Samsung Will Give You Up to $300 for Your Old Smartphone

Samsung is giving you another reason to choose its smartphones — a rebate of up to $300 for your old smartphone. The program, unveiled on the brand’s Facebook Page on Monday and on samsungupgrade.com, promises a refund within 30 days for anyone who buys a new Samsung smartphone and mails in their old one. A trade-in on an iPhone 4S 64GB in perfect condition will fetch you the full $300, but the rebates fall sharply from there. For instance, a 32GB version of the same model will only get you $230 and the 16GB version will get you $215.
However, such a rebate will essentially render a new top-of-the-line Samsung smartphone free or close to it: A Samsung Galaxy S III is $199 with a new contract and a Galaxy Note costs $249 with a new contract. The push comes as Samsung’s sales far outpace Apple’s on a global basis, but, like Microsoft, is viewed these days as an underdog against the Cupertino powerhouse. The Samsung-Apple skirmish isn’t just happening in the marketplace, though: The two are in the midst of a protracted courtroom battle over Samsung’s alleged theft of Apple’s mobile phone intellectual property.
In addition, both Apple and Samsung look to be planning big announcements over the next few weeks: Samsung has a mysterious event planned for Aug. 15 that appears to be related to its Galaxy Note devices. Apple, meanwhile, is reportedly planning to introduce a new iPhone model on Sept. 12.

Galaxy S III wireless charging kit starts showing up at retail stores

Back when we met the Galaxy S III for the very first time, Samsung promised a wireless charging solution would be coming soon to its sleek and potent slab. Unfortunately, Sammy's power-boosting companion's been hit by hapless delays that have prevented it from seeing the light of day. Now, thanks to a few recent shots from Phone Arena, it looks like at least some S3 owners could see a bundle in the near future, albeit not the official one from the Korean outfit. According to the site's kind tipster, Verizon's allegedly pricing the charging station at $50, while the rear case is expected to be around $40 -- making it nearly $90 for the entire kit. Naturally, this could change at any given moment, but hey, at least we know it's out there.