25
Mar
image

It looks like users of Samsung's Galaxy SII Skyrocket are getting a chance at some Ice Cream Sandwich goodness a little sooner than anticipated – earlier this evening, RootzWiki posted a leaked build of ICS for the Skyrocket, dated March 14th. From the build.prop, it would seem that this may be the official release build, but of course there's no way of being positive.

ro.build.description=SGH-I727-user 4.0.3 IML74K 107 release-keys
ro.build.fingerprint=samsung/SGH-I727/SGH-I727:4.0.3/IML74K/107:user/release-keys
ro.build.characteristics=default

3-25-2012 11-41-16 PM 3-25-2012 11-40-12 PM 3-25-2012 11-40-38 PM

Those with Windows and a copy of Odin can download and flash away. RootzWiki assures Mac and Linux users, however, that a solution is on the way. If you're tired of reading and want to get ICS on your Skyrocket already, just hit the download link below.

23
Dec
verizon-galaxy-nexus-front-
Last Updated: January 23rd, 2012

In our biggest giveaway yet, we're handing out a whole boatload of awesome Samsung Android products - including the Verizon Galaxy Nexus, T-Mobile Galaxy Tab 10.1, and the T-Mobile Galaxy S II. Also included are the Captivate Glide and the Exhibit II 4G, all courtesy of our friends at Samsung's Mobile US division. This contest is open to US entrants only (they're US-only devices and Samsung USA is sponsoring, sorry guys).

This contest is now over. Here are our winners, selected at random:
  • Galaxy Nexus: Jason Kennedy
  • T-Mobile Galaxy Tab 10.1: Daniel James
  • T-Mobile SGS II: Neal Gompa
  • T-Mobile Exhibit II 4G: Joshua Holt
  • AT&T Captivate Glide: Rob Lightner

Congratulations, guys - all of you will be contacted for your information in the near future!

30
Aug
Sprint_SPH-d710_front

The official Galaxy S II press conference has only just begun (it's streaming live now), but all 3 carriers we've been expecting to see the S II on - Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile - have already sent out their press releases.

The Galaxy SII is already available in Europe and Korea, debuting as Samsung's fastest selling smartphone to date. The 3 variants in the U.S. will share many of the same specs, but some aspects, such as the screen sizes, battery capacities, and mobile radios, will be different.

Here are some of the common specs:

  • Blazing fast 1.2GHz dual-core Exynos processor
  • Super AMOLED Plus display
  • 8MP camera capable of 1080p video - the S II takes some of the best video we've seen on any phone
  • 2MP front-facing camera
  • 16GB built-in storage
  • microSD card slot with support for 32GB
  • HDMI out at 1080p
  • Android 2.3 (most likely 2.3.4)
  • 4G of some kind (HSPA+ on T-Mobile and AT&T, WiMax on Sprint)
  • 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi
  • On-device encryption of user data
  • Voice Talk voice commands (this is not the same as Google Voice Search)
  • Screen Capture built right in (press the Power+Home keys simultaneously)

One specific spec worth highlighting is Samsung's Exynos processor, which should be quite a bit faster than the Tegra 2 that most dual-core phones have been using so far (with the exception of the TI OMAP on a few models).

28
Aug
image

Whoosh - looks like we can take the report of upgrades to the already impressive Galaxy S II and the upcoming Tab 8.9 from the rumor bucket and place it carefully on top of the confirmed stack. In fact, the rumor was not only spot-on regarding everything Samsung just officially announced, it even had more information that Samsung didn't cover, which means some details will keep the rumor tag until we find out more.

image

Galaxy S II LTE

First up, the Galaxy S II LTE (hilariously misspelled as LITE in the official blog post in one place - it's anything but lite) is not only gaining an LTE radio, it's indeed getting bumped from 1.2GHz to 1.5GHz - still dual-core, of course.

12
May
SGS2_4k_quadrant

XDA member and SetCPU developer coolbho3000 has managed to take an already great (and quick) device, and made it a little better by overclocking it to 1.5GHz. It may not be the fastest overclock we've seen in raw hertz, but it is the fastest we've seen in terms of actual computing power. Remember when the XOOM was overclocked to 1.5GHz? It snagged a 2854 in Quadrant. The SGSII: 4062.

SGS2_4k_quadrant SGS2_linpack

Yes, they're synthetic benchmarks. We know. They still serve a purpose, people.

He even managed to push it as high as 2GHz, though in his testing 1.5GHz was as high as he could go without sacrificing stability.

25
Feb
gal_s_2_1

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.

11
Feb
gals2

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).