Google, Samsung gearing up to challenge Apple Pay in mobile payments this year

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Its been over six months after Apple launched its US-based mobile payments platform Apple Pay, and competitors are finally gearing to challenge the iPhone focused payments solution.

Part of Samsung's big announcement yesterday at its Samsung Galaxy S6 device launch was Samsung Pay and today Google's Sundar Pichai revealed that his company has been working on Android Pay.

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SanDisk revolutionizes mobile storage with 200GB microSD Card

It's kind of a shame that Samsung's Galaxy S6 devices no longer accept microSD cards, because SanDisk's new 200GB card really pushes the storage limits.

200GB is more than what many notebooks ship with and SanDisk has made it possible to store vast amounts of data on a tiny card. The latest microSDXC card will have transfer speeds of up to 90MB/sec and will come to market during Q2 of 2015 for an SRT of US $400.00.

Oh, and if regular sized SD Cards are your thing, SanDisk has also released a 512GB Extreme PRO SDHC/SDXC card ideal for digital cameras and video cameras.

BlackBerry MWC announcements focus on platforms over devices

It's really no surprise that BlackBerry made a number of platform announcements with no handset news at the Mobile World Congress. BlackBerry has been moving to its Internet of Things as well as providing industry-wide security solutions and partnering with Samsung on enterprise-grade security offerings.

Announcements at Mobile World Congress include how the BlackBerry Experience is being made cross-platform, updates to their KNOX partnership with frenemy Samsung, and a suite of new BBM customization options. 

“Flexibility without compromise is what current and former BlackBerry users tell us time and again they want from their mobile device. They want BlackBerry’s legendary security and core productivity and collaboration capabilities while still being able to choose a device that matches their lifestyle and personality," said BlackBerry CEO and Executive Chairman John Chen. Hit jump for specifics.

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Samsung launches Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge smartphones aimed at consumer and enterprise

Samsung revealed its dual flagship phones, the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge. Featuring an all-Gorilla Glass case that covers the front and the back the new S6 devices no longer offer removable batteries or expandable microSD card slots. They do come in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB capacities when they come to 30 countries. 

Featuring 5.1" quad HD Super AMOLED displays, the S6 and S6 Edge both run on a Quad 2.1GHz +Quad 1.5Ghz Octacore applications processor and 3GB of RAM. Samsung is focusing on design and materials this time around and the new Galaxy S6s are expected to be the most durable and well-constructed devices we've seen from Samsung. Pricing is similarly expected to be premium. Remember, the Note Edge costs $900 off contract.

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