Hasta La Gadget!

Until a few days ago we’d heard surprisingly little about the Galaxy Note, a handset rumored to be launching alongside the Galaxy Tab 7.7 and Wave 3 at IFA. It’s ironic, really, because of all the phones to have kept a low profile, this is a memorable one. Behold, a 5.3-inch handset with a stowaway pen for note-taking, drawing and grabbing screen captures. In other words, a Dell Streak-esque hunk of a device that blurs the lines between phone and tablet. You’re looking at a Gingerbread-running HSPA+ handset with a 1280 x 800 Super AMOLED display, dual 8MP and 2MP cameras, a removable 2,500mAh battery and the same Samsung-made dual-core 1.4GHz processor you’ll find in the just-announced Galaxy Tab 7.7. For a phone this gargantuan, it’s actually quite thin at light, at 9.65mm (0.38 inches) thick and a reasonable 178 grams (6.3 ounces). We had a few minutes to handle the phone in advance of today’s press conference, and found it surprisingly easy to grip, even in our small hands. As with the Infuse 4G –whose own 4.5-inch screen once seemed impossibly sprawling — the thin shape makes it tenable, as does the lightweight, textured plastic lining the back.

As you’d expect, Android 2.3 comes layered with TouchWiz on top and, in this case, seven home screens and a touch-optimized interface dubbed “S Pen” designed to take advantage of that pen. These include S Planner, a native calendar and to-do list app, from which you can drag and drop appointments, changing time slots without having to open an entry. S Memo for note-taking, meanwhile, accepts voice, photo, text and handwritten input. We also got a quick glimpse of Virtual Whiteboard, a more collaborative form of note-taking. On top of that, Samsung says it’s releasing the S Pen SDK to third-party developers, and the company’s banking on more apps for organizing photos and drawing, among other things. For now, this is merely a global launch: Samsung says it’s still in discussions with carriers worldwide, so depending on your neck of the woods it might be awhile before you hear anything definitive about pricing or availability. Find the some fancy press shots (and a promo vid) after the break, and stay tuned for our hands-on.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Note announced: 5.3-inch display, built-in-stylus, custom ‘S Pen’ apps

Samsung Galaxy Note announced: 5.3-inch display, built-in-stylus, custom ‘S Pen’ apps originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Sep 2011 05:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hulu may not have a new owner yet, but it does have an international presence now that it launched a subscription service in Japan today. Hulu.jp brings “hundreds of premium feature films and thousands of episodes of popular TV shows” to bear, for ¥1,480 per month ($19.19 US). The service is appears to be bringing an American flavor to the island, with film selections like Pirates of the Caribbean, Armageddon and Men in Black and TV shows including Criminal Minds, Desperate Housewives, Fringe and Grey’s Anatomy. Overall the list looks more like Netflix than Hulu’s free or Plus services in the US do. So far Japanese users can stream the content directly to Panasonic TVs, iOS and select Android devices, with Panasonic Blu-ray players, Sony Blu-ray players and TVs, Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles and Android tablets all relegated to the “coming soon” list. Check the press release after the break for a full list of content providers signed up so far or just hit the source link to try out a free month so you can decide whether or not it’s worth your yen.

Continue reading Hulu launches streaming in Japan for about $20 US monthly

Hulu launches streaming in Japan for about $20 US monthly originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Sep 2011 00:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s like AT&T just wants its consumers to only buy the 3G iPad. Just days after we snuck out leaked shots of the HTC Puccini, said tablet has gone official as the HTC Jetstream. As predicted, it’s packing a 10.1-inch WXGA capacitive touchscreen, 1.5GHz Snapdragon dual-core processor, Android 3.1 and HTC’s latest tablet-centric edition of Sense (that’d be Sense UX). Of course, it’s the first LTE / HSPA+ tablet to be announced for Ma Bell’s network, but it’s not like it matters. For whatever reason, the powers that be decided to price this thing at $699.99 on a two-year contract, which has somehow managed to top Verizon’s equally comical pricing for its LTE-equipped Galaxy Tab 10.1. Sure, that tally enables you to sign up for a $35 / month 3GB plan, and yeah, the HTC Scribe digital pen accessory is being tossed in “at no extra cost” for a limited time, but let’s be real — neither you, nor anyone else you know, is buying one. So much for even pretending to compete on price, eh?

Update: It’s going for $849 outright, which is even more silly. Why not just price it at $2,000, guys? Might as well milk the most from the four folks that’ll accidentally mash the “buy” button.

Continue reading HTC’s 10-inch Puccini tablet gets official as Jetstream, brings LTE and laughable price to AT&T

HTC’s 10-inch Puccini tablet gets official as Jetstream, brings LTE and laughable price to AT&T originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Aug 2011 10:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint’s Dan Hesse told us point-blank back in July that he was penning a “great story around 4G” for this fall, and it looks as if October 7th will be the date that it “all becomes clear.” We just received an invitation to quite the atypical event — a “strategy update” for the press to cover in New York City. All we’re told is that presentations by senior management will be on tap, with a sure-to-be-lively Q&A session to follow. ‘Course, this may all be a ploy to waste our precious time on a precious Friday in autumn, but something tells us Sprint ain’t exactly in a position to be blowing cash on a Hot Air session. So, what’s on deck? Let’s count the possibilities: more details on its side regarding the iPhone 5? A full-on acquisition of Clearwire (plus a shift to LTE-Advanced)? More details on that elusive LightSquared arrangement? A merger with AT&T&T to create the largest telecommunications provider this side of Pluto? We’ll be there to find out, but for now, hypotheses are being accepted in comments below.

Sprint Strategy Update coming on October 7th, significant 4G plans likely to be unveiled originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Aug 2011 23:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A judge in The Hague just issued a ruling in Apple’s patent infringement case against Samsung, prohibiting “the marketing of Samsung smartphones Galaxy S, S II and Ace for violation of Apple Inc. EP 2,059,868.” In an official press release, the court explains that The Hague judge ruled to “ban trading of Samsung smartphones Galaxy S, S II and Ace,” adding that Samsung also violated other did not violate Apple patents with its Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 10.1v. The judge determined that Samsung violated patent 2,059,868, which deals with “method of scrolling,” but did not infringe 2,098,948 for “recording a flag in connection with multiple screen taps,” or 1,964,022, which relates to dragging a slider to unlock the phone. We haven’t been able to confirm, but from an online translation it appears that The ban will remain in effect through begin on October 13th. Hit up the source link for the full 65-page verdict (in Dutch).

Update: A dutch IP attorney has pointed out that the judge has ruled patent 1,964,022 to be null and void, meaning Apple can no longer make claims in the Netherlands based on this patent. The judge also found that Samsung did not infringe on patent 2,098,948. The infringement of 2,059,868 does not affect the Galaxy Tab 10.1. (Correction: the main patent in question is 2,059,868 not 2,058,868.)

Update 2: According to Tweakers.net, Samsung says that it will replace the software that infringes on Apple’s patent (the Gallery application, specifically), which should allow it to continue to sell the phones. Notably, that Gallery application is the standard Android one used in Android 2.3, which also explains why the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is not affected by this ruling. Less clear is what the ruling means for other Android phones that use the same application.

Update 3: Samsung Mobile’s Kim Titus released the following statement:

Today’s ruling is an affirmation that the GALAXY range of products is innovative and distinctive. With regard to the single infringement cited in the ruling, we will take all possible measures including legal action to ensure that there is no disruption in the availability of our GALAXY smartphones to Dutch consumers. This ruling is not expected to affect sales in other European markets. Samsung has a proud history of innovation in the mobile industry. We will continue our plans to introduce new products and technologies that meet and exceed consumer expectations. And we will defend our intellectual property rights through the ongoing legal proceedings around the world.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Netherlands judge rules that Samsung Galaxy S, S II violate Apple patents, bans sales (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Aug 2011 09:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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