Check out Samsung's Oscar ad for the Galaxy S9

While the Super Bowl remains the most watched television program in the U.S. year after year, the Academy Awards (aka Oscars) are also considered must see TV. Tomorrow night, the Oscars will be presented to the Hollywood elite just one year removed from last year's faux pas that saw the wrong film first awarded Best Picture (LaLa Land) before the real winner (Moonlight) was announced. Ironically, that big mistake will probably increase viewership of Sunday night's show as those watching live hope to catch another momentous screw up.

With millions of eyeballs watching the show, the Academy Awards telecast is a must buy for for big name tech firm's media buyers. Earlier today, we showed you Google Nest's Oscar ad for its surveillance webcam/doorbell that also included a not very subtle message to the men of the world. Now, we can show you the Oscar ad that Samsung will have in rotation for the just introduced Samsung Galaxy S9.


Sammy's commercial continues the use of the tag line "Do What You Can't," and is about making something, anything, that you can call your own. Starring some who have made it in the industry both in front and in back of the camera, the ad's best advice includes:

• "Make mistakes until you don't."
• "Make them regret the day they passed on you."
• "Make something undeniably you."

Now here is some good advice from us. Check out the ad by clicking on the video at the top of this story.

source: Samsung

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Samsung new device arrive in H2 2018

Samsung made the Galaxy S9 official and is already looking towards the next devices in the technology roadmap. Yesterday the Samsung mobile chief Koh Dong-jin, widely known as DJ Koh, said that the Galaxy X foldable phone is not a gimmick. Today he confirmed in an interview to WSJ that a voice-activated speaker with Bixby is indeed coming, likely in the second half of this year.

DJ Koh said pricing is not yet finalized, but the home appliance might come in different tiers. Right now Amazon and Google offer different form factors of more or less the same service, while Apple has just the HomePod.

Samsung expanding its voice service to third-party developers and smart homes is not news - the company shared its intentions back in October. Back then the Bixby SDK was pushed to limited beta engineers and from the looks of it, Samsung is already preparing for a launch.

Source

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Galaxy S9: Everything To Know (without the BS)

Whenever new flagship smartphones are announced, tech media converge on the digital masses, flooding the interverse with more infos than anyone cares to know. What YOU want to know is the TL;DR, am i right? Only what’s important without the fluff? Allow me.

This is the no frills, sans BS edition of your typical “Everything to know about the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus”. Straight up fax!

Above is the Official Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ introduction video which actually does a great job at setting the stage in under 4 minutes. Here are the most important things worth taking away.

Galaxy S9 vs Galaxy S9 Plus (see spec comparison):

• 5.8-inches vs 6.2-inches
• 4GB vs 6GB RAM
• 3000 mAh vs 3500 mAh Battery
• S9+ has an additional wide angle lens on rear camera

Both the S9 and S9+ come in 4 colors:

• Coral Blue
• Titanium Grey
• Lilac Purple
• Midnight Black

The only visual difference being the additional rear camera on the S9+:

Best Galaxy S9/S9+ Specs:

• Fingerprint sensor location improved (fixed from S8)
• Iris scanner and Face unlock, too
• MicroSD Card Slot (400GB extra storage)
• Stereo speakers (front-facing and LOUD!)
• 3.5mm Headset Jack
• IP68 water resistant (praise the lord)
• Best screen of any smartphone
• USB Type-C charging
• Qi wireless charging and related accessories

Galaxy S9/S9+ Camera improvements:

The S9 now takes 12 photos with each camera snap, using info from each frame to produce the best possible final product (Multi-frame image processing with DRAM)

• 12MP Rear Camera, 8MP Front Camera (same as Note 8)
• Takes better low light photos with new mechanical aperture that switches between f/2.4 and f/1.5
• Super slow motion video at 960fps
• Galaxy S9 Plus has dual rear cameras
• Create Animated GIFs, Add Music behind slow-mo video, Loop/Reverse, and set as your lock-screen wallpaper
• Samsung Personalized AR Emoji let you send cartoon emojis that look like you (better than iPhone animoji?)

Galaxy S9/S9+ Price:

• Galaxy S9: $720
• Galaxy S9 Plus: $840

Galaxy S9/S9+ Release Date:

• February 25th: reservations open
• March 2nd: pre-orders begin
• March 16th: phone launches
• March 17th: bank account depleted

Is it worth buying?

My opinion: absolutely 100% worth upgrading if you’ve been ready to upgrade from a phone that’s either underpowered or a 2+ year old flagship. If you’ve got the Galaxy S8 though? Definitely not… hold off until you either need to upgrade or there is a must-have improvement that renders your phone into old fogery.

Is there more to know?

Do you think there are other pertinent facts and details potential Galaxy S9 purchasers should know before taking the plunge? Let us know in the comments or start your own discussions on the Galaxy S9 Forum and/or the Galaxy S9 Plus Forum on AndroidForums.com!

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Samsung’s camera focus: ‘Nothing is more important than how emojis are replacing words.’

With the launch of its new flagship phones, Samsung executives sought to emphasize how the gadget’s new cameras are built for an era of visual communication.

Indeed, the teaser line for the event when it was announced was “The Camera Reimagined.” Execs sought to make good on the boast by noting that the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ include a dual aperture, a new super speed image processor, and a dual camera on the back to improve pictures in all lighting conditions.

DJ Koh, head of Samsung’s IT & Mobile Communications Divisions, announced the phones at a launch event for press and partners in Barcelona, on the eve of Mobile World Congress. Koh noted that 1.2 trillion photos were taken on smartphones in the past year, and 5 billion emojis were sent. He said the phones are recognition that communication has gone well beyond voice.

“Nothing is more important than how emojis are replacing words,” he said. “Images are becoming the new mode of expression. Clearly the social media generation has revolutionized the way people communicate.”

As such, the new cameras can capture video at 960 frames per second, allowing a user to stretch a video the length of an eye blink into a six-minute video. Users can also add music, change the background, or make a GIF.

The cameras have a duel aperture to more carefully tune the amount of light that comes in and improve picture quality in all conditions.

Samsung also announced a new feature called AR Emoji that lets users take a picture of themselves and then use augmented reality to transform into live-action emojis. The feature is the company’s response Apple’s Animoji announced last fall for the iPhone X.

Above: Samsung’s new AR Emoji feature.

Image Credit: VentureBeat/Chris O'Brien

The phones will also come with Bixby, Samsung’s intelligence platform at us AR and deep learning to do things like detect and identify objects and do live translations of written text. Though Google has offered similar features for years.

“This is the first smartphone built for the First smartphone built for the way you use the smartphone today,” Koh said.

Finally, intent on showing off its AR chops, Samsung added an AR feature to the app it created for the event. As soon as execs had announced the new phones, attendees could point the camera on the app at their event badges to see an AR version of the Galaxy S9.

Apple, of course, has been talking up its AR efforts over the past year. Just how much such features affect consumer purchasing remains to be seen.

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Samsung Galaxy S8 vs. the Galaxy S9: Specs Infographic

Given their familiar design, it's when you look under the hood that the differences between the Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+ and the Galaxy S9/S9+ become apparent.

Check out the infographic below to see how the new Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ best their predecessors.

Source

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Samsung’s AR Emoji taps creepy avatars and Disney characters to compete with Animoji

We’ve known for a while that Samsung’s been planning an Animoji competitor for its latest handset. Now that we’ve actually seen (the admittedly clunkily named) AR Emoji in action, we can testify to the fact that it’s some combination of compelling and creepy.

That last part first. Like the iPhone X, the Galaxy S9 takes advantage of its on-board face scanning technology to offer up an animated emoji that corresponds to the user’s facial movements, so you can send animated messages, sing cartoon character karaoke and the like. But, as is Samsung’s wont, the phone takes things an extra step, mapping more than 100 points in the user’s face and building a 3D avatar.

Once the scan is complete, users can customize it from a selection of hair styles, clothes, glasses and the like, before firmly taking up residence in the uncanny valley. The custom AR Emoji isn’t as adorable as Apple’s animals or benign as Nintendo’s Mii avatars. Instead, it straddles that uncomfortable line between cartoon and realistic 3D scan a bit uncomfortably.

It’s first generation, of course, and I’d expect that the company should smooth that line out a bit by the time the Galaxy S10 or even the new Note rolls around. For now, however, it’s a little uncomfortably creepy for my own taste. There’s good news on that front, however. The company’s offering up some default cartoon options — including a rabbit that’s a bit more anthropomorphic than Apple’s offering.

But Samsung’s got one big secret weapon on its side. The company no doubt ruffled some feathers at Apple’s big glass spaceship today when it announced a partnership with Disney, bringing the entertainment goliath’s beloved cartoon characters to its emoji offering. The company’s bringing Mickey, Minnie and the Pixar’s Incredibles to the mix. 

It seems like a bit of a curveball that Disney opted to partner with Samsung, rather than Apple this time out — after all, the two companies have worked together in the past on things like the Mickey Mouse watch face. And of course, there’s been a fair amount of executive overlap between the two companies, between Steve Jobs’ involvement with Pixar and the fact that Robert Iger currently sits on Apple’s board.

Of course, those sorts of things aren’t a guaranteed promise of partnership, and Disney looks like it’s not trying to play favorites with content partnership. Take, for example, the media company’s licensing of Star Wars content for AR stickers on the Pixel 2.

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Samsung rescues data-saving app Opera Max, launches new version

Samsung has saved the defunct data-saving VPN app Opera Max from shutdown, rebranding it as Samsung Max.

The app came from well-known browser developer Opera, and sought to reduce users' data usage, compressing images and videos and blocking requests for data from unauthorized apps. Despite a loyal following and solid reviews over its lifespan, the app had been consigned to the recycling bin following a decision from Opera, citing that the app was too different from Opera's popular browsers, and that it would be shelved as a result.

Following the decision, the app was pulled from the Google Play Store, according to VentureBeat, and was awaiting execution at the hands of Opera. Thankfully for users, it has arisen, like a phoenix from the ashes, in the form of Samsung Max, a Samsung-branded version of the same app.

However, it's not all good news. While users of Opera Max can expect to receive an update, it would be a wise move for some to switch off updates, as Samsung Max does not currently work on any device that isn't a compatible Samsung phone, essentially breaking the app for some users.

VentureBeat also reports the VPN feature has been removed, replaced with a DNS masking service that still shows your true IP address. However, there are still significant privacy modes included, including monitors that watch your system to highlight which apps are making data requests, as well as suggestions of data-saving versions of apps you have installed. Samsung's press release also promises that the app will secure open Wi-Fi hot spots with features like one-tap encryption and tracker blocking, ensuring that you stay safe.

While it's unclear whether Samsung paid much -- or anything -- for the app, it is clear that Samsung saw an opportunity in the doomed app. Samsung Max will come included on all Galaxy A and Galaxy J-series smartphones sold in India, Argentina, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, Thailand, and Vietnam, while other Galaxy devices can choose to download the app from the Play Store. The move is a part of Samsung's larger plans for "Make for India" -- a reach into the emerging smartphone market, and especially important in countries where data is scarce and users work to conserve the mobile data they have. We saw Google launch a similar app, Datally, a few months back, with the same aim of reducing data usage in emerging markets.

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Photos of Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ hit the web early

Samsung needs to tighten up its security – live images of the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are all over the web! We get to see the two phones side by side and gawk at the color options a day ahead of schedule.

To be fair, the copious rumors have given away all the twists and turns, including the selection of colors. Still, this beats the renders and even the two live photos from a few days ago.

Can you spot the differences? Clearly, the repositioned fingerprint reader on the back will be a dead giveaway, but the front looks wholly unchanged.

Source | Via

 

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