Samsung South Africa and News24 today announced the development of the first locally developed Smart TV application in Africa, an application designed to provide consumers access to the latest in news and lifestyle content from the comfort of their living rooms.

The Samsung Smart TV News24 application is accessible on all Samsung Smart TVs, from the mid-range (D5500) upwards, and offers access to news, sport, finance, motoring, entertainment and lifestyle related content. This application includes a scroll news ticker displaying the latest top stories across the bottom of the TV screen as well as an auto run option of the ticker, ensuring the user never misses any breaking news. Furthermore, the consumer has the option to select and open any story from the ticker or select the full screen view to browse the latest content.

The News24 application also provides the user with the ability to navigate between stories and sections with ease - using the arrow keys on the TV remote - providing the option to switch between stories and gain a full overview of content available. Samsung believes the squeeze back TV window pane within the application, allowing the viewer to catch-up on the latest news without missing out on their favourite TV show, should also grab attention.

The application is a free download and will be accessible from the Samsung Apps Store via the Smart TV user interface. The News24 application is available for download on all Samsung Smart TVs in September 2011.

“News24 users want to be able to get breaking news whether they’re in front of their PC, using their mobile phone or watching television. Internet-enabled TV is clearly the next big thing and so the News24 app is the next step in offering our users an integrated digital experience across all platforms,” believes Ronald Bach, product manager at News24.

“Samsung Electronics South Africa is committed to delivering upon consumer expectations and through these types innovations believe we are continuing to do just that – in identifying key needs and requirements of the consumer and business market alike. In fact, this year we hope to bring out at least another five locally developed TV applications, if not many more, that address the core needs of our consumers,” says Corrie Labuschagne, product and marketing manager for TVs at Samsung South Africa.  

In related news, Samsung recently unveiled a trio of bada-running Wave smartphones, as well as a introduced a new Galaxy range naming strategy, along with three new Galaxy smartphones.


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