Samsung - 84/102 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Feb

Support Page For Samsung Captivate Froyo Upgrade Secretly Goes Up - Update Imminent?

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in AT&T, Captivate, Froyo 2.2, News, Samsung

Update: Just like that, the page has been pulled! Hopefully we'll still see the update soon - it'd be embarrassing to have this drama drag on any longer.

Looks like Kies Mini is the path Samsung has decided to take with the Galaxy S Froyo updates (at least in the US) - first, the Vibrant got its 2.2 fix via the Windows-only software, and now it appears that the Captivate will soon join the club. That's right: according to a recently published page on Samsung's own support site, Android 2.2 for the Captivate will roll out via Kies Mini rather than a standard OTA method.

Feb

[Updated] Samsung Galaxy S II Goes Official At MWC: Gingerbread, Dual-Core 1GHz, 1GB RAM, TouchWiz 4.0, NFC, HSPA+21

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Galaxy S II, News, Samsung

MWC has officially started, and one of the first press conferences of this massive mobile event is from Samsung, still going on live as I'm writing this. Samsung's first announcement: Galaxy S II, which was fully expected to be revealed based on various leaks and Samsung's own preview ads throughout the past few weeks.

Update: Unconfirmed word on the street is that the S 2 will be carried by only T-Mo and AT&T.

Update #2: Samsung launched the official Galaxy S II site.

Update #3: The full press conference video is now available here: http://bcove.me/3zv3basr.

So, what is the Galaxy S 2?

Feb

Android Intervention, Part 1 Of 4: Why Google Needs To Rein In Updates

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Android OS, Editorials, News

I think it's safe to say that Android is the best thing to happen to smartphones since the iPhone (though, I'll admit, I may be a wee bit biased). Without a doubt, the massive success of the operating system is due in large part to its openness; the ability for devices to share fundamental code, while still allowing for an amazing amount of customization, has provided something for consumers, carriers, and manufacturers that Apple would never match. And it's for that reason that Android has taken off on such an unbelievable scale, clocking nearly 900% growth in 2010.

But despite all the things Android does great (and the list is definitely long), there are still a few places where it falls short.

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

Motorola XOOM Coming To Best Buy On February 24th, HTC Thunderbolt On February 14th

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in News, Thunderbolt (Mecha), XOOM

A short while ago, the Best Buy Grand Rapids Facebook page prematurely posted a status update indicating the release dates of the Motorola XOOM tablet and the HTC Thunderbolt.

The status update suggests that the Motorola XOOM will be available for sale at Best Buy from February 24, while the HTC Thunderbolt will be available starting February 14 (the day after Mobile World Congress 2011 officially kicks off). Additionally, the Verizon iPhone 4 will be coming to Best Buy on February 10, and the Samsung Presto 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot will be available from February 17.

A Facebook page of a Best Buy outlet does not seem like the most appropriate place to disseminate information on release dates; however, we have also received independent confirmation from a reliable source indicating that the HTC Thunderbolt will go on sale online on or around the date mentioned in the Facebook message.

Feb

Super LCD-Packing Samsung Galaxy SL Official, Could Replace GT-i9000 In Some Regions

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Galaxy SL, News, Samsung

I must admit that I was very skeptical of this morning's Samsung GT-i9003 rumors, simply because they involved a Galaxy S successor with a Super LCD display. This seemed suspicious to me because Samsung has spent a lot of time hyping up Super AMOLED, but it turns out the rumors are true - the Galaxy SL, or the i9003, is now official.

Besides the addition of the aforementioned Super Clear LCD screen, the SL differentiates itself with a 1GHz TI OMAP 3630 CPU; the original Galaxy S devices were powered by a 1GHz Cortex A8 "Hummingbird" processor. The phone will also ship with Android 2.2, 16 GB of internal storage, and a 1650 mAh battery (the GT-i9000 had a 1500 mAh unit) - all in a 9.9mm frame (the i9000's thickness was 10.59mm).

Feb

Samsung Galaxy S 4G, T-Mobile's Fastest Smartphone Yet, Launching Later This Month Alongside An Expanded HSPA+ Network

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Galaxy S 4G, News, Samsung, T-Mobile

Following several wild conspiracy theories, a smattering of purported leaks and rumors, and an odd semi-announcement a few weeks ago, T-Mobile and Samsung have finally revealed the full specifications of their latest smartphone, the Galaxy S 4G.

While it's not exactly revolutionary, it does pack some unique goodies - most importantly, T-Mobile claims its Samsung ST-Ericsson M5720 HPSA+ 4G modem makes it capable of theoretical peak download speeds of 21 Mbps, whereas the G2 and myTouch 4G are limited to 14.4 Mbps. As an added bonus, T-Mobile just announced that it's expanding its HSPA+ network - it is now available in eight new major metropolitan areas.

Feb

New Official Froyo ROM (DL30) For Samsung Fascinate Leaked Completely Unchanged - Bloatware And All

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Fascinate, Froyo 2.2, News, Samsung, Verizon Wireless

We have some somewhat good news for Fascinate owners: a new, official, very final-looking Froyo build DL30 for the Samsung Fascinate has been leaked, and it's been released completely unmolested (short of pre-rooting it). Even the bloatware has been left intact.

Obviously, the silver lining here is that we can see that Samsung and Verizon are making progress, and this could be a sign that the update is closer to being ready to roll out. (Then again, that could just be naïve optimism.) On the flip side, the only people who will find this immediately useful are the ones who are rooted, and those people are probably already running a custom Froyo ROM already (and likely one without the bloat).

Feb

Gingerwhat? You Can Start Forgetting About Those Galaxy S Updates Now - Samsung Teases Next-Gen Galaxy S

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Galaxy S, Galaxy S II, News, Samsung, Videos

Whether you believe the rumors about Samsung's Android upgrade plans or not doesn't really matter - the company has proven again and again that when it comes to older devices (read: released more than 3-4 months), your chances of an update drop dramatically. Froyo has been around for over 6 months now, but 3 out of 4 flagship Galaxy S devices in the U.S. (Captivate, Fascinate, Epic 4G) are still sporting outdated and Flashless Eclair builds, while the rest were only just upgraded in the last month or so. And this is just Froyo - let's not even talk about Gingerbread.

Jan

Android Takes The Top Spot From Symbian Following Strong Sales In Q4 2010

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Android OS, News

Just a few weeks after Android became the number one smartphone platform in the US, Canalys is reporting that strong sales of Android devices in Q4 2010 has helped it overtake Nokia's Symbian OS to became the world's best selling mobile platform.

33.3 million Android-based devices were sold globally in Q4 2010, compared with 31.0 million Symbian-based phones and 16.2 million iPhones.

Android's growth is astonishing. In Q4 2009 it sold a mere 4.7 million units, a year later shipments have jumped by over 600%. In the same time-frame Symbian has grown by a mere 30%, while Apple's iOS platform has jumped by 85.9% (this is just limited to smart phones and would not include iPad sales).