Samsung Exec Confirms September 4th Unveiling Of Galaxy Gear, Galaxy Note III

Samsung has confirmed plans to unveil its next-generation Galaxy Note III phablet and the brand new Galaxy Gear smartwatch on September 4th. Speaking with Korea Times, Samsung marketing boss Lee Young-hee confirmed numerous earlier reports stating that both new devices would debut at Samsung’s IFA press conference next week. Interestingly, however, Lee referred to the smartwatch as a “concept device,” suggesting that it might not be ready for launch.

“We will be introducing a new wearable concept device called Galaxy Gear at our own event in Berlin on Sept. 4,” Lee told Korea Times. “The Gear won’t have a flexible display. The new device will enhance and enrich the current smart mobile experience in many ways. It will lead a new trend in smart mobile communications. We are confident that the Gear will add meaningful momentum to the mobile industry.”

Earlier reports stated that the Galaxy Gear will become available sometime in October, so this could simply be a matter of things getting lost in translation.

As for the Galaxy Note III, the device is expected to launch soon after being unveiled and will likely feature a 5.7-inch display, a 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 processor or an eight-core Exynos 5 Octa chipset depending on region, 3GB of RAM and Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.

Sprint To Launch BlackBerry Q10 On August 30th

Sprint will be launching the BlackBerry Q10 on August 30th, priced at $199.99 with a signed two year contract. What makes this interesting is that Sprint never had added the all touch BlackBerry Z10 to its roster earlier this year, thus making the Q10 its first BlackBerry 10 handset. And this also makes the BlackBerry Q10 the first 4G LTE enabled BlackBerry ever offered to Sprint customers.

Back in March, Sprint spokesman Mark Elliot was asked why Sprint wasn't planning on offering the Z10, and he said "We aren’t saying there’s anything different about our customers. We think our customers will be happy with the QWERTY keyboard and touch screen on the Q10." This doesn't mean that Sprint customers won't have an all-touch BlackBerry 10 model to choose from this year. Back in June, Sprint confirmed that it was going to be offering its customers the 5 inch, all-touch BlackBerry Aristo. This model, now known as the Z30, will be the most powerful BlackBerry ever with a dual-core 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro Plus CPU, an Adreno 305 GPU and 2GB of RAM. The BlackBerry Aristo is expected to launch in November.

"Our customers have anxiously awaited the arrival of the BlackBerry Q10 smartphone. Its best-in-class physical keyboard, productivity features, enhanced security capabilities and apps make it easy to be productive at work and connected to friends and family after hours." David Owens, Vice President of Product Development, Sprint


Source: Pocket-Lint

Moto X Officially Arrives On Verizon August 29th

Verizon announced via Twitter this afternoon that the Moto X will officially arrive online, August 29, for $199 on-contract. Yes, that would be this Thursday. The device will then arrive in stores over the coming weeks. We’ve reported this as the current target date a handful of times now, so we’re glad to finally have it set in stone.

As most of you already know, the Moto X will be available in both black and white models, with MotoMaker customization coming further down the road. AT&T currently has the off-contract or full retail price set at $579 for the 16GB version. AT&T currently has an exclusive deal on the 32GB version as far as we know.

Source: @VZWnews

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer To Retire Within 12 Months

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer plans to retire some time in the next 12 months, said the company. Microsoft's board has formed a special committee to begin a search for a successor to Ballmer, who has led the company since January 2000. Once a successor is chosen, Ballmer will step down. "There is never a perfect time for this type of transition, but now is the right time," said Ballmer. "We have embarked on a new strategy with a new organization and we have an amazing Senior Leadership Team. My original thoughts on timing would have had my retirement happen in the middle of our company’s transformation to a devices and services company. We need a CEO who will be here longer term for this new direction." Microsoft's business has changed radically during Ballmer's tenure, as computing has moved away from traditional desktop and laptops to more mobile devices, such as tablets and smartphones.


Source: Microsoft

Beats Considering Buying Back HTC’s Share

According to the Wall St. Journal, Dr. Dre’s Beats may be considering buying back HTC’s share of the business.

The maker of the popular Beats by Dr. Dre headphones is looking to buy out its Asian partner and bring in a new investor that can provide it with fresh funds for growth, people familiar with the matter said.

The moves come as the founders of Beats Electronics LLC music mogul Jimmy Iovine and American hip-hop producer and artist Andre Young, better known as Dr. Dre are broadening the company’s business from headphones to include speakers, audio systems in cars and consumer electronics and a soon to be launched online streaming music service.

It isn't mentioned in the article but with the much larger Beats partner HP now making Android tablets and possibly phones, there might be some conflict in Beats branding land.  HTC is obviously having some issues financially so maybe the smaller guy is getting edged out and is more willing to take the money and run.

Meet The Moto X Developer Edition

Punit Soni (Motorola’s VP of Product Management) told us that we were “days” away from the arrival of Developer Editions and other carrier models of the Moto X. Yesterday, Motorola updated their Moto X “ways to buy” page, showing off the new Developer Edition, which will sport a black front panel coupled with a white woven rear back plate. The render of the phone also shows the words “DEVELOPER EDITION” engraved on the bottom. 

The page mentions that the dev edition will “have a look all its own,” meaning the two-tone color scheme is something different than what you’ll find in carrier models. Now, once MotoMaker is fully opened up or should you buy a Moto X card from AT&T, you could essentially build a similar looking device.

The listing also confirms 32GB of storage and an unlockable bootloader. No price is listed just yet, but since the AT&T 32GB model runs $629, I’d be surprised if it was lower.

Source: Motorola

HTC One Developer Edition Will Jump Straight To Android 4.3

The HTC One Developer Edition that's the developer-friendly, 64-gigabyte model sold directly by HTC  will skip Android 4.2.2 and go directly to Android 4.3, according Jason Mackenzie, president of global sales at HTC. Mackenzie was responding to questions on Twitter when he dropped the word.

The reason, Mackenzie said, is that Android 4.2.2 " is a minor update, so we decided to go straight to 4.3."

Some non U.S. versions of the HTC One have been updated to Android 4.2.2, which in addition to the core Android improvements brought new features to BlinkFeed and Video Highlights.

The next question is whether the U.S. carrier branded versions of the HTC One which launched earlier this year with Android 4.1.2 will go the same route and update directly to the newest version of Android,which was released just last month.

Samsung ATIV Neo S Hits Sprint August 16

Sprint today announced that the Samsung ATIV Neo S smartphone will be available for purchase beginning Friday, August 16. The Neo S, which runs Windows Phone 8, will cost $149.99 after $50 mail-in rebate with a new two-year contract. The Neo S has a 4.8-inch 720p HD display, a 1.4GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor with 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, and support for microSD cards up to 64GB. It supports Sprint's LTE 4G network and worldwide GSM/HSPA networks for roaming. The device also includes GPS, NFC, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi. The Neo S has an 8-megapixel main camera and 2-megapixel user-facing camera. The Samsung ATIV Neo S has a removable 2,000mAh battery. It will be sold via all Sprint channels, including retail, online, and via telephone.



Source: Sprint

Windows 8.1 said To Launch On October 18th

Microsoft continues to finalize its Windows 8.1 update, but the company revealed today that it plans to make it available on October 18th. The free update will be listed in the Windows Store for existing Windows 8 users at 7AM ET on October 17th, with boxed copies, new hardware, and a full retail release on October 18th. The final copy of Windows 8, known as Release to Manufacturing (RTM), is expected to be made available to PC makers and partners in the coming weeks. Sources familiar with Microsoft's plans previously revealed that Microsoft plans to update and patch Windows 8.1 in the weeks leading up to the October release.

Galaxy Gear Smartwatch Reportedly Confirmed For Samsung Unpacked Event In September

On September 4, Samsung is set to take the stage in Berlin and unveil the Galaxy Note 3. While that is pretty much 100% confirmed, there have been talks and even patent filings concerning a Samsung smartwatch, which was first referred to as Samsung Gear. According to SamMobile, they have learned from sources that Galaxy Gear (model number SM-V700) is real, and will be launching alongside the Note 3 on September 4 at the Unpacked event. 


Source: SamMobile