Galaxy S III
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Samsung's old S Voice assistant will shut down in June
Bixby hasn’t made that much of a mark either, but now Samsung is pulling the plug on S Voice.
A look back at Samsung's Galaxy S lineup
Earlier this week, Samsung officially announced the Galaxy S10 (and S10+), the company's latest and greatest Android flagship. Somewhat obviously, the S10 is also the tenth-generation Galaxy S, which means it's been ten years since the very first Galaxy handset. Considering this momentous occasion, we thought we'd take a look back at the history of the Galaxy S line and see just how far Samsung has come in the past decade.
gdgt's best deals for October 23rd: Canon VIXIA HF-G10, Klipsch Synergy S-10 speakers
Ready to save some cash on your tech buys? Then you've come to the right place. Our friends at sister site gdgt track price drops on thousands of products every day, and twice a week they feature some of the best deals they've found right here. But act fast! Many of these are limited-time offers, and won't last long. The holiday season is rapidly approaching and to kick off this Halloween, you may want to battle the forces of evil from your PC instead of your doorstep. Monsters are much easier to handle from the comfort of your own couch, too, so stay inside, enjoy a long session of Diablo III and follow that up with and an Evil Dead marathon in full surround with some Klipsch Synergy S-10 speakers. Join gdgt and add the gadgets you're shopping for to your "Want" list -- every time there's a price cut, you'll get an email alert!
Samsung Galaxy S III leaked in purple, pegged for April release on Sprint
Starting next month, Sprint loyalists will likely be able to get their paws around the Galaxy S 4. Or, if the budget has been a bit tight, a brand new Galaxy S III. The image above has been posted by the typically-reliable evleaks, showing off a heretofore unannounced purple edition of one of Samsung's cash cows. We aren't given too many details beyond a proposed April ship date, but one can only expect it to be offered for a song given the imminent arrival of its successor. To date, the GS III has been issued in red, white, grey, brown and black -- clearly, the only thing missing is a version that Willy Wonka himself would endorse.
The Daily Roundup for 02.12.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
NPD: Apple tops Q4 US smartphone sales, Samsung a strong second place
Nothing super-shocking in this latest report from NPD -- not after seeing fairly similar numbers from Strategy Analytics not all that long ago, that is. According to the research group, Apple's leading the pack at 39-percent of US smartphone sales in the final quarter of last year -- that number's down from 41-percent this time last year. Bigger changes are afoot over at Samsung, however. The handset maker jumped from 21- to 30-percent from the same time last year, thanks in no small part to demand for the Galaxy S III. Go figure, NPD's top five list is dominated entirely by iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S iterations -- in fact, combined, the two manufacturers make up some 70-percent of sales. Motorola is in at a distant third, with seven-percent of sales, followed by HTC and LG, each at six-percent.
Samsung estimates $8.3 billion in profits for Q4, brags about phone sales
What's the lion's share look like in sales numbers? About 500 handsets a minute, according to Samsung. The Korean hardware giant flaunted the sales estimate in its Q4 investors guidance, where it says it expects to see $8.3 billion in profits when the official earnings report drops later this month. That's just shy of double what it reported over the same period in 2011. Sammy contributes the growth to a plentiful supply of regional variants of handsets like the Galaxy S III and Note II, as well as high demand for its display technology. The streak may not keep forever though, according to Reuters, analysts are predicting a first quarter slump without a new Galaxy S phone for the spring. We'll have to wait for the full earnings release to see how things pan out, but it doesn't look like the firm will be hurting for cash any time soon.
This is the Modem World: You Use THAT?
Each week Joshua Fruhlinger contributes This is the Modem World, a column dedicated to exploring the culture of consumer technology. That's what she said to me. "You use THAT?!" she repeated, pointing at my humble iPhone 4. "Is that even a 4S?" she stepped back as she glanced for backup. "Aren't you some techie?" her friend joined in. I felt like I had been caught with my pants down. I had to prove my tech worthiness to these girls. I had a reputation to protect.
Samsung acknowledges Exynos security issue, promises update 'as quickly as possible'
It may have taken longer than we would have liked, but Samsung has finally confirmed that it's aware of the Exynos security exploit discovered this weekend. The smartphone maker hasn't issued a timeline for plugging the hole, but it is indeed on the case, stating "Samsung is aware of the potential security issue related to the Exynos processor and plans to provide a software update to address it as quickly as possible." Project Voodoo's François Simond (Supercurio) released his own root-free fix just hours after the vulnerability was discovered on Sunday, so you're welcome to use that simple solution in the meantime (at the source link below). You can also head over to Android Central for the full statement from Samsung.
US Cellular delivering Jelly Bean update to Samsung Galaxy S III on December 21st
Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T all have already done it, and now it's US Cellular's turn to start distributing the Android 4.1 batch to its own variant of Samsung's Galaxy S III. According to the carrier, said Jelly Bean update is set to hit the flagship, TouchWiz-loaded handset this Friday, December 21st, carrying now-accustomed features such as Project Butter, Google Now and a slew of other enhancements to the camera app, notifications, widgets and, naturally, the overall user interface. US Cellular didn't give us a specific time as to when we can expect the goods, but it did say the update will be available over-the-air and via USB -- either way, you may want to bookmark that source link below, as more in-depth installation details are expected to show up there come Friday.
Security exploit opens Samsung Galaxy S III, Note II to attack, could let apps from Google Play write to Kernel
Amid the XDA community's ongoing quest to root every Android handset it comes across, one forum user appears to have found a serious exploit that affects certain Exynos devices. While fiddling with his Galaxy S III, XDA user Alephzain discovered a way to obtain root without flashing with Odin. The Samsung kernel apparently allows read / write access to all physical memory on the device, including the kernel itself. This makes for an easy root, Alephzain writes, but leaves devices open to attack -- allowing Kernel code injections and RAM dumps from malware-laden apps from the Google Play store. It isn't the only avenue for attack on an Android handset, but it is an exceedingly easy attack. Luckily, a community fostered fix seems pretty simple too -- XDA user RyanZA has already created a patch to modify write permissions on affected devices -- though Galaxy S III users are reporting that the fix cripples the phone's camera app. So far, Alephzain has confirmed that the Galaxy S II, III, Note II and the Meizu MX are at risk, but notes that the exploit might work on any device running a Exynos 4210 or 4412 processor. Samsung has not yet made a comment about the vulnerability, but forum members say that the issue has been reported. As for the exploit's lasting implications? Head on over to the XDA forums to join the discussion. Update: François Simond (aka Supercurio) wastes no time plugging holes, and has already released a root-free fix for the vulnerability. Simond's solution is wrapped up in a simple APK, and requires no root, no flashing and no special know-how. It can be enabled or disabled manually, too -- allowing Galaxy S III users to regain full use of their front-facing camera, which as previously stated, is disrupted by the fix. Best of all, it's free -- skip on over to Project Voodoo at the source to get protected. Update 2: Our good friend Supercurio also brought our attention to a statement released by Samsung France to Le Monde: the company will be issuing an official patch "very quickly," and it emphasized that this is an issue "only if a malicious application is installed." Obviously, for now you can use Supercurio's patch to ease your mind.
Verizon pushing Android 4.1 update to Samsung Galaxy S III tomorrow
Verizon seems to be late to the update party, but Android 4.1 Jelly Bean will be pushed out to its version of the Samsung Galaxy S III "in phases" as an OTA update beginning December 14th. We knew it was coming in the very near future, but it's nice to have a specific date to look forward to. Don't be alarmed if the update doesn't show up right away; as we've seen with plenty of other OTA rollouts, it may take a while for it to reach every GS3 user on the network. Along with Jelly Bean, you can also expect to see support for global data roaming, mobile payments through Isis, some extra preloaded applications and miscellaneous enhancements across the board. Here's the interesting tidbit: Verizon's support page claims that the new upgrade is only 62MB in total size. This seems to be quite hard to believe, given the fact that Jelly Bean on other Galaxy S III variants has ranged in size from 275MB (Sprint) to 740MB (AT&T), but perhaps Big Red cooked up a little extra magic to make the long wait even more worthwhile. Update: We just received word from Verizon that the support page is incorrect and that the update will be around 400MB. This makes it one of the larger updates, but still nowhere as hefty as AT&T's.
How would you change the Samsung Galaxy S III?
When we reviewed Samsung's Galaxy S III in the simple, gentle days of May, our reviewer wasn't sure it would win out against HTC's One X. In the intervening six months, however, the Korean behemoth has battled to the top of the smartphone world and shipped 30 million of its 2012-era flagship to consumers worldwide. But what about the phone itself? You've had half a year to burrow deep into this device and find out what you love and what you don't. It's How Would You Change time, folks, you know what to do.
Court approves addition of iPhone 5, Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note to Samsung v. Apple lawsuit
Those looking for the light at the end of the legal tunnel may want to take a seat: Apple and Samsung's ongoing patent war just got a bit more crowded. Both sides are fighting to add hardware to their respective patent claims. The U.S. District Court in San Jose is approving these additions too, adding the iPhone 5 to Samsung's claims and approving the Apple's updated complaint to include the Galaxy Note and Galaxy S III. More devices could be added, too -- Judge Paul Grewal specifically warned Apple to "think twice" before opposing future amendments on Samsung's part, which might include the iPad mini and 4th generation slate. For better or for worse, never-ending litigation and sticky sales injunctions seem to becoming an unfortunate mainstay of the modern product cycle. We'll let you know when the ongoing battle poses a threat to your upgrade plans.
The Engadget Interview: ARM's Lead Mobile Strategist James Bruce (video)
Last week we got the chance to spend a few minutes with James Bruce, ARM's Lead Mobile Strategist, to chat about the company's past, present and future. We discussed the recent Cortex A50 announcement and ARM's broad history -- including key products like the Nokia 6110 and how the company's chip designs have "changed how people compute and lead their digital life" over the past five years. We also talked about the scalability and flexibility of the ARM architecture, from embedded systems to smartphones and tablets to servers. So what's in the pockets of one of the most important people in the chip world? A Nexus 7 and a global Galaxy S III, it turns out. Go ahead and watch the full interview above.
Refresh Roundup: week of October 29th, 2012
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Mophie Juice Pack for Samsung Galaxy S III now available for $100
Mophie told us a couple of months back that it would be bringing its GS3-friendly Juice Packs to market sometime around late October / early November, and, well, today's the day the handy add-on is finally up for grabs. As you can see above, the battery case will be available in white and black livery, with the company promising its 2,300mAh peripheral can "virtually double" battery life on the Galaxy S III without adding too much heft to the device. GS3 owners can snag one of Mophie's renowned Juice Packs now for $100 -- and to do just that, all you interested folks have to do is head over to the source link below.
Refresh Roundup: week of October 22nd, 2012
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Mobile Miscellany: week of October 22nd, 2012
If you didn't get enough in mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This past week, T-Mobile announced the price and release date for the Optimus L9, carriers were announced in Canada for the ATIV S Windows Phone and ZTE released a low-priced Android smartphone for Virgin Mobile in the UK. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of October 22nd, 2012.
Samsung makes $7.4 billion in Q3 profits, surpasses expectations
Samsung set the bar a little lower than the final mark when it told investors its expectations earlier this month, posting $7.4 billion in operating profits for Q3 and $5.97 billion in net income. This handily bests the $7.28 billion profit it told investors to expect, nearly doubling what it made over the same period last year. Why the jump? You can blame the Galaxy S III, which increased shipments "significantly due to global expansion," the company says. Indeed, smartphone sales are credited to Sammy's quarter over quarter leap in revenue. Consumer electronics sales also boosted profits a fair deal, achieving "industry leading profitability" in the TV market, according to Samsung, who cited growth both in the consumer space, and in the sales of OLED panels for televisions, tablets and high-end smartphones. The company's semiconductor sales, on the other hand, dropped by eight-percent in the face of weak PC demands. Samsung expects demand for PC DRAM and other high value-added chip products to remain weak, but optimistically notes that the sector is still profitable, and may pick up as new devices come to market. Got the basics? Great -- dive into the details and charts at the source link below, or read on for Sammy's official Q3 press release.
