Samsung’s mobile division may see some rearrangement in the near future
As most of you know, Samsung has been experiencing some difficulties matching the sales it had back in 2012. A new report suggests that this decline may result in a rearrangement of management.
J.K. Shin, the leader executive of Samsung, might be forced to step down. With what began with Samsung’s largest mobile prosperity at Shin’s hiring, has now begun slowing and analysts are predicting that even more declines are ahead for the Korean tech giant. Samsung’s mobile division remains on top of the global scale to date, however, profits are sinking and marketshare is slowly slipping away. Samsung Group Vice Chairman Lee Jae Yong (pictured above) is being forced to make a decision on whether to fire Shin or force him to move down.
The decision may be coming faster than we all think as the future of Samsung’s mobile division depends on it. Based on a report last week, Samsung may partner with Google to further stabilize and cutback on the company’s Touchwiz interface, which could ultimately better sales. Additionally, Samsung has a new strategy up its sleeve that brings flagship features to mid-range models. Whichever transition Samsung makes, it’ll be a major factor in keeping the company on track.
Source: Bloomberg
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[Deal] Cricket Wireless Cyber Monday Samsung Galaxy sale
Consumers on the hunt for a Cyber Monday deal this year on a Samsung Galaxy S smartphone may want to check out Cricket Wireless. The pre-paid carrier is offering several Galaxy S devices for 50% off with activation on one of their no annual contract plans. The devices include the Samsung Galaxy S6, the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the Samsung Galaxy S4.
The most expensive option is the Samsung Galaxy S6 which runs $250 when purchased with a $55 per month plan. That monthly price is after a $5 per month credit for auto pay and comes with 10 GB of data. The next device available is the Samsung Galaxy S5 that will set you back $200 when you sign up for a $45 per month plan, again, after a $5 auto pay credit is factored in. That plan comes with 5GB of data. Finally, consumers can get a Samsung Galaxy S4 for only $100 on Cricket’s 2.5 GB per month plan that runs $35 per month after the $5 auto pay credit.
The deal runs through December 3rd, but Cricket says the offer is only good while supplies last.
source: Cricket Wireless
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Samsung patents several new foldable smartphone designs
Samsung has filed for several new patents for some unorthodox smartphone designs, building off of the folding smartphone concept that everyone’s been speculating over for years now.
The first patent is for a device that rolls up, almost like a scroll. While rolled up, the device is small, portable, and easy to carry around with a small tab and screen. Once unrolled, you’d have a full, mostly traditional screen to work with.
Samsung also filed for a tabbed smartphone patent, which folds completely in half and would use a “tab” on the back as a quick way to open and close apps, or open and close the device. It’s a pretty crazy, futuristic design that we’re probably still years away from seeing in a consumer device, but it’s fun to see where these big companies are putting their R&D money for the future.
There were also a few other patents filed, including one for a bendable smartphone that actually just looks like a melted smartphone. Sometimes you just have to throw some ideas at a wall and see what sticks, you know?
source: Patently Mobile
via: SamMobile
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[Deal] T-Mobile discounts flagship Samsung and LG phones for Cyber Monday
John Legere, who has essentially become Santa Claus for the wireless industry, is spreading more holiday cheer with T-Mobile’s Cyber Monday deals. The carrier is actually hosting what it believes are Cyber Monday Steals. Devices from both Samsung and LG that have high-end specifications are being discounted today only. This comes one week after T-Mobile announced its strategy to lure competitors’ customers towards Team Magenta.
- Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime
- Take $75 off using CYBER75
- Samsung Galaxy S6
- Take $100 off using CYBERDEAL
- Samsung Galaxy Note 5
- Take $100 off using CYBERDEAL
- LG V10
- Take $100 off using CYBERDEAL
There’s still time to get that deal you’ve been eyeing @TMobile before it’s gone! #CyberMonday https://t.co/rirwcVj7fM
— John Legere (@JohnLegere) November 30, 2015
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Expect more deals throughout the month of December as T-Mobile is celebrating the holidays with existing and new customers.
[T-Mobile]
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T-Mobile rolling out messaging improvements to Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge
While many smartphone device owners anxiously wait for Android 6.0 Marshmallow to come to their devices, owners of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Samsung Galaxy Note Edge on T-Mobile are starting to receive a slightly older update. T-Mobile is updating those devices to Android 5.1.1 Lollipop, which may seem like a disappointment for owners of devices that are just over a year old since release. Nevertheless, the update does include some new features from T-Mobile that may be welcomed by owners of the devices.
The update includes T-Mobile’s Advanced Messaging solution that utilizes a standard called Rich Communications Services (RCS) for text messaging. With Advanced Messaging, users can experience “near real-time chat,” they can see when others are typing and when messages are delivered or read, and photos or videos up to 10 MB in size can be sent.
The other addition is the availability of T-Mobile Video Calling. This feature does not require any additional app to make a video call. All that is needed is a compatible device on both ends of a call in order to make a video call. The dialer on a T-Mobile device with Video Calling will display a small camera on a contact’s entry to let users know the service is supported and available.
The latest updates can be installed over Wi-Fi or through Samsung Smart Switch or Samsung Kies. If you own one of these devices on T-Mobile’s network, you can hit the source links below for instructions on how to check your current version and start the process to install the update.
source: T-Mobile (Samsung Galaxy Note 4), T-Mobile (Samsung Galaxy Note Edge)
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Samsung’s Gear S2 has some trouble with the new Nexus devices
As a sophisticated smartphone somebody, it’s en vogue to be showcasing a worthwhile wearable while fidgeting with the latest flagship. To this end, I have found myself making use of two new note-worthies: the Samsung Gear S2 and the Huawei Nexus 6P. The brilliance of this unlikely portable paring is that Korea’s largest OEM has recently expanded support for its Tizen smartwatches to mostly any Android device. Unfortunately, there is one minor complication:
Last week, Samsung pushed out an update to the Gear S2 that enhanced its functionality and features. In order to update the wearable device, users need to do so from their Android phone’s companion “Gear Manager” app. As can be seen above however, this simply won’t work with the Nexus 6P, and by logical inference, with the LG Nexus 5X, or with the Motorola Nexus 6 as they all make use of factory-set encryption.
In fact, based on this notion it won’t work with any encrypted device, something that may soon become a common finding given that Google has more-or-less mandated it for Marshmallow.
When attempting to update the Gear S2 software, the Gear Manager app requests that the smartphone be decrypted for installation to occur. It then provides a link to the Security setting menu, however due to the aforementioned “problem” with the recent Nexus devices, it’s impossible to toggle the necessary setting.
That’s not all, folks…
Another major issue I’ve noticed is that the Gear S2 doesn’t seem to function properly with the Nexus 6P, at least as far as Push notifications go. Despite my manually allowing the wearable to have permission to access notifications and all required requirements, the notifications still won’t get sent to the watch. Yet ironically when I made a phone call earlier today, it was sent to the watch as opposed to the phone.
At one point last week the notifications were coming through: it was just after an update arrived to Gear Manager last Monday. Upon doing so, everything magically worked. Oddly enough however, despite the smartwatch not seeing a firmware update due to the encryption issue, the Gear Manager app then refused to acknowledge there was an update available if I checked. Today, I did a soft reset on the Gear S2 and the problem is back again.
Will Samsung solve the situation?
It’s difficult to say what Samsung will do here. Given that the Gear S2 is designed for a Samsung mobile, the fact that it works at all with another OEM’s product is kind of a bonus. Still, recent updates to the Gear Manager software have made reference to support for “Android M” and thus at the very least Samsung is aware of some bugs that may be present.
In terms of the encryption issue though, there will presumably be very few users who have a Gear S2 and a Nexus device and thus the problem will inevitably be of extremely small priority. This might change though, if mandatory device encryption becomes a status-quo for Marshmallow.
Let’s see what happens…fingers crossed!
Samsung Gear S2
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[Deal] Amazon selling the Galaxy S6 at $399.99 for the next 18 hours
Black Friday might be over, but now Cyber Monday is here with some even sweeter deals. This time around, Amazon is selling a handful of Samsung Galaxy S6’s at a discounted rate for a limited time. The handset comes certified Factory Unlocked and is the 32GB model.
Amazon is selling the devices for 33% off, bringing the retail price down to a meager $399.99 for the next 18 hours.
As a quick refresher, the Galaxy S6 has a 5.1-inch 2560 x 1440 display, an octa-core Exynos 7420 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a 16-megapixel rear camera, and a non-removable 2550mAh battery. It’s also running Android 5.1 with Samsung’s own TouchWiz UI on top.
Keep in mind that this model won’t work on CDMA carriers like Sprint or Verizon, but you should be smooth sailing with either AT&T or T-Mobile.
At $399.99, this handset is a difficult one to pass up. Any takers?
[Amazon]
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Samsung files patents for a scrollable smartphone, a folding tablet, and more
Over the past year, we’ve seen an assortment of Samsung patents filed for all kinds of digital devices that most can dare only dream of. The latest offerings are perhaps the most impressive yet. They were discovered by Patently Mobile, who has requested that tech sites covering the story limit use of the designs to just one image. To that end, we will discuss the main find, however readers are strongly encouraged to visit the source link to see all the other offerings.
The above patent was filed last year in Korea, and according to the source, this past May in the USA. According to the diagram above, the right side (flat) portion will pull out (unfurl) from the base. Patently Mobile writes that, “Samsung notes that the flexible display may include an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) or a flexible LCD display that replaces a glass substrate with a plastic film.”
In additional pictures found on the website, diagrams can be seen with the device fully extended and showing two different elements on each half of the screen: on one side weather widgets and such, and on the right a phone dialer. Yet another image shows the extended “scroll” folded in half thus making it almost like a book, or similar in shape to a device like Lenovo’s Yoga Tab series which also makes use of a barrel-style base.
From an earlier patent-related post covered by Patently Mobile.
Other findings on the Patently Mobile link, unrelated to this specific product design, include another look at what could very well be Project Valley, and yet another design for a bendable smartphone that is seen folding over on itself, almost like a clip-on belt carrying case and cover for a smartphone.
We highly encourage readers to check out all the designs. Clearly Samsung is thinking quite big when it comes to foldable products, and these patents showcase that. We would like to point out that these are ultimately just conceptual diagrams: there is no guarantee any of them will leave a testing laboratory if they are even prototyped at all. Still, the sky’s the limit when it comes to digital dreams…
Cricket slashes Galaxy S model prices in half for limited time
Cricket Wireless, a prepaid service provider which operates on AT&T’s network, is halving the price of three Samsung phones. As part of a Cyber Monday promotion, Cricket will cut the cost of the Galaxy S4, Galaxy S5, and Galaxy S6 in half. Indeed, this means you can score an off-contract Galaxy S4 phone for as low as $99.
““Once-a-year bargains like this enable customers to save money on holiday shopping, so they can put more savings in their pocket or buy more gifts for friends and family. Samsung lovers need to be ready early Monday morning. The early bird gets the phone.”“
The limited-time pricing:
- Samsung Galaxy S4: $99.99 (originally $199.99)
- Samsung Galaxy S5: $199.99(originally $399.99)
- Samsung Galaxy S6: $249.99 (originally $499.99)
The deal starts today, of course, but actually runs until December 3. Cricket says you can also take advantage of the $100 credit for porting your number. In other words, bring your existing phone number to Cricket and you’ll get a $100 credit to be used on accessories, a future bill, or another handset.
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Deal: Samsung Galaxy S6 is just $400 on Amazon right now (Update: accessories too)!
Amazon had some pretty sweet deals on Black Friday, offering the Nexus 6 for just $200, the Moto G (2014) for just $100, or the Nexus 6P for $80 off. But that’s not all. Today Amazon is discounting Samsung’s acclaimed Galaxy S6 down to just $400!
Featuring a striking metal-and-glass design, an excellent high-resolution camera, a beautiful AMOLED display, and Samsung’s powerful Exynos processor, the Galaxy S6 is proof that Samsung is still king of the Android hill. Read our full review to learn more.
Normally listed at $600, today’s deal sees the 32GB version of the Galaxy S6 down to just $400, a great deal for a device that is a little over six months old. This is the US version of the Galaxy S6, including US warranty.
Samsung is also discounting two cool accessories for the Galaxy S6:
- Get the Samsung Wireless Charging Pad with 2A Wall Charger for $23.99 (down from $99.99)
- Get the OtterBox DEFENDER SERIES for Samsung Galaxy S6 for $23.50 (down from $45.50)
This is a Deal of the Day promo, but like the Nexus deal from last week, the stock for this Galaxy S6 deal will likely run out pretty soon. Happy shopping!
AIVAnet 