Samsung announces slew of gadgets, unveils mobile VR goggle

SINGAPORE – Samsung showcased its latest range of products at its keynote event in Berlin today (Sept 3), including one that gives consumers a virtual reality experience.

At its Unpacked Episode 2 event, Samsung unveiled four new products: The Galaxy Note 4, Note Edge, the Gear S and Gear VR.

SAMSUNG GEAR VR

The highlight of the keynote was the unveiling of the Gear VR goggle, where users can get an untethered virtual reality experience, for instance, when gaming or watching movies. The Gear VR is catered for “innovative consumers and developers” and uses a high level sensors produced in partnership with virtual reality technology company Oculus.

The company was recently acquired by Facebook and are makers of the highly-rated virtual reality gadget, Oculus Rift that debuted two years ago.

To use Gear VR, snap on the Note 4 — it only works with the Note 4 — into its front bracket. Users will then view the smartphone’s screen through dual-lenses in the visor for the 3D effect. Navigating menus and gaming interaction are mostly done via head movements and taps on the side-mounted trackpad.

Technology website The Verge rates the product highly: “It’s a completely immersive experience that detaches you from your real environment.” What makes the Gear VR a step ahead of the competition is that it allows users to walk freely without being restricted by wires connecting to a computer like the Oculus Rift or having to hold it up like the Google Cardboard.

GALAXY NOTE 4

On the smartphone front, Samsung also added the Galaxy Note 4 to its Note series. It now boasts a quad high-definition Super AMOLED display, which is a bump up from its predecessor as it provide more pixels per inch. It still sports a 5.7 inch screen, similar to its predecessor.

Big features include the UV sensor — which tells users the rate of sun exposure they’re getting and providing different precautions according to ultraviolet radiation levels — and an improved fingerprint scanner that can be found on the Galaxy S5 released earlier this year.

The gadget runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 chip, 3GB or RAM and the Android 4.4 KitkKat operating system. Around the entire frame of the gadget is a full metal band while the back features a textured, soft-touch leather-like finish. Samsung’s change in build material in this iteration of the smartphone follows criticism about the all-round “plastic” feel of its predecessors despite the premium prices.

More megapixels have been added to the camera. The smartphone has a 3.7 megapixel front-facing camera and a 16 megapixel rear camera.

GALAXY NOTE EDGE

The Note Edge is largely similar to the Note 4 except for the additional 160 pixels down the curved right-hand bezel to provide notifications and shortcuts that are always visible, even when the user is in a full-screen app. The screen size is also slightly smaller at 5.6 inches compared to the Note 4.

GEAR S

What’s special about the Gear S is that it has a built-in 3G connection to make/receive calls and texts, and to pull down notifications, emails, and so on from the Internet. Website TechCrunch, in a hands-on review, says it can be “huge and clunky” but rates it well overall: “The curved display is interesting and eye-catching, and gets the job done.”

The device features a curved display at 260x480 resolution and comes preloaded with S Health, Nike+ Running, Nokia’s Here maps for navigation. There are also plenty of sensors under the hood such as a GPS sensor, an accelerometer, gyroscope, UV detector, barometer and a heart rate monitor.

The wearable can hold 4GB of internal storage and is powered by a dual-core 1.0GHz processor.