Samsung Galaxy S4 release date & NEWS..!

It certainly feels like Samsung is taking over the world right now – at least, the Android world. There's no doubt that last year's Galaxy S2 was the phone of the year.

And not in recent times, discounting Apple of course, can we remember the anticipation and expectation of a phone as much as the Galaxy S3.

If you needed a barometer of this, just look at how it was unveiled. Not at MWC like lots of others, but its own event, proving the Galaxy line has reached the level where it can guarantee hoards will come just for an unveiling.

The name was even 'confirmed' at a recent event by a researcher, which means it's coming closer and closer to reality.

But that's last season's device, and we're looking forward to the next level of what to expect in the Galaxy SIV. The trickle of 'sources' talking about this new device is starting to build to a steady stream, so we're on hand to help let you know which whispers have a notion of truth about them - as well as providing our wishlist of what we want Samsung to improve on the new handset.

Samsung Galaxy S4 screen

The Galaxy S2 had an amazing Super AMOLED Plus display – and boy, was it vibrant. The S3 upped the screen size from 4.3-inches to 4.8-inches and the pixel density went from 217 to 306 to take a run at the iPhone's Retina Display.

But, Samsung also opted for a PenTile approach, to the chagrin of geeks. What does that mean for the end user?

Well, the screen looks great but you can make out pixels if you really, really strain. And some of the vivacity and colour saturation is lost. On the plus side, Samsung reckons the screen will last longer – but we'd rather see a much more S2-like screen with a sharper resolution - and given that's now appeared on the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, we're pretty hopeful we'll get it on the Samsung Galaxy S4 too.

Alternatively, there have been a number of rumours that Samsung is going to bring a flexible screen to the Galaxy S4 - but given the Korean brand is already pushing the delivery of such tech back into 2013 for its customers, we think we'll be in Galaxy S5 territory before that happens.

However, the bad news is that due to reported manufacturing issues these may have been delayed... does that mean the phone will have to be pushed back as well?

A source for the Verge suggests that the flexible display option really is out of the question, with no Galaxy S device sporting the new screen tech in 2013, although it will be shown off as a concept at the Vegas smorgasbord of gadgetry.

There seems a much more likely option in the shape of the 5-inch 1080p screen that could offer up an eye-splitting 441ppi, making it easily the highest res out there. It would probably need to be shrunk down a smidge to fit into the palm, or Samsung could actually just make the phone even closer to the edges of the screen. Dare we dream of an edge-to-edge display like on the 9000 series TVs?

Cred: Anandtech

That dream could be closer to reality after the pretty likely screen for the Samsung Galaxy S4 was shown off by Samsung Display at CES 2013, featuring a 4.99-inch screen with a Full HD pixel count and a dizzying 440PPI resolution, which is set to ship in Q1 2013... also known as the perfect time frame for manufacturing the S4.

Another report has suggested the Galaxy S4 will sport a full HD display with a leaked PDF document suggesting the handset will have a 5-inch screen with a 1920x1080 resolution.

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Samsung Galaxy S4 release date

It seems more than likely that Samsung will eschew MWC 2013 once more for the release of its top handset, instead focusing on the launch in May 2013, which we'd really like to see. A recent teaser by Samsung promised something at CES in January, but nothing appeared - although apparently the brand showed off prototypes to key execs from networks and supply chain-ers.

This is for a number of reasons: time to allow the current customers to buy the S3, being able to scoop up all the customers about to come out of contract from the S2 and also not making its fans feel like its throwing out a new flagship phone every three seconds.

However, that didn't stop the rumour mill deciding that the Galaxy S4 launch was set for March 2013, based on something a Samsung 'representative' said to the media. The brand quickly took to Twitter to discredit the rumours, so it looks like the middle of the year launch is still firmly on the cards.

Since then another rumour, of a phone dubbed 'Project J', has emerged, and that's set for an April unveil... so it seems we're looking at a Q2 2013 Samsung Galaxy S4 launch as it stands, which means you'll probably be able to actually hold one in your hands come May, and it will likely be given the model number of GT-I9500, which is leap from GT-I9300 but has been confirmed as likely legit when showing up in firmware versions, as well as on Samsung's official software page.

Another source has written off the chance of the Galaxy S4 appearing atCES 2013 and MWC 2013 - giving the suggestion that an April event is on the cards more weight.

Other sources, apparently Samsung's Korean execs themselves, are touting an April Samsung Galaxy S4 release... and it will even come with an S Pen accessory too! However, this seems unlikely given it's only currently used on the Note range, so a boring C Pen upgrade could be all that's on the cards - then again, Samsung has just whacked $58.9 million (UK£37 million, AU$56.4 million) in Wacom, the digital pen people's, pocket as it invests in the tech, so it could come to the S4 quite feasibly.

Samsung Lebanon has weighed in too, revealing that it's not coming in the next three months: "The Galaxy SIV won't be released before May 2013," the brand said, rather emphatically - despite some sites carrying news that an anonymous exec was claiming March as the release date and the venue for launch was going to be in the US, UK or South Korea.

More weight has been thrown behind the rumoured April Galaxy S4 release date and apparently "Project J" is now "Altius", with March 22 being banded around as the date for the Samsung Galaxy SIV launch event.

This could be pushed back to March 15, which would be an odd day for a launch given it's a Friday, but apparently it's from a 'trusted source' of SamMobile's.... either way, the rumoured date certainly seems to be getting further and further forward in the year compared to the launch of the Galaxy S3.

Samsung Galaxy S4 specs

There's not a lot around about specs at the moment, but the rumours emanating from the good ol' internet rumour mill are certainly enough to make us excited.

The first is that the S4 will have a quad-core chip, which might sound a little 'last gen' to many. However, it will be based on ARM's A15 architecture, bringing with it a big boost in power for all those resource-intensive tasks we love to do all the time.

But then again, that's not Samsung's way really, is it? We want to see bigger, bangier and faster, so doubling it again to an OCTO-core would be the way to go.

Rather than just making it super powerful though, the eight core innards would split into two groups: A15-spec chips for the big stuff, and A7 when things need to get a little lower power, bringing with it the best of both worlds.

The other big news that we think should be on our wish list is the fact that Samsung's internal storage bods have been hard at work bringing the flash memory down in size and up in speed... so think even thinner phones with higher capacity that can be written to up to 10x faster. We're now looking forward to the S4 even more now.

A quad-core processor looks more likely than an eight core offering after the new Exynos 5440 quad-core chip appeared on Samsung's site, making it a strong contender to feature in the Galaxy S4.

However it looks certain there really will be an eight core phone coming from the Korean firm, as the Exynos Octa was announced at CES 2013complete with four big cores and four smaller ones, as part of ARM's big.LITTLE architecture. Eight cores. Mental.

More support for the eight-core model materialised in the form on benchmark results claiming to be for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S4, saying it will sport a 1.8GHz Octa processor which will run Android 4.2.1.

Other benchmarks have since surfaced that show, that show it whizzing past the original S3 and Nokia Lumia 920... although intriguingly it doesn't manage to usurp the Google Nexus 4.

The Galaxy SIV could follow in the footsteps of the Nokia Lumia 920 andLumia 820 as it brings wireless charging to the table. The Galaxy S3 also apparently has this, but it's never been properly realised.

According to a benchmark result claiming to be for the American varient of the Galaxy S4 (the SCH-I545) the quad-core processor will be clocked at a beefy 1.9GHz.

Update: Samsung's S Health app could well make its way onto the Galaxy S4, allowing you to monitor things such as blood pressure, blood sugar, BMI and weight with the aid of a separate pad.

It's already made an appearance on the Galaxy S3, but Samsung didn't make a big deal about it last year - expect the hype to be bigger this time round.

Samsung Galaxy S4 operating system

What's the good word here? Well, given the time scales involved, we'd fully expect to see the Galaxy S4 running a more mature version of Android 4.2, better known as Android Jelly Bean, as well as the next generation of TouchWiz skin on top.

There are some more daft rumours floating around, namely that the Samsung Galaxy S4 will run off a different operating system called Tizen, simply because Samsung is using it on other phones.

Don't worry, this won't happen...although a variant of the phone could be used as a blueprint for a decent alternative handset.

More likely is Samsung bringing out the Galaxy S4 to coincide with the next version of Android from Google, called Key Lime Pie.

April would be roughly the time we'd start seeing rumours of such things, so it's not unbelievable that you could buy an S4 with a cutting edge OS.

In truth, we've never really seen this happen from the Koreans, so chances are it will be boring old Jelly Bean when your S4 appears in your hands.

Rumours that the Galaxy S4 will ship with Android 4.2 have been further reinforced after a benchmark result claiming to be for the flagship handset showed the device running version 4.2.

Samsung Galaxy S4 battery

Ok, we admit we always want more. The S2's 1,650mAh was manageable and the S3's 2,100mAh blows that out of the water. But it's still only OK.

You can get by on a day of moderate use but if you use this phone heavily (and we're talking watching TV shows on the morning and evening commute alongside your normal tinkering), this handset will still want a plug in at some point.

Motorola has proven it can be done by whacking a 3,300mAh power pack into the RAZR Maxx which can still be considered a skinny Minnie. Something of that size – along with ICS and Samsung's power management abilities – would really be the icing on the Ice Cream Sandwich.

Samsung Galaxy S4 camera

What's that? You're bored of an 8MP camera on the Samsung Galaxy S3 since you've seen the likes of the Sony Xperia Z popping up with a 13MP snapper attached?

Well, good news everyone: a picture supposedly captured from the S4 hints at an at least 10MP camera, according a snap shown on Picasa. Remember, EXIF data can be faked though, so there's every chance this amazingly well-framed photo is just the work of a chancer hoping to jump on the S4 bandwagon:

Cred: Picasa

In a separate report, a couple more images popped up on Picasa claiming that they were taken on a Samsung GT-I9505, thought to be the international version of the Galaxy S4.

The blurry shots showing the rear of a computer tower are hardly awe-inspiring, plus the EXIF data attached to the snaps revealing the device they were taken on can be easily forged.

Both images sport a 2322 x 4128 resolution which would suggest the Samsung Galaxy S4 is packing a 13MP camera, although we're not pinning much hope on the authenticity of these pictures.

Update: Apparently it's not just the sensor size that Samsung is working on, with the Korean firm also developing its own version of Photo Sphere calledSamsung Orb, allowing you to take 360 degree snaps with the Galaxy S4 camera.

Samsung Orb will supposedly come with some fancy Facebook integration too, allowing you to share your snaps easily on the social network.

Samsung Galaxy S4 design

We've lost count of the amount of people we've shown our device off to who've replied with the words: "Yeah, it's great but looks like a bit of a toy." It's a double-edged sword: the plastic is used to keep this handset nice and light, but does detract from what should be a premium device.

A bit of glass wouldn't go amiss. Android users, say what you like about the iPhone 4/4S (and we know you won't be short of words), but aside from being smash-tastic, the glass really adds that premium and expensive feel that the S3 just doesn't have.

Forget what your mum told you – it's what's on the outside that counts too, so the Samsung Galaxy S4 needs to step it up in the design stakes.

The latest rumours state that the phone has been in production since late last year, and thankfully (or sadly, depending on your stance on front furniture) there will be a physical home button. There won't be any room for an S-Pen though, which makes sense as this won't be part of the Note range.

We've also now had the first in what we expect to be many leaked shots claiming to be the Samsung Galaxy S4 - and it isn't filling us with a huge amount of confidence as it could quite easily be a mash up between the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2.

Again 'confirmed' is the possibility that famous home button may be here to stay if the latest image claiming to show the Samsung Galaxy S4 next to the Galaxy S3 is to be believed - although it could well be another Photoshop job.

We've also seen another half-cocked effort from a Photoshop enthusiast - as we've said, it's a lot more like a 'would like to see' rather than any proper press shot.

Looks pretty though, right?

Credit: @tamerallyy

Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini and smartwatch

Here's something interesting from the rumour mill: Samsung's Project J, which was what we all assumed was the codename for the new S4, will actually yield a Galaxy S4 mini and a Galaxy Smartwatch.

The Galaxy S4 Mini would be an odd choice to launch at the same time as the S4 'proper', simply because the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini has only recently gone on sale in the last few months - surely the brand wouldn't cannibalise sales that quickly?

And as for the other device: In the last few month the smartwatch, a device that connects your phone to a small screen on your wrist, has gained massive traction, with the likes of Apple even having a 100-strong design team working on the concept.

Word is that the Project J Active (or Fortius, if you prefer) which appears to be a slightly different device with accessories such as an arm band, bike mount and pouch listed, so could easily be a transferable piece of technology - and smartwatches are what everyone is talking about, despite the fact it sounds more like another tough phone to follow on from theGalaxy XCover 2,

Reports state Project J Active is yet to be finalised, unlike the others, which have already been given the green light.

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Did You Check out the Sony Xperia Z water-resistant 'superphone?

The Sony Xperia Z manages to marry a dust- and waterproof design with a stunning 5-inch full HD display and powerful 1.5GHz quad-core processor for a truly super-phone experience.

Carrying IP55 and IP57 certificates, you can take the Xperia Z for a dip in fresh water up to 1 metre for 30 minutes, meaning a trip into the bath or a slip into the toilet shouldn't end your phone's existence.

You can also rest easy when you next head to dustier climates as these are no problem for the tough Sony Xperia Z, which laughs in the face of such danger.

Festival-proof

And if all that wasn't enough, if you were to drop your Xperia Z in the mud at a festival, the smartphone can easily handle a tap of running water to get it clean again.

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Couple this stand-out durability with a super-slim 7.9mm chassis, reflective glass surface and a wealth of features under the hood and you'll realise how the Sony Xperia Z can deliver the ultimate smartphone viewing and performance experience.

I put the Sony Xperia Z through its paces in the video below, including its water-resistant abilities.

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Apple to produce a budget iPhone?YES..!

Reports are coming in that Apple could be set to renege on another strategy and finally build a cheap iPhone.

The usually-reliable Wall Street Journal reported that Apple has been researching a lower-end iPhone, something it's been looking at for three years, according to people "briefed in the matter".

However, the plans are now "progressing", and would see the aluminium casing of the iPhone 5 shorn and a cheaper polycarbonate exterior used in its place.

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Zombie iPhone

In the same manner as the iPad mini, which repurposed a lot of the iPad 2internals, the cheap iPhone would use bits of older handsets to see it sold at a lower price point in new markets.

The move would be a change in stance for the Cupertino brand, which has previously used its older handsets as the budget alternative to whatever flagship is being sold. However, even the iPhone 4 still costs a horrendously high amount for a handset that's nearly three years old.

There's also the issue of catering for the next wave of smartphone users: the emerging markets are now moving to smartphones and can't afford the high prices Apple charges to preserve its profit margins.

Make it bigger, make it cheaper

Digitimes, that ever reliable news source, is claiming that Apple is building a budget model just for China, which would feature a larger 5-inch screen. Such a move would make sense in a way, given that Apple hasn't gained as much traction in this key territory as it has in other areas.

It's reported that Samsung is considered a more popular brand in this region, with models like the Galaxy Note 2 performing well among the youth. Tim Cook has also been spotted headed out to this regio - but then again he could simply be a fan of authentic Chinese cuisine.

The iPad mini showed that Apple was willing to bend on previous stances regarding its products - but would you be willing to buy a cheaper iPhone if it meant you knew you were getting a substandard experience compared to the cooler kids?

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Alcatel One Touch Idol review

The Alcatel One Touch Idol is one of a trio of new smartphones from the once-French firm which are pushing towards the top end of the mobile market.

A less powerful understudy to the One Touch Idol Ultra, the Idol slides in with a 4.7-inch IPS LCD display, 1GHz dual-core processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage, 8MP camera and Android Jelly Bean.

This is all squeezed into a slender 7.9mm chassis and Alcatel is claiming the One Touch Idol is the lightest smartphone in the world in its category, tipping the scales at 110g.

We're not too sure what category Alcatel is referring to, but we can confirm that the handset does feel very light – shocker.

It also feels pretty cheap thanks to the low quality plastic which has been used to keep the weight down, and that detracts from the experience. It's like having a toy in your hand.

On the right side there's a volume rocker switch and a microSIM port, while on the flip side there's a slot for a microSD card to build on the lack lustre 4GB inside the One Touch Idol.

Up top you'll find a headphone jack and the power/lock key which required quite a bit of pressure to register our prod, meaning we had to grip the One Touch Idol tightly to stop it popping out of our hand.

Android 4.1.1 looks good on the 4.7-inch, 540 x 900 display and while it's not HD it is bright and colourful - although Alcatel has tweaked the icons to its own design which we're not big fans of.

The Alcatel One Touch Idol couldn't make up its mind if it wanted to offer a fluid or laggy user experience with Android running smoothly most of the time, but broken up by short periods of unexplained slow down - making it all a bit jarring.

It's difficult to tell how much exposure the Alcatel One Touch Idol will get in various regions and it could well fall under many people's radar.

The One Touch Idol doesn't blow us away, nor does it completely disappoint - it's a middle of the road smartphone which will struggle to stand out in the crowded mobile market, even with its array of nine colour options.

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Samsung gives glimpse of Youm, its flexible OLED mobile phone future

Bendable and 'virtually unbreakable' (credit: Engadget)

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton may have gotten top billing for Samsung's keynote address at CES 2013, but the South Korean company didn't skimp on offering up some innovation news in the form of flexible OLED smartphone displays.

Stephen Woo, president of Samsung, was joined by Brian Berkeley, senior vice president of Samsung Display, to show off the new screen tech.

Called "Youm," the bendable OLED lineup uses thin plastic instead of glass, turning the display into pliable and almost unbreakable screen.

Berkeley showed off a curvaceous prototype, one with wrap-around screen that took the display, including any content on it, around the edges of the device.

Display future ahead

Microsoft CTO Eric Rudder later hopped onstage as well to show off a prototype Windows Phone with the flexible tech, one that bent into a wavy strip and demoing, in Woo's words, the possibilities for Samsung partners to create screens with shapes completely up to users' whims.

Putting a name to its display tech is certainly a step in the right direction for Samsung in bringing this pliable brand of OLED screens to consumers.

--> While we don't expect the screen to show up on public-ready phones soon, it's something Samsung wants to keep on the radar so that when the time does come, we'll be ready for it.

The company also announced that it's developing a 10.1-inch LCD panel that will use 25 percent less energy than the current iteration without sacrificing any of the resolution. We'll provide more follow-up on that development as soon as it becomes available.

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Best Android phone - which should you buy? UPDATED The top Android phones compared

Which is the best Android phone for you? We've got the answers

There's one key way in which Android is massively different from its Apple-branded smartphone competition - the number of phones out there running Google's hot mobile OS.

We're now seeing the latest wave of phones upgraded toAndroid 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and Android Jelly Bean options too, although it's currently limited to a few devices, such as the Google Nexus 7 tablet and Samsung Galaxy Note 2 smartphone.

Samsung makes loads of them. Sony's cut the Ericsson ties but still is cranking out the Google-branded handsets. Then you've got Android-powered phones from Acer, LG, Huawei and many others, and while HTC has ceased the practice of releasing more phones than centipedes have shoes (they do wear them, you know) it's still one of the more prominent Android manufacturers.

The many variations in screen size, processor power, software features and design makes finding the best Android phone for you extremely tough.

Do you physically and emotionally need a QWERTY keyboard? Are you the sort of oddball who prefers the rough pressing needed to make resistive touchscreens work? If so, you won't find much luck here, as those technologies are sadly phased out of the Android world as buyers get enamoured by fancy, glossy capacitive touchscreens.

Are you struggling to work out which are the best Android Widgets? Or even stuck wondering: 'Actually, what IS Android?'

To help find the best Android phone for you, we've rounded up the best Android handsets out there today, rating the phones on hardware performance, OS upgrade potential and, of course, how shiny and nice they are to have and boast about to work colleagues.

So here they are - the best Android phones money can buy today. For many, many different reasons.

12. Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Google and Samsung's 2011 flagship phone was, for a long time, the only official way to get the all-new Android 4.0 experience on a phone, and for that reason alone was a must-have for any Android user. The good news is it's now got the latest version of Android Jelly Bean platform as another reason to pick it over the competition.

As a smartphone itself, it's a good all-round performer, too, although the omission of an SD card slot is a slightly odd decision.

The large 4.65-inch screen is glassy, smooth and responsive, running at an immense 720 x 1280 HD resolution. It's bright, plus the 1.2GHz dual-core processor keeps everything running well, while the curved chassis is just about stylish enough to give the phone an edge over some of the more boring black slabs out there.

Quick verdict

The only downside to this phone is the price: with the Google Nexus 4 on the market, it's actually more expensive than its successor. We're keeping it in the top list for now as it's still a cutting edge experience, but we urge you to check out the newer version first.

11. Orange San Diego

The Orange San Diego is one of the first phones to be based on an Intel chipset, and as such comes with a lower price tag too.

The San Diego is a serious contender for anyone looking for a decent mid-range smartphone who doesn't want to break the bank for some flagship features - although you won't get the full range of Android apps.

It's a worthy successor to the likes of the the San Francisco and San Francisco 2, and the power of the camera alone makes it worth checking out.

10. Sony Xperia S

The first phone released under the Sony brand for well over a decade is a fantastic smartphone, combining an extremely sharp and clear display with a powerful processor and some clever Android usability tweaks from Sony's engineers.

The camera also produces some excellent results, and while it's not the newest Sony phone on the market any more, we're still very much fans thanks to some cheeky price drops.

Arriving with Android 2.3 as its OS, Sony finally released a 4.0 upgrade for the Xperia S, adding in the updated browser, new lock screen features and more. This will be followed by Android Jelly Bean too, although not until Q2 2013 sadly.

9. Motorola Razr i

What do we like about the Motorola Razr i? Well, the main thing to get excited about is the edge-to-edge display: it's something of a quirk in the smartphone industry, although we suspect we'll see more devices hopping on board soon.

The fact that you can expand the storage by up to 64GB makes this an attractive option. And it's an easy phone to use without too much customisation to confuse Android newbies, showing you can have a phone that works well without breaking the bank, and at a smaller size too.

And let's not forget about that screen: with the edge to edge display, it really pops and fizzes in the palm, with the Super AMOLED display impressing.

8. Samsung Galaxy S2

The Galaxy S II still offers a genuinely exciting experience, managing to eclipse all other Android phones in every field when it was first launched.

Apps install ridiculously quickly, while browsing web pages is so fast it's hard to believe you're looking at a phone screen. The large display is robust and, despite the slim and lightweight case, build quality manages to impress.

OK, it's not the latest Android phone on the market, but we're impressed with the update to Android 4.0 and the lower cost, not forgetting things such as the fact that many of Samsung's Touchwiz widgets are resizable, making it a phone that's fun to customise and spend time playing with.

This was Android made fast and thrilling in a bygone age, but it's still one of the best Google-powered phones around.

7. Sony Xperia T

This is James Bond's phone apparently. Well, he was seen using it inSkyfall, so that's good enough for us. It packs some lower specs than others on this list, but combines them in an attractive unit.

The Xperia T heads back to the design language of the Xperia Arc, meaning it's got a lovely curved back that sits comfortably in the hand, and the large and expansive screen provides great video playback thanks to the Bravia Engine.

Sony has produced another impressive smartphone that offers the functionality and performance we're looking for in a top-level handset.

That being said, when compared with the earlier Sony Xperia S, or some of the other flagship Android handsets, the difference is negligible.

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Windows Phone Store boosted by 75,000 new apps in 2012 300,000 app updates also published

Can we finally put to bed the old adage about Windows Phone not having enough apps? Microsoft thinks so after adding 75,000 new apps to its store in 2012.

In a post on the Windows Phone developers' blog, the company said it had scrutinised and published enough apps to double the pre-existing catalogue during this calendar year.

Microsoft said that it had also published 300,000 updates to existing apps, pointing out that Windows Phone users can now rely on having the latest, safest versions of the software faster than before.

Microsoft revealed that, on average, Windows Phone customers are downloading 54 apps to their handsets, aided by the improved catalogue and new Windows Phone Storeshopping experience.

Live Tiles apps preferable

"Over the last year we've made a lot of discovery enhancements including Bing-powered search and smart lists, as well as new collections and recommendations for Windows Phone 8 customers," wrote Todd Brix, senior director of the Windows Phone app team.

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Brix also mentioned that 85 per cent of Windows Phone users preferred applications with functioning Live Tiles, which bring information directly to the Start Screen, than those without.

This, or course, would make perfect sense as the presence of Live Tiles is perhaps Windows Phone's most convincing selling point, especially with their new, customisable sizes in Windows Phone 8

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Original Samsung Galaxy Note to get Android Jelly Bean New Premium Suite update to bring multi-window support

Good news for owners of the original Samsung Galaxy Note: The Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update is coming your way soon.

Samsung announced the forthcoming software bump on its Galaxy Note microsite as part of a new Premium Suite upgrade.

The move to Android 4.1 will bring owners of the pioneering and surprisingly popular 5.3-inch phablet access to features like the Google Now personal assistant and Project butter.

However, the company is yet to reveal when the update will drop and, initially, it will only be available to unlocked devices.

Going Premium

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Those additions are undoubtedly headlined by the neat Multi Window feature, which will allow two open apps to be running on the screen at the same time.

The Popup window multi-tasking feature for Notes, Video and Browser is also coming to the device, while handwriting will also be enabled within the email app.

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Brazilian company launches 'iphone' Android handset

The tech firm that owns the rights to the word 'iphone' in Brazil has launched an Android phone under the illustrious moniker.

The Gradiente iphone Neo One is a low-powered device running Android 2.3 Gingerbread and only features a single core 700MHz processor and a low-res 320 x 480, 3.7-inch display.

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There's a 5-megapixel camera and a 0.3-megapixel front-facing offering, along with 3G connectivity, 2GB of RAM and dual-SIM capabilities.

Although, specs wise, the handset is virtually incomparable with the all-conquering iPhone, it's unlikely that Apple will be taking this 'iphone' launch lightly.

All guns blazing

The brazen Brazilians won exclusive rights to the word 'IPHONE' in 2008, just one year after Apple launched the original iPhone handset in 2007, but this is the first time have used the name.

Even though Apple does not own the word in Brazil, it is likely to go after the iphone Neo One all guns blazing as it is, unquestionably, a competing product.

For now, the device is on sale in the country for 599 Brazilian real, which works out at about £176 (USD$286, AUD$272).

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Samsung Galaxy Note 2

It hasn't even been a year since the original Samsung Galaxy Notelaunched. It was a work of genius for old Samsung. Many (including us, we admit) were not convinced. Who on earth would want something so big to make their calls and surf the internet, even with a glorified stylus?

Cue awkward silence.

Millions of you, it would appear. The Samsung Galaxy Note has sold by the bucketload. And while it is most definitely a niche device, it's done wonders for Samsung's balance sheet. How do you follow that up? With something better, of course - the Samsung Galaxy Note 2.

If you've ever fondled or caressed the original Samsung Galaxy Note and found its larger size too much to handle, we'll break this to you with a sledgehammer - the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is bigger.

It's now 151.1 x 80.5 x 9.4mm (5.9 x 3.2 x 0.4 inches), so slightly up from 146.9 x 83 x 9.7mm (5.8 x 3.3 x 0.4 inches). That said, we didn't find it cumbersome at all.

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In the way the original Samsung Galaxy Note followed the Samsung Galaxy S2's square design, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 follows the Samsung Galaxy S3's more rounded rectangular look.

And what a beauty it is. It actually felt slightly smaller to us in day-to-day use - but that may be down to the fact that we have gravedigger hands.

The Samsung Galaxy Note had a frankly amazing screen as it was, so would have taken some beating. But Samsung clearly likes a challenge. The size has gone up slightly from 5.3 inches to 5.5. And although pixel density is reduced, we didn't notice it.

This is the bright, vivid Samsung Super AMOLED panel that we all know and love - and what a beauty it is, replicating colours amazingly and immaculately.

As expected, that screen takes up most of the front. You get a home button and two hidden soft keys beneath it as before, plus a front-facing camera and sensors up top.

The handset itself has little to note (geddit?) around the edges. A headphone jack up top, power button on the right, volume on the left and charger port below, right alongside the S-Pen slot - more of which will follow later.

Around the back, you'll find the 8MP camera with flash.

The additional sorcery is carried out away from view. The microSD expansion slot is beneath the rear cover - as is the microSIM slot, hidden behind the enormous 3,100 mAh battery.

And there's a whole lot of goodness even further inwards than that: HSDPA (LTE if you're extra lucky), NFC, GPS, Wi-Fi and so forth. It's a veritable treasure trove of geekdom.

One other thing we'd say is that this does feel like a quality Android smartphone/tablet. We're aware of the protestations by some readers (particularly iPhone users) that phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S3 feel like toys because they're so light and plasticky.

At 183g (0.4lbs), you couldn't describe the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 as a feather - and the weight gives it a real notion of substance.

If you want to pick one of these big boys up, you'll need to be willing to part with some serious cash - around £530/AU$999/US$700 appears to be the average SIM-free price. It is also available on contract, but be willing to shovel top dollar each month in the network's direction for two years.

Normally, this is where we'd talk about the alternatives on offer. But we admit, we're stumped here. Why? Well, in our mind, there is no clear rival. The Samsung Galaxy Note created its own category, in that there were no real phablets about before.

There is the LG Optimus Vu, which hasn't hit the UK, but is in the US under the moniker LG Intuition, however it's 4:3 ratio screen makes it an extremely odd proposition.

And while you'll get the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system and similar benefits from the Samsung Galaxy S3 or Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (depending on whether you want a phone or tablet), the form factor is pretty unique.

In fact, the only real rival is the original Samsung Galaxy Note - a worthy contender for that title, because it's now available for a much reduced sum.

Around £400/AU$480/US$500 will get you one of those babies SIM-free - and that makes it a very serious and credible alternative to its replacement, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2.

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HTC Windows Phone 8S review

HTC have been a major Windows Phone player for a while now, arguably second only to Nokia in their output. With Samsung eating up much of their Android market share and Microsoft launching an exciting new version of Windows Phone, the platform is obviously going to be a key area of focus for the Taiwanese firm.

So it's no surprise that they haven't hung around to release some Windows Phone 8 handsets, with both the mid range HTC Windows Phone 8S and its big brother the HTC Windows Phone 8X competing for your attention.

As there aren't many Windows Phone 8 handsets yet the HTC 8S doesn't have a whole lot of direct competitors. Its main competitor is probably theNokia Lumia 820, but even that is a fair bit pricier, as the HTC Windows Phone 8S can be picked up for around £240 (around $365/AU$345), while the Nokia Lumia 820 will set you back closer to £360 (around $650/AU$649).

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Nokia are also due to launch the Nokia Lumia 620 before long and that looks to have fairly similar specs to the HTC Windows Phone 8S and a potentially lower price tag, but until then the HTC Windows Phone 8S has found itself a narrow gap in the market where it's the only truly mid range Windows Phone 8 available, while simultaneously being the cheapest WP8 thanks to an absence of low end handsets.

The specs confirm its position as a mid range handset. Powered by a 1 GHz dual-core processor and packed with just 512 MB of RAM. With a 5 megapixel camera, 720p video and just 4 GB of internal storage (albeit with support for microSD cards of up to 32 GB), everything about it screams mid-range.

Things don't change with the Super LCD Gorilla Glass display. At 4 inches it's a decent size but not huge and its 480 x 800 resolution (coming in at 233 pixels per inch) is fine but nothing particularly impressive.

In other words it's got solid specs all around, which on paper are neither impressive nor disappointing for the price.

The only potentially disappointing spec is its 1,700 mAh battery, which seems a little on the small side, but it's around the same size as the one in the bigger and more powerful Samsung Galaxy S2 and that holds up well enough.

The first thing to stand out about the HTC 8S is its two-tone colour scheme. Bright colours have become a staple of Windows Phone, but normally you just get the one colour per handset.

With the HTC 8S the bulk of the phone is one colour, while a stripe at the bottom is another. Interestingly this sets it apart even from the other phone in the range- the HTC 8X, which again is all one colour. It's a great and distinctive look, making the phone immediately recognisable no matter what angle it's viewed at.

With dimensions of 120.5 x 63 x 10.3mm it's not the thinnest phone you'll ever see, but the curved edges make it seem slightly slimmer and sleeker than it actually is.

It continues to impress when you pick it up. At 113g it's got a decent amount of weight to it, making it feel like a fairly premium device rather than a cheap piece of plastic.

Speaking of plastic, there's no brushed metal or glass back on the HTC Windows Phone 8S, it's plastic through and through.

Despite that it doesn't seem flimsy. The rubbery, polycarbonate finish makes it easy to grip and feels good in the hand. It doesn't look or feel cheap either, just different and that's a good thing.

The front of the HTC 8S is dominated by the 4 inch screen, as you might expect. Above it there's HTC's logo and a speaker, while below it there's the iconic stripe adorned with three soft touch buttons, specifically home, back and search.

HTC have again stamped their logo in silver onto the back of the phone - this time much bigger. Above it you'll find the 5 megapixel camera lens, while below it there's a logo for 'Beats' audio, below that a speaker and below that the coloured stripe.

The top edge of the phone has a 3.5mm headphone port on the left and the power button on the right. The general positioning of the power button is fine, but it's hardly raised at all, making it hard to find and press, in fact we found that we often thought we'd pressed it only for nothing to happen as we'd either missed it or not applied enough pressure.

The bottom edge is home to a micro USB port, used for charging the handset and connecting it to a computer. You'll also find the microphone here.

The top of the right edge houses a volume rocker while the bottom is home to a dedicated camera button - which both launches the camera and takes photos. The left edge has absolutely no buttons or ports on it.

You can't remove the back of the HTC Windows Phone 8S. Instead the little stripe at the bottom is removable and gives you access to the microSD card slot and the micro SIM.

This does mean that you can't remove the battery, which is a bit of a shame, particularly considering it's 1,700 mAh in size, but otherwise it seems a lot more elegant than taking the whole back cover off.

It also means that the annoying practice of putting the microSD card slot behind the battery has been avoided, meaning that if you have more than one cards worth of media you can swap cards without turning the phone off. Given that there's only 4 GB of internal storage this could be genuinely useful for some users.

The coloured stripe is easy enough to remove but feels securely in place when you put it back on. It's also not as flimsy as some covers, so there's little worry of it breaking when you try to take it off.

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