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Samsung Galaxy Stellar available through Verizon beginning Thursday, free after rebate
Samsung's decidedly grounded Stellar smartphone just got the official nod from Verizon, launching on Thursday with a $50 price tag (before a $50 mail-in rebate). The "free" handset packs a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon, Ice Cream Sandwich, LTE connectivity, a 4-inch WVGA display an a rather modest image capture duo -- a 1.3-megapixel camera up front and an autofocus-capable 3.2-megapixel snapper on the rear. There's also 802.11n WiFi and support for microSD cards up to 32GB. As unimpressive as they may be, none of these specs comes as a surprise, following the smartphone's early debut on Best Buy's site last week. Still, if you're in the market for an upgrade with a non-existent equipment budget, this little Galaxy may be just what Big Red ordered.
T-Mobile's Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 lands Ice Cream Sandwich update
After more than a month of waiting, Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 for T-Mobile has finally joined some of its brethren with an Ice Cream Sandwich update. Big Magenta has posted the Android 4.0.4 download for those who'd like to install the OS manually via Samsung Kies. While the carrier says the Android flavor won't be delivered over-the-air, TmoNews reports that some users have loaded up their hardware with an OTA update. Ready to hop on the ICS bandwagon? Check your slate for an upgrade notice or hit the source link below for instructions and the appropriate download.
Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE surfaces for Sprint
If you found yourself on the wrong network for Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Stellar smartphone, consider this: The Galaxy Victory. This little slab was leaked to Android Central recently, sporting similar specs to Verizon's upcoming budget device. Like its cousin, the Victory appears to have a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, a TouchWiz flavored serving of Ice Cream Sandwich and a 4-inch 800 x 480 display -- but it sets itself apart with a five-megapixel rear facing camera and quad-band GSM support. The handset also plays nice with Samsung's TecTiles accessory, as well as Google Wallet, Beam and other NFC standards. An internal employee promotion from Sprint pegs the device for a September release, but makes no mention of price or specific availability.
IRL: Mailplane, Verizon Wireless iPad and the Samsung Galaxy S running CM9
Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment. Do we like the stuff we bought? You betcha we like the stuff we bought. This week, Darren tells of giving Mailplane another shot three months after deciding it was crap. Steve loves his aging Galaxy S all the more now that he's upgraded it to CM9. As for Edgar, he thinks his new VZW iPad is okay.
More Samsung Galaxy Stellar details spill, September 6th launch appears likely
More details about the Samsung Galaxy Stellar 4G LTE, Verizon's upcoming budget offering, are now surfacing from the midst of the carrier's internal systems. Our source has confirmed that the Stellar is now expected to launch on September 6th, and has provided some documentation that reveals the vast majority of the phone's spec sheet. Starter Mode once again gets mentioned here -- according to the docs, it's a "new, simple way to interact Access apps and control device settings with ease." As far as specs go, these docs back up the details leaked on Best Buy's website earlier: Android 4.0, a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU, 3.2MP rear camera and 1.3MP front-facing cam and 800 x 480 WVGA display. Additionally, Amazon Kindle, Audible and Zappos apps are mentioned, as well as Bluetooth 4.0 and 4GB internal storage. Dimensionally, the phone will weigh 4.73 ounces and measures 121.92 x 63.75 x 11.94mm (yes, that last measurement is for thickness). Given the lower-end specs, the Stellar likely won't launch to a grand amount of fanfare -- especially if the $100 price point is accurate. Check out our gallery below to see a few more images of the crucial docs. As a sidenote, many of the images will have creatively blurred-out sections in order to protect the identity of our source. %Gallery-164042% [Thanks, Anonymous!]
Samsung Galaxy Camera accessories include flashes, wireless charging pad, barn doors (eyes-on)
Samsung's going all out with its Galaxy Camera accessory lineup. In addition to the cases and Flip Covers we saw at Unpacked earlier this week, the company had some external flashes and professional-looking holsters on hand at its IFA booth, including a grip-mounted adjustable strobe, a ring light set and a sophisticated carrying rig, complete with hinged barn doors to block out unwanted glare. There were also hard covers in multiple dark colors, a handful of soft rubber-looking covers in light colors like aqua and lime green, along with an oversized wireless charging pad mock-up. In typical IFA fashion, booth attendants were unable to provide any information whatsoever, so it's anyone's guess what any of these gadgets cost, or if they'll even make it to market. It's also unclear whether or not any of the accessories are functional at this point, or simply mock-ups of add-ons under consideration. In the meantime, you can take a closer look in the gallery below.%Gallery-163991%
Need a case for that Galaxy Camera? Samsung's got you covered (eyes-on)
We've seen the ins and outs of Samsung's first Android-based digital camera, but how about an outer shell? You likely won't be transporting this junbo point-and-shoot in your pocket, making a variety of protective options a necessity. First up is the Flip Cover -- a camera-friendly variant of the Galaxy original, with a slide-in design and a large protective flap to cover up the LCD. There's also a full-on carrying case, which slips open to reveal the lens while offering a bit more protection. And, if you're going au naturel, you'll want to suit up with a wrist strap at the very least, offering a bit of insurance against potential slips and spills. We don't have pricing and availability info to share, but like the camera itself, it looks like there's a bunch of color configurations to choose from, all pictured in the gallery below.%Gallery-163726%
Samsung Galaxy Stellar rumored to hit Verizon for $100, hopes to lure you in with Amazon apps
Regardless of the situation, it's relatively safe to say Samsung will never, ever run out of Galaxy monikers. Now it's the Korean outfit's Galaxy Stellar making the internet rounds yet again, though there's a little more information attached this time around. Per Droid Life, Sammy's purported Verizon-bound Galaxy Stellar will be joining the carrier's LTE-equipped smartphone lineup with a $100 price tag (of course, that's assuming you sign a two-year deal) and is, as you can see above, said to be carrying an "easy-to-use" Starter mode to help folks get started, plus a compact design that "fits comfortably in hands." Most notably, however, are the tidbits flaunting Amazon apps rather than, say, the Android maker's Play offerings -- an interesting plug, to say the least. At this point nothing's quite set in stone, so we'll have to wait for more details to spill before making any assumptions.
Rumored Samsung Galaxy S II Plus resurfaces: adds purported specs and pictures
It's been a long, long time since we first saw the unannounced Galaxy S II Plus show up in some leaked benchmarks. Today, however, Sammy's souped-up flavor of that famed S2 is making the rounds on the interwebs once more, and better yet, we've got an idea of what it could look like physically come its official revelation. According to Chilean carrier VTR, Samsung's Galaxy S II Plus will be sporting a 4.5-inch AMOLED display, which is said to be paired alongside a dual-core, 1.5GHz Exynos CPU, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of built-in storage and an 8-megapixel rear camera -- notably, the site's also listing it as an Ice Cream Sandwich device, making it slightly different than what we'd seen previously in earlier benchmark scores. Either way, all signs point toward the Korean outfit being close to legitimately introducing its S II Plus sooner rather than later; while we wait for that to happen, though, the angled shots after the break will have to suffice.
Live from Samsung's 'Meet the new way' event in New York City!
It's just about time to "meet the new way." Samsung's sketch-heavy invitation clearly points to some type of pen-input device, and given the timing of the event and the fact that plenty of tablets have already been sold across the pond, we're expecting the Galaxy Note 10.1 to be outed properly... again. Judging from reports earlier this month, there will be plenty of new features (and color options) to be demoed since our last in-depth look at the evolving device, so expect a fairly packed show, complete with the typical Samsung fanfare. The event kicks off at 11AM ET, so stay tuned right here for the play-by-play from NYC.
'Meet the new way' at tomorrow's Samsung event: Note 10.1 on the horizon?
We got our not-so-mysterious invite earlier this month, and now Samsung's "Meet the new way" event is just a day away. Will we see the much-anticipated Galaxy Note 10.1? Given that Sammy already pulled the curtain on the global model, all signs point to yes. As always, we'll be on hand to serve up the details as they unfold tomorrow from Jazz at Lincoln Center (might we expect a full-blown orchestra a la the Galaxy S III launch, we wonder?). Our liveblog goes down at 11 AM tomorrow, and you'll want to park your browser here for the full play-by-play. August 15, 2012 11:00 AM EDT
Quad-core Galaxy Note 10.1 source code wastes no time, available now
Appearing almost simultaneously alongside the Galaxy Note 10.1's launch itinerary, Samsung has offered up source code for both Korean iterations of the stylus-friendly slab. Ensuring custom ROM devs have very early access to the source should mean we're likely to see other software iterations (minus TouchWiz, perhaps) sooner rather than later. Developers can delve into the coding goodness below.
Samsung's Galaxy Note 10.1 coming worldwide this month, UI shown off on YouTube
We've got a good few updates rolling in on the Galaxy Note 10.1 front today. For starters, Samsung has announced that the S Pen equipped slate will available globally from August in WiFi and 3G varieties, with an LTE version coming later in the year. The press release and spec sheet after the break also confirm that the Note 10.1 will indeed possess a quad-core Exynos processor (alongside a 2GB dose of RAM), rather than the dual-core engine seen in our initial hands-on -- although we'd already gleaned that much from retailer listings. Finally, there's now an official video on YouTube showing off the tablet's interface, including a multi-screen function to make use of that stylus. Samsung's definitely pushing the productivity angle here, with the S Note / S Pen combo looking more like a publishing program than a doodle board. A sizeable and movable keyboard is also detailed, which should address the problem of landscape keys devouring screen space. Whether the UI runs on the new processor as swiftly and smoothly as the video suggests is unknown, but we'll sort the spin from the truth in our review coming very soon.%Gallery-161835%
Samsung Retina-like 11.8-inch tablet in the works according to court docs
If you've been following the Apple vs. Samsung case even casually, you're probably aware that today marked the start of the patent trial in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, with Judge Lucy Koh presiding. And while the proceedings themselves won't necessarily justify an Olympics-level play-by-play, several interesting bits are sure to come to light. Today's nugget relates to Samsung's tablet roadmap, revealing that a Retina-like tablet may be in the works. The P10, as it's been labeled internally, packs a 2,560 x 1,600-pixel, 11.8-inch display, along with WiFi and LTE connectivity. Details are thin beyond that, and it's still possible that Samsung may not have a high-res tablet for us this year -- though with the company's mysterious New York City event coming up in two weeks, followed by IFA later in the month, there are plenty of opportunities in August alone for such an official reveal. Philip Palermo contributed to this report.
Galaxy S III sales breach 10 million, satisfy Samsung executives
Wondering if Samsung's new flagship has hit its sales goal yet? Breathe out -- it did. According to Yonhap, Shin Jong-kyun, head of Samsung's information technology and mobile communication division, told reporters the firm has moved more than 10 million Samsung Galaxy S IIIs since its unveiling. Jong-kyun wasn't able to give specific numbers, but we know from history that the handset is outpacing its predecessor, which took five months to make eight digits in sales. As for the goal, Sammy previously pegged the 10 millionth unit for early July, noting that it was fighting component shortages along the way -- all in all, mid-month isn't too far off. Thinking of helping the firm bolster its numbers further? We've got a whole series of reviews you may want to take a look at.
Samsung: Galaxy S III sales expected to total 10 million by July
Korea's golden goose is on track to drop its 10 millionth Galaxy S III by July, according to Samsung mobile head Shin Jong-kyun. The expectation comes despite limited supply, fueled by a component shortage at the smartphone giant. Regardless of this notable shortcoming, Samsung has wasted no time getting its latest handset to market, and expects to deliver the 4.8-inch Galaxy to some 300 carriers in 147 countries by the end of next month, including all of the major UK carriers, along with AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon in the US. The sky-high figure is merely an estimate, however, so investors may want to stay tuned for the official announcement before uncorking the Dom. Full details are at the source link below. [Thanks, Joseph]
AT&T says Galaxy S III pre-orders won't land until June 25th, Samsung decides to celebrate anyways
Samsung's US Galaxy S III launch is turning out to be quite the muted affair. Along with news of staggered Sprint and T-Mobile releases, AT&T is now adding that its Galaxy S III version likely won't make June 21st at all. Pre-order customers who were promised the phone this week are instead being told to wait until June 25th; they might get it early, should the smartphone stars align properly. If you're having pangs of regret for not pulling the trigger earlier, you'll have to wait up to 10 business days before before that Marble White or Pebble Blue beauty shows at your door. AT&T is pinning the delay on short supply, much like its fellow American launch carriers. Not that the lack of handsets is stopping Samsung from kicking off an elaborate launch campaign of its own. Along with the usual celebrity and Times Square stunts, the Korean corporation is starting up a curated media hub, Beacon, and placing NFC-equipped Share-to-Go Stations: those in the happy position of carrying a Galaxy S III in their hands can download free content just through swinging by a kiosk. You can catch the full details of Samsung's escapades after the break.
Samsung Galaxy S II on AT&T gets Android 4.0, leaves Sprint left to go (update: yes, but...)
We've seen T-Mobile roll out Android 4.0 for its Galaxy S II variant, and now another American carrier is joining the pack. AT&T has started pushing out Android 4.0.3 (no 4.0.4, oddly) to its near-reference version of Samsung's 2011 range leader. We wouldn't brace for any surprises over the conservative OS updates seen elsewhere in the world, but it will at least give you Chrome for Android without turning to custom firmware. The odd man out among the major US carriers is Sprint's Epic 4G Touch -- it's still humming along on 2.3 for now, and neither Sprint nor Samsung has given any further signs that they're ready to make the leap. Update: A spokesperson tells us that these initial updates are the real deal, but that they're test postings on AT&T's servers before it officially deploys to customers -- you may want to wait before hunting it down. The full-scale rollout is "live very soon," we're told, and customers can check the company blog if there's ever any doubt. [Thanks, Tom]
Samsung warns Italians that Kobo is leaving the Readers Hub, teases 'new and improved' e-book service
We hope you took advantage of those Italian lessons. If you didn't, the gist is that Samsung has warned at least one HDBlog.it visitor (and Galaxy phone owner) that its Readers Hub will soon drop Kobo e-book support. While there isn't a mentioned cutoff point, Samsung is steering the faithful to the regular Kobo app on Google Play if they want to keep reading. The company's only explanation may be a good one: it's promising a "new and improved" e-book service that should be ready in the near future. We'd very much like to know what that is, but until Samsung is more forthcoming with actual details, we'll have to be content with the company's alert-as-teaser approach to marketing.
ABI: Apple and Samsung have over 55 percent of the smartphone space, 90 percent of its money-making
Tech finance sleuth Horace Dediu was clearly astute when he determined that it's really Apple and Samsung's smartphone world, and we just live in it. ABI Research just estimated that, combined, the iPhone and Galaxy creators were responsible for more than 90 percent of the profits in the first quarter of 2012 -- mostly through carving out more than 55 percent of the total market share for themselves. We already know that only a handful of companies, like HTC, were making any kind of profit at the same time; ABI, however, has underscored just how much of a mountain Nokia has to climb to reclaim its glory days. For Nokia to completely make up for Symbian's decline, shipments of Lumia phones will have to jump a staggering 5,000 percent this year. The Finnish phone maker is certainly hopeful, but with the 80 percent growth rate in China mostly being led by locals like Huawei and ZTE, that's no mean feat.
