Galaxy S
Latest
Samsung's Galaxy S is set for an 'evolution' at MWC in February
That Samsung intends to bring a Galaxy S successor to MWC 2011 was already a known known, but now the company's turning up the hype machine with an update to its Samsung Unpacked website. There, for the pleasure of your eyes and the tickling of your imagination, Sammy has positioned its familiar super-selling Android smartphone alongside a not-too-cryptic message promising that "evolution is fate." We're smelling a cute play on words here, similar to what LG did with its Revolution handset, potentially implying that the next Galaxy flagship will have LTE (Long Term Evolution) connectivity built in. That, along with the promised dual-core chip within, should easily outshine the Infuse 4G (which has HSPA+ and a single-core Hummingbird inside) recently announced for AT&T in the States. We'll get the next dose of our teasing on February 1st, the site promises, before the full unveil in Barcelona on February 13th. Our hearts are all aflutter already. [Thanks, Patrick]
Samsung Vibrant 4G for T-Mobile gets FCC clearance?
A new Sammy christened SGH-T959V just passed through the FCC, and we've got a good feeling this is the Vibrant 4G that we know is on its way to Big Magenta before too long. Why's that? Well, most notably, SGH-T959 is the model number for the original Vibrant -- and like the Vibrant, this device has support for AWS, which any T-Mobile 3G / 4G device would need. Furthermore, take one look at that outline up there -- certainly looks like a Galaxy S of some sort, doesn't it? More on this soon, we suspect.
Samsung says it isn't charging carriers for Android updates, promises Galaxy S status report
Buying a Samsung Galaxy S sounded like a fantastic decision when Android 2.1 was hot stuff, but now that Gingerbread's out of the oven, Fascinate, Captivate, Vibrant and Epic 4G owners are starting to get a little tired of being stuck behind the curve. And while we can think of at least one fairly nasty reason why Samsung might be delaying, we've been hearing all sorts of conspiracy theories, ranging from holding back Froyo to sell more dedicated Gingerbread phones to making the cellular carriers foot the bill for Android updates for every handset sold or else not get the update at all. Well, it seems that last rumor's gained a little traction, because Samsung's taken it upon itself to squash the story flat. The company gave Phone Scoop the following statement: "No. Samsung is not charging carriers for Froyo updates to Galaxy S. We hope to have more detail on status shortly. Promise!" At this rate, we're wondering if Samsung should just skip Froyo and just start rolling out some Gingerbread men instead.
Samsung Mobile boss confirms Galaxy S successor, Galaxy Tab roadmap being announced next month
Far be it from Samsung to announce an extremely high-end US-only smartphone -- the Infuse 4G for AT&T, pictured above -- without a global equivalent, and it's starting to look like we'll get that equivalent in just a few weeks' time. JK Shin, president of Samsung Mobile, has now gone on record saying that we'll get a new Galaxy S device at Mobile World Congress in February that'll feature Gingerbread, a dual-core processor (whether that's Tegra 2, Orion, or something else entirely, we're not sure), and the Super AMOLED Plus technology that debuted at CES last week. Shin's also saying that we'll get a peek at Sammy's plans for the Galaxy Tab line for 2011, which we're guessing will include that lovely 7-inch Super AMOLED display that's been kicking around. Should be an exciting show, to say the least.
Samsung Vibrant 4G appears in leaked docs, touts 21Mbps HSPA+, front-facing camera
Samsung did say it's ready to supply all US carriers with 4G phones, not just Verizon, and we may already be looking at one of those devices before us. Billed as a T-Mobile exclusive, the Vibrant 4G looks to be a gentle refresh of the current Vibrant handset, with the notable upgrades being the inclusion of 21Mbps-capable HSPA+ connectivity -- to speed your mobile broadband up into T-Mobile's definition of 4G speeds -- and a front-facing camera paired to Qik video chat software. The onboard version of Android is 2.2 and internal specs seem to generally match the earlier-released namesake. Speaking of the original Vibrant, these leaked docs also show it's sold over one million units in its time in the US and is the nation's best-selling Galaxy S variant. Great, now can someone please leak it to Samsung that Android 2.3 is already out? [Thanks, Brian]
Hulu Plus headed to Android, no promises about when
Well, here's a bit of welcome news from Samsung's press conference, though it's got little to do with Samsung itself -- Hulu Plus has finally been confirmed for the Android platform. There's been some friction between Hulu and Google as of late, but it seems preferred partner Samsung is helping to work those differences out, as Hulu CEO Jason Kilar demoed the code-complete app running on this Galaxy S smartphone. He didn't provide a release date, though. Drat.
Samsung hits 10 million Galaxy S sales
Sammy wanted to sell 10 million copies of its now-ubiquitous Galaxy S line before 2010 closed out -- and it may have actually pulled off that feat, despite being at "just" 9.3 million in the middle of December. Though impressive, that wouldn't make the Galaxy S Samsung's fastest-selling phone to the magical 10 million mark -- that honor is reserved for the Star, which hit it in just six months compared to the Galaxy S' seven. Considering that there's some form of Galaxy S sold on a staggering percentage of the world's major carriers, the success should come as no surprise; question is, can they keep it up in 2011 (hopefully thanks in part to a dual-core model or two)?
Samsung reaches goal: 10 million Galaxy S phones sold worldwide
Can't say we're surprised -- after all, last time we checked in the tally was hovering around 9.3 million -- but now Samsung has officially met its goal of 10 million Galaxy S phones sold around the globe. That's less than seven months since the device first hit the market, which by Sammy's fuzzy math averages to about one unit for every two seconds it's been on sale. According to Samsung Tomorrow, North America contributed the most with 4 million in sales, followed by Europe at 2.5 million. Let there be cake, and once that's over, let there be progress on those Froyo updates.
HTC Media Link DLNA streamer review
Apple's AirPlay might be getting all the attention lately but it's hardly the first solution for wirelessly streaming media to the television. Far from it. In 2003, the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) formed with its first set of interoperable products hitting the market in 2004. Since then, the alliance has certified thousands of products supported by more than 245 member companies, 29 of whom are listed as "promoter members" including such heavyweights as Sony, Nokia, Samsung, Toshiba, Verizon, AT&T Lab, LG, Qualcomm, Cisco, Microsoft, Panasonic, Intel, HP, and Motorola. Pretty much everyone but Apple. Recently, HTC joined the DLNA ranks with the introduction of two smartphones -- the Desire Z and Desire HD -- and a tiny media streamer known as the HTC Media Link, HTC's first attempt to gain a foothold in the living room. Over the last week we've been testing the Desire Z (a Eurofied T-Mobile G2) with the Media Link, lazily streaming video, music, and images around the house using a myriad of sources and controllers from Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, and Western Digital. How did it perform? Click through to find out. %Gallery-112218%
Samsung Vibrant and Fascinate get Froyo in Canada, hopefully with fewer bugs this time
A quick gander at Samsung's Canadian support site for the Galaxy S line reveals that two Android 2.2 updates are currently available: one for the Vibrant -- offered by Bell, Virgin Mobile, and SaskTel -- and one for the Fascinate as sold be Telus. This all follows just a few days after Sammy had to pull the Vibrant's Froyo update on word that it seemed be killing the internal microSD storage, so hopefully, this build will be just a little more drama-free. Oh, and Samsung had originally said that Telus Fascinate owners would be waiting until next year to upgrade their units, so it's pretty neat that they were able to rein that in a bit and get it pushed at the tail end of '10. So have fun, Canadians -- you've beaten your friends with T-Mobile Vibrants and Verizon Fascinates to the punch on this one, and we encourage you to lord it over them at every opportunity. [Thanks, Robert B.]
Samsung sells 9.3 million Galaxy S devices, within reaching distance of its lofty goal
10 million freaking smartphones. Who thought, when Samsung put that number forward as its 2010 Galaxy S sales goal two months ago, that it was actually going to happen? Well, with just over a week left in the calendar year, the Korean giant has racked up 9.3 million sales of its Android superphone globally and actually expects to sneak past the mythical 10 million mark just before the champagne glasses start clinking. The Galaxy S has also scored a win in its home market of South Korea, where its two million units sold so far leads the 1.8 million iPhones sold since the series debuted in November 2009. Hearty congratulations are due to the crew in Seoul, such success doesn't happen by chance, but let's keep working on those Froyo (and Gingerbread!) software updates as well, eh chaps? Update: This article has been updated to reflect Chosunibo's claim that 1.8 million iPhone series devices were sold -- not just iPhone 4 handsets.
Samsung pulls Froyo update for Bell's Vibrant after reports of fried internal storage
We have no idea why Samsung's having such a hard time delivering its overdue promised Froyo upgrades worldwide for the Galaxy S series, but it's not looking any easier for them this weekend: the only Canadian Galaxy S to get upgraded so far, Bell's Vibrant, has just had its update pulled. Seems a healthy number of users attempting the upgrade using Sammy's Kies desktop software ended up with inaccessible internal storage, which sucks for a variety of obvious reasons -- and that would be the apparent reason for the removal of the update. Here's the official statement: "There have been intermittent issues reported during the firmware upgrade process with Kies for the Samsung Galaxy S i9000M series of phones. Samsung's development team is currently aware of this issue and working towards a solution. Accordingly, The firmware update feature, which affects the ability to upgrade to Android 2.2, is temporarily disabled until a solution is released. We apologize for the inconvenience." Maybe we can just go straight to Gingerbread or Honeycomb at this point? [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Samsung Galaxy S receives Gingerbread port right from the Nexus S source (video)
Hold on to your hats, people, there's a wind of awesomeness coming through. The Nexus S is no longer the only Gingerbread game in town, courtesy of supercurio over on the xda-developers forum, who has ported the hot new phone's Android 2.3 install over to its Samsung forefather, the Galaxy S. The port is described as being unmodified from the Nexus S original, although quite a few basic functions like voice, WiFi, and GPS (insert joke about Galaxy S GPS woes) aren't yet operational. All the same, we agree with supercurio that it's looking "super smooth" and look forward to seeing him and the rest of the xda crew polish this stock Android baby off in short order. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Android Skype update brings ability to run to SD, Galaxy S compatibility, but with a big catch
Sick of seeing that little hard disk with an exclamation point popping up on your Android handset? Yeah, us too. Thankfully we can now count Skype among the apps that can be moved to external storage. This new release also adds compatibility with the Samsung Galaxy S -- but there's a catch. Android 2.2 is required, which many Galaxy S owners may or may not actually have yet and, while some are said to be getting a dollop of FroYo this very month, we've certainly heard that before.
Android Dreamcast emulator nullDCe gets early video preview, still a work in progress
Never underestimate the power of Dreamcast to live on long past its intended expiration date (which, if you ask Sega, would have been around September 2007). The final flagship console from the Haus of Sonic is survived by a multitude of emulators propagating across a multitude of platforms... and well, here's another. Drk||Raziel has posted some videos showcasing the work in progress of nullDCe for Android (on what we make out to be a AT&T Samsung Captivate). The footage ranges from buggy (Soul Calibur) to pretty smooth (Crazy Taxi), but again, no one's calling this a finished product. See it for yourself after the break.
Samsung undecided about Gingerbread on Galaxy S, Google says hardware needs 'similar' to Froyo
If the Nexus S is basically a Galaxy S in Gingerbread disguise, you'd think Samsung would be bursting at the seams to offer a software upgrade for all the phones it's already sold from that family. Okay, you really wouldn't, but you'd hope that would be the case, right? Well, Pocket-lint prodded Samsung on just that point and managed to finagle the following response from a local UK contact presumably speaking on behalf of the mothership: "In case a new version of Android operating system is publicly announced and released, Samsung will review the possibility of implementation of such new version to the existing Samsung products with Android operating system ("Update"). Such a review will be based on various factors including, without limitation, the overall effect of such Update to Samsung products, the system requirements, the structural limitations, and the level of cooperation from the component suppliers and the software licensors". Right, so the Gingerbread launch and that whole new handset that's coming in a week's time, not public enough? And what's "the overall effect" of a Gingerbread update beyond a group of very happy users? Samsung seems to be matching its country-mate LG in taking an evaluative approach to Gingerbread, though Google's own Android lead developer is pretty definitive about the software, saying that "Gingerbread hardware needs are similar to Froyo." So if your handset can run version F, it should have no trouble handling version G... no trouble other than its own maker. Update: And now, in typical Samsung fashion, we're getting mixed messages as its Indian mobile arm has come out and confirmed that "Gingerbread will be available to Galaxy S users." Thanks, Shrinikketh!
Canada's Galaxy S Froyo updates start rolling out this month
Samsung's probably wishing it could just forget its claim that it'd have Froyo rolled out to all carriers last month, but at least it's providing a little bit of updated guidance to its Canadian users. Turns out Bell's Vibrant and Rogers' Captivate are on track for the middle of this month, while owners of Telus' Fascinate will need to wait a little longer: "early 2011," to be exact, which really isn't exact at all since it could easily mean anywhere between January and, say, April or so. Of course, Gingerbread will be all over the place by then -- and we might even be seeing our first glimpses of Honeycomb -- so be prepared for your version envy to continue unabated. [Thanks, Seb]
Official Android 2.2 (Froyo) update emerges for Sprint's Epic 4G
Samsung may have missed its promised September (and November) ship dates for Froyo on the Galaxy S range, but at this point, we're just pleased to see any progress at all. Sprint's Epic 4G has just become the first US Galaxy S phone to nab an official Android 2.2 (v2.2.1, in fact) build, with the requisite files populating Google's servers this evening. If you'll recall, a near-final build actually leaked out around three weeks ago, but the DK28 version making the rounds at xda-developers looks to be the real deal. Head on over to get your update going, and be sure to let us know how everything turns out in comments below. Update: Looks like Sprint's not so fond of this here version, and is currently recommending that users avoid it. We're sure the "last minute tweaks' the carrier has in mind will actually only take "a minute." Right. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Samsung ships 3M Galaxy S devices in the US, becomes top Android supplier in the country
You know what happens when you manage to launch essentially the same high-end smartphone on every national carrier in the US plus the top regional? Well, this happens: Samsung has just proudly announced that it's pushed some three million Galaxy S models in the US -- sold as the Fascinate, Captivate, Epic 4G, Vibrant, and Mesmerize on Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and US Cellular, respectively -- which gave it 32.1 percent of the US Android market in the third quarter according to Gartner, enough to vault it to the number one position. When your competitors are HTC and Motorola -- both of whom have knocked some Android phones out of the park this year -- that's pretty impressive. Follow the break for the full press release.
Keepin' it real fake: Mini Galaxy S gazes meaningfully skyward next to a mini grand piano
If you were going to make a "mini" version of something else you'd probably want it to be significantly smaller. However, this "i9000 Mini" smartphone, cheekily adorned with both Samsung and Galaxy S branding, isn't any more svelte than the phone it is most certainly trying to be. If our eyes don't deceive us it's even fatter, though the capacitive touchscreen is indeed a half-inch smaller, down to 3.5-inches, and rather than being wide VGA it is instead half VGA -- doing with a measly 320 x 480 pixels. And no, it sure isn't AMOLED. Other specs include a five megapixel camera, 512MB of ROM and RAM, and dual SIM support. Roll with this 1,480 yuan (about $200) phone and you'll be rolling with Android 2.1, but the manufacturers promise it'll be updated to 2.2 in just a few weeks. If you can't trust a company that steals another company's design, logo, and trademarks, who can you trust?
