Samsung Stratosphere Hands On: For Keyboard-Loving Internet-Hounds [Android]

By Brent Rose Oct 11, 2011 7:15 PM 6,891 7

There are really just two things that make the Samsung Stratosphere worth looking at: the 5-row physical QWERTY keyboard, and Verizon's 4G LTE. Aside from those two elements it's decidedly mid-range, but if you covet those things here's the nitty-gritty.

They keyboard isn't bad at all. They keys are pretty small, and the layout will take a bit of getting used to, but the keys have just the right amount of click to them which means that with a little practice you'll be able to type without looking (much). That's one of those forgotten beautiful things. Who among us would use a keyboard on our laptops that we couldn't type on without looking? I would like to have seen the keys raised just a bit more as they are extremely flat, but at least they're spaced-out nicely, and I liked the dedicated numbers row.

As for the other main ingredient, it's Verizon 4G LTE. It's awesome. It's the fastest and best 4G out there, hands down, assuming you're in one of their rapidly expanding coverage areas. There's not much to not-like there except that LTE is a voracious devourer of batteries. To compensate, they stuffed in a 1800mA battery, which is way heftier than you find on most 4G smartphones (the high-end Droid Bionic has a 1735mAh battery and that's larger than most).

To squeeze all that stuff in they had to make the device very thick and it will cause a noticeable bulge in your pocket. Its body is light plastic which makes it feel pretty cheap. It's got the same Super AMOLED WVGA screen and 1GHz Hummingbird processor that was standard about a year ago, and it's only got a half gig of RAM. This is not a phone for spec-hungry power-users. If anything it's for business users who need to bang out emails and download large PowerPoint presentations in a hurry, and who don't care about HD gaming at all. It's one of Samsung's "S.A.F.E." (Samsung Approved For Enterprise) devices, which means it's more ready for business usage with enhanced security compared stock Android phones. It runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), and it'll run you $150 on-contract. If you're on Verizon and you must have a keyboard (and some must), it's between this and the Motorola Droid 3. The Droid 3 has a dual-core processor and it's a world phone, but the Stratosphere has 4G LTE. The choice is yours. You can keep up with Brent Rose, the author of this post, on Google+ or Twitter. Related Stories

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Is a Samsung Galaxy S III Already on the Way? [Rumors]

By Sam Biddle Oct 10, 2011 2:21 PM 18,173 46

The Galaxy S II came out pretty recently, but Samsung no care—at least if this blurry, "leaked" slide's correct. Phandroid says what we've got here is a bona fide internal image of the next best Android for 2012.

Is it true? Maybe. Is it fake? Maybe. But the rumorific image claims a swell 2 gigs of RAM, a 1.8 GHz dual-core processor, 12 megapixel, and a big ol' 4.6-inch AMOLED screen. Given the specs of the last Galaxy S, this rumored III isn't that far fetched—rather, it just looks like a reasonable incremental push forward. Then again, it can be unwise to put stock in pictures that are almost too blurry to read. But true or false, the '12 phone season isn't that far off—we'll know one way or another soon. [Phandroid via SlashGear]

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 Review: The New Best Android Tablet, Again [Video]

By Brent Rose Oct 10, 2011 5:30 PM 21,362 64

I had major deja vu writing this. That's because as cool as the Galaxy Tab 8.9 is, it's basically just the Galaxy Tab 10.1, but slightly smaller. Which actually makes it noticeably better.

Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 is the best Android tablet I've used. It's light, slim, quick. The Galaxy 8.9 Tab is almost perfectly identical to the 10.1, they just managed to get the same goodness into a smaller package.

Everyone I've handed the 8.9 to has had this moment of, "Oooh, this feels nice!" It really does. It's an extremely tight package. The 10.1 felt a little flimsy, but despite having a similar plastic back plate, this one just feels much stronger. I don't know if they've upgraded the plastic, or if it's just stronger because it isn't stretched across as large an area, but that worrisome flex is gone, and that's a very good thing.

It comes running Android 3.2 (Honeycomb) with Samsung's TouchWiz UI overlay. I'm not generally into these 3rd party skins, but this is one of the least offensive ones. It comes pre-loaded with some of Samsung's proprietary software like Media Hub, Music Hub, and Social Hub, none of which are particularly compelling, and it just emphasizes why I kinda wish Samsung would stick to hardware. It does come with a full version of Polaris Office, which is excellent for creating/editing documents on the go.

I'm loving the 8.9-inch screen. It really feels like they've hit the sweet-spot, size-wise. It's big enough that watching movies and playing games looks good, but it's small and light enough that it's super portable. I can fit it in my jacket pocket and walk out the door, which is more than I can say for some 7-inch tablets that are thicker. Also, while the screen is smaller it has the same number of pixels as its 10.1-inch brother, giving it a little better pixel density. It's no retina display, but it's damn good. It's also light enough (0.98 pounds) that, though it's bigger than 7-inch tablets, it's easier to hold than most of them. This will provide a great digital magazine experience.

This thing is just as fast as its big brother, making it one of the fastest tablets you can get your hands on. Even with a ton of apps running at the same time, it was nearly impossible to slow this tablet down, and when it did slow down, it wasn't by much. The slightly reduced size makes it better for typing, too. Battery life was excellent. With moderate use I was able to get three or four days on a charge, no problem, and standby time is even better.

The one thing that seems to have suffered for this size reduction is the audio. The speakers weren't great on the 10.1, but they sound even tinnier on the 8.9, which is too bad. It employs the same rear camera as the 10.1 which isn't great. That said, you probably don't need it for much more than taking a picture of a business card or something, and the 2 megapixel front-facing camera is plenty capable for video chat. One thing I did notice is that sometimes the screen seemed to miss touches. It wasn't constant, but it was enough to kill me a few times while playing Samurai II: Vengeance (which is awesome, by the way).

While it feels stronger than the 10.1, I'd still feel much better about this thing if the whole body were aluminum, not plastic. The only ports the 8.9 has is a headphone jack and a proprietary connector. If you want to connect your tablet to an HDMI display, you have to buy a special adapter. Yeah, I'd really rather not, thanks. (It's DLNA compliant to stream content over Wi-Fi, but most consumers don't have DLNA TVs and stereos yet.) There's also no removable storage slot, so you're stuck at the capacity you buy, and there's no USB port (mini, micro, or otherwise). This makes putting your media on the device more of a chore than it should be. Oh, and maybe most significantly, at $469 for the 16GB model and $569 for the 32GB version, it's just too expensive.

If this tablet cost $300, I would recommend the crap out of it. Of all the Android tablets I've played with, this is my favorite (with the Sony Tablet S coming close). For 470 bucks, though, it just doesn't make much sense. Obviously this is a more capable device than the Kindle Fire, but the Kindle Fire is only $200. Is this thing really $270 dollars more capable? No, it isn't. It's about $100 more capable. Also, in the coming months we are going to be seeing tablets that are way better. My crystal ball tells me there will be quad-core processors and true HD displays. Those much beefier tablets will probably launch right around this price-range, too. Tech moves too fast. $470 and $570 just barely made sense in January of this year, but here in October it makes no sense at all. As soon as there's a real, significant price-drop, then I'd absolutely recommend it. If Samsung is smart, they won't wait.

Specs
8.9 inch 1280x800 screen
1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor
1GB RAM
3MP rear-facing camera, 2MP front-facing
No expandable storage
Wi-Fi only
Weight: 0.98 pounds
Price: 16GB/$469 32GB/$569
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AT&T's New Android Phones: From Awesome (Motorola Atrix 2) to Weird (Samsung DoubleTime) [Android]

By Brent Rose Oct 11, 2011 12:01 AM 25,270 33

Sweet Jesus. AT&T is adding five new Android phones to their portfolio this week. That will bring them up to 19 Android devices in for 2011. The 'droid is strong with this one.

Here they are in order that you probably care about them:

When the original Morola Atrix was announced at CES back in January it had as calling it the best Android phone in the show. It was a real beefcake, and it could power a laptop dock (which we thought was cool for like five seconds). It really was an excellent phone (full review). Truth be told, the Atrix 2 isn't the most monumental upgrade we can image. The biggest difference is that it has AT&T's answer to 4G (HSPA+) which should give you theoretical download speeds of 21Mbps. It's no LTE, but it's significantly faster than 3G. It's camera has gone from 5 megapixels to 8 megapixels, and it's now capable of recording 1080p HD video. And the screen has been stretched to 4.3 inches from the original Atrix's 4 inches. While more screen real estate is good, they both have 960x540 pixels, which means pixel density will actually be worse on the new bigger screen. Hrmm... that sounds a lot like the screen on the Droid Bionic, which we were none too keen on.

Not content to let Verizon have all the Samsung QWERTY keyboard fun today, AT&T brings to the table the Samsung Captivate Glide, a sequel to AT&T's first serious Android phone. It's a 4G (HSPA+) phone with a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen, and a slide-out keyboard. The kicker with this one is that it has a dual-core 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, to Verizon's phone's (the Stratosphere) just has a single-core 1GHz Hummingbird processor. I'll take two cores over one every day, however, balancing out the scorecard is the keyboard on the Stratosphere looks way more usable (five rows of keys vs. four on the Captivate Glide) and Verizon's 4G LTE is faster than AT&T's 4G HSPA+.

This phone is significant because it's only the second Android phone to be available on GoPhone, AT&T's pre-paid network (the first being the LG Thrive). For a pre-pare (which are lower-end, by definition, basically) the AT&T Avail (made by ZTE) ain't bad. It's got a 3.5-inch touch screen, 5- megapixel camera and runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). No mention of processor speed, but if I were a betting man I'd gamble on... 800MHz. We'll update when we know for sure. I will say that this looks like it's the nicest pre-paid phone you can get on GoPhone.

Now, here's where the phones start slowly devolving into weirdness.

"Fat boy on a diet, don't try it. I'll check your ass like a looter in a riot." -Cypress Hill. So, here's an odd duck. The Pantech Pocket has a 4-inch screen and it's pretty slim from back-to-front at only 11.3 millimeters. But check out the width on this thing. Sucker is wiiide. That aside, it's a pretty decent mid-range phone with 4G support, 5MP camera, and Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). Again, no mention of processor here, so I'd bet on 800MHz. Maybe 1GHz.

I bet this poor phone got teased in high school. It's kind of a wimpy weirdo. Whereas the Pantech Pocket was wide, the DoubleTime is thick. That's because it has not one but two screens (both low-resolution 3.2-inch touch screens), and a clam-shell fold-out keyboard. It's got a 600MHz processor, a waifish 260MB of RAM, and it runs Android 2.2 (Froyo). This phone would have been awesome two-and-a-half years ago, but it's pretty terrible by today's standards. It's also got a lot of pink on it. Basically, this is a glorified feature phone aimed at high school girls. There, I said it.

These monkeys should all be out of their respective barrels by Q4. Who's excited about what?

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The Samsung Stratosphere: You Can Finally Mash QWERTY Buttons on a 4G LTE Phone [Android]

By Casey Chan Oct 10, 2011 1:11 PM 5,508 22

The Samsung Stratosphere doesn't seem that special on first glance—Android 2.3, 1GHz Hummingbird processor, 5 megapixel camera, 4-inch Super AMOLED screen—but it's the first 4G LTE phone with a slide-out QWERTY, that's got to count for something right? $150 with two year contract on October 13th. [Verizon]

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Here Come The Next Generation of Androids From Samsung [Android]

Samsung just sent out invitations to a product launch on October 11 coinciding with CTIA. It's certainly going to mean a new Android phone from Samsung, probably the Nexus Prime.

The invitations cloyingly show the Android robot peeking out of a box, refers to "Google Episode," and invites to "come see what's new from Android." That pretty much gives away the game. There's only one new thing from Android, and that's its next OS, Ice Cream Sandwich. We're hopeful this will mean the new Nexus Prime phone as well, and I'm even optimistic that maybe there may be yet another tablet.

I guess it's time to wait and see. And hey, enjoy product launch season.

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Like HTC, Samsung Now Pays Microsoft to Put Android On Its Phones [Patents]

Samsung now pays Microsoft for the privilege of selling Android phones. Of course, it's being called a "partnership." And yes, we've seen this before: Microsoft also strong armed HTC into giving them a cut of the profits for every Android device sold.

Microsoft, sitting on a stack of patents they believe have been infringed upon by Google's Android platform, has bullied yet another handset manufacturer into handing cash over. In fact, between HTC and Samsung, they're going to make more money off Android than they do Windows Phone 7. And Google isn't happy about that, calling this move extortion and issuing the following statement to TechCrunch:

"This is the same tactic we've seen time and again from Microsoft. Failing to succeed in the smartphone market, they are resorting to legal measures to extort profit from others' achievements and hinder the pace of innovation. We remain focused on building new technology and supporting Android partners."

Of course, Microsoft is also trying to pull the same maneuver on the (now) Google-owned Motorola, but Moto keeps wriggling out of that conflict. If Motorola, who has plenty of patents of their own (not to mention Google's), doesn't budge, what happens next? Will there be a winner takes all patent war? Then again Samsung sells more Android devices than anyone, and they didn't want to mess with Microsoft, so it's anyone's guess what Moto will do. [Microsoft, TechCrunch, AllThingsD]

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Is Your Touchy Feely Deal of the Day [Dealzmodo]

When I pick up a tablet, I feel like I'm holding the future in my hands. Then I begin to wonder if the technology really did come from the future and was dropped off to us by a future civilization using concepts and technologies beyond our understanding to manipulate time and space. Maybe they used a wormhole to deliver the goods. Maybe they use wormholes for all their shipping needs. Did they just unleash a butterfly effect by altering their past? Oh shit, did they just shorten my life by 10 years? Doubtful. I think there are just some really smart engineers living in the here and now.

And one of the finest tablets money can buy is the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. It's fast, it's slim, and at $349, the refurbished model is $80 off. EMBRACE THE FUTURE. -AC

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Samsung Galaxy Player 4 and 5 Hands On: Of Course It's the Right Time for an Android iPod Touch [Android]

We've been hearing about Android's answer to the iPod Touch since the days when men were men and HP made computers, but the rebranded-wait-no-back-to-the-original Galaxy Player 4 and 5 are finally here.

The prosaically named Player 4 and 5 have 4- and 5-inch screens, and weigh 4.2 and 6.4 ounces respectively. They run Gingerbread 2.3.5, come with 8GB onboard storage (expandable to 32GB microSD), and the 5 has a 2,500mAh battery, to the 4's 1,200mAh. The Players also have 800x480 screens (yes, both of them), front and rear facing cameras, and record video in 720p. Previous reports put the processor at 1GHz.

The jump from the four inches to five is pretty jarring, especially considering that it's 0.3 inches (which matters!) larger than the already-behemoth HTC Titan. The upshot is that it's a much better option for viewing media than its smaller-screened little brother, and unlike a phone, you might not be compelled to lug it around in your pocket all day. Both models are made of the by-now typical cheapy Samsung plastic, though, and feel noticeably less sturdy than the metal-clad Tab 8.9.

Both Players have access to Samsung's Media, Music, Social, and Reader hubs. Media, music, and social let you buy or rent movies, TV shows, music, books, magazines, and newspapers. So basically most of the things you can do in other, more mature, marketplaces. But hey, if it has to be Android, your ship's finally come in. [Samsung]

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Watch: Samsung Galaxy S II Security Bug Leaves Locked Phones Exposed [Video]

Uh-oh, it looks like some versions of the brand new Samsung Galaxy S II might be going out the door to customers next week with a serious security flaw that leaves locked phones wide open.

BGR reports that their test model of the AT&T Galaxy S II would let them past the locked screen without entering the code. The trick? After waking the phone up it prompts you for your preset pattern code. Wait for the screen to go black, wake it up again, and voila—full access to the phone. The flaw only happens if the phone has been unlocked since the last power up, and it doesn't happen to Sprint versions of the Galaxy S II.

It's it important to note that this is only a test model of the the Galaxy S II, and that Samsung might have fixed the flaw on the phones that are about to ship next week. It's unclear whether Samsung knew about the bug before today, but if they're just finding out, it could be a while before there's a fix. Samsung is reportedly "investigating." We've reached out for comment, and we'll update when we hear back. The video above shows the flaw in action. [BGR via TechCrunch]

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1TB Samsung Spinpoint Is Your Data Hoarding Deal of the Day [Dealzmodo]

Back in the late 1990s and the early 2000s, Homo sapiens used a crude form of the computer known as the Desktop PC, in which the monitor and computer were separated into discrete components. The computer, housed in what would come to be known as a "mini-tower," contained the guts, such as the processor, RAM, optical drives, sound cards, and hard drives. The hard drives specifically came in an odd 3.5-inch form factor and had moving discs that used magnets data to the rest of the computer.

On September 30, 2011, the Samsung Spinpoint F3R internal hard drive, whose 3.5-inch body packed 1TB of hard drive space and 7200 RPMs, was available for purchase for $50, which was $71 less than merchants normally asked for such a device. It was the last time mankind at large was known to care about the 3.5-inch HDD. -AC

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The Samsung Windows 8 Tablet Appears [Tablets]

Hey, look, it's Samsung's rumored Windows 8 tablet, appearing in a box before it's announced. The word on the cyber street is that this thing packs quad-cores, but we'll find out soon. Shocker: it looks kinda like an iPad!

The spy shot surfaced on Chinese Twitter clone Weibo, and looks legitimate enough, with the expected Microsoft and Samsung packaging. There's really nothing else we can surmise from this, other than the fact that it's a Samsung tablet running Microsoft software, and it has a screen. And it'll come in a box. The bezel does look a bit thick though. More details we get 'em from somewhere better than a Chinese Twitter clone. [BGR via This Is My Next]

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BeWeather, Eternity Warriors, Samsung Pure Breeze and More [Android Apps Of The Week]

In this week's best Android app roundup, you have a new launcher from Samsung, a sweet fantasy RPG-ish game in Eternity Warriors, a drop dead gorgeous weather app and more.

Check out the apps by clicking here. Apps will be listed in the side bar. Not in this post

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WebOS Won't Find a Home at Samsung [WebOS]

If HP is as eager to sell! sell! sell! as they seem, today's Samung Electronics news must be a little disheartening: CEO Choi Gee Sung said that his company would "never" buy webOS. Won't anyone give it a good home?

As part of the rumor rejection, Samsung reiterated its commitment to its own software efforts. Which I guess means Bada, which is unfortunate because given the choice between a Bada phone and slapping myself in the face twelve times I'm pretty sure I'd take the slaps.

Oh, well. Those cheap TouchPads back yet? [Bloomberg]

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Samsung Galaxy S II Hands On: Say Hi to Your Next Android Phone [Video]

If you are going to get an Android phone any time soon, this is it.

Let's get this out of the way: These things are fast. They haul all kinds of ass, thanks to a 1.2GHz dual-core Exynos processor and 1GB of RAM in its guts. I did everything I could to try to make Galaxy S II stutter and I failed, miserably. Like really, that's the most major advancement in this phone. It's super-duper fast. And man that screeen. Gorgeous. Bright, clear, nice colors, responsive touchscreen. Super AMOLED Plus really delivers on just about every metric.

There's a few differences between the three models on each carrier. Most significantly, AT&T's has a 4.3-inch screen, while Sprint and T-Mobile's phones are 4.52-inch monsters. AT&T's felt the best—and I've got pretty damn big hands. But the 4.3 was just less of a reach for my fingers, and the screen seemed plenty big for anything I might be trying to read.

The rear camera, both for still and video, is excellent. It responded quickly, did well in low light, and video playback was smoother than Morgan Freeman's voice.

They're all super light and super thin, and that's nice, but they're also super-plasticky. I'd rather they had some sturdy hardcore metal backs, so I didn't feel like they'd break if I dropped them. And despite the baller 8-megapixel, 1080p-shooting camera, none of these phones have a dedicated camera button. Why would you put an awesome camera on your phone and then not have a button for it?

I've gone on record as not being fan of Samsung's TouchWiz UI, but after playing with TouchWiz 3.0—I'm still not. I feel like Chris Crocker screaming, "Leave Britney alone!" except, substitute "Android" for "Britney". It's fast now, but I can't help but think it'd be even faster without the extra bulk. That said, TouchWiz 3.0 is more palatable than its previous incarnation. It's important to note that phones with custom skins like TouchWiz (and Sense and MotoBlur) have traditionally gotten updates slower than phones that run stock Android. We hope that Samsung will somehow break that trend.

Aside from the minute differences in screen size the only other way the carriers differentiate here is by loading it with their own custom junk. Sprint had no less than seven custom apps (Sprint Music, Sprint Zone, etc.) and AT&T had a good handful, too (AT&T Navigator, AT&T Code Scanner, etc.). This is bloatware.

From this quick hands on, it seems like the Galaxy S II is fastest smartphone you can get stateside. I'll have to do some additional torture testing to confirm that, but these things really fly. And while I don't like the plastic body, they're light, thin, fast, and pretty. Overall, if you're been waiting for a new Android phone to drool over, these fit the bill nicely. Though, with the rumored Nexus Prime (or Droid Prime, depending who you ask) coming within the next few months and bearing Android 4.0, these guys will have some stiff competition very soon.

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The New Bestest Android Phone Is Finally Coming to America: The Samsung Galaxy S II [Galaxy]

The Samsung Galaxy S II is the blueprint for the next generation of Android phones. And now it's finally coming to the US, on AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile.

Only Sprint's announced the price and date so far, and they're first out of the gate: Sept. 16 for $200 (with 2-year contract). AT&T's saying Septemberish for an undetermined amount of bills, and T-Mobile touting availability "this fall."

There are, as with the last around of Galaxy phones that hit every carrier, some differences between the bunch. For instance! AT&T's Galaxy has a 4.3-inch screen, but Sprint and T-Mobile are pushing a monstrous 4.52-inch display that makes it officially giant-sized, like the Infuse 4G. Also, names. Sprint's is going by the Epic Touch 4G. I suspect AT&T and T-Mobile will come up with their own wacky names too.

It is the thinnest 4G smartphone on any of the three networks. Its processor is capable of recording 1080p at the highest bitrate of any smartphone on the market.

TouchWiz 3.0 has undergone some refinement. The chicklet tiles are gone (pressure from Apple, I wonder?). Easier to organize files into folders than before by grouping files into folders within the app drawer itself. The UI is definitely cleaner and looks slightly less toy-like.

Their SocialHub has gotten better. It aggregates your various social networks, but actually gives you a fair amount of control from within it. For example, on a Facebook post, you can like it, comment on it, share it, etc. right from within the SocialHub.

MediaHub will allow you to manage premium content from your phone, and you can connect via HDMI to any HDTV and get full DVD quality for movies. This was sticky before with DRM restrictions, but it looks like they've found a way around that. Watching HD content on a large TV looks very good. Samsung Kies Air allows you to control and edit the content (music, photos, video, etc) on your device from any computer, over the air, via a web browser.

Full specs below.

Specs
4.52 inches on Sprint and T-Mobile; 4.3 inches on AT&T
1.2GHz Samsung Exynos dual-core processor
1GB RAM
16GB internal storage
8MP rear-facing camera with auto-focus, flash, and 1080p video
2MP front-facing camera
microSD storage to 32GB
3g/4G Mobile Hotspot capabilities
Visual Voicemail
Bluetooth 3.0
Thickness: 0.38 inches (Sprint); 0.35 inches (AT&T); T-Mobile N/A
Weight: 4.55 ounces (Sprint); AT&T and T-Mobile N/A

[AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile]

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Samsung Galaxy S II on Sprint Delayed Because of the Hurricane [Android]

The Samsung Epic 4G Touch, which is the Samsung Galaxy S II for Sprint, was supposed to launch tomorrow but has now been pushed back because of Hurricane Irene. It should still come out by next week, though.

The delay sorta sucks because Europe's been having all the fun with Galaxy%20S%20IIs%20for%20some%20time%20already.%20I' already.="" it="" want="" just="" sprint="" on="" many="" sure="" m="">Pocket Now]

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Samsung Cites 2001: A Space Odyssey Against Apple in Greatest Legal Defense of All Time [Video]

Apple is giving Samsung a legal pummeling because it thinks the latter stole the iPad's design for the Galaxy Tab. So far, the fight's going well for Apple. But Samsung has something up its sleeve: Apple ripped off science fiction.

Or so Samsung claims. Patent expert Florian Mueller noticed something odd in Samsung's American legal counteroffensive: they argue the idea for the iPad existed back in 1968, when Stanley Kubrick dreamed up his sci fi classic. And in American patent law, if the idea existed before your patent application—what's known as prior art—your patent is null. So essentially, Samsung is pulling a hell of a legal maneuver here, alleging they couldn't possibly have stolen the iPad's design, because Apple took it from an imaginary science fiction movie space station:

Attached hereto as Exhibit D is a true and correct copy of a still image taken from Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film "2001: A Space Odyssey." In a clip from that film lasting about one minute, two astronauts are eating and at the same time using personal tablet computers. The clip can be downloaded online at . As with the design claimed by the D'889 Patent, the tablet disclosed in the clip has an overall rectangular shape with a dominant display screen, narrow borders, a predominately flat front surface, a flat back surface (which is evident because the tablets are lying flat on the table's surface), and a thin form factor.

Mueller says it would be "amazing" if the court bought this. But Samsung does have a point, even if it's a futile one. The problem with Apple's radically minimal design is that it's hard to say there's terribly much singular about it. Unlike the design of, say, a Lamborghini, which is distinctive and iconic because of its detail, Apple's gorgeous industrial design is striking because of how invisible it is.

All tablets are pretty much just black glass rectangles. Most smartphones are pretty much just smaller black glass rectangles. Apple certainly made this design ubiquitous through the iPad and iPhone, respectively, but did they invent it? With a form so vague, it might be hard to prove that they did. And if the realm of science fiction becomes fair game, the fights of Samsung—and any other company Apple might square off against—could become easier. I'd never have guessed Space Age design and beautiful futurism could be a liability. [FOSS Patents via 9to5Mac]

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The Samsung Impulse 4G Might Be AT&T's First LTE Phone [Rumor]

Boy Genius Report received this image from a tipster who claims that it's the Samsung Impulse 4G, which will run on AT&T's LTE network and would be the carrier's first such device.

Little else is known about the phone, though judging from the image, it's Android based (Boy Genius points out its similarity to the Droid Charge). [BGR]

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Samsung May Buy HP's PC Business Says Digitimes [Rumor]

Samsung has reportedly talked to manufacturers like Quanta Computers and Pegatron about outsourcing notebook orders. The Korean company is supposedly eyeing HP's PC business and needs outside manufacturing help. It's an interesting proposition; maybe it'll move beyond a rumor. [Digitimes]

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