The Galaxy Note has, since its inception, sported an ‘S Pen’ stylus for interacting with its larger, phablet-sized screen. But a new patent published by Samsung in South Korea suggests that this little accessory may be moving away from using a digitizer and toward being ultrasound-powered (via SamMobile).
Samsung is not very good at keeping secrets it seems, as a new leak of yet another device has slipped into the wild. The Samsung Galaxy S IV hasn’t even launched yet, but its Mini counterpart is already prepared and presumably ready for an imminent launch.
The pictures, found by SamMobile, show the device to look just like a shrunken down version of its bigger brother, with the exception of some lower quality components. You will not find an 8-core Exynos processor inside the Mini but rather a dual-core 1.6GHz. Of course, the main difference between the S IV and the Mini is the screen size. You’ll find a 4.3-inch inch display at 256PPI on the Mini—much smaller than the 5-inch inch 1080P at 443PPI found on the S4.
The Mini is expected to launch sometime in June at an unspecified price point. It’s also unknown what carriers it’ll be available on or if it’ll launch in the United States at all.
A full picture gallery courtesy SanMobile is available below.
Samsung’s Mobile Chief has some harsh words directed towards Microsoft. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, J.K. Shin said that Android devices such as phones and tablets are outselling Windows Phone devices and there is a clear demand for Android over Windows.
The exact Q&A goes as follows:
WSJ: What about your relationship with Microsoft? Has it changed after Nokia began to work more closely with Microsoft on Windows devices?
Mr. Shin: Smartphones and tablets based on Microsoft’s Windows operating system aren’t selling very well. There is a preference in the market for Android. In Europe, we’re also seeing lackluster demand for Windows-based products.
While it’s clearly no surprise that Android devices are outselling Windows devices, the harsh words come just months after lackluster sales of the Microsoft Surface RT and Pro. According to a report this morning from Bloomberg, “people with knowledge about the companies sales” are saying that Microsoft has sold about 1.5 million Surface devices total. Also keep in mind that Samsung just announced the Galaxy S IV, the successor to the best-selling Android phone on the planet, which’ll be sure to gather up some massive sales for Samsung.
The curtain was just pulled off the Galaxy S IV at Samsung’s Unpacked event in New York City tonight. Confirming the leaks and teasers we’ve seen over the last week, the Galaxy S IV’s design is similar to the Galaxy S III aside from a few minor aesthetic tweaks.
The Galaxy S IV weighs just 130 grams and it’s only 7.9MM thick. In terms of specs, it will come in two colors at launch—Black Mist and White Frost. It’ll also include 4G LTE and HSPA+ 42MB, like the S III. It will also feature a 5-inch inch super AMOLED HD display at 441PPI, and, at launch, it’ll ship with Android 4.2.2 Jellybean and be available in 155 countries on 327 mobile carriers by the end of April.
Other specs include a 2,600mAh battery, as well as a 13MP back camera, 2MP front, an IR blaster, and 8 sensors including a temperature and humidity sensor.
The Galaxy S IV will ship in three available models—16GB, 32GB, and 64GB —each with 2GB of RAM, and it boasts a 1.6GHz Exynos Octa-core chip or a 1.9GHz quad-core Qualcomm depending on the market.
Earlier today, during Sony’s PS4 reveal keynote, one of the game developers Evolution Studios promised its new driving game Drive Club will have a “second screen” option for Android tablets. Users would be able to play games and socialize with other players all from their tablet. It was uncertain whether the feature would expand to other games and mobile platforms or if it was just a Drive Club exclusive. Just a mere four hours after today’s keynote, Sony hopes to mitigate the exclusivity rumors with the announcement of “Playstation App”. Explained in the press release below, the Playstation app will allow iPhones, iPads, Android tablets, and phones to become a “second screen” controller. Users will also be able to download games to their PS4 on the go, so they’ll be ready to play once they arrive home.
It’s currently unknown at the moment whether the app will be similar to Microsofts Xbox app that allows users to view other friends’ stats and manage and edit your profile or if it will solely be used as a second screen to games like the Wii U. There’s no released date pegged for the app, but expect it to launch sometime around this holiday season (the same time the PS4 is expected to launch).
The LG Nexus 4 just became available in the United States, but the Google Play store already sold out of the 8 GB and 16 GB models.
Check it out:
Google made the Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 available to customers in the U.S. through Google Play at about 11:45 a.m. today. The 16 GB model was the first to sell out at around noon, while the 8 GB model ran out of stock at about 12: 10 p.m.
Like the U.S. variant, the United Kingdom’s Nexus 4 also sold out within 30 minutes of going live earlier this morning.
