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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6 months now, but 3 out of 4 flagship Galaxy S devices in the U.S. (Captivate, Fascinate, Epic 4G) are still sporting outdated and Flashless Eclair builds, while the rest were only just upgraded in the last month or so.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

Samsung Releases Figures For 2010: Over 10 Million Galaxy S Phones Sold, Tab Sales Mysteriously Absent

Posted by David Ruddock in Galaxy Tab, News, Samsung

Early this morning (or late last night if you want to get technical), Samsung made its quarterly earnings call, and the company's mobile division is doing quite well - profits are up 38%, thanks in large part to the Galaxy S line of phones.

Samsung managed to sell over 10 million Galaxy S handsets in 2010, comprising roughly a third of all the manufacturer's smartphone sales. Given the Galaxy S's global launch along with its premium hardware and fair pricing, it's no surprise that device has been a big hit. But what about the Galaxy Tab?

Since its release, the smallish tablet has received mixed reviews (though our own Aaron Gingrich thoroughly enjoyed it), and given its treatment by some of the major tech blogs, "mixed" is putting it politely:

This thing is just a mess.

Jan

Whoa: Verizon's New VZ Navigator VX Might Just Give Google Navigation A Run For Its Money. Yes, Seriously.

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Android OS, Applications, Apps/Games, Droid X (Shadow), Fascinate, Incredible, News, Verizon Wireless

Based on the press release and official video, Verizon's new VZ Navigator VX is awesome. Really awesome. Potentially better than Google Maps 5/Google Navigation - and yes, I can hardly believe I'm saying that either, since the new GMaps combo provides a hell of a punch. But check out the short (just over two minutes) promo video, and you'll see what I mean:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRV8-u7adeQ&feature=player_embedded

Two major items of note there: first, assuming everything works, then big red did a hell of a job on the app. Second, they've delivered just what we've all been asking for: more Bing! As the video proudly shows, there's a serious degree of Bing integration in the app.

Jan

Google: OTA Fix For The Nexus S Reboot Issue Coming In 1-2 Weeks

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Google, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Samsung

Nexus S owners, listen up. If you own Samsung's flagship "Google Experience" device, it's likely you've experienced a random reboot bug that we reported on over 2 weeks ago. The Google bug tracker thread for this issue has been a roller coaster of emotion - after getting filled with a large number of comments, it was declined by a Google employee, only to be reopened shortly after due to a public outcry.

As if adding fuel to the fire, the thread was closed yet again in the past hour by a different employee. His action were reverted mere minutes later, which is making me wonder whether Google engineers sometimes need to talk to each other a bit more often.

Jan

T-Mobile Sidekick 4G To Be Manufactured By Samsung, Rocking Android 2.2.1 In Current Iteration

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in News, Samsung, Sidekick 4G, T-Mobile

Been wondering when we'd hear more about T-Mobile's newest Sidekick? If so, today's your lucky day: TmoNews has some new info on the device, and a few blurrycam shots to boot. Perhaps the two most important facts: it will be manufactured by Samsung, and is apparently running Android 2.2.1.

^{You'll never guess where these images are from.}

That's not exactly great news, especially for those who had high hopes for the device. Why? Well, because Samsung doesn't exactly have a great reputation when it comes to Android updates, and for good reason. Further, T-Mobile has previously stated that they are committed to keeping their Android devices updated - and yet this phone is running Froyo.

Jan

Leaked Samsung MWC Schedule Shows Galaxy S 2, Tab 2 Presentations Planned

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Galaxy S II, Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, News, Samsung

It looks like a bit of an oopsie has resulted in Samsung's official Mobile World Congress (MWC) schedule leaking out. The details of the slip aren't available and aren't especially important, because this looks and sounds legitimate - especially since it (sort of) reinforces rumblings we've heard before.

Surprisingly, we have absolutely no idea what kind of hardware to expect. What I do know, though, is that if The S 2 ends up being this... boy, will my face ever be red. But hey - I still feel fairly safe in saying it won't be. (I hope.)

[Source: Electronista via Mobile Crunch]

Jan

Four New Phones Join Samsung's Galaxy Family: The Ace, Fit, Gio, And mini

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Devices By Manufacturer, Galaxy Ace, Galaxy Fit, Galaxy Gio, Galaxy Mini (Tass), News, Samsung

Last Updated: May 14th, 2012

Samsung is well-known for its ubiquity in the feature-phone market, and it's starting to look like they'll be employing the same assault-on-all-sides approach with Android phones too. As if they aren't struggling already to keep their phones up to date, Sammy is now digging a deeper hole with today's announcement of four budget-oriented devices set to prop up the rather premium Galaxy S.

Galaxy mini

Starting from the bottom, we have the Galaxy mini, intended to be a "first smartphone" for those crazy, hip youths you keep reading about. Not quite sure where the fun springs from in a 3.14-inch QVGA device, but Samsung is betting heavily on the "flashy color stripe along the side" to shift units.

Jan

Clearing Out Inventory? Samsung Vibrant Free From T-Mobile With New Contract, Expires Tomorrow

Posted by Nate Kimmey in News, T-Mobile, Vibrant

Want in on the Galaxy S action but not interested in any features like a front-facing camera or HSPA+? T-Mobile has a deal for you! Now until January 26 at 10:00 pm (PT), the Samsung Vibrant is free with a two-year contract, and is only available online. So, if you really can't wait a few more weeks for the Galaxy S 4G, this is probably the time to act.

Source: T-Mobile Twitter

Jan

Galaxy Tab Prices Slashed On Both Sides Of The Pond: $250 At T-Mobile USA, £359 At Tesco UK

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Deals, Galaxy Tab, News

TmoNews posted an image last night confirming that tomorrow, the price of the Galaxy Tab with a new T-Mobile 2-year contract will be cut to just $250 after mail-in rebate - $50 less than the current mark. Price cuts for the Galaxy Tab have been popping up all over it seems, and after Verizon announced that it'll be getting a new-and-improved 4G Galaxy Tab with a faster 1.2GHz processor, it makes sense. Unfortunately, the Tab will still cost you 500 big ones off-contract at T-Mo.

And if you live in the UK and are in the market to buy an Android tablet (or any tablet, for that matter), now is the time to consider the Samsung Galaxy Tab.