Sunday, November 2, 2014

SEL outs a 3-fold 8.7-inch OLED touch display

At the Display Innovation 2014 trade show in Yokohoma City, Japan, Semiconductor Energy Laboratory (SEL) introduced an 8.7" Super AMOLED display, which can fold in three. It sports 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution resulting in a pixel density of 254ppi.
SEL introduced a smaller version of the same display measuring 5.9" in diagonal, but it sported 720p resolution and didn't support touch. Now, that's changed an the company uses a c-axis aligned semiconductor for the backplane. The company is debuting a technology combining a top emission type and a capacitive touch panel for the first time.
The 3-fold 8.7" SEL display can be bent more than 100,000 times and the curvature bent it supports is of 2mm and 4mm radius.
There's no information just yet when we can see the display in an actual product. The possibilities are endless and we can see it in future e-readers as well as tablets. An interesting project would be to cover an entire staircase with this type of display, but you'll have to have an extraordinary large amount of cash to burn to pull this off.

Apple iPhone 6 to get a $100 price cut with upcoming promo

The holiday season and Black Friday are upon us, kicking off November 28 this year. The retailers are already working on their promo offers and the Sam's Club one is particularly interesting. It seems iPhone 6 will be one of its hot promotions this year - it will offer it on half the price if you opt to get in on contract.
A leaked flyer for the upcoming promotion reveals Sam's Club will offer the Apple iPhone 6 for $99 for the 16GB flavor with a two-year contract. The 64GB and 128GB models will be available for purchase as well for $199 and $299 respectively.
The offer applies until December 31, but the numbers each store will have in stock are rather limited - 40-50 per club.
The first generation Apple iPad Air will be also on-sale in Sam's Club, as in many other retailers at $100 down the official price.
We guess other stores will be getting similar discounts for the latest Apple flagship. Do you plan of getting one for yourself this holiday season?

HTC Desire 620 in the works, Taiwan's NCC reveals

The NCC is Taiwan's equivalent of the USA's FCC, and its documents have revealed a new smartphone that is currently in the works: the HTC Desire 620.
Not one, but two versions of this yet unheard of upcoming handset have been certified by the NCC. The Desire 620h will top out at 3G (HSPA) networks, while the Desire 620u will support 4G LTE.


Both models will have dual-SIM functionality built-in, and that unfortunately is everything we know about the Desire 620 right now.
Given its name, however, we can speculate that it shall act as a successor to the Desire 610 (pictured above), which was unveiled in early 2014. It could also serve the same role for the Desire 616, but that has only arrived on the market in June, and it would be a bit early for a refresh.
It's unclear if we'll see the new Desire 620 across the world, or if its release will be limited to a few Asian markets, like many other Desire-branded devices before it. Hopefully we'll find out more about it soon.

Samsung Ativ S gets updated to Windows Phone 8.1

The Samsung Ativ S is now ready to enter the Windows Phone 8.1 club. Lagging behind several Nokia handsets, the smartphone launched two years ago is finally starting to receive an over-the-air update to Windows Phone 8.1.
Owners of the Ativ S in both Italy and Germany have reported getting asked to perform the update. Furthermore, Samsung confirmed the rollout for unbranded units sold in Italy, so other European countries should see it pretty soon, we assume.


As is usually the case with such things, the rollout might take a while, so perhaps don't lose sight of your patience just yet.
The update comes with a few new features, such as the Action Center for notifications and shortcuts, the ability to use a background image for the tiled home screen, a swipe-enabled keyboard, an optional third row of tiles, improved Bing search, separate volume levels for ringtones and notifications and for media files and apps, a new layout for the Camera app, live folders, and a screen sharing option (that works only via USB).
Music and Videos are now two separate apps. The dialer, calendar, task manager, and Internet Explorer have been updated too, sporting better performance and graphic

BlackBerry Passport gets the gold-plating treatment


Early last month we came across photos of a gold-plated BlackBerry Passport, but details were scarce. This might be the source of these photos - Vietnamese company Mavang is doing custom gold plating of Passports.
The square-screened business smartphone features a forged stainless steel plate for durability, but is also visible on the outside as a metal rim.
     
BlackBerry Passport with 24K gold plating
It's exactly that rim that is gold-plated with 24K gold in a process that takes between three and four hours, including time for disassembly.
The price varies between VND 8,000,000 and 10,000,00 ($375-$470) depending on customizations required by the customer - carving a message or a business logo.

Friday, October 31, 2014

Here is How to Survive Halloween… with Minimum Effort

No offense here. Many of us love Halloween, but there are some people here at Samsung Tomorrow who just aren’t ready for it. Trick-or-treating, costumes, horror films, pranks, decorating, carving pumpkins, parties, food… the sheer amount of things you have to do just to celebrate Halloween is downright scary… to some of us. This article is for those ‘some of us’.

Good Luck for some of us who want to survive Halloween with minimum effort

If Halloween feels like a social obligation rather than a celebration, you aren’t alone. That is why we would like to introduce you a brand new system called the ‘EEE’ or ‘3E’. EEE stands for: Easiest Costumes, Effortless Food and Excellent Excuses (ok, technically that’s 4Es, but you know what we mean). This system will guide you on how to survive Halloween with the bare minimum effort, as long as you manage to keep your head on your shoulders.


Easiest costumes

Halloween costumes can be quite overwhelming for many, not to mention that they come with a strong sense of peer pressure as well. You want to make sure that you spend the least amount of effort on a costume, but you also want to make sure that you look at least semi-cool. The best way to do achieve this is to do a ‘wordplay’ costume, such as going as a ‘cereal killer’, ‘French Kiss’ or ‘ceiling fan’. This will insinuate that you have put more of a ‘mental’ effort rather than a ‘physical’ effort into your costume. Therefore you can not only reaffirm your wittiness, but also hide your laziness at the same time, sort of. Here are two more ideas.

Galaxy Note 4
4 Galaxy Notes 4 and 4 Notes
Had to do it, plus it is simple. Draw 4 musical notes on a shirt.  There you have the Note 4. If you want to do it totally properly, add couple of stars around it. Tuck a pen or pencil behind your ear to symbolize the S Pen.


Quarterback
Quarterback and Quarter's back

Attach the tails side of a quarter on the back of your shirt. Or write a 1/4 on the back of shirt. Get it?

Okay, maybe not the best of ideas, can’t help you much here.


Effortless Food

If you had to dress up, chances are you are going to a party. And you are either going to a club or a house party. If you are going to a house party, you also might be responsible to pitch in for some kind of Halloween-themed food, like a potluck. You cannot disappoint people by not bringing anything, besides, it is what is expected of you as one of the guests. One easy thing you can do is bring something to drink to the party. Get some water, add some lime drink mix, pineapple juice and ginger ale, you will get a green colored punch called Brew-Ha-Ha punch. But not everyone can bring drinks – here’s an idea for effortless food.

Halloween 'Finger' food

Finger Food

Get some shortbread cookie recipe and roll tapered logs of the dough to form “fingers.” Press a sliced almond onto each one for a fingernail, and use a toothpick to draw creases at the "knuckles." Then you can bake them in a moderate oven until lightly golden.
*check out more ideas for Halloween food here.


Excellent Excuses

This is the last resort for time when you feel compelled to refuse to put on a costume or make any kind of food for anyone including yourself. We understand you. No matter what the world or society says, it is your time, you should be able to do whatever you want. Moreover, it’s Friday!

So, if making excuses isn’t your forte, but if you must do so to avoid Halloween, you must do it right. Your excuses should not only be 100% relatable, they should also be factual. Most importantly, it should be witty to make it sound less like an excuse, and more like your attempt to deal with the situation with some levity. Here is a line you can use and everyone will… sort of.

I’m-hanging-out-with-my-significant-other-and-that-is-scary-enough

* I’m hanging out with my wife/husband or boyfriend/girlfriend and he/she is scary enough.

* There is something strange in my neighborhood. And I’ll be busy finding out who I’m going to call. (Get it?)

* I’m not afraid of ghosts, but I am afraid of people who want to be dress up like ghosts.

* My Smart TV made me an offer I cannot refuse.

* The internet has possessed me.

* It is my spiritual belief to do absolutely nothing on Friday but eat, sleep and repeat.  

* I’m dressing up as a hikikomori this year.

* No thank you.


That is it and you’re welcome. If you have something to add on the EEE system, leave us a comment to let us know your own ideas for costumes, food or excuses. Good Luck and a happy Halloween!
- See more at: http://global.samsungtomorrow.com/?p=44038#sthash.WSnL4S9A.dpuf

Here is How to Survive Halloween… with Minimum Effort -

No offense here. Many of us love Halloween, but there are some people here at Samsung Tomorrow who just aren’t ready for it. Trick-or-treating, costumes, horror films, pranks, decorating, carving pumpkins, parties, food… the sheer amount of things you have to do just to celebrate Halloween is downright scary… to some of us. This article is for those ‘some of us’.

Good Luck for some of us who want to survive Halloween with minimum effort

If Halloween feels like a social obligation rather than a celebration, you aren’t alone. That is why we would like to introduce you a brand new system called the ‘EEE’ or ‘3E’. EEE stands for: Easiest Costumes, Effortless Food and Excellent Excuses (ok, technically that’s 4Es, but you know what we mean). This system will guide you on how to survive Halloween with the bare minimum effort, as long as you manage to keep your head on your shoulders.


Easiest costumes

Halloween costumes can be quite overwhelming for many, not to mention that they come with a strong sense of peer pressure as well. You want to make sure that you spend the least amount of effort on a costume, but you also want to make sure that you look at least semi-cool. The best way to do achieve this is to do a ‘wordplay’ costume, such as going as a ‘cereal killer’, ‘French Kiss’ or ‘ceiling fan’. This will insinuate that you have put more of a ‘mental’ effort rather than a ‘physical’ effort into your costume. Therefore you can not only reaffirm your wittiness, but also hide your laziness at the same time, sort of. Here are two more ideas.

Galaxy Note 4
4 Galaxy Notes 4 and 4 Notes
Had to do it, plus it is simple. Draw 4 musical notes on a shirt.  There you have the Note 4. If you want to do it totally properly, add couple of stars around it. Tuck a pen or pencil behind your ear to symbolize the S Pen.


Quarterback
Quarterback and Quarter's back

Attach the tails side of a quarter on the back of your shirt. Or write a 1/4 on the back of shirt. Get it?

Okay, maybe not the best of ideas, can’t help you much here.


Effortless Food

If you had to dress up, chances are you are going to a party. And you are either going to a club or a house party. If you are going to a house party, you also might be responsible to pitch in for some kind of Halloween-themed food, like a potluck. You cannot disappoint people by not bringing anything, besides, it is what is expected of you as one of the guests. One easy thing you can do is bring something to drink to the party. Get some water, add some lime drink mix, pineapple juice and ginger ale, you will get a green colored punch called Brew-Ha-Ha punch. But not everyone can bring drinks – here’s an idea for effortless food.

Halloween 'Finger' food

Finger Food

Get some shortbread cookie recipe and roll tapered logs of the dough to form “fingers.” Press a sliced almond onto each one for a fingernail, and use a toothpick to draw creases at the "knuckles." Then you can bake them in a moderate oven until lightly golden.
*check out more ideas for Halloween food here.


Excellent Excuses

This is the last resort for time when you feel compelled to refuse to put on a costume or make any kind of food for anyone including yourself. We understand you. No matter what the world or society says, it is your time, you should be able to do whatever you want. Moreover, it’s Friday!

So, if making excuses isn’t your forte, but if you must do so to avoid Halloween, you must do it right. Your excuses should not only be 100% relatable, they should also be factual. Most importantly, it should be witty to make it sound less like an excuse, and more like your attempt to deal with the situation with some levity. Here is a line you can use and everyone will… sort of.

I’m-hanging-out-with-my-significant-other-and-that-is-scary-enough

* I’m hanging out with my wife/husband or boyfriend/girlfriend and he/she is scary enough.

* There is something strange in my neighborhood. And I’ll be busy finding out who I’m going to call. (Get it?)

* I’m not afraid of ghosts, but I am afraid of people who want to be dress up like ghosts.

* My Smart TV made me an offer I cannot refuse.

* The internet has possessed me.

* It is my spiritual belief to do absolutely nothing on Friday but eat, sleep and repeat.  

* I’m dressing up as a hikikomori this year.

* No thank you.


That is it and you’re welcome. If you have something to add on the EEE system, leave us a comment to let us know your own ideas for costumes, food or excuses. Good Luck and a happy Halloween!
- See more at: http://global.samsungtomorrow.com/?p=44038#sthash.8dmQeUUs.dpuf