Rumors of a March launch for the Samsung Galaxy S II's Android 4.0 upgrade have been circulating for a while, but now it seems we may have the first official word on when the update will land. Samsung Mobile Israel has today made a statement on its official Facebook page, saying it expects ICS for the Galaxy S II to roll out on unlocked and carrier-branded handsets in Israel from Mar. 15.

Roughly translated, the post reads --

"We promised we were working on it. You waited patiently. And on 15 March it'll arrive: Android version 4, ICS, to tens of thousands of GALAXY S II devices purchased from cellular companies in the country or directly from us. We are very excited for the launch, hope you are too :)"

While this is great news for Galaxy S II owners in Israel (as well as those with the unlocked international version upon which it's based), other territories may have a little longer to wait.We'd expect this to be particularly true for the U.S., where hardware differs from carrier to carrier.

So far, the steady trickle of leaked ICS ROMs for the Galaxy S II have shown Samsung making progress towards stable builds over the past couple of months. We'll keep you posted with any further announcements, while we cross our fingers for a Mar. 15 launch.

Source: Samsung Mobile Israel

Another day, another fleeting rumor of the ever-elusive Galaxy S III. After skipping out on Mobile World Congress tro throw its own party Apple-style, Samsung still hasn’t mentioned when it intends to bring the Galaxy S III to market. The CHEIL Worldwide Marketing company thinks they know, according to ZD Net Korea: they say that Samsung is planning a huge promotion for April, when they expect the phone to launch in multiple markets worldwide. The 2012 Summer Olympics will reportedly play a large part in the initial promotion.

The reasoning for the Olympic tie-in is a deal between Samsung, credit card company Visa and the IOC, launching a new NFC-based payment system with the Galaxy S III as the flagship device. NFC certainly makes sense – Samsung has been including it with most of the high-end phones it’s announced in the last few months. The April release seems a little dubious, to be honest: there’s already a Samsung event scheduled for later this month in France, so they’d need to get the product finalized, announced and delivered in a span of just a few weeks.

There’s very little information about the Galaxy S III that can be verified. A large screen, fast processor and Samsung’s TouchWiz version of Ice Cream Sandwich seem like a given, but every analyst and insider between here and South Korea seems intent on getting a word in edgewise. At the moment about the only thing we can say for sure is that a successor to the incredibly popular Galaxy S III is on its way – some time, somewhere.

If you hadn’t already checked out the Samsung Galaxy Beam, it is Samsung’s first device that combines a pico projector into an Android smartphone. Though a mid-range device, it is sure to turn some heads. We’ve just found out that it should hit the UK this July for £385 ($600). It will initially launch unlocked, but we should see it show up on a few carriers to allow subsidized purchases.

As for specs, the Galaxy Beam’s lamp offers 15 lumens of brightness; this is actually low when compared to practically any other projector out there, but hey – this one’s built into your smartphone. It is also said to last 20,000 hours, so unless you plan on using it all day every day for the next 2.3 years it should be fine. The Beam ships with a 4″ TFT display, Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), a 5MP rear shooter, and 1GHz dual-core processor.

This is definitely not a Galaxy S II performance-wise, but at least the projector will set it apart from the rest. To aid the extreme battery consumption of the it, Samsung included a 2000mAh battery. This should be sufficient to allow a quick projection here and there while still lasting you throughout the day. We’ll put it to the test for sure when we get one in to review, but until then check out our hands-on from MWC!

[via SlashGear]

We had known that Samsung would be producing flexible AMOLED displays in the future, but had no idea on a definite timeframe. Samsung Mobile Display has just confirmed that they will start mass production of flexible screens this year. More specifically, the first set of screens should start production in the second to third quarter, where the second production line will commence second quarter of 2013.

Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll see these displays hit store shelves in 2012, that will require a bit more information from SMB. In all honesty, when these flexible displays hit the market – it could mark the end of cracked screens (for at least Samsung). Seeing as Google is trying to do away with capacitive buttons and encourage a completely touchscreen experience with Android 4.0, it may suit these flexible devices.

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S are both equipped with contour displays, so Samsung has been dabbling in this area for quite some time. When it’s finally released it will surely be the center of attention. It entirely depends on how flexible they end up, but it would be amazing to take a 10.1 inch display and roll it up like a magazine. It’s really hard to tell how far off we are from concepts like that, as new tech seems to be gaining momentum every year.

[via SlashGear]

Many questions come to mind with the Galaxy Note. Is it too big? Is the stylus S-Pen necessary? Is the screen real estate worth the loss of portability and more. I’ve been using it for about a week and have some thoughts regarding these questions. With a huge and vibrant 5.3″ Super AMOLED HD display and a dual-core processor this thing should be amazing — and it is. The biggest concern for many is probably the screen size so we’ll dive into that and more with our full review below.

You could call this a big phone, or a small tablet but really this is truly a hybrid that many are calling a phoneblet. When I first put my hands on the Galaxy Nexus I was worried the screen would be too large for me, but I quickly learned to love it and use it as my daily driver today. Will the Galaxy Note have the same fate? Being 5.7″ long and 3.27″ wide it’s more than a handful, but being extra thin really helps out.

Hardware

With the Galaxy Note there are a few important aspects regarding the software and the pre-installed applications but the main point that separates this from the rest of the market is the hardware. Everyone will love and make at least some usage of the apps, but it’s the hardware that makes or breaks this phone.

As you know, the Note features a massive 5.3″ Super AMOLED HD display with a 1280 x 800 HD resolution. It is a sight to see no matter what phone you’ve used in the past. The Nexus and even the iPhone retina displays are nice, but this is an entirely new level. Everything is vibrant, colorful, crisp and just gorgeous. The blacks are extremely dark and the colors just pop.

Everything else regarding the actual hardware is in-line with many from the Galaxy S II that everyone should be familiar with. It comes equipped with an 8 megapixel rear camera with LED flash, 2 megapixel front for video chat. A 1.5 GHz dual-core processor (Qualcomm) and 1GB of RAM with 16GB of built-in storage. Samsung’s provided a micro-SD slot under the batter door for expanded storage. The AT&T model comes with a Qualcomm 1.5 GHz dual-core instead of Samsung’s own 1.4 GHz Exynos like the international Note, but in regular and average consumer usage scenarios this shouldn’t matter much. More on that below but Quadrant benchmarks were almost neck and neck.

The only other difference from the international model is obviously the AT&T 4G LTE, but like you see in the image above is the four capacitive buttons instead of two and a hardware home button. Pairing the hardware next to the Galaxy Nexus you can really get an idea of the size, as the Nexus is quite large on its own. For more on the size check out the unboxing video from the link above.

Software

With the Note we currently have Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread and expect Ice Cream Sandwich to arrive shortly. Official Android 4.0 ICS builds have recently leaked, but that update is probably another month or more away. Other than a few specific changes to the reactions of landscape mode with the Note, and custom S-Pen applications everything is as you’d expect from a Samsung device with TouchWiz UX on board. We do have tons of the usual AT&T bloatware but other than their specific apps there isn’t anything worth noting.

S-Pen

Android 2.3 Gingerbread is stable, fast, smooth, and runs as it always has so we’ll really touch back on this when 4.0 lands. Instead we wanted to focus on the S-Pen stylus included. Obviously that is the other selling point here with the Galaxy Note. While I honestly cant see myself using the S-Pen on a day to day basis and while out and about — for those business professionals, artists, writers and more it would be extremely useful. I have noticed in the evenings on the couch the S-Pen has become my friend and I’ve used it everyday. It is starting to grow on me but with the ecosystem going away from buttons and going entirely touch controlled the stylus seems like a dying breed, if it wasn’t already.

The S-Pen does have some awesome and impressive features not to mention the accuracy of the WACOM digitizer on board. Samsung’s added a button on the side for quick controls. While it can be hard to locate and click, once you get comfortable it will make browsing the web extremely quick, easy, and effortless. The hands-on video below will give you a great idea of this phone as a whole. The awesome screen, the amazingly thin chassis, and most importantly the S-Pen additional functions.

My favorite feature has to be the extremely simple way to take screenshots of anything and everything. Like ICS the Note has it built-in. You can hold power+home and release to take screenshots on the Note, but with the stylus you just hold the button and long press the display. From there you’ll enter edit mode where you can crop, edit, and do as you’d like and then share or email it to any of the various apps installed. Being able to screenshot and edit a website, or circle a payment on a billing statement and easily email the crop is extremely useful. I did draw some funny faces on friends pictures just to be rude, we need to have fun here too guys.

Samsung isn’t the first to offer a fully digital stylus with Android. The HTC Flyer had a similar implementation that worked great too but the Samsung Galaxy Note has it mastered. The Flyer only certain aspects of the OS could use the stylus, here you can use the S-Pen in any area you’d like, or switch to hand operation. If a stylus is something you’re considering the Note will be perfect for you.

Samsung has also opened up the S-Pen API for developers to create amazing applications to make it useful. The pre-installed Samsung Apps store has multiple artist and sketch type apps available, and we can expect to see plenty more in the coming months. The limited amount of usable apps for now is a a downer, but soon we expect developers to dive into the S-Pen API’s and bring some unique apps to the table so stay tuned.

Benchmarks and 4G LTE

The 1.5 GHz dual-core processor keeps things speeding right along, as does the AT&T 4G LTE. As we mentioned above the processor change here shouldn’t concern most users, although the I/O scores on the Samsung Exynos and international version were quite a bit higher. Overall performance and daily usage the difference was negligible.

In Quadrant the Note scores around 3200 out of the box. Comparable or better than many other devices while still pushing all those pixels and that huge 5.3″ display. 4G LTE was also equally impressive and the lowest speeds I’ve seen in my strong LTE market here in Las Vegas was 7-8 MB/s down and I’ve averaged 15+ on day to day with peaks over 22 MB/s. Upload speeds are also right around 6-8 MB/s on average. (speedtest results in gallery below) While AT&T LTE isn’t as saturated as Verizon’s they seem to be keeping up quite well so far.

Camera

Another strong point for Samsung as usual is the camera. The 8 megapixel lens is one of the best we’ve used on Android. The shutter speed was slower for me than the Galaxy S II but the overall quality and editing options were excellent. With 1080p video capture you’ll never miss that perfect moment either. Here’s a photo sample with more in the full gallery below. Samsung has added video and photo editing software that works great, and using the S-Pen for fine tuning is another aspect that makes the Note stand out.

Phone & Battery

Now the phone is fast, the screen is bright and the S-Pen is unique. What about the phone you are probably asking. How are phone calls and “phone” use? Odd to say the least. Tossing this huge slate up against your ear will get a few looks in public, and not like the Samsung commercial from the Super Bowl. I found myself constantly fiddling with the size, my grip, and where to place it for optimal hearing based on the earpiece location with such a long phone. Once you get that down the sound quality on in-call and speakerphone is excellent and it’s one of the louder phones I’ve used as of late.

Battery life is another concern. We have a massive and bright screen, and 4G LTE. Two things that should kill battery. The Note has a huge 2,500 mAh battery under the hood. Once Motorola released the 3,300 mAh RAZR MAXX Samsung was probably upset. While battery life is actually extremely good on the Note you have a feeling they could have seriously made use of the extra space and crammed a 3,500 or bigger inside without adding much to the overall size. I’d be happy with the 2,500 mAh battery but the RAZR MAXX ruined that for me and increased my expectations. Pulling off the battery door (that is hard to get back on) you’ll quickly see they’ve wasted tons of space.

With light usage I was able to get well over 2 days of battery life. Yes two days without a single charge. For heavy all day screen and data usage I managed around 13 hours before it was completely dead. Obviously this will vary by user but I think the battery increase makes it on par or better than many available today.

Wrap-Up

Bigger isn’t always better, and with smartphone continuing to increase their size I’m beginning to worry. The Note will automatically be passed up for another phone by many simply because of the size, but many will also love it for the same reason. One rather odd part of the Note is the fact the screen being so large I was extremely worried about dropping it. You could very easily lose your grip (especially with one handed use) and drop the phone shattering that awesome screen. At the same time smaller phones can easily slide from your hand or grip because of their size. I almost feel the added size makes you less likely to drop it because it is so noticeable in your hands. You can’t miss it.

Is this a phone for you? Sure! The added size makes it hardly portable, but the large 5.3″ HD screen makes movies and pictures a joy to consume and browsing the web rocks. I could see the Note replacing my tablet but I’m still unsure as to if I’d replace my Galaxy Nexus with it. They are both awesome but at times while in public I did get a few odd looks with it up to my ear.

The Galaxy Note is big, obvious, and in your face. Nothing is discrete about it. Samsung wants to believe that everyone will use the note with two-handed operation but that simply isn’t the case. Texting or writing an email while walking or with your hands full is simply impossible. Most wont have long enough thumbs to reach both sides. Requiring more attention and two free hands.

In the end is this a phone that you could use? Absolutely. Some with smaller hands might find the phone unwieldy at times, but for the most part I’ve managed to get over the sheer size of the phone and enjoy it for what it truly is. And that is an impressive multimedia, consumption, and creation device. At first I was thinking this was more of a Niche device but in reality I could see it becoming much more than that. Add in the huge coverage from Super Bowl and I’m sure many are extremely interested in this smartphone — and with good reason. The Galaxy Note is extremely impressive in every aspect and once it has Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich it will be pretty hard to beat.

The Galaxy Note is obviously the biggest, and one of the best phones available on the Market and it can be yours starting tomorrow for only $299 from AT&T.

Source: Android Community

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Samsung is planning an event for March 22nd in France, and the speculation has immediately turned to the potential launch of the Galaxy S III. With the smartphone manufacturer opting to forego the announcement of their new flagship model at MWC and recent rumors pegging the phone with a May release date, the timing leaves the door wide open. Local press were first to receive invites — French site FrAndroid among them — suggesting that whatever is to be unveiled will be in one way or another infused with Google’s mobile OS. While we can make a strong case for a Galaxy S III reveal, we could also be dealing with an event related to Samsung’s Google TV product launch. The company is also making plans to introduce the world to their new selection of internet-connected TVs at a private event. Given a seeming lack of international invitations, we could also be dealing with a regional product launch not on the same scale as the unveiling of the latest and greatest product Samsung has to offer. Throw it in the stew of Galaxy S III rumors that has been simmering since the last iteration hit shelves and flavor it with a pinch of salt for now.

[via UnwiredView]

Do you remember long ago when Apple went ahead and held out from releasing an iPhone 5 – and just went along with the 4S instead? We could see a similar strategy from Samsung concerning the future of their ‘Galaxy’ flagship device. It has recently come to our attention that Samsung won’t be showing off the GSIII at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain – thus makes perfect sense there may be a middle man underway.

A Galaxy S II Plus benchmark has been logged in the An3DBenchXL database, and fits our specifications of what this device could carry. The data shows it running Android 2.3.4 with a 1.5GHz processor, and WVGA display. It could very well be running the same processor as the Note.

To refresh your memory, there was indeed a Samsung Galaxy S Plus, so it makes sense to have a Galaxy S II Plus. The line has been practically flawless, and moved Android’s reputation in a very positive direction – so why change now? Most of our questions will probably be solved at MWC, but until then – we run on leaked data and speculation.

[via SlashGear]

Uh! The hotly anticipated Samsung Galaxy S III quad-core superphone will not be announced or unveiled next month at Mobile World Congress 2012 according to latest rumors from The Verge. After initial reports lately including a few yesterday stating it would be announced in Spain for MWC 2012, we are now hearing that it has been delayed.

Members close to the subject are now claiming that the Galaxy S III will not be debuted at MWC 2012 and instead will be at a later date. However, sources are still saying we will see the device “before summer”, so that is good news. The last generation, the Galaxy S II was announced at MWC last year around the same time and we were expecting the same — but things appear to have changed.

While MWC was a logical choice, it could be because they’d like their own event for the big day, or Samsung needs a few more weeks to get everything ready to go. Either way we are now hearing they’ll be sure to announce some “interesting stuff” at MWC 2012 but that is all we know. I’m hopeful for a new 10.1″ tablet with a quad-core but we’ll have to wait and see.

Sad news, but it will be worth the wait in the end — that is for sure.

How to describe Samsung’s latest advertising campaign against Apple… obnoxious? Cheeky? Brutally honest, perhaps? Whatever you call it, the series of commercials is downright entertaining for Android fans of all creed and color, especially those who’ve experienced their iPhone-totting friends trying to hide pangs of regret as they lament their tiny, locked-down iDevice. Samsung’s latest ad, which it’s calling “Samsunged”, pokes fun at the iPhone’s lack of built-in turn by turn navigation.

To be fair, almost every Android phone and tablet has that feature, and has since the original Motorola DROID way back in 2009. Samsung is omitting certain truths withthe implication that turn by turn navigation is unique to the Galaxy S II, even if they don’t outright say it. But then, this series of adds has served more as a put down for rabid Apple fanatics (“Dude, you’re a barista.”) than an actual demonstration of Samsung’s products. It’s also a whole lot of fun for the Android faithful, no matter what your chosen manufacturer is. Though Samsung probably has a few particular reasons to be bitter at the moment.

Take a gander at the full ad below:

A Samsung representative said that the Next Big Thing campaign would continue until a major culmination during the Superbowl on February 13th 5th. We can’t wait to see what Samsung’s got cooked up for the big game, especially since Apple usually has at least one thirty-second dose of concentrated self-congratulation and hyperbole commercial every year.

[via SlashGear]

Just two years ago, everyone at CES was asking one question: Where are all the Android phones?

If anybody asked that same question this year, they’d be met with blank stares and guffaws. This show has been jammed with Android phone after Android phone since before it even officially started.

The latest one off the line is T-Mobile’s Galaxy S Blaze 4G (bit of a mouthful, eh?), which is the third device to play friendly with T-mobiles 42Mbps HSPA+ network — which, by the way, just saw a bunch of expansion.

Alas, while it’s nearly 3 pages long, T-Mobile’s announcement of the Blaze 4G is pretty light on details. So far, the only things we really know about it are that it’s 42Mbps HSPA+ compatible, that it has a dualcore 1.5Ghz Snapdragon CPU packed inside, and that it’s shipping “later this year”. No price, no specific launch date, and a bunch of specs left mysterious for now.

Meanwhile, T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network saw a bit of expansion, with the 42Mbps network rolling out in 12 new markets and their slightly less speedy 21Mbps network finding its way to 9 new spots. Alas, the announcement also fails to mention.. which regions these are. We’ll update this post as soon as we find out.

T-Mobile also mentioned that they expect to receive AWS spectrum in 128 markets as a result of their deal with AT&T falling through.

Update! Just heard back from T-Mobile. While they couldn’t share any more details on the Blaze 4G specs, they outlined which regions saw expensions.

The New HSPA+ Markets:

21Mbps
Jackson, TN
Longview, TX
Lubbock, TX
Michigan City, IN
Midland, TX
Modesto, CA
Shreveport, LA
Stockton, CA
Tyler, TX

42Mbps
Beaumont, TX
Longview, TX
Michigan City, IN
Midland, TX
Modesto, CA
Mount Vernon, WA
Naples, FL
Punta Gorda, FL
Sandusky, OH
Shreveport, LA
Stockton, CA
Tyler, TX