Hasta La Gadget!

Samsung set the bar a little lower than the final mark when it told investors its expectations earlier this month, posting $7.4 billion in operating profits for Q3 and $5.97 billion in net income. This handily bests the $7.28 billion profit it told investors to expect, nearly doubling what it made over the same period last year. Why the jump? You can blame the Galaxy S III, which increased shipments “significantly due to global expansion,” the company says. Indeed, smartphone sales are credited to Sammy’s quarter over quarter leap in revenue. Consumer electronics sales also boosted profits a fair deal, achieving “industry leading profitability” in the TV market, according to Samsung, who cited growth both in the consumer space, and in the sales of OLED panels for televisions, tablets and high-end smartphones.

The company’s semiconductor sales, on the other hand, dropped by eight-percent in the face of weak PC demands. Samsung expects demand for PC DRAM and other high value-added chip products to remain weak, but optimistically notes that the sector is still profitable, and may pick up as new devices come to market. Got the basics? Great — dive into the details and charts at the source link below, or read on for Sammy’s official Q3 press release.

Continue reading Samsung makes $7.4 billion in Q3 profits, surpasses expectations

Filed under: Cellphones, Misc, Home Entertainment, Samsung

Samsung makes $7.4 billion in Q3 profits, surpasses expectations originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 20:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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To say that the launch of Isis has felt drawn out would be a mild understatement. The alliance first signaled its intentions two years ago, detailed its first markets one year ago and faced a last-minute delay. All the ducks are finally in a row, however, and residents of both Austin as well as Salt Lake City can tap to pay (or score discounts) at the “hundreds” of locations that accept NFC-based purchases through American Express, Capital One, Chase and Isis’ own cash card. Launch day brings app- and SIM-enabled access for nine devices spread rather unevenly across AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon: only the Droid Incredible 4G LTE is confirmed working for Verizon subscribers, while the rest are divided more equally between multiple Samsung Galaxies and HTC devices like the Amaze 4G and One X. Over 20 phones should be Isis-aware before the end of the year. It’s a potentially strong start to one of the few truly cross-network mobile payment systems in the US, but we see a long road ahead before Isis gives Google Wallet some jitters — there’s legions of banks, cities and stores needed before Isis is widespread, and we’re not counting on that ever-elusive universal hardware support.

Continue reading Isis’ NFC payments go live in Austin and Salt Lake City: 3 carriers, 9 phones, 1 long way to go (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung, HTC, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile

Isis’ NFC payments go live in Austin and Salt Lake City: 3 carriers, 9 phones, 1 long way to go (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Oct 2012 13:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Shopping for a smartphone can be an exciting and arduous experience. Along with the promise of something new and fantastic, it brings the fear of commitment, and even worse, the prospect of saddling yourself to a lousy device for two years. Fortunately for you, Engadget spends tons of time playing with the latest gear and we’re constantly on the lookout for what’s coming next. If you’re wanting to take the pain out of shopping for a smartphone, you’ve come to the right place. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Engadget’s smartphone buyer’s guide: your one-stop resource to finding the best and most exciting handsets on the market today.

Before you dive in, however, we’ve introduced a few changes to the buyer’s guide, so take a minute to prepare yourself for what’s in store. First and foremost, you’ll now find alternate selections to supplement our top picks. This should already be familiar to many of you, which is the same format we use for our seasonal gift guides. The next one is a biggie: we’ve dropped the QWERTY selection. By and large, manufacturers and carriers alike have shifted their focus away from keyboard-equipped smartphones, and you’ll rarely find more than one option on any given carrier. That said, if you still insist on the tactile experience, you’ll always find everything you need to know in our reviews. Finally, whenever possible, you’ll now find prices from Amazon Wireless, which allows us to provide you with more compelling budget selections and highlight the substantial savings that you can score by circumventing the carriers. It’s not like they need your charity, anyway.

If you’re curious to see how it all unfolded — and we know you are — join us after the break, where we round up the very best smartphones of the season.

Continue reading Engadget’s smartphone buyer’s guide: fall 2012 edition

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, HTC, Nokia, Google, Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, LG, T-Mobile

Engadget’s smartphone buyer’s guide: fall 2012 edition originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Oct 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Regional carrier MetroPCS announced last month that Samsung’s Galaxy S III would be hitting its network sometime in October, and the carrier has kept up on its promise. The handset will be arriving to MetroPCS on Monday, which means you’ll have a long weekend ahead of you if you’re wanting in on the fun.

Come October 22, you’ll be able to grab one of Samsung’s Galaxy S III devices on a cheap carrier, and they even announced pricing today as well so that you can start counting those pennies in your piggy bank. Off-contract pricing for the GS III will be $499, with LTE plans running anywhere from $30 to $70 a month.

The Galaxy S III will be MetroPCS‘s most powerful smartphone to date. The handset has a huge 4.8-inch SuperAMOLED 720p display, and beneath that is a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor with 2GB of RAM. On the back there’s an 8MP rear camera that’s capable of shooting 720p video. It also has WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, and a barometer.

While the Galaxy S III is currently running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, Samsung has said that a long-awaited Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update is on its way within the next couple of months. We highly recommend that you read our full review of the device if you’ve never played around with one, and also check out our hands-on video above to see the phone in action.

Samsung Galaxy S III coming to MetroPCS October 22 is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The Droid Razr HD and Droid Razr Maxx HD have pranced their way across a stage or two, and they’re even the stars of a new commercial, but today you’ll get to go face-to-face with the hot new Googorola phones at a Verizon store for $199 and $299 respectively.

This also marks the beginning of a new price cycle for the carriers, which seems to be starting at Amazon Wireless, where the $199 Galaxy S III has been dropped to $99 on Verizon and Sprint.

Sprint, as you may recall, will be getting the Samsung Galaxy Note II on October 25 for $299.

The Droid Razr HD and Razr Maxx HD mark the continuation of a profitable alliance in Verizon and Motorola, and solidify it with Google as a new backbone for Motorola after the $12.5 billion acquisition. But it’s also worth remembering that these phones ship with Android 4.0.4 ICS. Not Jelly Bean.

Whatever the case, these are top-of-the-line phones, with 4.7-inch Super AMOLED HD 720p displays, 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processors, and an 8-megapixel shooter that captures 1080p video. Not to mention a super thin Kevlar fiber casing.

And to top that off, Motorola promises great battery life, which is a struggle for all of us. The Droid Razr HD and Maxx HD have 2530 mAH and 3300 mAH batteries respectively, promising something like 16 and 21 hours of straight usage.

Both super phones are available now at Verizon.