Samsung Electronics has unveiled a line of curved, ultra-high-definition televisions at the Samsung Forum in Málaga, Spain, along with a set that has been designed specifically for consumers in Africa.

The 23-inch entry-level high-definition LED TV will be available in South Africa and the rest of Africa at the end of the second quarter for less than R 4 000.

It is aimed at users with unstable sources of electricity. Head of product marketing for audio-visual product at Samsung South Africa Lance Berger says a back-up power supply kicks in when the power goes out. The TV uses a battery system or solar power (not included) as additional energy sources.

“By simultaneously being connected to an AC power source from a common house outlet and a DC power source through an alternative energy source, the consumer is still able to enjoy a comfortable TV viewing experience despite power supply conditions,” says Berger.

Meanwhile, Samsung’s new curved ultra-HD TVs have quad-core processors and will be available in 55-, 65-, and 78-inch variants in the second half of the year. They’ll feature ultra-HD upscaling for lower resolution content, dimming technology for deeper blacks and improved contrast, evolution kits for future-proofing and a video pack of ultra-HD content.

The video pack is a 1TB hard drive that includes content from movie houses like Fox and Paramount Pictures and other ultra-HD content.

“Consumers will also be able to download additional UHD content that becomes available, and even house storage capacity for consumers’ own content and TV recordings,” says Berger.

The curved screens gives videos a “stronger presence” and the wider field of view creates a panoramic effect that makes the display seem larger than it is, according to Berger.

The company’s proprietary new technology called “auto depth enhancer” gives a 3D effect without requiring 3D glasses. It is an algorithm that analyses regions of images and automatically adjusts contrast for a “greater sense of depth”, says Berger.

The UHD sets will have a new smart feature called “multilink screen”, allowing viewers to multitask. They’ll be able to split the screen in two — to launch a Web browser while watching live television, for example. The right-hand side of the screen brings up Web search results and YouTube content. New Series 9 TVs will allow up to four splits, while the rest of the range will divide the screen in two.

Another smart feature, called NewsON and developed in partnership with Yahoo — accessible by those with low bandwidth connections — provides real-time news and weather in the user’s local language.

Galaxy Note Pro
Samsung also unveiled a 12,2-inch Galaxy Note Pro with a screen resolution of 2 560×1 600 pixels. It supports multi-tasking by allowing users to resize, drag and drop content between up to four concurrently open windows.

The tablet has an “e-meeting” feature that lets people view the same content remotely and make live annotations and edit in real time.

The Galaxy Note Pro is powered by a 2,3GHz quad-core processor, has 3GB of RAM and 32GB or 64GB of storage, and runs Android 4.4 KitKat.