According to reports, the Galaxy Note 10.1 will have two options in the color department, black and white and two options when it comes to internal memory.  The 16GB model will be sold for just $550, while you can double the amount of memory for just another $50 and get the 32GB model for $600.  If the price tag is keeping you from running to the store to pick on up, Samsung has decided to sweeten the deal by adding three months of Hulu Plus service, a one-year subscription to Boingo hotspots, 50GB of Dropbox storage, 12 weeks worth of the New York Times and one year of Bloomberg Businessweek all for free.

That should give you plenty of content to check out from the first day that you activate your device.  The Galaxy Note 10.1 device was showcased very briefly at the IFA 2013 event held this month, but at the time it was more about getting the public to check out the Galaxy Gear and Galaxy Note 3 devices.  One of the most notable feature changes for the Galaxy Note 10.1 is that the display resolution has been bumped up to 2560×1600 pixels.

The tablet is powered by Samsung’s Exynos 5420 quad-core processor and 3GB of RAM.  Besides the 16GB or 32GB of internal memory that you get, The Note 10.1 also comes with a microSD card slot for memory expansion.  A 2MP webcam is located on the front side, while an 8MP shooter is situated on the back and comes with auto focus and LED flash built in.  With a price that high, Samsung might have a hard time getting people to buy it with the new Nexus 10 coming out for only $399.  The 10-inch tablet market is about to get very tight and it will be interesting to see what company holds out on top.

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Microsoft had offered a similar option for those with an iPad, giving a switch incentive to those that wanted to try out the new Windows 8 tablet from the company.  The deal might be tempting to some users with an older iPhone that do not feel like upgrading to the iPhone 5S, but honestly, most iPhone users are finding that older iPhone sell very well on eBay and Craigslist.  With that in mind, a consumer could still sell their iPhone and then take that money to Microsoft to pick out a Windows Phone powered device if they wanted to.

Microsoft is  not offering you top dollar for your used device, but if you want to get the deal done and without hassle, the company’s offer might not be a bad one.  The deal from Microsoft might be a little too late, since most of the consumers that were going to upgrade, did so with 9 million others that upgraded in the first weekend that Apple offered the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C for sale.  The main reason that anyone would switch to a Windows Phone powered device would be on a contract expiration and they are fed up with iOS and the iPhone altogether.

Even though that is not likely, if you have had an iPhone for some time, you might want to try something different and going with a Windows Phone powered smartphone would certainly be a big change on your part.  Microsoft is not likely to see any sort of major shift of users over to its devices, but it is still a nice option to offer consumers that might not be sure what to do with their older iPhone.  Microsoft took a hit on its Surface tablet line, so anything they can try to gain attention would be expected.

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According to a recent rumor, the Galaxy Note 3 was going to come with a flexible display and before Samsung could confirm or deny, an executive from Korea already made comments that the company was going to be releasing a curved smartphone.  The new model is due to arrive next month in Korea and bound for other regions of the world by early next year.  Samsung announced two different models of the Galaxy Note 3 this month, but neither of them included a flexible display.  The differences between the two came down to the processor and LTE connectivity.

Samsung did not offer that many details about the new smartphone and its curved display, however the phone is coming and it’s about time since the company has been working on concepts for many years.  The phone itself will not be flexible, however the curved display will provide a more sturdy display and will allow for better protection against damage.  The curved displays are made with graphene and will react to drops and dings in a much better way than displays do today.  While the technology world would very much appreciate something new and exciting like this, Samsung is still trying to find ways to commercialize the feature.

Having the option of a flexible display, smartphone and tablet makers will be able to come up with more complex designed devices that would easily be a part of the premium market.  The devices might be neat to have and to hold, but the concepts are not going to be practical and are not likely to take sales away from other devices that Samsung sells like the Galaxy Note or the Galaxy S series.

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Microsoft announced the Surface 2 and the Surface Pro 2 this week and along with it came a bunch of new accessories that turn your Surface tablet into a device that is even more productive than before.  Pricing was not revealed at the time for the 4G LTE model of the tablet that operates on the Windows RT 8.1 software.  Microsoft also did not mention what mobile carriers would be ready to support the tablet in the United States, but you can guess that AT&T will be one of them.  The Wi-Fi model of the tablet was announced Monday and it said that it will be selling to consumers for just $450.

The Wi-Fi model will be shipping by the end of October, or the 22nd to be exact.  If you decide to pick up the LTE model of the Surface 2 you will be also getting GPS support, as well, in fact there are videos online showing the tablet being used as a navigation system in a car.  Third party companies have already developed mounts that fit the iPad, iPad Mini, Nexus and Surface RT tablets, so there is no reason to believe they would skip passed the Surface 2.

Microsoft is still trying to compete with Apple, as are all other companies in the mobile world, but with the addition of the LTE support and other features that it brings, some wonder if it will be enough to gain the attention needed from consumers in order to make the sales.  Sales for the original Surface models were slow and with the Surface RT selling for $500 when it arrived, some thought that the tablet would compete with the iPad based on the price.  Consumers did not bite and Microsoft was forced to write off more than $900 million and cut the price to just $350.

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Initially, Samsung announced that the Galaxy Note would be released to consumers in the United States sometime in October, but that is likely to be the model that is heading to mobile carriers in the country.  The unlocked model is not going to be tied to any one carrier and if you want the 32GB model you will be paying more than the subsidized price that is offered by mobile carriers.  According to the leaked screenshots, the price is listed at $999, but that is not likely an actual price.

The unlocked model is more likely to cost consumers around $600 when it is officially announced this week.  Best Buy is also likely to offer some sort of bundle or promotion pricing so stay tuned for that if you are interested in the unlocked model.  The model that is listed on the leaked screenshots appears to be the Samsung N9000, which is the model without LTE support powered by the Exynos 5 Octa processor.  There are plenty of video posted online that show the already popular features of the brand new, third generation Galaxy Note device.

The device was announced this month and along with the announcement came information that confirmed the rumors that have been flying around since the device was first talked about.  Featuring a huge, 5.7-inch Super AMOLED touch screen display with 1080 HD resolution and 386ppi pixel density, quad-core processor clocked at 2.3GHz, Adreno 330 graphics processor and 3GB of RAM.  Internal memory is listed at 32GB, but a microSD card slot is also included for expansion.  The back side features a 13MP camera with tons of features including video recording at 1080p at 60 frames per second.

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The HP Slate 7 is one of those devices that showed up on the market with hopes of stealing a little bit of that valuable market share from the Google Nexus 7 with a device that is priced at just $142.99.  Just by judging on the price, you know the company has had to skimp on features and hardware to get the price that low and because of that it does not compare to the Nexus 7 from this year.  Specs for the HP Slate 7 include a dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal memory 3MP camera and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

Another affordable device that you might not have thought about, mainly because it does not appear in the news much, is the Nook HD+ from Barnes and Noble.  Similar to the Kindle Fire from Amazon, the Nook HD+ is operating on a over customized version of the Android operating system, but the Nook HD+ recently got access to the Google Play store along with a price drop.  Specs include a dual-core processor 9-inch display, 1GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, a microSD card slot and support for HDMI.

Another device at least comes from a company that knows what they are doing and actually produced the first Nexus 7 tablet.  The ASUS MeMO Pad HD tablet starts at just $129 and even though the hardware cannot be as impressive as the Nexus 7, but with a price tag about $100 less it can be compared in a few ways.  The ASUS MeMO Pad HD comes with its own user interface and extra features that include Movie Studio and Power Saver.  Specs include the 7-inch display, a quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of memory, microSD card slot, a 5MP camera and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

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Recently, two filings with the FCC reportedly show a device that went through the testing process with the Android 4.4. KitKat software installed on it.  A few weeks ago, a video leaked online around the time that KitKat was announced that reportedly showed the new Nexus 5 and that might actually have been the case as information starts to build around that rumor becoming truth.  Other benchmark tests have also been posted online that reportedly show the Nexus 5 with Android 4.4 installed, but even though benchmarks can be faked, the Google Nexus 5 codename, “Hammerhead”, was included in that information.

Some of the features that were listed with the Nexus 5 benchmark test include a full HD 1080p display, Android 4.4, also known as Android KitKat, operating system and an Adreno 330 CPU, which is actually the Snapdragon 800 from Qualcomm.  The quad-core Snapdragon 800 will give the phone a good boost in the processing department as it has been clocked at 2.3GHz at least and is one of the fastest chipsets on the market right now.

Rumors online have pointed to the fact that Android KitKat will be coming with the Nexus 5 on the 14th of October, which means that it is very likely that Google will officially announce the software in the coming weeks.  Recently a device that was supposedly the Nexus 5 passed through Wi-Fi certification as well, bring more of a concrete feeling to the rumors that have been floating around for months.  Other than the Nexus 5, there have been rumors that consumers could see a Motorola Nexus, which is different from the Moto X, but information about that possibility has been all but a mystery.

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Since it was announced months ago, the PadFone Infinity has gone through some changes that include overall design, as well as changes to the hardware on the inside of the device.  The first version was said to have the quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor installed in it, but the processor that is coming on the retail version of the device appears to be the upgraded Snapdragon 800  from Qualcomm.  The new processor bumps the speeds up to 2.3GHz and will provide plenty of improved performance for those that buy the device.

A new microSD card slot was also installed on the device and the company claims that a “brand new UI” will be running on top of the pre-installed Android 4.2 software.  The overall design changed via a “diamond cut” pattern on the back side that gives the PadFone Infinity a “higher end” look, according to online sources.  Other than those few changes it appears that the remaining features are the same as the ones that were showcased earlier this year.  That includes a 5-inch touch screen display with a 1080p HD resolution, 2GB of RAM and a battery with 2400mAh.

The PadFone also has the ability to be installed inside of the 10-inch PadFone Station bringing the display size up and adding more usage time with an addition battery pack.  Other specs included with the PadFone Infinity are the 13MP camera on the back side of the device, but ASUS added a new PixelMaster feature that can combine pixels to produce a very clear, 3MP photo.  Having a photo that is higher quality and worth sharing will be nice, but that the same time it won’t take up a ton of space, so your internal memory will be free.

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The AT&T Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone is available for a reduced sale price now starting at only one penny!

If you remember, the Galaxy S3 was one of the devices that was going to skip the Android 4.2 update in favor of the Android 4.3 software.  Most consumers understood the reasoning behind the waiting period, especially after many of the users started complaining about the Android 4.2 software after it was installed.  Samsung has not confirmed the software update at this time, but rumors suggest that the Android 4.3 will be coming very soon.  Because Samsung did not confirm the software, there is no way to know whether the Android 4.3 update will also bring support for the Samsung Galaxy Gear smart watch.

Android 4.3 Jelly Bean software does support the Bluetooth Low Energy technology, so it could be entirely possible that users will be able to control their phone via the new gadget.  The Galaxy Gear was announced this week by Samsung and it allows users to control their smartphones without touching them, among other things.  Instead of using the NFC technology found in most phones, the Galaxy Gear is powered by the Bluetooth support that is also found in most smartphones.  Typically, those in the United States are the last to see a device updated, but it looks like the leaked information is going to give a different outcome.

The build number that is listed on the benchmark is JSS15J and it looks to be a build from September, so it is very possible that it is a test build from AT&T, but it could also be something else altogether.  Benchmarks scores and other information can be faked very easily, so this is going to have to wait for some confirmation from either Samsung or AT&T.  Because Samsung promised the update in October, the news does line up with that promise, as well as the fact that the device has not been updated since the Premium Suite showed up.

The AT&T Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone is available for a reduced sale price now starting at only one penny!

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The Samsung Galaxy Gear was showcased at the IFA 2013 event in Berlin this month and many got to see a detailed demonstration of the many features that a smartwatch will come with.  This is not the first smartphone watch on the market, however, there is another product called the “Pebble smartwatch, but many are putting Samsung’s version ahead of that one in terms of features and hardware.  AT&T did not mention any exact date that it would be shipping the device, but typically a company is not going to take pre-orders if they will not be shipping within a couple weeks.

The Samsung Galaxy Gear will be priced at $299 and features a 1.63-inch AMOLED touch screen display that is essentially strapped to your wrist.  The Gear the can be synced to your smartphone, which will then send any notifications to your smartwatch where you can review them.  The smartwatch is also used to send simple commands to your smartphone allowing users to communicate with it without having to dig it out of a pocket, bag or briefcase.  The Galaxy Gear is made with a stainless steel body and rubber strap that is both stylish and comfortable.

The color of the rubber strap can be changed to fit your liking and it also comes with a built in camera, speaker, microphone for making and receiving calls via Samsung’s S Voice.  The Galaxy Gear will make and take calls for you and all you have to do is raise your hand to your ear.  With the placing of the speaker and microphone, the user will be able to hear the caller without any problems according to Samsung.  The Galaxy Gear battery lasts about 25 hours and that is mostly because it is powering the AMOLED display and 800MHz processor on the inside.

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