Samsung officially unveils the Galaxy A7 that looks like the iPhone 5S?

Samsung Galaxy A7 is finally official. The metal-clad smartphone with optional dual-SIM functionality will be available at the end of Q1 this year in two different chipset configurations.

The Galaxy A7 will feature a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 SoC or 32-bit Exynos 5430 solution. Both chipsets feature octa-core CPU (1.5GHz quad A53 + 1.0GHz quad A53 for the Snapdragon 615 and 1.8GHz quad A15 + 1.3GHz quad A7 for the Exynos 5430).

Both versions of the smartphone will offer 2GB of RAM and 16GB of built-in memory. A microSD card slot for further expansion will also be available.

Samsung Galaxy A7 packs 5.5” HD Super AMOLED display. The rest of the device’s specs include 13MP main camera, 5MP front-facing unit, and full connectivity suite headed by Cat. 4 LTE.

The smartphone boots Android 4.4 KitKat with TouchWiz UI. An update to Android 5.0 Lollipop is naturally in the works.

Physical measures of the Samsung Galaxy A7 are 151 x 76.2 x 6.3 mm, while its weight tips the scale at 141 grams. A 2,600mAh battery powers the device. The handset is the slimmest offering with metal unibody to date.

Samsung Galaxy A7 will be available in dark blue, white, or gold color schemes. The Korean giant promises a “competitive price point” for the device.

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Apple releases iOS 8.1 with Apple Pay, iCloud Photo Library, SMS Relay & Instant Hotspot, bug fixes and improvements.

As promised, Apple on Monday released iOS 8.1 for public consumption. Users who have an older version installed on their iPhone, iPod touch or iPad can now update to the latest software over-the-air, by choosing Software Update under Settings > General.

iOS 8.1 flips the switch on Apple Pay in the United States on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, as well as the newly released iPad Air 2and iPad mini 3.

It also re-enables the missing Camera Roll album in Photos and beta iCloud Photo Library (in beta) while bringing additional Continuity features like Text Message Forwarding between iOS 8 devices and Yosemite Macs and more.

Apple Pay, a headline new feature in iOS 8.1 supports mobile payments in apps, on websites and at select brick-and-mortar locations. On devices that don’t have NFC, like the iPhone 5s, iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3, Apple Pay only works when you buy stuff online and through apps.

To recap, here are the supported devices for Apple Pay:

• iPhone 6 (in-app, online and in-store purchases)
• iPhone 6 Plus (in-app, online and in-store purchases)
• iPad Air 2 (in-app and online purchases only)
• iPad mini 3 (in-app and online purchases only)

Although Apple’s marketing materials don’t make the distinction between in-app and online purchases, Safari is technically and app. Moreover, company executives did say during the WWDC keynote that Apple Pay will be supported by participating online stores through a browser.

Apple Pay is also coming to Apple Watch early next year, extending Apple Pay to over 200 million owners of iPhone 5, iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s worldwide, Apple said in a media release.

Another cool new feature: Text Message Forwarding.

It lets you receive text messages in the Messages app alongside iMessages on Macs running Yosemite and iPads and iPod touches running iOS 8.1. Text messages are actually routed through a user’s iPhone, allowing you to both send and receive SMS directly from a Mac or iPad.

Text Message Forwarding requires that both your Mac and iOS device be on the same Wi-Fi network and have Bluetooth turned on for proximity.

iCloud Photo Library, a built-in service that puts your entire photo library in the cloud, is now available as a beta to everyone in iOS 8.1. Once enabled in Settings > iCloud > Photos, your device will automatically upload and store your photos and videos in iCloud and sync any changes between devices.

You can elect to “Optimize Storage” to keep device-optimized versions of photos on an iOS device or “Download and Keep Originals”, which stores full-resolution photos and videos on your device. Just to clear up any confusion, iCloud always keeps your snaps and videos in their original resolution.

Your iCloud Photo Library is also available via a brand new Photos app in iCloud’s web interface, depicted above, using any Mac or Windows PC running the latest version of Safari, Chrome or Firefox. And in early-2015, a Mac edition of iOS’s stock Photos app will launch allowing for the complete end-to-end photo-syncing solution between desktop, mobile and the web.

iCloud Photo Library is great, but you’ll quickly run out of space as every iCloud account includes a meager five gigabytes of free storage. Apple’s iCloud storage upgrade pricingisn’t the most competitive: the firm is offering 20 gigabytes for 99 cents per month, 200 gigabytes in exchange for five bucks per month, 500GB for $9.99 per month and 1TB for $19.99 per month.

Compare this to the $9.99 1TB Dropbox Pro plan (same as Google).

Microsoft is offering 1TB OneDrive bucket for seven bucks per month and they’re also throwing in Office 365 for that price. By the way, if you’re serious about iPhone photography you should consider Yahoo’s Flickr service, which includes one terabyte of free storage for your photos.

As mentioned before, iOS 8.1 also brings back the Camera Roll album which went missing in iOS 8. The Camera Roll album collates only the photos you’ve taken directly on the device or saved from Mail and other apps. The Camera Roll comeback makes the operating system compatible with applications that required it, such as WhatsApp.

The problem stems, as many have complained, from the fact that iOS 8.0 has removed the system-wide Camera Roll album for no apparent reason. In addition to these features, iOS 8.1 contains bug fixes, performance enhancements and several improvements listed below.

iOS 8.1 includes other nice-to-haves

A new Enable Dictation toggle in Settings > General > Keyboards (seen above) is now available. Moreover, you’ll notice slightly larger app icons when managing your widgets in the Notification Center. The iBooks icon has been slightly redesigned and there’s now an alternative way to access privacy settings on a per-app basis, through their respective pane in the Settings app, as pictured below.

Note that certain iOS 8 features are only available in select markets.

The operating system is compatible with:

• iPhone 4s
• iPhone 5/5c
• iPhone 5s
• iPhone 6/Plus
• iPad 2, 3 and 4
• iPad Air and iPad Air 2
• iPad mini and iPad mini 2
• iPod touch (fifth-generation)

Apple announces record-smashing 10 million iPhone 6/Plus opening weekend sales!

When Apple sold 9 million iPhones in the opening weekend of iPhone 5S and 5C last year, it was assumed that would be the zenith; the cheaper 5C offered more opportunity, and launching in China for the first time offered untold opportunity. And then this year Apple sold 10 million iPhone 6 and 6 Plus units, with no China (yet) and a lot more cash at stake.

The report comes after Apple’s initial announcement that it had moved 4 million iPhone 6 and 6 Plus handsets the very first day. As it turns out, it almost kept that pace up through out the weekend. And that was with supply constraints. According to CEO Tim Cook:

“Sales for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus exceeded our expectations for the launch weekend, and we couldn’t be happier,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We would like to thank all of our customers for making this our best launch ever, shattering all previous sell-through records by a large margin. While our team managed the manufacturing ramp better than ever before, we could have sold many more iPhones with greater supply and we are working hard to fill orders as quickly as possible.”

What Apple didn’t reveal is the breakdown of unit sales between the 6 and 6 Plus, although it’s not clear how helpful it would have been if they had; the 6 Plus hit shipping delays far faster in a way that hinted more at severe supply constraints than overwhelming demand.

Still, 10 million is hugely impressive given that the phones are pricier and lack the scale of launch countries that the iPhone 5 and 5S did. We’ll see how the numbers fully shake out once Apple catches up to the demand. In the meantime, a record is a record, and it seems as though the company hasn’t lost any of its shine.

Former Apple employee Sam Sung auctions his business card!

I can’t imagine being an Apple employer and keeping a straight face while hiring a man named Sam Sung. As it turns out, the Cupertino-based company did have a Sam Sung on payroll, a man who ironically shares his name with Apple’s main competitor. He worked as a specialist in a Vancouver store, which earned him the right for his very own business cards.

An image of his business card was found to be quite comic by the tech community. It went viral, but he had very little to say about the matter, as Apple’s policies wouldn’t allow him to comment much on the case. He is no longer working for Apple and has a single business card left. What to do with this one-of-a-kind piece of paper?

Would you be willing to pay a significant amount of cash for Sam Sung’s business card? You can go place your bids on his auction! Sung has framed his business card, along with his company t-shirt and the official Apple Store lanyard. He then autographed the shirt and started the bids at just $0.99, a steal for any technology enthusiast.

The number quickly grew to substantial amounts of cash, though. Over 70 bids later, the auction now stands at $2,550 USD. That is a very high price for merchandise that probably costed apple a few dollars, but Sam Sung is hoping a tech collector “with a good sense of humor” may appreciate it.

The framed contents do come with a very rewarding sentiment, after all. Sam has honorably decided donate all proceeds to the Children’s Wish foundation, an organization that grants wishes to sick children. Sung has pledged to post a picture of Jennifer Peterson (the foundation’s director) as soon as the auction concludes.

Unlike most of us here, Sam does state he has no hard feelings for Apple, something Samsung also wouldn’t agree with. He just found this to be a great opportunity to help a good cause.

Apple releases new iPhone 5s ad “Dreams” showcasing uses in medicine, firefighting and more!

We don’t talk a whole lot about the business applications for smartphones here because they are typically so far detached from the consumer experience it makes no sense to get too deep with such things.

Apple has taken a similar approach to the marketing of its products, and by most measures, it has been successful. The TV and video ads in particular tend to zoom in on one thing drive home that point, and that is what Apple’s latest ad does here.

The strengths being extoled here are familiar, it shows off some of the many different apps that make the iPhone 5s such a powerful tool, but not just for the individual consumer per se. This brings the familiar individual user experience to a level that has applications across a wide spectrum of business as well.

Much of the penetration Apple has been able to make into business has been through executives seeking to bring that simple user experience to their enterprise. While the effort has found some measure of success, Apple knows there is more that needs to be done to be more productive on that front (hence the partnership with IBM). Expect to see more of this as Apple solidifies its partnership with IBM and branches out to get its hooks into business in other ways.