Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and LG G3 will reportedly be water-resistant

Seems like the idea of creating water-resistant smartphones and phablets is on the rise, as it is now being said that the upcoming but yet-to-be-announced Samsung Galaxy Note 4, LG G3 and Pantech Vega Iron 2 flagship devices will feature water-resistance. All three are South Korean firms.

The report coming from Korean media (via GforGames) suggests that while Samsung had teamed with a Korean firm using the Liquid Silicon Moulding method to make its Samsung Galaxy S5 water-resistant, it is now speculated to use the same technique on the Galaxy Note 4. LG and Pantech firms might go ahead with their own native technologies in the LG G3 and Pantech Vega Iron 2.

Additionally, the report claims both the Vega Iron 2 and LG G3 will show up in May 2014. Talking about the LG G3, the rumoured handset earlier this month was reported to join the dust and water-resistant bandwagon, following the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S5 and a number of Sony Xperia handsets.

The LG G3, codenamed as 'B2', is expected to feature two variants, LG-D851 and LG-VS985, where the latter is the Verizon-branded model. LG's next flagship is rumoured to feature a QHD (1440x3560 pixel) display alongside a 13-megapixel rear camera.

While several mobiles have been waterproof and water-resistant over the years, Sony with the Xperia Z in early-2013 started the trend of making its flagships water-resistant. Since then, it has released the Xperia Z1 and Xperia Z2, with the same IP58 dust proof and water-resistant certification. The Xperia Z2 will hit markets in March

Samsung Galaxy S5 price 'confirmed' to be lower than Galaxy S4 at launch

Samsung Galaxy S5 was announced with much fanfare last month. While Samsung revealed all details about the phone including an availability date of April 11 in 150 countries, it did not disclose the price. Now, we have the first bit of 'official' information.

According to a report in the Korean media picked by a tech blog, the price of the Samsung Galaxy S5 will be cheaper than what the Samsung Galaxy S4 was launched at, in line with the earlier reports:

According to the Korean media, the official Samsung Galaxy S5 "factory price" is 800.000 won (roughly $744). Some of you might remember that Galaxy S4's original asking price, in Korea, was 890.000 won (roughly $827). Therefore, if this is actually Galaxy S5's asking price, the difference between the S5 and S4 launch price tags would be 90.000 won, or roughly $83.

That's a price decrease of just over 10 percent for the Samsung Galaxy S5 as compared to the previous flagship. So does that mean we will see a 10 percent drop as compared to the Rs. 41,500 launch price that we saw for the Galaxy S4? While Samsung will want to be aggressive with its pricing, it's worth pointing out that when the Galaxy S4 launched in India last April, the USD-INR conversion stood at Rs. 55, while it's around the Rs. 61-62 mark now. That a change of just over 10 percent in itself, so Samsung may struggle to pass on much benefit of the lower cost price to the consumer.

Having said that, after the disappointing response to the Galaxy S4, Samsung will want to take no chances with the pricing of the Galaxy S5 and a sub-Rs. 40,000 is very much on the cards.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 will ship with Android 4.4.2 KitKat. It features a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display with a 1080x1920 pixel full-HD resolution. It is powered by a 2.5GHz quad-core processor coupled with 2GB of RAM. The Galaxy S5 will be available in 16GB and 32GB variants, with microSD card expandability up to 64GB.

The Galaxy S5 bears a 16-megapixel rear camera with HDR (for video as well), and a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera. The rear camera can record UHD video at 30 fps along with HDR and video stabilisation functionality.

( Also see: Samsung Galaxy S5 vs. Samsung Galaxy S4 )

Connectivity options include 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac with MIMO functionality, ANT+, Bluetooth 4.0, USB3.0, NFC, and Infrared remote functionality. A Download Booster is also being touted, which combines LTE and Wi-Fi for faster download. It features a 2800mAh battery, rated to deliver 21 hours of talk time, and 390 hours of standby time.

The smartphone weighs in at 145 grams (slightly heavier than the Galaxy S4), and has dimensions of 142x72.5x8.1mm (slightly thicker than the S4's 7.9mm)

Samsung's 'Galaxy Glass' wants to turn your hands into a keyboard

 Internet is already abuzz with reports that Samsung is working on its own wearable headset computer, and now a new report has emerged claiming that Samsung's answer to Google Glass could be a step ahead of its rival and might turn your hands into a QWERTY keyboard.

A patent filing uncovered by Galaxy Club suggests that Samsung's Internet-connected glasses may impose an augmented reality keyboard onto users' hands which purportedly will make writing messages easier for users.

An illustration in the patent filing shows that Samsung has figured out a way to line up all 26 letters of the English alphabet onto human hands, leaving thumbs free to type.

Dubbed Galaxy Glass, Samsung's glasses could make its debut in September at the IFA trade show in Berlin. Reportedly, it will play music, receive phone calls through earphones built into the eyewear's frame, and give hands-free control over the smartphone.

Reminiscent of the Google Glass design, Samsung's sketch shows a thumbnail-sized display over the left eyeglass. Google's eyewear has a tiny display over the right eyeglass that shows information and websites.