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Samsung latest high-res monitors go all-in on HDR
Samsung has launched its business and consumer lineup of high-resolution monitors, and this year, all 12 of them support HDR.
Samsung launches Android 7.0 beta program for S7 and S7 edge
If you have a Galaxy S7 or S7 edge, you might be able to give your device an Android Nougat refresh before everyone else. Samsung's Galaxy Beta Program is now available for S7 users, but only in the US, the UK and the company's home country of Korea, though it will soon launch in China, as well.
Samsung's mobile division is the company's top earner
Samsung's operating profits really did reach 8.14 trillion won ($7.2) like it expected, marking the second quarter of 2016 as its strongest in two years. The Korean corporation has released its detailed earnings report for Q2, where it also revealed a 50.94 trillion KRW ($45 billion) revenue, up by 2.40 trillion from same period last year. Samsung credits its increase in earnings to the strong sales of both the Samsung S7 and S7 edge, as well as to its profitable mid- to low-end models, including the Galaxy A and J series. According to Strategy Analytics, the company shipped 78 million smartphones this quarter.
Samsung's highest profit in two years comes thanks to the S7
Samsung just had a great quarter, and it's all because people are snapping up Galaxy S7s. The Korean chaebol has revealed that it's expecting its second quarter operating profit to reach 8.1 trillion won ($7 billion), thanks to its smartphone business. That might be far from the 8.84 trillion won ($7.6 billion) operating profit it posted in January 2013, but it's still around 17 percent higher than last year's. It's also the highest in two years since it notched a profit of 8.5 trillion won ($7.4 billion) back in the first quarter of 2014. The company expects its revenue to be up by three percent, from 48.5 trillion won ($42 billion) to 50 trillion ($43 billion), as well.
The Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are beautiful, if unsurprising sequels
When Samsung outed the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge last year, we all generally lavished it with praise. It was for a good reason -- they were easily the nicest phones Samsung had crafted in years, even though one was clearly more popular than the other. This year isn't really about reinventing those formulas, but about refining them, and the results are the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. You'll be able to get your own starting on March 11, but read on to get our early impressions.
Samsung's Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge say hello in leaked photos
We're in prime flagship leak season since Mobile World Congress is just a few weeks away, and we might have just gotten our first in-the-wild looks at Samsung's Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. If this pace keeps up, we could all the most important details down before Samsung's February 21st press bonanza in Barcelona.
We dig this slim smartphone from China, but it won't be cheap
This wouldn't be the first time that Gionee's released a slim, 5.5mm-thick phone. Following the aptly named Elife S5.5, the Chinese company is back with an LTE refresh model that's confusingly dubbed the Elife S7, which manages to retain the same slimness (read: not 7mm thick), the standard headphone jack and a lighter weight of just 126.5g, while packing some nice upgrades. First of all, you get a slightly bigger 5.2-inch 1080p AMOLED screen, along with a similar 1.7GHz octa-core MediaTek chipset with 2GB of RAM, but enhanced with 64-bit computing, multi-mode LTE radio and dual micro-SIM slots. And yes, the phone runs on Android Lollipop with Gionee's customized UI. There's also a more generous 2,750mAh battery -- a notable jump from the S5.5's 2,300mAh cell that had us frustrated.
Acer Aspire S7 review (2013): the second time's a charm for Acer's flagship Ultrabook
To those of you who've been waiting for an S7 refresh, this new model barely needs an introduction: it features virtually the same design as the unit we tested last year. And that's a good thing.
Acer Aspire S7 Ultrabook refreshed with a WQHD screen, S3 gets a total makeover (hands-on)
It was a year ago at Computex that Acer unveiled the Aspire S7, a skinny sliver of a thing that turned out to be one of our favorite Ultrabooks of 2012. Now, 12 months later, the company is unveiling... the Aspire S7. A much-improved S7, to be precise. Going into the second half of the year, there's only to be a 13-inch version (the 11-incher's been discontinued), and it has much the same industrial design, with a lightweight chassis and Gorilla Glass lid. The difference is that it will now be offered with a 2,560 x 1,440 screen, which will be standard in certain regions, like Europe. (Elsewhere, a 1080p IPS panel will continue to be the base option.) As you'd expect, Acer's upgraded the S7 to Haswell CPUs (Core i3, i5 and i7), but it also squeezed in a bigger battery -- 47Wh, up from 35Wh. Between that bigger cell and new chipset, Acer is rating the battery life at seven hours, which, if true, would correct one of the OG model's biggest shortcomings. Rounding out the list, Acer moved the mics to the front, and also updated the cooling system with the promise of less fan noise. Meanwhile, Acer thoroughly revamped the mid-range S3 Ultrabook so that it looks more like the S7. The main differences are that this has no Gorilla Glass on the lid, and the entire machine is noticeably heavier (1.67kg vs. 1.3). Part of the reason for that chunkier shape is that it will be offered with beefier components, including optional NVIDIA GT735M graphics and a 1TB hard drive (you can also get it with an SSD). Additionally, the S3 steps up to Haswell CPUs, along with a 1080p IPS touchscreen -- the same kind that the S7 had when it first launched. Design-wise, as we said, it looks like the S7, particularly with the lid shut, and it's now made from one piece of aluminum, instead of several. The keyboard looks different from the S7's, though, and is also a bit clackier, for whatever reason. In Europe, at least, the Aspire S7-392 will start at €1,450, and the S3-392 will go from €999. Both will arrive in July. No word yet on US pricing. For a closer look, check out our hands-on photos and video, both embedded after the break. Update: US pricing for the S7 will start at $1,400 and go up to $1,700, depending on the configuration.
Acer Aspire S7 review (13-inch): great Ultrabook, a shame about the battery life
Back in June, when Acer first announced the Aspire S7 Series, two things seemed noteworthy: these were the company's first touchscreen Ultrabooks, for one, and they were easily its best-made. Whereas the earlier S3 and S5 skew a bit boring, the S7 is made of aluminum, with either a metal or Gorilla Glass lid, depending on whether you choose the 11- or 13-inch version. What's more, it has a 1080p IPS display, which looked just as nice in our initial hands-on as the spec sheet would have you believe. Throw in a choice of Core i5 and i7 processors and a RAID 0 SSD configuration, and you can easily expect the same fast performance we recorded on the S5. So is this it? Has Acer finally built an Ultrabook we can heartily recommend? More to the point, does the 13-inch model get enough things right to justify that $1,400 starting price? Find out in our review after the break.%Gallery-170640%
Star Trek Online shows off the Azure Nebula event
Sometimes you can't help but feel a little blue. Maybe it's because you're overtired, maybe it's because you don't have as much money as you want, or maybe it's because you've been trapped in the Azure Nebula by Tholians. Admittedly that last problem is pretty much only applicable for Romulan ships in Star Trek Online's upcoming Season 7, but it's still relevant to players, since they'll be the ones tasked with rescuing the captured ships for fun and profit. The new event will be accessible via a queue system for players at Vice Admiral/Lieutenant General rank or higher. Several Tholian prisons have been set up through the nebula, and players will be tasked with freeing as many ships as possible within a time limit. Bigger ships mean greater rewards, but they're also guarded by more formidable Tholian warships. Success rewards players with both fleet commendations and new Romulan commendations, a fitting prize for making wayward ships feel a little less blue.
The Ultrabooks of Computex 2012
It was last year that Intel chose Computex, a computer tradeshow in Taiwan, to introduce its Ultrabook concept to the world. Twelve months later, 110-plus models are in the pipeline, which meant the Taipei Convention Center was overrun by skinny, lightweight laptops. Make that skinny, touch-enabled laptops. Between those new Ivy Bridge chips and Microsoft putting the finishing touches on Windows 8, this week's show was nothing if not a five-day-long wedding between two tech giants: almost every device on display here was a vehicle for showing off Microsoft's glossy new OS. At every turn, a celebration of touchscreen notebooks. With more than 30 hands-on posts this week, we can see where one Core i5 laptop might look like the next, or how you might have failed to keep up with Jonney Shih's rapid-fire product announcements. Now that we're wrapping up here in Taiwan, though, we're ready to take a step back and think about what it is we just saw. Whether you felt overwhelmed by our wall-to-wall coverage or just need to catch up, we suggest you meet us past the break for a quick recap of all the new Ultrabooks. Oh, and if you're in the market for a new laptop, you can check your trigger-happy finger at the door. With few exceptions, we're not expecting these to go on sale until the fall, when Windows 8 is expected to start shipping.
Huawei IDEOS S7 Slim tablet hands-on
We just got a hands-on with the Huawei IDEOS S7 Slim, a 7-inch Android tablet which will be priced at $300. Huawei was unable to provide us with any information beyond pricing, but here's what we've gathered. The 7-inch touchscreen is capacitive, unlike the model we played with before, and the tablet is running a slightly customized skin on top of Android 2.2. Build quality is solid and the device is satisfyingly thin and light. There are cameras front and back and a microSD card slot and a docking port on the bottom edge. We spied a SIM slot underneath the battery, so it's likely that the model we used features 3G. We hope to have more details for you soon -- in the meantime, feast your eyes on the gallery below. %Gallery-116524%
Huawei IDEOS X3 and IDEOS S7 Slim tablet revealed en route to MWC launch
Huawei, the company whose name rhymes with the typical response of "who are they," has uploaded a few images to its Flickr page teasing new hardware bound for this year's Mobile World Congress. First up is the IDEOS X3, an Android handset seemingly set to provide a more budget-oriented family mate to the X5. It has two cameras, one on the front and one on the back, three Android buttons, and at least four different color options (red, blue, silver and black). The Barcelona event will see it joined by an IDEOS S7 Slim tablet, also running Google's mobile OS, though our knowledge about that device doesn't extend any further than noting it too has a front-facing camera. Check it out after the break.
Huawei S7 gets Best Buy listing for $299.99, not shipping until November 7th
Huawei's Ideos S7. We loved it in June (resistive touchscreen notwithstanding), Expansys picked it up a few weeks later, and now Best Buy is also joining in on the phone. The 7-inch Android tablet -- with kickstand -- is now but a listing on the US retailer's website, "coming soon" for $299.99. Store pickup is coming soon, but shipping availability is November 7th... no matter how expedited you make the order. If it's any consolation, that's still before the Galaxy Tab.
Expansys becomes exclusive retailer for Huawei S7 Android tablet
Huawei's Android-based, Snapdragon-powered S7 tablet certainly managed to impress at Computex earlier this month, and it looks like you'll soon be able to get one yourself -- UK retailer Expansys has announced that it'll be the first to carry it and, for the time being at least, the only place to get one. Somewhat curiously, Expansys lists a 768MHz Snapdragon processor, not 1GHz as we had heard before, but the rest of the specs are right in line. That includes Android 2.1, a 7-inch WVGA display, 3G and WiFi connectivity, a 2-megapixel camera, and a microSD card slot for some additional storage, among other standard tablet fare. Sound like just the tablet you've been waiting for? It'll set you back £299 (or about $450) and should ship within seven days.
Huawei S7 runs 1GHz Snapdragon and Android 2.1 like a champ (video)
Another small mystery, solved. We caught a glimpse of Huawei's relatively undercover S7 tablet back in March, but little was known about what would actually power the device and what operating system would be pre-installed. Here at Computex, we learned the facts on both of those points. Sitting pretty at Qualcomm's booth, the S7 was shown boasting a 1GHz MSM8250 Snapdragon processor, and our hunting around in the settings confirmed that Android 2.1 was loaded onboard. The Qualcomm reps didn't have any other hard specifications available on the 7-incher (beyond those that we already knew), but we were able to spot a volume rocker, internal speaker, 3.5mm headphone jack, microSD card slot, USB connector and a fancy kickstand around back for sitting a spell and watching multimedia. During our time with the device, we instantly fell in love with the depressible side buttons, and the capacitive resistive touchscreen was as responsive as they come. The whole thing felt speedy and light enough for our liking, and frankly, it was easily one of our favorite tablets at the entire show. We're still no closer to nailing down a price or release date, but at least you now know it's worth your while to keep an eye out for both. Vid's after the break. %Gallery-94345%
Viliv S7 UMPC gets final pricing and specifications
We've held onto our hats for quite awhile waiting for this day to come, but at long last, Viliv is dishing out the final specification lists and prices for its remarkably striking S7 UMPC. First shown way back at IDF 2008 as a prototype, this QWERTY-packin' machine has matured quite nicely over the months, with a trio of models on tap to showcase its mobile prowess. The entry-level I-LOG HX is equipped with a 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520 CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 60GB hard drive, a battery good for 9.5 hours of use and Windows XP, while the mid-range I-LOG 3X steps up to a 32GB SSD. The flagship D-LOG 3X even gets an internal DMB TV tuner, while WiBro (South Korea's WiMAX) is an option on all three. We expect the 7-inch device -- which is priced at ₩729,000 ($572), ₩799,000 ($628) and ₩849,000 ($666) in order of mention -- to ship in its homeland soon, though no official release date has been made public.[Via SlashGear]Update: jkkmobile has it that international versions could feature processors as speedy as 2GHz along with Vista and a free upgrade to Windows 7.
Microsoft showing off Windows 7-powered Viliv S5 MID at Computex
Being that Release Candidate 1 just hit the tubes, we weren't really expecting a big Windows 7 presence at Computex this year. Much to our surprise, Viliv has announced that it will be showcasing the first official Win7-powered MID at the Taiwan-based show later this week. The heralded S5 will be the lucky device, with a duo of WiMAX-equipped cousins (X70 EX and S7) hanging around to demonstrate live video streaming. Needless to say, we'll be doing everything we can to drop by and see how things are going.[Via CNET]
Viliv S5 and X70 MIDs hands-on with video!
We just played around with Viliv's latest MIDs, the stylish S5 and X70. Both devices use haptic feedback for onscreen keyboard input, and despite the resistive screen we found them both to offer some of the best touchscreen interaction we've seen on devices like this. They were both running Windows Vista, and seemed rather responsive and usable, even with Atom under the hood. What's really impressive is the X70 (pictured), which is thinner than the S5, and also can be mounted to an optional leather case that brings a keyboard and foldability to the device, and turns the unit into a laptop of sorts. Neither device is particularly thin or light, but there's a lot of quality going on here, and for folks sold on this sort of functionality and form factor, it would be hard to do much better than these at the moment -- of course, you'll have to swim to Korea to do it. Video of the S5 is after the break.%Gallery-45216%
