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It looks like Samsung is the big leaky ship this time of the year. Early this year (and late last year), Sony Ericsson had plenty of leaked news, images and details about their upcoming devices. Some even believed that SE was intentionally building up hype for their upcoming mobile phones. After all, with the financial situation of the Swedish Japanese company they certainly needed to boost sales.

As for Samsung, one can only surmise that the company currently has issues keeping their devices and products under wraps. Still, we certainly appreciate having our appetite for upcoming news fed every now and then.

The Samsung Galaxy Q is going to be one interesting looking smart phone, it looks like an oversized BlackBerry handset. So far, it is hard to determine if the device is truly going to have a 3 inch super AMOLED capacitive touch screen and a physical QWERTY keyboard up front (instead of the usual slide out form factor), but as odd as that sounds that is exactly what Samsung seems intent to do.

And we actually thought that the BlackBerry 9800 Slider was already oddly shaped to begin with.

Anyway, the Galaxy Q is pretty much following on the heels of the Samsung Galaxy S –though with a significantly smaller touch screen. Many in the industry feel that Samsung should have just gone with the Galaxy S Pro smart phone instead –that way, users get the best of all features. No word has been given as to when the Galaxy Q will be released, but many expect the handset to come out later this year.

Going back to the topic of Samsung leaks, it was recently revealed that the Android 2.2 update for the Galaxy S has been leaked prematurely. However, the update is not official so users should be aware that using it on their handsets might cause unwanted effects.

It has been a while since Orange was contested by Ofcom for an earlier claim of being the fastest broadband service provider in the UK. Apparently, Ofcom has been busy taking tests in order to back their claims.

After a recent study, it has been revealed by Ofcom that under an 8 Mbps connection, the speed of an Orange connection can go as fast as 3.3 Mbps to 4 Mbps. This was outdone by O2, which had a slightly faster speed of 4.3 Mbps going up to 5 Mbps. Orange UK has contested the results, stating that only a very small sample of their subscribers had been tested and that cannot be used as a gauge for the overall network speed.

Orange UK has been constantly working on improving their services and network capabilities as well as having focused on improving the overall speed of their broadband service. A spokesperson stated that Orange is “disappointed” with Ofcom’s results.

Other broadband networks were also studied by Ofcom, which revealed a rather peculiar result: it appears that broadband speeds are not up to the projected or advertised speeds. According to Ofcom, many subscribers are signing up and paying large amounts of money each month for connection speeds that are nowhere near the speed that they have subscribed to.

This has since called for the need for broadband subscribers to either speed up their networks to match their advertised rates, or to state the actual speed of their service. To the credit of many local service providers, network speeds have been slowly increasing in the recent years. Ofcom’s research covered about 1,500 different households across the UK and conducted over 18 million tests for speed and performance of the broadband services.

It will be a long time before networks are able to standardize speed rates and actual performance of the services. But many believe that the steps that Ofcom is taking are definitely in the right direction.

Vodafone is one of the household names when it comes to mobile network operators. That being said, they have been in constant competition with industry giants Orange and T-Mobile. The three have been releasing exclusive media, handsets and services that would sway the public over to their side in order to become loyal subscribers.

One such novel product is the bespoke Vodafone 360 unit. Not only did customers get a reliable Samsung made handset, they also got to enjoy the 360 range of services.

For those who want to try this out and those who have enjoyed using their 360 handset, there is quite unfortunate news. Vodafone has released an official statement regarding the cease of production for bespoke Vodafone 360 devices. Instead, the prominent mobile phone network operator will be focusing their efforts into improving the 360 service and adding noteworthy exclusive features.

The service will still be used by mobile phones made by other manufacturers though. Meaning, the production of upgrade units which were made to take over the Samsung M1 and H1 bespoke handsets’ places (like the H2) will consequently stop immediately. Vodafone clarifies that their 360 service was not intended to be solely focused on releasing bespoke handsets:

“We have always been clear that Vodafone 360 is about a suite of services, not just about bespoke devices. Our intent was always to provide services across as many handsets as possible on as many platforms.”

Anyone who still wants to give the Vodafone 360 service a go will be able to since they are found to be readily available across around a hundred mobile phones on five different platforms. It is the company’s intent to further expand this range.

The 360 service allows people to access their contacts across multiple handsets through online syncing. The 360 shop also offers consumers with game downloads, music files as well as videos for their handset.

The iPhone 4 has reached record breaking sales due to the brand’s popularity. It was hardly a smooth ride for Apple though, considering the number of issues their units have exhibited since launch. One of these was a yellowish tint found on the device’s screen. Upon examination however, it was due to an adhesive used for the touch screen.

The next major problem came in the form of the reception issues experienced by users when holding the device with the left hand. Apparently, touching the lower left portion while making a call would cause a dramatic drop in signal due to the antenna being blocked by the hand. This caused many dropped calls and disappointed consumers asking Apple for a solution.

As a company that prides itself with brand awareness and reputation, Apple has eventually given in to suggestions of giving away free bumpers to everyone that has purchased and will purchase an iPhone 4. Although it sounds so simple, the sheer number of iPhone owners have made it a tricky task to fulfill.

To honor their word, Apple has ceased to offer their official bumper cases at their online store. Upon visiting the product page, the price has been changed to zero. This is definitely a good sign, saying that Apple is set on giving away the cases for free and getting them through to everyone. Upon checking the page, this is what greets customers:

“iPhone 4 Bumpers are currently unavailable for sale.

Apple will offer a free iPhone 4 Bumper or other select cases to iPhone 4 customers. Details on how to order a free Bumper or case will be available soon on apple.com.”

The people who have already purchased an official bumper will be getting their money back. In fact, some have already received an email concerning their automatic refund. Any lack in cases will be fulfilled by Apple and their affiliated suppliers.

Another Android handset has been brought over to the UK, and this time, it is the Acer Stream. This new smart phone from the electronics manufacturer has just been recently launched and is exclusively being offered by eXpansys –a major online retailer.

The Acer Stream joins the already impressive lineup of smart phones that use Google’s open source mobile platform. To sum up all the devices that were launched this year, here is a quick list.

First came the Google Nexus One at the start of January, which is officially the first Android to come out this year and the first to ever run on a 1GHz CPU. The device was later followed by the HTC Desire, HTC Legend and the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 handsets, which were also using 1GHz processors. Samsung followed up the set with the i9000 Galaxy S which used a super AMOLED touch screen display and Dell came out with the Streak, the Android with the largest display (5 inches).

Motorola followed up the original Milestone with the XT 720, which is basically a similar device but with the keyboard replaced by a better camera. LG would also release new Optimus devices (which is their Android lineup of devices).

The Acer Stream, like the other high end Android devices, is also running on a 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU (QSD8250). This means that the device is able to run apps and features with minimal to no slowdown issues at all. This also means that running games will be fast and smooth. The Android 2.1 Éclair is ready to be upgraded to version 2.2 Froyo, but so far, only the Nexus One has updates for the new OS.

The device also comes with a 5 mega pixel camera with 720p HD video. Users can playback recordings on the 3.7 inch AMOLED touch screen display (480 x 800 resolution) or use the mini HDMI output port instead.

It looks like Palm is going to challenge Apple’s FaceTime video conferencing feature. Based on reports, the company has released a job posting looking for a “Video Conferencing Software Engineer”. Palm apparently is looking for a skilled person who is going to focus on developing revolutionary client-server software solutions for their range of mobile devices.

The job posting requires someone who is well versed in the use of the C and C++ programming languages, JavaScript and Rapid Application Development and is going to base the person at the company’s Sunnyvale head quarters:

“Video Conferencing Software Engineer using C/C++, JavaScript, Rapid Application Development (RAD) methodologies, Java, JavaScript, mobile web services architecture and techniques, scalable and secure server applications.”

Three Mobile was responsible for the first ever video calling network back in 2003. Unfortunately, people still preferred voice calling over its more dynamic counterpart so it really did not catch on. Now, thank to Apple’s FaceTime, it seems that companies are reconsidering the inclusion of video calling for their mobile phone offerings. Well, at least Palm (and of course HP) does.

This new job ad may mean that a webOS powered video calling function is on the way. That or third party apps may soon play a bigger role in Palm’s highly coveted operating system. Can you imagine Skype on Palm? Yes, it surely looks like a great match.

Lastly, this may have something to do with new intellectual properties that Palm and HP want to delve into. After all, the merger is yet to release an industry changing innovation.

Regardless, it is a good sign that someone is willing to challenge the mighty Apple when it comes to their signature features. This will definitely take time to percolate, leaving FaceTime to dominate the industry but when it does come into fruition, it may help the Cupertino-based company get over their “Vista moment” out of sheer competitiveness.

This is certainly not a good time for Apple to be making more enemies.

With all the media coverage on Apple’s iPhone antenna issues, it seems that the folks at Cupertino are slowly losing their nerve. And for some strange reason, they believe that there is nothing like an emergency press conference to convince the world that ‘Apple is not the only company suffering from issues regarding antenna performance’. However, Steve Jobs’ smoke and mirrors performance is certainly going to do worse for his company than not having a press conference at all.

The man implicated several handsets and their mobile phone makers as also having similar issues to the Apple iPhone 4’s antenna issues. One slide directly pointed out the BlackBerry Bold 9700, Samsung Omnia 2 and an HTC handset.

While mobile phones do lose a couple of signals when held in a unique way, all of these devices will still allow users to make a call successfully; Apple’s iPhone 4 cannot. This is where Jobs’ presentation has hit a major error.

RIM, unhappy with having their mobile device mentioned by Apple, has written an open letter. They stated that “Apple’s attempt to draw RIM into Apple’s self-made debacle is unacceptable. Apple’s claims about RIM products appear to be deliberate attempts to distort the public’s understanding of an antenna design issue and to deflect attention from Apple’s difficult situation.” They also mentioned that not a single BlackBerry handset needs to have a casing just so it would work properly.

Finnish company Nokia, currently the largest phone maker in the world, has also stated that their company tests and evaluates all mobile phone designs which ensures that all aspects of the product hardware, including the antenna, functions properly. Samsung and Motorola have also voiced out similar statements as well.

According to Samsung, “The antenna is located at the bottom of the Omnia 2 phone, while iPhone’s antenna is on the lower left side of the device. Our design keeps the distance between a hand and an antenna.”

It is hard to imagine being able to function properly without a mobile phone in this day and age. It helps keep track of appointments, important data, reminders, to-do lists and instantly gives us a reference check of contact numbers and addresses. Take away an average adult’s mobile phone and you can hamper their schedule by about two or three hours.

If you do the same to teenager, you might as well lock them up in a room for the whole day.

According to a recent study, the average teen is so reliant on a mobile phone. Not only as an additional form of communication or as a digital organizer, but as a primary way of being able to socialize with friends. It is hard to grasp a social standard where being unable to answer to “wall posts” on Facebook can be looked down upon, but such is the world of teens.

Gone is the day when a text message was simply a way to leave notes of varying importance to friends and colleagues. Among teens, not being able to reply to a text message fast enough is as good as giving a friend the cold shoulder in person. It is almost taboo, and it is that severe peer pressure that they are bound to their devices that makes teens unable to grasp the logic of having a mobile phone.

The worst part however, is how social networking and instant messaging using smart phones has completely changed teen’s perceptions of socializing and the value of having real friends. These days, all you need to be a friend is to either invite or accept an invite to a social networking site. Gone are the days when people still had to be introduced, interacted and found a common interest or passion to share and relate with.

It is pretty much common knowledge now that the Apple iPhone 4 comes with a very faulty antenna. While the issue has not been resolved, there have been calls to Apple to find ways of fixing the problem. As the number of users with complaints about dropped calls continuously increasing, there is no doubt that Apple’s earlier plan to simply ignore the problem and release a non-related software patch is obviously not working.

As a result, Apple seems to have been forced into action and before they tell the world what solution they have come up with, they will be holding an emergency conference. At the moment, it is not yet confirmed what Apple actually intends to do, but many are hoping to hear a viable solution by the end of the week.

There are, of course, certain solutions that users are already familiar with, but are unlikely options for Apple to take.

The first is to start for a full recall of the iPhone 4. While this would certainly fix the hardware issue if Apple is willing to invest so much into fixing every single handset. But since this would prove to be too costly, it is a step that Apple would most likely avoid taking.

It has also been reported that the iPhone 4 Bumper is a workable solution since it prevents direct contact with the antenna. Since Apple is currently retailing the accessory, many believe that it would be well within Apple’s power to simply give away free bumpers for any existing iPhone 4 owner. Apparently, taking an action that would somehow imply that Apple is at fault is not an option for the Cupertino based company.

There is no doubt that the conference will be a major turning point for the success or downfall of the iPhone 4.

While the debate between Android devices and the iPhone still rages on, it seems that the inventor of the original mobile phone has swayed towards the little green robot due to its dependability and flexibility. Martin Cooper, the guy we have to thank for starting all our mobile tech today, has vocalized his preference for current gen Android smart phones.

He has also gone as far as to give his iPhone to his grandson in order to replace it with a Google powered mobile phone. The Droid has lasted him for a number of months, which is a sign that the inventor is thoroughly enjoying his purchase.

The open source operating system may be attributed for his outward support of the device. He has expressed that Android mobile devices are at par, or even better than Apple’s popular smart phone.

Though he has not gone into detail as to why he believes Google powered mobile phones are a better deal than the iPhone, it may be attributed to the fact that the iPhone is more of a “jack of all trade” gadget.

The inventor is known to prefer dependable mobile phones versus an all in one gadget. Having invented the first mobile phone, he believes that adding to many features may cause the basic things to fail or work poorly. This is certainly true when it comes to the iPhone 4, considering its reception issues. Android devices on the other hand, have been known to perform exceptionally well when it comes to vital functions (such as calling and texting).

The 81 year old father of mobile phones is not closed off to new developments in the mobile phone industry however, and the ‘Droid is just his current handset of choice. He is even testing an expensive Vertu for a European mobile firm.