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Sony Ericsson's 4.3-inch Anzu previewed: ain't got no Gingerbread, but still looking tasty
Our hope for the recently leaked Anzu (likely to be known as the Xperia X12 at retail) handset from Sony Ericsson was that it'd be the company's Android Gingerbread flagship, but here comes international super-reviewer Eldar Murtazin popping that bubble for us. The good man from Russia has a preview unit in his secret lab and reports that it currently only runs Android 2.1, with the intention being that launch devices in early 2011 will start off with Android 2.2 before getting their Gingerbread (2.3) fix in a later update. He also notes a 4.3-inch display with 854 x 480 resolution (just an LCD, nothing exciting), an 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7230 (same as in the T-Mobile G2 / Desire Z) powering things inside, and a 12 megapixel imager mounted on the back. The latter is naturally capable of recording 720p video, while early performance impressions are that the stock Android interface flies. Alas, Eldar expects SE to layer its own customizations on top, which adds to his disappointment with the general build quality of this device -- it's thinner and lighter than the X10, but apparently feels cheaper to the touch. Hit the source link for his comprehensive preview. Let's also not forget Eldar's tweet from the weekend when he said he was playing with the Anzu and the Galaxy 2 (aka Samsung i9100, according to him). Given that the first of those devices has now indeed made its way onto Mobile-review, the veracity of his second claim -- that the upcoming Samsung handset would be a dual-core beastie -- now seems a lot less questionable. [Thanks, Momchil]
Samsung i9100 is the dual-core Galaxy 2, sequel to the Galaxy S?
Along with a Sony Ericsson Anzu, the James Bond of cellphones -- alias Eldar Murtazin -- claims to be playing with a Samsung GT-i9100 right now, calling it the "Galaxy 2" and saying it's "so technically advanced" thanks in part to a dual-core processor. It seems like a long shot that this would be the Cortex-A9-based Orion since chips and development boards are just now being sampled -- but considering how far in advance Murtazin tends to score phones, we can't rule anything out. One possible scenario is that the i9100 could be something akin to a TouchWiz-skinned version of the upcoming Nexus S, much as HTC's Desire was essentially a Sense-skinned version of the Nexus One. Samsung, of course, has been pushing TouchWiz very hard across its Galaxy S line this year, and if the Nexus S is as beastly as the rumors are claiming it to be, there's little doubt that Samsung would love to repurpose the hardware for something with a little more of its flavor thrown in. Speaking of the Galaxy S, keep in mind that the original European GSM model goes by the code GT-i9000, so it would stand to reason that the i9100 could be the proper successor -- and with Gingerbread-based TouchWiz and a dual-core processor on board, we'd say they're off to a strong start. [Thanks, Peter]
Galaxy S Android 2.2 Froyo update begins to trickle out (update: official)
Based on breathless reports we're seeing on Twitter and in the XDA-Developers' forums, it would appear that Samsung has just pushed out the official Android 2.2 Froyo update for its Galaxy S as promised. Our Nordic friends are the first to report seeing the build I9000 JPM update in the latest version of Samsung's Kies PC software. It's early days though, so do let your fellow i9000 owners know how it goes in the comments below. List of changes (including GPS fix) listed after the break. Update: We've just been handed the official press release for the Android 2.2 Galaxy S update. Indeed, Nordic countries get it first (starting mid-October, aka, "now") before it's "gradually rolled out to other European markets, Southeast Asia, the Middle East Asia, North America, Africa and rest of the world." Hey, it takes time to update 5 million handsets. [Thanks, Gustav F. and Chong Shau Poh]
Is this the Samsung Galaxy 2?
You could accuse Samsung's first production Android device, the Galaxy, of many things -- but you couldn't really accuse it of being pretty. Maybe that's about to change with the phone's replacement, though, now that Androphones has scored a render of a device that appears to be an Android-powered Sammy that's looking a lot more put-together than anything they've released so far. Even better, it apparently has the chops to live up to its pretty face with a 1GHz Snapdragon, 3.7-inch AMOLED display, 5 megapixel cam, Android 2.1, and a whopping 32GB of internal storage on its way to an alleged MWC unveil, but we see one problem here: Samsung makes its own systems-on-chip, so we don't see why they'd be sourcing a Snapdragon here. That said, the picture looks real enough -- and you don't see rabid Samsung fans make convincing fake renders too often -- so we'll hold out hope this gets announced one way or another.
Samsung Bada S8200 and Galaxy2 may match Nexus One's specs
Well, we're hearing this morning -- from Eldar Mertazin -- that Samsung's upcoming Bada S8200 and Galaxy2 specs may well match the Nexus One. Nothing solid, of course, but it would seem they'll both be running the Snapdragon at 1GHz, feature 3.7-inch WVGA AMOLED touchscreens, WiFi, GPS, HSPA, and 5 megapixel cams. The Galaxy2 will purportedly ring in at €450 (roughly $650) and the S8200 in the €400 ($575) range. So with that -- admittedly slim -- bit of info out of the way, all we can do is just sit back, relax, and wait for Samsung's boasting to begin.
