South Korean consumer electronics giant Samsung has plenty of cash in its reserves, where this time around they decided to flex some of their dough by reportedly purchasing a 10% stake in Pantech, who also happens to be another phone […]
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Samsung has splashed $48m on a stake in rival smartphone manufacturer Pantech, scooping up a tenth of the South Korean company though saying it will have no input into how it runs its business. The deal, revealed by Yonhap News, makes Samsung the third-largest stakeholder in Pantech, and builds on an existing supply chain relationship which sees Pantech source more than $210m worth of components from Samsung’s manufacturing divisions each year.
Pantech’s other investors include Qualcomm – which holds the largest individual stake, at 11.96-percent of the firm – and the Korea Development Bank, a government-run institution, which comes in just behind at 11.81-percent.
Given the inevitable concerns about anti-competition behavior, what with both Samsung and Pantech being well-known players in the Korean market and abroad, Samsung has been keen to point out that it will be taking a back-seat in how Pantech runs its business. In a statement to The Next Web, Samsung confirmed it would be operating with a hands-off approach.
“The investment is aimed at solidifying our relationship with Pantech, a key component customer of Samsung” the spokesperson said. “Samsung will have no involvement in Pantech’s business management in any way or form.”
Outside of South Korea, Pantech is known best for its more affordable devices, such as the Perception on Verizon we reviewed earlier this month. That device attempts to straddle the mid- and high-end of the mobile market, with a 720p OLED display and 8-megapixel camera, but a sticker price of $99.99 with a new, two year agreement on the carrier.
Samsung splashes $48m on 10% Pantech stake is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Hang around these pages long enough and you’re bound to come across Pantech, the South Korean purveyor of everything from giant 1080p handsets down to… giant 720p handsets. Samsung has noticed this rising star too and, so says Yonhap News, has now made a $50 million investment in the smaller company in return for a 10 percent stake. Implicit in that is that the Korean government has allowed Samsung’s ever-expanding influence to infiltrate a potential rival, since Pantech is now the No. 3 phone maker in that country and only Qualcomm and a state-run bank possess larger stakes than Samsung’s. As a result, the acquisition could have an anti-competitive aura to it — but then, Pantech has actually been struggling of late, not least with large debts, and it has relied on big backers to bail it out.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Via: The Next Web
Source: Yonhap News
This week we’ve had the opportunity to have a peek at the newest smartphone from Verizon in the Pantech Perception, a device whose gesture abilities appear at first to outweigh its full suite of high-end specifications. While this device isn’t exactly a match for the likes of the GALAXY S 4 from Samsung or the HTC One by any means, Pantech does appear to have created a solid device for the masses, and not one meant for the budget crowd they’ve so often tended to in the past.
This device features a setup that, at the start of 2012, would have seemed like quite the beast. You’ve got a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED display at 1280 x 720 pixel resolution resting in a chassis largely made of hard plastic. This device does appear to have a brushed metal back, but don’t be fooled – it’s not quite that hardcore.
Inside you’ve got a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro dual-core processor clocked in at 1.5GHz and 1GB of RAM. So you’ve got an SoC that’s basically as powerful as the first wave of dual-core smartphones from the beginning of last year with half the RAM that any of those devices – like the Galaxy S III or DROID RAZR family – had under their hood.
You do have an 8 megapixel camera on the back of this device with a single LED flash bulb as well as a few fun features in the software attached to it. This device has a 2-megapixel camera up front that you’ll be able to use for video chat as well. This device has 16GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot to add an additional 32GB if you have the need.
Easily the most excellent feature of this device is its set of motion controls. You’ll be able to wave over the display of the Perception to change songs, answer calls, browse through your photo gallery – basically anything you’d normally do with a swipe across the screen with your finger. These controls can also be found – ever-so-slightly different though they may be – in the Samsung GALAXY S 4. Here you’ll find them for a few dollars less, of course.
This device comes with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich right out of the box. That’s bad news for those of you looking to work with Google Now. Verizon has made it clear in the original announcement of this device that Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, but haven’t given a timeframe for such an update.
You’ll get a set of odd apps like Document Viewer for your PDFs and Word files, Net Media for controlling your local network media, and Smart Voice. Pantech’s implementation of this command-ready voice app may appear to be similar to systems like Sherpa and Google’s own voice recognition for search, but we’ve found it to be surprisingly finicky and unhelpful. We’re expecting some upgrades to this system before it can be considered ready for any big battle with the top guns.
You’ll find benchmark results for this device to in some cases be beating previous generations of devices and in others failing miserably. While this device appears to win over a device like the HTC One X in Quadrant with overall score, a significant amount of this comes from memory and I/O while basic CPU power lacks in a large way. This device certainly shouldn’t be picked up if you’re looking to best your buddies at the latest shooting games, that’s for sure.
The photo software being implemented on this device is oddly enticing – while it’s not up to par with HTC’s current offering in the photography user interface department, it does do the trick. Hidden features like quad-photos and the ability to use voice commands (“cheese!”) to take photos are well received. Have a peek at some examples and see what you make of them.
Above you’ll find an HDR photo example from the Pantech Perception while below you’ll find a photo taken in the same position without HDR activated.
Here you’ll also find a back-facing video demo recorded with the Perception. We’re going from inside to outside and back in and down into a low-lit area with this one. Note the speed at which the camera reacts.
The battery issues with 4G LTE appear to be a thing of the past here in 2013, this holding true for the Pantech Perception. With Qualcomm’s handling of the situation with its modem making the task of transferring data not quite so painful as it was back when Verizon first brought the network to the public, we’ve seen all-day battery life without an issue. The biggest drain on your battery here will be your display, so if you’re aiming for an 8-hour session, you’ll be best off turning the brightness down somewhat.
The Pantech Perception is a fine addition to Pantech’s archive of relatively unique devices, and makes one wish they’d continue to push forth in the USA for a more on-time release. This device could have been a really great addition to Verizon’s ranks if it’d been brought to the market right around a year ago. Unfortunately, since it’s being shown here in the Spring of 2013, this release falls flat in the face of its much more robust competitors.
Pantech Perception Review is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
We have seen the Pantech Perception make some waves before over here at Ubergizmo, where it arrived at the FCC a couple of months ago, while being leaked early on in the year. Well, all’s well that ends well, which is why the Pantech Perception from Verizon Wireless is all set to be released. This new smartphone will be an exclusive device over at Verizon Wireless, where it will sport Motion Sense technology that enables users to wave a hand over the handset to pick up a call, to scroll through your list of contacts, or even to select whether you want to skip to the next track in your playlist or not.
Other than touchless access and navigation, the Pantech Perception will also be equipped with a generous 4.8” HD Super AMOLED display, where it is accompanied by an 8-megapixel camera at the back and a 2-megapixel front-facing shooter, in addition to 16GB of internal memory and Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich as the operating system of choice, although Verizon has promised to roll out a Jelly Bean update in the near future. If you are interested in the Pantech Perception, it can be yours for $99.99 a pop – after a $50 mail-in rebate and new 2-year agreement, of course, from April 25 onwards. [Press Release]
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In a bid to take on the top contenders in the smartphone market this season in the USA, Pantech will be bringing a device by the name of Perception, complete with 3D gesture sensing technology onboard. The Samsung GALAXY S 4 will be in the hands of users by the end of the month on several carriers (and Verizon before Summer begins), it being issued with a technology that allows users to “hover” over their display to activate several features. Pantech’s bid for the 3D sensor trend is being delivered this month with what they call “Motion Sense.”
This Motion Sense technology will be appearing on the Verizon-exclusive smartphone Pantech Perception, this device also including several specifications that push it to the top tier smartphone category. The Pantech Perception includes a 4.8-inch touchscreen with HD Super AMOLED technology, its back features an 8 megapixel camera, and its front uses a 2 megapixel camera. Pantech will be delivering this device with a 16GB bit of internal storage as well.
The 3D sensor technology Motion Sense will allow users to wave their hand over the phone without touching it to activate several features. When the Pantech Perception rings for a phone call, the user will be able to wave their hand over the face (without touching it) to answer said call. Users will also be able to scroll through songs in the smartphone’s basic music app, look through photos, or move through contacts with this new technology.
The Pantech Perception will not be delivered with the most recent version of Google’s mobile operating system Android Jelly Bean. Instead the Perception will be delivered with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with a guarantee from Verizon that it will be upgraded to Jelly Bean “soon”. So says Verizon Wireless representative Albert Aydin along with a note on how this device will be sold for 99 dollars and 99 cents just so long as users agree to 2-year mobile contract and send in a 50 dollar mail-in rebate.
This effort will be appearing in the USA this month, starting no earlier than the 25th day of the month. Have a peek at SlashGear’s Pantech tag portal for more information on what this manufacturer is doing to come in full force to the North American mobile device market with smartphones galore.
Pantech brings 3D gesture control to Verizon in newest smartphone effort is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Unofficial details of the Pantech Perception have been around for long enough for the phone to feel old, but the truth is that it’s only just getting started. The 4.8-inch, mid-tier Android smartphone is at last launching with Verizon on April 25th, and it should cost $100 on contract after subscribers cash in a $50 rebate. It won’t trigger much regret among Galaxy S 4 buyers when it’s carrying a more GS3-like Super AMOLED 720p screen, 16GB of storage, an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front shooter. That said, Pantech does promise an extra level of software savvy: the company’s customized variant of Ice Cream Sandwich (soon to upgrade to Jelly Bean) centers on a Motion Sense suite that lets owners wave their hands to answer calls, switch tracks or navigate contacts and photo galleries. While we can’t say we’re bowled over by that claimed advantage, the Perception may just hit the sweet spot for those who want an alternative to HTC and Samsung for a bigger handset.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Verizon
Source: Verizon
The other day we reported that Pantech would be taking the wraps off the Vega Iron on the 18th of April, and sure enough they did as the handset has been made official! For those who might not have been following the news, here’s what you can expect from the handset. Featuring a 5” 1080p Full HD display, the Pantech Vega Iron will feature a body made entirely out of metal which we’re sure some customers can appreciate. The bezel on the display is also extremely thin, although technically it isn’t bezel-less as the bezels measure a pretty impressive 2.4mm on each side.
Underneath the hood, the Vega Iron packs a 1.7GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 CPU with 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage with support for memory expansion via microSD, and a 13MP camera at the back. The phone will run on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean although an update to Android 4.2 Jelly Bean is planned for the future. Apart from that, the phone will also feature LTE connectivity, WiFi, and Bluetooth 4.0 and will sport a 2,150mAh battery. The handset looks pretty good although at the moment it is slated for launch on Korean carriers with no word on whether it will make its way stateside. [Press release (in Korean)]
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We’ve got to admit that we saw some rumors about a “zero bezel” Pantech a few days ago, but ignored them because we had no idea what that meant. Now we do, however, as Pantech has made the 5-inch 1080p 720p phone official, under the solid-sounding name of the Vega Iron. The bezels aren’t quite zero, but they are small: just 2.4mm across on each side, which — for reference — is roughly half the width on an iPhone 5. This results in a viewable-to-total area ratio of 75.5 percent, which Pantech claims is a world beater. Other specs include a quad-core 1.7GHz Snapdragon 600 processor, in-cell LCD display and Gigabit WiFi. We have no idea if Pantech has penciled the United States into the Vega Iron’s release schedule, but the company is certainly trying to make an impression in this hemisphere and a phone like this couldn’t hurt.
Update: The rumors were right about everything except the resolution, which now looks to be 720p rather than the big ten-eighty. Thanks to commenters who spotted the error.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Via: The Droid Guy, Ameblo
Source: Pantech (translated)
Nowadays, Android phone manufacturers are setting their sights on Samsung as their Galaxy S series seem to be the smartphones to beat. Pantech is certainly no stranger to the Android smartphone scene as they released a number of handsets over the past couple of years, but they’re announcing an upcoming device is expected to be the company’s flagship smartphone to take on the likes of the Galaxy S4 and the HTC One.
Pantech is teasing an upcoming event planned to take place on April 18 in South Korea for its “Vega Iron” which will be the company’s flagship smartphone which is expected to feature a 5-inch display capable of a full HD resolution of 1920 x 1820, a 1.7GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 2GB of RAM and a 13MP rear-facing camera. Which Snapdragon processor is certainly up in the air at this point with a number of sources claiming it’ll either be the Snapdragon 600 or the Snapdragon 800. Either way, we’ll be keeping a close eye on South Korea later this week to report on Pantech’s upcoming announcement.
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