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The Samsung Galaxy S4 will be available in an extra shade of blue, according to a Japanese carrier's promotional material. The images from DoCoMo arrive at the same time as other photographs that claim to show the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, something which has been suggested as launching at some point this month.
Samsung is planning to introduce a ruggedized version of the Galaxy S4 this summer, according to a report. The Korean electronics producer is also plotting to put out a smaller version called the Galaxy S4 Mini, mimicking the product strategy of the Galaxy S III, as well as a new eight-inch Galaxy-ranged tablet sometime in June.
Samsung has confirmed that it will be launching the Galaxy S III Mini tomorrow. JK Shin, head of Mobile Communications at Samsung, commented on tomorrow's event in Germany to Inews24, confirming the device to have a four-inch screen and have a "full form factor," though it will not apparently be an entry-level smartphone.
Samsung has sent invites out for a media event in Germany. An invitation sent to MobiFlip.de tells of an event taking place on October 11th, suggesting the launch of "something small [that] will be really big" and to "get ready for a little sensation." Despite the lack of product naming, the leaflet does give the appearance of a launch for a rumored Samsung Galaxy S III Mini.
Drobo has unveiled two new Thunderbolt-enabled storage systems aimed at professional users. The Drobo 5D is a desktop-based unit that can store five drives with an additional SSD bay for caching, while the Drobo Mini is a smaller version of the storage line designed for mobile use.
HP showed the changing roles of netbooks on Monday with the introduction of its first new netbook for 2012, theMini 1104. The 10-inch netbook is focused on schools and business and primarily adds Intel's faster Cedar Trail-era 1.6GHz Atom N2600 for faster graphics and overall performance. It comes with Computrace Pro and a TPM security chip to help track the netbook if it's stolen.
Dell has formally but quietly backed out of the netbook category. A search for netbooks like the Mini 10 gives users a warning that the Mini line is "no longer available." In return, buyers are told to pick the much larger Inspiron 14R.
BMW and MINI have announced that both brands will get MOG streaming from iPhones. MOG offers users over 13 million songs on demand and includes unique features such artist-only stations. The service is now integrated into all 2011 BMWs with the BMW Apps option as well as MINI Connected infotainment systems via the MOG app (free, iTunes) for iPhone.
HP kicked off the week with a slew of notebook upgrades, headed up unusually by its netbooks. The Mini 210 has been given its first real redesign with a more minimalist, colorful look. It's also HP's smallest system to get Beats audio processing and should have unusually good sound quality for the 10-inch size.
The MOG music service available for Android- and iOS-based devices will now come to Sonos in-home music systems, connected Vizio TVs, portable electronics from LG and Samsung and new Mini cars. The new Sonos partnership gives users streaming for the 320Kbps, ad-free service over its multi-room audio systems. Access includes MOG's Mobius music discovery engine and more than 10 million songs.
Today in the MacNN forums a Fresh-Faced Recruit, scottajronan, started a thread looking for some advice on what kind of hard drive to use to upgrade their white iMac, click here to join in on the conversation. The debate over the security of Mac OS X continues in the thread labeled "Mac 10.6 virus proof?"
Both BMW and Tesla Motors today both said they would use NVIDIA's Tegra chips for their in-car systems. The faster ARM processor gives them support for much higher resolution screens, up to the large 17-inch display in the Tesla Model S, while still providing 3D visuals and responsive touchscreen input on the Tesla car. Roots in the mobile world also make it well suited to GPS navigation, including real-time traffic.
BMW's Mini badge this week quietly took its Mini Connected app (free, App Store) live for the iPhone. The long in development app gives any 2011 Mini with the Connected system access to phone features often tied into the car's own control stack. Internet radio pulled over 3G routes through the audio system, while RSS news feeds and Twitter can appear on the car display or (for news) spoken aloud on a Mini with voice control enabled.
Not normally known for its Black Friday deals, Microsoft today launched a promo that promises major giveaways, including for Mac users. The highlight is a free Dell Mini 1018 netbook with a copy of Office Home and Business 2010; the deal is an effectively half-off deal that gives both the 1.66GHz Atom notebook and the software for the price of one, at $280. Those just interested in a PC can also get an HP dm3 ultraportable for $399, or $250 off its usual asking price.
HP on Monday introduced its latest Mini netbook meant for business users, the Mini 1103. The 10.1-inch, 1024x600 LED-backlit screen faces a keyboard that's 93 percent the size of a full-sized notebook's, and the device weighs just short of 2.8lbs with a three-cell battery. A 1.66GHz Atom CPU is standard fare, though a 1.83GHz N475 is optional, and while there's support for 2GB of DDR3 RAM, only 1GB systems will ship from HP.
Sprint claimed a minor first on Tuesday by getting the two first notebooks to have both built-in 3G and 4G in the US. Its version of the Dell Mini 10 and the Dell Inspiron 11z can access either regular EVDO or WiMAX to have the up to 6Mbps speeds with a fallback for when 4G coverage isn't available.
AT&T's mobile data plans expanded today with its first options for prepaid data. The DataConnect Pass gives those with built-in 3G in a notebook the option of paying for just a short stint of data without having to commit to a contract. Its rates carry a premium for the freedom at $15 for 100MB of data over the course of a day, $30 for a week pass with 300MB of data and a full month with 1GB for $50.
HP this morning revamped its Mini netbooks with a performance update and design refreshes. The Mini 210 and 5103 now have the choice of Intel's dual-core, 1.5GHz Atom N550 as an option. Picking the chip should significantly improve the speed of the 10-inch portable under some conditions but without affecting the 10.75 hours of battery life with the stock six-cell battery.
HP today slipped out an upgrade to its pro netbooks in the form of the Mini 5103. The 10-inch portable uses a 1.66GHz Atom N455 or 1.86GHz N475 but primarily gets a memory upgrade: either supports 1,333MHz DDR3 RAM instead of the more typical DDR2. Just 1GB is built-in, but 2GB is an option.
T-Mobile's HSPA+ service should get a major expansion in just over a week, including a new netbook to match, if a tip this evening is accurate. The 21Mbps access would reach 19 new coverage areas on July 21, ranging from major cities in Ohio and Texas to the island of Hawaii and cities such as Baltimore, Kansas City, Portland and Washington, DC. It would represent one of the largest expansions of the faster 3G since it launched.
BMW and its connected Mini label have taken advantage of updates in Apple's iOS 4 to provide an easier way to navigate music on an iPhone or iPod touch. When attached, any iOS 4 device will put out an iPod-like menu on a car's center dash display; anyone in the front cabin can steer playback from the car's own controls rather than distract themselves with the touchscreen. The technique supports normally out-of-reach features like on-device custom playlists and Genius playlists.
The HP Mini 5102 is one of those rare netbooks designed for the mobile pro and educational markets at the same time; it's meant for those who don't simply see the netbook as a throwaway extra PC. At $415, even still has an attractive price point, but does the 5102 pack enough features and power over a regluar netbook to satisfy an audience that could pay $100 less? We find out in our full Mini 5102 review.
PC maker Dell has teamed up with Threadless to offer custom designs from the clothing label on notebook lids. The original graphics can be chosen from Dell's Design Studio, and there are 11 designs currently available. New designs will be added in the future as well.
HP today put out its first netbook designed just for kids. The Mini 100e Education Edition (link active soon) has an entirely new chassis designed to take the wider range of abuse likely at school. A handle is built in to make it easier to carry for children, and the shell is both friendlier and more durable; the keyboard is spillproof, and the display hinges are a mix of alloys and steel to prevent them from breaking in a fall.
Verizon today began offering the HP Mini 210 as part of its 3G netbook lineup. As with other models, it adds EVDO Rev A-based 3G to the 10-inch system's normal Wi-Fi. The Verizon-bound Mini 210 will be available in Black Crystal, a 1.66Ghz Atom chip, 1GB RAM, a 250GB hard drive, and a webcam.
HP's Mini netbooks got their own refreshes today with two new colors and a longer-running performance model. The Mini 210 gets the most visible update with both a "white crystal" color option and a pseudo-3D "preppy pink." On the pink model, the design creates a multi-layer effect with shadows; HP also brings a plaid imprint to the trackpad.
Acer said as part of its financial results today that it would launch a whole line of mobile Internet devices (MIDs) in May. CEO Gianfranco Lanci was short on details but said they would all have 3G cellular access and would run Acer's custom Shell 4.0 interface. They should also interact with each other, although how wasn't mentioned by Lanci.
Dell's larger tablet strategy will start off mildly, another leak suggested this evening. So far codenamed the Looking Glass, the 7-inch version should use an NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor and Android 2.1 but will largely be an upsized version of the Mini 5. Engadget understands that the Looking Glass should still have the 800x480 resolution, and its main advantages will be an ATSC or DVB-T TV tuner along with a possible AT&T U-verse TV access.
Dell's Mini 5 could be destined for T-Mobile if an FCC filing is an indicator. The Android tablet recently passed through the US agency with support for the 1,700MHz band needed for T-Mobile's 3G network. The normally PC-focused firm had already confirmed a version with AT&T support.
Dell's plans to launch multiple tablet sizes was confirmed today through a memo today. Both 7- and 10-inch adaptations of the Mini 5 are on the way and have been given rudimentary mockups. The source of the early notice told Engadget the 7-inch version would ship by the end of 2010 while the 10-inch version would arrive in early 2011.
Dell's plans to launch a new phone, as well as a port of an existing phone, have been given away in advance through the Chinese government's own Telecommunication Equipment Certification Center. The Mini 3T1 is completely new and would be a lower-cost phone with a smaller screen and a directional pad, either supplementing or replacing the touchscreen. It would also have a simpler two-megapixel camera (versus three on the Mini 3i) and support China Mobile's TD-SCDMA for 3G.
T-Mobile bolstered its webConnect data access with the first-ever HSPA+ netbook and details of its coverage. A new variant of the Dell Mini 10 will come with built-in HSPA+ and should reach up to 21Mbps in any area where the faster speeds are active, including New York City, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Washington, DC's suburbs. The 10-inch system still has the 1.66GHz Atom, Windows 7 and six-cell battery of the original, but it will be subsidized down to $200 on a two-year data plan when it ships tomorrow.
Clearwire and Sprint bolstered their WiMAX plans today by detailing expansion plans and new devices. The former led the news with details of a subsidized 4G notebook: the carrier plans to offer a subsidized version of the Dell Mini 10 with WiMAX that will provide the 3-6Mbps mobile broadband for less than ordering the device separately. The 10-inch netbook should cost $250 when signing up for Clearwire's 4G at the same time and will be available April 1st.
A leak of marketing material for Dell's Mini 5 on Wednesday has revealed a heavy focus on Amazon services. The tablet will have a special content deal and should not only carry Android's existing access to Amazon MP3 but a Kindle e-reader app and a viewer for Amazon's video services. The flyer found by Engadget implies Video On Demand, which so far would be new to Android.
The number of touchscreen tablets running on ARM chips is set to explode even in 2010, the company's global mobile device ODM manager Roy Chen said today. While the iPad is the most conspicuous of these, Chen anticipates over 50 shipping in 2010. The first are due in the spring and will largely be attached to cellular carriers. There will be "a lot more" in the summer, the manager said.
The Mini 5 is just the beginning of a larger tablet strategy at Dell, the company's tablet division head Neeraj Choubey said on Thursday. The 5-inch handheld will be the only one to launch this spring but is just the first in a "family" that will have multiple screen sizes available. All of them are likely to run Android and go beyond just what Google provides, with a set of office document apps and a cross-device Internet sync service.
BMW's sub-label Mini today revealed that the 2011 Mini Countryman will be one of the first cars to have tight app-level integration with the iPhone. The semi-rugged compact will have an optional central computing system known as Mini Connected that will tie into Apple's handset through two native apps. At its simplest, a "web radio" app will use the iPhone's 3G connection to reach any one of a set list of Internet radio stations; the car's center column display will give control over radio stations using the Countryman's own interface.
Dell's Mini 5 tablet has been given an early preview that has provided new details about the company's entry into the tablet arena. Despite concerns about its 5-inch screen, Engadget says the Android device is pocketable and easy to hold. It even has rough signs of development for phone functionality, although those who have tried it say it's too big to be used this way most of the time.
Dell on Friday gave the current-generation Mini 10 a new option for WiMAX. The system's usual 802.11g Wi-Fi card can be replaced with a combo 802.11n and WiMAX part that will give it up to 10Mbps on most any compatible network. In the US, the upgrade will tap into either Clear or Sprint 4G.
Dell tonight reported mixed results for its latest quarter. Despite shipping 29 percent more PCs to home users between November and January versus the same timeframe a year ago, the Texas-based company's net profit ultimately dropped 5 percent as it focused on selling less expensive PCs. Its gross margin dropped to a relatively slim 16.6 percent as the holiday-related sales spike pushed it to sell 2 million more computers without as much profit as in the past.
Over half of users don't consider a netbook a true portable, according to a new PriceGrabber study (PDF). About 55 percent believe that only a full-size notebook can work as a primary system, and a roughly similar 63 percent see a netbook only as a extra device for carrying on the road. Only 14 percent would actually consider one of the under-11-inch systems as a main computer.
When the promised Dell Mini 5 tablet ships later this year, it will run on a newer version of the Android OS than the 1.6 build prototypes of the device have been running on thus far, according to a Monday Engadget report. While which exact build will be preloaded has not been disclosed, Dell staff did indicate it will have Flash support, likely the latest 10.1 version of the software. Depending on when the smartbook PC ships, this could mean Android 2.0, 2.1 or the upcoming Froyo.
Michael Dell on Thursday slipped out some of his company's plans for the Mini 5 tablet in a quick demo (viewable below). In addition to showing off the customized Android interface we saw at CES, which has at least a special menu bar, the CEO also acknowledged to TechCrunch that it would be released in "a couple months." Dell employees earlier this month insisted it was a concept and that it wasn't a confirmed production device.
A prototype of the Dell tablet, which was shown at CES as the Mini 5, has been spotted in the Shenzhen black market. The device, also known as the streak, was marked as "Model M01M" under the battery cover. At least one unofficial retailer has been selling it for 7,500 yuan, or about $1,098 and likely well above what Dell would likely charge for the actual end product.
Google today delayed the launch of a pair of Android phones due to its ongoing political dispute with China. Following tensions over the Chinese government allegedly hacking into US-based servers and Google's anti-censorship response, the latter has decided against releasing new Motorola and Android phones on Wednesday. The search firm didn't say when it expected to reschedule the launch.
Because Dell has not revealed many specs on its Mini 5 tablet-like device, some have taken it upon themselves to find out on their own by taking it apart. The teardown has revealed that the 5-inch Internet tablet is powered by a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU and has two microSD memory card slots, along with a 1,530mAh battery. There is also a SIM card slot.
HP's most significant CES unveiling includes a sweeping update to its Mini netbooks to bring them in step with Intel's Pine Trail platform. Heading up the range is the 10-inch Mini 5102, the company's first touchscreen netbook. It supports native multi-touch for Windows 7 and is targeted at the relative high end with an aluminum chassis like the EliteBooks and a Broadcom HD decoder that can process 1080p video.
Dell on Monday leapt fully into Intel's Pine Trail Atom-based platform by launching a new version of the Mini 10. The new version makes use of a 1.66GHz Atom N450 to extend its battery life past the original and, in a version with a 6-cell battery pack, can last for up to 9.5 hours on a charge. It also gets the new option of a Broadcom HD video decoder.
Dell in its 10Q forms has revealed increasing problems with its home PC group. The company's average selling price for a home system has dropped 23 percent year-over-year as customers have continued to look for cheaper systems. At the same time, the company has paid a price for the cheaper systems as warranty obligations for repairs and replacements have increased by $42 million over the same period.
Dell this evening declared its intent to make handheld devices a focus by creating a new communications division. The section will head up development of smartphones, such as the Mini 3i, as well as unspecified other devices. Global consumer business head Ron Garriques, who left Motorola, will lead the new group.
