Photos: Samsung shares its Journey of Wonder with Africa

As tech enthusiasts around the world awaited the global launch of Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 smartphone on Thursday, March 14, the electronics giant held its annual Africa Forum in Cape Town, South Africa from March 13,  where it announced a range of new electronics manufactured for the Africa market.  The forum under the theme, ‘Journey of Wonder’ attracted approximately 200 journalists from across Africa, all of whom have flocked to Cape Town to experience electronics that will be made available to the continent in the coming months. They included latest television sets, as well as a 4K model, monitors, fridges, washing machines and the new Galaxy Grand Duo smartphone. This year, Samsung would focus on designing “Built for Africa” solutions that serve not only the individuals but also government and business enterprises, the CEO of Samsung Electronics Africa, Mr KK Park said. “We will continue to develop more relevant solution-based business and continue developing Built for Africa technology in order to contribute to a smarter Africa.”. An example of this is its SurgeSafe+ LED TVs and free satellite TV initially for 6 countries in Africa. Samsung also announced it will bringing three new concepts to its smart TVs: smart interaction, smart content and smart evolution. Smart interaction will let consumers interact with their TVs with gestures, voice and facial recognition commands.  The 85’inch Samsung S9 Ultra HD television which hits the African market later in May was unveiled with its breath-taking and cutting-edge attributes. Each of Samsung’s newest televisions provides a new world of possibilities in search, navigation and control. Samsung’s newly redesigned Smart Hub intelligently organises a viewer’s content into clear, intuitive panels. The three panels include: apps; photos, videos and music; and social. Navigating these three Smart Hub panels is easier than ever before, thanks to enhanced Smart Interaction. Samsung introduced the HT-F9750W. The HT-F9750W is Samsung’s flagship 7.1 channel home theatre system that is the perfect companion to its 2013 Smart TVs. The system features a 1 330-watt sound system for unprecedented sound quality and exceptional viewing experience, and it is powered by Samsung’s Gallium Nitride amplifier and vacuum tube amplifier to create a pure, natural sound. Additionally, HD content can be up-scaled to UHD picture quality, thanks to Samsung’s 4K Scaler Processor. Other interesting product announcements were the Galaxy Tab 2 (7-inch) – it’s the first Samsung tablet to run Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), and will be on the African market in the second quarter of this year.  Also on demonstration was the Galaxy Beam, a smartphone with a built-in projector. Samsung also introduced its new DuraCool SMART Refrigerator Range featuring several category firsts. The new refrigerator, which offers a host of unique features to maximise space and a superior digital inverter technology to improve energy efficiency, affirms Samsung’s dedication to providing appliance innovations that deliver unparalleled performance, greater flexibility, superior organisation, and more convenience for today’s busy families. With the new DuraCool Smart Bottom Mounted Freezer, Samsung brings powerful technology innovations into the home, empowering families to get more out of their appliances and enabling households to run more efficiently and harmoniously. Advanced technology in Samsung’s new refrigerator delivers an overall unique design complemented by special features that work together to maximum space efficiency. To complete the home experience, Samsung also announced a new series of triple protector air conditioners with reinforcing smart features for African customers, of which one such model is the F9000, the world’s first air conditioner that uses jet engine technology and features three vents to cool the air faster than any other conventional unit. All the new models adhere to the Samsung Triple Protection ethos and provide customers with power cooling, energy efficiency and hygienic air through innovative Samsung technology – which means ‘Smart Cooling, Smart Saving and Smart Protection’. The units also form part of Samsung’s Built For Africa programme that sees Samsung design and build solutions that meet the unique needs, resources and conditions of Africa. And staying true to its Smart Camera vision, it delivers the latest and greatest camera technology and drives change in the digital imaging landscape. As the newest addition to its NX-range, the NX300 blends exceptional image quality and capture capabilities with increased speed and shot control. The NX300 is complemented by the Samsung’s NX 45mm F1.8 2D/3D lens, the first one-lens 3D system for a consumer camera, capable of capturing both still pictures and full 1080p HD video. This new lens opens up an exciting world of 3D imaging possibilities and makes the Samsung NX Series the only interchangeable lens camera supporting both 3D still and 3D movie. “Our key focus is developing products that suit consumer needs on the continent of Africa. We want to come out with solutions that meet the needs of the people. And Today we have seen an increase in demand for most of our Built for Africa smart products,” Vishwas Saxena, Head of Business, Samsung Electronics Ghana said. ]]>