Bada 2.0 SDK leaks the presence of the Samsung Wave 725

We saw that Samsung aimed to roll out three new devices, all running Bada in the months following theirpress conference back in April.

The first of the three was the Samsung Wave 578 but the other two devices remained nameless and so far have maintained their anonymity. However the team over at badaworld.net have uncovered the identity of the next device in the Bada lineup and it's called the Samsung Wave 725.

Whilst poking around in the Bada 2.0 SDK, the specs correlate with one of the previously mysterious devices, apparently scheduled for a September release.

The Samsung Wave 725 will of course be running the latest version of Sammy's own Bada OS, 2.0 and will include a 3.65" HVGA (320 x 480) display, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, HSDPA, a 5MP shooter on the back with a VGA camera on the front and NFC support made possible with the arrival of the 2.0 update.

The images aren't much to go on but it would appear that the 725 will be a clean, simply designed bar with a decent set of skills at its disposal.

As previously mentioned, be on the look out for the real thing in September when it's expected to be released.

Samsung quietly drops its latest counter-suit against Apple

Samsung has dropped its latest suit against Apple in the United States. This is not retreat, nor is Apple winning the case. According to Samsung it just needs to "streamline the legal proceedings".

All of a sudden, Samsung drops the patent suit it filed a few days ago. It was an answer to the latest Apple patent complaint and was filed at a US federal court.

Samsung made it clear that it will continue to defend and protect its intellectual property. Samsung has already other claims against Apple in South Korea, Japan, Germany and another one in the USA.

The only possible reason for Samsung to drop this suit is that it was filed in a hurry and probably wasn't prepared that well. We are yet to see how things will turn out.

Galaxy S II breaks Samsung's records, sells 3 million in 55 days

Unless you were hanging out with the sherpas in the Himalayas you probably must have heard a lot about the Samsung Galaxy S II. To say it was well-received would be an understatement as almost everyone we knew had already got one or was planning on getting one. But now we have the official figures from Samsung and we know just how well they did. Unsurprisingly, they did very well.

The Galaxy S II went on to break Samsung’s own record and sold over three million units in the 55 days since launch. That’s approximately 50,000 phones a day. According to Samsung, most of these phones were consumed within the European markets.

If you think these figures aren’t all that impressive, you should know that the Galaxy S II is yet to go on sale in the US. Had it been an international launch, the figures would have been much higher. But even at the rate at which it is currently going, it won’t take long for it to break the 10 million record set by Galaxy S.

Tegra 2 4.2-inch Samsung Galaxy Z unveiled, live photos inside

A new Galaxy phone, the Samsung Galaxy Z, has just been announced. Strangely though the handset has been unveiled by the Swedish carrier Three, rather than the Korean company. The Galaxy Z is a combo between the I9003 Galaxy SL and the S II - it's got a 4.2-inch SC-LCD screen and a Tegra 2 chipset with two 1GHz Cortex-A9 cores.

Samsung Galaxy Z official photos

The 4.2" screen of the Samsung Galaxy Z has WVGA resolution and is an SC-LCD unit rather than a SuperAMOLED. The phone measures 125.3 x 66.1 x 9.5 mm and weighs 135g - not quite Galaxy S II but quite impressive still.

The Galaxy Z is powered by a Tegra 2 but its 5MP camera is only capable of 720p video recording - disappointing if you were hoping for 1080p video capture. The Z model packs 8GB of built-in memory that is expandable through the microSD slot.

We actually managed to get our hands on a Samsung Galaxy Z and we were able to snap a few hands-on photos for you to enjoy. You should also stay tuned for a quick and dirty preview, which should appear on our homepage soon.

Hands-on photos of the Samsung Galaxy Z

The price of the Samsung Galaxy Z is set at 3995 Swedish kronor (€435, $630) for the pre-order. You can also get it for free if you sign a two-year contract with Three Sweden for 300kr a month.

Samsung announces Ch@t 222 - a dual-SIM QWERTY bar

Samsung has just announced the Ch@t 222 feature phone for India. It's a compact candy-bar with full QWERTY keyboard, a 2.2-inch non-touch display and dual-SIM support with dual-standby.

The Samsung Ch@t 222 features a 2.2-inch TFT display with 220x176 pixels resolution, a VGA camera, FM radio, a 3.5mm audio jack, DNSe support and 43MB internal memory expandable via microSD card slot.

Samsung Ch@t 222

The Ch@t 222 has two SIM card slots and supports dual-standby so they are both online at the same time.

Samsung's Ch@t 222 should be a very affordable handset but don't expect worldwide availability. The thing is, mobile operators are not particularly fond of dual-SIM handsets, so the manufacturers usually only release them in select markets such as Eastern Europe, Russia and India.

Galaxy S II for AT&T leaks through Samsung's Facebook photos

Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S II for the AT&T network made a surprise appearance yesterday. To be dubbed the Samsung Attain, it was spotted in Samsung Singapore’s Facebook photos which were showing off the new dock for the device.

As you can see from the picture, the AT&T logo is prominently placed on the front. The keys below the display look different compared to the standard Galaxy S II. Instead of a mechanical Home button you now get a capacitive one and there is a dedicated search button as well.

While initially the device did seem like the Infuse 4G to us but then when we saw the side profile we noticed that the camera on this phone was jutting out of the case far more than the one on the Infuse 4G. In fact the camera on the Infuse 4G is completely flush with the body, unlike the one on the Galaxy S II. So the one you see above is undoubtedly the AT&T Attain.

For now, however, we have no information available on the launch date of the device but we will keep an eye out for that.

Samsung Infuse 4G goes to Canada with Gingerbread flavor

The Samsung Infuse 4G continues with its North American invasion. This time, the 4.5" screen beast is on its way to Canada, after it has gone through a couple of major changes which are bound to make it even more desirable.

As you can see on the promotional picture from Samsung's Canadian website, the device is announced to ship with Android 2.3 Gingerbread when it becomes available. A full HD camera recording is also listed, most likely as a result of the OS upgrade. This means that the Infuse 4G will be able to fully utilize the camera unit which it shares with the mighty Galaxy S2.

When we did our review of the AT&T branded, large screen handset, our two minor complaints were exactly the old Android version, and the lack of 1080p camera recording. Having fixed these issues, Samsung can rightfully claim (at least until the arrival of Galaxy S2) that the Infuse 4G is its true North American flagship.

There is no word on Gingerbread availability for the AT&T version of Samsung Infuse 4G. As always, we will keep our ears to the ground and keep you posted as soon as we find out.

Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread leaks for the Samsung Galaxy S i9000

The Samsung Galaxy S I9000 may have gotten Android 2.3.3 Gingebread just a couple of weeks ago, but by the looks of it Samsung isn't going to stop there, as a the latest version of Android 2.3.4 becomes available for the company's former flagship phone.

The peeps over at Samfirmware have managed to dig out a build with the name "XXJVP" which makes your Galaxy S update to the latest Gingerbread version available at the moment. This makes the Samsung Galaxy S become even at software level to the Nexus One and Nexus S.

It's rather unclear when the new firmware will be officially released by Samsung. The build dates back to June 3 and is now available at Samfirmware via the source link below.

Samsung Galaxy i7500 Android Mobile to launch in India

Samsung Galaxy i7500 is the first Android platform based mobile phone from Samsung. This Google Android Mobile phone will be launched in India by Tata DOCOMO and comes preloaded with Google services.

The Samsung Galaxy is one of the most innovative and high-quality Android-powered devices on the market. The i7500 is a cutting –edge smartphone from Samsung. The handset is said to feature a 3.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen display. It also offers support for 7.2 Mbps HSDPA and WiFi connectivity. The Galaxy promises to provide access to Google Mobile Services and other Internet sites at a faster speed.

The familiar Google services on the PC are ready and waiting on the Samsung Galaxy including: Google Search™ Google Maps™, Gmail™, Google Talk™. It also has an integrated GPS receiver meaning you can make full use of Google Maps to guide you in the car or on foot.

The 5 megapixel camera promises to capture all the special moments in vibrant colors. The internal 8GB memory can be expanded up to 32GB. This huge memory allows users to enjoy their multimedia content virtually anywhere. The 1500mAh battery of this handset claims to provide a longer battery life. The slim and compact form factor further enhances the appeal of this handset.

Tata DOCOMO is very young in market and available in 8 circles only at the moment and growing as 1 paisa tariff is quite impressive. They are bringing this phone in order to capture tech-savvy market. The Samsung Galaxy i7500 will be made available at an introductory price of Rs. 28,990.

Specs of the I9101 Galaxy S II surface, has new internals

Couple of days back we came across a picture of a certain I9101 Galaxy S II. There was no other information available about that device at that time. Now, however, we just came across some specs that should keep us entertained till Samsung decides to go official with the device.

The images you see above were found on Samsung Mobile Singapore's Facebook page. They are taken from prototype devices designed to give users just a general look and feel of the device but the specifications seen here may not be the final and could change before launch.

From the two screenshots, we think it's safe to assume the I9101 is running on the TI OMAP4430 chipset that is based around a 1GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU and PowerVR SGX 540 GPU (same GPU as in the original Galaxy S). So far it's the only publicly announced dual-core chipset to feature that graphics chip. But for all we know, it could be an offshoot of Samsung custom Exynos builds.

The I9101 also has 1GB of RAM, same as the regular Galaxy S II. The Galaxy S II, however, runs on a custom-built Orion chipset with 1.2GHz dual-core CPU and Mali-400MP GPU.

We wouldn't be surprised if the I9101 is running on Samsung's Super Clear LCD instead of the Super AMOLED Plus. Also, Samsung might just remove the 1080p video recording feature. We expect even the still camera to be downgraded to 5 megapixel from the 8 megapixel found on the I9100.

This device, along with the I9103 that we found a few months back, would be aimed at different markets as cheaper alternatives to the I9100, just like the I9003 served as a cheaper alternative to the I9000. Also, with these phones, Samsung might just be looking to replace the I9000/I9003 in the market.

Samsung starts a new AMOLED production line, to end shortages

Being a monopolist is not always the easiest thing in the world. With AMOLED screens being all the rage in mobile devices lately, Samsung found it difficult to keep up with the high demand and, logically, shortages of the company's hottest new creations occurred, including the highly desired Galaxy S II.

With the launch of one more production line however, it appears that the display shortages will soon be over, and even a surplus might come in sight.

Completed two months ahead of schedule, Samsung's 5.5 generation production line uses glass substrates which are three times larger than in the previous generation plant. This helps the company reduce the production costs and boost output. The factory's current capacity is 3 million screens per month, but it can reach 30 million at full capacity.

According to Reuters, the AMOLED screen market will more than triple this year to the staggering $4.26 billion. It is also expected to reach $14 billion by 2015 according to DisplaySearch.

Given the above mentioned numbers, it is little surprise to us that Samsung is planning to invest $5 billion in boosting its AMOLED production capacity this year.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 comes to the office, makes calls

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 has just arrived in our office and, boy, do we have some news for you. It turns out that the Honeycomb slate takes on from where its 7” predecessor left off, and brings native telephony capabilities to an even larger form factor.

Yeap, we are talking regular GSM network phone calls and even some video-calls if you wish. There’s no dialer on board, but you can either get a 3rd party app from the market (as we did), or use your contacts list for initiating calls.

Samsung Galaxy Tab makes calls too

Much like with the 7” Galaxy Tab, you can either use the built-in microphone and speakerphones, a handsfree plugged into the 3.5mm audio jack, or a Bluetooth handsfree for calling. Pretty cool, eh?

But of course telephony is not why people would go for the Galaxy Tab 8.9. The reason why people would probably choose the ultra-slim tablet is the great mix of portability and functionality that it offers. Despite being as powerful as its larger competitors, the Galaxy Tab 8.9 comes in a shell that’s way more portable and easier to handle (due to the reduced weight and unbelievably slim waistline).

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 live shots

Anyway we shouldn’t be getting ahead of ourselves here. We’ll see if the Galaxy Tab 8.9 will manage to live up to the high expectations when the preview is created. In the meantime, feel free to check out how it compares to its larger brother and the iPad 2 on paper.

Samsung Galaxy S II, fastest selling smartphone in Korea

The Samsung Galaxy S II has already been blazing a trail in its homeland of South Korea, but its just passed another impressive landmark. It had already surpassed all previous pre-orders for Samsung in Korea and had doubled that of the iPhone 4.

Now, in its first month alone its sold over 1 million units which makes it the fastest selling smartphone ever in Korea. It's predecessor the Galaxy S took a full 70 days to hit that magic number and the S II promised great things early on when it passed 100,000 units by day three, doubled that by day eight and hit half a million in two weeks.

Part of the S II's one-upmanship over iPhone 4 came about as the Galaxy S II didn't suffer carrier support problems. KT were originally the only carrier for the iPhone until this month when SK picked it up as well. Despite this, it's still a great success for Samsung and one they no doubt hope to reproduce elsewhere with their S II family in the US and the S II's availability across Europe.

Samsung Galaxy S II I9101 spotted in the wild, could be the NFC one

Another version of the Samsung's Galaxy S II has leaked, this time in a bunch of blurry photos. It goes under I9101 model name and looks just like the I9100 Galaxy S II. It could be the NFC version that's supposed to ship in June to UK and other select markets to support the introduction of NFC services.

For all we know, in addition to the original I9100 Galaxy S II smartphone, Samsung is preparing two more rumored versions to expand its market expansion. The first one is the I9103, which should be based on the Tegra2 chipset, while the other one is the NFC-capable Galaxy S II.

Since we know nothing about the I9101, we suppose it should be the NFC-enabled Galaxy S II. The forum user who posted the pictures claims the device is stuck on the boot screen, so there is no information on its specs.

Anyway, at least we know there is another Galaxy S II on the way and we guess it should be announced soon.

Samsung Galaxy S II announced in India, will hit shelves by June 9

The much awaited Samsung Galaxy S II has finally got a launch date in India. According to Samsung India, the phone will be on sale starting June 9. However, thanks to a special deal with Vodafone India, their customers will be able to get their hands on the Galaxy S II from June 3.

Now for the big question and that is what will be the cost of this monster of a device. The Galaxy S II will set you back by Rs. 32,890 (US$723), which shouldn't come as a big surprise considering the spec sheet of this phone.

Vodafone customers will be able to pre-book the device from tomorrow by paying Rs. 1,000.

Samsung resumes I9000 Galaxy S Gingerbread update

Well it's good news for all Galaxy S owners and an incentive for future Galaxy S II owners as Samsung has kept its promise to give the Gingerbread treatment to the Galaxy S at any cost. And it seems that the update is rolling out anew for the ex-flagship.

Samsung kept the promise it made just days ago and that's deserving of an approving nod.

We remind you that the official update first started rolling out through the Samsung Kies software in March, but was later withdrawn due to issues with it that weren't mentioned. Rumors had it that the delay was due to bugs.

The update is currently available to some Galaxy S users in the UK, but Samsung has confirmed that it might take a while longer to appear with some carriers.

The Gingerbread update should bring several key improvements to the first Galaxy S smartphone - improved performance, less battery drain as well as some usability tweaks.

We hope this time everything will go smooth and everyone will be able to enjoy the latest Android build on their Galaxy S.

Canadian Nexus S’ experiencing voice search bug?

A recent thread on the Google Support Forum has brought to light an issue with a small number of Canadian Nexus S devices. But first, a bit of background. On an Android device, by default, when you hold down the Search button for a second or so, it activates the Voice Search function where you can ‘Call Mom’ or ‘Search sushi Toronto.” It’s usually a very useful function, especially when driving.

These affected Nexus S’, however, are experiencing the Voice Search function activating at random times, often going into a loop that causes other buttons to stop responding, at which point the only solution is to pull the battery or force a restart. Several theories exist to explain the cause, most of which revolve around 3G radio functionality. The latest Android OS version 2.3.4 has not resolved the issue and some users say an unauthorized radio update has reduced the occurrence.

A Google employee has taken the concern to the Android team, but as of now there does not seem to be any rhyme or reason to explain the phenomenon. The only permanent “solution” at this point is to turn off 3G functionality, something that would render the phone useless for Bell and Telus users, and cripplingly slow for Rogers customers.

Are you experiencing the issue? Hit up the thread below for more information and let us know in the comments!

Source: Google Support Forum

Samsung Hercules for T-Mobile is the stuff from your dreams

T-Mobile might be coming a bit late to the Galaxy S II party, but it seems that it will make a remarkable entrance. We just got word of the upcoming Samsung Hercules, which looks like the most powerful droid the company has ever built, combing the best of both the Infuse 4G and the international Galaxy S II worlds.

We are talking a 4.5” Super AMOLED Plus display and a dual-core CPU clocked at 1.2 GHz. However the chipset will be built by Qualcomm, which means that the processor will be using the Scorpion, rather than the Cortex-A9 architecture. We are yet to see if that’s a change for the better or for the worse.

Samsung Hercules is said to support the 1700 MHz AWS 3G band and if the T-Mobile and AT&T merger goes through it will also come with 850 and 1900 MHz 3G. The great news is that the smartphone will sport HSPA for up to 42Mbps on the downlink and up to 5.76 Mbps on the uplink. The LTE-packing HTC Thunderbolt aside, this is the fastest network data transfers rates we have seen so far.

The impressive specs sheet of the Samsung Hercules continues with 1GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot and NFC support. The 8 megapixel camera should be able to capture 1080p videos, which hopefully will be as good as those of the I9100 Galaxy S II (or in the best case scenario, even better).

The USB port will still come with MHL support, which means you are one adapter away from plugging in your regular HDMI cable and using it for TV-out. All this goodness is squeezed in a package with a profile of just 9.4mm.

The rumored price tag of over $350 will hardly surprise anyone given the feature set. Unfortunately it will take at least until August for the handset to materialize in T-Mobile stores.

Galaxy S II in the US: One Phone, Three Carriers, Three Names

A black silicone gel case's information posted over at an online retailer revealed that it can easily fit not one, but three different Galaxy S II handsets. Wait, what? Yes, the case in question is more than happy to suit up the AT&T Attain, the Verizon Function and the Sprint Within - all of them Galaxy S II twins.

What this actually eludes to is much the same story as with the original Galaxy S. For the European market the Galaxy S was one device that was available on a variety of carriers, but in the US, it was segmented and each came with slightly different physical attributes and even nuances in hardware. AT&T had the Samsung Captivate, Verizon the Fascinate, Sprint the Epic 4G and T-Mobile the Vibrant.

This accessory's description mentions no less than three S II variants on their way to the US - the AT&T Attain, the Verizon Function and the Sprint Within. Whether or not this means that T-Mobile US aren't including, a Galaxy S II handset in their line-up this year, or there just haven't been any silicon cases spotted for a T-Mobile type S II remains to be seen.

What this does mean is that unlike their Galaxy S older brothers, these newer handsets will probably look pretty similar to each other as they'd have to in order for this case to work on all three devices, probably not a bad thing either. The standard Galaxy S II has some good genes and it'd be a shame to lose that clean look with designers trying to go overboard for brand differentiation, we'll wait and see though. Of course as we've only just learned their names, specs and release dates are a little way off, but we'll keep you posted as soon as we know.

Samsung Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab to get Gingerbread, officially

Samsung has just come up with an official statement on the Galaxy S and the Galaxy Tab Gingerbread updates. Both are getting some later this month and unlike previous rumors, this one's as official as it gets.

The Galaxy Ace, Galaxy Gio, Galaxy Mini and Galaxy Fit owners are going to rejoice as well, as Samsung are launching Gingerbread for these mid-rangers, too.

The Galaxy S Android 2.3 update has been anticipated since March and it's high-time for Samsung to release it. With this update Samsung promises better performance due to a lower CPU consumption rate and enhanced 3D graphics.

The Gingerbread update will first start rolling out in the UK and Nordic Countries from "mid-May", followed by the rest of Europe, North America, Asia and Africa. If the "mid-May" part is to be trusted, we should see the update in the next couple of days.