There's a huge Samsung re-branding rumoured!
Today the Australian news company aptly named, ChannelNews, has said that their sources have received some reports from Asia that Samsung is planning an impressive overhaul of its brand and marketing in time for CES 2013!
The rumour goes that Samsung have employed the team that previously worked with Nike, to spice up their brand a bit, to give the South Korean giants "a more vibrant, international brand image." The mastermind behind most of the re-design is said to be, Scott Bedbury, who has found fame for his work with both Nike and Starbucks.
Samsung's advertising strategy is set for a change too, although the change ChannelNews says seems to be somewhat similar to the sort of adverts that Samsung is currently airing in the UK anyway! But, nonetheless the products will be "linked to lifestyle activities similar to what Nike does." If this is true we're not convinced it's totally necessary, but Samsung knows best! What do you think? Is it high time Samsung had better branding or is their logo too iconic to completely revamp?
Via Android Central.
The new iPad's have a stellar launch weekend but there's still the march of the Droids!
Apple has today issued a press release with the sales data for the first weekend since the launch of the iPad 4 and the iPad Mini. As always with Apple the sales numbers are impressive, although this time they didn't distinguish between the sales of the iPad and the Mini.
Tim Cook had this to say on the sales since the devices launched:
“Customers around the world love the new iPad mini and fourth generation iPad... We set a new launch weekend record and practically sold out of iPad minis. We’re working hard to build more quickly to meet the incredible demand.”
However, it's not all good news for Apple as the latest data on tablet sales from IDC indicates that Samsung and Amazon in particular, are closing in on the guys from Cupertino. Indeed, Samsung, Asus and Lenovo have sales growth in the triple digits, but Apple is still holding strong, with a fraction of a percentage point over 50% of the market!
You can find the full Apple Press release here.
In other news:
- According to Sammobile.com 'Samsung is currently testing Android 4.1.1 but they might update it to Android 4.1.2 before rolling out Jelly Bean to the Galaxy Note and the Galaxy S II.' On top of this the guys have said that 'Samsung is already working on Android 4.1.2 for the Galaxy S III. Android 4.2 updates are planned in Q1 2013 and Samsung will give this update to the Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II first.' Are you pumped at the possibility of getting Jelly Bean 4.2 on your SGS3 or Note 2 just after Christmas?!
- Virgin UK has announced a new set of Pay-As-You-Go plans which offer you large amounts of text and data for £10 or £15 a month! You can get more information on Virgin's website here!
- Last Friday The Carphone Warehouse's Spanish arm, Phone House, took to their Facebook page to explain why they had decided to suspend the sale of the Nexus 4. They explained how LG has set a RRP of €599 which makes it impossible for the retailer to honour its low price guarantee. As you've seen with the price of contracts on O2 in the UK, this sort of price hike seems to be applying to everyone who chooses to buy their Nexus from outside of the Play Store (where it's £239 or £279 for an 8 or 16GB version respectively). Via ZDNet.
- RIM has finally launched their Playbook 3G+ model in the UK! The tablet swaps out the old 1Ghz dual-core processor for a faster 1.5Ghz chipset, whilst simultaneously giving you the 3G option too! Only thing is that the 64GB Wifi Playbook is currently £129 at Currys, whereas the newer Playbook will set you back £424.79. But if you fancy it you can grab one from here!
- Microsoft have today been rumoured to have plans to shut down Windows Live Messenger in favour of Skype! It would seem quite logical given the two programmes offer exactly the same things, but Microsoft has been pushing Skype since they bought it earlier in the year!
- HP has paid $500,000 for Linux Foundation Platinum membership today! This may be a move because of their interests in WebOS, but it could also be linked to a move towards Android? Or they could just want a bit more power! It'll be interesting to see what HP plans to do from here!
- An iPad mini teardown has shown that it costs about $188 to manufacture!
- Samsung has announced sales of 30 million Galaxy S3's and 3 million Galaxy Note 2's! Hold your hats for a bumper Q4 for the South Koreans!
And finally, to those of you in the UK have a great Guy Fawkes Night! The best night of the year for you pyromaniacs!
