Galaxy Mega 6.3 and Galaxy Mega 5.8 official: specs, features, release

date and pricing

Samsung on Thursday announced two new Galaxy smartphones, the Galaxy Mega 6.3 and the Galaxy Mega 5.8, both devices that appeared in a previous series of leaks and rumors.

The Mega is a new subfamily of the Galaxy tree, one that seems to include even bigger handsets than the Note series.

Specs and features

We have seen rumored specs and features for both devices already but it’s time to look at the real deal. From the start, we’re going to tell you that these aren’t necessarily flagship devices by 2013 standards, although they’re certainly going to offer you a great Android experience.

Galaxy Mega 6.3

• 6.3-inch LCD HD display with 720p resolution
• 1.7GHz dual-core processor
• 1.5GB of RAM
• 8GB/16GB storage
• microSD support up to 64GB
• 8-megapixel camera
• 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera
• Bluetooth 4.0
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct
• GPS, GLONASS
• LTE support
• IR sensor
• NFC
• MHL
• Size: 167.6 x 88 x 7.9mm
• Weight: 199g
• 3200mAh battery
• Android 4.2 Jelly Bean with Samsung’s TouchWiz on top
• Samsung apps: Group Play, Samsung WatchON, Samsung Link, S Translator, ChatON, S Memo, S Planner, S Travel, Story Album, Air View

Galaxy Mega 5.8

• 5.8-inch LCD display with qHD resolution (960 x 540)
• 1.4GHz dual-core processor
• 1.5GB of RAM
• 8GB storage
• microSD support up to 64GB
• 8-megapixel camera
• 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera
• Bluetooth 4.0
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct
• GPS, GLONASS
• IR sensor
• Size: 162.6 x 82.4 x 9.0mm
• Weight: 182g
• 2600mAh battery
• Android 4.2 Jelly Bean with Samsung’s TouchWiz on top
• Samsung apps: Group Play, Samsung WatchON, Samsung Link, S Translator, ChatON, S Memo, S Planner, S Travel, Story Album, Air View

Release date and pricing

As usual, official press releases for new products aren’t ready to reveal that many availability details for said devices. The same goes for the new Galaxy Mega smartphones announcement.

Samsung says the handsets will launch “globally” starting with May when they’ll hit “Europe and Russia.” Since Samsung makes a clear distinction between Europe and Russia, does this mean that Russian Android fans will be the first ones to get the new devices? We’ll have to get back to you on that once Samsung and carrier partners will be ready to share more information.

The company didn’t specifically mention any release dates for the U.S. market at this time.

Pricing details for the either model aren’t available at this time either, so we’ll just have to wait for retailers to share more details about their Galaxy Mega launch plans. At least one retailer in Germany has started taking Galaxy Mega 6.3 pre-orders even before Samsung announced the smartphone (priced at €699), but we’ll advise you to stay away for such offers until we actually get official pricing for the new devices.

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Samsung officially announced the Galaxy Pocket Neo and Galaxy Star

Samsung officially announced the Galaxy Pocket Neo and Galaxy Star The Galaxy Pocket Neo and Galaxy Star has been rumoured before by SamMobile and are a low-end Android devices. The Galaxy Pocket Neo and Galaxy Star have a 3 inch QVGA TFT LCD display, 2 megapixel camera, Android 4.1.2. and are based on Samsung’s own touch-wiz nature UX interface. The price is expected to be around the 150 euro’s.
Below the pictures of the devices and the specifications. If you want to compare everything hit over to our specification page!

Below the presentation by Samsung.

• Stylish and Compact Form Factor: Both devices feature a compact, curved form factor to easily fit in your pocket or small bag and natural to operate using one hand. Their smooth clean lines and stylish yet sophisticated design make the perfect complement to work or personal life.

• Superior Performance: The GALAXY Star and GALAXY Pocket Neo are powered by a 1GHz and 850 MHz processor, respectively, for powerful performance, smooth UI transitions and fast internet, which makes watching videos, navigating apps, playing games, surfing the web and multitasking quick and effortless. Both devices also feature 4GB of internal storage with up to 32GB of expandable memory to store all your favorite apps, music, videos, photos and more.

• Rich, Interactive User Experience: Combining Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) experience with the user-friendly Touchwiz interface, the GALAXY Star and GALAXY Pocket Neo allow you to easily navigate the device, switch between apps, take and share photos and customize the home screen with just a few taps. The advanced software also facilitates more efficient CPU use for improved battery life, meaning users can enjoy longer talk time and multimedia use. Built-in widgets offer one-click shortcuts to weather and other recently-used applications for quick and easy access to real-time notifications. Enhanced with intuitive motion UI, both devices can detect simple movements to intelligently complete common tasks. When unavailable to accept a call, users can simply flip over the device to mute the ringer. Users can also scan the Bluetooth connected devices or wireless access points by simply shaking the devices.

• Reliable Dual SIM Connectivity: Whether using the device for work or play, the GALAXY Star and GALAXY Pocket Neo provide customers the flexibility and added convenience of two phone numbers for calling, texting and web usage through their Dual SIM functionality that includes intuitive settings for easy call and security management. Utilizing the Always On feature, there’s no reason to miss a call with call forwarding to the other SIM even while you’re on the phone using the other. Dual SIM is perfect for those using their device for business and personal purposes or those looking for more flexibility between calling plans and coverage areas. On top of that, with its enhanced UX called Quick Panel and Widget, switching SIMs on a home screen has never been easier than before. Users can even choose one of numbers when they send a text message as there are two different sending buttons for two numbers on the same page. The availability of Single SIM version or Dual SIM version varies by markets.

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Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini reportedly appears on official Samsung website

Yesterday, photos were posted to Twitter revealing the Galaxy S4 Mini. However, another image was posted to Twitter today reportedly revealing four Galaxy S4 Mini model listings on the Samsung support website.

Italian publication Android Caotic (source below) reports that the GT-I9190 is the standard Galaxy S4 Mini model while the GT-I9192 is the dual-SIM version. The GT-I9195 is reportedly the LTE variant and the GT-I9198 seems to be a model being made for China.

This, of course, has not been confirmed by Samsung, so it’d be best to treat it as a rumor for now. On the other hand, it would be highly possible that four Galaxy S4 Mini models exist considering Samsung often makes multiple models for different markets.

According to SamMobile, the Galaxy S4 Mini is expected to have a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED qHD 960 × 540 display with a pixel density of 256ppi. It is also said to have a 1.6GHz dual-core processor and is running the latest version of Android, 4.2.2.

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Gameloft’s UNO & Friends announced for Android with an official trailer

While Gameloft may already offer a decent version of UNO, that isn’t stopping the developer from improving upon it. The studio has launched an announcement trailer unveiling its second UNO game, UNO & Friends.

UNO & Friends promises to bring the thrill of the classic competitive card game UNO to Android, iOS and Facebook. Unlike Gameloft’s previous UNO game, UNO & Friends will let players create their own multiplayer games with friends, family and even other random players around the world.

Players have no need to worry about a lack of players to compete against, as Gameloft has added cross-platform multiplayer support to the game. Players, whether they be on Android, iOS or at home on Facebook, will be able to compete with each other seamlessly. Those players will also be able to start a game on Facebook and pick up where they left off on an Android or iOS device.

In addition to the droves of multiplayer features, you’ll be able to customize your game with unique avatars, different background themes and themed card decks too. With social features being at the core of UNO & Friends, Gameloft has added a weekly and all-time leaderboard to the game where players can compete for the top ranks.

If you’re a big fan of UNO and are looking forward to its dazzling multiplayer aspects, be sure to keep an eye out, as the game should be available very soon!

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Google Keep note-taking web and Android apps are now official

 

A few days ago a new Google note-taking app called Keep made its way to the net for a brief time, before disappearing again. Now Google Keep is back, and finally official.

So what does the new app bring to the table? Basically it is somewhat like Evernote, allowing you to create, save and share notes, pictures, task lists and other content in an organized manner. The experience goes far beyond your phone or tablet though, as it is integrated into Google Drive and that means that all your notes and data are accessible from any device or computer with access to Drive.

Don’t want to take the time to type in all your notes? No worries, the app is easy to control with your voice as well, and can even automatically transcribe voice memos for you.

While this shouldn’t be a problem for those of us with reasonably new hardware, it is worth mentioning that the app does require Android 4.0 ICS or higher to work. For those with Jelly Bean 4.2, there is also a lock screen widget that makes taking down notes with Keep even easier.

Hit the Google Play link below to grab the app. Additionally, if you want to edit and create notes on the web, head over to http://drive.google.com/keep. What do you think of Google Keep, sound like something you will use regularly or not?

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