AT&T Samsung Infuse 4G Gets Official Android 2.3.6 Update

The Samsung Infuse 4G on AT&T was running Android 2.2 Froyo out-of-the box and last time we heard, the carrier and the manufacturer put the official Gingerbread update on hold at the beginning of February.

However, the Android 2.3.6 update is available for installation with version UCLB3 (it was about time). You'll have to apply the refresh through Samsung's own KIES software but that shouldn't stop you. Here's what you get aside from a platform version bump:

- Improved Copy and Paste functionality
- Redesigned Multi Touch Software Keyboard
- Download manager for long running HTTP downloads
- Improved power management and application control
- Notification Shade: "Flight Mode" added ("Silent" removed)
- New Fonts options added include Choco Cooky, Cool Jazz, Rosemary
- Keyboard Changes: Android Keyboard with Wider Spaced keys and Quick Keys at the top
- New Widgets: The name of the content provider will be listed on the widget list along with the widget name. Previously only the widget name was provided.
- New Widget: Traffic (Android) added to list of available widgets
- Menu Changes/New Apps: Downloads and Google Books added new, Promotional pre-load of Angry Birds removed.

Source:pocketnow

Samsung estimates record profits, strong Note sales

Samsung Electronics has released estimated earnings numbers ahead of its full earnings report on April 27th, and the numbers are bright indeed. Samsung estimates a record operating profit of $5.15 billion dollars, handily beating street estimates. Much of that success stems from stronger than expected sales of the Galaxy Note; Samsung has sole more than 5 million of the stylus-toting phablets since October, and Note sales are expected to increase in the coming months.

The report also noted that Samsung expects sales to increase further in the coming months as it releases its next generation Galaxy S III handset, which is expected to “engage in a full-fledged war” with Apple’s iPhone 5, expected to ship in the third quarter of 2012.

While Apple has remained the biggest customer of Samsung’s manufacturing services, it’s easy now to see why Samsung was willing to risk that relationship when they moved to directly compete with Apple; Samsung’s profit margin on Android devices is reported to exceed 20%, and the resulting profits from their smartphone division made up almost 70% of profits this quarter. While their margins are lower than Apple’s industry-leading margins of 37%, Samsung’s handset margins are much higher than what they can command by selling parts to other companies.

Samsung’s assault on the smartphone market has been surprisingly swift in its success. With just 3% of the smartphone market in 2009, Samsung has displaced entrenched competitors like HTC and Motorola to climb to the top of the Android ecosystem. According to comScore, Samsung made a quarter of all mobile phones sold in the U.S. over the last three months (that number includes feature phones).

In short, while other Android OEMs are struggling to differentiate themselves in the market place, Samsung has surged ahead and shows no sign of slowing down. Products like the Galaxy Note show that they are willing to bet on new form factors – a bet that is now paying off handsomely.

Source:phonearena

Samsung Galaxy S III With 4.65-Inch Screen Already Being Tested?

Since we told you about the recent rumors related to the next iPhone it is just normal we make up to all you Android and Samsung fans out there with some Galaxy S III reports. They're coming straight from South Korea.

There's hear-say about a possible 4.65-inch display that will allegedly grace the front of the Galaxy S II successor. It will reportedly pack a resolution of 720 x 1280 and it will be a Super AMOLED Plus HD screen. With those specifications it will have a 315.83 ppi resolution putting it right there in the "Retina" class. The report also claims that the display will be the first "display from the company's OLED arm to reach HD resolution" without being Pentile.

The second report claims to have official wording from Samsung according to which the manufacturer is already testing the Galaxy S III with carriers in its homeland. They also want to reduce the time needed for tests (which is around two months) so we might speculate that June could be a good month for an event.

Source:pocketnow

White Samsung Galaxy Note Landing In Canada On Telus, Bell

If the rumors and the leaks are true then those who want a white Samsung Galaxy Note and are Telus subscribers (or future customers) in Canada should be happy to find out that the 5.3-incher will be landing starting today. According to a leaked internal document the white variant of the Note will go for the same $199.99 on a three-year contract (and $779.99 for the phone only).

On the same note, Bell Canada has an April 10 launch scheduled for the same white Samsung Galaxy Note. Its own prices are exactly the same: $199.99 when you sign a three-year commitment or $729.99 outright. The one left is Rogers but there's currently no information whether the carrier will be offering the pale variant of the "phablet" (we hate this word too!).

Source:pocketnow

Sprint Galaxy Nexus Launch Rumors Look To New, Later Date

It's no secret that the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, after making its international and Verizon LTE debuts, will be coming to Sprint and its new LTE network. Just when that's going to be, however, is one detail Sprint's been keeping from us all. All the latest rumors seem to be looking to a mid-April launch, with both the Galaxy Nexus and LG Viper, the other LTE model to kick-off Sprint's network, tipped for April 15. At least, that's what we had been hearing, but over the weekend a new leak arrived, suggesting that the Sprint Galaxy Nexus might have a slightly longer wait before it launches.

As far as visually convincing leaks go, this find leaves a lot to be desired. Just a basic word processor document, it does little to try and convince us it's an official internal publication. That said, if we're to have a little faith here, the leak suggests that the LG Viper will, in fact, launch on April 15 as we'd heard, but the Galaxy Nexus won't hit stores for another week after at, finally landing on April 22.

Sprint and HTC have an event planned for Wednesday, and while we don't expect to hear anything about the Nexus directly, Sprint may offer a little insight while discussing its general LTE launch plans.

Source:pocketnow

Samsung's eeeny-weeny Galaxy Pocket is examined under the FCC's magnifying glass

Once those wags at the FCC had finished joking about how difficult the Galaxy Pocket is to see with the human eye, it was time to get examining. Samsung's cellphone with a 2.8-inch display was revealed to be packing GSM 850 / 1900 and UMTS Band V radios that'll operate on AT&T's network (and those like it). The company hasn't committed to a US launch for the handset, but one thing is for sure: if it does arrive stateside, it'll come in very, very small boxes.

Source:engadget

Samsung, NTT DoCoMo, et al. cancel plans for LTE chip joint venture

Looks like the decision to not make a decision has... well, created a decision. Back in December of 2011, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic, Samsung and a smattering of other Japanese firms put their heads together in order to launch a joint venture to manufacture and sell ICs for mobile devices. Communication Platform Planning Co. was actually established with the goal to hawk these LTE semiconductors, but now that a consensus on how it'd all play out wasn't reached by the March 2012 deadline, it'll be liquidated in June. Reportedly, DoCoMo even set aside some $5.4 million to set up the now-defunct subsidiary, but now it's all for naught.

Source: engadget

Samsung: Free Battery Bundle Kit With the Verizon Galaxy Nexus

We've already seen the Samsung Galaxy Nexus extended battery in action with the occasion of our review and at that time you had to pay close to $55 if you wanted the extra juice for your phone.

Now, if you purchase your Verizon Samsung Galaxy Nexus 4G LTE directly from Samsung at the link below, you will get a free Samsung Galaxy Nexus i515 Battery Bundle Kit with a 24-month activation of the phone. The price of the phone is $299.99 with a two-year contract but if you are already looking for the pure Android on Verizon, you might as well take advantage of this promotion.

Source: pocketnow

Android 4.0.4 ICS Update Leaked for Sprint Google Nexus S 4G

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is expected to hit Samsung-made Google Nexus S 4G devices on Sprint soon but if you just can't wait until that OTA update notification hits your phone, you might just be lucky!

The folks over at BriefMobile have managed to grab what appears to be (claimed) the official Ice Cream Sandwich update which will be hitting devices soon over-the-air. The ROM contains Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich and the source link below has everything you need to get started (if you can't wait for the official update or if you don't already run some sort of ICS custom ROM).

Source: pocketnow

Galaxy S II, Xperia Neo Given Price, Release Dates by Expansys

The just-announced Samsung Galaxy S II has been given a price and release date at Expansys (for the unlocked, 16GB version, anyway): Monday, April 18th for 650 pounds, or about $1044 -- although we imagine that price will drop somewhat before it ships as other retailers price-compete for pre-orders. No solid info was available for the 32GB model. Also given definitive release information was the Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo (a.k.a. Halon), which the UK retailer expects on Monday, March 28th for 375 pounds (~$600).

Both models were introduced yesterday at Mobile World Congress, but where the Galaxy S II is a high-end, dual-core flagship for Samsung, the Xperia Neo, as its name suggests, is a single-core, mid-tier handset. Still, it boasts a 1GHz processor, WVGA resolution, and the 2.3 Gingerbread build of Android.

Source: (Pocketnow)

Samsung Galaxy S II Hands-On (Video)

The Galaxy S II is a pretty big deal for Samsung. It's the proper successor to their wildly-selling Galaxy S series of devices, which has sold over 10 million units already. Compared to the device it's replacing, the Galaxy S II features a large 4.3" Super AMOLED Plus display at WVGA resolution, plus it's bumped to Android 2.3 with the latest version of TouchWiz UI. It features a dual core CPU (we're still not 100% on just which) with 1GB of RAM. On the back it's packing an 8MP camera with full 1080p video capture.



We just got some serious hands on time with the Galaxy S II, and found that it indeed might be the world's thinnest and lightest device which would appeal to the majority among you but if you're like me, you would probably not like it. It all comes down to your tastes, really, the device is thin, light and had a great build quality.

Needless to say Samsung's own Super AMOLED Plus display brings the best in contrast and color vibrancy and, with the dual-core CPU and Android 2.3 Gingerbread, the device really flies executing whatever you throw at it.

Source: (Pocketnow)

Samsung working with Sybase and Cisco to make Galaxy S II enterprise-friendly

BlackBerry may be the go-to enterprise smartphone platform, but Samsung is positioning its newly unveiled Galaxy S II as new contenders for the crown. To get there, Samsung's working with Sybase to bring far more advanced security to the handsets than stock Android offers, including control of individual applications and ports and also allowing for remote administration -- including admin-pushed app updates. Samsung also talked up the phone's Exchange compatibility and, with help from Cisco, the phone offers WebEx compatibility, VPN support, and VOIP calling. Know what this means? Your next corporate phone just got a lot more interesting.

Source: (Engadget)

Galaxy S II Photos and Specs

Galaxy S II, Dual core at 1GHz, Screen 4,3 inch Super AMOLED plus, the wordest thinest smartphone 8,49 χλστ. battery 1650 mAh and camera 8 Megapixel recording at Full HD 1920×1080 pixels.

Samsung Galaxy S II
OS: Android 2.3
CPU: 1GHz Orion – Dual Core
RAM: 1GB
Screen: 4,27 inch, 800×480 pixels, Super AMOLED Plus
Camera: 8 Megapixel, auto focus, LED flash, Video Full HD 30fps 1920×1080
2th Camera 2 Megapixel
Inside memory: 16GB/ 32GB
Memory Card: micro SD έως και 32GB
Wi-Fi n, DLNA, GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, micro USB, NFC , FM Radio
Battery: 1650 mAh
Size: 125,3×66,1×8,49 mm.
weight: 116 gr.

Samsung Galaxy Tab II and Galaxy S II pics leak out ahead of Barcelona event

There are still twelve hours to go before Samsung unveils its new products at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but somehow there are already a series of pictures allegedly "from the event." We're not complaining, though, because four of them show off the new 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab II. We discovered yesterday that Sammy's slate will run Android 3.0 Honeycomb at 1280 x 800 resolution and on a 1GHz processor, and heard rumors it'd have an 8 megapixel camera with HD video recording as well, but this is the first time we've laid eyes on a decent image of the tablet, and we imagine you're in the same boat. Join us on a journey over to Samsung Hub to see the full set (and more shots of the Samsung Galaxy S II), or if you're too busy priming your touchscreen-smudging thumbs, simply hit the break to see a render of what the unit's back might look like.


Source: (Engadget)

Samsung Galaxy S 2 image and specs leak a little early

Someone got their dates mixed up it appears and posted some info regarding the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S2, along with a nice high-res image before they were suppose to. The images have since been pulled, but the Korean text remains, so for now check out the specs and let us know what you think?

* Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
* 1GHz dual-core processor
* 4.3 inch display
* HSPA+
* Bluetooth 3.0
* 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi
* Weight: 116g, 8.49mm thick

Source: (SmartPhone ENVY)

Is this the Samsung Galaxy Tab II?

We have reason to believe that the device pictured above is the 10-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 expected to be announced in a few short days at Mobile World Congress. This particular version appears headed to one of Vodafone's networks. While we don't have any tangible specs on what is likely to be a dual-core Exynos-powered slate (formerly Orion), there's quite clearly a Honeycomb build running in this image, one that appears to be skinned so that the stock controls and notifications are bluer than we've seen on Motorola Xoom demos (although the two pieces of hardware look very similar in the face).

Around back we immediately notice what seems to a large concave "divot" that probably aids in the ergonomics, and also hints that this tablet is meant to be used primarily in landscape orientation (as opposed to the existing, portait-focused Tab). Whatever rear-facing camera exists is hidden in this shot.

We've blown up the image below -- at the expense of sharpness -- so more details can possibly be teased out, but it looks like we'll need to wait until this weekend for any solid features to be revealed.

Update: Claiming to have seen internal documents, Engadget is reporting that the Galaxy Tab II (not 2, apparently) is indeed a 10.1-inch device with specs very similar to the Xoom, including 1280 x 800 resolution, stock Honeycomb build (the so-called Google Experience) and a 1GHz processor of undetermined core count. However, with leaks having the Galaxy S II sporting a dual-core CPU, we can't imagine that the Tab II will be equipped with anything less.

Source: (Pocketnow)

Samsung Galaxy S2 i9100 specs and price listed in the UK

Galaxy S2 rumors are nothing new, but now British online retailer MobileFun.co.uk is listing a device labeled "Samsung Galaxy S2 i9100" along with a price, specifications and release date. MobileFun says the Galaxy S2 will be released Mar. 4 for £549.95 (~$880), and offers an intriguing spec list for the device -

•Powerful dual-core 1.2GHz Samsung Orion processor
•Ultra sharp 4.3" Super AMOLED Plus screen
•Next-generation Bluetooth 3.0
•NFC technology for contactless payments and more
•1GB RAM lets you multitask with ease
•Comes with Android 2.3 Gingerbread
•8MP camera with LED flash and 1080p video recording with 1.3MP front-facing camera for video calls
Of course it's impossible to verify the specs or the price at this stage. However, the fact that they're appearing on a retailer's site alongside what seems to be an official promotional description of the phone gives this information a little more weight.

The Galaxy S2 is one of the many devices expected to be unveiled at next week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Source:(androidcentral)

Alleged specs of the Galaxy S 2, Desire HD2, Desire 2 and Wildfire 2 are leaked

Seems like the leaked specs of some upcoming smartphone heavyweights are at our disposal (courtesy of Expasys), so it's time to take a closer look at what these handsets have to offer us.

One of the most anticipated smartphones scheduled for MWC appearance is the successor to the Samsung Galaxy S (for now, it's simply dubbed... Galaxy S 2), and if these leaked specs are to be believed, this powerhouse of a phone will pack a dual-core MSM8260 Snapdragon processor clocked at 1.2GHz (previous rumour claimed this handset will be powered by a dual-core Orion processor), a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen with a WVGA resolution (480 x 800), an 8MP rear camera capable of full HD recording and a 2MP one for video calling.

These specs don't sound too bad, eh? Anyway, next in line is the HTC Desire HD2, and it's set to offer the same 1.2GHz processor as the Galaxy S 2, but its resolution is listed as qHD (540 x 960). According to these specs, it will also pack an 8MP camera with full HD recording resolution.

Then we have the HTC Desire 2, which is said to be a single-core powered handset (Snapdragon QSD8250 clocked at 1GHz) with two cameras - the rear is a 5MP one, while the front-facing has 2MP. The screen is listed as a Super LCD one with a resolution of 480 x 800.

And after all these great specced phones... here comes the affordable HTC Wildfire 2. Seems like it will sport a 600MHz MSM7227 CPU, a 3.2 TFT screen with a 320 x 480 resolution and a 5MP camera.

For the detailed specs, check the images below and tell us what you think of this story.






















Source:(phoneArena)

Samsung preparing a 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab 2 with Honeycomb for this Sunday?

Samsung's MWC 2011 presentation is this Sunday, at 6PM Central European Time (midday for those on the American east coast). We already know it will feature a dual-core evolution to the Galaxy S smartphone and we know for a fact there'll be at least one new tablet on show. Pocket-lint is today filling in some details about said Tab successor by identifying it as a 10.1-inch Android 3.0 device. That means Samsung is stepping right up to Motorola, whose Xoom still looks likely to be the first Honeycomb tablet to ship, and saying it can do better. It might just be able to do it, too, as the new and unnamed Tab is said to be physically smaller than Apple's iPad in spite of having a slightly larger display. Somewhat less believable is the mention of a dual-core Qualcomm processor as the thing to power Samsung's new tablet -- can you really see Samsung undermining the future success of its Orion / Exynos chip by using a competitor's hardware? Then again, weirder things have happened.

Source: (Engadget)

Samsung rep alludes to “probably early March” for WP7 update

When Windows Phone 7 came onto the scene, it was believed that a software update would have been made available soon after the new year to enhance the platform – like bringing aboard copy & paste. However, we’re very well into February and still don’t have a concrete date on when this first major update is expected to land.

Recently at a Microsoft developers event in France, Techdays 2011, one Samsung rep alluded to the notion that the update would arrive in March. Specifically, the Samsung rep said, “Probably early March, we will confirm at the Mobile World Congress in mid-February."

From the sounds of it all, it’s speculated that the delay is being caused by carrier certifications, but it’s also believed that new features are being added to the update as we speak. So maybe they’ll finally fix the annoying issue with it not retaining the camera settings?

In any event, Windows Phone 7 owners all around will need to wait a bit more until MWC rolls around the corner when we’ll get a clearer picture of a potential time frame.

Source:(phoneArena)