Samsung develops ECG monitoring chip for wearables
Samsung has developed a new health-monitoring chip for wearables. Known as Bio Processor, the chip will enable wearable devices to do much more than just counting steps and calories. It is capable of monitoring electrocardiogram or ECG, measuring blood flow rate and checking body fat.
The Bio Processor system consists of an ECG monitoring sensor, an application processor, flash memory and Bluetooth modules. The chip uses Photo PlethysmoGraph to check the rate of blood flow and bacterial inhibition assay to measure body fat. The combination of all three measurements can alert the wearer if anything unusual is suspected. The ECG pattern and other comprehensive data can prove to be very useful for the health care practitioners in examining their illness.
In addition to keeping a watchful eye on the wearer’s health, the Bio Processor can be used in biometrics-based automation. For example, a person wearing an ECG-based bracelet won’t need to enter security passwords to enter his home or office premises as the bracelet is capable of verifying his presence by storing his unique biometric patterns.
Currently the chip is built on a 45nm process, but the company has already started working on a 20nm Bio Processor, which means that the day isn’t far when our mobile phones and tablets will be capable of measuring our ECGs. The 20nm chip will be more suitable for mobile devices because it will drain less battery.
Source: ETNews
Come comment on this article: Samsung develops ECG monitoring chip for wearables
Samsung Pay might be coming to more brands in the future
Samsung’s mobile payment service, Samsung Pay, launched back in September and has been on a mission to beat out rivals such as Android Pay and Apple Pay. Unlike competitors, Samsung Pay brings the addition of magnetic secure transmission allowing for a much wider compatibility.
The only downside of Samsung Pay is that it only works on specific Samsung devices such as the Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge+ and Galaxy Note 5. However, a new rumor shows positive signs. There’s a possibility that Samsung will bring its payment service to a wider range of brands in the future. Samsung also plans to continue its advertising scheme that it’s not just another Android Pay or Apple Pay, it’s something more special. The rumor comes from the VP of Samsung’s mobile division, Injong Rhee, so it’s safe to assume that this is valid. As always, we’ll keep you updated if we hear any further plans.
Source: ZDNet
Come comment on this article: Samsung Pay might be coming to more brands in the future
Samsung Pay may support phones from other brands in future
Samsung Pay may be one of the most compelling reasons to pick up one of Samsung’s latest flagship smartphones but the Executive Vice President of Samsung’s Mobile Division, Injong Rhee, has revealed that the company might on day open up its payment service to devices built by other manufacturers.
According to Rhee, Samsung is considering opening up its system to its partners and possibly non-Samsung handsets but currently isn’t working with any other brands, as the company is busy with further development of the platform. So there’s nothing on the horizon any time soon, but the door has been left open to collaboration in the future.
“From the beginning, we’ve considered providing Samsung Pay to our partners. But right now global expansion is happening so quickly for Samsung Pay that we are focusing all our energy on deployment.” – Samsung’s Injong Rhee
What isn’t clear is whether Samsung would allow other companies to use its Magnetic Secure Transmission technology, which allows Samsung Pay to work with a range of existing card readers, or if other partners would have to rely on NFC, offering little benefit over the universal Android Pay system. However, we do know that Samsung is planning to bring its magnetic technology to its lower end smartphones in the near future.
See also: Samsung Pay may be heading to less expensive Galaxy phones
Samsung Pay was only launched in South Korea a couple of months ago and has only just made its début in the US. As of last month, the service has over one million users and has seen transactions worth $88 million pass through it. Samsung has also stated plans to support additional financial institutions, online purchases and gift card payments, and may also offer its own card-less options at some point in the future.
Clearly the company has big plans for Samsung Pay and getting its software onto a wider range of devices could be an important step on the road to becoming a bigger player in the financial industry.
Samsung begins rolling out Android 5.1.1 Lollipop to Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 (WiFi)
Samsung tablets are often left out in the cold when it comes to firmware updates, it isn’t unknown for one of its flagship tablets to be 2 or even 3 versions of Android behind Google’s latest release. I’m sure that owners of the Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition will understand where I’m coming from seeing as that device has languished on Android 4.4.2 KitKat since its launch (unless you had the T-Mobile variant). There is cause to rejoice for some, though, because the Android 5.1.1 Lollipop update is finally available to download for the SM-P600 (WiFi) variant.
The Android 5.1.1 firmware update comes in at around 1.3GB and is aimed at the Spanish model with the PHE product code. The update has a build date of October 23, with a change list number of 101969629 for what its worth. Because Samsung doesn’t hand out change logs, it’s virtually impossible to figure what they have changed or fixed in the new firmware.
If you have the Spanish version of the SM-P600, it might be worth your while going into Settings, About Phone and tapping the Software Update tab to see if the update is available. If it isn’t (or you have a model from a different region but with the same model number) and you are impatient, you can always just download the firmware(here) and flash it manually via Odin.
Source: SamMobile
Come comment on this article: Samsung begins rolling out Android 5.1.1 Lollipop to Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 (WiFi)
Samsung CEO has called for a change in culture at Korean manufacturer
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();
Yesterday, we heard an analyst predict that Samsung would exit the smartphone business in 5 years because it was suffering from the phenomenon known as “The Innovator’s Dilemma” – it was suggested that Samsung has failed to innovate for future consumer needs, rather than current consumer needs. As it turns out, Samsung is aware of the strife it is in and most recently, Kwon Oh-hyun the Samsung CEO has called for a change in culture at the manufacturer. Kwon said:
“We should adapt ourselves to the new environment instead of sticking to our success in the past. I believe now is the time for us to turn ourselves into a first mover from a fast follower.”
This might just be where the rumours of an extreme downsizing of Samsung’s workforce is coming from as the company is looking to streamline the company and improve efficiency. The previous figure of 30% was also confirmed by Business Korea who originally reported this story, though they are calling it relocation rather than strictly lay-offs. Either way, it looks like Samsung has had enough with all its losses and wants to find a way to take its Android crown for good.
What do you think about Samsung changing its culture? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Business Korea via Phandroid
The post Samsung CEO has called for a change in culture at Korean manufacturer appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Samsung’s latest ATIV laptop gets a 4K screen, discrete graphics
Samsung’s ATIV Book 9 series has mostly targeted Ultrabook buyers with lighweight, powerful and pricey models like the ATIV Book 9 Plus. However, the company’s latest model, the ATIV Book 9 Pro is now suited for demanding users like gamers and graphics pros, thanks to workstation-class specs. It’s equipped with the latest sixth-gen Intel Core i7 CPUs, a 15.6-inch 4K display with optional NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M graphics and 6.5 hours of battery life, all squeezed into a 4.45 pound all-aluminum body. Like other ATIV Book 9 models, it also features a slim, tapered front profile.
Is Jump! On Demand the solution for your smartphone love?
When T-Mobile announced the Jump! On Demand program back in June, I was stoked. Like many Android fans, I have a new phone addiction. Leasing phones just makes sense when you switch so often. But does T-Mobile’s radical idea follow through in practice?
Despite my reservations of being “locked in” with a carrier again (yes, JoD does involve an 18-month contract – more on that later), I jumped in anyways. After making two Jumps, I thought that sharing my experience may be valuable to anyone who is curious about the program. Do I regret jumping in, or have I affirmed that JoD is the best thing ever?
Firstly, let’s quickly recap what the program is about. The basis of JoD is phone financing (monthly payments until the full price is paid off). Only, with the program, you don’t have the intention to pay the phone off. You’re on it because you want to easily upgrade (Jump) to the latest and greatest. T-Mobile allows you to upgrade 3 times in a 12-month period.
Oh, and before I go on…one question you may have is if the first phone you get upon joining JoD considered your first upgrade (thus leaving only two more for the next 12 months)? Fortunately, no. After joining, your first upgrade is the next phone you switch to. Phew.
So then, what’s the catch? This is the fun part. Your commitment to the program is the same as committing to financing a phone. More specifically, the monthly payment for each phone on JoD is based on an 18-month period. Each phone has a different monthly payment, because each phone has a different full retail price.
What’s cool is that if you feel like saving a few bucks over a period, you can choose to upgrade to a phone that has a lower cost. Your monthly payment fluctuates depending which phone you have.
What’s also cool is that the service side of things is independent. It remains unaffected by the whole switcheroo. T-Mobile’s only requirement here is that you are in fact on a post-paid service (aka Simple Choice plan) before you can be on JoD.
In case you’re still waiting for the catch, here it is: Each time you upgrade to another phone, you’re essentially restarting that 18-month payment plan commitment. Therefore, T-Mobile continually has you locked in (which is more important to them than anything) and you can’t simply walk away. It’s more of a lease-to-buy thing. You’re done when the phone is paid off.
But as long as they keep up their end of the bargain, why would you want to leave? That was precisely my reasoning. I mean, how else can you so simply walk into a store, give them your current phone, and then walk out a couple minutes later with a newer phone without paying anything?
It is in fact this simple. You don’t even need to bring back the phone’s packaging, T-Mobile only takes the phone back (not even the charger). And also from my experience, the store representatives don’t put priority on new customers. Hence, if you’re in line on a phone launch day, your position to get that phone is honored.
At this point you’re probably like, come on Josh, it can’t all be unicorns and rainbows. You’re right. Here is the biggest con about the program: Phone choices. T-Mobile has to greenlight which phones become available on JoD. This is the current list of Android phones available on the program:
- Samsung Galaxy S6
- Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge
- Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+
- Samsung Galaxy Note 4
- Samsung Galaxy Note 5
- LG G4
- LG V10
Aside from the list being a Samsung-fest, you must notice some other issues. One of these is: Where the heck is the HTC One M9? I mean, it wasn’t the most popular flagship, but “flagship” it was. How about the newly launched One A9?
I also asked T-Mobile on that one, via Twitter, and got a fairly canned response:
Another concern with that list is from knowing that there’s more OEMs in the Android world. This year may not have been the best year to launch JoD. There’s an industry shift towards unlocked phones. You won’t find a Motorola phone (with the exception of the Droid Turbo 2 and Maxx 2) or Nexus in carrier stores anymore. Sony sort of dropped out of the US, so T-Mobile isn’t renewing its Xperia offering from last year. And the OnePlus 2? Forget about it.
This is quite a problem, as it is likely that those who would be enticed by a program like JoD are also aware of other offerings in the market.
Lastly, what if you wanted a cheaper phone in T-Mobile’s inventory? Why couldn’t you be someone who wants to keep up with the latest and greatest of mid-end phones? If T-Mobile’s ideal is to be less restrictive, why is the JoD availability list so limited?
So do I regret jumping into JoD? Not yet at least. Starting with an S6 Edge and then jumping to a Note5 and V10 has been very entertaining. I hadn’t previously had a Samsung or LG phone, so it gave me a chance to see what they’re all about. And the process of switching is as easy as I lead to believe.
Would I recommend it to other Android addicts? I would, but with a strong caution about phone availability. T-Mobile can bolster all it wants about the opportunity with JoD, but without a wide range of phone choices, the purpose is somewhat defeated.
The post Is Jump! On Demand the solution for your smartphone love? appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Samsung sells 180,000 Gear S2 smartwatches in under eight hours, report says
Samsung’s Gear S2 is proving to be an exciting smartwatch, as a new report is saying that over 180,000 Gear S2’s have been sold in China. All of these sales were said to have taken place within a period of eight hours, proving that the Gear S2 is a big hit among Chinese fans.
All of these sales were made through http://www.JD.com, a major online retailer in the People’s Republic. When you boil the numbers down, JD was selling a whopping 22,500 units per hour. The online retailer isn’t the only avenue for buying the Gear S2 in China, though. It can be bought via many retail stores in the country, but the demand for Samsung’s new smartwatch is so high that stores are running out of stock and complaining of shortages.
The Gear S2 and Gear S2 Classic are being sold for 2198 yuan ($350USD) and 2398 yuan ($390USD), respectively.
One thing to keep in mind about these high numbers is that, while Samsung may have made the initial sale, there’s no telling how many of these people will return their Gear S2 after using for it a couple of days. With that in mind, it’d be interesting to see a final report on the actual sales after about 30 days instead of just seeing the hype.
Have you picked up a Gear S2?
source: Tizen Indonesia
via: SamMobile
Come comment on this article: Samsung sells 180,000 Gear S2 smartwatches in under eight hours, report says
Samsung Galaxy S7 may cost 10% less than its predecessor
During a press conference at Samsung’s recent anniversary ceremony, the company’s Vice Chairman Kwon Oh-Hyun said that change is a must in order to stay in this business. One of the first changes we could see is a restructuring of prices, which could begin with the upcoming Galaxy S7.
Now nothing has been confirmed, but rumors are pointing to a 10% price cut for the Galaxy S7, compared to the launch price of the Galaxy S6. The momentum behind great smartphones at lower price tags is the greatest it has ever been. Competitors such as Motorola, OnePlus, Huawei and many more have begun filling up the space. By including a lower price-tag on the Galaxy S7, it will allow it to directly compete against lower-priced rivals such as the Moto X Style, OnePlus 2, OnePlus X, and Google’s newest Nexus devices. This may indeed be what Samsung is aiming for.
Signs are pointing to a January release for the Galaxy S7, which is earlier than the company normally holds its launch event. Recent rumors include a 12MP or 20MP camera, a new processor, new edge variants and USB Type-C. We’ll find out more regarding the handset over the next few months, so stay tuned!
Source: Weibo
Via: G For Games
Come comment on this article: Samsung Galaxy S7 may cost 10% less than its predecessor
Huawei sees big growth in Europe, while Samsung and Apple lock down the US
As we enter the final months of 2015, the smartphone market is quite a different place than it was at the start of the year. Kantar Worldpanel has identified a couple of important trends, noting a big market shift in Europe while the US consolidates behind the two largest players.
In the US, Apple and Samsung now account for 66 percent of all smartphone sales, and combined account for 9 out of 10 of the top selling models in the US. According to the research, US customers looking to upgrade next year slightly prefer Apple over Samsung, by a margin of 43 to 34 percent respectively.
The majority of US consumers are looking either at an iPhone or Galaxy handset for next year’s upgrade.
That said, Android’s market share continues to grow in the US, up from 62 percent a year ago to 66 percent in Q3. Meanwhile, iOS has shrunk from 33 percent to 29 percent of the market. The situation is different in Europe, where Android has been losing ground to iOS in some of the continent’s largest markets. The United Kingdom now has a greater portion of iOS users than at any point before, while Germany has seen a 5.5 percent drop in Android’s share from a year before.
However, some Android manufacturers have been able to buck this trend to leap up in market share. Huawei has risen to second place out of all Android brands in Europe in Q3, up from sixth place in 2014. Huawei is also the top brand in China at the moment, followed by Xiaomi, meaning that the company is gaining a substantial international presence.
“With a wider portfolio of products ranging from the high-end all the way to the low-end, Huawei made particular inroads in Spain and Italy.” – Carolina Milanesi, chief of research at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech
Huawei handsets:
.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 (min-width : 480px)
body #page .rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul
width: 100% !important;
@media only screen and (max-width : 480px)
body #page .rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos
width: 100%;
float: none !important;
overflow-x: auto;
overflow-y: hidden;
body #page .rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul
overflow: auto;
max-height: none;
body .rvs_wrapper.cbc-latest-videos ul li
float: left !important;
clear: none !important;
Huawei has managed to leap over several of its competitors in Europe as they have struggled with sales this year. HTC, Motorola (Lenovo) and Sony has all seen their shares slip as their latest products have not struck the same chord with consumers. Both HTC and Sony have reported particular poor mobile financial results this year, posing questions about how much longer these companies will remain interested in the smartphone market.
2015 has been testing for a number of smartphone manufacturers and 2016 could be a make or break year for a few of them. If you want to sift through some more of the data yourself, check out this interactive data visualisation below.
http://www.kantarworldpanel.com/global/smartphone-os-market-share/
AIVAnet 