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Today, we have found a few pictures taken by the upcoming Galaxy Nexus on Picasa. We’ve matched the EXIF data of both images with each other, and then with past leaks which seem to indicate that this is the Galaxy Nexus. The Galaxy Nexus’ camera has a resolution of 1944×2592 pixels, and matches the photos leaked a couple weeks ago of an Apple Store. Note, that the EXIF data of both images called this device the Galaxy Nexus, not the Nexus Prime.

The first image, as seen after the break, was posted by Picasa user Sammy Fte (Samsung FTE?). The EXIF data of the image matched perfectly and actually looks like a nice picture if you ask us. The resolution was only 1944×2595, only sizing in at about 5MP, a low megapixel camera in comparison to the 8MP camera seen in Samsung’s Galaxy S II and there may be a reason for this. A previous photo found with Galaxy Nexus EXIF data on Picasa had the same 5MP quality and it led us to believe that the camera is the same.  We believe that this certain Picasa user is an employee of Samsung thanks to the name and other photos posted on the account.

As you can see after the break..

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The NYTimes thinks so.

According to numerous music executives, Google is eager to open the store in the next several weeks. It would most likely be connected to Google’s existing cloud service, Music Beta, which lets people back up their songs on remote servers and stream them to mobile phones and other devices, said these executives, who all spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were private and continuing.

Being able to buy MP3s would be a big hole for Google to fill, but it is having a hard time convincing the music industry that it is genuine about stopping piracy.  It will be interesting to see what concessions Google gives up to get MP3s and how their system will compare to Apple, Amazon and the other vendors.

Maybe they’ll be able to remove that pesky ‘beta’ tag as well.

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The Nexus Prime and Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) will be announced in Hong Kong on October 19th, if a new report from Engadget is true. Both products would be announced by Samsung and Google at AllThingsD’s Asia conference, the report mentions. The Nexus Prime and Ice Cream Sandwich were originally scheduled to be announced yesterday, but were delayed out of respect for the passing of Apple’s Steve Jobs.

There have been other rumors floating around that the Nexus Prime will go on sale, on Verizon Wireless, November 3rd. Ice Cream Sandwich would also land that day, too.

Update: He’s wrong.  We’ve heard from an impeccable source that Google plans to have invites out “in the next day or so and there is no patent delay.

We reported earlier that Google and Samsung were delaying the release of the new Nexus Prime phone and Android 4.0 “Ice cream Sandwich” out of respect for the passing of Steve Jobs.

“We believe this is not the right time to announce a new product as the world expresses tribute to Steve Jobs’s passing,” the companies said.

But according to often (but not always) correct blogger Eldar Murtazin, there are patent issues at hand which need to be addressed before the devices and OS  ship.  Specifically, Google is slicing out features which may be subject to Apple’s Patents…

See Steve Jobs introducing multi-touch in 2007 below, saying “Boy have we patented it!”.  
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PhanDroid reports this evening that the delayed Nexus Prime will launch November 3rd, after a prior announcement. The Nexus Prime’s announcement tomorrow was delayed by Samsung due to the passing of Apple’s Steve Jobs —  as a sign of respect for the innovator.

The Nexus Prime will be the platform the next version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, will be launched on. We’ve seen a few leaks of ICS revealing a sleeker design. An announcement  of both will be shortly before the launch November 3rd says PhanDroid. Carrier wise, the Nexus Prime will reportedly land on Verizon Wireless. A November 3rd release date makes sense, because of Verizon’s Thursday release schedule.

If PocketNow’s mock-up above is accurate, I think it’s pretty safe to say the iPhone 4S is going to get a run for its money. Here are some rumored specs.

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Confirming previous reports, Conceivably Tech has uncovered a post that Google Chrome will soon be making its way into Android. A post on the Chromium Message Boards tells us that Android’s version of Chrome will have the same features as the desktop version — tabs, Skia 2D graphics library, and maybe a combined search and website bar?

Sadly, there’s no word on when this new browser will hit.  Now we’re not drawing any conclusions, but perhaps this will be announced at Google’s (and Samsung’s) event October 11th? For those of you who haven’t heard, Samsung and Google are rumored to announce the Nexus Prime and Ice Cream Sandwich. While this tour didn’t show it, let’s hope Chrome is bundled into ICS.
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Announced at IFA this year, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 has yet to make its way into our hands, most likely due to on going legal battles. Tonight we have good news however; the Galaxy Tab 7.7 passed through the desk of the FCC this afternoon, giving us pretty nice diagrams of the device. There’s no indication of carrier bands in this instance. We’re sure there’s more to come, but in the mean time check out our hands-on of the Galaxy Tab 7.7 after the break:

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Samsung has officially announced the Galaxy Tab 8.9 and the Samsung Player at their event this evening. The Galaxy Tab 8.9 features a dual-core processor, 6,100 mAh battery, 8.9-inch Gorilla Glass display, and Android 3.1 w/ TouchWiz. The Galaxy Tab 8.9 is available for pre-order right now, and will be shipping October 2nd for $469.

Now to the good stuff: Samsung just unveiled their new personal media player, called the Samsung Player. The Player comes in both a 4-inch and 5-inch version, both featuring Android 2.3.5. The Player 4.0’s specs include a 3.2-megapixel rear-camera, VGA front-camera, and a 4-inch TFT display. The 5-inch version packs similar specs, except, well of course a 5-inch TFT display. Pre-orders begin September 27th, and the device will ship October 16th for $229/$269.

Reviews going up in the coming days, but for now check out some more images after the break:

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Bloomberg reports that Samsung is expecting to sell 5 times as many tablets as it did in 2010.

The company is on track to raise sales of tablet computers by more than five times this year from 2010 as it planned, J.K. Shin, head of Samsung’s mobile-phone division, said at a media briefing in Seoul today.

Samsung said it had sold 2 million Galaxy Tabs (plus a marginal number of Windows 7 Tablets?) as of January 2011.  It had given estimates as low as 1.5 million for the 4th quarter of 2010, the only quarter it sold tablets last year.

That means Samsung believes it can sell 7.5 million – 10 million tablets this year.  Is that good news?
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Trying to get in before the October 4th flood perhaps, today AT&T announced their Galaxy S II varient would hit shelves on October 2nd.  We’ve talked extensively about the Galaxy SII here (read).  As a refresher, AT&T’s is closest to the international version with the same 4.3 inch display – contrasted with the 4.5 variety that T-Mobile and Sprint are carrying.  Interestingly, it will also have NFC, which Sprint’s surprisingly doesn’t.  Sprint is a partner in Google’s NFC-based Wallet initiative.

This is an amazing phone but it is interesting that AT&T is squeaking it in before the iPhone announcement.  On the other hand, it says something that AT&T is going with the Galaxy SII moniker rather than something like “Captivate 2”.  It seems like Samsung’s Galalxy S line can stand on its own.  T-Mobile called its 4G Vibrant model the Galaxy S earlier this year so it appears to be a trend.

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An anonymous 4chan user has posted their apparent, and detailed, account with the Samsung Nexus Prime. AndroidandMe has condensed the 4chan post down (seen after the break) to just the interesting key points.

The user says that Verizon apparently passed on the Galaxy S II to sign with Samsung to exclusively offering this next phone, which we expect to be called the Prime. Rumored specs for the device: Samsung’s Exynos dual core CPU clocked at 1.5GHz, 1gb RAM, Super AMOLED Plus 4.65 inch 1280×720 HD display, 16gb internal memory (with sd card slot) is 8.8mm thick, metal body and a 2000mAh battery (the same as the new one that’s being released for the Galaxy S II).

The user also says that the device did feature Ice Cream Sandwich, which he calls nice, but that it is version 2.4.1 and not 4.0. Perhaps they’re holding out on Jellybean?

Check out the other juicy details after the break:

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If you are on Sprint and you love huge, beautiful screens on your smartphones, you can pretty much stop reading here and go get yourself the Galaxy S2 varient dubbed the Sprint Epic 4G Touch.  The WiMAX candybar flagship phone is $199 on a 2 year 4G contract or $149 at Amazon.

But if you care about everything else an Android phone has to offer, keep reading, it mostly just keeps getting better…

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Well looky here.  After all of the commotion over who is getting the Galaxy S II first in the US (Sprint, really), a regional carrier shows up with a pretty incredible deal.   GCI, who does the HSPA+ version of 4G in the Anchorage Alaska area is already fulfilling orders on the phone for $99 with plan as we wait for Sprint’s version to hit shelves later this week.  Engadget tipsters already have them in hand in fact.

How did they do this?  Well, it looks like they just snapped up some of the international S II version without any mods.  Regional carriers, you win.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q9w0dxosTE]
(We got a look at the Tab 7.7 before it was pulled)

Apple won a pretty significant victory today in its attempts to block Samsung from selling its iPad competitor products in Germany and in greater Europe.  This week’s IFA show is a CES-like pan-European event which showcases new consumer products from just about everyone except Apple.

Most of the buzz this year however is around two of Samsung’s new products, the Galaxy Tab 7.7 and the Galaxy Note 5.3.  Both have 1280×800 SuperAMOLED Displays and run Android 3.2 but the Tab falls under the line of products that Apple is trying to block and is currently under a set of injunctions in various parts of the world.

Interestingly, Samsung was originally showing the 7.7 devices to reporters with “not for sale in Germany” stickers attached. However last night, Samsung started removing the devices from the floor and covering up the advertisements like the product never existed (below).

It appears that Apple got Samsung to block the whole Tab line.  The Tab 7.7 is much smaller than the iPad weighing only 334 grams, yet has a higher resolution screen – so it appears that Apple’s injunction is very broad.

Bloomberg reports:

Samsung, Apple’s closest rival in tablet computers, pulled the just-unveiled Galaxy Tab 7.7 out of the IFA consumer- electronics show in Berlin after a Dusseldorf court on Sept. 2 granted Apple’s request to ban sales and marketing of the product, James Chung, a Seoul-based spokesman for Samsung, said by telephone today.

“Samsung respects the court’s decision,” Chung said, adding that the company believes it “severely limits consumer choice in Germany.” Samsung will pursue all available options, including legal action, to defend its intellectual property rights, he said.

It will be interesting to see what direction this goes.  Will Apple be able to successfully block Samsung’s (and others’) tablets for sale across the world? There is some concern that if Apple doesn’t win in these cases, damages to Samsung could be significant.

Images via ThisismyNext, Cross-posted on 9to5Mac.com

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While it wasn’t announced on stage at IFA this morning, Samsung has just announced the Galaxy S Wi-Fi this afternoon. The Galaxy S Wi-Fi is packing Android 2.3 on a 3.6-inch screen HVGA display, 1GHz OMAP processor (why not Sammy’s own?), 8GB or 16GB of storage, microSD card slot, GPS, mic for VoIP calls, 2-megapixel shooter, and VGA front-facing camera. As of now, the 3.6-inch is confirmed to go on sale in the U.S. for $229 in early October, but if you’re in the U.S., check out the 4-inch version…but hold up.

We’re hearing reports that Samsung will be announcing the similar 5-inch device before the Holidays this year. We expect the specs to be pretty similar, but obviously a slightly bigger screen.

Check out more pics of the 3.6-inch player after the break: (via Geeky Gadgets)

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Samsung is getting into the proprietary messaging format game with a new product called ChatOn it announced today.  The service will roll out on its Bada, Android and even feature phones and will extend to competing platforms like Blackberry and iOS.  The service will run over IP and allow users to send text, images, and hand-written notes, as well as chat in groups and share video clips.

The new service, called ChatON, will be available from October and preinstalled in Samsung’s feature phones as well as smartphones running on its own bada operating system and Google’s Android software, it said.

Samsung’s partner Google has a similar Talk/Voice feature already installed on Android devices so it isn’t immediately clear which will take precedence.  All of these services are collectively eating at the SMS revenue that carriers have been squeezing out of their customers for a decade.  Apple’s iMessage is set to go live with the general release of iOS 5, also likely in October.

Speaking of the iOS maker, Apple was able to successfully block Samsung from releasing it’s ‘modified’ Australian Galaxy Tab in Australia it was reported this evening…
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An.droid Life has exclusively leaked the first images of the new Galaxy Tab 7.7, which is expected to be announced at IFA next week. There aren’t many details on the new device, except the fact it uses a 30-pin connector to charge like the Galaxy Tab 1o.1. How can we tell the difference between this and the 10.1? The 7.7 is charging on the side/small panel, while the 10.1 is on the bottom. Also, the device is rumored to be packing a Super AMOLED screen. Only time will tell, so stick with us next week as we cover IFA. Yeah, we’ll be there!

Check out the other shot after the break:

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Pocketnow has leaked an exclusive shot of all of Samsung’s Galaxy S II variants on Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile. You’ll notice both the T-mobile and Sprint versions are rounded, while the AT&T version is square. Besides the shape we don’t see any noticeable differences between the devices (besides the branding of course). You might be thinking, where’s the Verizon version? This week we reported that Verizon wouldn’t be carrying a Galaxy S II variant for the time being, and it was later confirmed by the WSJ.

The Galaxy S II is going to be announced next Monday, maybe along with a few more devices. At any rate you bet we’ll be there to cover the event.. if the weather doesn’t stop us.

According to SprintFeed, the Sprint Samsung Galaxy S2, dubbed Epic Touch 4G phone will be announced by Samsung on Auguust 29th and released by Sprint two weeks later on September 9th.  But that’s not all…

Here’s what we’ve heard about the August 29th US launch:

Verizon will be a no show.  There are likely still some kinks to be worked out in the LTE version of the Galaxy S 2 which will be announced at a later date.

Sprint’s phone called the Epic Touch 4G or the  will be WiMAX and slightly thicker than the others with a grated plastic backing. 4.5 inch screen 480×800

T-Mobile’s version will also be 4.5 inch screen 480×800 and be the first phone to run on its (theoretical) 42Mb radio network.  It will require a Qualcomm dual-core CPU unlike the other devices which will use Samsung’s own dual core processors.

AT&T’s will be the most similar to the international version at 4.3 inches.

All of them will have the Netflix app ready on launch – only some will have it pre-installed however.

Even these incredible phones pale in comparison to the rumors of a 720P Ice Cream Sandwich phone on the horizon however.

The sickest of them all has to be the I9250 superphone. Probably your next handset, it rocks a monstrous 4.65-inch SuperAMOLED display with native 720p resolution (1280-by-720 pixels), the obligatory five megapixel camera (what, no eight-megapixels?) and Android Ice Cream, the latest and greatest version of Android due for release in the fourth quarter of 2011.
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If you’re in the market for a 46-inch or 55-inch Samsung 3D HDTV, this will for sure intrigue you. Samsung and Best Buy are running a promotional deal offering a free Galaxy Tab 10.1 with purchase of 3D HDTV. The 3D goddesses are priced at $1500 and $2000, respectively. The promotion starts this Sunday, running from August 21st to August 27th.

This is a sure way to get the Mom and Pops to start getting interested in Android tablets.. but first they’ll have to them to latch on to the 3D idea. (via TechCrunch)
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