Hasta La Gadget!

The next iteration of Samsung’s Galaxy Note series has been one of the hottest topics in brand-specific forums over the past couple of weeks, with fans of the brand doubling up interest after a device-filled event held by the manufacturer brought on everything but. What we saw back then was glimpses of the machine – an implementation of the S-Pen here, another version of the Galaxy S 4 there, but the Galaxy Note III itself remained a mystery in a large way. Here several weeks before said device is tipped to premiere, rumors of specifications begin to flow.

The illustration above comes straight from Samsung’s Facebook page, linked in that case to “An inspirational talk from blogger & RSA Chief Executive, Matthew Taylor”, found here: (YouTube Link). Tips for the future!

That image also shows the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0, reviewed by SlashGear earlier this year.

The images you’re seeing below have been shared by microblogger (and several-times proven inside source-connection) TechKiddy, who suggests the photos depict a “prototype” still in testing. While the common guess thus far has been that the machine is an early edition of the Samsung Galaxy Note III, it’s a bit more likely that we’re still looking at Galaxy S 4 ware – perhaps even the Samsung Galaxy S 4 Mini in photos taken in the weeks leading up to its first market-ready edition.

As for the Galaxy Note III, analysis seems to converge on several key specifications, starting with a 5.7-inch display. This would put the display at another .2 inches above the previous model, where the Galaxy Note II was .2 inches larger than the original. The original Samsung Galaxy Note came in at a size that now seems slightly less hand-dominatingly large than it was back at its initial reveal with a cool 5.3-inches of screen real-estate.

Another key piece of this puzzle seems to center on an industry first: 3GB of RAM. While the Samsung Galaxy Note III does not seem to be headed toward a processor any more powerful than the Samsung Galaxy S 4 or the Samsung Galaxy S 4 LTE-A, an extra 1GB of RAM should be well and above what’s needed to keep this machine swift and active. Inside we’ll likely find a Samsung Exynos 5 Octa SoC (as in the international edition of the GS4) or a Snapdragon 800 SoC (as in the LTE-A).

The launch date for the next Note has been tipped as September 4th, just before the international technology convention known as IFA. The original Galaxy Note made its debut at IFA in Berlin – the Galaxy Note III may warrant a Samsung “Unpacked” event of its own.

Samsung Galaxy Note III September unveil has the pocketable grow again is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

There’s a software suite out there existing under the name Samsung Smart Switch that, if we didn’t know any better, we’d think was a pitch from Microsoft for Windows Phone. It’s not that smaller sect of the smartphone universe that collection is aimed at, however, it’s Samsung’s implementation of Android – and it’s not a still-burgeoning operating system this campaign is aimed at, it’s one of the most popular lines of smartphones in the history of smartphones.

What you’ve got here is Samsung selling the world on their smartphones with a set of (free) software that makes switching from any smartphone to a Galaxy device easy. As easy as Samsung is able to make it, that is.

While at the moment this software suite works only to bring your previous smartphone experience over to the Samsung Galaxy S 4, and it only works in the USA, it’s a sure-shot for a wider hit once it takes off. And take off it very well might with a launch that works with desktop software for both Windows and Mac from the outset.

*UPDATE: As of July 1st, Samsung Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II are also supported – you can now switch TO them in addition to being able to swtich FROM them.

With the desktop-based transfer software you’re using with Samsung Smart Switch, you’ve got a flow from one smartphone to the other with a series of intuitive steps. The process is essentially the same on both Mac and Windows machines, and you’ll be switching from any of the following brands:

• Apple – iOS 4.2.1 or higher
• BlackBerry – BlackBerry OS 6.0 or higher
• LG – Android Gingerbread or higher
• Nokia – Series version 40 or higher; Symbian version 6.0 or higher
• Samsung – “The data that was backed up from Kies version 2.3.5 or higher”

So if you’ve got an HTC device, at the moment, you’re out of luck. But again: this is only the launch. It would also appear that those wishing to transfer from an older Samsung device are assumed to be familiar with Kies before they hit this process where iOS is simply the most basic of basics.

*NOTE: There’s also a “Smart Switch Mobile” app that makes switching from Galaxy to Galaxy devices extremely simple.

Meanwhile you’ll find Nokia devices to be only those from non-Windows Phone families and LG is ready for Android, BlackBerry for 6.0 and up.

The PC and Mac side of this transfer brings on the trade-over of the following bits and pieces:

• Contacts
• Messages
• Photos
• DRM-free Music
• Alarms
• Wallpapers
• Calendars
• Memos
• Videos (all those captured by your device’s camera, that is)
• Podcasts
• Call logs
• Web bookmarks

The most interesting piece of this equation actually exists in the Android app “Samsung Smart Switch Migration.” This app is different from the Smart Switch Mobile app above, here acting as the final step between the PC and your new Samsung device. With this final step, the user works with “Smart App Matching and Reccomendation.”

This Smart App Matching works with iOS devices at launch, and also – importantly – works with the Google Play app store rather than Samsung’s own app portal. This makes a lot of sense given the more vast collection of apps in the Google Play app store, but it wouldn’t be surprising to eventually – someday – see this switch over to Samsung’s own “Samsung Apps” collection.

Have a peek and let us know how you’re finding the process. Is it as easy as you’d hope it could be? Or is it a bit too taxing to be worth the effort?

BONUS: A bit of an oddity here – when you make the switch you’ll find the wallpaper you were using on your old phone now placed as default on your new phone. Could be cool, could look rather out of place. All up to your perspective.

Samsung Smart Switch aims to be key to competitor defection is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Samsung has shipped 20m Galaxy S 4 smartphones, the company has told South Korean press, pegging demand 1.7x more than the Galaxy S III it replaced. The smartphone – which Samsung claimed “sold” 10m in its first month of availability – is on track to be the company’s first 100m unit smartphone, Yonhap News reports, supposedly the internal target.

However, as ever there is controversy over what counts as a “sale” and what’s a “shipped” device. Samsung counts its sales through to the channel – including retailers and carriers – whereas some rivals prefer to count actual sales to end users. The disparity has led some to accuse Samsung of inflating its count, including phones that are actually sitting in boxes in warehouses, rather than in the phones and bags of actual users.

Either way, compared to Samsung’s last flagship, the Galaxy S 4 is seemingly leaving the company’s factories at a greater rate. Samsung hasn’t stinted on variations, either, borrowing the Galaxy S 4 name for a range of different handsets to address different parts of the market.

For instance, the Galaxy S4 Active – which we reviewed last week – takes the phone and gives it a more sturdy, water- and dust-proof body. That means it can survive dips in the pool as well as trips to the beach, including being used for underwater photography, though Samsung also downgraded the camera slightly in the process.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Active water test:

Meanwhile, there’s also the Galaxy S4 Mini, which shrinks down the phone (and its specifications, for that matter) for those who want a smaller device overall. The Galaxy S4 Zoom throws in a larger-resolution sensor and a full 10x optical zoom, bridging the gap between a phone and a point-and-shoot camera.

The new sales stats come after Samsung has been hit with ongoing speculation that sales of the Galaxy S 4 were underwhelming. Various executives from the company have been forced to insist that demand for the handset was still high, despite suggestions that it was being seen as a mere evolutionary upgrade from its predecessor.

Samsung ships 20m Galaxy S 4: Eyes 100m record is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

This week it’s become apparent that Samsung will continue to bring on the musical connections with their tie-up with South Korean pop-stars CN Blue for a Blue Moon concert event. This event will be live broadcast through Galaxy devices and will, therefor, make clear Samsung’s intent to bring a long series of Galaxy smartphone and

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Android 4.3 has been caught in the wild and already released as an early build, after being spotted running on a Samsung Galaxy S 4 Google Edition. The upcoming OS, still yet to be officially confirmed by Google itself but here still called Jelly Bean, has leaked to SamMobile, where it’s described as “fully functional”

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