Vodafone UK claims first dibs on the next Samsung Galaxy

Today Samsung released the first teaser for the UNPACKED event where we will see the next Galaxy smartphone flagship. The Galaxy S III will only be officially announced on May 3 in London, but Vodafone UK already wants you to know they will be selling it.

The operator has put a banner on its official website, which you can click to register your interest in the next Galaxy smartphone and subscribe for updates about it. So whatever the next big Samsung thing is and whenever it gets released – Vodafone UK will have it.

The fact that one of the large UK carriers will be offering the next Samsung flagship is hardly news, but the eagerness to announce that to the public really speaks volumes about the device itself.

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T-Mobile could get its own Galaxy Note as T879 leaks

Samsung has been intensely promoting its Galaxy Note phoneblet ever since its announcement, and it looks like it might finally make its way to T-Mobile.

   

While the T879 model number may be a far cry from the SGH-i717 of the original Galaxy Note, there's a few key bits of information that point to it being a T-Mobile branded Note:

…the leaked ICS build for the AT&T Galaxy Note has the build number IML74K.144, indicating the build date and it is the 144th custom build. The SGH-T879 has the same build number because it was built from the same sources at the same time, meaning that it is indeed a brother to the AT&T Galaxy Note. The build servers and time stamp match up with Samsung’s official build information. We know that this build is intended to be an official build because the build number is suffixed with the baseband version instead of a decimal number indicating a custom build that voids the warranty.

Obviously, all of this is still highly speculative. Be sure to check back with us for more as this story develops.

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Samsung Galaxy S III GPU benchmark pops up, tops charts

The yet unannounced successor to the Galaxy S II popped up briefly in GLBenchmark's results page to confirm that the S III (or whatever it's called) is the next top dog in droidland - GPU-wise. The results have since been hidden from prying eyes, which does give them an air of legitimacy.

The device, sporting a GT-I9300 monicker, does better than almost all the major players on today's market. In the off-screen 720p test, where raw GPU power is emphasized, it achieved 92.2 frames per second, beating the Tegra 3 and Adreno 225 GPUs by a lot and even gave the dual-core PowerVR SGX543MP2 inside the iPhone 4S a spanking. It did come short of the new iPad's quad-core PowerVR SGX543MP4 GPU, though.

GLBenchmark 2.1 Egypt off-screen 720p

Higher is better

•  

• Samsung GT-I930092.2
• HTC One S56.2
• HTC One X64.9
• Apple iPhone 4S72.7
• Apple iPad 3139.2
• Samsung Galaxy S II65.4

While these are preliminary results, which will probably be different from the ones of the final product, they do point to a powerful GPU inside the next Galaxy flagship. Previous rumors pointed to the same Mali-400MP GPU architecture as in the Galaxy S II, but maybe Samsung is adding another core to it.

There isn't long remaining before we find out - the Samsung flagship will hit the stage on May 3 in London.

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Next Galaxy teaser is out, urges you to stand out from the sheep

As expected, Samsung just launched their Next Galaxy teaser video. At the event on May 3 in London, Samsung is expected to unveil its highly anticipated Galaxy S II successor and, reportedly, a quad-core tablet. Enough with the chit-chat, here's the video itself.

We are yet to see if Samsung will succeed in converting more users to the Galaxy cause, but it's certain that the event will be the focus of everyone's attention. We are also interested to see if a certain Samsung competitor, which is currently in fierce legal battle with the Koreans, will provide some kind of response to the last part of the teaser video.

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Samsung SCH-I200 Jasper found in benchmark scores

While we wait for the Galaxy S III to be unveiled, another unannounced Samsung Android smartphone has been discovered by the folks at pocketnow.com.

The phone's name was first discovered when Bluetooth SIG recently listed the device. Later on, the name was tracked down to a GLBenchmark entry, where further details about the handset were uncovered.

The test device was running on Verizon's network under the codename "Jasper," with the proper model name being SCH-I200. The phone was running Android 4.0.3 on Qualcomm's Snapdragon MSM8960 S4 processor clocked at 1.5GHz. This is currently the fastest processor available on the market (other than Apple's A5X), which would suggest that the phone would be a high-end device. Although curiously, it only has a 800 x 480 resolution display, which could only call high-end if it was still the year 2010.

It remains to be seen how Samsung positions this handset. With that much power and that display resolution, the phone is going to ace practically every benchmark out there.

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Certain GSM Galaxy Nexus owners get minor software update

Owners of certain GSM Galaxy Nexus are reporting a new software update being pushed to their phone. This update maintains the version number at 4.0.4 but updates the build number from IMM76D to IMM76I.

Although there is no official change log available that describes the changes that this new build brings, some users are reporting that it solves the occasional signal loss issues that was discovered on the phone after it updated to 4.0.4.

Interestingly, though, Google's developer site that offers factory images for the Nexus phones still shows the IMM76D as the latest version available.

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Samsung Galaxy S III shows up for pre-order on Amazon

We are always cautious when talking about product leaks from pre-order pages, but since the retailer in question is Amazon, this one is as serious as it gets. Amazon Germany has listed the Samsung Galaxy S III for pre-order, thus possibly revealing some of the upcoming flagship's specs, to go with its €599 price tag.

The Samsung Galaxy S III is listed as sporting a 4.7" Super AMOLED screen and a 12MP camera. The phone's memory is listed as 16GB, which is further expandable up to 32GB, while the OS is, of course Android 4.0 ICS.

In case you can't wait to get your hands on the Samsung Galaxy S III, hit the source link to pre-order it. Its price by the way, does include VAT.

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Samsung says WP 8 devices are coming in the second half of 2012

For those of you who were worried about Samsung being too quiet on the Windows Phone field, we have some good news. The Korean giant's Taiwanese division has confirmed the that Windows Phone 8 Apollo running devices will hit the market in the second half of this year.

The devices will hit the market no earlier than October - after Microsoft launches the next iteration of its mobile OS. There are currently no details on their specs. They will surely follow once Microsoft reveals the hardware requirements for Windows Phone 8.

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Is this a live photo of Samsung Galaxy S III?

Just as we started to get a bit worried about the lack of Samsung Galaxy S III leaks for the past three days or so, our luck struck again. Get your salt ready, because here goes an alleged live photo of the upcoming Samsung top dog, courtesy of a person, who claims to be a device tester.

As you can notice in the picture above, the suspected Samsung Galaxy S III sports a five-column UI, as well as a rectangular home button below its display. Both features fall right in line with previous leaks of the highly anticipated device.

Of course, we wish we could take a better look at the UI, but, unfortunately, the image supplier has decided to give it the 8-bit treatment before releasing it into the wild. It does however, look a lot like a stock Android ICS, which leads us to think that we are looking at a test mule.

Speaking of test mules, there is a high probability that the leaked design is not final either. In any case, we hope for an official announcement from Samsung, which will put an end to the "Galaxy S III leaks" saga, to take place in the near future.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

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Pink Samsung Galaxy Note goes on sale in South Korea

Pink Samsung Galaxy Note goes on sale in South Korea

We got a whiff of this pink Galaxy Note back in February but did not have any concrete launch dates back then. We do now.



Samsung has officially launched the pink Galaxy Note in the South Korean market, although according to The Verge, the phone is not yet on sale anywhere.

Along with the phone you get a matching pink S-Pen and a folding case. Interestingly, though, the phone is running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, as can be seen by the look of that Google Search widget. The current Galaxy Note devices, as we know, are slated to get the update sometime this quarter with a special Premium Suite of apps.

The phone is otherwise identical to the black and white versions and hence should sell at the same prices.

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Samsung Galaxy S III to have a home button, 5-column UI

Samsung Galaxy S III to have a home button, 5-column UI

In today's issue of Galaxy S III Rumors Daily: Samsung has decided on keeping the hardware home button on its next Galaxy flagship. Apparently the topic was under heavy discussion over at Samsung HQ and the decision was made right before the yet-unseen device went into production.

Another rumor coming from Korea Digital Daily is the Galaxy S III's user interface will be set in 5 columns, like the Galaxy Note, and unlike the Galaxy Nexus.



If these new rumors turn out correct then this previously leaked mock-up of the Galaxy S III might be right on money - both with the home button and 5-column layout.

Samsung's next flagship chose to ignore the MWC floor this year, which allowed the rumor train to really pick up speed. The Koreans have apparently kept leaks to a minimum by supplying carriers with a rectangular body that had all the software and hardware inside but didn't give out the final design.

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Samsung I9300 leaked info suggests a mid-may launch

Alright folks, bring out your salt shakers for we have yet another Galaxy S III rumor for you. According to a tip received from one of our readers, the Samsung I9300 will be hitting stores in mid-May this year.

Now as most people would assume, the I9300 model name suggests that the phone could be the long overdue Galaxy S III. But turns out that the phone was actually called the Galaxy M in the ordering system. Now this could either be just to throw people off or it might actually just be a new handset called the Galaxy M.

Now if you recall Samsung's recently changed naming scheme, the Galaxy M moniker is for mid-tier handsets. If it is a mid-range device, then the image leak from a few days ago makes sense. That device never looked like a flagship Samsung device to us and more like a mid-range smartphone, befitting of the Galaxy M name.

If the information is correct, we are still a month and a half away from the phone hitting shelves, but that also means that the official announcement will be a lot sooner.

Thanks EgonOne for the tip!

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Samsung Galaxy Note shipments exceed 5 million

The failure of the Dell Streak may have told us otherwise but it seems there is a demand for gigantic smartphones/tiny tablets after all and that people have no problem stretching their hands and pockets as long as the device in question is good (which the Streak clearly wasn't).

This is being proved by the strong demand for the Samsung Galaxy Note of which 5 million handsets have been shipped till now. It's still not as good as some of the other popular handsets out there, including Samsung's own Galaxy S II but considering the phone's rather odd dimensions we think the phone is doing rather well.

The phone will be going on sale in Japan shortly, which is sure to further bolster its sales. The phone will be offered on NTT DoCoMo's LTE network and will be sold under the name 'Docomo Next Series Galaxy Note SC-05D' (because Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch wasn't a ridiculous enough name).

Anyway, if you think humans are the only ones who seem to have taken a liking for the Galaxy Note, here is a video of an elephant clearly in love with the phoneblet.

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Galaxy S II for O2 UK getting ICS as we speak

The largest carrier in the UK - O2 - is rolling out an Ice Cream Sandwich update to its Galaxy S II owners as we speak.

The update is available through the Kies software so if you're among the lucky ones be sure to plug in your phone in and search for it.

Three UK customers received ICS almost a week ago on their Galaxy S II's too.

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UK Samsung Galaxy Note and Tabs get £115 of free multimedia

If you live in Great Britain and plan on purchasing a Galaxy Note phoneblet or some of the Galaxy Tab tablets, you might want to hear about the latest offer by the Korean company. You are eligible to receive free multimedia worth up to £115 and a free antivirus application.

Here's how it goes - you purchase your Galaxy device from an O2, Phones4U, Carphone Warehouse, Dixons or Orange (Everything Everywhere) store and access the Samsung Hub app to redeem your "Galaxy Package".

You have to click on Exclusives and submit your IMEI number. Once the number has been verified you should click on the voucher button to download your voucher code for use at Samsung Movies and 7Digital.

The voucher entitles you to rental movies from Samsung Movies (available as a free download from the Samsung Hub) up to the value of £65 and tracks worth up to £50 from 7digital music store (available within the Samsung hub itself).

Finally, you can download the AVG pro security application from the Exclusives section of the Samsung Hub, by clicking the AVG icon. You have four days to get all the free stuff so don't waste any time.

You can find the complete terms and conditions of the offer by following this link. Happy downloading!

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Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G lit its way through our studio

In case you were wondering like me, the answer is no – Samsung are not done churning out versions of the two-year old Galaxy S. The latest one is a U.S. bound, T-Mobile exclusive version, which goes by the rather long name Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G.

The newcomer to the Galaxy S lineup is the second member to enter the dual-core realm, following the footsteps of the Samsung Galaxy S Advance I9070. The Galaxy S Blaze 4G features a Snapdragon S3 chipset with two Scorpion cores, clocked at 1.5GHz – not too shabby for a mid-range device. The Qualcomm made chipset also allows the handset to take advantage of T-Mobile’s speedy 42 Mbps HSDPA network. NFC is also added to the connectivity suite of the device. The rest of the specs are taken straight from the I9000, save for the built in memory. In the case of the Galaxy S Blaze 4G, it is around 3GB.

The 4″ screen of the smartphone is the main reason for its pocket friendly measures of 121.7 x 62.9 x 11.2 mm. The weight of the device is an acceptable 127 grams.

Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G live photos

Software wise, the Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G runs the painfully familiar Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread, dressed in TouchWiz 4 launcher. Check it out in action below.

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Samsung puts music to your Pocket in Africa

Samsung is planning to unveil a new music service exclusive to Africa called Samsung Pocket Music.

Appropriately enough, the new music service will be unveiled on the Samsung Galaxy Pocket, a device that Samsung claims is specifically designed with the African market in mind.

Now word yet on when this feature will go live, although it will first be tested in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya before going rolling out to the rest of the continent.

This is undoubtedly part of Samsung’s ambitious goal of growing its presence in Africa to a hefty $10 billion by 2015 across its entire range of consumer services, not just its mobile division.

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Samsung I9300 live photo surface, might be a disappointing S III

Another day, another Samsung Galaxy S III leak. Today we've got a live photo that's allegedly depicting the Samsung I9300 Android smartphone. The model number has previously been associated with the next Samsung flagship, though there's no confirmation that this is in fact the Galaxy S III.

With the Samsung Galaxy S lineup carrying I90xx model numbers, the S II series getting I91xx model numbers and the Galaxy Nexus leading the I92xx smartphones, it would make a lot of sense for the international Galaxy S III to get I9300. However, the pictured device looks nothing like those renders we saw over the previous few days.

The screen bezel seems quite wide, so if the pictured smartphone really does have a 4.7" screen it will be quite large and hard to handle. Plus, the alleged I9300 obviously lacks the design sophistication that would befit a successor of the very successful Galaxy S II.

One possible scenario is that earlier rumors had it right and the Galaxy S III will come with a model number I9500, while this one here is going to be its sidekick. We can also be looking at a prototype unit, which has a different design to the final version.

So, while we see no obvious reason to doubt the authenticity of the photo, we suspect it might not be the Galaxy S III that stars in it. Either that, or there will be plenty of disappointed Samsung fans, come the next Unpacked event.

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Galaxy Note Android 4.0 update to include special content

Earlier this year, Samsung had promised a Q1, 2012 time period for the roll out of the Android 4.0 update for the Galaxy S II and the Galaxy Note. But while its younger brother has started receiving the update, the Galaxy Note users are still munching on Gingerbread that is well past its expiry date.

Samsung recently announced that the Android 4.0 update for the Galaxy Note has been pushed to Q2, 2012. This means it could be coming as soon as April or as late as June.

But to make sure that the wait is worth the while, Samsung has announced that the update will come with some extra goodies exclusive to the Galaxy Note. This includes a Premium Suite of applications and extra multimedia features.

The Premium Suite includes the S-Pen application, which allows you to scribble with the provided capacitive stylus, as well as draw tables and grids that are automatically digitized, along with solving hand-drawn numeric formulas. The Premium Suite also includes My Story app, which lets you create personalized digital cards for friends and family.

Along with this, you will also get a special version of Angry Birds Space. This version will include 30 extra Danger Zone levels, not found on any other platform.

And then of course, it's Android 4.0 itself, which will bring new features like Face Unlock, redesigned multitasking view, GPU accelerated UI, etc.

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Samsung Galaxy S III alleged official photo and specs leak

The Samsung Galaxy S III rumors keep coming in and different sources are starting to agree on some key specs. You should still take what the rumors say with a pinch of salt, but these seem slightly more credible than most of the previous ones.

An anonymous tipster told GSM Helpdesk that the Galaxy S III will measure 131 x 64 x 8 mm and weigh 125g (the Galaxy S II is 125.3 x 66.1 x 8.5 mm, 116 g).

The screen will be slightly smaller than previously rumored - 4.7" with 720p resolution - and will use SuperAMOLED Plus HD technology. That's regular RGB matrix in 1280 x 720 pixel resolution.

The camera on the Samsung Galaxy S III is tipped at 12MP with 1080p@60fps video recording. The camera will reportedly also feature slow-mo recording, so the 60fps might be for that mode rather than producing 60fps clips.

As far as CPU goes, the anonymous tipster confirms the quad-core at 1.5GHz, but doesn’t really add anything to what the Samsung exec said a few days ago. The Galaxy S III will have 1GB of RAM (same as current model) and 32GB of built-in storage, according to the tipster.

The connectivity on the S III should see the adoption of dual-carrier HSPA for downlink speeds of up to 42Mbps, but uplink is reportedly still limited to 5.76Mbps. There are other specs mentioned - Wi-Fi a/b/g/n with Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC and HDMI out (likely over MHL). None of those comes as a big surprise, either.

One final tidbit is the launch date - set for May 22, but Samsung might pull it forward to April. Another unrelated source agrees on the date - the Galaxy S III might see its launch in China pulled from May to April.

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