Hasta La Gadget!

If fortune smiles upon original Galaxy Note owners, there’s a good chance of finding an Android 4.1 update before year’s end. Rather than just the usual suspects like Google Now, however, a recently leaked software build suggests that Samsung’s original smartphone / tablet may receive some of the same features as the current Galaxy Note II. We’ve embedded a video after the break that reveals what could be in store, which includes the Nature UX, the ability to watch video previews with the S Pen (Air View) and the ability to view two apps at once (Multi-Window). Whether the features make it to the final build is anyone’s guess, though we’re certainly crossing our fingers. In the meantime, feel free to hop the break to see what’s in store — sorry that it’s in French.

Continue reading Android 4.1 update for original Galaxy Note may bring Air View, Multi-Window and more (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile

Android 4.1 update for original Galaxy Note may bring Air View, Multi-Window and more (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 03:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink MobileSyrup  |  SamMobile  | Email this | Comments

Welcome boys and ghouls, to a very spooky episode of The Engadget Show. We’ve got plenty of tricks and treats for you in this Halloweentastic October episode. We kick things off with a trip to Oklahoma City, to the home of Flaming Lips frontman, Wayne Coyne, who talks Parking Lot Experiments, Halloween displays and why if your phone screen isn’t broken, you aren’t living your life. Next up, we’ll show you all the necessary tools for a proper ghost hunt, with a little help from author Mary Roach, Ghost Hunters‘ Adam Berry and the crew of the Central NY Ghost Hunters.

In Vermont, we have a conversation with robot head Bina48 to find out what it really means to be alive and we travel to Los Angeles to talk to movie makeup Wizard Kevin Yagher and the costume experts at Global Effects Inc. And when the Engadget Van breaks down outside of an electronics store, it’s up to Tim, Brian and rock band, Free Energy, to solve a very spooky mystery.

All that plus a new Ask @hodgman and a gadget table featuring the new iPod touch, Kindle Paperwhite and Galaxy Note II from Dapper Cadaver, our favorite place to buy prop corpses in the Southern California area. Jump on in after the break — if you dare!

Hosts: Brian Heater, Jordan Morris, Tim Stevens
Guests: Wayne Coyne, Mary Roach, Kevin Yagher, Adam Berry, Chris Gilman, Jesse Thorn, John Hodgman, Bruce Duncan, Stacey Jones, BJ Winslow
Musical Guest: Free Energy
Producer: Ben Harrison
Executive Producers: Brian Heater, Joshua Fruhlinger

Download the Show: The Engadget Show – 037 (HD) / The Engadget Show – 037 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted) / The Engadget Show – 037 (Small)

Subscribe to the Show:

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (MP4).
[Zune] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (MP4).
[RSS MP4] Add the Engadget Show feed (MP4) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically.
[HD RSS] Get the Engadget Show delivered automatically in HD.
[iPad RSS] Get the Engadget Show in iPad-friendly adaptive format.

Continue reading The Engadget Show 37: Halloween Spooktacular with Wayne Coyne, movie monsters and ghost hunting!

Filed under: HD, Mobile

The Engadget Show 37: Halloween Spooktacular with Wayne Coyne, movie monsters and ghost hunting! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Oct 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

The Samsung Galaxy Note II is coming to America, and unlike its predecessor, it’s not being as quiet about the move. In a completely unprecedented feat, the mammoth smartphone not only won over the hearts of four national American carriers and one regional network, it did so without having to make sacrifices in its design, specs or even its name. This is a considerable amount of progress when taking into account the fact that only two mobile operators adopted the original Galaxy Note — the inaugural phablet, if you will — and they did so months after its global launch. Heck, T-Mobile released its variant of the Note just three months ago, which likely will be a sour point to early adopters for a long time to come.

As you may have seen in our review of the global Note II, there’s a reason for all of the buzz circulating around this new flagship device; it’s good. It’s very good. Once you get used to the idea of a 5.5-inch smartphone with an included stylus S Pen, you’ll take heed of the incredibly fast quad-core processor, the latest version of Android, the high-end camera and the litany of other top-notch features that have helped the device become worthy of our praise.

This review, as you see it today, discusses our impressions of T-Mobile’s version of the Note II and how it sizes up against the global model (the N7100), but we’re changing things up this time around. Since there will be very few differences across the five different versions offered on US carriers, we’re simply going to add our reviews of each carrier-specific unit to this space as we go along. The idea is that this review will encompass every Galaxy Note II sold stateside. Enjoy the galleries below, and continue past the break as we dig into Samsung’s latest flagship… again.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Note II for T-Mobile review

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Samsung, T-Mobile

Samsung Galaxy Note II for T-Mobile review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

AT&T’s still keeping us in the dark about a hard date for the Galaxy Note II’s release, but at least we know it’s real and on the way. Confirmed to ship sometime this holiday season, this variant of Samsung’s phablet refresh sports a 5.5-inch 1,280 x 720 HD Super AMOLED display, 1.6GHz quad-core Exynos processor, 8-megapixel rear camera capable of 1080p video capture, beefy 3,100mAh battery and, of course, a refined S-Pen. It’s nigh unchanged from both the global and Sprint models we’d gotten hands-on with previously; a trend the OEM sparked off with the release of the GS III earlier this year. And in a move that augurs well for those of you averse to branding, there’s no superfluous carrier logo blemishing its smooth white back.

If you thought the original Note was big and unwieldy, prepare to stretch your thumb even further up the display. Samsung added 0.2-inches to this update, while incorporating elements of its “famed” inspired by nature design that conspire to lend this handset a reassuring in-hand fit. On the lower right-hand side, you’ll find a convenient slot for the S-Pen which, when removed, triggers an action menu that can be customized to launch selected apps. A large physical home button rests just below the expansive 16:9 screen and is flanked by capacitive buttons for menu and back, while the front-facing camera resides up above and hardware keys for volume and power are placed on the left and right edges, respectively.

On the software front, you’re still looking at a TouchWizzed version of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, as well as some carrier-specific apps that come pre-loaded, like My AT&T, CodeScanner, FamilyMap, Navigator and Ready2Go. As you might expect from its quad-core Exynos, performance was smooth… almost buttery smooth, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention a slight hesitancy between pulling out the S-Pen and the launch of that Smart Actions menu. Bear in mind, this is a pre-production model, so most of those kinks should be worked out by the time it launches this holiday season. Check out the video after the break.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Note II for AT&T hands-on: an S-Pen phablet with 4G LTE (update: video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Samsung, AT&T

Samsung Galaxy Note II for AT&T hands-on: an S-Pen phablet with 4G LTE (update: video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 17:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

We’re starting to suspect that Samsung has a thing for special events. The company just asked us to clear our calendars for an evening presentation in New York City on October 24th, teasing that the “Next Big Thing” has arrived. It’s easy to make the connection to the Galaxy Note line with a stylus front and center in the teaser, although just what’s entailed is left to the imagination: is it a more formal launch for American Galaxy Note II variants? A new tablet beyond the Galaxy Note 10.1? All we know is that we plan to be there to find out.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile

Samsung asks us to witness ‘The Next Big Thing’ at an October 24th event in New York City originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 13:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments