Android 4.1 Jelly Bean upgrade now rolling out to Galaxy Note 10.1 in Germany

The Galaxy S3’s bumpy and sluggish Jelly Bean upgrade is more or less done and dusted, so it’s only natural to expect Sammy to move on to the next device that needs Android 4.1.
Surprisingly (or not), this is neither the Galaxy Note phablet, nor the GS2, but the Galaxy Note 10.1, the fresh, but only mildly successful S-Pen supporting 10-inch tablet. According to several reports around the web, the JB update has already begun in Germany, being expected to spread all across Europe over the next few weeks.
Carrying the N8000XXBLJ9 build number, the software package weighs in at around 300 MB and is available as an OTA (over-the-air) upgrade. That means that, if you live in Germany, you should get an automatic prompt message soon encouraging you to download and install the update.

If that doesn’t happen, what you want to do is ensure you have a solid network connection, boot your tab a couple of times, and then manually check for the update by diving in your Settings menu. If that doesn’t help either, it can’t hurt to have a little more patience, as we know very well how these upgrades can be fractionate and slow.
An alternative option would be to grab the firmware from this SamMobile link, but if you think it’ll work for tabs outside Germany, you’ve got another thing coming.
Of course, we don’t know much about the update’s changelog just yet, but we have a few screenshots from German website AllAboutSamsung, which show a bunch of cosmetic changes and some new pop-up apps. A number of performance and speed bumps are to be expected, as well as the adding of the uber-cool Google Now with Voice Search.
Now all there is to know is what countries are next in line after Germany and when will the JB upgrade start for the GS2 and GNote. We want answers, Samsung, and we want them yesterday!

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What’s better than 20 million? Over 30 million Samsung Galaxy S3 handsets now sold worldwide

Soon after Samsung made the historic announcement in early September that the Galaxy S3 had passed the 20 million sales mark, a feat it reached in 100 days, the company set a new sales target for the flagship device. It didn’t take long for Samsung to accomplish the  not-so-impossible mission of selling an extra 10 million units before the end of the year.
Yesterday, Samsung Poland took to Twitter and Facebook to announce that the firm has sold over 30 million Galaxy S3 handsets worldwide. The “jumping for joy” moment was captured in the picture above, quite literally.
Honestly, we didn’t expect anything less from one of the must-have items of the year, and besides, the signs were all there.
The Galaxy S3 posted some of its best sales weeks not long after the release of its iPhone 5 nemesis. And while we’re on the subject of bragging rights, the record-breaking phone is also T-Mobile’s best-selling device of all time.
When it comes to the Samsung Galaxy S3 and its sales power, the sky seems to be the limit. Are you one of the gazillion Galaxy S3 owners? Is the phone everything you’ve ever wanted and more? Give us and fellow Galaxy S3 users a shout out in the comments below.

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Samsung Galaxy Premier pays FCC a visit, forgot to bring its LTE radio

Prior to its official introduction, Samsung hasn’t exactly been hiding the Galaxy Premier from the world. There was no real element of surprise when the phone’s final specs were finally revealed, but it’s quite a relief to learn that the Premier will be released internationally after all.
Although the list doesn’t specifically mention the U.S., the Galaxy Premier recently made a stop at FCC, where the agency has given its seal of approval. This means we can probably expect the Premier to land in the near future.
Unfortunately, we have another Nexus 4 situation right here. The filing suggests that the Premier won’t be bringing its 4G LTE prowess to the U.S. market. The phone only carries an HSPA 3G radio that will work on AT&T and several Canadian carriers.
So for now, you may want to cross off the Galaxy Premier from your wish list if you simply must have 4G on your phone. Furthermore, given the Premier’s $680 price tag, it sure is one expensive galaxy to live in.

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Apple UK Samsung apology reposted, cleverly hidden with code

The UK Apple-apology-to-Samsung saga continues with new predicaments in this problematic issues for the iOS device maker.
In case you’re not aware of it, Samsung beat Apple in a patent-based case concerning the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the UK. The courts found the uncool Galaxy Tab 10.1 not to be infringing on iPad patents and asked Apple to formally apologize to Samsung, both on its website and in print. Apple appealed but the ruling was upheld and so it had to post its apology.
And Apple did exactly so but forgot to use the words “apologize” or “sorry” in the process. The company posted an acknowledgement of the rulings in UK, and mentioned other rulings in similar cases in the process, which prompted the courts to ask the company to reword the apology.
Meanwhile, the company took ads in UK newspapers to post the non-apologetic apology. And now it looks like it has reworded the message on its website.
Here’s what that message reads now:

Samsung / Apple UK judgment
On 9 July 2012 the High Court of Justice of England and Wales ruled that Samsung Electronic (UK) Limited’s Galaxy Tablet Computers, namely the Galaxy Tab 10.1, Tab 8.9 and Tab 7.7 do not infringe Apple’s Community registered design No. 0000181607-0001. A copy of the full judgment of
the High Court is available from www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Patents/2012/1882.html.
That Judgment has effect throughout the European Union and was upheld by the Court of Appeal of England and Wales on 18 October 2012. A copy of the Court of Appeal’s judgment is available from www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2012/1339.html. There is no injunction in respect of the Community registered design in force anywhere in Europe.

But apparently Apple used a trick to hide the message from its front page, where the new iPads are still presented to consumers instead. The Next Web reports that Hacker News and Reddit users have uncovered code on Apple’s website that hides the apology to Samsung. Here’s what they found:

var HeroResize=AC.Class({initialize:function(b){this._height=null;this._hero=$(b);
AC.Object.synthesize(this);this.__boundResizeHero=this.resizeHero.bindAsEventListener(this);
if(typeof window.ontouchstart===”undefined”){this.resizeHero();Event.observe(window,”resize”,this.__boundResizeHero)
}},setHeight:function(b){this._height=(b<0)?0:b;return this._height},resizeHero:function(){this.setHeight(parseInt(window.innerHeight||(window.document.documentElement.clientHeight||window.document.body.clientHeight),10)-310);
this.hero().style.height=this.height()+”px”}});Event.onDOMReady(function(){var b=new HeroResize(“billboard”)
});

What happens exactly? Well, the acknowledgement of its court-ordered obligation is on the front-page, but it’s not viewable from the moment you check out the site. In order for anyone visiting the site to see it, they’d first have to scroll all the way to the bottom because otherwise everything you’d get, no matter what resolution your display is, is an iPad mini ad.

In case you do scroll all the way to the bottom of the page, you’ll see this message appear (see screenshot above as well), with a link to the apology quoted above:

On 25 October 2012, Apple Inc. published a statement on its UK website in relation to Samsung’s Galaxy tablet computers. That statement was inaccurate and did not comply with the order of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales.
The correct statement is at Samsung/Apple UK judgement.

It’s definitely easy to miss unless you pay attention to that scroll bar that lets you know there’s more to that page that meets the eye.
These are the intricate ways such companies keep poking each other and bending the rules in the process. And you can’t blame Apple for trying to get out of this apology at all costs. But will the judge agree with such practices? Do you think Apple will be asked for a third apology draft?

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Samsung Stratosphere 2 pic leaked, Verizon release is imminent

It’s pretty obvious that slide-out QWERTY smartphones are not everybody’s favorites, due to their “robust” bodies and mid-range specs. Still, students, elders and even businessmen tend to favor them, what with their added functionality and all.
One of the most interesting QWERTY devices of 2011 has been Verizon’s Samsung Stratosphere, which is getting ready for a refresh. Rumors about the second Stratosphere have been floating around ever since August, but now it’s time to finally have a look at the new phone’s design.
The first Stratosphere 2 pic is not official, but does come from a very trustworthy source, notorious Twitter account @evleaks, so we’ll take this one for granted. As expected, there aren’t going to be many visual differences between the second Stratosphere and its predecessor, although the new phone’s edges are much more rounded than before.

I know that’s not a tweak to be crazy about, however there seems to be something better about the Stratosphere 2’s overall look too. I’m not sure if it’s just me, but the “noble black” of the first handheld might have been replaced with a darker and more distinguished shade of black, while the back side also seems a tad more elegant and smoother.
The physical keyboard looks identical to the first, which is not a bad thing, while the four on-screen buttons have been kept, but are now differently placed.
Evleaks mentions nothing about the device’s features, but, based on previous rumors, we have an almost complete spec sheet lined – 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display, dual-core 1.5 GHz S4 CPU, 1 GB of RAM, 8 MP rear-facing camera, 4G LTE, Android 4.0 ICS.
We also suspect the phone to come branded as a Galaxy device this time, while the Verizon release should happen by November 21. As for pricing, that’s still a very delicate subject. Anyone excited about the Stratosphere 2 now that we know how it will look? How much do you think Big Red will ask for this?

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Tests conducted on a dozen USB chargers show that neither iPhone or Android phones have the best

USB chargers are everywhere. They’re online, at your job, in your home, and in any electronics store. Typically, we don’t pay much attention to them. As long as they charge the phone without mucking things up, most of us are pretty happy. However, how well these chargers work is something that can be measured.
Ken Sheriff’s Blog recently conducted a study to see which chargers were the best. For some, it was necessary. Some chargers work fine the way they are. Some may not deliver adequate power, mess with things like touch screen use, and even self destruct.
The criteria for the rankings are pretty in depth. Tests were conducted in efficiency, delivery of advertised power, power quality, power curve, and there was a general analysis of the hardware. During the tests, several OEMs are represented. They include Samsung, Apple, Monoprice, HP, Belkin, KMS, and Motorola. Included also are a few counterfeit chargers to see if they can compare to the OEMs they’re ripping off.

Which of the chargers was the best?

According to the results, HP, via the HP Touchpad, scored the highest in all fields. Who’d have thought HP did something right with the Touchpad? Apple, Motorola, and Samsung all scored very high. In fact, in most results they were nearly identical to one another. In the mid-range, Monoprice, Belkin, and KMS were average or better. To the surprise of no one, the counterfeit chargers were garbage.
The non-counterfeit chargers did pretty well in all the tests. None of them were deemed unsafe, even if some were more efficient than others. The counterfeit chargers, though, showed that they are a real danger to pretty much anyone who uses them. While all the aforementioned chargers scored three out of five or higher, none of the counterfeit chargers made it passed two out of five.
So the lesson is, spend a few extra bucks and buy the real thing. The fake ones could cause some real damage to your property. Has anyone been fooled by the fakes before? Let us know.

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Samsung files for tri-fold flexible display patent for smartphones – what could this mean?

Thought that flexible displays were a long way off before they could start showing up on smartphones? Think again. Samsung is leading the way towards producing the very first such displays that could be part of its next  smartphones generations. This has been a big year for Samsung and its work on flexible displays is another step in the right direction.
The company has already submitted a number of patent applications that detail the intriguing folding display designs for its smartphones. All along, since back at CES 2009, Samsung had presented a prototype of the unit and promised to deliver on it. The new flexible displays are expected to replace the traditional LCD displays by 2015-2016, at least according to a recent Samsung announcement. But in the mean time, it looks like Samsung has filed a new flexible display patent, this time describing a tri-fold panel.
The patent includes a number of representations that clearly show how a tri-fold display unit would work in a smartphone:

If delivered successfully, the tri-fold display could be revolutionary and would likely be the display of choice that allows a smartphone to be expanded into a mini tablet that would let users enjoy surfing the web, watching movies or playing games. It could also allow Samsung to produce the gadget of choice for cool Internet devices and unseat competing Apple products in the products. This would also help clean up Samsung’s image, which has already been marred by the copycat designer accusations and reveal it to be the true innovator in the mobile device space.
Currently, Samsung’s handsets shipments give it a 2-to-1 ratio lead over Apple’s iPhone shipments in Q4. Clearly, the mobile device war is only going to accelerate, especially if the Samsung tri-fold flexible display kicks off.

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Samsung’s brand new Galaxy Note 2 phablet is still somewhat hard to procure in its subsidized flavor in the US and Canada, but if you want to break free from carrier restrictions, here’s a deal that will make you burst with excitement.
The factory unlocked GNote 2 goes for just $579.99 from DailySteals, down from a “list price” of $999.99 and a real price of around $670-700 on other retailers. The catch? Well, there doesn’t seem to be one, as far as we can tell, unless you count the limited time you have to take advantage of the deal.
As its name clearly points out, DailySteals is a website that offers special offers valid for 24 hours only, and this particular promotion is no exception, being ready to run out in around 12 hours… and counting. Both the white and gray versions of the Galaxy Note 2 model number GT-N7100 are being sold for 580 bucks, and no matter which version you’ll choose you will get a one year international warranty.

While this international Note 2 should work fine on any and every network around the world, including on US carriers, do keep in mind that the phablet comes with EDGE/GPRS support on 850/900/1800/1900 MHz frequencies and HSPA+ speeds, but not 4G LTE.
Other than that, you shouldn’t sacrifice much, because all the other expected treats are there, including Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, a super-snappy 1.6 GHz quad-core CPU, a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display with 1280 x 720 pix res, 2 gigs of RAM, 16 GB of on-board storage, microSD support, a 3,100 mAh battery, NFC and so on and so forth.
There’s also S Pen support for those of you more creative than the average, and we’ve all seen what that can mean in a skilled hand. Any takers?

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Meet Arndale the new Exynos 5-based community board from Samsung

There are two types of ARM based development boards in the world today, the cheap ones like the Raspberry Pi and the expensive ones like the new Arndale board which has just been announced by Samsung. The Raspberry Pi starts at $35 for the basic board while the Arndale starts at $250. Quite a difference. But, as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. The Arndale comes packed with power!
The Arndale uses Samsung’s Exynos 5 dual core Cortex-A15 processor running at 1.7 GHz and includes 2GB of RAM. There is also 4GB of internal storage and a whole load of connectivity options. The board supports the use of a touch screen display as well as HDMI, plus there are connections for NFC, USB 3.0, Ethernet, GPS, Wi-Fi, SATA and a camera.
The Exynos 5 processor is a monster of a chip and is the same one that is used in the Google Nexus 10. It has the world’s first dual core Cortex-A15 CPU plus it incorporates the world’s first quad-core ARM Mali™-T604 GPU based on 32nm High-K Metal Gate technology. The result is a 12.8 GB/s memory bandwidth, 1080p 60 FPS video performance and VP8 codec decoder and USB 3.0 support.
The release of the board is part of Samsung’s promise to open up its Exynos chipset. The lack of information has held back some developers from working to optimize their apps for Exynos-based devices since Samsung was not sharing the full documentation nor the source code for the chipset.
Samsung’s spin on this board is that not only does the Arndale give developers access to a complete dual-core Cortex-A15 processor and Mali-T604 GPU platform, but it has features not usually found on other community board such as NFC, GPS and a camera sensor.
But with great power comes great expenses. The bare board costs $250, while the seven inch touch screen costs another $250. If you want to add Sound + WiFi + Bluetooth + GPS + FM, that costs another $120. In total if you buy everything including the camera module and the accessories package then the total development kit comes to $740!
Samsung have set up a dedicated site for the board: arndaleboard.org which has loads of documentation and instructions on how to build Android (from a Ubuntu host) and flash it onto the device. The only unpublished bit so far is the actual Android source code for the device which Samsung says will be available in December.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 2 video shows 50 minutes of connecting devices

If you happen to have a Galaxy Note 2, or are planning to purchase a Galaxy Note 2 and have any questions about which USB devices will work when plugged in — this video will probably give you the answer. The video, which we can only describe as being epic, is 50 minutes long and shows everything from game controllers, to keyboards and mice, to USB hard drives, to memory card readers and much more being connected.
Anyway, while the video is on the longer side, there are lots of time codes and shortcuts listed, so for some, you can probably avoid having to watch the whole video. For example, those curious about a USB keyboard with a trackpad can skip to the 5:34 mark and see how the keyboard works and the trackpad even has support for multitouch gestures.
Otherwise, while the vast majority of the items do not require root in order to work, there were a few that did. Those items were clearly noted in the video. And for some, the usefulness may vary. For example, a 2TB external hard drive was recognized, however it needed to be plugged into external power and took some time before the files were viewable.
Bottom line here, while a wide variety of devices are able to be connected, the usefulness and amount of before-hand preparation seem to vary.

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Samsung’s Galaxy S3 Mini passes FCC test, may come to U.S. after all

There isn’t that much buzz surrounding the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini after it was officially unveiled, no thanks to the phone’s rather weak specs.
But if you have a thing for a Galaxy S3-lookalike in a smaller form factor, you’ll be happy to hear that the Mini has been deemed safe for usage by FCC. The rendezvous also confirmed that the phone won’t be shipping with a 4G LTE radio.
At the time of its introduction, Samsung said that the company wants to meet the demand for a 4-inch phone in the European market. This – and the lack of 4G LTE – is a sign that it may not be offered in the U.S. anytime soon. The green light from FCC, however, opens a path for the S3 Mini’s future arrival in the country.
Given its strong resemblance to its bigger S3 cousin, the mid-range phone can become a hot item if priced right. As a reminder, the Galaxy S3 Mini packs a 4-inch Super AMOLED display with 800 x 400 resolution, a dual-core 1GHZ NovaThor processor, 8GB/16GB onboard storage, microSD support, 5MP rear camrera, VGA front cam, NFC, and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

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Deal: Samsung Galaxy S3 50% off at Best Buy today

If you’ve had your eye on the Samsung Galaxy S3, but haven’t yet made the leap to purchase it, today might be the right day. As previously reported, the S3 is part of Best Buy’s Deal of the Day, selling for 50 percent off, today only.
The deal doesn’t mention a specific carrier, but when I took the deal for a test drive, the only carrier option presented to me was Sprint. It isn’t clear if other carriers may be options depending on your location, but I tried the deal with multiple zip codes and still found Sprint was the only option presented. Still, it’s $99 for a brand new Samsung Galaxy S3, so depending on your carrier preference, this could be for you.
Are you planning to use this deal to get yourself a new Samsung Galaxy S3? Or have you already got one? Have you got any tips for potential buyers?

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Verizon may launch the Galaxy Note 2 only on November 29

While you can already pre-order the Galaxy Note 2 on Verizon right now, with an expected delivery date of November 27, the carrier has been pretty slow in revealing when it’s going to launch the device. A leaked internal document now reveals what we’ve pretty much come to expect.
According to the screenshot, as posted on Droid-Life, Verizon will only be stocking the Galaxy Note 2 (Titanium Grey and Marble White) on its stores on November 29, which makes Big Red the last major carrier in the States to officially launch the Note 2.

Sprint and T-Mobile are already selling the Note 2 online and in their brick-and-mortar stores, while AT&T is expected to follow suit on November 9. Would it be right to assume that Verizon needs those extra days so that it can ruin the device’s home button with its logo?

If you can’t wait for a month to get the Galaxy Note 2 and its S Pen, and are toying with the idea of scoring it elsewhere, you may want to check out our Note 2′s availability roundup post from a few days back.
What’s it going to be — stay with Verizon and bear the long wait or jump ship to another carrier?

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Samsung Galaxy Note 2 availability roundup – U.S. and Canada

So it’s finally here – the sequel to the smartphone that has launched a thousand “size” jokes and debates on what to call it, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2. Especially for you, we’ve compiled everything we know so far of the Galaxy Note 2’s availability on several U.S. and Canadian carriers. Happy hunting!

U.S. carriers

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 2 is already up for sale on Sprint and T-Mobile. While Sprint is selling the smartphone for $300 with the usual two-year contract, purchasing the device from T-Mobile will set you back $370 on contract (after $50 mail-in rebate). If you want to purchase the Note 2 outright without the hassle of a service agreement, both carriers are offering it for $650.
As for AT&T and Verizon, the phone is only up for pre-order for now, where both are offering the Galaxy Note 2 for $300 with a two-year contract. Buying the AT&T variant outright will cost you $650, while Verizon charges $700. You can expect a faster shipping date for AT&T’s Note 2 (Nov. 7) than Verizon’s (Nov. 27).
Over at U.S. Cellular, the pen-equipped smartphone will hit its brick-and-mortar stores on October 26 for $300 with the mandatory two-year contract. If the idea of being stuck to paying monthly payments bothers you, you can pay $800 just for the handset.

Canadian carriers

The Galaxy Note 2 is coming to all major carriers in Canada – a list that includes Telus, Bell, Rogers, Mobilicity, Wind, Videotron, and SaskTel. We know that Samsung is planning to throw a big launch party for the phone’s arrival on October 30, but we’re not sure if it’ll go on sale right away for all seven. As for its price, it’s likely that you’ll have to pay $199 with a three-year contract and $729 unlocked – though the Rogers variant might come $100 more expensive on contract.

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Supposed Nexus 10 manual leaks online

Google is rumored to reveal more than one Nexus devices on October 29, one of them being the thoroughly leaked LG Nexus 4, and the other a Samsung made Nexus 10 tablet.
While the Nexus 4 is no mystery anymore, Google managed to maintain some secrecy around the 10-inch tablet. But, as we approach the date of the supposed announcement, the shroud is unraveling. Today, a Korean site revealed what appears to be a user manual of the Nexus 10.
Mind you, with the recent hoaxes that sent waves through the Android blogosphere, we can’t swear by the veracity of this supposed leak. With that said, Seeko.co.kr only provided two photos of the manual, one showing the cover and one showing the “getting started” section. While the first image reveals little more than the official name of the device, the second photo shows us that Samsung and Google may have borrowed heavily from the design of the Galaxy Note 10.1, the pen-enabled tablet that the Koreans launched this summer.
Like the Note 10.1, the Nexus 10 will feature rounded sides (with the curvature being slightly more pronounced on the Nexus). The product diagram shows a micro USB port, a micro HDMI port, and dual front facing speakers. The usual front and rear facing camera can also be spotted in the diagram, along with a LED flash.

Hopefully, the Nexus 10 will feature a much better build quality than the Note 10.1, but also more powerful specs. Rumors suggest a mind blowing 2560 x 1600 display, and on the software side, the newest version of Android.
What do you make of this latest leak? Do you consider it trustworthy? Would you like a Nexus tablet that takes design cues from the Note 10.1

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Samsung Galaxy Note 2 NYC Event Wrap Up

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 NYC Event Wrap Up

Samsung held an event in New York City earlier this evening as part of its Galaxy Note 2 World Tour, and we were there to see it happen. While there wasn’t any earth-shattering news revealed, the event was well received and devices were everywhere for the testing. Read on for a first-hand account of the event.

To kick things off, there was a short video showing the increasing popularity of Samsung devices. After this, Chief Marketing Officer for Samsung Mobile USA, Todd Pendleton, came out with a few more words on the subject, eventually landing on the reason everyone was there in the first place: The Galaxy Note 2. At this point, there isn’t really any more to learn about the Note 2 spec-wise, but he went over a few of the phone’s more impressive features.

Pendleton then passed the mic to Samsung’s Chief Product Officer Kevin Packingham, who held up a device that many were hoping to see, but weren’t sure they would: the Samsung Galaxy Camera. He went over what he described as some of his favorite features, such as the 4.77-inch Super Clear HD display, the 16-megapixel sensor, and the device’s Smart Modes. He also talked for a while about the Galaxy Camera’s ability to wirelessly share photos with other devices up to 200 feet away.
After this, Pendleton came back out for a bit and mentioned that the event would wrap up with a musical performance by Kanye West, something Samsung had been unable to keep secret leading up to the event. Then it was time to head backstage and check out the devices in action.

Backstage, the floor was packed with Samsung Galaxy Note 2 display models. This ranged from tables placed in the middle of the room where passers-by could start using the device at will, to a number of specialty kiosks that showed off various features of the phone. Visitors were able to check out the Galaxy Note 2′s music capabilities, try various games and apps on the device, and even order desserts using the phone’s NFC functionality.

Unlike the Galaxy Note 2, which would have been hard to avoid even if you tried, the Samsung Galaxy Camera was harder to track down. These weren’t available for anyone to just use, but instead were in the hands of show staff who would show off the device’s features to those who wanted to see them. More often than not, this included taking a picture of anyone who was curious about the device. While it was possible to get your hands on one, the demand was so high that anyone who got to look at one didn’t get to do so for very long.

In the end, even though there wasn’t much in the way of new announcements, Samsung’s Galaxy Note 2 event was a great way to get the Note 2 into the hands of a lot of people at once. In essence, it was a smaller scale version of Samsung’s challenge to naysayers of the original Galaxy Note to use it for a month, which Mr. Pendleton referred to at the beginning of the show.
Now that the Samsung Galaxy Note 2  is becoming available in the U.S., are you planning to get one. With all the carriers available, which one will you choose?

 

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 announced for T-Mobile, pricing and release date not yet revealed

T-Mobile released the Galaxy Note 2 this morning and coming along with that, was news about the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 tablet. That said though, while the news is official having arrived direct from T-Mobile, they were not all that forthcoming in terms of the finer details. According to what we received from the carrier; “more information regarding price and availability for the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 will be available in the coming weeks.”
Otherwise, given we have time to wait, lets offer a brief recap on the specs. You know, for those who happen to be with T-Mobile and may have been considering the purchase of an Android tablet. The Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 features include a 10.1-inch (1280 x 800) display, dual-core 1.5GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, a microSD card slot, VGA quality front-facing camera, 3 megapixel rear-facing camera, A-GPS, 7,000 mAh battery and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
The official specs for this tablet note that it is available in a 16GB and 32GB model, however T-Mobile has yet to offer any details as to which storage configuration they will have available. And in addition to Wi-Fi connectivity, the T-Mobile Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 will have support for the HSPA+ 42 network.
Finally, just to give a rough idea of pricing, T-Mobile currently has the Galaxy Tab 10.1 priced (after a $50 mail-in rebtate) at $449.99.

 

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Google’s latest Chromebook to skip Asia for now

When the first Samsung Chromebook was released, the exorbitant cost of the simplified notebook was one of the factors that kept it from gaining traction in the market. The launch of the 2012 Chromebook removes that issue, as it now comes with a more affordable $249 price tag. Meanwhile, a 3G variant of the laptop will reportedly sell for $329.99 with a two-year contract.
The new price point and design – it’s lighter and more attractive than ever – means that the browser-based laptop won’t have any problem finding fans across the globe, but it seems Google isn’t ready yet to take it on a world tour. The new Chromebook will be offered only in the U.S. and UK, where interested customers can already preorder it online.
One region that won’t see the 2012 Chromebook anytime soon – if ever — is Asia. According to Cnet, the search engine giant has confirmed that it’s currently not interested in bringing the Chrome OS laptop to this part of the world.
This means Asian folks will miss out on the 11.6-inch display laptop with 1.7GHz Exynos 5 dual processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB onboard storage, 3-in-1 card reader, 4,800mAh battery and Chrome OS. Now that is uses an ARM-based processor, it also opens the door for tinkerers to brew Android OS for the notebook, which makes it an even more enticing machine.
Given the popularity of netbooks in Asia, even when it’s dying elsewhere, it’s mindboggling why Google and Samsung don’t try to push the Chromebook as a worthy alternative for the once ubiquitous device. Do you think Google should  release the new Chromebook in Asian countries and other emerging markets? Will you buy one if they keep the price the same?

 

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Samsung GT-B9150 Jelly Bean device with Exynos 5250 processor spotted

Samsung appears to be working on a new Jelly Bean device, which could hit stores at some point in the near future. The device, model number GT-B9150, “showed up on a couple of Japanese websites,” according to Sam Mobile.
The GT-B9150 apparently features a display with 1280 x 672 resolution, an 1.7GHz dual-core Exynos 5250 processor (two Cortex-A15 CPUs), Mali T604 GPU, Wi-Fi connectivity and runs Android 4.1.1 out of the box. Such internal components are definitely noteworthy, and the GT-B9150 already sounds like a high-end device, at least on paper.
However, the smartphone doesn’t have a commercial name yet, but it is believed to be a QWERTY slider smartphone – the B series have been used for QWERTY handsets, and this one definitely has a “B” in its codename: GT-B9150. But what if it isn’t a smartphone? What if it’s a tablet, which is what one of the sites that spotted the device seem to suggest, as the GT-B9150 appears to have only Wi-Fi connectivity? Are we looking at Samsung’s next flagship Android tablet, and not at a Samsung smartphone?
We have no idea when this unknown device will be launched, so we’ll just have to wait for Samsung to make it official.

 

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Samsung GT-B9150 Jelly Bean device with Exynos 5250 processor spotted

Samsung appears to be working on a new Jelly Bean device, which could hit stores at some point in the near future. The device, model number GT-B9150, “showed up on a couple of Japanese websites,” according to Sam Mobile.
The GT-B9150 apparently features a display with 1280 x 672 resolution, an 1.7GHz dual-core Exynos 5250 processor (two Cortex-A15 CPUs), Mali T604 GPU, Wi-Fi connectivity and runs Android 4.1.1 out of the box. Such internal components are definitely noteworthy, and the GT-B9150 already sounds like a high-end device, at least on paper.
However, the smartphone doesn’t have a commercial name yet, but it is believed to be a QWERTY slider smartphone – the B series have been used for QWERTY handsets, and this one definitely has a “B” in its codename: GT-B9150. But what if it isn’t a smartphone? What if it’s a tablet, which is what one of the sites that spotted the device seem to suggest, as the GT-B9150 appears to have only Wi-Fi connectivity? Are we looking at Samsung’s next flagship Android tablet, and not at a Samsung smartphone?
We have no idea when this unknown device will be launched, so we’ll just have to wait for Samsung to make it official.

 

Read More