Tag Archives: touchwiz

Samsung’s Android phones affected by another lockscreen bypass, fix is in the works

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Since lockscreen bypass methods are apparently what's hot in the streets, it's no surprise that yet another one has surfaced, this time targeting Samsung's Android phones. A variant of another, earlier uncovered method, this one does not fully unlock the phone by itself, but does provide access to apps and settings for a brief period. Given that, as demonstrated in the video by Terence Eden, it's possible to use Google Play to download an app to disable the locked screen and fully access the phone.

According to Terence, this problem is confirmed on the Galaxy Note II, possibly the Galaxy S III and potentially on other TouchWiz UI Samsung Android phones. Disabling screen animations under developer options should reduce the vulnerability, but doesn't eliminate it without switching to another ROM. He also mentions Samsung is aware of the issue and is working on a fix, but that leaves phones accessible right now. We've certainly seen enough of these recently (Apple's latest version of iOS has also been victimized again in the last day) to know leaving our phones out, locked or unlocked, is foolish. At the same time, if a manufacturer insists on adding customized software to the existing platform, it could at least have the courtesy to do so without causing security leaks -- check after the break for a "bonus" vid sent in by another tipster that shows a way to activate voice commands on a locked Galaxy S II.

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Via: Rootzwiki

Source: Terence Eden Has A Blog

Samsung Galaxy S IV: the rumor roundup

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Samsung Galaxy S IV the rumor roundup

Compared to the sheer deluge of rumors surrounding last year's Galaxy S III, talk about the Galaxy S IV has been relatively hushed. That's partly owing to the contracted launch schedule -- despite Samsung's initial denials, the company is unveiling its next Android flagship almost two months before the GS3's first birthday. There's still been a fair share of rumormongering, however, and a picture is emerging of just what Samsung could unveil for yet another encore. Will the smartphone giant make a sharp break from tradition? Read past the break for a roundup of what to expect when Samsung hits the stage at Radio City Music Hall.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 preview: an 8-inch S Pen tablet that’s also a phone

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Samsung Galaxy Note 80 preview an 8inch S Pen tablet that's also a phone

An updated, larger Galaxy Note from Samsung was inevitable. Given the undeniable popularity of mid-size tablets (see: Apple iPad mini), it's no surprise the Korean electronics giant would want to strengthen its foothold in a category it helped create. It was just three short years ago that Samsung introduced the Galaxy Tab and now, three Notes later, it's ready to perfect the one-handed experience. With this new Note, the company's culled the best of what's around its Galaxy into an 8-inch form factor, housing a 1,280 x 800 TFT display, Exynos 4 Quad with 2GB RAM (clocked at 1.6GHz), TouchWiz-skinned Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2 OS, S Pen (and suite of associated apps), as well as radios for HSPA+ and WiFi into that familiar, lightweight plastic body.

But that extra inch alone isn't the Galaxy Note 8.0's main attraction. Samsung's wisely made use of the additional screen real estate to bundle two extra features. Building upon market research that indicates over 80-percent of tablet use takes place within the living room, the company's partnered with Peel for its Smart Remote app, a visual programming guide with remote control functions baked-in that comes pre-loaded on the tab. And, in keeping with its portrait oriented design, the Note 8.0 also incorporates what the company calls "reading mode," effectively optimizing the slate's display for comfortable e-book use.

Gallery: Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 hands-on

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Verizon pushing Android 4.1 update to Samsung Galaxy S III tomorrow

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Verizon pushing Jelly Bean update to Samsung Galaxy S III tomorrow

Verizon seems to be late to the update party, but Android 4.1 Jelly Bean will be pushed out to its version of the Samsung Galaxy S III "in phases" as an OTA update beginning December 14th. We knew it was coming in the very near future, but it's nice to have a specific date to look forward to. Don't be alarmed if the update doesn't show up right away; as we've seen with plenty of other OTA rollouts, it may take a while for it to reach every GS3 user on the network. Along with Jelly Bean, you can also expect to see support for global data roaming, mobile payments through Isis, some extra preloaded applications and miscellaneous enhancements across the board. Here's the interesting tidbit: Verizon's support page claims that the new upgrade is only 62MB in total size. This seems to be quite hard to believe, given the fact that Jelly Bean on other Galaxy S III variants has ranged in size from 275MB (Sprint) to 740MB (AT&T), but perhaps Big Red cooked up a little extra magic to make the long wait even more worthwhile.

Update: We just received word from Verizon that the support page is incorrect and that the update will be around 400MB. This makes it one of the larger updates, but still nowhere as hefty as AT&T's.

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Source: Verizon

Samsung Galaxy S III mini review: a small Galaxy with few stars

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Samsung Galaxy S III mini review: a small Galaxy with few stars

Samsung made a bold move when it announced the Galaxy S III mini. Here was an Android phone with the potential to take the iPhone 5 head-on. While the original Galaxy S III is clearly the flagship, its 4.8-inch display means it's literally too much for some people to handle. By matching Apple's screen size inch for inch, it could have been pitched as a device aimed at winning over some iOS fence-sitters. However, when you look at the specifications: a dual-core 1GHz processor, WVGA (800 x 480) display and a 5-megapixel camera, it's clear that Samsung had other ideas, opting to fish for a more mid-range customer instead.

Fast forward to the present, and it's no longer a matter of intellectual debate as to what the mini is all about: the phone is here, and on sale in much of Europe for £299 / €379. So hubris, brand appeal and pundit talk aside, is this the real-deal Galaxy S III, just for smaller hands? Or is it a budget phone simply wearing its elder sibling's tuxedo to the ball? We spent some time getting to know the phone in an attempt to find out.

Gallery: Samsung Galaxy S III Mini review

Samsung Galaxy S III Mini review

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy S III mini review: a small Galaxy with few stars

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Samsung Black Friday 2012 Sale launched

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Black Friday 2012 has started online. The massive Amazon Black Friday sale has launched and others follow suit. The Samsung shop has launched today also a week-long Black Friday sale featuring select...

Samsung Galaxy Note II now available from Sprint for $300 on a two-year contract

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Samsung Galaxy Note II now available from Sprint for $300 on a twoyear contract

Whether you're an existing or prospecting Sprint customer, the carrier's new big thing is now on sale. Priced at a whopping $300 with a two-year service agreement, the Samsung Galaxy Note II is the biggest smartphone to hit Sprint since the Hitachi G1000. As a reminder, the Now Network's Note II features an unbranded home button, a 5.5-inch 1,280 x 720 HD Super AMOLED display, a 1.6GHz quad-core Exynos processor, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, a 1.9-megapixel front-facing shooter, Android 4.1 and international voice and data compatibility with GSM / UMTS / CDMA networks. If the aforementioned sounds pleasing to your mobile palate, then the only thing left to decide is marble white or titanium gray?

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Samsung Galaxy Note II now available from Sprint for $300 on a two-year contract originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 21:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Premier rumor gathers steam with leaked GLBenchmark results

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DNP Samsung Galaxy Premier rumor

When we first heard of a rumored Samsung Galaxy Premier handset that might be a Nexus device, we had our doubts, especially when we saw TouchWiz adorning the alleged leaked image from Mobile Geeks. Now, GLBenchmark is also giving the idea of a new model more credence, as it briefly showed a possible GT-I9260 model packing a 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED display, dual 1.5GHz processor and 8-megapixel camera. The page has since been pulled, but a screen cap of the benchmark (after the break) shows PowerVR SGX 544 graphics on the device along with middle-of-the-road scores, though all that would be on a pre-production handset without final software, if it's accurate. Whether such a device would come along at a Google event or one of Samsung's shindigs remains to be seen, but its very existence should be taken with a boulder-sized chunk of salt.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Premier rumor gathers steam with leaked GLBenchmark results

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Samsung Galaxy Premier rumor gathers steam with leaked GLBenchmark results originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Oct 2012 10:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Rugby Pro available on AT&T October 21st for $100

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Samsung Galaxy Rugby Pro available on AT&T October 21st for $100

Fans of rugged Android phones, rejoice: you only have to wait until this Sunday to get the Samsung Galaxy Rugby Pro on AT&T. The carrier just announced that it'll be making its way into stores on October 21st and will run you a whole $100 on a two-year commitment. It isn't going to be the stellar top-end device many power users crave, as it features a 4-inch WVGA Super AMOLED display, 5MP rear-facing camera with 720p video recording, 8GB onboard storage, ICS, LTE, Enhanced Push-to-Talk, 810g military-spec certification and EAS corporate email support. It's a definite upgrade from the Smart, no doubt, but we're still pining for the day that rugged phones can have the best components and bounce off a concrete floor without incident.

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Samsung Galaxy Rugby Pro available on AT&T October 21st for $100 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Oct 2012 12:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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64GB Samsung Galaxy S III appears on Italian retailer’s website, marks the start of a selective rollout

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64GB Samsung Galaxy S III appears on Italian retailer's website

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.

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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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