Yes,
we've seen Samsung's Galaxy Mega 6.3 at the FCC before. With its second
visit, however, there's something special. The extra-large phone is
back as the SGH-i527, and it's carrying AT&T-native LTE that hints
at a probable US carrier deal. There aren't any other visible changes in
the filing, although we weren't expecting any. The real question is
when this behemoth will ship to the States, assuming it ships at all --
for now, any possible AT&T launch remains shrouded in mystery.
LG
and Qualcomm have enjoyed a close relationship for mobile phone chips,
and it appears that will continue with the next Optimus G device, which
is due in Q3. A press release tonight promises it will feature a
Snapdragon 800 CPU for "the ultimate mobile experience" -- a claim
benchmarks seem to back up. Qualcomm says the new 800 chip can best the
original Optimus G's S4 Pro by "up to 75 percent" in performance,
although what may be more interesting is how this aligns with a LS980
handset that recently leaked on Sprint's website. The release also
highlights the new chip's ability to use LTE Advanced carrier
aggregation for even faster bandwidth speeds, so while a Galaxy S 4
variant may deliver the feature first, it probably won't be alone for
long.
