Phones

Sprint, T-Mobile feel Samsung Galaxy S4 delay woes

Sprint and T-Mobile announced on Wednesday that the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S4 will not go as initially planned.

Citing "inventory challenges" from Samsung, Sprint's Galaxy S4 will still be offered through Sprint's Web site and Telesales on April 27; however, it remains unclear when it will be available in retail stores and other channels.

Sprint said this in a statement regarding the delay:

Sprint is excited to launch the new Samsung Galaxy 4. We had planned to launch this next generation of the award-winning Samsung Galaxy line-up on Saturday, April 27. Unfortunately, due to … Read more

Samsung Galaxy S4 has the fastest gaming graphics of any phone

Mobile devices like smartphones and tablets are on a collision course of high graphical performance. We're not at "console quality" just yet, but every few months or so performance seems to take a giant leap forward.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is the latest mobile graphics prodigy, and while our full review will answer whether it's ultimately worth your money, I'm personally more interested in just how adept its highly advanced internals are. Namely at producing real-time, polygonal, video-game graphics. (Spoiler alert: as smartphones go, it's currently the best at doing this.)

To determine this, … Read more

RadioShack sells Samsung Galaxy S4 on April 27

RadioShack confirmed on Tuesday that the Samsung Galaxy S4 will be available at more than 4,700 retail locations starting Saturday, April 27.

Specifically, RadioShack will offer the Sprint and AT&T versions of the flagship Android smartphone.

Pricing for the pair will cost the same as going through their respective carriers; however, phones purchased through RadioShack also include free lifetime tech support.

To sweeten the pot just a little more, RadioShack will toss in a coupon good for $10 off a future accessories purchase of $30 or more.

RadioShack's Trade & Save program will give you cash … Read more

Verizon calls up entry-level Pantech Perception

Verizon announced on Tuesday the Pantech Perception, an entry-level Android with a wallet-friendly price tag.

The Pantech Perception is an Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich handset with yesterday's top hardware. Specifications include a 4.8-inch HD (720p) Super AMOLED display, 16GB internal storage, an 8-megapixel rear camera, and a front-facing 2-megapixel camera.

In addition, the Perception also boasts "global ready" capabilities and 4G LTE connectivity. The hardware details dovetail with early rumors and suggest this is, in fact, a Verizon-branded take on the Pantech Discover.

In terms of software, the smartphone features a modified UI with … Read more

Nokia granted temporary ban on microphone sales for HTC One

The HTC One now faces a setback over its supply of microphones.

Nokia yesterday won an injunction from an Amsterdam District Court preventing sales of the current microphone for HTC's new flagship phone. Manufactured by STMicroelectronics NV for the HTC One, the microphone uses components allegedly invented by Nokia and made exclusively for Nokia phones, Reuters reported today.

Nokia said that it dissassembled an HTC One phone to find that the "dual membrane HDR" microphone, which can record high-quality audio, is the same type used on its own phones.

"HTC has no license or authorization from … Read more

Huawei debuts 5-inch A199 for China

Huawei has announced (translate) a midrange Android smartphone for China and emerging markets in the form of the 5-inch A199.

Powered by Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the Huawei A199 also features Huawei's custom Emotion 1.5 UI. On hardware, the handset falls in the mid-to-high end of the spectrum with its quad-core 1.5GHz processor, 2GB RAM, 8GB internal storage, and 8.0-megapixel rear camera.

Whereas most 5-inch smartphones tend to offer a 1080p HD display, the Huawei A199 comes with a still respectable 720p resolution screen. Additional hardware includes a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, a 2,150mAh … Read more

HTC One sells on T-Mobile for $99 down

Starting April 19, T-Mobile will unlock the door to online sales for the HTC One, the phone maker's most impressive handset on the market.

Starting April 24, you'll be able to also buy it in stores.

As a newly minted no-contract carrier, T-Mobile can't sell the smartphone for $200, but it will give you a break with a down payment of $99 and a $20-per-month charge for the next two years. The cost works out to $580 for the feature-laden handset. You can also pay the full price up front.

HTC's One features a stunning design … Read more

Nexus 5: The likely price, specs, camera tech (video)

When it was first glimpsed, the Nexus 4 looked pretty similar to other smartphones -- quad-core, with a high-res display and a decent camera, and the latest version of Android chucked in for good measure.

What we weren't counting on however was the simply astonishing $299 price, which let smartphone owners working on a budget acquire a phone that was every bit as capable as the Samsung Galaxy S3, but cost half as much. A lack of LTE was painful to bear, but at this cost, who could complain?

Now we're standing on the prow of the good … Read more

Samsung Galaxy S4 camera software hands-on (video)

Samsung showed off its swanky new superphone, its Samsung Galaxy S4, at a London launch event, so I took the opportunity to take a deeper look at some of the new camera features. I was only able to get a brief hands-on and wasn't able to perform the usual tests I'd do for a camera, but I had enough time to form a reasonable impression.

In terms of hardware, the sensor has been given a boost, jumping from the 8 megapixels you'll get on the old Galaxy S3, up to 13 megapixels. It's the software that'… Read more