Samsung’s Galaxy Camera is a truly remarkable device. To begin with, it’s the first of its kind, offering a truly powerful and capable camera running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The connectivity options on board are truly a tech-enthusiast’s dream come true. Then, you can do a lot more on the device than you’d be able to on any traditional point and shoot camera. Despite being priced rather steep, there’s a lot of love that the unorthodox Android device has received. You have root access on the Galaxy Camera whilst running Android Jelly Bean, and then there’s an unlocked boot loader, too. Is there more to wish for? Yes, you certainly can, because XDA member Adam Outler has discovered some neat Samsung internal codes that can be executed even on the Galaxy Camera to gain access to hidden menus and secret areas.
Flashing new ROMs every now and then is something that’s almost a must for any Android owner that wants to modify their device in any way, and if you’re using custom ROMs, this phenomenon is going to be even more frequent. Developers continually release newer versions of their offerings at a very fast pace, and more often than not, you may find yourself flashing a new ROM every other day. While all of this is both exciting and rewarding, you may at times run into some problems with the firmware that you’re trying, ultimately resulting in the need to go back to a stock one. Samsung devices here have a clear advantage over the rest of the crowd, in that they have Odin3 – the magical tool that lets you download stock Samsung ROMs and flash them to your Android phone with ease. While other manufacturers do prefer offering something similar, Odin3 remains, by far, the easiest to use.
If you own a Samsung branded Windows Phone 7.5 device, then we have some great news for you - you're getting a software update! The upgrade path for Windows Phones has been something of a black hole of information for the platform's users. Those who picked up one of Samsung’s Windows Phone 7.5 devices not too long ago have found themselves fearing the worst after learning that their relatively new handsets would not be updated to the all-singing, all-dancing Windows Phone 8 platform. But what about Windows Phone 7.8, it's slightly smaller, less exciting brother?
A couple of days ago, we learned a new software vulnerability within Samsung's hardware courtesy of a member of the thriving XDA-Developer forums, and at the time, it was classed as a kernel level exploit providing the perfect breeding ground for malicious apps to access physical memory of devices affected. Today, Samsung has stepped out and confirmed the existence of the vulnerability, stating its intent to address the situation as a matter of urgency.
No matter how many hardware or software improvements a company makes to a device over a given period of time, there will always be flaws, and in the case of Samsung's coveted Galaxy S III i9300, Wi-Fi roaming bugs have plagued many a user. Wherever there is a limitation or a fault, though, there is always a developer on hand looking to solve it, and in this case, the remedy arrives courtesy of XDA-Developers member felixchris. We've got all the details after the jump!
In the smartphone spectrum, Samsung has been the market-leader for a while now, but for the first time in fourteen years, the Korean company has piped rival Nokia to the summit of the overall cellphone market in 2012. As Samsung has continued to grow in the smartphone realm thanks to releases like the Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II, the cellphone crown - held almost indefinitely by Nokia since the widespread use of mobile phones - has this year been snatched by Samsung.
CyanogenMod 10.1 is really gaining traction, and in its quest to bring Android 4.2 to as many Android-based devices as possible, has now made nightlies available to the Galaxy S and Galaxy S III. Great news for those in ownership of either Samsung device it most certainly is, although it's important to note that the nightly builds only cover the AT&T and T-Mobile variants of the S III.
What’s better than a powerhouse of a tablet that’s running on Android? The same tab running on CyanogenMod 10.1, which entails Android 4.2 goodness for all that support it. Why, you ask me? Because CM 10.1, or any AOSP ROM, for that matter, brings with it a freedom that you are very unlikely to find anywhere else. For most power users of Google’s smartphone and tablet operating system, trying different ROMs is almost a weekly affair, if not more frequent. Following suit, I have tried a lot of ROMs on my Android tablets, from Stock to ROM ports to AOSP builds like CyanogenMod and Android Open Kang Project (AOKP), but I have always kept coming back to CM because of the ‘balance’ that it offers, between features and stability, and because it carries with it a sense of reliability.
Samsung's "phablet" Galaxy Note series has proved a surprise hit with consumers, and with the second iteration boasting one of the largest displays in the smartphone industry, its successor - according to a report from Samsung's native South Korea - will set a new benchmark in terms of screen real-estate. The Note II may already be enormous with its 5.5-inch offering, but as TheKoreaTimes reports, the Galaxy Note III could boast an eye-watering 6.3-inch display upon its release next year.
When Apple's iOS 6 initially launched back in September, the backlash against the Apple Maps offering was fierce, and Samsung made sure Apple lived to rue its shortcomings by running an ad mocking the Cupertino's paltry replacement of Google Maps. But with Australian police having gone one step further in labeling Apple Maps as a potential no go, Sammy is once again dancing on the proverbial grave, as CNET Australia reports.
