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Samsung Gear A Orbis Rotating Bezel
Watches

Samsung’s “Gear A” Watch To Feature Rotating Bezel

July 31, 2015

Samsung Gear A Orbis Rotating Bezel

Samsung is expected to launch their new Gear A smartwatch on August 13th. The watch, code named Orbis, will feature a rotating, functional bezel. The concept sounds similar to what Nest thermostats employ. The rotating bezel will be used to control on screen elements such as zooming in / out of images, navigating lists, and interacting with games. It appears the bezel will be functionally equivalent to Apple Watch’s digital crown. The inclusion of an additional input method seems to suggest recognition that Apple made a sound UI decision by delegating some interface interactions to a mechanically rotating element; or perhaps Samsung is simply continuing its trend of throwing every conceivable idea at their wearables hoping something sticks.

Besides the bezel, a few other details of the smartwatch have been released. The watch will feature a 360 x 360 (presumably circular) display and will include WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and a heard rate sensor. It should be noted that the device will run on the company’s proprietary Tizen OS, which means it will likely be only compatible with Samsung devices.

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by Doug Parker
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Samsung Pay Trial
Retail

Samsung Begins Testing Samsung Pay In South Korea

July 16, 2015

Samsung Pay Trial

Samsung’s slightly delayed mobile payment system seems to be back on the tracks for a late-summer launch. Samsung has begun testing Samsung Pay on select Galaxy S6 phones in South Korea. The service is similar to Apple’s NFC based payment system but also includes a technology acquired from LoopPay. The tech, called Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST), allows Samsung Pay to be used anywhere there is a magnetic card reader. Simply stated, a magnetic field emitted from the phone tricks the payment terminal into thinking you just swiped your card. While this sounds like an incredible solution to ensure widespread usability of mobile payment, early reports claimed that the MST tech was fairly finicky. Magnetic fields are directionally dependent and CNN found that the phone needed to positioned in a certain way to work. While we aren’t holding our breath on MST, anything that continues to push the adoption of NFC payments is fine by us! CurrentC, we are still waiting.

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by Doug Parker
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Retail

Mobile Wallet Update: Apple, Google, Samsung, CurrentC

June 17, 2015

Mobile Payments Summary June2015 Samsung Android Apple CurrentC

The march towards making mobile payments part of our normal lives continues at a slow pace. Given expense of the required infrastructure updates, it is not surprising. But the good news for the end user is that things are continuing to improve and move forward.

Both Google and Samsung have announced new / improved mobile payment systems, unimaginatively called Android Pay and Samsung Pay. At Google’s I/O conference the other week, the company detailed their new Android Pay platform, superseding Google Wallet for most mobile payments. While Google Wallet requires a virtual debit card which is refilled, Android Pay works similarly to Apple Pay; Google has worked with credit card issuers to allow the cards to be loaded onto the device and then charges are made anonymously with a tokenized card number. Android Pay is expected to launch this Fall with the Android M update. Having Apple and Google utilize a similar system is great news for the consumer as it will likely push the adoption of NFC terminals at retailers.

Samsung announced their Samsung Pay system this Spring as part of the Galaxy S6 unveiling.  

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by Doug Parker
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Gift Guide 2014 Smart Watches
Gift Guide

Gift Guide 2014: Smartwatches

November 26, 2014

Gift Guide 2014 Smartwatches2014 was without a doubt the coming out party for smartwatches. They are the perfect gift for that person on your list who is always “connected.” Smartwatches offer a significantly more engaging experience than a fitness band. While they might not track everything a fitness band does, most do offer some form of activity tracking. Smartwatches offer a much deeper connection to your smartphone though, connecting to apps and allowing you to interact with your phone from your wrist. Some are even fully self-contained phones.

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by Doug Parker
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Samsung Proximity
Retail

Samsung Announces Proximity, Their Version Of iBeacon

November 13, 2014

Samsung ProximitySamsung has announced Proximity, a bluetooth based marketing platform that utilizes a users location to show relevant ads and information. If this sounds vaguely familiar that is because it is basically identical to Apple’s iBeacon technology. iBeacon is already in a number of different stores and has seen relative success, with Macy’s having moved from trialling the service in 2 stores to a nationwide roll out. Retailers have reported an increase in their app usage and ad engagement because of the service. iBeacon is also available in a number of MLB stadiums, airports, and restaurants. Samsung is adding Proximity to their Android overlay so the service will always be running. With iOS, the user must run the app for the business they are in for messages to appear. There is no word on when Proximity will launch.

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by Doug Parker
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Designer Versus Brand Name Wearables
Wearable Technology

Designer vs. Brand Name: Is One More Important To The Success Of Wearables?

September 5, 2014

Brand vs DesignerIf you were to look at the product announcements coming out of IFA 2014 this week, you likely would believe that wearable technology was one of the hottest and most successful technology product segments out there. Sony has introduced its 3rd generation Smart Watch and Samsung has announced their 6th smart watch. Everyone is throwing their hat in the ring, so much so that the market is starting to get flooded with “me too” devices from companies such as Epson and Garmin. But the truth is that the segment has yet to have a break out hit. Nike and Fitbit have seen significant traction with their fitness bands and Pebble set Kickstarter records, but none are breakout stars, and Google is struggling to find public acceptance for Glass.

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by Doug Parker
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Watches, Wearable Technology

LG And Samsung Announce New Wearables Ahead Of Schedule

August 28, 2014

LG G Watch R Samsung Gear S

Hot on the heels of the news that in two weeks Apple likely will unveil their first entry into the wearable market, both LG and Samsung have announced new smart watches. Both devices represent firsts in smart watches. The LG device was not planned to be announced until next week at IFA 2014, with the company likely feeling pressure to announce something to distract from the Apple rumors. The LG G Watch R is a sharp looking device that marks the first 360 degree screen in a wearable (the Moto 360 is flat at the bottom). The screen is a 1.3inch Plastic OLED display that LG promises is viewable in sunlight. From the press images, the device appears very similar in look to a traditional watch. The G Watch R is a full featured Android Wear device with heart rate monitor. It is scheduled to ship sometime in Q4.

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by Doug Parker
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