Samsung adds $9 billion to its market value as shares soar to record highs

Samsung Electronics’ much-awaited response to the corporate restructuring proposal put forward by minority shareholder Elliott Associates finally came through yesterday. While the company has given itself six months to decide whether or not it would want to split Samsung Electronics into two, it announced some eagerly anticipated measures to boost shareholder value in the short-term. Investors are happy with Samsung’s decision so far. Samsung Electronics shares have hit a record high today, adding $9 billion to the company’s market value in a single day.

The company has said that it plans to dole out up to $3.6 billion in dividend payouts this year which roughly boils down to around $256 dividend per share. The amount earmarked for dividends in 2016 is 36 percent higher than it was last year. Samsung Electronics has also committed to returning 50 percent of its free cash flow in 2016 and 2017 to shareholders through greater dividend payouts and buyback of treasury shares. Samsung has already spent $10 billion from its reserves to buyback shares and improve shareholder value.

As a result of its announcement yesterday, Samsung Electronics shares surged by 4.2 percent to hit a record high of 1.747 million won or just under $1,500. Samsung Electronics is the cash cow of the Samsung Group conglomerate that’s controlled by the founding Lee family.

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New Galaxy J7 (2016) update for Europe brings November security patch

Samsung has started rolling out a new software update for the Galaxy J7 (2016) in Europe which brings the November security patch. The update weighs in at just under 190MB. Aside from bringing fixes and patches for bugs and vulnerabilities identified in the November security patch, the update also includes stability and performance improvements.

Software version J710FXXU2APK2 is now rolling out for the Galaxy J7 (2016) in The Netherlands and it will soon be released in other countries across Europe as well. Samsung detailed the November security patch about three weeks ago. It brings countless fixes from Google aside from patches for 14 vulnerability and exposure items identified by Samsung. The company has gradually been rolling out updates for some of its most recent devices to bring them into the fold.

Those who happen to own a Galaxy J7 (2016) in the aforementioned market can keep an eye out for an over-the-air firmware notification. They should have received one by now. Those who didn’t can also try manually pulling the firmware by heading to the Settings app followed by About device to download it manually.

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Exclusive BALR. Gear S3 edition lauching soon in The Netherlands

A couple of days before the Gear S2 was due to be released in The Netherlands, Samsung announced a collaboration with fashion brand BALR, which was founded in 2013 by professional football players Demy de Zeeuw, Eljero Elia and Gregory van der Wiel. It’s a brand that’s focused on football players. You might have seen this luxury brand’s products being used by famous Dutch DJ’s like Hardwell and Nicky Romero among other celebrities. The BALR edition Gear S2 came with an exclusive watch strap and watch face.

The collaboration must have paid off the first time around because Samsung has decided to work with the brand again to offer the BALR Gear S3 edition. It’s more or less the same smartwatch with a different band and a couple of new watch faces. While the Gear S3 classic and Gear S3 frontier are priced at 399 euro, the BALR edition costs 499 euro but it does include the BALR. leather watch band and the BALR Braided Bracelet worth 125 euro. Two exclusive watch faces are included as well.

Samsung is going to release the Gear S3 in The Netherlands on Friday, December 2.

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Galaxy J7 Prime lands in the US at Amazon

The Galaxy J7 Prime has arrived in India and in the Philippines, but the metal-clad smartphone had not landed in one of Samsung’s biggest markets. That changes today, as the device has landed in the US by way of famous online retailer Amazon. The device is now available for around $290.

The device features the same specs we’ve seen before, such as the 5.5-inch, Full HD TFT LCD screen with a 1920 x 1080p screen resolution, an octa-core, Exynos 7870 SoC, 3GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, an 8MP front camera, 13MP back camera, and a 3,300mAh battery, with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow pre-installed. Samsung’s fingerprint scanner and dual-SIM support are on board as well, along with a microSD card that supposedly provides up to 256GB of expandable storage.

As for color, only the black variant is available for now, so you’ll have to make do with it. We found the device to be excellent for under $300, though you won’t get an AMOLED display here but will love the battery life with everyday usage.

Well, US customers, hit up the links below to take advantage of this phone that is now in the land of the free.

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Samsung denied appeal on $119.6 million iPhone patent verdict

A jury verdict handed down in May 2014 found that both Apple and Samsung had infringed on each others’ patents and even though Apple had sought $2.2 billion in damages, Samsung was ordered to pay $119.6 million for violating on three of Apple’s patents. The patents were related to iPhone slide-to-unlock, quick links and auto-correct. Apple was ordered to pay Samsung $158,400 for infringing on one patent.

Samsung then filed an appeal which worked in its favor as the original verdict was overturned in its favor. Apple moved for a review before a full court which reached the conclusion last month that the verdict was justified and it restored the $119.6 million damages award.

Samsung then moved the US Court of Appeals for an en banc hearing but the court has denied it. The company can now choose to pay the award or go to the Supreme Court. The United States Supreme Court is already hearing the first Apple vs Samsung patent case. Preliminary arguments have been made by both sides but there’s still a long way to go. The Supreme Court is expected to hand down a verdict on that matter by June next year.

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Pimp My Pixel: reflect your Galaxy Note 7 rebel pride with Google’s Live Photos Case

I’ve done a VR hardware comparison between the Samsung Gear VR and the Google Daydream View this week, primarily because, as a pre-order customer for the Pixel XL, I received the Daydream View headset (an $80 value) for free. I do love pre-order promos.

And yet, I remember thinking to myself one night that, for all the appreciation I have for my 128GB Very Silver Google Pixel XL, it isn’t a Galaxy Note 7. It doesn’t have an S Pen or even a comparable stylus for that matter, the design is trite and an imitation of the lowest order (how low can it go?), and outside of the camera, which has what I’ve said is a “photoshop camera quality” (good at times, bad at others), the phone isn’t as compelling as the Note 7 or even a Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge for that matter. I have really been missing my Galaxy Note 7.

Yes, I took the advice of my colleagues and Samsung (who sent me the Note 7 return kit with several smaller boxes, a letter from the company, and blue gloves) and sent my most-perfect phone yet back to Samsung. Every time someone tells me, “I turned in my Galaxy Note 7 today,” I respond with a call for a “Note 7 moment of silence.”

Well, I decided to become a Note7Rebel of a different stripe (and I’m not referring to the infamous “I’m not giving my Note 7 up” Facebook protest group, either) and “pimp my Pixel.” I went to the Google Store and ordered a Live Photos Case for my Pixel XL. Of course, a Live Photos Case demands a live photo, so I was prompted to search for a photo within Google Photos and local storage that I wanted for the case. After looking through my photos, I came up on the very first Galaxy Note 7 photos I took right after getting the phone out of the box.

Among them? A photo of me holding the Galaxy Note 7 with the reboot menu in black containing the words “Samsung Galaxy Note7″ and “Powered By Android” at the bottom of the screen. I deliberated between allowing just the words or the words and the phone itself in the photo. I settled on placing the words and the phone’s front-facing camera, iris camera, and home button in the photo. The Live Photos Case not only lets you select a photo for the case but allows you to use the same photo as a desktop wallpaper.  You’ll need to download Google’s “My Live Case” app from the Play Store once you get the case to bring the case photo to your desktop wallpaper.

Now, Google has a strict policy by which they’ll allow certain images and deny other images, so if you’re planning to be a little too bold, make sure you are aware of the guidelines. I thought that my Galaxy Note 7 photo would never be approved because it was a photo of a Samsung phone on a Pixel XL case, but I was contacted later by Google and my Live Photos Case order was confirmed (with my $40 payment, of course). It arrived this week, within a week of my order.

The love I have for the Galaxy Note 7 takes nothing away from the Pixel XL, but the only reason why I ended up with the Pixel XL in the first place (curiosity aside) is because I complied with the US recall to send the unit back to Samsung. I already had a Galaxy S7 edge and didn’t want a duplicate (even though the Blue Coral Galaxy S7 edge makes me hopeful for the Galaxy S8). I’ve never been a fan of vanilla Android and still find it distasteful regardless of all the reasons fans give for it being the best Android experience money can buy, but all the praise heaped on the phone so far had me curious, at least.

Now, I can have the Pixel experience and still be a respectful, compliant, Note7Rebel who does not continue to keep my unit despite Samsung’s insistence to turn it in. For those who are still holding on to their Galaxy Note 7, a rebel case such as this is the best way to protest what happened without seeing carriers remove the Note 7 from its network altogether to force your hand. At this point, regardless of whether or not the Note 7 fiasco is truth or sabotage, it just isn’t worth it to hang onto the Note 7 out of sheer stubbornness.

I know, I know: I’m not being a good Google fan and Pixel user by crafting my Galaxy Note 7 memorial case for Google’s latest, but so be it. I had to comply with the recall, but I don’t have to love the Pixel. It may seem like I’m “cheating” on the Pixel XL, and it may incur the displeasure of Pixel fans, but I love the phone I love.

 

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Daily Deal: 128GB EVO Plus microSD card from Samsung for just $38.99

Samsung’s EVO Plus series of microSD cards are some of the fastest ones out there, and if you have any recently released smartphone from Samsung, you should have one of these to store all those high-resolution images, 4K videos, and lossless audio files. If you don’t have one already, now is a great time to buy one.

The 128GB EVO Plus microSD card from Samsung is being sold on Amazon for just $38.99 as opposed to its usual price of $89.99. It’s a UHS-1 Class 10 memory card, so you can expect fast general read and write performance. Moreover, it is not only water and temperature proof, but also shock and X-ray proof. So, grab one before stock runs out!

 

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