The Samsung Galaxy S III was announced around a week ago, but is not yet available in the United States and probably won’t be until at least June. If you can’t wait that long, then you may want to pay close attention to the pre-order promotion Expansys is currently running. For a limited time, until the stock runs out, the 16GB Samsung Galaxy S III can be pre-ordered for $694.99. The 32GB and 64GB models are also available, but those prices are not yet announced. While the price may sound higher than usual, remember that it is the off-contract/full retail price. The Galaxy S III that Expansys is selling is the HSPA+ model, so you will not be able to run it on Sprint or Verizon. If you’re interested in the Galaxy S III, then you may want to drop the cash for it now. Expansys will confirm you still want the smartphone right before it ships, so you can always back out then. Via [DroidDog]  
Facebook is looking into charging its users $2 to highlight important status updates, making them more visible on the social networking site. The new feature — still in its trial stages — was stumbled upon by a user from Whangarei, New Zealand, who figured it for a scam. This assumption was soon debunked by Facebook’s Manger of Communications & Policy, Mia Garlick. “We’re constantly testing new features across the site. This particular test is simply to gauge people’s interest in this method of sharing with their friends,” Garlick said.
As it turns out, Facebook has been experimenting with a few different price points — including free — for this highlighted post feature. This means that the current fees in the trial stages could be completely different when “highlighting” goes live. And while some of you might think that this is the most absurd thing Facebook has ever charged its users for, (and it probably is) it is a brilliant marketing strategy that will more than likely milk money from all of the drama queens and narcissists on our friend lists. You know who they are… Read [Stuff]  
Samsung has officially announced the availability of the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 tablet and the Galaxy Player 4.2. Both devices will be available beginning May 13th and will be found across the US at a variety of retailers including Amazon, Best Buy, hhgregg, Tiger Direct, WalMart and Office Depot . That being said, the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 will be selling for $399.99 and the Galaxy Player 4.2 for $199.99. Otherwise, the highlights for each of these devices are as follows; Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 - Control, Watch and Share Your TV Content: The perfect TV companion, use your Tab as a universal remote, multitask on the web while watching and wirelessly stream the live feed from your TV to your Tab.
- Your Movies, Videos and Games Will Come Alive: Everything’s more exciting on a bigger screen. Browse the web, explore over 450,000 apps from Google Play and Samsung Apps, and access thousands of TV shows and movies via WiFi.
- Built to Power Your Entertainment: A big 10.1″ entertainment machine The Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 is powered by Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, a dual-core processor with a microSD™ card slot and more.
Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2 - Listen to your favorite music on the go: Get instant access to your music with WiFi; as simple as drag and play.
- Personalize your player. So many options to make it your own: Discover a large collection of apps to customize your player.
- One single device for all your entertainment needs: The Galaxy Player 4.2 includes premium EA games. Experience seamless multimedia playback and much more!
Via [Reuters]  
If you are in the US and happen to be rocking an Eee Pad Slider SL101 — Asus has a bit of good news for you. They have officially released Ice Cream Sandwich. The update is arriving as software version 9.2.1.21 and users will be able to grab it as an OTA download. That being said, what are you waiting for — grab your tablet, navigate into the settings, check for an update and get the process started. Via [Twitter @ASUS]  
If you happen to have backed the Pebble e-paper watch and are hoping to add a bit more in terms of functionality — you may wan to check out the recently announced partnership with Twine. Simply put, this partnership will allow you to get alerts of real-world events on your Pebble. The Twine device is capable of sending alert messages for a wide variety of real-world events such as a knock at the door and even a flooding basement. And of course, thanks to this partnership you will receive a message on your Pebble. Sounds like a pretty sweet set-up. Of course, this means an additional purchase (outside of your Pebble). The Twine module is currently available for pre-order and is priced at $99. This is expected to begin shipping in July, which means you should have some time to play with it and get familiar with it before your Pebble arrives in September. Finally, for those who may have missed the previous bits on Twine — in a simple way of describing it; “Twine is the simplest way to get the objects in your life texting, tweeting or emailing.”
A bit more specific, Twine comes with a temperature, vibration and orientation sensor and works as follows; “Twine is a wireless module tightly integrated with a cloud-based service. The module has WiFi, on-board temperature and vibration sensors, and an expansion connector for other sensors. Power is supplied by the on-board micro USB or two AAA batteries (and Twine will email you when you need to change the batteries).”
With that, check out the video below to see a bit in action… 
Via [supermechanical.blog]  
One of my long term favorite apps is currently having a sale. That app is Pocket Informant (a calendar, tasks, contacts and notes app) and the sale includes the iPhone and iPad version as well as the Android version. The sale prices are as follows; Needless to say, all offering a nice drop. Finally, the sale is in effect as of this posting and will remain through Monday, May 13, 2012.  
While this latest bit is still firmly in the rumor category, there is some chatter about a Kindle with a color display. The details are coming by way of a Digitimes report who are citing the vague sounding “industry sources.” That said, according to what has been reported, Amazon is “likely” to launch a color Kindle during the second half of the year. Further details note that this new color Kindle will use a multi-touch capacitive display as opposed to the infrared touch panels we currently see in the Kindle. Of course, without an announcement (or confirmation) from Amazon, it looks like we are left waiting. So, how about it, is anyone interested in a Kindle with a color display? Or does the Kindle Fire already sort of fill that niche. Via [Digitimes] and [BGR]  
The 4G capable iPhone 4/4S case that is FreedomPop has recently come available for pre-order. The company notes that there will be a “limited quantity available for launch” and has set the price at $99. That being said and for those not familiar with the FreedomPop case — this is a slip case for the iPhone 4/4S and it not only provides 4G WiMAX connectivity, but also serves as a mobile hotspot and battery pack. More specifically, the FreedomPop case will give users 1GB 500MB of free broadband per month along with the ability to share that with up to 8 devices (at a time) over Wi-Fi and up to 6 hours of additional battery life. Otherwise, the FreedomPop case is expected to begin shipping in the beginning of July and as for any data above that 500MB limit — that will come as $0.01 per MB. Via [FreedomPop] and [GigaOm] 
 
Following up on the recent rebrand from Read It Later to Pocket, it looks like another welcomed update has arrived. The Pocket app (for iOS) has recently been updated to version 4.1 and along with a new version number we have some fixes, some new themes and new article view features. In terms of the fixes, those include the following; - Fixed a case where items in the list would become untappable
- Fixed a case where only partial lists would load
- Fixed a number of crashes and other minor bugs
Otherwise, the remaining goodies for this update break down as follows; Article View updates: - Page Flipping mode: In addition to Pocket's default scrolling option, you can now swipe left or right inside an article to enable Page Flipping and read one page at a time.
- Improved Dark theme and an all-new Sepia theme: We've made improvements to the Dark theme, and we've also added Sepia. With refined contrast and readability, these options make reading even more comfortable.
- Increased maximum font size: For those who prefer larger print, we've expanded Pocket's font-size options so you can find the perfect fit for reading.
Plus: - Dark theme now runs throughout the app: Use Pocket comfortably at night, whether you're in the Article View or browsing through your saved content.
- Add URLs from your clipboard: We're making it even easier to save something for later: Pocket now automatically detects URLs that are copied to the clipboard so they can be added directly to Pocket.
- Support for additional video sites: Pocket's in-app video streaming now supports popular sites includingTED, Devour and Khan Academy.
The v4.1 update for Pocket is available by way of the iOS App Store. The Pocket app remains available for free and as a universal with proper support for the iPhone (and iPod touch) as well as the iPad. The app requires iOS 5.0 or later for use. Finally, while this update is only available for iOS at the moment, the folks at Pocket did mention that the Android and Kindle Fire updates will be arriving in a “couple days.” Via [Pocket Blog] and [iOS App Store]  
Have you seen the latest T-Mobile-bashing-AT&T commercial, featuring the cute-turned-hot magenta-clad spokesmodel metaphorically comparing the speed of an iPhone 4S on AT&T’s 4G network and a generic Android phone on T-Mobile’s 4G spectrum while riding her faster motorcycle past a slower bike. For those of you living under a rock, or not in the USA where these ads run, the commercial is embedded below. 
Now lets examine this piece of advertising more closely, and the claims being made. Yes, any 4G phone on a 4G network will be faster than an iPhone 4S, which is capable of pseudo 4G speeds, delivered by AT&T’s HSPA+ network. Before going any further, lets clarify that at this point, in the US at least, there isn’t a clear distinction between 3G and 4G. 4G is just marketing speak for a bit faster 3G network. An upgraded 3G network, if you will. The real fourth-generation network (4G) is LTE, Long Term Evolution. A completely new wireless network, with real speed improvements. Verizon has the biggest LTE network. AT&T has the fastest. So, back to the commercial. Is it really fair to compare the iPhone 4S, a “4G-not LTE capable” phone with any other 4G capable phone and network? Its just like comparing Apples and oranges. Pun intended. What is T-Mobile’s objective here? If people want faster wireless speeds and their iPhone isn’t cutting it, won’t they just stay on AT&T and get any of the high-end LTE-capable Androids or even a Nokia Lumia Windows phone? I think the real issue here is that the iPhone 4S, or really any iPhone, while works on T-Mobile’s network, doesn’t enjoy 3G speeds, just EDGE. And thats a bummer for T-Mobile, the only major mobile carrier in the US without the iPhone. But that might be changing soon. Editor note: Post was edited to remove a few overuses of the term “LTE” as it seems even those in the tech world sometimes mix-up 4G and LTE. More to the point here, as was pointed out by ZDNet writer Matt Miller on Twitter, T-Mobile has 42Mbps HSPA+ speeds which in terms of faux-4G — is faster than what AT&T is offering. And in that regard, I have to agree with Julian on this one — if an AT&T iPhone 4S user is unhappy with the AT&T speeds, they are likely to just upgrade to an LTE device and stick with AT&T.  | |
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