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Samsung Galaxy Note announced: 5.3-inch display, built-in-stylus, custom 'S Pen' apps
Until a few days ago we'd heard surprisingly little about the Galaxy Note, a handset rumored to be launching alongside the Galaxy Tab 7.7 and Wave 3 at IFA. It's ironic, really, because of all the phones to have kept a low profile, this is a memorable one. Behold, a 5.3-inch handset with a stowaway pen for note-taking, drawing and grabbing screen captures. In other words, a Dell Streak-esque hunk of a device that blurs the lines between phone and tablet. You're looking at a Gingerbread-running LTE and HSPA+ handset with a 1280 x 800 Super AMOLED display, dual 8MP and 2MP cameras, a removable 2,500mAh battery and the same Samsung-made dual-core 1.4GHz processor you'll find in the just-announced Galaxy Tab 7.7. For a phone this gargantuan, it's actually quite thin at light, at 9.65mm (0.38 inches) thick and a reasonable 178 grams (6.3 ounces). We had a few minutes to handle the phone in advance of today's press conference, and found it surprisingly easy to grip, even in our small hands. As with the Infuse 4G --whose own 4.5-inch screen once seemed impossibly sprawling -- the thin shape makes it tenable, as does the lightweight, textured plastic lining the back. As you'd expect, Android 2.3 comes layered with TouchWiz on top and, in this case, seven home screens and a touch-optimized interface dubbed "S Pen" designed to take advantage of that pen. These include S Planner, a native calendar and to-do list app, from which you can drag and drop appointments, changing time slots without having to open an entry. S Memo for note-taking, meanwhile, accepts voice, photo, text and handwritten input. We also got a quick glimpse of Virtual Whiteboard, a more collaborative form of note-taking. On top of that, Samsung says it's releasing the S Pen SDK to third-party developers, and the company's banking on more apps for organizing photos and drawing, among other things. For now, this is merely a global launch: Samsung says it's still in discussions with carriers worldwide, so depending on your neck of the woods it might be awhile before you hear anything definitive about pricing or availability. Find the some fancy press shots (and a promo vid) after the break, and stay tuned for our hands-on. %Gallery-132247%
Samsung GT-i9220 confirmed as smartphone with dual-band WiFi, specs remain in rumorville
Samsung's GT-i9220 has been swirling through the rumor mills for a while now, and we've seen tons of conflicting reports regarding this little monster. While its specifications remain shaky at best, a few solid tidbits courtesy of the Wi-Fi Alliance indeed reveal the GT-i9220 as a smartphone, which counters previous speculation that it was merely a media player. Additionally, this Sammy will feature dual-band 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi, the latter being an uncommon (though entirely welcome) feature for smartphones, and lending credence to its high-end specs. As for those details, the most plausible rumors suggest we'll see a dual-core 1.4GHz CPU, a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display at 720p along with an 8 megapixel camera. Obviously, internals like these are fightin' words in the smartphone domain, so we're forced to take them with a grain of salt until something more solid crawls out of the woodwork.
Samsung announces three Wave handsets, dripping in Bada 2.0 and ChatON
It's shaping up to a be a busy IFA for Samsung. Barely 24 hours after announcing its new ChatON messaging client, the manufacturer is now gearing up to release a troika of new Bada 2.0-powered Wave handsets -- the Wave 3, Wave M and Wave Y -- set to make their debut this week in Berlin. Leading the pack is the Wave 3, which leaked earlier this week. Powered by a 1.4GHz processor, this little guy boasts a 4-inch WVGA Super AMOLED display, 3GB of memory (along with a 32GB microSD slot) and a five megapixel, auto-focus-enabled shooter. The Wave M, meanwhile, packs slightly less juice, with a 832MHz processor, a 3.65-inch WVGA screen and 150MB of onboard storage (with a 2GB inbox and 32GB microSD slot). Rounding out the collection is the Wave Y, with its 3.2-inch HVGA display, 832MHz engine and two megapixel camera. All three feature your usual smattering of WiFi / Bluetooth 3.0 capabilities and will ship with ChatON and Samsung's Social Hub baked into their DNA. No word yet on pricing or availability, but you can find out more in the full press release, after the break.
Samsung's GT-i9220 shows up in leaked photos, preps for battle with iPhone 5? (update: nope!)
If you're a sucker for juicy handset rumors, then this one's for you. A few months ago, a supposed Samsung roadmap leaked, revealing a slew of new Android, Bada and WP7 handsets on the horizon. Today, a picture purporting to be one of those phones, the GT-19220 (W43) surfaced, complete with some specs to further grease the rumor mill. Word on the web says that the Sammy will have a 1280 x 720 Super AMOLED Plus display that measures in at 5.29 inches diagonally -- even bigger than the 5-inch Dell Streak tablet. If our observational geometry is right, we'd say that screen size is probably pretty accurate. Rather than taking tablet status like the Dell, however, it seems bound to be the Galaxy S II's big brother, as sources claim it's running Gingerbread with a 1.4GHz dual-core processor and packs an 8 megapixel camera. Of course, these specs can't be officially confirmed until the phone is launched, but it's safe to say it's likely a part of the Android army taking on the iPhone 5 this fall. Update: Alas, as many of you have pointed out in comments, there's not a lot of truth to this story. First, both devices you're seeing above appear to actually be PMPs, not phones -- the Galaxy S players we've seen before. Secondly, we're hearing the actual name of this supposed smartphone is GT-i9220, not 19220.
Engadget Primed: all mobile displays are not created equal
Primed goes in-depth on the technobabble you hear on Engadget every day -- we dig deep into each topic's history and how it benefits our lives. Looking to suggest a piece of technology for us to break down? Drop us a line at primed *at* engadget *dawt* com. The quality of a mobile phone's display is arguably the most important factor to consider when you establish a relationship with a handset. It's inescapable, really. Whether you're playing a rousing game of Robot Unicorn Attack or (regrettably) drunk-dialing an ex, it's the one interface element that you're consistently interacting with. It's your window to the world and your canvas for creation, and if it's lousy, it's going to negatively influence everything you see and do. Today, we're delving into the world of mobile displays, where we're aiming to entertain and edify, and hopefully save you from making regrettable decisions -- when it comes to purchasing new phones, anyway. In this edition of Primed, we'll be examining the different qualities and underlying technologies of several displays, starting with the ubiquitous TFT-LCD and moving through the nascent realm of glasses-free 3D and beyond. We'll also be addressing the importance of resolution and pixel density. Finally, we'll be scoping out a handful of upcoming technologies -- while some are thoroughly intriguing, others are just plain wacky. Go ahead... buy the ticket, take the ride, and join us after the break. It's Primed time.
Samsung Galaxy S II LTE phone surfaces in Korea, codenamed Celox?
There's a new Samsung Galaxy S II rumor circulating the web today -- this time, it's emanating from South Korea, where specs and images of an LTE smartphone, reportedly codenamed "Celox," have just surfaced. According to its listing, the phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8060 processor, sports a 4.5-inch WVGA Super AMOLED Plus display, and boasts 16GB of internal memory, with a microSD slot offering an extra 32GB. The phone also runs on Gingerbread, rocks a 1750mAh battery (compared to the smaller Galaxy S II's 1650mAH cell), offers 800MHz LTE support (at up to 50Mbps upstream, 100Mbps downstream) and features an 8MP rear-facing camera, along with a 2MP sensor up front. It all seems pretty similar to that Hercules handset we recently spotted, except for its noticeably different home button, protruding back, and LED flash. No word yet on if or when the handset will hit the market, but considering that both Verizon and AT&T support 700MHz LTE, this particular model may be destined for Europe's 800MHz networks, rather than the US. We'll be sure to bring you all the details as soon as they pour in. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Galaxy S II and Galaxy S screens compared at the subpixel level (video)
One Galaxy S II review not enough for you? Hey, we understand, a dual-core phone deserves at least two goes through the Engadget test chambers. Today marks the publication of our Engadget Spanish analysis, which, among other things, compares the GSII against its forebear, the Galaxy S, at the subpixel level. Yes, we've got video capturing the improvement Samsung has made in its new Real-Stripe (RGB) pixel arrangement on the Galaxy S II's Super AMOLED Plus display over the older, less awesome PenTile RGBG layout of the Plus-deprived Super AMOLED panel. You can see it after the break or dive into the source link for a more comprehensive comparison. Non-Spanish speakers will want to jump to the 1:40 mark in the vid for all the microscopic action. %Gallery-124010%
Samsung Exhibit 4G for T-Mobile caught on camera, passes through FCC
Someone left a little gift for the folks at TmoNews -- spy shots featuring the Gingerbread-toting Samsung Exhibit 4G, which also just passed through the FCC as the SGH-T759. We can tell from the photos and fillings that the T759 packs both front- and rear-facing cameras (the latter with an LED flash), a microSD card slot, Android 2.3.3 with a TouchWiz veneer, and an HSPA+ radio. It's been suggested that the Exhibit could possibly have specs that line up with the rumored Galaxy S II Mini, including a 3.7-inch Super AMOLED screen and a 1.4GHz processor -- according to TmoNews, that CPU might be the older ARM11 variety, which could help explain the underwhelming Quadrant score in the images. Price and availability are up in the air, but we'd err on the side of cheap and soon. Check out the source for a few more pics.
Samsung's Infuse 4G coming to AT&T May 15th for $200
We've known Samsung's Infuse 4G was coming to AT&T since the day we got our grubby mitts on one at CES, and now it's finally here. Samsung's svelte superphone with the dazzling 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus display is launching May 15th on AT&T for $200 on a two-year contract. Keep it locked right here, as more pics and a hands-on with Sammy's hot new handset are on the way. Behind that sizable screen real estate, the Infuse 4G packs HSDPA Cat 14 and HSUPA Cat 6 radios, a 2GB microSD card, 1.2 GHz processor, and Android 2.2. Sammy also gave it an 8-megapixel camera in the back that does 720p video and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing shooter -- all in a handset that's 9.24mm thick in the bulge at the bottom and 8.9mm thin most everywhere else. Full details are in the PR after the break.
Droid Charge review
We're still shaking our heads and sighing longingly at the performance of Samsung's Galaxy S II, a phone that wowed us in Europe but likely won't be coming to American shores for some time -- and who knows what it'll look like when it does. But don't get too down, dear reader, because here comes another slice of Samsung and this slab has that same 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display tucked in there. It's a little less slim, a little less classy, and a little less quick than Sammy's latest world-conquering wunderphone, but the LTE-equipped Charge is a proper contender in its own right. Read on to see why.
Samsung Galaxy S II review
If you don't already know all about the Samsung Galaxy S II, where have you been the past two months? The successor to one of the most popular Android handsets to date carries a burden of expectation almost as sizable as its 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen. It promises to be thinner, lighter, and faster than the Galaxy S that preceded it, while garnishing Android 2.3.3 with a set of TouchWiz customizations that might actually enhance, rather than hinder, the user experience. As such, the Galaxy S II earns Samsung full marks for ambition, but does this slinky new smartphone live up to its interstellar hype? The answer, as always, can be found after the break. %Gallery-122444%
Walmart to Sell Samsung Infuse 4G in May for $178.88?
The Samsung Infuse 4G has yet to make its way to market, but when it does, you might be able to find it at Walmart. Rumor has it that the retail giant has been sending around circulars indicating that the Infuse and its 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus display will hit shelves sometime next month. The notices also mention that the device will be sold for $178.88, which would likely be bundled with a two-year AT&T contract. There hasn't been any confirmation from Samsung, which unveiled the ultra-thin smartphone way back in January, but we'll let you know as soon as we get word. [Thanks, John]
Samsung Galaxy S II to be available May 1st in the UK
Samsung has just delivered a most welcome (and concrete) bit of news for British smartphone lovers. Its next do-it-all Android superphone will be available on May 1st in the United Kingdom. The Galaxy S II will emulate its predecessor by being made available "across all major networks and retailers." The press release promises a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, which indicates we're looking at the Exynos 4210 variant of this handset. We'll try to track down availability information for the rest of Europe, but at least Brits can now stop fretting about the delay / non-delay of this marquee phone's launch.
Nexus S 2.3.3 update adjusts screen's color temperature, we go eyes-on
We've been hearing reports about Nexus S' Android 2.3.3 update adding a yellow tint to the screen and even washing out its colors, but according to Google's Ry Guy, said patch is indeed intended to tweak the display's color temperature. Here's the full quote from Google's support forum: "With your new OTA complete, you may notice a slight difference in the way colors are displayed on your Nexus S. For Nexus S, we have adjusted the color temperature settings to more accurately reflect darker colors at all brightness levels. The Gingerbread UI being darker, we found that the colors were not as accurate when the device was being used at lower brightness levels. For example, some users reported that the initial color temperature was too high leading to some darker greys having a reddish tone; with the new color temperature this is no longer the case." So while this display tweak is well-intentioned, it looks like many commenters on both the forum and XDA-Developers aren't too happy with this. Being curious geeks that we are, we went ahead and manually updated our own Nexus S (and by the way, be sure to match your build number with the appropriate patch). As you can see in our comparison photos (shot with the same manual camera settings and medium screen brightness), the new overall color temperature is no doubt subtly warmer, although the dimmer brightness settings no longer suffer from the aforementioned red tone. Interestingly, we actually approve this change, and the Super AMOLED display certainly doesn't look washed out to us, nor do we see any noisy dithering that some have reported. Surely we can't be alone. Well, there's only one way to help solve this mystery: if you happen to be a fellow Nexus S owner who's applied this update, why not chime in below? [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] %Gallery-117684% %Poll-60799%
Samsung's Super AMOLED Plus displays dispense of maligned PenTile pixel configuration
As crisp and vibrant as AMOLED and Super AMOLED smartphone displays are, they roll off the assembly lines with a pretty big design compromise: most of the components in the marketplace right now make use of a little visual trickery called PenTile whereby green subpixels occur with greater frequency than red and blue. Meanwhile, traditional displays (CRT, LCD, plasma, you name it) typically use one red, one green, and one blue subpixel per pixel, and the end result is that AMOLEDs tend to be a little grainier by comparison at a given resolution. OLED-Info points out that Sammy's new Super AMOLED Plus displays appear to have solved the PenTile problem, instead using something called Real-Stripe -- effectively meaning honest-to-goodness RGB pixels, which explains the company's claim back at CES of a 50 percent boost in subpixel count. Interestingly, Real-Stripe requires more space per pixel, which could be why the Galaxy S II and Infuse 4G are 4.3 and 4.5 inches, respectively, a pretty healthy hike from the 4-inch mark they'd settled on with last year's original Galaxy S models. 'Course, none of this puts us close to the 7 or 10 inches we'd need to make a tablet work -- but we know they're cranking on that already.
HTC Desire 2 picture leaked, also shows up in Vodafone's inventory
Over the weekend, a surreptitious new photo of the new HTC Desire 2 hit the world wide web, and in addition to the image, the new handset has found its way into Vodafone Germany's inventory system (along with several other goodies) -- meaning that the second coming of the Desire is likely imminent. Word on the street is that it has a Super AMOLED screen of unknown resolution and runs Android 2.3.1 (Gingerbread). Examination of the spy shot reveals that HTC swapped out the tactile buttons of the original Desire for the capacitive variety, added a front facing camera, and made it slightly smaller than its predecessor. It seems that HTC has failed on the 'quietly' part of its slogan, but at least it looks like the company didn't botch the 'brilliant' bit as well. Stay tuned to find out -- Mobile World Congress gets going in under a week, you know. [Thanks, William and Robert]
AMOLED shortage to become a surplus in 2011
Samsung's beautiful Super AMOLED panels are becoming more and more common in mobile devices, but they're not as common as they could be if there were more of the things flying out of Samsung Mobile Display factories. Predictably that's set to change in 2011, with SMD planning to fulfill its promise and bring another production facility online, while other competitors in Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore will ramp up their own AMOLED facilities in the coming year. Meanwhile, China is said to be working on its OLED supply chain as well, meaning those displays of the passive matrix variety will also be flying off of assembly lines soon. So, 2011 may still not be the year of a chicken in every pot, but it could be the year of glowy organic goo in every smartphone.
Rumors: Samsung Nexus S using fancy curved display Sprint had to pass on, HTC EVO Shift 4G is the Knight?
We've been fed some information by an established tipster today that paints an interesting picture of what sort of Android gear Sprint will -- and won't -- be getting next. First, we're told that the EVO Shift 4G trademark HTC recently filed for is the device known as the Knight, a downsized EVO 4G with a four-row sliding keyboard and a larger battery. Interestingly, as far as our tipster knows, the front-facing camera is off the table -- but in light of all the buzz around video calling these days, we wouldn't be surprised if it had been added back. Perhaps more interesting, though, is some buzz around the display on the Nexus S. You might remember that we noticed it's concave on the front during its brief reveal at the Web 2.0 summit yesterday, an extraordinarily unusual design element for a full-touch phone. Well, our tipster tells us Samsung's been shopping this curved display technology to carriers for a while -- as early as CES at the beginning of this year behind closed doors -- claiming that its research showed such a design improved perceived usability over a perfectly flat display. Sprint bought the line and wanted to get a curved-display model on shelves in time for the holidays this year, but Sammy was apparently unable to deliver product in the volume it was asking for... so that's where the Nexus S might come into play; seems the Google-branded model could be the first to ship with it. We're unconvinced that it'd be any better, but our judgment is fully reserved until we've got a device in our hands -- which hopefully happens sooner rather than later. [Image via xda-developers] Note: Commenters are pointing out that the Dell Venue Pro also has a curved display, but it's a different situation -- that's longitudinally convex glass over a flat display. Here, it's laterally concave -- though we don't know whether the underlying AMOLED component is curved or not.
Exclusive: Samsung 'flagship' phone with Gingerbread and huge display coming in early 2011 (update)
Okay, so you're not feeling Samsung's Nexus S. We'd say that's a little premature, but still, we get it. We understand. How about this, then? Is this more to your liking? We've just been tipped with a few morsels on what should become Samsung's flagship Android device early next year -- February, to be specific, suggesting we could see an unveiling at MWC -- and it's looking promising. Different parts of the slide deck describe it as having either a 4.3- or 4.5-inch "sAMOLED2" display, presumably standing for "Super AMOLED 2" and implying that Sammy's made some advancements over the screens we've been seeing on the Galaxy S series this year. It'll naturally have Android Gingerbread and be equipped with an 8 megapixel camera capable of 1080p video capture, 14.4Mbps HSPA, Bluetooth 3.0, a 1.2GHz core of some sort, and 16GB of storage onboard. The deck describes it as having an "ultra sleek design," and judging from the side shot, we'd tend to agree. So who's holding out for this? Update: We're confident that the above slide comes from Samsung, but one of the pictures therein is most definitely not of a new Samsung phone -- but rather a VoIP handset by Apiotek from several years ago. Considering the image in question pops up right away in a Google Image search for "ultra slim phone," we're inclined to think Samsung got a little hasty putting together the PowerPoint this time round. [Thanks, Nathan H.] %Gallery-107264%
Samsung 7-inch Super AMOLED panel showcased on 'next gen' Galaxy Tab
We were promised a 7-inch Super AMOLED display at FPD 2010 and Samsung has duly delivered. What's less predictable about this yummy new hardware's debut, however, is the fact that it was built right into a Galaxy Tab. Yes, our postulations that Samsung intends to spruce up its "pocket-friendly" slate with a 1200 x 600 resolution and an extra lick of hyper-advanced screen technology seem to have been spot on, as OLED-Display reports the device on show was indeed the company's "next generation" Tab. We only wish there was more than just that one image -- we'll be hounding the internet for more, rest assured! Update: Samsung's official note on the matter lists a WSVGA resolution (i.e. 1024 x 600 as on the current Tab) and some amateur geometry applied to the image does indeed show the prototype screen above has a smaller ratio than the requisite 2:1 for a 1200 x 600 pixel display. Ah well, we still want one. Also, check out Netbook News below for more images. Update 2: Been eyeing that dualscreen clamshell in the back there? Turns out it's another AMOLED prototype with two 4.5-inch displays! Hit the break for a closer look at it on video.
