Samsung's GT-i9300 is probably not the Galaxy S III, as revealed by its low-res screen

Straight from the Dana Scully school of debunking, Android Community has poured cold water on the notion that the GT-i9300 is the quasi-mythical Galaxy S III. Having happened upon the user agent profile of the device bearing that codename, the stats reveal a lackluster 1024 x 600 resolution display that's easily beaten by the Galaxies Nexus and Note. We'll be keeping our eyes peeled at Mobile World Congress and hope that Samsung isn't planning to ruin the pedigree of the handsets that have previously born that code: the i9200 was the Galaxy S II and the i9250 was the Galaxy Nexus, after all.

LG busts out a trio of L-series phones in the run up to MWC

LG's gotten all excited and spilled even more beans ahead of MWC as to what offerings we'll see at the big Iberian shindig. The L-Series is a trio of phones we're already part-way familiar with, given that the budget L3 was leaked back in January. The L5 and L7 are aimed at the mid-range and premium ends of the market, running ICS and packing 4-inch and 4.3-inch displays respectively. Whilst there's no further detail about specs, we know that the L-series shares the same DNA as the Prada Phone 3, so we'd imagine that as a good benchmark. The PR boasts of "five aesthetic elements," all of which seem to emphasize that the phone's going to be quite thin. After the break we've got that brief statement in full and the nagging sense that there's no surprise forthcoming when LG takes to the stage next week.
LG'S NEW DESIGN STRATEGY FOR MOBILE DEVICES TO BE REVEALED AT 2012 MWC
LG Takes Design Philosophy to the Next Level
with Line-up of Stylish Smartphones

SEOUL, Feb. 21, 2012 – LG Electronics (LG) makes its boldest move yet in its strategy to attain smartphone leadership with the launch of its new design identity, L-Style, at the 2012 Mobile World Congress (MWC).

The core essence of L-Style involves a timeless design with finer details that further differentiate LG's mobile devices from the competition. LG's design leadership has been well established in the past with a successful track-record that includes the Black Label Series phones such as the Chocolate and Shine.

"Design is consistently the top or second most important factor for customers when choosing a mobile phone," said Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of LG Mobile Communications Company. "With smartphones, we sometimes took a more functional approach to design but with L-Style we're going back to our roots as a company focused on how our products fit into the lifestyle of our customers."

L-Style's design philosophy is comprised of five aesthetic elements: Modern Square Style for a comfortable grip, Floating Mass Technology for a slimmer look, Seamless Layout for a more intuitive arrangement of keys, Harmonized Design Contrast utilizing metallic accents and Sensuous Slim Shape that naturally draws one's attention.

Three new smartphones to be unveiled at MWC will initially feature the L-Style look. The Optimus L3, with a 3.2-inch display, will first launch in Europe this March. This smartphone will be followed by two other devices in the first half of the year running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich: Optimus L5 with a 4.0-inch display and Optimus L7 featuring a 4.3-inch screen.

Market availability and additional hardware specifications of all three models will be announced at a future date.

BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 now ready for download

After touring the exhibition circuit for what seems like an eternity, PlayBook OS 2.0 is finally ready to settle down and make itself available for download. Check for updates via Settings on your tablet and you should see it sitting there, wearing last season's fashions but nevertheless looking every inch the major OTA update that it is. Expect improvements like native email, calendar and contacts, integration with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, some newfangled Bridge functions, and access to the first crop of Android apps in BB App World. You'll find more details in the PR after the break and how-to demos at the More Coverage link. Enjoy! 
BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 Available Today

New OS delivers an enriched user experience for BlackBerry PlayBook tablet users

Waterloo, ON - Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) announced that the new BlackBerry® PlayBook™ OS 2.0 will be released for download today. BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 delivers an enhanced tablet experience and allows you to use the BlackBerry PlayBook in new ways throughout the day - at work and at play. "Building on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet's proven web browsing, multimedia and multitasking strengths, the new BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 introduces a range of new communications and productivity enhancements as well as expanded app and content support," said David J. Smith, SVP Mobile Computing, Research In Motion.

New BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 features include:

• Integrated email client with a powerful unified inbox: With BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 you have the option to use a unified inbox that consolidates all messages in one place, including messages from Facebook®, LinkedIn® and Twitter®, as well as personal and work email accounts.

• Social Integration with Calendar and Contacts apps: The built-in calendar harnesses information from social networks and makes it available where and when users need it. Contact cards are also dynamically populated with updated information from Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to create a consolidated view of contacts.

• Updated BlackBerry Bridge app: BlackBerry® Bridge™ is a unique app that provides a Bluetooth® connection between your BlackBerry PlayBook and core apps on your BlackBerry® smartphone (including BBM™, Email, Contacts, Calendar and Browser) in order to let you view the content on the larger tablet display. With BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0, it's easier and quicker than ever to take documents, web pages, emails and photos that appear on your BlackBerry smartphone and display them on your BlackBerry PlayBook for an optimized viewing and editing experience. The updated BlackBerry Bridge app also provides a new remote control feature that allows a BlackBerry smartphone to be used as a wireless keyboard and mouse for a BlackBerry PlayBook.

• Improved mobile productivity: Updated document editing functions, the new Print To Go app, and increased control and manageability of corporate data with BlackBerry® Balance ™ allow you to get more out of your BlackBerry PlayBook every day. Plus, an updated virtual keyboard with auto correction and predictive next word completion learns how you type to enable faster, more accurate typing.

• New apps and content: Thousands of new apps are being added to BlackBerry App World™ today (including a range of Android® apps that will run on the BlackBerry PlayBook). A new BlackBerry Video Store1 is launching today. Enhanced web browsing capabilities are also available with BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0.

In conjunction with the release of BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0, RIM is making available an initial release of BlackBerry® Mobile Fusion that will include support for managing BlackBerry PlayBook tablets and BlackBerry smartphones2 in an enterprise. The full release of BlackBerry Mobile Fusion (with mobile device management capabilities for iOS and Android devices) is planned for general availability in late March 2012. For more information about BlackBerry Mobile Fusion, please visit www.blackberry.com/mobilefusion. Availability The BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 software update is now available as a free download for all BlackBerry PlayBook tablets.

Motorola Xoom 2 Goes Down Under, ICS to Follow Someday

Telstra announced they will be the first Australian carrier for Xoom 2 (aka Droid XYBOARD on Verizon). Motorola's slimmer and lighter new (in Australia) tablet comes with a 10.1-inch screen, 1.2GHz Dual Core processor, 1 GB RAM and 32GB storage capacity. As the Ice Cream Sandwich update is still to come on the Xoom 2, the tablet currently runs Android's 3.2 Honeycomb.

Prices vary according to the data plan you are choosing, and start at AUD 29 (roughly USD 31) for 1GB included monthly data, $39 (USD 41) for 4GB of data, AUD 49 (USD 52) for 8GB and culminate at $89 (USD 95) for 15GB. Prices are however expected to adapt as iPad 3 is allegedly just weeks away.

Samsung Announces Galaxy Ace 2 and Galaxy mini 2

A little more than a year ago Samsung introduced the Galaxy Ace and the Galaxy mini phones -- alongside the Galaxy Fit and the Galaxy Gio -- and now the manufacturer, in the same pre-MWC way, is unveiling the follow-ups: Galaxy Ace 2 and Galaxy mini 2. 

The Samsung Galaxy Ace 2, pictured above, gets a more rounded shape than its predecessor, while packing an 800MHz dual-core processor, 3.8-inch WVGA screen, five-megapixel main camera with flash, VGA webcam, 768MB of RAM, 4GB internal memory (with a microSD expansion slot), Android 2.3 Gingerbread and Samsung's own TouchWiz user interface on top of it. 

The Samsung Galaxy mini 2, pictured below, also packs an 800MHz processor -- single-core this time -- and a smaller, 3.27-inch HVGA (320x480) screen in addition to a three-megapixel fixed-focus shooter, 512MB of RAM, 4GB internal memory (with a microSD expansion slot), Android 2.3 Gingerbread on-board graced with TouchWiz UI on top of it. 

As far as availability is concerned, the Galaxy Ace 2 will land in the UK starting April, and the Galaxy mini 2 will arrive to France in March before they're both rolled out globally. No word on pricing just yet.