The European Commission said Tuesday it suspects Samsung of not giving other companies fair access to patents it holds on standardized technology for mobile phones , despite committing to do so in 1998.

The Commission said that Samsung last year sought legal injunctions against other device makers in several EU states, alleging patent infringement.

The probe comes just as Samsung is locked in a battle with Apple over whether its Galaxy tablet too closely resembles the iPad.

A spokesman for the Commission couldn’t immediately say whether the patents also affect tablet computers.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

BERLIN (AP) , A German appeals court has upheld a decision prohibiting Samsung Electronics Co. from selling two of its tablet computers in Germany, agreeing with Apple Inc. that they too closely resemble the iPad2.

The Duesseldorf state court ruled Tuesday that neither the South Korean company’s Galaxy Tab 10,1 nor the Galaxy Tab 8,9 could be sold in Germany because they were in violation of unfair competition laws.

But it said the successor Galaxy Tab 10,1 N is not affected by the ruling.

The ruling comes as part of a string of court battles between California-based Apple and Samsung over their tablet computers. In December, a Sydney court ruled that Samsung could sell its Galaxy tablet computers in Australia.

Samsung chief executive Choi Gee-sung told reporters during his speech at the Consumer Electronics Show, that the company overtook Nokia in revenue terms in its latest reported quarter and was confident of topping the Finnish group in shipments this year. Although the popularity of Nokia phones is declining, the company is still very strong on emerging markets. Besides, the company has started selling its next-generation smartphones powered by Microsoft Windows Phone 7,5 «Mango» operating system and they can slowdown Nokia’s declines in case the two partners manage to improve popularity of WP7,5 platform compared to Apple iOS or Google Android .

According to the latest polls by Reuters news-agency, Nokia was expected to sell 418 million phones in 2011, versus Samsung’s 320 million. The gap would narrow this year to 388 million versus 359 million.

«Samsung is getting closer to Nokia very quickly. Their smartphones strategy has proven right and on feature phones they are growing fast in emerging markets too. Samsung became a recognized brand and their successful smartphones are helping their feature phones business in regions where smartphones are still too expensive,” said Francisco Jeronimo, an analyst with IDC.

Analysts believe that with slowing sales in well-developed countries, it will be harder for Samsung to outsell Nokia as the company’s stronghold has historically been emerging markets.

«Considering how strong Nokia still is in the emerging markets, Samsung’s expectation seems to imply that Nokia will miserably fail in mature markets. I think it will be hard for Samsung to beat Nokia without more aggressively targeting emerging markets,” said Carolina Milanesi, an analyst with Gartner.

The Galaxy S WiFi 3,6 falls into the same strange category as the iPod touch, that offers almost all the same apps and multimedia capabilities of a smartphone and looks like a smartphone, but can’t actually make any phone calls. This perhaps appeals to those that want a dedicated media playing device that’s more affordable and won’t require an attached wireless contract.

It features a 3,6-inch 480×800 resolution display, a 1GHz TI OMAP processor, a VGA front-facing camera, and a 3-megapixel rear-facing camera. There are clear cost-cutting choices made here with the lower-resolution cameras and the non-AMOLED display. The device is already priced for the UK at £149 ($242) for the 8 GB model and £169 ($274) for the 16 GB model. No pricing or availability has been confirmed yet for the US.

Samsung made several other major announcements this morning, including the Galaxy Tab 7,7 and an unexpected Galaxy Note that straddles both the smartphone and tablet categories with its 5,3-inch screen. Make sure to check out our Samsung IFA 2011 wrap-up.

Verizon didn’t provide a reason for skipping out on the Galaxy S II beyond a cryptic note from a spokesperson noting its current lineup of Samsung devices. Verizon did sell the original Galaxy S along with its network operator competitors, so this development is at least worth paying attention to. Here’s why.

Samsung slipped up again. This time, a Samsung-managed site revealed details of two devices being announced next week at the IFA event in Berlin. One of the devices is a tablet, the second is a smartphone. One characteristic shared by both is their support for Long Term Evolution 4G.

Some of the details about this smartphone, which were published by ThisIsMyNext, include a 4,5-inch display, an 1850mAh battery, NFC, 1,5-GHz dual-core processor, an 8-megapixel camera, and multi-mode LTE, which will allow the device to work in multiple countries. According to Samsung, this new device will also be called the Samsung Galaxy S II, despite the difference in screen size compared to the original set of Galaxy S II devices.

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Circling back to Verizon, there’s one big reason it may not want to participate in the big Galaxy S II love-fest planned for next week: It has a LTE smartphone to announce, and doesn’t want to share the spotlight with its carrier competitors.

Think about it. Verizon Wireless has not actually announced any new LTE smartphones since CES in January. Sure, the Thunderbolt, Charge, Revolution, and Bionic (still to come) have all been released in stages throughout the year, but Verizon and its partners haven’t introduced brand new hardware in nearly nine months.

Surely, Verizon would want any new LTE smartphone to get its own stage. With reports of an LTE-enabled Galaxy S II in the wings, it is probable that Verizon will eventually sell this new, LTE-equipped version rather than the one being announced by AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile next week.

There’s also the Nexus Prime to consider. Most reports that have circulated about the device so far point to a release on Verizon’s network. The Nexus Prime will be the next reference Android device, probably running Android 4,0 Ice Cream Sandwich. This device deserves its own spotlight. It is possible that Verizon is waiting to announce this device at a separate event/time with Google.

Obviously, none of the details are concrete, but they provide the best picture we have at the moment of what’s to come with respect to Samsung’s Android smartphones.

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We learned of the new netbook’s pending arrival in the U.S., Russia and Africa from the folks at liliputing. It turns out that the NC215s, hailed as the world’s first solar-powered netbook, is, in fact, reportedly due to hit U.S. shelves on July 3rd for around $400.

According to the manufacturer, the solar panel, which is mounted on the reverse side of the NC215s’ flip-up display, is able to provide about an hour of computing time for every two hours it spends in direct sunlight. The netbook is said to sport a battery that can provide up to 14,5 hours of operating time, though graphics intensive use is likely to knock that number down several notches. The computer features an Intel Atom № 570 1,66 GHz dual-core processor with integrated graphics that draws a maximum of 8,5 watts (actually on the high side for an Atom processor). Adding to the computer’s eco-friendliness factor is its recyclable parts.

The netbook includes a list of other interesting and practical features. A  «Sleep-and-Charge» USB port that can charge mobile devices even while the netbook is in sleep mode or turned completely off can also provide juice once battery power is depleted using its built in solar panel. The computer’s 10,1″ display has a matte finish to reduce glare and Samsung reports that it is 50% brighter than competing netbooks, leading us to believe it may actually be usable while sitting out in the sun. No word, however, on how Samsung mitigates the heat issue that often crops up when such devices spend considerable time under blistering solar rays. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Did you know EarthTechling writes about all manner of green gadgets? Check out more on this topic here.

A new laptop to be launched in Russia by Samsung will use solar panels that are directly integrated into the unit’s lid. The NC215S will be available in August and run Windows 7 and Samsung claims that it will be able to offer a battery life of up to 14,5 hours.

Initially unveiled at the Africa Regional Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, the new device has now been confirmed for the Russian market. It is also likely to be popular in African markets, where permanent sources of power are often not available. Samsung Electronics Africa hopes to reach $10 billion in sales by 2015.

Samsung has an established interest in solar power, launching a mobile phone using the technology in 2009 at the Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona. Although the ‘Blue Earth’ device did not mark a breakthrough for the technology, it has increasingly also been used by other manufacturers — Fujitsu has also been examining the technology as part of a recent computing design competition.

The new netbook offers a conventional netbook configuration with a 10,1in, 1024 x 600-pixel display and a weight of 1,3kg. An Intel Atom № 570 (1,66 GHz) dual-core processor, 1GB of Ram and a 250GB or 320GB drive are the device’s main features. Prices have not yet been announced and there are currently no UK release plans.

The very first thing you will, and I did, notice about the Infuse 4G is its huge 4.5-inch 800 x 480-pixel resolution Super AMOLED Plus display. It’s the same screen technology that’s on the DROID Charge from Verizon Wireless, and it’s hard to describe just how beautifully colorful, bright, and sharp it is. We first saw Samsung’s last generation Super AMOLED displays on its Galaxy S devices, and the Super AMOLED Plus improves on that panel in a number of ways. It’s easier to read under direct sunlight, and the blacks are even darker and inkier. Everyone needs to see this screen, even if you’re not on the market for a new phone. But I digress.

Despite having such a large display, the Infuse 4G is shockingly light at about 5 ounces. It’s thin, too, and measures just 0.35-in thick. The touch sensitive buttons for menu, home, return, and search all worked well during my tests. The power and volume buttons are all located within reach and there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top of the phone. With a capable camera on board though, I wish Samsung added a camera quick-launch button, too.

Speaking of cameras, the Infuse 4G has two of them: a 1.3-megapixel front-facing shooter for video chats, and an 8-megapixel camera capable of recording full 720p HD video on the back. There’s also a single-LED flash, something the Captivate lacked. The back of the phone looks sharp and has a textured finish that blends nicely with the imitation metal border that wraps around the whole device. However, the textured back battery panel is flimsy. The HTC Inspire 4G, by contrast, has a rock solid unibody design. While I appreciate the Infuse 4G’s lightness and its aesthetic, it does feel a bit cheap.

Under the hood there’s a 1.2GHz processor, 16GB of storage built in, a 2GB microSD card, support for 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi networks, a 1,750mAh battery, and more. That’s not a huge jump from the hardware that the Captivate offered, and I wish the phone packed Samsung’s dual-core Orion processor that’s inside the Galaxy S II. All of the aformentioned hardware powers Android 2.2.1 (Froyo), with Samsung’s last generation TouchWiz user interface. Let’s get into that now.

Software

The Infuse 4G runs Google’s previous-generation Android 2.2.1 operating system. That’s not a huge deal, given that just 4% of phones are powered by the newer Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) OS, but it’s still odd to me that new devices are hitting the market with an outdated version preloaded. Here’s what really gets me though: Samsung’s previous-generation TouchWiz user interface.

I’ve spent time with Samsung’s new TouchWiz 4.0 on the DROID Charge, and I like what the firm has done to improve it compared to earlier versions. The UI feels faster, has several new and fun zooming features, and has an improved widget interface. Unfortunately, Samsung didn’t include that on the Infuse 4G, and I can’t figure out why. TouchWiz 3.0 is too colorful and cartoonish, and the widgets waste too much space. Thankfully the 1.2GHz processor kept everything snappy, though, so it never felt too sluggish. User interfaces are a matter of taste, and I’ve met plenty of people that prefer TouchWiz to competing UIs. For me personally though, it’s not a good fit.

As I’ve said in the past, I’m not a fan of the black background in the e-mail user interface, and don’t like Samsung’s default keyboard. There’s the option to use Swype on the Infuse 4G, which worked pretty well, and you can switch to the default Android keyboard, too. One software issue in particular that stood out was the sluggishness of the web browser. On multiple occasions it would lock up while I was trying to access a new website or pan around a page. Sometimes it would just stall for a few seconds, and then work properly again, but this is an issue I’ve typically seen with lower-end devices — not 1.2GHz “superphones.”

Last, but not least, the Infuse 4G is the first phone on AT&T to allow for side-loading of third-party applications. That means you can load up an .apk file on the phone, access it via your file manager of choice, and then install it. Before you can start side-loading apps, however, you’ll have to visit Settings > Applications, and check the box next to “Unknown Sources.”

Calling / Data

The data speeds on the Infuse 4G are awful and are just barely better than what I’ve seen on the ATRIX 4G and the Inspire 4G. I averaged 3.07Mbps on the downlink and a pitiful .11Mbps on the uplink. That’s a solid 3G download speed, but overall the throughput is pathetic for anything with a 4G moniker. Verizon’s 4G LTE network consistently offers downlink speeds of 20Mbps with phones like the Samsung DROID Charge; that’s more than six times faster than AT&T’s 4G network. I hope AT&T issues a patch that fixes the speeds, and it’s upsetting the carrier is advertising this as its fastest phone yet — with theoretical 21Mbps peak download speeds — when even 5Mbps seems unachievable and the “3G” iPhone 4 regularly sees faster download speeds.

Calls on the Infuse 4G were decent, but nothing to call home about. I didn’t have a single dropped call during my tests in New York City, but voices did sound a bit watery during a few conversations. The speakerphone volume was more than sufficient. One friend said he could tell I was using a speakerphone but that I sounded “pretty clear.” Overall the call quality of the Infuse 4G sits around average in my book.

Battery Life

I was easily able to get through a full workday with moderate usage on a single charge of the Infuse 4G’s 1,750mAh battery. That’s an improvement over the Captivate, which frequently died on me before 5:00 p.m. Using the phone as my primary device, checking email, surfing the web, and listening to music, drained the battery noticeably faster, but I was also impressed with its standby time. Overall the Infuse 4G’s battery life was among the best I’ve seen on a high-powered Android phone yet. If you’re looking for a bit longer, I’d suggest checking out the ATRIX 4G, which managed to muster through a full workday with heavy usage.
Camera

The Infuse 4G’s 8-megapixel took stellar photos, especially in good lighting conditions. Shots taken around New York City came out clear, and the sky on a sunny day was deep blue. On particularly bright days, I noticed that the sky would bleed a bit into my subjects, and shots came out overexposed altogether. Low light pictures came out OK, but just like the DROID Charge on Verizon, street lights really bled into my images, even with the anti-shake option enabled. I took a few more images while watching the Kentucky Derby in a dark pub, though, and the flash did a good job when I took a picture of my dinner plate.

The Infuse 4G’s camera is capable of recording 720p video, and the results were impressive, but on a par with what the Captivate was capable of shooting, too. I didn’t see much distortion, even while panning around. The camera also continuously auto-focuses, which is a nice touch.

Wrap-up

No, it’s not the 4G phone you’ve been waiting for, but it’s still a solid device. I’m shocked that AT&T can get away with calling this a 4G phone, however, because I have yet to see data speeds that push the boundaries of its network. But if AT&T making good on its “4G” claims and delivering solid data speeds isn’t a necessity for you, the Infuse 4G is worthy of your attention. The screen is incredible, I like the thin form factor, and the solid battery life was definitely appreciated. Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface isn’t for everyone either, but I still highly recommend you consider reserving a spot in your pocket for the Infuse 4G when it launches on May 15th for $199.99.

Well, it certainly kicks the competition to the kerb when it comes to specifications, connectivity and performance. But as it’s aimed at the designer crowd, let’s take a look at its visual appeal and build first.

Though Samsung quotes its laptop as being thinner than the latest Air revision, things aren’t quite as straightforward as that. While Apple’s laptop tapers from 17mm to a super-svelte 3mm, Samsung’s effort ‘only’ manages 16,3mm to 15,9mm from end to end. Impressive as that might be considering the amount of connectivity and processing power stuffed inside the 900X3A’s chassis, it means that it doesn’t look nearly as slim and minimalistic as its rival.

Thankfully it’s also lighter, though again only just: at 1,31kg compared to the Air’s 1,32kg, the difference is not really noticeable.

What about build? For its outer shell and palm rest the 9 Series uses Duralumin, an aluminium alloy that’s twice as strong as the regular stuff, to ensure this is one of the more rugged metal-clad laptops around. However, whether this impression is true or not, it simply doesn’t feel as sturdy in the hand as Apple’s milled aluminium chassis.

Essentially, the Air feels like it’s been carved out of a single block of metal, while the 900X3A feels like metal panels have been attached to a frame. Don’t get us wrong; the 900X3A is still one of the best-built ultraportables we’ve had through the office, with perfectly fitted parts and barely a hint of flex. And it looks pretty special too, especially given the black livery.

That said, while the lid sports a brushed finish that’s very attractive and the silver Samsung logo set to the side is by no means unsightly, even picking the 900X3A up once will result in a plethora of highly visible fingerprints, and the lid’s hinges also break up the laptop’s smooth lines. Furthermore, the lid’s metal top layer extends over the plastic screen surround below, a design feature that isn’t particularly appealing and gives an incoherent impression. The effect is exacerbated by the edge being left unpainted; a touch that would otherwise be desirable but here does highlight this issue.

Opening the 900X3A up, we’re greeted by a similarly cohesively-challenged interior due again to that recessed screen bezel with its protruding metal outer edge, and Samsung’s decision to use a combination of metal and glossy plastic in the keyboard surround. If it had just used metal only for the entire base, this would be a notably more premium-looking machine. Fingerprints are again a serious issue, and you’ll want to wipe the palm-rests regularly.

Another annoyance is that the glossy plastics used in the base and the screen’s bezel are different, with the former sporting the extremely subtle gold-flecked effect we saw on many previous Samsung laptops including the premium X360. We’re also not sure about the shiny silver power button — we see what Samsung was trying to achieve but we don’t feel it’s quite worked.

So far, we’ve been quite negative regarding the 900X3A’s looks, but let’s just put things into perspective: this is only in comparison to the Macbook Air, to which no other ultraportable has come even close where sheer style is concerned. On its own merits and when compared to the rest of the Windows laptop market, Samsung’s slick, light and well-built 9 Series is one of the most attractive entrants to be found.

If Samsung were to have used a less fingerprint-prone finish for its Duralumin, removed the protruding edges, used metal for the entire base and etched the power button, its 900X3A would have been a real winner in the design stakes. As is, it’s attractive but not totally lust-worthy.

When it comes to usability, things are far less ambiguous. The isolation or Chiclet keyboard features well-spaced, matt black keys. Layout is flawless, though we do miss the X360’s extra function keys which were tucked in to either side of the cursor keys.

Feedback is shallow but decent considering how little space Samsung has to work with, and the ‘click’ the keys provide is subtle but adequate. Our only complaint is that on a few occasions the touchpad inadvertently registered our palm-movements and changed the cursor position during typing — something that can be managed with the touchpad software.

One important advantage the Series 9 has over Apple’s Air is that it offers a backlit keyboard (though the original Macbook Air also had one, Apple removed this feature in its latest refreshes). Samsung’s backlighting system can be controlled manually or automatically by an ambient light sensor which worked flawlessly in our testing, and you can choose between no fewer than seven different brightness settings.

What really stands out from the crowd and its Samsung predecessors, though, is the 900X3A’s superb touchpad. Constructed from a single sheet of unmarked, sand-blasted black glass, the large multi-touch pad looks and feels lovely. Its surface offers the ideal blend of smooth and textured, and is very responsive.

We’ve had serious issues with touchpads integrating their buttons into the touch surface in the past. The HP TouchSmart tm2 is the most problematic example, but Samsung’s own SF310 also caused some annoyance.

However, the Lenovo ThinkPad X220t convinced us it could be done right on a Windows laptop, and now Samsung takes this a step further: we actually prefer the 900X3A’s touchpad to any other we’ve tried, including those with physical buttons. The integrated ‘buttons’ here offer perfect feedback with a positive click and absolutely no dead zone, and the pad never misinterpreted our presses as touches. Brilliant! Compared to the Air’s touchpad, it’s essentially a dead heat, which is really saying something considering how highly we regard that.

From the 900X3A’s class-leading touchpad things only get better, especially when it comes to audio and video. Considering how little space the 1,5W speakers have to play with, the volume levels they produce are nothing short of amazing. Admittedly they distort at maximum and are inevitably lacking in the bass department, but even with the volume turned down we would be more than happy to use these for entertainment.

If anything, the screen is even more impressive. In fact, if we hadn’t just reviewed the Lenovo ThinkPad X220t with its lovely IPS-panel display, we would be classing this as the best display we had seen on a small laptop. As you might have guessed from that, the 900X3A still uses good old TN, but this 13,3in panel doesn’t display many of the weaknesses we would usually associate with the technology.

First off, there are its viewing angles. Horizontally, they are close to infinite with hardly any drop-off in contrast or corruption of colour. Even viewing from the top results in minimal contrast and colour shift, leaving the image eminently viewable. Only when viewing from the bottom do things become unwatchable, and on a laptop that’s not a likely scenario.

Then there’s the contrast and backlighting. Backlighting was very even with not a hint of bleed, meaning no distracting pale splotches while viewing dark material. Black levels were also superb, so you can really pick out every detail in dark and gritty movies and games, regardless of how bright you set the backlight.

Speaking of brightness, this is another factor that sets the Samsung apart. At 400 nits, Samsung claims its 900X3A has the brightest display of its size in the world, and after nearly getting our retinas seared off we’re not about to argue. The display can go from almost completely dark for ultra battery saving to painfully bright, which is handy when trying to work or play in a sunny location.

Combined with excellent sharpness, we really can’t think of any negatives with this screen, especially since Samsung has made the excellent decision of going for a matt screen finish to keep reflections to a minimum! We would even say it beats that on the 13,3inch Macbook Air, except Apple offers a higher 1,440 x 900 resolution compared to the 900X3A’s 1,366 x 768. This may sound like a deal breaker but in use the Series 9 still feels like it has plenty of desktop real estate.

Rounding off the Series 9’s audio-visual talents is high-definition (720p) webcam, yet another win over its closest rival.

Connectivity is also streets ahead, mainly due to the presence of USB 3.0. Because the laptop’s tapered sides are too thin to accommodate even USB ports without sticking out, Samsung has implemented a rather nifty solution: three ports each on both the left and right side are found when you pull down magnetically-held flaps. We feared these would be a weak point and might break with constant use, but in our testing we found the mechanism to be very sturdy.

On the left we have a proprietary Gigabit Ethernet port which requires an adapter to hook up, a micro HDMI port and a USB 3,0, or SuperSpeed port. As a further point in its favour, Samsung actually supplies the Ethernet adapter as standard, rather than making it an expensive optional extra as with Apple’s Air.

On the right you’ll find a micro-SD card reader, 3,5mm headphone/microphone jack and always-on USB port which can be used to charge devices even if the laptop is turned off. Last but not least, Bluetooth 3,0 and Wi-Fi N are also on board.

The good news continues with the 900X3A’s specifications, with the headline being its use of a dual-core Intel Core i5—2537M. Intel’s new Sandy Bridge low voltage mobile processors provide the best efficiency to performance ratios on the market, so though its standard clock speed is only 1,4GHz, this can turbo clock up to 2,3GHz and utilizes Hyperthreading to provide up to four virtual cores. Its CPU alone makes the 900X3A the most powerful ultraportable in its class, and will completely wipe the floor with the Macbook Air’s paltry 1,86GHz Core 2 Duo, which is by now two generations behind.

The 9 Series also ships with 4GB of RAM as standard. It’s configured in a single stick of 4GB taking up one of the two DIMM slots so Samsung can conceivably offer models with 8GB of RAM in the future. What’s more, though Samsung obviously doesn’t encourage ripping the laptop apart , it would theoretically be possible to upgrade these yourself.

For storage there’s a capacious 128GB SSD (leaving you with a 98GB capacity as a 21GB section is reserved for a recovery partition), and though the 13,3in Air offers the same capacity, its SSD is likely to be slower due to using an older controller. We’re yet to confirm how this is configured, and thus how easy it might be to upgrade, but we suspect it will be something of a chore to do so.

The only area where the Air still wins out in terms of internal specs is in offering dedicated graphics, albeit in the shape of the rather dated Nvidia GeForce 320M. This is better for light 3D gaming and Photoshop, but Intel’s integrated HD-3000 solution comes out tops for hardware video decoding.

As expected, the OS of choice is Windows 7 Home Premium, and the install is fairly clean with only a few Samsung applications. Samsung’s proprietary fast-booting software ensures that Windows boot times are reduced to as little as a claimed 15 seconds, and in our testing the 900X3A came close with an average of 20 seconds. One minor annoyance is Samsung’s Wireless app which keeps notifying you of the available connections every five minutes, but this can easily be turned off.

As with the Air, the six-cell, 46Wh battery in the 900X3A is non-removable, so we were hoping Samsung’s quoted battery life of seven hours wasn’t an exaggeration. Again, the Series 9 allayed our fears by providing over four hours with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled, while switching these off and lowering the brightness to the 40 percent equivalent we run the Productivity test at on other laptops resulted in a solid seven hours and 20 minutes.

In general use the 900X3A stays cool, only getting warm on the left and running very quietly even under load. In fact, in anything but the quietest environment it’s completely inaudible.

Finally, we come to value, and this might come as a bit of a shock: the RRP of the 900X3A is a whopping $2499! However, to put this seemingly high price into context, the Samsung might not look as sexy or offer as high a resolution on its otherwise superior screen, but provides a vastly better processor and platform, fast external connectivity with USB 3,0, a backlit keyboard and, of course, Windows 7.

Our only real complaint, aside from the somewhat underwhelming design (again, only when compared to the Macbook Air — among Windows 7 laptops it has few rivals) is its high-maintenance glossy finish, and it would have been nice to see an included cleaning cloth and carrying case when paying this much.

We’re also rather disappointed that the 11inch Series 9 is not set to be making it over to this side of the Pacific. Hopefully, if the 13 inch model is successful, Samsung will be persuaded to change its mind.

Verdict

Lighter and arguably thinner than Apple’s Macbook Air, the 13,3inch, Series 9 900X3A may not be as pretty and attracts more fingerprints, but offers far more power and connectivity. Combined with a truly excellent screen, surprisingly good speakers, the best touchpad on any Windows laptop and decent battery life, if you’re looking for one of the thinnest and lightest Windows 7 machines around it’s an excellent choice and well worth its high asking price.

And today, our bud over at the Samsung Hub has delivered the good news that the Galaxy Player is indeed on track for a show off at the CES 2011 in the first week of January 2011. The Galaxy Player (YP-GB1) will have the same 9,9mm thickness of its Galaxy S smartphone cousin. Although chubbier than the 7,2mm iPod Touch, I’m pretty sure nobody would call 9,9 millimeters chubby. It also has similar features to the Galaxy S like Android 2,2 Froyo, 1GHz processor, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0.

However, the screen is a 4-inch Super Clear LCD instead of the highly vivid Super AMOLED displays as seen on a few high-end Sammy phones. Its 800 x 480 pixel resolution is a little lower than the iPod Touch’s 960 x 640 pixel, but the Galaxy Player’s bigger screen should come in handy while viewing videos. It plays HD videos out of the box, has a microSD card slot for memory expansion and a 1200 mAh removable battery.

A rear 3,2 megapixel camera will be used for taking snaps and videos, while a front-facing camera can be used for video calls. There’s also a GPS chip — another trump over the iPod Touch. But without 3G connectivity, Google Maps will pretty much be useless once you come out of range from a Wi-fi internet connection. But by using third party mapping software that pre-load entire maps on the device itself, the Galaxy Player could possibly work well as a in-car GPS navigation device replacement. Speaking of apps, there’s access to Android Market as well as Samsung Apps on this one.

There’s no mention of pricing, let’s hope they get it right with it this time (we’re referring to the horrendous Rs. 38,000 Galaxy Tab price at launch). It would otherwise have a great difficulty surviving in the market against the iPod Touch 4th gen that starts at Rs. 12,500 for the 8GB version.

Physical Features
The Epic 4G is a surprisingly thin slider phone at 4,9 by 3,5 by .56 inches (HWD) and 5,46 ounces. Yes, it’s a lot thicker than the HTC EVO 4G, but the screen slides to the side to reveal a rather large QWERTY keyboard, so give the Epic a break. Otherwise, the phone is about the same size as the EVO, although its 4-inch screen is smaller than the EVO’s 4,3-inch panel (but the same 800-by-480 resolution.) The Epic’s screen uses Samsung’s new Super AMOLED technology, which offers the same gorgeous, hypersaturated colors and low power consumption as earlier AMOLED screens but with much better visibility in sunlight.

The Epic 4G will live or die on the strength of its keyboard; I’m happy to say it will live. This is an excellent keyboard. It has five rows, including a dedicated number row, and physical keys for Android’s home, back, menu, and search functions. The keys are slightly raised, slightly domed, and nicely separated. You can’t use it one-handed like you can a BlackBerry or Palm Pre ($299,99—549.99,), but that’s true with all phones in this form factor.

Almost passive-aggressively, Samsung seems to have sabotaged the four important touch buttons below the screen. When they’re not lit up, they disappear and become impossible to press; you have to tap on the screen to light them up while you’re in the middle of doing something else. Adding insult to injury, sometimes the buttons don’t respond even when they’re lit up, which is very frustrating. I tapped a lot.

If you don’t want to use the excellent physical keyboard, the Epic comes with six possible virtual keyboards. There’s the Swype text-entry method, which lets you drag your finger across the screen without lifting it, as well as Samsung’s and Google’s portrait and landscape mode keyboards.

Phone, 3G, and 4G Performance
The Epic 4G is a perfectly good phone, and probably slightly better than the EVO. It connected one more call than the EVO out of ten in our weak-signal test. The phone’s earpiece and speakerphone are both loud enough for any use, and while sound in the earpiece is a touch muffled, that’s only comparing it to super-duper-sharp phones like the Motorola Droid X ($199,99—569.99,). Transmissions have a problem with wind noise, and transmissions from the speakerphone sound a bit tinny, but really, this one is fine. The Epic 4G has Bluetooth 3,0 (which offers no real consumer advantages over version 2,1) and connected to our Aliph Jawbone Icon ($99,) Bluetooth headset without trouble. But while the Epic 4G has voice commands, they don’t work over Bluetooth. I have to re-test battery life, but the phone got enough talk time that battery shouldn’t sway your purchase either way.

The Epic 4G is famously Sprint’s second «4G» phone, which means it can connect to the Internet using Clearwire’s WiMAX network in a few dozen cities. It doesn’t work anywhere within 100 miles of New York City, for instance, so I had to shack up in Philadelphia to test it. That’s better than last year, though, when I had to go all the way to Baltimore.

WiMAX seems to have trouble penetrating buildings; when I went indoors, the signal dropped much more quickly than Sprint’s quite robust 3G signal. That said, when WiMAX worked, it worked: I got speeds up to 6,6 megabits down on the Epic 4G, which is about six times the average speed of Sprint’s 3G network. (Uploads are capped at 1 megabit/second.) This drains the battery, so it’s best to use 4G as a «turbo boost» when you need the extra speed. If you don’t have 4G around, the Epic will connect to 802,11b/g/n Wi-Fi networks as well. The phone both tethers to PCs via USB as a modem and works as a Wi-FI hotspot for up to five devices. 4G is also unlimited. There’s no data cap on WiMAX use, at least for now.

You’ll pay $10 extra a month for the 4G service whether or not you can use it -you can’t buy the Epic without the 4G supplement. But none of these gripes change the fact that 4G is the future, and if you’re going to be stuck with a phone for the next 18 months, you might as well future-proof it. Clearwire positively insists that they’ll cover 120 million Americans by the end of the year.

Android Software
We’ve been down this road before: The Epic 4G is a Galaxy S phone like the Samsung Captivate ($199,99—499.99,) for AT&T and the Samsung Vibrant ($199,99—499.99,) for T-Mobile. To wit, it’s an Android 2,1 device with a set of mostly-useful Samsung extensions, such as built-in Twitter and Facebook integration through Social Hub; Buddies Now, a sort of visual Rolodex of your favorite people and their status updates; Daily Briefing, a combined news/weather app; and a much-improved contact book which lets you swipe right and left to check your friends’ status updates or contact them by various means. It will handle any e-mail account you have coming, including Exchange, and it integrates Exchange, Google, and Facebook events onto one calendar. Samsung’s widgets and social networking integration are similar to, and slightly inferior to, HTC’s-but don’t let that sway your decision if you’re drawn to the Epic for its keyboard.

The software is running on a 1-GHz Samsung Hummingbird processor, which generally scored faster on our benchmarks than the Qualcomm Snapdragon in HTC’s phones and roughly on par with the TI OMAP in Motorola’s latest Verizon devices. Hummingbird really sets itself apart on graphics performance, though-on the industry-standard Neocore graphics benchmark, Samsung’s Galaxy S phones scored far and away better than all other Android devices. That means this is a better gaming machine than the EVO.

Sprint adds their Nascar and NFL apps, as well as Sprint Navigation and Sprint TV. Sprint TV is an unsung gem; it has clips and full episodes from a wide range of TV networks, and many of them come free with your service plan. If you’re connected to 4G, videos become sharp and clear, although they occasionally lose (and then re-gain) lip sync.

One painful omission is YouTube HQ, which Sprint made such a big deal about when they introduced the EVO. On the Epic, the YouTube app is unwatchable; it’s a hideous mush of blocky compression. I don’t understand why Sprint didn’t give the Epic the same sharp YouTube video quality that the EVO has.

I hope it isn’t because of the upcoming Samsung Media Hub, a movies-and-TV store which I got to see a brief demo of, and which will be coming to the Epic in a few weeks. Media Hub is a typical expensive, movie-studio-approved video store, with $3/day rentals and $12 to 20 movie purchases. It doesn’t fulfill that «I want to watch free video» desire that YouTube so neatly satiates.

Sprint says the Epic will get an Android 2,2 upgrade «soon.» That will bring voice dialing over Bluetooth and supposedly better browser performance, though I didn’t find noticeably different page load times when I upgraded the Evo from 2,1 to 2.2.

I’m also happy to say the Epic 4G has no problems with GPS or AGPS fixes. My location appeared quickly in Google Maps Navigation and Sprint Navigation.

Multimedia
The Epic 4G is an excellent media phone-better than the EVO. Why, you say, when the EVO has a bigger screen? It’s all about codecs. The Epic 4G plays an unusually wide array of video files, including XVID, DIVX, and H.264 with AAC audio, including many files in 720p HD format. That means fewer videos will require re-encoding compared to other phones. Video looks sharp and plays clearly on the screen, including over Bluetooth stereo headphones. While there’s no HDMI out to play video on a TV, Samsung said they’ll sell an analog TV-out cable (but didn’t give me any further details.)

Music also performs well here, with the Epic supporting a wide range of formats including MP3, WMA, OGG, and AAC. The phone has about 450MB of free internal memory and comes with a 16GB microSD card that fits in a slot under the back cover. Fortunately, you don’t have to remove the battery to get at the memory slot.

To get your media onto the phone, you’ll probably drag and drop. The Epic 4G, unlike the Vibrant and Captivate, doesn’t work with Windows Media Player or with Samsung’s Kies syncing software. Fortunately, the third-party program doubleTwist (Free,) will work to sync media to the Epic 4G-and with the phone’s excellent codec support, you’re much less likely to encounter unwatchable files than on other phones.

The Epic 4G’s 5-megapixel camera, with a weak LED flash, is a middling example of the breed. It has extremely little shutter delay, which is good. But anything below full daylight tends to make photos become a bit soft. In video mode, the Epic 4G records smooth but overexposed 720p HD videos. That said, the Epic’s 5-megapixel camera provides a better experience than the EVO’s 8-megapixel model did, as the EVO had even worse problems with low-light blur and jerky HD videos.

The phone also has a front-facing, VGA resolution camera that’s in theory for video calling, but like all non-iPhone front-facing cameras we consider it useless. Qik and Fring, the two video calling programs for Android, are both unreservedly awful. On the other hand, now you have that video-calling camera in case the software companies get their acts together.

Conclusions
At $349 minus a $100 mail-in rebate (or $249 at Radio Shack and Best Buy), the Epic 4G costs $50 more than the HTC EVO 4G for Sprint. But since the two-year service contract for either phone costs at least $1,920, a $50 difference in price actually doesn’t matter much. Avid mobile gamers and people with a lot of their own video files will want to go with the Epic for its powerful Hummingbird GPU and great codec support; YouTube aficionados will go with the EVO. The real difference is the keyboard. If you want to type your messages, surf the Web, and play your games with little buttons that go «click,” the Epic is your phone.