It’s obvious enough that the trend among Android smartphones these days is to go bigger. With devices like the Huawei Mate pushing the 6-inch envelope, not everyone wants something that ginormous. If you’d prefer something far more pocketable, then you may be interested in the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Pocket Plus. See, it’s right there in the name that it’ll fit in your pocket.

The new Android 4.0.4 smartphone has not yet been formally announced by Samsung, but it has been leaked onto the Internet. Going in completely the opposite direction, this is decidedly an entry-level phone with its tiny 2.8-inch display and mere 800MHz Broadcom processor. That makes the display even smaller than the 3.1-inch we saw on the Palm Pre! The rest of the specs are equally small with 512MB of RAM, 4GB internal storage, 2MP camera and 1200mAh battery. It also gets Bluetooth 3.0, aGPS, WiFi-N, FM radio, USB 2.0, and an accelerometer.

Being a Samsung device, it should come as little surprise that the Android build is being skinned with TouchWiz. And it’ll get the similar kind of hardware and touch-sensitive buttons that we’ve seen on earlier generations of Galaxy devices. It certainly won’t compete at the higher end with the S3 and the like; instead, it’s probably going to be one of those cheap prepaid phones that still gives you a smartphone experience.

The Samsung Galaxy Pocket Plus is expected to launch in the first half of this year.

[Source]

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It starts with the screen. The original Note had a 5.3-inch 800×1280 (285ppi) Sumer AMOLED touchscreen, whereas the new Note II has a larger 5.5-inch 720×1280 display. It’s physically bigger but actually has fewer pixels (267ppi). This is because they’ve changed the aspect ratio, which changes the outward dimensions of the phone too. The new Note II is a little longer than the original (151.1mm vs 146.9mm), but it’s actually narrower (80.5mm vs 83mm) and thinner (9.4mm vs 9.7mm).

The overall design borrows a lot from the Galaxy S III too, so you lose the textured back of the Galaxy Note in favor of a slippery “river rock” like back on the Note II.

The new Note II is more powerful with a quad-core 1.6GHz processor compared to the 1.4GHz dual core in the original, though it retains the same 2GB of RAM. The Note II ships with Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean, whereas the original shipped with Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread, though a Jelly Bean upgrade is available. Naturally, they both use Samsung’s TouchWiz UI too.

The S Pen smart stylus is still here–as will be the case with the entire Note lineup–but it’s gained a few tricks, like Wacom-style “hovering” functionality. The Note II does have some additional features though, like a custom menu for one-handed operation of the dial pad, as well as some features borrowed from the S3, like Smart Stay. The battery is bigger (3100mAh vs 2500mAh) too, helping to improve battery life.

If you already have the original Samsung Galaxy Note, there isn’t as much of a motivation to upgrade to the Note II. However, if you’re looking to enter the phablet arena for the first time, I’d skip the OG Note and head straight to the Galaxy Note II. It’s a beast of a device.

The post What’s Different? Samsung Galaxy Note 2 vs. Galaxy Note appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

No, it’s not exactly the fanciest thing in the world, but it could be perfect for those texting teenagers who don’t really need to have a real data plan. It’s the Samsung Chat GT-3500 and it happens to be on sale for 60% off, bringing the price down to a mere $59.99.

That’s not a contract price, thankfully, so the sixty bucks will get you an unlocked GSM cell phone that you can then use with your compatible carrier of choice. The Samsung Chat GT-C3500 comes with a 2.4-inch touchscreen display and a slide-out full QWERTY keyboard. That physical keyboard will be handy for people who do text a lot and don’t really like typing on touchscreens.

While it almost looks like there is Android on board, it’s really just Samsung’s TouchWiz Lite 2.0 UI on there. Other notable features include Bluetooth connectivity, a 2MP camera, and stereo FM radio with RDS. It’ll do FM recording too. Because it’s not doing the smartphone thing, the battery lasts a heck of a lot longer too. One Amazon review had it going for 3-4 days with “heavy texting and calling” and up to a week with lighter usage.

You can pick it up from Amazon for the aforementioned $59.99 price and that will come with the free super saver shipping too.

The post Get the Samsung Chat GT-C3500 for $59.99 Outright appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Yes, in that first leak, we saw an AMOLED display that almost stretched across the entire width of the phone, leaving for a very narrow bezel. That appears to be holding true, but that image also depicted the same kind of home button as we saw on the Galaxy S II, albeit in a wider and shorter form. Well, that might not hold up if this newest image is to believed, as this leaks shows off the new smartphone running ICS, sans a physical home button.

That makes more sense, given the buttonless arrangement of the Galaxy Nexus, but it’s also possible that Samsung is creating multiple versions of the SGS3 for different markets and carriers. We saw that happen with the SGS2, even coming up with different screen sizes of up to 4.5-inches. According to the tipster, this version of the SGS3 has a 4.7-inch Super AMOLED Plus HD display, “that nearly takes up the whole phone, but some bezel space was needed for the camera, speakers, mic, and so cases would fit on it.”

Other supposed leaked specs include a possible dual boot option with either vanilla ICS or a TouchWiz overlay, as well as a ceramic “micro arc oxidation” back, 12MP camera with flash, 2GB of RAM, 2250mAh battery, and an 8mm profile without the “bump” that we have seen before. It’ll presumably have a quad-core processor too. Coupled with the 2GB of RAM, you’ve got yourself quite the powerhouse, though battery life instantly becomes yet another concern.

[Source]

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The official Google Android Developers blog has recently published a requirement that all manufacturers include the default Holo theme in their Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) devices. It goes something like this:

Android 4.0 showcases the Holo theme family, further refined since its debut in Android 3.0. [...] In Android 4.0, Holo is different. We’ve made the inclusion of the unmodified Holo theme family a compatibility requirement for devices running Android 4.0 and forward. If the device has Android Market it will have the Holo themes as they were originally designed.

Translating these statements from Googlese, it means that if manufacturers won’t comply to this requirement of inclusion of this compulsory Holo theming as default. In its turn, it means that instead of their own, quite incompatible with Android 4.0 theming (think about Samsung’s TouchWiz, HTC’s Sense UI, and others) such “fragmented” devices either won’t get a license for official Android 4.0, or at least won’t get access to Google’s Android Market and Google Apps. Or both.

There’s a plenty of discussion of how third-party app developers can still do well making their apps based either on Holo framework, or, with some streamlining, on modified 3rd party “theming” of a Sence UI sort. My take on these long-winded arguments about how good and useful 3rd party theming would be if based on Holo are totally missing the point. Google just takes the fight with fragmentation of their Android ecosystem to the birthplace of this fragmentation: device manufacturers and carriers. Sure,  official Android Developers goes as far as this:

“We have no desire to restrict manufacturers from building their own themed experience across their devices. In fact we’ve gone further to make this even easier. In Android 4.0’s API (level 14) we’ve added a new public theme family to complement the Holo family introduced in Android 3.0: DeviceDefault. DeviceDefault themes are aliases for the device’s native look and feel. The DeviceDefault theme family and widget style family offer ways for developers to target the device’s native theme with all customizations intact.

Just take it with a grain of salt. The real importance is: nolo Holo — nolo ICS to you.

The post Holo Everywhere appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Naturally, a presumed quad-core 1.5 GHz Exynos 4412 application processor for this phone might be a good basis to include 3D visual capabilities for its screen. Real question is, how much traction the idea might gain amongst consumers? Samsung 3D TVs are still looked upon as a niche product, however, maybe a phone with 3D UI capabilities will fare better.

Imagine a carouseling 3D TouchWiz 5.0 UI on such a phone’s home screen, or on apps screen. When the icons and widgets will be rendered really in 3D, it might be actually operated better with hovering swipes than applying the regular touch swipes. That is, if Samsung will embrace Cypress Semiconductor TrueTouch technology for its rumored Super AMOLED Plus HD capacitive screen’s sensor. But just as with those renderings from Russian artists, one of which is shown here, it may never happen.

Samsung Galaxy S III is expected to show at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in February-March 2012.

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The Samsung Galaxy Tab Plus is the newest addition to T-Mobile. This particular tablet is an updated version that has the original 7 inch size which introduced the Galaxy Tab label. Samsung is a company known to use the term “Plus” when it is enhancing existing products, and Tmonews.com has already gotten some clear images of the new tablet.

The G-Tab Plus has a superAMOLED display, Android 3.x Honeycomb and Samsung Touchwiz for tablets, HSPA+ 4G for T-Mobile and a 7” form factor. It is also sleeker and having rounded corners which are better than the original model. The body boasts of its aluminum unibody design.

The Samsung Company will be holding a press release on Monday, September 26, to inform the public that they are already going to have the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 but spectators are wondering whether they could also take a sneak peek on the Galaxy Tab Plus too.

The 8.9 inch W-Fi only model Android Tab from Samsung is set to be rolled out into the market soon and rumors have it that it has 16GB storage to boot. The selling price is pegged at around $469. For a 32 GB tab, be prepared to shell out $569

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Just when everything seemed to be going so well for Samsung, more than a few curveballs have been thrown in the direction of the Korean giant. First, sales of its tablet have been halted in a few regions around the world. Then, Google acquired Motorola, leaving the Android community questioning the move. And so, Samsung is moving ahead with a very hesitant gait.

Not that long ago, Samsung pushed out a TouchWiz UI update for its Galaxy Tab 10.1, but it appears that this update comes with a bug. Samsung has apparently stopped the updating process, giving them the time to “assess progress and ensure it is a positive experience for users.”

Some people have reported some serious lag after going to the newest version of TouchWiz. All along, these various UI skins have been a way for Android makers to differentiate themselves from one another, but now it’s possible that Samsung rushed this update a little too soon.

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The reason why we think the launch is imminent is because some internal memos are showing that Rogers has already started its training process for the Galaxy S Captivate. Why train for a phone that you’re not going to have? Based on prior precedent, this would appear to indicate a launch window in the next couple of weeks.

As a quick refresher, the Samsung Galaxy S Captivate will come out of the box with Google Android 2.1. This will make it the first Rogers phone with anything more recent than Android 1.6 (XPERIA X10). The platform is overlaid with Samsung’s TouchWiz UI and it comes equipped with a 1GHz processor, 4-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen, 16GB storage, 5MP camera, 720p video recording, WiFi, and GPS.

On a related note, Rogers has also started its training for the BlackBerry Torch 9800. We’ve already heard that they’ll be releasing the new sliding ‘Berry on September 24, so that comes as much less of a surprise.

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