Samsung brings Android and Windows to IFA 2012 (pictures)

JK Shin, head of Samsung's mobile-phone business, led the company's press conference at IFA by announcing the Galaxy Note 2.

Jean-Daniel Ayme, vice president of Samsung's European mobile-phone business, details the Galaxy Note 2 at an IFA press conference.

Jean-Daniel Ayme, vice president of Samsung's European mobile-phone business, discusses the Galaxy Note 2's software at an IFA press conference. It comes with Android 4.1, aka Jelly Bean, along with Samsung customizations.

Custom software on the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 includes a calendar application designed to work with the phone's stylus, Jean-Daniel Ayme, vice president of Samsung's European mobile-phone business, said at an IFA press conference.

Custom software on the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 includes a calendar application designed to work with the phone's stylus, Jean-Daniel Ayme, vice president of Samsung's European mobile-phone business, said at an IFA press conference.

The S Pen also can be used to annotate e-mail, calendar entries, and other items on the Galaxy Note 2.

Film director Wim Wenders tries to get people excited about creativity at the Samsung press conference. The German press was impressed.

A throng gathered to hear Samsung's press conference at IFA in Berlin.

Stephen Taylor, vice president of the Samsung brand in Europe, debuted the Samsung Galaxy Camera at a press conference at IFA. The camera has a 16-megapixel sensor, Android 4.1, a touch screen, a 21x zoom lens, and 3G, 4G, and Wi-Fi networking.

The Samsung Galaxy Camera can shoot slow-motion video at 120 frames per second, said Stephen Taylor, vice president of the Samsung brand in Europe. Other features include the ability to remotely control the camera with a smartphone, sharing options, and cloud storage choices.

Damien Cusick, general manager of Samsung Electronics U.K., shows off the Ativ S, a Windows Phone 8-based smartphone with dual-core processor, 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED screen, 2,300mAH battery, thickness of 8.7mm.

Damien Cusick, general manager of Samsung Electronics U.K., announced a major push around Windows 8, Microsoft's updated operating system.

Samsung's new Ativ Smart PC, built with Windows 8, features a detachable keyboard that lets it turn into a touch-screen tablet, Damien Cusick, general manager of Samsung Electronics U.K., said at IFA in Berlin.

Damien Cusick, general manager of Samsung Electronics U.K., snaps the Ative Smart PC tablet back to its keyboard. The Ativ includes an S Pen stylus, an Atom processor, 2GB of memory, 128GB of SSD storage, and a battery good for up to 13.5 hours of use. The tablet part is 9mm thick and weighs 750g.

Including its keyboard, the Ativ Smart PC weighs 1.45kg and is 19.9mm thick, Damien Cusick, general manager of Samsung Electronics U.K., said at Samsung's press conference at IFA.

Samsung's Ativ Tab runs Windows RT, shown here with the mandatory new Metro interface by Damien Cusick, general manager of Samsung Electronics U.K., at a press conference at IFA.

Damien Cusick holds the Windows RT-based Ativ Tab. Evidently Samsung is undeterred by direct competition in tablets from Microsoft itself.

The Samsung Series 9 notebook will come with Windows 8, said Damien Cusick, general manager of Samsung Electronics U.K.

Samsung has a major Android smartphone and tablet effort under its Galaxy brand, but Damien Cusick, general manager of Samsung Electronics U.K., was eager to tout the range of new Windows-based devices the company is bringing to market.