• January 18, 2013
• JE Syndicated
• Ameilius

Benchmark test results allegedly belonging to Samsung’s (005930) upcoming Galaxy S IV were spotted on the AnTuTu benchmark database, and they may confirm previously rumored specs. Two unknown Samsung devices, one Korean and the other British, with model numbers SHV-E300S and GT-I9500, were discovered running a 1.8GHz quad-core processor and Android 4.2.1. It has been alleged that the CPU is Samsung’s next-generation Exynos 5 Octo processor, which the company announced at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this month. The Galaxy S IV has also been rumored to include a 4.99-inch Super AMOLED Full HD display, 2GB of RAM and a 13-megapixel rear camera. Samsung is expected to announced its next flagship smartphone at an event this spring.

• January 14, 2013
• JE Syndicated
• Ameilius

Before we get all hyped up for the rumored iPhone 5S launch later this year, we’re likely going to go through Galaxy S IV mania as well. AnadTech last week spotted what appears to be a roadmap for Samsung (005930) Galaxy smartphones at the Consumer Electronics Show showing that an upcoming Samsung smartphone will have a five-inch display with a resolution of 440 pixels per inch and that will be released in the first quarter of 2013. While the roadmap didn’t specifically label the upcoming smartphone as the Galaxy S IV, we’ve heard rumors that the sequel to Samsung’s hugely popular Galaxy S III will also feature a five-inch screen, along with a 2GHz quad-core Exynos processor, 2GB of RAM and

• January 11, 2013
• JE Syndicated
• Ameilius

Anyone holding off on buying an iPad mini because it doesn’t have a Retina display might not have to wait much longer. Topeka Capital analyst Brian White sent out a research note on Friday claiming that Apple (AAPL) plans to release both a fifth-generation iPad and a second-generation iPad mini this March. White said that unnamed sources at the Consumer Electronics Show indicated that “the iPad 5 is expected to be lighter and thinner than the iPad 4 that was released in October, while the form factor of the iPad mini should be similar to the first generation iPad mini that debuted in October.” White didn’t mention whether the new iPad mini would have an upgraded display, although previous rumors

• January 10, 2013
• JE Syndicated
• Ameilius

When you’re CEO of America’s No.4 wireless carrier, you can afford to be a little colorful. Per PCMag, T-Mobile CEO John Legere decided to bring some much-needed spice to the Consumer Electronics Show this week by speaking candidly about his company’s rivals and the state of the mobile industry as a whole. Legere said that AT&T’s (T) mobile data service in New York is “crap” before backtracking and saying that he didn’t mean to ”say the network’s crap, it’s just not as good as ours.” On Verizon (VZ), Legere praised the company’s “beautiful network” and said that it deserves credit for “the way they covered those dust bowl states with LTE.” However, Legere also dinged Verizon for its decision to go with

• January 9, 2013
• JE Syndicated
• Ameilius

RIM (RIMM) isn’t conducting any big press conferences at the Consumer Electronics Show this year and it doesn’t even have a booth, but that doesn’t mean the company isn’t working hard to promote BlackBerry 10 in Las Vegas this week. Jeff Gadway, RIM’s senior manager for BlackBerry product marketing, took some time this week to talk with Forbes about his company’s upcoming new smartphone OS and how it will hopefully put RIM back on the map as a major player in the mobile industry. Among other things, Gadway showed off BlackBerry 10′s nifty multitasking capabilities that allow users to easily access all their important messages within the BlackBerry Hub messaging center without closing down any of the apps they currently

• January 8, 2013
• JE Syndicated
• Ameilius

The Consumer Electronics Show is in full swing and every company is vying for attention. Engadget was drawn to Corning’s (GLW) booth, where the company was showcasing its third-generation Gorilla Glass, destined for smartphones and tablets around the world. Corning tweaked the chemical and atomic composition of the raw materials in the glass and has made it even more scratch and dent resistant than ever before. In fact, the company demonstrated just how strong its Gorilla Glass 3 really is by dropping a 130-gram ball on to it from different heights to see if it would break. To say the results were impressive is an understatement — the glass didn’t scratch, dent or break. A Corning employee then placed more

• January 8, 2013
• JE Syndicated
• Ameilius

Apple (AAPL) is learning that good help can be hard to find. In its eagerness to shed its reliance on Samsung (005930) as a component supplier, Apple has had difficulty in finding another vendor capable of producing displays as efficiently as its partner-turned-rival traditionally has. This past summer, the company began moving away from Sharp (SCHAY) a bit when it tapped LG Display (LPL) and AU Optronics to produce panels for its iPad mini. But now that Apple has experienced supply chain problems with the iPad mini, it could decide to give Sharp a fresh look for future devices. AppleInsider reports that Topeka Capital analyst Brian White, appearing at a Sharp media briefing at the Consumer Electronics Show, said that Apple was a “prime candidate” to

• January 8, 2013
• JE Syndicated
• Ameilius

Unlike rivals LG (066570) and Samsung (005930), Sony (SNE) still thinks the Consumer Electronics Show is a worthy place to unveil new smartphones. Sony on Monday officially took the wraps off its new Xperia Z smartphone that features a 5-inch full HD “Reality Display” with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels, a Snapdragon S4 Pro 1.5GHz quad-core processor, a 13-megapixel camera and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Sony is also releasing a slightly smaller version of the Xperia Z, known as the Xperia ZL, in “select markets.” Both devices are slated to launch in the first quarter of 2013 and no pricing information is yet available.

• January 8, 2013
• JE Syndicated
• Ameilius

T-Mobile’s decision to drop smartphone subsidies may be a questionable business move, but it’s one that rival carriers are nonetheless hoping succeeds so that they too can stop paying for their users’ devices. The Wall Street Journal spoke with Verizon (VZ) CEO Lowell McAdam at the Consumer Electronics Show this week and found that he was very open to ending his own company’s smartphone subsidies if T-Mobile’s gambit proved effective. Specifically, McAdam called T-Mobile’s initiative “a great thing” and said that Verizon “could move to that very quickly” if consumers took to it. The Journal also spoke with AT&T (T) mobility chief Ralph de la Vega, who expressed skepticism that ending subsidies would be a winning strategy since AT&T’s own research “says

• January 2, 2013
• JE Syndicated
• Ameilius

HTC (2498) will reportedly unveil a new flagship smartphone code-named “M7″ at the Consumer Electronics Show next week. The rumor comes to us from XDA-Developers forum member “Football,” who reported accurate information about unreleased HTC devices in the past. The phone is believed to the be the successor to the One X and could be equipped with a 4.7-inch full HD 1920 x 1080-pixel display, a 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon processor, a 13-megapixel rear camera, LTE and HSPA+ connectivity, Beats Audio, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal memory and a 2,300 mAh battery. The M7 is also said to be HTC’s first smartphone to utilize on-screen navigation keys in place of traditional hardware buttons.  The problem for HTC in the past has been the company’s ability to market its high-end