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At the time, the leak, owing to its curious timing, was viewed as Samsung’s attempt to blunt Apple’s fanfare from the iPhone 5 introduction, especially given the fact that the Korean manufacturer had been eating Apple’s smartphone lunch all summer long.
But now new, heftier reports are surfacing that the Galaxy S IV device may feature breakthrough technology—an unbreakable screen, a development that could vault Samsung’s smartphone sales to another level well beyond the Apple’s iPhone 5. Not surprisingly, the Korean maker is said to be stepping up efforts to bring the unit to market sooner rather than later.
Codenamed "Project J" after Samsung mobile division head JK Shin, the Galaxy S IV is rumored to feature a 5-inch 1080p display, a quad core processor, perhaps 2GB of RAM and a 13MP camera, according to this report.
The September leak had said the Galaxy S IV would use LTE networks, feature Samsung’s Exynos-branded application processors and quad-core chips, with a screen size approaching 5 inches and an OLED display, noting, however, that the manufacturer hadn’t yet decided to use flexible display technology. Apparently now it has decided--Samsung, a strong proponent of so-called OLED displays (organic light-emitting diode) is ahead of the pack for OLED panels replacing glass substrate with plastic; hence, the unbreakable screen.
Reports also suggest Samsung will introduce in Europe a lower-priced version of the Galaxy Note II tablet. According to the accounts, the device will not include a stylus and won’t be equipped with Active Matrix OLED (AMOLED) display technology.
More Legal Wrangling
Apple and Samsung again locked horns in U.S. Federal Court in San Jose, Calif., this week. Judge Lucy Koh heard arguments on a wide range of issues, from overturning the verdict (see first sentence above), to jury misconduct, damages, banning of Samsung phone sales in the United States.
According to one report, at the close of the session Judge Koh suggested the two sides find a path to what she called "global peace." Koh is quoted as saying, "Is there anything the court can do? I'm more than willing to issue orders. It would be good for consumers, good for the industry, good for the parties." Last month, Samsung's Shin openly said the Korean manufacturer wasn't interested in a peace accord with Apple, so it came as more than a small surprise when the company's attorney said, "We are willing. The ball's in their court."
Stay tuned. There's more to come for sure.
