Hasta La Gadget!

Those hoping for a black variant of the Samsung Galaxy S III were disappointed when the company only offered white and blue at launch, later adding a red option for customers on AT&T in the United States. A black version of the Galaxy S III was first spotted on Samsung’s Facebook page, later confirmed by UK retailer MobileFun as coming in four to six weeks. It was spotted again on T-Mobile’s website, and now internet retailer Clove has chimed in, saying that the phone is indeed coming with 64GB of storage.

According to Clove, the unlocked version of the black Samsung Galaxy S III will be available in October. Better yet, it will come with 64GB of storage, an option that has been sorely missing from the international version so far. The 16GB model is readily available, and there’s a microSD card slot that supports up to 64GB, but serious power users have been missing out on the ultimate storage option.

Unfortunately, Clove can’t confirm pricing, but expect to pay over the odds for such a large amount of internal storage. Still, if you just have to have your gadgets in black, then there’s only a few short weeks to go. Specs will otherwise be the same: a quad-core Exynos processor, 4.8-inch Super AMOLED 720p display, 1GB of RAM, and eight megapixel camera with 1080p video recording.

By the time you get your hands on the black version the phone may even have been updated to Jelly Bean. Last week a report suggested that the update will be made available on August 29th alongside the launch of the Galaxy Note II, and an early version of the Jelly Bean firmware leaked out onto the internet yesterday for eager hackers to try out.

Clove: Black Samsung Galaxy S III 64GB coming in October is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Is this the Samsung Galaxy Note II? It shares the same lines as the Galaxy S III. It also shows a home button very similar to the S III. The top-mounted sensors are in the same place and the screen is as gigantic as expected. But at this point it’s hard to say.

Samsung is expected to launch the successor to the wildly popular Samsung Galaxy Note sometime this year. The first version went on to sell a whopping 10 million units. An impressive feat considering that the phone is rather huge. With a 5.5-inch screen and stylus, the Note dwarfs the iPhone, making it look a toy from a past generation but some say it’s just too big. Still, the numbers do not lie. People love it. Well, at least 10 million people loved it enough at one time to buy it.

The next version will be a big upgrade. If this picture is any indication, it will have a screen around the same size. But inside, Samsung will likely turn to its quad-core Exynos platform, a SoC that’s very capable. The original Note wasn’t exactly sluggish, but the new version will probably silky smooth. Plus, if the phone launches later in the year, there’s a good chance it will rock Jelly Bean rather than Ice Cream Sandwich.

IFA is right around the corner. Samsung could reveal the phone as soon as August 29th, but the international rollout could take place later in the year.

The potential design of the iPad mini was fervently detailed in several reports this week, but not much is known surrounding the specs or technology behind the device. DigiTimes reports that Efun Technology, a company that produces film coatings for touchscreens on smartphones and tablets, has been tipped for a profit increase over a possible deal with Apple. The company would supply ITO film coatings for the iPad mini as well as future iPads.

The indium tin oxide coating is a transparent substance that can conduct electricity, designed to act as an EMI shield in order to reduce interference from radio waves. That should help reduce interference to 3G or WiFi radios located on mobile devices, with the technology already reportedly in use on various Samsung handsets. Efun has seen its profits double as a result of the production of the technology, with recent favourable financial information tipping a deal with Apple.

This week design details were alluded to in several separate reports. The iPad mini will reportedly use a much thinner bezel, with users being able to grasp the tablet from the back rather than with a thumb grip from the sides. The volume buttons may also feature separate physical buttons rather than the volume rocker found on the current iPad.

Schematics that were first discovered back in April back up the design reports, suggesting that the tablet will also be much thinner than the current iPad. Apple had to make a thickness concession with the current iPad due to the Retina display and huge increase in battery capacity, features which won’t make the jump to the iPad mini, allowing for a thinner device as a result. Reports all seem to point towards a 7.85-inch screen, with Apple tipped to unveil the iPad mini on September 12th alongside the next iPhone.

[via Apple Insider]

iPad mini tipped for ITO coating tech is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Most people are already going the paperless route. It began with more personal stuff, like sending notes and messages digitally instead of through paper. It eventually expanded to the corporate world, where communications and memos are sent via email instead of through actual paper memos.

But bringing that printing mentality back to life, albeit in a small way, is the mPrinter. It’s a project by Andy Muldowney that’s currently up for funding on Kickstarter.

Similar to the (much more expensive) Berg Little Printer, It’s basically a small analog printer that’ll print anything you command it to, from text and doodles to Sudoku grids and weather reports. USB-only mPrinters hook up to your computer via USB cable, while Wi-Fi-capable mPrinters contain built-in web servers that can connect to your network.

The mPrinter will also come with an iOS and Android app that will let you use the quick print option, manage your mPrints, and take advantage of the fun ‘doodle’ feature.

A minimum pledge of $80 will get you one USB-only mPrinter, while the Wi-Fi one requires a minimum pledge of $125. Back the project and find out more about it on the mPrinter Kickstarter page.

Reread every noun in the headline above—now let’s proceed. After a desperate burglar nabbed $60k worth of gear from Steve Jobs’ former residence, one of his iPads wound up in the mitted hands of Kenny the Clown. Clown. More »