Tag: Samsung

Self-Branded Google Chromebooks May Be In Our Future [Report]

The Nexus line of hardware was a major turning point for Google. The search giant and software developer finally made a splash in hardware production. A new report from this morning indicates that Google may also be getting more involved its first foray into hardware – the Chromebook.

The China Times reports that Google has ordered the components for a new series of self-branded Chromebooks. What makes these Chromebooks different from Google’s Nexus hardware is that the company will be building these themselves without the help of OEMs like Samsung. The report says that Google will be relying on Taiwan-based Compai to manufacture the new Chromebooks.

So, what will a Google-made Chromebook look like? The report doesn’t get into specifics, but it mentions that it will have a touch display. It doesn’t seem like Chrome OS would benefit from a touch display all that much, but Google could be going for a redesign similar to Windows 8. If that’s the case, Google could directly compete with Microsoft’s much more expensive touch display notebooks and Ultrabooks.

Speaking of competition, Google would also be directly competing with the current Chromebooks made by Samsung and Acer. Earlier this year, Microsoft made its OEM partners angry by announcing the Surface without telling them about it first. One would hope that Google wouldn’t make the same mistake by being transparent with its partners before launching any new hardware itself.

Current Chromebook makers don’t have anything to worry about yet, however, as Google has reportedly ordered a small amount of Chromebooks. TechCrunch figures that Google could just be internally testing these new Chromebooks while having no intention to ever sell them to the public at large. It’s a likely scenario as companies build new hardware all the time that never actually sees the light of day.

Regardless, Google building its own Chromebook makes a lot of sense. It would let Google undercut the competition from Windows 8 even more, and it may even lead to other self-branded Google products. The company may rely on third-party partners now to build its Nexus line of smartphones and tablets, but we may see a Google-built Nexus smartphone or tablet in the future.

November 26, 2012
Samsung Brutalizes Puppy-Computers in Strange New Ad [UPDATED]

Last week, in order to advertise their Solid States Drives, Samsung tapped Laina Walker, the wide-eyed girl better known as the inspiration behind the Overly Attached Girlfriend meme. In that ad, Samsung suggested that your computer could easily give up all of your private information – making your life a living hell (if it wanted to). So could your crazy ex-girlfriend, or course, and that was the motivation behind bringing OAG into the mix.

Today we get the second installment of Samsung’s “Love me again” campaign, and it’s even stranger.

This time, Samsung likens your computers to cute little puppies and asks you to not give up on puppy love. Instead, make it better with a Samsung SSD 840.

Cue two minutes of brutally destroying computers made to look like puppies. It’s a little morbid, when you think about it. If Samsung’s goal was to make me feel bad for old laptops, well, they succeeded. Check it out below:

UPDATE: We’ve received word that the video has temporarily been made private. We’re seeking further explanation and comment, and will let you know when we hear anything.

UPDATE 2: Some negative feedback prompted the move. We can only assume that some people were upset by the portrayal of the computer as dogs, and some of the violent actions being done to the dogs.

November 19, 2012
Here’s All The New Jelly Bean Features Coming To The Galaxy S III

We’ve known for a while that Samsung is working with carriers to get Galaxy S III owners the Jelly Bean upgrade sooner rather than later. In fact, Sprint has already pushed out the upgrade on its network. If you’re not on Sprint, you might be waiting a while as it’s been awfully quiet on the AT&T and Verizon front.

While you wait, Samsung has prepared a few new videos that show off the new features that Jelly Bean brings to the Galaxy S III. Sure, you all know what Jelly Bean is capable of, but it’s something else to see it in action on the device. The Galaxy S III already was one of the best Android devices on the market, and Jelly Bean just makes it that much sweeter.

Alongside the updates from Google, Samsung is adding its own flourishes to the Galaxy S III in the Jelly Bean upgrade. These updates haven’t gotten as much press because only Sprint owners can play around with them, but they’re pretty nice. Have a look at all the new Samsung-specific features hitting the Galaxy S III in the near future.

As Samsung notes, the above videos are representative of the Galaxy S III that’s currently available in South Korea. A few of the Samsung specific features aren’t mentioned in the Sprint press release, like the improved app folders, but it’s not a cause for concern. The beauty of Android lies in its openness, which means somebody will fill in the blanks left by Samsung with a custom ROM or other software additions.

November 13, 2012
Samsung Galaxy Camera Launches In US On November 16

The Galaxy Camera, Samsung’s attempt at merging the Android OS with a high-end digital camera, was announced for AT&T back in early October. Since then, the device has launched in the UK, but there was still no word of a US release until today.

Samsung and AT&T announced today that the Galaxy Camera will launch in the US on November 16. Based on the UK’s pricing, I assumed that the Galaxy Camera would cost $399 at launch. I was a little off as the official price will be $499. As it turns out, however, the camera will only cost $399 if you take advantage of a special offer that AT&T is running this holiday season.

“By connecting the Samsung Galaxy Camera through the AT&T wireless network, users can instantly share photos, giving family and friends a glimpse into their favorite holiday moments,” said Chris Penrose, senior vice president, AT&T Emerging Devices. “Customers will receive $100 off the purchase of the new Samsung Galaxy Camera when they purchase any Samsung Galaxy smartphone, making the Samsung Galaxy Camera the perfect gift this holiday season.”

Like all other mobile devices, the pressing question is how much the data plan costs. Using AT&T’s new Mobile Share plan, consumers can pay $10 to share between 1GB and 20GB across all of their devices. For just the Galaxy Camera alone, it will be $15 for 250MB, $30 for 3GB, and $50 for 5GB. You could also save yourself money and trouble by just sticking with the built-in Wi-Fi instead of using mobile data.

In the US, AT&T is offering Galaxy Camera customers 5GB of free storage with its AT&T Locker service. It’s not much, but it’s something. The camera itself features 8GB of internal storage that can be expanded by up to 32GB via microSD.

Nowhere in the press release does it mention the Galaxy Camera being an exclusive to AT&T. The camera should be available through your carrier of choice in the future. We’ll let you know if, and when, it makes the jump to other carriers.

November 12, 2012
Acer And Google Unveil An Even Cheaper Chromebook

Google began to aggressively pursue its Chromebook business again last month with a $250 Chromebook from Samsung. At the time, Google said that the new cheap notebook was for everyone. The $250 price tag may have been a bit too much for some, however, as Google has partnered with Acer to bring an even cheaper Chromebook to the masses.

Google and Acer announced today that the C7 Chromebook will be available in the US and UK tomorrow for $199. For the price, consumers will be getting a pretty decent notebook out of the deal. The C7 features a full-size keyboard, fully clickable trackpad, 11.6-inch display, an Intel Core processor, a 320 GB hard drive, and 3.5 hours of battery life.

Like every Chromebook before it, the internal components aren’t that important. Google’s vision is that the Chromebook complements any existing computers in the household, not supplant them. Much like a tablet, the Chromebook is hardware built specifically with Google’s Internet services in mind. That’s why every Chromebook comes with 100GB of free storage on Google Drive. It also integrates with all of Google’s other services under a single account so that users can access all of their content at once.

The Acer C7 Chromebook will be available tomorrow in the US on Google Play, BestBuy.com and in select Best Buy stores. The UK will have a larger variety of choices available with the C7 offered on Google Play, Amazon UK, PC World and Currys. Google says it’s working to bring the C7 to other countries soon.

With a $249 and $199 Chromebook, Google is now poised to take some decent business away from the traditional notebook market. Granted, the category isn’t that popular anymore due to the proliferation of tablets, but Google stands to gain with lower prices compared to the higher prices of Windows PC notebooks. It will be interesting to see if Chromebooks are able to outperform notebooks this holiday season.

November 12, 2012
Samsung Taps Overly Attached Girlfriend for New Ad

It would sure be a shame if your computer turned on you and began to slowly sabotage your privacy and security. Just like an ex-girlfriend, your computer has all of the tools and information to make your life miserable (if they so choose). That is, of course, unless you protect everything with a Samsung SSD (solid-state drive).

That’s the message behind a new virally-inspired ad from Samsung. It stars Laina Walker, who has skyrocketed to internet fame as the inspiration for the “Overly Attached Girlfriend” meme which you’ve probably seen while browsing reddit, Tumblr, and other social channels over the past few months. In the ad, Overly Attached Girlfriend becomes Overly Attached Computer, who talks about all of the evil ways in which she could ruin your life.

Those eyes do it. It’s time to put my information in a different, safer location. Yikes.

November 12, 2012
RIM, HTC Losing Big Worldwide, Shows Analyst

It’s widely known that RIM, HTC, and Nokia are in trouble in U.S. cell phone markets. As Samsung consolidates its power over the Android smartphone market, it isn’t leaving much room for another Apple competitor. It’s sometimes said that even though this is the case, other handset manufacturers have a good chance at propping up their profits by focusing on emerging cell phone markets.

Research firm Canalys today released its worldwide country-level smartphone shipment data for the third quarter of 2012, and the numbers still don’t look good for anyone other than Samsung, Apple, and Sony.

Their shipment data shows that the worldwide smartphone market reached 173.7 million units in Q3 2012 – 44% higher than Q3 2011. For the third consecutive quarter, Samsung led the global market by shipping 55.5 million smartphones, or 32% of all smartphone shipments. Apple came next with 26.9 million (15.5%), and Sony rounded out the top 3 with 8.8 million (5.1%).

HTC and RIM come next on the list, and they aren’t far behind Sony, with 8.4 million (4.8%) and 7.3 million (4.2%), respectively. However, these numbers are a huge decrease for these companies from their 2011 shipment numbers. HTC shipped 36% more smartphones in Q3 2011, and RIM shipped 38% more. Their shares of shipment numbers have similarly dropped, over 5% in HTC’s case and almost that much for RIM.

Nokia has been pushed off the top 5 and is now included with the “others” category, which collectively ships 38.5% of the world’s smartphones. Nokia shipped fewer units in Q3 2012 in anticipation of the launch of Windows Phone 8. RIM is currently gearing up for BlackBerry 10, which it hopes will revitalize its business, but which analysts are predicting might be DOA.

Canalys emphasized that these numbers are heavily skewed by China, where Samsung has a large lead in the smartphone market.

“When considering actual use of smart phones, however, the markets differ dramatically again, determined by network availability, speed, pricing and localization,” said Chris Jones, Canalys co-founder and principal analyst. “For example, data from the Canalys App Interrogator tool shows that the US market still leads in terms of app downloads and revenue. For example, the US made up 45% of all Apple iPhone app downloads in September, compared with just 11% in China.”

(via BGR)

November 8, 2012
Samsung Galaxy S3 Was The World’s Best-Selling Smartphone In Q3 [Report]

According to a report from Strategy Analytics, the Samsung Galaxy S3 was the best-selling smartphone in the world in the third quarter, surpassing even Apple’s iPhone 4S.

Here’s a look at the market share from the firm:

“Samsung’s Galaxy S3 smartphone model shipped 18.0 million units worldwide during the third quarter of 2012,” Neil Shah, Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics, said. “The Galaxy S3 captured an impressive 11 percent share of all smartphones shipped globally and it has become the world’s best-selling smartphone model for the first time ever.”

“A large touchscreen design, extensive distribution across dozens of countries, and generous operator subsidies have been among the main causes of the Galaxy S3’s success,” Shah added. “Apple shipped an estimated 16.2 million iPhone 4S units worldwide for second place, as consumers temporarily held off purchases in anticipation of a widely expected iPhone 5 upgrade at the end of the quarter.”

“Samsung’s Galaxy S3 has proven wildly popular with consumers and operators across North America, Europe and Asia,” noted Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics. “However, the Galaxy S3’s position as the world’s best-selling smartphone model is likely to be short-lived. The Apple iPhone 5 has gotten off to a solid start already with an estimated 6.0 million units shipped globally during Q3 2012. We expect the new iPhone 5 to out-ship Samsung’s Galaxy S3 in the coming fourth quarter of 2012 and Apple should soon reclaim the title of the world’s most popular smartphone model.”

And just think. Some are already talking about iPhone 6 release dates.

You can get the full report here.

November 8, 2012
Apple No Longer Hiding Samsung Statement On Its UK Site

Apple’s Samsung statement has been the subject of repeated court rulings and Internet mockery. Its the latter that may have changed Apple’s statement once again.

CNET is reporting that users on Reddit and Hacker News both pointed out that Apple was hiding its Samsung statement below the fold, if you will, on its UK Web site. Users visiting the site would have to scroll down to see the statement and a link to the apology. After pointing this out, Apple seems to nulled the code that was hiding the statement.

When visiting Apple’s UK site, users will now see the site in its entirety, including the statement:

CNET found that the code originally used to hide the bottom half of the site is still there. Apple merely inserted a stopper to keep the code from being called when the page loads up. The change could have been due to Apple deciding to change the design of its Web site, but others are taking it as preemptive action to prevent any further court orders.

The current statement in regards to Samsung is set to run on Apple’s UK site until sometime in December. The company has also been printing the statement in newspapers and magazines across the country. Apple originally published a passive-aggressive statement, but a court order forced Apple to replace it with the statement you see now.

November 8, 2012
AT&T Announces Samsung Galaxy Express and MiFi Liberate For November 16

AT&T today announced that the Samsung Galaxy Express and the AT&T Mobile Hotspot MiFi Liberate will both be available for AT&T customers on November 16. The Galaxy Express will cost $100 (with a two year contract) and the MiFi Liberate will cost $50 (with a two year contract).

The Galaxy Express is a low-end Samsung smartphone that has a 4.5-inch screen, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, a 2000mAh battery, and a 5MP rear camera. It’s the less-expensive cousin to Samsung’s flagship android smartphones, the Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Note II.

The AT&T Mobile Hotspot MiFi Liberate is a Wi-Fi hotspot device with a touchscreen display, which AT&T claims is a first. The 2.8-inch touchscreen displays all of the options for the device, allowing customers to manage connected devices, change settings, and view data usage. It offers 4G LTE speeds, has 11 hours of battery life, and customers can connect up to 10 Wi-Fi devices to the Liberate. It even has a microSD card slot, from which it can stream media such as music and video. AT&T also touted the fact that customers would be able to use the device in over 200 countries around the world, though they will need a thick wallet to pay for the international roaming data rates outside the U.S.

AT&T provided a short video detailing all of the features of the MiFi Liberate. Though the device does look well-designed, Mi-Fi devices should really be a very niche product. The Android operating system for years now has had the ability to turn 4G devices into mobile hotspots, but carriers disable the function before shipping them to customers. So, really, a rooted $50 4G Android smartphone, such as one of the four that AT&T sells on its website (including a refurbished HTC One X), could really do the same job as the MiFi Liberate and so much more.

November 8, 2012
Apple Adds Android To Its Latest Patent Lawsuit

For the longest time, Apple has been fighting a proxy war against Google. The company has never directly filed a lawsuit against the makers of the Android operating system, but rather chose to go after the companies that use it. Samsung has been a popular target of litigation and that doesn’t appear to be changing anytime soon. Apple is, however, finally dragging Android into the fight.

In the ongoing patent war with Samsung, Apple has added two more products to its suit. The company now says that Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10.1 infringes its patents. It also is reportedly attempting to add Android 4.1 to its suit.

The Telegraph speculates that Apple’s latest move may be in response to Samsung adding the iPhone 5 to its latest round of litigation. It’s the only logical explanation as both companies continue to add each others’ newest products to an ever growing laundry list of supposed patent infringers.

It’s interesting to note that Apple is finally attempting to directly attack Android. It was noted by Steve Jobs’ biographer that the Apple co-founder wanted to “destroy” Android. Now it’s Apple’s chance to follow through on Jobs’ original intention and drag Google into the ever evolving, and needlessly confusing, patent wars.

As enticing as a throw down between Apple and Google sounds, we won’t hear anything from it for a while. The suit is not scheduled to go to trial until 2014. At that point, both sides may just settle. Apple, Samsung, Google and all other parties involved with have to realize sooner or later that endless patent litigation is bad for business and consumers.

Besides, I don’t think Apple wants to publish another “apology” on its Web site if it happens to lose the suit.

November 7, 2012
Samsung Galaxy Camera Goes On Sale In The UK This Week

Remember Samsung’s awesome Galaxy Camera from August? The Android-powered camera was a hot topic at IFA, but we’ve not heard anything about it since. That all changed today as our friends in the UK now have a solid release date.

Samsung announced today that the Galaxy Camera will be launching across the UK on November 8. Those who just can’t wait will be able to snag the camera a day early at any Samsung brand stores at 5 p.m. Like most Samsung devices, there’s no word yet on a US release. All we know is that it’s coming to the US through AT&T at an undisclosed price and date.

“The initial response to the Galaxy Camera has been amazing and we are really looking forward to offering our customers a completely new type of digital photography device,” said Simon Stanford, Vice President, Telecommunications & Networks Division, Samsung UK and Ireland. “The Galaxy Camera is a fantastic example of our continued passion for innovation and we are excited to be evolving our Galaxy range even further.”

There may be some concern that either the camera or Android component of the device will suffer from the combination, but that does not appear the case. The camera itself features a 21x optical zoom lens and a 16MP 1/2.3-inch BSI CMOS sensor. As for Android, the camera is equipped with Android 4.1 and 3G connectivity. The back of the camera has a 4.8-inch HD Super Clear Touch Display that should result in some fantastic looking photos and apps. It’s a little disappointing that the camera only has 8GB internal storage, but that can be expanded through microSDXC.

Our friends in the UK will be able to pick up the Galaxy Camera at a starting price of £399. That loosely converts to $637, but it will probably cost around $399 itself when it launches in the US. For comparison, the only other Android camera on the market, Nikon’s Coolpix S800c, goes for $349.

[h/t: Android Authority]

November 5, 2012
Samsung Has Sold 30 Million Galaxy S IIIs

Samsung today announced that it has sold 30 million units of its flagship Android smartphone, the Galaxy S III. The smartphone was released 150 days ago in Europe. This isn’t quite an Apple-level number (almost 30 million iPhone 5s have been sold in its first month of availability), but it is a huge milestone for the Korean device manufacturer and puts Apple on notice, especially considering that loyalty to the iPhone brand is beginning to wane.

“The Galaxy S III continues to be a runaway favorite with customers around the world,” said J.K. Shin, head of IT & Mobile Communications at Samsung. “Meeting this sales milestone in five months sets another record for Samsung, and we are extremely proud and yet motivated to continue to provide our customers with products that they love. On behalf of Samsung Mobile, I appreciate millions of customers around the world that have chosen the samsung Galaxy S III.”

30 million Galaxy S III sales triples the number of units Samsung sold of the device’s predecessor, the Galaxy S II. In addition to its Galaxy S III sales, Samsung announced last week that it had sold 3 million Galaxy Note II smartphones during that device’s first month of availability.

(photo courtesy Samsung)

November 5, 2012
iPad Market Share Falling, Samsung & Amazon Rising

New shipment data from IDC shows that Apple’s share of the overall tablet market has fallen to just over 50%. Meanwhile, Samsung, Amazon, and Asus have seen their shares of the tablet market explode. The entire market for tablets grew 49.5% since the third quarter of 2012.

“After a very strong second quarter, Apple saw growth slow as both consumer and commercial (including education) shipments declined, and rumors of a forthcoming iPad mini began to heat up,” said Tom Mainelli, research director for tablets at IDC. “We believe a sizable percentage of consumers interested in buying an Apple tablet sat out the third quarter in anticipation of an announcement about the new iPad mini. Now that the new mini, and a fourth-generation full-sized iPad, are both shipping we expect Apple to have a very good quarter. However, we believe the mini’s relatively high $329 starting price leaves plenty of room for Android vendors to build upon the success they achieved in the third quarter.”

Apple just today announced that it has sold three million new iPads (iPad 4) during its first three days of availability. The iPad Mini has failed to garner the same excitement other Apple product have seen. Android tablet makers have capitalized on this fact, with Amazon even running an aggressive homepage comparison between the iPad Mini and its Kindle Fire HD.

Still, Apple is shipping over half of all tablets. Samsung is racing to catch up and currently has an 18.4% share of the tablet market. This is up from 6.5% just one year ago. Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablets account for a full 9% of tablets shipped, with Asus, the makers of Google’s Nexus 7 tablet, close behind with 8.6%.

It’s clear that the low-priced mini-tablet market is going to become a big part of the overall tablet market in the coming year. It’s also clear that Apple was late to the mini-tablet game, and that it may have priced itself too high for that particular market.

November 5, 2012
Apple Publishes Revised Samsung Statement

It’s rare for Apple to admit any wrongdoing. It’s even more rare when it comes to its competition as it took a court order for Apple to say that Samsung did not copy the iPad. The first public statement, however, was quickly pulled as the court deemed it inaccurate. Now Apple is back with a revised statement that’s free of any snark found in the original statement.

When you visit Apple’s UK Web site now, you’re greeted by a much larger statement at the bottom of the page. It’s no longer a small link, but a mini-statement in and of itself with a prominent link pointing the user to the statement.

If you recall, the original statement contained a lengthy quote from the judge who ruled in the Apple/Samsung case in the UK. The judge said that Samsung’s tablets were not as cool, and Apple emphasized this point in its original statement. It also pointed out the other patent trials that Apple has won around the world.

The revised statement gets rid of that in favor of something more straightforward that just contains the facts. It’s not as fun or funny as the original, but the courts should be content with the statement:

On 9 July 2012 the High Court of Justice of England and Wales ruled that Samsung Electronic (UK) Limited’s Galaxy Tablet Computers, namely the Galaxy Tab 10.1, Tab 8.9 and Tab 7.7 do not infringe Apple’s Community registered design No. 0000181607-0001. A copy of the full judgment of
the High Court is available from www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Patents/2012/1882.html.

That Judgment has effect throughout the European Union and was upheld by the Court of Appeal of England and Wales on 18 October 2012. A copy of the Court of Appeal’s judgment is available from www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2012/1339.html. There is no injunction in respect of the Community registered design in force anywhere in Europe.

The revised statement has to remain on Apple’s UK site throughout December. The company was also ordered to take out print ads saying that Samsung did not copy the iPad in popular newspapers and magazines across the UK. Those ads are reportedly showing up now.

November 5, 2012
Galaxy S III Mini Hits The UK On November 8

Samsung has found incredible success with the Galaxy S III. Even Apple’s best attempts at routing Samsung with patent lawsuits only served to increase sales of the Android device. Now Samsung is almost ready to move into phase two of its master plan – release a smaller version of its most popular handset at a more affordable price.

Samsung announced today that the Galaxy S III Mini will be coming to the UK on November 8. There’s still no word yet on a US release, but the wait shouldn’t be that much longer. Samsung also neglected to mention a price for the handset despite it launching next week.

“Our latest addition to the Galaxy portfolio, the Galaxy S III Mini brings the high performance, intuitive ease-of-use and nature-inspired design of the Galaxy S III in a new elegant yet compact form. Following the massive success and popularity of the Galaxy S III and all its features, we are confident customers will enjoy the Galaxy SIII Mini when it hits the shelves on the 8th November.”

The Samsung Galaxy S III Mini isn’t exactly like its bigger brother. Samsung had to make some sacrifices to bring the size and price down. As its name suggests, the S III Mini features a 4-inch display that’s powered by a relatively weaker 1GHz dual-core processor. The phone is also only available in 8GB and 16GB varieties.

In good news, the phone will come equipped with Jelly Bean right out of the gate. Galaxy S III owners are still waiting for their update, unless they’re with Sprint. The device will also give users a free 50GB Dropbox account for two years to make up for the loss in internal storage.

The mini craze is just getting started with the iPad Mini and Galaxy S III Mini both expected to do solid business this holiday season. If both devices end up being a success, will we see more Mini devices flood the market? I’m in favor of the iPhone Mini – an iPhone in the body of a iPod Nano. It would be hilariously brilliant.

November 1, 2012
UK Court Orders Apple To Rewrite Its Samsung Statement

Last week, Apple published a statement on its Web site saying that Samsung did not copy the iPad. The statement was ordered by a UK court after Apple lost its patent battle against Samsung. Now the courts are saying that Apple’s statement isn’t good enough.

Bloomberg reports that the UK Court of Appeals has told Apple that its statement is “non-compliant” with the original order. Now the judges are telling the company to put a simpler statement on its page within 48 hours. The order also says that Apple can not hide the statement in a tiny link at the bottom of its store page.

Apple is arguing that posting an updated statement would take the company up to 14 days. One of the judges, Jacob Robin, expressed disbelief at Apple’s request for 14 days to amend the statement. He said that he would “like to see the head of Apple make an affidavit setting out the technical difficulties” in regards to updating a statement on the company’s Web site. In the end, the court rejected Apple’s request for extension.

Now Apple has 48 hours to remove the four paragraphs that detail the court cases that Apple has won against Samsung. The UK court says that Apple’s statements makes it appear that the UK justice system “is out of step with other courts” when the reality is that Apple has lost a number of its court battles around the world.

As of now, the original statement is still present on Apple’s Web site. The company must pull the original statement within 24 hours. We’ll bring you the updated statement when and if it’s made available. One of Apple’s lawyers, Michael Beloff, is not very happy with the ruling as he told the court that the statement “is not designed to punish” or “make us grovel.” It’s obvious the company is going to fight this.

November 1, 2012
Samsung Brings The Galaxy Premier To The Ukraine

Samsung has been busy with the launch of the Galaxy Note II, and its continued support for the popular Galaxy S III. That doesn’t mean the company is done releasing new phones this year though. It was revealed that the company is set to release a new phone in the Galaxy series, but it might not make it to the US.

Samsung officially announced the Galaxy Premier for availability in November 2012 for the Ukraine. There’s no word yet on if the device will make it to the US, but it could prove to be popular among those looking for the Galaxy S III experience without the high price.

For a cheaper phone, the Galaxy Premier is no slouch. The phone features a 4.65-inch display with a resolution of 1280×720. As for the processor, it features a 1.5GHz dual-core processor and Android 4.1. It also features a 8MP rear camera and a 1.9MP front camera.

As for price, Samsung said that the Galaxy Premier would set Ukrainians back 5,555 UAH, or $680 USD. The unlocked Galaxy S III goes for $699 in the US. The Galaxy Premier would probably go for a bit less after exchange rates, and it would be a lot less under contract.

Earlier this month, Samsung announced the Galaxy S III Mini as another cheaper option for consumers. If both devices end up coming to the US, the Galaxy Premier would be the better choice. Both devices will be cheaper, but the Galaxy Premier is far closer in specs to the Galaxy S III.

[h/t: Engadget]

October 31, 2012
Is The Nexus 10 Better Than The Fourth Generation iPad?

Apple fired a shot across Google’s bow last week with the reveal of the iPad Mini. The company even went as far as directly comparing its new mini-tablet to Google’s Nexus 7 tablet. Google fired right back on Monday with the Nexus 10, a new 10-inch tablet that just might beat the recently upgraded fourth generation iPad at its own game.

Droid Life created a handy comparison chart between the two devices that stacks up each device’s respective specs side-by-side. There are some differences that shoppers will need to take into account as we head into the holiday shopping season.

Let’s start with the Nexus 10’s main selling point – the display. The Nexus 10 has a resolution of 2560×1600 which puts it a hair above the iPad’s 2048×1536 retina display. Both displays are going to look gorgeous no matter how you look at it. Android and Apple fans will tell you one is better than the other for a variety of reasons, but know that you’re getting a quality display out of either device.

Beyond display, performance is where things really matter. The new iPad features an A6X dual-core processor that Apple claims is twice as fast as the A5X that powered the third generation iPad. The Nexus 10 is powered by Samsung’s top of the line Exynos 5 A15 processor. Both of these processors are extremely powerful, but we’ll have to wait until benchmark tests come out to declare a definitive winner.

For now, many iPad games and other applications may run better since they are built specifically for the iPad. A lot of Android apps are built specifically for smartphones and upscaled for tablets. Google needs to get Android developers to start making apps specifically for tablets if they want to compete on a fair level with the iPad.

Everything else is pretty similar across both tablets except for price and network abilities. The Nexus 10 will only have a Wi-Fi option at launch whereas the fourth generation iPad can take advantage of LTE networks for mobile communications. Of course, going the LTE route jacks up the iPad price to $629 for the 16GB model.

Going with Wi-Fi alone, the Nexus 10 also presents the better deal. A 16GB Nexus 10 will run you $399 whereas the Wi-Fi 16GB fourth generation iPad costs $499. At that price, you could get the 32GB Nexus 10.

Chances are you’re going to be shopping for a tablet this holiday season. As far as 10-inch tablets go, the iPad 4 and Nexus 10 are the best you can get. You can’t go wrong with either one. It’s either going to come down to price or the quality of apps when deciding between the two. Go with the Nexus 10 if you want a cheaper tablet that has the potential to outperform the fourth generation iPad. On the other hand, you should go with the iPad if you want a large collection of apps that are built with the retina display in mind.

October 30, 2012
Windows Phone 8 Smartphones Launch Starting this Weekend

Microsoft’s big Windows Phone 8 event wrapped up today with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer taking the stage to announce all of the new Windows Phone 8 devices and when they will launch.

“We wanted to build a phone that would be personal for each of us,” said Ballmer. To that end, he showed off a variety of Windows Phone 8 smartphones from HTC, Nokia, and Samsung.

He began by showing off Nokia’s flagship Windows Phone 8 device, the Lumia 920. Ballmer was present at an announcement earlier this year when Nokia announced its new lineup of Lumia smartphones. The Samsung ATIV S came next, then the HTC Windows Phone 8X.

Ballmer then announced that these phones, and others, will begin launching starting this weekend. In the U.S., three of the major wireless carriers will be carrying windows phone, with Sprint the major carrier that wasn’t mentioned at the event.

On Verizon, customers will be offered the HTC Windows Phone 8x 16GB model for $199 and the Nokia Lumia 822 for $49. Those phones will be available “by Thanksgiving” and the Samsung ATIV Odyssey will be available through Verizon sometime in December.

T-Mobile customers will also be offered the $149 HTC Windows Phone 8x 16GB model, as well as a $99 Nokia Lumia 810. Those phones will be offered starting November 14.

AT&T customers will, perhaps, have the best options. That carrier get the Nokia Lumia 920 as an exclusive, and also offers the Lumia 820 and HTC Windows phone 8x. These phones will be available sometime in November.

In addition to being sold through carriers, Microsoft Stores will carry every Windows Phone 8 smartphone available in the U.S., and all color options for these devices will be available through the online Microsoft Store.

October 29, 2012
Google Android Event Canceled Due To Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy has been slowly moving its way up the east coast. It’s expected to hit New York City later tonight or early Tuesday morning. The impending storm has halted anything and everything in and around New York City.

Google has canceled its Android event due to take place this morning in New York City. The company has yet to reschedule the event, but I can’t see it being delayed over a week. Apple and Microsoft already had their events last week so Google can’t afford to hold it off for much longer.

Leaks and rumors suggested that Google was going to show off a number of new additions to its Nexus line of tablets and smartphones. First up, it’s already been pretty much confirmed that LG is making the Nexus 4. The phone sports a 4.7-inch 1280×768 screen and it’s powered by a 1.5GHz Quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor. Even more interesting, it sports the newest version of Android – 4.2.

The other major hardware addition to the Nexus line is rumored to be the Nexus 10 – a 10-inch tablet built by Samsung. The device has been pretty much confirmed as images of the manual and the device itself have leaked to the Web. It’s rumored that the Nexus 10 will sport a resolution of 2560×1600. It will also be equipped with the Android 4.2 operating system.

On a final note, it was rumored that the event would bring some upgrades to Google’s current Nexus line as well. Specifically, the 8GB Nexus 7 would be getting the axe while the 16GB Nexus 7 would be dropped to $199. Taking its place would be a 32GB Nexus 7 for $249.

Google will most likely have a new date for its Android event before the end of the week. We’ll let you know when the new date is and we’ll be sure to bring you all the news from the rescheduled event.

[h/t: Droid Life]

October 29, 2012