From the outset, it’s clear that Samsung hasn’t strayed too far from the formula that made the Galaxy S III so successful. The new phone follows in the family style footsteps, though while the dimensions are similar to before – the same 136.6mm length, slightly wider at 69.8mm, and slightly thinner at 7.9mm – Samsung has managed to squeeze in a larger display. The new Super AMOLED HD screen measures in at 5-inches, versus the 4.7- of the older phone, and now runs at a crisp 1080p resolution for 441ppi pixel density.

Even just accommodating a screen of that size without a significant change in size is impressive, but the panel itself is a good one too. It’s still PenTile, which is likely to make some display purists groan, but it keeps the great contrast and rich colors we’re familiar with from AMOLED. We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that the similarly 1080p (though slightly smaller) HTC One’s LCD3 screen is a little more natural and pleasing to our eyes, though.

If HTC has focused its software efforts on BlinkFeed and Zoe, Samsung has cast its net wide, basically throwing everything at the wall in the expectation that at least something will stick for most users. The 13-megapixel main camera (paired with a 2-megapixel front camera) gets a new suite of features, such as the ability to take two photos or videos simultaneously from the front and rear cameras and combine them into one, Samsung Dual Shot, and being able to append up to nine seconds of audio to a still, to give it some context when you later review it. Samsung calls that Sound-in-Shot, though while it’s clever, we’re not quite as impressed as we were by HTC Zoe.

There’s also no shortage of signs that Samsung has its eye on what’s currently fashionable in mobile. So, there’s Cinema Photo, which basically creates a cinemagram-style animated photo without demanding a third-party app, and Drama Shot, which builds a single frame out of multiple burst-photography stills. You can easily share a group of images about, say, a recent holiday in a Story Album, complete with facts from Trip Advisor; that can later be printed courtesy of a tie-in with Blurb.

The Galaxy S III introduced eye-recognition for keeping its display active, and the GALAXY S 4 builds on that with Smart Pause and Smart Scroll. When you look away from the screen during video playback, the phone automatically pauses it until you look back; similarly, if you’re looking at the S 4 and reading a longer list, then simply tilting the phone scrolls through it. The GALAXY S 4 is pretty obsessed by where your fingers are, too: the Galaxy Note II, for instance, could track whether its S Pen nib was hovering over the screen but not touching, but now the S 4 can do the same only recognizing your fingertips.

That means you can peep inside folders and galleries, or at the content of unopened messages, simply by floating your fingertips over the top of them; Samsung has also brought in some third-party app support, with titles like Flipboard also supporting the Hover feature to preview new stories. It’s not the only way the GALAXY S 4 is watching you. Air Browse, Air Jump, and Air Call Accept all track hand movements, allowing you to wave and gesture your way through menus, answering calls – which we could see being particularly usefully when you’re driving – and controlling music playback.

When you can pretty much count on your phone selling in the millions, you can start to look at how different units interact, as Samsung has with the GALAXY S 4. There’s Group Play for audio, video, and gaming playback, creating ad-hoc local networks of multiple handsets all running the same content synchronized, for instance, with support for games like Asphalt 7 and Gun Bros 2 working with the feature. There’s also S Translator in the latest version of ChatON, the messaging app, and the email app, usefully switching between languages rather than forcing you to copy and paste into something like Google Translate.

Samsung has really gone to town on added-extras – in fact the number of times you might have to dig into Google Play for a third-party solution is shrinking all the time. There’s a business card scanner – which also usefully gets S Translator baked-in, to pick out and convert foreign addresses and job titles – and an IR blaster which, with the new Samsung WatchON app, turns the phone into a remote control complete with EPG and on-demand access.

The rest of the hardware basically backs up that software flourish with the power the Galaxy S4 needs to deliver on its promises. Different geographies will get different processors, depending on the combination of LTE and other factors, with Samsung choosing between the quadcore Snapdragon 1.9Ghz and its own eight-core 1.6Ghz Exynos 5. . No matter the chip, there’ll be 2GB of memory to accompany it, and the usual 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB of internal capacity. Samsung has also stuck with expandable memory and a removable battery, something neither the HTC One nor the iPhone 5 offer, features which remain popular among power-users and business customers.

Image and sound processing also get worked over, with Samsung Adapt Sound and Adapt Display. We’ve seen such DSP used to good effect by Sony and others, and the Galaxy S4 benefits too, though when it comes to sound it’s clear that nothing can replace big drivers. The HTC One’s custom speaker system and Beats Audio processing still has the edge, to our ears.

Samsung didn’t stint on accessories for the Galaxy S III – at a time when, while iPhone had a thriving ecosystem of third-party add-ons, Android devices still lacked anything so cohesive – and the company hasn’t slowed down with the Galaxy S4. There’s a new S View Cover, like a flip-cover only with a window cut through that allows a small part of the smartphone’s display to remain powered-up and show battery, signal status, music playlists, and incoming call details. That’s courtesy of AMOLED’s capability to only power a small subset of an overall display, and sip battery while it does so.

Then there are the new add-ons to go with S Health. Samsung did have some health & fitness tech for the previous Galaxy, but the S4 steps it up a notch, timely given the focus on wearables and monitoring right now. Software-only, S Health will work as a pedometer as well as tracking temperature and humidity, in addition to allowing users to log their food (with a huge database in the background of nutritional information). However, there’s also Samsung S Band, a Bluetooth-enabled tracker in the manner of a Jawbone UP, which logs data even if the GALAXY S 4 isn’t nearby, and then synchronizes with it once they’re back in range. Samsung also has a Bluetooth-enabled body scale and heart-rate monitor, which also feed their recordings into the phone.

Expectations for the GALAXY S 4 have been high, but Samsung has taken the evolutionary rather than revolutionary path for its new phone. Then again, it didn’t have to: sales of the Galaxy S III remain brisk, and the company has the marketing budget to hammer home its latest message. It also avoids frustrating existing owners too greatly: they’ll be getting software updates which add many of the new Samsung-exclusive additions, and haven’t been left too far behind with the hardware.

That said, should Galaxy S III users upgrade to the GALAXY S 4? If you insist on being on the very latest hardware, and you’re wedded to Samsung, then perhaps it’s a no-brainer. However, it’s not the vast step-up we saw from, say, the Galaxy S II to its successor. In fact, while the hardware is cutting-edge, it’s clear that Samsung’s efforts this time around have really been focused on software enhancements. Some won’t care about things like the IR blaster or Group Play, but will lap up the S Health system and Air Gestures, or vice-versa, but either way there’s a sense that there’s something for everybody.

On the one hand, that’s liberating – after all, why should everyone use the same device in the same way? – but on the other it can get overwhelming and confusing. The appeal of the HTC One is not only that it’s built so well (leagues ahead, we must say, than the in-hand-feel of the GALAXY S 4) but that it focuses on doing a couple of things particularly well, in ways that make a significant difference to the user over and above the standard Android OS.

We’ll confess to a certain sense of unease, then, about how the GALAXY S 4 will find its place in the smartphone market today. Samsung has done what it needed to – in the manner of Apple and the transition between the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S – to bring its flagship up to speed. Promotion and advertising will take care of the rest. If that overshadows phones like the HTC One, however, devices which really do take a more revolutionary approach, then we’d be mightily disappointed.

The Samsung GALAXY S 4 will sell by the bucket-load. Everybody knows that. But in a way we’re still more thankful for its predecessor and how that forced every other Android OEM to raise its game for 2013. That’s better for consumers, and more interesting for us. We’ll have to wait until we can review the Galaxy S4 before we can tell whether it’s actually the best Android device of the lot, however.

The latest in a line of Galaxy S IV rumors is the list of possible models that Samsung will have available of the new device. Rumors suggest that there will be six variants of the Galaxy S IV, and it will come in both black and white color options. As for size capacities, you’ll be able to choose either 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB.

Of course, it’s expected that Samsung will include a microSD card slot with the Galaxy S IV, so opting for the 64GB variant may not be necessary, but if you’re looking for the most storage possible, a 64GB phone combined with a 32GB microSD card means a lot of movies, music, and photos that you can store on that bad boy.

As for specs of the Galaxy S IV, we’re looking at a 5-inch full 1080p display and possibly a 13MP rear camera. On the inside, we might see Qualcomm’s newest Snapdragon 600 processor clocked at 1.7GHz paired up with 2GB of RAM (with an Exynos 5 chip in the international version). Overall, it should be a powerhouse of a phone that will take on HTC’s latest HTC One and DROID DNA.

[via SamMobile]

This device will not be delivered with the newest version of Android, nor will it be winning any “best of 2013″ awards – not a chance. What it will do is deliver to two networks a unique Android experience otherwise reserved for much higher-end devices. Both Net10 and Straight Talk will be getting the Galaxy Discover this year for their own limited mobile networks.

This device will be working with a tiny 2.7GB internal memory and a microSD card slot that’ll support up to 32GB cards – time to expand. Inside you’ll find a removable 1300mAh battery that, with a display this small, will without a doubt be giving you at least a full day’s charge. This smartphone also comes with a 3 megapixel camera on its back, wi-fi connectivity, Bluetooth, and GPS.

Also interesting is the styling this machine is working with – rather Galaxy S III or Galaxy Note-like. With the Galaxy Discover you certainly will be getting a tiny relative of the higher-end lineup. This device does not yet have a final release date or a price, but you can bet it’ll be soon – and for cheap!

[via Samsung; via Sammy Hub]

It’s said that Samsung will host an event on that day to unveil the new smartphone, with a release window sometime during the second week in April. As for invitations, it’s rumored that they should be arriving in inboxes shortly after Mobile World Congress later this month, which seems quite logical at this point.

The Galaxy S IV will make its way to European countries first, starting in April as previously mentioned, and then it will hit the States beginning sometime in either May or June. The Galaxy S III launched in Europe before it hit the US, this release schedule for the S IV certainly makes sense. Even the Galaxy S II had the same fate.

However, Galaxy S IV rumors and speculation have been all over the place lately, so we’re definitely keeping the salt by our sides until we hear something from Samsung. However, many of the rumors point to an announcement date and a release window of sometime during the spring, so it’s safe to say that we’ll be hearing more about the new phone at some point shortly.

[via SamMobile]

Apparently, Money Today has learned that Samsung has ordered each of its subcontractors to provide 10 million components per month, and even if that is true, we don’t expect Samsung or any of its clients to comment on those numbers. Overall, though, Overall, Samsung wants to sell over 500 million phones in 2013, with 350 million of them being smartphones.

It’s been heavily rumored that the GSIV will release to the public in April, with an announcement coming on March 22, according to the latest speculation. And due to the tremendous success of the Galaxy S II and the Galaxy S III, Samsung wants to go big with its upcoming device, and is looking to sell more units than any of its phones ever.

The Galaxy S III is one the best-selling smartphones in the world, but it took 50 days for it to surpass shipments of 10 million units a feat that Samsung wants to shorten that to 30 days with the Galaxy S IV and continue to deliver those number every month. It’s not said how long Samsung wants to keep that up, but we’re guessing throughout the summer into the holiday season.

[via Android Authority]

The rumored April launch goes right along with a couple of other rumors that we’ve heard in the past, but the March 22 announcement date is new. According to the Asia Economic News, Samsung will host its own press event in the US to unveil the Galaxy S IV on March 22. Some previous rumors pointed to a possible announcement at Mobile World Congress in February, but a lone press event seems more the company’s speed.

According to SamMobile, the company has changed the project codename of the Galaxy S IV from Project J to Project Altius, and the Korean-based company plans to start shipping the new phone starting on April 15. The Galaxy S IV also looks to be taking a page from Apple’s book and is said to arrive in two colors: black or white.

SamMobile also says that the Galaxy S IV will, indeed, have wireless charging capabilities. Samsung will sell a separate dock and back cover for the device, and will make the wireless charging kit available a couple of weeks after the phone’s launch. The battery inside of the Galaxy S IV is said to be packing 2600mAh of juice. To compare, the Galaxy S III uses a 2100mAh battery.

[via SamMobile]

Multiple Korean sources are saying that the new phone will land in April, and the accompanying S Pen feature hints that Samsung is allegedly looking to bring some of the best features of their Note series to the flagship Galaxy S IV, which wouldn’t be too terribly surprising, even considering how different the two devices are just from the screen size alone.

The alleged April 2013 release windows is right on the money with a previous rumor that we heard at the beginning of the month, saying that Samsung was working on “Project J” that is set for an April 2013 announcement. However, an announcement and an actual release are completely different, so we’re not really sure what to believe at this point.

It’s rumored that the Galaxy S IV will come with a 5-inch 1080p AMOLED display, a quad-core Exynos 5440 chip, a 13-megapixel rear auto-focus camera, and will feature a slightly thicker 9.2mm body, a change that would make the S IV very Note-like this time around, and would explain the S Pen functionality.

[via PhoneArena]

SamMobile reports that their sources have said a new device known internally as “Project J” will be announced in April of next year, and they say it’s the Galaxy S IV, which is currently rumored to come with a 5-inch 1080p display, and quad-core processor, a couple gigabytes of RAM, and a 13MP camera.

The same sources also point to a cheaper Galaxy Note II to launch in Europe and will have lower specs than the current Note II. It’s said that the device won’t come with a stylus and no AMOLED display technology either. Furthermore, a competitor to ASUS’ Transformer tablet series is also rumored to be on the way from Samsung. It’s said that the company wants to bring a 13.3-inch tablet to the market with QWERTY keyboard dock accessory. However, no other details were given about the possible tablet.

Frankly, we’re not too surprised by the Galaxy S IV rumor. It’s already made its way through the rumor mill several times, and now it seems like we’re merely just waiting for it to release, with the rumors almost annoyingly getting in our way. However, the Note II and new tablets rumors are fresh, and we’re interested to see where Samsung might go with this if the rumors turn out to be true.

[via SamMobile]

A 13MP camera wouldn’t be crazy, but we also shouldn’t get our hopes up too soon. Samsung’s Galaxy Note II was supposed to have a 13MP sensor, but the company went with the old 8MP sensor instead because Sony couldn’t make enough due to other phones that they had deals with. However, it might be different this time around, and Samsung could be going all-in for 2013.

On top of the camera and chipset rumors, we heard a few days ago that Samsung would be unveiling their own 5-inch 1080p smartphone display at CES 2013, in order to take on HTC who launched the first device in the US to have a 5-inch 1080p screen. Some are saying that Samsung’s rumored 5-incher will be used in their Galaxy S IV.

While we should expect a powerhouse of a device with the Galaxy S IV, we’ll be taking these rumors with a grain of salt until we hear more info about it, hopefully at CES come January. It’s rumored that the Galaxy S IV will be officially revealed at Mobile World Congress, though, which happens in late February. However, Samsung has said that the February launch date for the GSIV are “not true,” so we’re not really sure when to expect the new phone.

[via GSMArena]

The court session began this afternoon with several checkings of the verdict form to make sure everything is in order. Since the document itself is quite a few pages long, noone was surprised, not even Judge Koh. As The Verge notes, Koh let the court know that “I saw Samsung’s request for 30 minutes to review the verdict form… I think that makes sense.”

Has the jury reached a verdict? Yes.

All of the devices listed were found to be infringing upon claim 19 of 301 patent including SEC, SEA, and STA: Galaxy Tab Wi-fi (SEA), Captivate (STA), Continuum, Droid Charge, Exhibit 4G, Galasy Ace, Prevail, S 4G, S II, Galaxy Tab, The Gem, Indulge, Infuse 4G, Mesmerie, Nexus S 4G, Replenish and Vibrant.

For claim Two, Samsung devices were also found to infringe for SEC: For SEC Captivate, continuum, droid charge, fascinate, Galaxy Prevail, Galaxy S 4G, Galaxy S II, i9100, Galaxy S2 T-Mobile, Tab, Tab 10.1, Gem, Indulge, Infuse, Nexus S 4G. That’s for Claim 8 of 915 patent. For SEA there was infringement on the part of the Galaxy Tab 10.1, and for STA infringement on the part of the Captivate, Continuum, Droid Charge, Exhibit, Prevail, Galaxy S 4G, S II AT&T, SII T Mobile, Galaxy Tab, Gem, Indulge, Infuse 4G, Mesmerize, Nexus S 4G, Transform and Vibrant.

It was not looking positive for Samsung in the first few questions of the verdict, needless to say, and as the reading wore on, the damage continued. Stay tuned to SlashGear as we continue to run down the verdict and eventually get to the real dish: what Samsung and Apple will be responsible for in the end.

It appears that Samsung is making sure the Galaxy S III stays on top as this device very much appears to share the styling of that hero device, but does not stay up to speed with specifications. This device is just a bit smaller in all ways, holding 4GB of internal memory in its only iteration and working with a microSD card slot that can use up to 32GB cards. The GALAXY S DUOS also has the ability to work with Bluetooth 3.0 and has a 1500 mAh battery inside.

With it’s dual-SIM functionality, you’ll be able to have two phone numbers on this one single phone. With its “Dual SIM Always on” feature you’ll be able to receive calls from both numbers at one time. You can also decide to use data one card and voice on the other – whatever you want!

You’ll also be getting Samsung’s full array of next-generation apps that work on Samsung devices specifically such as ChatON for fun multimedia chat. Have a peek at our timeline below of Samsung Galaxy S III hands-on and reviews to see what else the software will be bringing. Also stay tuned as the pricing and final release information for this device appears!

[via Samsung Tomorrow]

Ouch. For the record, Apple lawyer William Lee told Judge Koh that “First, your honor, I’m not smoking crack. I can promise you that.” Crack or no, it seems that Apple will not get the opportunity to bring all of these rebuttal witnesses to the stand, even though Apple’s attorneys offered to shorten the length of the document.

It was a very unprofessional moment for Judge Koh, but replies in the Twittersphere as well as in forums across the web have backed her up with comments such as “right on!” and “Koh, throw them out!” Commenters backing both sides of the patent argument have largely labeled the trial as “patently absurd, “with both sides engaging in courtroom theatrics more than once. The high-profile nature of this case doesn’t help with that, since the counsel for both Apple and Samsung know that their words will be repeated 100 times over on the Internet. With all of that being said, it’s easy to see why Judge Koh’s temper is running a little short these days.

Indeed, for patent trial (which are typically incredibly boring), this case has given us a lot to talk about. Some feel that Apple is trying to patent rectangles with rounded corners, which just adds to the absurdity of everything. It seems that Judge Koh at least partially agrees that some of the points brought up during this case are frivolous, as she also told both parties that she will be billing them time since they’re both being “unreasonable.” Even though Judge Koh asking if Apple’s lawyers are smoking crack is questionable at best, at the very least we have to thank her for keeping things interesting.

Have a peek below at some additional interesting or otherwise rather important moments from the case as it continues to unfold this week. We’ll hopefully have some sort of end to the battle by the end of the month!

[Illustration via Vicki Ellen Behringer]

Those phones include the international versions of the Galaxy S, Galaxy S II, and Galaxy Ace. Judge Koh believes that those three phones shouldn’t be affected by the outcome of the trial as the lawsuit relates to Samsung’s US subsidiaries and devices. Apple can still go after any phones sold in the United States, such as the Galaxy S and Galaxy S II carrier variants, as those phones represent the majority of Samsung’s smartphone sales in the US.

The trial will move ahead as planned, with Samsung now stepping up to argue against Apple’s claims. The company is hoping to dismiss Apple’s trade dress claims against its designs while demonstrating that various patents aren’t valid and shouldn’t have been issued to begin with. Samsung will demonstrate prior pieces of art, hoping to show the jury that Apple’s software and hardware designs aren’t original.

If the South Korean company succeeds, then it won’t be held liable for infringing on any patents. Apple’s lawyers put Samsung in an unflattering light, however, when various internal emails and documentation suggested that the company specifically intended for its phones to more like the iPhone. An expert witness testifying for Apple believes that Samsung may be liable for $2.5 billion worth of damages if its found to be guilty.

AllThingsD reports that Apple patent licensing director Boris Teksler referenced the October 2010 presentation during his testimony yesterday. The presentation shows that Apple was asking for $30 on each Samsung smartphone sold (dubbed “advanced mobile computing device” in the presentation), and $40 for each Samsung tablet. If Samsung had agreed, Apple was projecting that it could have made $250 million from the licensing deal in 2010, a figure which can hardly be considered chump change.

Apple was willing to give Samsung discounts on royalties too, seeing as how it considered Samsung a “strategic supplier.” For instance, Samsung could have enjoyed a 20% discount if it chose to cross-license its own patent portfolio to Apple. Phones using an Apple-licensed OS were good for a 40% discount, and phones that didn’t use proprietary features – Apple references the Samsung Blackjack II in its presentation, which has a physical QWERTY keyboard – would have qualified for another 20% off.

Samsung, obviously, wanted nothing to do with this licensing deal, and Teksler said in his testimony that none other than Steve Jobs and Tim Cook were driven to confront Samsung executives about the similarities between the Galaxy S and the iPhone. Hopefully Samsung made the right choice in turning down that licensing deal, because if it loses this case, it could end up owing Apple a lot more than it would have been paying in royalties. Samsung is set to begin calling its own witnesses to the stand on Monday, so keep an ear to SlashGear for more information on this high-profile trial.

When you check out the profits the many Samsung Galaxy S II iterations have picked up according to apple, $642 million certainly blasts its way through the ranks. Such an intense number has Apple seeking totals like $205,814,496 USD from the Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch and another whopping $209 million+ from the T-Mobile version of the Galaxy S II. Surprisingly though it’s not the plain-old Galaxy S or the Galaxy S II that has the star of the show, it’s the Samsung Captivate.

This little gem, the Samsung Captivate, was the first Samsung Galaxy S unit to hit AT&T back in 2010 for a whopping $199.99. That included a 4-inch display, 1GHz Samsung Hummingbird processor, and a fabulous 5 megapixel camera on the back. This was back when we were still on Android 2.1 right out of the box, as well. Apple says that they lost $204 million+ in profits as a result of this device while Samsung’s profits, design, and trade dress equaled out to be nearly $81 million.

Several other devices worth pointing out on the big list of “Apple’s Damages Per Samsung Product” are the Galaxy Ace, Galaxy S (i9000), and Galaxy S II (i9100). No statistics currently exist for these devices, the latter two being the international editions of both devices while the Galaxy Ace was also released mostly outside the United States.

Have a peek at the timeline below to get caught up on all things Apple vs Samsung trial, and stick with us as the verdict gets pulled down some weeks into the future. Believe it or not, this trial does not have an unlimited amount of session time, so we’re expecting it to be over – to some degree – before the summer season is up.

[via The Verge]

“There is no feeling of receiving light, and deficient feeling of softness in the curvature of icon corners” one section of the report concludes of the Galaxy S, suggesting that light effects should be added to the TouchWiz interface but pointing out that designers should “remove a feeling that iPhone’s menu icons are copied by differentiating design.” The authors don’t stint on detail, either; for the alarm setting, Samsung’s “dry sound effect” of clicking through the desired time is criticized, versus iOS’ retro clock-ticks, and prompting the suggestion that the designers “add sound effects that stimulate user’s sense of nostalgia and emotions.”

Elsewhere it’s the “fun factor” that gets highlighted, with Apple’s use of animations getting highlighted as another point at which Samsung’s phone falls short. Page-flipping, animated attachments and even how the pin in the mapping app is dropped are all mentioned, while Samsung worries the lack of a camera shutter opening animation leads to the interpretation of lag when the app itself runs.

Although feature comparisons between rival devices are commonplace, it’s perhaps the detail to which Samsung goes that makes the document so dangerous. At one point, the company measures the exact distances between key rows and individual keys, concluding the precise amounts by which it should rearrange its keyboard. Another page highlights iOS’ Calendar icon and the fact that the date changes to match the current date, suggesting that Samsung’s icon should do the same.

It’s worth remembering that the English version of the document is a translation from the original Korean, and as such the exact phrasing probably should be relied on too fully. However, the report sits at odds with Samsung’s earlier claims that much of the iPhone’s visual and usability appeal is commonplace and merely a sign of the direction the smartphone industry as a whole was progressing in.

You can review the full report yourself below the story timeline.

In these opening arguments for Apple, they listed all of the patents at hand, one of them being the rubber-band scrolling or “bounce back” feature that users work with in iOS for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Earlier in the set of this morning’s statements, McElhinny suggested that Samsung literally spoke about this feature early on in the design process of the device and decided to copy it for themselves with their Galaxy S line of smartphones.

McElhinny went on to speak about several double-tap to zoom patents and a patent which distinguishes between one and two finger scrolling and zooming. McElhinny noted as he went through these patents, once again, that he believed Samsung would soon describe each of them as trivial innovations in their own right. He went on to note that these items also supposedly came up in Samsung’s customer surveys as important to the success of the iPhone, appearing then soon after on the Galaxy S line of smartphones.

One of the more important battles Apple will be fighting in this case is the “trade dress infringement” they’ve claimed against Samsung. McElhinny contends that it is the following, amongst other features, that make people recognize a product as an Apple device:

• Metallic bezel around a flat clear surface
• Rectangular product with four evenly rounded corners
• Narrow black borders at the sides
• Larger Bezels at top and bottom of product’s front face
• Icon rows including dock at bottom of icons that doesn’t change

Also according to Ina Fried, McElhinny suggested that whenever a customer looks at a product with these characteristics, they think they are looking at an Apple product.

McElhinny reiterated the numbers we’d heard before on how much Apple believes Samsung has damaged them for in this whole process. He suggested that Samsung has sold 22.7 million infringing phones and tablets, this resulting in $8.16 billion dollars in revenue for Samsung and taking away $2 billion in profit from Apple.

Keep an ear to SlashGear as we continue to cover the case as it expands upon us with great fury over the next few weeks. We’ll see more from both Apple and Samsung as they let the court know what they feel they are owed in the long run and in the very, very short run if one wins over the other in a massive way – we shall see!

Apple’s set of statements came after a video which was put on display for the benefit of the jury. This video contained a relatively easy to follow explanation of what patents were and how the USA patent system works. Have a peek at what they saw in this, the same video, as hosted by YouTube:

The video comes from PublicResource.org and is designed to be shown to jurors in patent jury trials in general. McElhinny spoke starting on how the iPhone was born, noting specifically, according to Ina Fried at AllThingsD, that Apple took a risk creating the iPhone.

“They were literally betting their company.” – McElhinny

Facing off against then giants like Nokia and Motorola, and of course Samsung as well, Apple went all-in with the iPhone, taking out applications for 200 innovations related to the device alone. McElhinny promised to show never before shown confidential Samsung documents that show Samsung’s first reaction to the iPhone. With these documents, McElhinny says, they’ll prove that Samsung decided to copy the design rather than innovate as a reaction to it.

“To be blunt, the testimony is going to show you that Samsung has not been honest about this copying.” – McElhinny

Stay tuned as Apple continues to expand on how they’ll be pushing for Samsung to admit their wrongdoing as well as Samsung opening up with comments on how it wasn’t they who broke the sacred bond of innovation, but Apple. Have a peek at the timeline below as well to catch up on this case as it expands quickly through the next few weeks.

Not only that, but the Galaxy Note continues to see strong sales, up from 5 million units in March to 7 million today. In total, 24 million Galaxy S phones have entered sales channels since the June 2010 launch, while 28 million Galaxy S IIs have been shifted in just a year.

The latest figures join news that the Galaxy S III is the fastest pre-ordered smartphone in the UK, with the phone already amassing 9 million pre-orders from retailers and carriers worldwide. The phone has suffered some delays, however: the Pebble Blue version of the device is said to have a manufacturing defect with the back cover of the phone, leading to a milky white appearance after prolonged use. Samsung has said it’s trying to fix the problem and Pebble Blue phones should be hitting retailers shortly, but if you want to pick up a phone today you’ll have to make do with Marble White.

[via The Next Web]

The event teased in this invite says May 22nd in London, United Kingdom. This is odd in itself as surely Samsung would write London, England instead of the greater UK. As Ron Burgundy said in his appearance this past week on Conan: “the UK, including England.” Then the date is a bit strange – normally a press event such as this is not scheduled out so very far ahead – usually a couple weeks is the max amount of time we get before a reveal.

Tip man and notorious supposed holder of a Galaxy S III, or so he says, Eldar Murtazin has commented on the photo saying “My comment about this sgs3 pic….hmmm no comments :-) what do you think? Real of fake?” This of course could mean anything coming from Murtazin, but certainly isn’t something you should dismiss without a second thought.

Note that this image appears to have been posted on several Korean sites before any USA portals picked it up – NavInside, Yahoo Korea, FooHoo (Tistory personal page). We’ll keep you up to date if it turns out this really is just a hunk of chrome or a real live Samsung device hopefully soon – stay tuned!

[via Android Community]

Samsung say that anyone still using Eclair and Froyo should update to Gingerbread before installing the new pack. When they do so, they’ll be privy to the following features:

• Face Unlock
• Photo capture during video recordings
• The ability to adjust font size in certain applications
• Additions and improvements to the Launcher as well as folders

Users will need Kies 2.0 in order to upgrade their device, as well as the necessary free space to install the update. Samsung also provided updates for the Galaxy K and Galaxy U phones. There’s no word yet on when the Value Pack will be coming to other countries.

While customers may have been disappointed to find that they wouldn’t be receiving Ice Cream Sandwich on their Galaxy S, the ICS update for the Galaxy S II showed that Samsung are determined to keep the TouchWiz aesthetic. Part of the draw of Ice Cream Sandwich was a completely retooled UI, which is completely hidden under TouchWiz on the ICS Galaxy S II update.

It’s not all bad news: if you enjoy rooting your device and installing custom ROMs, there are fully functional Ice Cream Sandwich ROMs available for the Galaxy S on xda-developers. As always, proceed with caution before installing anything, as you could potentially brick your device.

[via Samsung Tomorrow]

Hardware

This device is fantastic for your everyday average Android user. We’ve reached a point where a dual-core processor like this one has is normal yet the camera isn’t quite as powerful as its siblings. Samsung has done this because with a slightly less powerful camera, a few down-grades from the Samsung Galaxy S II, this device is able to be offered at a relatively low price. That said, you’ll see below that the camera does wonders regardless of its less than the best rating.

Next notice that this device looks quite a bit different from other Samsung devices on the back – actually looking more like a touchscreen BlackBerry than anything else. The back casing is a little bit slippery if you’re used to Samsung’s otherwise textured line of Galaxy S II devices which fit in the hand fantastically and slip-free. That’s the only downfall of this entire device’s physical build.

Software

The user interface you’re seeing here you should remember quite well from each of the different iterations of the Galaxy S II we’ve seen, especially the T-Mobile versions. This is the most recent version of TouchWiz from Samsung over Android 2.3 Gingerbread – a great vision for Android if I do say so myself, complete with many customizable features and nice additions by the big S. Have a peek at the device’s software (and a bit of the hardware) here:

The network speed here is 42Mbps HSPA+ via T-Mobile and it certainly appears to be doing better than ever. It’s certainly not the fastest and most complete network we’ve seen, even here in the Twin Cities in Minnesota, but it’s certainly pretty good. This example is a good average for what we’ve been seeing with the device thus far:

This device also runs a Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 dual-core processor at 1.5Ghz, this allowing the device to perform at a much higher level than any Galaxy S original series device. It’s keeping up with the rest of the top-tier devices without trying too hard, getting you ready for the quad-core world of later this year – prepare yourself!

Camera / Battery

This device has a lovely 5-megapixel camera backing it up, which in some cases would be a big draw-back for a device as otherwise powerful as this. Instead though, specifically because you’re working with a Samsung device, they’ve put enough work into the camera that it works great despite it not having the full 8-megapixels we’d expect out of a top-tier device these days. Have a peek at some examples here:

The battery life on this device has been fairly standard, working at a full day (or 14 hours) without needing a charge after relatively heavy use. This device also has the ability to stream videos over its 4G connection for about 4 to 5 hours, and light use will yield something like a day and a half if you’re extremely careful about what you tap on.

Wrap-Up

Here in the Galaxy S Blaze 4G you’ve got a step between the Galaxy S II line and the original Galaxy S line. If you’re looking to spend just a bit less than you’d otherwise be dropping on the hero Galaxy S II line here on T-Mobile, this is your winner. You can grab this phone from T-Mobile today and you’ll not regret your decision to do so – unless of course you’re waiting for the Galaxy S III, a device which will trump this one in both the power and price departments. That’s your cross to bear!

You can grab the new Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G from T-Mobile right this second on their [online store for $150] after a $50 mail-in rebate and a 2-year agreement.

You should know at this point that this is NOT the full review of the device. We’ve still got to put this smartphone through the paces, as right now we’ve only just received the phone in the mail. What this post consists of is a selection of lovely close-up photos of the device as well as a hands-on video with a full unboxing of the device, as it were. You’ll see Android 2.3 Gingerbread running on this smartphone with Samsung’s own specially tuned TouchWiz user interface over the top.

The display is super bright, the phone fits perfectly in an adult male’s hand like mine, and the device costs just $150 after $50 mail-in rebate from T-Mobile. Does this device look like a device you’d like to be using for the next two years? Have a peek at the video and the photos we’ve got so far and don’t forget to ask any and all questions we’ll be able to answer for the full review – soon!

Total revenue at the South Korea-based manufacturer climbed to 47.3 trillion won, a 13% increase compared to the previous year. Samsung’s Galaxy brand of phones reached an astounding 300 million units in sales last year. In the fourth quarter, it reported 32 million smartphone sales, making it account for 40% of the entire company’s profit. In comparison, Samsung’s display division saw an operating loss of 220 billion won, a complete 180 from its profitable position the year before.

In other news, Samsung’s semiconductor unit also grew year-to-year, raking in 2.31 trillion won in profit. That represents a 29% increase over the previous fourth quarter. Clearly, though, the story is all about Samsung’s mobile business. The company is now ranked as the world’s largest smartphone seller, ahead of such titans as Apple and Motorola.

[via Washington Post]

While devices like the Galaxy S II and the newer Galaxy Tab models like the 10.1 and 8.9 will certainly get the update to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich within the first half of 2012 (or so we’ve been told,) we can expect less than that from the previous generation now. Samsung is now saying they’re considering what they’re calling a “Value Pack” which will be a software update bringing features like “improved web browsing” and “multi-tasking” as well as new widgets to bring the user experience still on Gingerbread as close as possible to Ice Cream Sandwich without actually updating to the new software. We’ve yet to see exactly what this means in real life.

Samsung offered a similar situation up to the masses working with Wave 525 and 533 devices earlier this month. Where what users might have wanted ideally was an update to those device’s next generation software, bada 2.0, they instead offered up a Value Pack upgrade with the “same bada 2.0 user experience and service as much as possible despite the hardware limitations.” You must please all, Samsung, all of them at once!

[via Sammy Hub]

While the Galaxy S, the original Galaxy S that is, and the original Galaxy Tab have in common is that by today’s standards, they aren’t the most fantastic. Their specifications put them positively in the mid to low range of mobile handhelds and they’re not exactly the most wanted devices on the market by any standards. That said, Ice Cream Sandwich was and is made to work with no additional hardware requirements over Android 2.3 Gingerbread, so aside from TouchWiz, there really shouldn’t be an issue with these devices running the newest tasty treat.

Those of you rolling with a Galaxy S or Galaxy Tab today: are you still on the software you got out of the box, or have you hacked? If you’ve hacked, you’ve got the opportunity to update to Ice Cream Sandwich much sooner than the surely late next year timeline that Samsung will undoubtedly be announcing later this week. Meanwhile enjoy your still fully functional devices to the fullest, you’re in for a big treat if Ice Cream Sandwich ever drops for you!

[via Venture Beat]

The explanation, however, seems inconsistent since the Android 4.0 update is already being rolled out to Samsung’s Nexus S, which features similar internal hardware. The Galaxy S packs the same 1GHz Hummingbird processor and enough memory for ICS.

Hence, what’s really preventing the ICS update is Samsung’s custom TouchWiz interface and a host of other “experience enhancing” software that already take up a lot of resources. Although the hardware is the same, the Nexus S, unlike the Galaxy S, does not need to deliver TouchWiz, carrier services, video calling software, and mobile TV.

[via The Verge]

This device is being called the Samsung GT-I9500 Universal, and its details are rather incredulous. While the renderings appear really quite crisp and certainly in line with what we’ve seen from Samsung lately, specifically with the Galaxy Note and the Galaxy Players, the magic inside might be too far-fetched to be realistic. Behind a 5-inch HD Super AMOLED 1280 x 720 pixel resolution display you’ll find a 9mm thick body and a 12 megapixel camera on the back with both LED flash AND Xenon flash. Weird stuff to be sure!

Then there’s a front-facing 2 megapixel camera, availability of 32 or 64 GB internal memory, and a microSDXC slot for memory expansion. This device is said to come with a stylus like the Galaxy Note, but doesn’t appear to have the same onboard slot for carrying said pen like its big cousin does, USB 3.0 capability, and 4G LTE connectivity in its first iteration. Also onboard is a quad-core Samsung Exynos 4412 1.5GHz processor, and the whole thing works with TouchWiz 5.0.

And it all works with both Android and Bada OS. That’s just too strange to be realistic – why on earth would anyone want such a thing? Also we’ve never seen a display like this outside of conceptual renderings as a bezel allows for the display to have some overlap around the edges – how this will work is outside my understanding. Finally, before you cut up the idea of this device because of the buttons at the bottom of the display running against what’s recommended for Ice Cream Sandwich, know that Android 4.0 does have the ability to easily run with these buttons still in-tact.

We’ll either find this device to be real relatively soon or the name Galaxy S III wont pop up again until early 2012. The possibility also exists that this device is close to what we’ll see in the USA release of the Galaxy Note. We’ll see! Thanks for the tip, Alex!

UPDATE: Per Concept Phones:

“Samsung Russia just contacted us and said this is not a real phone. Here’s what they said: “The mock-ups, published in the article on Concept-Phones.com, were posted in the “Imagined Phones” section of “Samsung Phones Owners’ Club” group on VKontakte.ru. This section contains unofficial artworks and designs, created by group members, and are products of pure imagination, sometime even a joke”.” – Concept Phones

To see the rest of the concepts, check out the gallery they speak of at VKONTAKTE.RU, and enjoy the conceptual fun!

[via Concept Phones]

The Galaxy S WiFi 3.6 falls into the same strange category as the iPod touch, that offers almost all the same apps and multimedia capabilities of a smartphone and looks like a smartphone, but can’t actually make any phone calls. This perhaps appeals to those that want a dedicated media playing device that’s more affordable and won’t require an attached wireless contract.

It features a 3.6-inch 480×800 resolution display, a 1GHz TI OMAP processor, a VGA front-facing camera, and a 3-megapixel rear-facing camera. There are clear cost-cutting choices made here with the lower-resolution cameras and the non-AMOLED display. The device is already priced for the UK at £149 ($242) for the 8 GB model and £169 ($274) for the 16 GB model. No pricing or availability has been confirmed yet for the US.

Samsung made several other major announcements this morning, including the Galaxy Tab 7.7 and an unexpected Galaxy Note that straddles both the smartphone and tablet categories with its 5.3-inch screen. Make sure to check out our Samsung IFA 2011 wrap-up.

According to FOSS Patents, the preliminary injunction only applies in member countries of the European Patent Organization where a specific Apple software patent is valid. There are several countries in which the patent was not made valid because Apple did not complete the filing and pay the costs. Those countries include Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Spain.

Also, Samsung’s Korean parent company is not bound by the ruling, but the company’s primary European distribution hub is believed to be in the Netherlands. Samsung will have to reorganize its logistics chain in Europe before the ruling takes effect in about 7 weeks. The deadline for the decision was originally set for September 15 with any injunctions to take effect after October 13, but the Dutch courts delivered their decision early, which will also give Samsung more time to regroup.

This more extensive filing against Samsung in the Netherlands comes after Apple’s filing in Germany, which initially issued an Europe-wide preliminary injunction on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, but was later reversed to be effective in Germany only. Apple had also successfully hindered Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales in Australia.

[via FOSS Patents]

Samsung’s legal team made reference to their legal counterpart’s photo fiddling in court last week, with Simmons and Simmons lawyer Bas Berghuis claiming that the Cupertino company was “manipulating visual evidence, making Samsung’s devices appear more similar to Apple’s.” However, he did not illustrate his claims with any evidence, either of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 or the Galaxy S.

Discrepancies in the images Apple had used of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 in comparison to the iPad were identified earlier this month, with the proportions of the Android tablet modified so that it would look more akin to the iOS slate. In its text describing the Galaxy S, Apple does acknowledge that the phone possesses “some non-identical elements, such as the slightly larger dimensions,” but the images it uses to illustrate do not reflect such differences.

Legal experts differ in their interpretation of how serious Apple’s manipulations are to the ongoing case, with some playing down the tweaks and others arguing that it casts doubts over the company’s behavior in and out of the courtroom. Apple is now seeking an EU-wide injunction on all Samsung’s smartphones and tablets, after its preliminary injunction against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 was downgraded to cover only Germany. Neither company has commented on the image issue.

Much of Samsung’s case hinged on Apple’s broad interpretation of design. The form of a tablet or phone follows its function, the Korean’s legal team argued, highlighting that there were plenty of devices that look like the generic iPad/iPhone prior to the iPhone’s original debut. Samsung also brought along twenty alleged prior art examples, and even pointed to the 1994 “Knight-Ridder” tablet concept:

Meanwhile, Apple claimed to have done market research that discovered 80-percent of those surveyed believed the iPad and Galaxy Tab to be either “identical” or “similar in general impression,” though the judge criticized the company’s research methodology. According to Apple’s lawyers, consumers ended up “confused and angry” because of the original Samsung Galaxy S because of its similarity to the iPhone.

Samsung couldn’t help but get snippy, suggesting that it too held plenty of patents but “on real technology” before the session came to a close. No injunction, not yet at least, but the judge announced that the ruling would come on September 15 and that, if an injunction is the answer, that will be implemented no sooner than October 13.

[via Twitter]

Outwardly, the Galaxy S Plus GT-I9001 is identical to the phone it replaces. There’s the same plasticky chassis and 5-megapixel camera, 4-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen and undoubtedly iPhone-alike aesthetic in both the casing design and Samsung’s TouchWiz UI. You get 8GB of integrated storage (and a microSD card slot) along with a front-facing camera and Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

It’s the performance and battery which have seen the boost, however, with the original 1GHz Galaxy S comfortably out-performed in benchmarking by the new Plus variant. Samsung also reckons it will last 24-percent longer thanks to economy tweaks. Full benchmarks and details are over at Android Community, and expect the Galaxy S Plus to land on Vodafone UK imminently, priced from free on a new, two-year £31 per month agreement.

Update: Vodafone has put the Galaxy S Plus up for sale, and it’s cheaper than expected: free on contracts from £25.

This Galaxy XCover is aimed at those who like to play rough, it being the first Android device in the world with IP67 certification which applies to top protection against dust and temporary immersion (in liquid substances.) This device, as shown, can handle water, dust, mud, and being photographed by high-quality cameras in perfect lighting situations. This device will be rolling out with a scratch-resistant (perhaps even Gorilla Glass grade) sheet of glass up front of a 3.6-inch display with a 3.2 megapixel camera on the bac along with a volume up/down on the left, a power button on the right, and a rubber-covered headphone jack at the top.

This device is thus far only slated for release in Germany for October, this being another ominous sign that Samsung isn’t doing very well with getting devices released here in the United States as the Galaxy S II has yet to be released, the same being true of the Galaxy R as well. This device, once released, should be amongst the most rugged devices we’ve yet seen on the Android market, sitting right alongside the Casio G’zOne Commando and the Motorola Defy.

The big question here is if this device will aim to fight alongside the mid-range of Android devices on the market, or if it’ll have higher aspirations. It all depends very much upon the processor – details about which we have no clue thus far.

[via Android Community]

Signs of the GSII’s accelerated sales success were clear shortly after launch. The company set a new internal record earlier this month, when it announced it had sold 3m of the phones in 55 days; in contrast, the Galaxy S took 85 days to reach the same point.

The numbers are all the more impressive considering the Galaxy S II is yet to go on sale in the US. That’s expected to take place on Verizon initially, with suggestions this week pointing to an announcement in as little as 2-3 weeks, though Samsung is said to be working on versions for all four of the major carriers.

That sluggishness for carriers to adopt the Galaxy S II seems to have given Samsung the opportunity to whip up a custom version or two. Earlier this week, images leaked of the AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Slide, the 1.2GHz dual-core Android handset but with a pull-out QWERTY keyboard.

More on the Galaxy S II in the full SlashGear review.

[via Android Community]

The “Samsung Galaxy 3D” as it might be called will feature a glasses-free 3D display run on a Samsung in=house developed 1.2GHz dual-core Exynos processor. The display will be a 4.3-inch 3D LCD of an unknown type, will very possibly be upgraded to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich before its release due to the lateness in the year and the possibility that Ice Cream Sandwich will be out well before the device, and a unique ability will supposedly be present here in this device: the ability to output 3D content through HDMI to 3D capable televisions.

This would be a giant breakthrough if indeed it does come to fruition as thus far the ability to share 3D media is limited to the devices mentioned earlier in this article and translations to online sources such as YouTube 3D. Having born witness to a Texas Instruments keynote during Mobile World Congress 2011 about the viability of a 3D media sharing modern social world, the prospect of additional innovation being brought in by Samsung is quite exciting to me.

I’ve gotten a good look at the Optimus 3D as well as the HTC EVO 3D, and barring the headaches one might get from them after prolonged use, they’re certainly boats floating to a strange new future. This strange new future is one I’m glad to be a part of! That is, as soon as I get a new bottle of Ibuprofen.

[via Sammy Hub]

The original Galaxy S, Samsung says, hit the 3m sales point in 85 days, which means that the second-gen model has basically shortened that record by a month. In the UK, Samsung has been the most-sold mobile brand for 17 weeks continuous, while the company holds 36-percent of the smartphone market in Switzerland.

Back when we reviewed the Galaxy S II in April, we praised its incredibly clear screen and speedy dual-core processor, as well as the impressive 1080p HD video recording and crisp 8-megapixel stills. The subsequent arrival of the HTC Sensation gave the Samsung its first real competition, but the phone’s comparative openness to modification meant Android hackers flocked to the GSII.

[via OLED-Info]

There’s gold and silver awards in each of the following three categories: Display of the Year, Display Application of the Year, and Display Component of the Year. The first two categories had the same two manufacturers in first and second, Apple and Samsung. Samsung is more than likely crying and stomping their feet because everyone knows that their AMOLED displays are wild and they’re gunning for the top. That said, here’s the results:

Display of the Year
Gold Award: Apple iPhone 4 Retina Display
Silver Award: Samsung Mobile Display On-cell Touch AMOLED

Oh my goodness what a battle that was! Those winners and every other winner is explained in a bit more detail in the press release below. Continuing on with the Display Application of the Year, it’s again Apple and Samsung in the first and second place. Whether or not Apple is pumping their first for their winning iPad entry is anyone’s guess – Samsung on the other hand just can’t seem to win enough awards for it’s undeniable Galaxy S line of Android phones.

Display Application of the Year
Gold Award: Apple iPad
Silver Award: Samsung Galaxy S Mobile Smartphones

Finally, the oddity. Display Component of the year is the sweet category where real odd and awesome innovation is really high-fived the most. It’s here that Apple and Samsung don’t even show up, much less get first and second. E Ink Triton Color ePaper and some flexible substrate for displays from ITRI are the big Gold and Silver. Flexibility in ePaper – a combination that cannot be beat save for by the real thing. No more dead trees!

Display Component of the Year
Gold Award: E Ink Triton™ Color ePaper Display
Silver Award: ITRI Flexible Substrate for Displays

Do you think these are the best choices for each of the gold belt titles? Which display did you like best in 2010? How about thus far in 2011? Let us know, let’s talk!

Check out the full press release for all the extra details:

SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION DISPLAY NAMES PRODUCTS CHOSEN FOR 2011 DISPLAY OF THE YEAR AWARDS

Apple, E Ink, ITRI and Samsung Top Field in Remarkable Year for Display Innovation

CAMPBELL, Calif., May 17, 2011— (Virtual Press Office) – The Society for Information Display (SID), the leading global organization dedicated to the advancement of electronic display technology, today announced its selections for the 2011 Display of the Year Awards (DYAs). The prestigious annual awards honor the products judged by the international DYA committee to exhibit the greatest degree of technical innovation, commercial significance and likely social impact, among other factors. This year’s winners comprise myriad breakthrough developments, and given the preponderance of mobile/handheld technologies, DYA 2011 could easily be subtitled the “Up Close and Personal” awards.

Bob Melcher, chairman of the SID Display of the Year Awards committee, noted, “This list of 2011 DYA award winners honors innovations that are continuing to make interactions with handheld communication and computing devices more exciting, intuitive and useful than ever before. They demonstrate the remarkable contributions made by the display industry to broaden and enhance the lives of people.”

The six products chosen—two each for Display, Display Component and Display Application of the Year—will be honored during Display Week 2011, being held this week at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The Gold Award-winning company in each category will screen a short video on its winning product during the awards ceremony at the annual SID luncheon on Wednesday, May 18.

A brief description of each of the winning products is provided below. In-depth descriptions of the award winners can be found in the Display Week 2011 Show Issue of Information Display magazine.

Display of the Year

Gold Award: Apple iPhone 4 Retina Display
This year, Apple extended its track record of revolutionizing personal communications technology with the introduction of the industry-leading iPhone 4 Retina display. Packing four times the number of pixels into the same 3.5-in. dia. screen found on earlier iPhone models, the 640×960-pixel Retina display set a new benchmark for mobile display resolution, low power consumption and image quality. Utilizing Mobile IPS (in-plane switching) technology, the iPhone 4 Retina display achieves a viewing angle superior to conventional mobile LCDs, providing an enhanced viewing experience for the end user in virtually any application. The display features a host of technical advancements: customized LTPS TFT backplane with organic passivation and optimized pixel design; user-customizable, auto-adjustable brightness using ambient light sensing; advanced IPS compensation polarizer technology for high contrast (800:1) and color consistency regardless of viewing direction; 8-bit color depth; an ultra-thin, tiny-footprint driver IC; and patent-pending mechanical integration.

Silver Award: Samsung Mobile Display On-cell Touch AMOLED
Samsung Mobile Display developed its OCTA – on-cell touch active-matrix light-emitting diode (AMOLED) – display to meet the ever-increasing performance and industrial design demands of today’s modern mobile devices. Unlike prior-generation touch-capable mobile displays, the OCTA display integrates the touch sensor onto the display itself, rather than fabricating the sensor on a separate glass substrate and then laminating it onto the display. This innovation, embodied in the OCTA’s projected capacitive touch detection technology, greatly reduces product weight and thickness, while increasing touch performance and response via the multi-sensor input capability that enables gesture recognition for the most advanced mobile devices. Moreover, because AMOLEDs are self-emissive, no backlight is required, allowing the Samsung OCTA display to deliver very high performance and exceptional display quality, with highly accurate and sensitivity-optimized touch input, in a module that is less than 2 mm thick and provides nearly 100-percent light transmission and exceptional outdoor visibility.

Display Application of the Year

Gold Award: Apple iPad
The iPad marks a new era of tablet computing, transforming the way people communicate, consume and create content, play games and learn. The iPad LCD’s Mobile IPS technology combines with its innovative Multi-Touch user interface and unique system design to enable the iPad’s versatility in numerous applications. The iPad display provides a superior viewing experience with a minimized gamma shift over viewing angles, enabling designers to create innovative apps that further enhance the viewing experience. The iPad’s fully customized design leverages the existing amorphous silicon thin-film transistor (a-Si TFT) infrastructure in an innovative, ultra-thin product with the unique LCD and an innovative power-management system that achieves maximum power efficiency – 10 hours of battery life for WiFi web surfing and 9 hours for 3G web surfing.

Silver Award: Samsung Galaxy S Mobile Smartphones
In June 2010, Samsung Mobile launched its first-ever premium portfolio of smartphones – the first-ever premium smartphone suite to be simultaneously unveiled by all four major U.S. mobile carriers. The Galaxy S lineup provides a premium viewing experience with a brilliant 4-inch display powered by Samsung’s Super AMOLED touch-screen technology, which yields thinner displays to enable some of the industry’s thinnest, most responsive, full-featured smartphones. Created to be an ideal medium for viewing premium entertainment content, the Samsung Galaxy S phones tap into Samsung’s own content service, Samsung Media Hub, optimized for the best viewing and audio experience based on device screen size, screen type, video resolution, memory type, processor and sound profile. The next-generation Super AMOLED Plus adds RealStripe screen technology and a greatly increased sub-pixel count – 50 percent more sub-pixels than the original Super AMOLED – complementing the mechanics of the human eye to ensure images look clearer and more detailed than ever before.

Display Component of the Year

Gold Award: E Ink Triton™ Color ePaper Display
E Ink Triton™ is a color electronic paper display, which delivers the same great paper-like reading experience adopted by eReader devices around the world, but now with the added capability of color. Triton delivers the same high-contrast, sunlight-readable, low-power performance as the black and white E Ink Pearl™ product. The addition of color enhances the reading experience to better address the needs of ePublishing markets, including eBooks, eNewspapers, eMagazines and eTextbooks, as well as electronic signage. Triton adds a color filter array (CFA) over a black and white electrophoretic display (EPD) film. Each pixel in the CFA consists of four sub-pixels; red, green, blue and white. This arrangement creates a low-power EPD display with thousands of colors that is highly readable in direct sunlight yet does not sacrifice the black and white reading experience. In addition to color, E Ink Triton delivers 20 percent faster page update times compared to previous technologies.

Silver Award: ITRI Flexible Substrate for Displays
ITRI has developed an innovative flexible substrate for displays of all sizes. Compatible with existing TFT infrastructures and processes, the ITRI flexible substrate is a novel inorganic dominated silica/polyimide (PI) hybrid film whose silica content can be increased to as high as 60 percent of the total weight, making it highly suitable for the fabrication of flexible displays. The ITRI flexible substrate can be manufactured with either batch-type or roll-to-roll (R2R) processes. For batch-type processes, the substrate is prepared by coating the PI solution on glass carriers, and then fabricating TFT devices on the substrates. The PI/silica film exhibits excellent adhesion with silicon dioxide, silicon nitride and indium-tin-oxide without requiring any other primer or surface treatment process. For R2R processes, the ITRI substrate can be made with a variety of attractive properties, such as a low coefficient of thermal energy (CTE) of 20 ppm/ºC, high transmittance (around 90 percent, within the wavelength range of 400 to 700 nm) and excellent flexibility. To date, a flexible color filter, an active-matrix electrophoretic display (AM-EPD) and a flexible touch film have been made on the ITRI flexible substrate.

The Apple vs. Samsung legal battle is an interesting one despite the myriad of lawsuits already in full swing amongst all the major manufacturers. Apple is Samsung’s number two largest client and fills up 4% of their annual revenue, whereas Samsung is also Apple’s major components supplier in semi-conductors, memory, and displays.

For a really good breakdown of Apple’s lawsuit against Samsung, visit here.

The software is released via KIES, Samsung’s PC app for managing handsets, with an OTA notification if the global release is anything to go by. We’re currently updating KIES to see if our open-market generic Galaxy S is ready to play with Gingerbread; let us know how you get on with the install in the comments.

[via Android Community]