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Samsung's Galaxy Tab 8.9 troubled by screen issues, chubbier version the result?
Everyone 'round here knows that Samsung has a lusty 10.1- and premature 7-inch version of its Galaxy Tab tablet. But we've heard nary a peep from Samsung about that $469 8.9-incher announced alongside its bigger, just-as-thin sibling back in March. We might know why. According to Korean news site Etnews, Samsung is having trouble getting it to market due to low yields of the 8.9's G1F touch-panel which uses one less film layer than conventional GFF (glass fiber filter) panels. This G1F architecture is behind Samsung's Super Clear LCD which you'll find on Sammy's own Galaxy Player, (Russian) Nexus S, and Wave II handsets. Etnews claims that Samsung will offset the G1F shortfall with GFF-type touch panels that are 30 - 40 percent thicker and dimmer, thanks to the extra layer. If true then we have one question: which regions will get the chunkier Galaxy Tab 8.9 when if finally does launch this summer?
Samsung Galaxy S WiFi 5.0 looks like a new Android PMP
What happened when Samsung's phone division gobbled up the media player team? We're pretty sure you're looking at it right now -- the YP-MB2 / Galaxy Player 50 is now formally known as the Galaxy S WiFi 4.0, and it's big bad brother the Galaxy S WiFi 5.0 is pictured immediately above. While we can't actually tell you much about the SIM-less smartphone other than hazard guesses at front-facing camera, HDMI port, microSD card slot and (given naming conventions) a 5-inch screen, we can tell you that the 4.0-inch version of the device is now sporting Samsung's Super Clear LCD. We're expecting the company to unveil these any hour now in Barcelona, so keep your eyes peeled for further coverage at MWC. [Thanks, Kin-Yip]
Samsung Galaxy SL drops AMOLED for Super Clear LCD, Hummingbird for OMAP3
You're Samsung, and you want to make sure you have enough still-limited S-AMOLED displays for the upcoming Galaxy S 2, but you don't want to discontinue the original Galaxy S. What to do? Well, you could always take a cue from the Galaxy S-based Russian Nexus S and use an LCD instead-- and so here we have the Galaxy SL GT-i9003, which is destined to hit the Middle East and Asia with both a Super Clear LCD and a processor swap from Sammy's Humingbird to a 1GHz TI OMAP 3630, along with a bump in thickness and weight due to a slightly larger battery. Apart from that it's pretty much just a Galaxy S, all the way down to the maddening stagnation on Android 2.2 -- but hey, give us 2.3 (or even 3.0) on the Galaxy S 2 and we'll be all smiles and giggles. Update: BestBoyz got a Vodafone price list that seems to indicate that the SL will hit Germany as well. Achtung, AMOLED fans!
Samsung's phone division now also in charge of PMPs, Galaxy Player coming in Q2 2011
Yes, CES 2011 will be graced by the presence of Samsung's new 4-inch Galaxy Player, but our pockets, it would seem, might have to wait for it quite a bit longer. The Wall Street Journal today reports that, while Samsung intends to roll out the new Android PMP in its home market of Korea shortly after CES next week, the rest of the world is unlikely to be able to buy it until "the April to June period." Aside from its lack of phone functionality and a Super AMOLED panel, the new Galaxy Player is an almost identical replica of the company's wildly successful Galaxy S smartphone, which apparently has been no accident. The WSJ also lets us in on the knowledge that Samsung's phone division has taken over responsibility for building and selling its portable media player range, hence why we're now seeing such major overlaps between the two categories -- something that might very well continue into the future.
Samsung said to be bringing a 4-inch Galaxy Player to CES 2011
Samsung Hub is reporting this morning that Samsung intends to introduce a new Galaxy Player to the tech gathering known as CES early next month. We've not been able to track down Samsung's official word on the matter, but the Hub's information details a 4-inch Super Clear LCD display with 800 x 480 resolution, Android 2.2 as the operating system (replete with Sammy's own TouchWiz layer, by the look of that screenshot above), a 1GHz CPU, 3.2 megapixel imager on the back plus a front-facing camera, and a 1200mAh battery. Android Market access is also in the cards, apparently, but when (or if?) this most worthy successor to the Galaxy Player 50 will make its US retail debut remains a mystery for now. We'll be sure to ask when we get our hands on the new hardware next week.
Nexus S will drop Super AMOLED in favor of Super Clear LCD in Russia, maybe other territories too
The US and UK may be the only officially official markets for the Samsung-built Nexus S from Google, however Sammy's Russian team has already dished out a few extra details on overseas availability. Penciling in a February 2011 launch for the Gingerbread flagship, the Russki guys point out that their version of the Nexus S will come with a 4-inch Super Clear LCD instead of the Super AMOLED panel adorning the English-speaking variants. This is most likely motivated by the still limited supply of S-AMOLED displays, though we wouldn't fret too much -- the Super Clear stuff has shown that it's no slouch either. If anything, it'll be the February release that has us grumbling our way through winter.
Samsung Wave II has its Super Clear LCD tested against Galaxy S Super AMOLED display
Well, "tested" might be a strong word, but the living legend that is Eldar Murtazin has squared up Samsung's latest Bada handset against the company's top of the line Galaxy S for a bit of side-by-side screen comparison action. The 3.7-inch display on the Wave II holds its own admirably against the hyper-advanced Super AMOLED panel alongside it, but it does seem to have a tendency to introduce a slight yellow hue into images, as illustrated above. Regrettably, the Russian weather wasn't conducive to doing any comparisons under sunlight, so we'll just have to content ourselves with even more pictures setting the Wave II up against Nokia's N8 and Samsung's first Bada phone, the Wave numero uno. [Thanks, Ronan]
