Samsung ranks 2nd in list of most reputable tech companies in the US

Samsung has ranked 2nd in a recent survey conducted in the United States to ascertain the technology companies that consumers believe to be the most reputable. Online retail giant Amazon took the top spot while Samsung followed behind in second place. The survey was conducted by The Reputation Institute, a consulting and advisory group in the US.

Samsung has actually lost the top spot this year because in the same survey conducted by The Reputation Institute last year the Korean company was at number one. The company received good grades for its 2016 lineup of Galaxy S smartphones as well as its corporate social responsibility projects. It leads Intel on the list which came in third, the list also includes the likes of Oracle, HP and Microsoft in the top ten positions. The Reputation Institute’s survey measures a company’s ability to meet stakeholder expectations on seven important aspects of reputation such as products and services, innovation, governance, and workplace. Another survey conducted by The Reputation Institute several months ago found Samsung to be the most trustworthy company for millennials in the United States.

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Samsung confirms pricing and release date for the Level Active Bluetooth headset

A few months ago some evidence surfaced which suggested that Samsung was getting ready to launch a new member of its Level headset family called the Level Active. The company today announced the release of the Level Active, it’s a Bluetooth-enabled headset that has been designed specially for exercise and outdoor activities. The headset was spotted on Samsung’s website just last week but no pricing or availability information was mentioned.

The Level Active headset has soft silicon earhooks as well as wingtips and in-ear tips to provide a comfortable fit. The earhooks wraps over the entire ear to keep the headset in place securely and the wingtips come in two different sizes to properly match the shape of the user’s ears.  The headset also happens to be splash resistant which enables users to keep them on during work outs without having to worry about damaging them with sweat. It features an ultra-thin P2i nano-coating which covers the inside of the headset to protect it and gives users peace of mind when they have the headset on during outdoor activities.

The Samsung Level companion app can be used to manage notifications, those who want to exercise with minimal interruptions can choose to limit notifications after which they will only be alerted for incoming calls and alarms. Users can also turn on the Active Key function and select whether they want to connect the Clock, Timer or S Health app to the Level Active. If users choose S Health they can then decide to record workout information for running, walking, cycling or hiking. The Active Key is located on the right headphone and when pressed for a second it will play back the selected exercise results, including time and distance, using sound alerts.

Samsung Level Active is available in the United States today which it will be available in Europe, countries such as Russia, China, Turkey, Korea and others will also get it in the near future. Customers in the United States can purchase them from Samsung’s online store for $99. Their order will be shipped within 1-3 business days.

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Galaxy Note 7 Injustice Edition seen in leaked images

A few months ago, Samsung launched a limited edition version of the Galaxy S7 edge in select markets. The Galaxy S7 edge Injustice Edition is inspired by Batman and features an exclusive black and gold color combination. A gold-colored Bat-Signal can be found on the back of the device. It also features a special edition theme and the Injustice: Gods Among Us game. If photos leaked out of China are any indication it may only be a matter of time before Samsung launches the Galaxy Note 7 Injustice Edition.

The purported Galaxy Note 7 Injustice Edition seen in these leaked images appears to be quite similar to the Galaxy S7 edge Injustice Edition. The color combination is similar and so is the theme. However, there is speculation that this Injustice Edition handset could feature 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, a configuration that’s so far exclusive to China with the regular Galaxy Note 7. The handset may even have dual-SIM support. It’s not known at this point in time if and when the Galaxy Note 7 Injustice Edition is going to be unveiled, how much it will cost and in which markets it will be made available.

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Galaxy C9 gets spotted in import tracker with a 5.7-inch display

We exclusively reported earlier this week that Samsung is working on a new Galaxy C series smartphone codenamed “Amy.” It’s going to be called the Samsung Galaxy C9 (SM-C9000) and will most likely be exclusive to China like the other handsets in the Galaxy C series. The Galaxy C9 has now been spotted on the Indian import tracker Zauba which shows that Samsung has imported several units of the SM-C9000 into the country. 5.7-inch is mentioned as the screen size in the import listing.

The first handset of the Galaxy C series – the Galaxy C5 – features a 5.2-inch Full HD Super AMOLED display so it’s certainly going to be a step up for the Galaxy C9 if the information mentioned in the import listing is anything to go by. Samsung usually imports unreleased handsets in India for the purpose of research and development. The possibility exists that this just might be a prototype of the Galaxy C9 and the actual screen size and even the specifications that will inevitably be leaked in the weeks to come might be different. Samsung has not yet confirmed anything about this handset and it’s unclear at this point in time when it’s going to arrive and how much it’s going to cost.

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Samsung will take care of all T-Mobile customers who pre-ordered the Galaxy Note 7 too early and can’t claim their free gift

Customers who pre-order the Galaxy Note 7 in the United States have the option of either getting a Gear Fit 2 or a 256GB microSD card as a free gift for buying Samsung’s new flagship handset. However, many T-Mobile customers have been facing issues in claiming their free gift because of the way T-Mobile’s ordering system works. Samsung’s redemption system was simply telling those customers that they were not eligible for the free gift because they had placed their order outside of the promotion period.

This issue is due to the way T-Mobile ordering system works. T-Mobile is based in Washington – a state on the country’s west coast – which is why it uses the Pacific time for its system. Customers who actually placed a pre-order for the Galaxy Note 7 at 1am Eastern time, their order was logged by the system as being placed on August 2 at 10pm.

Samsung’s gift redemption website is only accepting submissions from customers who placed a pre-order for the handset between August 2 and August 28. It’s programmed to automatically reject orders that are outside of this date range. Customers then reached out to both Samsung and T-Mobile who initially did not provide a solution for this problem. However, Samsung has now sent out a statement acknowledging the “minor error” in the redemption system.

“There was a minor error in our redemption system. This has been fixed and everyone who purchased their device within the promotion period will receive their device. Our fulfillment agency should be reaching out to affected customers over the next few days to confirm with them,” the company said. So if you’re one of the customers affected by this issue, fear not, Samsung is going to take care of you and give you the gift you deserve for pre-ordering the Galaxy Note 7.

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Samsung Gear 360 and the new Gear VR now available in Canada

Samsung introduced its Gear 360 VR camera earlier this year and had only released it in limited quantities at select locations until last week. It announced that the Gear 360 would finally get a proper release in the United States alongside the Galaxy Note 7 on August 19 before it expands to additional markets across the globe. Customers in Canada can now also pick up a Samsung Gear 360, the new Gear VR is now available in their country as well.

Samsung’s 360-degree camera is priced at $499.99 in Canada. It can be purchased from Samsung Experience Stores in Canada located in Metrotown and Richmond Centre in British Columbia, West Edmonton and Sherway Gardens in Toronto. The new Gear VR headset is available to customers in Canada as well. It is priced at $139.99 and can be purchased from Best Buy stores across the country. Both of these devices have already gone on sale in the United States. Samsung is yet to detail a proper global release schedule for the Gear 360 camera.

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Here’s how you can save $300 on a Galaxy Note 7 from Verizon

The Galaxy Note 7 is undoubtedly the hottest Android smartphone on the market right now and provided that you’re based in the United States and are willing to purchase one, there’s a way for you to save $300 on a Galaxy Note 7 from Verizon, the country’s largest mobile carrier. You can save $300 on a Galaxy Note 7 as long as you trade in your existing device provided that it’s not too old or damaged. This offer is open to all new and existing customers of Verizon.

Devices which can be traded in to be eligible for this offer include the Galaxy Note 5, the Galaxy S6, the Galaxy S6 edge or the Galaxy S6 edge+ as well as the iPhone 6, HTC M9, LG G4 and the LG V10. Verizon promises to give up to $300 for the existing device though the actual offer might be different based on the condition of your device. If you do decide to trade-in your existing device you will either have to upgrade to add a new line. New customers who opt for this offer are going to receive a Verizon electronic gift card of the trade-in value within two weeks while existing customers will receive an account credit for the value in 1-2 billing cycles. The Galaxy Note 7 costs $36 per month on Verizon’s monthly installment plan.

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Samsung rolls out August security patch for the Galaxy Note 4 in Europe

Samsung is in the midst of distributing this month’s security maintenance update to all factory unlocked variants of the Galaxy Note 4 located in Europe. As outlined by the firm in a post over on its official Security Blog, the upgrade, which carries the firmware version XXS1DPH1, is primarily aimed at resolving an issue that results in malware being installed on a handset if the SideSync application is activated before finishing the Setup Wizard.

If you own an unlocked model of the Galaxy Note 4, reside in Europe and would like to see if the upgrade is ready for your device, simply head into Settings, followed by About Device, locate and select Software Update, then hit the Download Updates Manually button. Alternatively, you can wait until you receive a push notification prompting you to install the update from Samsung’s servers.

 

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Samsung Connect Auto LTE dongle for the car is now available from AT&T

Samsung announced its first LTE dongle for the car earlier this year, but it took the company more than six months to make it available for purchase. The company’s Connect Auto LTE dongle is now available for purchase in the US from AT&T.

The Samsung Connect Auto plugs directly into the OBD-II port underneath any recently released car’s steering wheel and offers Wi-Fi connection to up to 10 devices. The Tizen-powered dongle is secured by the company’s Knox solution, and it also provides real-time alerts about the driving behavior.

The dongle will run on AT&T’s 4G LTE cellular network, and will connect to the driver’s family and friends as well as the emergency service in case of an accident. The car can be found using LTE and GPS. Apart from this, the dongle will notify about the car’s performance, maintenance, and repair services.

Samsung Connect Auto is free with a 2-year agreement with AT&T and can be added to the carrier’s Mobile Share Value or Mobile Share Advantage plan for $10 per month. Samsung also opened up the Connect Auto SDK to interested partners so that they can provide more information to the user.

 

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Corning responds to video that shows Gorilla Glass 5 on Galaxy Note 7 getting scratched easily

Samsung proudly announced that the Galaxy Note 7 is the first smartphone to use Corning’s Gorilla Glass 5. More often than not, newer versions of Gorilla Glass are associated with improved scratch and shatter resistance. However, a video from JerryRigEverything showed that the Gorilla Glass 5 panel on the Galaxy Note 7 gets scratched easily, even with a metal pick that is rated 3 on Mohs scale of mineral hardness. Now, Corning has officially responded to the worrying scratch test video.

According to Corning, the scratch test that we see in the video was conducted “in an uncontrolled manner.” Representatives from the company also stated that a pick with a hardness of 3 can’t scratch glass panels with a hardness of 5 or 6 (like the Gorilla Glass 5). Then what were those scary scratches on the Galaxy Note 7′s display that we saw in that now famous video?

The hardness pick that was used in the video was a 3, that’s considerably softer than the glass material. Oftentimes when you have a softer material like that, and depending on what kind of loads you have used, you tend to see material transfer on the test substrate. Material transfer on the test substrate is not necessarily a scratch but it can appear to the untrained eye as a pretty visible scratch.

- Corning

Corning states that the scratches in the video are nothing but residue from the pick that was settled on to the Gorilla Glass 5 panel. Why didn’t the residue get clear even when the tester tried to wipe it off? The Corning representative stated that “It can be very, very difficult to remove metallic material transfer from glass. It is very atypical to see in a field return when we look at scratches of glass, that kind of characteristic, but purely visual, perceived damage that is actually a material on top of the surface.” In any case, we would recommend using a screen protector if you’re too worried about your smartphone’s screen getting scratched.

 

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