Hasta La Gadget!

It would appear that right on top of the launch of the GALAXY S 4, an accessory detail, of all things, may have outed the prospective screen size for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note III. With the launch of the Samsung GALAXY S 4 we’ve seen Samsung’s willingness to stick with the nature-themed hardware body of their device lineup. With the Samsung Game Pad detail list released today, we’re to understand that the screen size for the Galaxy Note III may very well be a monstrous 6.3-inches.

This lovely little oddity was revealed under the radar by Samsung this week for use with the Samsung GALAXY S 4, it being a push for the device to work with gaming controls not unlike that of the Xbox 360, right down to the XYBA configuration and color scheme. If you take a peek at NVIDIA’s Project SHIELD, you’ll also see XYBA and the colors blue, orangy/yellow, red, and green showing up in the same spot. A real standardization is happening right this minute.

But the interesting bit we’d like you to pay attention to here and now is the compatibility this device has with screen sizes between 4-inches and 6.3-inches. While this covers every Galaxy S device on the market today, it may very well be telling what the Galaxy Note’s next generation is toting as well. With the Samsung GALAXY S 4 hitting the market soon, it wont be long before the big S starts hinting at the again-larger Galaxy Note handset as it has for the past two years.

Have a peak at the timeline below for more information on the Samsung GALAXY S 4 complete with hands-on action and details on its innards. See the four pillars of user experience excellence as well to see how the Galaxy Note III might be shaping up soon, complete with features that’ll have you wanting a Samsung device quicker than you can say S-Want!

Galaxy Note III screen size inadvertently outed by Samsung accessory is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

As Samsung gains a whirlwind of attention this week before its big Samsung Galaxy S4 event on the 14th, (one week from today), both the S4 and the Note III have been given some rather impressive unofficial specification sets. The details we’re about to compare are not official and have not been confirmed by Samsung in any way. On the other hand, you can count on most or all of them due to the relatively predictable incremental steps every technology company takes when releasing products in a highly popular brand line.

So you’re planning on deciding between the Samsung Galaxy S IV (or S4, whichever you prefer) and the Samsung Galaxy Note III, yes? They’re going to be exceedingly similar when it comes down to it, their display size and abilities with or without the Samsung S-Pen notwithstanding. So here’s what we’ve got – and remember, all of this is based on tips, leaks, and rumors galore. The details for each of the specifications listed are either listed in the timeline at the end of this post or are brought up with educated guesses on the part of your friends at SlashGear.

Display

Galaxy S4
5-inch display (aka 4.99-inch)
AMOLED
1080 x 1920 pixel resolution
440 PPI

Galaxy Note III
6-inch display (aka 5.9-inch)
AMOLED
1080 x 1920 pixel resolution
376 PPI

Processor Manufacturer

Both the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note III will quite likely be using the new Samsung Exynos 5 Octa quad-core processor. Note that there will actually be 8 CPU cores here, but that each of the four main cores will be “backed up”, so to speak, by another core for low power tasks. So just as the NVIDIA Tegra 3 and Tegra 4 have five CPU cores, one of them being a sort of “ninja” core for low power tasks, so too is this new Exynos beast for both the Galaxy S4 and Note III.

It’s also important to note that with the Galaxy Note II the same processor was used for all models while the Galaxy S III had Exynos internationally and Qualcomm Snapdragon inside the USA. Because Samsung has come a bit of a way since all the way back when the Galaxy S III was revealed, there’s a chance they’ll be releasing the Galaxy S4 with the same processor worldwide – we shall see!

Camera Power

A back-facing 13 megapixel camera with advanced photography software can be expected on both the Galaxy S IV and the Galaxy Note III. At the moment there’s no reason to believe that the Galaxy Note III will have anything less than the Galaxy S4, and as in the past, we’re not expecting the Note to out-do the S hero in this respect. The front-facing camera will also likely be the same on both devices at 2 megapixels – with 1080p video capabilities on both sides.

S-Pen Functionality

One of the two big differentiators between the Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy Note III will be the built-in S-Pen that the Note is known for. We’re expecting abilities advanced beyond what we’ve seen on the Note II, but won’t expect the actual hardware to be much different from what we’ve seen on the Galaxy Note 8.0 just this past month at MWC 2013. Have a peek at our hands-on with the Note 8.0 to grab a bit more insight – one of the biggest changes will be the ability to tap the back and menu buttons off-display with the pen – neat!

Conclusion: we’re all winners!

The big decision you’re going to be making – when it comes down to it again – is how long you’re willing to wait for Samsung’s 2013 vision for the perfect smartphone. You’ve got the Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II out on the market already – both of them perfectly capable machines in their own right, but you want to go forth and grab the next big thing. Based on what you see above, expect similar (or identical) features on these devices in the near future when they’re shown off for real – check back a week from now and see how we did!

Samsung Galaxy S4 vs Note III specifications battle: very unofficial is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

This week a leaked roadmap / product listing chart has been revealed by a user close to the action inside T-Mobile USA. This list shows not only a set of new handsets that will be appearing carried by the company soon, it tips off the date that T-Mobile’s 4G LTE network will be available as well. The Samsung Galaxy Exhibit (in some new flavor or another) has appeared on this list with the BlackBerry Z10 and the Galaxy S III with newly upgraded 4G LTE capabilities for T-Mobile’s unique network bands.

This listing tipped with TMO News shows March the 27th to be a key date for T-Mobile, it being the home of every single one of the five listings included in this leak. Two different models of the Samsung T599 Galaxy Exhibit are listed with official date of reveal being set for the 20th of March. The first BlackBerry 10 all-touch device BlackBerry Z10 has been tipped for the same set of dates, releasing on the 27th.

The T-Mobile Sonic 2.0 Mobile HotSpot LTE has also been tipped for a March 20th reveal date and March 27th date of availability. The Samsung Galaxy S III LTE has also been tipped for a March 20th reveal date but a possibility of two different availability dates, one of them on the 27th, the other on the 3rd of April. Either way we’ve still got the hotspot appearing to be solid for the 27th, so we’ll keep confidence high for that date for launch.

How far the T-Mobile 4G LTE network will go in its infancy is no big secret – not more than a few major cities if we’re super lucky. It’s also been tipped that devices like the Samsung Galaxy Note II have 4G LTE capabilities with T-Mobile in their current state, lying dormant in wait for the strike. We’ll have to wait and see when the big day comes later this month to see how big this launch really will end up being!

[via Android Community]

T-Mobile roadmap leaks with 4G LTE set for March 27th is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

This week the folks at Verizon are pushing forth a software update to their own unique hardware for the Samsung Galaxy Note II. This update is goes by the name LL4, if you’re following along with that code-name, and doesn’t include a whole heck of a lot of information outside the basics for what else it’s all about. Make sure you check your device today – up in the notifications panel, that is – to see that you’re upgraded accordingly.

This upgrade is – until we receive additional information that says otherwise – all about fixing the security hole discovered in late 2012 inside the Samsung Exynos processor system. The name of this update LJB to LL4 suggests that it’s made for only the newest machines running Jelly Bean (of course), and Samsung must be pushing it to make sure they never hear a peep about the hackable innards of their Exynos beasts again.

For those of you that don’t know what this is all about, be sure to head back to a variety of posts regarding the Exynos security hole in the timeline below. Similar updates have been pushed to several Samsung machines over the past week as well – including the Samsung Galaxy S III, so we must assume we’re safe pretty much across the board at this point. If you’ve got a Samsung machine with an Exynos processor that you’re not sure is fixed by now, let us or Samsung know and you’ll get your answer quick!

Also be sure to check out our hands-on with the Samsung Galaxy Note II for Verizon to see how powerful this beast is, top to bottom. You’ll find the hardware is nearly the same as its siblings with the major exceptions being the logo placements on the front and back of the machine as well as the 4G LTE connectivity-capable hardware on the inside. Software inside also includes several Verizon carrier-friendly apps so you’re ready to go with data tracking and account access from here to tomorrow.

[Thanks for the tip, Alan!]

Verizon Galaxy Note II gets Exynos security hole fix today is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Those craving new color variants for the Galaxy Note II might not have much longer to wait. A few days back, we heard a rumor that claimed a black Galaxy Note II is incoming, and today, we’ve caught wind of two other colors for the wildly popular handset: brown and red. The new colors were outed in a magazine ad discovered by Japanese site Blog of Mobile, and apparently they’ll be landing in South Korea before long.

Samsung seems to be a pretty big fan of releasing new colors for its most popular devices, so we wouldn’t be surprised in the least if this turned out to be true. The Galaxy S III received a number of new colors throughout 2012, so the idea the same will happen with the Galaxy Note II in 2013 is pretty easy to roll with. Still, with no official confirmation from Samsung at this point in time, it might be a good idea to remain skeptical of the rumors you hear.

Apparently, the official names for these colors are “Amber Brown” and “Ruby Wine.” It’s worth pointing out that the brown Galaxy Note II is already available in Japan, so it seems like there’s a pretty good chance that it will make its way to South Korea. The magazine ad doesn’t give us any idea of when these new handsets will be launching in Korea, so it looks like we’ll have to wait for those details to come from Samsung.

As well, we don’t know if these handsets are ever going to make the trip west. If Samsung is indeed preparing to launch these in Korea, then that’s a pretty good sign, but we won’t know for sure until the company delivers official confirmation. Perhaps we’ll get a reveal next week at CES 2013? That seems like a long shot, but in the world of tech, anything can happen. Stay tuned.

[via Unwired View]

Brown and red Galaxy Note II reportedly on the way to South Korea is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.