Tag Archives: Gear S

Nokia HERE Maps Come to Android, Pose a Threat to Google Maps

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Nokia HERE Maps

Android-powered Nokia X smartphones have the HERE maps pre-installed, but the Finnish company wants to expand. A recent partnership signed with Samsung will bring the maps to Galaxy phones in the first stage, with other brands to follow in the near future.

The HERE mapping app is among the leftovers that Microsoft didn’t want when buying Nokia. After toying a bit with iOS in 2013 just after the “I got into a lake because of Apple Maps” fiasco, Nokia announced that it will launch HERE maps on Android and yet once more on iOS. The Finnish company definitely has an advantage over its competitors, as it bought Navteq, which is well experienced in navigation software and digital cartography in 2007. Since 2011, Navteq has been fully merged into Nokia and has constituted a big part of what the HERE maps are today.

Exec Sean Fernback stated in an interview with the WSJ that “Google Maps is a good solution for many, their maps work very well, but it has looked the same and done the same for a long time.” In a few words, he explained what the HERE maps will focus on changing.

With Navteq in its pocket, Nokia won’t have a lot of catching up to do. In fact, some claim that HERE maps would end up on the third place after being launched, just behind Google Maps and Apple’s. However, what most seem to forget is that Nokia’s maps are available in most cars with built-in navigation, fact that makes the Finns leaders in this industry.

What more, with their offline support, HERE maps are even preferred by some people in India, South Africa and other countries. As far as I’m concerned, the GPS sensor of my smartphone could by faulty, as according to Google Maps I went off-road quite a few times. I should mention that I’m mainly talking about rural areas, and here is exactly where Nokia’s HERE maps are said to excel.

As a consequence of Nokia’s partnership with Samsung, the HERE maps will first be available on Gear S, the Tizen smartwatch that’s said to rule them all. Soon after that, HERE Maps will make their way to the Galaxy line, and if everything goes fine, we should see Nokia’s navigation app on more Android devices. Google should really give some thought to improving their maps before Nokia washes them over.

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Samsung Announces Gear S Smartwatch

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Samsung Gear S SmartwatchAlong with the Gear VR headset, Samsung today announced the Gear S Smartwatch, Samsung’s sixth, (yes six) entry into the wrist-wearable technology space. What’s so special about this smartwatch is that it can run on its own – no need for a smartphone to go along with it and communicate. It has a built-in nano SIM card and came make its own phone calls and receive emails directly to the device. You can even type emails right on the Gear S with a tiny touchscreen keyboard. Whether or not you want to do that might still be in question.

The Gear S features a 2-inch curved AMOLED screen at 260×480 with interchangeable bands and a slot for the SIM card in the back. In addition to calls and emails, it will support turn by turn navigation, a news feed and a couple of running apps from Nike+ and S Health.

Samsung Gear S Smartwatch

Samsung expect to start shipping in October with no word on pricing quite yet.

via The Verge

Samsung Gear S Smartwatch Packs a 3G Modem for Calls and Texts without a Smartphone

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Samsung Gear S Tizen OS Smartwatch

Not long ago, it was rumored that Samsung might be working on a standalone smartwatch, and now the rumors became reality in the form of the Gear S wearable.

Not being tied to a smartphone when using a wearable definitely feels great, and Samsung finally realized that. Its standalone smartwatch was first hinted at back in May, and now it has become very palpable. The Gear S (which was actually meant to be called Gear Solo, according to the rumors) has a few things that set it apart from the rest of the crowd, and Samsung surely hopes to capitalize on that.

First of all, it includes a 3G modem that enables the smartwatch to send texts, as well as place and answer calls without the need of a smartphone around. That’s definitely convenient, as there are plenty of situations where a smartphone could be cumbersome, rather than helpful. Armbands aside, when running or performing any other physical activities, smartwatches are definitely a better way of tracking the activity than a smartphone.

Secondly, Samsung Gear S, as its name suggests, is not part of the Android-running Galaxy family. Instead, it uses Samsung’s home-grown operating system, Tizen OS. This is yet another proof that the Korean tech giant intends to cut some of the cords that keep it tied to Google and its mobile OS.

In terms of technical specs, Gear S features a 2-inch AMOLED screen and a dual-core 1GHz CPU, along with 512MB of RAM, as anything more than that would practically be useless in such a device. As far as the internal storage is concerned, the 4GB that are available to the user should be more than enough for a lengthy playlist.

The motion and heart rate sensors will come useful when working out, even though there might be other situations when knowing your heart rate comes in handy. On top of that, the GPS sensor that’s accompanied by Nokia’s HERE pedestrian navigation software could prove useful for apps that are the equivalent of Endomondo for Android. Knowing the route that’s been covered while working out is good, in case you want to do it again sometime.

Samsung Gear S will be officially launched at IFA 2014 in Berlin, next week, and will start shipping in October at a yet to be disclosed price.

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