July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

If you’re thinking of making the switch to a new carrier, T-Mobile is making a good case that it should be the one you choose.

The self-described “un-carrier” will start rolling out its LTE network later this month, and with it, is activating the LTE functionality in the Galaxy Note II, which the company disabled because, well, it didn’t have an LTE network. The Galaxy Note 2 is now the only LTE-ready device available via T-Mobile, at least until the BlackBerry Z10 launches in a few weeks.

That move, like T-Mobile’s plans to scrap smartphone subsidies and, more broadly, it’s attitude toward the smartphone market, is all about improving the company’s image in the eyes of consumers. And so far, it’s working. Compared to the AT&T and Verizon duopoly, T-Mobile looks like a scrappy, startup-esque disruptor. It’s figuring out where consumers are unhappy with their smartphones and is trying to capitalize on what it sees

“You love your iPhone; you hate AT&T. I want you to get used to that tone, because that is how we are going to play,” T-Mobile CEO John Legere said in December alongside the news that his company was getting the iPhone.

It’s too early to say whether T-Mobile’s efforts will be anything more than marketing hype, but the carrier is already making its larger competitors look sluggish and monolithic. That’s big, because if T-Mobile can make a mint making decisions that consumers actually like, you can almost guarantee that Verizon & AT&T will do the same.

The vulnerability was discovered about a week ago by a security researcher named “alephzain,” who posted an overview of the exploit on XDA-Developers. Essentially, malicious code from shady applications can use a security hole in a phone’s source code to gain control of anything in physical memory … and thereby install apps, backdoors, or simply read your personal data.

Unfortunately, “alephzain” also posted working sample source code before informing Samsung … meaning that the bad guys could already have made apps to attack your Samsung phone.

In its statement, Samsung says it is working on patching the hole as soon as possible:

Samsung is aware of the potential security issue related to the Exynos processor and plans to provide a software update to address it as quickly as possible.

The issue may arise only when a malicious application is operated on the affected devices; however, this does not affect most devices operating credible and authenticated applications.

Samsung will continue to closely monitor the situation until the software fix has been made available to all affected mobile devices.

This is not a vulnerability in the Android operating system as created by Google per se. The vulnerable portion is the kernel — the base level of an operating system — and Samsung has modified the Android kernel to run on its proprietary Exynos processor. Those modifications contain the unsafe code that enables the security breach.

If you’re concerned about your phone being vulnerable, there are a number of things you can do:

1. Don’t download any apps until Samsung releases a fix
2. Or, only download apps from known good sources (e.g., Google Play)
3. Even at Google Play, only download apps that are from known and verified publishers
4. Or, if you must, install an instant fix (which may have some negative effects on your phone’s functioning).

photo credit: vernieman via photopin cc

Samsung announced today that it has shipped over 5 million units of its flagship device Galaxy Note II to third-party retailers.

That figure doesn’t mean Samsung has actually sold that many Galaxy Note IIs, but rather there are now at least 5 million of the device that are on store shelves.

The Galaxy Note II, which was released back in August, has a 5.5-inch screen, updated design, and a more advanced S Pen stylus, which adds features like the ability to hover over on-screen items before selecting them, as VentureBeat previously noted. Inside, it has features a 1.66 GHz processor, 2GB RAM, and an 3,100 mAH battery.

Samsung expects to sell about 20 million Galaxy Note IIs, which is double the sales of its predecessor, the original Galaxy Note. And since the device is available on all major U.S. carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon) heading into the holiday shopping season, the company shouldn’t have a problem reaching that number.

Via TNW

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Say hello to the Galaxy Note II.

PocketNow has gotten its hands on images of the new device, which is set to be officially revealed today at IFA in Berlin.

The first thing you’ll notice about the Note II is how big of a departure it is from its predecessor. In fact, the new Note looks more like a super-sized Galaxy S III than an upgraded Galaxy Note. It’s a welcome change.

Along with the new design, Samsung has also upped the device’s screen size to 5.5-inches, though that improvement comes with a slight increase in weight.

As for its internals, the Note II features a 1.66 GHz processor, 2GB RAM, and an 3,100 mAH battery, which is going to be essential. Samsung has also improved the S Pen stylus with a few new features, including the ability to hover over on-screen items before they’re selected.

Fortunately for carriers, 4G LTE support is on board, which means the device could land not only on Verizon and AT&T, but Sprint as well.

Last, the device will be one of the first to run Android Jelly Bean, which is sure to be one of its biggest selling point.

We owe the Galaxy Note an apology.

The butt of many, many jokes since its announcement, the not-so-little Galaxy Note defied criticism to become a hit. And now Samsung’s planning its successor.

The company will announce the next Galaxy Note (likely called simply the Galaxy Note 2) at the Samsung Mobile Unpacked event in Berlin on August 29th, a Samsung representative told Reuters today.

Sadly,that’s all the company revealed about the device — but that isn’t stopping anyone from speculating. According to the latest round of rumors, the next Note will feature a 5.5-inch screen, which is a hair larger than the already-sizable 5.3-inch screen on the current Note. Samsung, it appears, knows the Note’s greatest asset and wants augment it further.

While originally released last October in Germany, the Galaxy Note didn’t see a North American release until February of this year, which is probably why the announcement of a newer version of the device feels so premature.

Still, it’s possible that the “next Note” isn’t a phone at all, but rather the previously-announced Galaxy 10.1, as AllThingsD points out. Either way, we’ll know for sure at the end of the month.