Samsung Galaxy S5 metal build confirmed by Vice President?

VP gets loose-lipped at cocktail party.

Rumours that Samsung will opt for a premium metal build for the Galaxy S5 looked a smidgeon more nailed-on today, with the news that the company’s Vice President has been spilling the beans about its plans at what sounds like a boozy soiree.
A report in the Korean press claims that Dong-hoon Chang, Samsung’s Vice President and Head of Design Strategy, revealed (almost) all at a New Year’s Eve party at Seoul’s Shilla Hotel.

According to the site, Dong-hoon told the great and good assembled that the Galaxy S5 will indeed be made out of “new material”. That chimes with long-standing rumours that the next-gen Galaxy S smartphone will ditch the range’s plastic construction for a metal frame.

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Samsung backing wrong horse with flexible Galaxy phone, suggests survey

Punters won’t bend to whims of phone-maker, it seems.

Samsung may want to reconsider pinning its hopes on flexible phones or reserve the tech for devices other than its flagship handsets, after a study revealed strong levels of antipathy towards the nascent technology among punters.
After years of speculation, the handset-maker brought the first-ever curved screen smartphone to market earlier this year in the form of the Galaxy Round.

Samsung, which has shown off bendy smartphone prototypes at trade shows for some time now, is expected to make good on its tentative foray into the flexi-phone market by following up the Round with a bendable smartphone later this year.

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Samsung Galaxy S5 concept packs flexible screen and aluminium unibody

Another designer gets all ‘what-if?’ on us.

The next flagship Galaxy S smartphone will be a radical break with form. Or at least it will be if the Samsung-fixated sorts at galaxys5info.com have anything to do with it.
A designer at the site has worked up a concept phone packing the flexible screen technology that’s been earmarked for Samsung phones for what feels like ages. But which has been omitted so far, presumably because it’s not market-ready yet.

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Samsung Galaxy S3 gets Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and Galaxy Gear support

One-time flagship phone now plays nice with smartwatch.

Samsung has made Android 4.3, aka Jelly Bean, available for UK editions of the Galaxy S3, bringing some swell new features to the smartphone as well as support for the Galaxy Gear smartwatch.
The software is available to download over the air now for Galaxy S3 owners who bought their handsets off-contract. To get it, just head to 'Settings' and select ‘More’. Done that? Good. Then go to ‘About device’ and choose ‘Software update’ to start the download.
If you got your phone via a monthly contract, you’ll have to wait until your carrier approves the update. That's having first ensured it plays nice with whatever bloatware and services they’ve stealthily dumped on your Galaxy S3.

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Samsung Galaxy Round to be first flexible phone?

Round the bend.

The name of the first-ever flexible screen-toting smartphone might just have leaked online, ahead of its debut later this month.
According to sources cited by South Korean site Asiae, Samsung will opt for the name 'Galaxy Round', which we’re guessing alludes to the curved effect of the display.

The report, which puts the phone's asking price at $900, also claims that it's spec sheet will closely resemble the Galaxy Note 3 and that it will be made in very limited quantities.
This chimes with earlier leaks that claimed this was down to low production yields for the screen tech, as well as Samsung's wariness of overcommitting to technology that has yet to be properly tested with the public.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 3 bundled with free Galaxy Gear smartwatch

Flavor Flav-style massive timepiece up for grabs gratis.

One of the UK’s largest retailers is offering Samsung’s debut smartwatch for free when customers shell out for the Galaxy Note 3, amid reports that consumers’ response to the smartphone peripheral is more than a little disappointing.
Under the terms of Phones 4U’s offer, gadget-fanciers who buy the Note 3 on a two-year monthly contract at £42.99 per month before Thursday (that’s November 14th, date fans) qualify for a free Samsung Galaxy Gear.
Depending on where you do your gadget-shopping, the smartwatch is normally priced between £240 and £299 or so.
Alternatively, you can pick up Note 3 for £39.99 per month and shell out £99.99 upfront for the Gear. [Affects voiceover voice] ‘It really is up to you’.
Phones 4U’s promotion comes after evidence that the Gear was being returned by a frightening one out of three customers at Best Buy stores in the US, for reasons that have yet to be fully determined.

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Samsung Galaxy S5 concept packs flexible screen and aluminium unibody

Another designer gets all ‘what-if?’ on us.

The next flagship Galaxy S smartphone will be a radical break with form. Or at least it will be if the Samsung-fixated sorts at galaxys5info.com have anything to do with it.
A designer at the site has worked up a concept phone packing the flexible screen technology that’s been earmarked for Samsung phones for what feels like ages. But which has been omitted so far, presumably because it’s not market-ready yet.
The 5.3-inch flexible OLED YOUM screen wraps around the edges of the phone, with touch-sensitive controls where you’d normally expect to find a physical volume rocker. The standard physical home button has gone the way of all flesh too and is replaced by a touch sensor.

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Samsung Galaxy S5 to pack 16-megapixel camera?

Camera details filter through.

Samsung’s Galaxy S4 has been on sale just shy of six months or so now. But already it seems the handset’s maker’s next flagship smartphone is starting to take shape.
Over recent weeks, a slew of reports have attested that the Galaxy S5 will pack iPhone 5S-style biometric security technology. But that it will scan users’ eyeballs and not fingerprints to determine their identity.

Depending on who you believe, the S5 is also rumoured to feature a faux-leather, Galaxy Note 3-style back, an aluminium unibody construction and possibly even a flexible display. Oh and could sport the octa-core Exynos processor that some expected to debut in the S4 too.
Today, we’ve been graced with some details about the S5’s camera. And assuming they’re on-point, it sounds like it could be one of its standout features.
According to Unwired View, which picked up the story from ET News, the S5 is almost certain to pack a 16-megapixel camera – up from the 13-megapixel snapper that features on the S4.
What’s less clear is who’ll be making it. The site claims that Samsung’s LSI wing and Sony are competing to get the nod, with obvious benefits and disadvantages either way. Not least the depth of experience with SLRs that Sony would bring.

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Samsung Galaxy Gear returns running at 1 in 3, says US retailer

First iterations of new gadgets are never perfect. But even so…

The Samsung Galaxy Gear has left early adopters unimpressed, it seems, with return rates at a cripplingly high level at one of the US’s largest gadget retailers.
According to a hush-hush doc procured from Best Buy reps by Geek, Samsung’s heavily marketed smartphone accessory is being brought back by 30 per cent of buyers.
The document states: "The Galaxy Gear attachment rate within Best Buy is the highest among all channels; however the overall return rate is trending above 30 per cent,
The reason for the slew of unhappy customers isn’t yet clear. But it’s certainly something Best Buy is keen to discern and has asked Samsung to help it investigate.
Until we find out for sure, our money is on the fact that right now very few Galaxy kits support the Gear; just the Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy Note 3. More importantly, this isn’t immediately apparent unless you closely follow news on tech blogs, so there's a good chance that punters are buying it without realising.
On the positive side, the range of supported kits is set to expand soon enough when Samsung rolls out Android 4.3 to the S3 and Note 2, both of which are expected to join the Galaxy Gear club soon.
Samsung is also set to add support for Samsung's Galaxy S4 Mini, S4 Active, Mega 5.8, Mega 6.3, and S4 Zoom at the end of the month with a separate update.
Reviews of the Gear in the tech press were distinctly average, with many highlighting a lack of third-party apps and the fact that Gmail is not supported as key deficiencies.

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Samsung Galaxy Gear returns running at 1 in 3, says US retailer

First iterations of new gadgets are never perfect. But even so…

The Samsung Galaxy Gear has left early adopters unimpressed, it seems, with return rates at a cripplingly high level at one of the US’s largest gadget retailers.
According to a hush-hush doc procured from Best Buy reps by Geek, Samsung’s heavily marketed smartphone accessory is being brought back by 30 per cent of buyers.
The document states: "The Galaxy Gear attachment rate within Best Buy is the highest among all channels; however the overall return rate is trending above 30 per cent,
The reason for the slew of unhappy customers isn’t yet clear. But it’s certainly something Best Buy is keen to discern and has asked Samsung to help it investigate.
Until we find out for sure, our money is on the fact that right now very few Galaxy kits support the Gear; just the Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy Note 3. More importantly, this isn’t immediately apparent unless you closely follow news on tech blogs, so there's a good chance that punters are buying it without realising.
On the positive side, the range of supported kits is set to expand soon enough when Samsung rolls out Android 4.3 to the S3 and Note 2, both of which are expected to join the Galaxy Gear club soon.
Samsung is also set to add support for Samsung's Galaxy S4 Mini, S4 Active, Mega 5.8, Mega 6.3, and S4 Zoom at the end of the month with a separate update.
Reviews of the Gear in the tech press were distinctly average, with many highlighting a lack of third-party apps and the fact that Gmail is not supported as key deficiencies.

Read more »

Samsung Galaxy Round to be first flexible phone?

Round the bend.

The name of the first-ever flexible screen-toting smartphone might just have leaked online, ahead of its debut later this month.
According to sources cited by South Korean site Asiae, Samsung will opt for the name 'Galaxy Round', which we’re guessing alludes to the curved effect of the display.

The report, which puts the phone's asking price at $900, also claims that it's spec sheet will closely resemble the Galaxy Note 3 and that it will be made in very limited quantities.
This chimes with earlier leaks that claimed this was down to low production yields for the screen tech, as well as Samsung's wariness of overcommitting to technology that has yet to be properly tested with the public.
JK Shin, co-CEO at Samsung Electronics, is reputed to have told Korean press sorts to expect the tech giant’s first flexible smartphone this week.
The company, which was joined by LG in making a firm announcement about flexi-screen tech earlier today, has been touting bendy phones as concept devices at trade shows for years.

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Samsung Galaxy S5 concept packs flexible screen and aluminium unibody

Another designer gets all ‘what-if?’ on us.

The next flagship Galaxy S smartphone will be a radical break with form. Or at least it will be if the Samsung-fixated sorts at galaxys5info.com have anything to do with it.
A designer at the site has worked up a concept phone packing the flexible screen technology that’s been earmarked for Samsung phones for what feels like ages. But which has been omitted so far, presumably because it’s not market-ready yet.
The 5.3-inch flexible OLED YOUM screen wraps around the edges of the phone, with touch-sensitive controls where you’d normally expect to find a physical volume rocker. The standard physical home button has gone the way of all flesh too and is replaced by a touch sensor.

Read more »

Samsung Galaxy S5 concept packs flexible screen and aluminium unibody

Another designer gets all ‘what-if?’ on us.

The next flagship Galaxy S smartphone will be a radical break with form. Or at least it will be if the Samsung-fixated sorts at galaxys5info.com have anything to do with it.
A designer at the site has worked up a concept phone packing the flexible screen technology that’s been earmarked for Samsung phones for what feels like ages. But which has been omitted so far, presumably because it’s not market-ready yet.
The 5.3-inch flexible OLED YOUM screen wraps around the edges of the phone, with touch-sensitive controls where you’d normally expect to find a physical volume rocker. The standard physical home button has gone the way of all flesh too and is replaced by a touch sensor.

Read more »

Samsung Galaxy S5 concept packs flexible screen and aluminium unibody

Another designer gets all ‘what-if?’ on us.

The next flagship Galaxy S smartphone will be a radical break with form. Or at least it will be if the Samsung-fixated sorts at galaxys5info.com have anything to do with it.
A designer at the site has worked up a concept phone packing the flexible screen technology that’s been earmarked for Samsung phones for what feels like ages. But which has been omitted so far, presumably because it’s not market-ready yet.
The 5.3-inch flexible OLED YOUM screen wraps around the edges of the phone, with touch-sensitive controls where you’d normally expect to find a physical volume rocker. The standard physical home button has gone the way of all flesh too and is replaced by a touch sensor.

Read more »

Samsung Galaxy S5 concept packs flexible screen and aluminium unibody

Another designer gets all ‘what-if?’ on us.

The next flagship Galaxy S smartphone will be a radical break with form. Or at least it will be if the Samsung-fixated sorts at galaxys5info.com have anything to do with it.
A designer at the site has worked up a concept phone packing the flexible screen technology that’s been earmarked for Samsung phones for what feels like ages. But which has been omitted so far, presumably because it’s not market-ready yet.
The 5.3-inch flexible OLED YOUM screen wraps around the edges of the phone, with touch-sensitive controls where you’d normally expect to find a physical volume rocker. The standard physical home button has gone the way of all flesh too and is replaced by a touch sensor.

Read more »

Samsung Galaxy Gear: New screens confirm specs

App unveiled.

Samsung’s Galaxy Gear is all set for its official unveiling on September 4th. But the chaps at @evleaks are still unearthing the goods about Sammy’s forthcoming new smart watch, this time revealing screen shots of the device’s smartphone control app.
The pair of screens confirm a string of info which has already leaked about the timepiece. NFC is mentioned, with a diagram showing a Samsung phone and a Galaxy Gear pairing via touch.

A ‘My Apps’ tab supports rumours that the Galaxy Gear will have its own suite of dedicated add-ons. And, interestingly, there’s a ‘Find My Watch’ function mentioned too.
How this works is as yet unclear, but we’d be willing to bet it could be a potential flashpoint with Apple, whose ‘Find My iPhone’ feature is hugely popular.

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Samsung Galaxy Gear photos leak, fitness monitor highlighted

Not much of a looker. And pretty huge at 3-inches too.

Images purportedly showing a prototype of the soon-to-land Samsung Galaxy Gear have leaked online, ahead of the device’s launch tomorrow.
Sourced by VentureBeat, the work-in-progress smartwatch appears to blend industrial design aesthetics with the, um, practical, unshowy looks of Garmin’s sportswatches and packs a whopping three-inch screen that has seen it termed unappealingly bulky in some quarters.
But while it’s indisputably not much of a looker, it may yet emerge that what we’re looking at is unrecognisable from the finished product. That's certainly been the case with Samsung Galaxy smartphone prototypes, with the square-looking test models bearing little resemblance to the curved kits that eventually emerged into the spotlight at launch.

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Samsung Galaxy Gear colour options revealed, on sale late September

Smartwatch taking shape.

The Samsung Galaxy Gear will come in a suite of colourways, it has emerged, as details of the smartwatch seep out with weeks to go before it makes its anticipated debut in Berlin.
Sam Mobile, citing an insider who’d understandably prefer to remain anonymous, today reports that the Galaxy Gear will come in white, orange, grey and black and will start shipping the week commencing September 23rd.

A white and gold variant will apparently ship a week later and is tipped to be exclusive to some regions and/or networks.
The device's retail date is set to be around late-September or early-October, with Samsung purportedly open to releasing more colour options in future.
Colour-scheme details for the Gear come hard on the heels of yesterday’s spec-sheet leak that gave us some idea of what we can expect under the bonnet.
Alongside a 2.5-inch screen, the smartwatch is expected to pack a dual-core processor, the S-Health fitness monitoring app and the same eyeball-tracking technology as the Galaxy S4.
It’s also set to feature NFC support for contactless payments and transferring content when bumped against other NFC-enabled kit and will connect and pair with users’ smartphones via Bluetooth 4.0.
What it won’t do is make or take calls, disappointing anyone holding out hope of acting out their Dick Tracy watchphone fantasies.

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Samsung Galaxy Gear: Five key rumours you need to know

With the Watch seemingly months away, all eyes are on Samsung's smartwatch.

Samsung’s iWatch-bashing Galaxy Gear is all set to officially break cover in the next few weeks.
But like all good top-end mobile kit, Sammy’s new slice of wearable tech has been the subject of a slew of rumours.
From colour schemes to flexible screens, there’s a heap of gossip about the futuristic timepiece. Here’s our pick of the five key rumours you need to know.

1 It’ll be revealed on September 4th

Samsung is holding its much-anticipated Unpacked event on September 4th in Berlin, ahead of the annual IFA gadget show in the German capital.
The Galaxy Gear is expected to be the headline-grabbing device at the event, gazumping the new Galaxy Note 3, which will also be unveiled at the same time.
A release date is expected at the end of September or beginning of October.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 3: new components leaked

Phablet fantastic.

Gossip about Samsung’s forthcoming Galaxy Note 3 has gone quiet in the past couple of weeks. But the all-new phablet has burst back into the headlines this morning, after a screen component was snapped by mobile leakster Sonny Dickson.

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Dickson says he snagged the images from ‘a trusted source in China’. They appear to show a brushed metal design, with the usual Samsung branding and home button placed at the bottom of the device.
The images add little to what we already know about the spec sheet. The screen is believed to measure 5.7-inches. However, they do clearly suggest the bezel has been shaved down, with other reports claiming it’ll come in at just 2.2mm.
Other Galaxy Note 3 features are believed to include a 13 megapixel snapper and Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.

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