Posts tagged: Smartphone

Will Samsung bring out a foldable phone?

Yes! Probably.

 

Samsung Mobile CEO DJ Koh recently told CNBC that the company was still running on time to reveal its first foldable smartphone later in 2018. The device sounds like it’s probably going to be unveiled at this year’s Samsung Developer Conference, set to be held in November in San Francisco.

 

Samsung first announced its plans for a Galaxy Note smartphone with a bendable display in September 2017, BUT Samsung has already announced this year’s Galaxy Note 9, so it seems likely that this new bendable phone will come with it’s own unique model name and branding.

 

There’s still no details about how exactly the folding screen will work, but many believe there will be no hinge, and instead the screen itself will bend.

 

It also seems like their trying their hardest to make the device not just a novelty, but rather a device that gives users more functionality. According to Koh;

 

“So every device, every feature, every innovation should have a meaningful message to our end customer. So when the end customer uses it, (they think) ‘wow, this is the reason Samsung made it’.”

 

There have been many, many rumors that Samsung is in the lead of the foldable display with competitor Apple, however there has been no concrete evidence or comment by Apple that this is the case, only a few patents with technology that might serve such a device.

 

So, what do you think? Foldable phones… next big thing? Or not so much?

 

Smartphone Users, By The Numbers

INFOGRAPHICS! YEAH! These things make everything fun to read what with the colors and the shapes and the little pointy arrows!

 

We give you the best fun of 2014 so far- Smartphone infographics!

 

YEAH!

 

 

 

This Infographic is produced by Coupon Audit (provides Converse promo code) and iPhoneAntidote – Sell Your Cracked iPhone

 

No more subsidies?

 

No more subsidies?! That makes us go:

 

 

 

 

 

Alright, crash course in subsidies!  A Subsidy is something you more than likely have used or been a part of. It’s a form of financial or in kind support extended to an economic sector, institution, business, or individual generally with the aim of promoting beneficial economic and social outcomes.

 

It’s also what happens when you buy a smartphone in this country, unless you buy it outright.

 

If you paid $199 for an iPhone 5S, or $99 for an iPhone 5C, your carrier subsidized the real cost of the smartphone. This means that you paid a certain amount, and because you signed a two year contract with them guaranteeing your continued business for a locked in period of time, they paid Apple the rest of the cost price of the iPhone.

 

 

All good, right?

 

Well, for now, yeah. Last week however AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson came out and dropped a little mini iPhone world bombshell on the future of subsidies in the smartphone industry.

 

His main point was that with smartphone saturation climbing rapidly towards 90% (!) carriers will need to move on to a different way of doing things, because the current model can’t be maintained at that rate.

 

Carriers like AT&T use the subsidies to drive demand, but with such a high percentage of the population of the country already owning a smartphone, demand moves to upgrades and the companies subsidy system was never meant to support a predominantly upgrading model.

 

So what now? & how will it affect you?

 

 

We’re heading towards a smartphone world with financing rather than subsidies. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said the company’s new AT&T Next program, which offers no-money down and 0-percent financing, “drives smartphone penetration in a way that is more sustainable over time.”

 

So if you buy an iPhone in the future, you’re still likely to sign a contract. That contract however will be broken up in a way where you can see that each payment period you are paying off a stated amount from the total cost of the smartphone. Separate to that amount would be what you are paying to use the carrier’s service- calls, texts, etc. You would of course also always have the option to buy the phone outright.

 

It’s the way that it’s done in a number of countries around the world and it will be interesting to see if and how the market here adapts and changes.

 

 

 

Images courtesy of 9to5Mac,  Macrumors, 

Meanwhile, Samsung quietly launched a smartphone with a curved screen

 

 

 

 

Samsung have yesterday launched the first smart phone handset with a curved display screen!

 

It’s called the Galaxy Round, and it’s currently only available in their home country South Korea, with no indication that the phone will be released internationally.

 

 

BUT!

 

 

Could this be a sign of things to come, iPhone Antidote?

 

Why yes, lovely readers, yes it is, you handsome intellectuals you.

 

Both Samsung and LG have released curved screen OLED televisions. LG have recently said that they will begin production of curved-screen phones next year, and there have been rumors swirling of curved screen Apple devices for a while.

 

Samsung got there first, but it’s a great sign of things to come, and it’s a step in the right direction of what smartphone companies are really working towards- flexible, bendy screens.

 

Or is is wearable tech?

 

Talking Teddy bears?

 

Oh, right, we remember, it’s MINATURE AFRICAN ANIMALS THAT ALSO FUNCTION AS YOUR PHONE AND CALENDAR AND YOU CAN PLAY GAMES WITH THEM BUT IN REAL LIFE BUT WITH CARS AND STUFF TOO. AND THEY’LL GIVE YOU DIRECTIONS. AND DRIVE YOUR CAR.

 

 

YEAH.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image courtesy of Engadget.com & tehcute.com