Carried by AT&T, the Galaxy Appeal is a prepaid mobile phone or GoPhone. It weighs just about 4.3-ounces and would surely fit your pocket. It offers a 3.2-inch HVGA capacitive screen (LCD backlit) that has a 480×320 display resolution (pixel density is at 180 PPI). Moreover, this handset features a QWERTY format for its keys and is powered by Android 2.3 or Gingerbread.

Also, the processor assigned to orchestrate its tasks and functions is an 800 MHz Qualcomm MSM7225A that was paired up with 512MB of RAM. Taking stills as well as videos is made possible with its 3.2 megapixels rear camera. There is a microSD port for storage expansion while the battery is the 1,300mAh. It also has WiFi and comes in handy whenever browsing the web or playing media (both audio and video).

The unique and commendable thing with the Appeal is that it is environment-friendly since it’s made from 80 percent recycled material.

Starting June 5, it would be made available in Walmart for a price of $150. Be sure to also check in AT&T Stores nearest you starting July 15. It only comes in one color which is black.

According to Lex Machina, there has been an increase in the number of handset patent infringement cases filed in the US courts. From 24 cases filed in 2006, it has increased to 84 cases in 2010. Such growth in the numbers can be blamed at the speed where the industry evolves. The patent system in the US allows inventors a monopoly on their new ideas in a limited time frame of only twenty years from the day they were filed. This is in striking contrast with the way mobile phone consumers expect huge steps in progress in just a short period of time.

When devices evolve into cameras, internet browsers, and music players, it means an increase in the amount of its intellectual property would naturally follow. With this rate, it’s hard to believe that a single smartphone can possibly have more than 250,000 active patents. When a company frowns at the idea of sharing their advances or being paid for the use of their patents, that’s when the lawyers step in.

Apple has filed design-related rights and patent cases to halt Samsung Electronics in selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 to Australia and Germany. Samsung responded by banning the sale of iPhones in Japan and Australia. Other big companies have also been active in court litigations such as Nokia, Kodak, Ericsson, Sony, and LG.

Though it would involve spending a huge amount of money, many experts are saying that acquisitions which encourage cross-licensing deals would prove to be more cost-effective. Under this deal, both companies would swap permission in using each other’s unique inventions.

Being involved in 20 other legal fights in at least ten countries, Samsung and Apple seem to feel weary and exhausted as the consumers follow their story. If Samsung is serious about its offer for a cross licensing deal with Apple, it may somehow reduce the friction between the two giant companies and may somehow allow them more freedom to design new products under each other’s patents without instigating a lawsuit on patent infringement.

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According to various reports, the Samsung Galaxy S3 comes in two models, one is international and the other one is a Japan variant. The difference between the two models may sound very interesting but could raise one’s eyebrows at the same time.

First of all, the international model has 1GB of RAM, a Quad chipset of Exynos 4212 and a CPU of Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A9. These features seem to have an upgraded version with the Japan variant.

Labeled as the SC-06D, the Japanese variant of the Galaxy S3 may be regarded as a conspiracy result between NTT Docomo and Samsung Japan. Instead of 1GB, the device will be equipped with 2GB of RAM. Furthermore, it will have a 1.5Ghz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor instead of the quad-core Exynos. This modification is deemed important as the Galaxy S3 should work compatibly with the LTE network of Docomo’s Xi.

The extra gig of RAM will be available exclusively to Japanese consumers. Samsung S3’s NTT Docomo model is a unique version of the smartphone which has specific local market features such as a 1seg TV tuner. This would explain why the added RAM may remain exclusively in Japan.

On the other hand, people from the US are keeping their fingers crossed that the international variant of the Samsung Galaxy S3 will also have the 2GB of RAM. At least 4 different variants of the US Samsung Galaxy S3 are expected to come out in the market. The chances that some or maybe even all US models to get an added RAM are high and optimistic.

As far as the other specifications are concerned, the two models are basically the same phone. Both models have the size of 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.99 mm and weigh 138.5 grams. They run on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The touchscreen display has a Super AMOLED Pentile capacity, 720 x 1280 pixels, 4.8 inches, 16M colors, Corning Gorlla Glass 2, TouchWiz UI v 4.o and multitouch features.

Price and release date of the Samsung Galaxy S3’s Japan variant is yet to be disclosed.

At first glance, it may not look different from its older family member, the Galaxy S II. Looking closely however, one would notice its larger size which measures at 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm and its weight of 133 grams. Overall, there’s not much difference in the size though the screen has been stretched up to a 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display as compared with the 4.3-inch screen size of the earlier version. Likewise, it’s slightly bigger than Galaxy Nexus’ 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED screen.

The Canadian release of Samsung Galaxy S III is something that Samsung Electronics Canada’s current director of marketing for mobile phones, Ken Price, feels so excited about. The reasons are very obvious. The new Galaxy S III is packed with some smartphone features which are intuitive in nature. One example is its ability to recognize that you’re reading a text thereby signaling it not to dim the screen. This may just boost the smartphone’s usability and could enhance Samsung sales in time before the launch of Apple’s next iPhone.

While it may be true that there could be a delay in the arrival of Sammy with the Canadian carriers, Mr. Price has assured that its availability in North America could be as early as a few days though it could also be several weeks. The Canadian version of the Galaxy S III may not have the same configuration as the one released globally. For one thing, it will be LTE-enabled in order for it to function on the new and faster networks. The processor issue is also unclear as it doesn’t say whether it will be a quad-core or a dual core.

Wind Mobile, Telus, Bell, Virgin Mobile, and Rogers have all moved forward and posed as the smarthphone’s national providers. There are also regional carriers which have joined the bandwagon such as Videotron, SaskTel, and Mobilicity. Details on the smartphone’s pricing and exact shipping dates are still undisclosed.

Being in public display in the ongoing 2012 CTIA Wireless in New Orleans, the Samsung Focus 2 is the newest addition to the company’s product portfolio. The Focus 2 apparently succeeds its siblings which are the Focus and Focus S. It also happens to be an additional handset in AT&T lineup of Windows based Phones.

To begin with, the phone seems to be a little bit smaller (tiny if you would call it) compared to the Lumia but this is to its advantage as it is easy to grasp. It is also very lightweight being just 4.3 ounces. It also has a thickness of 11.98 mm which as other people say is one of its downsides (it may be not that skinny or slim after all).

For its display, it sports a Super AMOLED WVGA (non-plus). Orchestrating the show under the hood is a 1.4 GHz CPU (RAM at this point has not been revealed yet to the public). It also has a pair of cameras which will come in very handy in capturing spur of the moment photos and videos. The front-facing camera being VGA while the rear and main camera is a 5 megapixel shooter. The phone also has the capability of recording videos at 720 pixels. As to its battery, it comes with the 1,750 mAh. To round it up, it has LTE for its connectivity capability.

The Samsung Focus 2 will retail for a price of $49.99 and will come with a contract with AT&T. If this happens to the Windows Phone you are eyeing to have, it will be made available starting May 20 in all AT&T stores. And oh by the way, it comes in any color.

A 4G LTE Windows Phone, the Samsung SGH-i667 Mandel has a 7.5 Mango OS, a touch screen of 3.5” Super AMOLED plus, a Wi-Fi with 1.4 GHz processor, a GPS, and a camera with HD video recording of 5 MP. It is supported by a plethora of networks such as the HSDPA, HSUPA, and GSM. The capacitive touchscreen has a 480×800 resolution and is packed with a whopping 16M colors.

The CPU is a Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255T 1.4 GHz while the GPU is an Adreno 205. Furthermore, it’s packed with a T-Flash/MicroSDHC memory card which can store up to 32 GB of memory. The wireless data feature is made possible by the EDGE, 5.76 Mbps HSUPA, GPRS, 14.4 Mbps HSDPA, and LTE. Lastly, its Bluetooth feature has V2.1 A2DP + EDR.

There is no available information about the market price. However, such information may soon be revealed once the new gadget hits the stores by the second quarter of the year.

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The most noticeable change from its predecessors is its larger screen. The S3’s 4.8-inch screen is 22% bigger than the S2. However, the new device is only 16% larger than the S2 because the bezel found on the S2 was shrunk on the S3.

Other specs of the S3 include Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS, 4.8-inch 720 x 1280 HD Super AMOLED display, 1.4GHz Exynos 4 Quad quad-core processor, 1GB RAM, 1.9MP front camera, 8MP rear camera, HSPA+21 and LTE connectivity, NFC-capable, and USB 4.0.

There are also some additional features debuting on the S3, such as the Smart Stay that monitors your eyes with the use of the front camera to maintain a “bright display for continued viewing pleasure”, S Voice which is a customized voice recognition program similar to Siri, and S Beam which is an improved Android Beam system for faster phone-to-phone file transfer.

So how does GS3 stack up against the two other popular Samsung Galaxy phones, the S2 and Nexus? Here’s a quick comparison:

• Glass panel:  Both S2 and S3 sports Gorilla Glass while the Nexus has fortified glass (The winner: S2 and S3)
• Display: S2 measures a 4.3/4.5-inch, Nexus has 4.65-inch, and S3 a good 4.8-inch (The winner: S3)
• Resolution:  S2: 800 x 480, Nexus: 1280 x 720, S3: 720 x 1280 (The winner: Nexus and S3)
• CPU: S2: 1.2/1.5GHz Dual Core, Nexus: 1.2GHZ Dual Core, S3: 1.4GHz Quad Core (The winner: S3)
• Memory: All three phones have 1GB RAM (The winner: 3-way tie)
• Storage: S2: 16/32GB + microSD, Nexus: 16/32GB, S3: 16/32/64GB + microSD (The winner: S3)
• Front Camera: S2: 2MP, Nexus: 1.3MP, S3: 1.9MP (The winner: S2)
• Rear Camera: S2: 8MP, Nexus: 5MP AF, S3: 8MP AF+HDR (The winner: S3)

In these spec category, the Galaxy S III clearly comes out as the better phone among the three with its 1.4GHz quad core processor giving it a huge lead. Its 4.8-inch screen also beats other non-Samsung phones like the 4.7-inch HTC One X and the 4.3-inch Nokia Lumia 900.

Europeans will be the lucky firsts to get a hold of the Galaxy S3 on May 29, with launches in Asia, the Middle East and Africa is expected to follow before arriving in the US and South Korea in June. No announcements yet on pricing details but many expect it to be announced soon.

Well, that hasn’t been officially confirmed yet, but tech blog PocketNow claims that amongst the insides of the S III will be the Snapdragon S4, which is said to be Qualcomm’s answer to NVIDIA’s popular Tegra-3 processing chip. The Snapdragon S4 is currently only on two other phones, HTC’s One X and One S, and both of them have performed well for the users despite the chip only having two cores instead of four. However, it’s said that only the Verizon (and possibly LTE) version of the phone will have this CPU, while the global version will be carrying Samsung’s own quad-core Exynos chip, but the exact model and specs of the Samsung processor is still unknown.

There are several different models of the Snapdragon S4 to date, some still undergoing development, but the rumors say that it will be dual-core, which indicates that it may be one of the earlier variants.

Other known GS3 specs from earlier rumors include Ice Cream Sandwich as its OS, a large display at 4.8 inches with 720p and AMOLED technology, which would make this phone something to behold. However, these are just rumors, and since Samsung’s event is happening very soon, the wait for more information wont be too long.

Samsung has developed an answer to these demands. Say hello to the Exynos 4 Quad processor. This powerful chip is based on 32nm process and High-K Metal Gate (HKMG) technology. Its processing speed exceeds 1.4GHz, faster than the quad core ARM A9 Cortex, and even more energy efficient.

And the good news is, consumers will be able to witness the power of the Exynos 4 Quad as it comes out to power the next generation smartphone from Samsung’s Galaxy line, the Samsung Galaxy S III.

This quad core processing chip will allow the users to maximize the Galaxy S III’s multitasking capabilities. Imagine running a virus scan while downloading a high quality video and playing high resolution games to boot. These, and more, the Exynos 4 Quad can do as it has twice the capability to process data as compared to its 45nm process based predecessor, the Exynos 4 Dual while at the same time consuming 20% less power.

With the Exynos 4 Quad, the Galaxy S III can be the smartphone for gamers and videophiles alike. Play 3D games with the same vividness as if you’re using a console. Or play full HD videos on your phone without needing to encode as it has an integrated multi format code that allows you to play almost any video format type.

The Exynos 4 Quad is already in production and is expected to come out on May with the Galaxy S III. The chip is also being sampled to other handset manufacturers for other upcoming devices.

The new Galaxy S III has popped up on AnTuTu’s listing, and it’s already been benchmarked, standing way above its Galaxy predecessors. It apparently has Samsung’s new dual-core Exynos 4212 CPU with 1.4GHz, 1GB of RAM, and Android Ice Cream Sandwich as its OS. For the exterior, it has a 4.7-inch HD screen with 1280 x 720px of resolution, a 2MP front camera, and 12MP rear camera. It’s apparently these features that got the phone the top spot in AnTuTu’s listing, beating out even ASUS’ NVIDIA Tegra-3-powered Transformer Prime tablet as the most powerful device for Android yet.

It’s also worth noting that the network the phone was supposedly running on the GSM/WCDMA network and not LTE like the other Galaxy phones, but this may just mean that the feature hasn’t been added to the phone yet. Fortunately, Samsung’s set a date for an unveiling in London specifically featuring a new model in the Galaxy series, and then we’ll see if the benchmark is legitimate and accurate. If it is, then all the other Android devices are in danger of having a powerful competitor in the market, which is not necessarily bad for Samsung.

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