Samsung might have just released its new Soul handset here in the UK, but the company also has one eye on the future of mobile technology. Samsung recently patented a mobile user interface that translates your real-world hand waggling into actions on-screen. You’d be able to control a pointer and click through pages by finger movement alone.
And that’s not all. The company has also announced that it’s developed a way of generating hydrogen by exposing water to metal, which could be used to power phones. Apparently, you’ll be able to top up with water to get about ten hours of battery life.
Of course, whether this technology will be in commercial use by the time the Earth runs out of water and we all die fiery climate-change-induced deaths, is anyone’s guess…
Madonna is clearly pretty sharp when it comes to music, invariably surrounding herself with cutting-edge producers and collaborators for each new album (before dumping them for people even more cutting-edge the next time). But it seems she’s also pretty savvy when it comes to mobile, or at least her management are.
See, Madge’s next album is out soon. It’s called ‘Hard Candy’. And to say it’s being promoted heavily to mobile users is an understatement. She started by signing a deal with Vodafone here in Europe.
It involves distributing seven tracks from ‘Hard Candy’ during the week leading up to its release on 28th April - one a day - for Vodafone customers to download. They also bagged an exclusive on her new single ‘4 Minutes’, and will have a dedicated Madonna mini-site on Vodafone Live.
But that was just the start…
Continue reading ‘Is Madonna the most mobile-friendly popstar ever?’
Have you heard of the Samsung i900? We certainly hadn’t until today, but given the impressive specs that The Boy Genius Report is, erm, reporting, our day has officially been brightened by its existence (assuming the specs are legit which until we see a press release we will assume are not set in stone).
Anyway, apparently the device will run Windows Mobile 6.1 and feature triband GSM/GPRS/EDGE as well as single band UMTS/HSDPA. It is also said to include Bluetooth 2.0, WiFi, GPS and an FM radio. So far so good. The real diamonds in the crown however will be the 5 megapixel camera and 8GB of on-board storage, if it turns out that they are in fact included. Judging by the picture it isn’t such a valiant leap of faith to assume that that enormous screen is touch sensitive too, but we’re trying not to get carried away just yet.
Basically what we are looking at then is a slightly beefed up Windows Mobile version of the G800, or a Windows Mobile version of the G810 if you like. Certainly not a bad idea for a handset and could well give Samsung another worthy competitor to the N96 when it launches. As soon as we get wind of the official specs and details, we’ll print them here.
We had to double check our calendars to make sure the 1st of April was firmly behind us when this one came in this morning. As reported by Press TV, Samsung has announced that it is developing a micro fuel cell and hydrogen generator, capable of juicing cell phones for 10 hours at a stretch.
In layman’s terms that means a phone powered by water. The vice president of Samsung’s research centre, Oh Yong-soo, breaks down the science:
“When the handset is turned on, metal and water in the phone react to produce hydrogen gas. The gas is then supplied to the fuel cell where it reacts with oxygen in the air to generate power,”
Apparently the technology is essentially up and running and after the generator is capable of longer charge times and the system is improved, Samsung could launch a water powered phone as early as 2010. Good old H20 eh.
Samsung has signed a big deal with CNN to preload the latter’s new Java news application various handsets, starting with its G810, which goes on sale here in Europe this May.
The application will let you go straight to the latest CNN stories, customise the news feed with your preferred categories, and watch hourly CNN World News Now video bulletins. It sounds like CNN has also been taking a leaf out of Nintendo’s book, with a 360-degree globe letting you grab five-day weather forecasts from around the world in a Wii Weather Channel stylee.
Interestingly, it’s a two-way process, as the application will also let you submit what CNN describes as ‘iReports’ to its citizen journalism website, including photos and video. Interested but don’t want a Samsung phone? Don’t worry, you can download the same application here for a selection of other handsets.
Forget buying music over the air for your phone - it seems the new way to get hold of it is preloaded on the device itself. That’s the latest promotional strategy for Sony Ericsson and Samsung, anyway.
Sony Ericsson is launching a limited-edition Def Jam version of its W910i Walkman handset in partnership with The Carphone Warehouse here in the UK. It comes with external speakers, and features tunes from the likes of Rihanna, Janet Jackson, Ne-Yo and Mariah Carey.
Meanwhile, Samsung has signed a deal with Madonna’s people to preload her new album on its F400 handset. The phone goes on sale in June, and will have ‘Hard Candy’ preloaded, as well as the video for her new single ‘4 Minutes’. However, us Brits will have to jump on a Eurostar to get one - the deal only covers France, seeing as Vodafone has signed a Madge exclusive in other countries.
Can I have a quick rant? Second Life is a fairly popular virtual world, even if its active users are dwarfed by those of less swizzy 2D kidworlds like Club Penguin and Webkinz. But still, Second Life has secured enough column inches to make it an ideal way for any company to cop some zeitgeisty cool by announcing some kind of tie-in with it. Any kind. Even if they quietly abandon it a few months later.
Now, I’m not suggesting that’s the case with Samsung, but its decision to trumpet an application that lets users access Second Life from their phones is puzzling. Who would use such a thing? Surely squeezing Second Life down to the level that it’ll run on a phone negates the whole point of being there? And in any case, how many extra handsets is the company really going to sell due to having this application.
Continue reading ‘Samsung putting Second Life on mobile phones… but why?’
At the moment 5 megapixels is about as good as it gets in mobile photography, but Samsung seems intent to throw the cat among the pigeons with a fresh techie wonder straight out of its research and development lab.
The company has come up with an 8 megapixel complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) sensor designed exclusively for camera phones. Basically that translates into ‘one seriously awesome camera phone lens’. Not only is it compact (just 28mm x 15.3mm x 8.5mm) but apparently it is much better in low light conditions too than the sorts of lenses you would find in most camera phones already on the market.
There is also built in anti-shake technology, face recognition, and Samsung’s “Smile shutter” system, which automatically takes a snap when it detects that everyone in the frame is grinning like a village idiot. Apart from that last bit, it all sounds pretty impressive and the unit is set to go into production in early 2009. Could this be the first seed of a successor to the as yet unreleased Samsung G810? Maybe.
(Via Trusted Reviews)
Samsung and Adidas have paired up to launch the miCoach phone which the companies are touting as the first true sports music mobile. Sound familiar? Well it should because this was announced ages ago but it seems that the device has had a name change and a bit of a form rethink.
A full list of specs have emerged now and the main selling point here is that the miCoach phone can collect and analyze personal data and then produce customized training plans related to your fitness level and specific goals. The miCoach can also give you real-time feedback during your workout. It sounds like a beefed up version of Apple’s Nike iPod venture where a device you plant in your shoe communicates with your iPod wirelessly to give real time feedback during a run.
Continue reading ‘Samsung and Addidas firm up miCoach sport phone details’
Ok time for the gPhone rumour du jour. According to yet another tipster, Samsung is going to build two Android based devices both of which will bear the Google brand as opposed to its own.
Apparently there will be a higher end model released first this autumn followed by a lower spec device which it is claimed will cost less than $100. The source also claims that the device won’t look dissimilar to the Blackberry Pearl but will have a flip out screen.
Sounds like a bit of a design contradiction to us and considering the frequency of similar claims that have been made over the last year, it is hard to take these supposedly leaked facts seriously. What you can bet on is that Google will look to an experienced third party to craft a branded handset at some stage, whether or not that third party will be Samsung remains to be seen.
(Via engadget mobile)
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