South Korean technology company Samsung have revealed a dual move which could give them a key step up in their presence in the UK, with both the launch of a ‘Samsung Experience’ line of stores, and the impending release of select versions of their curved UHD TV sets in the region.
It has been confirmed by Samsung, who visibly carry a presence on one of the UK’s most-viewed TV programmes, that Monday (14 April) will see the launch of their HU8500 TV models in both 55-inch and 65-inch versions, available for purchase from UK retailers.
The sets are noted as offering 4K Ultra HD quality picture, along with PurColour and UHD Dimming technologies for ‘more accurate and natural’ colours and ‘deeper black and purer whites’, respectively, as well as an ability to upscale lower-resolution content of live TV and regular HD Blu-ray imagery to something sharper and more in line with the display’s potential.
Additional features for the currently-unpriced product include a ‘Quad Core Plus’ processor (said to make the smart TV twice as powerful as its predecessors), which in turn gives the ability to run a new ‘multitasking screen’, whilst control of such screens and the set overall will come from a touchpad/button-based ‘smart control’.
Although their TV sets are unlikely to make it inside, Samsung products smaller in size now have a single-brand house to call their own in select UK cities, following a deal with mobile phone company Carphone Warehouse. The deal has seen 9 branches of the ‘Samsung Experience’ open in a number of cities, with the Welsh capital of Cardiff joining stores in the English locations of Bournemouth, Bradford, Liverpool, London, Manchester, and Newcastle.
The store’s aim is to offer an Apple Store-style ‘hands-on experience’ with their more portable products, with shelves that stock smartphones, tablet computers, laptops and ‘wearables’, whilst extras and services (including training sessions, tutorials, and product repairs) will also be on hand at the stoers.
Samsung UK head of mobile Simon Stanford summarised: “We are committed to providing the most innovative and exciting shopping experience for our customers, and our partnership with Carphone Warehouse allows us to do just that. We will be able to offer a unique shopping experience tailored to our customers’ needs, as well as giving them access to our wide portfolio of connected mobile products.”