note 2

DALLAS -- Samsung has opened a new front in its battle for smartphone supremacy: the storefront.

The Korean electronics giant plans to set up mini Samsung stores inside all U.S. Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile venues within the next couple of months -- just in time for the Galaxy S4 launch. The "Samsung Experience Shops," which start rolling out Monday, will be in 500 big-box Best Buy stores and all 410 Best Buy Mobile locations by early May. Best Buy's remaining 550 large-format Best Buy stores will feature the shops by early June.

A larger … Read more

The Samsung Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 2 are on a short list of devices rumored to see an Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie update, according to SamMobile.

A select few members of the Samsung Galaxy smartphones are expected to see an update to the next version of Android, presumed to be OS version 5.0, known as Key Lime Pie.

A "prelist" of updates apparently obtained by the mobile blog suggests that the soon-to-be-released Samsung Galaxy S4 will be joined by four other models to receive the forthcoming Android 5.0 OS, including various versions of … Read more

With the success of its Galaxy S and Galaxy Note franchise, Samsung Electronics has shown that money talks.

Samsung outspent Apple in marketing in the U.S. last year, sinking $401 million in its promotional efforts here vs. Apple's marketing budget of $333 million, The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, citing research firm Kantar Media.

The marketing muscle has been a crucial component to Samsung's success in surpassing Apple as the premier smartphone manufacturer and top cell phone player in the industry. With the smartphone market being incredibly competitive as ever, that marketing money will continue to be … Read more

Samsung plans to release a security patch for a newly discovered lock screen hack, reports Lookout Mobile Security. According to the security firm, however, the timeframe for the official software repair is vague, expected to hit "shortly." … Read more

The rumors and anticipation over next week's expected unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy S4 super Android flagship phone are reaching a fever pitch. Will it have eye-scrolling? Will it be all bendy and unbreakable? Will it usher in the unicorn apocalypse?

But this is the world of technology in 2013, where the only question that really matters is: What's next?

Fortunately, there's a new rumor out today to temporarily satiate our appetite for the future and allow us to look past the still unofficial Galaxy S4 toward Samsung's next next big move, which will apparently be a new phablet just shy of 6 inches that would be a logical follow-up to the Galaxy Note 2.… Read more

Hackers can get past the Galaxy Note 2's lock screen -- if their fingers are fast enough.

A minor security vulnerability has been found in Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Note 2 smartphone-tablet hybrid, which leaves the door open to fast-fingered ne'er-do-wells.

The flaw, first discovered by Terence Eden, finds that certain apps and widgets can be briefly accessed with a few taps from the lock screen. Somewhat tricky to accomplish, it requires the user to press the "Emergency Call" icon, then the ICE (in case of emergency) button, and then hold down the home button. With success, … Read more

The Samsung Galaxy S3 (and Note 2) has a neat feature when docked to a Samsung multimedia dock; it can automatically display the desk home screen. The desk home screen is a useful display with a clock, calendar, local weather and multimedia shortcuts. It's a nice companion display when you're charging your S3 at your desk. However, you don't necessarily need a dock to use the desk home screen.

If you're using a third-party smartphone stand with a separate charger, you can still make use of the desk home screen.

To use the desk home screen, … Read more

Samsung Electronics, the world's largest consumer electronics maker, said its fourth-quarter profit rose 76 percent to another record high on strong sales of Galaxy smartphones and tablets.

The South Korean electronics giant today reported a net profit of 7.04 trillion won ($6.6 billion), up from 4.01 trillion won in the same period a year earlier.

It was the fifth consecutive record quarterly profit for Samsung, which reported fourth-quarter sales of 56 trillion won ($52.6 billion), a 19 percent increase. Nearly half of that revenue came from its mobile communications division, particularly strong sales of its … Read more

Apple's iPhone is the No. 1 pick among prospective smartphone buyers polled in North America, though it's losing some ground to Samsung.

Among 4,000 people looking to buy a smartphone in the next 90 days, 50 percent plan to buy an iPhone, according to a report out today from ChangeWave Research. That's not a bad number, but it's down from 71 percent in last quarter's survey, which was conducted just as the iPhone 5 debuted.

Over the same time, the percentage of people eyeing a Samsung smartphone rose to 21 percent from 13 percent, … Read more