Samsung sees Tizen phone as gateway for bigger things

SAN FRANCISCO: Samsung on Tuesday unwrapped its new smartphone using the Tizen platform, a move aimed at breaking away from Google's Android and staking a claim to the "Internet of Things."

The South Korean consumer electronics colossus showed off the Samsung Z, its first Tizen-powered smartphone, in a major shift away from the ubiquitous Android operating system used in the majority of its devices.

Samsung touted Tizen as a platform not just for phones, but for a range of connected devices from home appliances to door locks and watches which may communicate with one another in the future.

The unveiling came a day after Apple -- a few blocks away in San Francisco -- unveiled a coming new version of its iOS mobile operating system with capabilities that could have iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch devices vying for that same spot in the middle of a what is billed as the booming Internet-of-Things.

The world's biggest smartphone maker made its pitch at the Tizen Developer Conference, a forum that aims to help the platform become a rival to Android and Apple's iOS.

Samsung showed off a line of Tizen-powered devices ranging from Tizen-Android cameras to its freshly announced smartphone powered entirely by the South Korean technology firm's open-source operating system.

Samsung even teased a prototype smart television that connects to rich online content using Tizen.

- Cash prizes for apps -

Along with being enticed with contests offering cash prizes for winning applications, the approximately 1,000 developers at the keynote presentation were urged to check out an Open Smart Home project for "monitoring and controlling devices in the home or on the body all together" whether from one's living room or from half a world away.

"The goal of this project is to have it evolve into services for the entire Internet-of-Things," Samsung executive vice president and Tizen technical steering committee co-chair Jong-Deok Choi said during an on-stage presentation.

"We plan to have this project implemented through Tizen."

Samsung announced Monday the launch of a new smartphone based on its own operating system, in a step towards independence from the Google Android platform that dominates its popular handsets.

The Samsung Z, which has been specially developed to run on the Tizen platform, will go on sale in Russia in the third quarter of this year before reaching other markets.

The vast majority of Samsung's devices, including its flagship Galaxy S smartphones, use the Android operating system.

- Exploding 'IoT' -

International Data Corporation (IDC) on Tuesday forecast that the global Internet-of-Things market will grow from $1.9 trillion last year to $7.1 trillion in the year 2020.

People are embracing the "IoT" in their homes, vehicles and elsewhere, while businesses are being lured by promises of efficiency and revenue, according to IDC.

"The worldwide IoT market is exploding," said IDC mobile services vice president Carrie MacGillivray.

California-based Google has long pitched the potential for its free Android operating to be used to power broad arrays of devices in homes in a vision that goes far beyond smartphones and tablet computers.

Developer Henry Yu of Silicon Valley-based RGB, which specializes in streamlining video formats, was among those at the Tizen conference and suspected that no single platform would rule the IoT.

"At the end of the day, they will have to work together," Yu said of rivals such as Samsung, Apple and Google vying to be at the center of the IoT.

"The Internet-of-Things has been around, but it is hodgepodge. People will want to get along because they want each other's market."

Samsung Galaxy S5 makes global debut

SEOUL: The latest version of Samsung's flagship Galaxy smartphone went on sale worldwide Friday, days after the electronics giant announced it was facing a second consecutive quarter of profit decline.

The Galaxy S5 has a lot riding on it to steer the South Korean firm's profit-making machine back on track as growth in smartphone sales slows, with mature markets like North America and Europe near saturation.

Reviews of the S5 have mostly concluded that it is one of the best high-end smartphones on the market, but there is also a general consensus that it lacks the "wow" factor needed to differentiate it from its predecessors and competitors.

"It can swim, but it won't make any waves," was the verdict of the Wall Street Journal, referring to one innovation in the S5's waterproof covering.

"The Galaxy S5 is a good phone. It earns an unreserved recommendation," said the Washington Post.

"But the truth of the matter is that there's really nothing here that's worth breaking your contract to buy," it added.

Samsung's mobile unit has been the driving force behind the record profits of recent years, and it needs the S5 to perform well as a retort to doom-mongers who say the company lacks a clear strategy to flourish in an increasingly competitive, saturated market.

Samsung made more than 30 percent of all smartphones sold in the world last year, nearly twice the share of its arch-rival Apple.

But on Tuesday, the company estimated its first quarter operating profit at 8.4 trillion won ($7.96 billion), marking a second straight year-on-year decline.

As well as the constant challenge from Apple, Samsung has had to face the rapid expansion of smaller rivals like China's Huawei, which has pressured it into rolling out cheaper handsets to woo consumers in emerging markets, especially China.

-- Falling smartphone prices --

In a sign of the challenge the company faces, the S5 was priced lower at its commercial launch Friday than the previous S4 model.

Research firm IDC estimated the average selling price of smartphones will fall to $265 globally by 2017 from $337 in 2013 and $387 in 2012.

Samsung is believed to have reduced its marketing spend on the S5 and is also under pressure to set aside more cash for legal bills as years-long patent battles against Apple continue.

The two have locked horns in patent suits in several nations involving design and technologies on their smartphones and tablet computers.

A fresh patent trial opened in the United States last week, with Apple vowing to prove that Samsung flagrantly copied iPhone features and should pay more than $2 billion in damages.

Major handset makers have recently stepped up efforts to develop wearable devices, seen as a new source for growth -- though few have managed to garner large consumer excitement or sales.

Samsung's first Internet-enabled smartwatch, introduced last September, was greeted coldly by consumers who viewed it unfashionable. Its second edition, the Gear 2, was launched in February.

Apple is believed to be planning its own smartwatch launch soon, while Google is moving towards a wider consumer launch of its Internet-enabled eyewear Glass.

 

Apple says Samsung knew iPhone would be big seller

SAN JOSE: Samsung knew Apple's iPhone would be a big seller when it first went on the market, but the South Korean company didn't have a product that could compete so it stole Apple's technology, an attorney for Apple told jurors on Tuesday.

"The evidence in this case will be Samsung copied the iPhone," Apple lawyer Harold McElhinny said during his opening statement in the latest patent fight between the world's largest cellphone manufacturers.

Samsung, which accuses Apple of stealing its ideas, was expected to make its opening statement later in the day.

The trial in federal court in San Jose marks the latest round in a long-running series of lawsuits between the two tech giants over mobile devices.

If Apple prevails in the current case, the cost to Samsung could reach $2 billion. Apple's costs, if it loses the litigation, were expected to be about $6 million.

McElhinny asked jurors to remember where they were on Jan. 9, 2007, and showed a video of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiling the iPhone in San Francisco.

He said attorneys for Samsung would try to say Apple inventions were trivial and not valuable.

"But that is not what the world was saying in 2007," McElhinny said.

It could be consumers who end up paying the ultimate price in the case. Experts say the litigation could lead to more expensive smartphones and devices and slow the overall pace of mobile innovation.

"The most direct effect of this patent fight on consumers would be if the judge blocked one of these popular phones from the market," said Rutgers Law School professor Michael A. Carrier.

Carrier said patent litigation costs businesses time and money.

"What's even more worrisome for the effect on innovation is the impact on small innovators," said Carrier. "Apple and Samsung can afford this litigation. The next upstart cannot."

Apple is accusing Samsung of infringing on five patents on newer devices, including Galaxy smartphones and tablets. In a counterclaim, Samsung says Apple stole two of its ideas to use for iPhones and iPads.

The two companies have battled in litigation around the world. Less than two years ago, a federal jury in the same courthouse found that Samsung was infringing on Apple patents. Samsung was ordered to pay about $900 million but is appealing and has been allowed to continue selling products using the technology.

Throughout three years of litigation, Samsung's global market share has grown. One of every three smartphones sold last year was a Samsung, now the market leader. Apple, with its typically higher priced iPhones, was second, with about 15 percent of the market.

In court filings, Apple said Samsung has "systematically copied Apple's innovative technology and products, features and designs, and has deluged markets with infringing devices."

Samsung countered that it has broken technological barriers with its own lightweight, ultra-slim phones.

"Samsung has been a pioneer in the mobile device business sector since the inception of the mobile device industry," Samsung attorneys wrote. "Apple has copied many of Samsung's innovations in its Apple iPhone, iPod, and iPad products."

Specifically, Apple claims Samsung stole a tap-from-search technology that allows someone searching for a telephone number or address on the Web to tap on the results to call the number or put the address into a map. In addition, Apple says Samsung copied "slide to unlock," which allows users to swipe the face of their smartphone to use it.

Samsung countered that Apple is stealing a wireless technology system that speeds up sending and receiving data.

Apple is demanding that Samsung pay a $40 royalty for each Samsung device running software allegedly conceived by Apple. The figure is more than five times more than the amount sought in the previous trial and well above other precedents.

Jurors were selected on Monday. Most prospects said they were somewhat familiar with the legal dispute, including many who work for companies affiliated with Samsung or Apple. Some locals had strong opinions.

"Neither company has been a particular favorite of mine. Both have been bullies with their patent libraries," said Armen Hamstra, a LinkedIn software engineer and patent holder who was ultimately rejected as a juror.

 

Samsung adding anti-theft solutions to smartphones

SAN FRANCISCO: Samsung Electronics will add two safeguards to its latest smartphone in an effort to deter rampant theft of the mobile devices nationwide, the company said Friday.

The world's largest mobile-phone maker said users will be able to activate for free its "Find My Mobile" and "Reactivation Lock" anti-theft features to protect the soon-to-be-released Galaxy 5 S.

The features that will lock the phone if there's an unauthorized attempt to reset it will be on models sold by wireless carriers Verizon and U.S. Cellular. The phones go on sale next week.

"Samsung takes the issue of smartphone theft very seriously, and we are continuing to enhance our security and anti-theft solutions," the company said in a statement.

The announcement comes as San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and other U.S. law enforcement officials demand that manufacturers create kill switches to combat surging smartphone theft across the country.

Earlier this week, California legislators introduced a bill that, if passed, would require mobile devices sold in or shipped in the state be equipped with the anti-theft devices starting next year - a move that could be the first of its kind in the United States. Similar legislation is being considered in New York, Illinois, Minnesota, and bills have been introduced in both houses of Congress.

In July, Samsung officials told Gascon's office that the major carriers were resisting using kill switches. However, Gascon and Schneiderman said in a joint statement Friday that Samsung's latest move sends a strong message that the wireless industry can work together to make consumers safe. The prosecutors have given the manufacturers a June deadline to find solutions to curb smartphone theft.

"More work needs to be done to ensure that these solutions come standard on every device, but these companies have done the right thing by responding to our call for action," the prosecutors said. "No family should lose a mother, a father, a son or a daughter for their phone. Manufacturers and carriers need to put public safety before corporate profits and stop this violent epidemic, which has put millions of smartphone users at risk."

Apple created a similar "activation lock" feature for the popular iPhone last year.

Almost one in three U.S. robberies involve phone theft, according to the Federal Communications Commission. Lost and stolen mobile devices - mostly smartphones - cost consumers more than $30 billion in 2012, the agency said in a study.

CTIA-The Wireless Association, a trade group for wireless providers, has said a permanent kill switch has serious risks, including potential vulnerability to hackers who could disable mobile devices and lock out not only individuals' phones but also phones used by entities such as the Department of Defense, Homeland Security and law enforcement.

The association created a national stolen phone database last year to remove any market for stolen smartphones.

Samsung adding anti-theft solutions to smartphones

SAN FRANCISCO: Samsung Electronics will add two safeguards to its latest smartphone in an effort to deter rampant theft of the mobile devices nationwide, the company said Friday.

The world's largest mobile-phone maker said users will be able to activate for free its "Find My Mobile" and "Reactivation Lock" anti-theft features to protect the soon-to-be-released Galaxy 5 S.

The features that will lock the phone if there's an unauthorized attempt to reset it will be on models sold by wireless carriers Verizon and U.S. Cellular. The phones go on sale next week.

"Samsung takes the issue of smartphone theft very seriously, and we are continuing to enhance our security and anti-theft solutions," the company said in a statement.

The announcement comes as San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and other U.S. law enforcement officials demand that manufacturers create kill switches to combat surging smartphone theft across the country.

Earlier this week, California legislators introduced a bill that, if passed, would require mobile devices sold in or shipped in the state be equipped with the anti-theft devices starting next year - a move that could be the first of its kind in the United States. Similar legislation is being considered in New York, Illinois, Minnesota, and bills have been introduced in both houses of Congress.

In July, Samsung officials told Gascon's office that the major carriers were resisting using kill switches. However, Gascon and Schneiderman said in a joint statement Friday that Samsung's latest move sends a strong message that the wireless industry can work together to make consumers safe. The prosecutors have given the manufacturers a June deadline to find solutions to curb smartphone theft.

"More work needs to be done to ensure that these solutions come standard on every device, but these companies have done the right thing by responding to our call for action," the prosecutors said. "No family should lose a mother, a father, a son or a daughter for their phone. Manufacturers and carriers need to put public safety before corporate profits and stop this violent epidemic, which has put millions of smartphone users at risk."

Apple created a similar "activation lock" feature for the popular iPhone last year.

Almost one in three U.S. robberies involve phone theft, according to the Federal Communications Commission. Lost and stolen mobile devices - mostly smartphones - cost consumers more than $30 billion in 2012, the agency said in a study.

CTIA-The Wireless Association, a trade group for wireless providers, has said a permanent kill switch has serious risks, including potential vulnerability to hackers who could disable mobile devices and lock out not only individuals' phones but also phones used by entities such as the Department of Defense, Homeland Security and law enforcement.

The association created a national stolen phone database last year to remove any market for stolen smartphones.

 

Apple says Samsung knew iPhone would be big seller

SAN JOSE: Samsung knew Apple's iPhone would be a big seller when it first went on the market, but the South Korean company didn't have a product that could compete so it stole Apple's technology, an attorney for Apple told jurors on Tuesday.

"The evidence in this case will be Samsung copied the iPhone," Apple lawyer Harold McElhinny said during his opening statement in the latest patent fight between the world's largest cellphone manufacturers.

Samsung, which accuses Apple of stealing its ideas, was expected to make its opening statement later in the day.

The trial in federal court in San Jose marks the latest round in a long-running series of lawsuits between the two tech giants over mobile devices.

If Apple prevails in the current case, the cost to Samsung could reach $2 billion. Apple's costs, if it loses the litigation, were expected to be about $6 million.

McElhinny asked jurors to remember where they were on Jan. 9, 2007, and showed a video of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiling the iPhone in San Francisco.

He said attorneys for Samsung would try to say Apple inventions were trivial and not valuable.

"But that is not what the world was saying in 2007," McElhinny said.

It could be consumers who end up paying the ultimate price in the case. Experts say the litigation could lead to more expensive smartphones and devices and slow the overall pace of mobile innovation.

"The most direct effect of this patent fight on consumers would be if the judge blocked one of these popular phones from the market," said Rutgers Law School professor Michael A. Carrier.

Carrier said patent litigation costs businesses time and money.

"What's even more worrisome for the effect on innovation is the impact on small innovators," said Carrier. "Apple and Samsung can afford this litigation. The next upstart cannot."

Apple is accusing Samsung of infringing on five patents on newer devices, including Galaxy smartphones and tablets. In a counterclaim, Samsung says Apple stole two of its ideas to use for iPhones and iPads.

The two companies have battled in litigation around the world. Less than two years ago, a federal jury in the same courthouse found that Samsung was infringing on Apple patents. Samsung was ordered to pay about $900 million but is appealing and has been allowed to continue selling products using the technology.

Throughout three years of litigation, Samsung's global market share has grown. One of every three smartphones sold last year was a Samsung, now the market leader. Apple, with its typically higher priced iPhones, was second, with about 15 percent of the market.

In court filings, Apple said Samsung has "systematically copied Apple's innovative technology and products, features and designs, and has deluged markets with infringing devices."

Samsung countered that it has broken technological barriers with its own lightweight, ultra-slim phones.

"Samsung has been a pioneer in the mobile device business sector since the inception of the mobile device industry," Samsung attorneys wrote. "Apple has copied many of Samsung's innovations in its Apple iPhone, iPod, and iPad products."

Specifically, Apple claims Samsung stole a tap-from-search technology that allows someone searching for a telephone number or address on the Web to tap on the results to call the number or put the address into a map. In addition, Apple says Samsung copied "slide to unlock," which allows users to swipe the face of their smartphone to use it.

Samsung countered that Apple is stealing a wireless technology system that speeds up sending and receiving data.

Apple is demanding that Samsung pay a $40 royalty for each Samsung device running software allegedly conceived by Apple. The figure is more than five times more than the amount sought in the previous trial and well above other precedents.

Jurors were selected on Monday. Most prospects said they were somewhat familiar with the legal dispute, including many who work for companies affiliated with Samsung or Apple. Some locals had strong opinions.

"Neither company has been a particular favorite of mine. Both have been bullies with their patent libraries," said Armen Hamstra, a LinkedIn software engineer and patent holder who was ultimately rejected as a juror.

 

Samsung Galaxy S5 is packaged for India, but not really priced for it

 

Samsung Galaxy S5 will cost between Rs 51,000 and Rs 53,000

The Samsung Galaxy S5 is finally here. But you might not be really happy about the fact that the phone costs at least Rs 51,000. It could be as high as Rs 53,000.

The other small catch is the fact that the phone being launched in India is not powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 and hence would not a 4G phone. The version being launched in India is powered by an octo-core processor combo (quad 1.9 GHz + Quad 1.3 GHz) which seems to be similar to the Exynos 5 processors on the latest Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Note Pro 12.2-inch tablet.

As reported by indianexpress.com earlier, the company also launched the entire new Gear range along with the Galaxy S5. The Gear 2 is priced at Rs 21,900, while the Gear 2 Neo and Gear Fit are more affordable with a Rs 15,900 price tag. It has also opened up these devices to almost the entire Galaxy range, of which there are 35 million users in India. Earlier, the Gear devices synced only with a handful of top-end Galaxy phones. However, they still don’t work beyond Galaxy ecosystem and Vineet Taneja, the country head for India, said this has been done deliberately to draw people towards the Galaxy range.

While the pricing might appear steep for a lot of people, the fact is that high prices have not really deterred people from buying flagship phones. A case in point is the success of iPhone 5s despite its price tag. Plus, Samsung is certain that people who want to buy these phones will do so with the help of EMI schemes.

The rest of the specs of the Samsung Galaxy S5 are similar to what was announced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in the last week of February. The change in processor has been necessitated by the fact that there is still no nationwide 4G service in India. HTC, which earlier this week announced the HTC One M8 which is powered by the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor as the S5, has decided to launch only the 4G version in India.

US company working on iPhone 5s, Samsung Galaxy S4 cases that improve audio quality

AudioCase will work with iPhone 5s, 5c

To put it mildly, smartphone audio quality is horrible. Even as companies bring in Full HD screens and start thinking about 4K, they have not really been able to improve sound quality.
There seems to be a solution in sight. US-based Prescient Audio is planning to launch an audio-enhancing smartphone case through Kickstarter. The Illinois-based company is the developer of the ThinDriver TD-12, the world’s thinnest, lightest, coolest-running 12″ subwoofer. Its Prescient AudioCase will be a sleek new audio-enhanced smartphone case for iPhone 5/5s and Samsung Galaxy S4.
“Crowdfunding is the perfect way for a cutting-edge company like ours to launch this newest product,” said Prescient founder and CEO Paul Niedermann in a release. He said the AudioCase will bring the highest quality audio possible to “people who care about smartphone sound – without awkward external speakers”.
A $99 Kickstarter Campaign pledge allows individuals to be among the first to own the AudioCase, a smartphone case featuring both TrueVoice and ThinDriver technology to enable high quality, high-volume, two-way audio. Kickstarter backing affords a significant discount to the planned retail price of $149.

Judge rejects Apple bid to ban Samsung devices

SAN FRANCISCO: A federal judge Thursday rejected Apple's request to ban an array of Samsung smartphones and tablets found to have infringed on patents held by the US tech giant.
US District Judge Lucy Koh, who oversaw the blockbuster patent trial, finalized the damage award to be paid by the South Korean electronics giant at $929 million.
But in a separate order, the judge denied Apple's request to ban 23 Samsung devices, saying there was no evidence that consumer demand was driven by the infringing elements.
"To persuade the court to grant Apple such an extraordinary injunction -- to bar such complex devices for incorporating three touchscreen software features -- Apple bears the burden to prove that these three touchscreen software features drive consumer demand for Samsung's products," the judge wrote. "Apple has not met this burden."
A jury last year awarded more than $1 billion to Apple for patent infringement, but the judge threw out some of that award and ordered a partial retrial. The final amount awarded was $929 million.
Both sides have been appealing various aspects of the case, which is likely to be tied up in courts for some time barring an agreement between the two companies.
But because of the fast-moving nature of the business, the devices at issue in the case are no longer being sold.
Judge Koh noted that "the only new fact is that Samsung represents that no infringing units are currently in the marketplace."
She added that "Apple presents no evidence that any current Samsung devices incorporate the patented features. As such, it appears that the public interest slightly favors Samsung."

Samsung's Android 4.4 update reportedly puts an end to benchmark rigging

inShar

Last July, Samsung was caught in a bit of controversy when its flagship smartphone of the time, the Galaxy S4, was seen optimising its behaviour to score higher in commonly-used benchmarking apps.
According to the findings, the Samsung Galaxy S4 would expose higher-speed cores to certain applications like GLBenchmark 2.5.1, AnTuTu, Linpack, and Quadrant apps, while the power available to other apps would be capped at a lower speed, in an attempt to increase the battery life of the phone. This meant that the CPU power available to your typical apps was lesser than what you would expect based on the benchmarks score. Samsung allegedly did this 'optimisation' for GPU speeds as well.
However, it seems this practise has been put to an end with Samsung's Android 4.4 update for the Galaxy S4. According to a report by Ars Technica:

Moving to Android 4.4, that strange CPU activity stops happening. Every single benchmark we ran prompted variable-but-normal fluctuations in CPU speed based on actual activity. Speeds would ramp up for a couple of seconds while the app launched, but once it became idle, the speeds settled back down to where they would normally be.

Compare this to the behaviour in Android 4.3 "where all four cores go right to the maximum speed of 1.9GHz when a benchmark app is opened."
So has Samsung just hidden the new set of optimisations deeper in the code, or given up on the practice? Seems like it's the latter.
John Poole of Primate Labs, the developers of popular benchmarking app Geekbench told Ars, "I'm inclined to think that the change between 4.2.2 and 4.4.2 is due to Samsung tweaking the overall power and performance settings rather than a new harder-to-detect boost."
Similar optimisations were also noted in the Galaxy Note 3, so it would be interesting to see if a software update makes an impact on the phablet's performance in benchmarks as well.
To be fair to Samsung, it's not the only manufacturer that has been caught optimising its hardware for benchmarks. Anandtech noted last year that almost all manufacturers indulge in the practice. However, it seems that like almost everything else that it does, Samsung is (or at least was) better than others in this department as well.

Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 review: By the dozen

Introduction

Samsung's pole position in smartphones doesn't necessarily mean a win in tablets but it sure is an advantage and the Koreans won't give up on it easily. The Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 is standing at the very top of a lineup, whose fourth generation has hit the fast lane again after a less than impressive showing last season. This here Note Pro has unique size and all the S Features the company has developed so far.

Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 official images
The tablet's business aspirations are made clear by the KNOX enterprise security feature and rich app package that includes a full-blown office document editor, collaboration tools and even subscriptions to business publications.
There's an artistic side to it too, enabled by the S Pen and an advanced drawing app, while the Multi-window split-screen multitasking has grown to support up to four apps at a time (made possible by the larger screen). And that's before the floating apps come in.

Key features

• 12.2" 16M-color Super Clear PLS capacitive touchscreen of 2560 x 1600 px resolution
• Wi-Fi only model: quad-core 1.9 GHz Cortex-A15 & quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A7, Mali-T628MP6 GPU; Exynos 5420 chipset
• LTE model: quad-core Krait 400 processor at 2.3GHz, Adreno 330 GPU; Snapdragon 800 chipset
• 3GB of RAM
• Android OS v4.4 KitKat with TouchWiz UI
• S Pen input and great software backend
• One of a kind split-screen multitasking and pop-up mini apps
• Quad-band GPRS/EDGE/HSPA and hexa-band LTE connectivity Cat.4
• 32/64 GB of built-in memory
• 8 MP autofocus camera, 3264x2448 pixels, geo-tagging
• 1080p video recording @30fps
• 2MP front-facing camera; 1080p videos
• Side-mounted stereo speakers
• Wi-Fi 802.11 ac/a/b/g/n Wi-Fi Direct, dual-band, Wi-Fi hotspot
• Stereo Bluetooth v4.0
• HDMI TV-out (adapter required), USB host (adapter required), Ethernet (adapter required)
• microSD card slot
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Infrared port
• GPS with A-GPS support; GLONASS, digital compass
• 1080p XviD/MKV video support with subtitles
• Accelerometer, three-axis Gyroscope sensor
• Office document editor preinstalled
• 9,500mAh Li-Po battery

Main disadvantages

• Sky-high starting price
• Size will put some people off
• Relatively poor audio and video codec support
• Air view works with S-Pen only, no thumb support
• Notification area not optimized for the large screen

The size of the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 is controversial, but Samsung already has the Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014). It's also the feature that sets it apart in a good way - some people prefer larger laptops to tiny ultrabooks and that carries over to tablets as well. The work you did on the office PC just looks different when shown on a small 10" screen.

Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 in our office
We've seen Android tablets try to wedge into the ultrabook market by adding a detachable QWERTY keyboard. Those efforts brought mixed results, but will a bigger screen do better?
This is a gamble for Samsung, but the company can afford it - the Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 and the Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014) are there to catch the users the Note Pro 12.2 will miss. The Galaxy Note phablet was a gamble too and look how that turned out.

Design and build quality

The Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 is from the 2013 phase of Samsung's design - that means a metallic strip on the side accentuating the faux leather back. In terms of looks, the tablet fits in both formal and casual settings.

Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2
The faux leather material on the back is a soft touch plastic with a leather texture that looks and, more importantly, feels convincing (down to the stitching detail). It's perhaps not as cool as aluminum (for some) but we shudder at the thought of how much the tablet would have weighed if it was made of metal.
As things stand now the weight is 753g (for both LTE and Wi-Fi only versions), which is quite a bit to hold in one hand for long periods of time. It's not impossible, but you will be much better off resting your hand against a desk or a table. Then again the same although to a somewhat lesser extent is true for the 10" tablets, so maybe the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 isn't in too bad a position.
The screen bezel is just wide enough to allow a comfortable grip, but again it's not for more than a few minutes of work.

The Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 is the biggest tablet we've held
Something the size of the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 was meant to be used propped up on your lap or on a stand. Alternatively, for drawing you can leave it flat on the table like you would a sheet of paper.
Samsung chose to put the microUSB port on the right side of the tablet rather than at the bottom, which will make stands more complicated. The two loudspeakers are on the sides of the tablet so docking in portrait mode will cut off one of them.
The bigger issue is that the hardware keys move to an uncomfortable position (on-screen buttons would have been better here). Also, some people like large portrait screens (it's comfortable for reading long passages of text) but others don't.
Samsung has not announced any docks for the Note Pro 12.2 yet, but there's the Smart Cover that will keep the tablet upright (or at a slight angle). Also, during the announcement at CES, the company showed a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, which makes for a setup reminiscent of All-in-One computers.
To complete the portable workstation, Samsung also unveiled a microUSB to Ethernet adaptor. That's great for places without Wi-Fi (or where it's much more expensive than cable).
Speaking of input methods, the S Pen is a trademark of the Note series and uses a separate digitizer layer. It's pressure sensitive (which makes a world of difference for drawing) and can be detected from an inch away (which makes for some interesting hover interactions).

The S Pen is mandatory for any Note device

Display

The Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 has a 12.2" Super Clear LCD display at 2,560 x 1,600px of resolution. Like on the Note Pro 10.1, it's an RGBW display, meaning there are two sub-pixels per each pixel.

12.2" Super Clear LCD with 2,560 x 1,600 resolution
That makes it easier to boost the brightness in a power-efficient manner (since the White pixel does exactly that), but it affects the look of the display. The pixel density is 247ppi, a bit lower than 10" tablets, which combined with the RGBW matrix results in a visible cross-hatch pattern.

The RGBW matrix of the Note Pro 12.2's screen
It's nothing annoying and text remains sharp even with small fonts and the effect is only noticeable from up close - larger screens are viewed from a bigger distance in general and this is among the largest in the market. Anyway, it's exactly the larger-than-usual screen that makes the Note Pro 12.2 interesting and makes the multitasking so much more powerful.
The colors on the screen are vivid and the viewing angles are very good. Samsung has included its custom Screen mode where the Auto Adapt Display setting adjusts the display performance based on the content - it only works in several apps.
Other settings include Movie (which sets a warmer white balance and boosts the contrast), Dynamic (which boosts the saturation) and Standard (which aims for accurate white balance and saturation).
The screen on the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 is fairly bright and with good contrast, even though black levels are not perfect. The screen handles reflections well and remains legible even in direct sunlight.

Display test	50% brightness			100% brightness
	Black, cd/m2	White, cd/m2	Contrast ratio	Black, cd/m2	White, cd/m2	Contrast ratio
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014	0.27	221	831	0.53	440	821
Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2	0.33	301	901	0.54	493	911
Google Nexus 10	0.26	223	859	0.50	443	878
Sony Xperia Tablet Z	-	-	-	0.53	531	996
Sony Xperia Tablet S	0.35	334	947	0.67	526	783
Samsung Galaxy Note 3	0	149	∞	0	379	∞
Apple iPad mini	0.25	208	838	0.51	458	812
Apple iPad 3	0.21	167	809	0.6	477	779
Apple iPad 4	0.21	163	797	0.63	476	762
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7	0	200	∞	0	328	∞
Asus Google Nexus 7	0.25	244	954	0.36	327	908
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1	0.27	223	832	0.49	406	821
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1	0.31	257	826	0.55	502	915
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus	0.17	196	1141	0.34	424	1236

We already mentioned the S Pen as one of the trademark features of the Samsung Galaxy Note devices. It works with a second digitizer borrowed from Wacom, which detects only the S Pen stylus.
The advantage is that your skin is ignored and you can place your palm on the screen while you're drawing for a more natural, comfortable experience. S Pen offers another advantage too, pressure sensitivity, which is a must-have for drawing. Then there's the ability to detect the S Pen from a distance to show helpful tooltips and activate other features.

Hardware overview

The Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 follows the design of the Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014). That means landscape is the default orientation and the hardware keys are placed along one of the long sides.
Those are the old Menu, Home, Back keys, even though Samsung is already moving to App Switcher, Home, Back on some of its recent devices. The capacitive Menu and Back keys work with the S Pen, but they stay fixed in place, which is now an even bigger problem on the larger tablet (if you hold the tablet in portrait, the keys are hard to reach). It's time Samsung considered on-screen buttons on tablets.
Above the screen is the ambient light sensor and the 2MP/1080p video-call camera. The screen bezels are just big enough to allow room for your thumb when handling the large slab.

Standard Samsung keys • camera and ambient light sensor
The sides of the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 have the same grooved metallic texture we saw on the Note 3 phablet. It adds a nice accent to the otherwise all-black exterior. A white version of the Note Pro 12.2 is also available.
The top side of the tablet features the Power button and volume rocker. Those are virtually impossible to reach with one hand, but then so is almost everything else about this tablet.
Also on top is the IR blaster and a microphone pinhole.

There's an IR blaster on top, along with a microphone, the power key and a volume rocker
The Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 has stereo speakers on the short sides. The S Pen compartment is on the right, along with the microUSB 3.0 port (back compatible with microUSB 2.0) and the microSD card slot, which is sealed by a plastic flap.

microUSB 3.0 port, microSD card slot and S Pen sheath
The 3.5mm audio jack is on the left side of the tablet and there's nothing on the bottom.

The second loudspeaker and the 3.5mm audio jack
The massive back is home only to the 8MP camera and its LED flash. While we're not fans of tablet photography (especially with a tablet this size) the camera does have its legitimate uses - the pre-installed drawing app lets you snap a reference photo to draw over.

The expansive faux leather back houses the 8MP camera and the LED flash
Under the back cover is massive 9,500mAh battery. We ran our own battery tests for web browsing and video playback, check the results in the next section.

Battery

The Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 features a big 9,500mAh battery, but it has an enormous screen to feed. We have the Wi-Fi only version of the tablet (with an Exynos chipset) so we tested only the web browsing and video playback times and both came out around nine and a half hours.
Compared to the Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014) that's nearly two hours better on the web browser and a bit better for the video player. By our calculations, the 12.2" screen has 46% more surface area to light up compared to the 10.1", while the battery is only 16% bigger so that's quite good.
The Apple iPad Air does go 40 minutes longer on the web test and three hours more on the video test, but the same screen size considerations apply.

• Sony Xperia C 12:45
• Apple iPhone 5s 9:58
• Apple iPhone 5 9:56
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini 9:47
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo 9:43
• Alcatel One Touch Hero 9:40
• Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 9:33
• LG G Flex 9:31
• Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS) 9:12
• Apple iPad mini 9:05
• Apple iPhone 5c 9:05
• Oppo N1 9:05
• Samsung Galaxy Nexus 3:01

Video playback

• LG G Flex 19:57
• Moto X 10:01
• Samsung Galaxy Express 10:00
• Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus 10:00
• Nokia 808 PureView 9:53
• Alcatel One Touch Hero 9:49
• Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 9:43
• Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam 9:42
• Samsung Rugby Smart I847 9:34
• Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom 9:30
• HTC One S 9:28
• Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB) 9:27
• Nokia Lumia 710 3:27

  Android 4.4 KitKat and TouchWiz UI is all you need

  The Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 runs on the latest available Android 4.4 KitKat, with lots of premium features courtesy of Samsung's own TouchWiz UI. Samsung has included many must-have options on such a big screen, including a new version of the Multi-window multitasking.
  However, since our prototype unit didn't come with the latest version of TouchWiz, so its UI is slightly different from what the final units will have. We'll be updating this chapter when we get a completely finalized unit.
  The lockscreen supports multiple widgets, one widget per pane. This is disabled by default and you'll have to enable it in the settings. The default lockscreen shows the time on a beautiful background. You can choose what effect to add to the unlocking. The options include ripple and watercolor, which blurs the color on screen as if you were dragging a wet paint brush through the screen.
  
  
  The lockscreen
  The notification area is where Samsung could have done better - the pull-down shade on a landscape 12.2" screen just makes things look massive. The native solution of splitting it to a notification area on the left and toggle on the right seems to make more sense.
  Instead, we get standard TouchWiz - at the top there are eleven (seven in portrait mode) toggles that can quickly enable and disable features. There are 16 toggles in total and you can swipe left to reveal them, hit the expand to view all toggles at once or use the two finger pull down to bypass notifications and go straight to the toggle-only view.
  
  
  Notification area
  Below the toggles is the display brightness slider complete with an Auto toggle. You can remove this slider to get more room for notifications. Other Samsung tablets split the sizable horizontal distance between a brightness slider and a volume slider, but not the Note Pro 12.2.
  The homescreen looks mostly the same if you're coming from galaxy tablets. Samsung has provided many of its own custom widgets like Samsung Hub and Action Memo, and the vast majority of those are resizable and work both horizontally and vertically. Since this is a much larger screen, you also get a far bigger grid to fill with widgets - 8 by 8.
  There's a dedicated Google Search shortcut docked in the bottom left corner. It is visible on every homescreen pane, just like the app drawer shortcut at the bottom right.
  
  The homescreen
  You can pinch zoom to manage homescreen panes. There can be up to 7 and you can easily add, remove and rearrange panes from here, one of which is marked as "home", that's the one you go to when you press the Home button.
  
  Managing the homescreen panes
  A nice addition is that you can move between panes with a tap on the edge of the screen instead of a swipe, which is more comfortable on a tablet this size.
  A swipe up from the bottom opens Samsung's custom news and social homescreen. It aggregates articles from a pre-defined set of sources arranged into three categories - News (sports, technology, etc.), Personal (your photos, messages, notes) and Social (Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Flickr, Tumblr, Sina Weibo and YouTube, among others).
  
  
  Samsung News
  In the app drawer, icons are presented as a customizable or alphabetized grid and you can also view only the ones apps you've downloaded yourself. You can also disable some of the pre-installed apps so they won't take any RAM or appear in the app drawer, but not all apps can be hidden this way as the hide shortcuts feature has gone missing.
  Pinch to zoom in the app drawer works the same as on a homescreen - it gives you an overview of all panes as thumbnails. You can choose to have your app drawer ordering to custom, alphabetical grid or alphabetical list.
  As before, widgets are in a separate tab in the drawer.
  
  
  The app drawer and its options
  The App switcher interface is unchanged - there's a list of thumbnails of all the recent apps, apps can be swiped to dismiss and there are three buttons at the bottom, Task manager, Google Now and Kill all apps.
  
  
  The app switcher and task manager
  The Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 comes with the Multi-window multitasking feature, and it has been improved to now support up to four apps at a time (two and three apps is also easily doable). The apps are tiled (so no app overlays another) and you can control the divide by dragging the center dot.
  You can replace apps in each slot and then use the additional app switching feature to bring back apps that were previously in each slot. You can even create pairings off apps, which get a dedicated shortcut that opens all the apps and splits the screen as it was at the time the pairing was created. This can be very convenient for apps that go well together.
  Copying stuff across the opened apps is enabled and is done in just three taps. Note that only a few apps work with Multi-window but more can be found in the Play Store.
  
  
  Multi window
  You can also run apps that do overlay other apps using the Pen Window feature of S Pen. You draw a rectangle and the tablet will create a window roughly that size to run the selected app in. The size of these apps can be reduced to just the app icon, if you need to get them out of the way. Even fewer apps support Pen Window than Multi-window.
  
  
  A Pen Window app • the app minimized
  The settings menu has a tabbed interface. On top you get four tabs - Connection, Device, Controls and General and you can find the relative features in their corresponding place - display, for instance, is in the Device tab.
  
  
  The tabbed Settings menu
  Since the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 has the same screen resolution as the Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014), the interface looks mostly the same except upscaled by about 20%. Samsung gives you the option to control font size, which does help.
  We really like the new Multi-window feature that essentially gives you four 6.1" WXGA (1280 x 800) screens to work with. We do wish the notification area was more sensible though, at the moment it's the same as one on a 4" phone.