Apple ordered to publish notice that Samsung’s Galaxy Tab doesn’t copy the iPad

A few weeks back, a UK judge ruled that the Samsung galaxy Tab was “not as cool” as the iPad and dismissed Apples claims that Samsung had copied the design of its tablet. While Samsung may have been offended by the backhanded victory it was given, we’re fairly certain that their lawyers and executives are [...]]]>

Samsung's SHV-E170K is a mid-range Galaxy S III variant for Korea Telecom

It's been just a week since we saw the Samsung Galaxy S III unveiled at London's Earl's Court arena, but already the international variants of the device are starting to appear. The first is from Korea Telecom, and comes with the snappy interim title of SHV-E170K. The device, which you'll see over on the left in the photo above, looks like a cross between a Galaxy Player 7.0 and a Galaxy S III (and also bears more than a passing resemblance to this alleged S III leak from back in March.)

It's a bit more angular than the international Galaxy S III, but it's running the same combination of ICS and the TouchWiz "Nature UX" that you'll find on that phone. The SHV-E170K is confirmed to be an LTE-capable handset, but other specs have yet to be officially announced. Based on benchmark results, SammyHub? postulates that it'll carry a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 chip, a 5MP rear camera, 1.3MP front-facer and a 4.3-inch qHD SuperAMOLED screen. Essentially, this is to the Galaxy S III what the HTC One S is to the One X.

No word on whether we'll see this thing outside of Korea, but we wouldn't be surprised to see a HSPA+ version of this thing in the months ahead, as Samsung brings its mid-range portfolio up-to-date.

Source: SammyHub

Samsung’s first TV commercial for Galaxy S III goes live

Did you miss Samsung’s first TV spot for the new Galaxy S III? No worries, because they just posted it on YouTube. Check out the video clip below and let us know what you think. Is Samsung going to sell a boat-load of phones?

DroidDoodle: Everything we know about Samsung's May 3 event

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AppId is over the quota

It will have a display. And perhaps some buttons. See you from London on May 3!

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CrApp of the Week: Samsung’s Pure Breeze is still a pure bust

Last September, I took a look at Samsung’s home screen replacement called Pure Breeze Launcher. At the time, I went easy on them. It was pretty bad when it first came out, but I praised Samsung nonetheless for “thinking outside the box” (ugh). But that was then. And this is now. Pure Breeze Launcher has been tweaked, updated to work with Android 4 and boasts a “new modern user experience.” Too bad it still sucks.

The theory behind Pure Breeze Launcher isn’t all that terrible. A minimal way to keep all your apps organized, giving you constant access to what you use the most. But the execution is so poor, I’m still scratching my head trying to figure out what the hell Samsung is really going for.

If I had to describe Pure Breeze Launcher in one sentence? It’s like Samsung took Apple’s always-open-app-drawer approach, added the ability to make folders into an entire page and color coded it all. If I had to elaborate? Actually, one sentence is fine. There’s nothing to this launcher. Some frosted glass accents, crazy names for everything (the Kite?!) and a whole lot of bugs.

Even though it says Pure Breeze Launcher was updated for Android 4, it barely works on my Nexus S. Icons keep disappearing. I can’t scroll between pages, err groups, err the Kite. No wait… it didn’t start me off in the Kite. It started me off in the all apps page. So how do I get to the Kite… OK, press home again. So then to get to my groups… No, that doesn’t make sense, maybe I… Well my groups are supposed to be here… What?! There’s no icons, but pressing this blank area takes me to my groups… Well then how do I… SCREW IT.

But hey! You can have wallpapers now! Samsung is kind enough to start you off with a wallaper of a guy wearing some Adidas jersey shorts and an athletic shirt (at least I think that’s the PC term for “wife-beater”) fishing off a pier. Now that’s art.

Look, I really wanted to like Pure Breeze Launcher. I swear I did. The idea of the Kite, an endlessly scrollable area where you can throw apps and widgets and shortcuts sounds kinda cool. But it just doesn’t work. If fact, it drove me partially insane. Which is why I probably shouldn’t do this, but if you want, you can download the Lite version of Pure Breeze below. Just remember, I can’t be held responsible for any medical expenses incurred from trying to remove the memory of this thing from your brain.

Breaking: We still have no idea what Samsung's 'next Galaxy' will bring

Unless you count any of the past months' fake renders and fan-made mock-ups (like the one above), Samsung's done a great job of  keeping the Galaxy S III next Galaxy under wraps. So much so that a sort of online news vacuum has developed, which, in the absence of any actual news, draws in unsubstantiated rumors and speculation. As the phone's May 3 unveiling draws near, we're seeing even more reports of what "might" be coming in Samsung's next flagship product.

Firstly, let's look at what we do know. Yesterday's press invite references the "next Galaxy" smartphone, and in an interview with BNN.ca, Samsung Canada's VP of Mobile Communications, Paul Brannen, says that it'll be a "flagship" phone, and the next evolution of the Galaxy line. Neither mentioned any specific branding, and Brannen in particular seemed to go out of his way to avoid doing so (for obvious reasons.)

Today's latest set of rumors comes from CNET's Crave blog, sources for which suggest that the "Galaxy S III" will be more of an incremental upgrade than a revolutionary product -- "like the iPhone 4S was to the 4." The problem with that is Samsung already has plenty of incremental updates to the Galaxy S II. In 4G LTE markets, there's the Galaxy S II LTE (aka Skyrocket), and in Asia, there's the Galaxy S II HD LTE. And then there's the Galaxy Note, which already offers a larger screen in addition to both LTE connectivity and an HD display.

Due in part to the lack of reliable leaked info, consumers' expectations are sky-high for Samsung's next flagship -- comment threads and forum discussions speculate on ridiculous features, like a 2GHz quad-core chip, 2GB of RAM and a 1080p display. With this in mind, it's possible that Samsung's merely trying to manage expectations going into a major product launch -- the old adage "under-promise and over-deliver" applies here.

CNET's source also suggested Samsung may do away with its current naming convention, saying "don't expect it to be called the S3." We'd be surprised if Samsung completely abandoned its Galaxy S branding, though. The manufacturer's sold 20 million Galaxy S II's worldwide, and in its native South Korea, more than 10% of the entire population owns one. With such a popular device, it'd make sense to have a clearly identified successor. In a world of Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touches and HTC EVO 4G LTE's, the "Galaxy S III" name is clear and succinct enough to do just that.

Spec-wise, reports have been circulating for months suggesting a quad-core phone with a 720p display. That's highly likely, but not even remotely surprising. The likes of HTC, LG and Huawei have already set the bar at this level for their 2012 flagships.

So the bottom line is we still have no idea what to expect on May 3. And that makes the event all the more exciting, considering how rare it is to go into a major smartphone announcement knowing absolutely nothing. Whatever form it ends up taking, we'll be on the ground in London on the day to bring you full coverage of Samsung's next flagships

Source: BNN.ca, CNET Crave