Samsung - 79/103 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Apr

Samsung Galaxy S Gingerbread Source Code Now Available For Download

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Development, Galaxy S, Gingerbread 2.3, News

I'm not sure what has gotten into the folks at Samsung as of late, but they seem to be on top of their game. They dropped the source code for the DROID Charge and Fascinate last week, the Gingerbread update for the Galaxy S started rolling out for European users this weekend, and this morning, the source code for the aforementioned 2.3 update hit the Open Source Developers Center. Ergo, we can almost certainly expect to see some custom Gingerbread ROMs for the Galaxy S in the coming weeks.

To download the source, head over to the Open Source Developers Center, search for "GT-I9000_OpenSource_GB.zip," download, and enjoy.

Apr

Fasten Your Seatbelts - Samsung To Release 2GHz Dual-Core Handset By Next Year

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in News, Samsung

Get ready to drool: a "high-ranking" Samsung executive recently told the Maeli Business Newspaper that Sammy is working on a smartphone that can lay claim to "performance levels matching desktop PCs" - in fact, the company is said to have a 2GHz dual-core handset in the offing. Mind you, that's not some multiplication game; rather, it's an admirable 2GHz on each core!

Better yet, the aforementioned company official also let slip that this smartphone will be released "by next year." Oh, and Samsung is reportedly considering selling the CPU units to other smartphone manufacturers, meaning that if all goes well, you could see the chip in, say, an HTC handset.

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?

Apr

[Rumor] Samsung To Continue Leaving Bootloaders Unlocked On Future Devices

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Development, News, Samsung

It appears that Samsung may be following in Sony's footsteps by actually giving users what they want where bootloaders are concerned. According to this tweet from Android app developer Supercurio, a source at Samsung has stated that bootloaders on future Sammy devices will be unlocked as long as Google doesn't require otherwise. If true, this means really good things for the dev community, who will never have to deal with the trials and tribulations that tech-savvy Motorola owners have had to face.

François went on to say that this may or may not apply to tablets, as they're "still young" and his source "doesn't know about bootloader plans for those devices."

Of course, as with any rumor, we question its validity.

Apr

Andy Is Green, Violets Are Blue, And With The Sprint Replenish, You Can Be Green Too

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Replenish, Samsung, Sprint

The Green movement seems to be on the rise with smartphones lately (remember the Motorola Citrus?) - Sprint announced today that it has teamed up with Samsung to do their part in helping out too. The first eco-friendly Android phone to hit its network will be the Samsung Replenish, made of 34.6% recycled plastic, sporting an energy efficient charger, and packaging made from 80% recycled material marked with soy ink.

It's a candybar style phone, with a 2.8 inch screen and a full keyboard, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, 2MP camera, a 2GB SD card, runs Android 2.2 and is powered by a 600MHz processor.

Apr

Samsung Is On A Roll: Two Kernel Source Code Releases In As Many Days (Droid Charge And Fascinate Froyo)

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Charge (i510), Development, Fascinate, News

We all know about the update woes that owners of Samsung handsets have faced over the past several months - owners of the VZW Fascinate are still waiting on their update to Froyo. It looks that wait may be coming to an end as the source code has finally shown up on Samsung's Open Source Release Center. Even if the official OTA doesn't hit phones soon, you can rest assured that XDA devs will be hard at work hacking and compiling this source, so you'll be able to enjoy all of the Froyo goodness that you can handle soon enough.

Apr

Samsung Droid Charge's Price Tag Shows Up - Sit Down Before You Read It

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Charge (i510), News, Samsung, Verizon Wireless

Are you sitting down? Assuming you're reading this on your PC, I would imagine that you are. Unless, of course, you have a standing desk, in which case I urge you to sit down. We've seen it pop up on the web but haven't really heard anything about its price. This time, however, it looks like it made an in-store appearance at Walmart and brought a price tag along with it. Are you ready for this? $298.88 with a two-year agreement. No, that's not a typo.

Releasing a phone that's already somewhat behind the curve at this price is just ridiculous.

Apr

Samsung DROID Charge Shows Up On Walmart Site, Still Unannounced

Posted by David Ruddock in Charge (i510), Samsung

Verizon's doing about as well keeping the Charge under wraps as Sprint did with the EVO Shift 4G - and now, the Samsung DROID has shown up on Walmart's online wireless store, albeit only in the form of a stock photo:

For a phone that's still unannounced (technically), and reportedly being released tomorrow, Verizon doesn't seem too concerned with generating fanfare for its second LTE device.

After the release date flip-flopping on the Thunderbolt, it wouldn't surprise in the least if the Charge was facing a [sort of expected] minor delay.

Droid-life

Apr

Wirefly Launches Pre-order Deals For T-Mobile's LG G2x ($50 Off) And Samsung Sidekick 4G ($20 Off), Both Shipping April 20th

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Deals, G2x (p999), LG, Samsung, Sidekick 4G, T-Mobile

Last Updated: April 20th, 2011

2 of T-Mobile's most exciting devices that are arriving this month, the dual-core LG G2x and the Samsung Sidekick 4G, have just gone live on Wirefly's pre-order site. Wirefly, one of the largest online mobile retailers, is sweetening the deal on the G2x by $50 compared to MSRP and on the Sidekick 4G (pick black or pink) by $20.

Both devices come with free activation for the pre-order period and, of course, ship for free as well. Mark April 20th in your calendar if you make an order, as that's the date both of these bad boys are set to ship on.

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.