Countdown for Samsung's Galaxy S3
After the recent big launches in the Android mobile universe by HTC (HTC One X) and Sony (Xperia S), it is now the turn of Samsung which is all set to launch its next flagship smartphone. The company has code-named it the ‘next galaxy', just to tease mobile phone lovers.
The South Korean electronics giant has announced that the Samsung Galaxy S3 phone will be unveiled in London on May 3, an event that will also be streamed live on Facebook. Enthusiasm for the next generation Galaxy S phone is very high, given the success of earlier phones from Samsung. It would be fair to say that Samsung alone has come close to challenging Apple's iPhone in terms of specifications and performance. However, HTC's One X seems to have raised the bar for all Android mobile phones. There is a lot of speculation on just what Samsung will do with the upcoming phone. In recent times, Samsung has set the benchmark for mobile screen displays with its Super AMOLED Plus screen. The invite for the launch event, that several tech blogs have posted, and the video teasers that have gone viral give little information away though on what Galaxy S3 would have in store.
iPhone5 rumours
It is only fair to follow up the Android update with some news from the Apple camp about the anticipated iPhone5 launch in June. There is a lot of speculation that the “biggest PC vendor” in the world will be using a new technology called “in-cell” technology that could make its touch-panel displays slimmer. According to the chatter, Apple is likely to source the display panels from Japanese manufacturers Sharp and Toshiba in a move that is expected to make the next generation iPhones the slimmest smartphones in the market.
If the rumours are true, the new “in-cell” technology — that basically fuses the LCD and the touch sections display — will make the iPhone slimmer than the phones that feature “on-cell” display, including the likes that flaunt the Super AMOLED screens.
That distinction of being the slimmest phone once belonged to the iPhone but the most recent high-end Android phones have managed to cut down on size. The other big rumour about the next-generation iPhone is that it would be larger in size, given the trend of bigger phones. It was something Steve Jobs resisted a lot but there are strong rumours that the iPhone5 would, in fact, have a display larger than 4 inches diagonally. iPhone4S has a display that is 3.5 inches diagonally.
Bluetooth keyboard from Microsoft
Microsoft has introduced its Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 5000 in India, a wireless keyboard which, it says, is compatible with most personal computers and tablet PCs in the market. The Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard, priced at Rs. 3,350, is less than three-quarters-of-an-inch thick and sports the curve-design that is supposed to be ergonomical. It is small enough to be carried around in a bag, and seems like a good companion for tablet PCs.
Compiled by Karthik Subramanian