Gear up for Galaxy S5
AT THE recent Mobile World Congress 2014 held in Barcelona, Spain, Samsung unveiled its highly-anticipated Galaxy S5 smartphone as well as a slew of its Gear wearables – the Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo and Gear Fit – at the Samsung Unpacked 5 event.
The fifth generation of the Galaxy S series boasts more notable features including a better camera, health and fitness tools and security features.
It runs on Android 4.4.2 (Kitkat) and is also water- and dust-resistant.
“With the Galaxy S5, Samsung is going back to basics to focus on delivering the capabilities that matter most to our consumers,” said J.K. Shin, Samsung’s president and head of IT & Mobile Communications Division.
“Consumers are looking for mobile tools that inspire and support them as they improve their everyday lives.
“The Galaxy S5 represents an iconic design with essential and useful features to focus on delivering the ultimate smartphone on the market today through people-inspired innovation.”
► Galaxy S5
The Galaxy S5 offers the “most advanced LTE experience and WiFi performance” to ensure fast data speeds.
It supports the fifth-generation WiFi 802.11ac and 2X2 Mimo as well as a large number of LTE frequencies with LTE (long-term evolution) Category 4 standard.
It also has Download Booster, a WiFi technology for boosting data speed by bonding WiFi and LTE simultaneously.
Meanwhile, its 16-megapixel camera comes with an enhanced menu and user interface.
It has the fastest auto focus speed of up to 0.3 seconds while the High Dynamic Range (Rich Tone) function allows users to capture better-looking photos by adjusting the intensity of light and colour.
Another new feature is the Selective Focus, which allows users to focus on a specific area of an object while simultaneously blurring out the background, creating a shallow depth-of-field effect.
The Galaxy S5 also fits into its users’ active lifestyle with the enhanced S Health 3.0 feature which offers more tools to help users stay fit and well.
They include a personal fitness tracker, pedometer, diet and exercise records and a built-in heart rate monitor.
Users can also customise their experience with a third-party app ecosystem.
It also comes with the ability to pair with next-generation Gear products for real-time fitness coaching.
Available in black, white, blue and gold, the Galaxy S5 features a perforated pattern on the back cover and is IP67 dust- and water-resistant.
It comes with a Finger Scanner as well for a secure, biometric screen-locking feature and Ultra Power Saving Mode that turns the display to black-and-white while shutting down unnecessary features to minimise battery consumption.
► Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo
The Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo run on 1.0GHz dual-core processor and are powered by Tizen-based wearable platform. Both devices are compatible with more than a dozen of Samsung Galaxy smartphones.
The devices allow users to accept or ignore incoming calls and messages, providing instant notification options based on a user’s activity and habits.
The devices offer personal fitness coaching in real time and come with heart rate sensors.
Both devices have standalone features, such as controlling electronic products such as the TV and the set-top box through WatchON Remote application in the home with an embedded IrLED sensor.
The addition of a standalone music player with Bluetooth headset allows users to leave their smartphone at home and still enjoy their music on the go.
There’s a camera on the main body instead of the strap while the home screen background, clock face and font are customisable.
► Gear Fit
The Gear Fit is the industry’s first curved, Super AMOLED wearable device catered for active users.
Besides acting as an everyday fitness band, it also keeps the user up to date with instant notifications from Galaxy smartphones such as incoming calls, emails, SMS, alarm, S-planner and third- party apps while on the move.
It also comes with a heart rate sensor and real-time fitness coaching to provide personalised advice and workout recommendations.
All these latest devices will be available globally from next month.