CDC investigates 14 more possible cases of sexually transmitted Zika virus

Times New York - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is investigating 14 new reports of possible sexual transmission of the Zika virus.

The CDC said several of these cases are among pregnant women, although it did not specify how many.

"These new reports suggest sexual transmission may be a more likely means of transmission for Zika virus than previously considered," the CDC said in a  written

Two of the cases are in women whose only known risk is sexual contact with a male partner exhibiting symptoms of the virus after returning from an infected area, according to the CDC.

Lab results are pending for four additional suspected cases among women. There are eight other suspected cases under investigation

The CDC is working with state health officials to investigate all of these cases. Officials have not said which states they are working with or where these women live because the risk applies to all women in the United States, according to Dr. Jennifer McQuiston, deputy incident manager for Zika virus at the CDC.

"We have been a little surprised by the number of suspected cases we've received," she told NMP

The CDC is urging individuals to follow its previously issued guidance of abstinence or condom use for women, especially those who are pregnant, whose male sexual partners have traveled to a Zika-infected area. It also issued a notice through their Health Alert Network that notified health care providers, labs and local, state and federal public health employees about urgent public health information.

The recommendations single out partners of pregnant women because the virus has been linked to the neurological birth defect microcephaly. Infants with the disorder have unusually small heads and sometimes developmental delays that vary in severity.

The CDC restated there is no evidence that women can transmit the virus to their sexual partners and that the most likely way to become infected with the Zika virus is from infected mosquitoes.

In February, the CDC confirmed the virus had been transmitted to the sexual partner of an individual in Texas who had traveled to a Zika infected area -- a first for this outbreak but not a first in and of itself. The first known case of sexual transmission of the Zika virus was occurred in 2008, when a microbiologist from Colorado State University returned from Senegal, reunited with his wife and infected her with the virus.

"The report of the case in Dallas raised concern so doctors are beginning to think about it when they see patients," McQuiston said, adding that another possible reason for the increase in these possible cases could be reflective of the travel patterns and people returning from infected areas..

FIFA reduces bans for Blatter, Platini from 8 to 6 years

FIFA reduces bans for Blatter, Platini from 8 to 6 years


ZURICH - Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini had their bans from soccer reduced from eight years to six by FIFA's appeal body on Wednesday, two days before the sport's ruling body tries to turn the page on years of scandals by electing a new president

Blatter and Platini were initially found guilty of wrongdoing by FIFA's independent ethics committee, which is led by a German judge, over a previously-secret 2011 financial transaction.

Platini, the UEFA president, said not being cleared was an "insulting decision, shameful and a denial of rights" - and announced he will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Blatter, as FIFA president, authorized a payment of 2 million Swiss francs ($2 million) to Platini which was found to be unethical and a conflict of interest.

But following hearings last week, an in-house appeal committee comprising members of federations voting in Friday's presidential election decided to relax the suspensions. The committee is headed by Larry Mussenden of Bermuda, who is currently campaigning to win a May vote to become president of CONCACAF and a FIFA vice president.

"The appeal committee considered that Mr. Platini's and Mr. Blatter's activities and the services they had rendered to FIFA, UEFA and football in general over the years should deserve appropriate recognition as a mitigating factor," FIFA said in a statement.

Blatter said in a statement that he was "deeply disappointed" with the verdict. Having hoped to be cleared in time to preside over the electoral congress on Friday, Blatter might have run out of time for an urgent CAS hearing.

Both Blatter and Platini have constantly denied wrongdoing and claimed they had a verbal deal for additional salary that former France great Platini would receive for working as Blatter's presidential adviser from 1999-2002.

Platini had been the leading candidate to succeed Blatter in FIFA's emergency election before the payment was revealed in September.

"The reasons given against me are baseless, trumped up and surreal, given the facts and explanations that I gave during the hearing of the appeals board," Platini said in a statement released through his legal team. "This decision is in reality a political decision taken by the FIFA administration."

He added: "I am the victim of a system that had only one goal: To prevent me from becoming FIFA president in order to protect certain interests that I was about to bring into question."

Platini said he would pursue all possible means to appeal, starting with CAS, and that he had asked his legal team to launch an appeal to the Lausanne-based court "without waiting."

Platini has previously said he asked for a salary of 1 million Swiss francs when approached in 1998 to work for the newly-elected Blatter.

Blatter said there was a contract for 300,000 Swiss francs, the same as FIFA's then secretary general in line with its salary structure, plus a "gentleman's agreement" to get the rest later.

Swiss law obliged FIFA only to pay the deferred money within five years. It was not until 2010 that Platini, by then UEFA president, reportedly asked for the balance, and was paid in February 2011.

That timing has raised suspicion as the payment came during a FIFA presidential election campaign. UEFA later urged its members to support Blatter — who promised them it would be his final term — against Mohamed bin Hammam of Qatar.

Blatter won that 2011 election unopposed after Bin Hammam was implicated in bribing Caribbean voters. From then on, Platini was the likely successor to lead FIFA.

Platini's provisional suspension by the ethics committee last October, pending a full investigation, stalled his presidential bid and the ban in December effectively ended it.

Both were fined by the ethics judges in December. Blatter was ordered to pay 50,000 Swiss francs ($50,000) and Platini was fined 80,000 Swiss francs ($80,000).

The Platini payment emerged during a wider Swiss federal investigation of FIFA business, including suspected money laundering in the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding contests.

Switzerland's attorney general, Michael Lauber, opened criminal proceedings against Blatter in September for alleged mismanagement and misappropriation of FIFA funds.

That case also relates to Blatter signing off undervalued 2010-2014 World Cup broadcast rights for the Caribbean to former FIFA vice president Jack Warner.

Platini's status in the Swiss investigation is "between a witness and an accused person," Lauber has said..

How to make a man crazy in love with you

Men love sensual women. Apart from this they fall head over heels with women who are good-looking, intelligent, feminine yet sporty and men also love for their women to be unique in everything. Though these are the common desires we women are familiar with from a man’s point of view, there are a few more things men secretly desire from the women they date. Are you ladies ready to take a look at some of the things almost every man desires.

You will be amazed to see that these things on the list are simple yet important to a man. So, take a look at some of the things men fall for, when it comes to a woman they desire or are with. Ladies, get ready to make a few changes in your life to suit your man’s needs and make him extra happy

1. Independence – Have you heard of the phrase – ‘Be a strong confident woman.’Well, most men love and desire for their women to be a confident woman. It shows pride and in a way boosts a man’s ego that their woman can make a decision!

2. Confidence – Confidence is the key to get to a man’s heart. When a woman is confident, a man feels like the luckiest in the world. This is a secret, men desire in the lady they are in love with.

3. Touch Of Flirting – One of the many secrets men desire in a woman is they should be the flirtatious type too. Not only does this help to boost your romance it helps to make the man feel more alive and wanted by his woman when you flirt with him.

4. Honesty – Who doesn’t like honesty in relationships. Did you also know that honesty is a silent turn on for a man. He appreciates his woman to be honest no matter what and guess what – it goes both ways (be honest with her as well).

5. Just Being You – It is important to be you when your around him. Men want to fall in love with the real woman, the real you. This is what makes you so attractive in his eyes. So, just be you and you will be his forever.

6. A Sports Lover – If your the type of gal whose in love with her man’s kind of sport, be sure that you are his favourites from the many he has dated. It is every man’s secret desire.

7. A Smart Woman – Ladies, buckle up as being smart is the new sexy. Men prefer for their ladies to be smart and at times be that damsel in distress too. So, play safe with your man as this what he desires the most out of you in the relationship.

Easy 7 Tips on How to Keep Your Relationship Strong

Everybody wants to make their relationship stronger and healthier, but many people don’t know how to do that. Many couples sometimes find themselves working against one another when times are rough.

Financial issues are the number one cause of fights and divorces. Making a relationship strong is not always easy, but the advantages of keeping a long-term, committed relationship outweigh the problems and difficulties that you face. Here are a few effective ways to keep your relationship strong.

1. Stop arguing over money

As I mentioned above, finances is one of the greatest causes of fights. Although we are in a recession now, you and your partner should stop arguing over money to keep your relationship strong. Don’t complain and don’t bicker. Think together about things you spend on, how you could make more money and how you can save. Work together and your relationship will be much stronger.

2. Be more affectionate

To keep your relationship stronger you should be more affectionate and bear in mind why you love your boyfriend or husband. Don’t forget to tell him that you miss or love him. You can choose something that you know he will like at the supermarket, or give him a massage.

3. Make your partner a priority

Give your relationship a priority in order to keep it strong and healthy. Sure, it will not be your top priority all the time. You will have some situations where your children need to come first, or where you should pay more attention to your career.

Even if your relationship cannot be your number one priority, it should always be a priority. Devote your time to your partner, when possible. Be thoughtful, attentive and focus on your relationship. If your phone rings in the middle of a conversation, ignore it – you can call back later.

4. Respect each other when you argue

No one wants to argue, however it’s a part of life. When you argue with your partner, make sure you do it well. Try to listen to one another and don’t interrupt. You should hear each other and try to understand each other no matter what.

5. Share things with your partner

A common relationship complaint is that your partner withdraws. It can be because he is upset or stressed, or he is worrying about something. Try to talk to him and ask him to share his problems with you. You should also share your love, fear, worries and responsibilities with your partner. Even if your partner can’t help you, he will appreciate the fact that you trust him.

6. Be friends

Just because you are a couple, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be friends as well. Don’t say things that you would never say to your close friend. Spend some quality time together having fun, so that your relationship does not become all about the seriousness.

7. Don’t get upset over trifles

I cannot remember how many times I have asked my husband not to leave his socks all over the house, or wash his dish after breakfast or dinner when I’m very busy. I cannot also remember how many times my husband has asked me to not forget to turn the heating off, but I often forget about it. We never argue about such small things, though. If you’re angry at him, take a deep breath and exhale your anger out. The trifles are not worth getting frustrated over.

Sure, there are many other ways to keep your relationship strong and healthy, but these are very important to keep in mind. These ways don’t require much effort or time, only thoughtfulness. What do you do to keep your relationship strong? Share your tips with us, please.

10 Fascinating Facts About The Moon You Probably May Not Know!

Yes she is one of the most popular celestial objects in the sky, graces our night sky like a patch of glowing ball.

Lunar is the name of the Earth’s only natural satellite called a Moon.

She is so important to us that we have a day specially named after it. Monday (Moon day).

She is deified as a Goddess to many cultures, one of the determining clock hands of our time measurement and a very fascinating celestial neighbour she is to us.

All of us have seen the moon, in fact we have spent countless nights mopping at it and imagining what actually that is, it has been a subject of our imaginations and lores as children.

Now let us quickly run through several facts about our dear Lunar to get to know her more

1. Formation

The events leading to the wedlock of our Dear Earth to her Moon was not a peaceful ceremony at all.

Not even close to being peaceful.

Early in the solar system’s formation, the whole system was a battle field of hot high speeding debris, asteroids and meteors crashing into each and other into planets.

The earth has gotten a very big share of these celestial bombardments of fire raining meteors of which we have craters testifying to this

So the first billion years of the earth was a very violent one of which brought about earth’s water delivered from these catastrophic bombardments of celestial bombs.

Though a subject of many scientific probings the most widely accepted theory on Moon’s formation is a head on collision between the earth and a Mars sized Asteroid named Theia.

These two very hot planetary objects in the early stage of the system formation 4.5billion years barely 50million years after the earth’s formation collided in a very violent and quaking union.

This collision released debris (remnants of the reaction) lead to the moon’s formation..

So the moon was a child of a violent wedlock between earth and theia.

2. The moon is as bright as Coal

Did i hear you say that? Yeah thats what we all are supposed to say to this one..
I mean we all see this glowing ball brightly throwing down silvery rays of a shadowy beam.

But in actuality the moon is a very very very Dark object not even brighter than a Coal.

The light we get from the moon has nothing to do with the moon, the moon has no light at all but rather acts as a reflective plate for the sunlight it gets from the sun..

You must have noticed that during a crescent or half moon you can see the remaining outline of the full moon but it remains pitch dark, that is because that side is shielded from direct sunlight.

Or during an eclipse the moon becomes a full mean ominous dark opaque object to us.

So without light from the sun hitting the moon, it is just one pitch black piece of coal..

Even with as much sunlight as it gets the moon has a very poor reflective ability that it only reflects 12% maximum of all the light it gets from the sun, compare this with Venus that reflects almost 75%.

If Venus was as close to us as the moon, our nights would just be like evening because Venus is way too bright no wonder it is called the morning sun, when do we get to sleep if that was the case?grin

The earth is by far brighter than the moon, the earth reflects more than 55% of the sun light it gets.. so the earth is more than 7times brighter than the moon.

So the moon is not a light and so doesn’t shine it only reflects a very poor amount of sunlight it gets..

3. The Moon Controls Our Ocean Tide

Yeah where are the “Avatar the last air bender’s Fans” Come out this is for you… The film clearly states the moon as the first water bender grin Well that is so so true because the moon is an important factor in the calibration of ocean tides.

Ok lets not make it look that too simple the moon is not only the factor here but just one of many. Others include the Sun, Earth’s rotation etc..

As you may have noticed, water is a very cohesive compound, water molecules always sticks together notice if you drop two pinch of water close together they merge into one whole.

So the earth’s centrifugal force caused by the rotation water molecules are being pulled away from the surface leading to a bulge near the equator than towards the pole

If the earth simply rotated on its own axis, then even though there would be this bulge there would be no tide. However, because the moon is very close to the earth, its gravity exerts an effect on the rotational system of the earth, causing it to also rotates in tandem with the moon on a different axis.

Because of this additional rotation, there is an additional centrifugal force exerted on the side of the earth that is away from the moon.

Thus, the centrifugal force is greatest on the side of the earth that is away from the moon, and there is a greater bulge in the water on that side.

That is how the moon’s tidal effects manifests on the earth’s ocean tides

4. The Moon is tidally locked to earth

Eheeeeem this should be a question that must have been bothering every curious mind we have here who one or two times might have looked up to gaze at the moon.

“Why is that we only see one side of the moon all the time”

Yes that is true, the moon is tidally locked.. This means that it takes the exact same amount of time for the moon to finish one orbital revolution and also achieve one full axial rotation therefore only one part of it is always faced towards the earth.

this is also known as Gravitational locking …

Following this you can now deduct that the reason why we always have one side of the moon facing us is that in the 28 days circle of the moon before another appearance it takes just about that time for it to fully rotate on it’s axis so when next it appears on earth we get to see the same side.

Moon axial period =28 days
earth’s axial period =24 hours..

See the difference ….

Due to this tidal lock one side of the moon remains perpetually darkened to us (We call this the “Dark side of the moon) and we get to only see just one side

5. Shape

Judging from what we see at night from the part of moon visible, one can conclude the moon is a perfect sphere and wouldn’t be blamed.

But the news is, The moon is not a perfect sphere not at all, the moon has a shape known as Oblate Spheroid …

This is a kind of sphere where the whole body is not perfectly uniformed but has bulging sides leading to little bit flattened poles.

Like a lemon

This is caused by by rotation of an ellipse around is smallest axial points..

Jupiter also has an Oblate spheroid shape but due to the fact that one bulging side of the moon is always visible to us we always perceive the moon’s shape to be spherical from
Here.

6. Water On the Moon

Wait wait wait Don’t freak out grin Yeah i know that just few months ago liquid water was announced on Mars but calm down there’ve always been water on Mars though Frozen we were just surprised to find liquid ones.

So back to the moon, Yes there is water on the moon and many planetary bodies in this Solar system though the conditions on these bodies makes it unlikely for water to thrive in liquid state.

Earth is the only planet were water exists in liquid form in a large scale, Mars has joined the list but just in a small scale.

Over the years there have been speculations of Frozen water lurking in the hidden craters on the moon surface.

Not until the most recent man made probe (LRO) to the moon started orbiting the satellite has the picture became ever clearer.

From Data curled from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, Hydrogen and Oxygen atoms have been detected just in the Lunar surface showing there is Water Molecules lurking within the Lunar soil.

Yes it may not be flowing swimmable water type found on earth but in this regard Water is water.

Since has reaffirmed the idea that within some perpetually darkened craters in the lunar world, there may be Frozen water on them.

But all in all the LRO has satisfied our taste for that answer as it confirms that water molecules indeed exists on the moon too..

7. Gravity

Uuuhm like “Everything you throw up must surely come down” Yeah that too works on the moon contrary to the myth that if you are on the moon you will be floating around because there is no gravity.

No, there is gravitational pull on the moon only just drastically lesser than that of the earth.

Gravity is as a result of the distortion of space/time by Mass, so the greater the mass the greater the distortion (Gravity)

Will like us all to take a little experiment to show how gravity works. Take a sheet of clothing or net and spread (suspend in mid air) it across on all four angles (this represents space/time) then bring a heavy object and place it on the fabrics.

You will notice the fabric dents with the weight of the object then bring an object of lesser weight and put within the boundary of the dent you will notice that it will slide down towards the center of the dent.. That is gravity..

So back to the Moon’s gravity, the Mass of earth is greater than that of the moon so the distortion of space/time by earth is far more greater.

That is why we witness a gravitational pull of about 9.8m/s approximately 10m/s while on the moon is roughly 1.6m/s.

So notice the deference..

N.B: The moon has no atmosphere so is almost like a Vacuum, this means there is no air resistance on object thrown upwards.. A kite thrown up would glide with the air on earth but on the moon it would fall back down..).

8. Size

There are officially 181 natural satellites orbitting planets and mini-planets in this solar system (A planet like jupiter and Saturn has up to 67 and 64 moons respectively) Greedy bastards angry

Few of these Moons are massive enough to achieve hydrostatic equilibrium so if they orbited the sun directly and not planets they would have been dubbed planets or mini-planets

With Ganymede topping the list of the largest moon in the solar system, this moon of jupiter is larger than Mercury and Pluto.

Our moon comes 5th in the list of largest satellites in the solar system but comes 2nd when the size of the moon is compared with the size of it’s host planet with almost 1/4 of the earth’s size.

with a surface of 37.9 million square kilometers its actually slightly smaller than the continent Asia which is 44million square kilometers

9. The Moon is drifting Away

Yes thats a sad one but very very slowly we are loosing the moon as it drifts further away from us.

The Apollo missions saw the installment of Reflectors on the moon’s surface and from here we shoot laser beams to the reflectors to determine the distance between us and our moon and datas provided shows it is moving away from us though at a very minute rate of 3.8 Cm per year.

So billions of years ago in the early history of the earth the moon would have been so close to the earth that it appears so in the sky

with time the moon will continue drifting slowly further away from the earth until the gravitational attraction from the sun on it becomes greater than that of the earth on it and then earth will become a moonless planet just like mecury and venus are moonless.

The presence of the moon in the earth’s tidal system is slowing the planet down gradually by 2milisecond per century.

So the earth’s axial period is getting longer every century by 2milisecond, going backward into the earth’s history there would be a time the planet is spinning so fast that a day would rarely last 18hours

10. Visitation

Many planetary bodies in the solar system has man made probes orbiting them and taking readings sending back to us a wealth of data for study.

Mars and the Moon are the only of these bodies that has man made probing rovers inside on their surface while the moon holds the record for the only celestial body to have ever seen another human.

Out of all the planets, moons, asteroids and dwarf-planets man has only being able to to make a trip to the moon which is just a three days ride with the amount of technology at our disposal.

There have been 6 manned missions to the moon (The Apollo missions) and another manned mission due for 2023.

This time it won’t be for few hours but long days of study on the surface of the moon by astronauts.

Its no doubt that the future may see a wild range of space exploration starting from our solar system, manned missions to Mars by 2030’s the moon is the closest of this frontier and so hopefully will get more visit than any of the planetary bodies around.

The Apollo missions showed us there is no limit to what man can achieve as man has left an enduring footprint on the surface of the moon as a mark of his tremendous achievement.

Hopefully Mars gets to feel the mark of a live human on it’s surface soon enough and in no distant future technologies that can take us beyond our solar system to explore planets in other star systems will be available.

With all the knowledge we gain from our study of the heavens, it should humble us and give us a sense of belonging and give us the insight to look at our own earth as a jewel that deserves to be preserved because mankind must put an end to senseless exploitation and violence or we will end up killing the earth and killing the earth is our own end.

Top 9 Signs That Your Partner Is Cheating On You!

You’ve got a sinking feeling within the pit of your stomach, something isn’t always proper but you can’t pretty parent out what that feeling is set. Your partner has become remote, he/she is working late on a normal basis or, maybe your partner has moved out of the residence and not using a rationalization.

you believe you studied your spouse is dishonest but whenever you convey it up with your spouse, he/she denies the opportunity.

all of the signs and symptoms are there however you haven’t any evidence.

So, be aware of the signs and symptoms and your instinct however, be careful now not to confuse signs and symptoms with proof

1. “I Like You But I’m No Longer In Love With You.“

if you listen these phrases, a massive caution bell have to burst off. This is one of the maximum steady things a dishonest spouse will say.

 Your spouse might also have a deep, loving bond with you but, excessive feelings of ardour can override the bond with you and reason your spouse to lose sight of his/her authentic feelings.

The dishonest spouse will expand what I call hormone – caused amnesia.

The surging hormones and ardour they feel in their new relationship can motive a few very skewed thinking.

2. “We Are Simply Pals.”

This is additionally any other very predictable announcement on the way to come from a dishonest spouse.

if your partner is spending increasingly time with this new “pal”; then there might be greater to it than mere friendship.

 Your partner can also feel they have loads in commonplace with this character, that this character knows them and matters they’re going via.

whatever the reasons for the friendship, it’s a big warning signal and one you must take critically

3. A sudden want for privacy.

If things the 2 of you used to percentage overtly abruptly end up private pay interest reason some thing is probably up. He/she may additionally start password protective laptop hobby.

mobile smartphone and credit card bills may be hidden. if you ask why or try to discover data that used to be commonplace knowledge between the 2 of you, you’ll be accused of snooping or trying to manage your partner. big caution sign!

4.“I Want A Few Area To Parent Out My Feelings.“

ladies and men who’re concerned with a person else will request more area, time alone or away from the circle of relatives.

they’ll say it’s far due to confusion over their emotions or pressure at paintings.

 this could be a signal that there’s a person else and the partner is attempting to parent out approaches to have more freedom.

5. Ordinary Work Conduct Exchange.

operating late, going to paintings at abnormal hours or, putting in extra time than is normal on paintings related issues may be indications that a spouse is cheating.

6. Spending a Huge Amount Of Time At The Laptop.

In nowadays’s international, with modern technology, a person seeking out an affair doesn’t even ought to depart their home.

 the convenience of net chat rooms, on-line relationship web sites and secret electronic mail bills has prompted an alarming growth in emotional affairs.

In case your partner is on-line greater than usual, striking out in chat rooms and journeying pornographic websites then you definitely have reason to be alarmed.

7. Secretive Phone Calls And Extra Time Spent At The Cellphone.

Emotional affairs arise usually thru the telephone, specially cell phones. if you find your spouse placing up when you enter the room or erasing the history at the mobile phone and turning into protecting when requested about it, then you definitely would possibly need to check your phone information.

8.Conduct That Simply Does Not Upload Up.

Not being where he/she changed into predicted to be. missing time they cannot provide an explanation for. cash that is not accounted for. Receipts for belongings you don’t have. missing garb.

garb that does not belong in your circle of relatives. Being stuck in little lies approximately the info of the day. If some thing is off with their behavior, you must suspect dishonest

9.Your Own Fears and Suspicions

If you locate yourself looking for excuses to your partner’s behavior or seeking to persuade yourself that they could in no way cheat then that may be a caution sign. Your intuition is often one of the best indicators that some thing is wrong.

if you suspect your partner might be dishonest on you, do some investigating and then speak to him/her about what you’ve got located. Do it in a way that is calm and courteous. Ask for honesty.

 Be organized for lies. it is a sad truth that human beings having affairs grow to be outstanding liars. those who never advised a lie earlier than in their lives. consider your intestine intuition but get hard, cold proof additionally.

Samsung shows off Galaxy S7, S7 Edge

                                          Samsung's new Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge



With the S7 and S7 Edge, Samsung is doing what it should have done years ago with its flagship Galaxy brand: Sell solid, eye-catching phones with competitive hardware and software features.


The company went half-way with this strategy in 2015 with the S6 and S6 Edge. The models were sleek and beautifully designed, thanks to an all-new aluminum and Gorilla Glass body. But their battery capacities were smaller. The phones were no longer water resistant. And in an effort to push people to use cloud storage, Samsung took away the ability to add memory.

Luckily for fans, these features are back. The S7 and S7 Edge do a better job of balancing good looks and customer friendly features, but they're still not perfect. Here are the high lights

Samsung has also made the curved screen edges twice as wide as before, making it easier for people to read their messages or the news.

Both screens feature a new "always-on display" mode so that information such as date, time and notifications are visible without having to unlock the phone.

Samsung's new Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge were released on Sunday during Mobile World Congress.

Features

In the U.S. the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge will come with 32 GB of storage. The expandable memory slot is built into the SIM card tray, and Samsung says up to 2 TB can be supported.


Gamers may like the new Do Not Disturb feature that prevents calls from interrupting playtime, as well as a new battery conservation mode that changes frame rate and other qualities to use less power. Recording and uploading game play videos are now options too.

Battery life

Batteries in the S7 and S7 Edge are 3,000 mAh and 3,600 mAh respectively, and cannot be removed.

The S6 and S6 Edge by comparison had a 2,550 mAh and 2,600 mAh battery, while the S5 had a 2,800 mAh battery.

Camera

If you find yourself taking a lot of low-light photographs and videos, you might appreciate the fact that the cameras on the S7 and S7 Edge can take in even more light than before -- going to an f-stop of 1.7. The widest aperture for the S6 was 1.9.

In a press demonstration, the cameras also seemed to require a noticeably shorter amount of time to focus on objects than the iPhone did.

Price and colors

Pre-orders begin Tuesday. Anyone who pre-orders will receive a free Gear VR. Sales at major wireless retailers in the United States start March 11.

All the major carriers are offering deals for the new phones. Verizon (VZ, Tech30) hasn't set a specific price yet, but will give its customers an extra 24 GB of data every year "for life." AT&T has set the starting price for the S7 at $23 a month for 30 months. And $27 a month for the S7 Edge.

T-Mobile (TMUS) says the S7 will cost $670, or about $28 per month over two years. The S7 edge will cost $780 or about $33 per month. For people who pre-order, the carrier is also offering a free Samsung Gear VR, six VR games, and year of Netflix (NFLX, Tech30).

Not to be outdone, Sprint (S) says it will offer customers the ability to buy or lease one of the new phones and get a second device for half the price.

The S7 will come in "Black Onyx" and "Gold Platinum." The S7 Edge will also come in "Silver Titanium."