Samsung Galaxy S2 Available in the U.S. on AT&T for $200

The Samsung Galaxy S2 has finally set foot in the U.S., on AT&T's network for $200 with a two-year contract.

The Galaxy S2 debuted back in February at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and the phone was later launched in Europe and South Korea.

It has a 4.3-inch "Super AMOLED Plus" touch screen measuring 480x800 pixels, a dual core 1.2-GHz processor, fast 4G network connectivity and a sleek and simple design. The "Super AMOLED Plus" display is bright and vivid and surprisingly crisp given the relatively low resolution.

Earlier, Samsung had announced that it has already sold more than 10 million units of the Galaxy S2 smartphone since its launch in April. However, the jury is still out on whether that means it has shipped those units to retail stores or actually sold them to customers. The new device was released in South Korea on April 29 and in some European countries in May. It also went on sale in China in July before hitting the U.S. market in September. According to reports from the company, 3.6 million units have been sold in South Korea, followed by 3.4 million in Europe and 2.3 million across the rest of Asia.

The sales rate, however, pales in comparison to that of the iPhone 4, which hit 1.7 million in three days. Nevertheless, in recent times, Samsung has become the biggest competitor for Apple's iPhone. Samsung and Apple are at loggerheads in a series of patent lawsuits over the technology and design of their smartphones and tablet computers.

North Korea disputes Seoul's border shelling claim

North Korea has dismissed a reported artillery exchange with South Korea on Wednesday, saying the South mistook construction noise for shelling.

Pyongyang said Seoul's reaction was "preposterous" and that the sounds were those of "normal blasting" at a

building site near the maritime border.

Seoul earlier said it fired warning shots after the North's shelling off the South's Yeonpyeong island.

Last November the North fired shells at Yeonpyeong, killing four people.

'Tragicomedy'

On Thursday, North Korea's official KCNA news agency accused Seoul of overreacting to "normal blasting" from a North Korean construction project "aimed at improving the standard of people's living".

"It was preposterous in the age of science when latest detecting and intelligence means are available that they mistook the blasting for shelling," the KCNA report said.

"It was a tragicomedy that they indiscriminately reacted to what happened with counter-shelling even without confirming the truth about the case in the sensitive waters."

South Korean defence officials earlier said there were two separate shelling incidents on Wednesday. All the shells landed in the water

The South's decision to reply with warning shots follows strong criticism for failing to react with force to the attack on Yeonpyeong last year.

Pyongyang said at the time that it had been provoked by military exercises being held by the South close to the island.

The incident triggered outrage in South Korea, which increased troop numbers on Yeonpyeong and said it would respond more forcefully in the future.

The crisis came months after the sinking of a South Korean warship, the Cheonan, widely blamed on North Korea.

Samsung sues Apple on patents: reports

Samsung Electronics Co.’s shares retreated after the company reportedly filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple Inc., following the iPhone maker’s own suit claiming trademark violation a week earlier.

Samsung /quotes/comstock/11i!ssnlf SSNLF +78.57% filed the suit in Seoul, Tokyo and Germany, according to various news reports which cited a statement by the company. The suit alleges that Apple /quotes/comstock/15*!aapl/quotes/nls/aapl AAPL +2.42% violated the South Korean company’s patents in the production of the iPhone and iPad, according to a report by the South Korean news agency Yonhap.

More specifically, the suit alleges that Apple infringed on patents that cover transmission optimization and reduction of power usage during transmission, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing a company spokesmen. It also says Apple violated its patents covering 3G technology for reducing date-transmission errors and a method of tethering a mobile phone to a PC to enable the PC to utilize the phone’s wireless data connection, The Journal said.

Samsung Electronics’s shares were down 2.5% in early afternoon trading in Seoul.

Samsung said in statement that it had launched the suit in response to legal action that had been taken against it without directly naming Apple.

Apple’s suit, filed earlier this month, alleges Samsung’s Galaxy cellphone and tablet were copied from the iPhone and iPad, violating patents and trademarks on the look, product design, packaging and operation of the Apple products.