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Apr

Samsung Galaxy S II Invading The UK On May 1, Bringing 1.2GHz Of Firepower With It

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

In a press release sent out this morning, Samsung has announced that the Galaxy S II will be hitting UK shelves on May 1 - and that it will be targeting all major networks and retailers. The flagship of Samsung's Mobile Division has had its armament upped prior to release, cranking the device's dual-core Exynos processor to an impressive 1.2GHz.

We got to spend a little time with the Galaxy S II at CTIA last month, and the device's slim proportions (8.49mm thick) and light weight were difficult to believe in light of its dual-core status - it's a stealth fighter among jumbo jets like the ATRIX or BIONIC.

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

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...

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

HTC Desire HD, Desire Z, Incredible S Set To Join The Gingerbread Club, But...

Posted by David Ruddock in Desire HD (Ace), Desire Z (Vision), EVO Shift 4G (Speedy), G2 (Vision), Gingerbread 2.3, HTC, Incredible S (Vivo), Merge, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

SlashGear has confirmed with HTC today that the Desire HD, Desire Z, and Incredible S (along with the standard Desire) will be receiving the bump to Gingerbread some time in the second quarter of this year. But, there's a potential caveat: US phones might not be included.

It remains unknown if HTC was also referring to carrier-branded versions of the aforementioned devices in its statement, and if it was, if those devices would be receiving updates at the same time as their unlocked, HTC-branded siblings. Phones in this category include the HTC Thunderbolt and Inspire 4G (both based on the Desire HD), as well as T-Mobile's G2, the EVO Shift 4G, and possibly the HTC Merge (all based on the Desire Z).

Feb

Vodafone Makes It Official: Nexus S Launching Worldwide In Black And White

Posted by Stephen Tenerowicz in Google, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Vodafone

Vodafone has officially announced they will be launching a black and white Nexus S on contract in 24 countries worldwide. Vodafone, which was one of Google's first carrier partners for the Nexus One, has listed the device as "coming soon" on their website. This should bump Nexus S sales a bit in the UK as up until now, the Google-branded handset was only available in the UK unlocked.

At this point, we do not have any details on a price or probable launch date, but look for this device soon. For those interested, hit the source link for more details.

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.

Jan

Samsung Releases Figures For 2010: Over 10 Million Galaxy S Phones Sold, Tab Sales Mysteriously Absent

Posted by David Ruddock in Galaxy Tab, News, Samsung

Early this morning (or late last night if you want to get technical), Samsung made its quarterly earnings call, and the company's mobile division is doing quite well - profits are up 38%, thanks in large part to the Galaxy S line of phones.

Samsung managed to sell over 10 million Galaxy S handsets in 2010, comprising roughly a third of all the manufacturer's smartphone sales. Given the Galaxy S's global launch along with its premium hardware and fair pricing, it's no surprise that device has been a big hit. But what about the Galaxy Tab?

Since its release, the smallish tablet has received mixed reviews (though our own Aaron Gingrich thoroughly enjoyed it), and given its treatment by some of the major tech blogs, "mixed" is putting it politely:

This thing is just a mess.

Jan

Are Samsung Galaxy S Froyo Updates Being Held Back Because Of Cost?

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

Last Updated: August 13th, 2011

A few weeks ago, Samsung USA tweeted that Froyo updates for the Galaxy S phones are being delayed due to further testing. Then, just 4 days ago, AndroidSPIN reported that the Vibrant update (if not others) wasn't rolling out so that the Vibrant wouldn't steal the Vibrant 4G+'s thunder. And now the saga continues, as a new anonymous source has stepped forth to clarify the issue.

Reportedly an insider who has stepped "... across the NDAs [to] explain the issues behind the Android Froyo update to the Samsung Galaxy S phones in the United States," he/she says: