Samsung integrated its Bada OS into the Tizen project a while ago, but we are yet see a smartphone running on the open source project. However, traces of a Samsung device running on Tizen was confirmed by a UAProf earlier and now, the images of the smartphone with Tizen 2.1 have surfaced online.
Images of Samsung Redwood with Tizen 2.1
The upcoming Tizen smartphone from Samsung has been codenamed "Redwood" and bears the GT-I8800 model name.
The design of the device looks quite similar to the company's own Galaxy smartphones. Samsung has obviously baked a few of its proprietary Android features into the Tizen OS such as S-Voice, Wi-Fi Direct and S-Beam.
The only thing we know about the Samsung I8800 Redwood is that it comes with a 720p display and runs the Tizen 2.1 OS.
The smartphone will be given away to some 500 developers, participating in the on-going Tizen Developer Conference for cross platform customizations.
So far we don't know whether that's actually a device that will be commercially available. It is possible that it only remains a developer's platform.
Apple is set to unveil the latest installment of iOS 7 at its Worldwide Developer Conference coming this June 10. Apple announced the event stating it "can’t wait to get the new versions of iOS and OS X" into the hands of developers.
We've heard that iOS 7 will likely sport a flatter design but we're now also hearing that the UI will revolve around black and white interface elements. The design teams behind the new iOS are planning on dropping heavy textures and moving away from the skeuomorphic philosophy, which former Senior VP of iOS Scott Forstall was so fond of.
The glossy surfaces and deep shadows will likely be changed in favor of a cleaner and flatter look - for instance the Notes app, which is reminiscent of a physical yellow pad will feature a white background.
The lockscreen will likely see a design change, too.
Apple is also working on a cleaner Notification center as well and could feature new widgets (aside from Stocks and Weather) and possibly a quickly-reachable toggles section for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc.
Vimeo and Flickr integration right into the OS could be on the way along with a dedicated FaceTime app for the iPhone.
Most of the pre-installed system apps will be overhauled. The Weather app, for instance, will include animated weather conditions such as rain, snow, etc. The Game Center will lose its green felt background and will probably come with a new icon. The Newsstand will shed the wood trimming for a new texture, like the one on OS X's app dock.
We won't have to wait too long to see the real thing ourselves. Apple is poised to show off iOS 7 in a couple of weeks and release it this fall along with the next iPhone hardware with frequent iOS 7 betas likely filling the months in between.
Between a second complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission and a new federal lawsuit in California, Nokia has added nine additional patents for a grand total of 50 infringement claims lobbed in HTC's direction.
HTC had little to say in response beyond its intentions to "consider all legal options to protect our rights."
HTC One ban?
Nokia accuses HTC of shifting any patent infringement blame onto its suppliers - a claim that's falling upon deaf ears in Nokia's native Finland.
"Despite the German courts confirming infringements of Nokia patents in HTC products, HTC has shown no intention to end its practices. We have therefore taken these further steps to hold HTC accountable for its actions."
According to Foss Patents, Nokia's second ITC complaint appears to be aimed at a full U.S. import ban on the HTC One, which is listed as one of the devices implicated.
Six patents singled out in the most recent ITC complaint include delivery of new features, video encoding/decoding, radio frequency components and "app-specific permissions."
Samsung announced the Galaxy Star in the beginning of April. It is a low-end droid, which will redefine the smartphone landscape with its rock bottom pricing.
The little smartphone runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and is powered by a single-core 1GHz processor. It features a 3" QVGA display, a 2MP snapper, 512MB of RAM, and an expandable 4GB worth of an internal storage.
The most important thing that we take away from Samsung's announcement today about the dual-SIM S5282 Galaxy Star hitting the shelves in India on July 31 is the ground-breaking (literally) price point.
The S5282 Galaxy Star will cost only around €70, which is straight feature-phone price segment and probably makes it the cheapest smartphone to be made by a major mobile phone manufacturer to date.
We hope the smartphone's availability in other countries around the world won't take long after the Indian launch on July 31.
There is still no official pricing and availability on the single-SIM version (S5280) of the Samsung Galaxy Star, but we bet it will launch about the same time.
Samsung has already said it's committed to delivering handsets running Tizen this year and the GT-i8805 may be our first glimpse of this promise coming to fruition.
The folks over at Techtastic spotted a user agent profile which apparently reveals details about its first mainstream Tizen-toting smartphone - dubbed "Redwood" and carrying the moniker Samsung GT-i8805.
According to the profile the GT-i8805 will sport a 1280 x 720 display, an older ARM Cortex A9 processor and 4G connectivity. Other reports suggest Samsung will launch its first Tizen handset in August or September this year.
The HTC One has made its way to Japanese carrier KDDI under the J One moniker. The device sports the same beautiful aluminum design, but now packs a microSD card slot for storage expansion.
The HTC J One also differentiates from its international sibling by the additional IR transmitter just below the camera. Right there's also the FeliCa logo for NFC-based payment capability. It isn't yet clear whether the KDDI version of the HTC J One will sport a removable back cover as the Chinese version of the device, but that seems to be the only place where the card slot could be located so it probably does.
Check out the KDDI's commercial for the HTC J One below.
The HTC J One will make its debut on Japan soil in early June. You still have enough time to check out our full HTC One review to decide if it's the right fit for your pocket.
You probably know Cat or Caterpillar as the guys in yellow and black, makers of construction equipment and those boots the cool kids were wearing for a little while. Now you can add smartphones to that list, thanks to the Cat B15.
Actually, the phone is made by Bullitt Mobile, a licensee of Cat, and this isn't its first smartphone rodeo under the Cat name. Its made a couple phones in the past, and it launched the Cat B15 at MWC 2013 in Barcelona. This rugged device has been available in Europe for a little while, and is making its North American debut at a pre-show event for CTIA 2013.
Rubber outside, Jelly Bean inside
The Cat B15 has a rubber and aluminum shell with a sweet Android 4.1: Jelly Bean center. It's built to make calls and survive falls; with just a 5-megapixel camera and dual-core 1GHz processor, it's not designed for much else.
As we mentioned, the Cat B15 has been available in Europe for a while now, and can actually be purchased as an unlocked device directly from Cat for $349/£300. Representatives showing the device couldn't name the U.S. carriers that will carry it.
No 4G here, sadly
However, we'll tell you that the Cat B15 is a GSM phone, so therefore AT&T and T-Mobile are your likely candidates. No dice with GSM carriers Sprint and Verizon. It's also 3G only, so forget about up-to-date data speeds.
Like a lot of rubberized and ruggedized phones, such as the Kyocera Torque, the Cat B15 looks like a phone in a heavy rubber case. Phones like this are bulky by nature, but it does seem like Cat has slimmed down the B15 as much as possible.
Looks like a handsome screwdriver
The B15 is just shy of 5-inches, with a width of 2.7-inches and .58-inches of thickness. It also feels pretty good, and doesn't weigh too much, just 5.9 oz. Its rubber body casing and aluminum sides give it the look of a toolbox or an eye-catching screwdriver.
The display is a 4-inch 480 x 800 screen resolution. But get this: it's designed to detect and stand up to wet finger, because the Cat B15 is waterproof at a depth of up to 1 meter, for thirty minutes. We actually had the chance to wet our digits and give the phone a swipe, and it did indeed work. Frequent snorkelers, we may have your net phone here.
The manufacturer also claims the B15 is "impervious to dust," which is likely thanks to all the rubber seals fitted in each and every port. The headphone jack up seals up, as does the micro-USB charging port.
Treat it like a rented phone
It's also rated for a drop of up to six feet, which should be more than enough to survive a tumble from your hand to the floor. Cat representatives on hand were eager to drop the phone and prove this claim.
Getting back to the build, one of the things we like least about a smartphone case is how it makes the buttons difficult to push. Luckily, the B15's yellow rubber buttons weren't too bad. They didn't press as easy as an iPhone 5's unlock button, but they didn't take too much effort, either.
It opens up, no mallet required
You wouldn't think it, but the B15 actually has an open body design. It takes some doing, but you can unlatch the back and open it up to reveal a 2000 mAh battery and microSD slot. There's only 4GB of on board storage, so it's a good thing you can add an additional 32GB.
Of course, this isn't really a media centric or image snapping phone. The camera is only 5-mp and the processor is low-end, but flipping across menus and diving into the app draw, the B15 was no slouch. We didn't detect any stuttering, and the browser opened with acceptable speed.
We'd guess that's Jelly Bean at work, as the B15 runs a version that's darn close to stock. We noticed just one toolbar that smacked of manufacturer meddling.
Early Verdict
When a brand like Cat enters the smartphone game, it's tempting to look at it as selling a name, not a phone. Cat has parleyed its black and yellow good looks and blue collar street cred into clothes, boots, watches and more. Its even appeared at London Fashion Week.
We won't know if Cat is a smartphone dilettante until we have the B15 in for a full review, but there's a good chance the phone could prove it's worth, and frankly, phones like this could use a little style. We've all seen far too many hideously shattered iPhones and over-the-top protective cases. If someone could sell a tougher phone to that crowd, not just construction workers, they'd be doing the world a favor.
We'll take rubber over this any day
Ultimately though, the B15 seems like a budget phone in a well-constructed case. It's 3G only, has a weak processor and camera, and the display is none to sharp. The battery is a bit small at 2000 mAh, which is worrying on a phone that should be reliable above all else.
However, the close to stock Android OS intrigues us, and we have to admit, we're charmed by the phone's sturdiness, and the eagerness of Cat rep's to beat it up for us. Keep your eye out for our full review, and an update whenever we get some carrier info.
