Right now, the researchers are working on this new feature using the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1. Using the power of their thoughts, the people who are testing out the mind-controlled Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 can launch applications, shuffle through music, turn the tablet on and off, and much more. The testers wear a cap equipped with EEG-monitoring electrodes to convey their actions.

The cap uses EEG-detected brain signals to launch an action. The researchers monitor “well known brain activity patterns that occur when people are shown repetitive visual patterns.” By just focusing on an icon blinking at a certain frequency, the testers can perform various actions like launching apps and pausing/playing music. Users were able to perform an action with their mind at a speed of one action per 5 seconds, with an accuracy rate of 80%-95%.

The researchers still require a lot more research in order to make this innovative feature a reality, but they’re working diligently to do so. Samsung’s lead researcher, Insoo Kim, says, ”

Finding new ways to interact with mobile devices has driven the project. Several years ago, a small keypad was the only input modality to control the phone, but nowadays the user can use voice, touch, gesture, and eye movement to control and interact with mobile devices. Adding more input modalities will provide use with more convenient and richer ways of interactive with mobile devices.”

Robert Jacob, a Human-Computer Interaction Researcher at Tuft’s University says that this research project will help find more ways to allow users to communicate with their mobile devices. This research will hopefully allow users more control over their mobile devices, and will still allow you to “stick the phone in the pocket.” However, unfortunately for us, when this new feature does become available for mobile devices, Roozbeh Jafari, an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Texas, Dallas, says that people may have to wear an EEG-cap to use it. Let’s hope that that cap is at least fashionable.

[via MIT]

Hardware

As it was back when we showed our Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 wifi-only Review, this tablet is easily Samsung’s best. At this display size, anyway. If you’re looking for an experience that’s top-notch at essentially any other display size, Samsung has you covered there too – from the Galaxy Tab 7.7 to the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 to the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 and back again, Verizon also has you covered with 4G LTE. With the Galaxy Note 10.1 4G LTE, you’ve got the 10.1-inch display coupled with the quad-core Exynos processor and the S-Pen – not to mention the front-facing speakers.

With the release of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, the company began pushing their speakers to the front of their tablets. This was a good move and generally regarded as such by everyone that likes to listen to the audio from their devices come out towards their face, rather than from the back side of the device straight into their leg. As it was when we reviewed the wifi version of this device: the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is the best entertainment station you can buy with a 10.1-inch screen.

There’s a lovely set of accessories you can buy from Samsung that’ll make this experience even better than it is out of the box: the clip-on case/cover is easily the most “must-have” of the bunch. With it you’ll be standing your Note 10.1 upright with ease, making it into an easel whenever you like. After that you’re set – the charger and the S-Pen come with the box, and the S-Pen slides in the back of the device when you’re not using it.

Have a peek at how this device compares in size to the Galaxy Note II as well – you may just want to make a decision between the two. They’re both carried by Verizon, and both have lovely Verizon branding splattered about as well.

Software

The change in software since the first time we had a look at the Galaxy Note 10.1 is ever-so-slight in it’s flip from Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and the Premium Suite that comes with it. Because Samsung places its own TouchWiz UX user interface for tablets over the top, you’ll not have noticed the change unless you knew what you were looking for. That said, one of the biggest bumps is in the addition of Google Now.

Hands-on with the Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1

If you place your finger on the Home button and pull up, a Google logo will appear and you’ll be taken to Google Now. This is the interface that all Jelly Bean devices are allowed access to now on Android devices, complete with information for you based on your interests, GPS location, and the environment around you – for weather, that is. Have a peek at our original Google Now hands-on from back when it was launched for a general idea of what it’s all about!

You’ll also be able to work with multi-tasking features such as the pop-up collection of apps at the bottom of your display that appear when you tap the center of your menu bar. Each of these apps is able to open up as a pop-up window or as a section of your display. At the moment this software is generally fun to see work, but doesn’t work at a level where we’d call it mind-blowingly perfect. You’ll be using this multi-window feature for entertainment more than anything.

Benchmarks

Have a peek at a set of benchmarks run in the gallery here and let us know what you think. On the whole, they’re pretty much the same as they were when we had a look at the wifi version of this machine – this makes sense as, other than some of the software and the change over to the new set of radios, you’ve got essentially the same device, processor and everything. It’s basically the same machine when it comes down to it.

Also included there is a set of speed-tests so you can see how fast we’re rolling out here in Saint Paul, Minnesota. You’ll have to judge speeds for yourself wherever you’re situated in the USA for your own perfect score.

Camera

You’ve also got the same camera as we had a peek at before, so the quality there hasn’t changed a bit. This is an OK camera – not fantastic, but certainly better than the first generation of Android tablets and their terrible, terrible attempt at photo action. With this 5 megapixel camera on the back of the device you’ll be hot to trot – there’s a flash back there too if you need.

Wrap-up

With the Galaxy Note 10.1 you’ve got another excellent entry into the Samsung hero line of Note devices. This remains the largest Note-branded smart device on the market, and is now part of the 4G LTE family as well. Samsung continues to be the biggest opponent for the iPad on the market and – if they were both running the same software and we had to decide between the two – we’d have a relatively tough decision on our hands.

But because they aren’t, and because we’re truly lovers of a unique experience, it’s easy to recommend this tablet as one of the most versatile smart devices on the market today. With the S-Pen, fun and entertaining connectivity with the rest of the Samsung Galaxy devices for media and communication, and one of the newest versions of Google’s mobile OS onboard, the Galaxy Note 10.1 is certainly the hottest Android tablet carried by Verizon today. Have a peek and start penning away!

We first spotted the Verizon tablet at CES back in January and even got our hands on the thing. While it’s mostly no different than other carrier versions that have been out and about, Verizon’s 4G LTE will certainly be a huge selling point for this slate, and the gorgeous 10-inch display will allow to stream content at glorious speeds.

If you haven’t been keeping up with the new tablet, the Galaxy Note 10.1 comes with a quad-core Exynos processor clocked at 1.4GHz with 2GB RAM, and a 7,000mAh battery to power the tablet. The slate runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean with Samsung’s Multi-view multi window mode, which allows for complete resizing and dragging of windows, similar to a desktop.

Of course, we reviewed the tablet back in August, so if you’re thinking about taking the plunge and getting the Galaxy Note 10.1 on Verizon’s network, have a look at our full review to help you decided if it’s your kind of tablet. The only difference is that you’ll be granted Big Red’s LTE, as well as the big Verizon logo on the back.

The tablet runs Android Jelly Bean 4.1, and boasts a 1.4GHz quad-core proccesor and 16GB of internal storage. Around back, users will find a 5-megapixel camera, while there’s a smaller 1.9-megapixel sensor on the front for video chats. The tablet is sold with an S-pen, and is loaded with Google Mobile Services and the newly released Photoshop Touch.

Three different data plans are available, one of which the customer must subscribe to to get the tablet. The cheapest plan is priced at $25 per month for 2GB of data. The next plan up is a slightly better deal at 5GB for $50 per month, while the last plan is the best deal at 10GB for $90 per month, saving a total of $10. The first plan also offers 100 reward points monthly, while the second offers 250 and the third offers 500.

The tablet is priced at $499.99 USD, a hefty price tag for something that you can nab cheaper elsewhere. Without the $300 discount that is applied, the price jumps to $799.99. New customers will have to sign up for a 2-year contract when purchasing the tablet. If you’re keen on grabbing an LTE Galaxy Note 10.1, this is your chance, but it doesn’t come without a substantial price tag.

[via Engadget]

According to the retailer, Samsung’s intention is to replace the single keyboard dock – which has an integrated nook into which the Galaxy Tab slots – with an accessory double-act. A tablet stand, complete with dock connector for recharging the tablet, would form one half of that combo, while a Bluetooth keyboard – still yet to be fully detailed – would be used for text entry.

The audience for keyboards to go with tablets is arguably small, though various Kickstarter projects and third-party manufacturers have waded in to design the “perfect” accompaniment to a tablet (usually Apple’s iPad). Only last week, Logitech and Belkin each outed an $80 add-on ‘board for the iPad mini, for instance.

One argument for separate peripherals might be that it introduces ergonomic flexibility. By splitting the dock and the keyboard, it allows users to move the tablet further away and perhaps raise it closer to the eye-line.

Still, as Clove counters, two accessories make for less convenient mobile computing, though it’s worth noting that Samsung’s original keyboard dock lacked the snap-cover convenience of iPad counterparts from companies like Logitech. No pricing information for the new Samsung Bluetooth keyboard has been revealed, though Clove warns that the separate dock and ‘board combo will be “a higher cost” than the old-style add-on.

This advertisement has been clearly outlined by Samsung Mobile as NOT being set to cover any new products, you may be interested to know. Samsung says in their official press release, and I quote, “[The advertisement] features the Galaxy family of products including the Galaxy Note™ II, Galaxy S® III and Galaxy Note™ 10.1.” It’s been worded in a way that could mean that there’s another ad coming later on for a new product, but makes it clear that the video you’re seeing today as well as the one you’ll be seeing later this week will show the three hero products Samsung has on the market already.

The extended 2-minute ad will be coming later this week and called “The Big Pinch.” The tenor of this advertisement line has been relatively constant as far as sarcasm goes, this ever since the first “The Next Big Thing” spots came out with the Samsung Galaxy S III and ongoing Galaxy Note lineup. While the first advertisements to take off in this series were the iPhone 5-related ads with Apple customers waiting in line for the release of said phone, the tag “The Next Big Thing is Already Here” continues through 2013.

Have a peek at the advertisement above and let us know if it’s enticing enough for you to take a guess at what Samsung has lined up for the rest of 2013. We’ll be heading to Mobile World Congress 2013 around the 23rd of February with much mobile excellence in mind – so stay tuned!

This upgrade will be hitting the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1 and 7.0), the wi-fi versions of each, with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean’s core experience as well as an overall faster bit of performance across the board. This experience is enhanced in the Galaxy Tab and Galaxy Note lines uniquely with an upgraded bit of Multi Window functionality, including Cascade Vies, Air View, and Quick Command. While the Galaxy Note 10.1 worked with Multi View from the start, these three new views update this universe once more.

NOTE: a total of 14 apps are currently supported officially by Samsung for Multi Window use, these including their own Alarm, Calculator, Contacts, Email, Gallery, Internet browser, S Planner, Video Player, World Clock, Task Manager, S Note, My Files, Music Player, and Polaris Office.

With Cascade View you’ll be able to see a second application open and able to be freely resized, moved, and pinned. Air View brings on your ability to preview content without having to open it, and Quick Command allow you to open or otherwise activate apps and services with customized S Pen strokes. The S Pen itself has also been upgraded with the ability to select writing or color modes or launch a unique home-screen when you remove the unit from its dock – not unlike the Galaxy Note II.

The Galaxy Note 10.1 has a set of enhanced “Personalization” features in this upgrade starting with Easy Clip – circle a bit of content and it’ll be snapped and captured for you in your image gallery for later use. Photo Note allows you to write notes on the “backs” of your photos for later reference. You’ll get enhanced handwriting abilities like the ability to knock out personalized handwritten notes via email as well as a newly template-carrying S Note with the ability to insert video.

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean brings on several features you’ll be familiar with if you’re already also working with a Samsung Galaxy Note II. One of these is a gigantically impressive version of the Samsung Gallery for your images, including Grid View, Timeline View, and Spiral View. Also coming in for the Galaxy Note 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 2 (both sizes) are a couple of Samsung Galaxy S III features: S Voice (for voice commands) and Smart Alert: a collection of notes about missed calls (where applicable) and messages with vibrations to boot.

This update will be appearing on your device wirelessly (and automatically) starting this week. You’ll find the update appearing in your notifications drawer as you’d see any email, note, or update as normal. Let us know how you like it!

This next Galaxy Note’s suggested specifications are right in-line with what we’d expect from a mid-sized Galaxy Note update to the Galaxy Tab collection. First you’ll find a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution Super Clear LCD display up front with a 1.3 megapixel camera facing forward and a 5 megapixel camera on the back. Inside there’ll be 2 GB of ram working with a yet-unknown SoC, but given the trend here in the Spring of 2013, it could either be a quad-core Exynos 4 not unlike the Galaxy Note 10.1 or one of those fancy new Exynos 5 Octa processors that are being suggested for the Samsung Galaxy S IV.

The GT-N5100 machine is being tipped this week by a source speaking with SamMobile as being the 3G version of this machine while code GT-N5110 will be tacked up for wi-fi only. This machine’s basic size will be 211.3 x 136.3 x 7.95 mm and it’ll be weighing in at 330 grams, while the shape of the hardware is yet unknown. It’s likely that Samsung’s “Nature” theme will continue with smooth corners and leaf-like aesthetics all around, with the same or a slightly updated S-Pen ready to roll with this tablet as it’s revealed this early Q1 season.

Two different sizes are being tipped as being revealed with the initial announcement, 16GB and 32GB (internal storage), while every model will have a giant 4,600 mAh battery. Inside you’ll find A-GPS, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, USB 2.0 (through its proprietary plug OR microUSB, we shall see), and Bluetooth 4.0. We’ll see what we can see at Mobile World Congress through our fabulous MWC 2013 portal soon and very soon!

[via Android Authority]

In any case, Samsung is making the update available over-the-air and through Kies. With the Kies software, you’ll need to connect your tablet to your computer, but for Wi-Fi models, you’ll also be able to snag the OTA update by going into Settings, selecting “About Device,” and then selecting “Software Update.” If the update is available, the download should begin automatically, leaving you to sit back and wait with anxious anticipation for Jelly Bean to arrive.

Samsung has been doing a pretty good job of pushing Jelly Bean updates out to its major devices. The Verizon Galaxy S III received the latest version of Google’s Android OS back in December, and even the relatively new Galaxy Camera received the Jelly Bean treatment. Now it’s time for Samsung’s tablets to get some Jelly Bean love, which we’re sure is something that will make many users happy.

Keep in mind that the update may not pop up right away, so if you’re not seeing it right now, sit tight. It could be that Samsung is sending out OTA updates in waves, so some users might get it before others. If you’re stuck waiting for the OTA update to appear, you could always connect your Note 10.1 to Kies and see if that proves to be a faster process. Are any of you Galaxy Note 10.1 owners rocking Jelly Bean this afternoon?

First off, The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 4G LTE on Verizon is nearly the exact same as the original model readily available, only it has a few noteworthy additions we mention in our hands-on video below. For one, the tablet is already updated to the latest Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean with Samsung’s Multi-view multi window mode, as well as allowing complete resizing and dragging.

The original Note 10.1 is still currently on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and doesn’t feature the multi-view modes that will be available at launch with Verizon. In case you aren’t familiar, this allows you to browse the web while viewing an email. Or watch YouTube while replying to that pesky boss all with ease using the full 10.1-inch screen and Android multitasking. Check it out below.

Now for the details, since you should all know plenty from our Galaxy Note 10.1 Review. Verizon’s 4G LTE packing edition rocks Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, has multi-view window modes, as well as all new photo editing tools. Verizon hasn’t confirmed much at this point, but Samsung states it will be available later this month. No details on pricing at this point but we’ve reached out to Verizon and will update accordingly.

“Through this action, LG Display seeks to completely stop the sale, manufacture, and importation of [the] infringing Samsung product” the company said in a statement on the injunction, which was filed in Korea on Wednesday this week. If Samsung continues to sell the Note 10.1, LG Display says it will seek damages in the region of 1 billion won ($934,000) per day of “continued non-compliance.”

LG Display’s patents at the heart of the argument center on technology used to improve screen visibility at broad viewing angles. Samsung has paired an LCD panel with a Wacom digitizer, allowing the Note 10.1′s digital pen to be used for accurate sketching, handwriting, and other uses.

Unsurprisingly, Samsung is defiant in the face of LG Display’s allegations. The suggestions of patent infringement are “unjustified claims” the division’s vice president, Shim Jaeboo, said in a statement, promising that Samsung would respond to the suit.

Earlier this month, Samsung filed a suit against LG Display in which it was claimed that its rival infringed seven LCD patents.

The Galaxy Note tablet includes the S-Pen and has a 10.1-inch display. The tablet is available on three different plans with varying subsidies. The tablet with 8 GB of monthly data allotment is available for £99.99 on contract for 24 months at £35.99 monthly. If you opt for the tablet with the 5 GB monthly plan, you will pay £199.99 and £30.99 monthly.

The 3 GB monthly data allotment plan will cost £25.99 monthly with £249.99 upfront for the tablet. All of those plans include Wi-Fi hotspot access. The Nexus 7 bundle for 8 GB of data will cost £29.99 upfront and £35.99 per month. The tablet bundle with 5 GB of data will cost the same £29.99 upfront with monthly access costing £30.99.

The final plan will give you 3 GB of data with the tablet bundled costing £49.99 upfront and £25.99 monthly for the service. All of those plans for the Nexus 7 tablet are on 24-month contracts and include Wi-Fi hotspot access. Currently the EE 4G service that these tablets operate on is available in 18 towns and cities with more coming by the end of the year. EE expects to cover 17 additional UK towns and cities by March of 2013.

Multi-Window, as we’ve already seen on the Galaxy Note II, splits the display into two panes, allowing two apps to be accessed simultaneously, and Samsung says it has been improved in this newest firmware version. It’s particularly useful on a larger tablet when used for researching, where one pane can show a browser or ebook textbook, and the other a digital notebook of some sort.

Samsung is hoping that users’ digital notebook of choice is its own preloaded S-Note app, and the new update brings with it enhanced S Pen functionality including the Easy Clip feature also debuted on the Note II. There’s also Air View, giving a preview of photo and video galleries, message content, calendar entries, and other data when the nib of the pen is hovered over them, and Quick Command which triggers new emails, searches, and other features with an upward swipe of the stylus.

As for simultaneous voice and data, that addresses one of the common complaints about LTE devices. VoLTE is an enhancement to traditional LTE, which would normally drop a data connection when a voice call was being made; that’s usually acceptable on a smartphone, but less so on a tablet where a hands-free kit is more likely to be used, and access to the internet more commonly required in-call. It does require carrier support, however.

Samsung hasn’t confirmed an exact roll-out schedule, and nor has it said when international Note 10.1 users might expect to see Jelly Bean as well.

It’s not said why the Royal Commonwealth Society charity chose the Galaxy Note 10.1 over Apple’s iPad, considering the latter is a defining product in the tablet era, but in any case, the Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet will house videos, photographs, and text submitted by participants who have recounted memories from Queen Elizabeth II’s reign during the past 60 years.

In total, 150GB of data was collected, which is obviously a lot more than what the Galaxy Note 10.1′s max storage space of 64GB can hold. Because of that, the project has been limited to 60 selected entries that were picked by a panel of judges, including the director general of The Royal Photographic Society as well as the Royal Librarian.

More than 37,000 people from 66 countries took part in the project, including Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, and even Prince Harry. The most popular submission was the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, which was submitted by more than 200 people. The tablet will be stored at Windsor Castle as part of the Royal Collection, and will be used by Queen Elizabeth II as a fun way to look back on her 60 years of reign.

[via BBC]

The Galaxy Note 2 features a giant 5.5-inch display with a resolution of 1280 x 720. Inside you’ll find a 1.6GHz quad-core Exynos processor and 2GB of RAM. Depending on which version you get, you’ll have either 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB of storage space. Around back there’s an 8-megapixel camera with auto focus, while the front houses a 1.9-megapixel unit for video chats. It runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

The Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, meanwhile, is a tablet with a 1GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM. Depending on which version you grab, you’ll get either 16GB or 32GB of internal storage space. The unit has an accelerometer, as well as a rear 3-megapixel camera and a VGA front camera for video chats. The unit runs Android Ice Cream Sandwich.

If you’re an AT&T customer and want to snag the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 phablet, you’ll need to shell out $299 with a two-year contract. The Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 is a bit pricier at $399, also with a two-year contract. Overall, the price is pretty good considering the quality of the hardware you’ll be getting.

[via Android Community]

The Galaxy Note II event in New York City introduced a project Futura and Samsung would present together immediately following the main keynote that headed off the night. The night ended with a Kanye West concert, but not before Futura’s crowd-sourced digital mural was crafted live as the Samsung press and special guests filtered in to the venue. Made of a vast collection of guest-created images collected from Galaxy Note II devices throughout the night, the artist made one wild amalgamation to shine on its many contributors.

Above: Futura sits amongst the fray at the Galaxy Note II event in NYC. Below: DJ Hudson Mowhawke delivers tunes at the Galaxy Note II event near a giant display showing off the finer points of the Galaxy Note series.

In the hands-on period between the keynote and the concert, Futura sat at attention yet very obviously relaxed in the center of what was essentially a mad rush for touches on the newly available devices. A darkened club atmosphere, bright lights and colorful devices, and the artist in the center of it all, wearing dark pants, sneakers, and a white t-shirt with a leopard print pocket. His demeanor was that of a wise worldly fellow mixed with the seemingly unending hunger for staying on-point with not just his own artwork, but the most interesting and fabulous tools with which to do it.

That’s where Samsung comes in.

Above: Samsung’s Galaxy Note II keynote shows the collection of creative partners they’ve got ready to speak on the features of the Note series at the event.

Futura: They’ve asked me to speak on the creative possibilities on the tablet – specifically with the S-Note function and a lot of the different stuff you can do with the device. Kind of like a paint program, but it’s quite intense. I just got my device recently and within a few days of just messing with it, without even a formal walk-through, I felt like the device was intuitive enough to figure out, and I was able to do some really cool stuff.

Also the pen, itself, is amazing. I’ve worked with tablets before, whether its… you know, other names I don’t need to mention. Those always married up like a mouse. You do what you do with it… *clicking, mouse-movement gesture* within the tablet.

This is quite different.

The intensity, the sensitivity – I was messing around with something and it looked just like I spray painted it!

SlashGear: Have you gotten to use the Note II extensively yet?

F: Ah here, actually, I’ve got it in my back pocket. We’re gonna get plug in on it pretty soon and they’re gonna project my screen on to the monitor there and just go at it.

SG: I [Chris Burns] just got it too and reviewed it for SlashGear – it’s really nice, feels really good. [see our full review of the T-Mobile Galaxy Note II right now if you do so please]

F: Yeah it’s fun – it does feel good, and sexy, yeah.

SG: Your career path has been many different places – it’s always been interesting to see you delving into working with brands. Lots of different brands – designing a bike here, or this or that there – do you see yourself continuing to do that now?

With Samsung specifically, how do you see that affecting your art career?

F: The one thing about Samsung I’m kind of excited about – obviously – is – yeah there’s a list of companies that I’ve collaborated with, put my name on their product, bla bla bla – but I’ve never been [with] a tech company. And one of the biggest tech nerds out there – ever since my advantage, I guess, of going to Asia, for the rest of the whole swarm, I was always into gadgets and stuff like that.

I spent tons of money on all the kinds of stuff. Probably had every phone, PDA, you know, that’s probably been out there – if it’s cool, I may have got my hands on it, you know, as a consumer. So finally, [I get] to work with a brand that’s got a product that I can really use.

At this point Futura hails a server that’s been circling, asking quite politely if he can have two of the spring rolls she’s been serving to the crowd. In such a laid-back environment that this man creates, we can’t resist grabbing a roll as well.

F: There we go! Thank you so much, I’m going to dip this one, *dips from the sauce presented thusly*, thank you!

So all the collaborations. You know, the bike collabo, that makes sense, I guess, you know, Nike. CK1, that was like 6 years ago – maybe not so much. But you know, Samsung though, yeah, this is awesome.

And what I was saying is – you can do some stuff on this device that you can export out. I mean, you know, what, I got an idea for a painting, or a design sketch thing. It’s like other devices can’t just do that. This could be a very interesting addition.

Above: DJ Craze – another of Samsung’s special guests – lays down a few fine musical constructs for party attendees.

SG: If you have a brand, and Samsung, they have a brand – do you feel like this is a cross brand? Your name, Futura, do you feel like that’s a brand?

F: Yes. I do. I have a – I mean I subsequently closed my shop in Japan. You know, I had a shop in Japan where I was making stuff and putting my name on it. And thus those products are from, you know, my brand. But now, no, I’m actually kind of no longer doing that. However –

Skye, grab these foodie people! *Futura once again hails a server via his partner*

Above: The crowd gets thick at the event right before the Kanye session is about to begin.

F: But yes I understand that the Futura signature was once a graffiti tag on the walls of New York subways is now a brand. And I’m cool with that actually. I mean I’m not – I’m choosing these collaborations based on, obviously, what it is, not what the pay day is.

And to some degree, it’s not like – and as I say now, I had to close my store. It’s not like my motive is to manufacture things, put my name on them, you know – I want to pursue my art career. And I recently had a show in New York about a month ago.

I’m trying to get out of that lifestyle, get back into painting.

Above: Futura poses in front of one of his works of art at his recent show: Future-Shock at Valmorbida in New York. Image via 12ozProphet.

Stick around SlashGear for our continued interview series with the top minds in many industries and of many different disciplines, each of them making use of the technology that makes our modern world great. With an artist like Futura creating greatness with a device like the Galaxy Note II as a tool, the tool’s potential shines like a beacon for all to see – and want. Expect tech companies to continue with this trend in the near future – and keep an eye on Futura as he moves into tomorrow right on the cuff with creative intent.

According to the report, the commercial will focus on a group of people lining up outside an Apple store, waiting to buy the latest iDevice. Presumably, the commercial will suggest that these consumers are waiting for the iPhone 5, but the ad clearly features the iPad (or at least a tablet resembling the iPad), so it may be a commercial for the Galaxy Note 10.1. In any case, as these people are waiting in line, satisfied Samsung owners will stroll by, showing off their devices to the impatient masses.

Hearing that, it seems that there’s a pretty good chance such a commercial is currently in production – Samsung has gone this route in the past, and this commercial just seems to be the latest in a line of ads geared toward pulling people away from Apple and getting Samsung devices in their hands. The Verge has a series of images from the set of the shoot, showing cardboard cutouts of fake Apple genius, and displays that make the inside of the store look like a true-to-form floor of an Apple store.

We’re not sure when this ad will hit the airwaves, but if it’s targeting the iPhone 5, you can bet that Samsung will want to have this ad running as close to the iPhone 5′s launch as it can. Apple is widely expected to reveal the iPhone 5 tomorrow, and you can catch all of the details straight from the event by tuning into our liveblog at live.slashgear.com. What do you think about Samsung’s latest anti-Apple ad?

I’ve certainly seen some of my compatriots and associates attempt to use a tablet to do work – lots of different kinds of work – and it just does not add up. When I reviewed the ASUS Transformer Prime, it was the first device that struck me as a “tablet first, notebook second” type of device that could make the cross-over a possibility in the real world. As it turns out, the price of the combination of the tablet and the keyboard dock racked up to be not that far from a used MacBook Air – or any number of notebook devices that could do at least as much in the work department, not to mention the entertainment department.

As it stands, it appears that mobile operating systems like Android and iOS, when sized 7-inches or larger, are at a point where their price does not make a good enough case for the consumer to choose them over a notebook if they want to do work. The market does not reflect this, of course, as the companies that make notebooks and tablets have come to understand – in quite a few cases, not all – that sensible choices in the computer consumption universe aren’t always the ones that are made. Instead we’re seeing tablets appearing more exciting than notebooks, notebooks being less newsworthy while tablets take the headlines – almost without fail.

If I had to make a cutoff where the tablet size starts and the smartphone (or in some cases “phablet”) size stops, it’d be a 7-inch display. Samsung made this distinction when they released the original Galaxy Tab, and it stuck. The word tablet should only apply to devices with 7-inch displays or larger with no physical keyboard and a touch-sensitive screen.

The difference between being able to do work on a smartphone and being able to do work on a tablet is the size of our hands. When we type on a smartphone – for the most part – we do it with our thumbs, and some people can do it really, really fast. Typing on a tablet is not so natural. We’ve not had keyboards as small as a smartphone up until very recently in our collective human past. The physical keyboard made for our hands – a standard-sized keyboard that is – has been around for many generations.

When it’s natural to type on an absolutely flat surface without physical feedback – see any number of science fiction films in the past 10 years – then it’ll be time to go to work on the tablet. Until then, the tablet is something you should buy only if you expect to use it to play games and watch videos.

There’s a set of three pouches made of either leather or faux-leather that you can slide the Galaxy Note II into while it sits in your bag or pocket. There’s a collection of protective cases prepped for the device with a bumper around the edges to protect against drops, the back appearing to have a relatively thick plastic in the same set of colors currently revealed for the Note II – and there’s a lovely soft pink for you cuties out there. These cases protect the sides and the back of the device and include an S-Pen slot.

The Galaxy S III Flip Cover is back, this time large enough for the Samsung Galaxy Note II. These Flip Covers come in a wild variety of colors like blue, green, electric yellow, pink, another pink, mustard yellow, red, black and white – if you want to keep with the basic model color, of course. These flip covers replace the back of the device (the battery cover) and have a cover that swings around the front for front-facing protection. Amongst the Galaxy Note 10.1 cases shown at IFA 2012 are a set of vehicle docks for the Galaxy Note II as well – they’re stuck right up over there to the right.

A set of alternate S-Pen devices appear here not quite a size that’s made for docking, just a bit larger for larger-handed users. A set of battery chargers is here too, all of them ready for launch later this year. At the moment there’s no pricing or release information attached, but you can bet they’ll all be hitting the market right around the same time as the actual device.

Thus far Apple has won over $1 billion USD in damages from Samsung in the USA case which has had a verdict read just days after the month-long trial took place. The results of the trial are currently set for appeal per Samsung’s request, and no cash has been exchanged thus far. The newest additions to the list of Samsung products in the trial include several of Samsung’s newest hero products. The full list of devices Apple has suggested should be included in the list of devices that have infringed upon their patent rights is as follows:

“the Galaxy S III, Galaxy S III – Verizon, Galaxy Note, Galaxy S II Skyrocket, Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch, Galaxy S II, Galaxy S II – T-Mobile, Galaxy S II – AT&T, Galaxy Nexus, Illusion,Captivate Glide, Exhibit II 4G, Stratosphere, Transform Ultra, Admire, Conquer 4G, and Dart smartphones, the Galaxy Player 4.0 and Galaxy Player 5.0 media players, and the Galaxy Note10.1, Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus and Galaxy Tab 8.9 tablets.”

These devices have been specified as being “imported into, offered for sale, or sold in the United States.” Apple has added that Samsung has “continued to flood the market with copycat products,” since the first filing of the case that’s just been completed – so to speak. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus specifically was a device Apple was able to get a temporary injunction against earlier this year – Samsung was granted a stay pending appeal which has allowed the device to continue to be up for sale throughout the USA today. The complaint in that case had to do specifically with Apple’s ’604 “Unified search” patent.

Check the timeline below for more key points in this trial since its first verdict reading. Also stay tuned as Samsung and Apple continue to kick back and forth until they’re satisfied in the legal realm or one of them gets knocked out of business entirely. In other words, expect yourself to be watching this story for some time to come!

[via Apple Insider]

With the Samsung Galaxy Note II you’ll be working with a 5.5-inch display at 1,280 x 720 pixel resolution – if you’d like to know how this and the rest of the features and abilities compare to the original Galaxy Note, head over to our Galaxy Note war posted earlier today. This device compares to the original Galaxy Note quite readily, while with the Galaxy Note 10.1 on the market we’ve got a device with a much more giant display and similar backbone. The Galaxy Note 10.1 has a display that measures in at 10.1-inchs with 1280 x 800 pixel resolution. The Galaxy Note II uses HD Super AMOLED technology while the Galaxy Note 10.1 uses TFT LCD.

Both devices are able to take microSD cards, but the Galaxy Note 10.1 is not equipped, as the II is, to take 64GB cards. The Galaxy Note 10.1 has a 5 megapixel camera on the back and a 1.9 megapixel camera on the front, this matching the Galaxy Note II on the front while the smaller device has a much more powerful 8 megapixel camera on the back. You’ll certainly want the Note II if you want to take high quality photos, that’s for certain. Both devices also us S-Pen technology and have a Samsung S-Pen embedded within them for easy carrying.

The Galaxy Note II is the smaller of the two devices at 5.95 x 3.16 x 0.37 inches while the Galaxy Note 10.1 rings in at 7.1 x 10.3 x 0.35 inches – quite a bit larger, but actually just a bit thinner. Both devices use Bluetooth 4.0 and are able to connect with Wi-fi, but the Galaxy Note II will also be able to connect to mobile data as well – carriers to be announced soon. The Galaxy Note 10.1 may also be able to connect to mobile data in the future, but at the moment it’s just a wi-fi machine. Android 4.1 Jelly Bean will be appearing on the Galaxy Note II while the Galaxy Note 10.1 currently has Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with Jelly Bean on the way “very soon.”

Have a peek at our hands-on with the Galaxy Note II from IFA 2012 to get a bit more information on this next-generation device and see our Galaxy Note 10.1 review to get a full in-depth look at the tablet device already on the market.

While the first Galaxy Note still also works with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich at this very moment, it would appear – though Samsung hasn’t confirmed – that Jelly Bean will be arriving there soon as well. Unless of course there’s some unforeseen set of circumstances, of course. Generally an update to the international versions of these devices comes first while the carrier-specific devices get a software update of this magnitude several weeks later.

Samsung Galaxy Note II video demo:

In other words, you can expect an update to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean on your Samsung Galaxy S III and Note 10.1 – that brand new tablet we just saw for the first time less than a month ago – to come before the end of the year. This software update will bring expansions to Google’s search capabilities as well as some next-level Samsung-added perks as well. For a preview of what’s to come, it’s a good bet that you’re glance at our hands-on with the Galaxy Note II from earlier today will do you some good – have a peek at a hands-on video here as well.

Also check out the rest of our IFA 2012 coverage as well as our timeline below of Jelly Bean updates and features – get to know Google’s latest and greatest mobile offering!

This verdict comes on the same day that Tim Cook wraps up his first year as Apple CEO, and elsewhere in the world, a similar lawsuit between Apple and Samsung ended with both companies facing bans in South Korea. Ouch. After a bit of a shake up at the OnLive headquarters, things seem to have calmed down a bit, and Steve Perlman will be staying on as OnLive CEO. LG has teased an incoming smartphone with an S4 quad-core processor, and Google’s legendary I’m Feeling Lucky button has been given a pretty major update. It isn’t the same I’m Feeling Lucky button it once was, of course, but we think it’ll begin to grow on you after awhile.

The presidential campaigns will soon begin receiving donations through text messages, and the Nikon D600 full-frame DSLR camera may be getting a release in September. Speaking of cameras, beleaguered Kodak has come up with a new way to raise some quick cash after patent auctions left something to be desired. The much-rumored iPad Mini has apparently popped up in some photos for a pre-fab case, and it seems that Samsung has a new smartphone called the Galaxy Stellar coming to Verizon, which is all well and good, but Samsung actually has yet to announce the phone or release a list of specs.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 has beaten the iPad when it comes to profit margins, and for the third time this week, Rockstar has released a new batch of Grand Theft Auto V screenshots. Astronomers have discovered a pair of new spiral galaxies that have a lot in common with our own, and it would appear that Amazon has leaked its tablet plans through a new advertisement. Wrapping up the news tonight, Facebook is having its developers use the Facebook app for Android in order to get them motivated to fix it, or at least that’s what the rumors say.

As is usually the case here at SlashGear, we didn’t just have news for you today, as Chris Burns provides a review of SuperTooth DISCO 2 for you to check out. Have a good weekend everyone!

There’s plenty of room to breathe though, with the HSPA+ version of the Galaxy Note 10.1 sporting a bill of materials (BOM) that comes in at $283. The cost of manufacturing adds another $10 to that bill, bringing the total to $293. Samsung sells the HSPA+ Galaxy Note 10.1 for around $640, meaning that before marketing and all of those other expenses are tallied up, Samsung is making $347 on each tablet sold. Naturally, other expenses will bring that figure down – possibly significantly – but as we said above, Samsung has plenty of room to breathe with the HSPA+ version of the Galaxy Note 10.1.

Samsung’s other Galaxy Note 10.1, the Wi-Fi version, has a BOM of around $260, while Samsung is offering it at $499. By comparison, the BOM of the third-gen Wi-Fi iPad comes in at $316, with Apple selling the 16GB variety for the same price. This means that the Galaxy Note 10.1 beats out a similarly-specced iPad, but again, other non-hardware and manufacturing costs are likely to drive that margin down a bit. IHS says that Samsung can net these high profit margins because it uses a lot of the same components in the Galaxy Note 10.1 as it does in its other devices, so it can save on the purchase price of that hardware by buying large quantities at once.

This is pretty good news for Samsung, but IHS director of tablet and monitor research Rhoda Alexander says that Samsung may not be able to keep these profit margins up, pointing out that non-Apple tablet makers generally have a difficult time moving units at $499. Samsung may be forced to drop the price on the Galaxy Note 10.1 before long, and if it does, those profit margins will go bye-bye pretty quickly. Still, Samsung seems to have a tablet that’s catching consumer attention in the Galaxy Note 10.1, so it may not have to implement a price cut in order to get the tablet selling well. We shall see, but for now, these results from IHS provide some interesting statistics on the Galaxy Note 10.1′s manufacturing costs.

The event took place on the 15th of August and revealed the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, a device that takes Samsung’s 10.1-inch tablet form factor and adds the capabilities of the S-Pen from the original Galaxy Note. We also had the opportunity to present you with a full review of the Galaxy Note 10.1 in the meantime.

In the photos above and below from both KnottyCelebs and Zimbio, you’ll see Shayk posing in front of some Samsung signs holding nothing at all, and Upton posing with the Galaxy Note 10.1. The Note that Upton carries shows that she’s used the S-Pen to sign a photo taken with what we assume must have been the device’s camera.

The Galaxy Note 10.1 also shows off the new Photoshop Touch software featured with this tablet release, and the device does appear to be in full working order – as it should be! Have a peek at our Galaxy Note 10.1 timeline below to see more hands-on action and be sure to make with the tapping on our Galaxy Note 10.1 tag link as well – a fabulous device to be sure!

The Samsung Galaxy S II Plus showed its face again today, complete with a 1.5GHz dual-core Exynos processor, and we were even given a glimpse at the Nikon Coolpix S800c Android-based camera. Samsung announced the GALAXY S DUOS, which features dual-SIM functionality but seems to be a tad underpowered with the Galaxy S III on the scene. We received yet another picture of the next iPhone’s reported new dock connector, and we got a better idea of what OnLive will look like moving forward. Unfortunately, it looks like HTC will be losing quite a bit of money now that OnLive has been bought out, which isn’t good news for the already-struggling company.

The Nintendo 3DS XL has finally arrived in North America, and a number of Motorola DROID RAZR HD tutorial videos were spotted before quickly being taken down. Hulu’s CEO might be exiting the company sometime next month, the Galaxy Note 10.1 has been given a pretty excellent score by the folks at iFixit, and pieces of Amelia Earhart’s plane may have been discovered off the coast of an island in the Pacific. Netflix has very quickly added 1 million subscribers in the UK and Ireland, while Barnes and Noble said it will be launching new devices in the UK this fall. Grand Theft Auto V got a round of new screenshots today, though they didn’t show much, and Sony announced that the PS Vita has passed 2.2 million sales worldwide since launch.

NASA announced the next Discovery mission today: InSight, which will be headed to Mars in 2016, while the Hubble Telescope gave us a picture of two star clusters that are on a collision course with one another. A new Android threat called SMSZombie has hit 500,000 phones in China, and it’s particularly hard to get rid of, while today the Curiosity rover laser-blasted its first Martian rock. Star Wars here we come.

Finally tonight, we have a couple of original articles for you to check out, like this review of the Motorola PHOTON Q 4G LTE and this column explaining why you might take a pass on the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, which is supposedly getting a reveal at IFA 2012. Enjoy the rest of your evening, folks!

Of course who can say such a thing when Samsung has been making a killing over the past couple of years in creating Android devices in a variety of sizes. They started really hitting it when the began manufacturing the Galaxy Tab lineup, starting with the classic original Galaxy Note and moving up to the 10.1-inch tablet and back down to the 8.9. They’ve also hit 7.7, 7.0 several times, and have certainly moved through every inch between 3.5 and 4.7 as well.

NOTE: The image above is a mock up, not the real deal. That said, the designer behind the mock-up is a pro – hats off to him!

Check out our reviews of the Samsung Galaxy Note (T-Mobile) Samsung Galaxy Note (International), and Samsung Galaxy Note (AT&T). And don’t forget our review of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 as well!

The first Galaxy Note has a 5.3-inch display and a chassis that’s not too thick, made to work with HSPA+ radios at its fastest, not quite hitting up the world of LTE (in its first international iteration, anyway). We assumed that this was because LTE components made the device a bit fatter than Samsung would have liked it – though the Galaxy Nexus proved us wrong with its own slight weight gain – and the LG Optimus U may have been another clue with its future exclusivity. That’s not confirmed, of course, but such a similar form factor is certainly set to cannibalize the market Samsung has all but cornered right this moment.

The Samsung Galaxy S III also presents a bit of a conundrum for you potential future Galaxy Note 2 purchasers – do you want that next-gen device, or do you want this already fabulous smartphone? Have a peek at a hands-on we did with the Galaxy Note (original) and the Galaxy S III vs one another before the Galaxy S III was released earlier this year.

Now with the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, we’re likely going to see everything we had with the original Note, but with a larger display as well as some Galaxy S III flair. We’re hoping to see each of the following bits of fabulousness that came with the Galaxy S III line for one reason: if Samsung is able to continue to bring on Samsung-unique features such as each of these, they’ll have an Apple situation on their hands with people wanting to remain “in the family” – aka brand loyal. Of course when we say “we hope” it’s more of a hope for Samsung if they want to continue to rise in the market ranks.

S Beam Hands-on

AllShare Play / Group Cast Hands-on

Share Shot / Buddy Photo Share Hands-on

If the next Galaxy Note does indeed appear with these features onboard when it comes into the light at IFA 2012, I will congratulate Samsung on a continued job well done. If they are not aboard, I’ll question Samsung’s ability to stay confident in their own software. That’s no joking matter!

Samsung has packed quite a lot of tech inside the Note 10.1, including an Exynos 4 Quad processor clocked at 1.4Ghz. In order to accommodate S-Pen input, the touchscreen makes use of a Wacom W8008 digitizer, with an Atmel mXT1664S used as the touchscreen controller. A Wolfson Audio WM1811AE is used for audio duties, and Samsung has included its own NAND chips for storage.

iFixit notes that it’s easy to get inside the device, with lots of connectors used for components, indicating good repairability. While a fair number of cables have to be removed, the battery can be user replaced, with capacity coming in a 7,000mAh. iFixit also praises the EMI shields used in the Note 10.1, saying that they employ regular screws instead of being firmly attached. Better yet, they double as heatsinks for the components.

Finally, the dock connector can be replaced with relative ease, and iFixit says that the front glass and LCD can be removed and replaced individually. The firm gives the Note 10.1 an 8/10 for repairability as a result, a stark contrast to the 2/10 they awarded for the third-generation iPad. Apple’s tablet scored lower due to the difficulty in accessing components, with the battery also glued to the chassis to prevent removal.

[via 9to5Google]

That said, the device is not whipped up out of thin air. Chances are that Samsung will indeed be making a device that’s not far from the styling you’re seeing above and below. With Samsung bringing on a collection of like-minded devices in the Samsung Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Note 10.1 (see our full review here), there’s almost no way on earth that a new Galaxy Note 2 wouldn’t have a lovely silver border and white as one color option.

What you’re seeing here is a Samsung Galaxy Note 2, a device which takes on the fabulousness of the first Note device revealed one year ago at the same event we’ll be attending this year in Germany. IFA 2012 will be host to a device, we expect, called the Galaxy Note 2 with a 5.5-inch display, S-Pen technology, and connections to the rest of the new Samsung Galaxy lineup.

The only difference between this and the real final device we expect might be integrated is a front-facing speaker or two like we saw on the Galaxy Player 4.2 – a nice media player in its own right. Samsung! Bring on the forward-facing fury and let the differentiation continue!

Samsung has been busy innovating on the tablet front as well as on the smartphone front with their newest set of devices. If you have a peek at our original Samsung Galaxy S III review, you’ll see how you can play a video above the rest of the work you’re doing to the side. With the Galaxy Note, you’re able to do this same thing, but you’re able to do it to the side as well – Multiscreen allows you to watch a video while you chat, for example.

Multiscreen allows several applications to work side-by-side. These applications are limited to your Gallery, Internet (built-in internet for now, only), Polaris Office, S Note, Video Player, and Email (just Email, not Gmail). In the future we expect more applications to work with Samsung to make this dual-screen functionality a reality for their apps as well – here’s hoping Samsung continues to include this ability in future devices as well so it can catch on.

You’ve also got a dock full of Mini Apps made by Samsung specifically for their Galaxy Tab and Note lineup as well. Here you’ll be able to tap in the center of your dock to bring these apps up, each of them able to open on their own as a window above the screen you’re currently working on. You can write a note with S Note from whatever application you’re in, control your music with a mini controller, see your calendar, and more.

Finally there’s the Recent Apps button that many Android devices now have. Samsung has modified this ability slightly in that you’ll be viewing the apps a bit more their style, but it’s basically the same as with any other Ice Cream Sandwich and later build of Android. Have a peek at the hands-on video above and check out our timeline on this device below to keep up with all the hands-on action you can handle!

NOTE: this device is now out on the market – check out our “unveiled for USA” post for more details!

Speaking of Samsung devices, we may have received our first glimpse at the front panel of the Samsung Galaxy Note II today, and a video of the Jelly Bean update for the Samsung Galaxy S III surfaced today as well. Looking at Samsung’s current court battle with Apple for a moment, Samsung delivered the argument many on its side were waiting for, saying that the iPhone’s design is “obvious.” HTC rallied employees today by saying that it’s coming back, Amazon might have a new Kindle Fire in the works, and we were treated to a mock up of what the rumored iPad Mini might look like if it, you know… existed.

Verizon will begin offering an LTE-enabled version of the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 later this week, and a new SwiftKey update brings Google Voice recognition with it. Facebook is in trouble with data protection officials in Germany again, a reported iPad Mini dock connector surfaced today, and we happened upon some specs for the Motorola RAZR HD. Anonymous claimed today that it had hacked the PlayStation Network, but Sony was right there to say that it was all a hoax. Microsoft detailed the problems it’s currently having with the Windows Phone marketplace, and Pinterest revealed new apps for both Android and iOS, and if you’re planning to pick up, be sure to have a look at our review first.

LG announced that it has sold 5 million smartphones worldwide, and Netflix is about to roll out to Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Nokia has reiterated its commitment to Windows Phone, and the Windows 8 RTM software build is now available. Finally tonight, the Waverider hypersonic aircraft has crashed during an Air Force test flight, and the Humble Indie Bundle for Android 3 is now available, so if you’re in need of some games, be sure to check that out!

That does it for the evening wrap-up everyone, so go and enjoy what’s left of Wednesday!

What you’re about to see is some hands-on time with AllShare GroupCast, a system which allows several different kinds of media to be simultaneously displayed and interacted with on multiple devices at once. With the Samsung suite of devices that’s either out right now or will be popping up soon, you’ll have the opportunity to create a slide show that each of your friends can see on their devices instantly.

You’ll be flipping back and forth and making notes with near-perfect sync in no time! You can do this with the new Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, the Galaxy S III, and a large set of Samsung devices that’s not just limited to tablets and smartphones. AllShare is able to connect with your PC, with DLNA-connected devices, and in the future, with non-Samsung mobile devices as well.

Have a peek at AllShare on the Galaxy S III working with another Galaxy S III, AT&T to T-Mobile and back again.

Also dive into our AllShare portal to see a collection of Samsung devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2 and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 that also have AllShare on them right out of the box – it’s time to share!

This device is also going to be available in a 32GB version for $549 SRP, and both versions are going to be available in White or Dark Gray. The Galaxy Note 10.1 is a tablet with many features first revealed on the original Galaxy Note, including a docked S-Pen for on-the-go onscreen writing, mark-ups, and illustration. This device has a 10.1-inch display at 1280 x 800 pixel resolution, runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with Samsung’s own TouchWiz user interface on top, and has a lovely 5 megapixel camera on the back.

The Galaxy Note 10.1 will be available at Best Buy, Amazon, Tiger Direct, HH Gregg, CDW, BrandSmart, Conn’s and Fry’s for the same expected prices starting on the 16th, and several accessories will be made available immediately if not soon as well. You’ll find each of these accessories to either be great as replacements or as add-ons to your Galaxy Note 10.1 experience:

• S Pen
• S Pen Holder KitBook Cover in Grey or White
• Travel Charger
• USB Connection Kit to allow usage of thumb drives or USB peripherals
• HDMI adapter
• Universal Desktop Dock

We’ve had a look at the Universal Desktop Dock, a slip sleeve (not mentioned by Samsung for release quite yet) as well as the Book Cover in white. Each of them have been of rather high-quality build and made to last. Be sure to have a peek at the full review of the device (with accessories included) and check out the timeline below to see more recent Galaxy Note 10.1 news and hands-on action!

Earlier this month Samsung reintroduced their Note 10.1 tablet after a few delays and hardware improvements. We got our first look during Mobile World Congress of the tablet, but Samsung later opted to hold off while they beefed it up with their own Exynos quad-core processor running at 1.4 GHz, 2GB of RAM, and offering it in 16GB-64GB storage options.

We’ve seen countless leaks, and Samsung’s already released a few commercials showing the true business, creativity, and multitasking functions of this tablet — so this is all nothing new. Today however during their live event showing off the new slate, they’ve announced the Galaxy Note 10.1 will be available in 16, 32, and 64GB flavors, as well as have micro-SD support for added storage. All variants will be WiFi, with 4G LTE options coming later this year.

One of the biggest parts of the tablet isn’t the quad-core processor or Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, instead it’s the software pre-installed. Samsung’s added what they are calling live panels for true multi-tasking. You can have multiple windows or apps open and on screen at any given time. Browse emails while watching videos, or jot down notes while reading an email. That along with their exceptional WACOM digitizer and S-Pen stylus for ultimate precision you can draw, take notes, play games and more. Everything we loved about the Galaxy Note [see our review] is here, only bigger, better, and faster.

This device will be available starting tomorrow (the 16th of August) for $499 USD in its 16GB internal storage iteration or $549 for 32GB.

Hardware

This device comes with a 10.1-inch WXGA 1280 x 800 TFT LCD display that’s rather bright and has viewing angles all the way down to the 90 on all sides – it’s quite nice to look at and work with, that’s for certain. You’ve got a Samsung Exynos quad-core processor here clocked at 1.4Ghz, and the benchmarks we’ve run here tell us we’ve very possible got a new king in town. The battle rages on for hardcore mobile processor supremacy in the Android universe.

You’ve got two front-facing speakers that are willing and able to work with “surround sound” – you’ll see what I mean in the hands-on with entertainment video below. It gets so loud that you’ll have a hard time finding a place that you’ll want it to actually be up at the top of the knob – you’ll have to turn it down a bit or it’ll blow your ears off. Also they’re front-facing, just like they always should have been.

Up top you’ve got a power/sleep/lock button, a volume up/down button, and a microSD card slot. You’ve also got an IR-Blaster just like the Galaxy Tab 2 has so you can use your Peel app to change the channel on your television – and get a guide for channel browsing if your cable provider is able to be found by Samsung.

The tablet is relatively light, essentially as thin as it counterparts in the Galaxy Note and the Galaxy S III lineups, and feels really nice to hold. The glass up front sits a bit lower than the silver rim around the entire device, and the uniqueness of the tablet is clear – this is no iPad. We wont be comparing this device to the most popular tablet on the planet right here and now though, check the SlashGear main news feed for more device war action in the near future.

The back and sides are made of some high-quality plastic and there’s a pleasant feel to the whole device. Samsung has put some time into the tactile nature of the device for certain, and here they’ve got a unique device that’s set to carve it’s own path in the tablet universe. As for how well the device does in the standard benchmarks we generally run, it’s a beast and a half. For Antutu we’re seeing 12200+ on average. In CF-Bench we’ve got 24386 for Native, 6906 for Java, and 13898 for overall score. That’s off the charts. Quadrant Standard benchmark has this tablet ringing in at 13041 for CPU, 4469 memory, 5158 I/O, 1000 2D, and 2459 3D.

Software

This device takes Samsung’s idea of a tablet-centric Android with Ice Cream Sandwich and TouchWiz and takes it all to a new level. While a lot of what you’re seeing here will look rather familiar if you’ve used one of the three following devices, you’ll find that here you’ve got an experience that’s wholly unique: Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note, Galaxy Tab 10.1 – the original.

Begin your journey with your connection to the already released Samsung Galaxy S III line with AllShare. Here you’ve got a set of abilities that allow you to connect both with the cloud via SugarSync and via a wi-fi network. With both devices connected to one wi-fi network, you can set up a GroupCast just like you’re able to between two Galaxy S III units, as shown here:

You wont be able to transfer media in exactly the same way you’re able between Galaxy S III units, but there’s always SugarSync. Save all of your photos from all of your Samsung devices to SugarSync for one big gallery of greatness. As far as multi-tasking goes, you’ve got three unique features that will make you a master of doing more than one thing at once. The first two should be familiar, both of them appearing on previously released devices.

You’ve got the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich ability to see recent apps (this was originally introduced, sort of, in Android 3.0 Honeycomb, but it’s much more versatile here). You’ve also got a lovely little dock of “Mini Apps” as provided by Samsung. These apps each have a small set of abilities, each of them able to pop up in a window that hovers above whatever else you’re doing on-screen.

Then there’s a new Muliscreen function – also appearing in the hands-on video above – that works in the following apps: your built-in Internet browser, Polaris Office, Video Player, Email, Gallery, and S-Note. When you’ve got one of these apps open, all you’ve got to do is tap the “Multiscreen” button up near the right-hand corner of the app at hand. From here you’ll be greeted the first time with a set of abilities.

You can select an application (you’ve just done this), you can close an application with the X inside a rectangle, you can switch windows (left to right, right to left), and you can capture, drag, and drop. With this last set of abilities what you’re actually doing is taking a screenshot of a piece of one part of your screen, then pasting it into the other. Simple as that – and so magical!

Other than that you’ve got a rather powerful tablet, to be sure. And what makes it all unique is not just that you’ve got Samsung connections, and not just that you’ve got front-facing speakers (FINALLY), but that you’ve got the built-in S-Pen.

S-Pen

With your S-Pen you’ve got all the abilities of the Samsung Galaxy Note – the original – in a tablet-sized package. This S-Pen device works essentially the same as the first iteration of this Samsung line, but here it’s built just a bit differently. The pen itself is a bit fatter, the same size as a standard Number 2 pencil if what Samsung told us back at MWC 2012 holds true, and the whole note-taking experience feels rather nice.

You’ve got several S-Pen-specific apps on the device right out of the box including S-Note and Photoshop Touch. Of course the apps you’ll see in the hands-on video above also work, somewhat, without the pen tool, but that’d be just silly. With the S-Pen you’ve got a note-taker that never runs out of ink or needs to be sharpened, but just incase, Samsung has included several replacement tips.

Entertainment

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is made not only be be a machine that can collect ideas with your S-Pen and media with your back and front-facing cameras, but an entertainment monster as well. Samsung’s got several applications such as Samsung Music Hub and the Samsung Media Hub – full of movies and TV Shows you can purchase for download on any number of your own Samsung devices.

Also included in the video above you’ll see us take a stab at working with Netflix and the device’s own Movie Player so we can see and hear the difference in video quality between the three of them (including the Media Hub, that is, for three). You’ll also find that Samsung’s connection to several high-powered game developer groups such as Glu and Gameloft will make your gaming experience rather rich. In the video above you’ll see NOVA 2 played briefly and the Samsung Game Hub explored as well.

With a quad-core Samsung Exynos processor like the one this device has, we’re certainly feeling the power and the swiftness in processing it can bring. With such a processor we’re able to watch video without a hiccup, play the most high-powered games without lag, and do generally anything else – including run Photoshop Touch – without needing to worry about going slowly in any respect.

Accessories

In our review package we had a slip-cover with reinforced sides (to protect from scratches and drops) as well as a simple dock and a Book Cover. The book cover is the most interesting of the three, with a fold-back flap that allows it to stand freely on its own in two positions. For those of you looking to purchase any of the three – there are no magnets involved here, nothing “smart” so to speak, but each of them is high quality enough to be worth the cash they’ll cost.

The slip cover is discreet and nice to hold, the dock allows simple charging and audio output via a standard headphone jack, and the Book Cover is hardcore enough to withstand your everyday drop as well as backpack damage – and it’s relatively cool for those of you using the device to type notes or illustrate on the daily.

Camera

On the front of this device you’ve got a 1.9 megapixel camera perfectly suitable for webcam chat action. On the back you’ve got a 5 megapixel camera that’s surprisingly high quality for its megapixel rating. Have a peek at a few examples of photos and a video shot with this device at top quality here, each of them shot with the back-facing camera.

Battery

If you run this device rather hard, playing games, downloading gigantic files (like the videos and games we’ve looked at here) and using the S-Pen like wild, you’ll find yourself limited to right around 6 hours of battery time. Even 7000mAh of battery can be drained quickly when the situation is right.

If however you’re not the type of person to make everything happen all at once – that is, if you’re not doing a bunch of instructional videos back-to-back – you’ll have a much better time in the battery department. Expect a day’s use out of this tablet at the very least when using it intermittently throughout the day. Low use then will last you a couple of days, no problem.

Wrap-up

This tablet-like device, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, is Samsung’s best effort to date in the 10-inch category of devices. You’ve got a fabulous 10.1-inch HD display as well as some excellent front-facing speakers, making this one of the top entertainment devices in tablet form on the market. With the Samsung Exynos quad-core 1.4GHz processor under the hood, you’ve also got the power to work with beastly apps like Photoshop Touch, to play videos at full HD, and to blast your enemies to oblivion in the most high-end games on the market.

This isn’t the end – we’re going to continue to analyze this rather important launch for Samsung as long as it takes to answer all of your questions about it. Let us know if there’s anything else that you do not see above that you’d like us to discuss or test on the device – and get pumped up for the final release immediately if not soon!

A new Apple patent was uncovered today, just in time for the rumored reveal of the new iPhone, and Groupon has released its financial report for quarter 2. It seems that Toshiba is backing out of the Windows RT tablet market, and the Samsung SGH-T899 Windows Phone was confirmed to be heading to T-Mobile. We also reminded you check in with us here at SlashGear tomorrow for coverage of Samsung’s press event, which is where many are expecting the company to show off the Galaxy Note 10.1. In other words, you don’t want to miss it.

It was all about tech and gadgets in the morning, but this afternoon, SlashGear became SlashGames, as Electronic Arts and Sony both gave their pre-Gamescom press conferences. There were a lot of things to talk about too, with Electronic Arts announcing Battlefield 3 Premium Edition and letting loose Dead Space 3‘s release date. Registration for the upcoming SimCity beta is underway, Activision gave us our first taste of Black Ops Declassified gameplay, and Sony pulled the veil back on some new PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale characters. That wasn’t all though, as Sony also gave us a release date for the first PSOne Classics on PS Vita during the press conference, and gave us the first trailer for Guerrilla’s upcoming Killzone: Mercenary.

We were thinking for a little while that Valve would reveal Half-Life 3 during Gamescom, but the studio was quick to quash those rumors, and Sony announced a new PlayStation Mobile initiative for iOS and Android, so keep an eye out for that. One very brave thief tried to steal $60,000 worth of computers from Steve Jobs’ home, but was unsuccessful in his efforts, and new rumors are telling us that Apple has been forced to lay off some its Apple Store employees in the UK. The Acer TravelMate P243 notebook PC was revealed today, complete with Intel’s Ivy Bridge microarchitecture, and the Samsung Galaxy S III might be getting an update to Jelly Bean toward the end of the month. Finally tonight, RIM says that BlackBerry 10 will be ready for licensing soon, and the Curiosity rover sent back another image for that massive 130-picture panorama of the surface of Mars. Be sure to give that a look.

That does it for today’s evening wrap-up, so go out and enjoy the rest of your evening!

Just yesterday, Samsung UK indicated that the Galaxy Note 10.1 would go on sale at its retail store in the Westfield Stratford shopping center, offering users a 10.1-inch tablet with a 1280×800 display, quad-core Exynos processor, 2GB of RAM, and stylus-enabled touchscreen. The S-Pen has reportedly seen some performance improvements too, with Samsung throwing in Adobe’s Photoshop Touch app to aid drawing and doodling.

One report indicated that tomorrow may see the announcement of the Galaxy Note II instead, but the current information surrounding the successor to the popular phablet points to a reveal at Samsung’s pre-IFA event on August 29th. Reports indicate that device will also feature a quad-core Exynos processor along with a larger 5.5-inch screen, although the resolution and aspect ratio may shift to 1280×720 and 16:9 respectively.

Whatever Samsung’s mystery device turns out to be tomorrow, we’ll fill you in on all the details. The event kicks off at 11am EST (8am PST), so keep it locked to SlashGear to keep up to date with Samsung’s shenanigans.

In other news, one of Apple’s studies claims that people buy Android phones largely out of a feeling of loyalty to their carrier, and it seems that the iPhone maker licensed out patents to Microsoft while Samsung declined to bite. Fisker has made a new statement about the Karma that spontaneously caught fire in California this past weekend, and the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 was given a release date in the UK. RIM is looking to get rid of NewBay as it seeks fast cash while BlackBerry 10 development continues, and Samsung has announced that a new black Galaxy S III is coming soon.

Sad news for Nintendo fans living in Europe today, as Nintendo pushed the Wii U’s release date back to December. We had a couple pieces of news about Motorola today, some of it good, some of it not so much. The Motorola PHOTON Q 4G LTE is releasing on August 19, but Motorola Mobility announced today that it will be laying off 20% of its workforce. Electronic Arts is eyeing Windows Phone 8, and Amazon is looking to capitalize on the back to school frenzy by putting its tablets on clearance.

Researchers at the University of Warwick have come up with a way of making fat-free chocolate that apparently tastes like the real deal (yes, really), and President Barack Obama shared some words of encouragement with the NASA Curiosity team earlier this morning. He even promised continued support for what NASA is doing, and that is definitely a good thing. Speaking of space, it seems that the Google Earth satellites have discovered something very interesting: additional Egyptian pyramids. The ARM-based IdeaPad Yoga has been revealed as Lenovo’s Windows RT tablet, and it would seem that the LG Optimus Vu is arriving in the United States before the end of September.

The Neo Geo is getting another shot at life with the Neo Geo X Gold, the Steam Community is about to undergo a makeover, and App.net hit its crowd-funding goal with just two days left to go. That does it for the day’s news, but be sure to check out this freshly-posted review of the Lenovo IdeaCentre A720 by Chris Burns. Enjoy the rest of the evening, everyone!

That falls in line with the current pricing at Negri Electronics, who currently have the Note 10.1 in stock for $749.50. The tablet includes a quad-core Exynos processor clocked at 1.4Ghz, 2GB of RAM, a 10.1-inch 1280×800 display, and WiFi/HSPA+ radios. Samsung has modified the touchscreen on the Note 10.1 to accept input from its S Pen, similar to original Galaxy Note, allowing users to draw or jot down notes.

Samsung has made some adjustments to the S-Pen and underlying technology since the introduction of the Galaxy Note, however. The company says that performance has seen a boost, and it’s also including a copy of Adobe Photoshop Touch to bring budding artists up to speed, with the S Note app also along for the ride.

The company first showed off the Note 10.1 back at MWC 2012, although back then the tablet had a dual-core processor instead of the quad-core chip it has now. If the idea of scribbling all over a tablet appeals to you, check out our hands-on, and head over to the Westfield at Stratford on August 16th if you want to put down cold hard cash for Samsung’s latest and greatest.

[via Android Central]

But enough about boring old courtroom drama, because today Apple and Samsung’s lawsuit was eclipsed by another event: NASA’s Curiosity rover touched down successfully on the surface of Mars today. It was a huge event, and we’ve got plenty of related posts for you to read through. If you missed the live stream, you can watch this video of the Curiosity team as they react to the rover’s landing. There are also a few images from the surface of Mars to check out: after sending back the first image from the landing, NASA received even more images from the surface of Mars. There was also this shot of the descent taken by NASA’s Mars orbiter, which we have to say is pretty awesome. Did you know that Curiosity will be leaving behind tags as it travels across Mars? It is, and it’s doing so in Morse code.

In other news, Samsung has announced that the Galaxy Note 10.1 will indeed be hitting shelves this month. That announcement was accompanied by a new promo video for the Galaxy Note 10.1, and after watching it, we wonder if Android users care more about functionality than they do about specs. We also caught a glimpse of what appears to be Samsung’s plan for Jelly Bean updates on various Galaxy devices, so you may want to give that a look. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak gave some warnings about becoming too reliant on the cloud, and it turns out that Steve Jobs actually liked the idea of an iPad Mini. Speaking of Apple, it appears that the company’s entire mobile line is going to get new dock connectors, and YouTube has been banished from iOS 6, but we tell you why that may not necessarily be a bad thing.

Get ready ultrabook enthusiasts, because Lenovo’s new ThinkPad X1 Carbon will be launching by the end of the month. Demonoid has been shut down by Ukrainian authorities, much like MegaUpload was by the US earlier this year. Finally, the PS3 is getting a bunch of collections at the end of this month, with Sony announcing today that the God of War Saga and the inFamous Collection will be launching alongside the Ratchet & Clank Collection on August 28.

That about does it for the evening wrap-up, so now that you’re all caught up on the news from the day, head out and enjoy the rest of your Monday evening!