A report surfaced from CNET claims that Samsung is collaborating with Facebook-owned Oculus on a virtual reality headset powered by mobile devices. Last we heard, Samsung appeared to have a prototype design for its Gear VR ready, so this collaboration comes as a slight surprise. But taking a closer look, this could easily be a win-win situation for both companies, with Samsung offering access to a mass consumer base and Oculus providing the VR technology. Clearly Samsung wants to realize mobile VR fast and well, and teaming up with Oculus seems like just the right way to do it.
Tag: samsung
Nest And Samsung To Introduce New IoT Network Protocol
Not long after the announcement of OIC, Samsung is now joining Google’s Nest Labs and six other manufacturers to launch a new wireless network called Thread for smart home automation. This new IP-based IoT network protocol doesn’t rely on Bluetooth, and will be made compatible out of the gate with 250 products, allowing smart gadgets to talk to each other. With Apple’s HomeKit, the aforementioned OIC, and other generic Bluetooth networks, the state of IoT network protocols seems to be getting a bit messy, which is understandable since the market is still in an early stage. For the sake of truly integrated IoT network, however, sooner or later the tech giants will have to figure out which one works the best and settle the matter. Until then, stay tuned for new developments.
Samsung’s Virtual Reality Headset Revealed
Even though you will have to wait for the IFA 2014 later this year for an official unveiling, a leaked image (via SamMobile) of “Gear VR”, Samsung’s virtual reality headset has already surfaced on the Internet. As a result of the collaboration between Samsung and Oculus VR, Gear VR is still just a peripheral device, unlike Google Glass, that needs to be used in conjunction with your Samsung smartphone. But it certainly helps to expand the realm of wearable tech and contributes to Samsung’s market advantage with its early entry into the world of consumer VR.
Samsung and Other Tech Companies To Streamline Connectivity For IoT
Unfazed by the recent news that $6.3 million-worthy Samsung devices were stolen in Brazil, Samsung is moving on with its commitment to make 2014 “the year of Internet of Things”. It has reportedly joined forces with five other tech companies, including Intel and Dell, to define interoperability standards, dubbed the Open Interconnect Consortium (OIC). Curiously absent from the alliance is Apple, who is probably working to protect its closed eco-system anyway. But we have to wonder, would that still keep up with the billions of devices expected to arrive with Internet connectivity in the next few years?
For more info on IoT, check out our previous IPG Lab Internet of Things Week coverage.
Plasma TV Is Officially Dead
Samsung announced that it will end production of the last plasma TV’s that it produces later this year, and with it Plasma will disappear from the market. Like 3D TV before it, the technology failed to catch on with consumers, as LCD TV’s ultimately usurped Plasma. And now, with the rise of 4K and curved TV’s (okay, maybe not the latter), it was only a matter of time before this technology made its way to the exit. It’s yet another example of a technology with seemingly bold promise tarnished by the test of time.
Messaging App LINE Shows Off Samsung Partnership at MWC 2014
Japanese messaging app LINE continues to show a knack for strategic alliances. After making a splash at CES with its LG integration allowing you to chat with appliances, the company has an installation at Samsung’s developers pavilion at this year’s Mobile Wold Congress to display special features developed for Samsung mobile phones.
Watch a video of the Galaxy 3 Note demo below where users can split the screen and have LINE on the top half and a browser on the bottom half. You can then drag content from the browser directly into chat messages, or do the same with photos from your gallery. Although the implementation is quite different, it has some similarity to Kik’s new URL browser, which allows you to find and share content from the mobile web.
Samsung s5 Authenticates PayPal Payments
Amongst the new features on Samsung’s new s5 is fingerprint authentication. It didn’t get much attention, though, because at first it seemed like a simple catch-up to Apple’s developments. Nonetheless, it turns out that Samsung partnered with PayPal to develop a unique encrypted key that lets PayPal verify users’ identities via the fingerprint authentication, and thus pay with PayPal from the phone. With the simple swipe of a finger to authenticate identity, PayPal users can use the phone as their wallet. Though Apple is behind, they’ve made noise about fingerprint-authenticated payments as well – they’ve got one of the largest credit card repositories on the planet at the moment; all they need to do is leverage it. At the moment, though, Samsung’s beat them to it.
Samsung Announces Gear 2
Only six months after announcing one of the only true competitors to the Pebble, Samsung is back at it again, launching the Gear 2 and the Gear 2 Neo at this year’s Mobile World Congress. The new models maintain the original’s look, but under the hood there are some substantial changes. Primarily, the Android operating system has been replaced by Tizen – thus it is unclear whether backwards compatibility between first and second gen platforms will function. The new watch offers a heart-rate monitor for increasingly popular fitness tracking apps that will now, ideally, be native to the watch. The camera now moves to the watch-face itself, allowing for interchangeable bands for the first time – an important consideration given that watches are still inherently a fashion item – and the Gear 2 Neo eschews the camera entirely. It’s further evidence that companies are buying into the wearables trend wholeheartedly, and that smartwatches are here for the foreseeable future.
PayPal Partners With Samsung
PayPal announced a new partnership with Samsung that will help users and developers alike pay, and get paid, for mobile content. Samsung Apps developers can now work with PayPal as a payout option, while Samsung Apps and Hub users can authenticate payPal to pay for anything they want on the service. Though it’s available for developers globally, it’s only available for users to pay in Australia, Italy, France, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain and the UK. The US isn’t far behind. By using the most popular e-commerce solution for both users and third-party developers, Samsung gets to naturally spread its consumer base, while PayPal gets to expand its reach into even more mobile devices. No longer will transactions be held up through wire transfers.
Vevo Coming To Apple TV and Samsung Smart TV
Vevo, the leader in music videos, has inked a deal to bring their service to Apple TV and Samsung Smart TVs. The deal will deliver on-demand content to the two OTT platforms while expanding Vevo’s presence beyond YouTube. Over-The-Top video has plenty of functionality but lacks the breadth of content required to push it into the mainstream, so we’ll see if they can sign anymore major content partners down the road.
