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Samsung to spend nearly $15 billion on chip plant
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South Korean electronics giant plans to build a semiconductor factory south of Seoul, with an opening set for 2017.
Samsung's headquarters in Suwon, South Korea, is known as Digital City. Shara Tibken/CNET
Samsung Electronics has announced it plans to spend 15.6 trillion won (about $14.7 billion) to construct a new chip plant in South Korea.
The South Korean electronics giant said construction will begin next year in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, with the plant set to open in 2017, according to multiple news reports.
"Our investment into the new fabrication plant will significantly influence the shaping of Samsung's future semiconductor business," Kwon Oh Hyun, vice chairman and CEO of Samsung Electronics, said in a statement.
Samsung is set to announce guidance this week for its most recent quarter. In July, the company reported a 25 percent drop in operating profits for its second quarter -- the third straight quarter of profit declines. At the time, Samsung also warned that the second half of the year would "remain a challenge" as competition in the mobile market leads to lower device prices and hurts its results.
Shara Tibken contributed to this report.
Anne Dujmovic Anne Dujmovic is an associate editor at CNET News. After working more than a dozen years in newspapers, including a seven-year stint at the San Jose Mercury News, Anne migrated north to Portland, Ore. There, she honed her pastry-making skills as an apprentice. Although she's returned to journalism, she still misses the free pastries. E-mail Anne. See full bio Samsung: Unlike iPhone, our Galaxy Note 4 won't bend
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Capitalizing on Bendgate, Samsung releases a video that tells customers to shove their Note 4 in their back pockets without fear.
Samsung wants to prove its Note 4 is strong by placing a substantial bottom upon it. Samsung/YouTube screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET
You've probably been doing extra squat thrusts in the gym, just to put your phone to the test.
Does a more muscular bottom mean that your phone will bend more quickly under pressure when it's in your back pocket?
Samsung would like you to know that, however maximus is your gluteus, its new Note 4 will never become unglued.
In a new video, released to capitalize on -- no, celebrate -- the so-called Bendgate that allegedly afflicted the iPhone 6 Plus, Samsung sniffs that some smartphones may bend in back pockets. (Now which phone could it mean?)
But the Galaxy Note 4 is, the video says, strong.
What follows is a test that doesn't seem too dissimilar to the one performed last week by Consumer Reports. In that version, the Note came out very well, as it does in this one.
Here, though, Samsung performs a further test. It places a substantial (but fake) bottom on the phone and prays that it will withstand the stress.
The bottom, which is supposed to carry the force of someone weighing 100 kilograms (220 pounds), goes up and down upon it like a jockey nearing the finish. The Note is entirely unmoved.
Why is this? According to Samsung, its metal frame and magnesium bracket work together to create glorious reinforcement.
I am firm in the belief that a phone has no place near a flabby rear (or any other kind.) The bottom is far too important a point of pulchritude to be besmirched by a jutting oblong.
However, if you don't care about looks, Samsung insists that its phone is a must for you.
Chris Matyszczyk Chris Matyszczyk is an award-winning creative director who advises major corporations on content creation and marketing. He brings an irreverent, sarcastic, and sometimes ironic voice to the tech world. See full bio Samsung said to invest $560M in TV production
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Samsung is expanding its manufacturing operations in Vietnam, with a massive complex that will reportedly focus on televisions.
Samsung
Samsung Electronics is expanding its production operations in Vietnam, the company confirmed Wednesday.
The South Korea electronics company will spend $560 million to build a massive consumer appliances production facility in Vietnam, according to Reuters. The 700,000-square-meter complex will focus its efforts on television production, said Reuters, though it will build other products for the conglomerate.
"We look forward to expanding our manufacturing capacity in Vietnam, as consumer demand for our products continues to grow across the world," Samsung told CNET in an emailed statement.
Samsung is the top TV maker in the world, shipping millions of units worldwide each year. In July, Samsung announced it would end production of plasma televisions and instead focus on curved televisions and 4K televisions, also called Ultra HD televisions. Samsung's stable of curved TVs currently stands at 17 models -- including 4K, full HD and LED variants -- ranging from 48 to 105 inches in size.
The company has also made a push to improve the features and content available for its portfolio of smart TVs. In June, Samsung showed off a prototype television running its Tizen operating system, which allows people to connect to the Web, access photos and videos, listen to music, watch live TV and theoretically download apps. Samsung executives have said Tizen-powered televisions likely would hit the market in 2014.
It's not clear how long it will take for Samsung to build its new complex and see it reach full capacity.
Don Reisinger Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications. See full bio Samsung to expand smart TV content offerings at IFA
Samsung Samsung plans to add a host of services and games to its smart TV portfolio, including Skype and the popular racing game Need for Speed Most Wanted.
The South Korea Electronics giant announced Tuesday that its content expansion would be unveiled next month in Berlin at IFA 2014, Europe's largest consumer electronics trade show. Other games to be made available for free download include Gameloft's Real Football 2014 and Com2us' Golf Star, a realistic golf simulator incorporating real-life physics.
Skype video call services such as group video and full HD video calls will be available for use on 2014 Samsung smart TV models with built-in cameras.
The games can be downloaded through Samsung's Smart TV Games Panel, a user interface unveiled in January at CES that offers an array of games users can play on their TVs. In addition to using the TV's remote control, users can control their games with a variety of other devices, including smartphones.
"At Samsung, the television is more than just a screen -- it is a window to the world, providing new experiences, new discoveries and new possibilities," Won Jin Lee, Executive Vice President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics, said in a statement. "Samsung customers will be able to enjoy even more entertaining and easy-to-use content on the Samsung Smart TV."
Tags: IFA 2014 Mobile Mobile Apps Samsung About the authorSamsung Galaxy Alpha protzt mit Metallrahmen (Bilder)
Samsung Galaxy Alpha may launch Wednesday
The Galaxy S5 may still be the top end of Samsung's mobile line, even after the Alpha's launch. Andrew Hoyle/CNET Samsung's long-rumored Galaxy Alpha may finally make the leap from rumor to reality.
The Galaxy Alpha smartphone will launch Wednesday, according to Korean media reports that cite information from Samsung.
Rumors have been swirling for months over what the Galaxy Alpha might deliver, but the latest reports suggest that it will feature Samsung's new Exynos octa-core processor and 2GB of RAM. It's also believed that the device may come with 32GB of internal storage and run on Android 4.4 KitKat. Most notably, the Galaxy Alpha is expected to launch with a metal body, answering criticism that Samsung's entire line of smartphones have plastic bodies, in contrast to Apple's iPhone.
The Galaxy Alpha is one of two highly anticipated Samsung devices expected to launch in the coming months. The other is Samsung's Galaxy Note 4 smartphone/tablet, expected ahead of the IFA trade show in Germany in early September. The two devices could help Samsung reverse a downward slide seen last quarter when sales of the flagship Galaxy S5 were lower than anticipated and as its low-end smartphones were under fire by cheaper international competitors.
CNET has contacted Samsung. We will update this story when we have more information.
It's unclear where the Galaxy Alpha will sit in relation to the rest of Samsung's products. A metal construction implies a higher-end device, but the rumored specifications puts the smartphone at slightly below its Galaxy S5 flagship and presumably lower than the Note 4. The Alpha may end up appealing to mid-range consumers looking for higher quality materials.
Samsung has been known to experiment with different materials and designs, as seen in the curved Galaxy Round smartphone unveiled last year.
The company, meanwhile, has lost its crown as the top mobile maker in two crucial markets -- India and China -- in the last quarter. The company did, however, keep its crown as the top smartphone maker in the US and remains the top overall smartphone maker in the world.
Samsung will soon be contending with the next iPhone. Reports peg the unveiling on September 9, although Apple hasn't confirmed the date.
(Via Android Headlines)
Tags: Mobile About the authorSamsung has reportedly begun testing three-sided display phone
If you thought the Samsung Galaxy Round was peculiar, get ready for another whole level of quirk. According to a Korean supplier of Samsung parts, the company has begun testing three-sided displays for potential application on mobile devices.
The technology has been rumored for quite some time, but it finally seems to have gained some steam, with sources claiming that such a device could go into production by the end of this year.
A three-sided display phone just might be what Kim Hyeon Jun, executive manager at Samsung's Wireless Business Division, had been foreshadowing during Samsung's second-quarter earnings conference call.
"While I cannot mention specifics, we are planning on unveiling an innovative large-screen flagship model, an attractive phone that takes advantage of cutting-edge materials," he said.
Large-scale production, however, may be further down the line. The three-sided screen will utilize a plastic substrate that is reportedly limited in quantity and difficult to work with. If released by the end of this year, it will most likely be limited to Korean audiences.
Tags: Phones Samsung About the author