I was recently invited to attend Samsung’s 2015 MENA Forum in Antalya where they unveiled their upcoming 2015 lineup in consumer hardware as well as sharing their vision for the future – up to 2020.
The #SamsungMENAForum exhibition hall. @SamsungGulf pic.twitter.com/LTXyXZBfgm
— Absolute Geeks (@AbsoluteGeeks) February 16, 2015
Choong Ro Lee, president of Samsung Middle East and North Africa, was very keen on emphasising the “Internet of Things” direction that Samsung is taking with all their consumer products. He defined the Internet of Things (IOT) as devices with processing power, sensors, and connectivity – and the vision for Samsung is to have all their products as IOT devices by 2020. It’s a mighty feat for sure, and Samsung seemed confident on pulling this off.
Samsung is all about delivering amazing experiences, and we can do this because of our intense focus on the needs of consumers – Choong Ro Lee, president of Samsung Middle East and North Africa
![CR Lee_President Samsung MENA (2)[1]](http://www.absolutegeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/CR-Lee_President-Samsung-MENA-21.jpg)
This isn’t limited to their consumer products, though. Samsung has been undertaking significant efforts to enhance the IT experience and to support the education for the children and youth through Samsung Smart School Initiatives, and has also collaborated with NGOs, Ministries of Education and universities to create applications or full content solutions to help provide a better learning experience. Samsung initiated the Samsung Academy Program which provides high school students to study the technical learnings of Samsung products, with the opportunity of internships on graduation.
While those were the visions that have been shared, the event itself was more focused on the lineup, highlighted by their new TV technology “S UHD”. The new screens are amazingly beautiful to look at that no photo can do them justice. Samsung claims 64 times as much colour expression as their previous TVs, but numbers aside, it really is a great looking screen. The S UHD TVs and all future TVs will be powered by Tizen, and can enhance the quality of the video output regardless of the input. Samsung is also partnering up with Hollywood studios and other key partners to form a UHD Alliance to set guidelines.
Truly colourful. The #Samsung SUHDTV. #SamsungMENAForum pic.twitter.com/w8ekJdgIUb
— Absolute Geeks (@AbsoluteGeeks) February 16, 2015
In a not-so-surprising move, the curved display of the TVs is making its way to their PC monitor lines.
Another product I was very excited to see is their 28MP NX500 camera. Having recently reviewed their flagship NX1, the NX500 comes with the same sensor but in a much smaller and more compact body and takes on the same lenses. Can’t wait to get my hands on a review unit.
The #Samsung NX500 #SamsungMENAForum pic.twitter.com/tUUhxp8YdO
— Absolute Geeks (@AbsoluteGeeks) February 16, 2015
Other household appliances that have been announced include an all-new kitchenware collection called Chef Collection, with new technology to keep even your marinated fish and meats from stinking up the whole fridge.
#Smasung introduces the Chef Collection kitchenware #SamsungMENAForum pic.twitter.com/AJ5DQr1Wri
— Absolute Geeks (@AbsoluteGeeks) February 16, 2015
Another little cute appliance for the home is the POWERbot, an advanced robot vacuum cleaner with 60 times the suction power of normal vacuumers. Guaranteed to send your kittens bolting in fear, if they don’t try to chase the laser that you can use control the POWERbot manually.
We should get ourselves one of those POWERbots. #SamsungMENAForum pic.twitter.com/QL41aTnOLn
— Absolute Geeks (@AbsoluteGeeks) February 16, 2015
Of course, the Galaxy A made an appearance, but unfortunately there was no word on the Galaxy S6 – that’s saved for the MWC I reckon. Other electronics and appliances announced include new air conditioners, air purifiers, and funky washing machine with the pre-wash basin, and an omni-directional speaker.
