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Samsung puts you on the field with MLB VR videos
Are you a baseball aficionado with a Gear VR headset? You're in for a treat beyond Intel's weekly live games. Samsung and MLB have unveiled plans to release "over 20" virtual reality videos over the course of the league's 2017 season. Some of them will include highlights of key moments, such as All-Star events and division championships, while others will give you close-ups with players and "unrivaled" views of ballparks. Some of these will have supplements, too, such as stats and trivia.
Samsung's cheaper, cuter Gear 360 cam arrives May 25th
Samsung's updated Gear 360 is almost here -- you'll only have to wait one more day to be able to get it in the US. The 360-degree camera will be available tomorrow, May 25th, in store and online from Best Buy and its website, Amazon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, US Cellular, Samsung's website and through the ShopSamsung app. In addition to being cuter than its predecessor, it can also capture real 4K videos and has the ability to livestream 360-degree footage at 2K resolution through a compatible phone, including newer iPhones. Even better, it's also cheaper at $229 -- the older Gear 360 was priced at $350 when it launched stateside, though you can get one from Amazon these days for around $160.
The best 360-degree camera
By Jeff Carlson This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer's guide to the best technology. When readers choose to buy The Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here. A 360-degree camera is great if you want to capture the full view of the summit on Half Dome or take in all of the surrounding architecture in the Piazza San Marco in Venice and share that experience on Facebook or YouTube so friends can pan around a scene and fully be there in the moment. After researching 360-degree cameras for 30 hours and testing four top contenders, we think the Ricoh Theta S is the best affordable, user-friendly entry point into this rapidly developing new category of photography.
The new Gear 360 camera streams live video, works with iPhones
Make no mistake: Samsung has been really busy lately. Beyond the Galaxy S8 and S8+, the company also built a new Gear 360 camera that's both cuter and more feature-rich than before. The new Gear 360, for instance, shoots video in true 4K. By comparison, last year's model shot video at 3,840 x 1,920, which was so close to 4K we're not sure why Samsung didn't close the gap. And in an about-face from last year, this new model also supports iPhones right out of the box. Just make sure you have an iPhone 6s or newer (including the tiny SE) and that it's running iOS 10. Though I saw the camera ahead of today's launch event, however, I didn't get to see this particular feature in action, so consider me cautiously optimistic.
New York Times is making daily VR videos with Samsung's help
The New York Times isn't just dabbling in virtual reality for the occasional special presentation -- it wants to make 360-degree videos as commonplace as the crossword puzzle. The newspaper has launched The Daily 360, a feature that (shocker) offers "at least" one VR video every day, whether it's from a major news story or simply an interesting experience. The first Daily 360 illustrates the aftermath of a Saudi airstrike in Yemen (see it below), but other clips will cover everything from the final days of the US presidential election to Fashion Week.
Engadget giveaway: Win a Samsung Gear 360 and video software courtesy of CyberLink!
Want to step into the 360-degree video editing arena at an affordable price? CyberLink just launched Director Suite 5, its $300 consumer-level editing bundle for fine-tuning your video captures in full 360-degree splendor. CyberLink's True360 tech allows users to work on their content with tools like PowerDirector 15 for finessing titles and transitions, and ColorDirector 5 for a wide range of color enhancements that even track along with moving objects. This week, CyberLink has provided a Samsung Gear 360 camera and its newest video-editing bundle, Director Suite 5 (including four programs), to get one lucky reader started recording, editing and sharing experiences in the round. All you need to do is head to the Rafflecopter widget below for up to three chances at winning this creative video package from CyberLink. Winner: Congratulations to Travis H. of West Allis, WI!
Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 and new Gear VR headset are available now
Samsung announced a host of new gear earlier this month, the most notable of which is its excellent new Galaxy Note 7 handset, and it's all available now in the US. The phone is now on sale at AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, US Cellular and Sprint stores as well as at Best Buy, Target, Walmart and a handful of other retailers. If you loathe going to retail locations, you can pick it up on Samsung or straight from the carriers online.
Samsung will finally sell its cutesy 360-degree camera in the US
It's been half a year since we first met Samsung's charming 360-degree camera, and they're still a little tough to come by. They've available in Korea and Singapore, and Samsung sold them briefly at this year's VidCon to web-video fanatics, but that's it ... for a little longer, anyway. As with all the other new Samsung gear announced today, the Gear 360 will go on sale (online at least) starting August 19th.
Twitter's first 360-degree videos will come from the NBA finals
The likes of Facebook and YouTube have been doing 360-degree videos for some time now. During the NBA Finals that begin tonight, Twitter will also offer the more immersive views for the first time. The social network will post pre- and post-game content, but don't expect to see any in-game highlights. Samsung is sponsoring the videos, which will be shot with its Gear 360 camera.
Samsung's 360-degree camera will arrive on April 29th
Samsung unveiled its 360-degree camera, aptly called the Gear 360, earlier this year at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Today, the company announced its ship date. The tiny ball-shaped camera will be available for purchase on April 29th this year. As a reminder, the Gear 360 packs in two F/2.0 fish-eye lenses, with a 15-megapixel sensor on each. It'll capture 3,840 x 1,920 video at 30 frames per second and still images at a rather large 7,776 x 3,888 resolution (that's 30 megapixels). It doesn't have on-board storage, but there is a microSD card slot that can accommodate up to 128GB of storage. The Gear 360 is just the latest in Samsung's VR efforts. Its Gear VR headset has been very popular and the company gave a hint at its developer's conference that a standalone headset (usable without a phone) is also in the works. "VR is amazing, but the industry is still in infancy," said Injong Rhee, Samsung's executive VP for Research and Development, adding that the camera is for consumers in addition to professionals. "We're enabling more people to create more VR content." Update: We've learned that the Gear 360 will be available only to select regions, including Korea, where it'll be available for 399,000 won (that's around $347 USD). US pricing and availability is still to be determined.
Samsung's Galaxy S7 and Gear 360 event: Here's what you missed
Samsung wasn't going to let LG have all the limelight. The mobile giant's press show at MWC was memorable, to say the least, not just for the launch of the Galaxy S7 (and S7 Edge), or even the Gear 360 VR camera, but because parts of the show were delivered over Gear VR headsets. Oh, and some chap called Mark Zuckerberg showed up. Catch a breakdown of everything that happened right here.
Samsung reportedly launches its VR camera February 21st
Tired of waiting for Samsung's virtual reality-oriented Project Beyond camera to be more than just a well-meaning idea? You might just get your hands on it (or rather, something like it) soon. SamMobile sources hear that Samsung is preparing to launch a finished VR camera, the Gear 360, alongside the Galaxy S7 on February 21st. From the sounds of it, this device won't be as elaborate as Project Beyond -- it'll have two 180-degree fisheye cameras (à la devices like Nikon's KeyMission 360) rather than the abundance of cams on the concept. It'll record a 4K wrap-around picture if you use both lenses, though, and will have trick modes like split image views, panoramas and timelapses. There's no word on whether or not you can stream live footage online.
