The countdown to the Unpacked Galaxy S 6 event has begun, watch the live stream right here
Samsung will be hosting Unpacked this Sunday, March 1, and it will of course be live streamed. There is already a considerable amount of buzz surrounding the Galaxy S 6 and the Galaxy S Edge, but Samsung wants to add a little more. They have already posted the link for the live stream along with a countdown to the big event, which is just over 4 days at the time of this post.
It might actually be easier to enter the event in your calendar rather than checking the video stream to see how much more time is left. But then again, it’s also nice to have the link ahead of time so you’re ready to go this Sunday. Just bookmark this page and come back Sunday at 5.30 pm GMT / 12:30 pm EST / 9:30 am PST for all the action.
Hit the break for the video.
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Galaxy S 6 to be pricey, Galaxy S 6 Edge to be very limited and pricey
I don’t think anyone will be surprised by part of this news. If you were looking to get your hands on the Galaxy S 6 Edge, plan on jumping through hoops because it will be very limited as Samsung won’t be able to produce them fast enough. And not surprisingly, it will be pricey. The 64 GB version will go for €949 and the 128 GB version will be €1,049. That’s €50 more expensive than the iPhone 6 Plus. Converted to U.S. dollars, that’s $1,076 and $1,189 respectively, but it probably won’t work out that way due to extra taxes in Europe.
As to the Galaxy S 6, it appears Samsung won’t be giving them away either. According to a source from Arstechnica, the 32 GB version will go for €749, the 64 GB will be €849, and the 128 GB version will be €949. Now we can convert these to U.S. Dollars, and you will get $849, $963, and $1,076 respectively, but as mentioned before, it doesn’t always work that way because of European taxes and such. Based on this pricing, it’s possible that the U.S versions will run $799, $899, and $999, but until the carriers announce their real intentions, it’s anyone’s guess. Either way, the Galaxy S 6 will be priced higher than the Galaxy S 5 at launch, which was €650 in Europe and $650 in the U.S. Granted, that was for the 16 GB version, but will Samsung get some push back from consumers with this pricing model?
Source: Arstechnica
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Samsung pokes some fun at Galaxy S6 rumors
We are fast approaching launch day for the Galaxy S6, which is an especially important event this year, as the company intends to turn last year’s misfortune around. But the pressure hasn’t stopped Samsung’s marketing team from having a little fun with some of the rumors and hype built up over the past few months, which have produced some rather odd looking results.
As with all major product launches, there have been plenty of rumors circulating about what Samsung may or may not have planned for its next smartphone. Some have been reasonable and others a little more bizarre, but both can have pretty humorous results if taken a little too literally.
I actually think that the speakers look pretty awesome, what do you think?
Samsung Working with SK Telecom for 5G Data Speeds
Samsung and SK Telecom, a South Korean mobile operator, are planning to showcase current research into future 5G data transmission at 7.55 Gbps at Mobile World Congress next week. The transmission uses millimeter wave frequencies, meaning those over 6 GHz. The size of the frequencies is higher than mobile and Wi-Fi frequencies, and comes with some pros and cons.
The pros are of course related to the higher speeds achievable with the new technology, but the cons are the fact that higher frequencies will have a much harder time penetrating buildings and will be more likely to be obstructed or interfered with by obstacles. In order to combat this potential issue, Samsung and SK Telecom are working on technology that uses 3D beamforming, which senses the location of your smartphone and directs a narrow transmission to the device.
We can expect to see it implemented in South Korea in 2020, which is 2 years after Japan’s NTT DoCoMo’s planned network demonstration in Tokyo. If you’re wondering when we can expect to see it stateside, extrapolating our current rates of network expansion and speed improvements, we can expect to see it at least 10 years after that.
Source: PC World
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Android snags 81% of the market in 2014 with over 1 billion units shipped
With 2014 in the books, we’re finally getting the numbers to see how each manufacturer and OS did over the past year. The good news for Google and Apple (and bad news for the likes of Microsoft and BlackBerry) Android and iOS accounted for a whopping 96.3% of all smartphones shipped. That leaves a very small 3.7% for Windows Phone and everything else that’s competing for scraps.
When you break the numbers down between Android and iOS, though, Android came out a clear victor in the market share battle. Android devices accounted for 81.5% of all phones shipped, finally breaking the 1 billion mark for smartphones. Compared to those 1 billion Android smartphones, Apple shipped 192 million phones for 14.8% of the market.
In the Android camp, Samsung still pulled in the most market share among Android OEMs. Samsung actually shipped more than the next five vendors combined, which is a phenomenal amount of devices. However, growth year-over-year was nearly non-existent, while smaller manufacturers saw quite a bit of growth.
It’s nearly set in stone that Android is going to stay the top dog, at least when it comes to global market share. The next big battle will be between Samsung and everyone else in 2015.
source: IDC
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Samsung starts rolling out Lollipop update for Note 3′s in the UK
Samsung has finally started rolling out the long-awaited Lollipop update to all unlocked models of the Galaxy Note 3 located in the United Kingdom. This upgrade transports the latest version of the Android operating system, together with a multitude of new features, bug fixes and stability improvements for your handset.
The full changelog can be seen below:
- Android 5.0 Lollipop update
- Lock screen and Notification: New Lollipop UI style with enhanced privacy features
- Recent apps: Support multiple pages
- Addition of search function within settings
To start the upgrade, make sure you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network. Then, from the home screen, press the Menu key, followed by Settings. Scroll to the bottom and tap ‘About Device’, followed by ‘Software Update and ‘Update Now’.
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Samsung’s homegrown ‘5G’ comes with a catch
Samsung and HTC’s new smartphones may command the bulk of the attention at this year’s Mobile World Congress but the show isn’t just about new handsets. Samsung and Korean mobile carrier SK Telecom will use the show to demonstrate a new mobile data system that’ll reach of speeds up to 7.5Gbps. Although the official 5G standard isn’t yet defined, the pair are trying to elbow in on the act by calling the process “5G.” Unfortunately, while that level of speed is thrilling, the technology behind it does come with a few “uhm,” “ah,” and “but” noises attached.
Unlike 3G and 4G, you see, this new standard uses millimeter wave signals to bounce information between the network and user. Unfortunately, this technology only works when the two devices are in a line of sight, which isn’t ideal when you’re always walking around with your phone in your pocket. To get around this issue, however, the pair are using “3D beamforming,” a way of triangulating the position of the phone to a nearby antenna to send the transmissions in a straight line. That’s only going to be possible, however, if a location is absolutely heaving with “5G” access points.
Assuming that a dense city center could be seeded with enough hardware, PC World believes that the technique would have the upside of reducing interference. Because of the line-of-sight transmissions, two people on opposite sides of a tall building could use the same frequencies to talk without interfering with each other. It all may sound pretty exciting, but let’s hope that someone remembers that this eye-watering speed will mean bupkis if no-one’s working on a way to cure the cold, dread hand of the signal blackspot.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Samsung
Via: PC World, Yonhap News
Source: SK Telecom (Translated)
Here’s how to find out when your T-Mobile smartphone or tablet will receive the next software update
Probably the biggest question smartphone owners have is, “When will I get a software update?” Well T-Mobile is now making it a lot easier to find out that answer. They launched a dedicated site which will let you select your device (phone or tablet) and then find out where things stand.
Software updates have 3 stages and they include manufacturer development, T-Mobile testing, and completion. Once a manufacturer finishes development, they send it to the carrier (in this case T-Mobile) for testing. Testing checks for bugs, which could end up going back to manufacturing development. However, once the carrier (again in this case T-Mobile) is satisfied, then it’s considered completed, and the update will be rolled out. This new site will let you know at what stage your next update is at, as well as what version of Android it will be.
So for example, if you were to select the HTC One (M7), you will find out that Lollipop is in T-Mobile testing right now. This means that it could literally get approved for roll out any day now. Unfortunately, depending on how many bugs there are, it could still be a ways off. So no, you won’t get any target dates, but it will give you an idea of how things are progressing and if the manufacturer is committed to offering the most recent update.
You will be able to select from the Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 7 (2013), HTC One (M7), HTC One (M8), Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note Edge, and Galaxy S 5. Of course more devices will be added soon.
Hit the source link to get started.
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AT&T’s Six Appeal teaser may have accidentally confirmed the Samsung Galaxy S6 ‘Edge’
It seems that everyone is feeling the Six Appeal (except for Verizon), with Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T each teasing an image of the Samsung Galaxy S6 that only differs in color. AT&T appears to have gone one further though, by inadvertently confirmed that Samsung will be releasing two variants of its latest flagship; a regular Galaxy S6 and a Galaxy S6 Edge. This accidental confirmation comes courtesy of a DroidLife reader who noticed that AT&T’s Six Appeal teaser page contained meta tags for both variants of Galaxy S6 handsets.
As you can see from the metadata in the image above, both Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge devices names are present. While this isn’t a 100% definitive confirmation of there being 2 different models, there isn’t much room for doubt. All the rumors and case manufacturer leaks point towards an Edge variant of the Galaxy S6 being released. There isn’t long to wait until Samsung unveils the Galaxy S6 with its fancy new antenna tech on March 1st at the MWC, and you can be sure that the leaks will keep on coming.
Source: DroidLife
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Sprint feeling the ‘six appeal’ of the Samsung Galaxy S 6
During the Oscars last night, T-Mobile decided to tease the world with the first glimpse of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S 6. The image has a glowing Galaxy S 6 with the phrase ‘six appeal’ floating above it. Then, earlier today, AT&T introduced the same teaser and the magenta glow was replaced with blue. Another carrier also joined the fun today, too. The image above was provided by Sprint this evening. Once again, the glow has been switched to match Sprint’s yellow.
Now we are waiting for Verizon to start feeling the ‘six appeal.’
Source: Sprint
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