Galaxy S IV camera samples surface on Google+

The Samsung Galaxy S IV remain as elusive as ever, but this time we get a glimpse of some camera samples, which were accidentally uploaded on Google+.

One of the photos shows a Samsung branded desk calendar, so chances are, these are coming straight from Samsung's HQ (or more probably some regional Samsung office, which has lower security standards).

Unfortunately, the resolution of the photos is not the full one (biggest size is 6MP) and the EXIF information doesn't tell us much about the camera mounted on the Samsung's next flagship.

The only technical details we get is that the camera on both Galaxy S IV models uses a relatively bright aperture of f/2.2 (it's f/2.6 on the S III) and that the focal length is 4.2 mm (it's 3.7mm on the S III). Unfortunately, on its own the focal length measurement is not comparable between different camera modules.

Another thing that the EXIF info tells us is the model name of the South Korean version (SHV-E300S)and the model name for the AT&T version (SGH-I337).

Of course, the EXIF info can be easily tampered with, so take these findings with a pinch of salt for now.

In a streak of related news, AndroidGreed.com reported that the Galaxy S IV model name for Sprint will be SPH-D806, while the one for Verizon should be called SCH-V727. According to their insider source, the smartphone will launch in the US in early June.

The international version on the other hand is supposed to be named GT-i9500.

Check out all the photos over at the source link below.

Source | Via

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Apple and Samsung even stronger in US

The latest comScore mobile market share report for the US shows the trends from the previous trimester continue into the three month period ending in December 2012.

Some 125.9 million Americans own smartphones in the US, with Apple and Samsung still duking it out over the lion's share of the market - both have gained 2.0 and 2.3 points to control 36.3% and 21.0%, respectively, of stateside smartphone handsets.

The mobile OS wars are, as usual, between the two usual contenders in the form of Android and iOS. And it's becoming even more of a two-horse race as the two combine for almost 90% of the total smartphone market, although Apple has seen more growth during the three month period (due to the release of the iPhone 5), going up 2% compared to Android's 0.9%.

Meanwhile, BlackBerry went down 2 percent points to close out the year at 6.4%, and Microsoft's Windows Phone OS slid 0.7 percent points to just below the 3% mark.

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Pink Samsung Galaxy Note II relaesed on samsung website

We have seen pink colored versions of Samsung's smartphones before. There was the pink Galaxy S III and then the pink Galaxy Note before that. Now it's the turn of the new Galaxy Note II to go pink.

The entire front and back of the phone gets the new shade of pink, which is lighter than the one we saw on the original Note. The stylus also gets the new color treatment. Other than that the phone is identical to the other color models.

Samsung is yet to announce the phone and so far it exists only on the company's Taiwanese website. More details regarding availability should be released soon.

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ITC will rule on Apple's complaint against Samsung on August 1 2013

Apple and Samsung are fighting a fierce patent war on several fronts, but one of those engagements will be resolved in the beginning of August.

Originally scheduled for January 23, the final ruling will decide if Apple will win the US import ban on Samsung devices or not (depends on whether the devices infringe on Apple patents, the preliminary findings are that there are four patents that Samsung infringed on).

Should the August 1 ruling go that way, there will be a 60-day Presidential review period, during which the White House can veto the import ban (which it usually doesn’t). This means the potential ban will come into effect in October.

Before then, the ITC has another ruling to make – Samsung is seeking an import ban on Apple products, alleging violations on FRAND patents. This ruling is scheduled for March 7.

You can check the FOSSPatents blog for more info on the patent wars between Apple and Samsung. Be warned though, it quickly gets confusing and complicated, despite all of Florian Mueller’s efforts to disambiguate it all.

Source | Via

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Samsung Galaxy S IV will launch on March 15

Samsung's next generation Galaxy S flagship smartphone will be launched on March 15, according to a "trusted" insider, who has confirmed the arrival to SamMobile. Earlier, an internal raffle doc leak at a New Zealand retailer had suggested that the device might be available from April, but we can now expect the smartphone to hit the stores from the beginning of April.

We already know Samsung's Unpacked event won't happen at the MWC, but the company is expected to send the invites after the conclusion of the industry's largest event.

Samsung's 2013 flagship smartphone is rumored to sport a Super AMOLED display of FullHD resolution and a whopping 8-core Exynos 5 Octa processor, 8-core Mali-T658 GPUand 2 GB of RAM. A 13-megapixel rear camera with the ability to shoot 1080p full HD videos at 30 fps will be mounted at the back, while 2-megapixel front camera will take care of video-calls. The next Samsung flagship will reportedly be powered by Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean.

It the rumors are to be trusted, the smartphone will be available in Europe first, with the whole Asian market is expected to follow by the end of April. Galaxy IV will make it to the shores of America, Australia and Africa by the end of Q2.

The report also confirms the model number of Galaxy S IV to be I9500 as well as its Black and White color options.

Unofficial preliminary specifications.

GENERAL	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G Network	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
	4G Network	LTE
	SIM	Micro-SIM
	Announced	Exp. announcement 2013, Q1
	Status	Rumored. Exp. release 2013, Q2

BODY	Dimensions	-
	Weight	-

DISPLAY	Type	Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.0 inches (~441 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes
	Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass 2
		- TouchWiz UI

SOUND	Alert types	Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes
	3.5mm jack	Yes

MEMORY	Card slot	microSD, up to 64 GB
	Internal	16 GB storage, 2 GB RAM

DATA	GPRS	Yes
	EDGE	Yes
	Speed	HSDPA, 42.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps; LTE, Cat3, 50 Mbps UL, 100 Mbps DL
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot
	Bluetooth	Yes, v4.0 with A2DP, EDR
	NFC	Yes
	USB	Yes, microUSB v2.0 (MHL), USB On-the-go

CAMERA	Primary	13 MP, autofocus, LED flash
	Features	Simultaneous HD video and image recording, geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, image stabilization, HDR
	Video	Yes, 1080p@30fps
	Secondary	Yes

FEATURES	OS	Android OS, v4.2 (Jelly Bean)
	Chipset	Exynos 5450 Quad
	CPU	Quad-core 2 GHz Cortex-A15
	Sensors	Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
	Messaging	SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM, RSS
	Browser	HTML5, Adobe Flash
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS
	Java	Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
	Colors	Titanium Gray, Sapphire Black
		- S-Voice natural language commands and dictation - Smart Stay eye tracking - Dropbox (50 GB storage) - Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - TV-out (via MHL A/V link) - SNS integration - MP4/DivX/XviD/WMV/H.264/H.263 player - MP3/WAV/eAAC+/AC3/FLAC player - Organizer - Image/video editor - Document viewer (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF) - Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa - Voice memo/dial/commands - Predictive text input (Swype)

BATTERY		Li-Ion 2600 mAh battery

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Sprint Galaxy Note II available for $140 now, Galaxy S III for $0.01

Amazon has got a treat today for those of you in the US hoping to score a new Galaxy S III or Note II on a bargain price. The catch is

Currently the Galaxy Note II can be yours on a two-year Sprint deal for a penny under $140 in either Titanium gray and Marble white colors. The Pebble blue and Marble white Galaxy S III retails for just $0.01 on a two-year Sprint commitment.

Both devices are LTE ready on Sprint, run on Android Jelly Bean, have expandable storage and sport Samsung's extensive and feature-rich TouchWiz launcher.

There's no telling when available stock will be depleted so hurry up.

Samsung Galaxy Note II Marble white | Titanium gray

Samsung Galaxy S III Marble white | Pebble blue

Via

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Samsung starting mass production of the 5 inch FHD 1080p display this month

We know that Samsung is working on a 5-inch 1080p Super AMOLED display for Q1 of this year – it was on a roadmap on its booth. Now DDaily is reporting some more concrete dates – according to industry sources, the display will enter mass production at the Samsung Display plants near the end of this month.

The display units will reach Samsung Electronics in early March – just in time for an April launch of the Samsung Galaxy S III successor. Or maybe they'll manage to produce enough units for a late March release.

The screen will have 440ppi pixel density and according to DDaily will be manufactured using Samsung’s FMM (Fine Metal Mask) method, which points to a PenTile display. Even if that is the case though, we doubt it would matter much at that pixel density.

Source (in Korean) | Via

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The Samsung Galaxy S II is soon to be replaced by the recently announced Galaxy S II Plus model

The Samsung Galaxy S II is soon to be replaced by the recently announced Galaxy S II Plus model. The new mid-range smartphone is based on a different (and as we found out way more efficient) chipset and has a new finish, but offers similar performance and overall experience to its predecessor. The good news is that the Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean smartphone is already available for purchase and the most impatient among you will be able go get it very soon.

The Samsung Galaxy S II Plus is expected to become available worldwide until the end of Q1 this year and Finland seems to be the first European country to get it as the smartphone's Dark Blue version is now on sale there, while the Chic White will be coming on March 1.

The Galaxy S II Plus costs €378, which seems a bit steep, but that's not usually the case with those early launches. The price will probably go down a bit once availability expands and Samsung catches up with the production.

Update: As it turns out the Galaxy S II Plus is also available in Russia at about €440 and throughOrange Romania for just €1 with a contract or €315 for the SIM-free device.

We already got to spend some quality time with the Galaxy S II Plus and you can read all about it in our detailed review.

Thanks, Arawes, for the tip!

Also available as Samsung I9105P Galaxy S II Plus with NFC.

GENERAL	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G Network	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
	SIM	Mini-SIM
	Announced	2013, January
	Status	Available. Released 2013, February

BODY	Dimensions	125.3 x 66.1 x 8.5 mm (4.93 x 2.60 x 0.33 in)
	Weight	121 g (4.27 oz)

DISPLAY	Type	Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	480 x 800 pixels, 4.3 inches (~217 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes
		- TouchWiz UI v5.0

SOUND	Alert types	Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes
	3.5mm jack	Yes

MEMORY	Card slot	microSD, up to 64 GB
	Internal	8 GB storage, 1 GB RAM

DATA	GPRS	Yes
	EDGE	Yes
	Speed	HSDPA, 21.1 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot
	Bluetooth	Yes, v3.0 with A2DP
	NFC	Yes (I9105P model only)
	USB	Yes, microUSB v2.0

CAMERA	Primary	8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, check quality
	Features	Geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, image stabilization
	Video	Yes, 1080p@30fps, check quality
	Secondary	Yes, 2 MP

FEATURES	OS	Android OS, v4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)
	Chipset	Broadcom BC28155
	CPU	Dual-core 1.2 GHz
	GPU	Broadcom VideoCore IV
	Sensors	Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
	Messaging	SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM, RSS
	Browser	HTML, Adobe Flash
	Radio	Stereo FM radio with RDS
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS
	Java	Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
	Colors	Chic White, Dark Blue
		- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - SNS integration - MP4/DivX/XviD/WMV/H.264/H.263 player - MP3/WAV/eAAC+/AC3/FLAC player - Organizer - Image/video editor - Document editor - Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa - Voice memo/dial/commands - Predictive text input (Swype)

BATTERY		Li-Ion 1650 mAh battery
	Stand-by
	Talk time

Source 1 | Source 2 | Via

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