Apple’s court documents compare iOS icons with Samsung’s TouchWiz, show the striking similarities

One of the good things about the Apple vs. Samsung legal kerfuffle is that it has often resulted in a lot of interesting and never before seen information leaking to the public through court document.

The latest document from Monday’s trial does not show something new but asserts what we have already seen before. That Samsung took heavy inspiration from Apple’s iOS for the TouchWiz UI.
The images below compare icons from Apple’s iOS with multiple variations that Samsung “created” for different devices running TouchWiz. As you can see, the similarities are striking to anyone with a working pair of eyes. And before you make the lame argument that that there is no other way to design these icons, I would just direct you towards icons on other Android phones running stock Android or HTC Sense, that look nothing like Apple’s icons.

Clearly then Samsung went out of its way to make these icons look like Apple’s, something they have tried to correct in their latest Nature UX, which has substantially different looking icons compared to both, Apple’s and their own previous designs.
Samsung better has some exceptionally talented lawyers otherwise things are looking bleak for them.

Korean Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 source code released

The source code for the Korean Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 has been released and is now available for download.

This means that developers can now start developing custom ROMs for the newly announced 10.1″ slate.
The revamped Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 was just announced and we already have a hands-on for you guys to enjoy.
We are already working on a preview of the 10.1″ slate with a quad-core Exynos processor so stay tuned!

Samsung officially announces the Galaxy Note 10.1

After sending out a pretty obvious invite about its special event on August 15, Samsung has just officially announced the Galaxy Note 10.1.

This is the second appearance of the Galaxy Note 10.1 after it was returned to the R&D center for a specs update and now the tablet is as ready for action as it could be. It comes with Samsung's very own Exynos 4412 chipset with a quad-core 1.4GHz processor, Mali 400MP GPU and 2GB of RAM.
As its name suggests, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 comes with 10.1" screen, which as usual for the company's slates is of the PLS TFT variety. It features a resolution of 1280x800 pixels, making for a pixel density of 149ppi.

 

The Galaxy Note 10.1 comes in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB versions, all of which feature a stylus dubbed the S Pen. This time around though, the tablet offers a slot for the S Pen, instead of making you carry it separately.
Just like the original Galaxy Note, the 10.1 comes with some exclusive apps to take advantage of the stylus, including S Note, S Planner, Crayon physics, Adobe® Photoshop® Touch, and Polaris Office. There's also palm rejection support, so you won't hit any buttons by accident with your palm when drawing with the S Pen.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 comes with a 5MP main snapper with LED flash and a 1.9MP font-facing camera for video conferencing. There's also a microSD card slot, and on the 3G models - a SIM card slot, as well.
Samsung also released a rather lengthy introductory video of the Galaxy Note 10.1 Here it is.

Samsung hints at Galaxy Note 10.1 launch with latest invite

While Samsung's August 15 media event has generally been assumed to be regarding the Galaxy Note 10.1, the latest media invite proves this beyond doubt.

The latest invite shows the outline of a tablet with a stylus slot on the side and the words "Meet the new way" written on the tablet. Unless Samsung has another tablet with stylus in the pipeline, this is definitely the Galaxy Note 10.1.
The event will be taking place in New York next week on Wednesday. Shortly after that, Samsung has another event planned for August 29, which we already know is for the next Galaxy Note.

Samsung holding an Unpacked event on August 29 at IFA

Samsung just announced its second Unpacked event for the month of August. For a traditional holiday month, August is shaping up as a rather busy months for us in the industry.
The newly announced event is due for the evening August 29, right before the IFA exhibition kicks off.
The other Unpacked event that we know about will take place in New York on August 15 supposedly to unveil the upgraded Galaxy Note 10.1 slate.
The Unpacked event on August 29 will take place in Tempodrom, Berlin just two days before the IFA kicks off. It will start at 7PM local time (GMT+1).
All the rumors suggest a Galaxy Note 2 announcement and the stylus/pen on the invitation is a further confirmation of this. The Galaxy Note 2 smartphone is rumored to pack a bigger 5.5-inch display smacked on top of the Galaxy S III hardware. The most interesting bit is that the 5.5-inch Note is supposed to keep the width of the original’s Note.
You can bet we’ll be there to cover the event and we’ll tell you everything you need to know. Stay tuned!

Samsung Epic 4G Touch receives Ice Cream Sandwich

Users of the Samsung Galaxy S II for Sprint, also known as the Samsung Epic 4G Touch, are reporting that they are receiving an update to Android ICS.
There have been reports of the IMM761.FF18 build being pushed to users for a few days now, and it seems there are enough people getting it to make the whole thing seem like a legit carrier-wide update.

If you own a Epic 4G Touch and haven't received an update notification yet, check for updates from your phones' settings menu.
The ICS build should improve performance and stability, as well as add improved multitasking features. Remember to turn on your WiFi connection for any OTA updates.

Samsung starts 64GB NAND memory mass production for mobiles

The more internal memory mobile devices have, the better. But speed is just as important as capacity and Samsung are betting on both with its latest NAND memory chips.

 Currently entering in mass production, the new high-speed embedded memory (eMMC) flash chips will be offered in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB varieties. They'll be manufactured under the eMMC Pro Class 1500 specification, which boasts some... well, ballistic speeds.
Those flash chips are rated for speeds of 140MB/s read transfer and 50MB/s write transfer, which has never been achieved before. They are result of an engineering mix of a 64-gigabit NAND with a toggle DDR2.0 interface, all built using the 20nm manufacturing process. These chips are also the first of their kind to support the JEDEC e-MMC v4.5 specification.
Naturally, it'll be put into future premium smartphones and tablets. If we had to guess, we'd say the company's Galaxy Note 2 may be the first device to rock the new storage chip, but only time will tell.

Samsung reportedly squeezed out 350 ppi out of an OLED display panel

It looks like Samsung is about to answer all critics of the PenTile natured displays of the Galaxy Nexus and the Galaxy S III in an adequate fashion. The Korean giant has reportedly squeezed out the jaw dropping 350ppi out of an AMOLED display with RGB stripe.

 The feat has been accomplished in laboratory test, via the application of fine metal mask technology, which is a departure of the, currently used by Samsung, laser-induced thermal imaging method.
Naturally, we hope that the new tech makes it to production as soon as possible. After all the possibility of 350ppi display sporting Samsung smartphone will surely be tempting to many.

Samsung has started pushing out Android 4.0.4 to Galaxy Tab 10.1

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 has reportedly, just started receiving its update to Android ICS.

Currently, the update has gone live in Italy, but should hit other regions soon.
This comes in line with previous information that Samsung would be updating their older Galaxy tablets to Android 4.0 in July and August.
You can receive the update either OTA or via Samsung Kies, but it’s recommended that you enable WiFi if you’re going the over-the-air route.
The other tablets which are slated to receive the update next month are:

• Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Wi-Fi
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 Wi-Fi
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 Wi-Fi + 3G
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 Wi-Fi
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 Wi-Fi + 3G
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus Wi-Fi
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus Wi-Fi + 3G

Samsung claim that the update will address various stability issues, as well as improve performance. While this is, unfortunately, not the most recent version of Android available (no Android 4.1 Jelly Bean for now), it’s still a step in the right direction. Here’s to hoping it won’t take them too long to seed Jelly Bean too.

Samsung Galaxy Beam is officially available in the UK

The Samsung Galaxy Beam is now officially available throughout the UK. Reportedly, some stores have already been selling it for a week or so, but it is today that Samsung deems the official launch of the smartphone/projector.

If you've followed the previous news about its availability, you will know that the Galaxy Beam does not come cheap (be it in or outside the UK).
Buying at Clove UK will cost you the cool £412 ($647; €528) with VAT included.
The Carphone Warehouse would also offer you the handset for free with a number of contract options with Orange and T-Mobile.
Amazon UK doesn't offer it, but there are some sellers there that have it for about the same price as Clove.
Expansys UK sells a cheaper European model and a more expensive UK one.
We guess you can get it in many more online shops, those just came up first in our search. Feel free to shop around.
And if you are interested in getting one, don't forget to check out our review before you shell out the cash.

Samsung launches the Omnia M S7530, costs around €270

Couple of months after the announcement, Samsung is now launching the Omnia M S7530.

The device runs the soon-to-be-obsolete Windows Phone 7.5 Tango and specs-wise looks like a cut-down version of the Omnia W. It's powered by a 1GHz single-core processor and comes with 384MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage (unlike the 1.4GHz and 512MB of RAM found in the Omnia W).
Compared to the Omnia W, the Omnia M packs a bigger 4.0-inch Super AMOLED at the front, but a similar 5MP camera at the back, which unfortunately, doesn't capture 720p videos, but still has an LED flash. Additionally, 3G HSDPA speeds go only as high as 7.2Mbps instead of the 14.4Mbps on the Omnia W.
The Omnia M carries an official price tag of Rs.18,650 (about €270) in India, which doesn't make much sense considering the Omnia W costs significantly less than that. However, you can find it cheaper thanks to some local deals.

Samsung announces UK availability for Galaxy Beam

 It's been more than five months since we first saw the Samsung Galaxy Beam at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and now it looks like the phone/projector hybrid is set to officially make its way to the UK. A Samsung press release indicates that the Beam is available in Britain from today, though no specific retailers, networks or price points are mentioned. Pre-order prices have suggested a fairly hefty £454.80 including VAT, or £379 (~$600) excluding VAT to buy the Beam outright.

The reason you might pay that much is the Galaxy Beam's built-in pico projector, which allows you to fire images up to 50 feet away from the device, depending on various factors like ambient lighting. Other specs are relatively run-of-the-mill -- a 1GHz dual-core CPU, a 4-inch WVGA display, 5MP camera and Android 2.3 Gingerbread (yeah, we know) backed up by Samsung's TouchWiz software. So there are certainly better deals to be had elsewhere for mainstream buyers, but if you want a portable image projector that ties into your smartphone, this is, for the moment, the only way you'll be able to get it.

We've got the full spec sheet and today's press release after the break.

Samsung reveal plans for two future Windows Phones

A look at some of the documents shown in the Apple vs. Samsung trial shows Samsung has two new Windows Phone devices in the works.

Both are set to feature the dual-core MSM8960 chipset, as well as support for HSPA+ 21Mbits and LTE.
The Odyssey will sport a 4.65" Super AMOLED screen of HD resolution, as well as an 8 MP rear-facing camera accompanied by a 2MP front-facer. Samsung have also confirmed support for NFC on this device.
The Marco will be the lesser of the two offerings, with a 4-inch Super AMOLED of 800 x 480 pixel resolution, and a 5 MP main camera alongside a 2MP front-facing one.
The court document indicates that the two devices will be released in Q4 of 2012.

Samsung Creating Very High Density OLED Screens

We love OLED displays because of their bright, high-contrast screens, but when it comes to really high pixel densities, we start seeing a lot of LCD panels, instead. Sure, plenty of OLEDs get pretty high up there, like the Galaxy Nexus at 316ppi, but as we start pushing much past that point, it seems like everything’s an LCD. Some new components from Samsung may be about to give OLEDs the densities they need to make some really sharp, really impressive screens, with pixel counts up in the 350ppi range.
Samsung has reportedly manged this feat thanks to Fine Metal Mask technology. Reportedly FMM is something Samsung can integrate into its existing OLED production lines without too much hassle, making us hopeful that we’ll see displays utilizing the tech start making their way to commercial hardware without an extended wait. Being able to shoehorn FMM into its current systems in this way may also mean these new screens would arrive without being overly expensive.
For comparison’s sake, a 4.2-inch 720p screen would have a pixel density of very nearly 350ppi.

New Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 video ad lands on YouTube, announcement to come in three weeks

An official video ad of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 was uploaded on YouTube. It focuses on the S-Pen input and unfortunately reveals nothing, but the supposedly retail design.

The Galaxy Note 10.1 was initially announced at the MWC in February and was supposed to be powered by a dual-core Exynos chipset. Later, though, Samsung decided to delay the tablet and equip it with a better CPU.
Here is the Galaxy Note 10.1 ad:

 

Samsung is still mum on the new chipset, but the latest rumors and leaked benchmarks suggest a quad-core Exynos ticking inside the final Galaxy Note 10.1 – the same powering the Galaxy S III smartphone.
Samsung is holding an event on August 15 in New York. Chances are Samsung will finally reveal the revamped Galaxy Note 10.1 there and we’ll get the answers to all our questions.

Xbox Surface specs leak, detail a 7-inch tablet and powerful “stationary computing device”

Unlike most of the Microsoft-designed hardware (Zune, Kin, etc.), the Xbox is a strong seller, so this is potentially huge news – Xbox Surface, a 7″ tablet.

Is this the Microsoft-branded tablet that the rumor mill has been chatting about? Well, if it is, it sounds like a pretty odd design – besides the tablet, there’s also a “stationary computing device”, which is quite the powerhouse.
The tablet features a 7″ LED screen of 720p resolution, 288MB of RAM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a regular-sized SD card slot. There’s a rechargeable battery that is good for up to 7 hours of usage.
288MB of RAM sounds really low, which might suggest that the tablet acts like more of a wireless screen than a standalone device.
The stationary device packs two IBM POWER7 SCMs with six cores clocked at 3.1GHz each, there’s 5GB of system memory, an AMD-sourced GPU with 1.2GB of on-board memory and full DirectX 11 support and a 250GB 2.5″ 10K RPM hard disk.
The stationary device also offers four ports for controllers, 4x USB 3.0 ports for other peripherals (like extra storage), component and HDMI TV-outs, optical S/PDIFF and an Ethernet port.
Is it just me or does this sound like an Xbox version of the Wii U GamePad right along with a brand new Xbox? It feels a little early for Microsoft to be announcing the next generation Xbox , so we’ll have to wait for the announcement that Microsoft has planned for later today.
It goes without saying that this Xbox Surface business is far from official and that the image you see above is nothing but a quick mockup.

Samsung beats iPhone sales

It looks like a pressurize-hype is building up at Cupertino to give their make or break shot for the new iPhone 5 as Sammy’s Galaxy line has been outstanding in the market shipping nearly twice as Apple for the second quarter.

Strategy Analytics, a research firm claims that Samsung shipped 50.5 million units for 2Q 2012 topping a new record for a smartphone manufacturer greatest shipment for a quarter and interestingly the company now takes 35-percent of the global market. On the other hand, Apple shipped 26 million units on the same quarter that takes about 18-percent of the market share.

Sammy’s skyrocketing sales for the second quarter profit record of $5.86 billion and up by 79-percent compared at the same month last year.

At the moment, Apple and Samsung combined market share will have half of the global market for smartphones, with global shipments rose to 32-percent to 146 million units.