New Galaxy Note Ad Focuses On Pen [Video]

Samsung Mobile USA released a video on YouTube today of the Galaxy Note which focuses on it’s S Pen functionality (don’t call it a stylus). This ad does a better job at showing what the Galaxy Note can do than Samsung’s earlier Superbowl commercial. The ad states that the Galaxy Note is “the best of a smartphone… and the best of a tablet…” and that “it has a pen with a brain.” Riveting stuff.

Check out the video below and see what this 5.3″ beast can do with its magical  pen!

 For Video: http://www.talkandroid.com/93548-new-galaxy-note-ad-focuses-on-pen-video/#.T0dFM3nQgnk

Samsung Doubles SDRAM Speed With LPDDR3, Available in Smartphones This Year

Samsung  just announced its LPDDR3 SDRAM, the next-generation low-power-consumption mobile memory chip. The company states that this DRAM will be the mainstream memory used in smartphones later this year.
With Android phones getting more advanced, manufacturers are starting to push their user interface overlays further, requiring more memory in the process. This is why HTC’s latest Sense UI, for example, only runs on the company’s latest and greatest hardware.
Our current crop of smartphones and tablets use LP (Low Power) DDR2 SDRAM, which has a maximum data transmission rate of 3.2GB/sec for the entire chip. Samsung’s new LPDDR3 effectively doubles the transmission rate to 6.4GB/sec, all without increasing the power requirement. This equates to a chip that is twice as fast and more efficient. However, this seems to be only a step toward last year’s announcement of a 12.8GB/sec DRAM chip from Samsung.

With the increasing demands of high definition video and 3D gaming on mobile devices, the need for faster memory is growing. Battery technology is much slower to evolve, however, so being able to increase performance without impacting battery life is a real feat.
Let’s hope we start seeing devices with these chips sooner than later.

Samsung takes the Galaxy Note to the streets to show iPhone owners what they can’t do [Video]

Recently Samsung conducted the Samsung Galaxy Note Street Challenge. They gave Android users a few hours to play with the Galaxy Note, and then they hit the streets in Harold Square to see how it stacked against the competition. You guessed it, the competition was the iPhone. Here’s a video of a woman completely shocked that the Galaxy Note does more than her iPhone will ever do. No more words need to be said, just check it out, and check out our hands on with some of the S Pen apps here

For video:http://www.talkandroid.com/93625-samsung-takes-the-galaxy-note-to-the-streets-to-show-iphone-owners-what-they-cant-do-video/#.T0dFGnnQgnk

Can Samsung convince Dilbert on the Galaxy Note?

Samsung can’t stop sniping at Apple, and the latest Galaxy Note street challenge seems to have convinced at least one disgruntled iPhone owner; however, the Korean firm still has Dilbert to persuade. For its latest commercial, Samsung apparently took  its 5.3-inch smartphone-tablet hybrid to the mean streets of New York City, giving Android users a few hours to get to grips with the “phablet”, and then pitted them against iPhone owners on a series of challenges.


The street tasks go heavy on in-built functionality, with the Galaxy Note’s annotation abilities as well as its photo editing tools each put through their paces. In contrast, the poor iPhone owner is left gaping at her Samsung-toting rival.
It makes for a good video, of course, but you could arguably find app alternatives in the iOS App Store to achieve most if not all of what the Galaxy Note manages on the iPhone. Still, by the end she seems convinced enough to plan to upgrade to the Samsung next time around.
Unfortunately, not everyone is so readily convinced. Dilbert creator Scott Adams lampooned “phablets” in his strip today, describing the concept as “a bad tablet and an even worse phone.” It’s a stance shared by many, and the phone/tablet hybrid market is still yet to convince us whether it’s a fad or a legitimate niche.
An entry by Google or Apple could go a long way to tip things toward the latter, but so far it’s a two-horse race between the existing Galaxy Note and LG’s new alternative, the freshly-announced Optimus Vu.
More on the Galaxy Note in our full review of the AT&T LTE version and of the original European model that went on sale last year.

Samsung Trademarks Galaxy Awaken, Axiom, Heir and Rite Names

Well it appears that the Galaxy S line will be seeing some brand new members added to its already large family of phones. Samsung has recently registered four new device names with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The names registered are The Galaxy Awaken, Galaxy Axiom, Galaxy Heir and the Galaxy Rite. This trademark move is a decent indicator as to the fact that we will be seeing these phones make their way to U.S. carriers sometime here in the future.
Considering that U.S. Cell Carriers tend to sell the similar phones but under different names it could also mean that these could be carrier related. Given that Samsung is looking to make a less than spectacular showing in Barcelona next week at MWC I doubt we will see much regarding these new names or the devices they are named for. But hey I’ve been wrong before. While it’s also suggested that Samsung could be using these names to import some budget style phones to the U.S. only time will tell. What do you guys out there think of the names? Let us know in the comments below

Samsung GT-N8000 Appears For Certification, Indicates Device Featuring Stylus Pen Is On The Way

There’s no doubt the Samsung Galaxy Note is one innovative and exciting device. But is Sammy already hard at work creating a successor to the device or dare we say it— a tablet that features a stylus pen? All indications point to a resounding yes. You all remember how the Galaxy Note carries an alias by the name of the GT-N7000, right? Well a mysterious Sammy device identified as the “GT-N8000″ has just been given some coveted certification according to the Bluetooth SIG site. Oh and there’s more: the design description of the device is listed as none other than a “Samsung Mobile Tablet”. Hmmm. While many consumers may be licking their chops at the idea of a stylus-wielding tablet, it’s more than likely we’re seeing one of the final hurdles being cleared for the Galaxy Note’s immediate followup/successor. Then again, there is plenty of room in the market for a tablet from an established brand which features a useful and uber cool stylus pen, so we probably wouldn’t be too surprised if a Galaxy Tab with a pen is announced as well.
Ok enough speculation kids. We’ll find out all the details and more at MWC next week, so be sure to stay tuned with Talk Android.

Galaxy S II sales top 20 million worldwide, says Samsung

Sales of Samsung's leading smartphone for 2011, the Galaxy S II, have reportedly reached 20 million, ten months on from release. This figure, reported by Korean news agency Yonhap​, sees Samsung doubling the 10 million it sold in the first six months of the handset's availability, and reportedly brings total Galaxy S series sales to over 40 million worldwide.

Late last year, Samsung overtook Apple to become the world's leading smartphone manufacturer, and reported some 300 million total handsets sold in 2011. However, the two companies remain locked in a international legal skirmishes which have seen both try to block each other's products from sale.

Samsung has announced that it won't be showing the successor to the Galaxy S II at next week's Mobile World Congress, but that it'll be unveiled at a separate event sometime in the first half of the year.

Samsung Rugby Smart coming to AT&T on March 4 for $99

Samsung and AT&T this morning announced the Samsung Rugby Smart, a 3.7-inch Android 2.3 smartphone that should stand up to a beating or a soaking or any sort of other torture you might put it through.

In addition to being dustproof, it can be submerged in up to 1 meter of water for as long as 30 minutes -- quite a bit longer than you'd last -- and is also hardened against humidity, rain, shock and extreme tempertatures. Specs include:

• Operating System:  Android 2.3
• Display:  3.7-inch WVGA Super AMOLED display
• External Memory: Supports up to 32GB via microSD™
• Internal Memory: 4GB
• Dimensions: 122.4mm x 65.9mm x 12.19mm
• Weight: 4.2 oz
• Camera: 5MP rear facing with flash and auto focus with HD 720p video capture; 1.3 MP front facing camera;
• Battery: 1650 mAh LiIon Poly
• Talk Time: Up to 8 hours
• Standby Time: Up to 16 days

The Rugby Smart will cost $99 with a two-year contract. We've got a couple videos of the Rugby Smart after the break.

Samsung 'GT-N8000' references suggest stylus-toting tablet may be on the way

The rumor mill has been churning for a while with suggestions that Samsung may be working on a new 7 or 10-inch tablet with stylus functionality. But now, a newly-certified device on the Bluetooth SIG site gives weight to reports that Samsung may be preparing to bring its "S Pen" technology to tablets. The certified device is listed as "Samsung Mobile Tablet GT-N8000", and when you consider that the original Galaxy Note is the GT-N7000, it doesn't take too much imagination to arrive at the possibility of a Galaxy Tab-like device with pen input. The other possibility is that we may be due a Galaxy Note hardware refresh already -- given the speed at which Sammy's churning out tablets these days, we wouldn't be too surprised if this were the case.
Last week, references to a "Galaxy Note 10.1" appeared on a casting website, as well as an official Samsung developer page, before being swiftly pulled. Having used the Wacom-based pen tech on the Galaxy Note, we certainly think it'd make sense on a larger screen. But we'll have to wait and see what, if anything, the manufacturer unveils at MWC.

Samsung trademarks four new Galaxy smartphone names

Ready to see yet another arm of Samsung’s Galaxy? Apparently running low on letters, the South Korean manufacturer has trademarked a new series of product names, none of which we’ve seen before and all starting with their ever-present Galaxy moniker. The Galaxy Awaken, Galaxy Axiom, Galaxy Heir and Galaxy Rite are all on the books at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. That’s a pretty good indication (but not a certainty) that we’ll be seeing them pop up in the United States in the next few months.

Since Samsung’s high-end phones have tended to stick with the “S” moniker and a few variations, we can speculate that these names are either low-end phones (Sammy has plenty of international models to choose from for import) or carrier-specific titles for more generic designs. United States cellular providers have a nasty habit of insisting upon unique names for phones that are already on the market elsewhere – see the Galaxy S II LTE renamed the Galaxy S II Skyrocket for AT&T. And of course, with so many smartphones being released every month, it pays to claim dibs on a product name before your competitors do.
Android Community will be on-hand at Mobile World Congress 2012 to see if any of these phones show up in lieu of the Galaxy S III, but you shouldn’t hold your breath – Samsung will have a smaller than normal presence anyway, and the Barcelona show doesn’t usually cater to US carriers. Still, there’s a shortage of worthy smartphones in the small and cheap category in the US at the moment, and Samsung has plenty of options that haven’t reached our fair shores just yet. Here’s hoping we get a few more soon.

Samsung Rugby Smart announced for AT&T: ruggedized mid-range for $99

Looking for a smartphone that can take a beating but won’t break the bank? The Samsung Rugby Smart might be right up your alley. The phone gets its moniker from a chassis that can handle dust, water and extreme temperatures, in addition to being a pretty respectable smartphone in and of itself. The 3.7-inch phone gets a standard Samsung Super AMOLED display, making it roughly the equal of the original Galaxy S line. (By the way, no Galaxy in the name? Freaky.) the Rugby goes on sale at AT&T store starting on March 4th, with a two-year contract price of $99.99.

Under all that impact-resistant plastic and rubber is an indeterminate processor and memory running Android 2.3 Gingerbread and TouchWiz. The 3.7-inch screen is 800×480, just about perfect for the size, and 4GB of user-accessible storage can be augmented with a MicroSD card (the slot is empty). a 5MP rear camera with 720p video recording is twinned to a 1.3MP front-facing cam. If the locking tab on the back of the phone is any indication, the back cover can be removed to swap out the 1650mAh battery. Wireless speed is limited to “4G” HSPA+.
The sturdy design can me submerged in up to a meter of water for thirty minutes without damaging the internals, so a quick dip in the kitchen sink or (ahem) other small bodies of water should present no challenges. Note the raised, physical navigation buttons – a rare sight, and certainly included to accommodate the tough-as-nails design. All in all the Rugby Smart looks like a surprisingly small and good-looking phone for being so tough, and you’d be hard pressed to find something similar in the $100 range – the older Casio G’zOne Commando doesn’t look nearly as good, in addition to being stuck on Froyo. We’ll see if we can get our hands on a review unit.
You can pick up the Samsung Rugby Smart starting next Sunday, March 4th.

Samsung ships 20 million Galaxy S II units in 9 months

Here at Android Community, we’re big fans of Samsung’s Galaxy S II – we liked it enough to name it our favorite Android device of 2011, over such worthy contenders as the Galaxy Nexus and the Transformer Prime. Apparently we aren’t alone: Samsung announced that they’ve shipped a whopping 20 million Galaxy S II phones since the international launch in May, matching the sales of the original Galaxy S so far for a combined total of 40 million. With around 300 million Android devices in the wild, that makes the Galaxy S family easily the most popular section of Android devices on the planet.

And it is a family: just in the United States, there’s three variants for three major carriers, plus a new U.S. Cellular version and the Galaxy S II Skyrocket on AT&T. Internationally you’ve got the standard version on both HSPA+ and CDMA, an LTE version, a 720p HD version, the “X” variant that has a slightly larger 4.5-inch screen… and all of that doesn’t even include the myriad of different colors, including pink. The prize for the worst branding goes to The Now Network, who christened their version the “Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch“, a title that must have frustrated TV announcers to no end.
Of course Android keeps marching forward, and the Galaxy S III is the subject of much rumor and speculation. About the only thing we know for sure is that it won’t be coming to Mobile World Congress, since Sammy has scheduled their own even sometime later. A bigger, hi-definition screen, faster processor, Ice Cream Sandwich – all are likely, none are confirmed. The popular wisdom is that Samsung is waiting for a big reveal to better position the device against the iPhone 5′s launch in the fall.

Device Specifications and Information

Device Info

Device Name : Galaxy S II

Manufactuer : Samsung

Carrier : AT&T

Announced Date : February 13, 2011

Release Date : April 28, 2011

Also Known As :

Display

• Screen Size : 4.27 Inch
• Resolution : 480x800
• Screen Type : Super AMOLED Plus

Dimension & Weight

• Height : 4.93 Inch
• Width : 2.6 Inch
• Depth : .33 Inch
• Weight : 116 Grams

Battery & Power

Battery Type:
• Lithium Ion

• Battery Capacity : 1650 mAh
• Talk Time : NA
• Stand By Time : 710 hours

Software

Android OS:
• 2.3.x

Audio Playback:
• AAC
• AAC+
• MP3

Video Playback:
• h.263
• h.264 / AVC
• MPEG-4 (MP4)

Messaging:
• SMS
• MMS

Hardware

CPU : Exynos

CPU Clock Speed : 1200 Mhz

Core : 2

Ram : 1000 MB

Internal Storage : 16 GB

Front Facing Camera :

Samsung flaunts Exynos quad-core processors before MWC

We just saw the TI OMAP 5 show off great performance in a quick clip provided by Texas Instruments. Now we’ve got a little tease from Samsung that they’ll be showing off their Exynos 4412 quad-core ARM Cortex-A9′s at MWC. They are built on an improved 32nm process to make the new chip faster and retain better battery life.


The chip will be an estimated 26 percent faster and simultaneously use 34-50 percent less power. Power consumption is reduced because each core can be independently shut down when not in use. It can be clocked from 200MHz to 1.5GHz and includes four ARM Mali graphics cores. The Exynos 4412 can supposedly power a built-in projector as well as a 1080p 3D display, so maybe we’ll see these demonstrated at MWC.
It will be up against the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor, so hopefully we see some great performance. The Exynos 5250 also implements dual Cortex-A15 cores, so the OMAP 5 has some competition as well. We wouldn’t want the Samsung Galaxy S III to finally get here and not live up to its expectations, would we?