Patent Armageddon is set to take place in less than a month thanks to dates set by Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero. The settlement talks were originally ordered by Judge Lucy Koh of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, in hopes that Samsung and Apple’s CEOs and their chief lawyers could reach an agreement to end the 50+ lawsuits filed by the two.
There’s no question Samsung has been the dominant force in the Android world. They’ve managed to nail multiple Nexus devices, and even managed to convince the world it needed a phablet. So it came as no surprise when Samsung announced record Q1 profits for 2012. Samsung pulled in nearly $40 billion in sales and a record $5.1 billion in operating profit (around $4.46 billion after taxes). Samsung has its mobile division to thank for the strong showing as it accounted for 78% of their profits. Samsung is banking on their upcoming Samsung Galaxy S III to push profits even higher in Q2 and they’re already saying it will be “our most successful smartphone ever.”
Looks like Samsung has “unpacked” a little early and let the cat out of the bag regarding what processor will be powering their “Next Galaxy” device. In an official announcement, Samsung has unveiled the new Exynos 4 Quad processor along with the fact that the “Next Galaxy” will be the first to be fitted with the chip. Samsung is boasting double the processing power at a 20 percent lower power bill over its predecessor, the 45nm process based Exynos 4 Dual. That claim, while impressive, is backed by its 32nm HKMG low-power process and power-saving design, hot-plug functionality for on-off switching of cores, full HD 30 frame per second video hardware codec engine, embedded image signal processor interface and HDMI 1.4 interface (whew).
It looks like Google has once again decided to start selling devices directly to consumers. In a surprise move, Google has added a new “Device” section to its Google Play Store and begun offering unlocked, contract-free, GSM/HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus devices for the low price of $399.99. The GSM version will work on more than 200 GSM providers worldwide, including AT&T and T-Mobile here in the U.S.
Everyone wants to know if their device will be getting some Ice Cream Sandwich love and even though most manufacturers have already outlined their plans for updates, Samsung has gone one step further by putting together a new FAQ section. This new FAQ gives users a carrier-to-carrier breakdown of which devices will receive Android 4.0 — all of which have been confirmed. If you own a Samsung device and are curious to know if it’ll be getting Android 4.0, check out the lists below and then start holding your breath.
