Google Purportedly Testing NFC Payment Machines In NY/SF Stores

by Ray Willington
from http://hothardware.com/

Google may be opting out when it comes to joining the social networking game, but they're saying yes to mobile payments. The Samsung-built Nexus S was one of the first NFC-enabled smartphones to ship in America, and now Google is reportedly ready to start testing a mobile payment trial at stores in NY and SF. The Bloomberg article on the matter suggests that the trials could begin in four months, and it will let shoppers use their phones to buy items at those stores. NFC and contact-less payments have frequently been used to pay for mass transit, but particularly in America, it's still rare to see stores setup to accept NFC payments.

Google will be footing the bill to install these systems (VeriFone Systems) at stores, and the registers would reportedly "accept payments from mobile phones equipped with so-called near-field-communication technology." If you have an NFC phone, you'll need to connect a credit card with that account, and then you can tap your phone on the mobile terminal to check out. No one has confirmed the plans yet, but it all makes perfect sense. Google's very interested in getting deep into the NFC arena. This technology is poised to explode in America, and there's plenty Google can do from an advertising standpoint whenever location-based solutions are used. Hopefully it'll be showing up in even more cities soon.

Samsung's Galaxy Tab Takes on Apple's iPad

Posted by Stephen Shankland
From: http://www.cbsnews.com

DJ Lee, head of Samsung Mobile global sales and marketing, shows the e-reader application in the Galaxy Tab at the IFA trade show in Berlin.

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)

BERLIN--When Samsung debuted its Galaxy Tab on Wednesday, it made a bold claim: the device is at least as good as today's dominant tablet, Apple's iPad.

"Honestly, I don't see anything [about the Galaxy Tab] that is weaker than the iPad," W.P. Wong, head of Samsung Mobile's product planning team, said at a press conference here at the IFA electronics show.

And in several ways, he said, the Galaxy Tab is stronger. It permits both picture-taking and video chat with front- and back-mounted cameras. Its weight of 380 grams (0.8 pounds) is considerably less than the iPad, which weighs 680 grams (1.5 pounds) without 3G and 730g (1.6 pounds) with it.

"In terms of the weight, you may not think it's a significant factor, but we think through consumer research that weight is very critical to enjoy the user experience," Hong said.

The product itself will begin shipping in late September or early October in European markets, but Samsung is already trying to raise expectations about as high as they'll go.

"The Galaxy Tab will change our lives," Samsung Mobile President J.K. Shin said. "It is a true paradigm-shifter."

Samsung certainly has abundant experience with consumer electronics, including the fact that it makes the memory, display, and processor used in the Galaxy Tab. But it'll be tough taking on the iPad.

"Apple's iPad is unlikely to face a viable competitor until 2011, allowing the company to maintain a dominant share in the tablet market at least through 2012," research firm iSuppli said in August.

Samsung Galaxy Tab (photos)

But Android's success on smartphones that compete with the iPhone has revealed that it's possible to at least compete effectively against Apple, if not hurt the company in its iOS device domain.

Android, though it lags iOS devices in gaming titles, does have a wide range of applications. Samsung pointed out that the Galaxy Tab will run Adobe Systems' Flash Player 10.1, which opens the doors to more games available over the Web.

But Apple has often won out against rivals with a stronger list of individual features. It's not clear yet if the Galaxy Tab or a host of other tablets based on Android, WebOS, or Windows 7 will be able to match the iPad's overall experience.

"Apple's complete integration of hardware, software, operating system and applications is a major piece of what makes the device a standout," said iSuppli analyst Rhoda Alexander.

Regarding battery life, the Galaxy Tab looks at least competitive, though Samsung didn't call it out specifically as an advantage. The device will be able to play high-definition video for at least 7 hours on a single charge and perform less strenuous tasks for much more than 10, said Thomas Richter, head of Samsung's product portfolio for the European telecommunications division. Apple says the iPad can last 10 hours running a combination of video, Web surfing, and book reading; reviewers were generally impressed by its longevity.

The Galaxy Tab will include Android 2.2, called Froyo, but will be upgradable to 3.0, called Gingerbread, Hong said.

Read the full article at CNET

Samsung Galaxy S Phones Compared: Spec Showdown

• By: Greg Mombert
• From: http://www.digitaltrends.com/
  

We put all four phones from Samsung’s Galaxy S series side-by-side to see which comes out on top when they’re compared spec by spec.

Samsung launched the Galaxy S series of smartphones as four slightly tweaked models across the four major carriers: Vibrant (T-Mobile); Captivate (AT&T); Fascinate (Verizon); Epic 4g (Sprint). While this makes it very confusing for shoppers, it also offers lots of options, if you’re not locked into any one carrier. Looking at the Galaxy S line, but having trouble pinpointing the differences between the phones? We have you covered. Despite the common bloodline, all four models offer distinct features that set them apart from each other. We’ve laid out our impressions and the specifications side by side, so you can see which phone wins out in this Samsung civil war.

Samsung Captivate

If you’re an active social networker and video watcher, the Captivate probably makes a better choice than the iPhone 4, especially if you’re concerned with iPhone’s antenna issues. If you’re more concerned with speedy Web surfing, image and video capture, and video chatting, the iPhone 4 is the only choice. All other things being as equal as they can be (including the $199 price tag), the iPhone 4 is still the AT&T superphone champion, with performance superior in head-to-head comparisons with similar functions on the Captivate. But the margins are narrow enough not to make Captivate an uncomfortable non-Apple choice.

Samsung Epic 4G

Even if you don’t or won’t have 4G service, the Epic is a flexible, light, fun and easy-to-use superphone. The Epic might be a value match for the EVO, thanks to its super-bright super AMOLED screen, slide-out keyboard and pre-installed 16GB microSD card, and even taking into account its minor operational annoyances and comparative specification failings in camera MP and hotspot connectivity. But given you can buy a 16GB microsSD card for around $25, the Epic isn’t worth an extra $50 unless you absolutely need a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. So far, the Epic is one of the best phones on the market today.

Samsung Vibrant

T-Mobile’s best all-around Android phone has been the Motorola Cliq XT. It has the same 5-megapixel camera as the Vibrant, only with a flash. But it’s slower for surfing and loading apps than the Vibrant, it has just a HVGA video recorder, a smaller QWERTY, less memory, and a screen nearly an inch smaller. But it’s also $70 less than the Vibrant. If you can afford it (and don’t take many indoor pictures), the Vibrant is definitely worth the extra dough.

The Samsung Fascinate is set to be released in early fall, check back for impressions.

Spec comparison

	Samsung Captivate	Samsung Epic 4G	Samsung Fascinate	Samsung Vibrant
Carrier	AT&T	Sprint	Verizon	T-Mobile
Price (with 2 year contract)	$199.99	$249.99	TBA	$199.99
Display Size	4-inch AMOLED Display	4-inch AMOLED Display	4-inch AMOLED Display	4-inch AMOLED Display
Display Resolution	480 x 800	480×800	480 x 800	480 x 800
Processor	1 GHz Samsung Hummingbird Application Processor	1 GHz Samsung Hummingbird Application Processor	1 GHz Samsung Hummingbird Application Processor	1 GHz Samsung Hummingbird Application Processor
Operating System	Android 2.1	Android 2.1	Android 2.1	Android 2.1
Keyboard	Virtual	QWERTY	Virtual	Virtual
Camera	5 megapixels	5 megapixels	5 megapixels	5 megapixels
Included Storage	16 GB	16 GB	16 GB	16 GB
Expandable (Max) Storage	32 GB	32 GB	32 GB	32 GB
Battery (Talk Time)	350 minutes	360 minutes	TBA	390 minutes
Battery (Standby)	340 hours	216 hours	TBA	450 hours
Weight	128 grams	155 grams	TBA	117 grams
Height	106.2 mm	124.4 mm	TBA	122.4 mm
Width	63.5 mm	63.5 mm	TBA	64.5 mm
Depth	9.9 mm	15.2 mm	TBA	9.9 mm

Samsung shows unbreakable AMOLED display

From: http://www.electronista.com/

Samsung Mobile Display (SMD) is developing an AMOLED display that is crush-proof and can be bent while showing video without ill effects. The prototype display is sized at 2.8 inches and has a resolution of 166ppi. It weighs just 0.29g and is 20 micrometers thin. Samsung believes it can bring the AMOLED display on a universal board to market by 2012.

Such displays would be useful in smartphones, bringing new levels of thinnes and ruggedness and allow for new form factors. SMD plans to introduce a TFT on the plastic panel and to replace the existing vinyl protection sheet with polyimide film to prevent residue when light is emitted. [via OLED-Display]

Samsung introduces Mondi, the first WiMax 'Mobile Internet Device'

Touch-screen, pocket-size device will ship in second quarter (see photo, below)

By Matt Hamblen

March 31, 2009 (Computerworld) LAS VEGAS -- Samsung Telecommunications America announced the first WiMax-enabled Mobile Internet Device (MID) today at the International CTIA Wireless conference.

Called the Mondi, the touch-screen, pocket-size device is designed for use on the Clear mobile WiMax network from Clearwire, Samsung officials announced on Tuesday evening. Mondi derives its name from the Latin word for "world."

No price was announced, but it will be available at Best Buy and Clear stores, as well as Samsung's online store sometime in the second quarter, Samsung officials said. The black-slider form factor of the Mondi device extends horizontally to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard and an optical mouse. It runs the Opera 9.5 Web browser and has a 4.3-in. touch screen.

The Mondi runs on the Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system. In addition to WiMax, it connects to Wi-Fi, as well as GPS and Bluetooth 2.0. It has a 3.0-megapixel camera and camcorder, and comes with 4GB of internal memory. Other specifications were not released.

"The Mondi provides the power of a laptop but easily fits in the hand or a pocket," said Omar Khan, senior vice president of strategy and product management at Samsung.

Clearwire now operates mobile WiMax service in Portland, Ore., and Baltimore and expects to launch in 80 markets by 2010.

Khan said Samsung supports WiMax networks globally and felt the need to build a WiMax product even though the capabilities of Clear in the U.S. are still in an early stage.

Samsung's Mondi sports a 4.3-in. touch screen.

"We do believe it's important to support WiMax to take advantage of 4G speeds," Khan said. "Everything starts at a nascent stage, and the Mondi is our first [device] to support that."

He said the Mondi was not a phone, and does not provide voice services. However, Khan left open the possibility of future voice support in the Mondi or other products, saying that Samsung's road map provides for dual-network mode capability with WiMax and other networks he did not name.

Khan said that Samsung was "on track" to provide Android devices in the second half of the year.

And regarding LTE, a future competitor to WiMax, he said Samsung was cooperating with LTE carriers on trials of that technology. "We are committed to being a leader in both WiMax and LTE," Khan said.

Asked whether Samsung devices would run Windows applications across other operating systems, Khan said Samsung was releasing a software developer kit next month as part of its Samsung Mobile Innovator Program to foster creation of widgets that would allow Windows to run on Android or Symbian.

Under that strategy, the browser in the device will run applications and not the operating system, he said.