Samsung Galaxy Prevail leads the way for Samsung in the U.S. from June 2010-2012

Thanks to the Apple v. Samsung patent trial, both firms have been forced to open up their books for examination, something both are usually quite reluctant to do. Apple and Samsung both filed some interesting info with the court on Thursday. Looking at U.S. sales from June 2010 through June 2012, the Korean based carrier revealed that they sold 21.25 million phones to bring in $7.5 billion. At the same time, 1.4 million Samsung GALAXY Tab and Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 tablets were sold accounting for $644 million in revenue. 

During the two year period from June 2010 to June 2012, Samsung's  number one seller in the States based on units sold was the Samsung Galaxy Prevail which rang up 2.25 million handsets. That was followed by the 1.89 million units of the Samsung Epic 4G that were purchased, and the 1.67 million units sold of the Sprint version of the Samsung Galaxy S II (Samsung Epic 4G Touch). When talking dollars, it was the Samsung Epic 4G that ruled the roost in those 24 months, lining Samsung's coffers with $855 million. Because many Samsung models were exclusive to one U.S. carrier, like the Epic 4G, the bottom line is that many of them did quite well.

Internal Samsung sales document

Apple's figures revealed that from 2007 through the second quarter of 2012, the Cupertino based firm sold 85 million Apple iPhone units in the States which brought in $50 billion in revenue. During the same period, 46 million Apple iPod touches were sold worth $10.3 billion in revenue. Since the product's launch in 2010, Apple has sold 34 million Apple iPad tablets, adding $19 billion in sales.

Both sides have had to release information that they normally would jealously guard. Apple has turned over internal customer surveys for the Apple iPhone and Apple iPad and has asked the court to keep the information private. So far, Judge Lucy Koh has denied that request and Apple is appealing. Giant tech firms like Ericsson, Intel, RIM, Nokia and Microsoft have asked the court to keep certain information sealed that they provided the court, although Reuters America is trying to get that information publicly revealed.

After two days of recess on Wednesday and Thursday, the trial resumes Friday with more testimony from Apple's expert witnesses.

Alleged iPhone 5 battery leaks, capacity barely changed

In addition to all the leaked bits and pieces, supposedly belonging to the iPhone 5, we now have a photo of what is speculated to be the smartphone's battery. This new cell pack has a capacity of 1,440mAh, a voltage of 3.8V, and is rated at 5.45 watt hours. According to its labeling, the battery has been manufactured in June of 2012, which lines up nicely with the rumored iPhone 5 release in September.

However, something does not seem quite right. If rumors are to be trusted, the next iPhone will have LTE connectivity. We all know that LTE smartphones tend to be battery hogs, which is why their makers put bigger batteries in them. But this alleged iPhone 5 battery has a capacity of only 10mAh more when compared to the one inside the iPhone 4S. Moreover, all those leaked iPhone 5 components suggest that the smartphone will be taller, which would theoretically leave more room for a bigger battery pack to be installed. 

Of course, Apple could have used its witchcraft to make the LTE radio inside the iPhone 5 less power-hungry than we might think, which could potentially eliminate the need for a bigger battery. Besides, this is just a rumor we are dealing with here, and this battery pack could not be meant for the next iPhone at all. It might be a revised version of the iPhone 4S battery, so the iPhone 5's pack could be bigger after all. We will probably know with certainty sooner than later, since the iPhone 5 announcement is likely scheduled for September.

Apple iPad Mini releasing Sept 15. Price US $249

All you need to know about Apple's tiny tablet

The new iPad has been and gone, sporting a chunkier and heavier build than the iPad 2, which left some wondering: what's with all the extra weight?

However, it looks like Apple may be about to aid those conscious of extra grams in their bags, as rumours hot up about a potential iPad Mini (or iPad nano, if you prefer) arriving later this year.

As the Amazon Kindle Fire steals the budget tablet show and with more small, cheap tablets on the horizon, such as the Google Nexus tablet, Apple may well want a bite of the, well, apple.

Back in 2010, former Apple CEO Steve Jobs said that smaller screened tablets were not "sufficient to create great tablet apps" and would be "dead on arrival", so rumours suggesting a new iPad mini is in the works reveals a potentially new direction for the firm in its post-Jobs era. Believe it or not, there's certainly a lot of chat surrounding the iPad Mini, so we've scooped it all up, mushed it all together and expelled it into a handy round up, allowing you to keep track of every twist and turn. 

Update: A new report has examined the prospects for an iPad Mini - and how it might contribute to the company's bottom line, particularly with gamers and the educational market.

According to analyst Ben A. Reitzes, the iPad Mini would not be a threat to Apple's current domination with the New iPad, and is likely to be a favourite among gamers as well as educational institutes, particularly with the electronic textbooks introduced earlier this year.

iPad Mini release date

There's not even an official sign from Apple that the iPad Mini/iPad nano is even in the works, so a release date for the tablet is even more up in the air.

Although if the rumours turn out to be true, we can expect Apple to start rolling out the iPad Mini very soon after a extraordinarily over-hyped launch event.

According to a Digitimes source the iPad Mini/nano could start production in the third quarter of 2012.

Analyst Shaw Wu says the "exact timing" for an iPad mini release date "is difficult to predict", but said its launch is a "question of when, not if." Pretty confident then, are we, Shaw?

A report straight out of China suggests that key Apple manufactures Foxconn and Pegatron have started to receive orders for the new iPad mini. It goes on to say the factories will have 6 million units ready for a launch in Q3 of 2012.

When Apple announced its annual WWDC event running from June 11-15, which sold out in just two hours, there was some speculation that we could see the Cupertino firm announce the iPad mini there, but no new iPad broke cover at WWDC.

Update: A iMore source claims that the iPad Mini will be ready by October 2012. Hold on to your hats people!

Update: A Taiwanese source has claimed that the mini iPad will be in the hands of consumers before Christmas, with a third quater launch on the cards.

Update:According to Bloomberg an unnamed source said a tablet with a screen size of "7 to 8 inches diagonally" will arrive before 2012 reaches its close.

Update: The Wall Street Journal reports that sources in Apple's Asian supply chain have revealed the iPad Mini will go into production from September.

Update: The latest rumour in the mill of iPad Mini release dates comes from an unknown source (*sigh*) - which claims we'll see Apple take to the stage on September 12 to show off the next handset, alongside theiPhone 5.

Update: Or... the iPad Mini may be getting its own launch event in November, as stock of the tablet won't be ready for a September release.

iPad Mini price

Apple is known for its extravagant products, launch events and pricing policies, but the iPad Mini may herald a new era for those who long for an Apple device, but simply can't part with an arm and a leg to buy one.

It's thought that Apple's idea behind the iPad nano is to tackle the budget end of the market, where the Amazon Kindle Fire is currently king, and a Digitimes source predicts it could land with a very reasonable sub £200 ($249-$299) price tag.

Update: Could the iPad Mini be a super cheap tablet contender? It can according to one source, who claims it will land with a price tag between $200 and $250 (around £150) - we certainly hope this turns out to be true!

Update: Those famous "various analysts" and "industry sources" havespoken out again, confirming that the iPad Mini should arrive on the market for $249-$299 (around £159-£190).

Update: On 9 July, we covered a report from Japanese blog Macotakara which said that the iPad Mini price would be in the region of $250-$350 (around £160-£230).

Update:The New York Times has spoken to people "with knowledge of the project" - who claim the iPad Mini will be significantly cheaper than the current iPad.

iPad Mini display

As the name suggests, we're looking at an iPad which will be sporting a screen smaller than the stock 9.7-inch display found on the first three Apple tablets.

In February we saw a report from the Wall Street Journal claiming a source from an Apple component supplier had confirmed it was testing a smaller screen for Apple, in the region of 8-inches with a similar resolution to the iPad 2.

At the start of March, Digitimes reported that the new iPad Mini would actually come with a 7.85-inch display – a tad bigger than the 7-inch screen found on the Kindle Fire.

April saw Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu reveal that Apple had been testing devices with screens ranging from 4 to 12-inches and highlighted that the 7.85-inch format would be most likely "when, not if" the iPad mini is launched.

Wu also predicted the iPad nano would sport the same resolution as the original iPad and iPad 2, at 1,024 x 768 – meaning developers wouldn't have to tweak their apps.

Update: According to an iMore source, the mini iPad will sport a 7-inch screen with the same retina display as the iPhone 4S and new iPad.

Update: The 7.85-inch screen rumour gets ever stronger as industry sources claim the iPad Mini will sport IGZO display panels, which are capable of delivering a retina-quality display.

Update: According to Bloomberg's sources, the iPad Mini will not arrive packing the Retina Display featured on the new iPad 3.

Update: According to sources "with knowledge of the project", the iPad Miniwill indeed sport a 7.85-inch display.

Other iPad Mini specs

To help keep the cost of the iPad Mini down, one source reckons it will ship with just 8GB of internal storage - the same amount as the Amazon Kindle Fire.

In terms of thickness, Japanese blog Macotakara cites an unknown source, claiming the iPad Mini will be a 7.2mm thick.

Macotakara also wrote that the iPad Mini would come with 3G functionality.

iPad Mini early verdict

Well, we're still unsure whether Apple will go down the iPad Mini route. Steve Jobs made his stance on smaller tablets quite clear and it would be a daring move by the Cupertino-firm to go against its popular former boss.

The budget tablet market is one which is definitely growing, and one which Apple is currently not part of, so it won't be too much of a surprise if the firm does decide to go down this route.

We'd love to see a new iPad Mini come to market, as it would certainly give Amazon and co a run for their money... plus it would be intriguing to see what Apple would do with the smaller format.

iPad Mini release date, news and rumours

The new iPad has been and gone, sporting a chunkier and heavier build than the iPad 2, which left some wondering: what's with all the extra weight?

However, it looks like Apple may be about to aid those conscious of extra grams in their bags, as rumours hot up about a potential iPad Mini (or iPad nano, if you prefer) arriving later this year.

As the Amazon Kindle Fire steals the budget tablet show and with more small, cheap tablets on the horizon, such as the Google Nexus tablet, Apple may well want a bite of the, well, apple.

Nokia to Launch Android Device in end of 2012

If rumor mills are to be believed, Nokia is all set to join hands with Google's Android OS , to make a new range of devices starting end of 2012, We all know how Nokia has managed to stay aloof from Android and stick to Symbian OS, which eventually led to there sales figures coming down like the elevator in Burf Khalifa! Then we know the story of what went wrong with the MeeGo and MeeMo OS and how Nokia finally turned to Windows Mango to salvage the situation. That hasnt helped much either. So if we keep a count, Nokia has launched devices in almost four OSes till date, so frankly this news doesn't come as a surprise. The device is called the Nokia AIR.

Sony Xperia Ion launched in China with Android 4.0 ICS, brings Xperia Acro S and Xperia Go along

Sony has announced the launch of three new Xperia smartphones in China: the Xperia Ion (HSPA version – LT28h), Xperia Acros S, and Xperia Go.

Unlike in the US, where AT&T will start selling the Xperia Ion on June 24, with Android 2.3 Gingerbread on board, the handset is running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich from day one in China. Of course, AT&T’s Ion will be updated to ICS at some point, but we don’t know exactly when.

(from left to right: Xperia Ion, Xperia Acro S, Xperia Go)

In addition to releasing the Xperia Ion in China, Sony is also introducing the Xperia Acros S and Xperia Go there.

Both the Xperia Acro S and Xperia Go are running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. They’re water and dust-proof, and should become available in China after the Xperia Ion (sometime in the third quarter of the year).

LG Optimus L3 E405 Dual SIM smartphone announced

LG has announced the Optimus L3 Dual E405, Dual SIM version of the Optimus L3. LG showcased the Optimus L3 and other L-Style series of smartphones at MWC 2012 earlier this February and the Optimus L3 went on sale in India last month. LG announced earlier this week that Optimus L5 would come with Dual SIM capabilities in select markets.

The LG Optimus L3 Dual has SIM switch button similar to the Optimus Net Dual, to switch between the SIM cards quickly. Other features are similar to the single SIM version such as, 3.2-inch (320×240 pixels) display, 800MHz Processor, 3MP camera. It runs on Android 2.3.6 (Gingerbread).

Other features include, 384MB RAM, 1GB internal memory and expandable memory up to 32GB with MicroSD. The connectivity features include, 3G HSDPA 3.6Mbps, Bluetooth 3.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n. It has 1,500 mAh battery.

The LG Optimus L3 Dual would go on sale in Ukraine in July for about 1500 Ukrainian grivnas (~US$ 185). It would also be available in Russia.

BlackBerry® PlayBook™ 4G

Eclipse 4G LTE S4 Snapdragon Processor Superphone

Global Mobile Award Winner

Nokia future phone

iPad Vs PlayBook 4G 10 Inch

The New Sony Xperia™ mTab Concept World Congress 2012

How Games Are Driving a Mobile Graphics Revolution

How Games Are Driving a Mobile Graphics Revolution

The needs of players are helping to push advances from chip makers like Qualcomm and Nvidia.

Since Apple opened its App Store in 2008, catering to the needs of gamers has been increasingly important for mobile-device makers. While the iPhone was not designed primarily for games, they soon dominated the best-selling app charts, a pattern that was duplicated on Android devices and looks set to repeat with Windows phones. Qualcomm, a major manufacturer of chipsets for mobile devices, estimates that 60 percent of smart-phone users regularly play games on the devices.

Consequently, chip makers have been competing to provide mobile-device manufacturers with better and better graphics capabilities by means of dedicated processors that are now among the devices' most complex and powerful subsystems. Painting hundreds of thousands of pixels at a time, these graphics processors don't just display two-dimensional icons, pictures, and video but can render the complex 3-D environments of many modern video games—calculating, for example, how a sunbeam will reflect off a tattered flag as it flutters in a breeze.

Qualcomm spent $65 million in 2009 to buy the handset graphics operations of Advanced Micro Devices, which were originally part of ATI Technologies, an early leader in graphics processors for personal computers. ARM, which designs the general-purpose processor cores that power most of the world's smart phones, has been placing increasing emphasis on its Mali family of graphics processors, the first versions of which were announced in 2007. The overarching importance of graphics has even allowed Nvidia, which created the first commercial graphics processing unit in 1999 for the personal-computer games market, to enter the market with an eight-core graphics processor and a dual-core general-purpose processor bundled on the same chip. "The catalyst was Apple's iPhone," says Matt Wuebbling, director of product marketing for Nvidia. "It showcased a mobile device that is purely display based." That is, it relies on a graphical interface for all interactions with the user.

One of the biggest challenges companies like Qualcomm and Nvidia faced as they developed graphics processors for mobile devices was to provide advanced processing without draining a battery within 20 minutes. While graphics cards for personal computers often required beefed-up power supplies and cooling fans, Qualcomm calculates that its latest chips render a scene nearly as complex as those found in desktop computer games but use less than 1 percent as much energy as a desktop graphics processor.

Because the mobile market is so huge, chip makers can make investments that they couldn't afford for smaller targets. Market researcher iSuppli says that last year 295 million smart-phone handsets were shipped, compared with 27.2 million dedicated handheld gaming devices such as the Nintendo DS. The result has been a positive feedback loop: better hardware leads to more advanced games, which in turn stoke the demand for better hardware. Progress has been so rapid that mobile devices are moving toward the kind of graphic performance normally associated with video-game consoles and high-end PC systems. For example, last spring Sony Ericcson introduced the Xperia Play phone, which is capable of playing games designed for the original PlayStation console, and Apple says the iPhone4S contains a graphics processor from Imagination Technologies that is seven times faster than that of the iPhone 4.

Indeed, as mobile graphics power increases, growing numbers of users are likely to play some of their favorite mobile games on their big-screen TVs, by hooking up the handsets through a cable. In terms of the graphic capabilities available, says Wuebbling, "on the mobile side, for gaming, we're where PCs were 10 years ago."