Samsung highlights Galaxy Note 10.1 in education with Institute of Play [Video]

Samsung’s latest product video shows off how the Galaxy Note 10.1 is being used in education by visiting the Institute of Play:

The Institute of Play have only begun to effect sweeping changes to the way education evolves. With the help of Samsung and the Galaxy Note 10.1, we get a glimpse of the incredible impact the Institute’s revolutionary methods are making, and how the potentially bright the future is for students everywhere.

Samsung lifts the cloak on S III’s mini-me, the Galaxy S III mini (Gallery)

As promised yesterday, Samsung just unveiled the Galaxy S III mini in Frankfurt, Germany.

The Jelly Bean-powered handset features many of the same specs as the original Galaxy S, but the most noteworthy include a 4-inch WVGA Super AMOLED display, dual core 1GHz chipset, support for Wi-Fi, NFC, and Bluetooth 4.0, and a 1,500 mAh battery. It also features a 5-megapixel VGA front-facing camera with LED flash, 720p video recording and playback, 8GB RAM, and MicroSD up to 32 GB.

The S III mini essentially packs the S III experience into a 4-inch screen at a presumably more pocket-friendly cost; however, Samsung did not announce details on pricing and availability. Check out the presser and gallery below for more information on this practical smartphone.

The press release is below.

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Samsung confirms 4-inch Galaxy S III Mini to be unveiled tomorrow

There were rumors earlier this month that Samsung had a mini, 4-inch version of its flagship Galaxy S III device in the works when the press received invitations to an event including the words “something small will be really big.” According to a report from Engadget, citing a translated Korean news story, Samsung’s Mobile chief JK Shin has confirmed a 4-inch S III is to be unveiled tomorrow in Frankfurt, Germany. Engadget later confirmed with Samsung PR, and the image above comes from MobileGeeks.de (which also provided the specs below). According to Samsung PR, it sounds like the device will indeed have the “Mini” branding:

“we’ll unveil the 4 inch Galaxy S III Mini in Germany on October 11th.” Read more

Samsung reveals dual-SIM, ICS-powered Galaxy S Duos, with September launch in Europe [Photos]

Samsung just announced the new dual-SIM Galaxy S Duos with Android 4.0.

The 4-inch handset boasts a WVGA 480-by-800 display and a 5-megapixel rear-shooting camera, but users who travel often or juggle multiple phones will mostly love its ability to toggle SIM cards. The dual-SIM functionality essentially lets users connect two phone numbers to a single phone, while the “Always on” feature allows them to receive calls on one SIM number while answering a call from the other line. The Galaxy S Duos further supports various billing plans for each SIM.

A few of the additional specs mentioned in the press release include “rounded edges and smooth ceramic-like finish,” 1GHz processor, 1500mAh battery, and 4GB of on-board storage. The Galaxy S Duos is eyeing a September launch starting in Europe with a rollout scheduled for other territories, and The Verge noted an LTE version, with possibly different internal specs, is coming down the pipeline.

Let’s hope the Galaxy S Duos marks an industry-wide transition to multi-SIM smartphones. It would certainly be interesting to see all the carriers simultaneously fight for usage on a single device.

The full press release is below.

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Report: Samsung says removal of Google’s universal search on UK Galaxy S III was ‘inadvertent’

The blogosphere recently swelled with speculation as to why Samsung removed Google’s universal search function from its premiere Galaxy SIII smartphone, but a new report today revealed the ousting was simply ”inadvertent.”

AndroidCentral first revealed the problem: 

  • There’s a new over-the-air update rolling out for the international Samsung Galaxy S III (aka Galaxy S3 GT-i9300) this evening. The OTA message identifies it as a “stability update,” but what it also does is remove local (on-device) search functionality in the phone’s built-in Google Search app. The new version — XXBLG6 — is a relatively recent build, having been cooked just a few days ago on Jul. 20. A new baseband version, XXLG6, is also included, but we haven’t noticed any other changes thus far.
  • Following legal action by Apple, which temporarily resulted in the Galaxy Nexus being banned in the U.S., Samsung has taken to pre-emptively disabling the ability to search within on-device data (like contacts and applications) on some U.S. Galaxy S3′s. However, the decision to kill local search on the unlocked international model — which isn’t sold in the U.S. — is a little perplexing, not least because Apple has yet to challenge Sammy over local search in the EU or UK, where the GT-i9300 is sold.

Samsung just confirmed to TechRadar, however, that the removal of search functionality on the U.K. version of the Galaxy S III had nothing to do with a legal action by Apple. The mysterious occurrence, which stopped the ability to search for files, contacts, and apps through the built-in Google Search widget, was apparently unintentional.

According to Samsung:

“The most recent software upgrade for the Galaxy S III in the UK included the inadvertent removal of the universal search function. Samsung will provide the correct software upgrade within the next few days.”

A new update will roll out over the next few days to fix the problem.

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Samsung plans a big non-phone Galaxy announcement for August 15

We just received an invite from Samsung Electronics America to “Save the Date” for a major Galaxy announcement. This business division is not to be confused with Samsung Telecommunications America that handles mobile phones.

What could it be?

We are hoping the Samsung Galaxy Camera lands, but it will likely be a tablet or TV.

SAVE THE DATE

August 15, 2012

10:00AM EST

Please join Samsung Electronics America for a major announcement and unveiling of the newest GALAXY device. An exclusive press conference will take place where full details will be disclosed.

An invitation with details will follow soon.

Thank you.

More as it comes in. Read more