Late last week, Samsung announced that it won’t be updating the Galaxy S and the Galaxy Tab to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, even though both the devices are more than perfectly capable of running it. The company stated that it cannot fit all its TouchWIZ related enhancements and Ice Cream Sandwich on Galaxy S and Tab.  The Nexus S packs similar internals as the Galaxy S and Tab, and is  receiving  its Ice Cream Sandwich update at the moment.

The company faced quite heavy criticism from more than 15 million Galaxy S customers. In fact, ever since Samsung’s announcement, Galaxy S/Tab owners all over the globe have started online petitions so as to force Samsung to update both the devices to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Now, according to a Korean website – ajnews – Samsung has backtracked its statement and is currently evaluating to see if it can manage to install Ice Cream Sandwich on the limited memory available on the Galaxy S and Tab.

Along with the Samsung Galaxy S II LTE, Sammy also announced the Galaxy S II HD LTE. The HD LTE is similar to the S II LTE, except for the screen. The S II HD LTE is the first Android phone to sport a massive 4.65-inch screen with a 720p (1280×720) HD resolution. This makes the S II HD LTE the first Android phone to have a eye-busting PPI of 316. As its name suggests, the S II HD LTE also supports the blazing-fast LTE network.

Like the S II LTE, the S II HD LTE is also powered by a blazing fast 1.5GHz dual-core Exynos processor, and packs 1GB of RAM along with 16GB of internal storage capacity. The usual connectivity features like GPS with A-GPS, Bluetooth 3.0+HS, Wi-Fi b/g/n, FM Radio, a microSD card slot, MHL port, NFC along with a bunch of sensors like Gyroscope, Ambient Light Sensor and Accelerometer etc.

The handset runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread, with TouchWIZ 4.0 on top of it. Like the S II LTE, the HD LTE is also powered by a 1850mAh battery. The Galaxy S II HD LTE will be available under all the three Korean networks SK Telecom, KT Telecom and LG U+. Sammy did not mention anything about the pricing or the availability of the device.

Back in the beginning of September, Samsung finally announced the much-awaited and hyped operators’ variants of the Samsung Galaxy S II.

While, the Sprint version of the Galaxy S II is already available, no specific date was announced for the T-Mobile and AT&T version. In fact, the complete specs of the T-Mobile version of the Galaxy S II were also not fully revealed.

Earlier, it was rumored that the AT&T version of the Galaxy S II would be released on 18th September. However, AT&T never confirmed that date, and as expected, the phone was not available in AT&T stores on 18th September.

Nevertheless, AT&T has finally confirmed via Twitter that the Galaxy S II will finally hit their retail stores on October 2nd, for $199.99 on a 2-year contract.

For the unknown, here is a quick reminder of the Samsung Galaxy S II specs for AT&T. Like the European version of SGS2, the AT&T version also has a 4.3-inch Super-AMOLED+ display, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal memory, microSD card slot, MHL port, 8MP camera in the back with a 2MP camera in the front, and a NFC chip. The usual bunch of sensors, and connectivity features are also on-board.

Samsung has just announced a new Galaxy branded tablet at the ongoing IFA 2011 event. The Galaxy Tab 7.7 is the slimmest (7.89mm) and lightest (339gms) tablet in the market, even besting the iPad 2 vital stats. The tablet is mainly made up of plastic, with a metal casing running around its edges.

As the name suggests, the Galaxy Tab 7.7 comes with a 7.7-inch screen. The drool-worthy thing about this tablet is that the 7.7-inch screen is a Super-AMOLED Plus one, with WXGA (1280×800) resolution. Yes, that’s 7.7-inch of Super-AMOLED Plus goodness for your eyes to feast upon! This 7.7-inch tab is powered by a 1.4GHz dual-core processor made by Samsung (Exynos 4210 SoC). The usual tablet features including dual-band Wi-Fi b/g/n support, Bluetooth 3.0, DivX/Xvid support, GPS with A-GPS, HSPA+ support, microSD card slot and the usual sensors.

The tablet is backed up by a 5100mAh battery, which can power the tab for up to 10 hours. There are also two-3MP cameras in the back and a 2MP camera in the front of the Tab 7.7. It is also capable of recording and playing back full HD (1080p) videos. The tablet will come in various capacities ranging from 16GB to 32GB. Sadly, the tablet comes with the same 30-pin  proprietary  connector as found on the Galaxy Tab 7 and 10.1.

Like all other Android tablets, the Tab 7.7 runs on Android 3.2 Honeycomb, with Samsung’s TouchWiz UX running on top of it.

At the moment, the Galaxy Tab 7.7 is possibly the most ‘different’ tablet from all other 7-inches Android tablets in the market. The Super-AMOLED+ display alone is a compelling reason to buy the tablet. The Tab 7.7 will also be more powerful than other Tegra 2 powered Honeycomb tablets, mainly thanks to the Exynos 4210 SoC!

Sadly, Samsung has not mentioned anything about the pricing and availability of the Galaxy Tab 7.7. Hopefully, Samsung will not be stupid enough to price the tablet at anything more than $550.

One crucial reason behind the success of the Apple iPad is its price point. Samsung, like all other Honeycomb tablet manufacturers, needs to realize this and price their tablet  competitively.

Samsung has started rolling out a new software update for the Wi-Fi model of the Galaxy Tab 10.1. The new software update brings the TouchWiz UX to the 10.1-inch Tab, along with some new services including Media Hub and features like Social Hub.

The new version of TouchWiz is optimized for the tablets, and includes some nifty features like Live Panel, Mini Mode Tray, and Indicator Quick Panel. The Media Hub service will allow users to enjoy movies and TV shows on their Galaxy Tab from all the popular channels including NBC Universal, Paramount, MTV, Warner Bros., CBS and FOX.

The software update will also pre-install certain apps and games like Amazon Music Cloud Player, Amazon Kindle and Words with Friends. Swype will also be installed, which can be freely moved around the screen and resized as a user wishes to. Certain Enterprise features will also be added like support for Cisco VPN, Exchange ActiveSync (v1.4) and on-device encryption.

Once a user install this TouchWiz update on his 10.1-inch Tab, he cannot go back to the old stock Honeycomb UI, even if he wishes to. So, choose wisely whether you want to install the update or not.

The whole changelog, and the required steps for installing the update can be found here.

Last month, a down-spec’d version of the Galaxy S II – Galaxy Z – was announced by Three Sweden. The phone was only intended for the Sweden operator 3.

Today, Samsung has announced another variant of the Galaxy Z, aimed for the markets of Europe and Asia dubbed as the Galaxy R, which is similar to the Z.

The Galaxy R is powered by a 1GHz dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 chipset, and packs 8GB of internal memory. The R also sports a 4.19-inch S-LCD screen, with WVGA (800×480) resolution.

The back of the phone sports a 5MP camera with an LED flash, which is also capable of recording videos at 720p HD resolution. The phone is also capable of playing back 1080p HD videos.

Other key features of the phone include Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth v3.0+HS, microSD card slot, Wi-Fi direct, 3.5mm audio jack and a bunch of sensors. The R is powered by a 1650mAh battery, which is capable of powering the phone for nearly 550hours in 3G on standby mode.

The Galaxy R runs on the latest version of Android 2.3 Gingerbread, with Samsung’s TouchWIZ UI running on top of it. The phone is expected to hit the retail stores of Europe by mid-August. Sammy did not mention anything about the pricing of the R.

(Source)

The Motorola Droid was the most popular Android phone in 2009. The Droid along with Verizon’s DROID campaign played a very major role in Android’s popularity. In 2010, the Samsung Galaxy S was the de-facto Android handset. The phone sold in excess of 10 million handsets within 7 months of its launch. The handset helped Android in gaining market share outside the U.S.

When Samsung announced the Galaxy S II at MWC this year, the expectations from the handset were pretty high. Everyone hoped that Samsung had solved the issues which plagued the original Galaxy S poor GPS performance and the lag issue.

The Samsung Galaxy S II has a huge task on its shoulder, meet the popularity of its original brother and also emerge the top-dog in this dual core race with HTC Sensation and LG Optimus 2X.

Read our review to find out whether the Samsung Galaxy S II lives up to the expectations or not.

Specs of Samsung Galaxy S II :

• 4.27-inch Super-AMOLED+ screen with WVGA (800×480) resolution
• 1.2GHz Dual-core Exynos 4210 processor
• ARM-Mali 400 GPU
• 1GB RAM, 16GB/32GB on-board storage
• 8MP camera with Auto-Focus, LED Flash
• 2MP Front Facing Camera
• Dual-band Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 HS, Wi-Fi Direct, HSDPA/HSUPA, USB O-T-G, MHL port, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, GPS with A-GPS, Proximity Sensor

Build Quality and Screen

Right out of the box, Galaxy S II will surprise you with its extremely light weight, slim waistline and the big screen. The handset weighs only 113gms, and is one of the slimmest Android handsets, measuring only 8.49mm.

The phone is constructed with plastic, like the original Galaxy S. However, the handset feels a hell lot better when held in hand, when compared to the original Galaxy S. Samsung also re-designed the back cover on the Galaxy S II so as to make it pleasant to hold and scratch proof. However, the back cover is extremely thin. However, I am pleased to say that the back cover won’t break so easily, even if you twist it.

The top of the handset sports a 3.5mm audio jack, while the bottom houses the MHL or microUSB port. The microUSB port on the Galaxy S II can output videos at 1080p, when an MHL adapter is plugged in. The power button is situated on the right side, while the volume button is on the left side of the phone.

Unlike most other Android handsets, the Samsung Galaxy S II sports only 3 buttons Menu, Home and Back, in the same order. Like its predecessor, the Menu and Back buttons are capacitive while the Home button is a physical one.

The build quality of the Galaxy S II is a HUGE improvement over the Galaxy S. The phone might not have a premium look or feel to it, but neither does it have a cheap build quality feeling.

The handset sports a 4.27-inch Super-AMOLED+ screen with WVGA (800×480) resolution. Even though the SGS II sports a bigger screen than the Galaxy S (4-inch), it has a much sharper screen. This is because the Super-AMOLED+ screen has twice the sub-pixels, when compared to the Super-AMOLED screen on SGS.

The original Super-AMOLED screen has a PenTile Matrix display, while the Super-AMOLED+ screen has a RBG pixel arrangement. This is a major reason why the Galaxy S II has a bigger display than its predecessor. Excluding all the geeky part, the SAMOLED+ screen on the SGS II is absolutely brilliant. The contrast, viewing angles, and brightness are all top-notch. Sunlight legibility is decent as well.

Samsung and AT&T have gone ahead and finally announced the Samsung Infuse 4G.

The Samsung Infuse 4G was first shown at CES, and since then both the companies have been mum about it. The Infuse 4G sports a mammoth 4.5-inch Super-AMOLED+ screen, with WVGA (800×480) resolution.

The handset will also be the thinnest ’4G’ branded handset available on the AT&T network, measuring only 8.99mm thick. The Infuse 4G sports a 1.2GHz Hummingbird processor, along with 512MB of RAM and a microSD card slot (2GB card pre-installed).

The back of the handset sports an 8MP camera with an LED flash, which is capable of recording videos in 720p HD resolution. There is also a 1.3MP camera in the front.   The usual Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS with A-GPS, Proximity Sensor, and a 3.5mm audio jack are also present.

Sadly, the Infuse 4G runs on Android 2.2 FroYo, with Samsung’s TouchWIZ UI on top of it.   The handset will also come with a special version of Angry Birds pre-installed with some hidden levels.

The Samsung Infuse 4G will be available at all AT&T stores from May 15, for $199.99 on a two-year contract.

(Press Release)

Last year, Samsung launched the Galaxy S with Android 2.1 on-board and TouchWIZ 3.0. Samsung spiced up TouchWIZ with some colorful icons, with the Android 2.2 update for the Galaxy S.

At MWC 2011, Samsung announced the Galaxy S successor the Galaxy S II, which runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread with a new version of TouchWIZ (v4.0) running on top of it. TouchWIZ in its latest version features some new icons, and some new nifty features.

Now, one developer over the Galaxy S modding scene fear2142 - has managed to port TouchWIZ 4.0 to the Galaxy S, thanks to a Galaxy S II system dump.

Below is a video of TouchWIZ 4.0 in action on the Galaxy S -

The mod will work on the Galaxy S XXJVB ROM de-odexed ROM. The mod also works on Galaxy S Custom ROMs based on the XXJVB firmware. The TouchWIZ 4.0 launcher does have some stability issues though.

Interested Galaxy S users should head over to this thread, for more information on how to install TouchWIZ 4.0.

Samsung has just added another handset to their expanding list of the Galaxy line-up the Galaxy Neo.

The Galaxy Neo is similar to the Galaxy Ace, and will be available for sale only in Korea. Like the Ace, the Neo sports an 800Mhz processor and packs 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage. Unlike the Ace, the Neo has a 3.5-inch screen with WVGA (800×480) resolution.

Other key specs of the handset include Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, 3.5mm audio jack, GPS with A-GPS, and a microSD card slot. The back of the Neo sports a disappointing fixed-focus 3MP snapper, without any Flash.

The handset is powered by a beefy 1500mAh battery and runs on Android 2.2 FroYo, with Samsung’s TouchWIZ UI on top of it. The Galaxy Neo also supports T-DMB.

Since the Neo is a CDMA handset, it won’t be launched in any other country. Samsung did not mention anything about the pricing or the launch date of the handset as well. The handset will be available in white and black colors.

(Source)