By Prince Osuagwu, (who was in Antalya, Turkey)

The 21st century world is that of technology. And the technological world does not deal with stereotypes. It’s a world of creativity and innovations. So when Samsung Electronics flagged off its 2015 Africa Forum in Antalya, Turkey with a theme ‘Going beyond the Limit” it may have sounded weird to the ordinary mind but not to the technology enthusiast.

Samsung innovations for Africa

Going beyond the limit may literally denote a dissent meaning but to Samsung, the phrase was every inch a positive one. In technological coloration, it appears Samsung implied that Africa, considering the huge growth potential, was not getting commensurable bargain in terms of market offerings and services.

Now it decides to go beyond what has been hitherto accepted as African standard, to roll out products which would bridge the divide between the region as a developing continent and other developed nations of the world.

These products, according to the company, highlight premium, innovation, convenience, insights and citizenship, all to underscore its commitment to the African market- little wonder, the company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. S.Y Hong declared to the over 5000 participants at the forum that Africa was a very important market for Samsung.

“The conference theme, builds on our intent to create change in Africa by bringing consumers’ desires to life through innovative products.

“Last year we introduced our intent to Africa: One Beat. It embodies the spirit of overcoming challenges and moving towards a vision of togetherness across the continent. Part of this is remaining focused on providing our African consumers with innovative products that are driven by consumer needs and passions” added Hong.

Hong went on to unveil the lineup available products.

SUHD TV

This product, an extensive range of SUHD TVs for the African market, according to Samsung, sets a new standard in premium UHD content. The launch of the 88-inch TV, powered by a proprietary, eco-friendly nano-crystal display technology and intelligent SUHD re-mastering engine, is innovative in every way, delivering superior picture quality with stunning contrast, striking brightness, spectacular colour and superb UHD detail. The SUHD re-mastering engine automatically analyses the brightness of images to minimise additional power consumption while expressing stunning contrast levels – producing images with improved contrast, elevated brightness two-and-a-half times brighter than conventional TVs and twice the colour adjustment points.

The TV’s nano-crystal technology transmits different colours of light depending on their size to produce the highest colour purity and light efficiency available today. This technology provides viewers with 64 times more colour expression than conventional TVs.

Premium Audio line-up

Samsung also showcased innovative audio products to Africa, giving consumers a more dynamic, surround sound audio experience.

The expanded Curved Soundbar line-up features a sleek design that complements Samsung’s Curved TVs, providing an immersive listening experience. The Soundbar offers an enhanced sound experience with a 9.1 channel audio, centre and side speakers,and Samsung’s Multi-Air Gap speaker unit in the subwoofer.

The speakers, said to have been developed in Samsung’s audio lab in California, are said to deliver a 360-degree sound experience due to Samsung’s proprietary ring radiator technology that supports them.

Digital Appliances

Samsung prides itself as an innovator of convenient home appliances that elevate the quality of consumer lives in Africa. This is owing to the infusion of innovative technologies and outstanding design with the expertise of Michelin-starred chefs.

The Chef Collection refrigerator, which is designed to ensure that food is kept fresh and stored to ensure maximum taste, has 4 doors and is a huge leap forward for meal preparation. The innovative Precise Chef Cooling enables an exact and constant temperature for food storage and the Triple Cooling System creates three separate airflows in the refrigerator and freezer, enabling optimal humidity control and improved cooling performance for each compartment.

Also Samsung introduced its latest innovation in top load washers, the activ dualwashmachine, which includes a built in sync with water jets and a scrubbing surface to allow consumers to handle the entire wash process in the laundry unit instead of pre-treating the items elsewhere. The convenient sink space provides a separate space to pre-treat tough stains, and once finished, the laundry and water can easily be poured into the machine.

The new Samsung air conditioner has a unique triangular design, with a wider inlet, wider outlet and a bigger fan to ensure that air is cooled and expelled faster, farther and wider to reach every corner of the home.

Yet there was also the new Air Purifier. The product’s front air inflow easily draws in air through a Dual Power Fan with two 5 step filtration system. The 3 Way Air Flow enables the purifier to reach wider and purifies faster with a Clean Air Delivery Rate of up to 773 cu. meters per hour.

The camera technology

Samsung unveiled new digital camera, with best-in-class DRIMeV Image processor, a NX AF system III and Samsung’s highest-resolution 28 MP BSI APS-C sensors. Compared to conventional CMOS sensors, BSI reduces noise more effectively by keeping the path between the lens and sensors clear so more light can hit each pixel, lowering the signal-to-noise ratio. As a result, NX500 users never need to compromise image quality, even in low light. Also, with 4K and UHD video recording, users will enjoy recording movies with more flexibility.

Ultra-slim Galaxy A devices make smart entry

On its mobile arm, Samsung unveiled the expansion of its line-up of Galaxy flagship, introducing the A series under the Galaxy range of mobile devices in the African region. Optimised for capturing and sharing digital life, the Galaxy A7, A5 and A3 come with a 5MP front facing camera to ensure the perfect selfie, and offer original features like an animated GIF setting. The device also supports LTE category 4 for quick and easy photo and video uploads on any social network.

With a slim metal unibody design, Samsung said it was continuing its focus on creating unique style with comfortable grip for ease of use.

George Ferreira, Vice President and COO of Samsung Electronics Africa, said: “The key question for us at Samsung is how people use our products. We work hard to understand what people need and want and then we push the limits of what technology can do to deliver this. I believe that the products on display at our Africa Forum embody this way of thinking and offer our African consumers solutions through new experiences and aspirational products.”

Samsung also flaunted what it described as huge successes on the Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR front which included a Digital Village, Samsung Engineering Academy and Solar-powered Internet School, all of which focus on uplifting communities, developing skills and creating sustainable education systems beyond the known limits.