Samsung presents S6 phones and mobile wallet; shares surge

Samsung presents S6 phones and mobile wallet; shares surge

2 March 2015, 08:41
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On Sunday Samsung Electronics Co. unveiled its premium S6 and S6 Edge Galaxy smartphones, with a three-sided screen, as well as a payment software which is compatible with about 90 percent of card readers. The company tries to reverse profit declines and market-share losses to Apple Inc. Samsung's shares surged to their highest in eight months. 

The phones, which feature metal bodies and a fingerprint reader for added security, will go on sale in 20 countries starting April 10, as Bloomberg reports.

Samsung is trying to outplay its Silicon Valley rival Apple as in September it released iPhones with bigger displays - a market segment pioneered by Galaxy S models.

The premium Edge model has a screen that extends onto the right and left sides of the phone, adding real estate to access applications and enabling a feature that causes the phone to glow along the edges to alert a user to calls or texts even when placed face down.

“We codenamed the project ‘Zero,’ and what we meant by this was to get back to the fundamentals,” David Kang, vice president of marketing at Samsung, said in an interview. “Everyone from design, marketing and engineering took a step back.”

On Monday Samsung shares rose 4.9 percent to 1,423,000 won, the highest since June 10, in Seoul. The benchmark Kospi index gained 0.6 percent. 

Characteristics

The phones have high-speed and wireless charging capabilities. Users will get enough power from 10 minutes of charging to watch video for 2 hours, Samsung said.

The S6 models will have a 5.1-inch front screen, the same size as the S5. They run on Samsung’s own 64-bit chips, which are based on ARM Holdings Plc’s architecture, and operate Google Inc.’s Android Lollipop software. The camera has 16 megapixels and includes a “bright” lens that improves nighttime photos.

Both types are available in gold, white and black.

Samsung bought LoopPay Inc. last month to help it develop technology for mobile payments. LoopPay makes it easier for retailers to accept payments via smartphones.

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