How would you change Samsung's Rugby Smart?

. Samsung's beefy Rugby Smart is probably the best rugged smartphone it's easy to lay your hands on. However, its preoccupation with being able to take a beating means there's not much going on in the specs department -- with performance that's not pedestrian, but infuriating. The question we're asking you, however, is does its super-cheap price and build quality make up for being straight-up nasty to use? Would you have stumped up an extra fifty bucks to get a better CPU (or just to banish TouchWiz from the device?). Mobile phone companies want to know what'd compel you to buy this device, over all the others in the world so why not tell them in the comments below?

Via Engadget

Apple goes for Samsung’s jugular, adds the Galaxy S III to its injunction hitlist

. Even though Samsung (005930) wasn’t happy to get slapped with a $1 billion verdict in the recent Apple (AAPL) patent trial, the company could at least take some comfort that its top-selling products from this year weren’t part of the suit and weren’t likely to face potential sales bans. That may be about to change, however, as AppleInsider reports that Apple has added both the Samsung Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Note to a separate complaint that it filed this past February that asserted eight utility patents against 17 different Samsung products. The request for injunction against the Note and the Galaxy S III doesn’t mean Samsung will have to stop selling either device anytime soon since the complaint in question hasn’t yet led to any significant sales bans of Samsung products. But it does show that Apple is not satisfied with the $1 billion the jury awarded it last week and will continue to go after Samsung as long as it continues to “flood the market with copycat devices,” in Apple’s words. Samsung had better hope that the patent talks between Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google (GOOG) CEO Larry Page produce results, and quickly.

Via BGR

Samsung Corby II gets official, colorful

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Samsung Messager III launches on MetroPCS

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Is the Messager Touch just a little too... well, touchy for you? Well, Samsung's not abandoning the Messager line's roots, releasing the Messager III on MetroPCS today with a 2.4-inch QVGA display, 1.3 megapixel camera, four-row slide-out landscape QWERTY keyboard, stereo Bluetooth, threaded messaging, and microSD expansion up to 16GB for the included music player. The phone bears an uncanny resemblance to the Restore for Sprint, albeit with some minor keypad tweaks, a different color scheme, and a de-emphasized environmental message. It'll be available today for a to-be-revealed price.

Via MetroPCS

Samsung M360 hits Sprint for a big, fat zero on contract

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We wouldn't dream of paying a dime for this thing on a two-year agreement -- if anything, we'd expect a carrier to pay us -- so imagine our relief to hear that Sprint won't be charging anything upfront for the Samsung M360 after $160 worth of instant savings and a $50 "web special." It's not much of a looker, though it offers a 3.5mm headphone jack, 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, speaker-independent voice dialing, and -- still a somewhat unique feature in this device category -- threaded text messaging support. It's available right now in any color you like, as long as it's blue.

T9 Trace ships as QuickType on Samsung's Wave II

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So Samsung's Bada 1.2-based Wave II is now shipping in a variety of European and Asian markets, and it turns out that so phone's so-called "QuickType" input method is actually T9 Trace, Nuance's Swype competitor that was announced earlier this year. Just like Swype, T9 Trace works by letting the user glide a finger around the virtual keyboard to identify what letters they're trying to type -- and if it works as well as Swype does, it's a surprisingly natural, accurate, and fast way to enter text. Samsung, of course, has been one of Swype's longest-running partners, notably having its Omnia II featured in a Verizon commercial where the Guinness record for fastest text is broken -- so it'll be interesting to see whether Sammy keeps a healthy mix of T9 Trace and Swype in its products, or if Nuance has locked up a more lucrative deal.

Samsung Galaxy S now #1 in Japan, displacing iPhone 4

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New estimates released Thursday by Japanese market research firm BCN place the Samsung Galaxy S at the top of Japan’s smartphone charts. The powerhouse it displaces is none other than Apple’s 32GB iPhone 4 — a handset that took Japan by storm when it launched earlier this year. For 18 weeks straight, the iPhone 4 had been Japan’s top seller. In its debut week, however, the Galaxy S managed to take the top spot, though only when considering the 32GB and 16GB iPhone models individually. Whether or not the Android 2.2-powered smartphone can maintain pace remains to be seen, but Samsung should certainly be pleased that it has a hit on its hands in Japan.

Via 9 to 5 Mac

Samsung Ch@t 335 looks like a winner, if you're into QWERTY and slow data

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Following the Ch@t 322's lead last month, rumor has it that Samsung is gearing up to add another model to the low-end portrait QWERTY lineup, the S3350 Ch@t 335. PortableGear.nl has this one pegged for an initial launch in Belgium with WiFi, social network integration, a 2 megapixel cam, FM radio, and 3.5mm headphone jack, but it'll be lacking 3G -- a telltale sign that it's gunning for the bottom of the market. Like the Ch@t 322, it's got an optical trackpad... a nifty feature for a phone you'll undoubtedly be paying peanuts for, sure, but it's not going to make up for the fact that you can't download stuff at breakneck speeds. Then again, what exactly would you download at breakneck speeds on a low-end dumbphone, anyhow?

Via Unwired View

Samsung Mobile Display to showcase 7-inch Super AMOLED, Galaxy Tab bound?

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Blog oled-display.net is reporting that Samsung Mobile Display will showcase a new, 7-inch, Super AMOLED display at the FPD-International conference in Japan from November 10th to the 12th. The report states that the new window will have a 1200 x 600 resolution and will be available to manufacturers in the later half of 2011. “The new OLED Panel production line starts mid-June 2011 and boost the capacity from 3 million to 30 million small and middle panels per month,” writes oled-display. Hopefully, this added manufacturing prowess makes Super AMOLED display shortages a thing of the past.

At the moment, the most obvious application for this new, larger Super AMOLED display would be in Samsung’s Galaxy Tab slate; as the device currently uses a 7-inch display. Would anyone prefer a Galaxy Tab with a Super AMOLED display as opposed to the device’s current WSVGA TFT offering?

Via oled-display

Samsung Continuum appears on Verizon Wireless website

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The much-rumored Samsung Continuum has made an appearance on a Verizon Wireless website, providing the first official confirmation of the phone’s imminent release. The Continuum popped up on a special page focused on holiday gift ideas, which features three Galaxy S devices from Samsung: the Fascinate, the Galaxy Tab and the Continuum. Though no other information is provided on Verizon’s site, the Continuum will reportedly feature a 3.4-inch Super-AMOLED touchscreen display above a secondary 1.8-inch Super-AMOLED display, mobile hotspot capability, a 5-megapixel camera with HD video recording, 2GB of internal storage, microSDHC support and Android 2.1. The Samsung Continuum is expected to be announced at a Samsung media event on November 8th, with a release date rumored to follow on November 11th.

Via Phone Scoop

Samsung Contour slides (or flips, rather) onto MetroPCS

. What do 49 contract-free dollars buy you these days? The answer would be this, the just-introduced Contour from Samsung for MetroPCS. Needless to say, you can't expect much in the way of smartphone operating systems here -- but you do get Bluetooth, a VGA cam, speakerphone, and voice command capability. The 2-inch primary display clocks in at 160 x 120 resolution paired up with a 1.07-inch external; not much, but the meager specs translate to a standby time that can reach a claimed 200 hours. As long as you like red, the Contour's available for you to buy right now.

Via MetroPCS

MetroPCS' new Metro USA service features nationwide coverage, LTE comes to Philly and LA

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MetroPCS' march toward a full LTE overlay continues today on news that it's expanding its nascent (and still tiny) next-gen network to Philadelphia and Los Angeles, two huge markets that should do a good job of stress testing what the network is capable of. As with its existing LTE markets, the only device available is the Samsung Craft, a landscape QWERTY slider dumbphone that offers access to the carrier's video-on-demand library on a 3.3-inch AMOLED display for $299 (no contract, mind you) after a $50 rebate. The move brings MetroPCS' launch total to five markets, with plans to expand to another nine in the coming months.

On a related note, the carrier has also introduced its so-called Metro USA service, essentially a brand name for nationwide coverage -- MetroPCS claims over 90 percent of the population, which ain't bad. Though it won't go into details, they're saying that the coverage has been reached through a combination of "both network expansion and roaming agreements" and that customers can expect a mix of 1xRTT and EV-DO (2G and 3G data, that is) as they move around.

Via engadget

Samsung Wave II has its Super Clear LCD tested against Galaxy S Super AMOLED display

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Well, "tested" might be a strong word, but the living legend that is Eldar Murtazin has squared up Samsung's latest Bada handset against the company's top of the line Galaxy S for a bit of side-by-side screen comparison action. The 3.7-inch display on the Wave II holds its own admirably against the hyper-advanced Super AMOLED panel alongside it, but it does seem to have a tendency to introduce a slight yellow hue into images, as illustrated above. Regrettably, the Russian weather wasn't conducive to doing any comparisons under sunlight, so we'll just have to content ourselves with even more pictures setting the Wave II up against Nokia's N8 and Samsung's first Bada phone, the Wave numero uno.

Via Mobile-review

Samsung plotting a single platform to connect TVs and phones

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Samsung's mad, monied quest to "free the TV apps" may not stop at your couch -- the electronics manufacturer says it's looking to loop in cell phones as well. "We plan to have a single platform for Samsung TV and phones," a VP told Reuters, without providing further details. We have to wonder if it might cross swords with the Media Hub video-on-demand software the company's pushing in the tablet and smartphone space. No word on when we'll find out.

Via Reuters

Samsung to unveil new Android device November 8th

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Two weeks. That's how long you'll have to wait before Samsung Mobile officially shows off its latest Android device. We say officially, because as these things go, there's a chance the gadget will make it into the limelight via unofficial channels. No indication what it might be, but if we had our say, the Continuum and its secondary OLED screen would make for a nice treat... hey, why are you even asking? Of course we'll be there covering it live!

Via engadget

Samsung Galaxy S Femme bundles sexism in with your smartphone purchase

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You know what really bugs us about this Samsung Galaxy S Femme handset? No, it's not that it once again trudges out the tired cliché that women must love pink -- it's that it presumes gents can't appreciate the benefits of Aveda's Damage Remedy and Hand Relief creams. We totally can! And we'd love to spend some quality time with the Aveda advisor app, which comes bundled on a 4GB MicroSD card, letting it identify for us the particular products we need to buy to keep our skin and hair looking their best. But, according to the packaging, this 4-inch, Gorilla Glass-bearing smartphone isn't for us. Sigh.

Via Akihabara News

Virgin Mobile scooping up Samsung Intercept

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One great thing about being owned by Sprint is that you can sneak a handset here and there into your own lineup, which is exactly what Virgin Mobile has done in adding the midrange Intercept from Samsung to its range. Actually, it's not in the range just yet -- Virgin's Facebook page says that we should "stay tuned over the next few weeks" to find out the details, which leads us to believe we might see a launch (or at least a launch date announcement) around CTIA early next month. Not the awesomest Android phone in the world, sure, but for a carrier traditionally dominated by low-end prepaid gear, it's a solid addition, we'd say.

Via Virgin Mobile USA

Samsung Galaxy i899 is India’s first CDMA Android phone

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There are quite a few Android handsets in India at the moment, but none of them works on CDMA networks. Reliance (one of India’s top three mobile carriers) is about to fix this by launching the Samsung Galaxy i899.

Also available in China (via China Telecom), the Samsung Galaxy i899 is a mid-end phone that features a 3.2 inch AMOLED display with 320 x 480 pixels, Wi-Fi, GPS, DivX support, Bluetooth, 3.2MP autofocus camera with flash, MicroSD card support, and an 800MHz processor.

Reliance doesn’t say how much the Samsung Galaxy i899 will cost, but interested customers can check out the carrier’s website for more details.

Via Samsung Hub

Samsung Wave S8500 to be the world’s first phone with new Picsel File Viewer

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The recently announced Samsung Wave S8500 – Samsung’s first smartphone based on Bada OS – will come with the latest version of Picsel File Viewer, the popular mobile application that provides support for Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Power Point) and Adobe PDF.

Some of the features that the new Picsel File Viewer offers include: faster panning and zooming, multiple page views, continuous page scrolling, and higher quality screen update.

Picsel File Viewer’s functionality “will act as a showcase for the Wave’s class leading processing capabilities and screen quality, and set the user experience standard for the Bada platform.” Reportedly, the Wave will be the first phone to come with the new version of the application.

In case you don’t know yet, the Samsung Wave S8500 (pictured below) features a 3.3 inch WVGA Super AMOLED display (better than any other mobile display out there), HSPA, Wi-Fi, A-GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, Samsung Apps, 5MP autofocus camera with HD video recording, 1GHz processor, and 2GB/8GB of internal memory. The Wave should be available for purchase starting April.

In related news, Picsel says that Picsel Mobile Office is coming soon – more exactly, on March 23.

Via Press release

Samsung Wave: the first Bada OS phone

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An outdoor ad presenting the Samsung Wave has been photographed by the::unwired – and, as expected, the phone is a slim touchscreen device. A photo camera with flash can bee seen on the back, but that’s about all we know regarding the handset’s features.

I’m not sure if the Wave is the rumored Samsung S8200 – but, if it is, it should come with an AMOLED display (or maybe Super AMOLED?), Wi-Fi, GPS and a 1GHz Snapdragon processor.

The expectations are obviously high, so let’s hope that both the Wave and the Bada OS are as nice as Samsung wants them to be.

Via AllAboutPhones