DUBAI: Through the grand halls of Dubai’s recently opened Habtoor Palace, the region’s tech geeks rejoiced as Samsung Gulf launched its latest Galaxy Note 9 smartphone on Wednesday.
“It is a phone that has all the features you need to work hard and play harder,” said Tarek Sabbagh, Head of IT and Mobile (IM) Division at Samsung Gulf Electronics, adding that “it’s designed for a level of performance, power and intelligence that today’s power users want and need.”
Samsung says the battery will work on a single charge a day. It also boasts a processor that will let users view high resolution movies without having to endure the frustration of constant buffering.
All this for $1,007 for the 128 GB model, while costing almost $300 more for the 512 GB model – for a phone that doesn’t seem to look or feel much different to its predecessor, the Note 8, many will ask if it’s worth the splash.
A tech journalist speaking at the pre-launch lobby certainly didn’t think so.
“I have the Note 8, and apart from the camera and the Bluetooth clicker on the stylus, it’s basically the same,” he told Arab News.
One by one, Samsung’s GCC team made their way up to the stage following snappy, flashy videos introducing the new smartphone’s chic, sexy look – offered in three colors: Midnight Black, Ocean Blue and Lavender Purple.
Probably the most impressive and practical aspect of the new phone is the Samsung DeX. A piece of software that, with the help of a special cable, allows the smartphone to hook up to any screen and run as a desktop, all through the gadget’s processing power. This may prove especially helpful to those who travel often and don’t want to lug a heavy laptop each time.
Another plus for the Note 9 is the dual camera that comes with a dual OIS (Optical Image Stabilization).
The combination of advanced intelligence features and leading premium hardware which allows advanced noise reduction technology, and a lens that adjusts to light just like the human eye, according to the launch data.
Samsung is counting on the Note 9 to outsell the Note 8 to stem a sales slump. It said last month its flagship Galaxy S9 phone missed sales targets, sending profits in the mobile division down by a third in the April-June quarter.
Samsung does not break out shipments of its smartphone models, but analysts reckon it has shipped around 10 million Note 8 models so far.
“The jury is still out if the device can boost sales of Samsung’s premium category,” mobile phone market tracker Counterpoint Research said in a blog, pointing to stiff competition from the iPhone X, Huawei’s P20 Pro and the Find X from China’s Oppo Electronics.
(With Reuters)
0 التعليقات:
إرسال تعليق