Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, HTC One M9 launched with big Asian phone companies hoping to challenge US giant Apple Inc’s iPhones in a big year for wireless gadgets. Samsung Group, fellow South Korean firm LG and hip Chinese maker HTC timed their smartphone launches to grab the attention on the eve of the Mobile World Congress, the world’s biggest telecoms trade fair, in Barcelona, Spain.
Samsung Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge
In a head-on challenge to Apple’s popular iPhone 6 which was released last year, Samsung came out fighting today with the Galaxy S6, a smartphone with a touchscreen that curves around the edges and has a wireless charger. It also presented the larger S6 Edge, a “phablet” somewhere between a tablet and a phone in size.
Samsung’s S6 phones will have a metal frame – like the iPhone. The phones also have a glass back, which Apple dropped in favor of metal in recent models.
The screen remains 5.1 inches, but the display resolution increases to 577 pixels per inch, up from 432 in last year’s Galaxy S5. Although the resolution of the phones’ rear camera remains at 16 megapixels, cameras on both sides will have wider openings to let in more light and make for sharper photos. The phones also promise better focus and color accuracy – achieved in part by using the infrared capabilities on the phones’ heart-rate sensor to detect lighting conditions.
Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge will debut overseas on April 10, at prices to be announced.
HTC One M9
At a noisy stage presentation before a crowd of hundreds, HTC chief executive Peter Chou presented the HTC One M9, with a grey metallic handset moulded from a single piece of aluminium. The new phone will have a 20-megapixel rear camera, on par with other leading Android phones. The lens will be made of sapphire to protect from scratches. The 4-megapixel rear camera from previous models will move to the front, where low-light capabilities are more important because the front doesn’t have a flash.
The new HTC phone also will offer home screens customized to your location. At home, for instance, you might get easy access to Netflix and Facebook. At the train station, you might get suggestions for transit apps. Like last year’s model, the screen will measure 5 inches diagonally.
HTC also revealed ‘Grip’, a new connected “fitness band” body -monitoring bracelet and a virtual reality headset that it said it hoped to sell commercially by the end of the year.
HTC’s Grip fitness tracker will cost $199 when it goes on sale in North America this spring. The new HTC One M9, is expected to come out in March in some overseas markets. A US debut is likely in April. Prices weren’t immediately announced.
LG Flex 2
LG unveiled a new top-line phone with a curved back to sit snugly in the palm, the LG Flex 2, as well as a range of four new mid-range smartphones and two new luxury internet-connected watches.
At a noisy stage presentation before a crowd of hundreds, HTC chief executive Peter Chou meanwhile presented the HTC One M9, with a grey metallic handset moulded from a single piece of aluminium.
