Android Community |
- Google confirms Play Store gift cards with official web page
- LG Optimus G leaked as quad-core 4G LTE powerhouse
- Galaxy S III gets a brand new official Jelly Bean leak
- Samsung building a new Nexus according to leaked spec sheet
- CyanogenMod 10 boot animation revealed
- Jawbone JAMBOX speaker gets colorful with new custom colors
- Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G for T-Mobile hardware leaks
- AOKP and MIUI both unleash Android 4.1 Jelly Bean ROMs
- Motorola DROID RAZR HD leaks in a series of tutorial videos
- Motorola PHOTON Q 4G LTE Review
- Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 rated by iFixit, James Franco stars in new ad
- Motorola XYBOARD 8.2 and 10-inch tablets getting Ice Cream Sandwich
- Galaxy Note 2 teased in latest Samsung video
- Samsung GALAXY S DUOS unveiled with dual-SIM capabilities
| Google confirms Play Store gift cards with official web page Posted: 21 Aug 2012 11:23 AM PDT Google has officially outed the fact that they’ll be bringing Google Play Store gift cards to the market. We knew this was coming and have seen countless confirmations and tips suggesting they were coming, but now it’s official. Google hasn’t confirmed the details yet, but an official Play Store Gift Cards page just went live.
We can’t be sure if this is actually supposed to be live yet, as Google hasn’t made any official announcements — but we clearly can see it and all the details. Looking over the page we clearly see multiple cards available at different prices, and they’ve confirmed retail stores like RadioShack, Target, and Gamestop will be participating.
Then right at the top of the page is the above quote from Google. Stating that these gift cards are on their way to stores as we speak, but possibly haven’t arrived yet. With no official announcement from Google on any of their official blogs yet we aren’t fully sure what to think here. Another thing worth noting is Google Play gift cards cannot be redeemed for hardware. That means you won’t be able to snag the new Nexus 7 with gift card cash — and we aren’t sure why. I know they want to increase app sales, but that just seems like an odd exclusion. Gift cards also cannot be used on in-app subscriptions or magazine subscriptions. It looks like Google wants us to buy more music, movies, apps, and books. Stay tuned as I’m sure Google will be making an official announcement soon.
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| LG Optimus G leaked as quad-core 4G LTE powerhouse Posted: 21 Aug 2012 11:08 AM PDT Rumor has it that LG is preparing their next-gen smartphone for the world of Android. The device is being called the LG Optimus G for now, and so far the specs sound rather impressive and their best yet. Based on reports from AsiaToday this phone will rock LG’s current lineup with a quad-core processor and multiple other tricks up its sleeve.
According to reports this Optimus G will not just sport 4G LTE, but will be a powerful quad-core device that also supports VoLTE (Voice-over 4G LTE), packed with 2GB of RAM, a quality 13 megapixel camera, and of course LG’s 4.7-inch True IPS display technology. Sounds pretty nice right? Other specs include Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich (we’d prefer Jelly Bean) and LG’s latest Optimus UI v3.0 that was recently released. Details on the processor are pretty thin, and all we know is the SoC will be a quad-core processor capable of VoLTE services. That sort of rules out NVIDIA considering their just barely integrating regular 4G LTE with their Tegra 3. Most likely this new and impressive sounding beast of a smartphone from LG will have Qualcomm’s brand new S4 Pro quad-core processor we saw last month, but nothing has been confirmed. Take the power of the dual-core S4 in the Galaxy S III and double it — yes please! IFA 2012 is coming up later this month in Berlin, Germany, and LG could make an announcement during that event so we’ll be sure and stay tuned for more details. Could this be the rumored LG Eclipse 4G LTE quad-core headed to AT&T later this year? Check that out and more quad-core news below. [via PocketDroid]
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| Galaxy S III gets a brand new official Jelly Bean leak Posted: 21 Aug 2012 10:49 AM PDT It’s raining Jelly Beans. There’s been a lot of talk lately about Samsung and their fast update schedule of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean for their popular Galaxy S III phone. We are still expecting it to possibly arrive later this month, but today we have an official Samsung Jelly Bean build for the Galaxy S III that has just leaked.
This isn’t the first build of Jelly Bean that has leaked for the Galaxy S III, but the chance this is the official OTA update is quite high. Coming right from internal sources at Samsung and showing a build date of today, August 21st, this is pretty legit. The folks over at XDA Developers just got their hands on the absolute latest build of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean for the flagship Galaxy S III and it’s available right this minute for those adventurous types. You’ll need to be running the latest official OTA update of Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich from Samsung, get the latest Odin, and then flash the leaked Jelly Bean in recovery.
As a very important reminder, this is for the international Galaxy S III only. This will not work on your US carrier Galaxy S III but I’m sure some developers will be porting it for everyone else very soon. Obviously this is an early leak so there’s still a few bugs, but we are reading overall positive reports so far. For a detailed and easy instruction list to flash this yourself you’ll want to click here. The official Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update from Samsung should be coming within the next week or two, so either wait for something official or give this a try today. Let us know how it goes in the comment section below. Device Info
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| Samsung building a new Nexus according to leaked spec sheet Posted: 21 Aug 2012 10:06 AM PDT Samsung is back in the news again today, only this time we are talking about the next Nexus smartphone from Google. Yup, it’s time to start up those rumor mills again seeing that the Galaxy Nexus has been available for a while already. Google must be getting ready for their next release. What we see below is a spreadsheet claiming to show the new Nexus.
Samsung has made the last two “Nexus” devices, and so far they’ve done rather well but I just don’t see Google choosing them again, but anything is possible. If they go the Motorola route everyone will call them out since they now own Moto, and no other manufacturers seem to fit the bill. This leaves either Samsung again, or maybe an upcoming phone from ASUS. What we have above is a supposedly “leaked” spreadsheet showing what Samsung’s been working on from the folks at SamMobile. One that claims to confirm more of a slight upgrade and bump in specs for the next Google flagship device than a complete overhaul. As you can see from the picture above the current Galaxy Nexus is also known as the GT-I9250, and the new “Nexus” is listed as GT-I9260, which shows an obvious increase to the next generation. Could this be real? Absolutely. Is it real? Probably not. First off they list Samsung’s “Super AMOLED HD” screen wrong. As the HD actually comes first, not at the end. Not only that but the current Galaxy Nexus was an HD Super AMOLED, which this sheet got wrong. Second they also list the new Nexus as coming with a micro-SD card. I know everyone in the world of Android would like to see that, us included, but Google hasn’t offered it with their past few Nexi — why start now. The Nexus 7 didn’t even get one and it’s safe to say Google won’t be starting now. Then in closing back in May the Wall Street Journal confidentially said the next round of Nexus devices would be from multiple manufacturers and Google would release a Nexus program to sell devices in their Play Store. That still hasn’t been confirmed, but if that turns out to be accurate this device we see today could be a great fit for Sammy. Better than what they have now but not topping their own flagship Galaxy S III. For now there’s no telling if this is real or fake, as much as we’d like to believe it. I personally think this is just a troll attempt, but we’ll be sure and update when we hear or see anything else.
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| CyanogenMod 10 boot animation revealed Posted: 21 Aug 2012 09:25 AM PDT Who is ready for Android 4.1 Jelly Bean CyanogenMod style? I’ve been rocking CM10 for a few weeks myself, and today the team at CyanogenMod has unveiled their brand new CM10 boot animation. This go around they’ve changed the tune and are all about simplicity. That and the 8-bit arcade music is just outright awesome.
So I’m sure a few are asking what the big deal about boot animations is, and there isn’t one really. Just like everything else in this awesome world of Android we can customize it — so we do. CyanogenMod has always had some of the best boot animations around and they’ve been showing off their next generation each time on YouTube, so here’s the latest: So what do you guys think? Not quite as crazy as the last few. No more skateboards, no more CID, instead just a simple little logo. I actually dig it and will be tossing it on my own phone later today to give it a shot. Looks great on the Nexus 7 tablet though right? The simple design and 8-bit arcade style music is rather awesome if you ask me. There are many quality ROM’s in the world of Android. Just yesterday we saw Jelly Bean builds arrive for AOKP and MIUI, but CyanogenMod is still one of the biggest around. This new boot animation mirrors their Android builds — and that is simplicity. Android 4.1 Jelly Bean for multiple devices have already hit beta so be sure and hit your favorite developer site to get the latest and greatest. Who likes the new animation? – Thanks Rick!
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| Jawbone JAMBOX speaker gets colorful with new custom colors Posted: 21 Aug 2012 06:08 AM PDT The popular Jawbone JAMBOX ultra portable speaker just got a major overhaul starting today. If you’ve been wanting some excellent portable sound but wanted to make things personal then Jawbone now has you covered. We’ve been huge fans since the original JAMBOX for the exceptional sound quality and ease of use with Android, and now users can customize their JAMBOX.
Jawbone has just launched their all new site allowing users to completely customize their pattern, colors, and even ends caps all to their liking. I’m personally really digging the cyan blue on silver, or on black. Adding a cyan blue JAMBOX to my Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Nexus 7 (also cyan blue color scheme) really is a nice mix. I’ve been taking my JAMBOX camping for over a year, and now I’ll need a new color.
Jawbone is now offering 13 different grill colors with 4 unique designs, then allowing customers to change the top and bottom rubber end caps in 9 different flavors. You can be as bright and “notice me” as possible, or stick to the standard sleek grey and black finish. We’ve handed out NVIDIA green JAMBOX speakers in the past in our giveaways, but now they are offering a full variety for everyone we figured you’d like to know. We’ve used some great portable speakers in the past but JAMBOX just has some quality sound. The simplistic user interface and voice guidance is nice for making conference calls and pausing music, and now that they offer multiple options you can find exactly what you’d like. These new color options and combinations are available today for JAWBONE Insider members, or any Klout users, and will be available to general public come August 28th. They are calling this JAMBOX THE REMIX all for the same price as the original, just $199. Let us know what colors you think look the best, or what you’ve ordered yourself.       [via Jawbone]
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| Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G for T-Mobile hardware leaks Posted: 20 Aug 2012 05:25 PM PDT Samsung and T-Mobile have partnered yet again to release another budget friendly handset to the market. Previously known as the Samsung Galaxy S Blaze Q, the new and upcoming Galaxy S Relay 4G (gasps for air) is the official name and we have a full 360 degrees view of the phone now. Head down past the break for more info.
This little slide-out QWERTY keyboard rocking dual-core phone is set to arrive on T-Mobile soon, although we don’t have all the details quite yet. Paired with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and decent hardware similar to a mini Galaxy S III with a keyboard this should be a nice phone. The Galaxy S Relay 4G comes with a 4-inch display (not 720p HD) and the same 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor as the Galaxy S III and many other smartphones as of late. This ‘faux’ 4G device from T-Mobile was originally rumored to launch around the 15th of this month, but sadly that date has passed by without a peep from either side. Unfortunately we still don’t have a full 100% list of specs, but have basically confirmed all the details outlined above, not to mention the picture shows us plenty. The new Galaxy S Relay 4G might still have a terrible name, but the phone isn’t half bad. Stay tuned as we wait for an official announcement from T-Mobile or Samsung. [via Engadget]
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| AOKP and MIUI both unleash Android 4.1 Jelly Bean ROMs Posted: 20 Aug 2012 04:50 PM PDT Who’s ready for the latest and greatest from both Google and some of the best developers in the world of Android? The popular folks from the AOKP (Android open kang project) have just issued their first official ROM’s running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean for multiple devices like the Nexus S, Nexus 7, and Galaxy Nexus. That isn’t all either because MIUI is doing the same today too.
This is great news as MIUI and AOKP are problaby two of the biggest ROM developers for Android other than CyanogenMod. First off the awesome image credit goes to ThaPHLASH from XDA Developers — and now lets talk about these ROM’s. Since the folks from Verizon are slowing down the update to Jelly Bean for the Verizon Galaxy Nexus (toro) MIUI and AOKP have you covered. Their first official 4.1 builds are available starting today. MIUI has launched for the Nexus S, Nexus 7, and Galaxy Nexus and all the details for those are available in the MIUI Forums. For those wanting to see the full list of changes, tweaks, improvements and all that is new here is the MIUI changelog. Then for the more adventurous we have AOKP. Where MIUI is more polished and completely overhauled AOKP is stock Android 4.1 Jelly Bean right from source. Which is then modded to have as many possibilities, features, improvements, and performance enhancements as physically possible. For those that want to customize everything under the sun you’ll want to start with the AOKP Jelly Bean 1 thread. As usual you guys know the drill. Do a quick Nandroid backup and start flashing. Enjoy! — Thanks to everyone who sent these in!
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| Motorola DROID RAZR HD leaks in a series of tutorial videos Posted: 20 Aug 2012 04:28 PM PDT The next smartphone to grace Verizon Wireless from the folks at Motorola will most likely be the new DROID RAZR HD. We’ve seen it countless times already but yesterday afternoon some new tutorial videos were leaking giving us a much clearer picture. Instead of fuzzy leaked photos we have a few official Motorola tutorial videos. Take a peek below.
A nice YouTuber managed to post an entire series of tutorials giving users a walk-through of the new device and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, which will be the operating system upon release date. Most likely this user has the actual phone, and these videos were on the device for newcomers. We see the entire device and are walked through making calls, setting up WiFi, and even getting your email squared away. These are more for a new smartphone owner but gives us our first official look at the brand new — coming soon — Verizon Motorola DROID RAZR HD. After seeing these appear yesterday afternoon they quickly disappeared and were pulled from YouTube. Today however they are back for our viewing pleasure. If you’re interested in the soon to be announced (read: September 5th event) then check out the multiple clips below. Essentially what we see is a very similar version of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich that is currently running on the Motorola Atrix HD, as well as the new PHOTON Q 4G LTE. Verizon and Motorola together are hosting an event on September 5th as mentioned above, and will likely be unveiling and announcing the DROID RAZR HD. We’ll be their live with all the details so stay tuned. [via Droid-Life]
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| Motorola PHOTON Q 4G LTE Review Posted: 20 Aug 2012 03:53 PM PDT The newest slide-out hardware QWERTY keyboard rocking smartphone has finally hit the market. That being the brand new Motorola PHOTON Q 4G LTE with the Now Network. Motorola calls this a “triple threat phone” with a great screen, PC-like keyboard, and dual-core processor. Stay tuned to find out how much of a threat it really is.
This represents the second device from Motorola to come out of the box with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and on-screen navigation keys here in the US. The device rocks some of the better hardware available (screen aside) but sadly the network is quite slow and their “4G LTE” is still nowhere to be seen. Lets take a look shall we? Hardware Then obviously we have that spacious and comfy 5-row QWERTY keyboard that also manages to be edge-lit for dark situations. The DROID 4′s was also edge-lit but they lights only came on as needed. With the PHOTON Q the key lights are always lit up. The keyboard is extremely easy to work with, and get use to — I just wish there was an Android home button on it. In comparison to the previous PHOTON, the new Q didn’t get much thinner, didn’t get a quad-core processor, and lost its kickstand in favor for a non-removable back and battery. Those last two are serious cons if you ask us — just saying!      To round off the specs we get a dedicated camera button, HDMI-out for accessories, and a mediocre 1785 mAh battery. Motorola has always had better than average build quality with their hardware. It looks good, feels good, has a durable construction and more. That also means it’s quite heavy though. The vibration haptic feedback seems to rattle the keyboard area giving it a cheap feeling, but it’s no where near a cheap device. The combined soft and hard plastic design is odd and feels rather different, but we liked the overall feel during usage. The last thing we wanted to mention of the hardware is Motorola added a LED for notifications. It doesn’t light up while charging oddly, but does notify users of pending notifications and is rather bright. Green is the only color we’ve seen.
Software
As usual Motorola’s webtop software is present, as well as the micro-USB/HDMI ports for their multiple accessories. The PHOTON Q 4G LTE will work with their desk dock, HD dock, and Lapdock computer accessories all with ease. Their HD dock we’ve seen before but as usual it is also available and compatible with the PHOTON Q 4G LTE, and we suggest those in need check it out. It’s made to be universal with future purchases too.
Motorola has continued to improve on their OS now that they’ve ditched their BLUR UI, and Android 4.0 ICS looks rather simple and pretty. Instead of changing everything it’s more of a skin than a complete overhaul. Hopefully Google continues to rub off on Motorola. Performance   Speedtest and 4G LTE
Even 3G was hard to come by in terms of a good, stable, and fast connection. With Verizon and AT&T both far ahead with 4G LTE the light is starting to dim here — but hopefully they pull it together. T-Mobile is catching up and launching their LTE next year too.    Next up is battery life. Sadly Motorola pulled a bad move and discarded the popular kickstand while also making the rear of the device non-removable. You can’t take off the back to access the battery, and it’s only 1785 mAh. Having the efficient S4 dual-core and a smaller non HD screen made battery life better than the average device these days, and we averaged well over 13 hours of solid usage. Enough for a days work.
Wrap-Up
Sadly the network is still no where near being up to par, especially with 2012 standards. Call quality was great, but data is another story. As a phone calls were clear, crisp, and rarely dropped and the speaker phone is amazingly loud on this device. Once the 4G LTE becomes a reality this phone will be a good option for the many who love a keyboard. As an added bonus this is the first smartphone from Motorola that can officially be unlocked. You can unlock its bootloader with their Unlock My Device website. The new Motorola PHOTON Q 4G LTE is available today starting at $199 with a new 2-year contract. If you love a keyboard and are willing to wait for 4G LTE go pick one up today!             Device Info
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| Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 rated by iFixit, James Franco stars in new ad Posted: 20 Aug 2012 01:48 PM PDT The fine folks at iFixit have ripped apart the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 in an effort to find out how repair-friendly it is. The results were pretty good too, with iFixit giving the tablet a repairability rating of 8/10. It’s not perfect, but it’s a whole lot better than the third-gen iPad, which only managed to take home a 2/10 rating.
Opening the device up, iFixit found that it housed a total of 16 connectors, which they say is a “huge boon” for repairability. The device is sealed up with a handful of Phillips screws and clips, which means that it’s relatively easy to get into while still keeping out those tiny humans some affectionately call “children.” The Galaxy Note 10.1 also gets bonus points for having an easy-to-remove battery, despite the fact that a fair amount of cables have to be disconnected before you can take the battery out. The screen also scored some major points, as the glass and the LCD are easy to separate. Worth mentioning are the EMI shields, with iFixit saying that they’re screwed in, which is a pretty rare thing. In all, the Galaxy Note 10.1 managed to take home a pretty great repairability score, so if you like taking your devices apart and fixing them yourself, you have a repair-friendly tablet with the Galaxy Note 10.1. Elsewhere on the Internet, James Franco can be seen starring in a brand new ad for the Galaxy Note 10.1. The 2:45 ad focuses once more on the multitaksing capabilities of the Galaxy Note 10.1, with Franco using the the tablet to record video and voice memos relating to skateboards and take a picture of a model’s strep throat before sending it off to her doctor. It’s a strange little ad, but definitely one that’s worth watching (especially if you happen to like James Franco). Check it out above, and be sure to peruse our story timeline below for more posts on the Galaxy Note 10.1! Device Info
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[via SlashGear]
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| Motorola XYBOARD 8.2 and 10-inch tablets getting Ice Cream Sandwich Posted: 20 Aug 2012 12:30 PM PDT Motorola’s latest tablets might have been forgotten by many, but the XYBOARD tablet in both the 8.2 and 10-inch flavors are getting upgraded to Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich this week. Motorola dropped the news last night, and now Verizon has also confirmed the DROID XYBOARD tablets will receive the same fate.
The XYBOARD tablets are quite nice, but they still haven’t managed to make much of a dent — if any at all — in the US market. Motorola confirmed and detailed the update over on their support pages, and now Verizon’s done the same. The tablets initially landed stateside from Verizon, so most US users probably are sporting the DROID edition. For full update details and instructions you’ll want to head to the Verizon support page, as that explains what to expect. As usual we’ll probably see the update roll out for Verizon DROID XYBOARD owners in the next 24-48 hours, so start checking for updates. Improvements include Face Unlock, a better browsing experience, improved 3G/4G connectivity, Unlock screen shortcuts, as well as general stability improvements as usual. One thing worth noting is Motorola themselves updated both tablets to Ice Cream Sandwich, but Verizon’s support pages only shows the update for the 10.1 model and not the 8.2 tablet. We could see it any minute now so we aren’t too worried about Verizon leaving it out. Be sure to start checking for updates as it should arrive shortly.   Device Info
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| Galaxy Note 2 teased in latest Samsung video Posted: 20 Aug 2012 12:02 PM PDT Samsung is back to tease the world while hyping up their next big smartphone, and that is the Galaxy Note 2 phablet. In a little over a weeks time we’ll all see what Samsung’s been brewing when they unveil their new Galaxy Note 2 5.5-inch smartphone in Berlin, Germany, for IFA 2012. This weekend they dropped a teaser video although it doesn’t show us much.
The video is more about creation and elegance — just like Samsung hopes the device will be. They’ve enlisted ‘Wings of Desire’ director Wim Wenders for the job and he even makes a guest appearance calling the new device a “thin and light thing.” We know Samsung will be all about content creation with the new Note, and this only confirms that. As you can see above the video is quite simple. They obviously hint the S-Pen stylus multiple times, which also shows the device to be rather thin — being just as thick as the stylus itself. The original Galaxy Note was one of the thinnest smartphones around and we have a feeling the 2 will hold the same fate. As a reminder the Galaxy Note 2 is rumored to rock a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED HD screen, run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich or maybe even Jelly Bean, and be powered by Samsung’s quad-core 1.4 GHz processor. We could also see their new Exynos 5 dual-core, but we’ll just have to wait and see. Samsung Unpacked is set for August 29th in Berlin, Germany, and we’ll be there live as always.
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| Samsung GALAXY S DUOS unveiled with dual-SIM capabilities Posted: 20 Aug 2012 11:41 AM PDT Samsung is gearing up to unleash a new smartphone on the world, and if you don’t have a Galaxy S III yet, this one might be worth a look. Dubbed the Samsung GALAXY S DUOS, this new phone features some solid specs, but also brings dual-SIM capabilities to the table. While the phone itself is nothing to scoff at, it’s that dual-SIM functionality you’ll want to pay attention to.
That’s because it allows you to have two phone numbers at once or, as our friends at SlashGear point out, use one SIM card for phone calls and the other for data. With Samsung’s “Dual SIM Always on” feature, both SIM cards will always be active at the same time, which means you can receive calls for both numbers at once. That should be perfect for those “always-on business people” we keep hearing so much about, as this will let you have a work number and a personal number available on the same phone. Aside from the dual-SIM functionality, the GALAXY S DUOS comes with a 4-inch WVGA 480 x 800 TFT LCD display, a rear-facing 5-megapixel camera, and Bluetooth 3.0 capabilities. Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich comes installed, and a 1500 mAh battery powers all of it. The phone only comes with 4GB of internal storage, but that can be boosted through the microSD slot, which supports up to 32GB of additional memory.
So, the phone itself isn’t too shabby, if not a little bit lacking with the Galaxy S III on the scene. We don’t have any information on pricing yet, and Samsung hasn’t given the GALAXY S DUOS a release date either. We’ll have that information for you here at Android Community once Samsung spills the beans though, so stay tuned.
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