Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 tablets delayed till late April

Raise your hand if you’re uber excited for the Galaxy Tab 2, in either its 10.1-inch or 7-inch incarnations. Anyone? Well, if you’ve just been dying to get your hands on some warmed-over hardware, you’ll have to wait a little longer: Samsung said that the international release of both tablets has been delayed slightly. They’ll now appear at the end of this month, though specific dates and markets weren’t given. Try to contain your disappointment, Android fans.

Samsung says that both they and Google need the extra time to work on Ice Cream Sandwich for the upcoming tablets… which seems unlikely, since Android 4.0 has been available for nearly five months. What’s more likely is that Samsung’s software engineers need the time to get the latest version of TouchWiz working to their satisfaction. After all, both devices are running on current-generation hardware, and they’ve already released ICS updates for the Galaxy S II. How hard could it be?
The Galaxy Tab 2 10.1-inch and 7-inch versions have met with a resounding “meh” from Android enthusiasts. The 10.1-inch version gets a mild design refresh (probably to get Apple off of Samsung’s back) with specifications virtually identical to the year-old Galaxy Tab 10.1 with the addition of a MicroSD card slot. The Galaxy Tab 2 7-inch improves on the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus with up to 32GB of space plus a MicroSD card slot, but its 1024×600 LCD screen is bested by the Galaxy Tab 7.7′s 720p Super AMOLED display.
Both tablets have cleared the FCC, with the 10.1 spec’d for AT&T’s HSPA+ network. There’s been no formal announcement of availability for either in the US, but they should show up here eventually.

Galaxy S III enters testing in Korea, may have non-Pentile screen

Another week, another batch of Samsung Galaxy S III rumors. We know it’s coming, because a Samsung representative told AsiaE that the device has entered the testing phase in Samsung’s home territory of South Korea. The standard testing regimen apparently takes two months, but Samsung wants it done faster than that – perhaps to get it good and ready for a pre-Olympics rollout. There’s also news out of Korean site DDaily that the GSIII uses a 4.65-inch 720p Super AMOLED screen. That sounds identical to the panel found on the Galaxy Nexus, with one important difference: it doesn’t use the Pentile pixel layout.

Pentile is an alternate screen display method whereby green sub-pixels share the red and blue cells of their neighbors, resulting in a technical loss of fidelity of about 30% when compared with non-Pentile displays. They’re popular with AMOLED suppliers in particular because they’re cheaper, but many users have expressed distaste at a perceived loss in quality. To be honest, we can’t really see the difference when the pixel density is so high, but it looks like Samsung is pulling no punches when it comes to the display on their new flagship. You can see a pretty good example of the difference here.
We’re still very much in the dark when it comes to the Galaxy S III’s hardware or release dates – even the latest screen news is rumor at best. A larger and denser HD screen seems like a no-brainer, as does a faster processor (Exynos or otherwise) and Ice Cream Sandwich with TouchWiz. Other than that, and a tentative schedule of “summer-ish” for an announcement, it’s all a chasing after the wind. All of the renders and leaks thus far have proven to be guesses, suspect, or just downright fakes. We’ll be keeping an ear to the ground for any more solid information.

AT&T Galaxy Note gets its own leaked Ice Cream Sandwich ROM

Someone at Samsung and/or AT&T must be just giving this stuff away, and whoever you are, we thank you. After leaks of the official Android 4.0 ROM for both the Galaxy S II and the Galaxy S II Skyrocket, the same update for the plus-sized Galaxy Note has also appeared. You can download it now over at RootzWiki. The ROM in question is only for the SGH-i717, AKA AT&T’s customized LTE version of the Note hardware – it won’t work on international GSM versions. The leaked software runs Android 4.0.3, and doesn’t appear to have any significant issues.

This is the real deal update, straight from Samsung (via some community-minded tipster) and includes Samsung’s TouchWiz. Of course it’s a little different that the standard version, owing to the Note’s relatively massive screen size and adjuster ergonomics, but seems to include all of the current features plus the standard goodies from Ice Cream Sandwich. The download comes in a Windows EXE, so you’ll need to use the Odin method from a desktop or laptop running Windows. A ZIP file of the update, flashable from your custom recovery of choice, should be hitting the standard Android ROM and forum sites within a day or so.
Of course if you’re not a fan of TouchWiz, there’s plenty of stock and slightly modded ROMs out there for the Galaxy Note… all of which should be improved very soon by the addition of a sanctioned ICS kernel. Popular ROM families like CyanogenMod 9, MIUI 4 and AOKP all have representations on the hardware, though not all are “official” and not all may be available for both major versions of the hardware. Samsung has planned to upgrade the international Galaxy Note with ICS sometime this quarter, and AT&T’s update will go out at some point, though they haven’t said when.

Device Specifications and Information

Device Info

Device Name : GALAXY Note LTE

Manufactuer : Samsung

Carrier : AT&T

Announced Date : January 09, 2012

Release Date : February 19, 2012

Also Known As :

Display

• Screen Size : 5.3 Inch
• Resolution : 1280x800
• Screen Type : Super AMOLED

Dimension & Weight

• Height : 5.78 Inch
• Width : 3.27 Inch
• Depth : 0.38 Inch
• Weight : 183 Grams

Battery & Power

Battery Type:
• Lithium Ion

• Battery Capacity : 2500 mAh
• Talk Time : NA
• Stand By Time : 250 hours

Software

Android OS:
• 2.3.x

Audio Playback:
• AAC
• AAC+
• AMR
• MID
• MP3
• WAV
• WMA

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

Messaging:
• SMS
• MMS

Hardware

CPU : MSM8660

CPU Clock Speed : 1500 Mhz

Core : 2

Ram : 1024 MB

Internal Storage : 16 GB

Front Facing Camera :

AT&T fixes the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket Android 2.3.6 update

Hooray! There’s an Android update for the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket! Finally users can get start enjoying Android…. 2.3.6. Yup, despite the fact that Samsung’s working on an Ice Cream Sandwich update for the LTE phone, AT&T has pushed out a slight Android update for Gingerbread. This is a repair release – the previous update to 2.3.6 was broken, and wouldn’t update the phone properly.

AT&T hasn’t provided a changelog, but the update is probably just some bugfixes and stability improvements. I pulled down the update on our Skyrocket review unit and couldn’t see any serious changes. It’s a quick update that shouldn’t take more than ten minutes even on a 3G connection. There’s no reason not to upgrade for stock users, but those who have rooted their phones might want to just wait until the official Ice Cream Sandwich update.
Of course, those who are rooted are probably either running a custom ROM or already running the leaked Ice Cream Sandwich update. If that’s the case, there’s not a lot here for you. But those who intend to update just as soon as it’s available (whenever that might be) should check their settings menu – the Ice Cream Sandwich update probably won’t be going out for anything but the latest version of the Skyrocket stock ROM. Of course you’ll probably have the option of flashing a clean ROM at that point. It’s up to you.

Device Specifications and Information

Device Info

Device Name : Galaxy S II Skyrocket

Manufactuer : Samsung

Carrier : AT&T

Announced Date : October 31, 2011

Release Date : November 06, 2011

Also Known As :

Display

• Screen Size : 4.5 Inch
• Resolution : 480x800
• Screen Type : Super AMOLED Plus

Dimension & Weight

• Height : 5.11 Inch
• Width : 2.71 Inch
• Depth : 0.37 Inch
• Weight : 130 Grams

Battery & Power

Battery Type:
• Lithium Ion

• Battery Capacity : 1780 mAh
• Talk Time : NA
• Stand By Time : NA

Software

Android OS:
• 2.3.x

Audio Playback:
• AAC
• AAC+
• MID
• MP3
• WAV
• WMA

Video Playback:
• MPEG-4 (MP4)

Messaging:
• SMS
• MMS

Hardware

CPU : Qualcomm

CPU Clock Speed : 1500 Mhz

Core : 2

Ram : 1000 MB

Internal Storage : 16 GB

Front Facing Camera :

Samsung Galaxy S III press image appears, claims May 22 is the day

The Samsung Galaxy S III is one of the most anticipated smartphones of the year, that goes without question. We’ve seen various leaks and tons of fakes claiming to be the real deal. While this could very well be as fake as the rest it at least appears to possibly be real. Being spotted in a press invite and listing for the second time now, May 22nd for the unveiling.


Now obviously the image doesn’t reveal much as far as design, but most press invites don’t. It’s an interesting design that is for sure, and that’s only if it’s real to begin with. Talk about curves right? Uncovered by the folks at Phandroid this could possibly be the real deal, but it’s doubtful.
First off press invites never go out two months in advanced, never. Then looking at the design while I could see this being Samsung’s next flagship as they try to differentiate themselves from the competition, and the Galaxy S II, this just seems a little much. At the same time the Galaxy Nexus leaks showed us a crazy curved design that was exaggerated too so the same situation could apply here. The slit up the side seems odd and uncomfortable — and if it’s for a stylus or S-pen I’ll be angry.
This is a very interesting leak that is for sure. Either someone made a clever and believable press invite image, or this is indeed the real deal. We’ve seen May 22nd tossed around more than once too, so we should take that into consideration too. What do you guys think? Real deal or too crazy to be legit? Sound off below.

AT&T Galaxy Note Android 4.0 ICS hands-on

Say hello to the AT&T 4G LTE Galaxy Note running on Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich. The official AT&T build was leaked late last night and we decided to give it a run on our own phablet. This 5.3″ Super AMOLED packing smartphone running on ICS is awesome. While we don’t have everything Samsung has planned in this build, everything runs pretty rock solid and you can see for yourself in our video after the break.


This is an official build of Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich for the AT&T 4G LTE Galaxy Note, this will not work with the HSPA+ international version. More details for downloading yourself will be available below. So far for just a leaked build everything is extremely impressive. Other than a force close at first boot, everything’s ran smooth as butter. Obviously the Samsung TouchWiz UX changes make ICS not as visible, but you can definetaly tell and feel the difference.

While this doesn’t have the Samsung Suite of new apps that are supposed to benefit the S-Pen stylus it does have some new widgets, Samsung Planner was renamed “calender” as that makes more sense, and we have 5-6 brand new widgets that take full advantage of the 5.3″ screen. Those are all on top of the other new features in Ice Cream Sandwich.
Thanks to the folks over at RootzWiki we were able to give this a full video hands-on rundown, and we love it. The Note might not be for you because of the size, but if that doesn’t bother you it looks even more attractive with ICS. Everything appears to be working here. That includes Face Unlock as you saw above, camera, front camera, 4G LTE, browser, audio, voice and video calls and more. This seems as complete as ever and a fully stable and operational build of Ice Cream Sandwich. What we call a daily driver.
The camera works great and face unlock is extremely quick for those interested in that gimmick security feature. As you can see from the screenshot in the gallery below AT&T 4G LTE seems to be plenty fast with this latest leak. Getting speeds upwards of 20 MB/s here in Vegas. As far as general performance you can see from the video below yourself just how smooth and quick it runs. It took Samsung a few months to iron everything out, optimize the S-Pen and larger widgets for ICS, and it appears they’ve delivered on a pretty solid build.
The official Android 4.0 ICS for the AT&T Galaxy Note isn’t rolling out yet to users but it’s still on track for Q2, so we should be seeing it shortly. If you like what you see above or are just anxious to get the tasty frozen ICS on your own phablet then here is how.
Instructions:
Head to RootzWiki for the download here
-Download the file to a Windows PC (Windows only for now)
-Plug in the note and install USB drivers
-Power off and boot to flash mode (Volume down+power) then confirm with volume up
-Run the RootzWiki one-click flash and let it finish.
You’ll then be on Android 4.0.3 ICS and enjoying all the goodness it brings on all 5.3″ of AMOLED beauty on the Galaxy Note. Here are a few more pics and screenshots, then let us know what you think if you try this yourself.

US Cellular begins selling the LTE-equipped Samsung Galaxy S Aviator

Users of regional carier US Cellular, rejoice! You now have an option for an LTE smartphone, in addition to the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet. The Galaxy S Aviator is now available from the wireless provider for $199.99. less a $100 rebate. If you happen to live in one of the few areas that US Cellular actually offers LTE service in addition to 3G, you can pick it up for $99. The phone will go on sale on US Cellular’s website and retailers today.

The Galaxy S Aviator is essentially a re-skinned version of the familiar Samsung DROID CHARGE. It’s a 4.3-inch Gingerbread phone that would have been at home on any carrier about nine months ago, but now feels a little dated – especially considering that it takes three c-notes to walk out the door with one in most of US Cellular’s coverage area. The screen is a Samsung Super AMOLED with a resolution of 800×480. The processor is a 1Ghz single-core, which should be enough to handle Gingerbread 2.3.6 with TouchWiz. Don’t hold out for an Ice Cream Sandwich update any time soon.
The phone packs an 8-megapixel 720p camera, 2GB of internal memory and a MicroSD card slot. A 1600mAh battery should last a while, but you might want to keep those streaming videos and downloads waiting until you can hop on a WiFi network. US Cellular’s LTE network is just starting, which is more than we can say for the likes of T-Mobile and others – here’s hoping they get more robust smartphone options soon.

Samsung confirms no 3D in Galaxy S III or other devices

Samsung no doubt makes some of the best Android smartphones and tablets available. Their new flagship, the Galaxy S III has seen a rumor or two suggesting 3D capabilities with dual-cameras and glasses-free 3D displays. The entire thought of 3D might sound like a good idea to some, and a bad one to others. Today Samsung has squashed that rumor and put their foot down.


With devices like the HTC EVO 3D and the LG Optimus 3D some were speculating that Samsung would also get into the action, not to mention the fact they are pushing it heavily with 3D TV’s. Some new reports from Engadget have quoted Samsung stating that they have no plans to bring 3D to the mobile markets. Here’s what they had to say:

Although Samsung Electronics is constantly exploring new technologies for our mobile devices, we have no immediate plan to include displays featuring 3D technology in our upcoming smartphones.”

If that isn’t enough to put the rumors and obvious fake fan-made leaks to rest then I don’t know what is. If you for some reason were hoping for 3D in the upcoming Galaxy S III you’ll be disappointed. I’m still not anywhere near being sold on the gimmick feature myself. I’d rather the Galaxy S III be amazingly thin, have an awesome camera and work great. Instead of two mediocre cameras, a fatter design, and a lower quality display — but that is just me.
Samsung’s statement doesn’t completely rule out 3D in their devices moving forward, but it’s safe to say we will not be seeing it anytime soon.

Samsung Nexus S 4G Ice Cream Sandwich update rolling out now

Alright, Nexus S 4G owners, it’s your turn. After waiting on the GSM Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus phones, then the WiFi version of the Motorola XOOM, the CDMA Nexus S is getting its time in the sun with an official Ice Cream Sandwich rollout. If you’re still using the stock Gingerbread ROM, check your Settings menu to see if it’s rolling out to your region at the moment – the carrier says that it will begin sending out the updates this afternoon.

Nexus S GSM owners got an early looks at Ice Cream Sandwich back in December, but it was yanked almost immediately for further testing. All the current Nexus-class devices were updated to the latest version (4.0.4) of Android last week. The CDMA devices… weren’t. The Nexus S 4G is the first among them to get the update, but Verizon customers who bought a XOOM or Galaxy Nexus LTE are still waiting. CDMA XOOM owners have the most to be upset about, since they’re still rocking Honeycomb, assuming that they’ve stayed on the official software releases.
Why the delay? Google has decided not to support CDMA phones or tablets at the same level that they do for GSM and WiFi, owing to a quirk in the way that CDMA devices are authenticated on the network. When using CDMA a phone or tablet needs a unique software key that’s different for every carrier, and by its very nature cannot be open source. Therefore the CDMA Galaxy Nexus and XOOM were taken off the list of official developer devices… notably after most of the first round of early adopters got a chance to put down their hard-earned cash. Want to know when your Verizon Galaxy Nexus or XOOM will be updated? In the words of the Dread Pirate Roberts, get used to disappointment.

Device Specifications and Information

Device Info

Device Name : Nexus S 4G

Manufactuer : Samsung

Carrier : Unknown

Announced Date : March 21, 2011

Release Date : May 08, 2011

Also Known As :

Display

• Screen Size : 4.00 Inch
• Resolution : 480x800
• Screen Type : Super AMOLED

Dimension & Weight

• Height : 4.88 Inch
• Width : 2.48 Inch
• Depth : 0.44 Inch
• Weight : 130 Grams

Battery & Power

Battery Type:
• Lithium Ion

• Battery Capacity : 1500 mAh
• Talk Time : NA
• Stand By Time : 713 hours

Software

Android OS:
• 2.3.x

Audio Playback:
• AAC
• AAC+
• AMR
• MP3

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

Messaging:
• SMS
• MMS

Hardware

CPU : Cortex A8 Hummingbird

CPU Clock Speed : 1000 Mhz

Core : 1

Ram : 512 MB

Internal Storage : 16.384 GB

Front Facing Camera :

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 delayed to June, getting upgrade to Exynos quad-core

Big news appears to have hit the streets over the past couple of days regarding Samsung’s next onslaught of Android tablets. Earlier this week we reported the Galaxy Tab 2 with Android 4.0 ICS was delayed until late April although no reason was released. Today we are now hearing the Galaxy Note 10.1 has also been delayed, but with good reason. The delay is because it will be receiving a quad-core instead.


According to details gathered by PocketDroid the 10.1-inch Galaxy Note has been delayed to sometime in June as Samsung replaces the 1.4 GHz dual-core under the hood with their own in-house quad-core Exynos processor. It is possible that they’ll go with the Tegra 3 too, but most likely they’ll opt for their own silicon.
These details has seemingly been confirmed by a local economic newspaper in Korea the IPD but we will continue to hunt for more details as this is just hitting the wires. The Galaxy Note 10.1 features the same impressive S-Pen technology as the Galaxy Note, and will launch with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on board. I personally don’t mind a small delay if that means we’ll be seeing a quad-core to compete with the Tegra 3. We’ll update with additional details once made available.

Verizon Galaxy Nexus Mugen Power 3900 mAh extended battery [Hands-on]

So you have a Verizon Samsung Galaxy Nexus with 4G LTE and a huge 4.65″ display and you’d love some longer battery life right? Say hello to Mugen Power and their 3900 mAh extended battery and door for the Verizon Gnex. Just arriving on our doorstep we’ve decided to give it a test and see if we can make it through a good part of the weekend from a single charge. Read on past the break for our hands-on video and pictures.


Yes you read that right, this battery is 3900 mAh — giving you over two times the battery life of the stock 1750 mAh battery provided by Samsung. Being a little thicker than most, Mugen has provided us with a replacement battery cover with a nice soft touch matte back and hey, look at that, it even has a kickstand. I quickly tossed the battery into my Galaxy Nexus and threw it on the charger. I’ve already done a battery cycle and will charge it fully again before testing it all weekend.
Mugen Power Verizon Galaxy Nexus 3900 mAh battery unboxing
For roughly $98 dollars the build quality and kickstand feels a little cheap but if this thing will truly make my Galaxy Nexus last around 2.3 times longer, I’m all game. Obviously a lot goes into testing a battery and everyone’s usage patterns vary, but I’ll be testing it against my own use as I’ve taken plenty of screenshots throughout the past few months.
Mugen suggests you charge it past 100% and leave it plugged in a good 8 hours total the first 3-4 times you charge it up, to get the most of the battery’s capabilities. At first glance the kickstand doesn’t sit completely flush so it wobbles a tiny bit while attempting to lay flat on a table, but we’ll break down the build quality, price, and overall benefits in our full review early next week.
Enjoy the pictures below, head to Mugen Power to get your own if you’re already interested, and stay tuned for more info coming soon.

Device Specifications and Information

Device Info

Device Name : GALAXY Nexus 4G [Verizon]

Manufactuer : Samsung

Carrier : Verizon

Announced Date : December 14, 2011

Release Date : December 15, 2011

Also Known As : Nexus Prime

Display

• Screen Size : 4.65 Inch
• Resolution : 1280x720
• Screen Type : Super AMOLED

Dimension & Weight

• Height : 5.33 Inch
• Width : 2.67 Inch
• Depth : 0.37 Inch
• Weight : 150 Grams

Battery & Power

Battery Type:
• Lithium Ion

• Battery Capacity : 1850 mAh
• Talk Time : NA
• Stand By Time : 150 hours

Software

Android OS:
• 4.0.x

Audio Playback:
• AAC
• AAC+
• AMR
• MID
• MP3
• WAV
• WMA

Video Playback:
• h.264 / AVC

Messaging:
• SMS
• MMS

Hardware

CPU : OMAP 4460

CPU Clock Speed : 1200 Mhz

Core : 2

Ram : 1000 MB

Internal Storage : 32 GB

Front Facing Camera :

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1) leak suggests $399 price tag

Earlier this week we received more than a couple of reports that the new Galaxy Tab 2, both the 7-inch and 10-inch models from Samsung had been delayed until late April. While things still seem to be on track for a late April release we now have a leaked price too. The folks from Engadget spotted the 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab 2 at Office Depot of all places, showing a price tag of only $399 for the Ice Cream Sandwich tablet.


The Galaxy Tab 2 is Samsung’s second attempt at a 10-inch tablet and has a few changes over the original. Those include a slightly thinner chassis, and front facing speaker grills similar to a few models we’ve seen in Germany as of late. Under the hood is the same 1280 x 800 resolution screen and 1.0 GHz dual-core Tegra 2 processor, so no quad-core here but still plenty fast.

The page has since been pulled, but the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 was spotted at Office Depot’s online store for only $399. A sign that Samsung might finally be realizing they’ve been asking a bit too much for their tablets. After a second look you’ll quickly notice that is for the 8GB model, and sadly the 16GB will probably still be $449. Most likely they’ll also offer a 32GB model priced around $499, which seems high given the price of better tablets like the Transformer Prime.
The Tab 2 has already cleared the FCC, including once with AT&T bands and should be hitting stores in the US soon. Once Samsung makes any official announcements we’ll be sure to update with all the details.

Click here to find out more! AT&T Samsung Infuse 4G update rolling out again via Kies

A couple of months ago Samsung Infuse 4G owners were thrilled to find out that thet their phones were finally getting updated to Gingerbread, only to immediately be disappointed that it was put on hold from AT&T. According to a tipster, the update is finally back on, though you’ll need to connect to Samsung’s Kies desktop program in order to apply it. We can’t confirm the tip, so if you’ve got an Infuse and you’re hungry for some Gingerbread, download the driver and Kies program and see if you can pull down the update.

The Infuse is a scaled-up version of the Galaxy S for AT&T’s HSPA+ network. It’s pretty impressive as one of the first crop of 4.5-inch phones, even more so when you consider its Super AMOLED panel – though the resolution is just 800×480. In fact just about the only thing we didn’t like in our review back in May of last year was the choice to ship the phone with Android 2.2 Froyo, despite it being about six months out of date at the time. Nearly a year later that’s still the case, except for those who were lucky enough to get Gingerbread before AT&T took it down, citing but not detailing problems for a few users.
As noted above, we can’t verify that the update is working, but we’ve got a report from one lucky Infuse owner and it’s starting to gain a little traction on the web. Try it out – you’ve got nothing to lose but Froyo. The Infuse has the hardware muscle to run Ice Cream Sandwich and Samsung’s posted the source code, so if you’re feeling brave, now might be the time to start searching for some custom ROMs as well.

Device Specifications and Information

Device Info

Device Name : Infuse 4G

Manufactuer : Samsung

Carrier : AT&T

Announced Date : January 05, 2011

Release Date : May 15, 2011

Also Known As :

Display

• Screen Size : 4.50 Inch
• Resolution : 480x800
• Screen Type : Super AMOLED Plus

Dimension & Weight

• Height : 5.20 Inch
• Width : 2.80 Inch
• Depth : 0.35 Inch
• Weight : 139 Grams

Battery & Power

Battery Type:
• Lithium Ion

• Battery Capacity : 1750 mAh
• Talk Time : NA
• Stand By Time : 400 hours

Software

Android OS:
• 2.2.x

Audio Playback:
• AAC
• AAC+
• MID
• MP3
• WMA

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

Messaging:
• SMS
• MMS

Hardware

CPU : Cortex A8 Hummingbird

CPU Clock Speed : 1200 Mhz

Core : 1

Ram : 512 MB

Internal Storage : 16.384 GB

Front Facing Camera :

Rumored Nexus Tablet pushed back to July – don’t call it a delay

The Internet is abuzz with the latest rumors surrounding Google’s first-party Android tablet, namely that it won’t be here as soon as many had hoped. Despite rumors that the “Nexus Tablet” could begin production as soon as April and go on sale in May, anonymous sources now claim that the device has been pushed back for a July release. The reasoning? They’re doing some tweaks to the internal hardware – which, by the way, is still a complete unknown – to lower the price. The tablet was already expected to retail for $200 or less to compete with the popular reader-tablets on the market right now.

To be blunt, this should surprise no one. Even if you’re going along with the popular rumor that ASUS has scrapped their ambitious MeMO 370T design to be Google’s hardware partner for the Google tablet, the time frame was always to close to Google I/O that a reveal at the conference seemed like a no-brainer. Google I/O is the company’s software-focused trade show dedicated to the latest in Android, Google TV, Chrome, et cetera, and it’s also a frequent venue for lavish hardware giveaways – which is probably why tickets sold out in half an hour. If Google’s got a new developer tablet in the works, you can bet it’ll show up there, and probably be sent home with attendees.
There’s still very little that can actually be confirmed about the device. ASUS is expected to be the manufacturer, possibly because they caught Google’s eye with the excellent Transformer family of tablets. Ice Cream Sandwich with its dual smartphone-tablet focus is expected to be the operating system – June or July is a little soon for Google to introduce a brand new version of Android, be it 5.0, Jelly Bean or something else. That said, a few tweaks (maybe Android 4.1) are not out of the question. In any case, you’ll want to keep a close eye one Android Community when Google I/O comes around. We’ll be there live to cover it.

TELUS launching the Samsung Galaxy Note in white April 4th

For the past little while I've been contemplating picking up a Samsung Galaxy Note from one of the Canadian carriers that have it available. Sadly though, none of them have it available in white so I was going to grab an unlocked AT&T version. The latest news from TELUS though may have me once again changing my plans again because as of April 4th, they'll be releasing their own version in white. If you can hold out until April 4th, a white Galaxy Note can be yours for $200 with a new three-year contract from TELUS or $780 no term

Why it makes sense for Sprint to launch the Galaxy Nexus with LTE turned off by default

There's something sadly funny about seeing training docs for the Sprint Samsung Galaxy Nexus, nearly half a year after its initial launch in the rest of the world. But that's where we stand today, as Engadget's gotten its hands on some internal Sprint materials showing employees how to sell the thing. There's not much in the way of anything to tell you ​when​ it's coming, but obviously training's a pretty big step toward launch.

The one interesting thing we see is that LTE won't be turned on by default. On one hand, it suggests that Sprint's LTE network might not actually be up and running when the Sprint GNex launches.

But consider this: Even if Sprint were to flip the switch on its LTE network tomorrow, it'd still only be live in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Baltimore and Kansas City. Barring any new announcements, that leaves, oh, every city but those without Sprint LTE -- and there are a lot of Sprint stores in the rest of the country that will be selling the Galaxy Nexus.

So while it looks like Sprint will launch the Galaxy Nexus with LTE turned off by default, maybe it's not quite as crazy as it sounds. On the other hand, it doesn't do much to persuade me to to with Sprint's LTE network over more mature networks like Verizon, or even AT&T.

More factory images for the Nexus S released

A few days ago we saw the very first factory images for the Nexus S posted by Google. Previously you had to use a community-supplied image to go all the way back to 2.3.4 and then manually flash the updates. It was a pain, and we're glad that Google and the hardware vendors got it all worked out. Earlier today, three more factory images for the Crespo were released, including 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich for the i9020a. Unfortunately, users of some Nexus S models still aren't seeing any ICS love.

The sojuk -- the Korean m200 model -- has a 2.3.6 image available for download, and the Sprint version -- model d720 or sojus -- has the 2.3.7 image available as a "reference only" download. We're not sure what's happening with versions other than the i9020t "world version", but at least the model that works with AT&T is up-to-date. 

I still love the Nexus S. I destroyed mine (water damage sucks) and am looking to replace it. Yes, I can use just about any Android phone available and really want my Nexus S back. But it's soon out of warranty, and if you're the type that has to have the latest just root the thing and do it. We've got all the help you would need in the forums, and now with factory restore images you could just roll back and relock it if things go awry.

Ice Cream Sandwich for the AT&T Galaxy Note leaked

 

The folks over at RootzWiki got their hands on a leaked build of Ice Cream Sandwich for the AT&T Galaxy Note (I717). First reports are pretty good, with the few bugs easy to work around. RootzWiki notes the list of features as:

• Face Unlock is fully functional
• LTE connections are solid and up to speed
• Phone calls work great both ways
• Audio quality is up to par
• Stereo Bluetooth is fully functional
• MMS is fully functional
• GPS is fully functional
• Google Talk and Video Chat work
• Google Voice is fully functional
• Task Manager is smooth and transitions are quick
• Downloaded Flash video and in-browser video works flawlessly
• Chrome autosync is fully functional
• AT&T Hotspot functionality works, external devices connect fine

It's the same sort of leak we saw recently for the Skyrocket, which means it's a Windows only affair until someone get's a flashable version out of it. It also hits your flash counter, so be aware of warranty issues if you give it a try. 

With the unexpected popularity of the Galaxy Note, we're pretty certain a version for folks who would rather flash things from recovery. We have no idea when the official version will be ready for release, so if you are itching for ICS this may be your only chance for a while. Grab it, and follow the directions closely, from the source link