Tag Archives: Galaxy Gear 2

Samsung Galaxy S5 Users Can Now Login to PayPal with Their Fingerprint

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PayPal Biometrics

PayPal announced at MWC 2014 that it will offer biometric authentication on Samsung Galaxy S5 and the smartwatches made by the South Korean company, but it only officially launched this feature just now.

At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Samsung told the world that the fingerprint scanner would be accessible by developers, and the proof that that is just rolling before our eyes now, as PayPal announced that it launches biometric authentication for Samsung’s flagship smartphone. On one hand, this represents a quicker way of accessing the app, while on the other hand, it adds a bit to the overall safety of the authentication process, as fingerprints are not that easy to replicate. Or are they? Leaving Chaos Club’s method aside, I’ve watched plenty of movies in which biometric authentication is bypassed by removing the needed part from the… OK, I think I’ve said enough!

The ability to login to PayPal using nothing but the fingerprint is available as of today in 25 countries. In addition, PayPal announced the launch of a mobile app specifically tailored for Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 and Galaxy Fit. While this app won’t allow people to make any transactions, they will at least be able to see their balance. Obviously, payment notifications will also be available, as they are featured on the smartphone version. On top of that, local business offers will be displayed on the smartwatch’s screen if any of them are available.

PayPal’s biometric authentication is something new both for e-payment processors, so this company definitely has the head start in this field. They even went the extra mile and offered to help people get rid of their old devices in the favor of the Galaxy S5. How? Well, in case you don’t know or remember, PayPal is owned by eBay who happens to be the largest auction site on Earth. What simpler way to say your non-fingerprint-scanner smartphone goodbye than to put it up for auction?

The introduction of this new technology enables people to make payments using only their fingertips, regardless if they’re done in PayPal’s mobile app or on websites or apps that accept PayPal as a payment method. I’d love to see this thing extended to all the countries where PayPal is used, and not only in the 25 privileged ones.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the Order Ahead and Pay at Table mobile services that PayPal introduced last month, and the Photo Checking feature of the PayPal app for Android.

Samsung Smartwatch to Run Tizen OS Instead of Android

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South Korean giant, Samsung Electronics has just decided to employ its own operating system in its latest smart watch. This means that Tizen will figure in the Galaxy Gear 2 while Google Android will...

Galaxy Gear 2 and Galaxy Glass Reportedly Launching This Year

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Samsung Galaxy Gear 2

Seeing that the feedback for its first smartwatch wasn’t entirely positive, Samsung started working on the second generation, as well as on a pair of smart glasses dubbed Galaxy Glass, rumor has it.

Galaxy Gear didn’t get criticized only for its slightly hideous design, but also for the mediocre specs, especially considering its price tag. Samsung plans to change all that by improving the features and the technologies implemented in this wearable. Remember the curved display used in the not-so-popular Galaxy Round? Well, Galaxy Gear 2 is said to include the same flexible OLED. I have to admit, a curved screen makes much more sense in a smartwatch than in a smartphone.

Google, Apple and LG have yet to release their own smartwatches (the latter got a shot at wearable tech with its Lifeband Touch), but this doesn’t mean that Samsung’s Galaxy Gear lacks competition. There are plenty of smart watches out there that serve various purposes, from displaying notifications to tracking fitness stats. In this context, Galaxy Gear 2 would have to pack some serious features in order to catch the eye of the market. Adjustments would have to be made in the design, software, and even the battery life of the device.

Pictured above is a patent that brought Samsung an award in Korea last year. The fact that rumors about smart glasses made by the South Korean company emerge the day after Samsung and Google announced their patent cross-licensing deal should make one think. Galaxy Glass would undoubtedly run Android (after all, this piece of wearable tech would be part of the Galaxy family), and the only way Samsung would not turn into Google’s competitor was if each pair of smart glasses served different purposes. Indeed, the above blueprint suggests that Galaxy Gear could be used for sports, but no one says Samsung is bound to use that design for its smart glasses.

While the next generation of Galaxy Gear is said to launch either in March or April, according to the rumors, Galaxy Glass will be revealed in September at the IFA show in Berlin. I wish these rumors were true, since these two wearables would push this industry to even newer heights. It also remains to be seen how Samsung’s competitors will react, but in the end, the consumers are the greatest winners of this technological race.

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