Samsung Electronics has appointed D.J. Koh, the big boss of mobile research and development, as the new chief of the company's mobile communications business. This move comes after setbacks in Samsung's mobile business during the operation period of the former head J.K. Shin, including an underestimation of demand for the Galaxy S6 edge, while overestimating demand for the Galaxy S6 with a non-curved screen.

Actually Samsung's growth deteriorated in early 2014 as Apple experienced something of a revival. The demand for its iPhones, particularly in China increased, while low-cost Chinese smartphone makers Xiaomi and Huawei also got boost in sales. Just like the problems faced by Nokia some years ago, Samsung's mid-range smartphones have been getting crushed on both the high end and low end by its competitors.

Analysts said that the moves at the mobile division were an apparent admission that the change was very much needed, as they did not expect a new strategy to come up any time soon. According to Chang Sea-jin, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology business professor - "Koh is basically the same person as Shin". Analysts have reported that Samsung needed to ramp up its software and services offerings to rejuvenate its mobile business, but Koh, who has held mobile business roles since 2006, had an engineering background like Shin. Chang said that "There is no real change and Samsung appears to be continuing on the hardware-centric path".

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There is general consensus that Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is a beautiful phablet. The device has garnered great reviews and secured top spot among the smartphones currently available in the market. That said the Gold Platinum version looks more attractive than the plain Note 5. It gives a sense of "luxury product" because of the golden design. You can now grab the new variant from AT&T or Verizon. In fact, T-Mobile had listed the model a couple of weeks ago but because of unknown reason that page not been accessible. We're not quite clear whether or not that page will become live once again.

You can get the 64GB Gold Platinum model for $839.99 from AT&T. There is a zero downpayment on a 30-month installment plan with $28/monthly fee. With a two-year agreement, this device can be bought for $349.99. Verizon is offering only the 32GB Gold Platinum which costs less expensive at $696. With $0 downpayment for qualified customers, you can avail of the phablet for two years with a $29 per month payment. Both of the mobile carriers are offering $300 as credits or discount if you move to this device and exchange current one. The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 comes features a 5.7 inch HD display screen, Samsung-made Exynos 7420 Octa-core 64-bit processor, 5MP front-facing snapper, 6MP camera in the back, and Samsung Knox security.

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It's a known fact that Samsung is revamping its Galaxy A series and is bringing a refreshing design and some cool new features to the A-series smartphones. Till now, the 2016 variants of the Galaxy A3, A5, A7, A8, and A9 have surfaced online and we have seen the metal-and-glass body of some of these phones.

And now a user agent profile has managed to reveal the screen resolution of one of the device. The Galaxy A5 (2016) will be sporting 720p resolution which also happens to be the as that of its previous version.

The user agent profile doesn't tell us anything else about the device, but as per speculations the screen size will hover around 5" or 5.2". The new Galaxy A5 would also be powered by the in-house Exynos chipset with octa-core processor, backed by 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage.

The camera in the back would be a 13 MP unit, while the camera in the front will have 5 MP resolution. The battery capacity will be 2,900 mAh as per the FCC. The smartphone will support Android 5.1 Lollipop. And like the first generation A5, it will also sport a full metal body.

Samsung is on its way to launch a high-end Galaxy A series smartphone, the Galaxy A9, which also has been prone to several rumours. The device found its way to many online forums in the past few weeks disclosing its specifications. Now, GeekBench has managed to leak the device and some of the details can be confirmed now.

The SM-A9000, which will most likely be released as the Galaxy A9, will be powered with Snapdragon 620 (MSM8976) SoC. This will make it the first smartphone to be powered by this chipset. The Snapdragon 620 will have four Cortex-A53 CPU cores, four Cortex-A72 CPU cores, Adreno 510 GPU, and an integrated Cat. 7 LTE radio.

The device will come pre-packaged with Android 5.1.1 Lollipop, and feature a 6-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080p which also adds up to 401 ppi. It will also be backed by 3GB RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a 16-megapixel primary snapper (with HDR and autofocus), and a 5-megapixel secondary camera. Connectivity is par with other similar devices which includes GPS, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 LE. The only thing still unknown to us is the battery capacity. Samsung's official website has listed December 1 as launch date for the Galaxy A9. That makes it quite believable.

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"Free" as a word has the ability to get consumer attention instantly. While retail stores usually adopt this sales technique to boost sales, manufacturers are also not behind. For innovative companies pioneering in a field in which others fear to tread, free as a tool can be used to gain and retain competitive advantage against others.

In 2015 Samsung's smartphone arsenal comprising of the Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge, Galaxy S6 edge+, and Galaxy Note 5 is gaining eminence for wireless charging capabilities. Samsung played a masterstroke by incorporating wireless charging in the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge earlier this year, but the Korean giant took the game to another level by making wireless charging faster in the Galaxy S6 edge+ and the Galaxy Note 5. This resulted in faster charging times and in turn it would compel customers to adapt wireless charging as a necessary part of their lives.

Right now the only competitor to wireless charging is the USB Type-C technology which is available in flagship phones like Onplus 2, Nexus 6p. One problem with this new technology is the replacement cost, when USB Type-C cable gets damaged. If this gets accepted as a mainstream accessory, wireless charging will be left for the "early adopter". But, we consider that wireless charging is a better technology, as it saves the phone battery from mild electric shock whenever it is plugged in and thereby elongating the battery life.

In order to drive adoption and make wireless charging the de-facto technology of charging phones, Samsung can give away wireless charger as a necessary accessory in the high-end smartphones scheduled for release in the future.