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Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Pantech returns with low-cost smartphone

Korean smartphone maker Pantech on Wednesday unveiled a new model – the first in 20 months -- targeting mid-tier customers with upgraded audio, display and battery-charging features.

Named “Sky IM-100,” the new smartphone sports a 5.1-inch display, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 430 processor and the Google Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system, the company said.

Two promotion supporters show Sky IM-100 at a press conference in Seoul, Wednesday. (Yonhap)

The product is the first that the company has released since it was acquired by a consortium last year. 

Pantech had previously used the “Sky” brand for its phones years ago, however, it has now attached to the name the number “100,” which is pronounced as “baek” in Korean, to signify the firm’s return to the market after spending years overcoming financial difficulties and restructuring. 

The phone features a revolutionary tube-shaped accessory called “Stone,” which combines three functions – a speaker, wireless charger and lighting, the company said.

Once placed on the charger, the phone will be automatically charged. Such technology was previously only available in premium models of Samsung Electronic’s Galaxy S series. Stone also serves as a speaker as it is equipped with two 3W speakers and a woofer. 

Stone can also be used as indoor lighting, turning the phone into in a mood lamp with various colors and patterns upon connecting with a lighting application.

The “Wheel key,” a wheel-shaped button behind the phone, allows users to easily turn on the music player and control the volume by turning the wheel in 100 levels. 

External memory slots of the phone also allow for memory expansion of up to 2TB. 

Sky IM-100 will be released on June 30 at the price of 449,000 won ($388). The phone will be offered in white and platinum black, the company said. 

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 likely to have curved screen: report

Samsung Electronics’ new Note phablet, tentatively called “Galaxy Note 7,” is expected to have a curved screen, indicating the Korean tech giant’s commitment to a dual-edge curved display for its Galaxy smartphones. 

According to local daily Munwha Ilbo, Samsung is not considering launching a flat screen version of the Note phone. 
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 5. The company is rumored to skip the 6 and launch the 7 to match the Galaxy S7 range.

The Galaxy Note 7 will be unveiled at an unpacked event held in New York in August. It will become the first Note phone with a curved screen. 

Citing industry sources, the newspaper also raised speculation that Samsung is likely to unveil a special edition version of its flagship Galaxy S7 smartphone themed on the upcoming Rio Olympics. 

Samsung unveils new budget tablet model

Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea's top tech firm, released the updated version of its budget tablet series, the Galaxy Tab A, on Tuesday, saying it guarantees a better connection with entertainment.

The Android-based "2016 Galaxy Tab A" features a 10.1-inch full HD-level display, a 1.6 GHz octa-core processor, 2GB of RAM and a microSD card slot for up to 200GB of removable storage. It has a 7.300 mAh battery.


The tablet is equipped with an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.

The budget-friendly product has "optimized" functions for users to enjoy games and movies, Samsung said.

It's quick-connect function enables easy access to TV or smartphones to share content.

It is available for 359,000 won ($309) in local online stores. The product comes in two colors - black and white.

"The new model is a product to maximize mobile entertainment experience with a high-resolution large screen and convenience in usage," a Samsung official said. (Yonhap)

Friday, June 17, 2016

Samsung Display doubles OLED shipments in Q1 Flexible OLEDs for Samsung’s Edge phones make up 14% of total shipments: UBI Research

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Display’s shipments of organic-light emitting diode panels have more than doubled over the past year, as global smartphone manufacturers, including those in China, are increasingly adopting OLED displays.

UBI Research, a local market research firm that specializes in OLED, estimates that Samsung’s OLED shipments have soared to about 86.7 million units in the first three months of this year.

The research results were obtained by The Investor, an online English business website that The Korea Herald launched on Monday.
Samsung Electronics` Galaxy S7 Edge (Bloomberg)

Over the same period, total global OLED shipments surged to 91.3 million units, with Samsung making up a whopping 95 percent of that figure.

Samsung, a dominant player in OLED for mobile devices, now supplies displays for almost all OLED smartphones worldwide. There were 17 OLED smartphones in the first quarter of this year, up from just five a year ago.

“Samsung Electronics is extending its smartphone lineup with OLED displays and its Chinese rivals are also fast catching up,” said Yi Choong-hoon, the chief analyst of UBI Research.

UBI predicted that Samsung Display, an affiliate of Samsung Electronics, could gain a big boost when its planned supply to Apple’s iPhone starts from as early as next year. Flexible OLEDs, which are used in Samsung’s latest Galaxy S7 Edge smartphone, which has a curved screen, made up 14 percent of the company’s total shipments in the first quarter. The figure is expected to surge in the coming years with growing demand.

Samsung is widely rumored to be launching a “foldable smartphone” using flexible OLED technology next year.


LG Display, which has put more focus on OLEDs for TVs, also saw shipments almost quadruple in the first quarter of this year. Along with LG Electronics, the company has also started supplying China’s Skyworth.

“The global OLED market is dominated by Samsung and LG,” Lee said.

“But Chinese rivals are also beefing up OLED production for smartphones. Adding to AUO and BOE, other Chinese firms such as Visonox and Tianma started their own OLED production in the first quarter.”

Samsung Display plans to increase the production capacity of its A3 plant from the monthly 15,000 units this year to 105,000 units by the end of next year. In the first quarter, the company invested 1.8 trillion won ($1.5 billion) into its production facility.

“Korea, Japan and Chinese display makers are all reducing LCD production while increasingly turning to OLED,” said Kim Dong-won, an analyst at Hyundai Securities.

“OLED adoption among display-makers and handset manufacturers is expected to further speed up as Apple’s iPhone is highly likely to feature an OLED display later in 2017.”

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)


    Samsung’s flagship Galaxy Note to finally have iris scanner

    THE INVESTOR] Korean camera module-maker Patron will reportedly be supplying its iris camera modules for Samsung Electronics’ next premium smartphone, presumably the Galaxy Note 7, according to news reports on June 15.

    The Korean camera module firm reportedly won a bid months ago to supply the entire volume of biometric modules needed for the upcoming smartphone, which is expected to be unveiled on Aug. 2 in New York City.

    Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Note 5 (Yonhap)

    Some of renderings of the smartphone have been leaked online, apparently showing that the Note 7 is fitted with two cameras -- one for selfies and the other for iris scanning.

    Compared to fingerprint scanning technology, which works by recognizing 40 traits on a fingerprint, the iris scanner recognizes 266 traits on an iris, meaning the latter offers greater accuracy and security.

    Samsung has long mulled over deploying iris scanning tech in its smartphones, including the Galaxy S4, which was released in 2013.

    An industry expert said that back then the company had ditched plans to adopt iris-scanning technology at the last minute, as the feature was still immature and not as user friendly as a fingerprint scanner.

    Since 2011, five models have been released as part of Samsung’s Note lineup. Samsung will reportedly skip the Note 6 in order to sync the numbering of Note products with the Galaxy S smartphone lineup. 



    By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)

    Saturday, June 11, 2016

    Galaxy S7's success based on quality, marketing, early release

    The Galaxy S7's success, according to industry watchers here on Friday, has been due to the combination of three main factors: decent quality, early release and aggressive marketing.

    Since its debut in March, the new flagship smartphones of Samsung Electronics Co. -- the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge -- have become a global hit, if not a sensation.

    The combined sales of the two models are estimated to reach 25 million worldwide by the end of June. On Thursday, the South Korean tech giant's share price reached the highest at 1,430,000 won ($1,230) since April last year.

    Many cite the quality of the product. When it was unveiled at the Mobile World Congress held in Spain in February, some consumers were critical. The Galaxy S7's features are "not that new," they claimed.

    Samsung's strategy was to focus on addressing some weak points in the Galaxy S series rather than adding innovative functions.

    For instance, the Galaxy S7 has 18 percent increased battery life compared to its S6 predecessor. It also has higher-definition cameras and is water resistant.

    Samsung has pushed for aggressive marketing as well under the catchphrase of "beyond the limits of today's technology."

    It has teamed up with Facebook-owned virtual reality (VR) startup Oculus, offering a free Gear VR device.

    Samsung also perfectly timed the launch of the Galaxy S7.

    It went on sale half a year after the release of Apple Inc.'s iPhone 6s. Apple is still far off from showing its next iPhone 7 model.

    Also, it was three weeks before LG Electronics Co.'s G5 smartphone release, meaning that it had no competition at the time. (Yonhap)


      Galaxy S7, S7 Edge forecast to sell 15 mln units in Q2: sources

      South Korea's No. 1 tech firm Samsung Electronics Co. is forecast to see the combined sales of the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 Edge reach 15 million in the second quarter of this year, industry sources said Thursday.

      The sources estimate that Samsung's combined shipments of the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge will hover at 15 million units in the April-June period. The two models went on sales on March 11.

      Samsung Galaxy S7 (Yonhap)

      Noticeably, the sales of the Galaxy S7 Edge, which is more expensive, will beat out the Galaxy S7, according to the sources.

      The two latest models, first showcased at a trade fair in Spain in February, come with improved batteries and are water and dust resistant. The company also brought back the micro SD card slot that had disappeared in the Galaxy S6 series.

      Meanwhile, several local securities companies earlier upgraded their second-quarter earnings outlook for the tech behemoth. In a note to clients, Hanwha Investment and Securities Co. predicted Samsung's operating profit will soar to 7.7 trillion won ($6.67 billion) for the April-June period, bolstered by strong sales of the Galaxy7 series.

      "The profit rate of Samsung Electronics' smartphone business is to rise from 15.8 percent to 17.1 in the second quarter and Samsung's mobile segment will reach 4 trillion won in terms of operating profits," said No Geung-chang, a researcher at HMC Investment Securities Co. (Yonhap)



      Samsung Galaxy S8 likely to come with 4K UHD display Upgraded display to better support VR viewing

      Samsung Electronics’ next flagship smartphone, tentatively dubbed Galaxy S8, is likely to come with a 5.5-inch, 4K UHD display, a market research firm said Wednesday. 

      The Korean tech giant would become the first smartphone-maker to pack 4K resolution into its flagship smartphone, even though Sony last year released the Z5 Premium with such a panel. 

      Samsung Electronics’ flagship Galaxy smartphone models. (UBI Research)

      “Samsung Display showcased a 5.5 ultra-high definition 4K display with a pixel density of 806 ppi for virtual reality devices at the Society for Information Display, a display trade show, in California in March,” said an official of UBI Research.

      “Considering various factors including the production yield rate for the next-generation display expected to improve in the coming months, the 5.5-inch AMOLED will be deployed in the next Galaxy smartphone, presumably, named the S8.”

      According to the research firm, the first Galaxy smartphone model, released in March 2010, featured a 4-inch active-matrix organic light-emitting diode display. AMOLED is a type of the OLED panel that Samsung utilizes for its smartphone.

      The display size of the Galaxy lineup increased by around 30 percent to 5.5 inches since the first Galaxy model, according to the report released by Ubiresearch, a Seoul-based market research firm, on Wednesday.

      The picture resolution of the Galaxy lineup has improved 9.6 times from wide VGA (480X800) to QHD (1440X2560).

      The Galaxy S7 edge released in March 2016 sports a 5.5-inch curved AMOLED display which boasts the QHD display resolution. 

      The market research firm forecast that smartphones with a 5-inch display or larger will take up around 71 percent of the entire smartphone lineup of the firm, and the upward trend in terms of picture resolution and display size will pick up pace.

      Samsung has introduced new displays with better picture quality every two years -- a HD display for the S3, a full HD display for the S4 and S5, and a QHD for the S6 and S7.

      The 4K display is considered important especially in the VR sector as major smartphone firms and VR gadget makers need to provide better VR experience for users than now. 

      Many VR headsets, including the Samsung Gear VR, need to be paired with smartphones.

      By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)