Samsung - 41/103 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Apr

Samsung Canada Announces ICS Upgrades For Various Galaxy S II, Tab, and Note Models; The Only Thing Standing In The Way Now Is Your Carrier

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Galaxy Note (GT-N7000), Galaxy S II, Galaxy S II LTE HD, Galaxy Tab 10.1, Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, Galaxy Tab 8.9, Galaxy Tab Seven, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, Samsung

Samsung Canada has finished porting Ice Cream Sandwich to a whole bunch of devices, which in Samsung press release parlance means they are "eligible" for an upgrade. Does that mean you can hit that "update" button today and start downloading ICS? Well, that's complicated.

First though, the list of devices:

GALAXY S II
GALAXY S II LTE
GALAXY S II LTE HD
GALAXY S II X
GALAXY Note
GALAXY Tab 7.0
GALAXY Tab 7.0 Plus
GALAXY Tab 8.9
GALAXY Tab 10.1

Now, for the caveats: Sammy says "The upgrade will be available today on select devices in Canada and will continue rolling out to devices and carriers throughout the quarter." and "The availability of the software upgrade and specific models upgradable to Android 4.0 will vary by market and wireless carriers' requirements.

Apr

Galaxy Player 3.6 Review: Well, It Runs Android, So I Guess There's That

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Galaxy Player 3.6, Other Reviews, Reviews

Last Updated: May 1st, 2012

The iPod may be dead, baby, dead, but that hasn't stopped Samsung from trying to enter the PMP market. The company's latest iterations of its Player line, the Galaxy Player 3.6 and 4.2, has landed and, not to put anything indelicately, but we're left to wonder why Samsung chose to enter this market, or what the company hopes to accomplish. After using the device for a few days, we're sure it's not going to shake up the media player market.

Before we take a look at this device, though, it seems like it would be appropriate to answer the question "Why?" The most direct corollary to this device is the iPod Touch.

Apr

Sprint's Galaxy Nexus Gets Treated To CM9 Nightlies, ClockworkMod Recovery

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Development, Galaxy Nexus, News, Sprint

Despite recent reports of data connectivity issues, it looks like owners of Sprint's Galaxy Nexus have a couple of things to be excited about as we head into the new week.

First off, the CyanogenMod team has begun cooking up CM9 Nightlies for the device, offering users a nightly dose of cutting-edge, ICS-powered code.

Additionally, the Sprint-connected Nexus is now privvy to its own builds of ClockworkMod's recovery solution – both touch and otherwise.

With official CyanogenMod nightly builds and access to what is widely considered one of the most popular recovery options available, it looks like Sprint's Galaxy Nexus is already off to a great start in the modding community.

Apr

Some Sprint Galaxy Nexus Owners Are Experiencing Data Connection Problems, Sprint/Samsung Working On A Fix

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News, Sprint

If you're on the Sprint network, and you're thinking about upgrading to the Galaxy Nexus, you might want to hold off for a bit. Some users in Sprint's forums are reporting that they are unable to connect to Sprint's 3G data network, instead only able to get data via WiFi. Ouch.

Said one user, who attached the above screenshot:

I've attached a screen shot from RF Signal Tracker.

It shows EVDO-A is available and a "Network State" of "CONNECTING"

Every now and then it will get a data connection and the network state changes to CONNECTED, but that will only last for a few seconds. It doesn't matter if I'm in an area with 2bars or 5 bars, same results. I've tried toggling all of the differnt options under Mobile Networks.

Apr

Samsung Announces 1.4GHz Exynos 4 Quad: A Quad-Core Processor Destined To Power The "Next Galaxy Smartphone"

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in News, Samsung

Completely out of the blue Samsung has officially outed its next generation system-on-a-chip (SoC). The Exynos 4 Quad is very much what it sounds like: an updated version of the previous dual-core Exynos chip with four cores instead of two. Each core will be clocked to 1.4GHz, much like the last generation, and it is still going to be based on ARM's Cortex-A9 architecture.

I expected that Samsung would be moving to Cortex-A15 to more adequately compete with Snapdragon S4 and its Krait cores. Perhaps the 32nm manufacturing process, High-K Gate technology, dynamic voltage control, and advanced power management in the Exynos 4 Quad will make up for that.

Apr

[Deal Alert] Samsung Galaxy Note N7000 Just $519.99 On eBay Daily Deals

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Deals, Galaxy Note (GT-N7000), News

Does your pocket feel too empty with that pathetically small phone in it? What you need is a bigger phone at a reasonable price. It just so happens that the Samsung Galaxy Note is on sale through eBay's Daily Deals today, and even better, it's the unlocked HSPA+ version. For the price of $519.99, you can get the device delivered to your door at no additional cost. That's even better than the last deal at $550.

With the Note spreading across the globe like a flu pandemic, it can be hard to keep track of which version of the phone is which.

Apr

Samsung Galaxy S III Makes A Cameo In Kies, Confirms GSIII Name And GT-I9300 Model Number

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Galaxy S III, Leaks, News

Well, what do you know - another Galaxy S III leak! Only this time, it's directly from the source. You see, the Galaxy S III has made an appearing in Samsung's own program used to manage its mobile devices, called Kies.

This basically verifies two bits of information: the device name and model number. There have been rumors that Samsung may call it something different and make it more of an incremental upgrade to the S II, but unless there's a change of heart between now and the release, it looks like it's officially going to be called the GSIII.

Apr

Galaxy Note For T-Mobile Spotted In The Wild, Probably Not Difficult Since It's Visible From Space

Posted by David Ruddock in Galaxy Note (GT-N7000), News, T-Mobile

OK, as much as I like to make fun of the Note, it's actually a pretty awesome phone that a lot of people want, and so news that it's coming to T-Mobile is nothing to scoff at. Photos published by TmoNews all but confirm the gargantuan Galaxy is headed to America's pinkest (and leatheriest) carrier, giving credence to a UA string and some FCC filings unearthed last week. Check out this shot, taken from miles above the earth's surface by a top-secret spy satellite:

Joking aside, this (and the other images at TmoNews) clearly show that the Note will be available on T-Mobile (running Android 4.0, no less) sooner rather than later, which is definitely a reason for Note fans to get excited.

Apr

[Lightning Review] Samsung EHS-71 Earbuds: Great Materials Do Not Equal Great Sound

Posted by David Ruddock in Other Reviews, Reviews, Samsung

Last Updated: April 27th, 2012

There comes a time in every multinational electronics conglomerate's life when it tries to get into personal audio. Samsung isn't a particular stranger to the home theater side of sound, and some of its soundbar products actually review pretty decently. But a high-end headphone manufacturer, Samsung ain't. Search "samsung headphones" on Amazon, and you'll struggle to find anything costing more than $20.

The EHS71 is Samsung's first attempt to break into the premium earbud market. And, well, let's just cut to the chase: it's a wash. While marketing buzzwords like "lightweight aircraft aluminum," "high-performance balanced armature drivers," and "ultra micro design" may be able to sell the EHS71's on paper, the sad reality is that these premium buds are all show, no go in the audio department.

Apr

Official Samsung Mobile Unpacked 2012 App Hits The Play Store – Track (And Watch) Sammy's "Next Galaxy" Event From Your Device

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Applications, News, Samsung

Samsung Mobile, as part of what has certainly been an epic lead-up to a new flagship so far, released an official Unpacked 2012 companion app to Google's Play Store today, bringing some awesome functionality both to those lucky enough to attend the event and everyone else.

One of the most impressive features of the app is that it allows users to watch the event in real time. This means users can watch the unveiling of the "Next Galaxy" live no matter where they are. The app will also show the new product's details, an official press release, and give helpful venue and transportation maps, as well as a map of London.