Mild-mannered Samsung Galaxy S II update brings Isis mobile payment support


Mobile payments, those made from a phone and typically via NFC, haven't exactly had a huge impact on the average American consumer just yet, but look past that and you'll see a battle is brewing. Google had been making the most noise, with its Google Wallet, but today the competing service Isis just launched its first proper salvo. The T-Mobile version of the Galaxy S II is currently receiving an OTA update (T989UVLH1) that, among a few other tweaks, enables support for Isis NFC payments, making it the first such device on the market. Many more are inbound from AT&T and Verizon as well, setting the stage for an epic virtual currency battle that only the peaceniks at the Mobile Payments Committee stand a chance of mitigating.

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Mild-mannered Samsung Galaxy S II update brings Isis mobile payment support originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 13:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple asks that eight Samsung devices be banned from US store shelves

Apple asks that eight Samsung devices be banned from store shelves

Favorable infringement findings in hand, we knew Apple would seek injunctions to ban Samsung devices from being sold in the US. And now we know that Tim Cook and company are following up on that billion dollar verdict and are seeking to enjoin eight handsets from being sold. As you can see in the chart above, the Galaxy S 4G, four Galaxy S II variants, the Galaxy S Showcase, Droid Charge, and Galaxy Prevail are all on the chopping block. Why is Apple only going after eight of the twenty-something devices found to be infringing its IP? Well, most of them are no longer being sold, and we all know how Judge Koh just hates having her time wasted.

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Apple asks that eight Samsung devices be banned from US store shelves originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Aug 2012 14:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iZettle comes to Android for a few lucky Swedish Samsung owners

iZettle comes to Android

Square gets most of the media hype, but without an international presence, would-be competitors have had a chance to carve out their own niches in the mobile commerce market. Sweden's iZettle has managed to make quite a splash in its homeland, and it's expanding its mini empire by finally bringing its wares to Android -- albeit in an extremely limited form. Unless you've got a Galaxy S III, S II or a Note then iZettle still isn't for you and with availability in a single Nordic country, it might seem more accurate to describe Android support as being in beta, but the company has ditched the testing tag regardless. Rest assured, however, it is actively working to add more handsets and export the app beyond its particle board-loving borders.

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iZettle comes to Android for a few lucky Swedish Samsung owners originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 16:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumored Samsung Galaxy S II Plus resurfaces: adds purported specs and pictures

Rumored Galaxy S II Plus resurfaces adds purported specs and pictures

It's been a long, long time since we first saw the unannounced Galaxy S II Plus show up in some leaked benchmarks. Today, however, Sammy's souped-up flavor of that famed S2 is making the rounds on the interwebs once more, and better yet, we've got an idea of what it could look like physically come its official revelation. According to Chilean carrier VTR, Samsung's Galaxy S II Plus will be sporting a 4.5-inch AMOLED display, which is said to be paired alongside a dual-core, 1.5GHz Exynos CPU, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of built-in storage and an 8-megapixel rear camera -- notably, the site's also listing it as an Ice Cream Sandwich device, making it slightly different than what we'd seen previously in earlier benchmark scores. Either way, all signs point toward the Korean outfit being close to legitimately introducing its S II Plus sooner rather than later; while we wait for that to happen, though, the angled shots after the break will have to suffice.

Continue reading Rumored Samsung Galaxy S II Plus resurfaces: adds purported specs and pictures

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Rumored Samsung Galaxy S II Plus resurfaces: adds purported specs and pictures originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Aug 2012 17:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumored Samsung Galaxy S II Plus resurfaces: adds purported specs and pictures

Rumored Galaxy S II Plus resurfaces adds purported specs and pictures

It's been a long, long time since we first saw the unannounced Galaxy S II Plus show up in some leaked benchmarks. Today, however, Sammy's souped-up flavor of that famed S2 is making the rounds on the interwebs once more, and better yet, we've got an idea of what it could look like physically come its official revelation. According to Chilean carrier VTR, Samsung's Galaxy S II Plus will be sporting a 4.5-inch AMOLED display, which is said to be paired alongside a dual-core, 1.5GHz Exynos CPU, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of built-in storage and an 8-megapixel rear camera -- notably, the site's also listing it as an Ice Cream Sandwich device, making it slightly different than what we'd seen previously in earlier benchmark scores. Either way, all signs point toward the Korean outfit being close to legitimately introducing its S II Plus sooner rather than later; while we wait for that to happen, though, the angled shots after the break will have to suffice.

Continue reading Rumored Samsung Galaxy S II Plus resurfaces: adds purported specs and pictures

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Rumored Samsung Galaxy S II Plus resurfaces: adds purported specs and pictures originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Aug 2012 17:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CM10 nightly builds now rolling out to select devices

CM10 nightly builds now rolling out to select devicesLike Jelly Beans, custom Android ROMs tend to have different flavors -- and CyanogenMod happens to be a fan favorite. Good thing then, that the CM10 team is now serving nightly builds of its Jelly Bean-based custom ROM update. According to the CyanogenMod Google+ page, CM10 nightlies are now available for the US Samsung Galaxy S III variants, the original Galaxy S and the Galaxy S II (i9100g), the Galaxy Nexus, the Nexus S and Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 (P3), Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 (P5), Nexus 7, Transformer and Transformer Prime tablets. The list will fill out with more devices when they are ready, the team says, and will continue to have CM9 updates (now weekly, rather then nightly) at their disposal.

CM10 nightly builds now rolling out to select devices originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Aug 2012 04:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Judge cuts international Galaxy S and S II, Galaxy Ace from Apple lawsuit against Samsung

Judge cuts international Galaxy S and S II, Galaxy Ace from Apple's lawsuit against Samsung

Apple rested its side of the case in its main lawsuit against Samsung on Monday, and with the switch of focus came a small sacrifice. While Samsung failed in a Hail Mary bid to have the suit dismissed, it successfully argued that a few devices should escape the clutches of a full-fledged ban. Don't get too excited, though: the exclusion list mostly touches on phones that only reach US shores through unofficial importers, including the Galaxy Ace as well as international editions of the Galaxy S and Galaxy S II. The decision still leaves the American variants of phones under scrutiny, and it doesn't change Apple's hopes of a large licensing fee for all the alleged transgressions. We'd still say the exemption provides some small amount of relief for Samsung, however. Most of Apple's early, less-than-flattering accusations of trade dress violations focused on the more familiar-looking foreign Galaxy models and lose some of their thunder when leveled against the conspicuously altered designs that eventually set foot in the US.

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Judge cuts international Galaxy S and S II, Galaxy Ace from Apple lawsuit against Samsung originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Aug 2012 19:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Refresh Roundup: week of July 23rd, 2012

Refresh Roundup week of July 23rd, 2012

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of July 23rd, 2012

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Refresh Roundup: week of July 23rd, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Jul 2012 21:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget’s smartphone buyer’s guide: summer 2012 edition

Engadget's smartphone buyer's guide summer 2012 edition

Despite the sweltering heat waves, our spirits are high at Engadget, and for good reason: it's time for our summer edition of the smartphone buyer's guide. Here, you'll find our top recommendations for the best smartphones across several US carriers, along with the best QWERTY and budget alternatives. In many ways, it's now easier than ever to find a world-class smartphone, but unless you've developed a strong brand preference, choosing one is likely more difficult than ever before. It's no secret that the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S III have firmly cemented themselves as the premier smartphones of the day, but if you're torn between the two, we'll reveal our preference in this latest installment.

Summertime also brought a bit of a shock, as Microsoft revealed that Windows Phone 8 apps won't be compatible with the current generation of Windows Phone hardware. For this reason, we've excluded all Windows Phone handsets from consideration in the latest buyer's guide. While the future of Microsoft's mobile platform looks incredibly bright, a purchase now would guarantee obsolescence in the short-term. Instead, all prospective Windows Phone purchasers must wait for the next generation of handsets to become available -- you'll regret it otherwise.

Naturally, there is no shortage of rumors surrounding the next Apple iPhone, and given the handset's current lack of LTE connectivity, the iPhone 4S is certainly showing its age. While cautious purchasers may choose to bide their time, the iPhone remains top-notch in many other respects, and its arrival at a number of prepaid carriers brought a breath of fresh air to an otherwise stagnant environment.

If you're curious to see how it all unfolded -- and we know you are -- join us after the break, where we round up the very best smartphones of the season.

Continue reading Engadget's smartphone buyer's guide: summer 2012 edition

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Engadget's smartphone buyer's guide: summer 2012 edition originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jul 2012 12:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint Epic 4G Touch (Update: but not US Cellular Galaxy S II) ICS update is official, start rolling out today

Just as the leak last night indicated, Samsung is finally ready to deliver Ice Cream Sandwich to Sprint's Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch. Samsung also announced today that US Cellular's similar but WiMAX-less SCH-R760 Galaxy S II is getting the same (Update: an entirely different) FF18 update as well. The changelogs are available at the source links below, interestingly Android Beam is mentioned since these devices lack NFC, it's hard to see how that could be on the list. US Cellular users can download and install the update right now using a SimpleDL tool on a Windows PC, however unfortunately there's no support for any other operating systems at this time. On Sprint the update is coming out OTA and will slowly arrive on devices over the next few days, but if you're impatient then we'd keep an eye on the thread at XDA Developers for reports on how well it works as well as some sideloaded workarounds.

Update: So sorry for US Cellular folks, it appears your wait will continue. While sharing a tag, the update for your phone resolves an issue with getting GPS lock... and that's it. There's always CyanogenMod or AOKP, right? Also, while we're at it, check out the updated ZDA Developers link to download ICS for the Epic 4G Touch directly, plus a quick how-to install video (embedded after the break.) [Thanks @jbro456]

Continue reading Sprint Epic 4G Touch (Update: but not US Cellular Galaxy S II) ICS update is official, start rolling out today

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Sprint Epic 4G Touch (Update: but not US Cellular Galaxy S II) ICS update is official, start rolling out today originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Jul 2012 16:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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