It is a day that Canadians will forever remember – May 3, 2016 – when a massive wildfire swiped over Fort McMurray, Alberta. Fort McMurray is a town with about 60,000 residents, and by dinnertime, the mayor issued a mandatory citywide evacuation. The wildfire caused $3.6 billion in damages, and they are still rebuilding trying to gain some semblance of a normal life once again – but it will take months and years before everything is normal.’
Canadian carriers and local businesses have stepped up to the plate to help during the time of crisis and help continues to come from Samsung Canada. They recently announced they would donate 200 Samsung Galaxy View devices to the Fort McMurray Public School District Board (FMPSDB) – valued at $140,000. This donation is all part of Samsung Canada’s ongoing ‘Hope for Children’ program that includes help in education, health, and community support. Besides the 200 Galaxy View tablets Samsung donated to the classrooms, they also donated another $100,000 to the Canadian Red Cross Alberta Fires Appeal. Mark Childs, Chief Brand Officer and Corporate Citizenship for Samsung Canada cited that they want to help this city get back on its feet and help its students reach their full potential as soon as possible.
Samsung’s Galaxy View is no small tablet and was launched exclusively on the Bell network earlier this year – Samsung envisioned it being used as a replacement TV tablet and very suitable for school use. Its display measures a massive 18.4-inches with an FHD resolution and using TFT technology. The resolution is 1920 x 1080 pixels, but with such a large screen, you are only getting 120 pixels-per-inch. It is running Android 5.1.1 Lollipop and measures 451.8 x 275.8 x 11.9mm and weighs in at a hefty 2.65kg, or 5.84lbs.
The Samsung Galaxy View uses an Exynos 7580 octa-core processor clocked at 1.6GHz and for graphics, it packs a Mali-T720MP2 GPU. It has 2GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage via a microSD card slot. Although tablets are not known for their picture taking abilities, the Galaxy View packs a 2.1MP with f/2.2 aperture just in case an undemanding photo opportunity arises – there is no front-facing camera (FFC) for selfies or video chatting. A non-removable 5,700 mAh battery provides power for the device, and it has stereo speakers. It has the usual suspects – WiFi, Bluetooth v4.1, GPS, a microUSB port for charging and data transfer. It was rough on the Fort McMurray residences, but with the help of the businesses and donations like the one from Samsung Canada, they will be able to rebuild and take care of the people and education of their children.