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You know what they say about guys with huge phones… They’re compensating for tiny data plans. Samsung’s Galaxy Note is a giant smartphone. Or a teeny tablet. After using AT&T’s version of this device for several days now, I’m still not quite sure which is the case. It handles voice calls like a cell phone and it runs Google’s Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread smartphone operating system, but it feels very much like a tablet and it includes a stylus, which hasn’t been seen alongside a smartphone in this hemisphere for quite some time. Somehow, however, Samsung manages to pull it all together into one interesting package that might not have been worth the $10 million introduction, but it could certainly find a niche in today’s supersized smartphone market. Maybe.

LG on Tuesday announced three more Android smartphones ahead of next week’s Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, Spain. The “L-style” series will feature the Optimus L3 (3.2-inch), L5 (4-inch) and L7 (4.3-inch), three smartphones for design-conscious consumers. “Design is consistently the top or second most important factor for customers when choosing a mobile phone,” president and CEO of LG Mobile Dr. Jong-seok Park said. “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.” The “L-style” focuses on five major design elements: modern square style, “floating display” technology, more intuitive arrangement of keys, metallic accents and a “sensuous slim shape” to naturally draw one’s attention. The L5 and L7 will both launch with Android 4.0 in the first half the year and the L3 Gingerbread phone will be released in March.

Samsung on Tuesday announced two new additions to the company’s Galaxy smartphone line; the Galaxy Ace 2 and Galaxy mini 2. The Ace 2 features an 800MHz dual-core processor with a 3.8-inch WVGA display. The handset is also equipped with a 5-megapixel rear camera, VGA front facing one, Android 2.3, 4GB of internal storage and a microSD slot. The mini 2 comes with an 800MHz processor and a 3.27-inch HVGA display with a 3-megapixel rear camera, microSD slot and Android 2.3. Both devices also ship with Samsung’s ChatON, Social Hub and Music Hub services, allowing one-step access to social networks and over 17 million songs. The GALAXY Ace 2 will be available in the U.K. in April, and the GALAXY mini 2 will be available in France in March before being rolled out globally. Samsung has not announced any details with regard to a North American launch. Read on for Samsung’s press release.

If you’re a Verizon Wireless customer or looking to become one, the carrier is offering two of its latest 4G LTE handsets, the LG Spectrum and HTC Rezound, for $99.99 each with a two-year agreement. Both handsets run a 1.5GHz dual-core processor and impressive qHD displays. When BGR reviewed the Rezound last November, we were impressed with the overall performance of the device and with the gorgeous high definition display in particular. It was recommended over Motorola’s DROID RAZR and Samsung’s Galaxy S II, although due to its lack of Ice Cream Sandwich it fell short compared to Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus. Subscribers will have until Monday, February 28th to take advantage of Verizon’s deals on the Rezound and Spectrum, which are only available online. 

Canonical announced on Tuesday that the popular open-source Ubuntu operating system will soon be coming to multi-core Android devices. Users will be able use Android on their smartphones and Ubuntu as a desktop once the device is docked with a keyboard and monitor. Both operating systems will run simultaneously on the same device and have the ability to share contacts, messages and other common services. “The phone experience is pure Android – it’s a normal Android phone,” Canonical stated. “When the device is connected to a computer screen, however, it launches a full Ubuntu desktop on the computer display. It’s exactly the same desktop used by millions of enterprise and home users on their Ubuntu PCs, and includes hundreds of certified applications, from office productivity to photography, video and music.” The company plans to give live demonstrations of Ubuntu running on Android devices later this month at the Mobile World Congress trade show. Read on for Canonical’s press release.

After years of trying to build a smartphone worthy of reinventing the world famous RAZR brand, Motorola finally launched a handset it deemed to be deserving of the moniker last November. The DROID RAZR was released on November 11th and was a marvel compared to the flip phone it modernized. At $500 on contract, the original RAZR touted a 176 x 220-pixel display, 5.5MB of internal storage, a VGA camera and support for data speeds up to 48Kbps. This new version of the iconic handset packed a 4.3-inch AMOLED display, a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, an 8-megapixel camera, 16GB of internal storage and blazing fast 4G LTE connectivity into a slender case only 7.1 millimeters thick. While the new RAZR was well received by consumers, a few complaints surfaced following the smartphone’s launch and poor battery life was among them. For users willing to trade the RAZR’s slim profile in exchange for a bigger battery, however, Motorola and Verizon Wireless launched the DROID RAZR MAXX earlier this month. There is no question that the MAXX version of Motorola’s sleek handset took care of battery life, but is the giant 3,300 mAh power pack enough to make Motorola’s DROID RAZR MAXX one of the best Android phones on the market?

Barnes & Noble on Tuesday unveiled a new version of its popular Nook Tablet to compete directly with Amazon’s Kindle Fire. Lining up with earlier reports, the new Barnes & Noble slate features the same specs as the earlier Nook Tablet, however the device’s internal storage has been halved to 8GB. ”For any customer who likes to read digitally, watch movies or TV shows, browse the web, or help their kids read and learn through interactive books and apps, our new $199 NOOK Tablet with 8GB is the best product value on the market,” Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch said in a statement. “NOOK Tablet is the highest-rated wireless media tablet in the 7-inch class, ultra-portable at under a pound, offers our exclusive VividView screen technology, and since its introduction this holiday has received rave reviews from customers about all its great features. We’re pleased to now offer customers the ability to experience NOOK Tablet’s unmatched content experience for only $199.” Barnes & Noble also stated that its previous-generation Android tablet, the Nook Color, will drop to $169, undercutting the Kindle Fire by $30. The company’s full press release follows below.

The most massive Android phone Samsung has ever built is now available in AT&T stores across the country for $299.99 with a new two-year service agreement, or $649.99 contract-free. Positioned somewhere between a tablet and a smartphone, the Galaxy Note features a 5.3-inch 1,280 x 800-pixel Super AMOLED display, a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, an 8-megapixel camera, embedded 4G LTE connectivity and Samsung’s “S Pen” stylus. And did we mention it’s huge? BGR’s full review of the Galaxy Note will be published later this week, but AT&T subscribers looking for the biggest dose of Android money can buy should look no further.

Barnes & Noble may be planning to launch a new version of its Nook Tablet at the same $199 price point that has helped Amazon’s Kindle Fire retain its spot atop Amazon’s best-selling electronics list since its launch last year. According to a purported internal memo circulated at Walmart and obtained by The Verge, the new version of Barnes & Noble’s popular Nook Tablet will launch on Tuesday. The only known difference between the current Nook Tablet and the new version is the slate’s internal storage, which will be cut in half from 16GB to 8GB. Pricing is not mentioned in the memo, but Barnes & Noble’s 16GB tablet is currently listed at $249. Considering the downsized flash storage chip and the Kindle Fire’s $199 price tag, a new sub-$200 price tag is a safe bet if this rumor pans out. A screenshot of the purported memo follows below.

Amazon is reportedly preparing to launch a follow up to the company’s wildly successful Kindle Fire. The specs have not yet been finalized, however Amazon is expected to deliver samples to manufacturers by March, according to the China Times. The publication states that a 10-inch OEM device from Foxconn could be the final product. The report comes just after Pacific Crest analyst Chad Bartley claimed that Amazon plans to release an updated 7-inch tablet and a brand new 9-inch slate in mid-2012. BGR exclusively reported last May that Amazon was working on a 10-inch tablet, although a later report would suggest that Amazon was focusing on launching a new 8.9-inch device first. The next-generation Kindle Fire is expected to launch by the end of the second quarter.

Rovio on Friday teased the next frontier for the company’s massive Angry Birds franchise. The fourth major Birds release will be called “Angry Birds Space” and is scheduled to land on mobile devices on March 22nd. In the newest edition, users will be flinging birds on zero gravity planets with new gameplay features such as slow-motion and lightspeed destruction, according to Yahoo Games. ”We think fans are really going to love it because we’ve already gotten amazing feedback on the physics of our games,” said Rovio’s GM of North America Andrew Stalbow. “They’re so accurate and easy to grasp that some teachers use Angry Birds in their lessons about projectile motion.” Rovio has confirmed that the game will have completely new birds along with some originals, who now possess various super powers. Since debuting in 2009, the franchise has been downloaded over 700 million times on iOS and Android alone. Read on for a video teaser from Rovio.

HTC on Friday announced via the company’s Facebook page that the Thunderbolt, Rhyme and DROID Incredible 2 will all be updated to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. “We have more good news related to Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, and can confirm that upgrades are planned for Verizon Wireless customers with the HTC Rhyme, HTC Thunderbolt, and DROID Incredible 2 by HTC, as well as the already announced HTC Rezound,” the company posted on its Facebook page. Earlier reports excluded these devices, among others, and it is nice to see a company including earlier models in its list of devices that will receive the highly anticipated update. HTC also announced that the Raider will receive an Ice Cream Sandwich update for Rogers and Bell in Canada. No information is available regarding a release schedule, however the company promises “more news on Ice Cream Sandwich releases in the coming weeks.”

Earlier this month, images of the next-generation ASUS Eee Pad Transformer tablet leaked onto the Internet. The slate’s “TF300T” code name was in line with the original naming convention used on the Transformer (TF101) and the Transformer Prime (TF201), indicating it was next in line in the Transformer family. According to a purported screenshot of the tablet’s spec sheet obtained by Polish site Tabletowo, the TF300T is will feature a 1.2GHz quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor with a 10.1-inch 1200 x 800-pixel IPS display and 1GB of RAM. The slate will also come equipped with 16GB of internal storage, an 8-megapixel rear camera (no flash), a 1.2-megapixel front facing, a microSD slot and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Oddly enough, the device is both heavier and thicker than the Transformer Prime, measuring 9.9 millimeters and weighing 640 grams. The Polish site’s leaked document also indicates that the new high-resolution Prime will be equipped with a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8060A processor clocked at 1.5GHz, rather than the quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3. ASUS is expected to reveal its new Transformer tablet at this month’s Mobile World Congress trade show. Tabletowo’s screenshot follows below.