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T-Mobile Galaxy S III hands-on (video)
T-Mob's variant of the Galaxy S III made its in-store debut on this very day, and we just had a chance to go hands-on with the flagship smartphone. The carrier brought the handset down to the Metropolitan Pavilion for Pepcom's baseball-themed shindig and we just had to get our greasy paws all over its shiny Pebble Blue shell -- and it is a serious fingerprint magnet. Aside from that, though, it's hard to take issue with such a slim and marvelously engineered device. The plasticky build quality does leave something to be desired, but it's something we've become accustomed with Samsung devices. We've also got to give it to Sammy for getting carriers, including T-Mobile, to leave well enough alone. Other than the innocuous logo on the back there are no physical differences between this version of the S III and its 4.8-inch cousins on other networks. There's no keyboard, redesigned corners or rejiggered buttons. Truth is, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between Big Magenta's variant and the international version. %Gallery-158858% The only obvious changes come once you fire the device up, and you'll have to dig around a bit to find them. T-Mo has added a few apps to the standard Samsung Suite. Most of them are relatively inoffensive, but if you're the type who was taken aback when you discovered My Verizon Mobile on your LTE Galaxy Nexus, you might not be a happy camper. On board you'll find T-Mobile TV, Name ID, Access T-Mobile, Mobile HotSpot and Visual Voicemail -- pretty standard additions. Our brief time with the device turned up no surprises. Performance was snappy -- apps opened without a hitch and webpages loaded as fast as the congested wireless in the room would allow. If you're a Carly Foulkes fan with an upgrade on tap you could do worse than to pick up the Galaxy S III (which is available today) for $279.99. Though, that price tag is, admittedly, a bit hard to swallow. Be sure to check the video after the break.
The Engadget interview: Nokia's Kevin Shields talks Windows Phone 8 (video)
Today at the Windows Phone Developer Summit, we had the opportunity to sit down with Kevin Shields, SVP of Program and Product Management at Nokia, and chat about the day's announcements including Windows Phone 8. Our discussion started with the apps Nokia unveiled today -- PlayTo for DLNA support, Nokia Counter to monitor data usage, My Commute for personalized routing, an update of Nokia Music to 3.0 and the Camera Extras imaging suite -- which are rolling out next week for all Lumia handsets running Windows Phone 7.5. Kevin gave us a little more insight on Camera Extras, a set of four apps (Self Timer, Panorama Maker, Action Shot and Smart Group Shot) designed to enhance the camera experience using technology from Nokia's recent Scalado acquisition. We then moved on to discussing Windows Phone 8 and specifically NFC support, with a small tangent spent on Kevin showing us the recently launched Lumia 610 NFC. The next topic was about what we can expect from Nokia in terms of hardware for upcoming phones running the latest iteration of Microsoft's mobile OS. We know that the first batch of Windows Phone 8 devices will be powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 Plus dual-core SoC, but on the topic of quad-core processors Kevin said "where additional hardware makes a difference, then sure, let's talk about it," adding "we're going to stay committed to the experience." Finally we discussed the future of Nokia's PureView technology and how it fits in with the next generation mobile OS. PureView "is a core technology that we are dedicated to and invested in" said Kevin. Sounds quite promising, right? We can't wait to see what the next wave of Lumia handsets brings to the table. Until then, go ahead and watch our video interview.
LG VS930 pops up at the FCC, may be world-roaming Optimus LTE II for Verizon
Verizon may be getting into a regular habit of carrying high-end LG smartphones. If the FCC is anything to go by, the Optimus LTE II could be next to get the Big Red treatment: a filing has just emerged for the VS930, a likely successor to the VS910 (Revolution) and VS920 (Spectrum). While it's been showing up only in bits and pieces through certifications and tests, the more complete picture we're getting now shows a world-ready roaming device. It has the requisite CDMA and Verizon-specific LTE frequencies, but also GSM and HSPA as bonuses -- on AT&T-friendly bands, no less. LG is understandably shy about showing photos or other clues, but anything resembling the Optimus LTE II would flaunt a 4.7-inch 720p screen, a dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 and that all-important 2GB of RAM. To us, the real question is one of timing. Verizon has been making a habit of offering one 4G-equipped LG flagship every year, but early 2013 would be a long time to wait for what's more of an iteration than a... wait for it... revolution.
Samsung Galaxy S III review shootout: AT&T vs. Sprint
More Info Samsung Galaxy S III review AT&T announces Samsung Galaxy S III plans Sprint Galaxy S III arrives with Google Wallet on June 21 Each summer the world celebrates a time of warmth, fun and relaxation. For the tech community, however, it's traditionally the season in which Samsung unleashes the latest version of its Galaxy S flagship. But the now time-honored tradition is actually more of a one-two punch: first the unlocked international model is revealed, and later it's followed up by a litany of worldwide variants. US carriers intent on offering the "value" of differentiation to their customers have been the worst offenders in modifying Sammy's magic formula, ranging from motley form factors to egregious bloatware to clumsy naming schemes (Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch quickly comes to mind). But Samsung's brand cachet has grown year over year, so much so that the company is starting to wield more power over carriers. No weird names, no exclusive agreements and no changes to the form factor. That's right, six carriers have signed up to carry the Galaxy S III so far, and every single one of these devices looks exactly the way Samsung intended, with the only major exceptions being the processor and memory allotment. So far we've had the opportunity to play with two of the six: AT&T's and Sprint's. How close to the original GS III (also known as the GT-I9300) do these devices come? What advantages and disadvantages does each bring to the table? Can you expect comparable performance? Stay with us as we break it all down. %Gallery-158527%
Samsung T-Mobile slider flashes Chiclets for Mr. Blurrycam, could be the SGH-T699
If you're a fan of old-school QWERTY, it seems T-Mobile will soon have a clicky Samsung slider friend for you. The leaked image from TMoNews could also clear up a mystery and put a face to the name SGH-T699 we saw last month in a leaked user agent profile. From that we gleaned a 720P display, and new info points to a 5MP rear camera, Qualcomm S3 or S4 chip and Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich to boot. We'll keep the skep-o-meter turned up high till we have confirmation for all that, but tactile keyboard phone lovers might want to start making plans.
Purported Motorola Dinara press shot slips out, carries a whiff of Atrix 3
We're taking this with a big block of salt, but we may have just had our first real peek at the Motorola Dinara's American form. A claimed press shot has the possibly Snapdragon S4-powered Android 4.0 phone carrying a fairly plain shell, but also sporting a 720p display and an all-touch interface borrowed from Motorola's recent Chinese introductions. The tip to The Verge hasn't produced any shocks, including the mention of LTE and preloaded AT&T apps, although the badging does give us some room for skepticism: AT&T rarely if ever leaves its three-letter name out of phone branding, and that front camera position is slightly odd. As long as no wool has been pulled over eyes, however, the Dinara could be a candidate for another Atrix sequel that keeps Motorola on Big Blue.
Gigabyte GSmart G1362, G1342 and M1348 at Computex 2012 (hands-on video)
Want a dual-SIM phone running Ice Cream Sandwich? You've come to the right place. Here at Computex in Taipei we uncovered three of the handsets Gigabyte announced yesterday -- the GSmart G1362, G1342 and M1348 -- and took two of them for a spin. First up is the G1362 which sports a 4.3-inch FWVGA (854x480) display, 5 megapixel AF camera with LED flash, 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 CPU, 512MB or RAM and 4GB of internal storage. Next is the G1242, featuring a 3.5-inch HVGA (480x320) LCD, 5 MP autofocus camera with flash, 800MHz single core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 512MB of RAM and a lowly 1GB of built-in flash. The M1320 M1348 was non-functional and hidden in a display case. It's expected to match the G1342 in specs but uses a 1GHz MediaTek CPU and offers 4GB of built-in storage. As previously mentioned, all three phones include two SIM slots (one of them HSPA 7.2Mbps-capable) and run Android 4.0.4. Despite packing a Snapdragon S4, the G1362 looks and feels like a mid-range handset, with a less-than-stellar display (poor brightness and viewing angles). The UI was reasonably responsive, however, which is pretty much what you'd expect from a phone with such a powerful processor. As for the G1362, it's basically your standard fare low-end Android handset albeit with dual-SIM support and ICS. Build quality was in line with other prototypes we've handled -- that is to say a little rough around the edges. Of course, it's important to keep in mind that we played with pre-production units running non-final software. The G1362 should be available in July for less than $300 unsubsidized, the G1342 is shipping this month (June) for under $200 and the M1348 is expected later this summer at a sub $150 price point. Want to know more? There's a gallery below and a pair of hands-on videos after the break.
Windows RT on Snapdragon S4 hands-on and Rob Chandhok interview (update: video)
We just got a hands-on demo of Microsoft Windows RT running on Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 development tablet here at Computex 2012 in Taipei. The verdict? It's smooth as silk on a 1.5GHz dual-core APQ8060A with 2GB of RAM, which means it's likely to be even more impressive on the company's quad-core offering. We got to see SkyDrive photo sharing between a Nokia Lumia 900 and the Windows RT device, showing that both WiFi and 3G connectivity are fully supported. Ditto GPS -- with Bing Maps purring along nicely. Most interesting, however, was a demo of Vendetta Online which ran without hiccups even when multitasking along with other apps. We asked about battery life and benchmarks -- especially when comparing Windows RT to Android -- but sadly Qualcomm doesn't have any numbers to share. The company's focus is clearly on working with Microsoft to streamline the new OS for the Snapdragon platform, and from what we saw today, things are making great progress. Take a look at our gallery below and hit the break for our hands-on video and interview with Rob Chandhok, President of Qualcomm Internet Services.
T-Mobile brings Samsung Galaxy S III to stores on June 21st
T-Mobile US isn't letting Verizon bask in the spotlight for too long, as it just announced that June 21st will be the magic date it begins offering the Samsung Galaxy S III in stores. From what we can tell, this particular flavor of the device has seemed to escape a good chunk of carrier influence, with the traditional home button model staying intact. As we've been expecting, the GSIII will come in 16 and 32GB models (price is still an unknown at the moment, though $200 and $250 respectively seems to be the popular choice so far), run on a Snapdragon S4 dual-core CPU clocked at 1.5GHz and offer an impressive 2GB RAM. It doesn't appear that T-Mo will be allowing pre-orders through official retail channels, but you can sign up for a reminder by going to the link below. But don't worry if you forget to do that -- we'll keep you posted on all the updates no matter what.
Engadget Giveaway: win an HTC One S, courtesy of Bell Canada
The HTC One S has been making a splash across carriers in Canada, so it's only fitting that we ride the wave and give one away to a reader in the true north strong and free. The example we're giving out is Bell Canada's model, which mates the dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 and Android 4.0 with Bell-specific extras like Mobile TV. Should you live in the land of the red and white, fire off an entry according to the rules and you might just get HTC's super-skinny smartphone for yourself. Leave a comment below. Any comment will do. Duplicate entries will be filtered out and discarded, so adding additional comments won't increase your likelihood of winning. Contest is open to all residents of Canada (excluding Quebec), 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad. Winners will be chosen randomly. One winner will receive one Bell Canada HTC One S. If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of being contacted. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen. This unit is purely for promotional giveaway. Bell Canada service will NOT be included. Also, HTC, Bell and Engadget are not held liable to honor warranties or customer service. The full list of rules, in all its legalese glory, can be found here. Entries can be submitted until June 3, 2012 at 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
Canadian carriers put Galaxy S III launch on June 20th, back dual-core 1.5GHz chip for LTE models (update: Snapdragon, 2GB RAM official)
Canadian carriers flocked to the Galaxy S III before we'd barely even left our seats in London to try it, and it looks like they're also more than a little eager to provide launch details ahead of their American counterparts. Telus and Videotron have both confirmed the leaked June 20th release date, and Telus has gone so far as to reinforce suspicions that LTE models will use the Snapdragon S4 instead of the Exynos 4 Quad -- it expects the phone to use a "1.5GHz dual-core processor," which sure sounds like Qualcomm's latest to us. The same carrier has nailed down pricing at $160 on a three-year contract for a 16GB version and $210 for a 32GB model. Other carriers like Bell and Rogers are still a bit commitment-phobic, although that earlier Best Buy tip makes us think they'll fall into line before long. Update: Samsung's own release has swung our way, and it's providing a slew of details that should closely relate to the US launch. As expected, that's a Snapdragon S4 inside, although we now know that the 2GB of RAM of the NTT DoCoMo version will at least be making its way to Canada as well. The LTE version for Bell, Rogers, Telus and a handful of regional carriers is known as the SGH-i747, while the fabled SGH-T999 stops at 42Mbps HSPA+ and is the edition that Mobilicity, Wind and Videotron will get, since it supports 1,700MHz 3G. There's no mention of a 64GB Canadian Galaxy S III, so you'll still have to import if you frown heavily upon microSD cards.
Mystery LG LE970 claims next-gen Adreno graphics, can't quite prove it
Maybe our skeptic's goggles have fogged over with excitement, but there's something mightily interesting about an entry over at GLBenchmark. First off, the model number and listing info vaguely suggest it could be a variant of the LS970 superphone rumored for Sprint, aka the LG Eclipse, although the ICS build ("geeb_att_us-eng 4.0.4") indicates this 1.5GHz device is one of Ma Bell's. One of the more unusual specs offers some corroboration: the Adreno 320 graphics, which only come in the souped-up Pro or quad-core variants of Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon S4 chipset. That would make the LE970 a rare breed indeed, but unfortunately that's about all we can learn at this point. The actual benchmark scores tell us nothing about the handset's performance other than that it can max out the Egypt Standard test despite its 1280 x 720 screen -- making it impossible to compare it to regular Snapdraon S4 phones like the HTC One X on AT&T or the HTC One S. Oh well, where are those lens wipes? Update: An earlier version of this post confused the benchmark results with the Egypt Offscreen test -- apologies for the error. [Thanks, Ketul]
Mystery Samsung phone with Snapdragon S4 pops up in benchmarks, may or may not be Verizon's Galaxy S III
While pre-release benchmarks have a very hit or miss record for clues as to what future devices will bring, they almost always raise eyebrows. Nowhere is that more true than in a round of NenaMark2 testing uncovered this weekend: a previously unknown Samsung SCH-i535 for Verizon has tipped up sporting a 1.5GHz, dual-core Snapdragon S4 instead of one of Samsung's own chips, like the Exynos 4 Quad. Given that the SCH-i515 is the model badge for Verizon's Galaxy Nexus, it's not a great leap in logic to speculate that this is a custom version of the Galaxy S III. It's entirely possible that something else might fit the bill, but knowing that Samsung has used Snapdragons itself to include 4G before and that HTC just recently switched up the One X with an S4 to give it LTE on North American networks, we may be looking at the compromise Samsung needs to make to get its 4.8-inch gigantophone on Big Red.
HTC One X vs. One S: which phone is The One for you?
HTC One X review HTC One S review HTC Sense 4 reviewJet Li starred in a 2001 movie called "The One." In it, his character traveled to parallel universes and grew stronger as he killed alternate versions of himself. This continued on until there was only one other copy left, with the movie culminating in an epic battle between the two. We won't spoil the ending, but we were reminded of this movie when thinking about the One X and the One S: both are incredibly powerful phones that we'd be proud to use as our daily drivers, but the vast majority of us are only able to choose one One. (The One V is also a possible option but for the purposes of this feature we're laser-focused on HTC's two higher-end models.)How can we make a sound decision? The two phones are considered premium devices with top-notch components and relatively few flaws. The major difference, however, is going to be the price. Naturally, the cost will vary depending on where you live and which carrier you choose, but make no mistake: the S is going to be less expensive. Is it worth spending the extra money to go with the top-shelf model, or will the little guy be plenty? Now that the two devices are officially on sale in Europe, it's time to pick a side. We can't decide for you, but our goal is to present each phone's pros and cons, going round by round. Which one is right for you? Read on to find out.
Qualcomm details Snapdragon S4-loaded Win8 notebooks further, will be lighter than Ultrabooks
Although ARM-based SoCs are generally associated with mobile devices, it's no secret that Qualcomm and NVIDIA want to get Windows 8 computers into the fray. We knew that both companies began seeding developers with prototype SoC-loaded computers back in February, but now more details have arisen about Qualcomm's plans in the area. According to PC World, the company's senior vice president, Rob Chandhok, explained that it's aiming to have a variant of its quad-core Snapdragon S4 chips in notebook PCs by the end of the year. It's said that this'll enable manufacturers to create machines that are immensely lighter and thinner than Intel's Ultrabooks and Apple's MacBook Air lineup, while offering up a unique experience thanks to its built-in 4G compatibility and graphics handling. What's more, the company also has a version of the chip on the table for the 64-bit version of Windows 8, but there's no word on if and when it would come to fruition. We can only imagine how many more options you'll have to run Microsoft's latest OS when it finally hits shelves this October -- for now, you'll find more details about Qualcomm's offerings at the source link
Qualcomm, Microsoft giving Snapdragon S4 PCs to Windows-on-ARM developers (update: NVIDIA handing out Tegra 3 PCs, too)
Microsoft spent a big chunk of MWC today telling everyone about Windows 8 and if you're the coding type, the news gets even better. If invited, you'll be expecting something nice in the mail to arrive from Redmond very shortly. It's sending out test PCs powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 that includes the beefy LTE, camera and sensor gear we played with in our hands-on. It's intended to give developers a head-start in building and refining Metro-style apps ahead of the operating system's big debut. You can check out the consumer preview of what was shown today here and if you'd like to know more, head on past the break for a sprinkling of PR. Update: It's not just Qualcomm giving away ARM silicon for free, looks like NVIDIA will be distributing Windows 8 machines powered by its Tegra 3 SoC too. PR's after the break.
Qualcomm Krait S4 SoC fully benchmarked, diagnosed as 'insane'
We've seen it, touched it and we fully expect it'll be turning heads in Barcelona next week, but until now Qualcomm's Krait chip has largely escaped the rigors of independent benchmarking. Fortunately, AnandTech has to come to our rescue once again with a characteristically thorough analysis at the source link. Those blue and green charts can speak for themselves, but if you're in a rush then here's the rub of it: the Krait truly is a next-gen SoC, with the dual-core 1.5GHz MSM8960-powered reference handset delivering an "insane performance advantage" of between 20 percent and 240 percent on CPU benchmarks. As we glimpsed recently, graphics performance is somewhat less ground-breaking but still very healthy, with the 28nm process allowing the Adreno 225 GPU to run at up to 400MHz, versus 266MHz on its Adreno 220 predecessor. Oh yes, this is going to be one mother of an MWC.
Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 flexes its imaging muscle (video)
While we already know that Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 will offer a quad-core variant, incorporate LTE and use a 28nm manufacturing process, the company posted an article to its media blog ahead of Mobile World Congress showcasing the new features provided by the chipset's Image Signal Processor. You're likely familiar with some of the imaging functionality available in Qualcomm's existing Snapdragon processors -- technology like Scalado's Rewind (pictured above) which we've covered before. The new SoC cranks things up a notch with support for up to three cameras (two in the back for 3D plus one front-facing), 20-megapixel sensors and 1080p HD video recording at 30fps. In addition to zero shutter lag, the Snapdragon S4 includes proprietary 3A processing (autofocus, auto exposure and auto white balance) along with improved blink / smile detection, gaze estimation, range finding and image stabilization. Rounding things off are gesture detection / control, augmented reality and computer vision (via Quacomm's FastCV). Want to know more? Check out the source link below, then hit the break for video demos of the S4's image stabilization and gesture-based imaging chops.
Qualcomm's MSM8960 Snapdragon S4 benchmarks pop up online
We put Qualcomm's S4 development platform through its paces (twice, no less) at CES, but shorn of the glitz of Las Vegas, does it have the oomph to wow us? Someone at the company loosed Nenamark 2 on the slate, producing a score of 54.90. Given the fact that its producing graphics for a 1024 x 600 screen, we're excited to see it comfortably edge the Galaxy S II Skyrocket (54.1) and Galaxy Note (32.8) -- with our mouths watering at the thought of what this 28nm CPU can do in a smartphone. We've included the benchmark in full after the break, if you're ready for such exciting revelations.
Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 development tablet hands-on (Video)
We already had the deep-dish on Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 development platform during our on-stage pow-wow with the company's Rob Chandok but we wanted to get some extra time with the device. The MSM8960 is a developer tablet: which means it'll never retail and it's packing some serious kit including a dual-core 1.5GHz CPU, 13-megapixel cameras on both side and Qualcomm's beefy LTE gear inside. We got a few minutes to play Fight Game Heroes: a tech demo game where your character fights a musclebound company executive in a steelworks. The action was fluid and rapid, particle effects like smoke and sparks were well rendered -- we think the chip's obviously got gaming gravitas considering the early nature of the software. It's harder to see if this is more noticeably powerful than Tegra 3, but on current evidence we think nVidia's a step ahead. Just as we left, 15 Nokia executives swarmed the booth, but would it be too much to hope that the company's thinking about building a Tablet? Well, yes, obviously. But it doesn't stop us dreaming, okay? After the break we've got footage so you can decide for yourself. Sean Buckley contributed to this report.
