Black Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Coming? (Updated)

It would be an understatement to say that the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is doing all right in the markets where it has been released. In fact, having 5.5-inches of viewing real estate has certainly not slowed down the sales figures of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, and here we are with word on the grapevine that the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 might actually come in a shade that business folk would like - that is, black.

This would mean that the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has a very high possibility of arriving in the same color as that of the hugely successful Galaxy S3’s black, where the latter has already seen more and more colors added to its line up in the past. What you see above is a press image of a black N7100, so I guess this is as official as it can get - at the moment, at least.

Considering how there are so many other colors to choose from, to see Samsung fall back upon black for the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 makes a whole lot of sense, as this rather stealthy color would surely do its bit to make all 5.5” of it look smaller than usual, as black tends to have that effect.

No idea on when the new black color scheme will end up as an official release, but if we do not see the black Samsung Galaxy Note 2 arrive at CES 2013 that is happening in less than a fortnight’s time, them Mobile World Congress 2013 that will be held in Barcelona, Spain in February seems to be a reasonably safe bet.

Update: Apparently, what you see above is just a fan rendering, and it does not seem as though there will be a black colored Samsung Galaxy Note 2 in the pipeline. Bummer!

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Samsung GT-I9500/GT-I9505 Might Be High-end Tizen/Android Smartphone

The good people over at SamMobile have received a tip from an anonymous reader that Samsung’s next generation high end device would go by the model numbers GT-I9500 and the GT-I9505, where the latter will most probably be an LTE enabled device.

Before we continue any further, let us examine some facts that we are already aware of. For starters, Samsung’s maiden Tizen outing relied on the GT-I9500 as it’s model number, so with what was tipped today, it could mean that the next version of a Tizen-powered device is very near. Either that or Samsung could have played some mischief here by changing the model number of the next-generation Galaxy S device.

After all, the number 4 is widely believed to be a bad omen for the superstitious in South Korea, and not only that, Samsung has never used the number 4 as its product code when it comes to their high-end devices. Coincidence or just not tempting fate? I leave that guess to you.

The other rather unorthodox manner of Samsung doing things would be this - rolling out two versions of this device, which would certainly dash my hopes of seeing Samsung introduce just a single global flagship device. It has also been confirmed that Samsung has begun to run software tests of its new flagship model of Tizen or Android. Time will reveal all eventually though, so stay tuned!

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Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean Update Arrives In Asia

The last day of the year proved to be a fortuitous one for all new Samsung Galaxy S3 mini owners in Asia. New owners of this smartphone have reported, from Indonesia and Vietnam, that they have received the Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean update right out of the box. In fact, it was as recent as last month that the Galaxy S3 mini arrived with Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean, so to see it hit Android 4.1.2 is a pleasant way to end 2012 and usher in 2013.

The difference in the version number might be minimal, but there is a whole lot more “meaning” behind it as majority of the updates included in Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean by Samsung to its Galaxy range have also seen the inclusion of its highly recommended Premium Suite.

Premium Suite is a name that consists of the entire slew of new features, including the addition of Page Buddy, Multi Window support, Paper Artist, Group Cast, Smart Rotation, a new customizable notification panel, and a new gallery app among others.

Too bad folks in the US will not be able to enjoy the Galaxy S3 mini, as this smartphone will not be sold there by Samsung as part of a deal with Apple, where Cupertino has agreed to drop the Galaxy S3 mini from its patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung in that part of the world.

Are you a proud new owner of the Galaxy S3 mini in Indonesia or Vietnam, or even if you aren’t living in either country, have you seen a whiff of Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean on your device, and love all that it offers?

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Samsung GT-N5100 (Galaxy Note 7) Benchmark Appears

The Samsung Galaxy Note family is one that has yielded surprising results since its inception, and you can say that it has certainly grown from strength to strength, with the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 being quite the success. Well, an upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note tablet is certainly in the works, where sometime in late october, there was a DLNA certification that pointed in the right direction, followed by a User Agent Profile (UAP) that touted a 1280 x 800 resolution count on the Samsung GT-N5100 (or Samsung Galaxy Note 7) as it is known. Fast forward to this month, and the Samsung GT-N5100 appeared on the Nenamark2 benchmark site, followed by an appearance on the GLBenchmark site this time around.

The clever use (or should we say, logical) of "N" designates a Note tablet, and the 7-inch display makes this known for the moment as the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, although it remains as an unannounced device on an official basis.

There is nothing quite like a little bit of sleuthing around to uncover additional details about the Samsung GT-N5100, and it seems that the Galaxy Note 7 will run on a 1.6GHz Samsung Exynos 4412 processor, where it is accompanied by a resolution count of 1280 x 800 pixels with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean on board. This would mean it has a similar resolution to that of the Google Nexus 7, resulting in a pixel density of 216ppi.

We do hope to hear more about the Samsung GT-N5100 (Galaxy Note 7) in the immediate future, considering how CES 2013 and MWC 2013 are just around the corner in January and February, respectively. It looks like the 7” tablet market is heating up, so much for it being dead upon arrival, Mr. Jobs.

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Samsung 5.5-Inch Flexible Display Headed For CES 2013

Samsung has been dealing with flexible displays for some time now, or at least, toying with the idea of releasing such technology into the mass market, but they might have made an important inroad with their subsidiary, Samsung Display showcasing a couple of flexible displays at CES 2013 next month. The first of these two flexible displays will target smartphone users, sporting a rather generous 5.5-inches of viewing real estate at 1280 × 720 HD resolution, while the other would be a massive 55-incher for television use.

Now, many of you would be thinking, just what do flexible displays have to do with Android? Everything! You have Android-powered smartphones and tablets, and if Samsung Display perfects this technology, we could be looking at a revolutionary change of the mobile phone industry in terms of design and use. Remember the Nokia 3210 that proved to be iconic in its time as it was the first model without them pesky antennas? Think of how your smartphone use would change if it came with a flexible display.

Samsung maintains that these flexible displays can be bent, but if you were wondering whether you could be an electronic ninja by rolling them up like scrolls, think again - that is just impossible (at this juncture). Perhaps Samsung will tell all at CES 2013, which is happening a mere three weeks plus away, and would there be a prototype device to wow the crowd?

What you see at CES 2013 will just be a component instead of a finished product that is ready to rock and roll in the mass market. Something tells us that the folks at the Samsung Display booth there will need to get ready plenty of cloth to rub those flexible screens free of thumbprints.

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