At yesterday’s Samsung Developer Conference in San Francisco, South Korea’s number one smartphone exporter unveiled new additions to its Galaxy ecosystem: the Galaxy S23 FE model phones, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE and S9 FE+, and Galaxy Buds FE. These latest additions to the flagship Galaxy line are designed to provide a pro-level camera as well as smooth mobile gaming performance. Complete with AI editing tools for easy-share content, the Galaxy S23 FE is also customizable, with Pro Mode controls that allow manual selection for shutter speed, aperture and ISO for those who choose. Continue reading Samsung Showcases the Latest Additions to Its Galaxy Lines

Samsung’s Freestyle Gen 2 with Gaming Hub is a compact smart projector that adds mobility to high-end gaming. Weighing under two pounds, the device turns surfaces from ceilings to tent walls into what’s described as a cinema-quality screen, displaying at resolutions up to full HD (1080×1920) at 30- to 100-inches. The built-in Gaming Hub eliminates the need to tote a separate console and provides access to up to more than 3,000 streaming games. It also runs Tizen OS, offering the advantages of a Samsung Smart TV. The $799 unit ships August 31. Continue reading Samsung Freestyle Projector Adds Streaming Games and TV

TiVo has indicated it will enter the North American smart television set market, announcing a “multi-year, multi-million-unit agreement” with Sharp that will see sets start to ship in 2024 beginning in Europe. The move to populate the TV ecosystem with hardware running Xperi’s TiVo OS pits the company against an entrenched group of smart TV competitors that includes Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Google TV, Roku, Samsung Tizen and LG Electronics’ webOS. Added to those is the Comcast and Charter Communications Xumo brand, and also Telly, which offers free TVs supported by ads. Continue reading Xperi Advances Its Plan for TiVo OS Smart TVs in Sharp Deal

Samsung is adding new features to its small Freestyle projector for 2023, with support for the Samsung Gaming Hub and image expansion using Smart Edge Blending, which lets viewers combine two of the devices to watch content in a 21:9 configuration with no manual lining up or adjusting. The Gaming Hub provides streaming apps from Xbox, Amazon Luna, Nvidia GeForce NOW and more. Subscribers to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or other high-performance cloud gaming services can stream directly on the Freestyle so long as the Internet connection is robust enough. Continue reading CES: Samsung Freestyle Projector Adds Game Hub, Features

At the Samsung Developer Conference in San Francisco, the company introduced new initiatives tied to its latest smartphones, the Galaxy Watch 5 and other connected devices. Samsung also revealed plans for personalization enabled by its One UI 5, the updated user interface that will be made available later this month. Security and privacy were also on the agenda. The company announced it is developing a method to keep IoT smart devices secure by putting them on the blockchain. Samsung Knox Matrix will feature a private blockchain system to help protect Galaxy devices, TV sets and smart home appliances while securely sharing login credentials. Continue reading Samsung Touts New Initiatives and Private Blockchain Security

Several ultra portable projectors were on display at CES 2022. Among the more interesting short throw models were products from Anker, Hisense, Samsung and XGIMI, although the show also featured a range of projector types from the likes of BenQ, JVC, Panasonic, Vankyo and ViewSonic. Generating the most buzz in the short throw category was Samsung’s $899 projector, The Freestyle, that can project from 30 to 100 inches and comes equipped with a 1080p HDR-capable view and 360-degree audio. Also drawing media attention was Anker’s upcoming Nebula Cosmos Laser, which comes in 4K ($2,199) and 1080p ($1,599) versions, and is expected to ship by late March. Continue reading CES: New Ultra Portable Projectors Stand Out at Trade Show

Samsung is heading to CES this week with new smart TV features including its Gaming Hub and an NFT platform that integrates the purchase and trade of digital art and assets. The company is also introducing the 4K 32-inch M8 smart monitor, which like the M7 combines computer functionality with smart TV features such as preloaded streaming apps but bests its predecessor by adding a SlimFit camera for video calls and a SmartThings IoT hub that maps smart devices throughout the household and lets you control them from the monitor. The M8 price and release date has yet to be announced. Continue reading CES: Samsung Reveals Its Latest Smart TVs and M8 Monitor

At its second Galaxy Unpacked event, Samsung debuted two new versions of folding phones, the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G, which opens like a book and acts like a mini-tablet, and the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G, which opens like a compact mirror and offers a smaller form factor. Also new are two new smartwatches, the Galaxy Watch4 and Galaxy Watch4 Classic, both the first to run Wear OS 3, the Google-owned operating system co-developed with Samsung and Fitbit. Samsung also debuted Galaxy Buds2. All the new gear will go on sale August 27. Continue reading Samsung Unpacks New Watches, Buds and Foldable Phones

Huawei Technologies debuted HarmonyOS, its self-developed operating system, for mobile phones after introducing it for other devices in 2019. The Chinese company is attempting to free itself of U.S. suppliers, in particular Google. Since the U.S. imposed sanctions, Huawei has not been able to access updates to Google’s Android operating system or its Google Mobile Services package of smartphone software. Currently, Samsung Electronics, Xiaomi and other top phone manufacturers (except Apple) use Android. Continue reading Huawei Pushes Its HarmonyOS for Mobile, Aiming at Android

At this week’s Google I/O developer conference, the company unveiled its Android 12 mobile operating system with numerous visual changes and new privacy features. The company also showcased Project Starline, a prototype virtual meeting booth that could replace Google Meet. In addition, Google is tweaking its smartwatch Wear OS and has improved Photos’ discovery and Chrome’s built-in password manager. More remote working tools and new natural language skills were debuted. Google also tweaked Maps and shopping tools. Continue reading Google I/O: Android 12, Remote Working Tools, Wear Update

For the first time, Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos revealed the number of Amazon Prime subscribers: 100 million people. In 2015, the company last hinted about the number, saying there were “tens of millions” of Prime members. With this revelation, Bezos is letting shareholders know that Prime is healthy, and that the large number of subscribers will allow the company to continue to invest in technology and thrive. Bezos also recently announced that Amazon is teaming with Best Buy to sell Amazon Fire TV-powered sets. Continue reading Amazon Hits 100M Prime Subscribers, Inks Deal with Best Buy

Samsung unveiled a new line of TVs at CES, dubbed QLED, which replaces its two-year old SUHD premium line-up. QLED offers better viewing angles, HDR, and 100 percent of the DCI-P3 color space as well as improved black levels. The Samsung Q7, Q8 and Q9 QLED models can be mounted flush with the wall, using the company’s proprietary mounting system. Two tabletop stands, made of stainless steel and aluminum, include an easel-style floor stand. A new fiber-optic system makes the connecting cable almost invisible. Continue reading Samsung’s QLED TV Line Claims 100 Percent DCI-P3 Color

The Apple Watch is leading the pack in smartwatch sales. Last year, it captured 52 percent of market share in the 8 months since its April debut. Android Wear, the smartwatch platform behind wearables from Huawei, Motorola, Fossil, Asus and Sony, followed with less than 10 percent of market share. Apple’s domination is making investors reluctant to believe that other companies like Fitbit can compete. While Juniper Research data places Apple on top, the market is still relatively new and a lot could change in the next couple of years. Continue reading Apple Claims Early Lead in the Emerging Smartwatch Market

According to IDC, 72.1 million wearable devices will be shipped this year. The global forecast represents an increase of 173.3 percent over 2014. Shipments are expected to experience a 42.6 percent compound annual growth rate the next several years, reaching 155.7 million units in 2019. The demand for sub-$100 wearables from vendors such as Fitbit and Xiaomi that do not require third party apps has been particularly strong. “We expect smart wearables, those capable of running third party apps, to take the lead in 2016,” said analyst Jitesh Ubrani. Continue reading IDC Projects Wearables Market to Grow 173 Percent This Year

Samsung has ambitious plans for its Tizen operating system, which the South Korean manufacturer is promoting as an alternative to Google’s Android. After launching an affordable mobile phone powered by Tizen in India, Samsung’s next goal is to equip half of all its TV sets with the Tizen operating system this year. At CES this month, Samsung said it aims to sell 60 millions TVs in 2015, 30 million of which would be powered by Tizen. The company hopes that by 2017, all of its Internet-connected TVs will be Tizen-enabled sets. Continue reading Samsung Sets High Goals for Future of Tizen-Powered TVs