Samsung Galaxy R is Official, Coming Soon to India

After a quick name change and some nips and tucks, Samsung has made the Galaxy R official and will start rolling it out, beginning with Sweden, followed by North & Eastern Europe, South East & West Asia, Middle East Asia, and China. The pricing for India is not set since it’s not actually launched here, just announed. My guess would be around 25K, which puts it just below the Galaxy S II and in line with the LG Optimus 2X, which it will undoubtedly destroy. The Galaxy R hasn’t changed much in appearance from the last time we spotted it in a leaked video. Think of it as a scaled down version of the Galaxy S II. Samsung hasn’t completely neutered it though; the only changes include a Tegra 2 CPU and a smaller screen size with a different panel and lower in-built memory and RAM.

Let the games begin!

To avoid eating into the sales of the S II, the video recording capabilities are capped at 720p. To bring the price down further, we have to bid adieu to the Super AMOLED Plus screen and make way for SuperClear LCD. The phone will run Android 2.3 Gingerbread along with Samsung’s TouchWiz UI (possibly 4.0). I wouldn’t be surprised if HTC is quietly prepping something to retaliate. It’s a known fact that their flagship phone is anything but ‘Sensational’, so they really need to bring their A Game if they have to stand a chance. Here are some of the highlights for the Samsung Galaxy R once more -

• 4.19-inch SC-LCD, capacitive touchscreen

• 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Hotspot, GPS with A-GPS support

• Bluetooth 3.0 + HS

• 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash

• 720p video recording with Full HD video playback

• Stereo FM Radio with RDS

• Secondary front facing camera

• 8GB Internal storage

• Memory expandable to 32GB via MicroSD card

• 3.5 mm audio jack

Samsung Stops Revealing Phone and Tablet Sales Data

According to the Wall Street Journal, Samsung Electronics Co. on Friday, released an announcement saying that they will stop reporting sales data for their mobile phones and tablet computers. According to Samsung, competition in this segment has intensified and this step has been taken to potentially reduce the risks attached to divulging figures, which could eventually affect Samsung’s own businesses. In their earnings release, Samsung have simply noted that, ‘shipments of mobile handsets increased in the high-single-digit range quarter-on-quarter’. When asked for a further explanation, Samsung declined the request.

Samsung stops reporting phone sales data

Samsung was recently entangled in a legal battle with Apple; with the latter accusing Samsung of copying the iPhone’s hardware, software, design, packaging and marketing. There could be a chance that this might have influenced Samsung's plans of hiding their sales data. Because  the rate at which Samsung’s smartphone sales are increasing, they will be stiff competition for Apple. Samsung’s phone sales may not have reached the number they were expecting to, this quarter, which might have led them to believe that it would be best to cease reporting phone and tablet sales data.

Samsung’s Light-Weight N100 Takes Off

Samsung has launched a new netbook today, called the N100. It’s based on the Intel Atom N435 dual-core processor that runs at a speed of 1.33 GHz. Unlike almost other netbooks in the market, the N100 runs on Intel’s MeeGo operating system. The 10.1-inch display netbook comes bundled with 1 GB of DDR3 memory and a 250 GB 5400 rpm hard drive. The display supports a standard resolution of 1024x600. Graphics is powered by an integrated Intel GMA 3150 solution. The battery on the N100 is only a 3-cell one. Being a netbook, it’s light-weight and weighs no more than 1.03 kg. 

One of the first to offer the MeeGo OS

Samsung claims that the new MeeGo operating system should offer good energy efficiency and performance. The operating system is optimized to let users view online and offline content easily, as well as social networking services. Samsung is also offering options for a free DOS operating system version and Windows 7. The keyboard on the N100, according to Samsung has been designed with good spacing, making the typing simpler. The Samsung N100 is priced for Rs. 12,290, which makes it one of the cheapest netbooks around. 

Samsung Readying 5.3-inch ‘Galaxy Q’ for IFA

The rumor mill is abuzz with news of Samsung busy prepping a ‘Dell Streak’ like device for IFA in September. The news comes from a Chinese site, eTomato, who’ve brought this to our attention but there isn’t any leaked image or presentation slide to go by so take this with some salt. 

What is Samsung up to?

Apparently the new device will be called the Galaxy Q and will sport a massive 5.3-inch display, most likely Super AMOLED Plus and that’s about it, we don’t have any other information about this mystery device. If we are to speculate then it will most likely have a dual-core processor either Exynos or Tegra 2. It should run Ice Cream Sandwich given IFA is two months away -Google should have a stable build for Samsung by then. 

What remains to be seen is how will Samsung market this product? If they dare to call it a phone then would it suffer the same fate as Dell’ Streak? How does one walk around with a 5.3-inch slab in his pocket. As a tablet, the screen size seems a bit too small and if you’re going to lug around another device then it might as well be at least seven inches or more, else you might as well use your phone. Let’s wait and watch if it actually materializes or if it's just vaporware. 

Microsoft, Sony to be Partners?

New domain registrations by Microsoft suggest that arch enemies Microsoft and Sony could be teaming up! The domains registered are sony-microsoft.com and Microsoft-sony.com. Both these domains currently just lead up to a search page, however, there’s no official word yet on what those URLs are going to be utilised for. Partners? Gamers might see this as a rather bizarre case of two separate plans intersecting each other. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PS3 are mortal enemies and there seems a possibility of a combination of the two evolving into a super console for gamers. On the other hand, it could just be for the PC platform with Sony PCs already shipping with Windows. Or a new Sony Ericsson phone running Windows Phone 7? With Sony’s recent online problems, there could also be a possibility of integration with Xbox Live. With two massive companies, the combinations are endless. For now, Microsoft is staying put by confirming that the registration was a ‘defensive domain hold’. Either way it’s a win – win situation for both companies currently suffering from hardware (Read: Microsoft) and online (Read: Sony) problems. What do you think this ‘apparent’ latest merger is about? Do let us know in the comments section.

Samsung Launches 3G Ready NC110 Netbook Exclusively for Croma Stores

Samsung have launched a new 3G enabled netbook, the NC110, exclusively for Croma retail outlets. The 10.1-inch netbook is priced around Rs.21,500, but the exact configuration details are still unknown. With the 3G boom currently happening in India, Samsung hopes to take advantage of this and create a new segment in the netbook space. 3G Ready! The NC110 will run Windows 7 Starter Edition and will come with a built-in 3G modem, which means all you have to do is slip in a 3G ready SIM card and you should be good to go. The netbook is pretty light as well weighing in at just 1.18kg (when using the 6600mAh battery). If you wish to get your hands on it though, you’ll have to visit your nearest Croma outlet, since that’s the only place you’ll find it. A 3G ready netbook makes sense as you don’t lose a USB port for a data card plus it looks a lot neater than having a dongle sticking out of the side.

Samsung Wave 725 Revealed Through Leaked Bada 2.0 SDK

We got a whiff of Samsung’s plans to release Bada 2.0 along with three new phones. The first one named Wave 578, has already been spoken about, and now we have more dope on the second one that will be coming in September. Thanks to the team atbadaworld.net, we now know the second phone in the trilogy will be the Wave 725. The upcoming Wave 725 This mystery phone was found in the leaked Bada 2.0 SDK, as the specifications all point to the one rumored back in May. The Wave 725 will pack a 3.65-inch 320x480 display, Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi and a 5MP camera. The phone will also have an NFC chip for some future proofing. The images are obviously just a rough representation, but you get an idea about its appearance. The design reminds me of the Samsung Wave, in any case we’ll know for sure when it makes its debut in September.

Samsung to Pay $15 Per Handset for Using Microsoft’s Patents

If software giant, Microsoft has his way, then South Korea based consumer electronics major, Samsung will have to cough up $15 for every Android-based smartphone that the latter produces. Microsoft, apparently, is the patentee of an exhaustive range of patents that the mobile platform integrates. Seeking patent rights.. Samsung, however, is believed to be working on a way to go in for a more fruitful association with Microsoft to lower the payback price to $10, by integrating the latter’s Windows platform, stated a BBC report. Samsung isn’t the first brand to have been asked to pay up such a price for every handset it manufactures. Sometime in April, last year Microsoft had locked a similar licensing deal with HTC. However, no word from Samsung has been received yet on this issue.

Rumour: Samsung Prepping a WP7 Version of the Galaxy SII

We were left thrilled with the Galaxy SII from Samsung, so much so that we believe it’s the best Android handset out there. Probably building up on this fact, Samsung is trying their luck on running the same hardware, on a different platform. The latest about the Galaxy SII is that the company is possibly prepping a Windows Phone 7 version of it.

Look! The Galaxy SII running on WP7!

The rumours are based on the suspicion that sources have spotted a Bluetooth profile of the Samsung SGH-i937. They feel that the profile that this handset boasts of is exactly the same as the Mango Windows Phone 7 stack. Also the handset was seen on an Occasional Gamers list of Windows Phone 7 handsets running its games.

From what we can make out, Samsung is possibly preparing a WP7 smartphone. Another thing is that the Galaxy SII possibly has the most favourable hardware for running Windows Phone 7 and thus the rumours. What do you think? A Galaxy SII running WP7, or a completely different device doing the same? You can give us your opinions in the comments section below.

Samsung Discreetly Ends Californian Episode of Counter-Suit Against Apple

In a bid to streamline the legal proceedings, Samsung has ceremoniously dumped the patent-infringement suit it had filed against the iPad manufacturer. The infringement filed at a federal court in the U.S. arose out of Apple’s allegations that Samsung had duplicated the designs of the iPad and iPhone, and had replicated the same on its Galaxy line.

Relents..

Bloomberg reports that Samsung, however, rubbishes the claims that it has conceded defeat, and has taken back all infringement claims. In fact, the South Korea based company claims that it has simply put its own infringement allegations into the counter-claims bundle of the original suit. Even as this claim has been dropped, it would make for an interesting observation that currently the Apple-Samsung saga is on in at least 5 countries – South Korea, Japan, Germany and the U.K., of course, not letting out the battlefield called U.S.

The battle, for most parts, is still on. Neither of the heavyweights is blinking first.

Samsung Brings TouchWiz to Galaxy Tab 10.1 in an Upcoming Update

While its arrival date in India is still uncertain, we at least know now what the hold up was all along. Samsung posted on their site about an upcoming update for the Galaxy Tab 10.1 that’s supposed to bring some big improvements to the tablet including the addition of their TouchWiz UI to Honeycomb. The new features include Live Panel, a magazine-like widget that gives you instant access to weather, social updates and news right from the home screen. There’s also a Mini Apps tray, Clipboard and Indicator Quick Panel for toggling Wi-Fi, notifications, etc.

Expected very soon

Some enterprise features include on-device encryption and Cisco VPN capabilities. Samsung will also implement Hubs giving you a one stop shop for all your movies, music, social networking and e-books. You’ll finally be able to connect USB drives, SD cards and HDMI, but all through optional accessories. Whenever Samsung decides to launch the Tab 10.1 in India, they have to nail the pricing or else it won’t work. The Motorola Xoom and Acer’s ICONIA A500 will be its biggest competition and I feel 32-35K would be a very aggressive end user price for the 3G version, what do you think?

Apple Wants Sale of Galaxy S 4G, Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Others Banned in US

Yet another twist has been added to the Apple – Samsung saga. Just a couple of days ago, it was learned that the South Korea based consumer electronics manufacturer, Samsung had approached the U.S. International Trade Commission to propose the ban of Apple products in U.S., in the form of sales, imports, among others. & the battle continues... CNET, now reports that the iPad manufacturer has retorted back with a similar proposal – that of having some of Samsung’s premier products banned in the U.S. As per the request forwarded to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Apple seeks that Samsung’s Galaxy S 4G, Infuse 4G, Droid Charge smartphones, as also the Galaxy Tab 10.1 be banned in the U.S. Additionally, Apple also stated that it has let off Samsung’s other products like the yet-to-be-released Galaxy S II smartphone and Galaxy Tab 8.9, and decided to put the axe down on only four products, mentioned above.

Samsung Galaxy Pro Going for Just Rs. 8,700 on Saholic

We are currently testing the Galaxy Pro and so far it seems like a great option for Rs.10,000. But what if we said you can now buy it for as little as Rs.8,700? Well, head over to Saholic.com where you’ll find the Samsung Galaxy Pro for this reduced price. Not only that, ‘Liking’ their Facebook page will avail you a further Rs.400 discount. Thanks to AndroidOS.in for the heads-up. We are not sure if this is a limited time offer, so you better act fast if you were planning on picking one up. A sweet deal! The Galaxy Pro (B7510) is powered by Android 2.2 and features a 2.8-inch capacitive touchscreen with 3G, Wi-Fi ‘n’ and Bluetooth 3.0. There’s an 800MHz processor running under the hood, which should easily run all your applications smoothly. The best part about this phone is that it sports a physical QWERTY keypad for easier typing. Other features include a 3.0MP camera, A-GPS and Samsung's TouchWiz UI. Stay tuned for our detailed take on the Samsung Galaxy Pro.

Samsung Seeks Import Ban on Apple Products in U.S

Recently when a decision was announced regarding the infamous Samsung-Apple patent tussle, albeit in Apple’s favor; we thought that one of the most high-profile battles had come to an end. Well! We couldn’t have been more wrong! ...And, there they go again....! Yahoo! News reports that Samsung, the South Korea-based consumer electronics manufacturer has now approached the U.S. International Trade Commission to seek the imposition of a permanent import ban on Apple, thereby preventing the iPad manufacturer from importing Apple products into the U.S. If you have been following all the updates on the Samsung-Apple patent tussle, then you’d know that the two technological majors had been, or rather still continue to be at loggerheads owing to a patent infringement issue. Although, according to a court directive, Apple did win, or so it seemed, the case, Samsung’s latest move clearly narrates another story.

Samsung Viewing Upcoming Designs is Harrassment: Apple

Samsung had previously asked Apple to show them their upcoming products in an attempt to make sure their future devices are not subjected to any potential infringement claims like the one Apple has currently filed against them. Apple has now filed a motion against Samsung in the District Court of California requesting a judge to deny the aforementioned request. The ongoing battle between Samsung and Apple ... It is reported that Apple claims that Samsung’s request is not a good faith attempt to obtain information needed to defend against a preliminary injunction. Rather, it is a transparent and improper attempt to harass Apple by demanding extremely sensitive trade secrets that have no relevance to Apple's infringement claims or to Samsung's defenses to a preliminary injunction. The document filed by Apple states that Samsung has made no display about Apple’s future products. Apple therefore has been claiming that Samsung's intentions to peek into its future designs is plain harassment. The report ends by saying that a judge will make a decision on Samsung’s request to view Apple’s products on Friday.

Samsung Rumoured to Buy Nokia

Just last week, there were rumours on the web that Microsoft was thinking of buying Nokia. These rumours were shot down by Nokia. Nokia is currently working with Microsoft on their upcoming Windows Phone 7 devices. There have been analysts who claim that Nokia should get out of the slump and improve once the WP7 phones arrive, but they won’t be able to take on the might of Android and iPhones. Nokia ended up in a mess after failed attempts to develop customer interest in the Symbian OS. Nokia’s stocks have been dropping, and more similar rumours have started surfacing. The latest one states that Samsung is thinking of buying Nokia. If rumours are true, the deal might be somewhere to the tune of $20 billion. Samsung has refused to comment on the story, since it’s against company policy. While Samsung is doing well and will have little to gain by paying this sizable amount. Microsoft was rumoured to be buying Nokia for an approximate $19 billion. Source: Business Insider

Samsung Announces Super High Resolution LCD Display

It looks like Steve Jobs will have to work harder on the next set of displays for his iPads and iPhones. The Retina displays are known to have one of the best screens on any device on sale at the moment. The high resolution on the retina displays were used as a USP to sell them to the public. I want some high-res goodness But now, Samsung and Nouvoyance have demoed the industry’s first 10.1-inch WQXGA (2560x1600) LCD display. At the launch, Joel Pollack, executive vice president of Nouvoyance said, “In order to develop tablets with the form and function that consumers demand, a design engineer ultimately has to determine how to get the highest resolution display possible, while still fitting within the overall power budget for their design”. The panel uses PenTile technology used in the displays,improvesthe brightness, resolution, contrast as well as  power consumption of the said display. According to Dr. Sungtae Shin, Senior VP of Samsung Electronics, Samsung’s "PenTile display technology is the only display technology that operates at 40 percent less power yet provides twice that of Full HD-viewing performance for consumers compared to legacy RGB stripe LCDs. There is no other commercial display technology on the market today that offers this high of a resolution and pixel density in a 10.1-inch size display”. Now that Samsung and Nouvoyance have given the world this technology, let’s hope companies adopt it quickly and we receive some high resolution eye candy.

Smartphones Under Rs. 20,000

The smartphone market is booming right now with plenty of new handsets oozing out of the woodwork. We’ve got them all, almost as soon as they make it to the global shelf. Ok maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration but we get them soon enough. The problem is we’re spoilt for choice. So here’s what I’m going to do, I’ve listed a few of the smartphones that are priced at under Rs. 20,000. These are just a few that I believe have potential to make users feel comfortable and offer the best value they can for your wallet. Take a closer look.  Please keep in mind that all prices mentioned are Market Operating prices (MOP). They may vary depending on your location. Motorola Defy – Rs. 18,500 At the very top of my list is the Motorola Defy, that ruggedized handset that’s designed to keep the elements at bay. It offers quite a bit of overall functionality and equipped with an 800MHz processor and protected by Gorilla glass this Android (Eclair) device is very capable of handling almost all of your mobile needs and more. It’s even loaded with a secondary microphone to help make your voice calls as clear as possible with active noise cancellation. Defy-nitely worth a buy..?? Here’s a quick look at the Defy’s specs –  3.7-inch capacitive touchscreen with 16 million colors and a 480 x 854 pixel resolution 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi with DLNA compliance GPS with A-GPS support Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, USB 2.0 5MP AF camera with an LED flash and Geotagging FM Radio 3.5mm handsfree socket 2GB internal storage plus MicroSD card support Active noise cancellation via secondary mic Nokia C7 - Rs. 17,300 The C7 is noted as Nokia’s slimmest smartphone ever. At just 10.5mm in depth, it is easily one of the world's slimmest as well. It’s loaded up with Nokia’s Symbian ^3 OS (running on the 680 MHz ARM 11 processor) that showcases multiple desktops and quite a few other handy features that Nokia loyalists will welcome with open arms. With DivX and XviD codec support you can simply drag and drop your videos onto the 8GB of internal storage for instant playback. If that’s not good enough the handset also supports USB-on-the-go that allows you to plug in a thumb drive (adapter provided) that can be accessed on the phone. All data on the drive can easily be viewed or played on the device. The display is encased in Gorilla glass that should keep the scratches at bay. Well waddya know, there's a Nokia here! The C7 also features -  3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen with 16 million colors and a 360 x 640 pixel resolution 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi, GPS with A-GPS support Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, USB 2.0 (USB-on-the-go) 8MP fixed focus camera with dual LED flash and Geotagging plus 720p video recording Secondary VGA camera in front FM Radio + Transmitter 3.5mm handsfree socket supports TV out via same port 8GB internal storage plus MicroSD card support TV Out Active noise cancellation via secondary mic

Acer Liquid Metal – Rs. 20,000 Next up is the Liquid Metal which Acer has launched this in India this year. The Liquid metal comes out of the box with FroYo aka Android 2.2.1 and runs that on an 800 MHz Scorpion processor and Adreno 205 GPU on a Qualcomm chipset. The built in 5 megapixel camera is equipped to handle HD video recording (720p @30fps). It supports XviD and DviX codecs so you can copy paste AVI files onto your microSD cards for playback without the need of downloading an additional player. A good option? The Liquid Metal comes with -  3.6-inch capacitive touchscreen with 16 million colors and a 480 x 800 pixel resolution 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi, GPS with A-GPS support Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, USB 2.0 5MP fixed focus camera with LED flash and Geotagging plus 720p video recording 3.5mm handsfree socket MicroSD card support Active noise cancellation via secondary dedicated mic Samsung Wave II – Rs.16,950 One of Samsung’s pretty loved smartphones – the Wave’s successor is out in India and the specifications do see a lot of improvement over the Wave. Samsung has stuck to its guns regarding the OS and has gone with Bada. However, this one has the latest Bada 1.2 with the TouchWiz UI 3.0 running on top. The Wave II is powered by a 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A8 processor with graphics getting a boost from the PowerVR SGX540 GPU. The handset has a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash with capability to record videos at 720p. Bada OS love The Wave II will be equipped with -  3.6-inch capacitive Super Clear LCD touchscreen with 16 million colors and a 480 x 800 pixel resolution 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi, GPS with A-GPS support Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, USB 2.0 5MP fixed focus camera with LED flash and Geotagging plus 720p video recording Secondary front facing camera FM radio + FM recording 3.5mm handsfree socket, can also be used for TV 2GB internal storage + MicroSD card support Curve 3G - Rs. 15,000 BlackBerry’s smartphones also find a place in the list and although a good BlackBerry handset at a low price is still to be seen, the Curve 3G seems to be fit the bill quite well and it does have some neat specifications as well. The Curve 3G – as the name suggests, is 3G-enabled and has Wi-Fi and A-GPS as well. The smartphone has a 2 Megapixel camera with a maximum resolution of 1600 x 1200 pixels. BlackBerry also joins the ranks The Curve 3G also has the following specifications:  2.4-inch TFT display with a 320 x 240 pixels resolution QWERTY keyboard with a touch-sensitive trackpad 3G, Wi-Fi, A-GPS Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP 2 Megapixel camera BlackBerry OS 5.0 Memory expandable up to 32 GB with MicroSD card 3.5 mm audio jack