The rumor mill is still hard at working surrounding the much anticipated release of the Galaxy S4 smartphone by Samsung. So what do we actually know about the Samsung Galaxy S4, or at least think we know?

We have reported it will have a possible reveal during a Samsung Unpacked event March 22^nd and a hopeful ship date in April.  It is also expected to have Exynos 5 8-core processor, a Mali-T658 8-core GPU, a 4.99-inch 1080 display, 2GB of RAM, a 13MP back cam, a 2 MP front cam and Android 4.2.1 out of the box.

Along with all this there are new rumors that the Samsung Galaxy S4 will come with new Eye Pause and Eye Scroll tracking technology.  Also rumored, the charging station will be done wirelessly with a separate dock and back cover for the phone.

There is much mystery surrounding this new phone including our earlier report of At&t’s Samsung SGH-i337 possibly being a possible variant of the Galaxy S4 that Samsung made exclusively for At&t, but we are yet to be able to confirm nor deny any of it.

We are keeping our ear to the ground to hopefully get some confirmation of the earlier rumors or more details of this so far impressive handset.   But as it sits now, we will just have to wait until March 22^nd (hopefully) to get the real story.

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The post The Samsung Galaxy S4: What We Know So Far appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Ever since Microsoft announced it was investing and buying part of Barnes and Noble’s Nook division, rumors have often surfaced about a Nook that runs Windows 8. While the newest rumor isn’t anything new, it does give a supposed date for such a Nook/Win 8 tablet.

According to the anonymous source, that first reported to Digital Trends, a conference will be held in late September. Specifics about things like the hardware, pricing or even the actual release date weren’t divulged though.

As always, take this rumor with a good-sized chunk of salt. IF a Nook based on Windows is coming, will it actually be Windows 8? Honestly, an e-reader/tablet device that is comparable to the Fire and Fire HD doesn’t need an x86 processor and the full power of Windows.

While this is merely speculation, a Windows-powered Nook is more likely to run either Windows RT or a highly customized UI running on-top of Windows Embedded. It seems less likely that a stock version of Windows 8 or even RT would come packed with a Nook device- and I’m not sure if MS will allow users a full customized UI that removes the “Metro” styling.

Are you interested in the idea of a Nook running Windows technology?

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The post Rumor says Nook Running Windows 8 is Coming, Announcement in Late-September? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

It has been the general consensus among most people that the “next iPhone” will have a larger display, but now we’ve got some physical evidence to back that claim. This “leaked” front panel is coming by way of one of Apple’s suppliers.

To be fair, what you see here is the leaked front panel for what is reportedly the next-generation iPod touch. At the same time, it is reasonable to think that the front panel on the new iPod touch will be in line with the new iPhone, especially if both are going to be increasing in screen size at the same time. What’s curious is that the opening in the middle measures 4.1-inches, whereas several current rumors are saying the “iPhone 5″ will have a 3.95-inch screen. And then there’s the Wall Street Journal saying that it’ll be “at least four inches.”

If we take all of these at face value, the 3.95-inch screen could easily hold up, since the display doesn’t have to completely fill out the 4.1-inch opening. You’ll also notice that the relative dimensions are different too, making for a “taller” iPod touch and iPhone. This changes the aspect ratio of the display, from what we can tell, so this could prove problematic for the porting and development of many iOS apps, at least in the short term.

Along with the leaked front panel are leaked images of what we think are the front and rear cameras on the next iPhone. It’s likely that there will be no real difference from the perspective of the end user compared to the iPhone 4S, but the rear module is missing the LED flash.

[Source]

The post Leaked Front Panel Reveals iPhone 5 with 4-Inch+ Screen? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

*** Grain of salt alert ***

We have seen a lot of iPhone 5 rumors earlier, but this new one seems to be pretty trustworthy. It comes to us courtesy of the folks over at 9to5Mac who appear to have got the latest info on the next generation iPhone, tentatively called iPhone 5, via a Foxconn worker.

According to the new rumor, the iPhone 5 is ready for production at the moment and the company is planning a summer launch for it. The source has also revealed that there are many sample devices, each differing slightly from the others. So it’s impossible to tell which device will be final.

But all of these samples are equipped with 4-inch or larger screens, with one of them being made by LG. None of the samples have a MacBook Air-inspired teardrop shape (we don’t think that rumor is coming up again). They are symmetrically shaped and not a single one is having the same compact form factor as the iPhone 4 or 4S.

If the device is indeed coming with a larger screen, that will finally put the iPhone in the same display league as many of the competing Android handsets such as the Droid RAZR.

And we don’t think too many grains of salt are needed for this new rumor. Unlike many other rumors which bring out a device’s specs and tons of speculations, this new one is very vague. We have not got any exact display size, no blurry pictures of the handset and nothing about what’s under the hood. If it was made up, it won’t be too difficult for someone to pick a few possible specs.

And there is also the mentioning of the samples. As you might know, reviewing samples before selecting the final model is a standard procedure.  And to add to all that, this is the same source who tipped on the iPhone 5 last year that the device was not coming and suggested we should expect the iPhone 4S. The rest is history.

The post Overworked Foxconn Employee Outs iPhone 5 Release Date appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

According to a report published by CNet, Pegatron Technology, one of the leading manufacturers of Apple’s iPad, has already begun filling the iPad 3 orders, the device which is rumored to be released in March.

The new report also indicates that Pegatron Technology will be producing anywhere from 7 Million to 10 million iPad 4 units as well. This is according to a report published on the DigiTimes. According to the Rumor mill “Apple plans to launch the iPad 3 this coming March and then come back for another round in October with the “iPad 4,” where Apple will ship them with “killer applications”.

If there are going to be 2 iPad models launching in just one year, we can be sure of one thing; the first model of iPad to come out will not see many changes.  As we reported earlier, iLounge reportedly got their hands on what is supposed to be the next iPad and in that report it has been made clear that the next iPad to come out will not be much different when it comes to looks. So it seems that the next iPad will be iPad HD or iPad 2S bringing only an upgraded processor, better camera, more RAM and storage capacity, we’re not sure about the Retina Display on this one.

It would be very hard to predict what the iPad 4 will look like or what sort of hardware changes it will bring along. But we will try to take a shot at it anyway. The iPad 4 (or whatever it will be called) will probably feature all the enhancements that iPad 3 will have but probably will have a Retina Display powered by A6 Chip, more RAM, LED Flash? All that wrapped in traditional aluminum unibody with a slightly redesigned look.

Only time will tell if 2012 will be the year of 2 iPad releases.

[ Source ]

The post Apple May Launch iPad 3 in March And iPad 4 in Oct appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

T-Mobile USA is all ears when it comes to bringing the iPhone to their network. We have seen enough reports in the past and have seen how hard T-Mobile worked to bring the iPhone’s wow factor to their network.

There have been several reports hinting towards an iPhone 5 on T-Mobile. Reports have surfaced “Citing a contract within T-Mobile”  that the U.S Carrier will be getting the next Generation iPhone 5 that will run on the companies 3G network sometime around early or mid-October.

In the hopes of getting the magical iPhone onto their networks, slowly but surely almost all major U.S carriers worked hard and have gotten their hands on the iPhone. While T-Mobile has been left out in the dust, T-Mobile CEO Philipp Humm, speaking at a press conference at the CES today agreed that the lack of Apple’s Magic on their Network has hurt its ability to retain or add more subscribers, particularly high-value-contract ones known as postpaid.

Neville Ray, chief technology officer of T-Mobile, says that the iPhone never made it onto their network because of the unique band spectrum used by T-Mobile known as AWS. Ray also said that it would have required extra work on Apple’s part to make sure iPhone ran correctly on their network but it appears Apple was not very keen on doing so since the iPhone never made it to T-Mobile. It is unsure at this time if Apple’s roadmap includes working on bringing compatiablity for AWS, even T-Mobile’s Neville Ray said Apple could completely ignore the spectrum and not strike a deal with T-Mobile.

The iPhone 5 is rumored to be a LTE based iPhone, it looks highly unlikely that Apple will turn its attention to something like AWS which is only used by  T-Mobile. While LTE is where the other three major U.S carriers (AT&T, Verizon and Sprint) are heading towards and not to mention the three major carriers are already selling the iPhone.

After AT&T scrapped their plans to takeover T-Mobile, Neville Ray said the company will be aggressive in making their network better & put T-Mobile back on the road to recovery. The company is expected to unveil its new turnaround plans late in the first quarter. It seems T-Mobile could most definitely use iPhone 5′s magic to breathe some fresh air into their company. Only time will tell.

Update on 01/13/2012 from T-Mobile was just received: “Comments made by T-Mobile’s CTO, Neville Ray, regarding the evolution of chipsets to include additional bands were misconstrued. Mr. Ray was speaking generally to chipset advancements available to all phone manufacturers. T-Mobile has no knowledge of Apple’s product roadmap and our position on the iPhone has not changed.”

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The post T-Mobile On iPhone 5 – Ready to “Stick Together” appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

We already know that Microsoft wants to tie together its various services. That’s why the recent Xbox 360 dashboard update lets us search Bing with our voices (via Kinect). And that’s also why there is the Xbox Companion App for Windows Phone devices. As it turns out, though, Microsoft wants to expand beyond WP7 with its mobile ambitions. It wants iOS and Android too.

At least, that’s what a new job posting leads us to believe. They’re looking for a senior development engineer to work on the Xbox Live Mobile team. The kicker is that they say they want to “bring the latest and greatest gaming and entertainment experience to mobile platforms including Windows Phone, iOS, and other mobile platforms.”

While the “big plus” of having experience developing for Windows Phone, iOS and Android could simply mean that the successful candidate is a good, well-rounded developer, it could also mean that Microsoft wants him or her to develop for these other platforms too. There’s already the My Xbox LIVE app fro iOS, for example.

Why the sudden interest in playing friendly with other platforms? Well, there’s word going around that Sony is approaching the other Android device manufacturers for PlayStation Suite certification. If they’re able to get the PlayStation brand as the brand for mobile gaming, the Xbox brand could be left in the dust. One thing’s pretty much for certain though: Nintendo wants no part of this, at least for now.

The post Xbox Live Gaming Enroute to iOS and Android Platforms Too? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

As with all these kinds of leaks and rumors, you have to take them with a grain of salt. Earlier today we were told that the leaked picture above was the battery and the camera module of the iPhone 5. Internal components like these may not be too exciting to most, but they do reveal something quite interesting.

Now it’s been revealed by Kyle Wiens from iFixit that the photo is actually of an iPhone 4 module, not the iPhone 5, and was recognized as such by the iPhone 4 upon connection and usage. Obviously, it is completely possible that the iPhone 5 has the exact same camera module as the iPhone 4. That would be a bit disappointing, but completely possible.

Apple is no stranger to reusing parts. And to be fair, the iPhone 4 has one of the best smartphone cameras today. Apple could be improving things by way of software rather than by way of upgraded hardware. Either way, we won’t know for sure until October.

The post Leaked iPhone 5 pic is fake, but Apple might reuse iPhone 4 camera appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

With the release of the iPhone 5 around the corner, the rumours are ramping up once more. The latest: The Slim iPhone 5.

Started by a francophone who tweeted a photoshopped picture of a condensed iPhone 4, Macrumors ran the pic without the cutline – which read “A picture like this could drive some sites crazy…” in French. As a bonus, we’ve also seen a “spy shot” of what appears to be a man on a train texting on an iPhone 3G or 3GS. This was also labelled as the iPhone 5. But when it comes right down to it, the most reliable Apple leaks are coming from China. Giz-China.com last week ran a series of photos of what they claim is an iPhone 5 clone, with slick rounded-glass front and back panels and a steel band around. The phone’s appearance is somewhere between 3G and 4, bringing back the rounded edges but keeping a slimmed version of the metal ring. This, in my opinion, is what we can expect to see in Jobs’ hand this fall.

But that’s all neither here nor there. What do you think? Will the latest iPhone resemble one of these? Let us know in the comment section below.

The post The skinny on the iPhone 5 design appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

This comes by way of AllThingsD.com, a tech blog that falls under the News Corp. umbrella… and you know how good those guys are at digging through voicemails their sources to get at the heart of a matter. This is in stark contrast to most other reports that are saying the next iPhone will be released in September, just in time for the back to school rush. The increase in staff seemed to support that notion too.

As far as the rest of the rumors go, they’re all over the map. Some say that Apple will stick with the current 3.5-inch Retina Display. Others say it’ll get bumped to 3.7-inches and others still are pointing toward a 4.0-inch display. We’ve seen all kinds of leaked cases that indicate major, minor, and no changes to the overall form factor and design. We’ve seen some with tapered shapes and others with the same block shape as the iPhone 4.  The most interesting of the recent iPhone 5 images from Gizmodo shows a mashup of the iPhone 3GS beveled edges with the unibody design of the iPhone 4; they’re so sure about it that Jesus Diaz has gone and made a bet.

And so, as is the case with all things Apple, we’re still in the relative dark about what to expect out of the iPhone 5. Steve, can you kindly put all these rumors to rest and just cross the stage in a black turtleneck sooner rather than later?

The post Apple iPhone 5 delayed until late October, leaked photos show new design appeared first on Mobile Magazine.