A round Samsung smartwatch is rumoured for a MWC 2015 next month
The smartwatch wars appear to be heating up, but one thing is quite clear in the early going: round smartwatches have been the ones to watch, presumably in large part to our familiarity with the round form factor. Well, apparently even Samsung is seeing the signs now and is preparing a round Samsung smartwatch, rumoured for […]
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Samsung introduces Penvatars, brings ability to customize the S Pen’s pointer
If you’re an owner of a Samsung Galaxy Note 4, or its Edge variant, you may have noticed that when you hover your S Pen stylus slightly above the screen, a pointer appears (similar to a PC’s mouse cursor). Cursors aren’t generally known to illicit much excitement from people, but Samsung is hoping to bring a smile to your face by announcing Penvatars.
Penvatars is the name Samsung is giving to its upcoming app for S Pen wielders and it will allow you to customize those pointers. Most likely the only devices that will support this app will be users of the Note 4 (or the Note Edge), with added support for older devices possibly later on.
Featured heavily in Samsung’s demo of Penvatars are Marvel Comics characters, like Nick Fury and Thor. This team-up is mostly likely related to the partnership between Samsung and Marvel with regard to the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron movie showing in theatres this coming May.
For continuing coverage of CES 2015 by Talk Android, click here.
Source: Samsung
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Samsung Galaxy Grand Max launches in South Korea, Galaxy A7 to debut in Malaysia
Following the launch of Samsung’s new mid-range Galaxy E5 and E7 handsets in India a couple of days ago, the smartphone giant is ready to launch its Galaxy Grand Max in South Korea. The extensively rumored Galaxy A7 also looks to be reaching its official launch, which will take place in Malaysia.
First up, the Galaxy Grand Max (pictured above) is scheduled to go on sale in South Korea on January 9th. The hardware is pretty much what we expected after last week’s leak. The Grand Max comes with a 5.25-inch HD (720p) display, 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 1.5GB RAM, 2500mAh battery and supports Category 4 LTE speeds of 150Mbps. The handset also comes with a 13MP rear camera and an interesting 5MP front snapper with a 120 degree viewing angle for “wide self-shots”.
The Galaxy Grand Max also has a quilted pattern on its back cover, which may or may not win you over. The handset is priced at 319,000 Korean Won ($290) and will be sold through Samsung’s online store and three unspecified Malaysian carriers.
Next up, Samsung’s Galaxy A series, which launched in the US just last week, has now also arrived in Malaysia. At the launch event, the illusive and still unofficial Galaxy A7 also made an appearance and will apparently go on sale in the country in February, although pricing details have not been announced.
The actual specifications on display are a mishmash of the various rumors that have trickled out over the past few months. The Galaxy A7 is indeed a larger 5.5-inch smartphone, featuring a Full HD display and Snapdragon 615 processor. The device supports 4G LTE and is said to come with 16GB of internal memory and a 2,600mAh battery.
Here are a few snaps taken at the Malaysian launch event.
What do you make of Samsung’s expanding product line-up? Have either of these two handsets caught your interest?
Samsung’s rumored round smartwatch will reportedly run Tizen
Round smartwatches are seemingly all the rage as of late. First, everyone drooled over Motorola’s Moto 360, followed by LG’s G Watch R. We even got a glimpse of an LG-made webOS smartwatch at CES this year. For quite some time, we’ve heard rumors of Samsung developing a round smartwatch, dating back almost a year ago. Now in a new report from SamMobile, a few more details are surfacing regarding the rounded wearable. According to the report, the device will be known as “SM-R720,” and is referred to by the codename “Orbis.” What’s more, the device will run Samsung’s own Tizen OS.
Up until now, the operating system running on the round watch has been a mystery. Samsung has put out both Android Wear and Tizen watches in the past, so this wearable could have gone either way. Now that the device will reportedly run Tizen, it makes sense from Samsung’s standpoint. Since rounded wearables are “in” right now, this is a great way for the company to get their own OS on as many wrists as they can.
There is one thing to note, though: the ring-operated rumors we’ve seen in the past aren’t exactly connected to the Orbis codename. We do know that there is an upcoming Tizen watch with the codename ‘Orbis’ and the model number SM-R720. It would make sense that a wearable with a name like ‘Orbis’ would be a rounded smartwatch with a ring-like design, but so far, the fact that the two rumors are connected is still just assumption.
The report also hints at a projected release for MWC this year, though it’s likely much too early to tell when we’ll actually see this watch. So, how do you feel about a Samsung-made ring-operated watch running Tizen? If rumors are true, is this something you’d be interested in?
Future Samsung devices to support enhanced software themes
SamMobile reports that Samsung is making software themes a priority on all future devices, with the Galaxy S6 being the first to offer this customization. This follows the release of the Galaxy A3 and Galaxy A5, two mid-range devices that featured themes.
These new themes will be similar to past ones and will be integrated into a function most likely called Themes Center. Users will also be able to change system sounds, fonts, and Events. With Events, themes can be set for particular events, such as for holidays or anniversaries.
A new themes store will also be included. However, it is not yet known if consumers will be limited to just pre-installed software themes or if they will be able to use third-party ones. SamMobile notes that it is possible that any of this may change.
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Samsung Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A3 launching in Europe
Consumers in Europe searching for a handset with a more premium feel will be excited to know that Samsung plans to release the Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A3 there. Despite facing production issues at the start, Samsung will launch the two handsets in Europe. Samsung has not publicly confirmed its plans to do so; however, firmware for European versions of the Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A3 surfaced online. Clearly, this means that their arrival is imminent.
Via: SamMobile
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Samsung Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A3 launching in Europe
Consumers in Europe searching for a handset with a more premium feel will be excited to know that Samsung plans to release the Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A3 there. Despite facing production issues at the start, Samsung will launch the two handsets in Europe. Samsung has not publicly confirmed its plans to do so; however, firmware for European versions of the Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A3 surfaced online. Clearly, this means that their arrival is imminent.
Via: SamMobile
Come comment on this article: Samsung Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A3 launching in Europe
Verizon finally releases the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge
It’s funny how a few weeks can make such a difference. When Samsung first launched its Galaxy Note Edge in Japan back in October, the device was essentially one-of-a-kind. In the past few days however, we’ve seen LG up the ante by doubling the droop and announcing its own curved creation. Samsung’s Note Edge is just so last year. Except for Verizon that is. Earlier this week we covered a leak that asserted Big Red would be mustering up its johnny-come-lately to the party and it has done just that (along with US Cellular!).
The Galaxy Note Edge is now being offered on Verizon Wireless for $399.99 on a 2-year contract, $33.33 per month on its Edge installment plan, and $799.99 full price for those who prefer their CDMA sans commitment. The product is listed as “XLTE Ready” for select cities, which is Verizon’s novel way of marketing faster LTE. One other point to be aware of is that the device is only available in black at the moment.
Despite the delayed dispatch, the Galaxy Note Edge is still a fantastic device, and one worthy of consideration for anyone looking to upgrade or simply slide into the slope style. You can find our video review here, along with some “post honeymoon” impressions.
Samsung officially unveils the Galaxy Grand Max
Samsung has officially announced the arrival of the Galaxy Grand Max smartphone in its home region of South Korea. The smartphone has been making appearances in leaks for quite some time now, so the announcement finally puts them to rest.
This is a midrange offering, but with what Samsung likes to call a Max form factor. Pricing for the handset has been set at 319,000 Korean Won which is roughly around the $290 mark.
The Galaxy Grand Max is packing a 5.25 inch 720p display, a 1.2 GHz quad core Snapdragon 410 64-bit SoC, 1.5GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage (expandable), a 13-megapixel rear camera, a 5-megapixel front facing camera with a 120 degree wide angle lens, Android 4.4.4 KitKat and a 2,500 mAh battery.
For the hardware that it’s packing, a price tag of $290 seems like a little too much. In comparison, the 2014 Moto G which features an almost identical specs sheet comes with a price tag of $179.99 in the U.S. Perhaps Samsung would like to rethink the pricing of the Galaxy Grand Max when it brings the device to global markets.
Source: Samsung Tomorrow – Translated
Via: Phone Arena
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Future handsets from Samsung will offer support for enhanced themes
It’s no secret that Samsung has been toying with the idea of offering the ability for users of its smartphones the ability to theme their devices. Much like that of third party launchers, users would be able to set a general scheme complete with themed icons for TouchWiz. It looks like the company will be making theming a priority in future devices with Samsung’s next Galaxy flagship, the S6 leading the charge.
It appears that the theming function, first introduced in the Galaxy A Series devices will be called theme center (or a variation there of) and will include a few additional items such as the ability to change system sounds, fonts, and events. We’re not sure what it is exactly, but it appears that the events category could be holiday related, allowing users to, for example, change their theme for specific days like Easter or Halloween.
But wait, there’s more! Upcoming devices will feature a theme store — as brought to light by the image above showing off the theme store icon — that will allow users to pick up new themes. We’re not sure if there will be an option allowing third-party themes but given Samsung’s pro-developer stance, it could very well be the case.
Of course, we’re a few months away from seeing Galaxy S 6, and knowing for sure if these rumors will pan out, but even more customization for users can’t hurt Samsung, who’s currently struggling with moving phones.
source: SamMobile
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