When it comes to advertising a new product, Korean outfit Samsung is famed for pushing the boat out, spending extravagant amounts to ensure that consumers are fully aware of its latest releases. Given that the flagship Galaxy S5 smartphone is now a fortnight old, it's not surprising that we've already seen a swathe of new ads, and in the latest, Samsung makes sure to point out that the device's new camera is superior to that of the iPhone 5s.
Last month, we reported on a piece of Android malware that turned Android devices into Bitcoin miners, and now, a security firm has highlighted a few more suspect apps over at the Google Play Store. Given the growing popularity of cryptocurrency, mobile devices were always going to be targeted in this way, but the frequency in which these attacks appear to be occurring will certainly be seen as cause for alarm.
The idea of having a projector built into a mobile phone has been around for a long time, although few have dared ventured into this arena. Remember the Pomegranate concept phone that made rounds of the internet sporting a projector unit? Or the rumored Mozilla device with the same capabilities? In reality, Samsung was one manufacturer back in 2012 that ventured with a smartphone carrying a projector with its Galaxy Beam Android smartphone, and while that showed that it can be done, it didn’t go much beyond that. Today, Samsung announced the successor to this unique device, in the form of Samsung Galaxy Beam 2 Android phone.
Up until this point, the Mountain View company has been pretty clear that Glass isn’t a product for everyone - all the way from its high price point to the fact that it was impossible for the masses to get one without an invite. In fact, Google had touted the device to be for explorers primarily - people living their lives on the edge and daring to do what others usually don’t. Well, all of that is changing now, as the Glass Store has been opened to everyone interested in getting their hands on the rather expensive and catchy eyewear!
In terms of general functionality, there's little argument that Apple's iOS is playing catch-up with Android, which thanks to its open source nature, can be readily tailored to suit the individual user. One of the most popular iOS jailbreak tweaks leading up to iOS 7 was SBSettings, which allowed features like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to be controlled with a swipe, negating the need to trawl through the Settings app. This issue has since been resolved through Apple's introduction of the Control Center, though, and if you're an Android user partial to the way this particular iOS feature is laid out, a new Play Store entry touts a similar experience.
Even though the initial announcement of the Galaxy S5 divided opinion among consumers and commentators alike, Samsung's new flagship appears to have settled rather well into the market. As well as reports of strong early sales in the twelve days since the handset first hit stores, reviews have generally been favorable, with one of the device's strong points being the full HD Super AMOLED display. But why is the new panel so great? Samsung has published a detailed blog post - complete with animated .gifs - explaining just what makes the new display so darned good.
The community propping up CyanogenMod, one of the most popular aftermarket firmware available to Android users, is expansive to say the least, and with hardware maker Oppo having teamed up last year with the CM team to build a handset packing the versatile, customizable software pre-loaded, Oppo's spin-off company OnePlus appears to have taken things to the next level. The OnePlus One smartphone will run CyanogenMod 11S (based on Android 4.4) right off the bat, and with an impressive list of tech specs and a very agreeable price point, could prove a real hit with hack-minded consumers.
Over the past few weeks, I took my SIM card out of my trusty HTC One M8 that I've been enjoying so much, switched it to extreme power saving mode and entirely made the jump over to Samsung's newest flagship device, the Galaxy S5. This phone was a particularly interesting release, because it marked their definitive decision to adopt the 'iteration over iteration' strategy when it comes to their new devices. For Samsung, however, it's likely to be more of a 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it', type model.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 has sold well during its first week-and-a-half in the retail market, and its maker's famed advertising machine, which has been in full flow once again, must take a fair amount of the credit for these strong early sales. In its latest campaign, the Korean company shows off the ruggedized nature of its latest humdinger, offering insight into its water and dust-proofing capabilities.
A short while ago, Google took the wraps off Android Wear, a smartwatch-tailored version of its famed mobile operating system, and at the time of announcement, several initial manufacturing partners were outlined. Among those listed was Korean outfit LG, which swiftly came through and showcased its G Watch, and although information pertaining to the device's technical specs has been scarce, the company has now come through and outlined some of the key features of its very first entry into this growing field.
