With all the hype around Samsung's much anticipated next flagship our news section has been overflowing with various reports about the new device, its possible specs and variants. While Samsung has the final word on this matter, with MWC still about a month away it seems unlikely that we will get any closure on the pressing question any time before the beginning of March.

We do however have a lot of little bits and pieces to go by and seeing how the whole situation is quickly getting out of hand we have tried to make a quick rundown of what has surfaced about the Galaxy S6 up to date.

If you think you might have missed something or feel understandably confused you can refer to the table below. From what we have heard so far it seems that the Next Galaxy flagship will be available in two separate variant – a standard one, supposedly with a 5-inch screen and a edged one, which if rumors are to be believed will go one step beyond the Note Edge and offer slopes on both sides of the display.

We also hear bits and pieces about the build and design of the device. Apparently it is going to spout a metal frame, which is all but understandable seeing how metal phones are in style nowadays and will probably have a protruding camera, similar to the one on Galaxy Note devices.

Be sure to remember that all of this is taken straight out of the rumor mill and should be taken with a grain of salt, but for now this sums up what we know about Samsung's next flagship handset.

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Samsung Galaxy S6 color options revealed
Earlier today, when Samsung sent out invites for its Galaxy Unpacked 2015 media event, it didn’t reveal anything, except for a teaser image suggesting a curved screen flagship. However, it’s all but confirmed that the Galaxy S6, as well as its curved screen variant, the Galaxy S Edge, would be…

Alleged European pricing for both Galaxy S6 and S Edge revealed
Samsung has already announced that it is holding its Galaxy Unpacked 2015 event on March 1, and it’s all but confirmed that the South Korean company will use it to announce both the Galaxy S6 flagship as well as its curved screen cousin, the Galaxy S Edge. While the countdown for their…

Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S Edge to debut on March 1
It's official – Samsung is holding its Galaxy Unpacked 2015 event on March 1. The company's press event is going to focus primarily on its upcoming flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S6. In the teaser image below, however, you can see the company will also introduce a product with a distinctive curve…

Samsung Galaxy S6 to debut a new payment system
A report in the Korean media suggests that Samsung is preparing to launch a new payment system alongside the Galaxy S6. Samsung has lured in Visa as one of its main partners for the new payment system. The Apple Pay competitor is going to be based on the LoopPay technology, which enables…

Samsung Galaxy S6 metal frame revealed in photos
The first photos of the Samsung Galaxy S6 metal frame have surfaced. Moreover, the new photos portray the frame from all angles and show the layout of its ports and buttons. Leaked schematics of the phone suggest it'll measure just 7.2mm thick and the sides look have a carved design. At the top,…

Rumor: Galaxy S Edge screen to be less curvy than Note Edge
The rumor mill is abuzz with Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S Edge tips and leaks. Reportedly the Galaxy S6 and S Edge bodies will be uniformly colored, with the same texture on the front. Apparently even the camera module will get a paint job, it's normally black regardless of the phone's color….

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Counterclockwise allows us to recount smartphone lore from years past. This time we focus heavily on camera phones, take a quick tour through rugged phones, Nokia's attempts to save its platform, Android's fragmentation issues and finally a surprise appearance by HTC's CEO.

An ode to camera phones

Early February has been rife with rumors throughout the years and many of them promised the bleeding-edge in mobile photography. Back in 2009, the Samsung i8910 Omnia HD appeared in spy photos with an 8MP camera that records 720p video.

It was a Symbian-running device (with TouchWiz 2.0), unlike the Samsung Omnia, which was a Windows Mobile handset. That same week Samsung launched the Omnia Reloaded, which had a decent camera for the time – 5MP stills and D1 (720x480px) video.

Not quite as impressive as the Samsung T929 Memoir that went official the previous day though. A T-Mobile exclusive with an 8MP camera and D1 video. Despite its appearance it did not have optical zoom, but it did have a hardware shutter and xenon flash.

Samsung T929 camera phone

The LG KM900 Arena, which had a 5MP camera with "DVD video quality" had also leaked that week. Despite its touchscreen-centric design it was a feature phone.

A couple of years later in 2009 LG had made the jump to Android (and flirting with Windows Phone). It was launching the LG Optimus 2X with an 8MP camera and 1080p video – the first one we experienced on a mobile phone.

Of course, no camera phone discussion is complete without Nokia. The Nokia 7650 was the first Symbian camera phone (not to mention one of the first phones with a camera in general). In 2011 the Nokia N8 ruled that segment with a large 12MP sensor (1/1.83"), Zeiss optics, ND filter and xenon flash.

A year later its successor was set to drop people's jaws but we heard the worrying rumors that it will be the last Symbian. It was, but the platform had a glorious run of camera phones – from the 7650 through the Omnia HD, the N8 and finally the 808 PureView.

Windows Phone took over with the Lumia 800 (based on the N9). It had an 8MP camera with Zeiss optics and 720p video. Not too impressive on paper, but it was a good quality camera and was selling great in Finland. The Lumia 900 had just gone on pre-order and offered the same basic camera.

Two iterations and Windows Phone had failed to match Symbian's camera phones. The Lumia 920 was advertised as the second stage of PureView, but that meant optical image stabilization, not insane resolutions. There was a persistent rumor of a 41MP Lumia though, which eventually materialized in mid-2013 as the Lumia 1020.

Finally, both branches of PureView – large, high-resolution sensor and OIS – combined into the Lumia 1520 and Lumia Icon/930. This year we're waiting on a new successor.

In this period other manufacturers have attempted to revolutionize the smartphone camera in other ways. HTC chose large pixels over high resolution and sprinkled OIS. Apple added duo-tone camera flash, while Samsung put phase-detection on its sensor. Then LG built on that with Laser autofocus (with OIS for good measure), while HTC went with two cameras, though by the looks of this won't last.

Deep dive

Smartphones started looking too similar – rectangles with big screens, the lot of them – so manufacturers were looking for ways to stand out. Many tried to co-opt the cool of outdoor adventures, like Sony Ericsson and its Xperia active.

In February 2012 the company partnered with Billabong, a surf company that makes clothes, backpacks, watches, skateboards and snowboards. The Xperia active Billabong edition had stylized waves on its back and the words "Surf Snow Skate Wake."

It was rated on the IP scale – IP67 to be precise. That meant it was dust-tight (the first digit)and can dive to a depth of 1m for 30 minutes (the second digit). The same week there was a rumor that the Galaxy S III and iPhone 5 will be waterproof too.

That didn’t pan out, but the Galaxy S4 got an Active version (also IP67 certified), while the Galaxy S5 was IP67 certified in its base version. That wasn’t until 2014 though.

Japan likes them waterproof too, take the NEC MEDIAS ES N-05D for example. It earns its all-caps name with impressive specs for 2012. It was only 6.7mm thick and weighed just 110g. And it was waterproof, of…

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