Search Results for: samsung

Phones hit the headlines for lots of reasons -- the biggest, the most expensive, the shiniest, or just the newest. We live in times in which security and privacy are major concerns for people in all walks of life. The activities of the NSA, as revealed by Edward Snowden, served only to heighten paranoia -- the prospect of having one's phone calls and text messages intercepted is something that fills few people with joy. Enter Vysk communicastions' Vysk QS1 phone case which can be used with an iPhone 5 or 5s, and a Samsung Galaxy S5 or S4. The selling point here is that it's not just your phone that's protected, but also your privacy.

The privacy features come in mechanical and software forms. On the mechanical front there are "shutters" that can be used to obscure your phone's front and rear cameras, and there's also a jamming system for microphones. This is described by Vysk as "Lockdown Mode", but you can take things a step further. For $9.95 you can subscribe to "Private Call Mode". This introduces encryption to your texts and phone calls, with an onboard processor taking care of encryption on the fly and sent via the Vysk encrypted network. As Vysk puts it: "No one -- not even Vysk -- will know the identity of the caller or the recipient. No data is collected -- no phone numbers, call times or content - so there is no data to record. Because nothing is recorded, nothing is at risk."

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It is hard to get excited about an Android smartphone nowadays. There are simply too many similar devices on the market. Slightly faster processor? Slightly larger screen? Yawn. At this point, Android is simply evolution rather than revolution. Hell, Google I/O 2014 was rather boring. While the proposed changes to Android "L" are nice, it is hardly anything to get excited about.

Instead, it seems that true innovation is coming from the manufacturers, rather than Google. There have been many cool additions to Android by Samsung, LG and HTC to name a few. Samsung in particular has enhanced the OS immensely with its tweaks and features. Sadly, many critics have lambasted that manufacturer for cluttering the user experience with too many features. While I understand the "less is more" philosophy, I refuse to fault any company for being too ambitious. For the past couple weeks, I have been testing Samsung's ambitions with the Samsung Galaxy S5 (Verizon) and I would like to share that with you.

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Samsung’s Galaxy Gear has been handed a rotten assessment by Apple’s gadget-loving co-founder Steve Wozniak.

The man who started up the technology behemoth with Steve Jobs complained that the smartwatch doesn’t offer the convenience he was hoping and within half a day it was up on eBay ready to be sold at a bargain price.

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The latest tablet from Samsung, the Galaxy Tab S, recently launched, and received considerable attention, as with many products the company does. Samsung also launched an advertising campaign to go along with its latest offering.

"The third installment in Samsung’s new tablet commercial series puts the Galaxy Tab S’s industry-leading display to the test, showing side-by-side comparisons of a wide range of images on the device’s Super AMOLED screen next to traditional LCD screens. These bring the extraordinary Super AMOLED technology to life, resulting in more immersive and breathtaking visual experience", the hardware maker claims.

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As we have come to expect from Samsung in the past couple of years, shortly after launching a new flagship Android smartphone, the South Korean maker will also introduce a smaller model sporting similar design traits and less powerful hardware (and, of course, a lower price tag).

This year is no exception as today Samsung takes the wraps off its new Galaxy S5 mini. The smartphone does not push the boundaries of what mini stands for, featuring a decently-sized 4.5-inch Super AMOLED display and physical dimensions on par with comparable handsets. It also does not skimp on Galaxy S5 features, coming with a fingerprint reader on the front and heart rate monitor on the back.

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Speaking at a press event as part of Samsung's Business Discovery Day, Jae Shin, the vice president of Samsung's Knox mobile security business group, said that wearable devices will take off with or without Apple's help.

Historically, the hype surrounding the launch of a new Apple product has provided the kick-start for interest in a new type of technology. This has previously been the case for smartphones and tablet computers, thanks to the iPhone and iPad, respectively.

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Samsung Galaxy S5 may face stiff competition from the likes of HTC One (M8), LG G3 and Sony Xperia Z2, but it is doing quite well sales-wise in major markets, according to a report released today by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. Apple's older iPhone 5s, however, still edges ahead.

"In the USA the Samsung Galaxy S5 was the second highest selling smartphone in May just behind the iPhone 5s", says Kantar Worldpanel ComTech global strategic insight director Dominic Sunnebo. "Apple loyalty is high in the US, with former iPhone owners making up just 8 percent of Galaxy S5 sales. The majority of those switching to Samsung were LG and HTC users".

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Samsung has told investors to expect lower than anticipated profits for its second quarter results for the fiscal year.

The news reinforces concerns over a year-on-year downturn and finance chief, Lee Sang Hoon has confirmed the financial woes.

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HTC has taken to Twitter to have a dig at Android competitor Samsung’s design flaws when it comes to the latter’s flagship Galaxy S5 smartphone.

The US Twitter account of the Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer posted a picture that pictured its HTC One M8 next to a lineup of three different colored plasters along with the slogan "Introducing the cure for bad design".

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Samsung's Galaxy Tab Pro comes with an 8.4-inch, 10.1-inch and 12.2-inch screen. I reviewed the pen-friendly foil to the largest Tab Pro, the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 earlier this year, and we've also already looked at the Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4.

What you have in the Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2 is quite an interesting concept. A giant sized screen, in tablet format, that at £480 for the 32GB version easily costs as much as a good laptop but which lacks a lot of laptop features. There's no capacious hard drive, no physical keyboard, no support for the huge range of apps you might want to run on Windows or OS X.

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The Samsung Galaxy S5 can get easily lost in a crowd of Android flagships. Compared to any of its well-known rivals, like the HTC One (M8) and Sony Xperia Z2, it fails to differentiate itself when it comes to screen resolution, processor choice and RAM capacity. And, compared to the more recent LG G3, it clearly loses the fight.

Some folks expected Samsung to release the Galaxy S5 with Qualcomm's mighty Snapdragon 805 processor and a higher resolution display, which would have given it the edge over the increasingly fierce competition. Now, the South Korean maker is doing just that, by adding a better version of its flagship smartphone to the lineup. Meet the Galaxy S5 LTE-A.

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Whole home audio does not come cheap, and the big player to date has been the Sonos system. Now Samsung is jumping into the market and has found a major music player to partner with in its implementation of the system.

The electronics maker and music streaming service Spotify are announcing the new Samsung Wireless Audio Speaker range (M7 and M5). "With Spotify Connect built in, you can stream your favorite music and playlists directly from Spotify. Hit play on your mobile or tablet, and the music booms out in any room of your home. You can even play through multiple speakers at the same time", the streaming service states.

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The dust is still settling from Samsung's monumental announcement of its Galaxy Tab S tablets. Make no mistake, the screens on these tablets are a game-changer and sure to push other manufacturers to improve their screen-technology too. While it is surely an iPad competitor, it will likely lag in one place -- accessories. Yes, when it comes to third-party add-ons, Apple's devices are on top.

Don't tell that to Logitech though. Even though the company makes cases and keyboards for the iPad, it supports Android too. Right on the heels of the Galaxy Tab S unveiling, Logitech announces the Type-S, which is a keyboard-case for the 10.5 inch variant.

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When I received an invitation to attend the Samsung Galaxy press event at the Madison Square Garden Theater in NYC, I was both excited and underwhelmed. I was excited because Samsung is a very important company in technology -- it is a trendsetter, for better or worse. Plus, as a big Knicks fan, I can never pass on a chance to go to MSG -- even the theater. So, why was I underwhelmed? Well unfortunately, there were many rumors and leaked images surrounding the event. The prediction by many was Super AMOLED Android tablets. All surprise was probably lost.

When I got to the theater at Madison Square Garden, there was already a long line of tech journalists. Each one was more stereotypical than the next -- tight pants, plaid shirts, backpacks -- all taking selfies in front of Samsung signs. Most journalists fell into two categories -- using iPhones or using Samsung phones. Many using the latter were clearly trying to impress the company, by also wearing Galaxy Gear watches. Me? I was using an LG G3 -- I took it behind enemy lines.

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Samsung is holding an event at the Theater, Madison Square Garden in New York City later today to (presumably) launch the Galaxy Tab S, and maybe additional devices. The tag line for the event is "Tab into Color".

Our own Brian Fagioli will be there, and will be reporting on all of the announcements made by the South Korean firm, but you can also be part of the event as Samsung will be live streaming proceedings.

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