If the Galaxy Nexus dressed in white appeals to you feel free to head to NegriElectronics and get your own today. They’ve officially started selling and shipping the phone for those interested — only at a premium. This is the GSM version and is fully unlocked. Add in the fact that it is rare because the color they’re asking $660 for the phone. Pretty steep but I’m sure a few are willing to pay it.

That high price will get you the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich device complete with 16GB of internals storage, they don’t have the 32GB version available in white. Negri has a broad range of shipping and will send one stateside if you are that excited about the color. Otherwise the Galaxy Nexus in white will hit the UK on the 13th as originally planned available at various locations and Samsung retail stores. I think I’ll just get out the spray paint and do it myself.

White Galaxy Nexus Link

Device Specifications and Information

Device Info

Device Name : GALAXY Nexus

Manufactuer : Samsung

Carrier : Verizon

Announced Date : October 18, 2011

Release Date : December 15, 2011

Also Known As : Nexus Prime

Display

• Screen Size : 4.65 Inch
• Resolution : 1280x720
• Screen Type : Super AMOLED

Dimension & Weight

• Height : 5.33 Inch
• Width : 2.67 Inch
• Depth : 0.35 Inch
• Weight : 135 Grams

Battery & Power

Battery Type:
• Lithium Ion

• Battery Capacity : 1750 mAh
• Talk Time : NA
• Stand By Time : NA

Software

Android OS:
• 4.0.x

Audio Playback:
• AAC
• AAC+
• AMR
• MID
• MP3
• WAV
• WMA

Video Playback:
• h.263
• h.264 / AVC
• MPEG-4 (MP4)

Messaging:
• SMS
• MMS

Hardware

CPU : OMAP 4460

CPU Clock Speed : 1200 Mhz

Core : 2

Ram : 1000 MB

Internal Storage : 32 GB

Front Facing Camera :

Camera Resolution : 5 MP

Camera Features:
• Auto focus
• Flash
• 1080p Video Recording

Sensors:
• Accelerometer
• Ambient light
• Proximity

QWERTY :

Cellular Network

Network Technology:
• GSM
• CDMA

GSM Band:
• 850
• 900
• 1800
• 1900

Device Connectivity

Wi-Fi:
• 802.11b
• 802.11g
• 802.11n

Bluetooth:
• Bluetooth 3.0

Location Features:
• Compass
• GPS
• Cellular location
• Wi-Fi location

FM Radio :

NFC :

Samsung wouldn’t be the first to release such a device, even among major brand names: that goes to Polaroid, with their SC1630 Smart Camera. And it’s not as if Samsung itself hasn’t stretched Android out to unfamiliar territory, first with the original Galaxy Tab running Froyo and then with the Galaxy Player series of WiFi-only PMP devices. Samsung has some previous experience in the area of connected cameras, since they’ve developed their own lone of point-and-shoots with both WiFi and sharing capabilities.

That said, there’s no indication that such a device is actually in development: this is likely one of the first steps after exploratory market research. If Samsung were to bring a Galaxy Camera to market, you could expect it to look something like the current line of Galaxy Players, plus some upgraded sensor and glass components for more high-resolution photos. But Samsung, could you please come up with at least one more naming convention? The “G” section of my review folder is filled to bursting.

[via Phandroid]

As you know, Chrome Beta for Android was released just yesterday. But today, our eyes were opened to a few Easter eggs the devs incorporated. It’s nothing too special – but most of all, they were included to show how well Chrome can perform both graphically and under a heavy system load. It’s too bad the application is only available on Android 4.0, they haven’t released any information regarding a possible Honeycomb or Gingerbread release – but we can only hope it’s coming.

We were really hoping to see some new gadgets from Samsung unveiled at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but it seems they won’t evenbe hosting press conference this year. They will likely just hold out, and assemble their own conference later on. This is a very ‘Apple-esque’ move, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it trend throughout other manufactures over time as well.

Lastly, the US gaming population has almost tripled since 2008, and there’s no doubt smartphones have cause quite a bit of this growth. Thus, now that smartphones are much more affordable – we’ll see the amount of gaming adopters eventually start to taper off. There was quite a boom these past three years, and though mobile gaming isn’t the only avenue gamers take – it has been the most progressive.

Not only will coaches, players, and staff receive a Android-powered Galaxy Tab 10.1 with Verizon 4G LTE but they’ll be using it for many different business settings. Using it for presentations to clients and season ticket holders, as well as showing prospective Suns ticket buyers an interactive view of seats from anywhere in the arena. Pretty neat but this next part has me worried.

The LTE-enabled tablet will also be given to each NBA player on the team. Being filled with the team’s playbook, video from team practices and games, and scouting reports on upcoming opponents. They’ll also use the tablet for calenders, travel plans for road games and more. Hopefully a Sun’s player doesn’t lose his tab Apple style at a bar or let it end up in the wrong hands where someone would have the entire playbook. Select season ticket holders will also receive tablets during game night that will show special in-game promotions and social activities related to the team and organization.

Pretty interesting stuff. Instead of drawing up plays on a whiteboard court side maybe we’ll see them tracing their finger on a Galaxy Tab instead. Go Nash!

Device Specifications and Information

Device Info

Device Name : Galaxy Tab 10.1

Manufactuer : Samsung

Carrier : NA

Announced Date : March 22, 2011

Release Date : June 08, 2011

Also Known As : Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, Galaxy Tab 10.1, Galaxy Tab 10.1 Limited Edition, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Limited Edition, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Google I/O Limited Edition

Display

• Screen Size : 10.1 Inch
• Resolution : 1280x800
• Screen Type : TFT

Dimension & Weight

• Height : 10.09 Inch
• Width : 6.81 Inch
• Depth : 0.34 Inch
• Weight : 595 Grams

Battery & Power

Battery Type:
• Lithium Ion

• Battery Capacity : 7000 mAh
• Talk Time : NA
• Stand By Time : 120 hours

Software

Android OS:
• 3.1.x

Audio Playback:
• AAC
• AAC+
• AMR
• MP3

Video Playback:
• h.263
• h.264 / AVC

Messaging:
• SMS
• MMS
• IM

Hardware

CPU : Tegra 2

CPU Clock Speed : 1000 Mhz

Core : 2

Ram : 1000 MB

Internal Storage : 32 GB

Front Facing Camera :

Camera Resolution : 3.2 MP

Camera Features:
• Auto focus
• Flash
• 1080p Video Recording
• 720p Video Recording

Sensors:
• Accelerometer
• Ambient light
• Proximity

QWERTY :

Cellular Network

Network Technology:
• GSM

GSM Band:
• 850
• 900
• 1800
• 1900

CDMA Band:
• 850
• 900
• 1900
• 2100

Device Connectivity

Wi-Fi:
• 802.11a
• 802.11b
• 802.11g
• 802.11n

Bluetooth:
• Bluetooth 2.0

Location Features:
• Compass
• GPS
• Cellular location
• Wi-Fi location

FM Radio :

NFC :

According to official reports to PCMag Samsung has no plans to launch anything major, and have pulled out completely in terms of hosting a stage for products, or a press conference of any sort. Last year they announced the Galaxy S II at MWC and we were hoping for something similar this year, sadly that won’t be happening. Basically this means a few things. First being either their next set of phones and tablets simply aren’t ready yet, or they’d rather have their own major event and take center stage.

So it’s pretty safe to say we won’t be seeing anything major or even remotely exciting from Samsung at the end of the month. Most likely later in March, or some other unknown date we’ll see the latest and greatest they have to offer. With an upcoming quad-core Galaxy S III and new quad-core Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich tablets surely coming soon — they better have something impressive to bail out of MWC almost completely. We’ve seen reports of a large 11.6″ tablet and a few other interesting leaks. We might see something like their 7″ budget ICS tablet in Spain, but at this point it’s anyone’s guess really.

Maybe they’ll announce their next smartphone and tablet with Google at I/O 2012. We’ll just have to wait and see.

The French event will serve as a second showing for whatever Samsung shows off in Barcelona in late February and early March, essentially giving local and regional press a second chance at hands-ons for… whatever. But what will that be? Certainly the latest announced phones, like the Galaxy S Advance, will make a showing. There’s been a lot of talk about Samsung’s upcoming 11.6-inch Galaxy Tab, expected to have a high-resolution display and a next-generation Exynos processor. We’ll find out more about a whole range of devices in Spain, except, you know, that one.

Despite months of rumor mongering, there’s still very little that can be said about the Galaxy S III. it will almost certainly have a Super AMOLED display that meets or beats the Galaxy Nexus, and will likely be faster and more capacious that the Galaxy S II. Ice Cream Sandwich with Samsung’s TouchWiz is a possibility that becomes more and more likely as its announcement is pushed back. We’ll probably see the phone released internationally sometime in the summer, but past that, we’re chasing after the wind.

[via SlashGear]

Verizon’s Samsung Galaxy Nexus had an update to 4.0.4 leak today, and it has proved to improve users’ signals in just about every way. It hasn’t officially rolled out yet, but isn’t difficult at all to install. Find out more information on how to upgrade here.

Have you checked Facebook lately on your Android smartphone or tablet? The official Facebook app should see mobile ads incorporated starting in March, so enjoy your ad-free application while you can! Adding inline ads could potentially boost their revenue to unheard-of amounts. There’s no doubt you’ve accidentally tapped one of those ads while navigating through countless other applications.

And we were also graced with another Samsung Galaxy S III rumor – one that suggests it will be 7mm thin! So now we’ve got a 7mm, waterproof, 12MP camera, and full-touchscreen display that spans . At this point it’s hard to imagine an area of improvement for the device.

Like mentioned above, the white edition will be on sale starting February 13th in locations throughout the UK, and we can expect more to follow shortly. No US carriers have announced any plans yet but most likely we’ll see it hit some 3rd party retailers like Amazon, RadioShack and others eventually — only the GSM version.

We first saw some pre-orders followed by officially leaked pictures but today Samsung has officially confirmed the handset. Since these are GSM and unlocked Samsung will be offering them for a pretty penny, but you’ll be able to choose from the 16GB and the 32GB models. Samsung themselves didn’t offer any official pricing but being unlocked they probably wont be too cheap.

Do you want a white Galaxy Nexus?

Device Specifications and Information

Device Info

Device Name : GALAXY Nexus

Manufactuer : Samsung

Carrier : Verizon

Announced Date : October 18, 2011

Release Date : December 15, 2011

Also Known As : Nexus Prime

Display

• Screen Size : 4.65 Inch
• Resolution : 1280x720
• Screen Type : Super AMOLED

Dimension & Weight

• Height : 5.33 Inch
• Width : 2.67 Inch
• Depth : 0.35 Inch
• Weight : 135 Grams

Battery & Power

Battery Type:
• Lithium Ion

• Battery Capacity : 1750 mAh
• Talk Time : NA
• Stand By Time : NA

Software

Android OS:
• 4.0.x

Audio Playback:
• AAC
• AAC+
• AMR
• MID
• MP3
• WAV
• WMA

Video Playback:
• h.263
• h.264 / AVC
• MPEG-4 (MP4)

Messaging:
• SMS
• MMS

Hardware

CPU : OMAP 4460

CPU Clock Speed : 1200 Mhz

Core : 2

Ram : 1000 MB

Internal Storage : 32 GB

Front Facing Camera :

Camera Resolution : 5 MP

Camera Features:
• Auto focus
• Flash
• 1080p Video Recording

Sensors:
• Accelerometer
• Ambient light
• Proximity

QWERTY :

Cellular Network

Network Technology:
• GSM
• CDMA

GSM Band:
• 850
• 900
• 1800
• 1900

Device Connectivity

Wi-Fi:
• 802.11b
• 802.11g
• 802.11n

Bluetooth:
• Bluetooth 3.0

Location Features:
• Compass
• GPS
• Cellular location
• Wi-Fi location

FM Radio :

NFC :

[via SlashGear]

The announcement was revealed via invite to a handful of french publications, including FrAndroid. While the fan site didn’t reveal a location or exact time, it’ll take place on March 22nd. This date also points to something other than the Galaxy S III, since one of the major reasons that Samsung chose to exclude the GSIII from its Mobile World Congress showing is thought to be that they want to wait to give the device better footing against the iPhone 5. For the last three years Apple hasn’t announced a new iPhone earlier than summer.

That said, what do we expect to find at this announcement? The current flagships are allready released throughout France and the rest of Europe, and it isn’t Samsung’s style to hold a press event for anything less than a showstopper. If I had to guess (and please bear in mind that it’s only a guess) I’d say that the company will probably reveal the rumored 11.6-inch Galaxy Tab at Mobile World Congress, then use the French event to announce partnerships with local carriers for existing phones and tablets. In any case, we’ll be keeping a close eye on it to see if Samsung has any post-MWC surprises.

[via UnwiredView]

How might Samsung achieve this feat? With smaller and more efficient components, particularly the main circuit board housing the SoC and most of the other primary parts. These crucial components are reportedly 20-30% slimmer than current models (and the 8.5mm Galaxy S II is no slouch). The sources claim that the camera module, still 8 megapixels, will be identical to the Galaxy S II. This means that the mythical device would have a “bump” on the camera end, not unlike Motorola’s DROID X and RAZR models. How might this impact Samsung’s standard Galaxy design, which uses a bulge at the bottom of the phone to house the radio and speaker? Who can say. Other predicted inclusions include a 2-megapixel front camera and LTE standard. The 8MP rear camera contradicts earlier rumors pointing towards a 12-megapixel sensor.

While a 7mm smartphone is impressive no matter who’s making it, it wouldn’t be the thinnest in the world by a long shot. Both Fujitsu with its Arrows Android phone and NEC with its MEDIAS device have hit 6.7mm thin, though neither are the hardware powerhouse that the Galaxy S III is expected to be. Other rumors of varying credibility for the GSIII include a waterproof coating, a 2Ghz Exynos processor and/or 2GB of RAM, and a 4.7-inch 720p display (which seems much more likely). Samsung’s playing this one incredibly close to the vest – all we’ve seen of any device that even might be the Galaxy S III has been model numbers.

The Samsung Galaxy Note will officially launch on AT&T coming February 19th, and the LTE variant is heading to Rogers sometime later this month too. Samsung is spending a great deal of cash to advertise the device during the Super Bowl, and they’ve even released a nice teaser video of it. Keep your eyes peeled during the game, you all know commercials during the big game are always the best.

Are own Michael Crider put a few devices to the test over the past week and a half, and finally has some in-depth reviews of both the LG Spectrum, and Motorola DROID RAZR Maxx. Both are well worthy to purchase, and the Spectrum proved to be quite the upgrade from LG’s former device on Verizon – the Revolution. However, if it’s battery life you’re looking for – the the RAZR Maxx won’t disappoint. Battery life on it was amazing, and seemed to last forever.

Those of you interested in modding your device to make it ‘harder, better, faster, stronger’ should definitely try out Franco’s new kernel for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. It has proven great battery life and speed on more than one of our devices, so we highly recommend it. And finally, the last bit of news to rehash is Google’s removal of CDMA devices from their official support documentation in AOSP. However, those of you still interested in one can pick it up from Costco for a mere $219 – with an included extended battery too. That’s a $49.99 value, free. The offer is only available until February 7th, so you’ll have to act within that timeframe.

It pain’s me to bring this up again, but today Google ended full support for CDMA devices. Yes, this even includes ‘Nexus’ branded devices like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S 4G. The reason many even purchase devices on the Nexus line, is because they assume they’ll receive updates straight from Google – and in a timely manner. Hopefully, this is some sort of error – but not likely. Fortunately, Google will still support CDMA devices – but just not as quickly as their GSM counterparts.

We had suggested the Samsung Galaxy S III could be waterproof soon after seeing the technology demonstrated at CES, but it was pure speculation. That rumor has developed among the community, and hopefully finds its way onto the actual device. Liquipel currently charges between $60-80 for a waterproof treatment, so if Samsung were to treat the GSIII – I couldn’t imagine it costing too much.

Lastly, DropBox opened up an Android Beta program today. This offers up to 5GB of extra storage on their cloud, and adds even more features to help managing your files. 5GB is great – they’re going to have to do a bit better if they want to compete with Box.net who offers 50GB of storage for Sony or LG devices.

Best Buy didn’t elaborate on exactly what brand would be offering the cover, or even publish a photo with their press release. They might not have even ordered the accessory yet. Even so, they’re claiming it as a $29.99 value, and  new Note owners get it free when activating the phone while supplies last. You can begin pre-ordering the Galaxy Note this Sunday, February 5th through Best Buy’s website or any retail store, and the on-contract price is the same $299.99 you’ll get directly from AT&T. If you plan on getting it off contract, you should probably look elsewhere: Best Buy has a nasty habit of raising the full retail price by a hundred dollars or more.

When it launches, the Samsung Galaxy note will be both the largest and highest-resolution smartphone in the country, and Samsung’s Super AMOLED display technology is the icing on the cake. It’ll also be the first Android smartphone sold with a stylus or “S-pen”, the better to take advantage of the Wacom digitizer built into the screen. High-end specs like a 1.4Ghz processor, 16GB of storage and an 8MP camera round out the package. Author’s note: the above image may or may not look anything like the case that Best Buy is giving away – as stated above, they’ve shown no pictures and given no brand names. That’s a photo of Samsung’s official cover, courtesy of Unbox.ph.

Device Specifications and Information

Device Info

Device Name : Galaxy Note

Manufactuer : Samsung

Carrier : NA

Announced Date : September 01, 2011

Release Date : TBA

Also Known As :

Display

• Screen Size : 5.30 Inch
• Resolution : 800x1280
• Screen Type : Super AMOLED

Dimension & Weight

• Height : 5.78 Inch
• Width : 3.27 Inch
• Depth : 0.38 Inch
• Weight : 178 Grams

Battery & Power

Battery Type:
• Lithium Ion

• Battery Capacity : 2500 mAh
• Talk Time : NA
• Stand By Time : 390 hours

Software

Android OS:
• 2.3.x

Audio Playback:
• AAC
• AMR
• MP3
• WAV
• WMA

Video Playback:
• h.263
• h.264 / AVC
• MPEG-4 (MP4)
• WMV

Messaging:
• SMS
• MMS

Hardware

CPU :

CPU Clock Speed : 1400 Mhz

Core : 2

Ram : 1024 MB

Internal Storage : 32.768 GB

Front Facing Camera :

Camera Resolution : 8 MP

External Storage:
• MicroSD
• MicroSDHC

Camera Features:
• Auto focus
• Flash
• 1080p Video Recording

Sensors:
• Accelerometer
• Ambient light
• Proximity

QWERTY :

Cellular Network

Network Technology:
• GSM

GSM Band:
• 850
• 900
• 1800
• 1900

Device Connectivity

Wi-Fi:
• 802.11b
• 802.11g
• 802.11n

Bluetooth:
• Bluetooth 3.0

Location Features:
• Compass

FM Radio :

NFC :

The technology behind these seals has been available for years. They’re impressive, no doubt: basically, the system coats a phone or tablet with a near-invisible compound that can block out almost any liquid and moisture. It can repel several meters of water pressure for extended periods of time, making an accidental dunk in a tub or sink a non-issue. Liquipel’s coating technology penetrates into the device itself to cover all interior components as well: their demonstration below shows an HTC ThunderBolt running submerged with the battery cover off, as water trickles into contact with the protected mainboard and other components.

How likely is this rumor? Well it’s certainly not impossible. Liquipel currently offers its coating technology directly to consumers via a mail-in program, charging between $60 and $80 per device. Partnering with a huge company like Samsung or Apple could cut their per-device cost down to a couple of dollars, while adding a huge amount of value for end users. I’d honestly be surprised to see Apple adopt this – they tend to have a wait-and-see approach, never adding a feature if they don’t need to (case in point: the original 2G iPhone). But Samsung might add it to their flagship as yet another differentiation versus Apple.

All this is extremely speculative at the moment; just about the only thing we know for sure about the Galaxy S III is that it won’t shoe up at Mobile World Congress in late February. I’ve been hoping that someone would use one of these waterproofing processes on a mainstream device for a while now. Samsung, are you up to the challenge?

[via Cult of Android]

One of the main additions in Milestone 1 was the incorporation of Roman’s power menu and ICS-like toggles. Another welcomed improvement since then includes the ability to unlink ringtone and notification volumes. The stock setting was quite irritating on my Galaxy Nexus, and hopefully this will be pushed into other ROMs as well. Using the ‘Phone’ app in landscape mode now works too! It’s great when trying to dial a number when your phone is docked in the car.

A tiny SMS icon has also been added into the lockscreen for easy access. This currently doesn’t help you Google Voice users, but eventually the team plans on making it configurable. Countless other fixes were also baked in, and head here if you want to take a look at them all. This is essentially a ‘nightly’, but Milestone builds are more focused on stability rather than the introduction of new features. Tell us how you like it! AOKP has been butter smooth on all our devices so far, so this one should be no different!

[via RootzWiki]

Next up, there was a bit of confusion as to who currently tops the US in customer service. We first gathered from JD Power and Associates that Verizon was the victor, but later on – AT&T was said to top the charts by another survey. Who plans on watching the upcoming Super Bowl? If you’re a big fan of either the Giants or Patriots, an NFL Super Bowl 3D live wallpaper is now available in the market.

Possibly the most interesting news we’ll get to see today is a leaked image of the ASUS TF300T. It could be their next ‘Transformer’ tablet, but that’s the only speculation we can actually make at the moment. There’s no telling what could be packed inside, but it’s not like ASUS to regress in terms of hardware – so it’s safe to say their will be another NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core chip incorporated.

Finally, we have another update to add to the Motorola DROID 4 saga: As of now, expect to see it February 10th in stores. This was gathered from the latest leak, and is hopefully the last time this device will get pushed back. It would be a shame to receive it with a few glitches here and there, so it’s worth waiting for them to iron out anything before launching and risk making a mess of things.

The naming scheme is starting to get a bit out of control over there in the Galaxy S factories but at least they keep churning out awesome phones like the Galaxy S II and this new Advance. The folks from TechPinas have already received some hands-on photos and video of the new Samsung device before it’s even been released.

The phone is no Galaxy S II but it’s no slouch either. Complete with a 1GHz dual-core processor, 768MB of RAM, 4″ WVGA Super AMOLED display with curved glass (just like the Galaxy Nexus), and a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash. It also comes equipped with a 1.3 front camera, 8GB of internal storage and Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

We wont be seeing the device in the US anytime soon but UK retailer Clove already has outlined pre-orders starting at £295 ($467) plus tax. If the Galaxy S Advance looks like something you’re interested in it should be shipping late February, right around the 27th so stay tuned and get your own reserved today.

[via SlashGear]

Among the observed changes in the firmware are better battery, faster animations and other general speed, and a 3D effect when changing home screens, not unlike the stock Ice Cream Sandwich launcher. Samsung’s TouchWiz is still very much present. Between the speed and battery improvements, this build will be good enough for most modders to use as their daily driver ROM. You can install it via the standard Odin or custom recovery methods; SamMobile required an account on their site to access their files, but you can probably find them elsewhere if you look hard enough.

A little editorializing: three leaks for the same software in less than two months is surprising, even for the rabid Android crowd. So, either someone inside Samsung is consistently leaking firmware under the table (in which case I’d expect that person to be found rather quickly) or these software leaks are intentional, at least on some level. Samsung knows that there’s a gigantic community of advanced users, so why not take advantage of it? I think Samsung lets these builds leak out discretely, observes the community reaction and adjust accordingly. Rinse, repeat, and you’ve got a team of free, excited beta testers thousands strong, who have all joyfully voided their warranties. If true, I think it’s a great idea. Just a little speculation.

How can you tell it’s fake? Oh, let me count the ways. First of all, the Ice Cream Sandwich updates for the Galaxy S II that have been leaked so far look nothing like the screenshot on the device in question. The early builds keep the look and feel of Samsung’s proprietary TouchWiz skin intact, including the four-button bottom icon row on the homescreen. The photo above looks like a more even blend of AOSP Android 4.0 and TouchWiz, including the dividing bar and centered app drawer from unmodified Android 4.0. Even so, Samsung’s proprietary widgets and icons are seen hanging out next to the basic Android 4.0 folders.

There’s plenty of other things to suggest that this isn’t the real McCoy. International versions of Samsung’s phones almost always use a center button flanked by two capacitive buttons – the four-button Android standard is only adopted on Samsung’s US phones, which probably wouldn’t be revealed at a Spanish conference. Even the buttons themselves seem wrong, if only because Samsung rarely keeps the same design for the icons as Google’s Android spec recommends. Look closely and you can see errors in the photo itself: bad stitching on the left and right bezels and artifacts below the screen, probably where some modification has taken place to adjust the capacitive buttons. If I had to guess, I’d say the whole thing is a modification of the standard press image from the white version of the international Galaxy S II, seen here:

Could Samsung release a new phone at Mobile World Congress? We’d be very surprised if they didn’t. Could it run Ice Cream Sandwich? Certainly. But this isn’t that phone. The Galaxy S III won’t be in attendance either, thanks to Samsung’s delay. They probably postponed the high-profile phone to their own event so they could get better buzz versus the iPhone 5, and release the GSIII worldwide with fewer market interruptions.

So what’s so great about Lotus Glass? First of all, it can be curved to a much higher degree than standard tempered glass before cracking, allowing for a more dramatic curve in fixed screens. Considering that the Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus both employ a screen curve that so subtle you need a little enhanced marketing to notice it most of the time, this should help make for some more striking phone designs. Lotus Glass is isn’t exclusive to OLED or AMOLED displays, but it is reformulated to allow for higher resolution and greater DPI in screens while maintaining strength and flexibility.

Samsung seems intent on continuing its curved screen designs. The Galaxy S Advance is the third model in as many years with a curved display, and the first in Samsung’s primary Galaxy family. The jury’s still out on how much utility a curvy display adds – aside from a more natural feel in your hand and when talking, there aren’t a lot of pros or cons when it comes to the aesthetic choice. While it’s possible that the Samsung-Corning partnership could lead to a curved design for the delayed Galaxy S III, we haven’t seen any hard evidence pointing towards this.