Uncategorized | Tech Untangled

With SlashGear co-driver Vincent Nguyen testing Ford's new G-Max Energi in San Francisco — With SlashGear co-driver Vincent Nguyen testing Ford’s new G-Max Energi in San Francisco

Did you know that trying to find parking in large metro cities consumes one quarter of your car’s gas? In a recent visit to Ford’s Silicon Valley Research Centre, I found out the car maker is into a lot more than just selling cars, like phone apps to help you find parking, ECO bikes to throw in your trunk and new ways to get around town with shared cars. Check my special report this Tuesday, August 4,

Checkout my GlobalNews.ca Tech Talk TV and blog segment this Sunday on the New Windows 10. With only three days to go, Microsoft is still updating its public Windows Insider Program version with new security updates. Will Microsoft get a home run on its Windows 10 launch? Like millions, I have been running it on an Acer Aspire V 11 Touch with no problems. It looks like the new OS will continue to be work in progress and might keep its “10” name for a long time. BTW, there is some erroneous information circulating online about who gets the free upgrade Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro.

Here’s the skinny: If you currently have Windows 7 or 8/8.1 Home or lower, you get Windows 10. If you currently have Windows Pro, you get Windows 10 Pro. If you have Windows Enterprise, you got to talk to your IT manager or pay for that upgrade.

If you are trialling Adobe Photoshop/Lightroom, which is worth doing, for free, you can also use Lightroom for your mobile iPhone and Android devices. Brighten shadows, flag and share favorites, organize photos — just like the desktop app! And everything you do automatically stays in sync from device to desktop. The trial is like the real thing which costs a reasonable $9.99 US

At the IFA Spring Global Press Conference 2015 in Malta I attended last April, IFA analyst Juergen Boyny reported that e-Readers where showing a steady decline for the past five years. He was right! Folks of all ages are reverting back to the analog book, because it feels right to hold, touch smell and read. Research shows looking at text on paper has a more soothing effect than reading of e-readers. And no power required!

London Drugs (sorry my GTA friends) is selling an affordable 3D printer, the UPmini for $849.99. Check it out. How about sharing the cost with interested friends to start 3D printing!

YouTube is getting a face lift on its mobile apps. Android, available now, and App Store, available soon will make it easier to find and create videos.The update introduces three new tabs:

• Home: Easily explore and discover videos you’ll love with recommendations based on your watch history as well as playlists personalized just for you.

• Subscriptions: Find the latest videos from your favorite channels and creators on the new Subscriptions tab. And to help make sure you never miss an upload, you can now tap the bell icon on the channels you love to get a notification as soon as a new video is posted.

• Account: Check out your playlists, watch history, and the videos you’ve uploaded all in one spot.

Canadians are huge consumers of YouTube. In fact, they watch over 24 hours of online video a month — five more hours than Americans. Today, more than half the views on YouTube happen using mobile devices. In Canada, 20% watch online video on their smartphones daily, and 30% of Canadians watch online video on their smartphones weekly.

Earlier this year TELUS and CIBC launched a new co-branded CIBC TELUS Rewards Visa card that enables TELUS customers to earn and redeem reward points on their everyday spending towards a selection of TELUS products and services. Now customers can apply for the CIBC TELUS Rewards Visa Card at participating TELUS locations and get approved instantly.Customers can earn rewards points on everyday card purchases which can be redeemed for a selection of TELUS products and services including the latest smartphones and tablets, charitable donations, travel passes and TELUS prepaid cards that can be used on a variety of products, including wireless accessories.

Here’s the breakdown:

· Earn one point for every dollar spent using the rewards card

· Earn 1.5 points on all rewards card purchases at grocery and gas retailers

· Earn 1.5 points on TELUS purchases made on the rewards card – paying their monthly bill, purchasing accessories or mobile devices, etc.

· Enjoy no annual fee

· Redeem points for a selection of TELUS products and services including the latest smartphones and tablets, charitable donations, travel passes and TELUS prepaid cards that can be used on a variety of products, including wireless accessories

For a limited time, customers who apply for the card and activate/renew on a 2-year plan in-store, will receive up to $100 off their smartphone purchase plus 5,000 TELUS Rewards points, worth $50 that can be redeemed towards their next device. For more info go here

Today Samsung announced its newest Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge smartphones at the annual Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The S6, features a smooth rounded metal bezel, while the S6 Edge has curved glass screens on both sides with a uniquely crafted bezel hugging both exposed corners.

More 64 bit processing power and faster response to finger touch are in order here. Both models are sealed, thus no interchangeable battery with build-in wireless re-charging. You get 4 hours of normal use after a 10 minute charge.

National coffee stores and Ikea will soon feature under the surface cordless chargers on counters and night tables from Ikea. Samsung supports an open standard in wireless charging.

No more memory upgrades either. There will be 32, 64 and 128 GB models. Samsung decided its new battery was good enough to be sealed permanently shaving the S6 down to 6.8 mm. It also said the S6 “won’t bend.”

A 16 megapixel main camera features less than a second instant on from the get go by pressing the menu bar twice, even on locked phones. It has easy to use settings for beginners and a Pro mode to grow into.

The 5 megapixel selfie uses a fast f1.9 lens and shoots gorgeous FullHD video.

Samsung showed tough picture and movie taking comparisons in bad light against an iPhone 6 with noticeable quality gains.

Both phones will be available in Canada on April 10 with all cellcos. The 32 GB S6 is expected to sell in the $250 range while the Edge will cost about $100 more.

For that you get a well crafted constant companion with Gorilla Glass 4 and a curved screen that was subjected to 8,000 Celcius during assembly.

Thinness, dazzling looks and smart functionality with speed is Samsung’s latest effort to compete with Apple’s recently successful iPhone 6 and 6 Plus phones sold worldwide.

Samsung Canada's Paul Brannen "We listened to everyone's pain points on phones and delivered on design and functionality." — Samsung Canada’s Paul Brannen “We listened to everyone’s pain points on phones and delivered on design and functionality.”

The curved S6 Edge has room for separate narrow side panel information viewed from the top or the side. This gives fast access to app icons, auto-scrolling sports and news and a nifty non-intrusive bed light mode, with time weather and alarm showing on the curve edge.

When face down, the S6 Edge glows colours assigned to specific contacts so you know who might be buzzing you in a meeting.

Despite its “wow” tecnology showcase at the premiere mobility show of the year, the South Korean giant finds itself with decreasing annual profits and playing catchup to Apple’s hugely successful 75 million global iPhone 6 sales.

Analysts place Apple and Samsung at par with 20 per cent each on global phone shipments in the past quarter. Samsung recently reported a 37 per cent drop of its company-wide operating profit from last year.

Will Samsung’s glass screen-bending magic save it from its current woes?

Faced with Apple’s lightening fast market growth outside North America, low price busting Chinese smartphones from Xiaomi and its growing dissatisfaction with the Android operating system, Samsung is in the unenviable position of having the coolest technology in need of the right market.

Tech Untangled

Category Archives: Uncategorized

Tech Bytes of the week

Samsung keeps the WOW factour at Barcelona launch

Making sense of technology