The Samsung Galaxy S III is one of the smartphones recently slated for an official Samsung Android 4.3 Jelly Bean firmware update and has been seeding for the past 2 weeks. However, there have been a number of problems and issues with the update including bricking the smartphone, making it unstable, and other glitches. Samsung has since stopped the seeding and responded with an official statement:

"As we are currently investigating the reported issues with Galaxy S3 4.3 Jelly Bean update, the upgrading service has been temporarily suspended. We are committed to providing customers with the best possible mobile experience, and will ensure to resume the upgrading service at the earliest possibility."

This means you won't be able to update your Samsung Galaxy S III from KIES or the OTA service for now. No news when Samsung could come out with the update as trouble shooting does take some time. Hopefully, Samsung come out with it soon and make sure that all the kinks have been ironed out this time as a buggy updated version of a buggy update will likely just irritate users even more.

One of the main limitations of the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch is the fact that you can't pick and choose what notifications to get and some apps just aren't listed as being able to send notifications either. Thankfully, Samsung have come out with an official update for the Galaxy Gear (build V700XXUAMK7) that lets you view notifications for nearly every app on your smartphone. This Gear Manager update also lets you customize what notifications you want to enable or disable so you don't have to live with a constantly vibrating smartwatch on a busy day. While the update doesn't do much else, it is clearly a good step in the right direction from Samsung. We're looking forward more such updates which could perhaps extend battery life and add more functionality for the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch.

While many people complain that their smartphone or phablet doesn't have big enough batteries, the solutions available to them are mostly external through powerbanks or additional power covers with built-in batteries. Samsung Galaxy Note 3 owners have another option thanks to Mugen, which is to replace the existing 3200 mAh battery with a 6500 mAh battery. The new Mugen HLI-N9005XL battery is a bit thicker than the standard 3200 mAh Samsung battery but Mugen solves this by adding on a custom fit back cover. This also means that if you use the Mugen battery and cover, your Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is going to be slightly thicker than the standard 8.3mm. While we can't confirm it, the custom Mugen backside also looks to be completely hard shell plastic and not the plastic faux leather of the standard Samsung Galaxy Note 3. The benefits could be well worth it though as you get more than double the operating life for the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 for about 5 days to a week depending on usage. No other tech specs were available but we do know that it will be available in black or white and priced at $98.50 (RM315). Again, no specific Malaysia release dates but it should ship to the US and other markets from 6 December 2013.

Samsung and LG both recently came out with curved display smartphones in the form of the Samsung Galaxy Round and LG G Flex. While both show off what each company can do with flexible display technology, both don't really show off what a flexible display smartphone can do. Samsung looks to be changing that as they are applying for a US patent for a flexible wraparound display smartphone much like the one earlier seen at CES 2013 when Samsung showed off their Youm display devices. The patent application mentions that it is about a "Method and apparatus for operating functions of portable terminal having bended display" and indicates that this could be one of the first of Samsung's bended display smartphones, which were earlier spotted in a roadmap slide.

Samsung Malaysia recently teased a rather familiar image of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Kids tablet on their Facebook page, which is almost a sure indication that parents in Malaysia may soon have the option to get a kid friendly tablet not made by a toy maker or educational outfit. Originally announced in August 2013, the Galaxy Tab 3 Kids initially had a release for the US, UK, Europe, China and Africa and came with a number of brightly coloured grips, stands and other accessories. Tech specs for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Kids remains the same and includes:

• 1.2GHz dual-core processor
• 1GB RAM
• 8GB storage + up to 32GB microSD
• 7-inch TFT display (1024 x 600)
• 3MP rear camera + 1.3MP front camera
• 4000 mAh battery
• supports WiFi + Bluetooth 3.0 + USB 2.0 + C Pen stylus
• Android 4.1

It isn't even the end of the year yet and already many of us are predicting features for the next smartphones and devices that haven't even been announced yet. This includes the Samsung Galaxy S5 which already has many rumours saying that it could have a new 64-bit Exynos processor and 4GB of RAM along with a metal chassis. We've also come up with a list of realistic features which we think would be both achievable and make the S5 a much better smartphone. Check out the list in this article.

When the Samsung Galaxy Note 12.2 tablet first appeared, all it had going for it seemed to be an Exynos 5 Octa chipset with a 2K (2560 x 1600 pixel) display. Recently, what appears to be benchmarks of the device under a slightly different model name (the SM-P905V instead of the previous SM-P905) it is also packing a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset and processor. This was proven when the device got an AnTuTu score of 35901 which is so far, the realm of Snapdragon 800 powered devices. In a comparison between the Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) which uses the Exynos 5420 chipset the rumoured Note 12.2 showed marked differences in performance, again proving that it isn't using Exynos 5 hardware. We're quite impressed with the overall AnTuTu score of 35901 though, as it means there probably won't be any lag despite the onboard 2K display. No news on pricing or Malaysia release dates but we'll keep you posted.

This rumour comes courtesy of speculation that the Samsung Galaxy S5 may be using the new 64-bit Exynos processor from Samsung which is almost finished. This new Samsung Exynos chipset may be known as the 6-series or Exynos 6 but what is more interesting is that it will offer the ability to go beyond 3GB of effective RAM. This has fueled the rumour that the Samsung Galaxy S5 could be coming with 4GB of RAM as more memory support is one of the main features of the 64-bit architecture. Again, there are no specifics or tech specs or even features to mention here, and while we're thinking 4GB of RAM would be the right amount past the 3GB of RAM currently available in the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, the Samsung Galaxy S5 could just as likely arrive with 8GB of RAM instead. This would give the Samsung Galaxy S5 a new technical innovation asides from other smartphones, as there are now all too many smartphones with aluminum unibody chassis, huge megapixel cameras and ultra high ppi screens. We wouldn't be surprised if Samsung are also planning a Pro version device, as 8GB of RAM and a 64-bit processor could be all most high-performance users would need to make the shift.

While compatibility with just the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Note 10.1 2014 Edition is one of the main constraints of the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch, this may no longer be the case as Samsung have announced that quite a few Galaxy devices are going to get compatible soon. This includes the Samsung Galaxy S4, Samsung Galaxy S III and Samsung Galaxy Note II as soon as they receive their Android 4.3 updates, which are currently being rolled out in phases. Following these are the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, S4 Active, Mega 5.8, Mega 6.3 and S4 Zoom. While the software update will again be released in phases, these devices will begin getting the update by the end of October. Bear in mind though that certain functions and features available for use on the Samsung Galaxy Gear will depend on the tech specs available to each device.

The race for the world's best smartwatch is currently on and while the market is still fairly new, the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch is probably the most feature filled of the bunch. Packing in a 1.9MP camera, a 1.6mm Super AMOLED screen and Bluetooth 4.0 LE connectivity this is one of the few smartwatches that you can use to take calls from, provided you have your smartphone connected. It is also locally available here in Malaysia for RM999. Does it live up to the hype? Read on and find out in our Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch review.