Tag: Galaxy S III

Samsung Galaxy S III Gets Carbon Footprint Certification In Europe

Samsung’s Galaxy S III is a popular device among consumers, but it’s now well respected among the conservationist types across Europe. Just like its predecessor and the Galaxy Note, the Galaxy S III has achieved a carbon footprint certification across Europe.

Samsung UK announced today that they are the only mobile phone manufacturer to be granted the carbon footprint certification by the UK-based Carbon Trust Certification. The Galaxy S III achieved its lower carbon footprint by implementing a more efficient charger, using fewer raw materials, and reducing emissions during its assembly.

“At Samsung, our philosophy is to ‘design for humans’ and be ‘inspired by nature’. So by design our products are not just smart and easy to use, they also strive to achieve the highest environmental standards,” said Bill Skeates, Head of Sustainability, Samsung Electronics Europe. “Yes, our customers want to own a great smartphone, but they also want to be responsible consumers, and the Galaxy S III helps them to do both. Measuring the carbon footprint helps us to understand the environmental impact of our mobile phones and identify where we can continue to improve. Samsung aims to calculate the carbon footprint for all of its mobile flagship devices.”

Samsung began their journey into eco-friendly manufacturing in 2009 with the Green Management Strategy. Since then, the company has developed “innovative solutions for environmentally friendly products.” As such, the company “reviews the production, usage, and end-of-life disposal of its handsets.”

“The number of mobile devices, like smartphones in use worldwide is growing exponentially, so it’s important that they meet key environmental standards. We are very pleased that Samsung is showing industry leadership here,” said Darran Messem, Managing Director, Certification at the Carbon Trust. “Samsung not only submits its smartphones for independent assessment, but is also taking action to improve the environmental performance of its products.”

Samsung is expected to announce a new 10-inch tablet alongside Google at an Android event next week. The same eco-friendly manufacturing practices will surely be used in the creation of said device. It could be used as a good company image boost for both Samsung and Google.

October 22, 2012
Samsung Galaxy S III Upgrades To Jelly Bean On Vodafone

The Samsung Galaxy S III is one of the best, and most popular, Android phones on the market. The only downside at this point is that there’s still too many people stuck on Ice Cream Sandwich. Carriers are slowly beginning to upgrade users to Jelly Bean, but the UK is moving much faster in this regard than the US.

Speaking of the UK, mobile carrier Vodafone has announced that Jelly Bean is now available to subscribers who own a Galaxy S III. According to Pocket-lint, the OTA update has started, but it’s going to be a tiered release. Owners will be notified when the update is available.

You can upgrade via a PC right now if you just can’t wait. Like always, the upgrade is available through Samsung Kies. This method is available only to subscribers of Vodafone and Three in the UK.

What about Galaxy S III owners in the US? We still have to wait anywhere between a few weeks and a few months for the update. It will be rolled out in waves across different carriers with each carrier deciding when to send out the upgrade. None of the carriers have thus far announced their plans either.

Google wants to get everybody caught up to the latest version of Android, but the large number of carriers and devices makes such a task incredibly hard. Couple that with carriers that renege on their promise to bring updates to older phones, and you have an Android ecosystem that can’t get away from the phantom of Android 2.3.

October 22, 2012
Samsung (Finally) Announces Galaxy S III Jelly Bean Update

Samsung today finally announced its plans to upgrade U.S. Galaxy S III devices to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Owners of Samsung’s most popular device have been hanging for weeks on rumors about the upgrade, which Samsung officials said was “coming soon.”

Samsung stated today that the update will be available over the air and as a download via Kies, the company’s synching and software update platform. Unfortunately, a specific date has not been announced, as each individual U.S. wireless carrier (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, and U.S. Cellular) will have to announce a date and method of upgrade. Carriers often have to vet upgrades to ensure that their data networks, data controls, and software still work on the platform.

Of course, the delay in updating the Galaxy S III was due to Samsung preparing all of its proprietary software for the upgrade. The Jelly Bean update will also come with an update for Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface and apps. The camera app now offers camcorder filters, pause/resume recording, and a low-light photo mode. Also, the ESPN ScoreCenter app now integrates with Samsung Smart TVs, allowing users to push sports coverage to their TV through the smartphone app.

Of course, Galaxy S III owners who want a more pure Android experience (and more timely updates) can easily root their smartphone and install one of the many mods available for the device. As an example, I’ve been using a stable version of CyanogenMod on the Galaxy S III and enjoying Jelly Bean for nearly two months.

October 17, 2012
Watch the iPhone 5 & the Galaxy S III Blended to a Fine Powder

You wanted it, and here it is. Blender company Blendtec has been torturing things for a while now through a YouTube video series called “Will it Blend?” Their speciality happens to be throwing tech devices into blenders – because why not? And today, they finally got around to posting a video that showcases the blendability of the iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S3.

Without further ado, here’s the carnage:

If you liked the slow-motion blending, you can check out the full slowed-down clip below:

Although the iPhone 5 seemed to blend a bit faster than the Galaxy S3, both ended up as black heaps of smartphone dust by the end. I’m not really sure what that should tell you about either device.

All that smartphone torture…leaves me hungry for more. If you feel the need for more iPhone 5 pain, you can watch it dropped, shot with a sniper rifle, and tortured by an Android fan.

[h/t TechCrunch]

October 16, 2012
Samsung Galaxy S III Mini Officially Announced

As expected, Samsung today announced its new Galaxy S III Mini smartphone at an event in Frankfurt, Germany. The new version of the device has a 4-inch screen, scaled-down hardware, and lacks 4G LTE capabilities.

The 4-inch Super AMOLED screen on the Galaxy S III is the same size as the recently released iPhone 5 – certainly not a coincidence. Inside, the smartphone has a 1GHZ dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and NFC support. The rear camera is 5MP and the front camera is VGA. The device will come in either 8GB or 16GB versions and supports 3G wireless, though, as mentioned before, not 4G LTE.

“The GALAXY S III introduced a new concept of smartphone that has proven hugely popular around the world,” said JK Shin, head of IT & Mobile Communications at Samsung. “We’re now delighted to bring its revolutionary design, intuitive usability and intelligence to the GALAXY S III mini in a more compact form. We continue to make every effort to provide extraordinary mobile experiences to meet a wide variety of user needs.”

The Galaxy S III Mini does come with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean already installed (though with Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface and the company’s proprietary software, such as S-Voice, pre-installed), so customer’s won’t have to wait for an upgrade the way owners of the original Galaxy S III have had to.

October 11, 2012
Samsung Galaxy S III Mini Coming Tomorrow

It turns out the rumors (as they so often are when it comes to the smartphone market) were true: Samsung will release a smaller version of its flagship Galaxy Android smartphone, the Galaxy S III.

The device will be announced tomorrow at a press event in Frankfurt, Germany. Samsung’s President of Mobile Communications, J.K. Shin, addressed the rumors today in an address to the Korean press. He stated that the Galaxy S III Mini will be a 4-inch version of the original device, and acknowledged that some potential customers don’t want the larger, 4.8-inch original. Specifically, Shin singled out Europe as having demand for the smaller form-factor.

It’s certainly not a coincidence that the 4-inches is exactly the size of the screen on Apple’s new iPhone 5. Perhaps Samsung believes (or believes that customers believe) Apple when it states that the size of their smartphone is perfect.

The hardware for the smaller Galaxy S III is rumored to be not too far off from its larger counterpart. Boy Genius Report relates that the 4-inch smartphone is rumored to have a 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of ram, and a reduced 800 x 480 screen resolution.

The smaller package might not mean a smaler price, though. Current rumors put the price of the device at around the same price as the original Galaxy S III.

October 10, 2012
Galaxy S III Jelly Bean Upgrade ‘Coming Soon’, Says Samsung

It’s Android’s not-so-secret shame. While Apple’s iOS updates tend to upgrade a large portion of their customers to the latest version within a week or two, Android users are at the mercy of their wireless carriers and device manufacturers when it comes to operating system upgrades.

Carriers and manufacturers have to make sure the restrictions they place on the Android OS are still working in the upgraded version, re-tool the OS to put their “flavor” of user interface on top of everything, and double-check to make sure their bundled-in crapware still runs. So, a majority of Android users are still using pre-Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich versions of the OS on their smartphones, and only a few Android users (mostly Nexus owners) are using the newest version, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

So, when Samsung stated that its flagship Android smartphone, the Galaxy S III, would be getting an upgrade to Jelly Bean sometime in October, users took a skeptical outlook on the possibility.

Today, the AndroidGuys blog pointed out that Samsung keeps an FAQ page updated with what devices on which carriers are able to upgrade to Jelly Bean. The page currently lists only Nexus devices as being able to upgrade to Android 4.1, as those devices run a relatively pure version of Android. The entries for the Galaxy S III under every major U.S. carrier all say ‘Coming Soon!’.

So, Galaxy S III owners can now have a place on the internet to check obsessively and point fingers if Samsung misses its October deadline for the upgrade. Of course, they could use that time to do something more productive, such as rooting their device and installing one of the many Android 4.1 mods available for their smartphone. It turns out that Samsung smartphones are some of the easiest to root, and the creator of one of the most popular Android mods, CyanogenMod, was recently hired by Samsung.

(via BGR)

October 4, 2012
Samsung Might Want To Lose To Apple More Often

Samsung, at least in the US, has seen a shortage of good news. The company ended August by losing a massive patent lawsuit, and now Apple wants to have some of their devices banned from sale. They aren’t letting a potential $1 billion payout to Apple get to them though. In fact, things are actually looking better than ever for the South Korean-based company.

Localytics recently looked into the weekly growth of sales for Samsung’s insanely popular Galaxy S III smartphone. Common sense would dictate that Samsung would see a decrease in sales growth as a result of the ruling, but the opposite has proven true. They found that sales growth actually spiked 16 percent after the verdict in the patent trial was announced.

Once again, common sense would dictate that such a spike is just a coincidence. As it turns out, there’s no coincidence. Samsung saw their next big sales spike only three weeks later after the announcement of the iPhone 5. At that time, sales of the Galaxy S III spiked by 15 percent.

So, what’s going on? Why is Samsung reaping the benefits from Apple’s supposed wins? Localytics has a theory. They feel that a growing number of users are no longer tied to a particular operating system. They no longer look to iOS as the gold standard. Instead, people will compare the “full package of device, mobile network and available apps.”

Take that theory, combine it with the increased coverage the Galaxy S III is getting, and you have a recipe for success. People will see the Galaxy S III as a more cost effective version of the iPhone. They also might see Samsung’s device as more forward thinking since it contains many features, like NFC, that Apple left out of the iPhone 5.

It’s really hard to say what has led to the increase in sales, but it’s definitely tied to Apple. You can’t mention Apple without bringing up Samsung and vice versa. The fact that both companies are constantly brought up in mainstream media only helps to increase awareness. Samsung may have lost its court battle, but it’s definitely winning in sales.

October 3, 2012
Galaxy S III Mini Rumored For Fall Announcement

Have we come this far? Have Android smartphones become so big that customers are now demanding smaller versions of manufacturers’ flagship Android devices? Or, does Samsung so truly believe that Apple is right about everything design that it takes Apple’s contention that 4″ is the new perfect size for a smartphone as gospel?

According to a Mobiflip report, invitations to a press event Samsung has mailed to the German tech press this week intimate that “something small will be really big” or that attendees should be “ready for a little sensation.” The invitation also hints that the product is related to Samsung’s Galaxy S lineup of phones. If you look closely, you can see the tell-tale “S” symbol that Samsung uses for its Galaxy S products. The invitation is for a Samsung announcement on October 11th in Frankfurt, Germany.

Mobiflip speculates that the announcement will be for a “mini” version of Samsung’s Galaxy S III smartphone. This makes a certain amount of sense, as Samsung has recently been marketing the Galaxy S III as the “next big thing” that’s “already here.” The question is, who will the company will be marketing a smaller smartphone to?

Boy Genius Report states the rumor that the Galaxy S III Mini will have a 4-inch screen – the exact same size as the newly released iPhone 5. After all the patent lawsuits and the $1 billion court case Samsung lost recently, is the Korean company still looking to Apple for design advice? Has Samsung heard complaints about the size of the Galaxy S III, which isn’t even the company’s largest smartphone? Hopefully a few answers will be presented on October 11th.

(Image courtesy Mobiflip)

October 3, 2012
Samsung Once Again Goes After Apple Fanboys in a New Ad

Samsung has never been one to shy away from directly making fun of Apple and their fans in product advertisements. See exhibit A, this ad for the Galaxy S II that digs at Apple’s lack of turn-by-turn navigation and crappy battery life. Or exhibit B, this teaser as for the Galaxy S III that takes the original position of referring to iPhone owners as sheep.

When the Galaxy S III finally launched in the U.S. earlier this summer, Samsung released a couple of ads for the device that didn’t even mention Apple or the iPhone. But of course, we knew that Samsung’s marketing people would have to take a swipe at Apple when the iPhone 5 launched.

Now, the iPhone is hitting stores in two days and Samsung is on the offensive.

Earlier this week, they took out full page ads in multiple U.S. media outlets with their “it doesn’t take a genius” ad campaign that compared the Galaxy S III to an iPhone 5-esque smartphone. “The next big thing is already here,” said the ad.

Today, Samsung has gone back to their old ways of making fun of hipsters waiting in line for Apple products with this new ad that, among other things, suggests that the iPhone is the phone of your mom and dad. Check it out:

[h/t 9to5Google]

September 19, 2012
Yahoo Gives Employees Smartphones, But Not Blackberrys

Poor RIM. Even in the enterprise space, where the company’s secure OS has managed to keep them relevant, companies in-the-know are beginning to come around to the idea that iPhone and Android smartphones can be used for business. It seems the security of Android, iPhone, and even Windows Phone devices has finally caught up to the high standards of business.

This weekend, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer sent an email to all Yahoo full-time and part-time employees informing them that they will be getting a free smartphone. Even better, Yahoo employees get their choice of the most advanced smartphones on the market for each different OS – except for BlackBerry. Business Insider was able to obtain a copy of the email, which announces the “Smart Phones, Smart Fun!” program:

We have a very exciting update to share with you today – we are announcing Yahoo! Smart Phones, Smart Fun! As of today, Yahoo is moving off of blackberries as our corporate phones and on to smartphones in 22 countries. A few weeks ago, we said that we would look into smartphone penetration rates globally and take those rates into account when deciding on corporate phones. Ideally, we’d like our employees to have devices similar to our users, so we can think and work as the majority of our users do.

Moving forward, we’ll offer you a choice of devices as well as provide monthly plans for the data and phone.

The smartphone choices that we are including in the program are:

* Apple iPhone 5
* Android:
– Samsung Galaxy S3
– HTC One X
– HTC EVO 4G LTE
* Windows Phone 8:
– Nokia Lumia 920

You will notice the email specifically states that Yahoo is moving away from BlackBerry phones, which it has historically used. In addition, employees are not even given the choice of receiving a BlackBerry as their smartphone of choice. It’s a glaring omission, given that, as of last month, RIM still holds around 10% of all smartphone subscribers while Microsoft’s Windows Phones hold only 4%. However, where Microsoft has been gaining or holding on to small amounts of market share with Windows Phone, RIM has been losing its chunk of the smartphone market at a breakneck pace this year. As Mayer said in her email, Yahoo wants its employees to use devices that Yahoo users do, and it appears that Yahoo users don’t prefer BlackBerry anymore.

September 17, 2012
Samsung Takes on the iPhone 5 in New Ad

Samsung had been riding high all summer. After HTC stumbled on the U.S. release of their One X smartphone, Samsung’s Galaxy S III became the new must-have Android smartphone. Just last week the company announced that over 20 million of the devices have been sold. But then came the iPhone 5 announcement last week, and it seems the entire world has forgotten there are smartphones that aren’t iPhones.

While Apple’s brand will certainly sell millions of iPhones in the coming weeks, Samsung still thinks the Galaxy S III is a winner. To emphasize this, the company took out full-page ads in publications across the U.S. this weekend. The ad, seen below, directly compares the features of the iPhone 5 and the Galaxy S III. The message at the top, “It doesn’t take a genius,” is a double entendre that refers to both Apple Genius’ and how clear Samsung believes it is that the Galaxy S III beats the iPhone 5 on features.

There are, of course, a few things that Samsung neglected to include on their comparison. Most notably, there is no mention of the Apple A6 processor that will run the iPhone 5. It was one of the few features that Apple managed to keep secret until launch day, and it will almost certainly out-class the 1.5Ghz dual-core processor in the Galaxy S III. Also, while Samsung manages to pack all of its software onto the list (including silly features such as “shake to update”), only Apple’s Siri manages to make the list of iPhone 5 features. Passbook is conspicuously absent.

September 17, 2012
Samsung Galaxy S IV to be Revealed in February

It seems that Samsung is now doing well enough to be worthy of some rumors of the impending announcement of its next Galaxy S smartphone. Usually these types of rumors are reserved for Apple’s iPhones, but it appears that the Galaxy lineup is now prolific enough to rate for months-out rumors.

Today, ZDNet is reporting that Samsung will reveal the Galaxy S IV at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain next February. ZDNet is citing an anonymous “company official” as saying the device will then be released “a month later at the latest.” A March release date for the Galaxy S IV seems early, but the official is also evidently confident that the new smartphone will be able to compete with the iPhone 5 and told ZDNet that it will be Samsung’s most powerful smartphone to date. Specifically, it is rumored to sport a quad-core processor and a larger 5″ screen with an OLED display.

If it seems that Samsung’s current flagship Galaxy device, the Galaxy S III, just launched, you are right. In the U.S. at least, it has only been out for around three months, and its launch was less than smooth. Still, in the time it has been available, Samsung claims to have sold 20 million of the devices. That doesn’t touch the expected 250 million iPhone 5’s that are expected to be sold, but it is a sign that Samsung is on the right track with their smartphones.

September 17, 2012
Galaxy S III to Get Jelly Bean Update in October

Owners of Samsung’s Galaxy S III may have the latest in smartphone hardware technology, but their device is still stuck running Androind 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. This is nearly two months since Google’s Nexus 7 tablet debuted with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

Finally, Samsung has stated that the Galaxy S III will soon be getting an upgrade to Jelly Bean. CNET’s U.K. website has “confirmed” that the smartphone will recieve the update sometime in October. The site states that the info comes straight from Samsung. CNET quotes a Samsung as saying that Jelly Bean “will be available on the Galaxy S III from October.”

After that, the burden of customer complaints shifts to mobile operators, who will have to implement their own restrictions and software into the update. While SIM-less Galaxy S III’s will be able to upgrade in October, those with heavy-handed carriers may have to wait weeks or longer for a chance to taste Jelly Bean on their smartphone.

Of course, Galaxy S III owners who are a bit more adventurous know that Jelly Bean-based roms have been available for the smartphone for a while now, assuming it is rooted of course. Just yesterday it was announced that CyanogenMod, one of the most popular roms for Android smartphones, will be releasing monthly stable versions for quite a few top-tier devices, including the Galaxy S III. That should make it easier than ever for Galaxy S III owners to keep their phones running the latest Android operating system with cutting-edge features without having to wait months (or forever) for their phone manufacturer or wireless carrier to push out an update.

September 12, 2012
Galaxy S III Sales Top 20 Million, Says Samsung

Samsung today announced that its flagship Android smartphone, the Galaxy S III, has sold 20 million units since the device debuted in Europe on May 29 of this year. The company claims that the Galaxy S III is its most successful smartphone ever, and that it has set sales record by generating sales quicker than any previous Galaxy phones. Though the smartphone’s release in the U.S. was stilted and confusing (due to carrier demands and exclusive deals), there is no doubt that U.S. sales are a large part of that 20 million.

“The Galaxy S III has enjoyed tremendous attention and popularity since its launch in May, and we are thrilled with its success,” said JK Shin, president of IT & mobile communications at Samsung. “I would like to express my sincere appreciation to customers who have chosen the Galaxy S III. We will never stop providing the latest smart mobile technologies to help users live a life extraordinary.”

Note that 20 million in unit sales does not mean that 20 million customers worldwide have purchased a Galaxy S III. Rather, it is a measurement of how many of the smartphones Samsung has sold to its customers, who are retailers and wireless carriers.

Samsung also recently announced that the Galaxy S III will soon come in a variety of colors, including “garnet red”, “sapphire black”, “amber brown”, and “titanium grey.”

September 6, 2012
Galaxy S III Beats iPhone 4S In U.S. Sales, May Soon Get Jelly Bean

Samsung revealed that its Galaxy S III smartphone has hit 20 million sales in over three months. The phone launched in Europe in May, and the following month in the U.S.

According to reports, the device outsold even Apple’s iPhone 4S to become the top selling smartphone in the U.S. in August. Apple Insider shares this data from the U.S. carriers, showing the Galaxy S III on top for Verizon, and Sprint and T-Mobile, and in second, behind the iPhone 4S for AT&T.

The phone had reportedly already hit the 10 million mark in July. Some think Apple will sell 10 million iPhone 5s in its first week (though that remains to be seen).

I wouldn’t expect the Galaxy S II to be on top for long.

Rumor has it that the device will soon be getting the Android Jelly Bean update.

September 6, 2012
iPhone 4S Loses the Top-Selling Smartphone Position

Just in time for the impending announcement of the iPhone 5, news has come that the iPhone 4S has been surpassed as the most-bought smartphone.

Boy Genius Report cites Michael Walkley, an analyst for Canaccord Genuity, as showing that the iPhone 4S is no longer the top smartphone. Walkley’s channel checks show, as seen in the chart above, that the iPhone 4S has been surpassed in sales at two of the three major U.S. wireless carriers that sell the phone. This is to Samsung’s benefit, as the phone that appears to have taken the top sales spot is that company’s flagship Android smartphone, the Galaxy S III.

Of course, part of the reason for the slowing sales of the iPhone 4S is the nearing release of the iPhone 5. Customers are undoubtedly putting off their smartphone purchase until the end of September, and the iPhone 5 will easily top this chart in the next quarter. In fact, Apple is expected to sell an unbelievable 250 million iPhone 5 devices.

One thing that could hamper the success of the iPhone 5 is the threat by Samsung to use its LTE patents to try and obtain an injunction against selling the iPhone 5 in the U.S. Apple has drawn blood with its recent victory in the Apple vs. Samsung patent trial in the U.S., and Samsung will no doubt be using all the tools at its disposal to retain its position as Apple’s number-one competitor in the smartphone market.

(Chart courtesy Canaccord Genuity via BGR)

September 4, 2012
Galaxy S III Gets More Colorful With 4 New Colors

One of the reasons the white iPhones were so highly sought after isn’t that white smartphones are necessarily more aesthetically pleasing. It’s that they were simply different. Although Apple’s monolithic designs are great for ensuring the quality of their products, even Apple users want a little something to set themselves apart. It’s no surprise then that Apple’s largest competitor is beginning to set itself apart by offering its flagship smartphone in a wide variety of colors.

This week Samsung announced that the Galaxy S III will soon come in four new colors: “amber brown”, “garnet red”, “sapphire black”, and “titanium grey.” The only current colors widely available are “marble white” and “pebble blue.” The new colors will have the same brushed metal-like “Hyperglaze” finish as the current ones.

Samsung is obviously sticking with the “inspired by nature” marketing that the company unveiled at the announcement of the Galaxy S III. Consumers shouldn’t be expecting a neon pink version of the smartphone any time soon, though an “emerald green” or “amethyst purple” phone wouldn’t stray too far from the formula.

“Every inch of the Samsung Galaxy S III has been created to reflect the natural elements that inspired its ergonomic design, from the softly shaped curvature to the minimized bezel,” said Minhyouk Lee, lead designer of the Galaxy S III. “By expanding the color range of the Galaxy S III we are continuing to evolve the “Minimal Organic” design theme of the handset. The color options we have added evoke the phone’s emotional and natural aspects in a very simple but effective way.”

Mock-ups of the new colors provided by Samsung can be seen below. The red case has already been announced for the U.S. as an exclusive for AT&T, presumably to make up for that carrier getting the Galaxy S III weeks after other U.S. carriers. Samsung specifically stated that the availability of these new colors will vary by country and wireless carrier.

August 29, 2012
Galaxy S III Gets An Amazing Dragon Case That You Can’t Have

The Galaxy S III by Samsung is one of the hottest phones to come out this year. It beat the iPhone 5 to market and will put up some stiff competition this holiday season. Too bad the phones sold in stores will not include the most amazing custom case mod to ever be put on a phone.

Our story begins with a simple Facebook message. Shane Bennett, Samsung super fan, sent a private message to Samsung’s PR team on their Facebook page. He was asking for a free Galaxy S III and drew an amazing dragon picture as payment. Obviously, Samsung replied with a no, but sent an equally amazing picture of a kangaroo riding a unicycle for his troubles.

Bennett posted the above conversation on Reddit and it quickly shot to the front page. Needless to say, the Reddit thread gained Samsung a lot of new fans that day. It was unintentional viral marketing at its best. Samsung appreciated the boost in fans and interest and decided to reward Bennett in the best way possible.

TechCrunch caught up with Bennett after he received this one of a kind Galaxy S III. It features the dragon that he drew etched onto the back of the case. It’s also on the front with a matching background that completes the drawing. Here’s the custom Galaxy S III in all its glory.

Now, don’t go rushing out drawing crude pictures of mythical beasts in hopes of getting a free phone. It rarely works out that way. Bennett just happened to be in the right place at the right time. That being said, it does once again prove the power of the Internet in marketing. Fans are a company’s greatest asset and they would be wise to leverage that power across Reddit, Facebook, Twitter and others.

August 29, 2012
Samsung Set To Reveal Android Camera Later This Week [Rumor]

It was really only a matter of time before camera manufacturers began to implement Android into their devices. Nikon was the first to announce such a camera last week with the Coolpix S800c. Now it looks like Samsung might be jumping in.

An anonymous source speaking to GSMArena revealed Samsung’s intentions to reveal a camera based on the Galaxy S III this week at IFA. The rumored camera would be a 16MP point-and-shoot and feature Android 4.0. It will also sport a 10x zoom.

The tipster described the phone as being a “Galaxy S III glued to the back of a point-and-shoot.” It would feature no physical buttons on the back. As the artist rendering above illustrates, it would quite literally be like having a Galaxy S III attached to a traditional point-and-shoot.

It will also reportedly come in two flavors – Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi+3G. The latter is being shopped around to various carriers. It certainly would be strange to see Verizon or AT&T offering a 3G camera that didn’t have access to voice. Of course, 3G with Skype could solve that particular problem.

If this turns out to be true, Samsung will have surpassed Nikon’s admittedly weak first offering. The Coolpix S800c features only Android 2.3 and 3.5 inch OLED screen. If Samsung’s rumored camera is anything like the Galaxy SIII, it will feature a huge 4.8 inch AMOLED screen and a 1.5 GHz dual core processor.

Like with all rumors, it’s important to not get your hopes up. Thankfully, we’ll find out if Samsung really is making a wonder camera later this week as IFA kicks off on Friday in Germany. It’s already guaranteed that the company will be showing off the Galaxy Note II and the Galaxy Player 5.8 at the trade show.

[Image Credit]

August 27, 2012
Will The iPhone 5 Be A Worthy Competitor To The Galaxy S III?

We now have a pretty good idea of what the iPhone 5 will look like thanks to a variety of leaks and rumors. The biggest leak came from iLab when they made a fully assembled iPhone 5 from the various parts that had been leaked. It’s likely that the phone seen there is what the iPhone 5 will look like so why not compare it to its biggest rival – the Samsung Galaxy S III.

At first glance, it seems rather silly to compare a phone that we know everything about to a phone that’s not even out yet. I would counter that argument by saying that we know everything about the iPhone 5 because Apple’s suppliers and manufacturers are terrible at keeping secrets.

With the use of 3D modeling, YouTube user animatedvisual has created a side-by-side comparison of the purported iPhone 5 design and the design of the Samsung Galaxy S III. While nothing is entirely confirmed, it’s safe to assume that the iPhone 5 will look something like this. See how it stacks up to Samsung’s pride and joy:

After admiring both phones, it’s safe to say that both are admirable for different reasons. The purported design of the iPhone 5 is sleek and thin. It continues Apple’s tradition of making aesthetically pleasing hardware. On the other hand, Samsung’s Galaxy S III just screams power. It has a design that inspires confidence and oozes coolness.

Either way, you’re going to end up with a great phone. We’ll find out how great of a phone the iPhone 5 is going to be come September 12. Until then, just remember the wise words of a random YouTube commenter – “Just pick what phone you want and shut the f*ck up!”

As a bonus, here’s a comparison between the purported iPhone 5 design and the iPhone 4S:

[h/t: Gotta Be Mobile]

August 20, 2012