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Samsung's goal for the Samsung Galaxy S III is clear: set in more hands around the world than any other phone.

The electronics giant knows you can't do that without a favorable price tag and handsets on almost every carrier. More importantly, Samsung understands that it can only reach great heights with a smartphone worthy of the hype.

High-flying specs like Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, 4G LTE speeds, and a sharp-shooting 8-megapixel camera push the Galaxy S III much of the way up the hill. Its large HD screen and friendly design give it another boost; … Read more

Spotify has unveiled its latest Android app, which now includes a faster, streamlined interface and higher sound quality than before.

The app has full support for Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and features a new tile-based, "slide-out" navigation with support for high-resolution art.

As far as playback features are concerned, the app includes crossfade and gapless playback, support for "Extreme" 320kbps files, and Last.fm scrobbling.

The app promises a deeper experience than before with enhanced support for friends playlists and profile pages, a "related artists" view, a playback queue, and folder support for better organization of playlists.… Read more

HTC One X fans have a real reason to celebrate. AT&T just announced that the superphone is available for order now online. The carrier also said the hot device will hit AT&T stores across the country on June 10 for $199.99.

Besides the extremely capable device, which boasts Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and HTC's latest Sense UI, AT&T will hawk the HTC Media Link accessory, too. The $90 Media Link allows One X owners to push digital content such as video, pictures, and audio to HDTVs via Wi-Fi and wired HDMI connection. … Read more

Samsung is playing for keeps. The consumer electronics giant has just announced sales of its Samsung Galaxy S III flagship Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone for five U.S. carriers starting in June.

Sprint will start selling the Galaxy S III June 21 -- $199.99 for 16GB of storage, $249.99 for 32GB. T-Mobile will also receive its version on the 21st, but isn't yet releasing pricing. Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and U.S. Cellular will all receive variations of the Galaxy S III this month. Verizon begins June 6 preorders for the white or "pebble blue" handset, which will be available in "the coming weeks" for the same price as Sprint.

For is part, AT&T will offer just the 16GB model, for $199.99, though AT&T will be the only carrier to offer the handset in red, in addition to the blue and white. Meanwhile, U.S. Cellular, the surprise carrier in the bunch, will release pricing information when the phone goes on sale June 12.… Read more

Let me introduce you to Norm.

"Norm!"

No, not George Wendt. Norman is an IT security company based in Norway that's selling a box that just might save the world from the next nuclear disaster.

Perhaps you've heard of a beefy piece of malware dubbed "Flame" that's been getting some attention lately. This week it became the latest dark monarch to reign in the underworld kingdom of scary code. Norm -- sorry, Norman -- says its new box could douse Flame and stop destructive cousins like Stuxnet and Duqu in their tracks, too.… Read more

Huawei and "premium" don't often appear in the same sentence when you're looking at the company's smartphone history in the U.S. Yet, the unlocked, global version of the Huawei Ascend P1 offers a glimmer of hope in its eye-catching black-on-white design, its 4.3-inch Super AMOLED screen, and higher-reaching camera specs.

While the P1 is a good step, Huawei will still face plenty of competition at this level, including from the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S III, global front-runners with quad-core chips in their international models, excellent screens, and highly competitive cameras.… Read more

As expected, Lenovo and Intel jointly announced the K800 smartphone today in China -- the second phone powered by Intel silicon to hit the market.

In addition to the 1.6GHz Atom processor, the K800 boasts a 4.5-inch 720x1,280 IPS display, 1.3MP/8MP front-rear cameras, Intel wireless display technology for steaming video to a compatible HDTV, and an Android 2.3.7-based operating system.

The K800 will run on China Unicom's network. The phone supports HSPA+.

Lenovo follows the first Intel phone, the Lava Xolo 900 launched in India last month.

Smartphones running on Intel processors … Read more

Remember the Huawei Ascend P1 from CES? Well, it looks like it could be coming to the U.S., thanks to a recent FCC filing.

Its ultrathin -- 0.27 inch thin, no joke -- and stylized white-on-black design is the Ascend P1's beauty that matches the brawn of its dual-core processor, 8-megapixel camera, and a cutting-edge Android Ice Cream Sandwich OS. I haven't been able to give the phone a thorough examination yet, but based on the features list and what we saw in January, I'd go so far as to call it the Huawei superphone … Read more

Lenovo is expected to announce its K800 smartphone next week in China, according to a source familiar with Lenovo's plans -- the second phone powered by Intel silicon.

In addition to the 1.6GHz Atom processor, the K800 boasts a 4.5-inch 720x1280 IPS display, 1.3MP/8MP front-rear cameras, Intel wireless display technology for steaming video to a compatible HDTV, and an Android 2.3.7-based operating system.

Other features include HDMI-out, near-field communication (NFC), and Intel wireless display technology for steaming video to a compatible HDTV.

Lenovo's phone will run on China Unicom's network. The … Read more