Samsung may bring Tizen-based smartphone to India this month

South Korean electronic giant Samsung is expected to launch a smartphone, based on its new Tizen operating system, in India later this month.

According to sources, the smartphone major is expected to launch the device on December 10 in the affordable category (sub-Rs 10,000).

The company was not available for comments.

Currently, only a few devices, including Samsung's smartwatch products run on the Tizen platform.

A majority of Samsung's mobile phones are currently powered by the Android platform, which is also the dominant OS on most smartphones across the globe.

Launched as a competitor to Android and iOS OS', Tizen aims to address the needs of stakeholders of mobile and connected device ecosystem, including device manufacturers, mobile operators, application developers and independent software vendors (ISVs).

In June, Samsung had showcased 'Samsung Z', which came with a 4.8 inch HD display and 2.3 GHz Quad-core processor.

Showcased at the Tizen Developer Conference, San Francisco, the handset featured 8MP rear camera, 2.1MP front camera, 2GB RAM, 16 GB internal memory (expandable up to 64GB) and a 2,600 mAh battery.

The company had planned to make the handset available in Russia in third quarter in Russia, but the plan was scrapped.

Previously, Samsung ran 'Bada' OS, which did not see much success. It has since been working on merging the platform with Tizen, which is backed by chipmaker Intel Corp.

The other popular operating systems include Apple iOS, Microsoft's Windows Phone OS and BlackBerry's proprietary platform.

Shock wristband to punish you for Facebooking at work

A US-based company has created a shock wristband for humans, that helps curtail bad habits or improve productivity.
The Pavlok is a wearable smart gadget that sits on your wrist and, with the aid of an accompanying app, helps you keep track of certain tasks in a day. Want to work out more? Pavlok will remind you to do that. Waste too much time on Facebook? You can have Pavlok shock you to your senses when you attempt to log on. And we mean literally shock you.
The other intriguing part of the device is that it has exposed metal contacts on the inside of the wristband, that release a miniature electric shock when you fail or ignore a task. There's either that option or force you to pay a stranger mopney through the app. But whether it's better to be shocked 4 times or pay someone money four times, just because you can't wake up in the morning, is debatable.
The shock piece can be configured to anywhere between 17V and 340V, to customize your sado masochism experience. Selling for  US $100, the Pavlok is expected to be launched next year.

Intel buys PasswordBox to make passwords less painful

Intel is strengthening its effort to reduce what it calls the “pain of passwords” by acquiring PasswordBox, a Canadian company that offers an online identity manager designed to let users log on to a range of websites and services with just one click.
PasswordBox lets users store login credentials in what the company calls a virtual safety deposit box. When surfing the Web, users can click on the sites they want to login to and PasswordBox handles the login.
The tool, which has over 14 million downloads, will become a part of the Safe Identity organization within Intel’s Security Group, the company said Monday.
Intel Security is planning to use PasswordBox’s one-click login system for mobile devices and browsers to reduce what it calls “password fatigue.”
PasswordBox was founded in 2012 and operates out of Montreal, where it employs 44 people. All of them have joined Intel Security.
Together with the PasswordBox team, Intel wants to work on technology to compete with online identity managers like Lastpass and Dashlane, which offer similar services.
PasswordBox also offers a secure way to share account passwords with family, friends or co-workers, and also lets users create encrypted notes and keep track of credit cards, passports, memberships and other sensitive personal data in a digital wallet. A feature called Legacy Locker can be used to transfer account logins after someone dies.
The startup also ventured into biometric security when it partnered with Bionym, the makers of a wristband that uses the unique signature of someone’s heartbeat to validate logins, replacing the PasswordBox master password and providing 3-factor authentication.
For now, PasswordBox will remain available as-is, the company said in a blog post. Until the release of a new product from Intel Security, all new and existing customers will be offered a premium subscription at no cost, giving access to all features and additional storage.

Samsung Galaxy E Series Tipped Again; TouchWiz UI Themes Leaked

Following Galaxy A series, the South Korean giant - Samsung - seems all set to launch the earlier reported new series with a single letter naming convention, the purported Galaxy E series.
Last week, two alleged Galaxy E series devices were spotted (via Sammobile) on Indian export/ import website Zauba. Listed as SM-E500F and SM-E700F, the smartphones are speculated to be the anticpated Galaxy E5 and Galaxy E7. While there are no details available about the SM-E500F, the SM-E700F is listed to be a dual-SIM device with 5.5-inch touchscreen.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy A series is anticipated to add the Galaxy A7 smartphone soon, as the device has gone through FCC certification in the US. The listing reveals that the Galaxy A7 will sport a 5.2-inch HD (1080x1920 pixels) display; a 64-bit 1.5GHz octa-core Snapdragon 615 processor; a 2 GB of RAM; a 12-megapixel rear camera; a 5-megapixel front camera; 16 GB of internal storage; Bluetooth; Wi-Fi; GPS; NFC; 4G LTE, and Android 4.4 KitKat. These specifications are completely in-line with previous GFXBench leaks.
Notably, Samsung is yet to launch the Galaxy A3 smartphone unveiled in October, but it reportedly got delayed because of production issues. The Galaxy A7 handset that was much-leaked alongside the Galaxy A3 and Galaxy A5, has still not yet been announced - possibly another symptom of the yield issues.
Last week, a Samsung China listing revealed the pricing of Galaxy A5, which is CNY 2599 (approximately Rs. 26,000). The smartphone, which was also set to launch in November, is now being rumoured to launch in December.
On the other hand, Samsung is reportedly planning to introduce themes in the newer version of TouchWiz UI globally. Notably, this option is already present on the Chinese variants of the Galaxy A3, Galaxy A5, Galaxy Note 4, and the Galaxy S5.
The purported images (via Sammobile) of the new 'Themes' option have surfaced online with showcasing five themes named - Samsung Basic, Natural, Craft, Classic, and Sweet. But it is not clear whether Samsung will release an SDK for developers to create more themes.
The option will reportedly be present under the 'Display and wallpaper' section in the Settings menu or could be accessed after a long-press the home screen wallpaper or from the Quick Settings.

Apple faces $350M in damages from iTunes antitrust suit first filed in 2005

Though Apple and record labels abandoned digital rights management protection in iTunes Store music purchases years ago, an antitrust lawsuit on the matter first filed in 2005 is set to go to trial this week.

The class-action lawsuit filed nearly a decade ago by Thomas Slattery originally alleged that Apple violated federal antitrust laws and California's unfair competition law by requiring that customers use an iPod to listen to music purchased from the iTunes Music Store. Apple managed to have some claims struck from the complaint in 2005, but was not successful in having the lawsuit dismissed.

The suit originally centered around RealNetworks, which caused a controversy in July 2004 when it released a workaround allowing songs purchased from its store onto Apple's iPod. The lawsuit took issue with Apple's "refusal to license FairPlay technology to other companies," but those claims were dismissed in December of 2009.

What remains is an allegation that Apple attempted to maintain a monopoly on the portable media player and downloadable music markets by issuing updates to FairPlay, its DRM that locked iTunes purchases to Apple devices.

Of course, since the lawsuit was filed, Apple negotiated a deal with record labels to drop DRM from music purchases in 2009. But the lawsuit carried on, and Jobs himself, months away from death, was compelled to testify in the case in 2011.

Samsung’s Lee Opts for Stability to Manage Revival

 

Lee Jae Yong chose stability over recriminations at Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) as the vice chairman kept the leaders for smartphones, TVs and memory chips even after posting the smallest profit since 2011.

All three co-chief executive officers, including the mobile division’s Shin Jong Kyun, remain in their jobs as part of the annual management revamp by Samsung Group. The conglomerate announced 11 executive changes today, citing business performance reasons.
Lee has taken a greater role at Samsung Group since his father, Lee Kun Hee, was hospitalized in May after a heart attack. In just six months, South Korea’s biggest chaebol has posted slumping earnings, cut cross shareholdings, announced initial public offerings and pushed an aborted merger of its shipbuilding and engineering units.

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“At a time when there’s market uncertainty regarding the company’s fourth-quarter results, and so many changes happening throughout the group’s affiliates, Samsung probably thought it was time to look around and ensure internal stability,” said Lee Jin Woo, a Seoul-based fund manager at KTB Asset Management Co.
Co-CEOs Kwon Oh Hyun, who leads the components business, and Yoon Boo Keun, the head of consumer electronics, will stay in their roles, Park said.

Slumping Earnings

The promotions announced today include elevating Kim Hyun Suk to president of the visual-display business and Jun Young Hyun to president of the memory business, according to an e-mailed statement today.

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Shares of Samsung Electronics rose 0.6 percent to 1,295,000 won at the close of trade in Seoul. The stock has dropped 5.6 percent this year after a 9.9 percent decline last year.
The 58-year-old Shin has spent about three decades at the company, including leading the introduction of its marquee Galaxy range. He has been head of mobile communications since 2011, during which time the company became the biggest seller of smartphones and expanded into tablet computers.
In October, the telecommunications unit posted a 74 percent drop in quarterly operating profit as competition crimps profit margins.

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Three lower-ranked executives of the mobile business, including president of strategic marketing Lee Don Joo, were removed from their current positions due to weak performance, Yonhap News said, without citing anyone. Samsung declined to comment on the Yonhap report.

Government Pressure

The leadership revamp is the latest change at Samsung Group, which comprises more than 70 companies. Chaebols, as the family run conglomerates are known, are under pressure from the government to unwind complex structures that enable a web of companies to be controlled with a fraction of the stock.
“Samsung’s decision to retain the top executives at their current posts, despite many rumors, is a signal that the company will focus on inner stability rather than point fingers,” said Claire Kim, a Seoul-based analyst at Daishin Securities Co. (003540) “The announcement is also a signal that Lee Jae Yong has decided to empower the three CEOs and support them as they help him through the restructuring process.”

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Under Chairman Lee Kun Hee, Samsung Electronics became the largest producer of phones, semiconductors and TVs, and the largest manufacturer by revenue in 2013 with sales of 229 trillion won ($205 billion). Revenue this year is projected to drop to 206 trillion won, according to analyst estimates.

Share Buyback

The 46-year-old Lee Jae Yong has already started to put his stamp on Samsung Group with $8 billion in proposed deals, including the disposal of stakes in chemicals and defense businesses, IPOs of two family controlled companies and a $2 billion stock buyback by its electronics company.
“The market sees today’s decisions as Vice Chairman Lee’s decisions, that he’s the one in charge,” Lee Jin Woo said.

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With the company in transition, the younger Lee may wait until he formally succeeds his father before making bigger management changes, according to Chung Chang Won, an analyst at Nomura Holdings Inc. (8604) in Seoul.
“There may be rearrangements once the vice chairman takes over as chairman,” Chung said.
Electronics is the biggest part of Samsung Group, generating more than two-thirds of revenue. The company wants to reduce its reliance on Galaxy devices through reinvention as a purveyor of Internet-connected homes and cars.
Samsung Electronics is investing in its chip unit, spending $15 billion on a new plant in South Korea, as it tries to revive growth in smartphones, the biggest contributor to earnings during the past three years.

While Samsung remains the world’s largest smartphone vendor, its grip is slipping. The company’s market share dropped to 24.7 percent in the third quarter, compared with 35 percent a year earlier, according to Strategy Analytics. Xiaomi displaced Samsung as the biggest smartphone vendor in China in the second quarter, according to researcher Canalys.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3G review: Note this before you buy

The Xiaomi Redmi Note is here and this phone too has an eye-popping spec sheet at a jaw-dropping price. However, before you line up virtually on Flipkart, note that this is a really large device and one that runs on the now dated Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean operating system. I played with the new Xiaomi phablet for five days before penning down this review.
Quick specs: 5.5-inch IPS display 720 x 1280 pixels | Android 4.3 OS with MIUI 5 | 1.7 GHz MediaTek MT 6592 octa-core CPU | Mali 450 GPU | 2GB RAM | 8GB internal memory expandable up to 32 GB | 13 MP rear camera | 5 MP front camera | Dual-SIM (regular SIM 3G+2G) | 3200 mAh battery
Picture gallery: Xiaomi Redmi Note
Box contents: Handset, USB cable and adapter.
Price: Rs 8,999
Design: The Redmi Note looks ordinary. After I unboxed the review unit, I was not sure this is something for which people will line up on Flipkart. However, at Rs 8,999, you really can’t expect more.
If you were lucky enough to get a glimpse of the previously launched Redmi 1S smartphone, then for you this phone will appear as an enlarged version of the same. For the rest, the Redmi Note will appear like just another smartphone made by any Indian brand.

The front face sports a 5.5-inch screen above three red coloured capacitive navigation buttons. On the top is a 5 MP camera and speaker. A white glossy plastic back cover hides two SIM card slots, a microSD slot and a removable 3,100 mAh battery inside.
The Redmi Note with a 5.5-inch display is obviously a large smartphone to carry. However, the rounded edge makes one-handed operability easy. Weighing 200 grams, the Redmi Note is a bit bulky too. The device is mostly made out of cheap glossy plastic but it feels solid in the hand.

Display: The Redmi Note sports a 5.5-inch 720p display with a pixel density of 267 ppi. The display is not Full HD but does a good job. It is clear and crisp. You shouldn’t have any reasons to complain about the display. The viewing angles are good. Outdoor visibility is surprising good at full brightness. At medium brightness, you will be able to operate the phone under direct sunlight without much difficulties.

Performance: The Redmi Note offers good performance at this price range. The octa-core MediaTek MT6592 (32 bit, frequency 728 ~ 1664 MHz) with Mali 450 GPU and 2GB RAM will not disappoint you at all. It scored a decent 31337 on AnTuTu Benchmark (v5.3 ). General performance of the phone was good. I did not witness any lags at all while opening apps or doing regular things. On the gaming front, the CPU again performs well. Overall, multimedia experience is good and will satisfy most. However, I witnessed a slight lag while watching movies through USB OTG. The phone does heats up while playing games, but this should not be a problem.
Picture gallery: Xiaomi Redmi Note
Software: The Redmi Note runs on Android 4.2.2 sugarcoated with MIUI 5. There is no official word as to when the device will be upgraded to Android 4.4 KitKat, if not Android 5.0 Lollipop. The MIUI 5 comes without any app drawer. So, everything is there on the home screen itself.

Android Wear is compatible with Android 4.3 or higher devices only. So, if you have any Android Wear-based device, it will not sync with the Redmi Note, at least now. On the app front, you will miss several new games, Quickoffice integration (which comes with KitKat) among several others. The MIUI 5 has a ‘Notes’ app, which seems like the only justification of the name Redmi Note.
The MIUI 5 makes Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean look better and easier too. The UI includes a Lite mode which makes it much easier for first time smartphone buyers and elderly non-techie users to use the phone.
For power users, Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean will be a big turn off. However, if you are not much into apps, then you can live with it and wait for an update. Note that majority of the Android users are still on Android 4.1 or 4.2 Jelly Bean.

Camera: This is one area Xiaomi has not compromised at all. For a phone priced at just Rs 8,999, I would say the camera is really good. It’s not the fastest but it will not disappoint you. The camera is capable of taking decent macro and HDR shots. Low light images without flash were surprisingly good. The 5 MP selfie camera is decent too.
Storage: The device offers around 6 GB of internal storage. MicroSD cards up to 32 GB are supported.
Connectivity: The smartphone comes with two regular SIM card slots. The first slot supports 3G while the Slot 2 supports only 2G networks. Overall, there is no issue with connectivity.
Picture gallery: Xiaomi Redmi Note
Battery: The 3100 mAh battery does a good job. The device easily lasts an entire day on normal usage. I managed to watch a 2.5-hour movie via USB OTG with just 16 per cent of battery life (medium brightness and data connection switched off). On the gaming front, two hours of continuous 3D gaming at full brightness and volume drained the battery from 75 per cent to 25 per cent. Overall, the battery life is good. However, the 3,100 mAh battery takes time to charge.
Verdict: The Xiaomi Redmi Note offers great value for money, no doubt. However, be sure about the size and obviously Android 4.2.2 OS, before buying. If you want a large-screened smartphone then this is the only option under Rs 10,000.