So here is the first part from our review of the Samsung Galaxy Note, the magnificent hybrid that is between a tablet and mobile, well to tell the truth it is the first time here on Wako Tech that we stood for 10 minutes looking at our editing area not knowing in which category to place this device, but we decided on putting it under Mobiles because it has calling capabilities using the devices internal speaker unlike the galaxy tab.

We have seen such devices before first introduced by Dell with their Streak but we can’t say that it was a success back then, also the lack of an integrated stylus limited out the device’s capabilities, so watch the unboxing video after the break and tell us what you think in the comments below.

We have seen such devices before first introduced by Dell with their Streak but we can’t say that it was a success back then, also the lack of an integrated stylus limited out the device’s capabilities, so watch the unboxing video after the break and tell us what you think in the comments below.

Want to truly carry a unique mobile phone? This is where the TAG Heuer LINK comes in. Starting at €4700 and featuring precision Swiss engineering, the LINK is certainly expensive and exclusive. Fortunately, the LINK is also a capable Android smartphone that can do pretty much anything that any other smartphone can do.

Before we look under the hood, it will probably be worth exploring just why the TAG Heuer LINK costs so much. Part of the answer is in the engineering – like a TAG Heuer watch, the LINK is in a shockproof and airtight case which should survive.. well, whatever it is that rich people do when they get bumped around and wet. One interesting feature is the autolock system on the side of the phone that covers the LINK’s ports. All this engineering expertise means that the LINK is quite heavy, coming in at 200 grams which possibly makes it the heaviest phone on the market.

There are a variety of materials available for your own custom look, including steel, rose gold, titanium, rubber, calfskin, alligator and lizard hide and diamonds, so the starting price of €4700 is really only going to get you the basics here. The display is toughened Gorilla Glass, making it harder to damage or scratch than a standard display. Stylistically, the LINK looks like nothing else. Nobody is going to mistake this for a standard black slabby smartphone, and a good thing too at this price.

The outside of the LINK is very much a TAG Heuer creation, but in fact the handset is built by French company ModeLabs who specialise in this type of luxury device. ModeLabs worked with TAG Heuer on the MERIDIIST as well as several other luxury labels. Underneath all the metal and leather, the LINK is a pretty typical Android device that holds no surprises.

On the front of the LINK is a 3.5″ 800 x 480 pixel TFT display, on the back is a pretty standard 5 megapixel camera. Inside is a 1GHz processor, 256MB of internal Flash memory plus an 8GB memory card. As with every other Android phone, the TAG Heuer LINK supports GPS, WiFi, 3.5G and Bluetooth and comes with a decent range of pre-installed applications plus thousands of others to download. At present, the LINK only comes with Android 2.2 other than the latest Android 2.3, but TAG Heuer do hint that the OS is upgradeable, and have also added some custom widgets and themes to the vanilla Android experience.

We’ve seen more powerful Android devices than this, but the LINK is certainly good enough to run almost everything that you could throw at it. But remember: the electronics in this phone will date pretty quickly, unlike a watch. In two years time the TAG Heuer LINK will be pretty much obsolete.. but perhaps the people who will buy it won’t mind spending another €5000 or so to replace it..

The LINK is now available at Official Tag Heuer Retailers.

According to an article from AllThingsD the “major announcement” is a $300 million investment with Beats Electronics – headphones etc that’s a partnership with Dr. Dre/Jimmy Iovine. You might recognize the brand names under DiddyBeats by P. Diddy, Heartbeats By Lady Gaga, JustBeats by Justin Bieber.

Apparently this is an exclusive deal just for cellphones, but all the details will unfold tomorrow during the press conference. HTC CEO Peter Chou said this deal with Beats will “help create an emotional connection to HTC’s brand… With the magic of mobile devices, it is easier than ever to discover and buy new music… However, without great sound experience it is a shame”. So we can probably expect some high quality audio coming from HTC handsets later this year.

Beats posted on their website:

“Dear Beats Army:

Today marks an incredible day for sound and Beats by Dr. Dre. We are announcing a partnership with HTC, one of the world’s leading wireless manufacturers. With this announcement, our two brands are coming together to redefine the smart phone category and redefine the way that sound is heard.

Over the past year, Beats by Dr. Dre has continued to evolve from a headphone company to a cultural movement that is redefining the way sound is heard. We have strived to take studio-quality music into the hands of you, our consumers, across the globe. This partnership with HTC represents the next phase of our vision, placing the utmost importance on giving smart phone fans the opportunity to hear the highest-quality of sound possible. The Beats team, still led by Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine, will continue to manage Beats autonomously.”

While HTC issued a press release found here  that stated “HTC and Beats have been working together to create superior mobile audio experiences for consumers, which will result in a line of HTC devices integrated with Beats sound innovations, available this fall”

Samsung will release a white version of the Galaxy S II smartphone in the UK on September 1 followed by a global release.

At the start of July, Samsung announced that the original version of the Galaxy S II had already sold 3m units since being released in May.The Galaxy S II features a Super AMOLED screen, a 1.2GHz processor and the latest version of the Android operating system.

Samsung UK and Ireland mobile managing director Simon Stanford said said: “Sales of the Galaxy S II have surpassed all expectations since its release in May this year.

“The arrival of the Samsung Galaxy S II white brings to market an incredibly stylish addition to our latest multi-award winning handset.”

Research In Motion (RIM) will globally launch three new smartphones that will run their new BlackBerry OS 7, which the company describes as its biggest ever global launch.

The company’s first handset releases since the Bold 9780 last November will begin shipping later this month.The Bold 9900, Torch 9810 and 9850 were unveiled to journalists at a global launch event held in central London.The launch of the handsets will be RIM’s largest ever and more than 225 carriers and distribution partners have already commenced or completed over 500 significant programs for these new devices.

All devices will run the BlackBerry 7 software which the company said is its fastest ever and 40 per cent quicker than BlackBerry 6 OS. The Bold 9900 will be the thinnest BlackBerry smartphone yet at 10.5mm thick and the first to offer a keyboard and touch display integrated within the Bold design. It is expected to go on sale in the UK on August 15. The 9900 will be the first from the company to include built-in support for NFC.

The Torch 9810 features a 3.2-inch touchscreen, slide-out keyboard, HD video recording and 8GB of memory. The Torch 9850 features a 3.7-inch touchscreen, the largest ever on a BlackBerry smartphone.

All five phones are powered by a 1.2GHz processor and include ‘liquid graphics’ which RIM claimed offers the smoothest and most responsive BlackBerry user interface to date.

A new version of Facebook, Facebook 2.0, will be available and now includes Facebook Chat. A new version of BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), which RIM said has more than 45 million users, will also be made available. The company revealed at the launch there are now 67 million RIM subscribers, with seven million in the UK. It also claimed to have more than 35,000 applications in its Apps World.

RIM managing director of global sales and regional marketing Patrick Spence said: ”This is the largest global launch of BlackBerry products in our history. There has been hundreds of thousands of man hours put in to this portfolio.”, while RIM VP EMEA product manager Rob Orr said: “People are counting on BlackBerry to get things done. The design is absolutely impeccable.”

The second in the generation of  ”Lifetime Durable phones” from the handset manufacturer Motorola is expected to be released next month.

Handset manufacturer Motorola is expected to launch a new version of its Defy handset, the Defy+, in September.

It will be the second ‘life proof’ durable handset – which is both water and dust resistant – from the manufacturer since the original Defy became available last December.

Details on the device are minimal at present, but it is expected to include an improved 1GHz processor and run on the latest Android OS, Gingerbread 2.3.

The Motorola Atrix is also expected to become available through distributors, which include Data Select and Brightpoint, from this month, having previously been exclusive through Orange.

As expected, foreseen and long coming; Apple has won the ruling in which they accused Samsung of imitating the design and functionality of its products, preventing sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 across most european countries.

Sales of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the European Union (except the Netherlands) have been blocked after Apple won a preliminary injunction against the Korean electronics manufacturer in a patent dispute.

Apple has accused Samsung’s Galaxy range of smartphones and tablets of copying the design and functionality of its iPhone and iPad products.

It alleges that the Galaxy Tab infringes 10 separate patent areas such as data transmission and wireless technology.

Apple will apply to have the injunction extended to the Netherlands before the patents court in the Hague later today while Samsung has said it will act immediately to lift the injunction.

A Samsung spokesperson said: “Samsung is disappointed with the court’s decision and we intend to act immediately to defend our intellectual property rights through the ongoing legal proceedings in Germany and will continue to actively defend these rights around the world.

“We will take all necessary measures to ensure Samsung’s innovative mobile communications devices are available to customers in Europe and around the world.

“This decision by the court in Germany in no way influences other legal proceedings filed with the courts in Europe and elsewhere.”

Some developers who sold their slots for UDIDs, the unique identification numbers associated with every iOS device, have been tracked down by Apple, according to KarthikK.net. Apple has reportedly sent e-mail warnings to developers, notifying them that their illicit activities have been discovered.

In addition, Apple is said to have begun closing developer accounts for some who have been identified as selling their device slots. Apple has also reportedly flagged UDIDs associated with a developer account found in violation, making the device running iOS 5 “unusable.”

“Once Apple locks your iOS device, the phone will enter the initial setup mode asking you to connect to a WiFi network,” the report said. “And nothing happens more than that.”

Because it is not final, public software, iOS 5 is currently meant only for testing purposes, and is restricted to authorized members of Apple’s official iOS Developer Program. Selling device slots and allowing non-developers to test and run the latest beta build of iOS 5 is a direct violation of the iOS Developer Program rules.

But some developers have ignored these binding terms and have chosen to register another person’s iPhone or iPad UDID in exchange for a fee. Those who pay the developer can receive early access to iOS 5 and test out its many new; but still buggy, features.

A quick Google search turns up a number of websites devoted solely to commercializing UDID activation for installation of iOS 5. One such site refers to itself as “The Leading iOS Beta Registrar,” having allegedly registered more than 15,000 iOS devices since 2009. The service uses PayPal to charge customers £10 and accepts most major credit cards.

“Apple only allows registered iPhone developers to have access to iOS 5 beta. That’s where we come in,” the site reads. “We have paid the fees and done all the work. All you have to do is register your iOS device on our account, once you register, you’ll be able to download the beta firmware and install it on your device.”

iOS 5 is currently available to developers in its fourth beta, released last month. The latest version was issued via the operating system’s new over-the-air update feature, allowing for a much smaller-than-usual 133MB delta update over Wi-Fi.

Members of the general public will not be able to utilize iOS 5 until this fall, when Apple will release the software. The new operating system is expected to become available alongside a new fifth-generation iPhone.

In addition to wireless updates, iOS 5 will also allow for wireless syncing through iCloud. It will also offer an all-new Notification Center for prompting users, a Newsstand application for newspapers and magazines, and system-wide integration with the social networking service Twitter.

Source: AppleInsider

Samsung’s hoping to fill the “rugged device” gaping hole by announcing the Galaxy Xcover, the world’s first Android device with IP67 certification; which means it can be submerged in water up to 1 meter deep and can hold its own against a continual onslaught of dirt and dust. The Xcover will offer Gingerbread out-of-box, and features a 3.6-inch scratch-resistant display, a 3.2 megapixel camera with LED flash, and 7.2Mbps HSDPA. The company’s still vague on the other details, such as pricing and availability; the only country announced so far is Germany, which should see the device sometime in October. We hope the device will have a wider distribution; we know for a fact Germans aren’t the only folks on this Earth that are hard on their phones. Press after the break.