BlackBerry 10 leaks keep on coming, reveal purported price and specs

Research in Motion (RIM) seems to be having a tough time keeping its forthcoming BlackBerry 10 smartphones away from the camera. Pictures and videos of the full-touch BlackBerry 10 smartphone, which is touted to be launched as BlackBerry Z10 have been around for a while.

Adding to that list of leaks is the ones received by Business Insider, which reveal that this smartphone will be available through two major US telecom operators – Verizon and AT&T. Verizon is the largest telecom operator in the United States of America and was one of the first operators in the world to offer BlackBerry smartphone when they were launched.

The current set of leaked pictures placed iPhone 4S in between two BlackBerry Z10 smartphone to help compare both these devices. Business Insider claims that the build quality of BlackBerry Z10 is really nice. Its back cover feels rubbery and snaps pretty much like the back cover of Samsung Galaxy S III. However, these leaks do not give any indications on by when will these smartphones will start retailing.

Furthermore, a new video of the BlackBerry Z10 has been leaded by ETradeSupply.com, whichallegedly details the internal parts of this smartphone. According to this video, the full-touch BlackBerry 10 will be 10 millimetres thick.

The video features two 4.3-inch screens of what they claim to be BlackBerry Z10 smartphone. Both these screens seem to have a different layout of camera and sensor. Only one of the screens in the video seems to have BlackBerry logo, which makes the website speculate that this may perhaps be the final version of the display, while the other might be a prototype of a forthcoming BlackBerry 10 device.

RIM has already sent out invites for the January 30 event, where it will be launching its much awaited BlackBerry 10 operating system. It is expected that RIM will be launching two new devices at the launch, the all-touch BlackBerry Z10 and a QWERTY smartphone that is rumoured to be dubbed BlackBerry X10. Certain operators around the world have already started taking pre-orders for these smartphones.

The latest to join this bandwagon is the Canadian telecom operator Bell. The operator is also running a contest on its site, and promises to give away five new BlackBerry 10 devices to users who pre-register for updates.

As per Mobilenapps.com, the terms and conditions of this contest hints that the new BlackBerry 10 smartphone may carry a price tag of 700 Canadian dollars. Though it is not certain whether this price is for the full-touch smartphone or the QWERTY one.

Samsung Galaxy S IV rumoured to launch with S-Pen stylus in April

The next iteration of Samsung‘s flagship device, the Galaxy S IV is rumoured to come with the famed S-Pen stylus as seen in it’s 5-inch phablets the  Galaxy Note and  Note II

Phone Arena reports via Korean site  eNuri that the Galaxy S IV is the first smartphone in the series to feature the stylus as the Korean manufacturer seeks to “unite its Note series with the flagship Galaxy S IV”, allegedly confirmed by a quote from a Samsung official.

According to  latest rumours from SamMobile, the Samsung Galaxy S IV is being developed under the codename ‘Project J’ and is likely to be launched in April next year.

Reports have indicated that the Galaxy S IV will indeed come with a 4.99-inch Super AMOLED display with 1920×1080 resolution, giving it a pixel density of 441ppi. That report is in line with other rumours which suggested that Samsung and LG are working on smartphones with full-HD display, which may be released in first-half of 2013.

Additionally, murmurs are that the new Samsung Android flagship will run on Jelly Bean and feature a 2 GHz quad-core Exynos processor and an 8-core GPU. It is also rumoured that the smartphone will use ARM big.LITTLE architecture featuring a combination of an energy-efficient A7 processor and an A15 one for simple and heavy task processing.

There’s more buzz about the device being equipped with a 13-megapixel camera rear auto-focus camera and slightly thicker, 9.2mm body.

Other rumours suggest that the device will come with an unbreakable screen that could be a great attraction for the smartphone in terms of sales. Samsung, however, has not officially made any statement in this regard.

Samsung reportedly ready to launch two Galaxy S II Plus variants in Jan 2013

2012 witnessed the launch of plenty of interesting Near Field Communication (NFC) smartphones and looks like 2013 is going to be no different in this regards. About  fortnight ago we had reported that Samsung is working on Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos and Galaxy S II Plus.

According to  Unwired, Samsung is expected to launch two variants of Samsung Galaxy S II Plus – GT-i9105, and GT-i9105P. The only difference between these two Samsung devices will be that GT-i9105P will support NFC while GT-i9105 will not.

Samsung has launched Samsung Galaxy S Plus in August 2011 as an upgrade to Samsung Galaxy S. However, this time around Samsung Galaxy S Plus II does not seem to be much of an upgrade. Reason being Samsung Galaxy S Plus II is speculated to have the same 4.3-inch screen with 480X800 pixel resolution like Samsung Galaxy S. Moreover, instead of 1.2GHz processor, Samsung Galaxy S Plus II is expected to have just a 1GHz processor.

On the positive side, Samsung Galaxy S Plus II will most likely be running on Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)

It is being speculated that Samsung Galaxy S II Plus will be launched in January 2013 and  Sam Mobile claims that it will be available in two colour options – Chic White and Dark Blue. However, there is no information available in regards to what could be the price of this smartphone

There are also speculations that Samsung will be launching an upgraded version of Samsung Galaxy Pocket, which will be dubbed Samsung Galaxy Pocket Plus S5301

Samsung Galaxy S III mini shipping with Android 4.1.2 for Asia users

Apart from getting  three new colours, Samsung Galaxy S III mini users in Asia can rejoice the new year with some more good news.

Prominent Samsung blog  SamMobile is reporting that the Korean giant is now shipping the Galaxy S III mini with the latest version of Android Jelly Bean, v4.1.2 in Vietnam and Indonesia. Other Asian regions should soon be getting the good news as well. Initially when launched, the Galaxy S III mini devices came out with Android 4.1.1.

Whether or not the latest Jelly Bean version on the Galaxy S III mini includes all features from the company’s Premium Suite, is something users will have to find out on their own.

For those unaware, the Galaxy S III mini was launched in October this year and is a miniature version of the company’s current flagship smartphone the Samsung Galaxy S III. It features a 4-inch screen and runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The smartphone inherits Galaxy S III’s features like S Voice, Smart Stay, Direct Call and S Beam.

The compact S III version is powered by a dual-core 1GHz processor and features a 5-megapixel camera. It has a 1500 mAh battery and 8/16GB internal storage options.

Just recently, the  Galaxy Note web page hinted Premium Suite features for original Note users as part of the Android Jelly Bean 4.1 update. But it did not provide a timeline for the said update.

Premium Suite features include:

• Multi Window that lets you view and perform multiple tasks on the same screen
• Popup Note that helps you jot down information while on a call
• Popup Video and Popup Browser that allow you to catch a video or surf the Web while performing other tasks on the device
• Photo Note and Photo Frame features that enable users to write notes on the front or back of their photos
• Easy Clip that lets you crop text or images from any screen to save it or share it
• S Planner, which allows you to send handwritten notes to yourself
• Paper Artist that lets you add various picture editing effects
• Enhanced S Note feature, which lets you create notebooks with images, videos, templates and other effects

Apple agrees to withdraw patent claims against Samsung Galaxy S III Mini

Apple Inc has agreed to withdraw patent claims against a new Samsung phone with a high-end display after Samsung said it was not offering to sell the product in the crucial U.S. market.

Apple disclosed the agreement in a filing on Friday in U.S. District Court in San Jose, California. Representatives for both Apple and Samsung declined to comment.

Last month Apple asked to add the  Galaxy SIII Mini and other Samsung products, including several tablet models, to its wide-ranging patent litigation against Samsung.

In response, Samsung said the Galaxy S III Mini was not available for sale in the United States and should not be included in the case.

Apple won a $1.05 billion verdict against Samsung earlier this year but has failed to secure a permanent sales ban against several, mostly older Samsung models. The patents Apple is asserting against the Galaxy S III Mini are separate from those that went to trial.

Samsung  started selling the Mini in Europe in October to compete with Apple’s iPhone 5. In its filing on Friday in U.S. District Court, for the Northern District of California, Apple said its lawyers were able to purchase “multiple units” of the Mini from Amazon.com Inc‘s U.S. retail site and have them delivered in the United States.

But Samsung represented that it is not “making, using, selling, offering to sell or importing the Galaxy S III Mini in the United States.” Based on that, Apple said it agreed to withdraw its patent claims on the Mini, “so long as the current withdrawal will not prejudice Apple’s ability later to accuse the Galaxy S III Mini if the factual circumstances change.”

The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is Apple Inc. vs. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd et al., 12-630.

Samsung Galaxy S IV codenamed 'Project J', may launch April 2013

Prominent Samsung-related blog SamMobile has the latest on Samsung Galaxy S IV rumours.

According to the blog the next generation Galaxy S device, likely to be called Samsung Galaxy S IV, is under development and is codenamed ‘Project J’ and may launch as early as April 2013.

Samsung is having plans to announce the next Galaxy S in April.

According to older rumors the Galaxy S IV would have a full HD AMOLED display, a quad-core cpu,the latest version of android, a 13 megapixel camera and the screen size would be 5.0″

Our insider could not confirm the specifications at this moment! He only knows the new project name called: Project J for the next Galaxy.

Earlier rumours have indicated that the Samsung Galaxy S IV will have a 4.99-inch Super AMOLED display with 1920*1080 resolution, giving it a pixel density of 441PPI. That report is in line with other rumours which suggested that Samsung and LG are working on smartphones with full-HD display, which may be released in first-half of 2013. It would make sense for Samsung’s next flagship device to be its first smartphones with full-HD display.

Other rumours had indicated the Galaxy S IV will feature a 13-megapixel camera, a significant upgrade over the Galaxy S III’s 8-megapixel rear shooter. There’s also buzz about the Galaxy S IV featuring a 2 GHz quad-core Exynos processor and an 8-core GPU.

Samsung says to fix work conditions at suppliers' plants

 

Samsung Electronics Co plans to keep the bulk of its manufacturing inhouse but reiterated a pledge to improve working conditions at its suppliers after admitting excessive overtime and fines for employees in China, a senior executive said on Friday.

New York-based China Labor Watch (CLW) said employees at one of Samsung’s suppliers sometimes worked up to 16 hours a day, with only one day’s rest a month.

That prompted an investigation in September by Samsung of its suppliers in China.

“There was common use of a system of penalties (at our suppliers in China) for being late or producing faulty products, which is improper practice under global standards but somewhat general practice under local regulations,” said Mok Jangkyun, who led the team of over 100 auditors to inspect Samsung’s 105 suppliers in China.

“We’re working with them to change these practices and introduce a better work environment,” Mok, vice president of human resources, told Reuters in an interview.

“There were indeed some cases of excessive overtime work. When workers have to work weekends, for example, due to a temporary spike in orders, overtime work reached 32 hours a week or 100 hours a month,” he said.

“We’ve recommended they hire more workers, introduce automation and improve production processes to fix this. We are also working on guidelines to gradually reduce overtime work hours.”

Samsung produces more than 40 percent of its goods in China including its popular Galaxy S smartphones, home appliances and chips. But most of that is in its own plants, with outsourcing accounting for less than 10 percent of total production.

A number of foreign companies have been accused in recent years of improper work practices in China, seen as a cheap source of labour.

Many multinational brands have contracts with firms using Chinese labour, including Apple Inc, Dell Inc, Hewlett-Packard, Amazon.com Inc, Google’s Motorola Mobility, Nokia Oyj, and Sony Corp.

Samsung defended its in-house manufacturing strategy even though it tends to be more expensive than outsourcing, calling it a main strength of the company.

“Multinationals are increasingly opting for outsourcing for various reasons. But at Samsung, out of over 200,000 staff worldwide, more than half are manufacturing jobs, which indicates we are very much a manufacturing-driven company and it is where our core strength is,” Mok said.

“Samsung manufactures more than 90 percent of our products internally and only relies on contractors for peripheral products such as components, feature phones and handset cases.”

He said it allows the company to adapt quickly to changing market conditions.

As an example, Mok cited Samsung’s smartphone plants in South Korea, China and Vietnam as giving it the flexibility to adjust output of its Galaxy S, depending on demand or production problems at one factory. By contrast, main rival Apple depends heavily on contractors.

Apple warned last month that its industry-leading margins would shrink this quarter as new products have become more expensive to build and as it is having trouble meeting robust demand for the iPhone 5.

Chairman Terry Gou of Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group, Apple’s main contract manufacturer, said earlier this month the company was falling short of meeting demand for the phone.

“Manufacturing is the backbone of Samsung’s growth and we put very much emphasis on improving manufacturing competitiveness, as this is how we’ve become the leader in chips and displays,” Mok said.