Samsung Galaxy S II coming to US in September

Samsung's flagship Android smartphone, the Galaxy S II, is now available in the U.S. from AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile.

You won't be getting the exact same phone from all three vendors, however. Most of the basics are identical: a 1.2 GHz Exynos CPU, Android 2.3 Gingerbread and 16 GB of storage.

AT&T and T-Mobile will call the device Galaxy S II, while Sprint will be calling it Epic 4G Touch.
To increase the confusion, AT&T's model will have a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED screen and a smaller, 1650 mAh battery, while T-Mobile and Sprint's version will feature a 1800 mAh battery better suited to power the bigger, 4.52-inch screen.

Finally, Sprint's version of the device will have WiMax, while T-Mobile and AT&T versions will sport HSPA+, which makes all three 4G devices - depending on your definition of the term.

As far as availability goes, Sprint will be selling the device for $199.99 beginning September 16; AT&T says their version will hit the shelves "in the coming weeks", while T-Mobile's variant will become available "this fall".

Samsung unveils 3 smartphones Wave 3, Wave M & Wave Y

Samsung Electronics unveiled three smartphone models that run on its own operating system, as it seeks to expand market share in the low-end segment and diversify its lineups heavily focused on Google's Android software.

The Wave series models backed by Samsung's proprietary system "bada" reflects the South Korean firm's shift in strategy from being a pure hardware manufacturer to become more software-focused.

It is also aimed at pulling together Samsung's different products of smartphones, televisions, printers and computers under its own software platform and online application store Samsung Apps.

Samsung unveiled Wave 3 with a 4-inch AMOLED screen and a 5 megapixel camera, as well as cheaper Wave M and Wave Y. The Wave M will have Samsung's first instant messaging tool ChatON installed and entry-level Wave Y with 3.2-inch display will go on sale in October.

The three models add to 7 Wave series lineups Samsung introduced since first bada-based product went on sale in May 2010.

Samsung, whose flagship Android-based Galaxy S models helped it become the world's No.2 smartphone maker in the second quarter, is now focusing on emerging markets with cheaper phones costing $200 or below.

Last week Samsung unveiled four new mid-to-low end models running on Android to defend its market share, as Apple, which has long stuck to the higher end of a booming mobile device arena, is set to launch a lower-cost version of the iPhone 4 soon.

The Wave series will allow access to Samsung Apps, which has around 13,000 applications.

The number is dwarfed by more than 100,000 applications available in Android market and over 300,000 apps from Apple's App Store.

Apple gives Tim Cook 1 million shares

Apple has given Tim Cook 1 million shares of restricted stock as he takes over as reins of the company from Steve Jobs. At current prices, the stock package is worth more than $383 million.

Cook assumed CEO duties this week when Jobs stepped aside after 14 years, saying he was no longer able to do the job.

Cook won't immediately have access to the stock. Half of the award vests over five years, and the other half five years after that. So the full value won't be known for years.

But it has the potential to be even more rewarding if certain expectations of Apple Inc. come true.

Some analysts forecast Apple's stock, which closed Friday at $383.58, could hit $500 or more per share within the next year.

Samsung to launch Mobile Instant Messaging tool, ChatON

Samsung Electronics Co said it would launch a mobile instant messaging tool in its latest push to attract more consumers to its handsets and challenge rivals such as Apple and BlackBerry maker Research in Motion.

The new service, called ChatON, will be available from October and preinstalled in Samsung's feature phones as well as smartphones running on its own bada operating system and Google's Android software, it said.

With the move, Samsung enters an already crowded mobile messaging market, which telecoms carriers fear will hit revenue from profitable text messaging services.

Apple plans to roll out iMessage, enabling the millions of iPhone and iPad users to send messages to one another over the Internet at no cost, and RIM aims to leverage the popularity of its BlackBerry Messenger with a new music service.

Samsung's messaging tool will work across all major smartphone platforms including iPhone and BlackBerry and will allow users to send text, images, and hand-written notes, as well as chat in groups and share video clips.

It plans to expand the offering to all Android-based smartphones and tablets, and it will also be available for download to consumers using rival Android, iPhone and BlackBerry models.

Samsung to bring LTE versions of Galaxy S II & Galaxy Tab 8.9

Ahead of the IFA trade show, taking place in Berlin from 2 to 7 September 2011, Samsung has announced LTE variants of Galaxy S II and Galaxy Tab 8.9. The new versions of these devices will have fast wireless data transfer capability, with download speeds up to 100 Mbps.

The Android 2.3-based Galaxy S II LTE will have a humongous 4.5'' Super AMOLED screen and an 8 megapixel camera.

The Galaxy Tab 8.9 LTE will be one of the most portable tablets around, being 8.6 mm thin and weighing about 455 g. Both devices will feature a 1.5GHz dual core processor.

The price and availability for both devices is yet unknown.

Sprint to sell iPhone in October

According to a Wall Street Journal report, Sprint Nextel Corp., the country's third-largest cellphone company, will start selling the iPhone in mid-October.

The newspaper said the wireless company will get to sell both the new iPhone 5 and the current model, the iPhone 4. The iPhone 5 will launch at the same time that AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless get it.

Apple Inc. normally launches a new iPhone model in June or July, but this year's launch has been delayed for unknown reasons. Apple watchers had expected the new phone to arrive in September, but speculation has recently shifted toward October.

Sprint, headquartered in Overland Park, Kan., has been turning around its ailing operations through improvements in customer care, but its inability to sell the iPhone has hampered its recovery. In the three months ending in June, it lost 101,000 subscribers from contract-based plans, while Verizon and AT&T, already larger, added subscribers. Contract-based plans are the most lucrative for wireless carriers.

AT&T was the exclusive U.S. carrier for the phone for three and half years, until Apple allowed Verizon to start selling one in February.

Nokia unveils cheapest mobile phones

Nokia has unveiled two cheap cellphone models inspired by consumer needs in Africa, aiming to strengthen its position against low-cost Asian rivals. Nokia shares have roughly halved this year as the company struggled to keep up with the pace of smartphone development while also losing ground at the cheaper end of the market to Asian brands such as ZTE and G'Five.

The Nokia 101, which comes with slots for two different SIM cards, will be available this quarter for about 25 euros ($35.22), excluding taxes and subsidies, while the Nokia 100 will be available next quarter for about 20 euros.

Nokia's first dual-SIM model reached the market only last quarter, enabling smaller rivals to benefit from growing demand for such models which are increasingly popular in countries such as India, the world's second-biggest and fastest-growing market for mobile phones.

The latest models mark the fifth duo-Sim models for Nokia in the last three months and were inspired by the needs of consumers in countries such as Kenya, where mobile phone penetration is more than 50 percent.

Executives at the firm told a media launch in the Kenyan capital that Africa, with its 1 billion people who are mostly young, is a key strategic area.

Mary McDowell, executive vice president for mobile phones, said Nokia's cheap models would help it sidestep any risks from economic problems, as consumers increasingly rely on their mobile phones to grow their businesses.

McDowell expressed confidence in the firm's product strategy, saying Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility was a cause for optimism.

"The Google Motorola announcement really validates our strategy to go with the windows phone as the smart phone platform," she said, adding that Nokia's S40 phones, designed to take on cheaper smart phones, were key to the strategy.

RIM unveils BBM Music service

Of late, there’s been a bit of chatter about it, and now Research In Motion (RIM) has confirmed details of what it’s calling its “music sharing and discovery service.”

Called BBM Music (BlackBerry Messenger Music), the cloud-based music service will cost users $4.99 a month and enable subscribers to share songs through the BlackBerry instant messaging service.

Details of BBM Music were released yesterday in a statement issued by the Ontario-based company. Users can choose from millions of songs from leading record companies such as Universal, Sony Music, Warner and EMI.

The statement explains that should you sign up, you’ll be able to build a personal music profile with 50 of your top tracks. When your BBM friends sign up, they can join your BBM Music Community. Up to 50 tracks from your personal profile are then shared with members of your community. The more friends in your community, the bigger your music collection becomes, as their favorites are available for you to listen to at any time.

Users can easily discover music that their BBM Music friends are listening to and can also comment on their friends’ songs and playlists.

“Enjoy a truly social community-based music experience,” the statement implores.

A closed beta trial of the BBM Music service begins Thursday in Canada, the US and the UK.

RIM is planning for the new service to be commercially available to BlackBerry users later this year for a monthly subscription of US$4.99, in the following countries: Australia, Canada, Columbia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, the UK and the US.

Steve Jobs resigning as Apple CEO, to be replaced by Tim Cook

Steve Jobs, the mind behind the iPhone, iPad and other devices that turned Apple Inc. into one of the world's most powerful companies, resigned as CEO, saying he can no longer handle the job but will continue to play a role in leading the company.

The move appears to be the result of an unspecified medical condition for which he took an indefinite leave from his post in January. Apple's chief operating officer, Tim Cook, has been named CEO.

In a letter addressed to Apple's board and the "Apple community," Jobs said he "always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come."

The company said Jobs gave the board his resignation Wednesday and suggested Cook be named the company's new leader. Apple said Jobs was elected board chairman and Cook is becoming a member of its board.

Jobs' health has long been a concern for Apple investors who see him as an industry oracle who seems to know what consumers want long before they do.

Jeff Gamet, managing editor of The Mac Observer online news site focused on Apple, said Jobs' departure has more sentimental than practical significance, and that he has been telegraphing the change for several years.

Earlier this month Apple became the most valuable company in America, briefly surpassing Exxon Mobil. At the market close Wednesday its market value was $349 billion, just behind Exxon Mobil's $358 billion.

Jobs' hits seemed to grow bigger as the years went on: After the colorful iMac computer and the now-ubiquitous iPod, the iPhone redefined the category of smart phones and the iPad all but created the market for tablet computers.

His own aura seemed part of the attraction. On stage at trade shows and company events in his uniform of jeans, sneakers and black mock-turtlenecks, he'd entrance audiences with new devices, new colors, new software features, building up to a grand finale he'd predictably preface by saying, "One more thing."

Jobs (56), shepherded Apple from a two-man startup to Silicon Valley darling when the Apple II, the first computer for regular people to really catch on, sent IBM Corp. and others scrambling to get their own PCs to market.

After Apple suffered a slump in the mid-1980s, he was forced out of the company. He was CEO at Next, another computer company, and Pixar, the computer-animation company that produced "Toy Story" on his watch, during the 10 years before he returned.

Apple was foundering before he returned, having lost $900 million in 1996 as Microsoft Windows-based PCs dominated the computer market. The company's fortunes began to turn around with its first new product under his direction, the iMac, which launched in 1998 and sold about 2 million in its first 12 months.

Apple's popularity grew in the U.S. throughout the 2000s as the ever-sleeker line of iPods introduced many lifelong Windows users to their first Apple gadget. Apple created another sensation in 2007 with the iPhone, the stark-looking but powerful smart phone that quickly dominated the industry.

The iPad was introduced less than a year and a half ago but has already sold nearly 29 million units as it inspired myriad rivals in a tablet computer market that scarcely existed before Apple stepped in.

As Jobs was praised for his vision, concerns about his health persisted. The January leave was Jobs' third medical leave over several years. He had previously survived pancreatic cancer and received a liver transplant.

China Telecom in talks with Apple on iPhone

China Telecom Corp Ltd, the smallest of the country's three telecommunications carriers, is still in talks with Apple Inc to carry its iPhone, targeting growth in high-end users.

China Telecom, which competes with China Mobile Ltd and China Unicom, would only increase handset subsidies if it started selling iPhones to draw more users to use its network, Chairman Wang Xiaochu said.

China Unicom is the only carrier selling the popular iPhone in China, the world's largest mobile phone market, although the two other operators have been aggressively negotiating with Apple to be next.

China Telecom, which has increased capital expenditure to 50 billion yuan this year from 43 billion yuan last year, sees its overall ARPU (average rate per user) trending lower in the second half of this year.

"For voice, we will track our competitors on pricing, but we'll try to maintain our pricing for data. That's because our 3G development is better, so larger data traffic will help raise our ARPU," Wang said.

Its views are largely in line with China Mobile, which said last week that its ARPU would continue to fall for the rest of the year.

China Telecom executives said during the news conference that 3G ARPU for 3G services was slightly above 80 yuan in the first half after introducing the service in the second half of last year.

RIM brings New BlackBerry Curve - 9350, 9360, 9370

RIM has announced the availability of the new, refreshed BlackBerry Curve, which sports a thin, 0.43 inch frame and BlackBerry 7 functionality under the hood.

It has a 2.44 inch, 480x360 pixel screen, an 800 MHz CPU, 512 MB of RAM, and a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and VGA video recording functionality. It also sports Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS and the fabled NFC which is slowly turning into a standard for new smartphones.

The device comes in three version numbers - 9350, 9360 and 9370 - with the difference being connectivity: the 9350 is CDMA-only, 9360 supports GSM and UMTS while 9370 supports both GSM and CDMA.

The new BlackBerry Curve will be available from carriers in Canada this month and from other carriers around the world starting September.

Apple suppliers making cheaper 8GB iPhone

Asian suppliers to Apple Inc have begun manufacturing a lower-priced version of its hot-selling iPhone 4 with a smaller 8 gigabyte flash drive.

According to some unidentified sources, the flash drive for the 8GB iPhone 4 is being manufactured by a Korean company. Apple currently sources its flash drives from Japan's Toshiba and South Korea's Samsung Electronics.

The existing iPhone 4 was first launched in June 2010 with 16 GB and 32 GB versions, with a white version added to the lineup in April. The 8GB version is expected to launch within weeks.
Some analysts said the cheaper 8GB iPhone 4 could help Apple boost sales in emerging markets.

The Launch of iPhone 5:
In addition to the launch of the smaller iPhone 4, Apple is targeting an end-September launch for the next-generation iPhone 5.

The new iPhone, which some call the iPhone 4S because of its largely identical appearance to the existing iPhone 4, is expected to have a bigger touch screen, better antenna and an 8-megapixel camera.

The iPhone 5's two manufacturers have been told to prepare production capacity for up to 45 million units altogether. The phone will be made by Hon Hai and Pegatron.

Apple sold 20.34 million iPhones in the second quarter versus an expected 17 million to 18 million, and is increasingly looking to Asia to boost future earnings.

Asia-Pacific - which accounts for about one-fifth of its total revenue - and Greater China in particular, helped Apple's revenue surge 82 percent to $28.6 billion in April-June.