Samsung Galaxy Note Android 4.0 ICS Update Delayed?

When we met with Samsung General Manager Tim Wagner in Miami one of the things we talked about was the Ice Cream Sandwich update for the Samsung Galaxy Note. With Ice Cream Sandwich being a hybrid update of sorts for both phones and tablets, and the Galaxy Note being both a phone and a tablet, we thought that Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, was a natural fit for the Galaxy Note. Samsung must have agreed with that logic at some point because they originally announced that the Galaxy Note, along with the Samsung Galaxy S II would see Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, before the end of Q1.

Today, Gottabemobile reported that Samsung Norway has told customers that they won’t see an Android 4.0 upgrade until sometime in the second quarter of 2012. Norway was presumed to be one of the first markets on tap for the upgrade for their customers with the Galaxy Note.

As we know all to well, the U.S. is usually last to see an Android OS update, and most definitely after their international counterparts. This could mean we won’t see the Ice Cream Sandwich man graze the beloved Galaxy Note until late in the second quarter or perhaps even Q3. The Galaxy Note is primed for the upgrade. After switching from a Galaxy Nexus to a Galaxy Note there were intuitive functions of Ice Cream Sandwich that would only feel natural on the 5.3″ phoneblet.

Galaxy Note Android 4.0 ICS :

Samsung Galaxy S Advance Preview

Introduction:

While dual-core processors are a common trait when high-end smartphones are concerned, mid range devices pretty much always stick to single-core CPUs. But not the Samsung Galaxy S Advance – inside it ticks a 1GHz dual-core chipset made by ST-Ericsson. The rest of its specs look pretty decent as well for a mid-range Android smartphone: 4-inch Super AMOLED display with WVGA resolution, 5-megapixel camera with auto-focus and LED flash, 14.4Mbps 3G radio, and 8 or 16 gigs of on-board storage. The Samsung Galaxy S Advance is not available on the market yet, but what we have here is a prototype unit of the smartphone. Care to learn more about it? Then read along.

Design:

Upon holding the Samsung Galaxy S Advance for the first time, we noticed that it sports more than a few design cues present in other Samsung devices, such as the Galaxy Nexus flagship. And that, of course, is a good thing as it adds a dose of premium feel to an otherwise mid-range device. On one hand, we have a curved glass display meant to follow the shape of the user's face more naturally. On the other, the fine texture on its back feels nice to the touch and adds a bit of extra grip. Furthermore, it is slightly thicker and heavier at the bottom, which makes it a bit more comfortable to grasp.

You can compare the Samsung Galaxy S Advance with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool. The outlay of the three Android buttons located under the smartphone's display is familiar as well: a big physical home key is located in the middle, accompanied by two capacitive buttons for the menu and back functions. Fortunately, the capacitive buttons are not prone to accidental presses. Last but not least, the volume rocker and power key, which reside on the smartphone's left and right side respectively, respond with an excellent click when pressed.

Samsung Galaxy S Advance GT-i9070 leaked on the web:

Samsung Ships 700,000 Galaxy Notes In South Korea

Samsung will be making a big push on the new Galaxy Note in the US this weekend, as the company is showing off a special Galaxy Note advert during this Sunday’s Super Bowl. Samsung recently announced that they had sold over 1 million Galaxy Note devices around the world, and now the company has announced that they have sold over 1 million Galaxy Note smartphones in their home country of South Korea.

Samsung are obviously hoping that the US launch of the Galaxy note will increase their number significantly, and we suspect that this hybrid smartphone and tablet device will be popular in the US. As a reminder the Samsung Galaxy Note comes with a a 5.3 inch Super AMOLED touchscreen display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, processing is provided by a dual core 1.4GHz processor and it comes with Android Gingerbread 2.3, plus dual cameras, on the back there is an 8 megapixel camera with an LED flash, on the front there is a 2 megapixel camera for video chat.

NEW White Samsung Galaxy Note - Korea ONLY:

Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket brings fireworks inside a man's pocket

Recently we published some news on a pair of Apple iPhone 4S units that suffered from spontaneous combustion. And with Apple's legal team alleging that the Korean based manufacturer has been copying Apple's designs for its own products, it is an amazing coincidence that a Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket literally exploded in a man's pocket. The man felt a burning sensation down his leg and when he reached to pullout his phone he smelled something burning. And in his hand was one literally hot handset.

Yes, Samsung was hoping that the model would explode in the U.S. and become a hot product, but not exactly like this. And perhaps the Korean based manufacturer had an idea that something like this could happen when it tacked on "Skyrocket" to the name of the phone. The charred model was a variant of the hugely successful Samsung Galaxy S II that is enabled for AT&T's fledging LTE network.

More information's:
http://www.bgr.com/2011/12/01/samsung-galaxy-s-ii-skyrocket-explodes-in-mans-pocket/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheBoyGeniusReport+%28BGR+%7C+Boy+Genius+Report%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket Unboxing:

Video shows Galaxy Nexus LTE speeds

We may not have the phone yet, but someone out there does, and they decided to make a teaser video showing off the speeds the Galaxy Nexus can get on Verizon's LTE network. Of course, it must be said this is an unofficial video, and as always, speeds vary by region.

The numbers are relatively impressive though. We're not sure where the video was taken, but the speeds look good. The phone got about 8.5 Mbps download and about 2 Mbps upload. That's pretty good, although not the best we've seen. A quick check of Verizon LTE results on Speedtest.net shows plenty of results of over 20 Mbps downstream across the States. We've even seen T-Mobile's HSPA+ network get consistent speeds of around 15 Mbps in the Boston area. We'll be looking forward to seeing more results when the phone actually gets in the hands of consumers.

More information's:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySymqERaHEA&feature=player_embedded

Verizon Wireless Galaxy Nexus Prime 4G LTE Speed Tests: