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Samsung brings out Galaxy S III Developer Edition for Verizon, answers the call for an unlockable bootloader

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Samsung brings out Galaxy S III Developer Edition for Verizon, answers the call for unlockable bootloaders

We didn't have too many reservations about the Galaxy S III for Verizon in stock form. Anyone who's been eager to load new firmware, however, has been up in arms over the particularly locked down bootloader that Big Red (but no other US carrier so far) demands. Enter the Galaxy S III Developer Edition. The new, direct-from-Samsung variant will have all the CDMA and LTE a Verizon subscriber could want, but with the option to unlock the bootloader for as much customization as serious Android fans might stand. As you'd anticipate, the catch is simply who takes the hit if something goes wrong: brick the phone and you're likely looking at an expensive phone call to Samsung rather than a trip to the local Verizon store. Regardless, those who like Verizon's network but don't believe its claims about 'dangerous' unlocked phones can get the best of both worlds soon -- as long as they're willing to spend the $600 off-contract once the Developer Edition is ready in the near future. Check after the break for Samsung's official Q&A on the subject.

Continue reading Samsung brings out Galaxy S III Developer Edition for Verizon, answers the call for an unlockable bootloader

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Samsung brings out Galaxy S III Developer Edition for Verizon, answers the call for an unlockable bootloader originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jul 2012 19:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSamsung Developers (not yet active)  | Email this | Comments

Verizon Galaxy S III has locked bootloader (but it’s been rooted anyway)

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DNP Verizon 'forced' Samsung to lock Galaxy S III boot loader

Based on Samsung's hacker-friendly track record, you'd generally expect one of it smartphones to come with an unlocked bootloader, making it easy to update or tweak with unofficial ROMs. That's not the case with Verizon's imminent version of the Galaxy S III, however. As the folk at XDA know only too well, this particular iteration of Sammy's flagship comes with a sealed bootloader, which makes it resistant (though not impervious) to hackery.

Of course, Sammy has nothing to gain from snubbing the modding community in this way, so it stands to reason that VZW pushed the Korean manufacturer to supply them with a locked bootloader -- despite the fact that all other variants have been left open. We've reached out to Big Red for comment, but in the meantime a clever soul over at Rootzwiki claims they've already found a workaround for root access. (At this point, though, we'd better provide our usual disclaimer: be very careful before you poke around in there, because going up against a locked bootloader can be risky. The apparent safety of modern life is just a shallow skin atop an ocean of blood, guts and bricked devices.)

Verizon Galaxy S III has locked bootloader (but it's been rooted anyway) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 Jul 2012 08:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceXDA Developers Forum, Rootzwiki  | Email this | Comments

Samsung finds exploding Galaxy S III was due to ‘external source’, owner says it was a ‘mistake’

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Remember the melted Samsung Galaxy S III that surfaced in an Irish forum a few weeks ago? Samsung said they were looking into it and, along with a third party investigation, have decided it occurred as a result of "external energy" being applied to the device, not anything from within the phone itself. The damage is apparently consistent with the phone going in the microwave. The original poster dillo2k10 has posted an update on Boards.ie, indicating it was a mistake by someone else in an attempt to recover the phone after it got wet. The Samsung Tomorrow post linked cites a report from Fire Investigations UK finding that the phone itself was not responsible for generating the heat that caused the damage, so GSIII owners (and the pockets of their skinny jeans) should be able to breathe easier.

Samsung finds exploding Galaxy S III was due to 'external source', owner says it was a 'mistake' originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Jul 2012 23:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSamsung Tomorrow, Boards.ie  | Email this | Comments

PSA: Samsung Galaxy S III for AT&T now in stores

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PSA Samsung Galaxy S III for AT&T hits stores

Samsung's current US trinity is now complete: the AT&T Galaxy S III is sitting on store shelves. After the somewhat bumpy launch, it's possible to traipse by any of Big Blue's stores and pick up the Android 4.0 flagship in marble white or pebble blue for $200 on a contract. It's the definitive GSM version for the US, with LTE giving it an edge over the HSPA+ T-Mobile model; we just wish there was an AT&T variant with 32GB of storage built-in, although that's nothing a microSD card won't fix. We just need to wait for US Cellular and Verizon to complete the launch and put Nature UX in seemingly every pocket.

PSA: Samsung Galaxy S III for AT&T now in stores originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Jul 2012 19:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceAT&T  | Email this | Comments

Samsung Galaxy S III goes on Sale at Sprint on July 1 for $199.99

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Sprint just released the details for the Galaxy S III sale. Samsung Galaxy S III will be available at Sprint beginning on Sunday, July 1. It will be offered in a 16GB version for $199.99 and 32GB...

Samsung: Galaxy S III sales expected to total 10 million by July

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Samsung Galaxy S III sales expected to total 10 million by July

Korea's golden goose is on track to drop its 10 millionth Galaxy S III by July, according to Samsung mobile head Shin Jong-kyun. The expectation comes despite limited supply, fueled by a component shortage at the smartphone giant. Regardless of this notable shortcoming, Samsung has wasted no time getting its latest handset to market, and expects to deliver the 4.8-inch Galaxy to some 300 carriers in 147 countries by the end of next month, including all of the major UK carriers, along with AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon in the US. The sky-high figure is merely an estimate, however, so investors may want to stay tuned for the official announcement before uncorking the Dom. Full details are at the source link below.

[Thanks, Joseph]

Samsung: Galaxy S III sales expected to total 10 million by July originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jun 2012 13:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceAP  | Email this | Comments

Samsung pegs LTE Galaxy S III for South Korea in July, quad-core quite possibly intact (update: yes!)

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Samsung pegs LTE Galaxy S III for South Korea in July, quadcore quite possibly intact

Remember that dream version of the Galaxy S III that melded the Exynos 4 Quad, LTE-based 4G and 2GB of RAM all in one ultimate device? It now looks much closer to reality. Just as the 3G version is landing on the country's shores through SK Telecom, Samsung is sending word that the Korean LTE version is due in early July -- and Chosun claims it should have the best of all worlds in terms of performance. There should even be DMB TV tuning and a 500-title Video Hub for local movie lovers. We're anxious about just what that combination could do to battery life and the price, neither of which were mentioned up front. There may be good reasons why the US versions run on the dual-core Snapdragon S4, after all. Still, if the Korean LTE version doesn't have to make any sacrifices and is just a few weeks away from stores, it'll be hard not to turn a deep shade of green watching our friends in Seoul get what could easily be the better deal.

Update: The company has since piped up and confirmed to The Verge that the Korean LTE version is, in fact, quad-core. The LTE sits on a discrete modem chip where it's normally more tightly integrated on the Snapdragon, however -- and that means a potential knock against the runtime given that the 2,100mAh battery hasn't been beefed up.

Samsung pegs LTE Galaxy S III for South Korea in July, quad-core quite possibly intact (update: yes!) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jun 2012 00:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSamsung Tomorrow (translated), Chosun (translated)  | Email this | Comments

AT&T says Galaxy S III pre-orders won’t land until June 25th, Samsung decides to celebrate anyways

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AT&T says Galaxy S III preorders won't land until June 25th, Samsung decides to celebrate anyways

Samsung's US Galaxy S III launch is turning out to be quite the muted affair. Along with news of staggered Sprint and T-Mobile releases, AT&T is now adding that its Galaxy S III version likely won't make June 21st at all. Pre-order customers who were promised the phone this week are instead being told to wait until June 25th; they might get it early, should the smartphone stars align properly. If you're having pangs of regret for not pulling the trigger earlier, you'll have to wait up to 10 business days before before that Marble White or Pebble Blue beauty shows at your door. AT&T is pinning the delay on short supply, much like its fellow American launch carriers.

Not that the lack of handsets is stopping Samsung from kicking off an elaborate launch campaign of its own. Along with the usual celebrity and Times Square stunts, the Korean corporation is starting up a curated media hub, Beacon, and placing NFC-equipped Share-to-Go Stations: those in the happy position of carrying a Galaxy S III in their hands can download free content just through swinging by a kiosk. You can catch the full details of Samsung's escapades after the break.

Continue reading AT&T says Galaxy S III pre-orders won't land until June 25th, Samsung decides to celebrate anyways

AT&T says Galaxy S III pre-orders won't land until June 25th, Samsung decides to celebrate anyways originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jun 2012 11:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourcePhone Scoop  | Email this | Comments

Samsung’s SmartStay replicated by ISeeYou Android app, keeps screens on while you’re watching

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Samsung's SmartStay replicated by ISeeYou Android app, keeps screens on while you're watching

If you're not joining the Galaxy S III bandwagon and aren't keen on feeling completely left out, the ISeeYou app can give you a hand. Mimicking Sammy's SmartStay feature, the app prevents your ICS device from slipping into sleep mode when you're staring at its display. Springing $0.99 for the app nets you control over the frequency and length of the peeks taken by your phone's front-facing camera -- helpful for coordinating with a handset's sleep settings and presumably for optimizing battery life. A free version can be taken for a spin, though it doesn't allow for such fine tuning. Yearning to simulate part of the Galaxy S III experience? Mosey over to Google Play for the downloads.

Samsung's SmartStay replicated by ISeeYou Android app, keeps screens on while you're watching originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jun 2012 01:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Talk Android  |  sourceGoogle Play (I See You Pro), (I See You Lite)  | Email this | Comments

Sprint warns it’s a ‘little behind’ on Samsung Galaxy S III, T-Mobile staggers its launch

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Samsung Galaxy S III rocky

That delayed Canadian Galaxy S III launch may have been a harbinger of US delays to come: Sprint has let Engadget know that it's running a "little behind" on shipments. The company still hopes to get all pre-orders of the 16GB model to customers by the official June 21st release, but warns that orders might slip by one or two days. We also hope 32GB customers weren't planning their schedules around the 21st -- the higher capacity won't ship until the following week. Sprint is citing both "overwhelming demand and limited supply" as the root causes, although it hasn't quantified just how whelmed those sales are.

T-Mobile, meanwhile, is telling Galaxy S III buyers in some areas to sit tight. We've directly confirmed through a spokesperson an earlier leak from TmoNews that claimed Magenta will only focus June 21st retail sales on the "top 29 markets," most of them major cities. If you fall outside of those areas, you'll have to wait until shortly afterwards to pick one up, the provider tells us. As it stands, AT&T, US Cellular and Verizon still haven't committed to exact release dates and are currently off the hook.

Sprint warns it's a 'little behind' on Samsung Galaxy S III, T-Mobile staggers its launch originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jun 2012 20:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceTmoNews  | Email this | Comments