Samsung admits there's a problem with the Galaxy S6 camera

Some of you will have heard the rumors floating around that the LED on the Galaxy S6 camera was having a few issues. Namely that it is always on and can't be turned off. With the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge now available for purchase, if you're thinking about picking one up you might want to read on first. Even Samsung has admitted there's a problem.

Samsung is notorious for remaining silent when it comes to possible issues with its devices or updates (remember the Android 4.3 update fiasco?). So if Samsung is admitting that there is an issue you know it must be serious. An LED flash that stays on – even when the device is turned off – certainly sounds like a sufficient problem.

This will of course have a negative impact on battery life but it will also contribute to shortening the life of the LED itself. The problem with this is that we now know just how difficult it is to repair the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge – not that you should have to due to a software or hardware problem in a brand-new phone. Fortunately, Samsung is aware of the problem and has confirmed that it is indeed working on a solution.

Hopefully the solution is not hardware-related and can be fixed with a patch.

With any luck it will simply be a bit of software tweaking and a patch will be be pushed out quickly with no real damage done. However, depending on how deep-seated the issue is, or if it is actually hardware-related, then the solution may take longer and be more serious. The problem seems to be more widespread than just T-Mobile branded devices too – because it was Samsung Germany that acknowledged the problem.

Get all four Game of Thrones books for just 99 cents on google play

You read that right: all four of the published Game of Thrones books in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series are available right now as a bundle for just 99 cents USD.

To take advantage of this deal, just head to the Google Play Store Books section and snap up the nerd bargain of the century. If you haven't read the series yet and have been fluffing your way through discussions on White Walkers and The Wall based purely on the television series (which, incidentally has had the first four episodes of season five leaked online) then now is the time to become a real fan and get amongst the actual texts. There's also the game from Telltale Games too:

How to speed up your Android devices which is running slow

When you first got your shiny new Android handset you were probably blown away by how fast it was. But over time you may well have noticed that your phone is starting to run slow. Don't worry - it doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with it. Here are some top tips you can use to help speed up your Android phone and get things running quickly again.

Just about every phone on the market is liable to suffer from slowdown at some point in its life. Your Galaxy S5 could slow to a crawl, or your Moto X (2014) may motor less than it used to. You may notice that apps take longer to load than they used to, that there is a lag between tapping an option and an app responding, or things may just feel generally sluggish. You don’t need to put up with this. Try some of the following techniques to make your phone run faster.

Identify the problem

The first thing you want to do is find out what is causing the problems: an app, multiple apps, the system itself?

Running out of space

All those photos you've taken and all of those apps you’ve installed can take their toll. Your phone needs a little breathing room to run smoothly and if you're running low on space, things can slow down.

Android includes various ways to free up space and help speed up your device.

You can check how much space you have left by heading to the Storage section of Settings. One of the first ways to free up space is to tap Applications can see which apps you can uninstall.

If you've been using your phone for a while, there are probably several apps you can remove. 

Tap the entry for an app you no longer need and then tap Uninstall. You can repeat this process as many times as necessary for any apps you feel you can live without.

There are other ways you can free up space as well. The files you have downloaded are probably still sitting in storage wasting space and can be removed. In storage, tap Downloads, select the files you want to remove and then tap the Bin button.

Downloads and app caches occupy valuable space that could be put to better use

Many of the apps you have installed use data caches in an attempt to speed up operations. This is effective up to a point, but if you are running short of space, it can actually be counter-productive. To free up this space, hit the Cached data option and then tap OK to confirm.

Free up as much space as possible, and you might be surprised at the difference it makes.

More files ripe for deletion can be found in the Miscellaneous files section. Tick the boxes next to any types of file you'd like to remove – backups, files that have been received via Bluetooth, playlist files, and so on – and then tap the bin button. You can keep an eye on how much space you have freed up by looking at the Available space section.

You can also disable the apps that came pre-loaded on your phone but you really don’t use all that much. If you have rooted your Android, you can get rid of these apps easily. If not, you can simply go to the app properties and disable the app to prevent it from running and using up your phone’s resources.

Widgets can be a waste of resources, so kill any you don't really need.

Cut back widgets

All those widgets you have running on your home screen may be useful, but they also take up their fair share of resources.

If you have any widgets running that you don’t really need, consider disabling them. There's no harm in having some active, but you will notice an element of slow down with too many running at the same time. Just be a little selective.

Those fancy extras offered by your launcher of choice could be slowing down your device!

Animations and extras

Depending on the launcher you are using, you may find that there are various animations and special effects in place. These may look great, but they can also slow things down.

Check in your launcher's settings to see if there is a way to disable any of these unnecessary extras, and you could earn yourself a speed boost.

Terminating unused apps and freeing up RAM will help with the speed of your device.

Close apps and free up RAM

Multi-tasking several apps makes it easy to switch between different tools, but there can also be an impact on performance. You can quickly close down any apps you are no longer using by calling up the running apps list Pressing and hold the home key and then swipe away any apps you want to exit.

While you are at this screen, tap the pie chart button to the lower right of the screen and then move to the RAM section. Tap the Clear memory button and any background processes that are running unnecessarily will be closed down.

Sometime, something as simple as a restart is all that's needed for a speed boost.

Restart your device!

A quick and simple fix for a slow device is to simply restart it. This can clear out cache, stop unnecessary tasks from running, and get things running smoothly again.

Just hold down the power button, select the Restart option, and then tap OK to confirm.

Dig deeper

Don't forget you can also keep tabs on the apps using lots of battery by going to Settings > Battery. You can also monitor RAM usage in Settings > Apps (or App Manager, depending on your brand of phone) and there's even more nerdy goodies in Process Stats in Developer Options – if you don't have this setting enabled, go to Settings > About Phone and tap Build Number seven times until a notification pops up.

Samsung expects to break shipment records with the Galaxy S6

Samsung is preparing for the worldwide launch of the new Galaxy S6 and the company is gearing up for what it believes will be record shipments, combined with a struggle to meet demand for the edge.

Demand outweighing supply is a double-edged sword, which Samsung believes the company will have to battle through with the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge. On one hand, Samsung expects the new smartphones will sell well enough to be out of stock at various sources, but not being able to keep up with demand for the edge could cause issues for consumers waiting for orders to be fulfilled.
According to a Reuters report:

"Samsung expects the flat screen S6 to sell more than the higher-margin S6 edge - priced about $120 more in South Korea - but mobile chief J.K. Shin said at a media event on Thursday the firm won't be able to keep up with demand for the latter model in the near term because the curved screens are harder to manufacture."

Some analysts are predicting Samsung to ship 50 million or more S6 units this year. It'll be more of an achievement for Samsung to ship more Galaxy devices than ever with the company opting to utilize its own chips to power the latest flagship smartphones. It's hoped that the Samsung Galaxy S6 will turn things around for the company, but we'll have to wait for figures to confirm any sort of recovery.
Source: Reuters