Apple has been working on an in-house mapping solution for a few years, and it appears as if the company is finally ready to release a new Maps app for iOS, sidestepping Google’s mapping data for its own. BGR has obtained exclusive information and photos of parts of Apple’s new Maps app from a trusted source, and the app features a refreshed user interface including a brand new navigation bar. This bar, we’re told, is silver instead of blue. Since the current Maps app follows the standard blue iOS color scheme, we think it’s possible Apple might shift toward a silver color theme in iOS 6 like on the iPad.

The iPhone version of Maps has a floating locate me button (it sounds very similar to Android’s Google Maps app) in the bottom left corner. To access 3D mode, which will make use of Apple’s C3 Technologies acquisition, you have to peel back the lower right corner of Maps just like the current version and enable 3D mode. Once enabled, you can switch in and out of 3D mode by tapping a 3D icon in the lower left corner. A photo of this feature can be seen in our gallery.

Apple is now putting the finishing touches on its 3D mapping functionality, and it is currently being tested in build 10A3XX of iOS 6.

The above image is a mock up based on what Maps will look like, as communicated by our source, and it includes elements of Apple’s actual refreshed Maps app taken from photos we received. These photos can be viewed in the gallery linked above.

BGR has learned from a reliable source that Microsoft is currently planning to release the company’s full Office suite for not only Apple’s iPad, but for Android tablets as well. The company is targeting November of this year for both launches. Additionally, our source has seen Microsoft Office running on an iPad first-hand and has said that it looks almost identical to the previous leak from The Daily a few months back, despite the fact that Microsoft flat out denied that the app was authentic. It is also plausible that Microsoft Office will be coming to the iPhone and iPod touch rather than only the iPad, as we’re told the loading screen in the app clearly said “Office for iOS” and not just iPad.

Thanks, John E.

RIM made an unprecedented move earlier this week when it gave away pre-production BlackBerry 10 hardware to developers, but it was a smart one. In order to develop for a brand new operating system and help grow develop support for a new platform, you need to be able to test on real hardware. Since this isn’t the phone that RIM will launch in the fall, there’s no issue letting the public see the hardware, right? Well, there’s more to the story.

The BlackBerry 10 Alpha unit is a device RIM has been testing internally for quite some time. In fact, our sources have confirmed that it’s the BlackBerry Colt handset that RIM originally planned to ship as its first BlackBerry 10 smartphone, which was later canceled.

This is just another insight into how disorganized RIM is — looking at the phone, you can clearly see how much time, effort and money RIM put into it. It’s pre-production, but this is a phone that is set up for the company to ship. It’s manufactured very well, feels good, and has way too many details for this to just be something RIM made to give away to its developer base.

The display is beautiful, and the unit is literally a smaller PlayBook. I have also been told that Mike Lazaridis and other RIM executives have been showing BlackBerry 10 off to partners using this exact device over the past few months — another sign that this was indeed in the running to be RIM’s first real touchscreen device.

We’re only a day from the official announcement of the Samsung Galaxy S III, but that doesn’t mean the leaks are done. One of our contacts sent us a photo of the Samsung Galaxy S III’s boot screen as it is turning on, but wouldn’t allow us to post photos of the actual device. Maybe next time! Samsung is set to unveil the highly anticipated Galaxy S III during a press conference on Thursday afternoon.

We received a photo of what looks like it could be Samsung’s upcoming flagship handset, the Samsung Galaxy S3. Although it isn’t confirmed at this point, this is one of the most compelling images we have seen so far. We’ll know in a couple days if this is the real deal but compared to all the decoys we’ve seen, we definitely hope the flagship smartphone Samsung unveils next week ends up looking like this instead. This phone also matches up exactly with what we have reported, something many people have continued to miss — the Galaxy S3 will have a physical button in the center beneath the display.

UPDATE: Looks like this image was sent to a few different sites around 3:00 a.m. this morning…

While Samsung’s Galaxy S3 has been the star of the rumor show for the past few months — with BGR leading the pack — we now have a clear picture of the smartphone landscape for late summer and early fall this year. BGR has exclusively learned details about most, if not all of Verizon Wireless’s flagship smartphone launches for the remainder of 2012, and things are definitely looking good for Verizon subscribers in 2012. All the details follow after the break.

For starters, Verizon Wireless will indeed be offering the Samsung Galaxy S3 — Verizon notably passed on the Galaxy S II in favor of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus — but we don’t know when the carrier will start selling Samsung’s new flagship smartphone. While we have a clear picture of Verizon’s fall smartphone lineup, we would assume the Galaxy S III will be available over the summer.

Speaking of Android smartphones, there are “multiple” Motorola RAZR models due to hit Verizon in the coming months, one of which will most likely be the Motorola RAZR HD (or a name similar to that) with a larger and clearer display.

HTC might actually be the star of the Android show this time around though, as we have been told HTC will have a major flagship device hitting Verizon shelves in the fall. It’s said to feature a whopping 5-inch 1080p HD display (a non-PenTile screen), a new chipset that includes a quad-core Krait CPU and an Adreno 320 GPU, HTC Sense 5 and a Scribe pen. Yes, HTC is launching a Galaxy Note competitor.

Lastly, as we reported late last year, Apple’s next-generation iPhone is currently slated for a fall release.

As we get closer to the official announcement of Samsung’s Galaxy S III, more information is beginning to surface. In addition to our exclusive reports on the device’s specifications and materials, we have now learned new details surrounding Samsung’s launch and marketing push for its new flagship handset. We have been told that there will be a huge international roll-out for the Galaxy S III, and the sleek new smartphone will be the official device of the 2012 Summer Olympics — this is one reason we’re told Samsung is hosting its unveiling event in London. In addition, there could be simultaneous launch events in New York City, Seoul and Dubai according to our source. We are also told that the Samsung Galaxy S III will come in two color options, one in blue and black, and a second in white. There will be 16GB and 32GB models as well, and additional specs include a 1080p HD display, a quad-core Exynos processor and integrated 4G LTE.

Image source: Android Advice

We exclusively reported that the Samsung Galaxy S III will feature a ceramic case, but looking at Samsung’s Unpacked event invitation that went out Monday morning, it appears that there could be another material in play as well. It looks like it’s a brushed blue metal, possibly aluminum or stainless steel, but it could also be a brushed blue plastic — Samsung smartphones have made use of plastic cases with a brushed finish multiple times in the past. Lastly, we have heard from a trusted source that the Galaxy S III will feature a physical home button in the middle of the device under the display, and it won’t use the on-screen navigation buttons Google introduced in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

We have been informed by a trusted source that HTC’s One X, one of the best smartphones ever to come out of Taiwan, will be available on AT&T as early as this week. We have also been told that AT&T may announce availability details tomorrow, and that the handset’s release should follow within five to seven days of the carrier’s announcement. AT&T’s version of the HTC One X swaps out the quad-core Tegra 3 processor for a dual-core Snapdragon CPU in order to accommodate 4G LTE connectivity, but unlike the complete redesign we saw on Sprint’s EVO 4G LTE, the AT&T version should be nearly identical to the international model.

Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus has been available around the world for quite some time after officially making it’s debut on Verizon Wireless in December. Sprint’s version of the handset, which supports the company’s brand new LTE network, is currently slated for an April 22nd release according to one of our sources, which is in line with earlier rumors. Stores should be receiving merchandising materials shortly, and sales are set to start soon after. Whether you’ll actually be able to get an LTE signal, however, depends on if you’re a 1%-er — Sprint’s LTE network has gone live in a few regions during testing, but isn’t set to go live in launch markets until June. Sprint also plans to launch the LG Viper 4G LTE on April 22nd.

Nokia’s new Lumia 900 smartphone is getting a huge push at AT&T, but the carrier’s marketing budget for the new flagship Windows Phone won’t quite add up to sky-high figure suggested on Monday. Ad Age published an unconfirmed report on Monday stating that AT&T is preparing a massive marketing blitz to promote the new Nokia smartphone BGR called Windows Phone’s best shot yet to gain ground in the mass market. The carrier will spend as much as $150 million promoting the Lumia 900 according to the report, more than it spent to launch the iPhone. Following our coverage of Ad Age’s report, a trusted source confirmed to BGR that this is, in fact, not the case. Our well-placed source states that while AT&T is planning to push Nokia’s new Lumia smartphone aggressively, the $150 million figure is not even close to reality. This makes sense considering the big budget Nokia reportedly has set aside for the Lumia 900, but our source had no information to offer regarding Nokia’s marketing plans. An AT&T spokesperson declined to comment.

BGR exclusively reported this past January that the Nokia Lumia 900 will retail for a mind-blowing $99.99 with two-year agreement when it launches on AT&T. We also reported that the sleek smartphone was slated for a March 18th release, but we noted that the Lumia 900 hadn’t yet received technical acceptance so the launch date could slide. We have now been told by a trusted source that the launch has indeed been delayed, and AT&T is now aiming to make the Lumia 900 available online and in stores on April 22nd. The handset’s amazing price point remains unchanged, however, so Windows Phone fans can look forward to seeing Nokia’s flagship smartphone launch next month for less than $100.

We reported some exclusive details surrounding Samsung’s upcoming flagship Galaxy S III smartphone this past weekend, and now we have received some more information that helps us paint a more complete picture. And as that picture becomes more clear, this sure looks like the baddest Android smartphone the world hasn’t yet seen. We reported that the new Samsung flagship would launch in a simultaneous fashion across the globe, but we now have some more detailed specifications to report. Ladies and gentlemen, here is the Samsung Galaxy S III:

• 1.5GHz quad-core Samsung Exynos processor
• 4.8-inch “full HD” 1080p resolution with 16:9 aspect ratio display
• A 2-megapixel front-facing camera and an 8-megapixel rear camera
• Ceramic case
• 4G LTE
• Android 4.0

As always, we’ll keep pounding our sources for more information, but we have to say… a Blu-ray display? On a smartphone? We’ll cuddle up with that and some popcorn any night of the week.

Samsung still isn’t done trotting out new variants of the Galaxy S line, but the big one is coming. Samsung publicly stated that we wouldn’t see the Samsung Galaxy S III announced at Mobile World Congress this year, and one of the major reasons was an effort to shorten the gap between announcing the flagship smartphone and launching it around the world. This time around, we’ve heard from a trusted source that Samsung is going to launch the Samsung Galaxy S III in over 50 “markets or cities” simultaneously. The real news, however, is the fact that we’ll be seeing a supersized display (and you know how we feel about those) that will measure 4.8-inches. We weren’t told the type of display, though other rumors talked about something ridiculous like a Super AMOLED Plus HD screen. Also, instead of cheap, glossy plastic, we’re told the entire back of the smartphone will be ceramic — a pretty interesting choice of materials. Other previously rumored specs include a quad-core processor, Android 4.0, 4G LTE, great cameras and other competitive specifications. We’ll keep our ears to the ground, so stay tuned for more!

We’ve got a hold of what is said to be Apple’s iOS 5.1 GM, the version that will be released to the public on or around March 9th, and we can now confirm an earlier report detailing two new changes. The lock screen in iOS 5.1 has a fixed camera button located next to the slide to unlock button, and instead of tapping on it to launch the camera, you simply drag the entire unlock section up to reveal the camera finder. This makes photo-taking instantly fast when you’re getting the phone out of your pocket or bag. Siri has indeed learned Japanese as well, and we’ve been able to confirm that in Settings. We’re told there are no roadblocks as of now in this release candidate, so we’d expect the version we have to be the version released in the coming weeks. Another photo can be seen after the break.