Category: Tech

Samsung unveiled the Gear S smartwatch back in September during the IFA show in Berlin. Now, after many delays, the company has confirmed that buyers in the US will soon be able to get their hands on the standalone super watch. According to Samsung, the Gear S smartwatch will be available in the US starting November 7 from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon. Besides, the smartwatch will also be available for purchase through BestBuy and other retailers.

The smartwatch will be available at AT&T for $200 on a two-year contract. Sprint will also offer the Gear S on November 7 for $0 down and 24 monthly payments of $16.

Meanwhile, T-Mobile has started accepting pre-orders for the smartwatch. The carrier has also introduced a special plan that gives Gear S buyers unlimited data and text, with up to 500MB of data for only $5 a month.

The Gear S is the company’s largest smartwatch, which packs a 2-inch AMOLED screen with a resolution of 360 x 480 pixels. Under the hood, the watch gets powered by dual-core 1GHz processor paired with 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage. The Gear S gets fueled by a 300mAh battery. The smartwatch runs Samsung’s Tizen OS which offers a plethora of apps.

Samsung has launched a new wireless speaker dubbed as the Level box mini. As the name suggests, it’s a compact version of the Level Box launched earlier this year. The Lorean manufacturer claims that the Mini is 30 percent slimmer than the Levvel Box.

The Samsung Level Box Mini features a large 55mm stereo speaker and a passive radiator to deliver a powerful well-balanced sound. Besides, it also offers several add-on features such as support for S Voice, text-to-speech, along with NFC for mobile connectivity with a mobile device. It also comes with built-in buttons that allow users to play or pause a track, adjusts volume, and even answer/reject calls. The wireless speaker also has a microphone and even offers support for noise reduction and echo cancellation.

The Level Box Mini also supports Samsung’s SoundAlive technology which intelligently adjusts sound quality by analyzing the source to deliver the best sound. The speaker also utilizes the aptX code to provide users uninterrupted, and high quality streaming. In terms of battery, the Level Box Mini comes with a 1600mAh battery which according to Samsung, will be able to deliver 25 hours of playback.

The new Level Box Mini will be available at BestBuy starting November 16th. Besides, it’ll be offered in a variety of color options. These include Blue, Black, Silver, and Red.

Samsung has officially announced the Premium Suite software package for the US variants of the Galaxy S3, Galaxy S4, and the Galaxy Note II. Interestingly, the announcement comes shortly after a leaked Android 4.3 update roadmap for the aforementioned devices in North America.

The Premium Suite will update these devices to Android 4.3, and bring features such as updated Easy Mode, Multi Window, advanced camera options, KNOW, as well as additional features with new functionality. Besides, the latest update will also bring support for the Galaxy Gear.

The Premium Suite update will begin rolling out today, and the process will continue over the next few weeks. Besides, Samsung also confirmed that the Galaxy S4 Mini and both Galaxy Mega phones will receive Gear support, though didn’t mention an exact timeline for these devices.

The curved display found on the Gear S smartwatch may not be first we’ve seen in Samsung’s line of wearable products. That said, it’s certainly the largest we’ve seen so far thanks to its 2-inch OLED display. Not to mention, with 3G capability on-board, the Gear S one of the few smartwatches that lets you get online without a smartphone.

The Gear S standalone smartwatch will be available via AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless. Besides, AT&T has confirmed that you can get a preview of the smartwatch in 125 of its retail stores.

Apart from its large curved Super AMOLED display, the smartwatch’s other key highlight would be its connectivity. The Gear S can use 3G and WiFi, making it one of the few smartwatches to do so. It also gets Bluetooth capability which links the smartwatch with a compatible smartphone even when the phone is not in range.

“The Samsung Gear S redefines the idea of the smart wearable device and the culture of mobile communication. It will let consumers live a truly connected life anywhere, anytime,” said J.K Shin, CEO and head of IT and mobile communication, Samsung Electronics.

The Gear S gets powered by a 1GHz processor with 512MB of RAM and a 3000mAh battery. According to Samsung, the Gear S battery can last up to 48 hours. It’s also worth noting that unlike other wearable devices, the Gear S does not run Android Wear operating system. Instead, the device comes pre-loaded with Samsung’s in-house Tizen OS which offers a wide array of apps. As for pricing, Samsung isn’t spilling all the details for now.

Samsung has officially confirmed that its Gear S standalone smartwatch is all set to launch in the US this fall. The smartwatch will be available in black and white color options. That said, the Korean manufacturer isn’t revealing any pricing details, nor are they being specific with dates.

In a brief press release, Samsung stated that the Gear S, which happens to be its first smartwatch that doesn’t need pairing with a smartphone or tablet, will be available via AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, as well as unlocked.

The smartwatch comes with integrated cellular connectivity, making the Gear S much more independent compared to other smartwatches currently on the market. It does not depend on your phone to pull down social media updates or email notifications. Besides, you can even make phone calls with the Gear S, though it won’t use the same number as your primary smartphone.

Just like the Galaxy Note 4, Samsung hasn’t revealed all the details about the Gear S for now, which will hit the US market long before the Apple Watch – due until next year.

Samsung has launched a new Power Sharing cable that lets you use select Galaxy phones and tablets to charge your other devices that have a microUSB port. Priced at $19.99, the cable can be used to share power with any device that has a microUSB port, including wearables and Bluetooth headsets.

That said, Samsung also suggests that the cable won’t let you fully charge your device. Though, it’ll come in real handy when there’s no power source around. You’ll need to download Samsung’s Power sharing app from Samsung Apps or via the Play Store, and then select the amount of power-sharing with another device.

Samsung has listed the following devices capable of sharing power using the new cable: Galaxy S5, Galaxy Tab S 10.5, Galaxy Tab S 8.4, Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy Avant, and Galaxy Note 4.

The Galaxy Note 4 witnessed its global unveiling during the IFA tech show in Berlin. That said, Samsung didn’t announce the handset’s release date during its official unveiling.

Now, the Korean manufacturer has officially announced the Galaxy Note 4’s availability. According to Samsung, the handset will be available starting October 17, with pre-orders set to begin tomorrow, September 19th. For now, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon have confirmed the availability of the handset on the aforementioned date. Other carriers operating in the country are yet to announce the Galaxy Note 4 on their networks.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 runs Android 4.4 KitKat and features a 5.7-inch Quad-HD (1440×2560 pixel) Super AMOLED display with a pixel density of 515ppi. Under the hood, it gets powered by a 2.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 805 processor paired with 3GB of RAM. The device comes with 32GB of built-in storage, which is further expandable via a microSD slot.

In the camera department, the Galaxy Note 4 features a 16MP with auto-focus and Smart OIS. For selfies, the handset has a 3.7MP front-facing shooter with f/1.9 lens. It comes with a 3220mAh battery with Adaptive Fast charging support which Samsung claims charges from 0-50 percent in just 30 minutes.

If blue happens to be your favorite color, now might be a good time to head over to Best Buy as they are exclusive offering the Electric Blue variant of the Galaxy S5. Currently, they are the only online retailer that’ll offer this new variant of the flagship in the US, starting August 17.

BestBuy is offering the Electric Blue Galaxy S5 at $99 for those on a two-year contract with AT&T and Verizon. If you’re interested in a monthly installment plan, you get the option to pay at $0 down in 20-24 months. Besides, you also get the option to change your handset after 12 months. The offer will also apply to other color variants of the Galaxy S5.

Meanwhile, regular pricing of the Galaxy S5 will depend on your carrier. AT&T and Verizon are offering it at $199.99 with a 2-year contract. If you don’t want a contract, MetroPCS is offering at either $649.99 or $599.99, depending on the color.

Apart from the color, the rest of the handset remains the same as the original Galaxy S5. It packs the same 5.1-inch 1080p display. The device features a 16MP rear camera and a 2MP front-facing shooter. It runs Android KitKat 4.4 out-of-the-box and gets powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 MSM 8974AC processor. It also features a fingerprint scanner under the home button. As for connectivity, the device works with Wi-Fi as well as 4G/LTE. But if you’re in the mood for some electric blues, just head over to BestBuy.

More and more children today are getting tech-savvy or using their parents’ smartphone to play games or watch content. Therefore, both the Galaxy S5 and the new Tab S range of Android tablets from Samsung has a feature called ‘Kids Mode’. Besides, the company has added a brand new update to the Kid Store, designed to make these devices more kid-friendly.

Samsung wants to deliver a better user experience or kids, as finding apps or games for children on the PlayStore can be overwhelming.

“Kids Store now offers 900 specially selected applications for children. Comprised of two tabs with a choice of content grouped by age and subject, Kids Store allows users to easily navigate through the available content. The content classification is as follows: 0-4 years old for preschool children, 5-6 years old for kindergarteners and 7 years old or more in primary school children. The content is also categorized by subject: learning, play, and story,” Samsung explained in a press release.

Samsung also added that the Kids Store brand zone offers premium content for children from the likes of PBS Kids, Budge Studio, Cupcake Digital, and Intellijoy. The Kids Store offers over 900 apps or games, along with highly popular and well-known titles from PBS Kids, LEGO, Pocoyo, Tipitap, as well as English educational content.

To recall, Kids Mode made its debut late last year on the limited edition ‘Galaxy Tab 7 Kids’. It has now expanded to the Galaxy S5 and the new Tab S lineup of Android Tablets. Therefore, we can expect Kids Mode to be included in future updates as well as in the forthcoming Galaxy Note 4 expected to launch later this fall.

Samsung has now started rolling out the new Tizen OS update for Galaxy Gear owners in the US. The update is available through Kies 3.0 software and brings several new features and enhancements to the company’s first smartwatch.

Galaxy Gear owners who update to Tizen OS get access to over 140 apps. It also brings enhancements found on the Galaxy Gear 2. Users will be store music on Galaxy Gear and play it directly from the smartwatch using Bluetooth headphones, without having to carry their Galaxy smartphone.

Elsewhere, the Tizen OS update also brings an improved user interface with added customization options for home screen icons, wallpapers, and font. It also gets the ability to track workouts in real-time, such as walking, running, cycling, and hiking.

Readers, however, are reminded that this is an optional update for the Galaxy Gear owners. Those who wish to update to Tizen OS can get so, while those who want to stick with Android can choose not to update. However, once you update your Galaxy Gear to Tizen OS you cannot revert to Android, so give it a thought before going ahead with the update.