You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
It looks like Samsung is making good on its promise to produce a 64GB Galaxy S III in the second half of the year, but it's going to be a lottery on if you can get one. Rather than releasing the handset worldwide, it's picking and choosing the regions which will get the benefit of the capaciously endowed smartphone. A listing has appeared on Italian retailer ePrice, with the 64GB unit setting users back €800 ($1,040). The company's confirmed that the listing is legitimate, but also that its UK and US divisions haven't announced plans to bring it to the UK or US -- so perhaps it's time to claim Italian citizenship if you're desperate for that much storage.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung
64GB Samsung Galaxy S III appears on Italian retailer's website, marks the start of a selective rollout originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Oct 2012 15:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Can't get more random than this, folks: in this week's edition of IRL, we have Darren recommending a vacuum cleaner, Dan Cooper continuing his search for a backup phone charger and Jon Fingas putting the Galaxy S III to the test against his beloved HTC One X.
Continue reading IRL: Dyson DC44, NUU ClickMate PowerPlus and the Galaxy S III
IRL: Dyson DC44, NUU ClickMate PowerPlus and the Galaxy S III originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30 Sep 2012 15:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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It looks like Nokia's controversial marketing move, which involved using pro DSLRs to "simulate" low-light shooting, was even less necessary than the smartphone maker may have thought. During our visit to the company's Tampere, Finland research and development complex, we were given access to a comprehensive testing suite, enabling us to shoot with a Lumia 920 prototype and a handful of competing products in a controlled lighting environment. Technicians dimmed the lights and let us snap a static scene with each handset at just 5 lux -- a level on par with what you may expect on a dimly lit city street in the middle of the night. The 920 took the cake, without question, but the iPhone didn't fare too poorly itself, snatching up nearly as much light as the Nokia device. The 808 PureView also performed quite well, but the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S III yielded unusable results.
It's one thing to snag proper exposure, though -- capturing sharp details with little noise and superior color balance is an entirely different beast, and the Lumia managed to do just that, as you'll see in our 100-percent-view shots further on. Later in the evening we hit the streets of Helsinki for a real-world shootout. The 920 did present some issues with exaggerated shake and other rapid movements, but it offered up excellent results overall, even in scenes that were too dark for us to make out any details with our own eyes. Our nighttime shoot can be found in the gallery below, followed by plenty of comparison photos after the break.
Filed under: Cellphones, Cameras, Mobile
From the lab: Lumia 920 low-light shootout with Nokia 808, iPhone 5, HTC One X and Galaxy S III originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Sep 2012 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Qualcomm's Vellamo app has been a part of the furniture in our Android benchmarking suite for a while now, providing a fun little test of browsing and networking speeds on almost any Android device. Version 2.0 adds something extra, however: a section called "Metal" that is all about putting your processor and memory through the wringer.
As a quick taster, we ran the new HTML5 and Metal tests on the HTC One X (both global and AT&T) and the Galaxy S III (global and Sprint), settling on the average of three consecutive results. Conspiracy theorists who think that Qualcomm's app favors its own processors will only find further ammunition in the CPU results, however the HTML5 scores actually give the QCOM devices much less of a lead than the old Vellamo did, scoring all four handsets roughly equally. You'll find the table overleaf, along with a publicity video that explains the update.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Vellamo benchmark adds CPU and memory tests, here's how it rates the One X and GS III originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Sep 2012 06:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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It's tough to get excited about phone cases -- really tough. But, we'll admit that PowerSkin's new Galaxy S III case did pique our interest a bit. It's not a revolutionary design that makes us rethink smartphone protection, but it does pack a number of nice features that definitely make it more interesting than your average silicone skin. Most notable is NFC integration, which means you wont have to take your GS III out of its case to make payments or tap and share data. Of course, like other PowerSkins, it also packs a backup battery (this one a 1,500 mAh pack) that lets you cruise through a day of heavy usage with little worry. That silicone shield should also help keep your precious handset safe in the event of an accidental drop or fall (just don't hit it with a hammer or anything). They're available now for $80 and, if you're curious, the official press release awaits you after the break.
Continue reading PowerSkin launches NFC-friendly battery case for Galaxy S III
Filed under: Mobile
PowerSkin launches NFC-friendly battery case for Galaxy S III originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Sep 2012 23:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Samsung was very keen to let us know that its latest flagship phone was designed for humans. Now, the latest in the revealing series from the firm gives a little more insight into how the team went about that. For example, product designer Hangil Song explains how the rounded edges were inspired by pebbles in a stream, while sound engineer Joongsam Yun describes how they wanted to make the phone sound like a stroll in the forest. So, next time you're barging your way down Mainstreet with four ounces of synthetic material blaring out Carly Rae Jepsen, remember, you're doing it wrong.
Filed under: Cellphones
Samsung reveals the design story highlights for the Galaxy S III originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Aug 2012 06:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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It's that mythical third color again -- or maybe the fourth, if you happen to be with a particular carrier. We saw hints of a darker shade of the Galaxy S III in Germany back in June, but even then we weren't totally convinced of its pedigree. More recently there have been rumors of a black Galaxy S III coming to independent retailers in the UK, but with nothing formal to back them up. So, now we have this: an animation of a very black and very glossy flagship, rotating on a lofty pedestal over at T-Mo's official US site. Can we finally relax and say it exists for sure, or did T-Mo perhaps paint it to make their site look more uniform? More to the point, would anyone hold out for this rather than snap up the ever-popular white variant right now?
Filed under: Cellphones
Black Galaxy S III shown on T-Mo website: glossy and shady in equal measure originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Aug 2012 03:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget inquiry is coming to us from Jacob, who needs to ensure he can find his Android phone if it's lost. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.
"Hi good folks at Engadget! I just upgraded to a Galaxy S III and I need a new "find my phone" tool. I used to use SeekDroid on my DROID 2, but the web interface won't work on the new phone. I know Samsung's got an app called DIVE that can do this, but it doesn't seem to be supported on Verizon phones. If you've got any suggestions, that'd be fantastic. Thanks!"
Actually, we had a look and we don't think it's available on any US Samsung handset without flashing your firmware. But let's imagine he doesn't want that level of hassle. What app should he be picking up? Where's my Droid? Plan B? Something else? What's worked for you -- share your wisdom.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software
Ask Engadget: best 'Find my Phone' app for Android? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Aug 2012 21:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Galaxy S III was widely tipped to possess a Wolfson digital-to-analog converter for high quality audio output -- a feature not seen in this range since the first Galaxy S. That notion has just been confirmed by the Scottish electronics firm itself, which says its WM1811 Audio Hub has been selected for use in Sammy's flagship. The chip promises "crystal clear voice call quality" and "enriched audio playback for music and video" thanks to its 24-bit hi-fi DAC, active noise reduction circuits and other wizardry. The GS II, meanwhile, used a Yamaha DAC to convert digital data (e.g. in an mp3 file) into an analog signal that could drive a speaker (for example in your headphones), but even if most people couldn't hear the difference, audiophiles have insisted they preferred the sound in the older Galaxy. The only question remaining, which the PR after the break does not expand upon, is whether the Wolfson hardware is found in all variants of the new phone. Check out the More Coverage links for further reading.
Update: Francois Simond (aka Supercurio) tweeted us to say that the US variant of the GS III uses Qualcomm's own WCD9310 for audio, not the Wolfson. Yup, it's that multi-talented Snapdragon S4 again.
Continue reading Wolfson confirms the Samsung Galaxy S III uses its audio chip
Wolfson confirms the Samsung Galaxy S III uses its audio chip originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jun 2012 05:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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