Back when the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 launched in the market, it was very well received by reviewers and fans all around the globe. Now, if I were to tell you that the same phone, with its battery problems being fixed, would retail at less than $500, what would be your reaction?

Korea’s the investor was first to reveal this information to the public. The report from the website states that this premium phablet is widely rumored to be released at around 50% discount as compared to the original price tag. If true, this would take the Note 7R’s price tag to as low as $440 since the same phone launched at around $850 – $870 in the US and the South Korea. It’s interesting to note that the earlier rumors stated Note 7R’s price tag at around 700,000 KRW (~$620).

While a price tag of less than $500 would make the Galaxy Note 7R an attractive choice for Android lovers, it’s unlikely that Samsung would price it so cheap. The refurbished Note model is expected to feature the same premium specs as the previous generation, except for the battery, which is said to be reduced to 3200mAh capacity. Another change would be the new Android 7 version on the model.

RELATED: Samsung Galaxy S8 Might Be Easy To Break, But It Won’t Cost A Fortune For Its Repairs

Note that the investor’s report states that the “the phone is widely rumored to be priced about 50% cheaper” and does not directly confirm this super cheap price tag.

As for the release, the Galaxy Note 7R is currently in the stage of obtaining safety certification in South Korea, and we can expect the phone to be launched in the coming months, maybe around early June, a good few weeks before the Note 8’s launch.

So what do you think? Will Samsung take the leap and price the refurbished model at 50% discount than original? Also, would you be interested in the phone if the price is so low?

I sure would love to get my hands on the refurbished Note 7R if it’s below $500.

(Source)

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After temporarily stopping the production of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, it looks like the company is keen to turn its focus on other devices. Earlier today, Samsung’s Chinese Galaxy account on Weibo revealed a new teaser, “the next big thing is coming”. While the teaser does not reveal the identity of the upcoming smartphone, it looks like Samsung could be hinting the release of the rumored Galaxy C9 smartphone soon.

The teaser also tells us a bit about the device “seamless, with great accuracy.” And then there’s a glimpse of the back of the device with curved corners. Considering the timing of the launch, as well as the words “the next big thing is coming”, it’s likely that the upcoming device is none other than the Galaxy C9 phablet.

We have been hearing about this particular smartphone, which is probably Chinese exclusive, for the past few weeks. The phone is said to come with a massive 6-inch 1080p display with Snapdragon 652 octa-core chipset inside. What makes this phone interesting is the 6GB of RAM inside, as revealed by the recent Geekbench listing. Other expected features of the device include 16MP cameras on the front as well as the back and Android 6 out of the box.

RELATED: Samsung Galaxy C9 Phablet Spotted on AnTuTu, Specs Revealed

Considering the issue with the Galaxy Note 7 and the lack of a 6GB RAM phone from the company yet, the Galaxy C9 will be an important smartphone for the company. At 6-inches, it a bit bigger than the Note 7 and specs wise, with Snapdragon 652 inside, it is not nearly as powerful as the Note 7, however, the company could potentially market the C9 as a cheaper alternative to the Note 7. I personally wouldn’t mind having an S Pen with this 6-inch phablet.

No official release dates are out yet, but expect more details soon.

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After an amazing first half of 2016, Samsung seems to be in a lot of trouble recently. The flagship device of the second half of 2016, the Galaxy Note 7 has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons and with the company recalling nearly 2.5 million Note 7 units for replacing a faulty battery, we would have thought the worst is over.

However, recently, reports about even replacement Galaxy Note 7 units exploding have surfaced online, which makes this issue even more serious. As a result, the Korean news agency, Yonhap reports that Samsung has temporarily halted the production of the Galaxy Note 7 units. This comes just after US and Australian carriers decided to stop selling replacement Note 7 units to its customers.

RELATED: Replacement Note 7 Unit catches Fire On Southwest Airlines Flight

Samsung had said in a previous statement that the Note 7 explosions were caused by faulty batteries supplied by the company’s battery subsidiary. However, now that even the replacement units are said to be exploding, it looks like halting the production as well as sales of the Note 7 units is the best decision for the company right now.

If you are using a Note 7 in the US, carriers like Verizon and AT&T are offering different models and even refunds if you want to turn in your Samsung flagship.

Looks like the best option for the company right now is to kill off the Note 7 and limit its reputation damage. What it could do is focus on the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S8 flagship and make sure it’s not affected by this issue. Further, the company could even prepone the release of the Note 8 flagship next year. But at this moment, we will have to wait and watch how the company tackles this difficult situation.

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UMi is one of the few Chinese companies who have managed to consistently release some interesting mid-range smartphones in the past few months. The UMi Super and the UMi Max, both are pretty good phones, but if you were hoping to find something more pleasant to the eyes, then the upcoming UMi smartphone should be something that could interest you.

We have got the first pictures of the unnamed UMi flagship. While the phone is not yet released, we can see that the company seems to have taken inspiration from the gorgeous Galaxy Note 7 for this phone’s design, with some even calling it the Note 7 Mini. What we know at the moment is that the phone will be smaller than the Galaxy Note 7. It will be made out of a single piece of aluminum, with a slim body. All the ports, including the USB and headphone jack seem to be located at the bottom.

The fingerprint sensor will be located up front, and will be oval in shape. To be honest, the phone in the pictures looks quite premium. Hopefully, we will be able to get more details about this UMi flagship in the next few days.

Stay tuned for details.

The post The Upcoming UMi Flagship Is Gorgeous, Takes Inspiration From the Note 7 (Pictures) appeared first on Gizmochina.

Love the dual edge curved display on the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge? Well, you are not the only one! In fact, we have seen that the S7 Edge model easily outsold the flat screen Galaxy S7 flagship this year. And with the beautiful Note 7 now out in the market, there is no doubt that our love for curved screen smartphones will intensify further.

And now, there’s a new report that Samsung may actually stop making flat screen Galaxy S series smartphones. The report states that the company will put more focus on manufacturing curved screen smartphones in the Galaxy range, thereby hinting that it could eventually eliminate flat screen models in the flagship lineup. The report quotes the comment made by the head of Samsung’s Mobile division last week.

“Samsung has considered that it would make the edge display as the identity of the Galaxy S smartphone lineup if the company can provide consumers differentiated user experience through software and user-friendly functions (for the curved screen),” said Koh Dong-jin, the head of the tech giant’s mobile business, in a media interview in New York last week.

RELATED: Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Is the Best Selling Phone In 1H 2016

For the past couple of years, Samsung has traditionally unveiled the curved edge variant alongside the flat screen model. However, with the Note 7, things are a bit different, with the company just launching one variant with the dual curved screen. This is yet another indication about the company’s intentions of focusing on curved screen models, instead of a flat screen one. And it looks like the Note 7 is going to be the model which will help the South Korean giant to make the decision of scrapping flat screen models out of the lineup.

What do you think? Would you be happy to see just one curved screen Galaxy S8 model next year?

(Source)

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Samsung was one of the first companies to popularize the concept of phablets. And there will be no list that doesn’t include the company’s popular Galaxy Note series. Today, Samsung released the sixth generation version of the new Galaxy Note model and like expected, it has skipped a generation when it comes to naming, as the phablet will be called as the Samsung Galaxy Note 7.

Here is our live hands-on video from the Samsung Unpacked event made by Linus:

The company’s Note series has always featured top-end specs and this year’s edition is no exception. However, this year, Samsung seems to have taken most of the specifications from the Galaxy S7 Edge model that was released a few months back. Not that this is a bad thing, but the company usually has a tradition of equipping its Note series flagships with even better specs that its flagship Galaxy S series. Nevertheless, the phone is a beast and it comes with powerful specs like the Snapdragon 820 quad-core chip, 4GB of RAM and a capable 12MP f/1.7 aperture rear sensor. Furthermore, the Note 7 is going to be water and dust resistant since it’s IP68 certified. And then there’s the MicroSD card slot, which was absent in last year’s generation.

Samsung seems to have taken design cues from the S7 Edge for the new Note 7 as this particular model also comes with dual edge curved display, a first for the series. It’s a 5.7-inch Super AMOLED panel with 2K resolution, making it a bit larger than the S7 Edge model. Like tradition, Gorilla Glass protects the screen, and this time it’s the new Gorilla Glass 5! As for the battery, the phone will feature a decent 3500mAh capacity one inside.

Apart from the powerful specs, the Galaxy Note 7 comes with an iris scanner as well. You get a fingerprint scanner as well, just in case you want another option. But the company claims that the iris scanner is much more secure than the fingerprint sensor. Apart from unlocking the smartphone, the iris scanner can lock apps, photos, notes and folders as well.

The Note 7 also comes with a new Stylus called S Pen, which now features 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity (2x when compared to the last generation) and is water resistant as well. The software also gets an upgrade, now coming with cleaner colors and better-looking visuals. It’s Android 6 based UI but the company has promised Android 7 Nougat update later.

The phone will be available for sale from August 19 in Blue Coral, Gold Platinum, Silver Titanium and Black Onyx colors. Pricing is expected to be on the same lines as previous generation Note series models.

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