There are already tons of rumors about the much anticipated Apple iPad 3 launch circulating. Of course, we know from previous years experience that we can expect something new from Apple, most likely in March again. Since the Cupertino company has scheduled a big media event for the first week of March, AllThingsD says its the iPad 3.

The back panel that you see in the above image is supposed to be that of the iPad 3. And when compared to the rear housing of the iPad 2, the new device appears to be coming with some changes.

According to available info, the new housing has been designed to fit a smaller logic board. The additional space might be there for a larger battery. From the looks of things an updated camera (rumored to be similar to the one on the iPhone 4S) is also coming, and the mystery housing also features a different LCD mounting system.

If indeed this is the iPad 3 rear panel, its arrival at this time suggests that the device is very close to being unveiled. A release in March or April is most likely, especially when considering hints from casing and accessory makers who showed off their products at CES 2012.

You might know that a longer battery life is one of the iPad’s strongest points. So the rumored bigger battery will be much needed if the company fits a 2048×1536 Retina Display, a quad-core processor and 4G LTE support into the next iPad. Customers won’t welcome a device with good specs but poor battery life.

And speaking of the Retina Display, there are rumors that the iPad 3 might feature Sharp’s IGZO (Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide) display. Besides delivering a high resolution of up to 330 dots per inch, these displays cost less to produce and there is no need for LED backlights. The display will also be thinner.

The latest info suggests that Sharp’s factories have increased the production of the IGZO displays. And there haven’t been any reports about the displays being available commercially. So where are they headed? Apple is certainly a possibility.

But there are also rumors about a dual light bar design for supporting high-resolution IPS display from Samsung and LG.

Is your head aching after all these speculations and rumors? Hopefully, we won’t have to wait too long to hear an official announcement from Apple. But then the iPad 4 talks will start.

A few physical keys will still be there on the remote, but that’s not a problem especially when we compare it to previous remote designs. With the touchscreen, which is located at the top of the remote, you will be able to change the settings of the TV or search the Internet.

The voice recognition feature that’s coming with the device is basically the same one that was used for the company’s ES8000 Smart TV, which was shown off at CES 2012. You just have to speak into the remote’s in-built mic to change the volume and channel. This functionality will also be very useful when logging into streaming accounts. You will just have to say your user name and login.

And to make the interaction with the TV faster, the remote uses Bluetooth and infrared at the same time.

The touchscreen remote will be available with a smart TV that the company plans to release in the coming months. It will also be compatible with different set-top boxes and media players.

Samsung and Corning are buddying up on a joint venture to develop what is called Lotus Glass technology. Yeah, that gentle flower may not sound quite as tough as King Kong, but it should be. And it comes with several other improvements too, including better picture quality, faster response times, and higher resolutions.

Considering just how great AMOLED (and all of its HD Plus Super Elite Ultra Awesome variants) is on Samsung smartphones, things can only get better with some Lotus Glass action entering the picture. Could we be seeing a Lotus-AMOLED combo with the Galaxy S III?

Update: We have received the following message of clarification from Corning: “Corning Gorilla Glass is a cover glass for the exterior of display devices, while Corning Lotus Glass is a glass substrate that can enable cutting-edge technologies including organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays and next generation liquid crystal displays (LCD) and panels. Therefore, many electronic devices could feature both Corning Gorilla Glass and Corning Lotus Glass. While they are formed with the same manufacturing process, the chemical compositions of the glass are also different.”

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“Woah woah woah, what is that?” In an lackluster lineup for the iPhone 5, trendy hipsters seem to be bored with Apple’s next offering.  But wait, Samsung has something up their sleeve, it’s the Android-powered Galaxy Note.

The teaser is short and sweet, it ends with the scheduled date of release of the Super Bowl Ad: during the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis on February 5.

Samsung has roped in Bobby Farrelly, who created There’s Something About Mary, Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin and Fever Pitch, to direct his first ever TV commercial. And to make things more natural, the footage will be shot using the Galaxy Note’s HD-quality video camera in the ad.  We can’t wait to get one in our hands.

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.

US Cellular has finally joined the 4G LTE Bandwagon, launching its own service. While many of us have been expecting this for a while, it was a bit unclear which 4G LTE phones would be the first to hit the company’s new network.

The suspense is over, it seems that it will be the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 4G LTE tablet next month, and shortly after the Samsung Galaxy S Aviator 4G LTE smartphone.

We all know of the Galaxy Tab by this point and expect little surprises with the US Cellular version, but the Aviator is something new, or so it seems. At first glance it strongly resembles the Droid Charge. What we do know is that it will offer a 4.3-inch WVGA super AMOLED Plus display, run Android 2.3.6, have a 8MP rear camera, a front-facing camera, and an HDMI port.

For now this is all we know, but go ahead and take a look at the US Cellular press release below to hear it straight from the horses mouth.

Rumors about the iPad 3 suggest that Apple has plans to bring out an awesome tablet to stay at the top of the market this year as well. But that does not mean that the task is going to be easy. It appears like Samsung has been secretly designing not one, but two different tablets (maybe even more) and the new slates will likely be unveiled at the upcoming Mobile World Congress later this month.

Two unknown devices, with model numbers GT-P3100 and GT-P5100, from the South Korean manufacturer have got Wi-Fi certifications issued by the WiFi Alliance.

Although these devices are being listed as smartphones, the GT-P prefix suggests that we might be looking at new additions into the company’s tablet line-up. Models beginning with GT-P7 have been part of their Android tablet range. Yes, the prefixes differ slightly, but Samsung might be trying to throw us off the trail here.

We doubt whether one of these devices is the earlier rumored monster tablet from the company which is said to be equipped with a quad-core Exynos processor and a 2560 x 1600 display that measures in at 11.6″. And the other one might end up as their answer to affordable slates like the Kindle Fire.

Whatever these are, we believe that MWC will witness at least one Samsung tablet introduced. We will let you know when any new info arrives prior to that. So stay tuned.

Want to get a Samsung Galaxy 10.1 in Germany? Good luck, as Samsung’s most recent attempts to overturn the ruling that banned the 10.1 have failed. So why did Germany ban the 10.1 in the first place?

The design was deemed too similar to Apple’s unit. Despite Samsung’s best attempts to change the courts mind, the ruling will stick.

The good news is that Samsung fans can still get the 10.1 in its redesigned form, the Galaxy Tab 10.1N, specifically made for the German market to get around the ban. Even with the redesign, Apple attempted to shut Samsung done, but luckily last month the courts upheld Samsung’s rights to sell the 10.1N in a preliminary judgment. A final ruling in that case is expected on February 9^th.

The battle between Samsung and Apple will likely wage on for quite a while, both in Germany and elsewhere. Who will be the winner in the end? It’s hard to call, though Samsung has had some strong recent victories like with its Samsung Series 9 ultrabook success.

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On the AT&T side of the equation, they’ve formally announced a launch date of February 19th for the phone/tablet and it’ll sell for the expected $299.99 with a qualifying two year contract. They’re starting pre-orders this weekend with the first batch of deliveries starting on February 17th. You’ll have your choice of carbon blue and ceramic white.

For Canadians, Rogers isn’t being quite as specific, merely saying that the Galaxy Note will come to Rogers “in February.” The Rogers Reservation System has the Note listed, so you can add yourself to the pack and wait for the LTE-equipped smartphone that way. Best Buy has apparently narrowed it down to the February 14th launch date, not only for Rogers, but for Bell and Telus too. We’re hearing a $250 price point with a 3-year contract is likely.

Happy Valentine’s Day?

While many of us might have been expecting to see the Samsung Galaxy S III as early as this February at MWC, it seems that rumors suggest it might not be a dream come true. According to anonymous sources who spoke first to Verge, the SGS III will still be out before the summer, but not as quickly as some might have thought.

Last year, the Galaxy S II debuted at the MWC but didn’t come to the US until quite a while after.  It might make sense to wait a little while longer, I suppose.

The Galaxy S II, and even the original Galaxy S, is still selling well even today, so maybe it isn’t quite the right time for Galaxy S III to show its face, after all.

A look at the numbers regarding the S II:

• In less than a month, Samsung sold 1 million Galaxy S IIs in its home country of South Korea
• Samsung sold 3 million units of the Samsung Galaxy S II in its first 55 days on the market
• After 85 days on the market, units sold jumped to the 5 million mark
• By September, the company shipped over 10 million units
• At this point, 1 in every 10 Koreans are carrying a Galaxy S II

The Galaxy S III will no doubt do very well, but Samsung doesn’t necessarily need to rush things. Maybe it is better to wait until the S I and S II sales slow down a little?

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