15
Oct
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Android 2.2 (Froyo) Update Begins Rolling Out For Samsung Galaxy S - In The Nordic Region

Posted by in Android OS, Captivate, Epic 4G, Fascinate, Froyo 2.2, Galaxy S, News, Samsung, Vibrant

We have good news and bad news for Samsung Galaxy S owners. The good: the Froyo update source code released a few days ago is now officially being rolled out by Samsung. The bad news: they're starting with the Nordic countries... then "gradually" moving across Europe, Asia, North America, Africa, and everyone else.

galaxy-s-froyo-image4

The word "gradually" isn't exactly encouraging, and neither is the fact that North America is towards the end of the list. Still, the news alone should be enough to brighten the day of a whole bunch of people.

[Source: Samsung via Engadget]

Full press release:

Samsung GALAXY S Offers New Android 2.2 Upgrade

New platform upgrade provides enhanced experience on the go

SEOUL, Korea – October 18, 2010 – Samsung Electronics Co.

01
Oct
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Froyo Leak Available For Samsung Captivate Along With Numerous High-Fives

Posted by in Captivate, Froyo 2.2, News

Over at XDA, user designgears got this leak from an anonymous source and, while we were initially skeptical of its authenticity, it does appear legit, according to the users who have flashed it. The instructions to install it are fairly simple for even inexperienced users:

    • Download the leaked file I897UCJI6-OCD-REV02-Low-designgears.exe (hit the source link at the end of this post).
    • Turn off your Captivate.
    • Launch the I897UCJI6-OCD-REV02-Low-designgears.exe file you just downloaded.
    • Hold down the volume buttons and plug in your Captivate.
    • Hit "Start" on the Odin program. Sit back and relax.

    After that, you should be greeted by this in your "About Phone" menu:

    thumb_550_samsung-captivate-froyo

    The usual "not my bad if you break it" lingo comes in at this point but you were expecting that.

    24
    Sep
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    Battery Lives Of 8 Flagship Android Phones Tested And Compared - LCD Wins, AMOLED Loses, Droid X Takes Home The Crown

    Posted by in Captivate, Devices By Manufacturer, Droid 2, Droid X (Shadow), Epic 4G, EVO 4G (Supersonic), Incredible, News, Streak, Vibrant

    Here’s something to get your teeth into. Over at LaptopMag, a whole host of Androids have been put through their paces in a grueling battery life endurance test. The goal was to keep the phones’ screens on while doing a moderate amount of processing, namely cyclically browsing a collection of web pages. Despite the supposed power savings afforded by AMOLED screens, the phones employing that screen technology fell quite a ways behind in comparison to the traditional LCD phones.

    Why is that? AMOLED is supposed to only use up power on non-black pixels, right? Well, as LaptopMag points out, the majority of webpages are actually dark text on a light background, a scenario in which AMOLED actually uses more power than an equivalent backlit LCD.

    01
    Sep

    Back To School With Android: The Budget Phones And Awesome Apps That Will Help You Get Through The Year

    Posted by in Ally (Aloha), Applications, Aria (Liberty), AT&T, Backflip, Captivate, CHARM, Devour, Droid (Sholes), Hero (Sprint, HeroC), Intercept, Moment, myTouch Slide (Espresso), Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, Vibrant
    Last Updated: July 3rd, 2011

    Phones

    Not everyone needs a new phone at this time of year, especially as you probably got your last one some time around Christmas, but if you’re in the market for a decent Android phone on your college-sized budget, here’s the what you’re looking at if you’re one of the four major carriers:

    Verizon

    • Motorola Droid - Affordable doesn’t necessarily have to mean cheap, and such is the case with the original Motorola Droid. While Verizon itself no longer carries the original, (it’s been dropped in favor of the Droid 2) it can be had for the price of $0.00 (or, at most, $0.01) at third-party retailers like WireFly, Amazon, and LetsTalk.com.

    29
    Aug
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    Samsung Hits A Milestone: Over 1 Million Galaxy S Devices Shipped In US

    Posted by in AT&T, Captivate, Epic 4G, Fascinate, News, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, Vibrant

     

    Samsung just sent out a press release that should help dampen the dullness today: according to Samsung, they've shipped over 1 million Galaxy S devices in the US. Not bad, especially considering they've only launched on 2 of the 6 carriers that will be getting the device. With such a hotly-anticipated and well-received line of devices, it's likely sales are really just getting started - after all, the Vibrant and Captivate only launched just over a month ago.

    Samsung's Epic 4G will be launching on Sprint in just a few days (August 31), and rumor has it that Verizon's Fascinate won't be far behind.

    25
    Aug
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    Deal Alert: Move Over, Vibrant - AT&T Samsung Captivate Now Also A Penny On Amazon.com For New Customers

    Posted by in AT&T, Captivate, News, Samsung

    Remember the $0.01 Samsung Vibrant deal Amazon put up last week in response to T-Mobile's $99.99 sale? After running for a few days, the promotion ran out (the Vibrant is now $69.99), only to be replaced by another one, this time for AT&T customers.

    That's right, the Samsung Captivate now costs a cool 1 penny for new accounts and comes with a free activation and 2-day shipping. This is the best deal on this phone to date, and it will probably last only a few days, judging by how long it took the Vibrant deal to vaporize.

    Hit up the AT&T Samsung Captivate AmazonWireless page to feed Amazon that penny and pick one of these bad boys up.

    03
    Aug
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    Samsung Captivate/Vibrant Now Rootable With One Click™

    Posted by in Captivate, Development, Vibrant

    Android dev TGA_Gunnman has been added to Amazon’s hit list for this latest in a litany of single-click phone unlocking methods. In spite of the impending lawsuit (not really), his Samsung Galaxy S One-Click Root program does exactly what it says on the, err, titlebar.

    There are separate versions for the Captivate and Vibrant, so make sure you get the right one. All users have to do is download the program - currently Windows only - run it, and click the One Click Root button with their Captivate/Vibrant connected up to USB. Now all you have left is to sit back and wait for the custom ROMs to start rolling in (since there aren’t any yet).

    30
    Jul
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    Motorola Droid X And Samsung Captivate Open Source Code Released

    Posted by in Captivate, Droid X (Shadow), Eclair 2.1, Motorola, News, Samsung
    Last Updated: November 23rd, 2011

    As part of the Android's open source Apache license, manufacturers are required to publicly release all of their own modifications and improvements made to the Android core. Today, both Samsung and Motorola decided it would be the perfect time to drop the Captivate and Droid X code to their respective open source sites.

    This will allow ROM developers to figure out all those little quirks specific to the hardware and incorporate them into their releases.

    Note, however, that the Android license doesn't cover proprietary extensions, such as custom vendor applications and widgets, and therefore does not require manufacturers to open source them:

    Licensing

    With the exception of brief update periods, Android has been available as open source since 21 October 2008.

    30
    Jul
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    Samsung Shows Off All US Samsung Galaxy S Series Phones In This Promo Video - Share It With Your Non-Android Friends

    Posted by in Captivate, Epic 4G, Fascinate, Galaxy S, News, Samsung, Vibrant, Videos

    Samsung Galaxy S series phones - Captivate, Vibrant, Epic 4G, and Fascinate - are definitely the cool new kids on the block, and Samsung wants everyone to know that.

    In this relatively lengthy promotional video, Samsung has showcased all 4 models (though, we don't get much of the Fascinate past the initial glimpse), highlighting some important aspects of these devices, such as:

    • Super AMOLED display
    • keyboard on the Epic 4G
    • 1GHz Hummingbird CPU speed
    • 3D audio
    • DLNA output
    • Android 2.1 Eclair (though, the Froyo upgrade is only 1-2 months away)
    • TouchWiz interface
    • HD video
    • Swype
    • social integration
    • apps and 3D games
    • browser with pinch-to-zoom

    Of course, they forgot to mention that the phones that are already out have been successfully rooted, but we'll keep that between us.

    20
    Jul
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    Samsung T-Mobile Vibrant, AT&T Captivate Galaxy S Series Phones Not Without Their Own Signal Problems: Major GPS Issues Emerge For Some

    Posted by in Captivate, Galaxy S, News, Samsung, Vibrant

    Can You Find Me Now?

    A substantial thread on the XDA forums over GPS-related woes for people using the Samsung Galaxy S i9000 has left users of the device puzzled for nearly two weeks across Europe and Asia. Now, there are similar threads for the currently available American versions, the Vibrant and Captivate, that are quickly increasing in length as well.

    So, what is this problem? The Galaxy S (for some users) has difficulty locking onto enough GPS satellites to maintain an accurate fix on the user’s position. This translates to unusable GPS car navigation apps, inaccurate map readings, and generally makes using any GPS-enabled application a less-than-enjoyable (and inaccurate) experience.

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