galaxy - 13/17 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Apr

Samsung Galaxy S II Delayed Until June - Spec Changes To Blame?

Posted by David Ruddock in Galaxy S II, News, Samsung

According to Samsung Mobile's India Twitter account, the Samsung Galaxy S II ("SGSII") has been delayed globally by "at least a month."

Relatedly, GSM Arena has confirmed that the SGSII has undergone a change in specification - bumping its dual-core Samsung Exynos processor up to a screaming 1.2GHz. The official SGSII microsite no longer lists the device's exact processor specs - furthering speculation that the change will probably be officially announced by Samsung at some point.

Could this be related to the decision to manufacture Tegra 2 versions of the SGSII? The Exynos is a fairly new chipset, and there's a possibility that Samsung has decided to have it power the company's upcoming tablets, the Tab 8.9 and 10.1, as well.

Mar

Official Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) ROM Leaked For Samsung Galaxy S I9000

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Galaxy S, Gingerbread 2.3, News, Samsung

You might want to take a seat for this one: an early Gingerbread build has leaked for the Samsung Galaxy S I9000, and is now available for download. The file first landed in the hands of one Tricky103, and shortly thereafter was downloaded from Samsung's internal database and uploaded to a public mirror courtesy of iammodo.

Installation instructions are ~~virtually non-existent in the post, so you should probably know your way around modding already before attempting this~~ (update) turns out installation instructions aren't there because it's super simple: just use the three button combo to flash the new ROM.

Mar

The Super-Thin Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 And 10.1: As Seen From Outside A Glass Box

Posted by David Ruddock in Galaxy Tab 10.1, Galaxy Tab 8.9, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News, Samsung

Yesterday at CTIA, Samsung unveiled its revamped Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the all-new Galaxy Tab 8.9 (check out our live coverage of the event). Unfortunately, that's about all Samsung did with them - neither was ever powered on. Samsung's CTIA exhibit housed the new devices in glass security cases (as you can see below), while early "prototypes" of the 8.9 and 10.1 running Honeycomb with Samsung's TouchWiz 4.0 overlay were available for hands-on time, in order to demonstrate some of the software the company plans to include when the devices are released.

Why no demonstrations of the thinner, lighter, sexier Tabs?

Mar

Samsung Galaxy Line Of Devices Loaded With Goofy Silicon Art

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Galaxy S, Galaxy Tab, Off-Topic, Samsung

Off topic? Sure. Amusing? Quite. ChipWorks has cracked open a Samsung Galaxy Tab and Samsung Captivate (a Galaxy S device) to take a look at the chips inside, and found a surprising number of visual goodies packed within. Using some scanning electronic microscopy, they saw a message that reads "If you can read this, you are much too close." Much too close, indeed: the letter "o" in the message is less than 1/10th the thickness of a human hair.

But that was just the tip of the iceberg. They also found four other images in the chips, including "a fairly simple smiley face...

Mar

Samsung Reconsidering Galaxy Tab 10.1 Details In Light Of iPad 2

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Galaxy Tab 10.1, News

You'll find no Apple lovers around the Android Police offices, but even we have to admit that there's no excuse for Apple showing up the Android tablet scene's pricing. Unfortunately, that's exactly what's happened. With that in mind, it's perhaps not so surprising to hear that Samsung is re-evaluating their upcoming Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Aside from the likely price drop we'll see, they're also taking a critical eye to the physical characteristics of their tablet - specifically, they don't think it's thin enough to compete with the 8.8mm-thick iPad 2.

We've said it many, many times before: Apple products aren't for us, but that doesn't mean they don't manage to do some things right.

Feb

Official Gingerbread ROM Leaked For European And Asian Samsung Galaxy S i9000 Phones

Posted by David Ruddock in Development, Galaxy S, Gingerbread 2.3, News, Samsung

The XDA forums are on fire this afternoon after a user posted a thread linking to a Polish Android forum, claiming to contain a download for an official Gingerbread build for the Samsung Galaxy S i9000. Before you get too excited, let me reiterate: this is not for US devices, and I would not recommend trying it on your Captivate/Vibrant/Fascinate/Epic.

That said, the handy development community will get their paws on this and have a field day, so you may be seeing unofficial Gingerbread ROMs for US phones (aside from CyanogenMod 7) start floating around on XDA in the next week or so.

Feb

Samsung Galaxy S II i9100 Pre-Orders Are Live, Shipping In March?

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Galaxy S II, News

Could the ship date for Samsung's Galaxy S II i9100 be moved up to March? So says UK eTailer Clove, who has apparently had pre-orders open for some time now, with prices at £510 and £590 for the 16GB and 32GB versions. Surprisingly, it turns out they're not the only one with open doors - Mobile City Online is taking pre-orders for the i1900 as well, charging $700 with free shipping, with a ship date of Q1 2011 (which would be by the end of March). While Mobile City doesn't say whether that's the 16GB or 32GB version, Clove's prices would suggest that it's likely the 16GB.

Feb

[Rumor] Expansys Leaks Galaxy S 2, Desire HD2, Desire 2, and Wildfire 2 Spec Sheets

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Desire 2 (Saga), Desire HD2, Galaxy S II, HTC, News, Samsung, Wildfire S / Wildfire 2 (Marvel)

Last night, PocketNow landed their hands on some official spec sheet leaks from UK retailer Expansys, and the specs don't disappoint. Let's take a look:

Samsung Galaxy S 2

1.2 Ghz Dual-Core CPU (Qualcomm 8260 SnapDragon), Adreno 205 GPU
4.3" 800x480 SAMOLED Plus
8MP Camera around back (with LED flash and 1080p video recording), 2MP in front
512 MB RAM
16 GB internal storage, microSD card support

HTC Desire HD2

1.2 Ghz Dual-Core CPU (Qualcomm 8260 SnapDragon), Adreno 205 GPU
960x540 3.3" (typo? should it be 4.3"?) SLCD
8MP in back with LED flash and 1080p video
512MB RAM
8 GB internal storage, microSD support
Sense UI 3.0

HTC Desire 2

1 Ghz CPU (Qualcomm 8250 SnapDragon), Adreno 200 GPU
3.7" 800x480 SLCD
5MP rear camera (LED flash and 720p video), 2MP front
512 MB RAM
4 GB internal storage, microSD support

HTC Wildfire 2

600 Mhz CPU (Qualcomm MSM7227), Adreno 200 GPU
3.2" 480x420 TFT
5 MP rear camera (LED flash, 480p video)
384 MB RAM
Unspecified internal memory, microSD card support

All in all, some respectable specs from the Galaxy S 2 and DHD2, some run-of-the-mill specs for the Desire 2 (nearly identical CPU as the EVO), and some downright embarrassing kit on the Wildfire 2 (it won't even be able to run Flash).

Feb

T-Mobile Valentine's Sale: All Android Phones Free February 11-12

Posted by David Ruddock in Deals, News, T-Mobile

T-Mobile just announced their upcoming Valentine's Day sale: all smartphones will be free on a new 2-year agreement, upgrade, or the addition of a new line from February 11-12. This includes all two of T-Mobile's available HSPA+ devices: the G2 and myTouch 4G. Why this Valentine's day sale doesn't actually take place on Valentine's day is somewhat obvious: a slew of new Android handsets will probably be announced that day at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

If you're looking to get a solid Android handset (or "4G" subject to your definition) on the cheap, T-Mobile's deal is pretty attractive. Be wary, though - with devices like the Samsung Galaxy S 4G and likely others to be revealed at MWC, you may end up kicking yourself within days of your purchase.

Feb

Half-Baked Port Of Cyanogen Mod 7 Hits Galaxy Tab - Why This Is Hurting Android

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Development, Editorials

There's been exciting news floating around the blogosphere today of a "working" beta of CyanogenMod 7 for the Galaxy Tab being released. Just one caveat - it isn't really CyanogenMod 7.

Before I go onward with this rant, I want to make it crystal clear that I have nothing personally against the developer who ported CyanogenMod 7 to the Galaxy Tab, people like him (or her, of course) are part of the reason I love Android. But they're also part of the reason I have become increasingly frustrated with the custom ROM community's professionalism and ethical standards at large. Let me explain.