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.

Eyes on With Samsung's Stunning D8000 TV

by Terrence O'Brien

from http://www.switched.com/

The Samsung D8000 is the company's new top-of-the-line TV, and it's a stunner. It's a miraculously thin, Internet-connected, 3-D, LED-backlit piece of beauty. It even comes with a touchscreen remote that lets you watch video and check your social networking accounts. But the most impressive things about the D8000 are the incredible viewing angles (the picture being almost perfect even from the sides), and the 0.2-inch bezel, which practically disappears when the TV is turned on. Samsung hasn't announced a release date or a price, but you can be sure it won't be cheap. Check out the video below.

Cute Girl Has A Catchy Dance!!

naturalinfluence | September 07, 2010

Let yourself dance freely. Be your own style. You never know who might be watching!

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 3D Projection Mapping In Amsterdam

Digital Buzz - www.digitalbuzzblog.com - If you thought that last few projection mapping examples I posted were amazing, then check this out. Samsung have just run three nights of an amazing 3D projection mapping installation in Amsterdam to promote their new range of 3D LED TVs.

Perfectly mapped to a historic building in Amsterdam, the projection realistically cracks the building in half, sending debris shattering down before it fills up with water and then drains into a rain forest revealing the new Samsung 3D LED TV! While Ive seen other attempted 3D perspectives, this certainly has to be the best 3D experience Ive seen from Projection mapping!

Samsung Epic 4G preview

By Joanna Stern

From: http://www.engadget.com/

We've seen our fair share of Samsung Galaxy S phones in the past few weeks, but the Sprint Epic 4G version (or the Galaxy S Pro, as we'd previously suspected it would be known) looks like it could take the cake. The phone has all the same specs as the others family members -- including a 1GHz Samsung Hummingbird processor, 5 megapixel cam, a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen, and Android 2.1 -- but it also boasts a front facing camera and a physical keyboard. So, is the new slider as epically amazing as we've been imagining? We got to spend some time with a unit this afternoon, so hit the break for some early impressions and a quick video.

Samsung Epic

• Hardware: The Epic may not have a 4.3-inch screen like the Droid X or EVO, but at 4 inches, it's close -- and for all practical purposes, it appears to be just as large. The slide-out physical keyboard doesn't add as much girth as we expected, though it still adds to the height of the phone. While the curved edges give it a similar look to the Galaxy S we've seen overseas, it has four touch sensitive buttons along the bottom instead of those physical buttons. Oh, and about that physical keyboard, it's pretty glorious -- the keys are slightly raised and there's a bit of space between each of them. We have to admit it looks a bit odd to have a keyboard with such a big screen, but if anything it's a throw back to UMPCs or MIDs.

• Screen: The Epic 4G has the same 4-inch Super AMOLED display as the Galaxy S and Captivate. But we aren't letting that diminish our love of it -- every time we see it we are pretty blown away by the crispness. Yet again, we didn't get to test the display in sunlight, but indoors it was seriously bright, albeit glossy. (Oh, and if you missed it, check out our head-to-head between Samsung's Super AMOLED screen and Apple's Retina display.)

• Software: The Epic 4G will run Android 2.1 at launch, but Sprint tells us it will be rolling out the 2.2 update not too long after it hits the market. Just like the Captivate, it has the latest version of Samsung's TouchWiz skin, which isn't too distracting and actually polishes up Android a bit. It's also preloaded with Swype and Qik as well as a few Sprint applications -- including the mobile hotspot app, notably. Speaking of Qik, we did confirm that the Epic 4G has a VGA front facing cam, while the one on it's backside will take 5 megapixel shots.
  

• Performance: Unlike the early version of the Captivate that we saw, the Epic 4G's 1GHz Hummingbird CPU was zippy. As you will see in the video, scrolling was super snappy and there was no noticeable lag in opening applications like Amazon's Kindle app or firing up the camcorder. Video playback also looked super smooth. Sprint's still not giving out information on pricing or availability, though we're told the price will be aggressive and the handset will be available before the end of Summer.

On that note, until we get our hands on a review unit, we leave you with a brief, standard def video of what's clearly shaping up to be Sprint's Android phone of the month:

Samsung unveils e-reader, partnering with Google

From: http://www.physorg.com/

Enlarge

An attendee examines the new E6 e-book reader by Samsung during a press event at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show at the Venetian in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 6-inch device will be available this year for $399. A 10-inch version, the E101, will sell for $699.

South Korean electronics giant Samsung jumped into the increasingly crowded electronic book reader market Wednesday, unveiling its first devices and a partnership with Google Books.



Samsung took the wraps off two wireless e-readers at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the "E6" with a six-inch (15.2-centimeter) screen and the "E101" with a 10-inch (25.4-centimeter) display.
Samsung touted its new black-and-white display e-readers for their ability to allow users to write directly on the screen, making annotations with an electromagnetic resonance stylus pen.
"It's not just a reading device," said Doug Albregts, vice president of Samsung's information technology division. "It's more like paper with a handwriting feature in that it allows you to write directly on the display."
Users of the Samsung devices can "write and share wirelessly and truly collaborate," Albregts said.
Google global director of communications Gabriel Stricker made a video appearance at the Samsung event to announce that the Web giant, which is compiling a vast online library of books, would be a partner with Samsung.
"We want people to find these books anywhere, anytime," Stricker said, calling Samsung a "great match for us at Google."
"We're so excited to make our million-plus public domain books available," he said.
Samsung said the E6 will cost 399 dollars while the E101 will cost 699 dollars and will be available in early 2010.
The new Samsung devices will go up against Amazon's popular Kindle and a host of other new devices already on the market, including the Sony Reader, the "Nook" from Barnes & Noble and the Cool-er from Britain's Interead.
Samsung is one of a number of a companies unveiling e-readers at CES but the category has been overshadowed lately by reports that consumer electronics star Apple may shortly unveil a tablet computer that may double as an e-book reader.
(c) 2010 AFP

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.

Samsung Memoir 8-Megapixel Cameraphone Lightning Review

By Jason Chen
The Gadget: Samsung Memoir, which is the 8-megapixel upgraded version of the Samsung Behold—both of which have Samsung's TouchWiz-based touchscreen interface. It's also got a Xenon flash that works quite well.

The Price: $250 with two-year contract, $50 rebate and qualifying data plan

---

The Verdict: A pretty damn good cameraphone. The TouchWiz UI is pretty much the same as the version on the Samsung Behold. In short, it's more usable as a touchscreen phone (keyboard is fairly decent) than Windows Mobile phones, but not quite as good as say, Android or the iPhone. It does have haptic feedback, meaning there's a slight rumble as you press down on the screen. And yes, that implies that the Memoir doesn't have capacitive touch. You still have to press down when you want to click things. Let it be known that Jesús Diaz does not like some Samsung touchscreen UIs.

The front of the phone looks like a Samsung touchscreen phone, but the back actually looks a lot like a Samsung camera. Which is kind of the point. The 8-megapixel camera is very good. So good, in fact, that it's (give or take) about as good as my Samsung NV3 point and shoot from a few years ago. The gallery below has comparison shots.

---

And here's how well the Memoir's Xenon flash works in complete darkness. Spoiler: Pretty damn well.

---

I haven't had enough experience with Nokia's high end N-series cameraphones to say whether or not the Memoir is better. We've already established that more megapixels isn't always better, but if the Memoir can take photos that are just about as good as Samsung's NV3 (which doesn't take FANTASTIC images, we have to admit), it's a great alternative for a point and shoot camera.

Samsung Releases Solar Powered Phone!

by Jorge Chapa

Green Gadget fans have been waiting for the holy green grail of gadgets for awhile now: the solar-powered mobile phone. And now it seems that Samsung has finally delivered on this promise with their brand new Blue Earth phone. Blue Earth is a gorgeous green touch phone that has a full solar panel on its back which can generate enough power to charge the phone. And yes - the gadget is still small enough to fit in your pocket!

As if releasing a solar powered phone wasn’t enough, Samsung is going above and beyond to achieve what they hope is the greenest phone on the market. The body of the phone is made out of recycled water bottles and has no brominated flame retardants, beryllium and phthalates - all incredibly toxic substances. That goes for the charger as well, which also meets the newer standby mode energy efficiency ratings. Granted, it is solar powered, so really, a charger?

The device is set to be energy efficient, with a new user interface making it easy to activate the phone’s energy saving mode. It also includes a pedometer, and CO2 emissions calculator, and Samsung is aiming for minimal packaging made entirely from recycled paper.

Samsung is clearly throwing the gauntlet to all phone manufacturers, and we hope to see solar cells integrated throughout the rest of their line. The phone will be unveiled on February 16th at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

+ Samsung

Via Pocketlint

Samsung to release 12 megapixels of cameraphone foolishness this month?

by Thomas Ricker

It's been a few years since Samsung unleashed its 10 megapixel cameraphone onto the world. Now we're hearing that Samsung will push the limits of absurdity to a full 12 megapixels "this month," likely at Mobile World Congress. The phone is expected to hit the production lines in February with a European debut shortly thereafter. No details are provided other than the picture above used (but not attributed) by Unwired View. If this is the unannounced phone then we can obviously expect GPS geotagging, DivX video capture, and WiFi with DLNA support. One thing is clear: Samsung thinks that Europeans are pixel braggarts with little concern for image quality.

Update: Nope, that image is just a Photoshop of an 8 megapixel Innov8 -- still, we wouldn't be surprised to see the same feature set and industrial design in a 12 megapixel handset.

[Thanks, Robin of Loxley]

CES Day One: Our Top 10

By John Mahoney

Today, with the floor open, is the first real day of CES. By now we've seen a good deal of gear from the big companies, and here's the best so far.

Palm Pre : Number one with a bullet. If we told you three months ago that Palm would own CES, would you have believed us? But this phone is for real, and from the looks of it right now, it very well could be the morale lift Palm so badly needed.

And the rest, in no particular order:

Samsung BD-4600 Blu-ray Player: Wall-mountable, networked, 1.5-inches thick, and really, really nice looking.

Samsung Luxia LED TV Lineup: Samsung loosed a whole series of ultra-thin, LED-backlit, network-connected LCDs, winning the Battle of the TV Announcements hands down.

Vizio Connected HDTVs: These Vizios stream just about everything possible over wireless-N: Amazon, Blockbuster and Netflix VOD, Pandora, Flickr, Rhapsody, plus any other Yahoo web widget.

Sony Vaio P: Sony's Vaio P is something we haven't seen before: a 2.08:1 aspect ratio (1600x768) on a 1-inch thick portable. Something different in the very, very generic netbook field.

Casio 1,000fps Point and Shoot Cameras: Both the EX-FC100 and the EX-FS10 bring the EX-F1's slo-mo capture goodness to a point and shoot. Casio's still the only folks in the super slo-mo field, and they're continuing to kill.

LG's GD910 Watch Phone: It was a non-working, behind-the-glass prototype last year, but one of every gadget head's boyish dreams will come true later this year: A watch that's a phone.

Eee Keyboard: Asus took the crazy cake with their still-shadowy home theater keyboard. With an onboard processor (of some kind), a touchscreen and keyboard and wireless HDMI, it makes perfect sense as a unique home-theater machine.

Sony Cyber-shot G3: We're all about putting web browsers on as many things as possible, and Sony's found another way to get one into our pants: A super-slim wi-fi-equipped Cyber-shot G3 that's the world's first to surf the web.

Panasonic Portable Blu-ray Player: Panasonic's DMP-B15 is the world's first portable Blu-ray deck. Your laptop probably doesn't have a BD drive, but this will ensure you can watch hi-def 1080p on a tiny, tiny screen on your next flight.

And there you have it. Good stuff you may or may not be able to afford in '09? Disappointment of disappointments? Discuss. [CES 2009]

CES 2009: World's thinnest television unveiled

The world's thinnest television was unveiled on Tuesday measuring just 6.5mm (0.26inches).

By Danielle Demetriou in Tokyo

Electronics companies are expected to unveil even thinner televisions in the near future. Photo: AFP

The wafer thin television, which was created by the South Korean company Samsung Electronics, is being hailed as the world's slimmest television ever created.

Its features include a LCD (liquid crystal display) screen as well as an LED (light emitting diode) backlighting system, to which its creators attribute its record slimline structure.

A prototype of the new flat-panel television is to be displayed during the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas which opens on Thursday.

Global economic turmoil and diminishing demand for goods has intensified competition between global electronic companies battling to produce the world's thinnest, smallest and lightest products.

During the Las Vegas show, the Japanese company JVC will also unveil what it claims is the world's lightest 32-inch LCD TV, which is fractionally thicker than Samsung's creation at 7mm (0.28inches).

The new generation of slim televisions eclipse streamlined models such as the Philips 8mm (0.3 inches) prototype LCD television unveiled in Berlin last year, Sony's 9.9mm (0.4 inches) set which is currently on sale and Samsung's Bordeaux 850 LCD TV.

Electronics companies are expected to unveil even thinner televisions in the near future based on new screen technology known as organic light emitting diode (OLED).