Samsung Galaxy Gear colour options revealed, on sale late September

Smartwatch taking shape.

The Samsung Galaxy Gear will come in a suite of colourways, it has emerged, as details of the smartwatch seep out with weeks to go before it makes its anticipated debut in Berlin.
Sam Mobile, citing an insider who’d understandably prefer to remain anonymous, today reports that the Galaxy Gear will come in white, orange, grey and black and will start shipping the week commencing September 23rd.

A white and gold variant will apparently ship a week later and is tipped to be exclusive to some regions and/or networks.
The device's retail date is set to be around late-September or early-October, with Samsung purportedly open to releasing more colour options in future.
Colour-scheme details for the Gear come hard on the heels of yesterday’s spec-sheet leak that gave us some idea of what we can expect under the bonnet.
Alongside a 2.5-inch screen, the smartwatch is expected to pack a dual-core processor, the S-Health fitness monitoring app and the same eyeball-tracking technology as the Galaxy S4.
It’s also set to feature NFC support for contactless payments and transferring content when bumped against other NFC-enabled kit and will connect and pair with users’ smartphones via Bluetooth 4.0.
What it won’t do is make or take calls, disappointing anyone holding out hope of acting out their Dick Tracy watchphone fantasies.

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Samsung Galaxy S4 hits 20m sales in two months

Vast marketing spend paying off?

The Samsung Galaxy S4 isn’t underperforming in the sales stakes to the extent that some would have us believe, latest figures from the phone-maker suggest.
Samsung CEO JK Shin has today announced that its flagship phone has shifted some 20 million units since landing two months or so ago in a blaze of publicity and a marketing campaign the size of some countries’ total GDP.

By way of comparison, the Galaxy S3, which was previously Samsung’s fastest-selling smartphone ever, took three months to hit the 20-million mark.
The strong showing comes amid claims in some quarters that the Galaxy S4 has failed to live up to its billing. In particular, it was posited that the smartphone's Nature UX features, such as tilt to scroll and the SmartPause intelligent pause mode, were not as much of a draw as Samsung thought.
Last month a series of analysts scaling down sales forecasts for the handset, in turn, prompting a full in the company’s share price to dive by $20 billion.

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Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini now out on Three, EE, O2 and Vodafone.

Also on Orange and T-Mobile.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini has finally landed in the UK, now available on every major network in the land on a host of pay-monthly tariffs.
The smaller, cheaper and arguably cuter sibling to Samsung’s latest flagship is currently up for grabs for free on contract deals from Three, Orange, T-Mobile, EE, O2 and Vodafone.

On Three, the S4 Mini is free to snap up from £26 per month on the Ultimate Internet 100 tariff, with allowances including all-you-can-eat data, 100 minutes and 5,000 texts.
Orange and T-Mobile are also offering the handset gratis from £26 a month. Pick Orange’s Dolphin 26 plan and you’ll receive 200 minutes, unlimited texts and 750MB of data, while T-Mobile customers will be entitled to 300 minutes, 500 texts and 1000MB internet.
The S4 Mini is also free on EE’s 4G price plans from £31 per month, which comes with unlimited calls, texts and 500MB of data.
Choose O2 or Vodafone and you’re looking at a steeper outlay of £33 and £37 a month respectively for a free handset.
Vodafone subscribers will be furnished with 600 minutes, 500MB data and unlimited texts. O2, meanwhile, is offering 600 minutes, unlimited texts and 750MB data.

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Samsung Galaxy S4 Google edition due update to Android 4.3 in July?

First phone to get as-yet-unseen OS.

Buyers of the Samsung Galaxy S4 will be the first to get their hands on the forthcoming, unseen 4.3 version of Android, rumours suggest, once again highlighting one of the chief reasons to buy a vanilla Android phone.
According to sources cited by Sam Mobile, the software update for the phone, which only went on sale at Google Play in the US this week and runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean out of the box, will land next month.

The 4.3 iteration of Android is another take on Jelly Bean. This much we think we know. But while that means it won’t be a major overhaul (that’ll surely come with Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie), we’re still anticipating that it’ll bring with it a fair old tranche of new features.
Aimed principally at developers, the Galaxy S4 Google edition features Android as the search giant originally intended. That means it’s free of Samsung’s customisations, such as the Smart Pause intelligent pause mode, which some tech fans feel are overly fussy and gimmicky.

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Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 Android Jelly Bean update brings Google Now, improved interface and more

Currently only available in Germany.

Samsung has begun rolling out Android Jelly Bean to the Galaxy Ace 2, bringing an array of new features and enhancements to the much-loved mid-range kit.
Android version 4.1.2 is currently available to Ace 2 owners as an over-the-air update or to download over Samsung Kies. Among the host of goodies its packs is Google Now, which is a Siri-style voice-guided assistant, and all the optimisations of Project Butter, which promises a smoother, faster user experience.
Also new are several Samsung exclusive features such as Smart Stay, Smart Alert, Pop-up Play and Direct Call, plus an-new version of the TouchWiz Nature UX interface that’s cleaner and easier to navigate and adds customisable toggles to the notification area.
Samsung has yet to confirm if or when the UK and rest of Europe will be joining our German friends in the rollout. Rest assured, as soon as we find out, you’ll be among the first to know.

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Samsung’s Galaxy Note

The blurred space between smartphones and tablets is pretty much impossible to categorise, but appears to be developing as a pretty strong niche, as huge sales of Samsung’s Galaxy Note and Galaxy Note 2 attest.
The latter shifted two million in as many months when it first landed and it seems Sammy is not willing to stop there.
The Galaxy Note 2 already packs what some might term a pretty capacious 5.5-inch display.

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