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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]
Samsung Hercules snapped in the wild, powering its way to Telus soon?
Would demigods feel honored that smartphones are getting named after them? The Samsung Hercules, from what we can tell, seems to fit its given title appropriately; he was, after all, famous for his behemoth strength. Sadly, we've known more about him than his technological counterpart, though that may be soon changing. MobileSyrup found someone clutching onto the still-unannounced device at a VIP event and snapped a quick pic for the world to see. While they didn't get any hands-on time, they indicated that it was running on Telus, it appeared to have a 4.5-inch display (as rumored), and is a design mashup of the Galaxy S II, Nexus S, and the Infuse 4G. This still leaves us with nothing but spec rumors -- which include a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU, Super AMOLED Plus display, 16GB of flash storage, 42Mbps HSPA+, and an eight megapixel camera -- but it's nice to have a face to go with the famous name. For somebody who likes to go the distance, its superphone namesake sure seems awfully close.
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%
Unannounced Samsung 'Hercules' headed to T-Mobile, bearing demigod-like specs?
The Samsung Infuse 4G is a beautiful 4.5-inch tabletphone, but it's not for the spec junkies of the world -- a single-core processor and Android 2.2 just don't impress such folk these days, regardless of actual performance. However, This is my next reports Samsung's cooking up a $350 handset that ticks all the boxes on the superphone list -- a beast of a smartphone it's tentatively calling the "Hercules." Mind you, we're still in rumor territory, but feast your inner speed demon on the possibility of these: a dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8060 processor (the same as the HP TouchPad), a 42Mbps HSDPA radio, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of flash storage and Android 2.3, along with the same 4.5-inch 800 x 480 Super AMOLED Plus display as the aforementioned Infuse 4G. The same whispers say it'll have a 8 megapixel camera with 1080p video capture, MHL support and NFC, and should play for T-Mobile... assuming the buyout doesn't succeed. Our existing smartphones are already preparing to seethe with jealousy.
Samsung Infuse 4G review
We're just getting into the swing of spring, flowers blooming and skeeters biting, but already it's been a great year for Samsung -- if we ignore the whole lawsuit thing. Just a few weeks ago the company delivered to us our highest scoring Android phone yet, the Galaxy S II and, while that handset has not appeared on American shores, we were graced with the Droid Charge, which offers LTE speed, strong battery life, and an on-contract price that slightly exceeds its design. Not so with the company's latest assault on American carriers. It's the Infuse 4G, it's $199 on-contract, and it has a decidedly high-end feel. It even looks a little like the S II -- if you squint. This is its own phone, though, a giant 4.5-inch screen setting it apart from its predecessors, and a giant battery inside giving it plenty of life. But is it really as good as it looks? %Gallery-123627%
Samsung Infuse 4G hands-on (updated)
We've seen it powered down and had it dangled in front of us and now, four months after its launch, we've finally had a chance to play with a real, working Samsung Infuse 4G. This 4.5-inch superphone -- the biggest Sammy has made to date -- feels surprisingly light in the hands, despite its width. That's largely thanks to its crazy-thin 8.99mm profile, along with a subtly textured backside. The Super AMOLED Plus display -- the same kind found on the smaller Droid Charge -- which promises to be brighter than Super AMOLED as well as easier to view in direct sunlight, is simply stunning. We were seriously impressed by the punchy colors and deep blacks, although that outdoor test will have to wait for another day. Blessedly, Samsung lets those vibrant colors speak for themselves -- it loaded the phone with Android 2.2 and abstained from saddling it with its TouchWiz UI made its TouchWiz UI less intrusive out of the box. The handset packs a single -- not dual -- core 1.2GHz processor, but you won't notice or care how many cores it has unless you're a benchmark junkie -- the phone launches applications briskly, while the touchscreen is responsive and always precise. We noticed nary a delay as we swiped among the seven home screens and three application pages. Speaking of speed, this is AT&T's first device to promise max speeds of 21 Mbps. Samsung held its press event in a New York City restaurant with poor reception, alas, and we have a feeling the crawling rates we observed off-camera don't do this phone justice. We're walking out of here with one of these bad boys, and we're stoked to fully put it through its paces over the next few days. We'll be back with an in-depth review, but in the meantime, have a gander at the gallery of close-up shots below. %Gallery-122940% Updated: Unlike the Inspire 4G, Captivate, and Aria, the Infuse 4G enables app sideloading and features the "Unknown Sources" menu item in the settings. Check out a photo of the appropriate settings screen in the updated gallery.
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%
Verizon freezes Droid Charge launch indefinitely, blaming 'unexpected delays' (update)
Can't say we're surprised by this, but turns out Verizon's decided to delay the launch of its Samsung Droid Charge -- originally scheduled for today -- at the very last minute. According to an internal email we obtained, the blame's on "unexpected delays" and no new date has yet been set. This makes sense, considering it wouldn't do Verizon much good to launch a new 4G Android when its LTE service is still down (for over 24 hours and still counting). Ah well, this 4.3-incher better be worth the wait. [Thanks, Anonymous] Update: We're hearing reports that LTE is gradually being restored across the states, and our own Myriam Joire also sees 4G connection in San Francisco. That said, at this stage it's unlikely that the Droid Charge will resume launch today. Update 2: Apparently the folks at Target aren't picking up what Verizon's putting down, as a tipster has told us it's releasing the Charge today as planned. Picture's after the break.
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]
HTC Sensation versus the rest of the dual-core world: smartphone spec sheet smackdown
We got to feeling a bit curious about how exactly HTC's latest Android superphone, the Sensation 4G, stacks up against its fellow dual-core competition, so we did what every geek does in such situations, we compiled a chart. Included in this list are the finest and brightest Android handsets from each of the major manufacturers that have gone dual-core so far: the Galaxy S II, the Atrix 4G, the Optimus 2X / G2X, and HTC's own EVO 3D. As it turns out, there are quite a few commonalities among these phones (besides the benchmark-crushing performance). They all boast screens of either 4 or 4.3 inches in size, the minimum amount of RAM among them is 512MB, the smallest battery is 1500mAh, and yes, they all have front-facing video cameras. Basically, it's the future of smartphones, reduced to a stat sheet. As such, it must also come with the warning that specs aren't everything, and user experience will most often depend on the software available on each device and on the preferences of the human holding it. With that proviso fully digested, join us after the break for the data.
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.
Samsung Galaxy S II shows up in Ukraine, gets a loving preview (video)
Where would we be without prototypes, eh? One such pre-production unit, of Samsung's dual-core Galaxy S II, has escaped into the Russian Ukrainian wilderness, where it's been thankfully rescued from the cold by the guys over at gagadget. Apart from squaring it up against the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 -- which we can only surmise was the nearest available Android handset, it surely can't have been the best -- they also dig pretty deeply into the latest TouchWiz UI and dish up a thoroughgoing gallery of sample images from that 8 megapixel autofocus camera on the back. It's an enlightening read, once you've enrolled Google Translate's help, though the video after the break might not be too informative if English is your only language. Still, it's a great visual tour of some yummy hardware. [Thanks, DarkDvr]
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.
Samsung 4G LTE smartphone for Verizon (SCH-i510) first hands-on!
The white curtains just lifted here at the Samsung booth at CES to unveil the Samsung 4G LTE Smartphone. This Verizon LTE-ready beast touts a Super AMOLED Plus display, runs Android 2.2 with TouchWiz and features a front-facing cam. On the rear it's got an 8 megapixel auto-focus shooter and mini HDMI on the hip. We're busy sorting out details and grabbing more pics. Stay tuned! Update: We've added the gallery with hands-on shots for your viewing pleasure! Update 2: Samsung nor Verizon were willing to talk labels, but it's a pretty safe bet this phone is the same as the SCH-i520 we peeked earlier in the week. %Gallery-113082%
Samsung sends Verizon an unnamed Android smartphone with LTE, Super AMOLED Plus display
Though it's just being called the "Samsung 4G LTE Smartphone" at this point, rest assured: the Android-powered device is very much real and very much destined for Verizon's airwaves. Though the inclusion of LTE is obviously a high point, the phone's claim to fame might be that it'll be among the first devices in the world to feature one of Sammy's newfangled Super AMOLED Plus displays (4.3 inches, in this case) that offers even better contrast and outdoor viewability than the original Super AMOLED did. You've got TouchWiz-skinned Android 2.2, an 8 megapixel camera with flash paired to a 1.3 megapixel front-facing unit for video calling, and a 1GHz processor that seems to mirror what's already being offered on most of the Galaxy S series today -- no dual-core madness here. We had a few fleeting moments to touch (but not photograph) the phone recently, and the screen is definitely a sight to behold -- we're not sure how Samsung managed to make a more contrasty display than Super AMOLED, but it did. We'll admit, we didn't love the tapered shape -- we thought it looked a little strange sitting on a table, though some might like it and it's certainly not a big deal either way. We also weren't huge fans of the big physical buttons below the display, a surprising counterpoint to the recent trend toward capacitive buttons on high-end Android devices. It's a heavy phone, though probably not heavy enough to bother folks who are in the market for a 4.3-inch display anyway -- and hey, we won't know for sure how it stacks up until we pit it head-to-head in a brutal deathmatch with Verizon's other version-one LTE phones like the Droid Bionic. Follow the break for the full press release.
Samsung Infuse 4G for AT&T eyes-on (Update: video)
We were checking out the Samsung booth at the Digital Experience event at CES when, lo and behold, we stumbled upon the Samsung Infuse 4G for AT&T in all its gigantic 4.5-inch Super Amoled Plus display glory. There was only one catch: we weren't permitted to touch it, nor take shots of the back of the phone. So we compiled a few pictures of the front and sides of the 9 mm thin device below, including a size comparison with the iPhone 4. %Gallery-112855%
Samsung Infuse 4G announced for AT&T: 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, crazy thin
First introduced just last year on the Wave, it feels like Super AMOLED was just starting to get its sea legs... but here we go again: Samsung's latest handset -- announced today in collaboration with AT&T at CES -- is the first to tout "Super AMOLED Plus" technology that features a 50 percent boost in sub-pixel count, promising improvements both in contrast and outdoor readability. Maybe more importantly, the display clocks in at a whopping 4.5 inches, besting HTC's 4.3-inch range (the EVO 4G, Desire HD, and likely the Thunderbolt) without getting dangerously close to Dell Streak territory. It's got an 8 megapixel camera on back paired with a 1.3 megapixel shooter up front, a 1.2GHz single-core Hummingbird processor, and still somehow promises to be the thinnest smartphone on AT&T when it launches at a to-be-determined date. Now, the controversy: despite the name, the Infuse 4G apparently doesn't have a hint of LTE -- it's HSPA+, which means AT&T's now playing the same game as T-Mobile. We've had a brief chance to play with an early Infuse 4G dummy unit, so we weren't able to turn it on, but we got a pretty good impression of how it feels. Basically, we came away encouraged that 4.5 inches isn't going to feel too big for practical use -- if you're accustomed to something like an EVO, you probably won't skip a beat (that's undoubtedly due in part to the fact that the Infuse seems to be quite a bit thinner). We're told the tastefully textured matte rear cover that we saw wasn't final, but we're crossing our fingers that the retail unit doesn't diverge far from what they've done here, because it felt exceptionally high-quality and looked a whole lot better than the typical glossy plastic on the existing Galaxy S series. Speaking of Galaxy S, the Infuse is described as "a Galaxy S phone" -- so yeah, that brand isn't going away any time soon. Software-wise, we obviously weren't able to get a feel for speed on the non-functional model, but you can expect the usual TouchWiz skin atop Android 2.2; sure, Gingerbread would've been nice at launch, but you can dry your tears on that 1.2GHz silicon. %Gallery-112628%
