Mobile Phone Blog:

Good god almighty, that’s a bleedin’ big number in the headline, innit? To my mind, there was never any question that the Samsung Galaxy S3 would be a roaring success; it was always going to simply be a case of how mind-bogglingly massive a success it was going to be, and today, via Reuters, we have some idea of just how huge this phone is going to be (of course, if you’ve already read this post’s title, you already know how big the number is, but I refuse to interrupt my train of thought, so there).

Yup, that’s right. Apparently, there’s nine million pre-orders for the chuffing thing. Blimey, I knew it was going to be popular, but that’s just astonishing. What we can conclude from that, is that the Galaxy S3 is going to fly off shelves… (more…)

Well, it’s not long now till the Samsung Galaxy S III is due to be announced, and in the build-up to that momentous (well, potentially momentous) day, some more details about the phone are popping up online. The latest bit of news comes courtesy of Engadget, and it’s an important bit, ‘cos it tells us what processor the phone will be using.

Yup, it’s going to be a Samsung Exynos processor, much like the earlier Samsung Galaxy S II, only this one is a new version of the processor. More specifically, it’s a quad-core version of the processor, and it’s apparently clocked to run at 1.4 GHz.

Ah, but that ain’t all, though, ‘cos there’s one other fact that makes it really quite exciting… (more…)

Right then, we all know the Samsung Galaxy S III is due to be unveiled soon, but the bit that has a question mark hanging over it is whether it will be called the Galaxy S III. Up till now, y’see, Samsung have only called it “the next Galaxy phone”, so although everyone believed it would be the Galaxy S III, no-one had any actual, real proof.

Apparently, according to CoolSmartphone, we may now have some proof that the phone really is called the Samsung Galaxy S III. Or Galaxy S3, as the case may be. Could go either way, like the Samsung Galaxy S II. But yeah, confirmation, and now we know that name is correct, right?

Weeeeeell… not necessarily… (more…)

We’re getting ever nearer to the magic date when Samsung plans to take the wraps off their next Galaxy phone (which hasn’t been confirmed as the Samsung Galaxy S III, but that’s what everyone is betting it’s called), and so, it’s time for a teaser video, that tells us precisely nothing, but reminds us that it’s coming…

Right, I’ll admit, this was my first thought (and yes, I think in capital letters and bold text, sometimes): OH MY GOD, THAT’S THE “NORMANDY REBORN” THEME FROM MASS EFFECT 2, WHAT IS THAT DOING IN A SAMSUNG ADVERT ?! (more…)

Right then, I did a blog post yesterday, about the confirmed launch date for the Samsung Galaxy S III, and in it, I talked a bit about what the specs might be like. However, there’s a story on CNet, today, that suggests the specs might not be as awesome as everyone expects, and that confuses me.

And why does it confuse me? Simple, they’re saying that the specs will only be around the same level as the HTC One X. Now, to my mind, that’s a pretty big ‘only’, not least because that’s pretty much exactly what I expected the specs to be like, but yeah, they’re saying it’ll merely be an incremental update to the Samsung Galaxy S II.

So, what rumours have I missed? (more…)

Well, here we go, folks. It’s been rumoured for months, and it’s been pretty much inevitable it would happen, ever since the Samsung Galaxy S II became such a massive hit, but according to SammyHub, we finally know when the Samsung Galaxy S III will be unveiled to an expectant public. So, get your pens ready, and make a note in your diary (or more realistically, on your phone’s calendar, ‘cos let’s be honest, you’ve not had a diary in years, same as me); it’s going to be officially unveiled on May 3rd.

So, since the rumours so far have all painted the picture of a phone that’s unbelievably impressive, what can we expect to see, when Samsung show off their new baby? (more…)

Now then, here’s an intriguing bit of news. For the past 14-ish years, Nokia has been the undisputed king of the smartphone world, right, racking up more sales than any other manufacturer, even if they’re not the most profitable company out there. In any discussion about ‘The Big Five’, that coveted top spot was always taken up by Nokia.

Now, though, it looks like they might be about to lose that top spot, according to Asymco. Yes, it looks like they might be about to get overtaken by their South Korean rivals; Samsung are about to take the Number 1 spot! Sure, that’s based on estimates, as Samsung haven’t published their sales figures yet, but a lot of people think it’s been a long time coming… (more…)

Well, now, today is an odd day. I step out for a couple of hours, and when I get there’s not one, but two new rumoured designs for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S III. Daniella wrote about the first one on our news section, earlier, and now, it’s my turn, with the second one. Which has different specs.

Y’see, the original rumour said that Samsung were ramping up production on screens for the phone, and that those screens were coming in at around the 4.65 inch mark. The second rumour, however, comes courtesy of IntoMobile, and speaks of a phone with a 4.8 inch 720p HD screen. Oh, but that ain’t all: it also shows what the new phone might actually look like… (more…)

I’ve spoken a few times about the Samsung Galaxy Note, usually in somewhat awed tones because the bleedin’ thing is huge. I’ve also talked about how clever it is, since the stylus-y dibber thing is actually the same kind of technology you find in graphics tablets. I wondered, though, just how popular such a niche phone would be.

Well, it turns out that the answer, according to PocketNow, is “pretty popular, actually“. Y’see, Samsung have just announced that in the space of five months, they’ve sold about five million Galaxy Notes, and although that’s nowhere near as popular as something like the Samsung Galaxy S II (which sold ten million in its first five months), but that’s still damn good going…  (more…)

Hmm, that’s definitely less than encouraging, innit? Just about everyone has expounded, sometimes at great length, about what the future of RIM, erstwhile makers of Blackberry phones (you may have noticed I use that phrase a lot… I just like the word “erstwhile”), might be, and now we have an opinion from an analyst at Barclays Capital. According to All Things D, his name is Jeff Kvaal, and he sums up the situation as “Grim And Getting Grimmer.”

Well, that’s pretty categorical, isn’t it? It’s one thing for plebs like me to whinge about RIM, but when someone from a global investment bank says it, serious-minded business-type people sit up and take notice. And they have expensive suits, and Rolex watches, so you know they’re serious… (more…)