Samsung retains second spot in global spending on research and development

A survey by the European Commission’s Economics of Industrial Research and Innovation center reveals that Samsung has retained its second spot in the global ranking for industrial research and development spending for three years in a row. The annual survey lists 75 South Korea-based companies among the world’s top 2,500 companies that invested significant resources into research and development.

The list also includes 837 companies based in the United States, 590 in the European Union, 356 in Japan, 327 in China and 111 companies based in Taiwan. “Global R&D is concentrated with the top 100 global R&D investors accounting for 53.1 percent of the R&D of the whole top 2,500 and the top 50 companies accounting for 40 percent,” the European Commission’s Economics of Industrial Research and Innovation Center mentioned in a statement on its official website.

Samsung retains the second spot on the top ten list which includes companies like Google’s parent company Alphabet, Microsoft and Novartis.

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/2iy47F5
via IFTTT

Samsung might remotely disable the Galaxy Note 7 in South Korea soon

Samsung’s exchange and refund program for the Galaxy Note 7 has progressed well in most markets where the return percentage has crossed 90 percent. However, it’s a different story in the company’s own backyard. Customers have been slow to return the fire-prone flagship in South Korea with a recent report suggesting that more than 140,000 units were still being used in the country. Samsung has been taken measures in markets like Europe and the United States to push customers to return their units. Battery charge has been limited to 30 percent in Europe while the Galaxy Note 7 is being remotely disabled via an update in the United States.

While it was reported last week that Samsung might not release the same update in South Korea fearing backlash from customers, the company has said today that it’s going to release a software update for the Galaxy Note 7 in South Korea soon that’s going to prevent the device from charging. “Samsung is considering to push the software update to the Note 7 in Korea that can limit the battery charge of the device as the exchange rate has exceeded 90 percent here,” a spokesperson for Samsung said.

The company has reportedly made the decision to send the final Galaxy Note 7 update with the country’s largest mobile carrier SK Telecom and other carriers like LG Uplus and KT are expected to follow suit. Samsung is also going to extend the exchange program for the ill-fated flagship until the end of January as there are quite a few people who are holding on to their units.

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/2hsvK2l
via IFTTT

Samsung will launch personalized smart TV services at CES 2017

Samsung has announced today that it’s going to launch personalized smart TV services at the Consumer Electronics Show 2017 next month. The three new services it’s going to showcase at the convention which runs from January 5 through January 9, 2017 in Las Vegas are Sports, Music and TV Plus. These services will provide users with personalized content based on their TV preferences via the Samsung Smart Hub platform.

The smart TV Sports service will provide sports fans with information on their favorite teams when they’re playing, they will be able to watch it as well as scores on one navigation page. This eliminates the need to flip through countless channels as all of the details will be curated by the customized Sports user interface.

The Music service will enable smart TV users to easily search and find songs on live TV or directly from TV programs. The service will also make recommendations in the Preview section so that users can discover new music and listen to it. The Music service offers content from eight music partners including Spotify, Napster, iHeartRadio, Deezer, Sirius XM, Vevo, Melon and Bugs. This service will be available in France, Germany, South Korea, Italy, the United Kingdom and the U.S. initially.

Samsung first launched the TV Plus service in South East Asia and it has since been released in the United States. The service will also be available to smart TV users in Europe by April 2017. It offers IP-based channels that are focused on premium content services through a new Smart Electronics Program Guide (EPG) solution. This means that users don’t have to wait for cable services to offer marathon sessions of their favorite shows, they can watch them immediately by tuning on a TV Plus channel. Samsung is going to partner with Fandango and Rakuten to provide premium T-VOD content in the United States and Europe, respectively. It will also team up with Funke for A-VOD content in Germany.

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/2i9kWDj
via IFTTT

Samsung’s Q4 profits may be unaffected by Galaxy Note 7 recall

The Galaxy Note 7 has undoubtedly hurt Samsung, but their fourth-quarter profits may be safe and actually have seen some growth. According to the Korea Times, both IBK Securities and HMC Investing Securities have estimated that Samsung’s operating profit will reach 8.7 trillion won in the recent quarter.

Other firms, such as Kium Securities and Hyundai Securities had roughly lower estimated profit at 8.5 trillion won, which is higher than the 5.2 trillion won in the third-quarter. Despite the unprecedented recall, which cost Samsung trillions of won and potentially consumer trust, it seems like the tech giant might be saved by their semiconductor business according to Nomura Securities senior analyst Chung Chang-won.

“Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor division hit the jackpot in the fourth quarter and so did the display division. Consumer electronics also fared quite well. Three pillars would buttress Samsung’s fourth-quarter profit and in case the mobile business gets back on track next year by dealing with the aftermath of the Note 7 fiasco, Samsung is likely to chalk up a record annual profit larger than the 40 trillion won in 2017,” said Chung Chang-won.

As with all predictions, take it with a grain of salt, especially since Samsung is yet to officially release fourth-quarter financial results.

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/2hIdspT
via IFTTT

Latest Galaxy Pro C9 renders show off gorgeous black color

We’ve been hearing about the Galaxy C9 Pro for a few months now. This is one of few truly powerful mid-range smartphones that Samsung has ever come out with. The international variant of the Galaxy C9 Pro also received its Wi-Fi certification recently leading many to believe that Samsung might launch it in markets outside China as well. The latest renders of the Galaxy C9 Pro show off the gorgeous black color this handset is currently being offered with in China.

A leaked image surfaced online a couple of weeks ago and it gave us our first glimpse at the Galaxy C9 Pro in black. That was the first time that it became evident that black would be one of the color options that Samsung offers with this handset alongside gold and rose gold.

The Galaxy C9 Pro features a 6-inch Super AMOLED display with a Snapdragon 653 processor under the hood that’s hooked up to 6GB RAM and a 4,000mAh battery. The handset also features 16-megapixel front and rear cameras. Samsung is yet to confirm when the Galaxy C9 Pro will be released in markets outside China.

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/2hhBwid
via IFTTT

Samsung will showcase new Creative Lab projects at CES 2017

Samsung launched its Creative Lab (C-Lab) innovation program last year. The program enables Samsung employees to develop their business ideas into actual products. Samsung helps them by giving them time off and resources to develop their ideas. Earlier this year the company announced that 18 employees who were working on their own C-Lab projects had resigned from the company to launch proper companies based on the ideas that they started working on in this program.

Samsung today revealed that it’s going to showcase three new Creative Lab projects at the Consumer Electronics Show 2017 next month. Projects what will be showcased at CES 2017 include an electronic device that enhances the functionality of kids’ toys, a home skincare and analysis solution and a portable device that checks inner skin to identify and prevent skin problems.

Tag+ is one of the C-Lab projects that will be showcased at CES 2017. It’s a button-type device that kids can use easily. It’s basically a digital companion that connects to toys and a smartphone app. It responds accordingly to a click, long-press, shake or bump allowing kids to have multiple experiences with a toy.

S-Skin is a consumer skincare solution that aims to save time and cost that’s associated with professional dermatological care. The portable device is used with a microneedle patch to analyze the skin. The patch is capable of deeply penetrating the skin to deliver effective ingredients and enhance absorption. It’s capable of measuring redness, hydration and melanin of the skin to provide users with customized skincare.

Lumini is also a C-Lab project that’s focused on skincare. It’s meant to spot skin problems before they happen. Users take a picture of the face with Lumini and the device is then capable of analyzing the information with its own algorithm. It can identify issues under the surface of the skin such as freckles, pimples, increased pores, wrinkles, redness and sebum.

Samsung is also going to showcase five additional C-Lab projects unveiled earlier this year that have now been spun off into proper companies at CES 2017 next month.

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/2hn3Xi2
via IFTTT

Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) renders, specs and pricing leak

The Galaxy A5 (2017) – and the rest of the Galaxy A (2017) lineup – should go official any day now, as the device’s firmware are now available online and it will be soon more than a year since the Galaxy A (2016) devices were announced. A previous leak had revealed that the phone would be launched in four colors, and today we’re getting a look at what the A5 (2017) will look like with those paint jobs, in addition to its hardware specifications and pricing.

Samsung is bringing the Blue Coral and Pink Gold colors seen on its flagships to the mid-range with the A (2017) series; black and gold variants are also present, although we’re guessing the Blue Coral version will see the highest demand. Today’s leak also mentions the phone’s specs – a 5.2-inch Full HD display, octa-core Exynos 7880 processor clocked at 1.9 GHz, 3GB of RAM, 16-megapixel rear and front cameras, 32GB of internal storage, and a 3,000 mAh battery. The software version isn’t mentioned, but the A (2017) devices will launch with Android 6.0 Marshmallow in all likelihood.

The Galaxy A5 (2017) will reportedly be priced at around 2,699 Yuan ($390). China should be the first market to get the new Galaxy A smartphones going by the series’ history, although there’s still no word on when the official launch will take place.

What do you make of Samsung’s new Galaxy A lineup?

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/2hgjCwn
via IFTTT