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THE WAIT is finally over as Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy S III, the official smartphone of the London 2012 Olympics.

As speculation suggested, the third-generation Samsung Galaxy, which promises to feature mobile payments functionality in time for the Olympic games, packs a 4.8in Super AMOLED HD touchscreen powered by Samsung’s own 1.4GHz quad-core processor. In terms of design there’s a curved “pebble-like” casing that’s available in both blue and white, and the phone measures 8.9mm thick.

As you would expect from a smartphone that has attracted this much pre-release hype, the Galaxy S III comes running the most up to date version of Google’s mobile operating system, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), enabling the handset with Face Unlock, Android Beam near field communications (NFC) and the usual set of pre-loaded apps.

Samsung has also given the Galaxy S III some nifty functionality of its own, including S Beam NFC sharing, social hub and a cool new feature named Smart Stay, which means that the phone stays awake as long as you are looking at it.

On its rear is an 8MP HD camera, which like the HTC One X enables users to take snapshots while recording video. There’s also a 1.9MP front-facing camera capable of shooting HD video, Siri-esque voice recognition software and a 2100mAh battery that we’re hoping lives up to Samsung’s promise of lasting two days.

The Samsung Galaxy S III will be available in the UK on 29 May, although pricing details are still to be announced. µ

KOREAN PHONE MAKER Samsung has announced that its Galaxy S Advance handset will arrive in the UK on 30 April.

Announced in January, the Samsung S Advance joins the slew of Galaxy phones already available, offering a cheap alternative to the Galaxy S II. As to specifications, there’s a 1GHz dual-core processor and a 4in Super AMOLED screen. Unfortunately it ships running Android 2.3 Gingerbread rather than the newer Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and Samsung has yet to say whether the phone will see future Android updates.

Other features of the “cheap” Galaxy handset include a 5MP camera, a 1.3MP video call camera, 768MB of RAM, 8GB or 16GB internal storage and HSDPA internet speeds.

The company has announced that the Galaxy S Advance will be avilable through Phones 4u and Vodafone from next Monday, although it did not reveal pricing.

With the Samsung Galaxy S II set to launch in the UK next week, we can’t see too many people getting very excited about this one. µ

SOUTH KOREAN PHONE MAKER Samsung has sent out invites to a launch event in London on 3 May, sparking speculation that the Galaxy S III smartphone launch is just two weeks away.

The INQUIRER received its invitation to the event this morning, which summons us to go and see “the next Galaxy” on Thursday, 3 May. There is of course no explicit mention of the Samsung Galaxy S III, but we’re assuming that Samsung’s not taking to the stage to unveil yet another Galaxy tablet.

Samsung was unable to comment on what we can expect to see, and the invitation itself gives little away. However, the inclusion of what looks like paint drops suggests that, like the Samsung Galaxy Note, the phone will come with a large screen and included stylus, enabling users to doodle on the phone. The blue blotch also seems to feature a brushed metal effect, hinting that the Galaxy6 S III could ditch the plastic in favour of an Iphone style metal case.

We’re also expecting the Samsung Galaxy S III to feature Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, giving the phone Face Unlock and Android Beam NFC, along with an updated version of Samsung’s Touchwiz user interface. There are also murmurs of a quad-core CPU, 32GB of internal storage, support for 4G connectivity and an upgraded rear camera.

The INQUIRER will be on hand to report the news from Samsung’s London launch event on 3 May. µ

KOREAN HARDWARE GIANT Samsung is claiming to have sold five million of its Note device.

The Note, which bridges a divide thanks to its large screen and smartphone connectivity, has a role and is selling well, apparently.

It’s an odd one, the Note, with its 5.3in screen. It looks like a small tablet in a giant hand or an oversized phone in small one. We quite liked it when we reviewed one.

Overall, five million have been sold, Samsung says, which is pretty high. Just in the UK, for example, the Note is not cheap and the white version is exclusively sold through John Lewis, which limits its opportunities a bit.

The Note has been on sale for five months though, which was plenty of time for it to make its way into pockets and hands. Our man in Hong Kong says that they are very popular over there, for example.

But! We have been here with Samsung before, and the numbers need some more inspection. The report on Samsung’s Korean web site does not translate all that well, but it does say that the five million units have gone to what is called the “Supply base”, which we assume is not the same as real people’s hands.

It adds that thanks to media and review support the Note has been a strong seller in France, Belgium, Italy, and the Netherlands and is ranked as the number one seller in China, France and Spain.

We are taking this claim with a grain of salt. µ

KOREAN ELECTRONICS GIANT Samsung will upgrade its Note device to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) in the second quarter.

The upgrade will features associated with the Android 4.0 ICS update, in the meantime Samsung has boasted of its glossiness and a custom version of the Angry Birds in Space game.

The Note bridges a gap between smartphones and tablets and has a 5.3in Super AMOLED HD display, a 1.4GHz dual-core processor and an 8MP rear-facing camera.

“At Samsung we always strive to push the boundaries of innovation and the Galaxy Note is a fantastic example of this. We are delighted to be able to offer our customers the Premium Suite upgrade which we hope will enrich their Galaxy Note experience and explore the devices’ truly unique features,” said Simon Stanford, VP of the UK and IRE Telecommunications and Networks Division at Samsung.

“Not only that, but they will benefit from access to exclusive Angry Birds Space content not available anywhere else.”

The Angry Birds game includes a special Galaxy Note level, as well as a package of 30 other levels called “Danger Zone”. Samsung said that this is free as long as Note buyers download it within 30 days.

Back on earth and the Android 4.0 ICS update will bring S Note and My Story to the handset. These let people draw things, make personalised digital cards and take notes.

What else do you want? Video Everywhere? Well, yes you have that. This is part of the Samsung Premium Suite and lets any video float at the front of the screen, meaning that you will be able to watch something on Youtube while also doing something else.

Response time and performance will also be improved by the upgrade to Android 4.0 ICS, said the firm. µ

KOREAN ELECTRONICS GIANT Samsung will upgrade its Note device to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) in the second quarter.

The upgrade will features associated with the Android 4.0 ICS update, in the meantime Samsung has boasted of its glossiness and a custom version of the Angry Birds in Space game.

The Note bridges a gap between smartphones and tablets and has a 5.3in Super AMOLED HD display, a 1.4GHz dual-core processor and an 8MP rear-facing camera.

“At Samsung we always strive to push the boundaries of innovation and the Galaxy Note is a fantastic example of this. We are delighted to be able to offer our customers the Premium Suite upgrade which we hope will enrich their Galaxy Note experience and explore the devices’ truly unique features,” said Simon Stanford, VP of the UK and IRE Telecommunications and Networks Division at Samsung.

“Not only that, but they will benefit from access to exclusive Angry Birds Space content not available anywhere else.”

The Angry Birds game includes a special Galaxy Note level, as well as a package of 30 other levels called “Danger Zone”. Samsung said that this is free as long as Note buyers download it within 30 days.

Back on earth and the Android 4.0 ICS update will bring S Note and My Story to the handset. These let people draw things, make personalised digital cards and take notes.

What else do you want? Video Everywhere? Well, yes you have that. This is part of the Samsung Premium Suite and lets any video float at the front of the screen, meaning that you will be able to watch something on Youtube while also doing something else.

Response time and performance will also be improved by the upgrade to Android 4.0 ICS, said the firm. µ

KOREAN ELECTRONICS GIANT Samsung will upgrade its Note device to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) in the second quarter.

The upgrade will features associated with the Android 4.0 ICS update, in the meantime Samsung has boasted of its glossiness and a custom version of the Angry Birds in Space game.

The Note bridges a gap between smartphones and tablets and has a 5.3in Super AMOLED HD display, a 1.4GHz dual-core processor and an 8MP rear-facing camera.

“At Samsung we always strive to push the boundaries of innovation and the Galaxy Note is a fantastic example of this. We are delighted to be able to offer our customers the Premium Suite upgrade which we hope will enrich their Galaxy Note experience and explore the devices’ truly unique features,” said Simon Stanford, VP of the UK and IRE Telecommunications and Networks Division at Samsung.

“Not only that, but they will benefit from access to exclusive Angry Birds Space content not available anywhere else.”

The Angry Birds game includes a special Galaxy Note level, as well as a package of 30 other levels called “Danger Zone”. Samsung said that this is free as long as Note buyers download it within 30 days.

Back on earth and the Android 4.0 ICS update will bring S Note and My Story to the handset. These let people draw things, make personalised digital cards and take notes.

What else do you want? Video Everywhere? Well, yes you have that. This is part of the Samsung Premium Suite and lets any video float at the front of the screen, meaning that you will be able to watch something on Youtube while also doing something else.

Response time and performance will also be improved by the upgrade to Android 4.0 ICS, said the firm. µ

KOREAN HARDWARE SHOP Samsung is preparing to distance itself from Qualcomm’s technology by using in-house designed chips in its upcoming Galaxy S III smartphone.

According to a Korean media report, the transition will see Samsung deploy its own single-chip design in the next-generation Galaxy handset.

“Samsung’s single-chip solution is a combination of long-term evolution (LTE), telecommunications and W-CDMA functions,” a high-ranking company executive told the Korea Times.

He added that Samsung’s Exynos-branded quad-core mobile application processors (APs) will be incorporated into the Galaxy S III. “We don’t think there will be big technology-related problems as we have already tested our telecommunications chips in some smartphones and tablets for consumers in North America. Also, Google’s first reference mobile, the Galaxy Nexus, is using Samsung’s telecom chips.”

According to the company insider, Samsung is devleloping a “stronger intent to lower its dependence on Qualcomm” and instead rely on its own chips. These will include single-chip logic and memory chips to be used as graphics controllers and core communication chips for smartphones and tablets.

“Samsung is paying huge amounts to Qualcomm in return for using its single-chip solutions in strategic digital devices, however, Qualcomm is gradually losing its edge,” another Samsung executive told the Korea Times.

“It was believed that Qualcomm chips had greater stability and suited easy upgrades. But, that’s the old story. Our long-term plan is clear. Using Samsung solutions for Samsung products.”

Both executives indicated that they wanted their identities kept secret as they were not authorised to brief journalists.

At the time of writing Samsung had not responded to our request for comment. µ

KOREAN PHONE MAKER Samsung is proudly showing off another Android handset, the Galaxy Ace Plus, running Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

There might come a time when we will have had enough of new mobile phones, but that time is not yet though, and Samsung along with many others issues forth handsets like rabbits.

“We’ve had a positive response to the Galaxy Ace Plus since announcing it earlier this year and are looking forward to offering fans of the much loved Galaxy Ace an alternative device,” Simon Stanford, VP of Samsung’s UK and IRE Telecommunications and Networks Division told us without prompting.

“As with all smartphones in our Galaxy range, the Galaxy Ace Plus is stylishly designed and packed full of features making it a great mid-range phone for our customers.”

The handset has a 1Ghz processor, 512MB of RAM, 3GB of internal storage, HSDPA 7.2Mbit/s connectivity, WiFi 802.11, a 3.65in HVGA 320×480 TFT screen, a 5MP rear camera with flash and Bluetooth 3.0. The Galaxy Ace Plus measures 114.7×62.5×11.2mm, weighs 115g and has a Li-ion 1,300mAh battery. It comes with the Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system.

Less technical details include a play progress bar when playing music and an option to reject unwanted calls with a text message. Something else called Thinkfree is described as optional and lets users view and edit Microsoft Office documents.

The Galaxy Ace Plus will be available in the UK from 17 March on a range of networks including Vodafone. We do not have pricing yet. µ

KOREAN PHONE MAKER Samsung is proudly showing off another Android handset, the Galaxy Ace Plus, running Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

There might come a time when we will have had enough of new mobile phones, but that time is not yet though, and Samsung along with many others issues forth handsets like rabbits.

“We’ve had a positive response to the Galaxy Ace Plus since announcing it earlier this year and are looking forward to offering fans of the much loved Galaxy Ace an alternative device,” Simon Stanford, VP of Samsung’s UK and IRE Telecommunications and Networks Division told us without prompting.

“As with all smartphones in our Galaxy range, the Galaxy Ace Plus is stylishly designed and packed full of features making it a great mid-range phone for our customers.”

The handset has a 1Ghz processor, 512MB of RAM, 3GB of internal storage, HSDPA 7.2Mbit/s connectivity, WiFi 802.11, a 3.65in HVGA 320×480 TFT screen, a 5MP rear camera with flash and Bluetooth 3.0. The Galaxy Ace Plus measures 114.7×62.5×11.2mm, weighs 115g and has a Li-ion 1,300mAh battery. It comes with the Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system.

Less technical details include a play progress bar when playing music and an option to reject unwanted calls with a text message. Something else called Thinkfree is described as optional and lets users view and edit Microsoft Office documents.

The Galaxy Ace Plus will be available in the UK from 17 March on a range of networks including Vodafone. We do not have pricing yet. µ