الأربعاء، 6 سبتمبر 2017

Hey Samsung, maybe launch fewer Gear VR headsets?

Samsung entered the consumer VR market with the “Innovator Edition” variants of the Gear VR headset a couple of years ago. The headset was really only aimed at enthusiasts and developers at that point in time. Samsung later released the first consumer version of the Gear VR for $99 in 2015. It was compatible with the Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge, Galaxy S6 edge+ and the Galaxy Note 5.

The first consumer version of the Gear VR featured 54 ~ 70 mm fixed lenses with 96-degree field of view. It had a handful of sensors like accelerometer, gyrometer and a proximity sensor. Samsung also made it more comfortable by shaving off some extra weight.

The company really pushed its virtual reality headset by offering it as a pre-order incentive with the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge. The 2016 flagship sold a lot of units across the globe and it really helped popularize the Gear VR. Samsung and its retailers also kept offering free Gear VR headsets as part of their promotions for the Galaxy S7.

No wonder Samsung revealed during its developers’ conference in San Francisco last year that Gear VR users across the globe have consumed more than two million hours of virtual reality content. The number is going to be significantly higher than that today.

Samsung launched a new Gear VR headset in August last year. It had a USB Type-C port so that it could be compatible with the Galaxy Note 7. The new headset was all-black, featured a redesigned trackpad, more cushioning and a greater field of view. It was backward compatible with all previous Gear VR-supported Samsung handsets.

The Galaxy Note 7 didn’t hang around that long but the Gear VR did even though there was no Samsung flagship on the market at that time with a USB Type-C port. The headset shipped with a connector which enabled users to use another compatible Samsung device with the Gear VR.

The company proudly announced during its press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show 2017 back in January that it has shipped more than five million Gear VR headsets across the globe. That’s a big achievement and Samsung isn’t going to rest on its laurels.

Samsung then launched a new Gear VR with Controller headset the very next month at MWC 2017 in Barcelona. It supported both microUSB and USB Type-C ports. The new Gear VR had 42mm lenses with 101-degree Field of View. The controller enabled convenient one-hand control and improved motion interaction with minimized movement.

This was the headset that was meant for the Galaxy S8. Samsung then announced that the Gear VR was the most popular mobile VR headset in Q1 2017 as it sold more than 782,000 units in the quarter. This surprised no one.

Keep in mind that Samsung has charged anywhere from $99 to $129 over the years for its various Gear VR headsets. That’s not a nominal amount of money. Most customers wouldn’t want to spend over $100 every six months or so on an accessory that they might stop using once the novelty wears off.

Merely six months after it launched the new Gear VR with Controller earlier this year, Samsung quietly launched a new new Gear VR headset with Controller for one simple reason: the existing one couldn’t house the Galaxy Note 8. The only reason it needed to launch a new headset was that the Galaxy Note 8 couldn’t fit inside the headset that it launched just six months ago.

Just like its predecessor, the Note 8-compatible Gear VR comes with a wireless Bluetooth controller. Also like its predecessor, it costs $130. It will be released alongside the Galaxy Note 8 on September 15.

Imagine this: If you bought a Gear VR for the Galaxy S8 and are now thinking about trading in your smartphone for the Galaxy Note 8, the headset you bought six months back for $130 is now useless. You could try selling it off on eBay but you’d only get a fraction of what you paid.

Chances are many of you will find yourselves in this position. Since Samsung isn’t offering the Gear VR as a pre-order incentive for the Galaxy Note 8 customers will have to put money down for a new headset regardless of whether or not they purchased one for the Galaxy S8.

Granted, this latest model of the Gear VR is also compatible with all Samsung smartphones going back to the Galaxy Note 5, but it’s not like the average customer holds on to all of their old smartphones. They trade-in their devices and upgrade when a newer model comes along. A Gear VR that’s compatible with smartphones they don’t own anymore is of no use to them.

If it keeps up with this, Samsung will essentially be forcing its customers to pay $130 every six months for a new headset and that seems like a blatant money grab, wouldn’t you agree?

The post Hey Samsung, maybe launch fewer Gear VR headsets? appeared first on SamMobile.



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Alliances Galore teams up with Samsung Pay to offer exclusive rewards in India

Alliances Galore, the leading aggregator for merchant offers in India, has announced that it’s teamed up with Samsung Pay to offer customers rewards for using the mobile payment platform in a number of retail establishments within the health and lifestyle sector, including restaurants.

“Samsung Pay has been designed to be the smartest and most convenient method to make digital payments almost everywhere,” explained Sanjay Razdan, Director-Product Planning, Samsung India. This partnership will enable our consumers to get access to value-driven reward programs.”

Related: Here’s how to set up Samsung Pay in India

In Alliances Galore’s eyes, the partnership will not only reward existing Samsung Pay customers, but also encourage frequent visitors of its partners’ brick-and-mortar stores who haven’t experimented with the incredibly-popular mobile payment service to try it out for the first time.

“We ensure an experience which is seamless and works efficiently for both the partners and end consumer, making it rewarding at the same time,” said Mahipal Singh, Co-Founder, Alliances Galore. “Our last mile connectivity with innovative tools has enabled us to engage the end consumer on various platforms.

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Daily Deal: Bag yourself a pair of Samsung’s first-generation Gear Icon X wireless earphones for 30% off

You can currently bag yourself a pair of Samsung’s first-generation Gear Icon X wireless earbuds, which not only sport 4GB of internal storage for music playback, but also bundle real-time voice feedback for workout progress, for $139.99 (30% off).

To take advantage of the promotion, all you need to do is hit the Buy Now button below. It would probably be wise to hurry though, as we don’t know how much inventory Amazon set aside for this particular deal—and once it’s gone, it’s gone.

The post Daily Deal: Bag yourself a pair of Samsung’s first-generation Gear Icon X wireless earphones for 30% off appeared first on SamMobile.



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Galaxy Note 8 to come preloaded with Hancom Office S

Samsung usually bundles additional third-party apps on its smartphones, including office suites. The Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+ came with Microsoft Office pre-installed. Now, it is being reported that the recently launched Galaxy Note 8 will come with Hancom Office S pre-installed in the US.

Hancom Inc., a South Korean software developer, announced this earlier today. It also said that its document editing app can now only open and edit PDF files, but also Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. The app also works on the Galaxy S8 and the S8+, which was released earlier this year across the globe. The company said that it will get better global exposure with this deal.

Earlier this year, Hancom had also optimised its document viewing and editing app for Dex, Samsung’s smartphone docking solution that turns it into a desktop PC-like experience. Daou Office, yet another office suite provider based out of Korea, had optimised its app for Samsung Dex.

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الثلاثاء، 5 سبتمبر 2017

After using the Galaxy S8 for five months, this is my only complaint

I’ve been using the Galaxy S8 ever since it hit the shelves back in April. During that time, I’ve learned an awful lot about the device—both good and bad—so I thought I’d put together a piece describing my experience.

Before we go any further, I’d like to say that I’m totally obsessed with the design of the Galaxy S8. It’s durable, ergonomic, and futuristic—I mean, what more could you possibly want? Not a better screen, that’s for sure.

I promised myself I’d keep this section relatively short, because I could blab on forever about how stunning the handset’s Infinity Display is. To be honest, though, it’s really something you need to experience for yourself.

I’ll admit: the 18.5:9 aspect ratio is a little strange at first, but once you’re accustomed to it, using any other smartphone is near-impossible. When I picked up my girlfriend’s iPhone 7, for example, it felt very antiquated.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that if you’re looking for the smartphone with the best screen on the market, look no further. The display on the Galaxy S8 is perhaps rivaled only by the Galaxy Note 8. It recently received DisplayMate’s highest rating ever for a smartphone display.

The variant I’ve been using is the single-SIM European one, which sports an Exynos 8895 processor and 4GB of RAM—and that’s more than enough punch to simultaneously run a handful of power-hungry applications.

Galaxy S8+ battery life review: Holding up very nicely indeed

One complaint I have, however, is that the Experience user interface Samsung plastered on top of the regular Android 7.0 skin can be a little sluggish at times; when switching between applications, for example.

That said, having had an opportunity to play around with the Galaxy Note 8, I’m pleased to report that the latest version of Samsung Experience (8.5), which is set to arrive on the Galaxy S8 in the near future, is a lot smoother.

Now’s as good a time as any to talk about camera performance. Although, truth be told, I’m not really a mobile photographer. Instead, I prefer to take my Sony A7S with me whenever I leave the house (it’s better to be prepared, right?).

On the odd occasion I’ve snapped a picture on my Galaxy S8, I’ve found it to be superior to the iPhone 7 in terms of clarity, though color is often exaggerated—but that’s easy enough to fix with the handset’s integrated editing suite.

I know, I know. That doesn’t provide you with the feedback you’re after, which is why we’re pitting the Galaxy S8 head-to-head against the Galaxy Note 8 in a camera shootout, so be sure to check back for that in the coming weeks.

It wouldn’t be acceptable to pen a story on the Galaxy S8 and not touch on Bixby… I don’t really use it—and that’s because both Bixby Voice and Bixby Vision are more temperamental than ideal, and Bixby Home is borderline useless.

Here’s what I find particularly strange: Bixby Voice is fantastic at executing complex commands, like taking a screenshot within an application, but when you instruct it to complete even the most basic of tasks, it struggles.

It can’t, for example, provide a straightforward answer when you request the time in another location. Upon giving it the request, you’ll be instructed to unlock your device, then it will pull up the Clock application. Why can’t it just say the time?

I’m not going to complain too much; Bixby is a relatively new digital assistant and it’s astonishing what Samsung has been able to accomplish in such a short period of time. All it needs to do is focus on refining the processes, then it’ll be golden.

That’s about all there is to say about my experience with the Galaxy S8. If you can’t already tell, I love it and I—honestly—can’t see myself switching until the Galaxy Note 8 hits the shelves (I’m a sucker for any additional screen space).

But should you pick one up? If you want a smartphone with a screen that’s smaller than 6.3-inches, yes. If you’re after something that size, we’d recommend opting for the next-generation Galaxy Note, which is now up for pre-order.

The post After using the Galaxy S8 for five months, this is my only complaint appeared first on SamMobile.



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SamMobile Daily Recap: September 5, 2017 — Android 7.0 Nougat, Galaxy S9 and more!

Gear S3 classic and Gear S3 frontier to receive the Tizen 3.0 update

Samsung has confirmed that it will distribute the much-requested Tizen 3.0 update for the Gear S3 classic and Gear S3 frontier, reports AndroidPIT. The upgrade will bring the wearables in line with the recently-announced Gear Sport on the software front.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the Gear Fit 2 is going to be subjected to the same treatment as it isn’t waterproof like its successor, the Gear Fit2 Pro—so users won’t benefit from the slew of water-based tracking features the firmware brings to the table.

Related: Hands-on with the Gear Fit2 Pro

As for when the update will start making the rounds for the Gear S3 classic and Gear S3 frontier… Well, your guess is as good as ours. The folks over at AndroidPIT expect it to start rolling out ahead of the Gear Sport’s release, though that doesn’t seem likely.

For those who missed its announcement, the Gear Sport was designed to fill the void between the traditional-looking Gear S3 classic and the ruggedized Gear S3 frontier. It’s equipped with a 1.2-inch Super AMOLED display, 4GB of internal storage and GPS.

The pièce de résistance, as we mentioned in our hands-on coverage, is that the Gear Sport can be submerged in up to fifty meters of water for around two-hours, which is more than enough time to swim two-hundred lengths at a respectable speed.

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