Samsung Galaxy Nexus will hit Sprint April 15 says rumor

The latest entry in what is the closest to being “the official” Android product line will be available on a new carrier less than a month from now. That is to say, Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus phone, which Google had an active hand in developing, will be losing its Verizon exclusivity and moving to the Sprint network on April 15, complete with the ability to connect to the new carrier’s 4G LTE infrastructure.


That infrastructure, it should be noted, is almost completely undeveloped, but Sprint is making progress in rolling out the new standard in high-speed mobile data throughout its nationwide spectrum. For Sprint, it’s a tough move because it was only a couple years ago that the company fully deployed its previous 4G network, based on Wimax connecivity, which is now seen as obsolete.
Nevertheless, Sprint has given in to the rest of the industry and is now building an LTE network from the ground up. Along with soon-to-be blazing fast connectivity, the Sprint version of the Galaxy Nexus will also bring Google Wallet to the tablet, something the current version of the device does not because Verizon has a conflict of interest in another mobile payment provider, Isis. But Sprint will be able to offer the complete Google Wallet package, available out of the box when the Galaxy Nexus launches on its network.

RIM and Samsung sued for emoticon patent infringement :o(

Emoticons are the little smiley’s and other combinations of characters that people use online in text messages to indicate emotion. They’re sort of like online equivalent of a smirk to let people know you’re kidding or being sarcastic when you say something that could be construed as mean. This week a company called Varia Holdings filed a lawsuit against Samsung and RIM over patent infringement.


The patent that was allegedly infringed on is called “emoticon input method and apparatus.” The plaintiff isn’t claiming ownership of these emoticons, rather it is claiming it owns the concept of allowing users to choose from emoticons automatically rather than having to make them manually. Samsung and RIM have pop-up menus that have a bunch of pre-configured macros for emoticons.
Varia offers up a massive list of devices from Samsung that are infringing on the patent along with multiple BlackBerry smartphones as well. This patent was originally granted to a company called Wildseed, which was later purchased by AOL, and then later spun off from AOL. Among the BlackBerry devices alleged infringing the patent are the Bold, Curve, Pearl, and Storm. Some the smartphones from Samsung plaintiff range include the Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus, and Transform. I certainly don’t see how a pop-up menu of preconfigured characters from a keyboard warrants a patent.

April Samsung Galaxy S III launch in consideration says top exec

Samsung’s Galaxy S III could still launch in April, it’s been revealed, with the company considering pulling forward the debut of the much-anticipated handset from initial May estimates. Samsung Greater China President Kim Young-Ha revealed the potential timescale tweak at a press conference earlier today, the Maeli Business News reports, though the acceleration is yet to be agreed upon.


April has been a well-cited month by retailers and tipsters for the Galaxy S III to arrive, but Samsung has denied all such previous leaks. Instead, the company has merely said that it would launch the new phone sometime in the first half of 2012, having bypassed Mobile World Congress last month so as to reduce the period between unveiling the Galaxy S III and actually putting it on sale.
Nonetheless, Samsung’s reticence to settle on a date hasn’t stopped widespread speculation about the specifications of the new flagship. According to various leaks and rumors, the phone will have a 4.8-inch AMOLED display running at HD resolution, paired with an 8-megapixel camera, NFC for a wireless payments push, and a ceramic casing similar to Rado luxury watches. There’s also been talk of a wireless charging system integrated as standard, and the whole phone being as little as 7mm thick.
Like Apple and Microsoft before it, Samsung is eyeing the Chinese market as the next big thing in potential growth, and the company believes there’s room there for high-end flagships like the GSIII. Kim Young-Ha expects 40-percent growth for Samsung in China, Moneytoday reports.

Samsung Galaxy S III camera sample appears

Some new waves are starting to hit this afternoon regarding a sample photo or two that were taken with the new unannounced, and unreleased Samsung Galaxy S III. Obviously this is just a random image so we can’t take much from it, although seeing test pictures appear gives us hope that the smartphone is coming soon.


There are a few different things to take away from this photo. For one EXIF data from an image can easily be tweaked, or changed but according to this particular image it was snapped with the GT-i9300 — the rumored model number of the next Galaxy S III. It appears to be showing 8.1 megapixels for the camera although previous rumors suggest a 12 MP camera. It could be set to 8, or that might be what we get. At first glance this is a disappointing photo since the Galaxy S II takes very impressive photos.
Sources are claiming the image was snapped by a shaky person and the EXIF data shows it was an HDR image so that explains some of the fuzzy aspects of the photo. Again like we said, EXIF data can always be tweaked but the account this image was uploaded to Picasa was from Andrea Samsung, so that gives us some hope of its legitimacy. We are still waiting for Samsung to give us some sort of official word on the smartphone, or at least announce the unveiling of the phones since it was not at Mobile World Congress. I can’t wait to get my hands on this phone, and I bet I’m not alone.

Samsung Galaxy S WiFi 3.6 confirmed for the US

In Samsung’s never-ending quest to fill every screen size niche down to the millimeter, they announced the Galaxy S WIFI 3.6 at IFA back in September. At the time there were no plans to extend it to the United States, but it looks like they’re shipping it over after all. Unfortunately, Samsung wasn’t forthcoming with a price or date for the portable media player, but it shouldn’t be too long before it joins the North American lineup. Previously Samsung has offered its Galaxy Player/Galaxy S WiFi series in only 4 and 5-inch versions in the United States.

The Galaxy S WiFi 3.6 isn’t out to set the world on fire for specifications, but it should be a good mix of utility and size. The 3.6-inch (duh) screen has a respectable 800×480 resolution on its LCD screen, with a 1Ghz Hummingbird processor powering Gingerbread and TouchWiz. (An ICS update is almost certainly not in the works.) The international version has either 8GB or 16GB of internal space plus an open MicroSD card slot, and both versions should make it to the states eventually. The cameras are a little underwhelming at 2MP and VGA for the rear and front, but at least there’s an LED flash.
At 3.6 inches, the iteration of the WiFi/Player should compete directly with the iPod Touch. That being the case, we might see a very compelling price indeed: the 4.0-inch version can already be found for less than $200, so the smaller option may be at or around the $150-170 range. One can only hope. The Galaxy S WiFi 3.6 was previously confirmed to have Google Apps and the Andro

Samsung exec claims Galaxy S III will have quad-core Exynos processor

More Galaxy S III rumors – today must end with a “y”, then. In its latest batch of corporate teasing, Samsung has found a surreptitious way to whet our appetites for the new flagship phone long before they even announce when they’re announcing it. The Korea Times quotes an unnamed Samsung executive, who said that the company is looking to lower its dependence on silicon giant Qualcomm and go with an in-house solution. That will come in the the form of a quad-core Exynos system-on-a-chip, though the exact model, speed and capability are all up in the air at the moment. That’s all you get; check back in another week for a tiny nugget of new information.

It’s no secret that Samsung does an outstanding amount of business with US-based chipmaker Qualcomm: the vast majority of their smartphones and a few tablets to boot use varrying tiers of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon architecture. Samsung’s own efforts in that area have been relatively low-scale at this point, but those products that do use the current generation of chips (like the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus) tend to stomp on comparable models. If Samsung can ramp up production to meet the inevitably high demand for the Galaxy S III, they’ll probably have a legitimate competitor to both the Tegra 3 and Snapdragon S4 Krait platforms. The Exynos 4412 chip, with four cores running at a maximim of 1.5Ghz, seems the most likely candidate.
The executive didn’t have any more hardware details on the GSIII to spill, sadly leaving us almost as unenlightened as we were previously. No less than three different “leaks” of the new superphone sprang up last week, and since none of them match any of the others, two or (more likely) all three are more faked versions of the real hardware. Samsung has already stated that they’ll be holding an event just for the Galaxy S II successor sometime before the end of Q2, but other than that and this unconfirmed Exynos report, there’s very little confirmed information oat all.

Samsung Galaxy Beam set to brighten the market this April

The Samsung Galaxy Beam is in the news again today and will apparently be making its way to the market this April. This is not the Beam from a few years ago, but the new Android 2.3 Gingerbread powered Galaxy Beam that was announced and we received hands-on time with at Mobile World Congress complete with a bright pico projector.


We’ve heard a few leaks that the new Galaxy Beam will be available in the UK sometime this summer but newer reports have detailed the projector smartphone will be available in India as soon as mid-April. Sadly no reports have been released even hinting at a US release so for now we’ll have to just keep on dreaming.
While the feature probably isn’t a huge must have for all smartphone buyers, there is a certain appeal, not to mention business users could really find it handy. The Galaxy Beam isn’t a top end phone but does feature a 4-inch AMOLED display, a 1.0 GHz dual-core processor, Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread and comes in at least a nice yellow color as shown from our hands-on links below. It has a 2,000 mAh battery and the pico projector mounted on top features 15 lumen of brightness — enough for a few quick presentations should the situation present itself.
At least a few markets will be seeing this device, we’ll update once or if we hear anything regarding a US launch. Would you be interested in a smartphone with a built-in pico projector?

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 drops by the FCC

If it’s taken you this long to purchase a Galaxy Tab 10.1 and you’re not swayed by the Galaxy Note 10.1‘s fancy-pants stylus input, this one may interest you. The Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1-inch version – man, Sammy really needs to work on these names) passed through the hallowed halls of the FCC today. There was never any real doubt that the Galaxy Tab 2 was heading to the US, and will probably be available on one or more carriers as well as a WiFi-only version. That said, this looks like the advance guard international version that manufacturers tend to send through the FCC as a matter of course.

The 10.1-inch version of the Galaxy Tab 2 brings Ice Cream Sandwich and not much else to the original design. The same 1Ghz processor and 1GB RAM combo are present on the inside, with an identical 16 or 32GB of storage (though at least you get an SD card option this time. The screen is the same 10-inch 1280×800 panel, although the front fascia is a little remodeled to appease the lawyers in Cupertino with stereo speakers on either side. The real draw here is Ice Cream Sandwich (with Samsung’s customary TouchWiz, of course) but since the original 10.1 will get that anyway, you’re really payer for a new name, swappable storage and some front-facing speakers.
The model number of the tablet that the FCC is checking out is “GT-P5110″, which would put it just above the current Tab family in terms of Samsung’s hierarchy. As this is the WiFi model, no carriers are currently lined up, but it’s a distinct possibility. Samsung hasn’t said when the Galaxy Tab 2 will go on sale (or even if the 10.1-inch version will be coming to the US) but it’s more than likely that we’ll see it in multiple territories before May.

Samsung ElectroWetting tech destroys e-ink in 2013

It’s been announced this week by Samsung LCD Netherlands R & D Center (SNRC)’s Johan Feenstra that the company will begin mass production of their own next generation e-reader displays starting in 2013. Through the company that Samsung purchased specifically to make their own company bring such technology to the market, we’ve already had a glimpse of what was once just known as Liquavista’s ElectroWetting display. This new-world e-reader-bound technology is able to not only display text and black and white images with great success and next to no power consumed, it’s able to play videos and flip through pages of content without the relatively massive refresh time an e-ink display still does today.


The news here is that this new technology might be hitting shelves within a year from today. Feenstra was not shy about telling the world how close Samsung was to bringing the tech to the e-reader market, he noting this at a digital reading and tablet event in Bussum earlier this week. Feenstra noted that they’re currently concentrating on a 9.7-inch prototype that they hope to show off soon.

Samsung’s new technology is set to improve on current e-reader displays while dramatically reducing battery draw. This means improved ability to show off color as well as black and white paper-like display and more than double the already excellent battery life e-readers have on the whole. And given the current market for e-readers at less than $100 a pop here in the USA, we can expect excellent prices as well!
Have a peek at this demonstration of LiquaVista’s solution from all the way back in 2010 – we’re expecting vast improvements in the meantime!

Samsung Galaxy S III press shot leaks

The newest in a line of Samsung Galaxy S III clues is a press photo provided by a group which claims it is the final straight-on look at the next-generation smartphone. It’s coming from GSM Helpdesk and looks to have a rather familiar screenshot right up the middle, replicating much of what we remember from the Galaxy S III. This clue appears to show off a lovely falsification of several elements, yet provides a couple of clues as to what the final model might have intact, one of these being physical keys.


Have a peek here at a fair comparison between this Galaxy S III image and the Galaxy S II image we know from before the Mobile World Congress event in 2011 in Barcelona. You’ll notice the same temperature, oddly enough, but a different location: London. This tied with the 22nd and a Tuesday on the widget that sits in the lower right-hand corner of this device’s display makes one thing that this indeed will be the time and date of the reveal event, called “Unpacked” once again.

On the other hand, it is a bit odd that Samsung would choose to have exactly the same user interface as they did with a now over-a-year-old device even though their Galaxy S III line is set to almost certainly be running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich instead of what appears to be Android 2.3 Gingerbread here. This makes us think that the display portion of this image has been faked, even given its nicely applied “shiny white line” across the entire device.
What’s much more possible here is that a person received all of the specifications and a basic look at the device and decided to take it upon themselves to do a rendering. The buttons below the display are the most telling, each of them lighting up like a Galaxy device normally would, the central physical button in place as it has been with each Galaxy device outside the USA up until now, and the third button being switched out for a “recent apps” icon while the back button is placed in the first position.
All of this said, we’d certainly not be disappointed if this device appeared very similar to the final product – Samsung Galaxy S III here we come!

Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G Review

This week the brand new T-mobile Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G goes on sale with T-Mobile’s own brand of 4G connectivity and a Qualcomm S3 dual-core processor under the hood. This device represents what was fantastic throughout 2011, what’s going right with the industry today, and a good look at what it means to pay slightly less cash for a device that by all means should be considered a hero device, but isn’t because there can only be one: the Galaxy S II. You can get this device in the store today – now lets have a heavy look at what it means to own it.

Hardware

This device is fantastic for your everyday average Android user. We’ve reached a point where a dual-core processor like this one has is normal yet the camera isn’t quite as powerful as its siblings. Samsung has done this because with a slightly less powerful camera, a few down-grades from the Samsung Galaxy S II, this device is able to be offered at a relatively low price. That said, you’ll see below that the camera does wonders regardless of its less than the best rating.

Next notice that this device looks quite a bit different from other Samsung devices on the back – actually looking more like a touchscreen BlackBerry than anything else. The back casing is a little bit slippery if you’re used to Samsung’s otherwise textured line of Galaxy S II devices which fit in the hand fantastically and slip-free. That’s the only downfall of this entire device’s physical build.

Software

The user interface you’re seeing here you should remember quite well from each of the different iterations of the Galaxy S II we’ve seen, especially the T-Mobile versions. This is the most recent version of TouchWiz from Samsung over Android 2.3 Gingerbread – a great vision for Android if I do say so myself, complete with many customizable features and nice additions by the big S. Have a peek at the device’s software (and a bit of the hardware) here:
The network speed here is 42Mbps HSPA+ via T-Mobile and it certainly appears to be doing better than ever. It’s certainly not the fastest and most complete network we’ve seen, even here in the Twin Cities in Minnesota, but it’s certainly pretty good. This example is a good average for what we’ve been seeing with the device thus far:

This device also runs a Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 dual-core processor at 1.5Ghz, this allowing the device to perform at a much higher level than any Galaxy S original series device. It’s keeping up with the rest of the top-tier devices without trying too hard, getting you ready for the quad-core world of later this year – prepare yourself!

Camera / Battery

This device has a lovely 5-megapixel camera backing it up, which in some cases would be a big draw-back for a device as otherwise powerful as this. Instead though, specifically because you’re working with a Samsung device, they’ve put enough work into the camera that it works great despite it not having the full 8-megapixels we’d expect out of a top-tier device these days. Have a peek at some examples here:


The battery life on this device has been fairly standard, working at a full day (or 14 hours) without needing a charge after relatively heavy use. This device also has the ability to stream videos over its 4G connection for about 4 to 5 hours, and light use will yield something like a day and a half if you’re extremely careful about what you tap on.

Wrap-Up

Here in the Galaxy S Blaze 4G you’ve got a step between the Galaxy S II line and the original Galaxy S line. If you’re looking to spend just a bit less than you’d otherwise be dropping on the hero Galaxy S II line here on T-Mobile, this is your winner. You can grab this phone from T-Mobile today and you’ll not regret your decision to do so – unless of course you’re waiting for the Galaxy S III, a device which will trump this one in both the power and price departments. That’s your cross to bear!
You can grab the new Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G from T-Mobile right this second on their [online store for $150] after a $50 mail-in rebate and a 2-year agreement.

Samsung DROID Charge update gets the green light — brings new UI tweaks

Verizon has just issued the OK for an over the air update for the Samsung DROID Charge. The last update back near the end of 2011 brought Gingerbread and while we still wait for Ice Cream Sandwich on the Charge the update does bring some new UI tweaks, as well as a Verizon remote diagnostic tool and more. All the details are in the documents below.


The update has been detailed by Verizon and all the information is available here. While the UI tweaks and changes weren’t detailed enough for us to comment, we are seeing a few improvements to hotspots, bundled apps like VZW Navigator and more. Check the image in the gallery below for a full list of all the changes you can expect to see on your own DROID Charge.
As usual the update has started rolling out now and Charge owners should be seeing it starting today and throughout the week. For those not wanting to wait you can always manually check for updates by going to settings > about phone > check for updates and give it a go. The biggest change is the inclusion of the Verizon Remote Diagnostics tool that will be installed and cannot be removed. Allowing Verizon to remotely access the device. They claim it will ONLY run, and only be used after a customer support rep asks for permission, gets a code from the user, and the user accepts the access on device. We still aren’t sure how we feel about this being added automatically and not an option, but that is an entirely different story.
Let us know how the update goes, and if you experience any issues by sounding off in the comment section below.

Device Specifications and Information

Device Info

Device Name : Droid Charge

Manufactuer : Samsung

Carrier : Verizon

Announced Date : January 06, 2011

Release Date : May 16, 2011

Also Known As :

Display

• Screen Size : 4.30 Inch
• Resolution : 480x800
• Screen Type : Super AMOLED Plus

Dimension & Weight

• Height : 5.11 Inch
• Width : 2.66 Inch
• Depth : 0.46 Inch
• Weight : 143 Grams

Battery & Power

Battery Type:
• Lithium Ion

• Battery Capacity : 1600 mAh
• Talk Time : NA
• Stand By Time : 280 hours

Software

Android OS:
• 2.2.x

Audio Playback:
• MP3

Video Playback:
• MPEG-4 (MP4)

Messaging:
• SMS
• MMS

Hardware

CPU : Cortex A8 Hummingbird

CPU Clock Speed : 1000 Mhz

Core : 1

Ram : 512 MB

Internal Storage : 2.048 GB

Front Facing Camera :