Samsung Galaxy S4 I9505 and Note II Jelly Bean 4.3 test firmware leaks

Thanks to an insider ninja, Sammobile was able to obtain an Android 4.3 Jelly Bean firmware destined for the Snapdragon 600-clad I9505 Galaxy S4. On a related note a very early Android 4.3 Jelly Bean build has been leaked for the Galaxy Note II as well.

The firmware for the Galaxy S4 and Note II are completely flashable through popular desktop app Odin with the one for the S4 built on September 20 with a European stamp on it. It brings a new Reading Mode, which eliminates unnecessary clutter from pages, a working Samsung Knox security app and more.

You can find the download link to the firmwares under the Source links below. Also here’s an in-depth look at how the software feels on the Galaxy S4. The software is expected to hit the device some time later this month.

As usual with these things, proceed with caution and only if you know what you are doing. These are both pre-release firmwares, but should not increase the binary counter or void your warranty, and so far the guys over at SamMobile seem happy about the stability of the package for the S4 while the firmware for the Galaxy Note II is still early and may have bugs throughout.

Samsung makes 8 of the top 10 most used Android devices!

It’s no secret that Samsung is dominating the Android market, but the margin of its lead might be a bit surprising to some. According to a report from mobile analytics firm Localytics, the Koreans account for eight of the top 10 Android devices in use.

As one can expect, Samsung’s latest flagship Galaxy S III and its predecessor Galaxy S II are the top guns, holding a combined share of 17.4%. The mid-range Galaxy Ace is a distant third spot with 3% of the Android market, followed by the Note and the Note II phablets with 2.6% and 2% respectively.

Amazon’s Kindle Fire sneaks in the list with 1.7% of the Android users. The tablet is followed by the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 with 1.4% of the Android devices. The other smartphones in the list are Galaxy Y,Droid RAZR and Epic 4G.

According to the report, Samsung controls whopping 47% of the total Android market share.

Samsung’s Super Bowl ad looks for the Next Big Thing with Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd and LeBron James!

The full Samsung Super Bowl ad is now out and stars Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd (and several Samsung Galaxy gadgets, of course). The two comedy actors are trying to figure out an ad for the “Next Big Thing” – and there’s a surprise cameo from LeBron James too.

While the teaser poked fun at all the copyright-related goings-on, the full ad takes after cliched Super Bowl videos instead. Check out the ad below

Samsung Q4 reports is out: profits reach record $6.6 billion!

Samsung, the South Korean manufacturing giants and the current cellphone market leader, has revealed its financial results of the fourth quarter of 2012. The reported revenues for the whole company were 56.06 trillion won, a 7% quarterly increase.

The company’s consolidated operating profits were reported at 8.84 trillion won ($8.3 billion), a 10% quarter-on-quarter increase and the net profit was disclosed as 7.04 trillion won ($6.6 billion). However, Samsung’s full year operating profit reached a new high with 29.05 trillion won ($27 billion) on revenues of 201.10 trillion won ($187.2 billion).

 

Samsung mostly has the strong sales of its popular Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2 smartphones to thank for this outstanding performance. Furthermore, strong sales of the company’s display panels and consumer electronic products like LED TVs also resulted in the Samsung’s strong performance.

Samsung expects its low-end and mid-priced smartphone sales rise this year as the company doesn’t face any competition from Apple in those segments. The smartphone shipments are expected to exceed 300 million units in 2013, a 50% rise from previous year.

Samsung Galaxy Note II to get two extra colors: Ruby Wine and Amber Brown!

The Galaxy Note II is about to get two additional paint jobs. Well, at least the South Korean one is.

According to a leaked image, the two new colors are Ruby Wine and Amber Brown.

The Galaxy S III is already available in a bunch of colors, so it make sense for its bigger brother to follow suit. The Galaxy S III already has an Amber Brown version, while its red variant is called Garnet Red, so there’s some difference.

There is no info on whether those colors will leave South Korea, but I guess it will happen soon or later, just like it happened with the Galaxy S III paint jobs.