Two dead in LG TV factory – tragic news

Via the BBC News – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30777830

The two men were carrying out routine maintenance when they were suffocated by a nitrogen leak in the room in which they worked.

In a statement LG said that four other workers were affected by the leak but their injuries were not life-threatening.

LG expressed regret over the incident and said it had begun an investigation.

In its statement, LG said the nitrogen leak occurred at a factory known as “P8” that is in Paju city north of Seoul, that makes LCD screens for large TV sets. The factory is believed to have the world’s largest production line, making display panels for LCD and OLED TVs.

Nitrogen is used to wash the display panels during manufacturing.

LG said the accident was a “”terrible tragedy” and added that it was “working to uncover the exact sequence of events” that led to the deaths.

Update via Reuters –

(Reuters) – South Korea’s labour ministry has ordered LG Display Co Ltd to halt operations of an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel production line following a nitrogen gas leak.

The ministry, in a statement posted on its website on Tuesday, said the production ban will last as authorities investigate a nitrogen gas leak on Monday that killed two workers.

This is sad news and unfortunate.

Samsung’s first phone powered by Tizen – why? and details

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Samsung has launched its first smartphone running the company’s own Tizen operating system, in a move away from Google’s Android. Tizen OS is designed to run apps written in HTML 5, and operate across a wide range of devices including smartphones, tablets, Smart TVs, wearables, domestic appliances, netbooks and in-car entertainment systems.

The 4-inch Samsung Z1 is now available to buy in India for 5,700 rupees (£60) The Z1 is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and features 4GB internal memory, expandable up to 64GB with a microSD card.

A free entertainment package named Joy Box will provide customers with music, film and TV access, alongside streaming of more than 2m English and Bollywood songs for free for three months.

Alarm bells are ringing. Eco system and apps. How will Samsung bridge this gap? Microsoft is still struggling so what does Samsung have that others don’t? This seems like a brave move and maybe the end game is envisaged totally differently by Samsung. Or it a cheaper way of manufacturing budget phones in places like India?

Source – http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/samsung/11345463/Samsungs-Tizen-takes-on-Android.html

Google Play Music – Limitations of Devices and Types of Devices – my dilemma

Just in case you are the person that likes to swap and change their devices often, and use Google’s Play Music service and app, then it is worth noting the following. This applies to any hardware platform.

Google offer a maximum number of devices that can be authorised in a 12 month period of 10. 5 of which are allocated to mobile phones and the other 5 for tablets, laptops, MacBooks and other things. In a 12 month period you can de-authorise a maximum of 4 devices only. Exceed these limits and you could find your new phone or tablet won’t be able to work with Play Music.

One last point, you can only have one device at a time active.

So it should come as no surprise that as a person who reviews products and changes phones often that I became a victim of these limits. Based on other people’s experiences asking Google to help resolve this was not going to be easy. In fact, Google had no obligation to resolve the situation whatsoever.

So I telephoned Google and was referred to one of their specialist music team members. It was a great phone call. We discussed our tablets (we both had Samsung Tab S’s) and had a jovial discussion about several smartphones and we joked about a few tablets (this part was really funny). I then explained my position and why it had arisen, gave him my website URL, explained I had reviewed 18 android phones in the last 18 months, and also had a habit of changing my phones a lot, and would probably continue to do so throughout 2015. Cut a long story short, he agreed that it should not be an issue to reset my devices and start from scratch. He then said if I needed to call back again for the same reason, they would be happy to help. 30 mins later my device list was reset to zero.

So moral of the story. the Google customer service experience was as good as any Apple support call.

Samsung Galaxy A7 – Full specs – Samsung’s first nearly all metal phone

Samsung_Galaxy_A7_Official_Specs

Samsung has already released the budget Galaxy A3 and A5, and now it has raised the ante with the A7.

The A7 has a 5.5-inch 720p (1280 x 720) AMOLED display, a 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor featuring both 1.8 GHz quad-core and 1.3 GHz quad-core processors,2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage, microSD slot for expandable storage, 13 MP rear camera, 5 MP front-facing camera, 2,600 mAh battery. It is also very slim at 6.3 mm. Pricing will be under £400.

What this phone illustrates that acceptable specifications are possible on phones that look good, perform well and yet don’t cost the earth.

Source – http://global.samsungtomorrow.com/samsung-introduces-galaxy-a7-for-a-seamless-social-experience/

BlackBerry shares jump up 30% – Samsung to buy – details

Via – NEW YORK (Reuters)

“Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) recently approached BlackBerry Ltd (BBRY.O) (BB.TO) about buying the smartphone maker for as much as $7.5 billion in a play for its patent portfolio, according to a person familiar with the matter and documents seen by Reuters.

South Korea’s Samsung proposed an initial price range of $13.35 to $15.49 per share, representing a premium of 38 percent to 60 percent over BlackBerry’s current trading price, the source said.

Executives from the two companies, which are working with advisers, met last week to discuss a potential transaction, the source said, asking not to be identified because the conversations are private.

It remains unclear whether Blackberry, which has regained some of its lost swagger under CEO John Chen over the past year or so, was open to the approach. Representatives for the company declined to comment.

News of the meeting, which sent Blackberry shares up nearly 30 percent, comes as the smartphone maker looks for renewed growth and for how to regain market share it has lost to Apple Inc, Google Inc and Samsung.

A deal would give Samsung access to Blackberry’s patents, which the source said would help it take on arch rival Apple (AAPL.O).”

Get ready for some some Galaxy Classic phones !

Sony open to all options including selling its mobile phone division

“Reuters.com reports, via unnamed sources, that whilst no such deals are on the table “every division of Sony now needs to understand that Sony can exit businesses”. Sony did make the decision in 2014 to sell off its VAIO PC division and spun off its TV business.

The new report claims Sony is now open to some options with its mobile phone division, including possibly selling it off or launching a joint venture with another company.The news comes a few months after Sony announced a plan to restructure its phone business with 1,000 job cuts.”

This just shows that despite all the jaw dropping hardware, IP58 water resistance phones and tablets that things are really tough at there. I do not think Sony are alone, even Samsung and HTC are feeling the squeeze.

Snow at Princetown, Dartmoor – photos – Camera night mode on the Samsung Note 4

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We were forecast 10 inches of snow. Not quite that but it is currently a blizzard outside. The above shot was taken 30 minutes ago approximately.

The Samsung Note 4 switched to night mode to take this shot. Otherwise all auto settings.

And here is a scenic shot of the town.

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Apple releases additional specs on the uses of the lightning port – details

Apple’s recently announced that third-party manufacturers will be able to license the female Lightning port and has now added what is allowed.

Apple is apparently hoping that a large range of different accessories will move from micro-USB to the Lightning port standard, and will allow manufacturers to have the port draw power from any MFi-certified power adapter, as well as providing passthrough charging and syncing for iOS devices connected to the other side of the accessory, such as iPhones used in battery cases. The passthrough feature could also allow a dock to simultaneously charge an iPhone while also providing audio output to Lightning headphones.

Only one Lightning port will be allowed per accessory, ruling out the development of Lightning splitters or hubs. Faster charging will be possible via Lightning, however, with MFi-certified USB power adapters providing power ranging from a minimum of 1.0A to the Apple-recommended 2.4A level suitable for charging an iPad at full speed.

This is good news for Apple users, although it is one step further to Apple taking tighter control of the accessory market.

Source – http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/news/comments/apple-releases-additional-specs-on-third-party-lightning-port-support

Microsoft are offering a free Fitbit Flex with Lumia 735, 830 and 930 – details

Via Microsoft – http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/mobile/campaign-fitbit/

“Get an amazing Lumia 735, 830 or 930 from participating retailers* between 12th January 2015 and 31st March 2015 and we’ll throw in a free Fitbit Flex wristband worth £79.99. Just buy the phone, then install the app below and follow the simple onscreen instructions to claim.

*Vodafone, EE, Virgin, 3, Carphone Warehouse, Tesco, Argos, Shop Direct (Littlewoods, Very), Brighthouse, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Jersey Telecom, Dabs, Ebuyer, Expansys, Clove, Amazon, Mobile Phones Direct, A1 / Go Mobile, Sure (Jersey and Guernsey), Fonehouse, Chitter Chatter, ULM, Meteor Ireland, O2 Ireland, 3 Ireland, Vodafone Ireland, Manx (Isle of Man), Oasis, Microsoft Store”

Just click here to head over to Lumia Phones on Amazon

Samsung Galaxy S5 – UK phones receiving lollipop OTA

Good news, if you are in the UK and have the Samsung Galaxy S5, it is receiving the lollipop update.

The update brings in a plethora of new features and enhancements. Samsung has redesigned its proprietary applications (dialler, messaging, calculator, clock, S Health, etc) from scratch and has improved its core user interface. The update also brings features like lockscreen and heads-up notifications, MirrorLink support, Tap & go (automatic setup assistant), ART runtime, and more. The Korean firm has also improved fingerprint sensor by using a new driver, and has also ported Note 4′s fingerprint lockscreen to the Galaxy S5.

Source – http://www.sammobile.com/2015/01/13/samsung-rolling-out-android-5-0-lollipop-update-to-the-galaxy-s5-in-the-uk/