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Samsung Game Hub, Video Hub hands-on (video)
Sad that Samsung's rumored S-Cloud didn't appear on the scene? Well the arrival of the company's new Video, Game and Music hubs might heal the wounds. Rather than a unified service, the Galaxy S III will have access to three separate stores that will offer an alternative to Google Play. We spent a few minutes having a play, and you can see what it's like after the break.
Samsung Galaxy S III HSPA+ arriving in May, 4G version hitting North America this summer
Okay, okay, it's here -- but when can you actually get your hands on Samsung's Galaxy S III? Well, if you're in Europe, you're looking at a May 29th release for the HSPA+ version. Those of us in North America, Japan and Korea will have to wait a bit longer for speed -- the LTE version of the handset will be hitting those areas in the summer. Specifically, it'll be arriving in the US in June. In all, the phone will be available on some 296 mobile operators in 145 countries, according to the company.
Samsung and Dropbox offer Galaxy S III users up to 50GB of extra storage
Samsung has partnered with Dropbox to offer extra storage for Galaxy S III owners. Once you've registered the newly minted handset, your current pre-loaded allocation will be topped up to a maximum of 50GB, not matching but doubling HTC's allowance. And just like Sense 4's offering, the free storage will remain valid for two years but there's no indication if there will be discounts for those who've become hooked on all that online real estate -- we hear it's very moreish.
Samsung Galaxy S III vs Galaxy S II and Galaxy S: meet the family
If you don't know where you came from, you won't know where you're going. That's why we're stacking up Samsung's Galaxy S III against the S II and the Galaxy S to see how the range has come on in the three years it's existed. If you fancy a trip down memory lane to the heady days of 2010, then join us after the break.
Samsung Galaxy S III software impressions (video)
So, you nodded agreeably when all those hardware specs were listed, but are a bit more intrigued by what Samsung's done to the Android 4.0 interface. In short, TouchWiz is still here, but there are some noticeable differences between it and the legacy version seen on the Galaxy S II that bring the GSIII closer to a stock Android experience. But, there are also some things that are a rehash of what we saw on last year's Gingerbread-powered hardware. We've delved into this latest interpretation, and tried out Sammy's S Voice and S Beam features along the way. Our deeper impressions are after the break, where you'll also find a quick video rundown and can see the new software in action.
Galaxy S III vs. Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy S II: what's changed?
We're here live at Samsung's unveiling of the Galaxy S III and while it was going on, we furiously built this chart to see how the biggest phone of the year stacks up against its two progenitors. Here's some trivia: that 4.8-inch display is 22 percent bigger than the Galaxy S II's, but its overall dimensions only grew by 16 percent. If you're interested in those sort of details, then after the break is where you need to be.
Samsung Galaxy S III focuses on photography sharing features, not cutting-edge optics
Samsung's Galaxy S III doesn't boast 41-megapixel captures or top-of-the-line optics. Instead, its camera's strengths are in its intelligent organization and social features, increasing the handset's appeal as a point-and-shoot alternative for casual photographers. Samsung's latest round of compacts and mirrorless dedicated snappers reaffirm suspicions that the company is taking a different approach to photography, focusing on connectivity and social enhancements, rather than updated sensor and low-light shooting technologies. While such decisions may prompt advanced shooters to bring their business to competitors, it highlights Samsung's strengths on a broader level, as a connectivity enabler, rather than a camera maker. The company is clearly committed to growing its ecosystem and uniting product divisions in an effort to increase penetration throughout different categories, developing sharing tools that simplify workflows and increase appeal. Samsung's latest flagship smartphone packs standard specs, like 8-megapixel stills and 1080p video, but it offers a handful of software features that combine to make the device a compelling upgrade, especially from an imaging perspective. Join us past the break as we detail the Galaxy S III's photography enhancements, from Best Photo to Face Zoom.
Samsung Mobile Unpacked liveblog!
Ready to cut through that packing tape and see which smartphone Samsung has in store for 2012? The next Galaxy will make its debut on this very page, so click on through to our liveblog for the play-by-play at Earls Court in London. The fun gets started at 2PM ET on Thursday, May 3rd, listed in your local time zone just below. March 7, 2012 2:00 PM EST
Samsung unpacks the Galaxy tomorrow, we'll be liveblogging the London event right here!
Is that Galaxy S II feeling a bit stale? It's just about time for Samsung to name a successor to the massively popular smartphone, live at the company's Mobile Unpacked event at the Earls Court Olympic venue. We'll surely see a brand new mainstream handset make its debut, but what's not quite as clear is what other gadgets Samsung plans to show off in London. With defined divisions, the Korean device maker's "Mobile Unpacked" event title implies that Android phones will steal the show, so it's unlikely that we'll see an updated Tab or two. We have 24 hours and change to find out for sure, however, so bookmark this page to stay abreast of the news as it happens in our liveblog. The show kicks off at 2PM ET tomorrow (7PM local time in London) -- you'll find your local time translation just below. May 3, 2012 2:00 PM EDT
Samsung announces 1.4GHz Exynos 4 Quad as basis for Galaxy S3
Looking for something a bit more solid than a third-party benchmark? We can do that. "Already in production the Exynos 4 Quad is scheduled to be adopted first into Samsung's next Galaxy smartphone that will officially be announced in May," the horse's mouth reveals. Samsung boasts that the new 32nm 1.4GHz quad-core processor flaunts twice the processing power over its predecessor, thanks to its High-K Metal Gate (HKMG) low-power technology. The net energy savings? About 20-percent. "The application processor is a crucial element in providing our customers with a PC-like experience on mobile devices," explains Hankil Yoon, Senior VP of Product Strategy Team at Samsung, "Samsung's next Galaxy device, which will be officially announced soon, offers uncompromised performance and ground breaking multitasking features, thanks to Exynos 4 Quad's powerful performance and efficient energy management technology." Sammy says it's shopping the new processor around to other handset manufacturers (like Meizu), noting that the Exynos 4 Quad is pin-to-pin compatible with the Exynos 4 Dual (the brains behind the Galaxy S II and Note), which gives designers the ability to update product designs with minimal costs. Check out Samsung's full press release after the break.
Vodafone first carrier to jump on the new Samsung Galaxy phone bandwagon
Rumors and leaks have been flying fast and furious about Samsung's next handset to be graced with the Galaxy moniker, and we've just gotten one more tidbit. Other than the event invite Sammy sent out last week and a recent video teaser, official info on the handset's been hard to come by. However, Vodafone's just put up a page indicating the carrier will, indeed, get the new superphone and is letting you register for updates on its status. So, we now know at least one carrier that'll have the handset, the question is who else is in line to get the Galaxy?
Samsung's new Galaxy Phone gets official teaser (video)
The countdown is over and Samsung's not offering much to whet our appetite. A medley of opaque angles of galactic travel are meant to represent next week's big news story, alongside some brief claims of technology that fits easily in your hand. It finishes all too soon on those glossy enamel puddles shown above. The second trailer reveals more of the same, with Samsung promising the device will become "a natural side of life", throwing in a quick jibe at those rival smartphone-carrying "sheep". While we reckon we broadly know what to expect when it comes to internal hardware, we're still itching see how Samsung's looking to reinvigorate its phone design following HTC's stylish smartphone salvo. Well, at least it's just over a week left to wait.
Samsung throws in free extended battery with VZW Galaxy Nexus, applies to new purchases only
Samsung must be keenly aware that the Galaxy Nexus' battery life takes a hit on Verizon's LTE network: for a limited time, the outfit's throwing in a free 2,100mAh extended battery for first-time buyers (sorry, current Nexus owners are out of luck). To take advantage of the promotion, you'll have to purchase it through Samsung Direct (link below), which means you'll be paying $300 for the device and agreeing to a two-year contract. As Android and Me notes, though, you'd save quite a bit of money picking up the VZW Nexus and accompanying battery pack at Amazon for a combined $134. Suffice to say, then, this isn't a stellar deal, but those of you who disagree can avail yourselves through May 10, or while supplies last.
Apple has Apple Stores, Samsung has... this!
You know those heady dreams of a new Samsung product launch today? Well consider them punctured. There's no new gadget to announce, but instead a teaming-up with UK retailer Phones 4u, offering a dedicated space for Samsung to dip its toes into retail waters. Located on London's Oxford Street -- and just around the corner from an Apple Store -- the shop-within-a-shop displays all of the Korean makers' big hitters, with several tables housing Galaxy Tab 10.1s, Galaxy Notes and Galaxy S IIs. The rest of that expansive galactic family dot the periphery of the room, but then you'd probably come here primarily to test-drive the aforementioned flagships. The tables themselves are dressed down; no pricing or carrier information clogging up the surfaces, just the devices and some Galaxy branding. Samsung's claimed the whole top floor and the shop is already training up dedicated Samsung staff to answer pressing questions like what's the point of the Galaxy Ace Plus whether that phone has Gorilla glass and when we can expect to see a Galaxy S III in the flesh.
Samsung tweaking Face Unlock to require blinking, smiling still optional
Still paranoid about a friend sneaking past your four-dot-oh facial security and revealing all your little secrets? Worry no more, as Sammy's got a solution for you. The new feature is stuffed inside the tasty ICS being delivered now to global Galaxy S IIs, adding the need to blink in order to bypass the Face Unlock screen. Aside from the eyelash-flashing bit included in the upgrade, Samsung's Product Planning Team says they've also added Photo Editor, Beta Font, Snapshot and a novel S Go Launcher Pro. You can check out the full interview with Samsung's whiz-squad at the source below.
Samsung does some awesome face projection to push Galaxy Y Duos (video)
So, imagine that you're Samsung, and you're looking to promote your double-SIMed Galaxy Y Duos smartphone. How to go about it? How about performing a cool light show on some dude's face? That's the approach of this spot brought to you by the Portugal wing of the hardware maker. The model in question reportedly had to sit still for "up to" three hours straight as his face and upper body were used as a canvas for the same sort of video mapping we've seen applied to the sides of buildings. The result is a little strange, a bit spooky and generally awesome, even if your Portuguese is a bit rusty. Check out the video after the break.
Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G hands-on
It's half-2011, half-2010. Yes, the Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G is what appears to be in many respects a hybrid device that blends a majority of specs from the original Samsung Galaxy S series with the processor found in the T-Mobile Galaxy S II. It's got a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S3 CPU, 4-inch Super AMOLED panel, 42Mbps HSPA+ radios and a 5MP rear camera capable of producing 720p video and a 1.3MP front-facing shooter. It's using Android 2.3, and its eventual graduation to ICS was confirmed.T-Mobile insists the Blaze is a great lower-end complement to the $200 Galaxy S II, though to that end we'd have to disagree with the phone's $150 price point. Even though the processors are the same in both handsets and the two devices offer the same HSPA+ radio and TouchWiz UI 4.0, most of the phone's other components are still rolled over from the original series. That said, our only real concern here is the price -- the Blaze itself is well built, and most folks looking to keep their cellular telephones in the mid-range will find its performance and specs quite reasonable. You'll want to peel those eyes to the gallery and our video down below.%Gallery-148869%Sean Cooper contributed to this report
Samsung Galaxy Mini 2 hands-on (video)
If you thought the Ace 2's compact design was charming, expect to be bowled over by the similarly-outfitted Mini 2. Stepping even further down the Galaxy food chain, this lilliputian Android handset retains the overall sensibilities of its slightly larger stablemate, but also tones down those already mid-range specs, accordingly. We were able to get some hands-on time with the 3.27-inch handset, so hop on past the break to see how it fared.
Mobile World Congress 2012 preview: what will we see?
Without hesitation, February always seems to be the most hectic time of the year for the mobile industry, thanks primarily to the annual Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona, Spain. The show has long been considered the proper venue for phone and tablet vendors to show off their latest and greatest innovations. Naturally, the internet is been set ablaze with plenty of rumors and even a few official product announcements from companies hoping to benefit from some solid pre-show buzz.In this guide we'll take you on a tour and walk through the hardware we already know will be shown off at MWC, as well as what we should likely expect to see and the things we'd really love to hear more about but probably won't. Join us after the break, won't you?
Samsung brings us more to love, offers Galaxy Note engraving in South Korea
Sure, you can draw whatever the heck you want on the front of your Galaxy Note, but what about that blank blue or white canvas 'round back? With north of a million 5.3-inch pocketable slates in circulation around the world, you'll need to get a bit more creative to truly make it yours -- and Samsung is willing to help. If a trip to South Korea is on the books between now and March 31st, you can now deck out your Note with custom messaging on the back, with the company letting customers "engrave wished letters on the backside of their own device with laser beams." And we can all agree that laser beams boost the appeal of any device -- even the Note. So what would you tattoo on your Note's backside? We'll share a few staff picks just below, but let us know your plans in the comments. "Large is just a matter of perspective" "Yes, I can make phone calls" "It's not a STYLUS" "Size DOES matter" "More to Love" "Wide Load"
