Articles about Samsung

Two days ago, at the Unpacked event held in New York, with much fanfare, South Korean manufacturer Samsung unveiled the new Galaxy S4. As we have come to expect, the company mostly focused on the added software benefits rather than showcasing the hardware underneath, leaving folks puzzled as to what powers the new Android flagship.

Samsung revealed two processor choices for the Galaxy S4 -- quad-core or octa-core solution depending on the market. Considering the scarcity of octa-core processors coming from high-end chip makers, the Exynos 5 Octa, which is scheduled for production in Q2 represents one-half of the equation. And, as Qualcomm has announced, the Snapdragon 600 represents the other half.

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When I was expecting an exotic dish that would blow my mind just by looking at it, Samsung yesterday served up a plain, simple and frankly overdone spaghetti Bolognese. The new Galaxy S4 might just be the best Android smartphone that Samsung has ever made, but it's not as "awesome" or "innovative" nor filled with "innovation" as the company would lead us to believe. It's a wife with some nip and tuck instead of a hot supermodel.

Instead of being smitten by the Galaxy S4 I was left with a bitter taste in my mouth: Haven't I seen some of those features already in older smartphones? Admittedly, there are some impressive ones out there -- like Dual Camera and Dual Video Call -- but generally speaking Samsung appears to have focused more on delivering a huge number of features rather than focusing on fewer truly innovative ones.

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After months of rumors, Samsung finally took the wraps off Galaxy S4 tonight at the famed Radio City Music Hall and to big overflow crowd in Times Square. The phone is as large as the "Unpacked" event, quite literally -- with 5-inch display. Try clipping that to your belt (how I carry my phones).

The hotly-anticipated smartphone starts shipping at the end of April, eventually available from 327 carriers in 155 countries. All major U.S. carriers will sell the phone: AT&T, Cricket, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular and Verizon Wireless. Among the global partners: Deutsche Telecom, EE, H3G, Orange, Telenor, Telia Sonera, Telefonica, and Vodafone. Like earlier Galaxies, the S4 will be available in 3G and 4G (HSPA+ and LTE) variants and, once again, Americans can expect less than buyers in many international markets.

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Live from New York, it's Samsung Unpacked! This evening at 7 pm EDT, Samsung officially rolls out its highly-anticipated flagship smartphone, and we're there (via live stream). It's not like being present exactly, but close enough.

All times are Eastern for this post, which is in reverse chronological order (e.g., newest first). I also recommend companion story "Why Apple fears Galaxy S IV".

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Early this evening, during a New York soiree, Samsung launched the Galaxy S IV smartphone. The venue is atypical. The South Korean electronics giant usually starts from home, offering new smartphones globally before reaching the United States. Now, in a dramatic change, a flagship Galaxy phone lands on Apple's home turf first.

The companies are in a struggle for smartphone supremacy, with Samsung leading in most countries. With one glaring exception: The United States. Today's venue clearly marks the South Korean manufacturer's intentions to take the share lead from its American rival.

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Phil Schiller's preemptive attack against Samsung's Galaxy S IV, which launches later today, says everything you need to hear about the sorry state of Apple. I'm stunned, because the marketing chief sounds too much like Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer in 2007, when he dismissed iPhone. Denial is the surest sign a company has lost its way, and I don't just mean some executive denying such-and-such product or competitor is any good as distracting marketing ploy. The worst, and Schiller gives it, is corporate denial -- the proverbial ostrich with head in the sand -- about the world around.

Last night, I saw Schiller quoted in the Wall Street Journal. This morning I see posts from Bloomberg and Reuters, too, and a raff of tech blogs and news stories -- largely quoting one of the more mainstream services. The Journal calls Schiller's Android attack a "rare interview". But I see something else: Desperation. Denial. What's missing means much more: The typical leaks and rumors about Apple's next thing that steals the thunder from a competitor. Apple has nothing to show, and the InterWebs are less embracing of rumors. How pathetic is that?

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Brace yourselves because tomorrow Samsung unveils the next Galaxy flagship at the Unpacked event held in New York. And, even if there are more than 24 hours until the announcement, UK mobile operator EE (previously known as Everything Everywhere) has joined the pre-show hype bandwagon with an announcement of its own.

In a Twitter post, featuring the same teaser photo that Samsung released yesterday on its own Twitter account, EE has announced that it will carry the next Galaxy (presumably called Galaxy S IV) but with the added bonus of "superfast" 4G LTE connectivity.

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One measure of any brand's success is how much people talk about it. By that reckoning, Apple's star is fallen, while Samsung's rises. Consider the amount of rumors the past month or so about Galaxy S IV, which launches this week, and contrast that against near silence about anything Apple. Turn back the clock a year and you'll see modest buzz about the S3 but ongoing Apple rumors that stole the thunder from the Consumer Electronics Show, Mobile World Congress and just about every single new mobile product launch. (Yet this year, Apple efforts to overshadow CES failed.)

Then there was the noise, noise, noise from Apple's patent lawsuit against Samsung, which hundreds of bloggers and journalists used to repeatedly label the South Korean company the world's worst worrisome copycat. In the end Samsung's image is no worse for wear, while Apple rumors wear thin. The most prominent recent one is about a watch. For the wrist? What Citigroup analyst Oliver Chen calls a $6 billion business for Apple. Let me make that clear, because shorthand lacks the impact: $6,000,000,000! That's more than iPod generated in fiscal 2012 ($5.6 billion). Yeah, right.

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As if the hype surrounding the next Galaxy flagship was not enough, after a couple of teasers Samsung released yet another one on Tuesday with a picture showing what appears to be the new Galaxy S IV. Well, is it?

Samsung asked us "Who’s ready for the Global Unpacked Event on March 14?", but if that's what "the next big thing" looks like, count me out. All the blogs were raving today with big headlines suggesting that Samsung actually released a teaser showing the Galaxy S IV in a shadowy background, when in fact the device in question is the plain old Galaxy S III bar the headphone grill and likely surrounding sensors and front-facing camera.

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Samsung owned the Oscars, by running a series of long commercials about a software company using Galaxy S3s and Note IIs to create game Unicorn Apocalypse. The TV spots were compelling marketing. You simply must watch the 90-second spot featuring filmmaker Tim Burton looking to make zombie unicorn movie "Horn of Darkness".

Unicorn Apocalypse went live on Google Play today (South Korean time). The "game is the winner of Samsung's contest to create the game discussed in the Samsung TV commercials", the company explains. "As the world crumbles and burns, a lone unicorn wreaks havoc on the last of humanity". Reviewers wreak havoc on the game, with 80 one stars out of 142, as I post. Hey, but they are polarized. Another 37 give Unicorn Apocalypse five stars.

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In the highly saturated U.S. smartphone market, Apple's dominance grew, while iPhone nipped upwards towards Android, for the three months ended in January, according to comScore. The analyst firm, unlike most of its competitors, measures actual subscriber share rather than number of units shipped. Like Gartner's counting actual sales, comScore gives a clearer view of real-world dynamics.

During iPhone 5's first full three months of sales, Apple's share reached 37.8 percent -- up from 36.3 percent in December and 34.3 percent in October. By comparison, second-place Samsung nudged up to 21.4 percent share, from 21 percent sequentially and 19.5 percent for the same three months. HTC, Motorola and LG followed, with respective shares of 9.7 percent, 8.6 percent and 7 percent. All three lost share from December, with LG up ever-so slightly from October. Motorola's loses strongly suggest that at Verizon, carrier with the highly-visible Droid line of smartphones, subscribers shift allegiance to other brands. Good thing Moto has a new evangelist.

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Little less than a week ago, after replying to tweets from disgruntled users, Verizon revealed that the Galaxy Nexus will "soon" receive a software update. The big red did not provide any specifics and, judging by its past track record, "soon" means "months down the road" as updates usually roll out with the speed of a snail cruising down the highway in rush-hour traffic.

But great news! Well, sort of. Less than a month after Google rolled out Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean for the other Nexus devices, the Verizon-branded Galaxy Nexus has also received the latest iteration of the green droid operating system albeit via an OTA (Over-The-Air) update file. The OTA update was uncovered by enthusiasts, but comes straight from Google's servers which means that it might hit all devices "soon" (as Verizon likes to say).

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We've had to wait a tad longer than expected, but it's finally here. The team behind the popular custom Android distribution CyanogenMod unveiled the second monthly release based on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, more than a month after the last build.

Like it usually happens with monthly builds, with CyanogenMod 10.1 M2 the focus is on stability improvements rather than introducing numerous new features that have yet to pass rigorous testing. As a result some of the latest features found in nightly builds may be left behind for future monthly releases in order to provide a custom Android distribution suited for daily-driver use.

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Samsung is set to launch its flagship Galaxy S IV smartphone in New York as part of the Samsung Unpacked event on March 14. In order to start building some hype (not that the successor to the world's best smartphone needs it), the South Korean corporation has unveiled the first in a series of teaser trailers.

The advert introduces us to Jeremy Maxwell, a young child given the task of looking after a cardboard box with Un Packed on the side. In the teaser he is briefly shown the contents of the container, of which we see nothing, aside from the fact that whatever is inside glows very brightly (as someone says on YouTube, "it seems that inside the box there's a photocopier"), and then takes it home with him.

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Google is a hardware company now, something that is too often overlooked. Last week, the search and information company launched its first computer, Chromebook Pixel, which I reviewed overnight yesterday. In August 2011, Google bought Motorola, one of the most iconic American brands and inventor of the cell phone, for $12.5 billion; the deal closed in May 2012. Moto makes handsets and tablets, among other things.

But Motorola is a brand in decline, and one Google should want to reinvigorate if the plan is to release more-compelling, more-innovative Androids. Why should ASUS, LG and Samsung manufacture Nexus devices when Google has a huge hardware subsidiary? Meanwhile, one of the three is a partner out of control. Samsung threatens to fracture the broader Android ecosystem -- a problem I sternly warned about in April 2012 post "Google has lost control of Android". A resurgent Motorola could bring unity back to the Force, as the saying goes. Google bets that Guy Kawasaki can help make that happen.

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