Samsung may launch two variants of Galaxy S7

The South Korean smartphone manufacturer Samsung may introduce two variants of its upcoming Galaxy S7 smartphones. South Korea's Electronic Times reported on Monday that the company plans an initial production run of about 5 million of Galaxy S7 smartphones.

According to the report, Samsung is planning to launch two different variants of its new flagship smartphone with different screen sizes - Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. The regular Galaxy S7 will feature a 5.2-inch flat-screen and the Galaxy S7 Edge will feature a 5.5-inch curved-screen.

Samsung plans to initially make 3.3 million of the flat-screen version and around 1.6 million of the curved-screen version of its Galaxy S7 smartphone. Samsung may launch the Galaxy S7 smartphone in February, 2016.

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Samsung W2016 Dual-screen flip phone Launched in China

Samsung has introduced a new android-based dual-screen flip phone, Samsung W2016, in China. The Samsung W2016 is now listed on Samsung's China website. But the website doesn't mention the pricing and availability details of the Samsung W2016.

The Samsung W2016 features two 3.9-inch Super Amoled WXGA touchscreens with 768x1280 pixels resolution, on the inside and the outside of the top half of the handset. It also features a T9 physical keyboard.

The handset is powered by a 1.5GHz octa-core processor coupled with 3GB of RAM. It comes with 64GB of inbuilt storage. The device doesn't support expandable storage options. The new dual-screen flip phone sports a 16MP rear camera with LED flash and a 5MP front-facing camera. The camera sensors on the Samsung W2016 can be expected to pack the same sensors in the company's high-end handsets such as Samsung Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, and Galaxy Note 5.

The Samsung W2016 runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop operating system with the Samsung's TouchWiz running on top. The handset has been built mainly out of metal and glass. The dual-SIM handset offers 4G LTE, 3G, and 2G connectivity options. It also offers other connectivity options such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, GLONASS, and Micro-USB connectivity.

The handset is backed by a 2000mAh battery. It may support fast-charging that can offer up to 50 percent of charge in just 30 minutes of charging. The new flip phone from Samsung measures 120.4x61x15.1mm and weighs 204 grams.

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Samsung unveils its first 4K laptop, the ATIV Book 9 Pro

Samsung has finally announced its first laptop with a 4K display. The laptop named ATIV Book 9 Pro is Samsung's latest addition to its ATIV line of high-end laptops. It features a 15.6-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 3840 x 2160. The ATIV Book 9 Pro comes with the best display Samsung has ever put in a laptop.

The laptop is powered by the sixth-generation Intel Core i7 processor clocked at 2.6GHz. The processor is coupled with 8GB of RAM and it comes with 256GB of SSD storage. The ATIV Book 9 Pro also comes with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M graphics card, four speakers, and a 4K HDMI port. The device delivers a battery life of up to 6.5 hours. It is priced at $1,599.

Samsung has also introduced an another laptop the ATIV Book 9 Spin which comes with a display that rotates 360 degrees. It doesn't come with the 4K screen like the ATIV Book 9 Pro. It features a 13.3-inch QHD+ touchscreen display with 3200 x 1800 resolution. It is powered by a 2.5 GHz Intel Core i7 processor coupled with 8GB of RAM. It has a storage options same as that in the ATIV Book 9 Pro. It offers up to 7 hours of battery life. The ATIV Book 9 Spin is priced at $1,399

Both the ATIV Book 9 Pro and the ATIV Book 9 Spin will be available this month on Samsung.com and from Best Buy.

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Samsung and LG unveil new Flexible Batteries

Samsung and LG unveiled prototypes of new batteries at the InterBattery 2015 exhibition in Seoul, South Korea. Both Samsung and LG showcased flexible batteries that could shape the future of wearable devicess and set a new benchmark for other companies to follow.

Samsung showcased flexible band-shaped batteries. Dubbed "Stripe" and "Band", the company claims that these batteries will have a range of applications for wearable devices such as usage in T-shirts, and barrettes. The Band has been developed to be attached to smartwatch straps, while the Stripe is a bendy strip with an ultra-slim waistline of 0.3mm.

Samsung claims that the design in the aforementioned cells improves the battery life by up to 50 percent. But its capacity isn't sufficient to make it fit for use in smartphones and smartwatches yet, the company noted. As for its durability, the company has managed to mould the batteries to the curvature of the human wrist and noted that the batteries were able to withstand 50,000 bends in test conditions.

LG also showcased a flexible battery at the InterBattery 2015 exhibition. Dubbed the "wire battery," the cells can be made to bend into a circle of 15-mm radius, which the company claims, is twice as efficient than a typical battery in its range. Its wire-shaped body also makes it fit for use in wearables. The batteries are not conceptual, and will be available in the market eventually.

An LG representative said that the company has been working on the wire battery since 2013. Samsung hopes that it will be able to deploy the new batteries for commercial applications by as early as 2017.

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Samsung Z3 Launched at Rs. 8,490

Samsung launched Tizen-powered Samsung Z3 smartphone on Wednesday at a price of Rs 8,490. The smartphone will go on sale next week via offline retailers and Snapdeal. The smartphone runs on Tizen 2.4 OS and it is available in Gold White and Black color variants.

The Samsung Z3 features a 5-inch HD Super AMOLED display which lets you enjoy crisp detail, true to life colours and vibrant tones, in your movies and images. The handset is powered by an 1.3GHz quad-core processor coupled with 1GB of RAM. It also comes with an internal storage of 8GB which is expandable up to 128GB via microSD card.

The Samsung Z3 comes with a sleek and slim ultra modern design, and a dazzling metal finish. It features an 8MP rear camera with LED flash which can take brighter images even in low light conditions. It also features a 5MP front-facing camera with wide angle selfie. The dual-SIM handset supports 3G and other connectivity options include Bluetooth 4.0, USB 2.0, GPS and Wi-Fi.

The Z3 comes with My Galaxy, an exclusive app that brings you exciting offers, entertaining content, fabulous deals and special care. With the Intelligent User Interface, the most used apps are accessible at the touch of your home screen and all the other apps are just a swipe away. The Z3 comes with cool and exciting themes. So you can choose and change a theme that defines your style or mood for the day.

The smartphone also comes with an innovative Ultra Data Saving Mode that compresses data and let you save up to 40% data on your favourite apps. It also lets you restrict background data, so that you can browse, read and watch more of what you love.

The Z3 is backed by a 2600mAh battery with UPS mode. The Ultra Power Saving Mode ensures that you stay on even after the other phones are long gone. Even if your phone is at 10% battery, switching to Ultra Power Saving Mode (UPSM) will give you up to 33 hours of standby time. It shuts down unnecessary functions, switching the screen to a battery saving monochrome mode to give you extended standby time.

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Samsung Pay went live in the US

Samsung's mobile payment service Samsung Pay went live in the US on Monday. Samsung Pay lets users pay for items using their phones or upcoming Gear S2 smartwatch. Samsung Pay works with Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, Note 5 and S6 Edge+ smartphones.

Samsung Pay is accepted almost anywhere you can swipe or tap your credit card. It makes transactions super easy. Just swipe up to launch the app, secure with your fingerprint, and hover over the card reader to pay.

Samsung Pay uses several layers of security. It keeps your payment information separate and doesn’t store or share it, so you can pay without worry. It’s simple, secure and works in more stores than any other mobile payment service. It works even at older retail terminals that don't accept Apple Pay.

Samsung Pay will use a Near-Field Communication(NFC) chip to talk with compatible registers. It also uses a LoopPay technology called Magnetic Secure Transmission that works by holding the phone near a traditional card swipe reader, essentially making it backward compatible for nearly all payment terminals.

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Samsung announces $99 Gear VR headset

Virtual reality is taking a few steps closer to the mainstream with Samsung unveiling a headset that brings the technology to its latest smartphones at half the price of its previous model. The newly announced Gear VR is a milestone for Samsung and Oculus. It's the first virtual reality headset either has released without the safety net of an "Innovator Edition" or "Development Kit" label. It opens the platform up to anyone who owns one of Samsung's four new flagship phones: the Galaxy Note 5, the Galaxy S6, the Galaxy S6 Edge, and the Galaxy 6S Edge+.

The announcements at a developers conference in Los Angeles for virtual reality technology company Oculus represent attempts to push the platform beyond a video-gamer-focused niche. Samsung said its new virtual reality headset will be 22% lighter and cost $99, half the price of its previous model. The Gear VR, which requires users to insert the latest version of a Samsung smartphone into the headset, will ship in November.

Netflix content is available to be viewed in Oculus or Samsung headsets starting September 24, while Hulu said it would also bring its app to the Oculus platform where users can stream 2D content as well as an original virtual reality short film called "The Big One,'' from YouTube star Freddie Wong's RocketJump production company. A Hulu launch date wasn't announced.

Meanwhile, Oculus said it would begin a certification program so consumers can look for a sticker that will identify which computers support its Oculus Rift headset, which is due to come out early next year. Asus, Dell and Alienware will have certified models that cost less than $1,000.

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