Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 on the horizon??

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 on the horizon??

For those of you that were worried about the size of the current Galaxy Note, you better sit down. Evidence is now pointing towards a Galaxy Note 10.1 in the works and headed towards Mobile World Congress. Try holding that puppy up to your ear.  Just kidding. The Note 10.1 wouldn't be a phone for obvious reasons. It will still be an S-Pen device with all the wonders that the current Note offers, just on bit larger scale. Making this one an 'actual' tablet. Samsung's marketing manager Ryan Bidan let a few details about something coming slip not to long ago that would be S-Pen centric, include 3D gesturing and voice controls. This could have been what he was unintentionally referring too.

All of this info comes from two locations that Samsung has used the Note 10.1 reference. One was for a casting call for 'Teen Students' for a commercial with a Note 10.1 and another for Samsung's developer day at MWC. We highly doubt Samsung messed up twice when using the Note 10.1 name. A 10.1 inch version of the Note should be a really amazing device. After playing with one at CES, I can see how just the use of the S-Pen on a much larger screen could give people a great way to create and share. If things go as planned, we should hear more about it soon. Lets hope it is the next-gen Exynos chip on Ice Cream Sandwich and not another dual-core Gingerbread device.

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Apple overtakes Samsung in Q4 smartphone sales

Apple overtakes Samsung in Q4 smartphone sales

 

BIGGEST VENDOR:Analysts said the key to Apple’s success this year will be whether the iPhone maker can crack open the large, lucrative Chinese market

Bloomberg and AFP

Apple Inc passed Samsung Electronics Co to become the world’s biggest smartphone vendor in the fourth quarter on surging sales of its iPhone, Gartner Inc said.

Almost a quarter of smartphones sold were iPhones as Apple’s market share rose to 23.8 percent from 15.8 percent a year earlier, the Stamford, Connecticut-based researcher said. Apple sold 35.5 million smartphones to consumers while Samsung sold 34 million, Gartner said.

Global sales of such handsets that use computer-like processors and can handle business e-mail and streaming video increased 47 percent to 149 million units. Apple’s sequential growth may slow this quarter as pent-up demand was largely sated by holiday sales, Roberta Cozza, a Gartner analyst based in Egham, UK, said in an interview.

“The wild card for [this year] is China,” Cozza said.

“If Apple closes a deal with China Telecom (中國電信) or China Mobile (中國移動) they could see their units double in that market,” he said.

Gartner forecast 39 percent growth in smartphones this year, slowing from 58 percent last year. Google Inc’s Android software ran on more than half of all smartphones sold, according to Gartner.

Nokia Oyj’s smartphone market share fell to 12 percent, from about 30 percent a year earlier, putting it third, Cozza said. Nokia’s share declined as the Finnish company shifted its focus to Microsoft Corp’s Windows Phone software and phased out the 10-year-old Symbian line.

The introduction of Nokia’s Lumia handsets didn’t stem a decline in Microsoft’s market share, which dropped to 1.9 percent from 3.4 percent in the fourth quarter, Gartner said. Cozza said she expects Windows Phone to reach an 8.6 percent share of smartphones by the end of the year.

Apple’s smartphone success made it the world’s third-largest vendor of handsets overall, passing LG Electronics Co, which fell to fifth place behind ZTE Corp (中興). Nokia kept its position as the biggest vendor with a 23.4 percent share, narrowing its lead over Samsung to 4 percentage points.

Gartner forecast overall mobile phone growth at 7 percent this year, slowing from 11.1 percent last year.

In related news, Apple is testing a tablet computer with a smaller screen than the hot-selling iPad, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

The newspaper, quoting unidentified people familiar with the situation, said the California gadget-maker was working with component suppliers in Asia to test the tablet computer with a smaller display.

The Journal quoted officials at Apple suppliers as saying the company has shown them screen designs for a device with a 20cm display.

The iPad has a 24.6cm screen. Apple has sold more than 55 million iPads since launching the device in April 2010.

The Journal said Apple was working with Taiwan’s AU Optronics Co (AUO, 友達光電) and South Korea’s LG Display Co to supply the test panels.

The newspaper cautioned that Apple frequently works with suppliers to test new designs and “could opt not to proceed with the device.”

Apple reportedly plans to unveil a new version of the iPad in the first week of March. According to the Journal, the “iPad 3” will have a higher resolution screen than the iPad 2 but will be the same size.

Both Amazon.com Inc and Samsung Electronics Co offer smaller and lower-priced tablets than the iPad.

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How to hard reset the Samsung Galaxy S

We show you how to factory reset the Samsung Galaxy S to clear all data and restore its original settings

The Samsung Galaxy S is highly customizable and you have been hard at work tweaking it to your liking, but now the fun is over and you want to return it to its factory settings again. Here, we show you how to hard reset the Samsung Galaxy S with step by step instructions.
Please note that all data will be deleted from the Samsung Galaxy S as a result of this procedure. This process does NOT delete data stored on the microSD card. We recommend backing up all of your personal data before proceeding.
First, try this:

1. From the main home screen, tap menu
2. Tap Settings, then Privacy
3. Tap Factory data reset
4. Tap Reset phone
5. Enter your password, then tap Yes to confirm

If that doesn't work, or if your phone is frozen:

1. Turn the power off. If your Samsung Galaxy S is frozen, pull the battery out and reinsert it
2. Hold the Volume Down button
3. Press and release the Power button
4. You are now presented with a menu that allows for Fastbook, Recovery, Clear Storage, and Simlock
5. Select Clear Storage by pressing the Volume Down button
6. Press and release the Power button
7. Now simply confirm your decision: Volume Up for YES and Volume Down for NO

If you selected YES, all data including third-party applications will be deleted from the Samsung Galaxy S. Once the wipe is complete, the phone will reboot to its factory fresh state.

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How to configure call filtering on the Samsung Galaxy S - Know Your Cell

How to configure call filtering on the Samsung Galaxy S

We show you how to regain control over your incoming calls and automatically send the ones you don't want to voicemail

Samsung's Galaxy S features a 4-inch super-AMOLED display, a 1GHz processor and Android 2.1

There's always that handful of people that, if given the option, we would rather not talk to on most occasions.
Sure you can typically "ignore" their calls and kick them to voicemail, but many folks are able to tell when a call has been screened manually. As a result, you're inevitably going to end up with some hurt feelings on the other end of the line.
But what if you could determine whose calls ring through and whose don't? If someone's call always goes straight to voicemail, he or she will likely think your phone is off or outside the service area.
The Android operating system has a nifty feature built-in, albeit somewhat hidden, that allows you just such freedoms.
In this guide, we'll show you how to gain a little more control over your incoming calls on a contact-by-contact basis.

1. Open your contact list
2. Scroll until you find the contact that you'd like to send straight to voicemail, and tap to open the contact
3. Near the bottom of the contact page, find and tap on the Send to voicemail option
   1. A pop-up will appear asking if you're sure you want to enable this feature.
4. Tap OK

And you're done! You can do this to as many contacts as you choose and now, only the people you want to be able to reach you directly will have that power.
Bonus tip: Do you have a pesky telemarketer who doesn't get the hint? Save the number in your phone strictly for these purposes and cut stress in half!

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How to configure call filtering on the Samsung Galaxy S - Know Your Cell

How to configure call filtering on the Samsung Galaxy S

We show you how to regain control over your incoming calls and automatically send the ones you don't want to voicemail

Samsung's Galaxy S features a 4-inch super-AMOLED display, a 1GHz processor and Android 2.1

There's always that handful of people that, if given the option, we would rather not talk to on most occasions.
Sure you can typically "ignore" their calls and kick them to voicemail, but many folks are able to tell when a call has been screened manually. As a result, you're inevitably going to end up with some hurt feelings on the other end of the line.
But what if you could determine whose calls ring through and whose don't? If someone's call always goes straight to voicemail, he or she will likely think your phone is off or outside the service area.
The Android operating system has a nifty feature built-in, albeit somewhat hidden, that allows you just such freedoms.
In this guide, we'll show you how to gain a little more control over your incoming calls on a contact-by-contact basis.

1. Open your contact list
2. Scroll until you find the contact that you'd like to send straight to voicemail, and tap to open the contact
3. Near the bottom of the contact page, find and tap on the Send to voicemail option
   1. A pop-up will appear asking if you're sure you want to enable this feature.
4. Tap OK

And you're done! You can do this to as many contacts as you choose and now, only the people you want to be able to reach you directly will have that power.
Bonus tip: Do you have a pesky telemarketer who doesn't get the hint? Save the number in your phone strictly for these purposes and cut stress in half!

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How to install ringtones on your Samsung Galaxy S - Know Your Cell

We show you how to install ringtones on your handset quickly and easily

 

The Samsung Galaxy S comes with, shall we say, an interesting selection of ringtones. While some people may find something usable amidst the pre-installed options, others might prefer a wider selection.
Luckily, it couldn't be easier to install ringtones on your Samsung Galaxy S.
In this guide, we show you exactly how it's done.
First, you'll need to find some ringtones you like. To make things as simple as possible, ensure your ringtones are DRM-free MP3 files. Also, they should typically be 30-seconds or less in length.
A good source for free ringtones is mobile9.com and high quality normal, ringing ringtones can be purchased from RCP Tones. You can also make your own ringtones using music you already own thanks to free audio editing software such as Audacity.
Once you have some great ringtones on your computer, you're ready to go:

1. Ensure your microSD card is in your Samsung Galaxy S, then connect it to your computer using the supplied USB cable
   1. If your Samsung Galaxy S does not mount automatically, touch the USB icon that appears in the menu bar at the top of the display, drag it down to expose the Android Notification Pane, then tap on USB Connected and select Mount (or Disk Drive)
2. Using a file explorer on your computer, navigate to the root folder (the main directory) of the memory card in your Samsung Galaxy S
3. Create a new folder called ringtones (some devices require a lowercase "r" so please name the new folder exactly as specified)
4. Now, simply copy all of the MP3 ringtones you want on your Samsung Galaxy S into the new ringtones folder

That's it! You can now unmount your Samsung Galaxy S and your ringtones will become available as options when changing your ringtone.

1. To set one of your new MP3s as your ringtone:
2. From the home screen, tap Menu then Settings
3. Tap Sound, then Phone ringtone
4. Scroll to the ringtone you want, select it and then tap OK

Enjoy.

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Samsung launches low-cost Android 4.0 tablet - tablets, Samsung Electronics, hardware systems, Android tablets - Computerworld

Samsung launches low-cost Android 4.0 tablet - tablets, Samsung Electronics, hardware systems, Android tablets - Computerworld

Samsung Electronics has launched the Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0), the first of its tablets to ship with Android 4.0 and its own Touchwiz user interface, the company said on Monday.

The latest addition to Samsung's tablet portfolio is powered by a dual-core 1GHz processor and has a 7-inch screen with a 1024-by-600 pixel resolution.

The tablet will cost about €270 (US$350) excluding taxes for the Wi-Fi version, according to a statement from Samsung in Sweden, which also says that it will start shipping in March.

[ Need help and advice on storage solutions? Read about what other companies have implemented in Computerworld's Storage newsletter ]

Samsung will also sell a 3G version of the Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0), which can function as a phone and connects to the Internet using HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access) at 21M bps (bits per second).

The tablet is 10.5 millimeters thick and weighs 344 grams, compared to the iPad 2 to which is 8.8 millimeters thick and weighs 601 grams.

The specification also includes two cameras; 8, 16 or 32GB of integrated storage and MicroSD card slot; and a 4000 mAh battery that should last for up to 39 hours, according to Samsung.

With a lower price, Samsung hopes to attract a larger audience to its tablets. Sales of Android-based tablets more than tripled during the fourth quarter of 2011, but Apple still dominates the market, according to a recent report from Strategy Analytics. The Android camp had a 39.1 percent share of global tablet shipments, compared to 29 percent a year earlier. Apple's share dropped from 68.2 percent to 57.6 percent, according to Strategy Analytics.

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Samsung Unveils Galaxy Tab 2 With Ice Cream Sandwich

 Samsung on Monday revealed the Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0), the follow-up to its original 7-inch tablet and its first tablet to debut with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

The new 7-inch tablet will be packed with a 1-GHz, dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM, and it will feature a 1024-by-600 LCD display. It will also include dual-facing cameras, with a VGA lens on the front and a 3-megapixel setup on the back. Additionally, the device will be Bluetooth 3.0-compatible and have HSPA+ connectivity.

The Galaxy Tab 2 will come in Wi-Fi and 3G version, and it will roll out worldwide in March, starting in the U.K., Samsung said.

In terms of software, the Galaxy Tab 2 will ship with Samsung Hub services, including Samsung Music Hub with a selection of 17 million songs; Readers Hub, which offers 2.3 million e-books and thousands of magazines and newspapers; and Game Hub, which provides instant access to various game titles. Samsung is also debuting Video Hub, which as the name suggests, boasts a selection of more than 1,000 movies to rent, as well as a trailers and reviews of an array of films.

The Galaxy Tab 2 is Samsung's first device to ship with Samsung's AllShare Play service, which allows users to stream content to the tablet from their PC, smartphone, or third-party storage service.

Samsung, of course, is engaged in a worldwide legal battle with Apple over patents pertaining to its Galaxy line of devices. In fact, Apple has contested just about every smartphone and tablet Samsung has released in the past two years, claiming the gadgets violate patents held by the Mac maker. Samsung has fired back at Apple with similar claims.

The latest development in the seemingly never-ending war happened last week when a Dusseldorf court denied Apple's request to have the modified Galaxy Tab 10.1N banned in Germany. The original Galaxy Tab 10.1, however, is temporarily banned in the country.

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