Samsung Hub

And That's Official: Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7") Student Edition Launched

2012-08-17T19:58:00.000-07:00

We’ve been hearing rumours about a student edition of the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, complete with a keyboard dock and USB adapter at no extra cost. While Samsung did make it official today, they noted that the deal is only available for a limited time. The student edition will hit shelves on Sunday, and you’ll only have two weeks to grab one. The keyboard dock and USB adapter make the bundle worth around $350, but Samsung is still selling it for $249. There’s no word on if the student edition will be available exclusively to students, but we imagine that it’ll be open to everyone. That's good, isn't it?

The full press release can be found below, and be sure to stay tuned to AbSamsung | Blogspot for all the latest on the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 Student Edition.

So, is anyone planning on grabbing one of these bundles? Do you think the included accessories make it better than something like a Nexus 7? Sound off in the comments!

Next Galaxy Player Is Coming

2012-08-17T19:55:00.001-07:00

iPod, your time's over.

At the 2012 IFA event we are expecting to get, among other things, an announcement for a new Samsung Galaxy Player. You can see from the image aside that the design for the next model closely resembles Samsung’s current flagship, the Galaxy S III, which has sold 10 million units, IN JUST 2 MONTHS OF ITS LAUNCH. !ncredible.

This Galaxy Player is shown as having a very big 5.8-inch display, a dual-core 1GHz CPU, 1GB RAM, and other bells and whistles designed to offer top-notch media performance. The unnamed device will come with Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich as well as Samsung’s TouchWiz Motion UX. Look for these to arrive in either black or white at a retailer near you.

So what do you think about this exciting new media player? Is it gonna throw the iPod out the window or just be yet another Samsung Media Player? Let us know in the comments below!

Black Galaxy S III 64GB Coming To UK This October

2012-08-17T07:39:00.000-07:00

Black Beast!

Samsung Galaxy S III : SIMPLY EXCELLENT

Not only did the rumors that Samsung cancelled the 64GB version of the Samsung Galaxy S III turn out to be false, but now we actually have a rough launch target. Clove UK blogged that the upcoming black version of the phone will be packing 64GB of storage.

They don't have pricing info yet, but the phone should be available in early October. The black Galaxy S III will also be available with 16GB of storage - MobileFun already has it on preorder (£500) and so does Expansys (same price). There's no availability date info on their sites though.

In case you want the 64GB of built-in storage but prefer the standard Pebble White and Marble Blue colors - Expansys is expecting those too.

Those are all UK retailers, but the black Samsung Galaxy S III will be available across the pond too, as it showed up on T-Mobile USA's web site. It wasn’t clear how much storage that one will have.

There's one more color version of the S III - Garnet Red, which is currently exclusive to AT&T. We don't know if and when we might see this one go international and there's still no clear info which regions will get the 64GB version of the Samsung flagship.

Samsung Galaxy R Gets The Ice-Cream Sandwich!

2012-08-17T01:50:00.003-07:00

Back in May, Samsung India had confirmed on their Facebook page that the Samsung Galaxy R will be getting the Android 4.0 update "very soon".

Well, it's been three months since but it seems now that the update is finally ready to roll out. One lucky user in Sweden managed to get his phone updated to a not so latest version of Android after he received it from the service station.

The fact that the service station people are installing the update on devices means that it is in the final stage and will hopefully will start rolling to other handsets shortly.

As before, this is the TouchWiz'zed' version of Android Ice Cream Sandwich, which means unless told you won't even know the difference from the current Gingerbread ROM based on the UI alone. Still, it does bring with it significant performance update, which should be apparent to anyone who is used to Gingerbread.

A Glimpse Into What Samsung Means To The Society. Sustainability Report.

2012-08-17T01:40:00.001-07:00

You thought Samsung is ONLY an Electronics Giant? Then you gotta read the whole story to unfold more facts for yourself!

Sustainability management is a concept that is becoming increasingly important for a business to thrive in harmony with people, society and environment. From corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities to development of environment-friendly products, companies are engaged in sustainable management in various ways. And Samsung is one of those beautiful companies.

And they are not simple "extra" good-faith activities independent from business operations. They define what a company brings to our society, what it does to make the community better and eventually how it co-exists with the world. Sustainability management is, therefore, a must for a company's survival and should be incorporated in all aspects of a business.

Today we'd like to walk you through the annual Samsung Electronics Sustainability Report published most recently, sharing with you how sustainable management is practiced in Samsung.

Global, Caring Organization

Samsung Electronics has a total of 196 subsidiaries around the world. WOW. Among more than 2,20,000 employees at Samsung Electronics as of the end of 2011, 54 percent resided outside Korea, marking the first time for the overseas workforce to surpass the domestic workforce in size. Overseas sales accounted for 84 percent of Samsung Electronics’ total 2011 sales of 165 trillion won, making Samsung Electronics a truly global company. This is what Samsung means to the society.

Social Contributions

Being a responsible corporate citizen is becoming part of local communities a company operates in, and leading efforts to make the communities more sustainable. Support programs for health and education of children are core part of such an initiative. In the previous year, 2011, Samsung Electronics integrated various social contribution activities conducted in different regions into a single program titled “Samsung Hope for Children.”

Last year 'Samsung Hope for Children' saw various programs for the wellbeing of children and teens took place in 30 different countries including South Africa, Vietnam and Brazil. Samsung Electronics plans to expand the program to a total 55 countries by 2013.

Samsung Electronics also runs various programs to help children in Korea such as operating learning centers for after-school tutoring. Many of our employees also regularly participate in volunteer activities in making contributions to local communities.

Saving Environment

With climate change being one of the biggest environmental challenges our humanity is facing right now, many governments and companies around the world are taking steps to manage greenhouse gas. Samsung Electronics also embraces reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as an important management priority.

Samsung Electronics has taken various measures including the installation of facilities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from industrial processes and improvement in energy efficiency of production facilities. The efforts resulted in a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in 2011, compared to 2008.

Samsung Electronics has also implemented steps for effective management of water resources, setting company-wide policies, reduction targets and strategies to secure and maintain sustainable water resources.

Open Innovation and Partnership

Big or small, every company is part of one broader ecosystem. Co-prosperity that benefit small suppliers, manufacturers and partners altogether is one of the goals of Samsung Electronics.

To this end, Samsung Electronics expanded its shared growth programs for suppliers, including training, technology and financial support, to help our partners grow their business and become global. The company is also increasing funding and investing more resources to foster "open innovation" under which suppliers and outside partners can develop new technology and look for business opportunities.

Samsung Electronics is also helping our suppliers to improve their working environment and achieve an environment-friendly management by providing guidelines and incentives.

We have shared some of the key highlights from the latest Samsung Electronics Sustainability Report to help you understand efforts we have taken to be a sustainable company.

Remember, Samsung seems to be the only company with so much goals to work on.

I am a proud Samsung Fan. Are you?

10 Features That Make The Galaxy Note 10.1, a WINNER

2012-08-16T20:53:00.000-07:00

The Zeroeth being The "Note" Branding!

Samsung has officially introduced the Galaxy Note 10.1, a device that, for all intents and purposes, can be considered a true counterpart to both Samsung’s own Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Apple’s iPad. As one might expect, given the name, the device comes with a 10.1-inch screen and delivers Wi-Fi connectivity. It’s the successor to the 5.3-inch Galaxy Note, which was a huge SENSATION.

When the device launched on August 16 for a starting price of $499, one can bet the Samsung name will be enough to entice consumers to at least get a close look at it to see if it’s worth buying. If this tablet is similar to the others Samsung has offered up in recent years, there’s little debating that it’ll be a strong competitor to Apple’s new iPad. You're gone, iPad.

Still, the Galaxy Note 10.1 is new. And some folks are still trying to figure out if it’s as good as it looks on paper. Simply put, it is. Read on to find out why.

1. It’s Samsung, isn’t it?

Samsung has proven itself as a superb provider of mobile products. The company’s initial Galaxy Tab was a winner and its smartphones continue to impress the market. Samsung followed up with the high-quality Galaxy Note. So it’s easy to see why so many mobile product buyers believe in Samsung’s products. Considering that, why wouldn’t they also look favorably on the Galaxy Note 10.1?
The name "Samsung" is just enough!

2. The price is spot on

Samsung has decided to start the Galaxy Note 10.1 out at $499. It’s the perfect price tag for the device’s value proposition. For the same price as an entry-level iPad, customers can get a device with a bigger screen, superior features and additional functionality, provided by the stylus. In terms of value, the Galaxy Note 10.1 is spot-on.

3. The design is superb

Looking at the design of the Galaxy Note 10.1, it’s hard not to find it appealing. The device is thin, not too wide and is light enough to stow in a bag and carry without much trouble. Samsung has done a good job at designing a nice-looking tablet.

4. The 1.4GHz quad-core processor is trouble for Apple

When customers consider the Galaxy Note 10.1, they will inevitably compare it to Apple’s latest iPad. Upon doing so, they’ll find that the Galaxy Note 10.1 is actually more powerful than Apple’s option, boasting a 1.4GHz quad-core processor. Apple’s tablet comes with a dual-core processor. That should appeal to tablet buyers.

5. It’s all about the stylus

It’s odd that tablets have been available for so long, but Samsung is really the first company to find a way to turn them into digital notebooks. To do that, Samsung is delivering a stylus–the so-called S Pen–with the Galaxy Note 10.1 With help from the stylus, the tablet becomes a full-fledged slate and digital notebook.

6. An enterprise favorite?

It’s entirely possible that the enterprise might warm to the idea of adopting the Galaxy Note 10.1. With its stylus integration, it would seem that the Galaxy Note 10.1 would be ideal for folks who often take notes or want to sketch out some ideas in the office.

7. Multi-screen viewing

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10.1 comes with multi-screen functionality. In other words, the device’s display allows users to view one screen on half the display, and another on the second half. It’s a neat implementation that can’t be overlooked when evaluating its software.

8. Unique additions like Smart Stay

Power handling is always a big concern with tablets. With that in mind, Samsung has built a valuable new feature into the slate that tracks the user’s eyes. If the person is looking at the screen, it’ll stay on. If they’re not, it’ll turn off. It might prove to be annoying to some users. But others should find that it’s a neat way to save power.

9. It builds on the first Galaxy Note

The first Galaxy Note was somewhat confusing to customers at first. The device wasn’t quite a tablet, but it also wasn’t a smartphone. Still, it was successful. The Galaxy Note 10.1 builds upon that and makes it a bit clearer to customers what it is–a tablet. That’s an important consideration as one considers the Galaxy Note 10.1’s broader market appeal.

10. It’s arriving comfortably between iPad releases

One of the big issues affecting any tablet nowadays is its launch’s proximity to the iPad’s first day of availability. Tablets that are shipped close a new iPad’s release date tend to get burned. But the Galaxy Note 10.1 is coming out months after the new iPad launched, and months before the next one will launch. It’s the perfect launch window. That should only help the device succeed.

Galaxy Note 10.1 Starts To Sell In The US

2012-08-16T20:44:00.001-07:00

iPad's gone.

Technology master, Samsung Electronics is taking another shot at the dominance of Apple's (AAPL) iPad with a tablet equipped with a digital pen and a faster processor at the same price tag. Samsung has already ripped Apple of the 'Smartphone King' title, and now, it's going to do the same with it's iShit-iPad.

The Wi-Fi only version of the Galaxy Note 10.1 will go on sale in the U.S. on Thursday. The price starts at $499 for the basic model with 16 GB of storage and $549 for the 32GB model, expandable with an external memory card.

Apple's latest iPad starts at the same price but the Note 10.1 offers some features that the iPad doesn't have, while its screen resolution is lower than the iPad's. It is Samsung's first Android tablet equipped with a digital pen and can run two applications side-by-side on a screen divided in half.

The split screen, made possible by the quad-core processor and 2 GB of RAM, can be useful when taking notes while watching a video or surfing the Internet.

Analysts said this capability of the Note tablet is intended to attract business and education customers, a strategy that could be more effective than going all out against the iPad, which already dominates nearly 70 percent of the worldwide tablet market.

Samsung released about a half dozen Android tablets in the last two years under the Galaxy Tab series but none of them has been as popular as the iPad. Analysts say Android tablets are less successful because of a dearth of applications and higher prices.

But with the Note 10.1, the South Korean company believes it has a product that will find favor with corporations and schools despite the iPad's rich pool of applications and sharper screen.

While Apple makes one new model for the iPhone and iPad every year to meet demand from all around the world, Samsung releases multiple mobile products with variations in prices, screen sizes, hardware and operating systems.

This strategy helped Samsung edge pass Apple in smartphone sales but hasn't paid off in the tablet area, probably because Samsung's previous tablets were not differentiated enough from the iPad. Samsung's second-quarter market share in the global tablet market fell to 9 percent, while nearly seven out of 10 tablets in the market were emblazoned with Apple logo, according to IHS iSuppli.

Jelly Bean Coming To Galaxy S II This Month

2012-08-16T07:37:00.002-07:00

Android 4.1 aka Jelly Bean is the latest Android version

While Samsung Galaxy S III users are enjoying their leaked official Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean ROM, Galaxy S II owners got some good news too. Insiders tipped SamMobile that the former flagship is getting Jelly Bean soon.

Currently, this update is undergoing testing and will be released via KIES when it passes. That's expected to happen in the September-November timebracket.

The original Galaxy Note (which uses pretty much the same hardware as the S II) will most likely get the Android 4.1 update around the same time.

Cheers, owners of 'The Phone of the Year 2011'!

Samsung And KLD Partner To Make Electric Scooter Drives

2012-08-15T22:40:00.001-07:00

If you thought Samsung leads in Electronics only, Think again.

KLD Energy Technologies, Incorporation, a developer of high-performance electric motor technology, and Samsung SDI entered into a cooperative relationship to develop systems which will incorporate Samsung SDI’s lithium-ion battery cells and KLD’s electric vehicle drive technologies. When two leaders combine, we get sheer quality.

KLD Energy Technologies has developed an advanced, high-performance electric motor system technology for electric scooters and motorcycles. The motor, which uses a nano-crystalline composite material to conduct energy more efficiently than traditional, iron-core motors; controller; and battery pack are designed to work together to optimize system performance and regeneration.

Samsung Expands Lead In The Smartphone Market, Says Gartner

2012-08-15T22:22:00.001-07:00

Tech and Smartphone giant Samsung extended its lead over crApple in the smartphone market in the second quarter despite a slowing demand for mobile phones, according to figures released Tuesday. There's no stopping the world's greatest Smartphone-maker.
Samsung sold 90.5 million mobile phones during the quarter, an increase of a whopping 29.5 percent compared to the same three-month period a year earlier, according to market-tracker Gartner Research.
Smartphones accounted for slightly more than half of the South Korean firm's handset sales, with people snapping up Samsung Galaxy smartphones powered by Google-backed Android software, Gartner reported.
Demand for the Galaxy S III model topped Samsung's expectations, with 10 million reportedly being sold in the two months after its May release in a buying onslaught that caused product shortages.
Apple sold 26.2 million iPhones to claim 6.9 percent of the mobile handset market while Samsung's share climbed to 21.6 percent. That's a landslide victory over Apple, a company that makes nothing, but Shit.
Meanwhile, worldwide mobile phones sales were said to have slipped 2.3 percent to 419 million units from the total seen in last year's second quarter.
"Demand slowed further in the second quarter of 2012," said Gartner principal research analyst Anshul Gupta.
"The challenging economic environment and users postponing upgrades to take advantage of high-profile device launches and promotions available later in the year slowed demand across markets."
crApple is expected to unveil a new iPhone model in September prompting rivals to either discount or upgrade product lines in response.
Sales of feature phones, handsets that do not boast the computing versatility of smartphones, continued to decline in the quarter weakening the overall mobile phone market, Gupta said.
Smartphones accounted for 36.7 percent of handset sales in a growing portion of the market, Gartner reported.
Gupta predicted that high-profile smartphone launches such as an Apple iPhone 5, along with device launches from Chinese manufacturers in the remaining months of this year, will fuel demand.
"Samsung and Apple continued to dominate the smartphone market, together taking about half the market share, and widening the gap to other manufacturers," Gupta said.
Ailing Nokia was the second-place mobile phone seller but its share of the market DECLINED to 14.8 percent as it relied heavily on feature phone sales while trying to gain traction with Lumia smartphones, according to Gartner.

SAMSUNG And CSR Join Hands

2012-08-14T05:32:00.000-07:00

It is a strategic partnership

Samsung Electronics, leader in advanced semiconductor solutions, and CSR, a global leader in wireless connectivity and location technologies, today announced a strategic collaborative relationship by aligning their respective business visions, investments and key technologies.

Under the terms of the agreement, Samsung will gain full access to CSR’s mobile connectivity and location technology and transfer certain relevant patents, as well as employ over 300 CSR employees in the selected field for the cash consideration of $310 million. In addition, Samsung will receive perpetual rights to CSR’s intellectual property related to connectivity and location technology such as Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi® and GPS reinforcing Samsung’s leadership in mobile component solutions.

The deal will enable both companies to better align their current development efforts and future product roadmaps, while accelerating their time-to-market for rapidly evolving demands within the market.

As part of the relationship, Samsung will make an investment of approximately $34 million in CSR’s ordinary shares upon closing.

"This strategic partnership combines Samsung’s world-class semiconductor technology with CSR’s cutting edge wireless connectivity and location expertise. By leveraging CSR’s R&D capability, Samsung will strengthen its application processor platform and solidify its position as a leading semiconductor solutions provider," said Stephen Woo, president of System LSI Business, Device Solutions, Samsung Electronics. "Samsung’s Exynos processor optimised with these wireless connectivity capabilities will provide our customers with an even broader mobile solution portfolio to expand their business opportunities."

"This transaction will accelerate our transformation into a more competitive platform company operating in attractive growth markets where we have a leading market position.," said Joep van Beurden, CEO of CSR "This cooperation appreciates the global value and competitiveness of CSR achieved through the talent, expertise and dedication of our people. I believe that under Samsung’s System LSI operations the mobile connectivity and location technology will be in a position to prosper in an increasingly competitive global mobile device market."

Upon the completion of the transaction, Samsung plans to organise the resources and assets from CSR as a multi-site R&D centre for connectivity and location products development.

The transaction is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of this year.

Samsung Dream Class: Your Dreams, Will Now Come True!

2012-08-14T05:12:00.001-07:00

Education is something we all need in preparing ourselves to stand on our feet and to dream about a better future. That’s why we, at Samsung have chosen the education sector to be one of the main areas for our philanthropic activities. And today, we’d like to take you to the scene of a special event that underlines our efforts to provide education opportunities to those in need. We're Samsung. We are here for your good.
A ceremony marking the beginning of the 2012 Samsung Dream Class Summer Camp took place in Seoul, Korea on July 29. A total 300 middle school students who lack the opportunities for education due to reasons such as poverty gathered at the Seoul National University campus as they started the three-week program, where they will receive intensive lessons in Mathematics and English taught by Seoul National University students.
In addition to the Maths and English classes, the students will also get a chance to discuss their future goals with the college students and listen to special lectures on how to motivate themselves for studying. Ballet performances and classical music concerts are also planned to enrich their cultural experiences.

The summer camp is part of Samsung’s Dream Class initiative launched in March 2012 as a part of our corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs aimed at assisting children in need to achieve their dreams by providing them with after-school tutoring in Math and English. About 5,000 students at middle schools throughout Korea are already enrolled in the program and the number of beneficiaries is going to expand to 15,000. Samsung stands for a better future for all these children.
The Dream Class project is aimed at helping middle school students from low-income families who hope to improve their grades but lack access to additional help because of monetary constraints. What’s more special about the project is that teachers for these middle school students are selected among university students, who can learn about the value of giving in return for devoting their time to teaching.
Under the belief that everyone deserves an equal opportunity for education, Samsung hopes to reduce the education divide generated by the difference in wealth and help build the foundation for success for those in need. Of Samsung’s total CSR expenditures, educational projects account for 38 percent and are expected to grow to over 40 percent next year.

Android Dominance Continues, iOS is crying like RIM

2012-08-14T05:00:00.002-07:00

People are getting wiser.

Gartner put out its assessment of the mobile phone world for the second quarter of this year, detailing how individual companies and smartphone OSes did. And, obviously, its Android ruling 'em again.

Interestingly, the worldwide market saw only 419 million phones sold to consumers. "Only" because that's actually a decrease of 2.3% compared to last year's Q2 and "surprising" because smartphone sales were up a whopping 42.7% QOQ.

Despite this smartphones are yet to become the dominant breed worldwide - they accounted for just over a third of all phone sales. Most of those (83%) were either Apple, or the world's greatest smartphone-maker, Samsung Electronics.

Samsung had an excellent quarter - it sold 45.6 million of their Galaxy droids (that's over half of all Androids sold in Q2) and the Galaxy S III became the best selling droid in that quarter. Gartner says S III sales would have been higher if it wasn't for the supply shortages.

Apple's iPhones cooled off a bit - they still grew in market share, but sales fell 12.6% compared to Q1. That's hardly surprising, though - with the impending iPhone 5 launch many will hold off on buying a new iPhone.

Things start to get grim when you look further down the table. Symbian's market share plummeted by 16.2 percentage points in a year and BlackBerrys lost 6.5 percentage points, both platforms now sitting at 5-6%.

The bad news for Nokia continues and Microsoft shares in their pain - Windows Phone 7 snatched only 2.7% of the market. To add insult to injury, Samsung's Bada OS has the same number, according to Gartner. Windows Phone 8 can't come soon enough it seems.

Nokia still has it's chin up - it's the second biggest phone vendor in the world, behind Samsung (we're talking smart and feature phones combined). They used to be a distant first a year ago.

Galaxy S III Trick-Art Show

2012-08-13T03:51:00.006-07:00

Coex Seoul gaelreoksijon 'in the Galaxy S III' experience of intelligent cameras can Galaxy S III trick art Photo Zone events are progress!

Participants in the three-dimensional feel of a plane figure in the background of the Trick Art Photo Zone 'Galaxy S III' of the various camera features and shooting experience, and for shooting pictures or stickers can be printed.

Samsung To Refresh Series 7 Gamer with 3D Display, and AMD Radeon 7870M

2012-08-13T03:49:00.003-07:00

If Samsung's first dedicated gaming laptop wasn't built to your liking, you're about to get another option. The Series 7 Gamer is due for a refresh. The company's Samsung Tomorrow blog suggests the new build as the Series 7 Gamer Yellow 3D, which outshines the subtle design we praised in our review of the last model with a bright yellow finish. Believe me, it does look good. Style aside, the new oversized notebook will swap out its current GPU for an AMD Radeon HD 7870M and, as the name implies, a 14.3-inch SuperBright (400 nit) 3D LED display. The new configuration will also split its twin drive bays between a 1TB HDD and a fast-booting 128GB SSD. There's no word yet on international availability, but folks in Sammy's homeland can pick up the rig on August 14th for 2.99 million Won, which rings up to about $2,643 here in the states.

PhoneDog: The Galaxy S III Remains The King Of Smartphones

2012-08-13T00:12:00.001-07:00

Stupid Apple Fans will Now Yell, "Just wait for iPhone 5!"

The Galaxy S III still remains the Peoples' and Experts' Choice for a fifteen straight weeks! A King, is a King.

The HTC One X stayed in its #2 position in the People’s Choice Chart, with nearly double the votes received by the HTC EVO 4G LTE. Just two weeks ago, the HTC EVO 4G LTE sat in the ninth position and rose from fifth place last week to take the #3 spot, beating the Nokia Lumia 900 by only 28 votes. Consequently, the Nokia Lumia 900 dropped to #4. With 40 points in the Mobile Tech Expert's Chart, the iPhone 4S remained in second, just barely holding off the Samsung Galaxy S III in third with 37 points.

“In an Official Smartphone Rankings first, the Apple iPhone 4S has fallen from the People’s Choice Rankings chart” said Aaron Baker, Editor-in-Chief, PhoneDog. “In the eyes of the users, the current Android offerings from Samsung and HTC outweigh what Apple has to offer with their flagship device.”

Enable NFC ON Galaxy S II Running On Jelly Bean

2012-08-13T00:00:00.000-07:00

If you have one of the Samsung Galaxy S II variants that have been shipped with NFC and are currently running a custom Jelly Bean ROM, you might have noticed the lack of functional NFC capabilities on your phone. Fortunately, you needn’t wait any longer. Thanks to XDA Senior Member jthatch12, you can now enable NFC on any custom Jelly Bean ROM on your Galaxy S II. The greatest Smartphone ever just got touched. With NFC!

The hack is quite straight-forward, and all it requires is an Samsung Galaxy S II variant that comes with NFC hardware. So if yours is one of those shipped without it, don’t expect it to magically work just by using this hack. Also, it is meant for devices running Jelly Bean only. This mod has been confirmed to be working on AT&T’s Galaxy S II (SGH-I777) and South Korean KT’s Galaxy S II (SHW-M250K), but should work fine on any NFC-equipped variant. As explained by jthatch12:

Devices Confirmed Working On:
-I777
-M250k/M250s
….IDK you tell me!

Devices this should work on:

i9100 = NO

i9100P = YES (it’s an i9100 exactly, but with NFC. ROMs for i9100 will work, but need to be modified to show NFC settings, otherwise no NFC options will show)

i9100G = NO, it’s completely different from the i9100 hardware (TI-OMAP instead of Exynos). ROMs from i9100/P don’t work.

T989 (T-Mobile GS2) = YES, but it’s completely different from the i9100 hardware (Snapdragon S3 instead of Exynos). ROMs from i9100/P don’t work.

i777 (AT&T GS2) = YES* , stock ROMs disable it. ROMs from i9100 work because they’re the same phone (it’s really an i9100P because it has NFC) but you need to modify button layout or the buttons won’t work in the ROM.

D710 (Sprint GS2) = NO

Coming Up Next: A Black Galaxy S III?

2012-08-10T22:03:00.001-07:00

Black Galaxy S III. Imagine, and you say, "Awesome!"

Samsung Galaxy S III is certainly a record breaker, with 10 million units shipped in less than JUST 2 months, but people like variety. That’s why a Pebble Blue and Marble White version aren’t enough for such a hit, so here’s a black version getting spotted on the Samsung Olympics Facebook Page, ahead of any sort of announcement. That's strange!

Black is always elegant and from what I can see here this a matte black, like the one of clams that you eat in Belgian restaurants and call “moules” if I’m not mistaking. Not sure if they posted these pics on Facebook to tease or simply by mistake, but it was logical that a hit phone like the Galaxy S III would get more colour versions than one. Or two, for that matter. We’re also waiting for the usual releases in pink, green, blue, yellow or whatever other colour you can imagine. Haha, you know, the S II was made available in these colour variants by world's greatest smartphone maker.

Seeing that the Galaxy S II was launched in black first and then white, this reverse strategy is certainly interesting. During the past years white phones have increased in popularity and it all started with the white iPhone 4 if I’m not mistaking. Would you buy a black Galaxy S III? Drop your answers below!

Samsung's Galaxy Prevail Is The Most Popular US Phone Ever. Do You Have One?

2012-08-10T21:58:00.000-07:00

Galaxy. Samsung Galaxy.

The Apple-Samsung war has brought about interesting developments since the trial first hit courtroom a while back. The latest development is perhaps the most interesting. Samsung has released its sales numbers for their tablets and smartphones in the United States from June 2010 to July 2012.

Samsung sold 21.5 million smartphones in total in that time period here in the United States of America. Sprint was one of Samsung’s best carrier partner for the Galaxy S line (Galaxy S III not included yet, of course) with both the Samsung Epic 4G (Galaxy S) and the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch accounting for 1.9 million and 1.67 million units, respectively. Galaxy S was the first Galaxy Smartphone by Samsung.

Surprisingly enough the Samsung Galaxy Prevail was the absolute best seller with 2.25 million units sold. There are a lot more smartphones on the list so open the picture above to view them all if you’re interested (you might be quite surprised by some of the phones’ performance).

It’s worth noting that these numbers include US sales only so don’t be surprised that they seem low compared to the numbers Samsung usually tout in their press releases. Apple also released some numbers of their own. But the thing is, its numbers semmed so small when compared to Samsung's. Yes, people are getting wiser.

While they didn’t go into detail about which devices did which numbers, they revealed That the iPhone sold 85.9 million units in the United States since the line’s launch in 2007. IN THE UNITED STATES. I don’t even want to see the number for worldwide sales.

If we were going by the same time period Samsung went by, they’ve sold 62.8 million units, clearly showing that a majority of their smartphones were sold on the back-end of its existence (not that that’s surprising or anything).

Apple also revealed it sold nearly 20 million iPad units its launch in Q2 2010, a number that is no doubt impressive for the tablet space that is so hard to break into. You can find those numbers below if you so choose. These charts also include full revenue from each line so you can see just how rich these two companies have become in the mobile space.

Galaxy S III Is Selling Like Hot Cakes. Better Luck Next Time, HTC and Apple.

2012-08-10T03:40:00.001-07:00

The Galaxy S III has been EVEN MORE SUCCESSFUL than the S II.

Samsung Electronics, the world's top smartphone maker, has sold more than 10 million units of its newest Galaxy S III model since its launch about two months ago, a report says. Apple, who? HTC, who?

The company said earlier this month it expected a record operating profit of 6.7 trillion won ($A5.68 billion) in the Quarter II, boosted by strong sales of its flagship Galaxy range of Smartphones.

"It appears that it (accumulated sales) has exceeded 10 million units," J.K. Shin, head of the Samsung's Mobile Communications Division, said.

Mr Shin said last month he expected the global sales of the new phone - available in more than 140 countries - would surpass 10 million by the end of July, including sales of about a million units at home.

The third version of Samsung's Galaxy S series offers face-recognition technology and voice-activated controls as well as a more powerful processor, Samsung Exynos Quad-Core.

It also has a 12.2cm screen that is 22 per cent larger than the previous S2 version, while it can detect eye movements and override the automatic shutdown if the user is looking at the screen. Samsung likes to call this feature, 'Smart Stay'.

Samsung shipped 44.5 million smartphones in the first quarter, exceeding the 35.1 million of US arch-rival Apple, according to market researcher Strategy Analytics in April.

Samsung, embroiled in a slew of patent suits with Apple in international courts, is pinning its hopes on the S III to further erode its market share before the expected new version of Apple's iPhone 5 this year.

Earlier this month, Samsung won one of those patent battles, with a British judge ruling that Samsung's Galaxy tablet did not infringe Apple's registered design and that consumers were not likely to confuse it with the iPad tablet.

Here Comes Samsung Exynos Dual A15 Cortex Processor. Welcome To A New Level Of Smartphone Graphics

2012-08-10T03:14:00.001-07:00

Samsung Exynos! SAMSUNG!

We’ve already heard about the Samsung Exynos 5 series of chips, but now Samsung has posted a whitepaper for the Samsung Exynos 5250, now referred to as the Exynos 5 Dual, and there’s plenty of excitement around it.

The Exynos 5 Dual chipset will be the first Cortex A15-based chip and it’s coming later this year. We expect it to first arrive on tablets like the rumored 11.8-inch Samsung tablet, which is going to be an HD Super AMOLED Tablet.

Cortex A15 is a brand new architecture and this means drastic improvement in performance. With that comes the capability to easily power devices with high count of pixels and we expect it to bring us the first Android tablets with screen resolution of 2560x1600.

Here’s a breakdown of its different specs and features:

Dual-core 1.7 Ghz Cortex A15 CPU

Mali T604 GPU

OpenGL ES 3.0

OpenCL 1.1 full profile

Support for WXQGA displays

Wi-Fi display support

12.8 GB/s memory bandwidth with 2 port 800 Mhz LPDDR3 RAM support

1080p 60 FPS video performance and VP8 codec decoder

USB 3.0 support

This new Exynos 5250s is really pushing the envelope in not only processing power with its 1.7GHz dual-core chip, but also in graphical performance with the Mali T604. This graphical chip is the first one designed and based on the Midgard architecture, so it has unified shaders, OpenGL ES 3.0 and OpenCL 1.1 full profile support.

Samsung Galaxy S III Now Supports VoLTE

2012-08-10T01:52:00.000-07:00

Samsung has sold more than 10 million Galaxy S III smartphones, and soon those devices will be able to support Voice Over Long-Term Evolution (VoLTE) technology, the company announced August 9. The technology will be available in Korea in August and later in other LTE markets around the world at a less-specific date.

VoLTE uses an IP packet-based service for both voice and data, which enables it to introduce new multimedia services, such as converting a voice call into a video call. It's also more efficient for the carriers' networks and offers "twice the voice frequency of 3G and HD-level audio," the company said in a blog post on the Samsung Tomorrow site.

Another benefit: With VoLTE, users don't need to download an app to use the service.

"Unlike previous LTE smartphones that use a 3G network for voice services," the post continued, "VoLTE-enabled Galaxy S III LTE shifts the transmission of voice calls from a third-generation network to an LTE one, creating a big cost savings."

The site quotes JK Shin, president of Samsung's IT and Mobile Communications division, as saying, "In order to develop a product that supports the world's first VoLTE service, we have worked closely with domestic carriers to conduct performance testing and service stabilization tasks between the Galaxy S III LTE model and the LTE network."

But hold on. As Betanews has pointed out, Samsung looks to be planting a stake in spoken-for ground. On Aug. 7, MetroPCS, the fifth-largest U.S. carrier, announced "the world's first commercial launch of voice over LTE services, availability of the world's first VoLTE-capable handsets and the first sale of a VoLTE-capable handset at one of the company's Dallas-Fort Worth [stores]."

The device was the LG Connect 4G. After a rebate and without a contract, MetroPCS currently offers the smartphone for $249.

Being the world's first operator to reach this milestone "speaks volumes about our company's innovative spirit and passion," MetroPCS CEO Roger Linquist said in a statement. He added that the move to VoLTE will allow the carrier to achieve "significant spectral efficiencies" and to improve its network capacity to the benefit of its LTE customers.

MetroPCS may be a little used to this. In September 2010 it deployed the first LTE network in the United States. Three months later, Verizon Wireless announced it was launching the "world's first large-scale 4G LTE network."

Regardless of who arrived first, the reality is that all major carriers are headed for VoLTE.

Given the improved experience that the technology offers, as well as its efficiencies—it will even help improve device battery life—research firm ARCchart expects there to be 74 million VoLTE-enabled handsets in the market by 2016.

Kristin Rinne, AT&T senior vice president of Network Technologies at AT&T Labs, told attendees at a FierceWireless event in May that that VoLTE is "firmly in our business plan for initial deployments in 2013."

While Verizon Wireless began testing VoLTE technology at least as early as January, the carrier has commented that it's in no rush to offer the service.

"We're optimistic and bullish, but we're not rushing it," Verizon CTO Tony Melone said at a May event, according to Fierce. "We will enable it in 2012. My view is there is no reason to force customers to it."

Samsung Windows 8 Tablet. Laptops are GONE

2012-08-10T01:35:00.001-07:00

While some CIOs may be waiting for a Windows 8-powered tablet to take on the iPad, the Samsung Series 7 device is unlikely to be a contender. However, this device—which can be connected to a docking station and an external keyboard—just might be a viable alternative to the laptop.

The Series 7 weighs about twice as much as an iPad, but less than many full-featured laptops. That lightweight form, the ability to boot up quickly, and a new operating system designed for touchscreens of all sizes, mean that this device might be the only computing device that some people need. And the Series 7 also might be appealing to CIOs who are looking for an easy-to-administer Windows computer.

After testing the software–officially, the “release preview” code, or the version directly before Microsoft shipped its “gold code” iteration to manufacturers–on Samsung’s Series 7 tablet for the last week or so, I was struck by how much the software maintained the usability of desktop versions of Windows, albeit designed for the touch screen experience

The opening Start screen does away with the traditional Start button long associated with the Windows platform. Instead of moving around the screen with a cursor and mouse, I tapped on small, square tiles like those found on the Windows Phone, and moved swiftly from calendar application to desktop programs, photos and maps. I enjoyed the dynamic tile icons Microsoft has introduced with the Windows 8 Start screen. They display live information. When a new e-mail arrived, a notification popped up on the tile to notify me. When the local weather report changed, the live weather tile updated accordingly.

My test unit came with Office Pro Plus installed, affording me access to 2010 versions of Microsoft Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, and SharePoint, essential tools for modern office productivity. I navigated these applications and created documents with them smoothly, evidence that Microsoft had successfully transferred the Windows experience to a larger touch screen device. It felt a little strange to use finger gestures to navigate programs that I’ve accessed for the last decade with a mouse. But I got used to it soon enough.

Typing on the Windows 8 tablet was a pleasant experience. The character keys were wide enough to reduce my typos. And on the numeral page, Microsoft has separated the punctuation keys, which are on the left, from the number keys, which the company situated on the right. Separating these key sets on halves of the screen sped up my typing considerably. Creating an efficient typing experience is crucial for the success of Windows 8 on a tablet. CIOs considering Windows 8 tablets will want to make sure that employees type as effectively on the tablets as they can on laptops. For those who aren’t comfortable typing on a tablet, Microsoft has included a docking station and Bluetooth keyboard with the review units to approximate the user experience of a laptop.

As pleasantly shiny and new as Windows 8 feels, my recommendation comes with some caveats. First, logging in to use the tablet and its apps was cumbersome. I haven’t been a user of Microsoft’s online services for years. Consequently, to use the tablet I had to create a Hotmail account to associate myself with the device. When I tried to access Microsoft PowerPoint I had to enter a 25-digit product code supplied by Microsoft, which granted me access to PowerPoint and the rest of the Office Pro Plus suite. Other apps asked me for things like my SkyDrive password, which is essentially the Microsoft Live Web mail password. To be fair, this set-up process is no different than when you buy a new Windows PC and enter software keys to download new software, but it slowed me down a bit.

Organizations with Active Directory network administration software should have a reasonably easy time configuring Windows 8. Seton Hall University CIO Stephen Landry, who has deployed roughly 450 Samsung Series 7 machines to faculty and students with the same software I’m testing, told me his process was much smoother because the school’s faculty, staff and students have been using Microsoft Live for e-mail since 2009. “We found provisioning very easy,” Landry told me Wednesday. He said he has a server on campus so that when students register at the school, they are assigned a Live account within minutes. Once joined to the Seton Hall domain, the tablets are enabled with WiFi access by Microsoft’s Active Directory network administration software.

The Samsung Series 7 weighs close to 2 pounds, or nearly double the weight of the iPad. Therefore, users may perceive this machine as more of an alternative to the laptop than other tablets. That may not cut it for some CIOs who like to carry their tablets from home to car and office. But if the reports from Microsoft are true, come October there will be a flood of Windows 8 tablets on the market, some of the lighter and some of them heavier than this Series 7 machine.

Microsoft has successfully developed a version of Windows that will run smoothly on a tablet, with Office applications that have been optimized for the touch experience. I can recommend this device for corporate road warriors tired of lugging around laptops. And CIOs seem to enjoy it. “I have to say I am a fan,” Terex CIO Greg Fell told me Wednesday. “I am using it inside the firewall and it works perfectly. I had an iPad the day it was first released, but it is in my desk and has not been turned on in two months. The Samsung has replaced my iPad and laptop with one device very successfully.”

Samsung Ain't Buying RIM

2012-08-10T01:07:00.000-07:00

Samsung has denied rumors that it is mulling an acquisition of Research In Motion (NSDQ:RIMM) or planning to license the smartphone maker's upcoming BlackBerry 10 operating system. Blackberry, that ailing Smartphone maker?

"Samsung Electronics has not considered the acquisition of Research in Motion or licensing BB10," the company said Thursday in an emailed statement to CRN.
Rumors of a Samsung-RIM acquisition emerged Wednesday after Jefferies analyst Peter Misek speculated in a note to clients that RIM was trying to spark discussions about a BlackBerry 10 licensing deal with the Korean tech master, Samsung.

"Given recent management comments in the press, it now appears that RIM is realizing what Wall Street has been saying for some time: they are a subscale manufacturer and desperately need a partner," Misek wrote, according to a report from All Things Digital. "We believe RIM is attempting to revive discussions with Samsung regarding a BB10 licensing deal."
Misek also speculated that Samsung is considering a complete RIM buy-out, most likely closing the deal before the launch of BlackBerry 10 in early 2013. He said Samsung could benefit from the acquisition by tapping into RIM’s worldwide subscriber base, which RIM said in June still accounts for nearly 78 million users. It would also let Samsung reduce its reliance on Google’s Android OS, Misek said.

RIM shares jumped more than five percent Wednesday in light of the Samsung reports.
While Samsung has counted itself out as a potential RIM suitor, RIM CEO Thorsten Heins has said he is willing to explore all strategic options for putting the struggling BlackBerry maker back on its feet, including a sale of the company. Samsung leads in every way, and ailing companies are seeking Samsung for a deal. Recently, Nokia buyout rumors were also in the air, and that Samsung is going to buy the ailing Phonemaker.

"If there is any element we detect during the strategic review, we would consider it [selling the company], but it’s not the main direction we are pursuing right now," Heins said in March during RIM's fourth-quarter earnings call with investors.
Heins also recently told The Telegraph that licensing RIM’s upcoming BlackBerry 10 OS may be a good move financially for the company.

"We don’t have the economy of scale to compete against the guys who crank out 60 handsets a year," Heins said. "We have to differentiate and have a focused platform. To deliver BB10 we may need to look at licensing it to someone who can do this at a way better cost proposition than I can do it. There’s different options we could do that we’re currently investigating."

YES! Galaxy S II And Note Will Get Android Jelly Bean Update

2012-08-07T02:52:00.002-07:00

Samsung! Android! Apple, who?

The work of rolling out Android updates is a never-ending process. And, that's good!

Samsung is now believed to be prepping the latest version of Google's mobile OS, version 4.1 also known as Android Jelly Bean, for those two Smartphones, which have redefined Smartphones. Galaxy S II, and the artist's fantasy and Gamer's paradise, the Galaxy Note.

The Galaxy S II and the Galaxy Note will be getting Jelly Bean in the fourth quarter of this year, according to reports.

The Jelly Bean upgrade could be considered a minor update for the Android platform, which is why it only brings the version number up to 4.1 instead of 5.0.

The most functional aspect of the update is that it looks different depending on the kind of device, so 7-inch tablets have a different presentation of Jelly Bean than 10-inch tablets or smartphones.

Among the updates are increased enhancements to the speed and performance of Android, new and sleeker widgets for the home screen, expandable notifications, and a more user-friendly app for viewing and deleting photos.

It also offers a new touchscreen keyboard for even more seamless text input, as well as new features for the ever-growing list of near field communication (NFC) devices, allowing users to tap phones together to enable things like photo sharing.

Android 4.1 is surprisingly already in use by around 1 or 2% of all Android devices, giving it a faster adoption rate than version 4.0, also known as Android Ice Cream Sandwich, and so far the rollout seems to be problem-free.