May 15, 2012 By

Samsung interview: Galaxy Note, internet fridges & augmented reality glasses

The interview below comes courtesy of Global Sources, which interviewed Alex Chung, Samsung HK Chief Operating Officer . Within the interview Alex discusses Samsung’s Galaxy Note device, the connected fridge that Samsung has released in selected markets, gesture controls and augmented reality glasses. An interesting read that provides a good insight into Samsung’s current attitude towards the consumer electronics market.

What are the top trends currently driving consumer electronics?

Smart device is one of the top trends currently. Smart phones and tablets and other connectivity type of products are very hot, growing rapidly with strong momentum.

Even devices like smart camera and smart TV are becoming popular because these are linked with internet-based or mobile internet-based content. Social media is very important for consumers to communicate with each other and share photos or their location. So I think if a product has accessible Wi-Fi applications or smart content, it will drive consumer electronics.

The Galaxy Note has been very successful with over 5 million units sold since its launch. Do you think ‘phablets’ will be the shape of things to come in the mobile device market? Why has Galaxy Note been so popular?

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September 19, 2011 By

Augmented Reality Gaming

A quick definition of augmented reality, in case you’ve seen the phrase thrown around but aren’t sure what it is: via a screen on some sort of electronic device, computer generated imagery is superimposed upon your surroundings in real time. Ordinarily associated with tablet devices and high-end smartphones, there is a cheaper alternative (check the best price here) that lets you experiment with this curious concept; the Nintendo 3DS.

Primarily a handheld videogames system, the 3DS comes with several programs out of the box, including augmented reality features. Most of these require the AR (guess what that stands for?) cards that are included with every brand new unit. The concept here is simple; your surroundings are displayed on-screen via the built in cameras (the 3DS is capable of taking both 2D and 3D photographs), which will recognise any AR cards placed on a flat surface, given sufficient lighting.

Each AR card essentially tells the 3DS where to place the AR imagery. There is one multifunctional card with a question mark, which could do anything from make the surface cave in, to produce a mini golf-style course, to summon a dragon! The AR technology takes advantage of the fact that the 3DS is designed as a game system to have you, say, attack and avoid the aforementioned dragon or shoot a series of targets. This could be on your desk at work, on your coffee table at home, on the bonnet of your car – just about anywhere.

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July 29, 2011 By

Smartphone Photography Apps – Layar – see the world!

Layar is an incredibly interesting and rapidly developing application for mobile devices taking a spin on the ‘augmented reality’ concept fast becoming a hot term with developers. Once installed Layar uses the camera on your device coupled with GPS location information to provide details on the world around you and “shows you the things you can’t see” according to the strapline on the official website.

How this works is that when you hold up your device with Layar running, the application will mark points of interest, landmarks, restaurants, houses for sale etc. all in convenient ‘layers’ laid over the image on screen. There are hundreds of available layers that can be accessed through the main Layar app, many being region specific, that allows Layar to be a truly personal and customisable application. These layers can group similar information or offer specific interactive experiences based on location – all depending on the developer. For instance, the most recent article on Layar’s blog describes a layer developed for the Netherland’s theme park the ‘Efteling’ that provides a unique experience including interactive games when visiting.

A layer created specifically for a particular festival can show locations to eat or buy merchandise

Early Layar reviews from last year knocked the quality and detail of information provided however don’t let this put you off. The application can only be as strong as the database that powers it – so whilst Layar might not be able to inform you what time the karaoke starts at a back street bar in a hidden part of town (unless the owner is a part time mobile developer and Layar fan of course), things have vastly improved since then and Layar will provide more and more useful information and fun distractions as developers worldwide continue to support the project.

Layar is available for iPhone 3GS/4, Androids running 1.5+ and Nokia Symbian devices from the App Store, Android Market and Ovi Store respectively

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July 17, 2010 By

Turn your Samsung Galaxy S into a window with this AR App!

This is one of the better uses of Augmented Reality that I’ve come across so far. Road SMS is a free App to download, but is only available from Samsung’s own App store, not the Android marketplace, so you’ll need a Samsung Galaxy S I9000 to get yours hands on it.

The App is quite basic, but an interesting concept and it’s good to see big companies such as Samsung getting more and more involved with Augmented Reality. Road SMS overlays a QWERTY keyboard on top of a live view from the Galaxy’s camera, essentially turning the device into a window – useful for avoiding stray banana skins if you text while you walk. This video from Android Community/Slashgear shows Road SMS in action.

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