article: Samsung to Further Confuse Shoppers, Will Launch Galaxy S6 Plus
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 is $100 off right now
If you are in the market for a new Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro tablet, the 8.4-inch version is on sale right now for over 30% off. That’s a $100 savings.
If you recall, the Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 is a 2.3GHz Quad-core processor powered 8.4-inch display Android tablet with 2560×1600 screen resolution, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. While not in league with the best around, the camera capabilities are fairly solid, with a 8MP rear shooter and a fairly average 2MP front shooter.
Out of the box, your new Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 will be running Android 4.4 KitKat, but do check for updates, as Android 5.x Lollipop should be along soon enough.
Aside from the spec sheet, this is a comfortable tablet with excellent screen performance. It sport a fairly typical Samsung button layout and even comes with a nice, albeit faux, leather back. Real world performance is still pretty solid, but battery life has always been a little short, especially under heavy usage.
The last time we talked about pricing for this Samsung tablet, it was then also on sale at Best Buy, but for a few dollars more than we see it today. Be sure to check out some of our previous coverage for more details on the Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4.
We don’t know how long this sale we be on for, and we do expect this year and a half old tablet to receive a permanent price reduction any time now, but you can grab it today from Best Buy for $199.99.
What do you say, will you grab a new Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 for $200?
Galaxy S6 sales are hitting Samsung’s internal targets, beating GS5 sales
Samsung was dealing with quite a bit of pressure with the launch of the Galaxy S6 this year. Sales for their previous two flagship Galaxy S devices had waned, with the Galaxy S5 failing to hit its internal targets for the company over the course of 2014. With that in mind, Samsung had to launch a fantastic device in 2015 that would solidify why they were the top dog in the Android market.
For the most part, they did. The Galaxy S6 was met with nearly universal praise (our own review commended the fantastic screen, amazing camera, and solid design of the device) while the crazy counterpart device, the Galaxy S6 Edge, has done far better than anyone anticipated. So while everything seems great, Samsung hasn’t publicly announced how well their current flagship is selling.
Unfortunately, we don’t have a concrete number. What we do have, however, is an unnamed Samsung executive saying that the GS6 is performing very well, and actually a little better than Samsung imagined. This same also believes that the GS6 should surpass the GS5, and while it’s not always an impressive feat to out-do a device that you considered a failure, improvement is always a good thing.
This commentary does come from an exec at Samsung, so obviously it should be taken with a grain of salt. But with Samsung’s bold marketing and serious commitment towards making a great phone, I think we should all expect the S6 (and the S6 Edge!) to have a pretty solid 2015.
source: Korea Times
via: GSM Arena
Come comment on this article: Galaxy S6 sales are hitting Samsung’s internal targets, beating GS5 sales
Verizon’s Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 LTE getting Android 5.0.2 Lollipop OTA
Verizon’s Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 LTE is getting the upgrade to Android 5.0.2 Lollipop. It adds yet another device to the small percentage running Lollipop.
Android 5.0 Lollipop brings with it a myriad of awesome changes, mainly with animations, effects, design, and the progressive move towards Material Design. Notifications have been drastically improved, the recent apps menu has been improved, and performance has greatly increased. However, running Samsung’s TouchWiz UI, aside from added features, you may not see a whole lot changes on the design front.
Updates like these do take some time to get to you. So, if you haven’t gotten the notification to download the OTA update, you should see it within a couple of days.
If Samsung keeps this up, maybe we’ll just see Android M on the device this time next year.
source: Samsung
via: SamMobile
Come comment on this article: Verizon’s Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 LTE getting Android 5.0.2 Lollipop OTA
Samsung refutes recent claims that the Galaxy S6 isn’t selling well
Despite the much-improved build quality on the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, there have been a few rumors floating around the web stating that sales of the handsets thus far have been a disaster for the company, and that its mobile business is “imploding”. According to investment banking firm Oppenheimer, the poor sales are largely due to the fact that most of the improvements made this time around are solely based on hardware, and that Samsung’s software has barely seen any improvements.
In a letter to its clients, the banking firm explained:
When we look at Samsung’s flagship in 2015, the Galaxy S6 Edge, almost all of its differentiators fall back to hardware: a cutting-edge CPU, curved display, iPhone-like metal casing, front area fingerprint sensor, and camera with OIS. At the same time, we see little improvement in Samsung’s software user experience, and no value-added to existing Samsung users who are on prior generations of devices.
As evidence of this claim, Oppenheimer points out that Samsung sold roughly 10 million Galaxy S6 units in about one month’s time, compared to the 11 million Galaxy S5 units the company sold within the same timeframe last year.
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 (max-width : 480px)
.rvs_wrapper
width: 100%;
text-align: center;
body .rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul li
padding: 0 7px;
display: inline-block;
float: none;
vertical-align: top;
Whether these rumors that the Galaxy S6’s numbers are devastating to the company are true or not, Samsung still found it necessary to refute the claims. According to The Korea Times, an unnamed Samsung executive said in an interview that the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge are both selling very well. The exec explains:
Sales of the S6 and S6 Edge are meeting our internal target. S6 sales will clearly be higher than those of the S5. Samsung will aggressively promote sales in our target markets… You have to wait and see; however, the S6 and S6 Edge sales will be far higher than those of the S5.
Although the Galaxy S5 may have seen better initial sales than the S6, the company reportedly sold 40% fewer Galaxy S5 units than it anticipated. The Samsung employee added that roughly 305,000 GS6 units were being sold daily, which is much better than the S5 and S4’s 124,000 and 241,000 per day, respectively.
While Samsung’s claims seem genuine, we’ll have to wait until the company releases its next financial report before we make anymore assumptions.
Best for 4G: Galaxy S6 v Huawei P8 v LG G4
I often get asked which handset has the best network performance and reliability and usually the answer is Samsung, as for many years now the company has had by far the fastest LTE speeds on mobile devices.
With the change in build from plastic to metal and glass on the Galaxy S6 however, the company was faced with having to redesign its network antennae, so is the performance as good as past Samsung devices? How does it compare to the plastic-clad LG G4 and the metal-built Huawei P8, which comes with Huawei’s own extensive knowledge of mobile networks.
Which of these has the most reliable network connection, including call success rate, antenna strength and 4G Speed Tests? Let’s find out:
N.B. All handsets were tested using the same network – EE, which supports speeds of up to 300Mbps in the London area – and at the exact same time. The results below are based on a sample of 52 tests in 11 different areas spanning a distance of 170 miles.
Network Switch Rate
One problem with most current LTE networks is that VoLTE (Voice Over LTE) isn’t supported in large parts of the network, meaning handsets need to switch down to a 3G connection when attempting to make a call while connected to an LTE connection. Often, the time taken to locate and switch to a 3G network can result in a dropped call; both, when making a call or receiving a call.
The purpose of this section was to test the handset’s ability to switch from LTE to 2G/3G and vice versa, while also determining which handset remained connected to the fastest network for longest. During our testing, we found the following:
| Galaxy S6 | LG G4 | Huawei P8 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Time taken to switch to fastest network | 1 minute 48 seconds | 52 seconds | 41 seconds |
| Number of dropped calls when connected to LTE | 21 dropped calls | 11 dropped calls | 6 dropped calls |
| Time connected to fastest network | 49 seconds | 1 minute 3 seconds | 2 minutes 9 seconds |
The network switch rate on the Galaxy S6 is certainly surprising given that past Samsung devices – albeit they were made of plastic – would usually latch onto the best network. The LG G4 certainly performs well but Huawei’s network coverage shone through in testing, with the Huawei P8 switching the fastest and remaining connected to the best network for longest.
Antenna Strength
This section tests how strong the antennae performance on each smartphone actually is. To test the antenna strength, we used the figures reported in the Settings > About Phone > Status screen. A signal rating of -60 dBm is recognised as near perfect while anything above -110 dBm is considered call-dropping quality.
Our testing shows that:
| Galaxy S6 | LG G4 | Huawei P8 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average antenna strength | -91 dBm | -74 dBm | -62 dBm |
| Ratio of average connection (3G:LTE) | 4:1 | 1:5 | 1:8 |
| Occurrences of zero signal (out of 52 tests) | 13 | 3 | 3 |
The Galaxy S6 again fails to excite here, with the handset often not even connecting to LTE. Considering that this particular unit may have been faulty, we decided to test with an alternate handset and found similar levels of performance: the second Galaxy S6 was on average 6 dBm better than the first handset and not enough to warrant the first unit as faulty.
The LG G4 again performs relatively well, with a relatively strong network antenna, but the Huawei P8 is again the best (and this time, by far).
LTE Speed Tests
Now to the final section and probably the most interesting: superfast LTE speeds. This was a simple test to conduct; each handset was using the latest version of Ookla’s SpeedTest application and was connected to 4G.
Our testing found:
| Galaxy S6 | LG G4 | Huawei P8 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average speed test: download | 50.03 Mbps | 53.37 Mbps | 58.31 Mbps |
| Average speed test: upload | 15.69 Mbps | 18.38 Mbps | 20.04 Mbps |
| Fastest LTE speed recorded: | 78.39 Mbps | 88.46 Mbps | 91.44 Mbps |
The results were very surprising, given that the Ascend P7 was slower than both the LG G3 and the Galaxy S5. The G4 is better than the G3 thanks to the addition of Cat 6 support and the Huawei P8 is a marked improvement over the Ascend P7, with Huawei’s network knowledge really shining through thanks to the dual antenna system.
The Galaxy S6 tests showed that the handset is significantly slower than the Note 4 and Galaxy S5, despite the newer internal hardware and LTE Cat 6 support (which the Galaxy Note 4 also has). The Galaxy S6 also failed to latch onto 4G+ (Cat 6) – which offers downloads speeds of up to 300Mbps – and was instead limited to Cat 4, which offers a maximum download speed of 150Mbps.
Conclusion
Looking at all the tests and the various results, I think it’s safe to say that the Huawei P8 is the best handset for LTE, while the LG G4 comes second and the Galaxy S6 is significantly further back. Samsung’s adoption of metal and glass certainly worked for most parts of the handset but the network antenna seems to have suffered as a result of the switch, which could be expected given the problems others have had with metal builds.
.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 (max-width : 480px)
.rvs_wrapper
width: 100%;
text-align: center;
body .rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul li
padding: 0 7px;
display: inline-block;
float: none;
vertical-align: top;
With the G4, LG have made the antenna stronger than the G3 and the result is much better performance overall. The G4 is certainly impressive in holding onto a network connection and with Cat 6 support, the maximum download speeds have also vastly improved. The dual antenna system on the Huawei P8 clearly prevents any antenna-gate issues – where holding the handset the wrong way can affect your signal – and the handset can intelligently switch between the two antennae, depending upon which is the strongest.
Now read the reviews:
Huawei P8 Review
LG G4 Review
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Review
Samsung Galaxy S6 Review
What do you think? Is LTE performance and network resilience important to you? Let us know your views in the comments guys!
AIVAnet 