Hasta La Gadget!

We’re in countdown mode to Samsung‘s event in New York City tomorrow, during which the Korean company will launch its highly anticipated Galaxy S IV smartphone. The handset has been the source of numerous leaks and rumors (which you can check out in the Timeline after the jump), the latest of which has appeared just hours ahead of its unveiling on the Chinese forum it168.

The alleged Galaxy S IV featured in the leak, which you can see in the gallery below, is said to be a dual-SIM sample model. It first appeared on it168 earlier this week, but the latest round of images give a better look at the handset, including a handful of specs to go alongside the new batch of pictures.

The plastic backing on the phone features a crosshatched texture, while the home key is said to be embossed, with the entire unit measuring in at only 7.7mm in thickness and weighing 138 grams. The screen is an expected 4.99-inch full HD 1080p display, and inside there’s a reported 8-core 1.8GHz Exynos 5410 processor accompanied by 2GB of RAM.

The internal storage is a decent 16GB, and there’s the ever-present microSD slot for expansion. The battery has a 2600mAh capacity. Also revealed were a few software features, the most interesting of which is the ability to hover a finger over a portion of the display to pull up an S-pen stylus effect. Are the specs spot-on? We’ll find out tomorrow at Samsung’s event in NYC, which we’ll be covering live, so stay tuned!

[via Engadget]

Alleged Galaxy S IV pictures and specs appear on Chinese website is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The fine folks at Tinhte have gotten their mitts on a Motorola-made Android phone that hasn’t made its official debut. Right out of the gate, the outlet notes that it’s not the rumored “X phone” since it’s missing a large, stunning screen that would rival other flagship gear, but the specs still give it a fair amount of horsepower. Behind the device’s roughly 4-inch 720p screen hide a Snapdragon S4 Pro (or better), an Adreno 320 GPU, 2GB of RAM and a 2,000mAh battery. On the outside, the smartphone sports a curved back reminiscent of the HTC One, a black finish and a thin bezel framing its display. Tinhte reports that the handset carries a XT912A model number, so we reckon it could be a cousin of the Droid RAZR, which is labeled as the XT912. Hit the jump for a video tour of the device, or click the source link for a full photo gallery.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google

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Source: Tinhte (1, translated), (2, YouTube)

Samsung’s Galaxy S III has sold massive quantities, hitting the 30 million mark back in November 2012. In light of this, the Korean company will be releasing an updated version of the handset, something it has done with other smartphones for smaller markets. The updated version will include, among other things, an HD display.

Samsung doesn’t typically roll out updated versions of its handsets in the US, but given the Galaxy S III’s rampant popularity, it would seem the company wants to take the device as far as it will go. Other handsets that have been revamped include the Galaxy S II Plus and the Galaxy S Advance back in 2012.

The information surfaced on Twitter courtesy of journalist Eldar Murtazin, who dropped a tweet with a few details earlier today and confirmed the Galaxy S III’s impending revamp. Although it isn’t an official statement, Murtazin has posted correct information in the past, including recently that the Galaxy S IV would be launched on March 14th in NYC.

According to a Google translation of the tweet, the refreshed Galaxy S III will feature an updated HD display, although it isn’t definitive if it will be 1080p. The battery will also get a boost to a 2400mAh capacity, and even better will feature wireless charging, something that was supposed to be a regular feature for the handset. The updated handset is said to be slated for arrival after the S IV is unveiled.

[via Android Community]

Samsung Galaxy S III to be updated with wireless charging and HD display is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

iOS fans jealous of Jelly Bean’s creepy Google Now might finally have something to get excited about. An October update to the Google Search app finally delivered an updated voice recognition experience to Apple’s platform, but sadly alerts and contextual cards of data were nowhere to be seen. Of course, Mountain View has never been one to keep its wares to a single platform, and many expect that it’s only a matter of time before Now makes its proper debut on iOS. Those that like to dip their toes in both ponds might be interested in a video brought to our attention by a tipster earlier today.

The clip, embedded after the break, is allegedly a low resolution version of a promotional video for Google Now on iPhone and iPad. The video has since been pulled from YouTube and appears to feature the same voice actress as the original Now announcement (which you’ll also find after the break for comparison). Supposedly, Now will be accessible in an upcoming iOS app update simply by swiping up from the main screen. Of course, there’s always the chance that is an impressive fake or even a canceled project that’s only being leaked now. We’ve reached out to Google for comment, but even if the search giant remains silent, we’re confident the truth will be known soon enough.

[Thanks, Jason]

Filed under: Software, Mobile, Apple, Google

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All eyes are on Samsung’s Galaxy S4 “Unpacked” event this Thursday to see what the company has for Android addicts, but new leaks in China suggest it’ll be a powerhouse at least. What’s said to be a dual-SIM Galaxy S4 for China Unicom has been spotted at forum 52Samsung, complete with some supposed benchmarking results tipping a quadcore 1.8GHz processor and Full HD display among other things. However, the Note II-alike casing may well be a red herring.

The design certainly doesn’t stray too far from Samsung’s existing phablet, though the GT-I9502 – as the Antutu testing would have it – is presumably smaller than the Note II. It also doesn’t look much like what we’d expect given recent case leaks, which have indicated a return to the crisper, squared-off aesthetic of the Galaxy S II.

Then again, Samsung is no stranger to disguising its prototypes in order to try to keep some secrets until launch day. The Galaxy S III was a masterclass in secrecy, with Samsung using fake casings, highly limited access, and a code of silence to make sure nobody – even carrier partners – saw the final phone until the South Korean firm was ready.

If this really is a Galaxy S4 prototype, then, it could well be a disguised one: Samsung may have crafted a fake shell into which it could put real internal components so as to allow for partner testing. By keeping it so close to the existing Note II/Galaxy S III style, it wouldn’t be spotted as something more special while out in the wild.

According to Antutu, the phone has an Imagination Technologies PowerVR SGX 544MP GPU with OpenGL ES 2.0 support, and runs Android 4.2.1. 2GB of RAM and a 13-megapixel camera are also indicated; that all fits in with previously leaked specifications.

There’s a lot riding on it, either way, and not just for Samsung. Other Android OEMs – not to mention Apple – are watching the Galaxy S4 closely, as the handset’s predecessor swiftly eclipsed most other phones running Google’s OS. With HTC pinning its hopes on the HTC One, for instance, the company will be hoping its own innovations – such as the “UltraPixel” camera – still hold up to scrutiny once whatever Samsung has prepared is revealed.

We’ll know for sure in just a few days time, with SlashGear headed to New York City on Thursday, March 14, to see exactly what the new flagship can do. Join us then for all the details!

[via SammyHub]

Is this a Samsung Galaxy S4 test mule? is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.