Kies - 4/5 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Nov

Gingerbread Update Now Available For The T-Mobile Galaxy S 4G

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Galaxy S 4G, News, T-Mobile

Galaxy S 4G owners, the wait is finally over - Gingerbread is officially available for your device. Samsung threw a couple more fixes into the mix as well, like a Google security patch (vague, I know), camera enhancements, and Wi-Fi enhancements.

Unfortunately, this one won't be coming to your device over-the-air, so you'll have to install Kies Mini and grab the USB cable in order to pull it.

The entire process seems to be pretty cut-and-dried, so it should go off without a hitch. For full instructions, changelog, and other info, check out T-Mobile's Software Upgrade page.

Sep

Rogers Galaxy S Captivate Receives Its Gingerbread Update

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Captivate, Gingerbread 2.3, News, Rogers, Samsung

Yesterday, we started receiving reports that the official Gingerbread update (reportedly version 2.3.3) for the Samsung Galaxy S Captivate on Rogers is finally here.

The update isn't showing up on Rogers' own website yet (under the Support tab), but if you go through Samsung's Kies upgrade software (go here, click Support, then Download), you should find it sitting in plain view, itching to jump over to your device.

Galaxy S users, if you've upgraded, let us know how it went and if you experienced any issues.

Thanks, Antonio and others

Jun

Samsung Updates Kies For Mac Beta To Include Galaxy Tab 10.1 Support

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Samsung

If you're a Mac user who scooped up the recently released Galaxy Tab 10.1, then there's little doubt you've already had to deal with some frustrations - like the fact that you couldn't even access the device's internal storage from your computer. Fortunately, Samsung pushed an update to Kies for Mac Beta that adds Galaxy Tab 10.1 support, so you can finally start loading it up with all of your favorite on-the-go goodies.

While this update does bring some welcome features, you still won't be able to use it upgrade your devices firmware. Of course, this can still be done over Wi-Fi, so you're not left completely in the cold.

Jun

Samsung Shows OS X Users Some Love, Releases Kies For Mac Beta (Finally)

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Samsung

If you own a Samsung phone or tablet, there's a good chance that you've heard of Kies, Samsung's proprietary synchronization software. If you're also a Mac user, I'd be willing to bet that you're familiar with the frustration of Kies' Windows exclusivity.

Good news, though - the days of booting into Windows just to sync some data or grab an update are over, as Samsung finally released a version of Kies for Mac. Beware, though - this software is beta, so you'll probably experience some bugs. Also, the initial version only supports two devices: the Galaxy S II and the Galaxy Tab - so if you're not holding one or the other, you'll have to wait for Sammy to push an update that supports your device.

May

Galaxy S And Tab To Get Gingerbread According To "Regional Plan" - Whatever The Hell That Means

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

Samsung has just announced via press release its plans to officially update its Galaxy S line of phones (yep, including North American ones) to Gingerbread starting this week, with the UK and Scandinavian countries first on the list to get the Ginger-bump. Samsung has again remained characteristically ambiguous about exactly which Galaxy S devices will be eligible (and when) for the update directly from Kies, Samsung's device management software.

It's entirely unclear if "North American" Galaxy S phones include the heavily carrier-customized versions of the device in the United States (Captivate, Fascinate, Vibrant, Epic), or merely unbranded Canadian versions of the phone and European imports that have snuck their way onto US shores.

Apr

Surprise, Surprise - Gingerbread Update For Galaxy S "Temporarily Suspended"

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Galaxy S, Gingerbread 2.3, Samsung, Vodafone

Don't tell us you didn't see this one coming: Samsung's Gingerbread update for the Galaxy S has been "temporarily suspended." Great.

This time, the abeyance was actually brought about by Google - apparently, the update includes "an issue," though Vodafone claims that their variant of the device is not affected. Nonetheless, the 2.3 software is no longer available from KIES, and won't be until it is "reinstated" (which will happen "as soon as possible").

In the meantime, well, you can look forward to hearing your Galaxy S-wielding friends bemoan Sammy's unreliable updates... again.

Source: Vodafone Forums via Engadget

Apr

Samsung Delivers Gingerbread-y Goodness To European Galaxy S Owners

Posted by Chris Dehghanpoor in Android OS, Devices By Manufacturer, Galaxy S, Gingerbread 2.3, News, Samsung

When it comes to timely Android updates, Samsung's reputation has been less than spectacular, so I was fairly surprised to see that a Gingerbread rollout was taking place for select European Galaxy S owners right on schedule.

That's right, according to users on the revered XDA-Developers forum, the update began rolling out late last night (late for the US at least) via Samsung's Kies software - provided you live in Holland or Germany. Forum user 'downunder30' was nice enough to post some information about the update:

http://i56.tinypic.com/5kpmyp.png
PDA JVB Phone JVK CSC JV3
Baseband is I9000XXJVK
Kernel version 2.6.35.7-I9000XWJVB-CL118186
root@DELL102 #2
Build number GINGERBREAD.XWJVB
Firmware Version 2.3.3
File System RFS
Build date is Fri APR 8 16:39:27 KST 2011
http://i53.tinypic.com/149wdhw.jpg
Lights are always on for me

It seems that they're staggering the release for the rest of Europe, so try not to wear your mouse button out while constantly checking for updates, ok?

Feb

It's Official: Samsung Captivate Froyo Update Now Available Through Kies Mini

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in AT&T, Captivate, Froyo 2.2, News

It looks like the Captivate is the next domino to fall, much as expected: AT&T just confirmed via twitter that the Froyo update is now available for Captivate owners through Kies Mini. Similarly, that support page we stumbled upon last week before being pulled has gone back up, and it looks just like it did then.

Obviously as the update is done through Kies Mini, you'll need that to start. Once you've got Kies all ready to go, you need to do a minor amount of jiggering to get the update installed. Not quite as easy as most OTAs, but nothing too strenuous either.

Dec

Samsung UK Says Froyo Update Now Available For All UK Networks

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Android OS, Carriers, Froyo 2.2, Galaxy S, News

Fresh off the presses (read: Twitter), @SamsungUK has just tweeted saying that Android 2.2 (Froyo) is now available for the Samsung Galaxy S "on all networks." As this is SamsungUK,I'm guessing that means in the UK only, but I've tweeted back asking for clarification just in case - although whether I hear anything back is dubious at best. Regardless, I'll post here once we have some clarification. It looks like the update will have to be applied manually, through Samsung's KIES software.

To anyone unfamiliar with the situation, this update has been a long time coming after having been delayed a few times - which would explain why people were fairly pissed.

Dec

T-Mobile UK's Samsung Galaxy S Now Receiving Froyo Update Over The Air, T-Mobile US Still Sleeping At The Wheel

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Froyo 2.2, Galaxy S, News, Samsung, T-Mobile

While Galaxy S owners here in the States are still (im)patiently awaiting the update to Android 2.2, it looks like users on T-Mobile UK's network are already enjoying the wonders of Froyo. Yes, the update that was initially scheduled for September is only now rolling out.

Luckily, T-Mobile's European brother has (slightly) sweetened the deal with a nice twist - although the update was originally supposed to be made available exclusively through Samsung's Kies software for Windows-based PCs, the carrier has seen fit to add an OTA version into the mix. That doesn't mean Kies has been completely left out of the fun, though - if "reasons out of our [T-Mobile's] control" interfere with the OTA update, users can still hook their phones up to their (Windows-based) computers, start up Kies, and download the update in the same manner most other European carriers are having users do.