Samsung Galaxy Note 9 launched, Noida unit to make for India
New York, Aug 9 : Sounding the bugle for its annual warfare with Apple right on its home turf, Samsung on Thursday launched its flagship Galaxy Note 9 -- a device with a mammoth 1TB memory, bigger battery and a Bluetooth-equipped S Pen.
The smartphone will be available globally from August 24 and for the India market, it will be manufactured at Samsung's largest mobile manufacturing plant in Noida that was recently inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The 6.4-inch Note 9 comes in four colours and two variants -- 6GB RAM and 128GB in-built internal memory (expandable up to 512GB) and 8GB RAM with 512GB ROM that can be expanded up to 1TB with an additional 512GB microSD card -- a delight for the gamers and heavy-duty users.
"The Note has always been our showcase for premium technology and industry defining innovations. It is designed for a level of performance power and intelligence that today's power users need," D.J. Koh, President and CEO of IT & Mobile Samsung Electronics, said at the jam-packed Brooklyn's Barclays Center in New York City.
Both variants of the phablet will arrive in India by the end of this month and the price and exact availability date will be announced on August 10. However, not all the four colour models may initially make their way to India.
"The pricing will play a bigger role in deciding whether Samsung wants to fight the Chinese players or continue its focus on the premium customers in India," Satish Meena, Senior Forecast Analyst at Forrester Research, told IANS over phone.
The device that runs OS Android 8.1 (Oreo) will have the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 system-on-chip (SoC) for the US customers and the models powered by Samsung's very own "Exynos 9 Series 9810" chips will head to the rest of the world, including India.
The device will sport dual camera system (12MP+12MP) with dual optical image stabilisation (OIS) at the rear -- with 2 times more powerful optical zoom and up to 10 times powerful digital zoom -- and an 8MP front shooter.
Note 9 with Quad HD+ Super AMOLED display houses 4000mAh battery -- 21 per cent bigger that Note 8 -- that is paired with fast-charging technology compatible with both wired and wireless charging.
When it comes to Stylus Pen (the company calls it S Pen), there is much more to experience this time.
"S Pen now has remote control functionality along with Bluetooth connectivity and extremely fast charging," the company executive explained.
"S Pen can control anything, from YouTube or photo gallery to operating the phone camera. It can guide entire presentations at office meetings. We have opened software development kit (SDK) for S Pen and will soon have more applications and features," he added.
The fingerprint scanner is comfortably located just below the rear camera system.
Note 9 also comes with dust and waterproof IP68 rating (including S Pen) and houses "Samsung Knox" enterprise mobile security solution pre-installed for enhanced security.
The flagship smartphone has also retained the iconic 3.5-mm headphone jack.
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8 children between ages of 1 and 14 dead after mass shooting in Louisiana, police say
Shreveport(US) (AP): A gunman in Louisiana killed eight children in shootings at two different homes early Sunday in the nation's deadliest mass shooting in more than two years, police in Shreveport said.
The victims ranged in age from one to about 14 years old, said Shreveport police spokesperson Chris Bordelon. A total of 10 were shot and some of the children were related to the suspect, Bordelon said.
The gunman later died after a chase with officers who fired at the suspect, Bordelon said. The suspect stole a car while leaving the scene of the shootings and was followed by police, according to Bordelon.
Police did not release the name of the suspect but did say he was an adult male. The shootings were the result of a “domestic disturbance,” Bordelon said.
Officials said they were still gathering details at the crime scenes south of downtown Shreveport — the two homes and a third location.
“This is an extensive scene unlike anything most of us have ever seen,” he said.
It was the deadliest mass shooting in the US since eight people were killed in a Chicago suburb in January 2024, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.
At a news conference outside the residence where one of the shootings occurred, officials appeared stunned, requesting patience and prayers from the community as they sorted through multiple crime scenes.
“I just don't know what to say, my heart is just taken aback,” Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said. “I cannot begin to imagine how such an event could occur.”
“This is a tragic situation — maybe the worst tragic situation we've ever had,” said Tom Arceneaux, mayor of the city in northwestern Louisiana with about 180,000 residents. “It's a terrible morning.”
Louisiana State Police say their detectives have been asked by Shreveport police to investigate. In a statement, state police say no officers were harmed in the shooting that involved an officer after a police pursuit into Bossier City on Sunday morning.
State police are asking anyone with pictures, video or information to share it with state police detectives.
Louisiana Gov Jeff Landry said in a statement that he and his wife were heartbroken. “We're deeply grateful to the law enforcement officers and first responders working tirelessly on the scene,” he added.
