Android Tablet Update

According to a Facebook posting by Samsung Mobile Israel’s page, Galaxy S II devices in that country will be seeing the Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) update hit their devices on March 15th. As expected, the posting has since been removed from Facebook, as Samsung is none too keen on things being announced outside of their official channels.

No official announcements have been made regarding the full rollout schedule for Android 4.0 on the various Galaxy S II models out there. The Verge speculates that if Android 4 does indeed come to Israel on the 15th, it will also likely launch in Europe on the same day. As tends to be the case with Android phones in the U.S., our update will likely come a bit later than the 15th as the carriers continue to ensure the update works well with their networks.

Regardless, we hope to see Android 4 hitting 2011′s most popular Android headset later this month, even if it does still feature the Touchwiz custom UI overlay. We’ll bring you the goods of a U.S. release once we know more.

Apple’s iPhone 4S may dominate sales in the US, but it looks like Samsung’s Galaxy S II has established full dominance in Samsung’s home market. Samsung has just announced that they have sold five million Galaxy S II’s in South Korea since the phone’s late April debut. To put that into perspective, more than one in ten South Koreans (current population estimates hover around 48 million) are walking around with a Galaxy S II in their hand.

What’s even more impressive is that the Samsung Galaxy S II accounts for 1 in 4 of all smartphones sold in the country and has helped Samsung recure an impressive 53% market share of South Korea’s smartphone sales. The hope is that other Android manufacturers will notice the tremendous success that can be achieved with a single Android phone and replicate Samsung’s business strategy of delivering only one or two true flagship devices per year rather than flooding the market with dozens of iterative handset.

There’s no doubt that consumers are loving what Samsung is doing with Android. Samsung is expected to unveil the Galaxy S III at Mobile World Congress in a few short weeks. We’re not exactly sure what they have planned, but Samsung’s track record leads us to beleive that the new device will be even more successful than last year’s Galaxy S II.

In the wee hours of the morning, Samsung took to Facebook to at last outline the Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade plans for a number of their high profile 2011 devices.

It won’t surprise anyone that the Galaxy S II tops the list for an upgrade in Q1 of 2012, but joining it in the coveted first slot is the much less prevalent Galaxy Note.

Unfortunately those are the only two devices greenlit for a Q1 2012 helping of Ice Cream Sandwich at the moment.

The rest of the “ICS-upgradable GALAXY devices” include the Galaxy S II LTE, Galaxy R, Galaxy Tab 10.1, Galaxy Tab 8.9, Galaxy Tab 7.7 and the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus. Samsung only indicates that details on the updates for these devices will be forthcoming.

Quick caveat to all you US Galaxy S II owners: I wouldn’t start holding your breath until your carrier has weighed in on the matter. It’s also worth noting that the special edition Galaxy Tab 10.1 that was given to developers at Google I/O this year has never even seen the Android 3.2 update, so whether Samsung has any plans to continue support for it is unknown.

A perusal of the comments on the announcement show that original Galaxy S and Galaxy Ace owners are the most irate about their devices seemingly coming to the end of their upgradable life. A smattering of original Galaxy Tab owners are chiming in with their disappointment, as well.

With the benefit of letting the other major manufacturers commit to their plans first, it looks like Samsung has drawn a nearly identical line in the sand for upgrading their devices.

Is there anything that you are shocked to not see on this list? If not, what do you feel is the drop dead point for Samsung to get these updates completed without frustrating owners of these devices?

Thanks, Rob!

We have all seen those long lines at Apple stores during product launches. People camp out there for long hours and days to get what many (especially Android fans) believe to be a trivial update of the iPhone 4. Whether it is due to brand loyalty, the ethos, or actual preference, Apple fans simply tend to prefer sticking with “iDevices.”

This is something that we Android enthusiasts always wonder about, right? Why go through such a struggle to get a device that (specs-wise) is about a year old on Android standards? Apple users usually mention that the specs do not matter, though. Which is quite true, the iPhone 4S provides a great user experience, and it definitely gets the job done. There are so many factors to consider, though. Apple’s locked down nature and lack of 4G connectivity are only a couple of the extensive list of reasons why we prefer Android over iOS.

We have stumbled upon this video, and while it looks like it is a legit Samsung commercial, no Samsung official source has released it. Whether it is official or not, though, it is definitely something to have fun with for a minute (and 1 second).

The commercial pretty much touches on the stereotypes that characterize the typical iPhone fanboy. Check it out for some giggles, and sound off in the comments section. Would you wait in line for a Galaxy Nexus? If you are an iPhone user, let us know why you would prefer an iPhone 4S over a Samsung device (or any Android device, for that matter).

The days when hackers and developers beat manufacturers to the punch with software updates are back again. Earlier this week, the source code for Ice Cream Sandwich was released, starting the countdown to custom ROMs on devices everywhere. It’s only been four days since that release, and there are some popular phones already being treated to their first helping of Android 4.0′s cold, creamy goodness.

The Samsung Galaxy S II, currently one of the most popular smartphones in existence, is one of first devices to receive an almost fully functioning AOSP Ice Cream Sandwich port. WiFi and Bluetooth still haven’t been figured out on the Galaxy S II, but fixes should be along very shortly. My guess is that before the end of the year, Galaxy S II owners will have several different Ice Cream Sandwich based ROMs to choose from.

Along with the GSII, the LG Optimus 3D has also been treated with an ICS port. Not much is known on the status of the Optimus 3D ROM, but judging by the performance in the video below, things are well on their way to being fully functional.

Of course the Galaxy S II and Optimus 3D are just two devices out of many that have semi-functioning Android 4.0 ports already. If you’re into hacking and modding, and your device already has an ICS ROM to call its own, be sure to share it in the comments below.