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Jan

Samsung's Budget-Minded Galaxy Mini Revealed, Has Froyo - Cue Angry Mob

Posted by David Ruddock in Galaxy Mini (Tass), Galaxy Q, News

We won't lie - it's a slow news day in the world of Android. And with all the bad press Samsung's been getting today over an alleged filing of a class-action suit regarding the Froyo update on US Galaxy S phones, we're going to stay on the lighter side of things (for now).

Meet the Samsung Galaxy Mini. Isn't it adorable? Unfortunately, its diminutive size comes with an equally diminutive feature list:

240x320 screen (presumably less than or about 3" in size)
Android 2.2.1
Bluetooth 3.0
Device measures 4.3" x 2.4" approximately
microSD slot
TouchWiz UI

I can't imagine there's a Hummingbird buzzing inside this little guy, so it'll be interesting to see if the TouchWiz UI overlay makes the phone unbearably slow.

Jan

Editorial: The Nexus One: One Year Later

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Editorials, Google, Nexus One (Passion)

It doesn't seem like it, but just a year and a few days ago, Google made available the first handset to bear the Nexus name - and what a long way we've come since. When the Nexus One was released, there were cries of "iPhone killer" and of Google entering the handset arena in direct competition with Apple. While the latter assertion remains debatable - the first does not. The Nexus One was a near-total commercial failure next to the iPhone 3GS, and even the original Motorola DROID ate the Nexus One for breakfast in terms of sales.

But the Nexus One changed so much about Android, and the design philosophies of the phones that followed it.

Jan

Google Acknowledges Nexus S Reboot Issue

Posted by Josh Cooter in Google, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Samsung

If you were one of the early adopters of the Samsung Nexus S, chances are you have been plagued by the highly obnoxious reboot syndrome experienced during daily phone calls. Upon making or receiving a phone call, the phone will suddenly and unexpectedly go black and reboot for no apparent reason. Up until recently, Nexus S owners have felt ignored by Google in regards to this issue. Previously, Google has qualified their negligible stance on the issue with claims that the issue was not with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, but instead Samsung's fault because of the hardware itself. All of the concern growing in the community forum seems to have gained their attention now; however, and Google has successfully replicated the issue in order to issue a fix.

Dec

Google's Nexus S Now Officially On Sale At Best Buy: $200 With Contract

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Gingerbread 2.3, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), T-Mobile

As promised, Google's Samsung-made Nexus S went on sale today at 8 a.m. at Best Buy stores across the United States (online sales start at 8 a.m. EST). Google's flagship phone - the first to natively run Android 2.3 - retails at $199.99 with a 2-year T-Mobile contract or $529.99 unlocked and without a contract. To promote the release of the phone, Best Buy is offering free overnight shipping if you choose to buy this phone online.

The recently unveiled device is a modified version of the Samsung Galaxy S and sports a 4.0" WVGA "Contour Display" SAMOLED screen, 1 GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird processor, 16 GB of internal storage, HD video playback, a gyroscope sensor and NFC support.

Dec

T-Mobile UK Delays Android 2.2 Update For Samsung Galaxy S Devices Yet Again After Announcing It Was Ready

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Froyo 2.2, Galaxy S, News, Samsung, T-Mobile

T-Mobile UK is certainly digging itself into a ditch on this one, and seriously pissing customers off in the process. You can't really blame people for being upset: after promising the Froyo update for Samsung Galaxy S owners by November 30 via FOTA, then reiterating just two days ago that the update was ready to roll out, they've now pushed it back at least a week. Turns out they're also not going to be able to do it over-the-air, either - rather, it's going to be installed with Samsung KIES instead. The official post on T-Mobile UK's support forum:

Hi folks

I've been talking to the handset team and the Samsung people today and the latest news is as follows.

Nov

First CyanogenMod 6.1 Build For Samsung Galaxy S GT-i9000 Released In Beta Form

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Development, Galaxy S, News

We have good news and bad news (x2), world. The good: the first CM6.1 build for the Samsung Galaxy S has been released. The first (and worst) bit of bad news: at this point, it looks like it's for the GT-i9000 only, and not the US versions of the SGS (though I'm no dev, so I'm not positive). The other bad news: this is apparently a very bug-laden release ("Holy crap, it's full of BUGS!").

Developers codeworkx and coolya have been working on this for quite some time, while keeping the very impatient SGS owners regularly updated on their progress via the CM forums.

Oct

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

Posted by Aaron Gingrich 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.

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.

Aug

Holy Turbochargers Batman: Speed Up Your Galaxy S With LagFix BETA

Posted by David Ruddock in Galaxy S

Galaxy Not-So “S”

Is your Galaxy S a little laggy (experiences stutters, delays) at times, even on Froyo? It’s not your imagination; your phone’s internal storage is probably the culprit, and LagFix addresses the problem quite cleverly, helping you put the “S” back in your Galaxy.

As you probably know, Galaxy S phones boast either 8GB and 16GB of internal memory. Pretty hefty for an Android phone (the most spacious available, in fact). And yet, the Galaxy S is no more expensive than any comparable, high-end Android phone. So, how did Samsung do it?

Your Galaxy S’s cavernous capacity is owed to Samsung’s choice to use internal SD (rather than Flash EEPROM, HTC’s favored storage method) for system, app and data storage.

Jul

Samsung Handing Out Free Galaxy S Phones To Disgruntled iPhone 4 Users On Twittter?

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

Are you still death gripping your phone into oblivion, wishing that your signal would maintain long enough to make just one call? Don’t worry we hear you, and apparently, so do the folks over at Samsung!

There have been a few tweets flying around Samsung’s UK twitter page lately, handing out free Galaxy S phones to five lucky British individuals. Before you all rush to Twitter and start sending tweets out to Samsung though, you should probably know that all may not be how it seems.

Engadget has done some investigatory work on the people who have supposedly received these free devices, and found that at least four of the five people receiving the device are involved in marketing or publishing.

Jun

Samsung Galaxy S Launching Simultaneously In 110 Countries

Posted by John Thompson in Devices By Manufacturer, Galaxy S, News, Samsung

With the launch of Samsung’s Galaxy S just around the corner, Korea IT Times are reporting that Samsung plan to release the device at the same time in 110 countries around the world.

If reports of an Asian release date in June are accurate, this probably means that you’ll be able to get your hands on the Galaxy S in the next few weeks, regardless of whereabouts in the world you are.

This certainly comes as a surprise, following claims from Verizon’s CEO, Lowell McAdam, that Samsung can’t manufacturer enough AMOLED displays to support demand for the Droid Incredible.

galaxy s

Launching the Galaxy S, which uses the same AMOLED display, in 110 countries at the same time certainly goes some way to discrediting those claims, and is undoubtedly a publicity stunt to show that production of AMOLED displays is just fine.