Hasta La Gadget!

Samsung set the bar a little lower than the final mark when it told investors its expectations earlier this month, posting $7.4 billion in operating profits for Q3 and $5.97 billion in net income. This handily bests the $7.28 billion profit it told investors to expect, nearly doubling what it made over the same period last year. Why the jump? You can blame the Galaxy S III, which increased shipments “significantly due to global expansion,” the company says. Indeed, smartphone sales are credited to Sammy’s quarter over quarter leap in revenue. Consumer electronics sales also boosted profits a fair deal, achieving “industry leading profitability” in the TV market, according to Samsung, who cited growth both in the consumer space, and in the sales of OLED panels for televisions, tablets and high-end smartphones.

The company’s semiconductor sales, on the other hand, dropped by eight-percent in the face of weak PC demands. Samsung expects demand for PC DRAM and other high value-added chip products to remain weak, but optimistically notes that the sector is still profitable, and may pick up as new devices come to market. Got the basics? Great — dive into the details and charts at the source link below, or read on for Sammy’s official Q3 press release.

Continue reading Samsung makes $7.4 billion in Q3 profits, surpasses expectations

Filed under: Cellphones, Misc, Home Entertainment, Samsung

Samsung makes $7.4 billion in Q3 profits, surpasses expectations originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 20:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I’ve sung praises about it for years, but it seems like only now the industry is getting on the same train of thought. It could be my unnatural adoration of travel, or just an entirely healthy fear of getting lost, but offline navigation has long since been a top priority for me when choosing a mobile device. Or, more importantly, a mobile operating system. For the longest while, iOS forced my hand to Android due to Google Maps Navigation being available only on the latter, and while even that wasn’t offline, it still far surpassed any other routing app in terms of system integration, map updates and general silkiness.

Even dating back to our 2010 mobile GPS shootout, Nokia has been a player. At that time, it was the outfit’s Ovi Maps leading the pack, offering the only legitimate offline solution amongst a legion of ho-hum alternatives that required bits of data to keep you on track. But frankly, there wasn’t a Symbian device in Nokia’s stable that could show up my Nexus One in terms of overall utility, so begrudgingly, I pushed it aside. Eventually, Google came around and added caching to routes, which effectively downloaded all routing guidance along your path as soon as you plugged in a destination. The killer, however, was that it wouldn’t take too kindly to veering far from that path should you ever drop signal. Close, but no cigar.

Fast forward to today, and we’ve got Google Maps already working in offline mode for Android 2.2+ devices. Furthermore, the company’s Brian McClendon confessed to us at its June 2012 ‘Maps’ event that it’s “committed” to bringing all of the app’s features to iOS (and potentially other platforms). But in my haste to find something in the here and now, I recently turned to the Lumia 900 for guidance. Literally. Back in late March, the Lumia-exclusive Nokia Drive application gained full offline access, and I sought to use the handset exclusively to navigate a 1,900-mile trek through some of America’s most remote locales. How’d it go? Join us after the break to find out.

Continue reading Nokia Drive offline navigation review: taking the Lumia 900 for an off-the-grid spin

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Software

Nokia Drive offline navigation review: taking the Lumia 900 for an off-the-grid spin originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Aug 2012 11:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Taking a virtual tour of the Amazon or Antarctica? Totally doable with Street View. But some of America’s finest National Parks? Yeah, those have been a long time coming. Today, Google announced the inclusion of five California-based US National Parks in Street View, and for those who haven’t had the opportunity (of a lifetime) to visit, they’re absolutely worth a look. Starting at the top, Redwoods National Park provides a street level look at some of the world’s most mysterious trees, while those looking for even more Treebeard-type characters can point their browser to Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks. Naturally, Yosemite and Joshua Tree (shown above) are included as well, and the 360-degree views Google’s cadre of motorcars managed to capture really do a fairly astounding job at capturing the splendor. The toughest part? Knowing which one to traverse first.

Filed under: GPS

Google brings five California-based US National Parks into Street View originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Jul 2012 09:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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