Samsung Galaxy S III LTE to support VoLTE calls, starting with Korea in August

Samsung Galaxy S III for AT&T and Sprint

Aren’t you glad you waited to buy an LTE version of the Galaxy S III? Samsung has confirmed that the versions with faster cellular data will support Voice over LTE on appropriately equipped networks, giving them that IP-based boost to call quality. The rollout will start with the Korean LTE model receiving support in August — we suspect SK Telecom is an early partner here — followed by a deployment in foreign LTE markets, which would mostly limit the upgrades to American and Canadian owners. About our only qualm is with Samsung’s assertion that the update makes the Galaxy S III the “world’s first Voice over LTE smartphone:” we’re pretty sure the fine folks at LG and MetroPCS have a thing or two to say about keeping up with current events.

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Samsung Galaxy S III LTE to support VoLTE calls, starting with Korea in August originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Aug 2012 22:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint LTE makes early appearance in Bay Area

Sprint LTE makes early appearance in Bay Area

Sprint’s LTE signal is well and truly out there, but it looks like roll-out is going smoother than the Now Network had predicted, appearing (though, not “officially launched”) ahead of schedule in the San Francisco Bay Area. Tipsters have told Android Police that they’ve already managed to connect to the 4G network around both Palo Alto and Mountain View, reaching speeds of over 13MBps down and 8MBps up. Coverage doesn’t yet extend across the whole of San Francisco, but bodes well for a swift roll-out — and for Sprint fulfilling its promise of voice over LTE by the end of next year.

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Sprint LTE makes early appearance in Bay Area originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 05:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget’s back to school guide 2012: smartphones

Welcome to Engadget’s back to school guide! The end of summer vacation isn’t nearly as much fun as the weeks that come before, but a chance to update your tech tools likely helps to ease the pain. Today, we’re tapping away on our brand-new smartphones — and you can head to the back to school hub to see the rest of the product guides as they’re added throughout the month. Be sure to keep checking back — at the end of August we’ll be giving away a ton of the gear featured in our guides — you can hit up the hub page right here!

Engadget's back to school guide 2012 smartphones

It’s a good time to be a student. Last year, there were some solid picks, but it was still very clear that those willing to scrimp and save a little longer had a much better experience. This year, it’s a people’s revolution. Thanks to cutthroat competition, there are some exceptional phones out there, even for those of you hoping to avoid eating ramen noodles for a month. Software has taken a leap forward too, with many phones now offering a vital way to remember when that term paper is due… or to procrastinate at the pub. We have nine choices of phones in our shortlist, spread out across three categories to serve everyone from the I-just-need-a-phone freshman to the overloaded doctoral candidate. While you’re eying the selection, don’t forget to enter our giveaway and potentially ease the burden — who knows, you may get a phone you want rather than the one dictated by your student loan.

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Engadget’s back to school guide 2012: smartphones originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon-branded Galaxy S III wireless charging kit starts showing up at retail stores

Verizon-branded Galaxy S III wireless charging kit starts showing up at retail stores

Back when we met the Galaxy S III for the very first time, Samsung promised a wireless charging solution would be coming soon to its sleek and potent slab. Unfortunately, Sammy’s power-boosting companion’s been hit by hapless delays that have prevented it from seeing the light of day. Now, thanks to a few recent shots from Phone Arena, it looks like at least some S3 owners could see a bundle in the near future, albeit not the official one from the Korean outfit. According to the site’s kind tipster, Verizon’s allegedly pricing the charging station at $50, while the rear case is expected to be around $40 — making it about $90 for the entire kit. Naturally, this could change at any given moment, but hey, at least we know it’s out there.

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Verizon-branded Galaxy S III wireless charging kit starts showing up at retail stores originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Aug 2012 00:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ting becomes first US MVNO to hop the Galaxy S III bandwagon, outlines its device roadmap

Samsung Galaxy S III Sprint marble white

Ting has drawn a lot of attention among MVNOs for its unique mix-and-match approach to contract-free plans, but it’s had to contend with some rather middling phones inherited from its network partner Sprint. That gap in high-end phones will narrow before the summer’s up: Ting plans to carry the Galaxy S III within three to six weeks, becoming the first virtual carrier in the US to tout Samsung’s flagship. Its version is identical to the Sprint model and will even cost $20 less when you skip Sprint’s two-year term, at $529 for a 16GB edition and $579 for its 32GB cousin. If that doesn’t satisfy the appetite, Ting is also giving a peek at its menu for the months ahead. Along with adopting LTE this year to make that Galaxy S III hum, the carrier expects to bring in a more moderately-priced LTE phone, a hotspot, an accessible phone and a budget slider. We wouldn’t base any carrier switches around an iPhone or Windows Phone option, though. There’s only “some progress” coaxing a deal out of Apple, and a Windows Phone is most likely to wait until the first quarter of 2013.

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Ting becomes first US MVNO to hop the Galaxy S III bandwagon, outlines its device roadmap originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 19:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New AOSP Jelly Bean port for international Galaxy S III available, ‘mostly everything is working’

AOSP Jelly Bean port for international Galaxy S 3 available, 'mostly everything is working'

While it’s not the first source code compiled build of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean available for your international model (I9300) Galaxy S III, this stable release from developer Faryaab brings all the latest features without many of the drawbacks. While the release we noted in June was lacking creature comforts like camera, WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC, storage and audio, a post on XDA-Developers indicates ROM flashers of this build will have all of those, with the only known casualty so far being “semi-broken” WiFi tethering. To turn that Galaxy S III into a Jelly Bean Galaxy Nexus, you will need to do a factory reset and rock a a custom recovery like ClockworkMod, but otherwise the switch (check out a how-to video from totallydubbedHD embedded after the break) should be straightforward. While this experience is meant to be pure, the developer notes it may not receive many updates going forward before he releases his own “SuperNexus” ROM. So, what’ll it be then — Jelly Bean and Google Now, or S-Voice, TouchWiz and all the rest of the features built into Samsung’s out of the box ICS experience?

Continue reading New AOSP Jelly Bean port for international Galaxy S III available, ‘mostly everything is working’

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New AOSP Jelly Bean port for international Galaxy S III available, ‘mostly everything is working’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jul 2012 21:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Music Hub launches on Galaxy S III stateside with free trial in tow

Samsung Music Hub launches on Galaxy S III stateside with free trial in tow

Samsung’s come a long way from the days of its first Galaxy S device. Relying back then, out of necessity, on third parties like 7Digital and Kobo to provide a white label content platform. Time, fortune and the popularity of its Android devices has changed the company’s tack and with the unveiling of the Galaxy S III, it’s heading for a streamlined user experience that integrates hardware with in-house software. Although Music Hub has already launched overseas in several European countries as part and parcel of its latest flagship, that service is now finally ready for primetime in the US.

Built upon the mSpot tech it acquired this past May, the company’s freemium service combines the best of both worlds, offering non-paying users access to a digital storefront loaded up with millions of tracks from all four major labels (and some indies, too), a web-based player, as well as the ability to store purchased music remotely and offline for “registered devices.” Whereas, the subscription version builds upon those gratis goods by adding personalized radio stations, free streaming and an iTunes-like “Scan & Match” feature to the mix for $10 monthly.

Ever cognizant of the already crowded digital music platforms provided by rivals, Samsung’s tricking out this stateside debut with some goodies for the curious: a 30-day trial and one free album of their choosing. It’s a nice incentive, for sure, but with so many already entrenched in the musical realms of rivals — iTunes, Google Play and Spotify, for starters — adoption of this new ecosystem’s going to be a hard sell indeed. Click on past the break for the lowdown on this me-too, mobile music offering.

Continue reading Samsung Music Hub launches on Galaxy S III stateside with free trial in tow

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Samsung Music Hub launches on Galaxy S III stateside with free trial in tow originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jul 2012 12:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Wallet hack hits Verizon Galaxy S III

Google Wallet hack hits Verizon Galaxy S III

Verizon may not want you to have Google Wallet on your phone, but that won’t stop intrepid rooters and hackers from shoehorning the app into Big Red’s handsets. Mike Beauchamp and Dustin Evans took some time away from their recent Kansas City trip (to check out Google Fiber, of course) to get the Mountain View mobile payment solution up and running on a Galaxy S III. Is it more difficult than rooting your device and installing the app? Just a bit. Beauchamp’s video doesn’t offer much in the way of instruction, but it does show it being used to buy breakfast at Mickey D’s. Thankfully, it looks like some folks over at the XDA forums have documented the solution, just check out the more coverage link.

Google Wallet hack hits Verizon Galaxy S III originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Jul 2012 09:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T’s Garnet Red Galaxy S III for vampires: we go hands-on

AT&T's Garnet Red Galaxy S III for vampires: we go hands-on

While AT&T’s been flaunting a rather patriotic red, white and blue Galaxy S III lineup since launch, the carrier’s exclusive Garnet Red handset’s been rather elusive so far, with pre-orders starting July 15 and deliveries expected July 29. If you’ve been eying Samsung’s blood red $199 flagship, you’ll be happy to know that we received our review unit yesterday and snapped a bunch of pictures, including comparison shots with the white and blue models. The phone is identical to its siblings other than the burgundy screen bezel and back cover, and the gunmetal rim running along its edge. It’s a pretty gorgeous color scheme that’s sure to attract vampires everywhere. Still unsure? Peek at our hands-on gallery below, then sound off in the comments.

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AT&T’s Garnet Red Galaxy S III for vampires: we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Jul 2012 07:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy S III recovers universal search box in OTA update to European handsets

Samsung promised — and it’s already delivered. Galaxy S III-toting Brits should wake up to yet another OTA update for their smartphone, which throws in some stability improvements alongside the returning universal search feature that polls your phone’s entire contents for results. Users can check their settings menu for the lightweight 5MB download now.

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Samsung Galaxy S III recovers universal search box in OTA update to European handsets originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 07:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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