Samsung Galaxy Note Android 4.0 ICS Update Delayed Until Q2

Samsung were expected to release the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update for their Galaxy Note smartphone before the end of March, we had previously heard that the update may be delayed and this has now been confirmed by Samsung. Samsung have announced that the Ice Cream Sandwich update for the Galaxy Note will be released some time in quarter two of 2012, and the update will be released worldwide at the same time.

Samsung also announced that the update will come as part of a ‘Premium Suite’ software package, which will come with exclusive applications which will use the Note’s S-Pen Stylus. The Premium Suite offers new features and applications exclusive to GALAXY Note and its innovative S Pen, which includes S Note, a unique tool that lets you combine your notes or sketches with other digital content, giving you a new way to create your own stories. S Note comes in various ready-to-use templates for a range of tasks including meeting minutes, diary and others.

Unfortunately Samsung did not give a specific date on when the Galaxy Note will get the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update, lets hope it is released earlier in quarter two rather than later.

Samsung Galaxy Note Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) alpha hands-on video:

Samsung Galaxy S III About To Go Into Production?

The Samsung’s Galaxy S III rumor mill has been gathering plenty of momentum lately, and it’s not hard to see why. The hotly-anticipated device is set to feature a 1080p full HD, a 1.5GHz quad-core processor, and if the projected release frames ring true, will go head-to head with the iPhone 5.

The Samsung Galaxy S II is the most successful Android smartphone to date, and only recently won ‘Best Smartphone’ at the MWC 2012. As well as the award and popularity, the device also now supports the Big G’s latest and greatest Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0.3), after the mobile OS began rolling out to devices two days ago.

Reports on a release time have been somewhat conflicting, with some predicting April, while others a little later. The last coverage we gave of an ETA was earlier this month, when ZDNet Korea claimed to have confirmed the release date as indeed next month, in April.

According to Android Spin, the S III is rumored to be in production, which suggests the device will be releasing next month or, at latest, May. The Korean LCD will want to utilize the London Olympics as a marketing hub since it is a big sponsor, and although the Games don’t begin until July, the build-up and advertising is already gathering steam as we speak.

A Samsung spokesman declined to confirm the release bracket, which leaves us to play that familiar guessing game once again. With the iPhone 5 also set to drop in the coming months, though, Samsung will be keen to nab a few Apple loyalists with its next flagship device.

Samsung Galaxy S3: What to Expect:

Samsung Galaxy S II Running Android 4.0 Official ROM

We’ve seen Android Ice Cream Sandwich getting ported or leaked for many devices, including the unlikely Samsung Galaxy S, Amazon Kindle Fire and HP TouchPad. Well, those were all unofficial release, but this time we have something truly official: the leaked ICS ROM for Samsung Galaxy S II, that has just been tried on by the guys of Pocketnow.com.

They also made a video showing their experience, that you can check out below. The Galaxy S II runs Android 4.0.3, apparently with an improved TouchWiz, that to me looks exactly the same. Also, the handset is now more stable, it’s really fast, smooth and even the battery life improved. Android 4.0 has arrived on this phone before, via custom ROMs, so we know what to expect here. The Robot font looks nice on the crisp Super AMOLED Plus display and the Exynos dual core 1.2 GHz CPU seems to fit the experience like a glove.


Well, Gingerbread may have become sluggish if you had a ton of updating widgets enabled, but that’s in the past now, courtesy of ICS. The performance upgrades are also pretty clear, as shown by everyday use (Video below) and a couple of benchmarks, generating 6257 points in AnTuTu, 4225 in Quadrant and 2517 in SmartBench. I guess that it’s only a matter of time till all the Galaxy S II (tens of millions) units get the update to the latest Android, which Samsung promised for Q1 by the way.

Samsung Galaxy S II Running the Official Ice Cream Sandwich ROM XXLPQ:

Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G to be another 42Mbps handset for T-Mobile

T-Mobile has confirmed the existence of the Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G and pretty much all that we knew about it. Unfortunately, we can't add a release date yet, but we do know that the processor will be clocked at 1.5 GHz, while the display will be a Super AMOLED one.

T-Mobile doesn't really have a clear LTE strategy yet, but its HSPA+ rollout keeps getting faster and faster, even hitting the 42Mbps (theoretical) speeds in some markets. Unfortunately, there aren't too many handsets that can take advantage of those speeds.

A new report has the Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G becoming just the 3rd device with a radio rated for 42Mbps. There still isn't a lot of news about the Blaze. We do know that it will be a T-Mobile device (obviously), and word has it that it will also feature a dual-core Snapdragon processor and knowing Samsung, it will likely also have a Super AMOLED screen.

The Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G is due out sometime this year. Even though we don't have a lot of info, it's interesting to see a device that would seem to fit in the mid-range for phones coming with 42Mbps support. It's good to see that not just the top tier is getting the speed. More details are expected soon.

Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G:

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:

Meet the Samsung Galaxy R in our unboxing and quick hands-on

Guys, meet the Samsung Galaxy R I9103, a value-oriented version of the Galaxy S II. But don’t rush into thinking that being cheaper than its bigger brother makes the I9103 a tripped horse.

The box certainly looks the part designed in stylish black with minimalist branding and hints that the phone inside is just as good-looking.

In fact, you’ll be having a hard time recognizing it at first sight put next to an S II, but there are little hints giving it away. The main differences between the exterior of the two devices are the home buttons, backpanels and the subtle general outlines.

On the hardware side of things, though, it’s a whole different story. The first thing that you’ll notice is the Galaxy R’s display. It’s an SuperClearLCD instead of the juicier-looking SuperAMOLED Plus display of the Galaxy S II. Gorilla Glass display protection has also been replaced some more generic type of scratch-resistant glass. The camera is also different, being a 5MP one and the chipset is NVidia’s Tegra 2 with a dual-core Cortex A9 processor.

All those changes reduce the Galaxy R’s price tag substantially. We’ll be taking a more thorough look at the Galaxy R’s specifications and key features later in the full review.