LG unveils Optimus Vu II...

With the Samsung Galaxy Note II becoming available around the world, LG has unveiled their second generation phablet, the Optimus Vu II. Design wise, the Vu II retains the 5-inch 4:3 ratio display but gains, wait, looses some bezel to make the phone smaller.

Specs wise, as I've said the Vu II retains it's 5-inch display with a unusual 4:3 aspect ratio and a resolution of 768x1280, the Vu II gains some horsepower from Qualcomm's S4 Pro quad-core chip clocked at 1.5GHz and paired with 2GB of RAM. Camera's on the device include a 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera for video calls. Internal memory hasn't been specified but expect it to be around 16GB.

The phone will be available in Black, White and Pink and be priced at 966,900 won (around £628) but no officially pricing or release date has been stated.

Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus confirmed by benchmarks...

We've previously had a leak regarding a Plus version of the Samsung Galaxy S2. Now, It has popped up in benchmarks on GLBenchmark sporting the model number i9105. This benchmark also confirms some of the previous leaks given specs and corrects some as well.

Confirmed is the qH (960x540) resolution display which is thought to be 4.5-inch in size. The dual-core processor featured in the handset is now said to be clocked at 1.4GHz instead of 1.5 and the device's GPU will be the PowerVR SGX 544MP. 

Samsung announces Galaxy Note 2...

Samsung has finally announced and revealed the Galaxy Note 2, after teasing it in a video. The device features a bigger 5.5-inch display and is 9.4mm thick making it thinner than it's predecessor. Design wise, the handset is based on the design of the Galaxy S3 and does well at making it look good despite the big screen.

Specs wise, we have a 5.5-inch display with 720p resolution (720x1280), powered by a quad-core Exynos processor clocked at 1.6GHz with 2GB of RAM. Camera's include the same 8-megapixel rear-facing and 1.9-megapixel front-facing cameras featured on the S3. Internal memory comes in 16/32/64GB flavours and can be expanded using MicroSD card (up to 32GB), battery capacity is a massive 3,100mAh and the device runs Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean" out of the box. 

Samsung Galaxy SII Plus leaked...

After being rumoured last Feburary, looks like Samsung will release a Plus version of the Galaxy S2 according to leaks from SamMobile, like the Galaxy S Plus to the Galaxy S, it will include a minor upgrade on hardware. I would say this is the last version to be released of it, but it may later be offered with Dual-sim compatibility at a later date. Design wise, the device is looking thicker than the original and will include four capacitive buttons instead of Samsung's usual button arrangement.

The spec list includes a 4.5-inch screen, powered by a dual-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz (up from 1.2GHz) with 1GB of RAM. The main camera will be the original devices 8-megapixel rear-facing camera but the front-facing camera may see an update to 1.9-megapixel (same as the Galaxy S3's). Internal storage will be at 16GB with the chance to expand it by up to 32GB with MicroSD card, battery capacity may be higher than the original but no official value has been leaked yet and the Galaxy S2 Plus will run Android 4.0 out of the box.

Samsung outs teaser for Unpacked event...

Samsung has just released a teaser for their upcoming Unpacked event in Berlin on August 29th. The Korean company is due to showcase a sequel to the Galaxy Note, in this video we hear about the uses Wim Wenders had for the device, we see the S-Pen and some drawing action.

However, there was very little sight of the device itself so, it's back to the leaks or the event itself which is only 9 days away. Until then, watch this video over and over until you get so excited that you run around the room 5 times.

Galaxy Note 2 picture leaked... again.

After yesterdays leak, another leak of the Galaxy Note 2 has been brought before us from KnowYourMobile. The picture looks trustworthy but we'll have to see at Samsung's pre-IFA show to see if this is the real deal.

The handset featured in the picture looks quite credible to the specs and look that we're rumoured. What seems odd to me is the extended bezel at the top and bottom but this could be to keep it in style with the Galaxy Note 10.1 which has just recently been released.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 picture surfaces....

The picture shown above surfaced on GSMArena.com, the tipster has stayed anonymous. The form factor of the Galaxy Note 2 was rumoured to be similar to the Galaxy SIII, an analysis of the handset in the picture is relatively close to that form factor.

It includes the redesigned central home button, un-uniform rounded edges and a thin bezel. However, whether this is actually the Galaxy Note 2 is still a mystery, a mystery which will be wrapped up at Samsung's pre-IFA show on the 29th August.

Rumoured specs include a 5.5-inch display, quad-core Exynos processor clocked at 1.6GHz and a 12-megapixel camera. As expected with rumours, you shouldn't take them seriously.

Benchmarks reveal details about Galaxy Note II...

Benchmarks for the eagerly awaited Galaxy Note II (N7100) have shown up on GLBenchmark (they have now been pulled), the benchmarks shows a quad-core processor with a higher clock speed than the S3 and a 720p 16:9 aspect ratio screen.

As expected the Galaxy Note will use a quad-core processor, but at 200MHz higher than the S3 (totalling 1.6GHz) similarly done with the S2 and original Note. The display will instead use a 16:9 aspect ratio and a 720x1280 resolution, the same as the S3. On a 5.5-inch screen that'd make a pixel density of 267PPI which is above average.

Vodafone UK introduces Smart II...

Vodafone UK has announced a new budget Android smartphone, the Smart II. The device is a successor to the original Smart I offered by Vodafone. The device comes with the specs you'd expect for the money you give which the device only costs £70 on PAYG.

The device sports a 3.2-inch HVGA Display and is powered by a 800MHz single-core processor with presumably 256MB of RAM and sports a 3.15MP rear-facing camera. The device runs Android 2.3 "Gingerbread" with no UI overlay.