Refresh Roundup: week of May 21st, 2012

Refresh Roundup: week of May 21st, 2012

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of May 21st, 2012

Refresh Roundup: week of May 21st, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 May 2012 20:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Visualized: Android’s device diversity cut up into 3,997 little pieces

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Some call it diversity, some call it fragmentation. However you slice it, there's a lot of Android devices out there. OpenSignalMaps has tracked a staggering 3,997 unique phones, tablets and other Google-powered gadgets, and has put them into a chart weighted by popularity. Not surprisingly, it's powerhouses like Samsung's Galaxy S II and HTC's Desire line that dictate the platform, while that Concorde Tab you bought in Hungary sadly doesn't have much traction. The normally signal mapping-oriented crew is careful to warn that the actual variety might be less: there's 1,363 one-timers in the group, and some of those may be custom ROMs and the endless carrier-specific variants that OEMs are sometimes eager to make. There's even more to look at through the source, including Android 2.3's continuing dominance and the mind-boggling number of Android screen resolutions, so click ahead for an even fuller picture.

Visualized: Android's device diversity cut up into 3,997 little pieces originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 17:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy S II LTE Ice Cream Sandwich update finally arrives, GSII HD LTE keeps waiting

Samsung Galaxy S II LTE Ice Cream Sandwich update finally arrives, GSII HD LTE keeps waiting

The slow rollout of Android 4.0 to Samsung's recent Galaxy devices continues, and the latest variation to receive Ice Cream Sandwich is the Galaxy S II LTE. We should all be familiar with the ICS feature set by now, as well as Samsung's TouchWiz alterations. The news was spotted on Samsung's Korean site, but we wouldn't be surprised to see the new software popping up on devices elsewhere shortly (AT&T's Skyrocket already saw a leaked update in March). According to a tweet from the company, it's still working on an update for the LTE's 720p-screened HD cousin (although we hear Tizen already works great), but you can hit the source link for more information.

Samsung Galaxy S II LTE Ice Cream Sandwich update finally arrives, GSII HD LTE keeps waiting originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 May 2012 05:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink @SamsungTomorrow (Twitter)  |  sourceSamsung Tomorrow (Korean)  | Email this | Comments

Refresh Roundup: week of April 30th, 2012

Refresh Roundup: week of April 30th, 2012

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of April 30th, 2012

Refresh Roundup: week of April 30th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 May 2012 19:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy S III wrap-up

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So, it's time to take down the decorations, remove that party hat and sweep up the confetti (you can clear the unfinished drinks in the morning). As Earl's Court in London echoes with the hollow sound of empty plastic champagne flutes and half-eaten canapes, the rest of the tech world gives a sigh of relief. The Samsung Galaxy S III is here. Was it what you expected? If you haven't yet decided, don't worry, we've got you covered. After all the months of anticipation, cryptic clues and teasing it's understandable that you might be feel a little bit spent. That's why we're going to carry you over the finish line, by providing you with a fireman's lift of all things GS3. We've collected together all the links to tonight's main stories, along with a little reminder of the route we took to get here. So forget about the post-party hangover for now, and do the walk of shame past the break for the round-up.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy S III wrap-up

Samsung Galaxy S III wrap-up originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 May 2012 18:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Galaxy S III vs. Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy S II: what’s changed?

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We're here live at Samsung's unveiling of the Galaxy S III and while it was going on, we furiously built this chart to see how the biggest phone of the year stacks up against its two progenitors. Here's some trivia: that 4.8-inch display is 22 percent bigger than the Galaxy S II's, but its overall dimensions only grew by 16 percent. If you're interested in those sort of details, then after the break is where you need to be.

Continue reading Galaxy S III vs. Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy S II: what's changed?

Galaxy S III vs. Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy S II: what's changed? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 May 2012 14:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Under the microscope: Samsung Galaxy S III’s HD Super AMOLED display

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By now you should already know that the brand-spanking-new Samsung Galaxy S III sports a 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display. That's right: no "plus" here, which means this 720p panel is featuring the same old PenTile RBGB pixel arrangement -- just like the 4.65-inch version on the Galaxy Nexus and the Galaxy S II HD LTE. Needless to say, this is again pure ammunition for the folks over at LG; but as we've mentioned before, HD Super AMOLED's superb contrast and higher-than-before pixel density outweigh its shortcomings in most cases.

For now though, let's examine these sub-pixels with a 230x zoom USB microscope and compare them with other phones that we have in hand. Starting off with the HTC One X's 720p SLCD 2 above, you can see how its denser sub-pixels produce a finer picture, but ultimately it's still behind HD Super AMOLED when it comes to contrast, especially with black. Read on for more comparisons.

Continue reading Under the microscope: Samsung Galaxy S III's HD Super AMOLED display

Under the microscope: Samsung Galaxy S III's HD Super AMOLED display originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 May 2012 14:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Mobile Unpacked liveblog!

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Ready to cut through that packing tape and see which smartphone Samsung has in store for 2012? The next Galaxy will make its debut on this very page, so click on through to our liveblog for the play-by-play at Earls Court in London. The fun gets started at 2PM ET on Thursday, May 3rd, listed in your local time zone just below.

March 7, 2012 2:00 PM EST

Samsung Mobile Unpacked liveblog! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 May 2012 13:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung unpacks the Galaxy tomorrow, we’ll be liveblogging the London event right here!


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Is that Galaxy S II feeling a bit stale? It's just about time for Samsung to name a successor to the massively popular smartphone, live at the company's Mobile Unpacked event at the Earls Court Olympic venue. We'll surely see a brand new mainstream handset make its debut, but what's not quite as clear is what other gadgets Samsung plans to show off in London. With defined divisions, the Korean device maker's "Mobile Unpacked" event title implies that Android phones will steal the show, so it's unlikely that we'll see an updated Tab or two. We have 24 hours and change to find out for sure, however, so bookmark this page to stay abreast of the news as it happens in our liveblog. The show kicks off at 2PM ET tomorrow (7PM local time in London) -- you'll find your local time translation just below.

May 3, 2012 2:00 PM EDT

Continue reading Samsung unpacks the Galaxy tomorrow, we'll be liveblogging the London event right here!

Samsung unpacks the Galaxy tomorrow, we'll be liveblogging the London event right here! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 May 2012 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Refresh Roundup: week of April 23rd, 2012

Refresh Roundup: week of April 23rd, 2012

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of April 23rd, 2012

Refresh Roundup: week of April 23rd, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Apr 2012 21:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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