Galaxy S III - 3/22 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Mar

AOKP Custom ROM Expands To Galaxy S III International, Galaxy Note II (Verizon And Samsung), And The LG Optimus LTE

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in Galaxy Note II, Galaxy S III, News, Optimus LTE

In a surprisingly quick update, the Android Open Kang project has reached its fifth Android 4.2 release, complete with some worthy additions to the list of supported devices. The much-demanded Samsung Galaxy S III international version leads the pack, with the Verizon and Sprint variants of the Galaxy Note II also making for some pleased users. (S-Pen support has been added for these models specifically.) The LG Optimus LTE, plus its American variants the Nitro (AT&T) and Spectrum (Verizon) round out the pack.

New features for JB-MR1 Build 5 include optional traditional toggles, a revamped navigation ring menu, the aforementioned S-Pen support, and a new Quiet Hours toggle.

Mar

Verizon Preparing To Release 4.1.2 (VRBMB1) Update For Galaxy S III With Minor Improvements

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Galaxy S III, News, Verizon Wireless

It's not Jelly Bean yet. Well, I mean it is. It's the older Jelly Bean. Not the newer Jelly Bean. I'm sure this isn't confusing. However, Verizon is getting ready to roll out an update to the Galaxy S III that will bump the phone from 4.1.1 to 4.1.2. Unfortunately this isn't the 4.2 upgrade most users were likely hoping for. Among the listed improvements are a better keyboard and the ability to take pictures while on a call.

Additionally, the update will bring a few minor tweaks such as adding a refresh button to the lock screen stock ticker (try saying that three times fast), better email syncing and improved Bluetooth performance.

Feb

Sprint's Galaxy S III Getting A Small OTA Update To Build L710VPMB1

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

Earlier this month, The Now Network pushed an update to its version of the Samsung Galaxy S III with a few small fixes in it. That update was build L710VPMA6. Today, the company is sending another update to the Galaxy S III that is essentially the same update, plus one addition: 3rd party software licensing. This one's build L710VPMB1, will hit your device regardless of whether or nor you installed the previous update.

So, for those wondering, here's the full changelog:

Enhancements/Fixes

Voicemail application update

SMS 3-digit support

Calendar sync issues

3rd party software licensing

Per Sprint, "this is a new release of L710VPBMA6, but also includes additional 3rd party software licenses." We're not sure why the company decided to rehash a previous update with one additional feature (as opposed to sending that feature out on its own), but alas, that's what it did.

Feb

First Leak Of Touchwiz-ified 4.2.1 Shows Up For The Samsung Galaxy S III (i9300)

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

Given Samsung's recent track record with updates, there's been little question whether or not the Galaxy S III would receive Jelly Bean 4.2.x, but a leak that showed up today over at SamMobile removes all doubt of the build's existence. The leak shows off Samsung's take on some of the 4.2 modifications, including a fully TouchWiz-ified Quick Settings menu (which actually looks more useful than stock Android's).

Aside from that, it appears that Sammy has added several voice actions, which should allow you to control various parts of the OS through speech. Otherwise, it basically looks like the current TouchWiz builds on Android 4.1, including the Premium Suite, Multi-Window, and the like.

Feb

[New App] Market Helper Lets You Download Incompatible Apps Without Changing The Build.prop (Root Only)

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Applications, Apps/Games, Galaxy S III, Kindle Fire HD, News, Nexus 7

One of the more annoying things about the Android app ecosystem is that there are loads of apps and games that are needlessly restricted to one device or another. If you care to get down and dirty, you can edit the build.prop file on rooted devices to make your device appear to be something other than what it is. Market Helper gets you the same results, but it doesn't touch the build-prop and it's easy to revert to your original profile. For obvious reasons, this app is not in Google Play. It is, however, just a sideload away.

Market Helper is a very new app, and it only has a handful of profiles.

Feb

Sprint Pushing Minor OTA Updates To Galaxy S III And Note II

Posted by David Ruddock in Galaxy Note II, Galaxy S III, Samsung

Sprint is sending it out a couple of minor over-the-air updates to its Galaxy S III and Note II handsets this morning, and here are the changelogs.

Galaxy S III

L710VPMA6
2/13/2013

- Voicemail application update

- SMS 3-digit support

- Calendar sync issues

Galaxy Note II

L900VPAMA7
2/13/2013

-Security updates

If you're the owner of either device, these updates should be making their way to you in the next week or so. Head over to the Sprint Community posts for more information on how to obtain the new software.

Sprint Community (Note II, Galaxy S III)

Feb

T-Mobile Galaxy S III LTE Tipped For Late March / Early April Release

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Galaxy S III, Leaks, News, T-Mobile

If you've been waiting on more information about T-Mobile's up-and-coming LTE-powered Galaxy S III – like, you know, a potential release date – wait no more. TMoNews has gotten its hands on a leaked image of an internal T-Mobile slide that shows what could be a probable release time frame for the device:

As you can see, way down at the bottom, it clearly reads Samsung T999L Galaxy S III LTE, with a launch date of either March 27th or April 3rd. Of course, leaks like this shouldn't be taken as gospel, as they are subject to change at any time.

Jan

T-Mobile Pushing A Couple Of Small OTA Updates To The Galaxy S II, Galaxy S III

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Galaxy S II, Galaxy S III, News, T-Mobile

Last week, we reported on an OTA update for the T-Mobile Galaxy S II that brought a "Qualcomm fix," along with some general security enhancements and Vlingo S Voice improvements. It looks like that update was delayed shortly after it started rolling out, as Team Pink just updated its support docs with details of the update with a set rollout date of January 31st, which is today.

Thus, if you didn't get the update last week, then you should expect it to hit sometime over the next few days.

The GSII isn't the only T-Mo device getting some OTA love today, though – the carrier's version of the Galaxy S III is also getting a small update.

Jan

End Of The Line: Verizon Is Discontinuing The 32GB Galaxy S III, DROID RAZR, DROID 4, And More

Posted by David Ruddock in Droid 4, Galaxy S III, Lucid, News, RAZR / RAZR MAXX, Verizon Wireless

We just received a reliable tip that Verizon has officially discontinued the 32GB flavor of the Galaxy S III, among other Android handsets. Final shipments of the 32GB GSIII have already been received from Samsung, meaning you can expect the remaining stock to dry up over the next month or two (so you'll be able to find it for a while yet). The 16GB Galaxy S III will continue to be available.

According to this document, the HTC Rezound is now officially dead and gone, though it's been off of Verizon's website for some time now. In addition, the DROID 4 and original DROID RAZR are also on the way out, with final shipments having been sent for both handsets.

Jan

Android Open Kang Project 4.2 Expands To Samsung Galaxy S III And Nexus 10 In Second Release

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in Android OS, Galaxy S III, News, Nexus 10

The lads at the Android Open Kang Project have been busy expanding the 4.2 version of their custom ROM, thankfully expanding on the three officially supported devices in the initial release. For Build 2, all four major US variants of the Galaxy S III are supported (but not the international version), as well as the Nexus 7 3G, and the Nexus 10 for good measure. Flash-ready ROM files are available on the AOKP website for the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4, and Nexus 7 WiFi as well.

In addition to basic bugfixes, the AOKP team has added a bunch of customization options to the statusbar, lockscreen, and navigation bar, bringing back a fair amount of the settings found in older releases (though sadly there's no option for the now-outdated tablet UI).