Samsung Announces Galaxy S5 And Galaxy Gear

Samsung has decided to fire the next shot at Apple to try and gain control of the smartphone universe.

Let’s start with the new Galaxy S5 that was announced today. It has a 5.1-inch 1080P screen and includes a fingerprint sensor built into the device’s home button, mirroring Apple’s own Touch ID introduced with the iPhone 5s. Samsung’s sensor is activated using a swiping motion that scans the finger from base to tip as the phone utilizes a rectangular home button. To me it looks similar to previous models, though it has a unique soft-touch textured backing, a water resistant casing, and it comes in both blue and copper gold along with black and white. It also rolls up to the table with a 2.5GHz quad core processor, 2GB of memory and Android KitKat 4.4.2 along with an upgraded 16-megapixel camera with quick autofocus and real-time HDR. Not only that, there’s a heart rate sensor next to the camera’s flash which is able to measure heart rate with a finger on the sensor. The heart rate sensor accompanies the standard accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, compass and an IR-based gesture sensor.

The Galaxy S5 will also work with a suite of new smart watches that were announced in two announcements today as well:

  • The Gear Fit focuses on measuring heart rate and counting steps. It incorporates an AMOLED touchscreen panel and offers smartphone notifications and alerts, but it does not include a camera, a microphone, or a speaker.
  • The Gear 2 features a 1.63-inch touchscreen, 4GB of internal storage, 512MB of RAM, and mobile speakers, and contains a built-in IR blaster and a camera that has been moved from the wristband to the front of the device.
  • The Gear 2 Neo is lighter than its higher-end counterpart, and does not feature a camera.

And if you’re a Rogers or Telus customer, they’ve got news for you as well:

  • New and existing Rogers customers can reserve theirs on Rogers Reservation System at  http://rogers.com/reserve. More details can also be found on RedBoard: http://roge.rs/1msjtDO
  • Telus customers can pre-register on their website to receive information and early access to pre-order the Samsung GALAXY S5.

So, will you be rushing out to get one?

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