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Dec

NFC In Gingerbread Is Crippled - It's One-Way-Only, And Not The Way We Want

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Gingerbread 2.3, Google, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Samsung

Last Updated: February 9th, 2011

Update 2/9/11: Writing/transmitting via NFC is now possible thanks to the 2.3.3 update.

One thing that was very much anticipated in the Nexus S and Gingerbread in general was NFC (Near Field Communication) support, which is a feature we've never seen before on an Android device. In fact, the vast majority of us took it to mean that it will allow you to use your phone as a credit card, which would indeed be very exciting and insanely cool. Unfortunately, that's not the case here; rather, the technology will allow the Nexus S (and other NFC-capable Android phones) to act as a glorified barcode scanner of sorts.

Dec

Also Missing From The Nexus S: LED Notifications Of Any Kind

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

Talk about adding insult to injury - in addition to the news of the upcoming Google Nexus S missing any kind of external memory slots (microSD, etc), we’ve just found out that this supposed Nexus One successor is also missing LED notifications. What other essential system function is it going to lose next – a phone speaker?

I am excited about Gingerbread, especially everything it is bringing under-the-hood, but the whole Nexus S situation is turning out to be a disaster. Even Reto Meier, the Android engineer who confirmed the absence of any LED notification, is saddened by it:

We'll update you as we know more.

Dec

Confirmed: Google Nexus S Does Not Have A MicroSD Card Slot

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

As we've all been following the Nexus S over the last few months, inhaling every bit of news regarding its specs, nobody could have foreseen or even considered the fact that the next Nexus, announced earlier today by Google, will be lacking the microSD card slot. The absence of HSPA+, a dual-core processor, HDMI, an 8MP camera, or Bluetooth 3.0 - sure, these are unfortunate, but understandable.

However, not being able to change out one SD card for another, faster one, is beyond mind boggling. Given that the Nexus S comes with 16GB of built-in storage, I personally probably won't suffer too much from this, but I imagine there are some of you who would want to upgrade to a larger card (to store more music) or to swap out your existing cards between multiple phones.

Dec

[Updated] Google Finally Unveils Nexus S: Coming To USA On December 16th, Four Days Later In UK

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Devices By Manufacturer, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Samsung

Last Updated: December 30th, 2011

After weeks of anticipation, leaked photos, snooped videos and widespread rumors, the next pure-Google device is official, and it's pretty much just what you expected. Bearing the title of the flagship device for the the freshly-baked Gingerbread (Android 2.3), the Samsung-made Nexus S includes:

4.0" WVGA "Contour Display" SAMOLED screen
1 GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird CPU
Android 2.3 Pre-installed
16 GB internal storage (no microSD)
Quad-Band GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
Tri-Band 3G (900, 2100, 1700 MHz)
HSDPA (7.2Mbps) connectivity (no HSPA+)
Near Field Communication (NFC)
Anti-fingerprint display coating
Three-axis gyroscope
1500 mAH Lithum Ion Battery
5 MP rear camera w/ flash and 480P rec.

Dec

[Updated] Froyo For Samsung Epic 4G Now Available To Download [Hands-On] [Instructions]

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Development, Epic 4G, Froyo 2.2, News, Samsung, Sprint

Last Updated: July 2nd, 2011

Update: A Sprint official has just posted on the Samsung Epic forums saying that this is not the final version of Froyo for the Epic. What's more, he gave one commenter an ETA of about three weeks. Ridiculous, isn't it?

Below is a statement from the Epic Product Manager regarding the leaked release (DK28):

Sprint is working on a software package for the Samsung Epic4G that will upgrade it to the Froyo version of Android. Over the weekend, some users were able to access and download a test build (DK28) for the Samsung Epic from some 3^rd party developer sites. Unfortunately, this is not approved software for Sprint production devices and we strongly recommend that users refrain from loading it.

Dec

Video Shot By Samsung Nexus S Hits YouTube, Photos Hit Picasa

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Samsung

Last Updated: July 2nd, 2011

The Samsung Nexus S has already shown off its camera once, but up until now, we haven't seen what that 5MP shooter's capable of when it comes to video recording. Well the wait is over, as a (portrait) video shot by none other than the GT-i9020 has hit YouTube:

The quality is more or less what we've come to expect from 720p video taken by a cameraphone, though it certainly won't blow any minds. What may blow some minds is the fact that Google apparently has a (pretty nifty) bus of its own, as shown in this photo, which was also captured by the Nexus S:

Hopefully that bus is taking employees to the D: Dive Into Mobile conference, where Google is rumored to be unveiling Gingerbread.

Dec

Samsung Sells Three Million Galaxy S Devices In The States Alone, Becomes #1 Android Manufacturer In The US

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in AT&T, Captivate, Continuum, Epic 4G, Fascinate, Mesmerize, News, Samsung, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular, Verizon Wireless, Vibrant

If you thought the news that Samsung shifted more than a million Galaxy Tabs was impressive, just wait 'til you hear this one: the company today announced that over three million of its Galaxy S smartphones have been sold in the US alone. This not only means that Sammy now owns 32.1% of the Android market in the US; it also makes Samsung the #1 supplier of Android devices in the US. Unfortunately, it's clear that the rollout of Froyo hasn't been able to keep up with the devices' sales.

via Engadget

Samsung Mobile Named #1 Android Smartphone Provider Based on Retail Sales in U.S.

Dec

Samsung Breaks 1 Million Galaxy Tabs Sold, Shooting For 1.5M By End Of Year

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Galaxy Tab, News

Last Updated: July 2nd, 2011

Holy crap, that was fast. Less than a month after being released in the US (and a bit longer in some parts of the world), Samsung has managed to move over 1 million Galaxy Tabs - which may or may not be surprising, given the range of opinions on the device (although I just thought it was super). Despite the Tab being available in 64 countries, roughly 100,000 of the sales are in Samsung's homeland of South Korea. (Minor note: it's not clear whether this is units sold by Samsung to stores, or units sold by stores to consumers.)

_{Yes, this is a Galaxy S, not a Galaxy Tab.}

Dec

T-Mobile UK Delays Android 2.2 Update For Samsung Galaxy S Devices Yet Again After Announcing It Was Ready

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Froyo 2.2, Galaxy S, News, Samsung, T-Mobile

T-Mobile UK is certainly digging itself into a ditch on this one, and seriously pissing customers off in the process. You can't really blame people for being upset: after promising the Froyo update for Samsung Galaxy S owners by November 30 via FOTA, then reiterating just two days ago that the update was ready to roll out, they've now pushed it back at least a week. Turns out they're also not going to be able to do it over-the-air, either - rather, it's going to be installed with Samsung KIES instead. The official post on T-Mobile UK's support forum:

Hi folks

I've been talking to the handset team and the Samsung people today and the latest news is as follows.

Dec

T-Mobile UK's Samsung Galaxy S Now Receiving Froyo Update Over The Air, T-Mobile US Still Sleeping At The Wheel

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Froyo 2.2, Galaxy S, News, Samsung, T-Mobile

While Galaxy S owners here in the States are still (im)patiently awaiting the update to Android 2.2, it looks like users on T-Mobile UK's network are already enjoying the wonders of Froyo. Yes, the update that was initially scheduled for September is only now rolling out.

Luckily, T-Mobile's European brother has (slightly) sweetened the deal with a nice twist - although the update was originally supposed to be made available exclusively through Samsung's Kies software for Windows-based PCs, the carrier has seen fit to add an OTA version into the mix. That doesn't mean Kies has been completely left out of the fun, though - if "reasons out of our [T-Mobile's] control" interfere with the OTA update, users can still hook their phones up to their (Windows-based) computers, start up Kies, and download the update in the same manner most other European carriers are having users do.