MacMall has a new Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 for $429 with free shipping. That’s a few hundred off of retail and a pretty solid price for the king of the Android tablets. This wireless-only Android tablet (no 3G connectivity) features a 10.1″ 1280×800 touchscreen LCD, 16GB memory, 802.11n wireless, Bluetooth, built-in GPS, 2-megapixel front camera, 3-megapixel rear camera, Android 3.1 OS (Honeycomb), and more. Expand Expanding Close
Discovered by Android and Me, CyanogenMod’s founder Steve Kondik is joining Samsung as a Software Engineer according to a Facebook posting. Sadly, Steve says CyanogenMod won’t be affiliated with Samsung in any way, but Steve told Android and Me he will be working on making Android more awesome. Luckily, it doesn’t appear he will be shutting down CyanogenMod.
”I won’t be blogging about Samsung, especially not in relationship to CM. I will be working on making Android more awesome, though.”
This is an exciting development. Hopefully Samsung devices will get updated much quicker now. Expand Expanding Close
So the war continues… Motorola has been around for quite a long time, so it’s no secret they have a pretty big patent portfolio. During a keynote at the Oppenhimer Technology & Commmunications conference Motorola’s CEO Sanjay Jha had this to say regarding their pool of patents:
I would bring up IP as a very important for differentiation (among Android vendors). We have a very large IP portfolio, and I think in the long term, as things settle down, you will see a meaningful difference in positions of many different Android players. Both, in terms of avoidance of royalties, as well as potentially being able to collect royalties. And that will make a big difference to people who have very strong IP positions.
To sum it up Jha and company may plan to collect royalties from other Android handset manufacturers like HTC, Samsung, etc.
Mobili Inija has leaked Samsung’s roadmap, leaving us very impressed with what’s ahead. A 7-inch Galaxy Tab, supercharged smartphones running Ice Cream Sandwich, and entry level phones are coming up soon — hopefully by the end of the year.
The supposed 7-inch Galaxy Tab is codenamed the P6200, running Honeycomb on a 1024 x 600 display, with HSPA+, a 3-megapixel shooter on the back, and 2-megapixels up front. Samsung will also make it available in a Wi-Fi only version — the P610. We’re assuming it will be much thinner and faster than the current model which also carries the above specs.
As for the supercharged smartphones, there will be two. The GT-I9250 packs a 4-inch screen with a 1280 x 720 resolution, 5-megapixel camera, an unspecified processor (probably dual-core), and Ice Cream Sandwich. The GT-I9220 is the bigger version, packing a 5-inch screen with a 1280 x 820 Super AMOLED Plus panel, dual-core 1.4GHz processor, 8-megapixel camera, and Android 2.3 Gingerbread (where’s the ICS LOVE!). These phones look very similar to HTC’s rumored Vigor. Could this be the Nexus 4G?
Lastly, the GT-I8150 will pack a 3.7-inch screen, 4GB of internal storage, HSPA+ connectivity, and a 5-megapixel camera. It will have a VGA front-facing camera and 720p 30fps HD video recording.
According to the leaks there are also entry level devices coming up in Samsung’s lineup. Hear about those after the break. (via Slashgear)
We’ve known that Samsung’s Galaxy S II is on its way to U.S., as confirmed by a Samsung exec, but what we aren’t quite sure of is the II’s exact branding in the great states or if it’ll hit all four carriers. According to T-moNews the Galaxy S II will be available on T-mobile under the branding ‘Samsung Hercules’.
The Hercules is said to feature a 4.5-inch touchscreen and Galaxy S II branding on the back (as seen above). T-moNews was also told the Hercules features Netflix preinstalled, along with the usual apps from Google. Where will this white version be heading? Check out another shot from PocketNow after the break:
This feels more like the Google Phone that was promised a year and a half ago – which was supposed to hit all carriers. The carriers would then have to fight on prices and quality of service.
As of today, the Samsung Nexus S is now at Best Buy free with a two year plan on 3 of the 4 big US Networks. Get your Sprint, T-Mobile or AT&T Nexus S here.
Now, it almost feels like a new superphone running Ice Cream Sandwich is in the works. Expand Expanding Close
Samsung, Blackboard and the University of Southern Mississippi are teaming up to bring 1,000 students free Galaxy Tab 10.1s…
The University of Southern Mississippi is piloting up to 1,000 Galaxy Tab 10.1 devices to be distributed to selected Honors College, McNair Scholars, Southern Style and Gulf Coast students. The goal of this mobile initiative is to provide students with privately funded tablets focused on enhancing access to education. These tablets, loaded with Blackboard Mobile™ Learn, will fundamentally change the educational experience by giving students and educators mobile access to their courses, syllabi, content, e-textbooks, grades, schedules, emergency notifications and much more.
Wow, isn’t she pretty? A picture of the white Galaxy S II has leaked, and it’s looking pretty legit to us. A UK retailer announced yesterday that the white version will be available August 15th, after seeing much success of the Galaxy S II we currently know and love. Live in the U.S. and interested in the Galaxy S II? Go sign up on Samsung’s official page, and pray to the smartphone gods that the white will land on U.S. shores.
While the iPad 2 display easily outperformed all of the previous Android Tablets, with the new Galaxy Tab 10.1, Samsung has delivered the first Android Tablet with an impressive, potentially outstanding display, but then ruined it by turning up the color level to obnoxious levels – apparently in an effort to overcompensate and blatantly standout from the other mobile LCD displays that have subdued color. But in the case of color, too little is a lot better than too much…
As a result the iPad 2 still delivers the best color picture quality and accuracy of all of the Tablets, even though its colors are somewhat subdued. As things stand, based on all of the display tests, the iPad 2 and Galaxy Tab 10.1 are reasonably close in performance in most categories, so it’s almost a tie, but the Galaxy Tab is ahead more often than the iPad 2, so the Galaxy Tab is the Winner, by a nose…
Perhaps most interesting was that the Motorola Xoom, which is the official Google Honeycomb tablet, came in last behind Asus and Acer.
Samsung officially announced the availability of the LTE Galaxy Tab 10.1 for July 28th at Verizon. Itdoesn’t appear that the LTE radios have added any depth or weight to the Tab.
Pricing and data plans (which include a $25 Media Hub):
Verizon Wireless will offer two 4G LTE Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 models both priced with two year customer agreements: $529.99 or the 16GB model and $629.99 for the 32GB model.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 customers will have the option to choose one of the following Mobile Broadband plans:
$30 monthly access for 2GB monthly allowance
$50 monthly access for 5GB monthly allowance
$80 monthly access for 10GB monthly allowance
A 16GB Wi-Fi-only Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 will also be available online at www.verisonwireless.com on July 28 for $499.99. The WiFi-only model will be available in Metallic Grey.
As rumored, Samsung just broke the news: The Google phone is finally coming to AT&T. The Nexus S will be sold through Best Buy and Best buy Mobile (right next to the Sprint and T-Mobile version) for $99 with a two year plan. Interestingly, no mention of of ‘4G’, real or fake.
Now Verizon is the only major carrier not to carry the Nexus S.
Hot off the heels of withdrawing their counter-suit against Apple, Samsung has announced they have sold 3 million Galaxy S IIs in just 55 days. This is a new record for the company beating sales of the Galaxy S by 30 days. What’s surprising here is this phone hasn’t landed in the U.S. yet (at least not tied to a carrier), but is seeing great sales worldwide. Samsung says sales have been doing very well in Europe and globally (especially Korea), selling one device every 1.5 seconds, or 55,000 a day. In the U.K., Samsung has been the number one manufacturer for 17 straight weeks.
It ain’t Honeycomb, and it might not be a good idea to ever expect it, but the original Android Tablet, the Galaxy Tab by Samsung is getting its Gingerbread on next week, just after some barbecuing and some fireworks.
Now, how about some Netflix and some Hulu to go along with it? Expand Expanding Close
Pocketnow has published exclusive pictures of what they say is a Samsung QWERTY slider on its way to Verizon Wireless. As you’ll notice, the device is very similar to the Epic 4G on Sprint. It is not clear yet as to whether this device will have 4G capabilities like the Epic 4G, but we are hopeful. More importantly, we’re wondering if Verizon is going to saddle this thing with Bing like it has its other Samsung (save the Droid Charge) and LG Android devices. If so…pass!
The device has the model number SCH-i405, following Samsung Continuum’s of SCH-i400, reportsAndroidSpin. The device has already earned Bluetooth and Wi-Fi certifications, but has not made its way past the FCC. There isn’t any other information as to what’s actually inside the device. For those of you who can’t wait to get your slide on, this device should be hitting stores in a month or two. Expand Expanding Close
Google I/O attendees can now cllaim their Samsung Series 5 Chromebooks. Interestingly, Google and Samsung are giving out the 3G models which retail for $500. Also interesting, they come via Amazon – you get a promo code to redeem at the end. Start here once you get your code.
Yes, ours is on the way, you have a week to claim them!
It seems like a no brainer. Samsung is building 8-inch screens into its refrigerator line. Of course it is going to use Android so you can have 200,00 apps on your Honeycomb fridge, right? Even HP picked Android to run its printers (at least until it picked up Palm) -Clearly Android is what everyone wants.
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Nope, it looks like Samsung is using its own proprietary, non-Bada embedded OS. Likely due to stability concerns, Samsung went to something that Google doesn’t control. We’ve combed through the 4000 page user manual (PDF) and nary a mention of Android, though some screenshots seem to be reminiscent of its UI (below). Perhaps Samsung (or some hackers) will get Android on there in a future update. Expand Expanding Close
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 gets a lot of flack for arriving in its newly svelte body late to the tablet game with a 3.1 update. But it is undoubtedly the best Honeycomb tablet out there. Immediately, it was my favorite tablet to use, even with its buggy 3.0 software at Google I/O. With the much improved 3.1 update, The Tab is now a complete system that will only get better.
Rather than do a review, I’m going to answer a bigger question: Why get a Galaxy Tab instead of an iPad 2. And I’m not going to give reasons like “You are a geek and love the Google ecosystem”. Here we go:
Is Motorola pulling a “Samsung” and going back to the drawing board with their XOOM, prettying and slimming it to match Apple’s iPad 2? The Verizon ad (screenshot above, video below) seems to suggest just that. Hopefully that channel inventory is ready to move because who is going to buy a XOOM now that a thinner version is coming down the pike?
While Samsung and Acer are readying their ChromeOS laptops for release this summer, the CR-48 is still being looked over. One user figured out a Firmware Easter Egg by doing some significant research (and taking a big fat hint laid earlier this week). The Hex message at the bottom converts to ASCII characters and revealing the following message:
Greetings from the Chrome OS x86 firmware team. This message is brought to you by Randall, Bill, Vadim, Gaurav, and Kelly. Also by the letter G and the number 42. If you’ve enjoyed this gadget, please join us at http://www.chromium.org to help make it even better. We now return you to your regularly scheduled program, already in progress. No animals were harmed in the production of this message. Apply only to affected area. Cape does not enable wearer to fly. Contents may have settled during shipment. Use no hooks.
Thant didn’t take long. Verizon just announced that it too will have a thin Galaxy Tab 10.1. But this one will still be as thin and carry LTE 4G hardware.
The first thing that strikes me is that the US is running out of names for Smartphones quicker than even IP addresses.
‘Within’?
Whatever.
The short of it is that the Samsung Galaxy S2, pretty much the most bad ass phone available today, is coming to Sprint, one of the most Android -friendly carriers and will be called the ‘Within’. They could call it the ‘Edsel’ and this would still be a sweet phone.
Top shelf specs include: 32GB internal storage with SD option. Dual Core processor, 4.27-inch display, 1GB RAM, Gingerbread and of course NFC which should make Google and its Wallet efforts pretty happy. Engadgetsaid of this device:
It’s the best Android smartphone yet, but more importantly, it might well be the best smartphone, period.
No timetable for launch exists but we know S2s are already running around Europe and Sprint users want to get their hands on this thing. It would surprise me if this wasn’t out by the end of Summer.
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