galaxy

During Samsung's questionable launch of its marquee Galaxy S4 smartphone, the handset-maker introduced S Voice Drive, a breakout version of its S Voice assistant designed specifically for use when on the road.

After the show, I got my hands on an untethered version of the Galaxy S4 and tested it out. Or at least, tested the driving app as much as I could while sitting in a plush, fold-down chair so deep inside a massive theater that I could barely register a GPS signal.

The interface looks smooth, a constellation of circular icons that represent all you can do … Read more

Samsung plans to release a smartphone running its upstart Tizen operating system by August or September, according to Bloomberg.

The Tizen phone will be one of three flagship products for Samsung, the others being the newly unveiled Galaxy S4 and another version of the Galaxy Note, Bloomberg reported, citing an interview with Y.H. Lee, executive vice president of marketing for Samsung's mobile business.

The timing is just a bit behind the July-to-August timeline that Samsung had told CNET while at Mobile World Congress last month.

The high-end comment also fits in with comments made by executives from Japan's NTT Docomo and France's Orange, … Read more

The little blond boy from the latest, oddly bland commercials tap-danced.

There was a mother-in-law joke.

There were actors being forced to spout lines of the same quality as reality show producers foist on overly-lipsticked, neophyte administrative associates.

Somewhere, Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd were weeping into a banana daiquiri.

Samsung's live event to launch its Galaxy S4 was bathed in all the taste of budget-free vaudeville.

As my colleague Molly Wood fulminated, the depiction of women as Stepfordian drunks was quite spectacularly myopic, ancient, and slightly tawdry.

The general level of humor had a sell-by date of September … Read more

Think Apple's A6 chip packs a punch? It appears to have some stiff competition from Samsung's Exynos 5 Octa, slated for commercial production in the second quarter, the company announced today.

Featured in Samsung's Galaxy S4, Octa means it integrates a whopping eight CPU cores. Apple's A6 has two, by comparison.

While a raw core count comparison may be too simplistic, Samsung's chip, on paper, should make Apple worry -- especially since Samsung is simultaneously manufacturing the Exynos chip and Apple's A6.

The Exynos 5 Octa uses technology from chip designer ARM called big.LITTLE. … Read more

Good news, wire haters: the Samsung Galaxy S4 will support wireless charging.

The bad news? The feature will cost you upward of $100.

We're hearing that adding wireless charging to the S4 will require a new back cover ($39.99), as well as a dedicated wireless charger ($59.99). The charger is said to hit stores in April, but the back cover may not see the light of day until June.

We can't yet confirm if the charger supports the existing Qi standard (as Engadget reports), which would make it compatible with third-party chargers like the Energizer Dual Inductive Charger. … Read more

With the introduction of the Galaxy S4, Samsung is making Apple's iPhone look like yesterday's hot smartphone. But will that be enough to make Apple respond when it releases its next iPhone?

With a massive marketing campaign, a 5-inch screen, 13-megapixel camera, and a host of new software features on top of Google Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2, the S4 could attract a following at the iPhone's expense, even at a high price (Samsung has not yet revealed pricing). The S4 will also be more widely distributed than the iPhone, with 327 carriers in 55 countries … Read more

After watching Samsung Electronics unveil the Galaxy S4, HTC President Jason MacKenzie was feeling pretty good.

Samsung chose a unique way to present the Galaxy S4 and its many new features, staging a number of skits to highlight the phone's new capabilities. The theatrics were appropriate given that the event was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

Dear Samsung: What just happened?

In the middle of a red-hot conversation about women in technology, the resurgence of the equal-pay discussion, and Sheryl Sandberg reigniting the very concept of feminism in America, Samsung delivered a Galaxy S4 launch event that served up more '50s-era stereotypes about women than I can count, and packaged them all as campy Broadway caricatures of the most, yes, offensive variety.

To be fair, everyone in Samsung's bizarre, hourlong parade of awkward exchanges, forced laughs, and hammy skits was a stereotype. The kid was lispy, tow-headed, and tap-dancing (the little girl did ballet, of … Read more

"Our hope is to bring anything that's not dependent on hardware to other devices," he said.

Blackard didn't have any details about timing for that but suggested it will be sooner rather than later. For prior releases, … Read more