Articles about Samsung

South Korean maker Samsung is now rolling out the Android 4.4.2 KitKat update for its Galaxy Note 3 phablet. The software upgrade arrives more than two months after Google announced the latest version of its mobile operating system.

The code that Samsung is rolling out now is identical to the version that leaked earlier, and is available for the international (SM-9005) model of the Galaxy Note 3. Unsurprisingly, the first stage of the roll out commences in Poland.

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One of the most memorable presentations given at CES this year saw Samsung showing off its latest curved screen TV. Sadly for the tech giant it was Michael Bay's on-stage brain fart that most people took away from the talk (if I can just leave you with the delightful image of taking away someone's fart with you...), but Samsung would much rather we concentrated on the display technology it was showcasing. It excited a great many people, and for some it is seen as the way ahead and something we could see a lot more off. I sincerely hope we don't, particularly on the desktop.

Why? There are lots of reasons that I am opposed to the idea of curved screens, particularly when used for TVs and monitors -- smartphones are slightly different, but I'm not too keen on that either. Curved screens are not really a brand spanking new technology; there have been curved cinema screens for a number of years now, and I can see the benefit of the curve in this setting. Used in a theater the curve eliminates the problem of trying to find a seat right in the center because it matters far less where you are in relation to the screen. Everyone gets an equally good view of the action. It is a democratizing technology. So why am I down on it?

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This was a week dominated by CES, and there were a huge number of announcements about upcoming hardware. Lenovo took the wraps off the (slightly) heavyweight ThinkPad Tablet 8, but any excess weight was countered by the ultra-light ThinkPad X1 Carbon ultrabook. HP's range of business desktops even included one device running Android, while Nvidia's new Tegra K1 promises much for the mobile market.

Competitor Qualcomm revealed two processors designed for entertainment while Pure's Connect platform opens up the possibility of using any streaming music service with its wireless speakers. Smart TVs are set to benefit from the addition of Roku software, but it seems that the technology du jour is 4K, with a new 4K laptop from Toshiba joining the streams of 4K TVs and monitors.

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Michael Bay -- yes, he of Transformers fame -- managed to get Samsung some attention with his performance at CES 2014... but not necessarily the sort of attention the company was hoping for. The idea behind the director's appearance was that he would showcase Samsung's latest range of curved-screen TVs. As a director, Bay probably has an eye for such details. He would seem to be well-positioned to extol the virtues of the new ultra-high definition. But it seems that speech making is not a forte of his. A mini-meltdown saw him fleeing the stage after an apparent auto-cue problem.

After attempting to "wing it", Bay fluttered off stage muttering "I'm sorry". He appeared incredibly uncomfortable from the moment he started speaking, but it wasn’t long before he said that the text was "all off". The situation was handled slightly more professionally by the Samsung representative who tried to cajole Bay into explaining how the curved screen would enhance the viewing experience -- but to no avail.

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Retrofitting tablets with keyboard cases is nothing new. Since the advent of the iPad, users have been trying to use Apple's device as a laptop replacement. For the most part, it can work perfectly -- as long as you get the right keyboard case.

Logitech is one of my favorite companies and it has been making quality iPad accessories for years. I am currently loving the Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Folio case for the iPad Air. As great as that setup is, I have longed for a larger screen and wider keyboard. Well, Samsung delivered the bigger screen with the TabPRO and NotePRO tablets and now Logitech delivers the wider keyboard with the Logitech PRO.

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Battery life has long been the Achilles' heel for Windows laptops, as manufacturers have mostly focused on other areas such as outright performance, portability or touchscreens. Consumers who have needed to use their device unplugged for a considerable amount of time have had to attach an external or extended capacity battery, turn to an Apple MacBook (Air) or even switch to a tablet.

Samsung, though, is looking to change the perception that Windows laptops and great battery life do not mix. The South Korean maker's latest ultrabook, the ATIV Book 9 2014 Edition that was just unveiled at CES, touts 14 hours of battery life. If the device can deliver on its promise, it will be a game changer.

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When it comes to tablets (and other things), size matters. After all, a tablet, like other computers, is a tool. If you go to Sears for a screwdriver, you will find tiny ones for eyeglasses and enormous ones for automotive and lord knows what. In other words, you buy the tool that meets your needs. Much the way that different-sized screwdrivers have different purposes, so do tablets.

For instance, if you want to create content, a larger tablet like an iPad Air or Surface 2 would be ideal. Conversely, if you only want to consume media, maybe you can get by with a Nexus 7. But what if you need your tablet for serious business? Like, multiple-windows-open-simultaneously type business? The bigger the better then, right? Well, Samsung announces that it wants to meet the unmet needs of these users, with the Samsung Galaxy NotePRO and TabPRO -- 12.2 inches of fondle-friendly productivity.

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You may only think of Opera as a web browser, an alternative to the bigger players like Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer, but the company does a lot more. In fact, the Norwegian browser maker is invested heavily in the entertainment market.

Today Opera announces it has reached a deal to bring its TV Store to select Samsung Blu-ray players, adding hundreds of apps to the living room.

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It’s the eve of 2014 and, let’s face it, tech news is scant on this day. Silicon Valley has taken a hiatus, but will return next week, with the kickoff of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. But a holiday is always good for one thing -- checking the search engines to see how each is celebrating the event.

Google today has gone all 1970’s on us, with dancing and a disco ball. The animated numbers 2 0 1 3, are having a blast as the speakers pound out an unheard rhythm and the mirrored ball spins above. One would think we were on the verge of welcoming in 1977, and you can almost hear the Chic music playing in the distance, but actually it's 4 that's waiting impatiently for its chance to take over 3's spot on the colorful dance floor.

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Unsurprisingly tablets proved to be a very popular gift this Christmas. According to mobile measurement firm Flurry, device activations were up by 63 percent on Christmas day, compared to any other average day in December.

Flurry’s activation figures cover Amazon, Apple, Acer, and Samsung and reveal an interesting trend. While all four tech firms enjoyed a major bump on the day, activations were much lower this year than in the previous two years.

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Being slightly late to the party when it comes to posting my list of favorite tech kit for this year means you'll probably have seen some of these things on other people's lists too -- blame spending Christmas in an internet free zone.

But hey, this is very much a personal thing, so these are my particular selections and the reasons why I've chosen them.

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Good commercials can do several things. They can entertain you, endear you to the brand, and make you covet the product they are trying to sell. The new Samsung Galaxy Gear video does none of those things.

My colleague Alan Buckingham watched the video and declared Samsung Galaxy Gear wants to improve your social life. My impression is slightly different. The guy wearing the watch is a major creep with stalker tendencies. He gets the girl at the end of the video, sure, but to be honest, I fear for her safety. Here’s how the sinister events unfold.

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I have previously gone on record as being one of those people -- the crowd that wants a smartwatch. My reasoning, however, differs greatly from what Samsung is pushing in its latest Galaxy Gear ad. As a runner, I am an avid wearer of the little wrist accessory. My kind are nothing, if not anal about time, distance and pace; and a watch that can handle an app like MapMyRun while utilizing GPS is a glorious prospect.

Samsung, on the other hand, has gone in a different direction to push its technology. The hardware maker instead goes after the singles crowd, spending two and a half minutes telling guys why this watch will help their social lives, and also, quite possibly, letting women know why they should worry about it.

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I've worked my way through a fair share of tablets over the years. An iPad 2 with its 9.7 inch screen, a Sony Tablet S with a slightly smaller 9.4 inch display, followed by a series of 7-inchers -- the Nexus 7, Tesco's Hudl and  the GOCLEVER Aries 7o. Oh, and the Surface Pro; I have a tendency to forget this is a 10.6 inch tablet as I use it in laptop mode.

All of my tablets have been used for much the same things: checking email, writing the odd document, viewing photos, watching videos, updating Facebook and Twitter, browsing the web and playing a few games. Taking the Surface Pro out of the equation, I've always found the circa 10-inch tablets too big. I thought I was settled on 7 inches as offering the best dimensions. It seems I might have been wrong.

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I owned an iPhone 3GS for a couple of years, and loved it. But when the time came to replace it, instead of upgrading to an iPhone 4S, I decided to go for Samsung’s new Galaxy S II instead. The S II’s reviews were glowing -- many calling it an iPhone 5 killer (suggesting it was already way better than whatever Apple did next) -- and having played around with it in store, I was sold. Apple was the past, Samsung was the future, and this was the phone for me.

When the S III came out, I duly upgraded to that -- well, why wouldn’t? I’ll be honest, the beefed up size was a little off-putting at first, but the phone was great; a truly worthy successor. Recently though the device has started to misbehave, turning itself off without warning, and requiring constant charging, clear signs it was time to upgrade again. Going for the Galaxy S4 would have been the obvious choice, or maybe -- like many of my colleagues here at BetaNews -- I could have switched to a Windows Phone. The Lumia 925 is certainly appealing. The truth though is there was only one phone I really, really wanted and yesterday it arrived. A shiny new iPhone 5s in Space Gray.

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