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Samsung Galaxy S III battery tested by GSMArena, lasts as long as your tablet
Samsung made much ado over the Galaxy S III's 2,100mAh battery, but we've been wondering whether or not that power pack was a major perk or just a necessity to offset that hefty Exynos 4 Quad. One of what looks to be a growing number of escaped pre-release devices was put through the ringer in battery tests and came out looking spic-and-span: it lasted for just over 10 hours for video and voice, or long enough to make even a tablet like the new iPad or Transformer Prime break a sweat. Web browsing wasn't quite so hot, though, which at a bit over five hours was well behind the seven hours of an iPhone 4S. Don't expect the seemingly infinite battery of the Droid RAZR Maxx, and don't be surprised if final devices handle differently, but those with the international Galaxy S III should make it through at least a few interminable meetings watching their favorite reruns... not that we'd condone such a thing.
Samsung Galaxy S III C-Pen stylus gets leaked with more accessory press shots
Samsung wasn't done with the accessories when it announced a whole stack of 'em alongside the incoming Galaxy S III last week. A few more have now started to appear on pre-order, including, yes, another stylus. This is the C-Pen and it's different from both the S-Pen and the stylus we used with Samsung's sketch-friendly tablet. Aside from these press shots courtesy of Mobile Fun, specifics remain a little light -- we're not even sure what the C stands for, but we'd hazard a guess at "creative", possibly "chrome"? It's joined by a substantial £80 (or around $128) WiFi display hub, a battery-charging holster for the phone (£35, around £56) and the previously seen Galaxy S III flip cover (£30, around $48). The stylus is up for pre-order at £20 (about $32) for the British Isles, but a release date for the whole collection still eludes us.
Samsung Galaxy S III up for pre-order in the UK from Vodafone, O2 and Three
We knew it was coming, but in case you had any doubts, you'll be glad to know Vodafone, Three and O2 have opened up the pre-order doors to those looking to grab the newest Galaxy on the block. As we're accustomed to seeing from carriers across the pond, the trio's pricing Sammy's S III with enough flexibility to fit a slew of different budgets; for example, you can snag the 16GB model at no cost with a £41 monthly plan on Vodafone. Of course, O2 and Three offer similar plans, with others ranging as high as £219 for the handset but with less of a commitment. For all those details, point your browser toward one of the source links below and choose the deal best suited for you.
Samsung Galaxy S III gets a Canadian girlfriend as Bell, Rogers, Telus, Wind Mobile line up
If you live north of the 49th parallel, you're no doubt frustrated that Samsung teased a summer launch for the Galaxy S III in North America but made no initial mention of its Canadian plans. Don't fret, as virtually every Canadian carrier and its mother has now pledged to carry the giant Android 4.0 smartphone while you're on your summer vacation -- the first carrier commitments in North America that we've seen. Bell, Rogers, Telus, Virgin Mobile and Wind Mobile have all stepped up as national providers, while regional carriers such as SaskTel and Videotron have also signed on. The Galaxy S III is a special milestone for Virgin, as it's the first 4G LTE phone on the Bell-run budget network. We're still waiting for Mobilicity and other cellular services to hop on the Galaxy S III bandwagon, and details like pricing and exact ship dates are still elusive, but odds are that Canucks will have a wide choice of carriers when the 4.8-inch flagship hits stores. Update: Sure enough, Mobilicity is also onboard, which along with Wind Mobile makes it pretty clear that T-Mobile-friendly AWS frequencies are baked in.
Samsung Galaxy S III wrap-up
So, it's time to take down the decorations, remove that party hat and sweep up the confetti (you can clear the unfinished drinks in the morning). As Earl's Court in London echoes with the hollow sound of empty plastic champagne flutes and half-eaten canapes, the rest of the tech world gives a sigh of relief. The Samsung Galaxy S III is here. Was it what you expected? If you haven't yet decided, don't worry, we've got you covered. After all the months of anticipation, cryptic clues and teasing it's understandable that you might be feel a little bit spent. That's why we're going to carry you over the finish line, by providing you with a fireman's lift of all things GS3. We've collected together all the links to tonight's main stories, along with a little reminder of the route we took to get here. So forget about the post-party hangover for now, and do the walk of shame past the break for the round-up.
Samsung launches new services for the Galaxy S III: Music Hub, S Health and more
Samsung has just taken the wraps off of its highly anticipated Galaxy S III and, in a move similar to Nokia's efforts with the Lumia line, decided to package extra services and features to further differentiate itself from the competition. Mentioned onstage were the S Health "personal wellness app" and an enhanced Music Hub cloud service with access to over 17 million tracks and an iTunes Match-sounding "Scan and Match" feature. Music Hub will launch in seven countries, while the matching feature is supported in six of those. There's also a hub for Games that promises quick tie ins to social gaming and a Video Hub with TV and movies. One other new feature is support for MirrorLink enabled headunits that should bring access to all of these things even while you're driving your car. Finally, there's NFC-based mobile payment support that should get some use among visitors to the Olympic games this summer.
Samsung's Galaxy S III now has a commercial to call its own (video)
Sure, Samsung gave us all the hard sell during today's Mobile Unpacked event, but how do you really know if you want the new Ice Cream Sandwich handset until you cast your eyes on a real live commercial for the thing? Fear not, we've got one after the break, so you can finally know once and for all just how life-changey this phone is.
Samsung unveils Galaxy S III accessories: wireless charger, S-pebble MP3, AllCast wireless dongle in tow
While the star of today's Unpacked event is certainly Samsung's Galaxy S III, every hero can benefit from a few good sidekicks -- or in the case of this Android superphone, accessories. Up for offer will be a variety of goods including a flip cover, battery-charging stand, spare battery, car dock, "metallic docking stand" and HDMI adapter. Perhaps most interesting pieces, however, are the AllCast wireless dongle (which appears to be direct competition to HTC's Media Link HD video-mirroring device), a Wireless Charging Kit and an S-pebble MP3 player that plays nice with the scan and match feature in the Music Hub app. We're gathering all the details we can, so in the meantime grab a look at the gallery below.
Samsung Galaxy S III preview: hands-on with the next Android superphone (video)
You remember that Galaxy S II? A phone so good they launched it, well, a whole load of times. But after seeing phablet cousins and LTE variants, the true handset sequel is finally here. The Galaxy S III is moments away from being outed in front of journalists and Sammy's business partners in London, but in advance of the big reveal we were given a few hours to acquaint ourselves with the new star away from the crush of the show floor. And what did we make of it? In short, Samsung's tried to bring its Galaxy S series in line with (and in some ways, further ahead of) what its team-up with Google accomplished. It's added some new quad-core Exynos processing juice, a 4.8-inch, HD Super AMOLED screen and a handful of Galaxy S III-only features in an earnest bid to maintain its place at the top of the Android pile. You'll find our detailed impressions and a hands-on video just after the break.
Samsung Galaxy S III is official: 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display, quad-core Exynos processor and gesture functions
The Galaxy S III is Samsung's new flagship smartphone and it's finally broken cover at the company's stand-alone Mobile Unpacked event here in London. With a steady stream of fakes, outright leaks and even event rescheduling, Samsung's claimed almost crazy levels of interest for its new smartphone. Weighing in at 133g (4.7 ounces) and whittled to 8.6mm at its thickest, the rounded-off design has more than a little bit in common with its Galaxy Nexus cousin. Of course, it's Samsung's new 1.4GHz Exynos 4 Quad processor doing the legwork, and there's 1GB of RAM to help it out. The display has been bumped up in size to a 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED affair, sporting a 1280 x 720 pixel count. Happy snappers will have an 8-megapixel rear shooter to play with, and a 1.9-megapixel eye on the front will take care of those video calls. If you were wondering about radios, it's launching with HSPA+, but there's an LTE version in the cards. As for the interface, it's TouchWiz on top of Android 4.0 again, and there's new gesture functions to help you get around. So, there it is, the phone we've all been waiting for (until the next one) but that's not all, be sure to check our hands-on coverage and additional features for the in-depth breakdown.
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's Q1 2012 profits nearly double year-over-year on higher margins for TVs and phones
The numbers for Samsung's first quarter of 2012 are in and as it expected they are up sharply over the same period from 2011. After predicting profits of 5.8 trillion won it managed to top that, notching an operating profit of 5.85 trillion won ($5.16 billion US) for the quarter, a 98 percent gain over a year ago. Phones accounted for 73 percent of the profit, contributing 4.27 trillion won to the bottom line. As the world awaits the debut of what we assume will be the Samsung Galaxy S III May 3rd powered by its Exynos 4 Quad CPU, there's clearly no shortage of demand for the Galaxy S II and Note. Sales of chips and TVs decreased from last quarter, but like its competitor LG, growing sales of high res tablet panels (we wonder which one that might be), 3DTVs and OLEDs increased profitability. Specifically, the high end 7000/8000 series of HDTVs increased sales by 50 percent from last year, while the company plans to focus on "region-specific" LED models for emerging markets, and high end (and high priced) flat-panels for developed markets. We're listening in to the earnings call at the moment, and we'll let you know if there's any other details that come out of what is mostly boring numbers talk. So far it's all pretty businessy, although in response to a question executives did confirm that they expect the Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note to occupy different segments in terms of size. So there you have it -- the Galaxy S III will (shockingly) not have a 5.3-inch screen. Also, it predictably is trying to continue the trend of global launches, although that hardly puts to rest the issue of how long we may end up waiting for carrier-specific versions here in the US. Check out the rest of Samsung's details in a press release and a few slides from the report embedded after the break.
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.
Another Galaxy S III prototype spotted in protective casing
While we've already gotten glimpses of supposed Samsung Galaxy S III prototypes, this latest one has popped up in a (since removed) post on Chinese forum Mobile01. The plastic rim meant to obscure the device's sleek new design is still present, but as noted by The Verge, the picture appears to show a larger menu button than we're used to on stock ICS. We should find out what the deal is in just a few days, we'll keep our apps and countdown clocks close by until then.
Samsung's Unpacked Mobile 2012 app outs 'Galaxy S3' as next smartphone's name
Up until now, we haven't actually had any confirmation of what Samsung's upcoming superphone would be named. We've had plenty of reason to believe that it'd simply be the third iteration of the famed Galaxy S line, and even an Amazon Germany page predicting as much, but it's another thing entirely to see the term "Galaxy S3" used by Samsung itself. Indeed, that's exactly what's happening with the release of its Mobile Unpacked 2012 app, which will allow prospective users to stream the event as it happens in London on May 3rd, while also gathering facts and figures once the event passes. Whether or not the whole GSIII thing sticks remains to be seen, but if you're curious, we'll also be on hand to liveblog every revealing second of it.
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 countdown teases next Galaxy phone with anagram
Sammy's latest marketing ploy kicked off with a string of nonsense that could just as easily have come from the Sunday morning jumble: "Destination: tgeltaayehxnx," declared the Samsung Mobile Twitter account. Anagram wizards will read that as, "the next Galaxy," and wouldn't you know it, it's also the URL for an auspicious countdown clock. Sammy promises to let visitors take "the next step" in about 17 hours and counting. Bonafide internet sleuths can find an extra carrot strung up in the site's source, reading, "discover how Samsung is about to challenge the way you view the Galaxy once more." Is Samsung about to break its own May 3rd unveiling? We'll let you know in 16 hours and change. Update: It seems like that ticker just might be counting down to some sort of anagram guessing game, according to an Engadget tipster who partook in some directory diving. Among a series of assets of different colored lettered tiles he found images with instructions warnings, reading "Click on the letters in the correct order to reveal your real destination," and "Following technology blindly often gets you nowhere." Ominous. Update 2: And there it is. Samsung's revealed two (well, one and a half) teaser videos -- but they don't reveal much. [Thanks, Naor]
Did the Samsung Galaxy S III just appear in Vietnam? (video) (updated with statement)
Whoa, there. We're still weeks away from an official big stage unveiling, but it looks like Samsung's next Galaxy phone is already out there. Vietnamese site Tinhte, which has past form on these kind of things, has got its hands on the GT-I9300 -- purportedly the Galaxy S III if Samsung decides to follow its own naming convention. According to the specifications leaked, Tinhte reckons the phone houses a 4.6-inch display at 720 x 1184 resolution (roughly 320 DPI, picking up Android's XHDPI classification -- thanks Rawat), while a quad-core 1.4 GHz processor works on keeping the Ice Cream Sandwich OS running smoothly. Other hardware mentions include 1GB of RAM, 8-megapixel camera, 16GB of storage plus microSD capability. In a side-by-side comparison with the Galaxy Nexus, it looks like the phone's display is incrementally larger, although we're unable to tell the precise size, nor whether we'll be treated to Super AMOLED Plus or some Pentile substitute. According to Tinhte, the 2,050mAh battery will arrive with NFC capabilities baked in, like the Galaxy Nexus before it. There's an iffy plastic rim surrounding to the whole device that has apparently been added not to ruin the surprise of how the device looks ahead of its official launch. While we've seen some similar hardware leaks already, this video makes a very strong case for it being the real deal. Take a look for yourself right after the break, alongside a picture of the back. Update: It looks our source link has disappeared and the video has now gone private. Fortunately, we grabbed our own copy of the video and you can find it below. Update 2: We reached out to Samsung for a comment, and here's the not-so-surprising response: "We will be able to tell you more at the 2012 Samsung Mobile Unpacked."
Samsung will unveil the next Galaxy phone May 3rd in London
After months of rumors Samsung has officially announced the world will meet the next Galaxy phone in London on May 3rd with this invite, first received by Dutch site Tweakers.net. While most speculation will immediately focus around something we're expecting to arrive as the Galaxy S III, the BlackBerry World-spoiling invite we received is conspicuously devoid of details like name or specifications. While we'll keep the address of the Samsung Unpacked event to ourselves, the only other information included is the date / time (2PM ET) and the address for a live stream on Facebook. The original Galaxy S and GS2 are already million unit sellers many times over since first launching two years ago and have led the Android pack for most of this time, so what will Samsung do to top itself this time? (Answer: not 3D, and it's probably a little too late for another Continuum-like gimmicky split display.) There are just 17 days left until we find out for sure.
