Apple's Store designer hired by Samsung..Apple vs Samsung

SAMSUNG may have lost the latest court decision, but Samsung Electronics scored a personnel victory over Apple this month by hiring away a senior store designer.

Samsung said Tim Gudgel, who has played a role in designing Apple's stylish retail outlets, joined the company this month as a vice president and general manager of retail-sales operations. Samsung didn't elaborate further on Gudgel's responsibilities.

The hire, earlier reported by The Information, calls attention to Samsung's retail strategy. While Samsung has a few retail shops overseas, including in its home market of South Korea, its U.S. retail presence is limited to a partnership with Best Buy. The retailer allots space within its stores for "Samsung Experience" shops, where customers can try out Samsung's smartphones and other devices.

According to his LinkedIn page, Gudgel had worked as a director at Apple since March 2008. Before that, he spent six years at Gehry Partners, founded by legendary architect Frank Gehry. Among Gudgel's accomplishments at Apple, he was a designer on a patent filing for the curved glass roof of the Apple store on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

Apple and Samsung, the two dominant forces in the smartphone industry, are locked in a series of lawsuits over patents pertaining to mobile-device technology. Last month, a federal jury ordered Samsung to pay Apple $290 million, bringing the total damages it owes to Apple to $930 million. The case was a retrial of a portion of the $1.05 billion in damages awarded in the original case in 2012.

Samsung's A7 inside iPhone 5S According to new analysis

Apple's A7 processor has a dual-core CPU and quad-core GPU. Nikkei's findings echo Chipworks' earlier analysis.

(Credit: Chipworks)

The mystery of the Apple-Samsung relationship remains largely unsolved. But Japan's Nikkei Publications offered more evidence on Monday that chip-level relationships are hard to end.

After a thorough dissection of Apple's iPhone 5S, Nikkei Electronics found a Samsung-manufactured A7 processor inside the 5S. Nikkei Electronics analysis was published in Monday's Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan's largest business daily.

This revelation follows analysis done in September by Chipworks that also showed a Samsung-made A7.

The A7 is Apple's newest processor that is used in the iPhone 5S, iPad Air, and iPad Mini Retina. It is the first 64-bit processor to be used in a consumer smartphone.

Nikkei Electronics, again echoing Chipworks analysis, said the A7 is built on Samsung's 28-nanometer manufacturing process -- more advanced than the 32-nanometer Samsung process used for the older A6 chip.

The publication found a dual-core CPU (central processing unit) and quad-core GPU (graphics processing unit). The latter is based on a design from Imagination Technologies.

So, how long will this Apple-Samsung relationship continue? Of course no one but Apple and Samsung know the answer to that question. But a source who is familiar with global contract manufacturing relationships told CNET recently that Apple has been working with TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company), the largest chip contract manufacturer in the world.

And Globalfoundries, AMD's erstwhile manufacturing operations, could also be a potential source of manufacturing, the source said.

The moral of the story is that it is very difficult to wind down chip manufacturing relationships. It can take as long as five years, the source said.

Microsoft negotiating massive deal with Samsung, $1 billion on the table

According to Russian Blogger Eldar Murtazin, Microsoft is offering Samsung $1 billion to support their Windows Phone operating system by manufacturing devices. As we all know, Samsung is theleading Android OEM by a landslide. But on the Windows Phone front, Microsoft is struggling to have a company come forward that isn’t Nokia (who may be releasing a device based on Android). Nokia was involved in something similar with Microsoft when Steve Ballmer and the guys up in Redmond decided to pay more than $250 million every quarter to keep the Finnish manufacturer with Windows Phone. Samsung likes to spread its name, so escalating Windows Phone production wouldn’t be out of the ordinary.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Lite said to be entering production, could be 30% of Note 3 sales

Remember Samsung’s watered down devices such as the Galaxy Note 3 Lite and Galaxy Tab 3 Lite? A new report from ET News in Korea claims that the Galaxy Note 3 Lite has already entered production. Apparently Samsung is slated to produce 500,000 units in January and about 1.5 million in February. This would allow Samsung to announce the Note 3 Lite at Mobile World Conference in February and a release in March or April.

It is rumored that Samsung had started production last month but decided to push back the release since the device would be close to the Note 3 release and change the perception of the Note brand as premium. Sources are even saying that Samsung expects this device to consume 30% of Note 3 sales. The Note 3 Lite is rumored to have a 5.49 or 5.68-inch LCD, not AMOLED to keep costs down, display. Being that it is a low-end device, a 1080p display is not expected alongside Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 processor.

Samsung resumes rollout of Android 4.3 update for the Galaxy S3

In case you were unhappy that your Galaxy S3 did not get the recent Android 4.3 update released by Samsung, then there is news for you. Samsung has confirmed that the new update rollout has been resumed and is now available globally.

Earlier Samsung had released the update and users were complaining that the 4.3 Jelly Bean update lead to certain issues including freezing of the display, quick depletion of the battery and also cases where the handset was completely bricked.

Now it seems that the company has reworked on the update and the issues have been solved. The new firmware has the build number I9300XXUGMK6 and is said to be built on the 28th of November. The new update includes updated GPU drivers and also an updated QWERTY Samsung virtual keyboard. There will be an overhaul of the UI including a new lock screen, updated S-Voice and more features that will be similar to the ones seen on the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3. Apart from these, the new update will also enable the global version of the Galaxy S3 to support the Galaxy Gear smartwatch which was launched with the Galaxy Note 3. The new update will also have Samsung KNOX, the company’s latest security feature for smartphones.

Hopefully we will get to see the update reaching the Indian shores in the coming few days.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Crystal Edition made available in Thailand

Samsung recently launched a Crystal Edition of the Galaxy S III mini in Germany, and now it will be launched another Crystal Edition device, this time with the Galaxy S4, in Thailand. The device will be available in limited quantities (3,500 units) and comes with studded Swarovski crystals on the back and is essentially the same phone as the Exynos variant of the device.

The price is 20,300 baht, or $630 USD, making it more expensive than the standard 17,400 baht, or $540 USD. It makes sense, because there are crystals on the back.

It’s pretty unlikely that we’ll be seeing the phone in closer markets anytime soon, but if you want one, hurry up before it’s out of stock.

For Indians looking to buy it , the mobile is worth 38455.20 INR

Samsung Galaxy S5 Roundup: Expected Specification and Launch Date Details

As Samsung's 2013 marquee phone Galaxy S4 nears its one-year cycle, the company's next generation handset Galaxy S5 rumours have begun to flood the internet.

Over the last few months, we have seen a quite lot of reports about speculated features of Galaxy S5. To give a better picture of the forthcoming Samsung 2014-flagship phone, we have pieced together all the relevant facts.

Design and Display:

Despite delivering some of the top smartphones in the market, Samsung always has been panned by critics and fans alike for the company's inclination towards device's plastic casing. However, Samsung finally seems to have heard the call as the South Korean firm is reportedly using a metal-alloy for its upcoming Galaxy S5. With the introduction of metal hardware, the costs are certain to go up, which in turn may affect company's stakes in price-conscious markets like India and China. But the company is also rumoured to release a cheaper plastic variant, said ET News

Apart from different back panels, both devices are expected to the feature the same display quality. Both the phones are said to boast of a flexible Super AMOLED display with a staggering 2K (2560x1440p) display resolution with 560 ppi (pixels per inch).

Processor, RAM and Storage:

Samsung has already confirmed that the company is certain to use the 64-bit architecture based chipsets in 2014 models and hence one can also expect the Galaxy S5 to boast of the new generation processor.

The company's recently launched Galaxy Note 3 already features a 3GB RAM, so it is safe to assume that Galaxy S5 will pack at least 3GB physical memory, if not more.

In terms of storage capacity, Phones Review reported that Samsung Galaxy S5 may pack a huge memory (astronomical) of 364GB, a new generation 3D vertical NAND logic design based chip, a technic which the company has mastered to stack 24 x 16GB chips in layers in the small confines of the smartphone mother board.

Another interesting rumour that is circulating in the media is that, Samsung may plant either a eye-scanning sensor (Iris Recognition) or a finger-print sensor in the phone, a biometric technology for secured unlocking of the screen. 'Iris Recognition' involves camera technology with subtle infrared illuminations to capture detailed nerve pattern on the iris. Using this data, digital templates are created by mathematical and statistical algorithm so that accurate profile is created. This biometric technology is nearly impossible to crack by an imposter, unlike finger print scanner which can be forged with fake thumb print. If implemented, Samsung will truely have an edge over the arch rival Apple next year.

Apple iphone 5S and HTC One Max are the only devices in the market to boast a finger-print module as of now.

 Camera:

In 2013, we saw Samsung deliver high-end phones with equally impressive camera specs with photography enriching smart applications and tools. Now it looks like company is going up a notch with the new Galaxy S5. The upcoming phone is expected to boast of a 16.0-megapixel main camera with ISOCELL technology, OIS (Optical image stabilization) and loss-less zoom feature, which we see in the Nokia's flagship 41.0-megapixel camera phone Lumia 1020. It is also said to house either 1.6-megapixel or 2.0-megapixel front-facing camera with full HD video recording ability along with smart-camera gesture control features.

Operating System:

Since the Galaxy S5 is expected to get launched next year, the phone is certain to run on the Android v4.4 KitKat OS.

Launch Date:

Reports from South Korea suggest that the Samsung Galaxy S5 production will go live in early January. Samsung is known for promptness in delivering fast shipments to multiple markets in one go, so we can expect to phone to make its debut either in mid-February (possibly around MWC 2013) or the company might even host a flashy 2014 edition of the Samsung Unpacked event in early-March.

Rumoured specifications of Samsung Galaxy S5:

Model	Samsung Galaxy S5
Display	5.0-inch Super AMOLED display with 2K (2560x1440p) resolutions and pixel density of 560 ppi (pixels per inch)
OS	Android v4.4 KitKat OS
Processor	64-bit architecture based Samsung Exynos 6 Octa-core chipset
RAM	Minimum 3GB or (4GB)
Storage capacity	364 GB (rumour), usually expect to come in 32GB , 64GB variants with micro SD card slot
Camera	Main: 16.0-megapixel camera with OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) Front: 1.9 or 2.0 megapixel cmaera with full HD video recording ability
Battery	4000 mAh
Network	3G/4G/LTE-Advanced
Add-ons	Two variants- metal casing another with plastic shell, smart camera gesture control feature, possibly finger print-sensor or Eye-Scanning module (Iris Recognition)