Samsung Galaxy S III

With a 4.8" HD Super AMOLED in a chassis slightly bigger than the Galaxy S II, the Samsung Galaxy S III embodies the Android lovers dream of having a slim and light device with huge screen. With a powerful quad-core Exynos chip, which turns into Snapdragon S4 + LTE for the US, the phone becomes the 2012 Android yardstick. It is not only the hardware specs, though, but rather the holistic approach to communication with the user, dubbed Natural Interaction, and the innovative media sharing features that make it

Samsung Galaxy S III is Vodafone's most pre-ordered Android phone ever

Not that this is a surprise, but Vodafone has announced that the Samsung Galaxy S III is the most pre-ordered Android phone in the history of the carrier. Vodafone didn't mention any specific number, but considering that the phone is the fastest selling gadget of all-time with 9 million units pre-ordered (and that obviously doesn't include the U.S.), it would make sense for Vodafone to be ringing up some impressive numbers for the handset.


Vodafone customers can actually get the 16GB Samsung Galaxy S III for free with monthly plans as low as 41 GBP a month ($64 USD). That plan gives customers 2GB of data, 900 UK minutes, unlimited texts and 100 free music tracks. You will need to sign up for 2 years of this plan to get the free 16GB Samsung Galaxy S III which Vodafone hopes to deliver by the end of this month. By the way, you do get to choose between two colors, white or blue.

Vodafone also has limited exclusivity in the U.K. for the 32GB model of the Samsung Galaxy S III. To get that version of the phone for free, you need to sign up for, at the least, Vodafone's 46 GBP a month plan ($72 USD). This is the same as the 41GBP plan except that it offers 300 more UK minutes for a total of 1200. To pre-order the phone, click on the sourcelink.

HTC new phone U.S. sales delayed due to customs review

U.S. sales of two new smartphones from Taiwan'sHTC Corp <2498.TW> will be delayed due to a patent dispute withApple Inc , a fresh blow to the company as it tries to turn around declining sales in what was once its largest market.

The news knocked its shares down 5 percent.

Apple scored a narrow victory against HTC in a patent lawsuit in December over technology in the smartphones, one of many such disputes in the fiercely competitive smartphone market.

HTC said in a statement on Wednesday that "the U.S. availability of the HTC One X and HTC EVO 4G LTE has been delayed due to a standard U.S. Customs review of shipments that is required after an ITC (International Trade Commission) exclusion order".

Under that ruling, HTC phones with the disputed technology would be banned from entering the U.S. from April 19. HTC has said that it has a workaround in its new phones to avoid the technology. The shipments still require inspection however.

Some shipments of the One X model had reached the U.S. before the ban date, enabling the model's launch, but further shipments are being delayed, an HTC official in Taipei said.

U.S. operator AT&T, which has been carrying the One X model in store since May 6, says the smartphone is "out of stock" on its website.

The launch of the EVO 4G LTE by Sprint, originally scheduled for Friday, will be delayed. Sprint has been taking pre-orders on its website.

In its statement, HTC said it believes it is "in compliance with the ruling and HTC is working closely with customs to secure approval". Sprint and AT&T both declined to comment.

As of 0405 GMT, HTC shares were down 4.6 percent in a broader market down 1.3 percent.

"Previously, it was expected that general exclusion order from the patent infringement referred to only old models from HTC. However, the latest news suggest otherwise with all models (new and old) potentially at risk," Goldman Sachs said in a trading note to clients seen by Reuters.

It said the U.S. market was expected to account for 15-20 percent of HTC's second-quarter shipments, and this delay might hit the company's earnings this quarter and possibly in the third quarter, depending on how quickly HTC could resolve the issue.

Last month, HTC Chief Executive Officer Peter Chou said HTC would not return to the days when more than 50 percent of its revenue came from the United States, a market where it saw a big drop last year because of the fierce competition from Apple's iPhone 4S. [ID:nL3E8FH0MU]

Former contract maker HTC had a fairytale ride in 2010 and early 2011, when its shares more than tripled in the 14 months to April 2011. The company's sales grew four-fold in 1-1/2 years as consumers snapped up its innovative phones with their distinctive large clock numerals.

But it suffered an equally rapid fall from grace as its phones failed to keep up with Apple's AAPL.O iPhones and Samsung's 005930.KS Galaxy range.

In late February, HTC announced its One series of models with fast graphic chips and advanced music and photography functions, to generally positive reviews from analysts and tech bloggers.

Aircel-Maxis deal: Government denies wrongdoing

 Amidst allegations from opposition overHome Minister P. Chidambaram's involvement in the 2006 Aircel-Maxis telecom deal, the government Monday denied any wrongdoing in the deal.

Chidambaram gave a clarification in the Rajya Sabha after fresh opposition uproar, while Mukherjee read out an identical statement in both houses.

Opposition alleged the company of the home minister's son was transferred money, before the Foreign Investment Promotion Board(FIPB) cleared a proposal from Aircel pertaining to its telecom service venture in 2006.

Chidambaram, who was finance minister at that time, said that no illegitimate transfers were made to any company involving any of his family members. "Neither I, nor any member of my family has any equity in any telecom company."

"Plunge a dagger in my heart rather than question my integrity," the minister said.

As the opposition insisted that the present finance minister should give a clarification, Mukherjee said in both houses that there was "no scope for misunderstanding and misinformation" on the issue.

"There is no scope for any misunderstanding and misinformation in both cases there was no delay in granting the approvals," Mukherjee said in his statement.

The issue was raised in the upper house by Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley. He did not take any names, but alluded that Ausbridge -- in which Advantage Consultancy, partly owned by Chidambaram's son Karthi, had a stake -- received money from Aircel.

Seeking to give more details, Jaitley said Maxis, the Malaysian company which acquired shares in Aircel, had declared to Malaysian stock exchange that it acquired more than 99 percent shares in Aircel.

But the Indian policy permits no more than 74 percent share to foreign investors in telecom ventures. The money was allegedly transferred by Aircel Chief C. Sivasankaran on the eve of FICB clearance to the Aircel-Maxis deal.

The home minister, however, said his "family" had nothing to do with Ausbridge.

"It is true my son had shares in Advantage Consultancy. But young men have all the right to start a business. He invested Rs.1.8 lakh in the company, which had another share holder -- Rajesh," the home minister said.

The minister, however, said Karthi had sold his share in the firm to his friend and had no holdings in the company. He further clarified that Advantage took shares in Ausbridge only in 2011, much after the 2006 clearance to the Aircel-Maxis deal.

The leader of opposition questioned how both Ausbridge and Advantage had the same e-mail address in 2006, to which Chidambaram said he was not aware "if they shared the same web address".

"I don't deny that the promoters of Ausbridge and Advantage did know each other. All are doing business in Chennai," he said.

He also said whether or not the Malaysian company gave wrong information to some other country could be examined by the finance ministry. But the FIPB gave its clearance in 2006 for a stake below 74 percent.

He also dismissed allegations for delaying the process of clearance.

Giving the dates on which the application for investment was made and the final approval was granted, Mukherjee said it was clear that the proposal was processed in the normal course and approval granted in the normal course without any delay.

In Rajya Sabha, however, opposition members said they wanted more clarifications. The finance minister assured that time would fixed for clarifications.