samsung

I reviewed the Samsung SyncMaster XL2370 a few weeks back. (BTW, that monitor is slated to be released at Best Buy on October 12, if you're interested.) Since then, it seems the floodgates have been blown wide open when it comes to LED-backlit monitors.

Thursday, we posted a review of the LG W2486L, an LED monitor that has a similarly minimalist design to the XL2370--albeit with a not-quite-as-sleepy sensibility. Also, I just got the AOC V22 (a 22-inch 16:10 LED monitor) in and will soon be receiving a couple LED BenQ monitors.

So yeah, it's likely that … Read more

After the disappointment of the Samsung Instinct S30, Samsung has redeemed itself with the Samsung Instinct HD for Sprint. Both an upgrade and an improvement over the original Instinct, the Instinct HD offers a sleeker design, a brighter display, and more features. Its much-hyped high definition camcorder is an obvious attraction and we're pleased that Samsung finally added Wi-Fi.

The Instinct HD's performance was generally good, particularly on the multimedia side. The camera offers a load of options and the streaming video was some of the best we've seen. Its call quality didn't rate quite as … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--Though LG's eye-popping OLED (organic light-emitting diode) display wowed audiences in Berlin last month, it's best not to get too excited. There's not going to be more where that came from, at least for a while.

The industry is still at least three years away from churning out standard-size televisions of 32 inches or larger at something approaching acceptable prices. And though Sony grabbed all the attention in early 2008 with its $2,500 11-inch OLED, it's faded into the background when it comes to nudging the technology forward. Initially promising to follow up with 21-inch and 27-inch models, Sony's deferred those plans while battling bigger problems with its TV business.

With Sony on the sidelines, it seemed like we were witnessing yet another false start for a technology that's been intent on challenging existing TV standards like LCD and plasma for almost half a decade now.

Beset by the standard issues that come with bringing a new technology into the mainstream, like the exorbitantly high cost of development, OLED TVs might be on the verge of shifting out of neutral as new standard bearers for the technology emerge. The ones to watch now are Samsung and LG Electronics, which have each signaled that they're ready to make larger investments in OLED technology for TVs. … Read more

Samsung has begun producing a new chip that one day may replace flash memory and that is expected to increase cell phone battery life by more than 20 percent.

The world's largest maker of memory chips said that it is now manufacturing phase-change random access memory (PRAM) in 512-megabit (Mb) capacities.

Phase change memory has been discussed for decades. Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, for instance, wrote an article about the technology that was published in the September 1970 issue of Electronics magazine. And the basic way the technology works hasn't changed. In phase change memory chips, a medium … Read more

As the most expensive horse in Samsung's stable of edge-lit LED-based LCD TVs, which the company calls "LED TVs" in most of its marketing materials, the UNB8000 series is differentiated from its cheaper herd mates by the addition of 240Hz processing.

If you're wondering whether that feature is worth the cash, wonder no more: in our opinion, it's not. Other than the extra hertz, Samsung's edge-lit sets share most of the same picture quality characteristics, including deep black levels, mostly accurate color, and some uniformity problems that might have something to do with its … Read more

When Samsung introduced the Instinct S30 earlier this year, we hoped the company didn't seriously consider the stripped-down handset to be a worthy update to the satisfying Instinct M800. At the time, we heard rumors of another Instinct model, but Samsung kept us hanging until now.

Announced Thursday, Sprint's Instinct HD M850 improves on the original phone in a number of ways. Not only does does it offer the sleeker profile we saw on the S30, but it also packs in more features. The centerpiece is the high-definition 5-megapixel camera. You won't be able to play HD … Read more

Query: Who makes the Apple-branded chip in the iPhone? Answer: Samsung. This nontrivial detail translated into smartphone chip market share gains for Samsung in the second quarter, according to iSuppli.

The iPhone, largely due to the popularity of the 3GS model, accounted for 13.9 percent of global smartphone shipments in the second quarter, up from 10.1 percent in the first quarter, according to iSuppli. As a result, Samsung accounted for 15.9 percent of global revenue from sales of standalone applications processors. An applications processor is roughly analogous to the main Intel or Advanced Micro Devices processor in … Read more

In the course of testing standard-definition camcorders, more often than not, I stumble upon a user review where the person complains that their cell phone takes better video than--insert model name here. Sadly, that appraisal is probably not far from the truth.

For example, the recently reviewed Sony Handycam DCR-SX41 and Samsung SMX-F34 flash-based camcorders are no great shakes in the video department. I have used smaller, cheaper devices that take as good or better video than these camcorders. The only things they really offer are megazoom lenses, compact, lightweight bodies, and better controls and shooting options--all at sub-$300 … Read more

On Thursday, Samsung introduced the newest addition to its Omnia smartphone series: the Samsung Omnia Pro B7330. In addition, the company revealed that all of its Omnia models will run Windows Mobile 6.5 and it will release upgrades to current products on the market now.

The Omnia Pro B7330 is expected to ship in October and is designed for the mobile professional. It features a slate design with a full QWERTY keyboard and 2.62-inch QVGA nontouch display. The quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) smartphone includes Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and assisted GPS. In addition, it has a 3-megapixel camera, … Read more