Samsung Galaxy Beam Up For Pre-order In The UK

One of the new smartphones that Samsung showed off at this years MWC, was the Samsung Galaxy Beam which comes with built in projector, the device is expected to launch in the UK in July and it is now available to pre-order.

The Samsung Galaxy Beam features a 4 inch display with a resolution of 800 x 400 pixels, a 5 megapixel rear camera for video and photos and a front facing 1.3 megapixel camera for video chat, plus a built in video projector that can project images and video up to 50 inches.

The Samsung Galaxy beam comes with Android 2.3 Gingerbread and it also features 8GB of built in storage, Samsung have said that it will get Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich shortly after release.

UK retailer Clover have just put the Galaxy Beam up for pre-order with a price of £454.80 including taxes, although they have also said that this price may change slightly between now and launch.

[GALAXY Beam] First Hands-on Video:

Samsung Galaxy S II Running Android 4.0 Official ROM

We’ve seen Android Ice Cream Sandwich getting ported or leaked for many devices, including the unlikely Samsung Galaxy S, Amazon Kindle Fire and HP TouchPad. Well, those were all unofficial release, but this time we have something truly official: the leaked ICS ROM for Samsung Galaxy S II, that has just been tried on by the guys of Pocketnow.com.

They also made a video showing their experience, that you can check out below. The Galaxy S II runs Android 4.0.3, apparently with an improved TouchWiz, that to me looks exactly the same. Also, the handset is now more stable, it’s really fast, smooth and even the battery life improved. Android 4.0 has arrived on this phone before, via custom ROMs, so we know what to expect here. The Robot font looks nice on the crisp Super AMOLED Plus display and the Exynos dual core 1.2 GHz CPU seems to fit the experience like a glove.


Well, Gingerbread may have become sluggish if you had a ton of updating widgets enabled, but that’s in the past now, courtesy of ICS. The performance upgrades are also pretty clear, as shown by everyday use (Video below) and a couple of benchmarks, generating 6257 points in AnTuTu, 4225 in Quadrant and 2517 in SmartBench. I guess that it’s only a matter of time till all the Galaxy S II (tens of millions) units get the update to the latest Android, which Samsung promised for Q1 by the way.

Samsung Galaxy S II Running the Official Ice Cream Sandwich ROM XXLPQ:

Samsung Galaxy S Advance Appears At The FCC

The Samsung Galaxy S Advance was announced back in January, and the device has just appeared at the FCC in the US, an it looks like it is headed to US mobile carrier AT&T. As a reminder, the Samsung Galaxy S Advance comes with a 4 inch WVGA Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels and it will come with Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

The Samsung Galaxy S Advance also features a dual core 1GHz processor, plus 768MB of RAM, and a front facing 1.3 megapixel camera for video chat, on the back there is a 5 megapixel camera with auto-focus and an LED flash, the rear camera can record HD video in 720p at 30 frames per second. Other specifications include a choice of either 8GB or 16GB of built in storage, plus a microSD card slot which can take up to 32GB cards, there are no details on pricing for the US as yet.

Samsung Galaxy S Advance Preview:

Samsung Ships Two Million Galaxy Note Devices

Recntly it's found that, Samsung’s Galaxy note has become a popular device, as Samsung has announced that they have now shipped a total of 2 million Galaxy Note’s since the device was launched last year. Samsung recently announced a new Galaxy Note at this years Mobile World Congress, the Galaxy Note 10.1 with a larger display than the previous model, and we suspect their Galaxy Note range will become even more popular.

The main Galaxy Note is a combination device between a smartphone and a tablet, it features a 5.3 inch Super AMOLED touchscreen display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, processing is provided by a dual core 1.4GHz processor and it comes with Android Gingerbread 2.3

The Samsung Galaxy Note also comes with dual cameras, on the back there is an 8 megapixel camera with an LED flash, on the front there is a 2 megapixel camera for video chat.

Compared: Samsung Galaxy Note with various devices:

Samsung Rugby Smart Gets Official, Lands On AT&T March 4th

It was only a matter of time, we suppose. After having seen the Samsung Rugby Smart poke its head out from time to time, Samsung's new rugged smartphone is officially hitting AT&T stores on March 4th. Much like the Pantech Element, the Rugby Smart will be "waterproof," meaning it can be submerged for up to 30 minutes in one meter of water. The phone itself is built to mil-spec 810F standards, so it's going to handle most extreme conditions pretty well. So let's list off the specs we've heard so far: it will launch with Android 2.3 -- shocker, we know -- as well as a 3.7-inch WVGA Super AMOLED panel, 4GB of internal storage, 1,650mAh battery and a 1.3MP front-facing shooter for video chat along with a 5MP rear facing autofocus camera with LED flash and 720p video capture. The Smart will also be 12.19mm thick (also not a surprise, given its rugged nature) and weigh 4.2 ounces. We don't know what CPU's inside yet, but we'll update as soon as we find out. To check out all the extreme details, head to the videos and press release under the break.

New Samsung Rugby Smart Mobile Minute:

Samsung Rugby Smart Durability Test:

Samsung Galaxy S Advance Preview

Introduction:

While dual-core processors are a common trait when high-end smartphones are concerned, mid range devices pretty much always stick to single-core CPUs. But not the Samsung Galaxy S Advance – inside it ticks a 1GHz dual-core chipset made by ST-Ericsson. The rest of its specs look pretty decent as well for a mid-range Android smartphone: 4-inch Super AMOLED display with WVGA resolution, 5-megapixel camera with auto-focus and LED flash, 14.4Mbps 3G radio, and 8 or 16 gigs of on-board storage. The Samsung Galaxy S Advance is not available on the market yet, but what we have here is a prototype unit of the smartphone. Care to learn more about it? Then read along.

Design:

Upon holding the Samsung Galaxy S Advance for the first time, we noticed that it sports more than a few design cues present in other Samsung devices, such as the Galaxy Nexus flagship. And that, of course, is a good thing as it adds a dose of premium feel to an otherwise mid-range device. On one hand, we have a curved glass display meant to follow the shape of the user's face more naturally. On the other, the fine texture on its back feels nice to the touch and adds a bit of extra grip. Furthermore, it is slightly thicker and heavier at the bottom, which makes it a bit more comfortable to grasp.

You can compare the Samsung Galaxy S Advance with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool. The outlay of the three Android buttons located under the smartphone's display is familiar as well: a big physical home key is located in the middle, accompanied by two capacitive buttons for the menu and back functions. Fortunately, the capacitive buttons are not prone to accidental presses. Last but not least, the volume rocker and power key, which reside on the smartphone's left and right side respectively, respond with an excellent click when pressed.

Samsung Galaxy S Advance GT-i9070 leaked on the web:

White Samsung Galaxy Nexus Now Available In The UK

We just got an email from a couple of online retailers here in the UK to let us know that they now have the SIM free white Samsung Galaxy Nexus available, and apart from the white casing the device comes with the same specifications as the original Galaxy Nexus.

The white Samsung Galaxy Nexus comes with the same specifications as the existing model, which include a 4.65 inch HD Super AMOLED multi-touch touchscreen display, with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, and an advanced 5 megapixel camera. The two retailers are Unlocked Mobiles and Clove, and the White Samsung Galaxy Nexus is available for £495, it should also be available shortly from a number of the various mobile phone provides on contract.

The Samsung Galaxy nexus comes with the latest version of Google’s mobile OS, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich,have a look at our Samsung Galaxy Nexus review to see what we thought of Google’s flagship Android smartphone.

White Samsung Galaxy Nexus Coming February UK:

Android 4.0 For Samsung Galaxy S II Leaked Again

In another Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich leak for Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S II smartphone, we’re seeing a more stable build of the Android operating system. The engineering build bears the version I9100XXLPB and has a date of January 29. The version combines Google’s Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich along with Samsung’s proprietary TouchWiz user interface experience overlay on top.

The new build is said to be a lot more stable than the prior version, which had the version I9100XXLP6. Both builds were designed for the international GSM version of the Galaxy S II smartphones. Samsung had promised that Android 4.0 will be coming to the Galaxy S II line early 2012, and it looks like the company is progressing along to making that happen. A user had posted their hands-on video of the new Ice Cream Sandwich for the Galaxy S II smartphone, which is re-posted below:

I9100XXLPB:

Cellebrite Machine shows Samsung Epic 4G 2 coming

You might remember the Cellebrite machine as being the device used by carriers to move over information (like your contacts list) from one handset to another. According to a source for ACS Syndicate, Sprint's version of the machine displayed the Samsung SPH-D705, aka the Samsung Epic 4G 2. This would be the sequel to Sprint's first-gen Samsung Epic 4G and has nothing to do with the Samsung Epic 4G Touch. The latter, of course, is Sprint's version of the Samsung Galaxy S II.

Back in August, Pocketnow had a leaked image of the Samsung Epic 4G 2 and said that the model was due to be released in the third quarter of last year. Expectations were for a minor refresh from the original unit; the phone was expected to have a 4 inch display and a single-core 1.2GHz processor. The camera was to receive a bump to 8MP from the 5MP on the original device.

Obviously, the Samsung Epic 4G 2 did not come out in the third quarter and the picture of the phone from last summer obtained by Pocketnow might not look anything like the handset now. With a single-core processor under the hood back in June, we might see some upgrade to the phone's innards as well.

Amazon offering Samsung Epic 4G Touch for just $79.99 with new line

With its dual-core 1.2GHz Exynos processor and the 4.52 inch Super AMOLED Plus display, many consider Sprint's Samsung Epic 4G Touch to be the best variant of the Samsung Galaxy S II models available in the States, which might make it the best Android phone that money can now buy. After all, the model on AT&T might have the Exynos processor onboard, but the display is only (in comparison, of course, to the Sprint model) 4.3 inches. The T-Mobile version of the Samsung Galaxy S II has the 4.52 inch display but replaces the homegrown Exynos processor with a dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm APQ 8060 processor. While the latter has a faster clock speed, many believe that the Exynos processor in the device performs better and produces no lagging.

What brings the conversation to the Samsung Epic 4G Touch is the sale that online retailer Amazon is offering for the model. New Sprint customers can buy the phone for only $79.99 with a signed 2-year pact. If you already are a Sprint customer and add a new line to an existing account, the Samsung Galaxy S II is just $99.99 with a 2-year contract. Have an upgrade you can use? For you, the handset is $149.99 with a 2-year contract. At Sprint, the Epic 4G Touch is still $199.99 on contract, so no matter which option you use, you are saving some bread.

There is no word on when this deal ends, so if you are interested you might want to take advantage of this pricing soon before it is too late.