Yes, the newest hotness in town is the Samsung Galaxy S III, but you may not be prepared for the $700+ outright price to get your hands on an unlocked one. Go ahead and save yourself over $300 by picking up an unlocked Samsung Galaxy S II (SA-I9100) instead. The international version (SA-I9100) just went on sale for 44% off.

It may not be the newest kid on the block anymore, but there’s a good reason why the Galaxy S II received such overwhelmingly positive reviews by the Android community. You might remember my S II review last year where I gave it a 9/10. I still firmly believe that it’s a fantastic smartphone and if you’re not a fan of the supersized screens as of late, the 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display on here may feel much more comfortable and suitable.

This is the international version, so it gets the dual core 1.2GHz processor, 8MP camera, aGPS, 1GB RAM, 16GB storage, and microSD expansion, along with the usual suite of wireless radios like 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot support, HSDPA 21Mbps, and Bluetooth 3.0+HS.

You can buy the Samsung Galaxy S II from Amazon for just $449.90, which is $350.09 (44%) off the regular unsubsidized price of $799.99. And yes, that comes with the same free super saver shipping that you’ve come to expect.

The post Unlocked Samsung Galaxy S2 International Price Cut by 44% appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

When it comes to Samsung Galaxy S III rumors, we’ve pretty much heard it all. There has been multiple different images such as a white phone with a black trim around the edges or even phones with a home button and ones without physical buttons at all. This time we have a device that looks a lot like the first leaked image we ever got our hands on and leaves us wondering if there is any legitimacy at all to the above image.

While capacitive buttons make a lot of sense over the original image’s Apple-esque physical Home Button, take a closer look at the capacitive home button in this new image. As you can see, it pretty much looks like someone just pasted over the physical home button that we’ve already seen. Does this scream fake? Personally, I think it probably does, but that’s just one man’s opinion. Alternatives could be that the render was a mistake, which seems unlikely, or that perhaps Samsung is trying something new with the design of the Samsung Galaxy S III. I suppose that’s a somewhat reasonable explanation.

No matter how many new rumors we get it seems that the puzzle pieces aren’t falling into to their places any better. We still don’t know anything solid about Samsung’s newest smartphone. Is it coming in multiple versions or just one model/look? Is it in fact getting a true unveil on May 22nd at the Samsung Unpacked event, or is it still going to get an official announcement in March, like earlier rumors indicated?

The good news is that the currently proposed specs are staying about the same from rumor to rumor. For those keeping track, it is claimed the phone will feature a 4.7-inch Super AMOLED 720 p screen, a 12MP camera with 1080p 60fps recording abilities, a Quad-core processor at 1.5GHz, 1GB of RAM, 32GB internal storage, and a 1750 mAh battery. Not to mention the device is said to be just around 8mm thick.

While the Galaxy S III is starting to sound (and look) amazing, keep in mind that it’s nothing but a rumor at this stage until we hear more solid information. So are these rumors just over-excited false hype or Samsung’s self-generated way of getting the anticipation rolling? Perhaps a mixture of both? For now I’d guess that a May 22nd unveil sounds the most reasonable. Stay tuned as we learn more.

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The post Yet Another Alleged Image Leak Of The Samsung Galaxy S III appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Yes, it was only last month that we had heard about a March 1st rollout of ICS for the Galaxy S II, but that date has come and gone. The new date of March 15 comes by way of a Samsung Israel post on Facebook, suggesting that Ice Cream Sandwich will arrive on that date for that phone. Even so, it could come out even earlier for certain European markets, based on what history has taught us thus far.

This doesn’t give much of an offiicial indication as to when the Galaxy S II (in all its variants) will get the ICS update in North America, but if you’re not opposed to some manual updating, I’m sure the European ROM will find its way onto the Internet soon enough.

The post Ice Cream Sandwich for Galaxy S II Coming By March 15? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

While HTC has plans to release their newly unveiled S4 powered One S (T-Mobile) and One X (AT&T version) within the next two months, Microsoft is reportedly busy testing a Windows Phone 8 smartphone, which is intended for Sprint’s network, with the dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm MSM8960 chipset. The new info comes to us courtesy of the folks over at The Verge who were apparently tipped off by “sources familiar with the company’s plans”.

According to The Verge, at least one Windows Phone 8 handset will arrive later this year and the company is hoping that their device will exhibit impressive performance with the chip onboard as the S4 has been proven to be better than Samsung’s Galaxy S II (Exynos) and Motorola’s Droid 4 (TI OMAP) via many tests.

Reportedly, Sprint is interested in a Windows Phone 8 handset equipped with the chip and won’t be launching any new Windows phones before the introduction of WP8. The carrier has also contacted Nokia for sharing their LTE specifications.

But it is not known whether Microsoft will be checking out the quad-core Tegra 3 processor on the global version of the HTC One X. Although Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 has done remarkably well on previous tests, the latest benchmarks of the HTC One series show that the Tegra 3 is on par with S4 in processing power, and it actually is better when it comes to graphics performance.

The idea of multi-core processor support for future Windows Phones can never be pushed aside after this leak. And Qualcomm, when asked about the possibility of Windows Phone S4 devices, gave out answers that suggest they know about Microsoft’s tests.

We will keep you updated on the matter, so stay tuned.

The post Windows Phone 8 Dual-Core Smartphone For Sprint Being Tested? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

The word of the update was let loose by Eldar Murtazin, revealing that the Samsung Galaxy S II will be getting ICS on March 1st. The release, as can be expected with Samsung devices, will come by way of Samsung Kies. We should probably expect the specific carriers to be just a little later to the party, though, as is usually the case.

The TouchWiz UI will still be there and because the S II already has those soft-touch buttons, the on-screen ICS buttons will likely be absent. It’s quite possible that the ICS update will be pushed out to the Galaxy Note within the same kind of timeframe. It’s also possible that the rumored S II Plus will be revealed at MWC with ICS already in tow. Lots of possibilities.

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The post Samsung Galaxy S II Getting Ice Cream Sandwich March 1st appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

The new device dubbed “Galaxy S II Plus” has popped up in a benchmark database, An3DBenchXL. According to available info, the handset sports a WVGA display and a 1.5 GHz processor, and it runs the Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread OS.

This places the device ahead of the Galaxy S II’s 1.2 GHz Exynos processor. But it has to be seen whether the S II Plus will arrive with Samsung’s own Exynos 4212 processor or the TI OMAP 4470 which has been rumored to be coming with the Galaxy Nexus refresh.

And it won’t be a big surprise if they are indeed preparing a “plus” version as the company released the Galaxy S Plus last year as a refresh to their popular Galaxy S.

As you might already know by now, Samsung earlier announced that the Galaxy S3 will only be unveiled some time before the end of June. But they have promised “exciting new mobile products” for the upcoming MWC. Could the Galaxy S II Plus be one of those devices? A refreshed Galaxy Tab tablet is expected to be on display, and other tablets might arrive as well.

Stay tuned for updates.

The post Samsung To Unveil Galaxy S II Plus At MWC? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

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You might have your own favorite Android apps, but we encourage you to check this one out. The LCD Resolution app will allow you to make the most of your Android smartphone’s high resolution display.

With the LCD Resolution app, which has been developed by Wemobs Labs, you can “force” the display resolution of your Android phone to be better than what it was shipped with. The app just changes the pixel density and it will appear like you have changed the display resolution.

The discovery comes to us courtesy of the folks over at Pocketnow who have released a video (posted below) showing how the new app works.

You just need to have a rooted Android handset for the app to work. And it will be better if your Android handset has a high resolution display, such as the one on the Samsung Galaxy Note, the HTC Rezound, or the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

After you launch the app, you can adjust the screen density using a simple slider. By lowering the screen density, you will be able to make use of the big screen that is available to you. You can pack in more items on the screen at one time.

But it appears like playing with LCD Resolution might break some stock applications, although most other programs will work just fine. Check out the video to take a peek at the app working on the Galaxy Note and the Galaxy S II, and head here if you want to download the new app.

The post Android Handset’s Display Resolution Improved Using LCD Resolution App [Video] appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Exactly one week ago to the date, we reported on the possibility of a white Samsung Galaxy S II that supposedly came from an AT&T source. We are now happy to report that the Galaxy S II Skyrocket will arrive on December 4^th.

Originally T-Mobile claimed it would exclusively have a white Galaxy S II, but now it seems that AT&T will lead the pack with both Bell and T-Mobile to follow with their own similar variants. The dates for the Bell and T-Mobile models are not yet officially announced.

The AT&T S II Skyrocket brings 4G, a 4.5-inch Super AMOLED display, and a 1.5GHz CPU to the party. There is just something clean, beautiful and simplistic about white electronic devices that just make them look good. AT&T users that dream of a white S II now know exactly what to ask Santa for this year.

The post Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket Coming To AT&T appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

The addition of LTE is likely the biggest upgrade that you’ll notice on the slightly altered version of the SGS2. Beyond the compatibility with AT&T’s LTE network, the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket also comes with an upgraded processor. The original 1.2GHz dual-core Exynos was already impressive, but this phone gets a 1.5GHz dual-core processor instead. The screen has also grown to a 4.5-inch (800×480) Super AMOLED Plus display.

Many of the other standard features make their encore appearance, including the great 8MP rear camera, 2MP front camera, and 16GB of internal storage. There’s the microSD slot and it’ll ship with the newer Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread operating system. Sign up for a two-year prison term LTE service agreement with AT&T and you can get the Skyrocket for $249.

The post AT&T Rocks The Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket: LTE, 1.5Ghz CPU appeared first on Mobile Magazine.