Recap of Samsung TV Event: UHD TV = 4x res of full HD, OLED TV at $9,000, Evolution Kit upgrades TV brain

This morning's Samsung press event was jammed with information, check out below for a full recap of what happened:

• TV Commerce
  
  
  
  • Releases "T-Commerce", which allows users to search for products while on TV
  
  
  
  


• Sales
  
  
  
  • Samsung is on tap to be the #1 TV seller for the eighth year in a row. In 2012, Samsung sold over 50 million TVs.
  
  
  • Sells more than two TVs per second
  
  
  
  


• Samsung UHD TV
  
  
  
  • 4x resolution you get with full HD
  
  
  • Seamlessly up converts content
  
  
  • UHD began shipping last week, good sales so far
  
  
  
  

• OLED
  
  
  
  • "Unparalleled picture quality"
  
  
  • "True to life color"
  
  
  • Supports Evolution Kit
  
  
  • Offers multi-view
    
    
    
    • You would need to separate cable boxes
    
    
    • Requires you to wear glasses and earbuds
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • Available tomorrow on Samsung.com
  
  
  • Priced at $8,999.99 compared to LG's model for $14,999.99
  
  
  
  

• Evolution Kit
  
  
  
  • Upgrades SMART TVs by giving them a new brain
  
  
  • Includes special remote
  
  
  • Idea is to have an older TV, but to keep on upgrading the brains, by buying a new Evolution Kit every few years
  
  
  • Unfortunately, only works with a few high-end SMART TVs
  
  
  
  

Samsung Cuts Price on OLED TV: Down to $9,000 Compared to LG's $15,000

After so much craziness over OLED TVs, it looks like they are becoming a reality. Several models have come out, but the prices have been ridiculous with a capital R. Now, Samsung is lowering the price on its curved OLED TV to $8,999.999, and is shipping to "specialty retailers." The $9,000 price point definitely beats that of LG's $15,0000. The Samsung KN55S9C was reportedly supposed to be the price of the LG model, but it looks like Samsung had a change of hear. Even though the screen has a much lower price than what was expected, it doesn't have 4K resolution. Samsung has said that the 55-inch TV will have the company's Multi-View technology built in, which allows users to watch two different videos at the same time using 3D glasses.

Google Maps to Feature Advertisements in the near future

Google Maps will be getting in-app advertisements in the near future. “Relevant ads on the Google Maps app can now appear at the bottom of the screen after a user performs a search. They include a title, ad text, and a link to get directions. Users can tap or swipe upward to see more information,” says a post on the Google Inside AdWords blog.

For example, if you search for a gas station, Google might show a gas station that is two miles away first as an ad before showing the closer ones to you. The ads will show up on the app with a purple ticker, in order to separate them from regular search results. Google makes a buttload from advertising, and I'm surprised that ads haven't made it into Google Maps mobile sooner.

Facebook Purchases Jibbigo, Signaling Voice Commands may come to Facebook

Facebook has just announced that it has acquired Mobile Technologies, the developer of Jibbigo, a translator app for Android and iOS.

Facebook is being very tight-lipped about the acquisition, and Jibbigo is remaining on both app stores for the time being. It's possible that Facebook could use Jibbigo in all sorts of ways, from better translations to something similar to Siri voice recognition and transcription.
Read more at

I’m excited to announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Mobile Technologies, a company with an amazing team that’s behind some of the world’s leading speech recognition and machine translation technology. With this deal we will welcome some of the industry’s most talented people to our engineering teams in Menlo Park, California.

It has always been our mission to make the world more open and connected. Although more than a billion people around the world already use Facebook every month, we are always looking for ways to help connect the rest of the world as well. Voice technology has become an increasingly important way for people to navigate mobile devices and the web, and this technology will help us evolve our products to match that evolution. We believe this acquisition is an investment in our long-term product roadmap as we continue towards our company’s mission. Read more at http://www.cultofandroid.com/39325/facebook-buys-jibbigo-possibly-signaling-siri-like-plans/#KETDCeS1qOXQSxQL.99

BlackBerry Z30 to have support for Qi wireless charging

Blackberry may be in a ditch right now, but the appear to want to offer some nice features on the Blackberry Z30. A listing at the Wireless Power Consortium says that the company's unannounced Z30 phone will support Qi wireless charging. The listing also says that the smartphone will have a medium power receiver, which will be capable of getting 120 watts from a charger, which should be enough to power the rumored 2,800mAh battery in a short amount of time.

Amazon Chromecast orders placed before August 7 will ship by mid-September

If you purchased a Google Chromecast before August 7 on Amazon, you will be getting some bad news. Amazon has said in an email sent out to customers that the dongle will be shipping around mid-September.

Below is a copy of the email:

Thank you for your recent Chromecast purchase. Earlier today, you received an email indicating an incorrect estimated order delivery of late October. We are actively fulfilling orders weekly based on customer order date and all customers who placed orders prior to August 7 should receive their orders in the coming weeks and into mid-September. We will notify you as soon as your item ships and apologize for the confusion.

It appears Amazon has recovered from the inventory problems that first occurred when the Chromecast first launched.

Verizon's Moto X Website is Live

Verizon Wireless has launched its Moto X website today, allowing consumers to sign up for email updates. The carrier has said that the black and white versions will be going on sale in the coming weeks. At the launch of the Moto X, customization options were only available on AT&T. Verizon customers will be allowed to customize their phone via Motorola's MotoMaker later this year.

The Moto X will be going on sale later this month beginning at $199.99 for a 16GB model. Motorola's new flagship will be available on all four major US carriers, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, and also US Cellular. T-Mobile will have its own model of the phone. A leaked Verizon release date document is suggesting that the phone will be available on the carrier around August 23.

Despite the fact that the phone is very mid-range, it still does bring something unique to the market. The Moto X can be completely customized via the MotoMaker, which allows consumers to change all aspects of the phone. For the cherry on top of the sundae, the flagship will be assembled here in the US, specifically in Fort Worth, Texas.