Hasta La Gadget!

At IFA 2012 we’ve gotten our first glimpse of the next phablet, the Samsung Galaxy Note II – now it’s time to compare to the original from one year ago to see what’s been improved. First you’ll notice that the casing for the device has taken on a whole lot more “Galaxy S III” styling, just as the original Note did with the Galaxy S II. The back and front are more than likely going to feature different color combinations even beyond the blue and white we’ve seen thus far.

With this new Galaxy Note II you’ll be working with a display that’s 5.5-inches rather than 5.3-inches but the amount of pixels has gone down (from 1,280 x 800 pixels (285ppi) down to 1,280 x 720 pixels (267ppi)). That’s perfectly OK though since the display technology has changed as well – you’ll be working with HD Super AMOLED rather than Super AMOLED Plus. The chassis have obviously changed also, now 5.95 x 3.16 x 0.37 inches (151.1 x 80.5 x 9.4mm) rather than the slightly fatter and shorter 5.78 x 3.27 x 0.38 inches (146.9 x 83 x 9.7 mm) of the Note 1.

This new iteration of the Galaxy Note has a microSD card slot that can carry up to a 64GB card while the original only had the ability to work with 32GB. The new version also has three device iterations based on internal memory: 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB. The rear-facing camera stays the same quality as far as numbers go with 8 megapixels and the ability to capture 1080p video, but the front-facing camera has been changed from 2 megapixels down to 1.9 megapixels.

For a bit more explanation on why some of these odd changes were made, have a peek at our Samsung Galaxy Note 2 hands-on post.

Above: Galaxy S III vs Galaxy Note vs Galaxy Note II

The new Galaxy Note II has NFC in all variations from start to finish, and you’ll be working with Bluetooth 4.0 rather than 3.0 which the old model came packed with. The Galaxy Note II comes with 2GB of RAM rather than 1, and its Exynos processor is a 1.6GHz quad-core SoC rather than dual-core. Finally you’ll be working with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean right out of the box while the original Note was just updated to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich several weeks ago.

Have a peek at our Galaxy Note II timeline below to learn more and, again, check out our hands-on with the device via the link above. Also be sure to check out the rest of our IFA 2012 coverage to stay up to date on all things pushed in Berlin!

Samsung Galaxy Note II vs Galaxy Note I: Specifications War is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

And hey, what’s a Windows 8 tablet without a docking station? Sure enough, Samsung was showing off a snazzy one tonight that turns your bright and beautiful ATIV Smart PC (which is a bit chunkier than its brother) into a notebook. The tablet slots into the top of the keyboard dock, with the Windows 8 button obscured slightly by the top of the dock. The device does look a fair amount like a netbook when it’s firmly nestled inside. But we have to say, the quality of the dock doesn’t match the beauty of the tablet itself, the plasticky bottom clashing with the brushed aluminum backing, particularly where the lip shows up slightly on the rear of the device.

When using the dock, you’re likely going to spend most of your time in the classic UI — and when you want to switch, you can just hit the button at the top of the dock to release the tablet from its docky prison. The buttons and trackpad feel a bit like a low-end netbook, and we had to do some fiddling to get that mouse across the desktop. We’re hoping that Samsung will either release a slicker version or we’ll be seeing something from a third-party manufacturer. In the meantime, the dock feels more like a second home for the tablet, best saved for those rare occasions when you’ll need to do, say, some serious word processing.

Samsung ATIV Smart PC dock hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 14:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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At the IFA conference in Berlin, Samsung has just announced the Galaxy Camera, a 4.8-inch Android-powered camera with WiFi, 3G (or 4G) connectivity, and a quad-core SoC.

See, digital cameras have lost their swagger. With the combination of pretty decent micro lenses and smartphones, the digital imaging sector has been left to the serious hobbyists and professionals. But Samsung, following a precedent set by the Nikon CoolPix S800c, is looking boost the point-and-shoot business with a dash of Android.

The camera has a 16-megapixel CMOS sensor with 21x zoom. But when you flip that bad boy over, you won’t see a little 2-inch LCD. Instead, you’ll be met with the familiar Android homescreen (Jelly Bean, no less), on a 4.8-inch 720p SLCD display.

An Exynos quad-core SoC will sit under the hood, along with a 3G (or 4G) radio, Wifi, an expandable memory card slot and a 1650mAh battery.

It’s almost like an iPod touch, but with a focus on images instead of music. With the success of Instagram, and the general popularity of photo sharing, I wouldn’t be surprised if Samsung’s digital camera performance sees a slight bump thanks to the Galaxy Camera.

The GalCam will be sold by wireless operators in the fourth quarter of 2012, much like smartphones.

Click to view slideshow.

Google, we’re not in Kansas anymore, we’re in New York, where Time Warner Cable is planning to drop $25 million on expanding its (up to) 1Gbps fiber broadband infrastructure. Specifically, the additional network is hitting neglected areas in Brooklyn and Manhattan, but it’s not for general consumption — it’s strictly for businesses. Don’t feel too disheartened though — you might not be getting a slice of this particular fiber pie, but it’s all you can eat, all the time at the free WiFi buffet.

Continue reading Time Warner Cable expanding fiber broadband coverage in NYC, only businesses to benefit

Filed under: Networking

Time Warner Cable expanding fiber broadband coverage in NYC, only businesses to benefit originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung is extremely busy here in Berlin dropping all sorts of juicy news onto the world. Following the excitement around the Galaxy Note II they’ve now moved onto Windows. The folks from Samsung have just introduced the ATIV Tab 10.1 Windows RT device. It looks very similar to the Galaxy Note 10.1 but runs on Windows.

We are live here in Berlin catching all the details, and will continue to bring you anything and everything Samsung related as the day continues. What you see above appears to be a relatively close cousin to the recently announced [and reviewed] Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet only running atop Windows RT instead.

There are a few important and notable differences though. The Samsung ATIV 10.1 won’t be quite as powerful, and the display isn’t as nice either. They are hopefully aiming for a more budget minded crowd with this one. The Samsung ATIV 10.1 Tab with Windows RT comes complete with a 10.1-inch 1366 x 768 resolution display, and tosses out Sammy’s quad-core for a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor. The camera on the rear has been improved from recent Samsung tablets and will be 5 megapixels on the rear — followed by a 1.9 shooter frontside.

The details are still light and the story is developing as we are watching Samsung unveil all their goodies here live. The ATIV 10.1 will come with HDMI, USB, is super skinny and weighs only 1.2 lbs. Hopefully we’ll hear more about pricing and availability shortly after Windows 8 launches at the tail end of October. Stay tuned to our IFA 2012 Hub for all the latest and greatest news!

Samsung ATIV Tab 10.1 Windows RT tablet announced is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.