Hasta La Gadget!

If you thought Mophie was planning to keep its smartphone Juice Packs exclusively Apple-based — we’d have probably agreed with you. But then we got to take a look at this pair of cases crafted for Samsung’s Galaxy S III. Yep, the battery-packing cover (which looks likely to fit all the current iterations) promises to give “over double the battery life” of your un-augmented handset. This was just a brief peek — but expect the (as-yet unpriced) cases to appear in stores around the end of October, early November.

Continue reading Mophie readies Galaxy S III Juice Packs, coming very soon

Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals, Mobile

Mophie readies Galaxy S III Juice Packs, coming very soon originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 13:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

It’s not as specific as we’re guessing some would like, but Samsung confirmed during its IFA 2012 keynote today that a Jelly Bean update is coming to both the Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note 10.1 “very soon.” That is at least a bit more encouraging than the “later this year” that we last heard for the Note 10.1, and follows a leak of an official GS3 Jelly Bean build earlier this month. The original Galaxy Note wasn’t specifically mentioned on stage, but it did make an appearance on the company’s Jelly Bean slide, so we’d assume an update for it is coming as well, if not necessarily “very soon.”

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile

Samsung says Jelly Bean update coming to Galaxy S III and Note 10.1 ‘very soon’ originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 14:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

It all started with a simple Facebook message from a loyal Samsung fan to the company’s Canadian Facebook page. “I was just wondering if I could get a free Galaxy S3?” asked Shane. And for good measure the Samsung fanboy included a picture of a dinosaur going rawr. It wasn’t a very good drawing but it was cute. And cute counts.

Shane himself, age 26, told TechCrunch today he is far from an artist. Artist or not, he’s now the proud owner of a Samsung Galaxy S III with his artwork adorning the backside — and he got the customized phone for free.

The phone came from Samsung Canada. His phone is special. It’s a one-of-a-kind and according to the note displayed below from Samsung Canada, it’s the only customized Galaxy S III in Canada. Best of all, it’s a gift from Samsung Canada to Shane, apparently a sort-of thank you for the story that viral in May ahead of the Galaxy S III’s launch.

When Shane sent his little note to Samsung Canada in May, the phone had yet to hit the market. Samsung had just unveiled the phone and it wasn’t scheduled to hit the Canadian market until late June. But that didn’t stop Shane, a self-professed Samsung fan, who indicated to Samsung Canada that he already owned Samsung HDTV, Samsung notebook and a first-generation Samsung Galaxy S. But he wanted Samsung’s latest smartphone, too.

Samsung Canada didn’t respond to Shane’s note until the next day. As seen on this screenshot of the Facebook message (shown right), Samsung Canada politely explained that there is no way they could give everyone person who asked a free phone. Samsung would go out of business, explained the Facebook message. But as a parting gift, the company included a picture of a kangaroo. The story quickly went viral on Reddit. But the story didn’t end there.

Shane explained to TechCrunch that Samsung Canada contacted him previously and told him to expect a delivery of a phone within the next few days.

The phone not only has custom backart but also a special background that matches up artwork on the bezel. Samsung Canada says it’s the only one of its kind in Canada but it’s likely the only one like it in the world.

And the Internet says being a fanboy doesn’t pay. It clearly paid nicely in this case.

Click to view slideshow.

Pictures used with permission.

Samsung just couldn’t relegate itself to a two-tone, blue and white Galaxy S III universe — the company is using the run-up to IFA 2012 to triple the size of its smartphone’s palette. We’ve seen the Garnet Red model arrive early at AT&T, but it now looks to be spreading abroad; the previously leaked Sapphire Black is equally official for those who don’t think the original blue is dark enough. We’re also seeing two more colors that have been relatively undiscovered, including a Titanium Gray and an unconventional Amber Brown. No, not that kind of brown, although it may be the first time in awhile that earthy hue has claimed such a high profile. Color choices will vary depending on the carrier or store, which leaves a distinct chance that you’ll be switching networks or hunting down importers if you’ve got to have just the right shade of Hyperglaze in your life.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Samsung expands Galaxy S III colors: yes, you can get brown originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 10:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Samsung Tomorrow  | Email this | Comments

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it’s easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don’t escape without notice, we’ve gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of August 20th, 2012

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile

Refresh Roundup: week of August 20th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Aug 2012 20:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments