So, if you own unbranded versions of the Galaxy S II without the subsidy of a network have had a frustrating time, cause Three, Vodafone and O2 network users somehow ended up getting the Android 4.0 update first. And that's not how it usually works.

But now it's time for unbranded models to receive the update, with Samsung UK confired that the Android 4.0 is now out for the "XEU" versions of the Galaxy S II to enjoy. Here's Samsung's statement...

"Samsung UK has been working hard over the last few weeks to get Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) rolled out to all our Galaxy S II customers.So, we can confirm that ‘XEU/sim-free' and all network upgrades are now complete except for Orange and T-Mobile which will follow as soon as possible, pending software testing and approvals. Thanks again for your patience."

It also tell us that it will arrive soon for Orange and T-Mobile users as well.

And world gonna be at peace once again. Until this time next year, when the S III owners gonna be mad about not having Android 5.0. And so the wheel turns, as it ever did.

Mo Cheng

Editor-In-Chief
YouMobile, Inc

Samsung has reportedly signed a new deal with Blockbuster that may begin to have the company deliver thousands of movies to the Korean electronics giant's Galaxy smartphones and tablets, Blu-ray players and new connected Smart TVs.  Smarthouse reports the service will be rolled out around australia, the usa and Europe this season, with American and European customers likely to see the streaming service offered in the first half of 2012.

Blockbuster is Australia's biggest provider of rental movies but has suffered in the usa as Internet-based Netflix and rental kiosk company Redbox have dominated the marketplace. The retailer was forced to close a lot of its stores included in a cost-cutting strategy and was recently acquired by US satellite broadcaster the Dish Network and will launch a fresh streaming service that may underpin the Samsung deal.

Paul Uniacke, CEO of the Franchise Entertainment Group, who supports the rights for the Blockbuster brand around australia asserted the Samsung deal "is a brilliant deal" that will see the service entirely on Samsung's array of televisions, Blu-ray players, mobile devices as well as PCs.

To facilitate the brand new service, Samsung is rumoured to become creating a new global billing platform that will permit users to sign-up and buy new media content, helping the Korean manufacturer extend its range of value-added services to better serve its customers across devices.

Thanks bgr for this update

Google latest Android version, Ics Cream Sandwich, may be tipped to start out rolling in the market to Samsung Galaxy SII and Galaxy Note models from March 1, mobile industry insider Eldar Murtazin reveals.Murtazin posted a tweet stating that the state update would reveal at the start of next month, finally delivering stable builds of earlier releases which had reportedly leaked from the Korean smartphone giant:

Eldar Murtazin@eldarmurtazin

Android 4 aka ics for sgs2 is going to be officially offered by march 1(depends from country/operator). Update over the air or using kies On December 20, Samsung

He confirmed that the Galaxy S II, Galaxy Note and Galaxy Tab models would receive official Android 4.0 updates. It said both Galaxy S II and Galaxy Note would receive Frozen goodies Sandwich updates inside the first quarter of 2012, with updates for other smartphone and tablet devices following just after.Rumours also circulated at the end of last year that Samsung was working on delivering an Android "Value Pack" for the Galaxy S, after previously praoclaiming that the Galaxy S and original Galaxy Tab wouldn't support the new firmware. We were holding dealt a blow when the company informed The Next Web there have been no plans for therelease.

Samsung has not yet officially confirmed the discharge date so that it stays firmly as a rumour, but when it is correct then Ice Cream Sandwich is under 3 weeks far from making its way to your handset.

The Samsung Galaxy Y Pro Duos has been officially announced today by Samsung, alongside another new dual-SIM smartphone: the Galaxy Y Duos. (Details below)

GALAXY Y Pro DUOS, which offers additional benefits for young professionals with the combination of a full QWERTY keyboard with a 2.6'' display, giving them more business-friendly experience with better flexibility and usability.

GALAXY Y Pro DUOS offers enhanced productivity with the inclusion of Polaris and Find My Mobile professional tools. Polaris offers easy viewing and editing of a wide range of Office documents, enabling you to work with Word, Excel, PowerPoint and even PDF files while on-the-move. Samsung's Find My Mobile Service ensures peace-of-mind by letting users remotely lock the phone at anytime, as well as trace the phone or remotely wipe its contents in case of loss or theft.

The users can also enjoy Social Hub Premium, offering support for push email and messaging, and seamless calendar and contact synchronization between the phone and users' Google, Yahoo and MSN accounts.

GALAXY Y DUOS is for young and practical consumers who want to manage their professional career and busy social life with affordable price. Beyond the flexibility of its dual SIM card system, GALAXY Y DUOS is a beautifully designed smartphone contained in a 11.98mm polished metallic casing. Its ergonomic design is complemented by a 3.14'' full touch display that provides optimal legibility for a smartphone of its size.

Powered by Android 2.3 Gingerbread and running on a powerful 832MHz processor, GALAXY Y DUOS offers advanced performance and versatility needed to successfully manage busy professional and social lifestyles.

GALAXY Y DUOS also features ChatON, Samsung's unique cross-platform communication service that connects all mobile users into a single community. Users can also stay connected through Social Hub, which supports email, social network integration and instant messaging, displaying all of your communication in a single inbox.

Both handsets run Android Gingerbread, and are nothing more than dual-SIM versions of the Galaxy Y and Galaxy Y Pro (already available in lots of markets).According to Samsung, the Galaxy Y Duos and Galaxy Y Pro Duos will be available starting January in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa. There's no word yet on the new smartphones' prices.

Mo Cheng

Editor-In-Chief

YouMobile, Inc

Phones 4u has announced that it'll be the first UK retailer to offer the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and has revealed its pricing for the Android 4.0 smartphone, the first smart phone that will offer Ice Cream Sandwish android OS.

But don't go getting too excited, because it looks like chances are you'll must win a small lottery to have the ability to afford it. A free Galaxy Nexus will set you back 46 euros per month on a 2 year contract - dearer that Phone4u's cheapest iPhone 4S tariff. Nonetheless, cough up £29.95 and you'll be granted a a lot-extra cheap - albeit still costly - 24 month £41 contract.

Scott Hooton, Buying and selling Director at Phone4u stated: "The GALAXY Nexus combines the full Google experience with Samsung's superior smartphone performance, and tops it off with the most recent and most innovative Android platform yet. After Android was voted the UK's most most well-liked operating system in a Phones 4u ballot this 12 months, we all know our clients have been just as excited about the launch of the primary Android 4.0Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone as we have."

"We're confident the GALAXY Nexus will more than dwell up to expectations and are pleased to be the first UK unbiased mobile retailer to place the GALAXY Nexus into Android followers' hands."

As soon as released, sooner or later in November, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus may even be obtainable on Three and Vodafone.

On a side note: Clove is currently accepting pre-orders for the Galaxy Nexus, and asks £514.80 (about €588 or $814) for the unlocked 16GB version. Yes, that is a high price, but let's keep in mind that this is likely the best Android handset ever.

Mo Cheng

Editor-In-Chief

The Samsung Galaxy S2 is the follow-up to a phone which sold millions of units and so expectations were high. Of course Samsung has a track record of producing impressive handsets and its impressive market share proves that consumers appreciate its products, but can the Galaxy S2 win over smartphone fans who were previously committed to rival manufacturers?

The short answer is almost certainly yes. This is because on paper the Galaxy S2 ticks all the right boxes and adds a few of its own that you might not even have considered. Firstly the hardware is plucked from the very top of the range, with its 1.2GHz dual core processor allowing it to square off with the similarly powerful HTC Sensation. Its 4.3 inch display also matches HTC`s handset in terms of dimensions, but Samsung`s use of Super AMOLED Plus technology puts it leaps and bounds ahead of the competition. Deep blacks, crisp colours and energy efficiency are assured, along with improved legibility in bright outdoor conditions.

On the rear you will discover its eight megapixel camera and thanks to the might of its processor it can capture video clips in full HD 1080p. This has already been made available by the LG Optimus 2X, but Samsung`s offering is far more adept at delivering visual quality along with its high capture resolution. Video calling is facilitated via a two megapixel camera on the front, so the Galaxy S2 covers all bases.

In terms of software the Samsung Galaxy S2 does an admirable job of matching its major rival HTC once more, because along with Android 2.3 Gingerbread is the firms` own TouchWiz 4.0 interface. This adds many new features on top of those found on the original Galaxy S, including gesture-based interactions for web browsing and improved widgets for the various homescreens. In the past HTC Sense was considered to be ruler of the roost, but the Galaxy S2 proves that there is a new contender to the throne.

Various so-called hubs are included on the Galaxy S2, expanding upon the basic Android functions. The Social hub allows for access to popular networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, while the Game and Music hubs provide self-explanatory access to your top titles and tunes. Of course with the 4.3 inch Super AMOLED Plus display every video, app and webpage you access looks stunning and its large area makes it easy to see fine detail.

Aside from all of its hardware and software, the Galaxy S2 has one final remarkable asset and that is its exterior styling. In particular the sheer slimness of the device is something to behold, since it measures just 8.49 millimetres deep, easily outdoing most of its rivals and even shaving off more than the iPhone 4. Most mobile phone review scores have taken into account that the Galaxy S2 lacks the premium level of finish which might be found on alternatives, but given how much is packed into its slinky shell it is hard to level any real criticism at the smartphone.

Mo Cheng

Editor-In-Chief

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 has hit Germany with pre-orders at Amazon.de in 16GB black and white flavors, priced at 637 euros together with the product page going live at Samsung Germany with specs - although it leaves out the processor just naming it a dual core 1GHz processor but we're seeing increasing evidence it's Tegra 2, at least for the Wi-Fi models. Other specs are known already. No ETA mentioned.

Earlier this week we spotted the Galaxy Tab 10.1 up for pre-order at J&R.com (priced at $499 for 16GB and $599 for 32GB) however they took down the listings once information of this hit the bigger tech sites. A couple of individuals who ordered on the XDA Developers Forums have been informed they don't know when they anticipate it to arrive yet although they estimated a late June release.

source: unwiredview

South Korea's Samsung Electronics on Thursday showcased an updated version of its Galaxy S smartphone designed to compete against rivals such as Apple amid a legal battle with the US giant.  The world's second-largest mobile phone maker aims to sell at least 10 million Galaxy S2 smartphones after its international debut in early May, said Shin Jong-Kyun, president of the mobile business unit.

"We expect the sales to be as good as Galaxy S," Shin told reporters. The original model has sold 14 million units worldwide since July 2010. The new phone is slimmer, faster and consumes less energy, Shin said. It will be sold by more than 140 vendors in some 120 countries from early May, and by all three wireless network operators in South Korea from Thursday.

Despite the updated features, Samsung has cut the price of the S2 in South Korea in apparent recognition of the intensifying competition.

It will cost a maximum 847,000 won ($786) through domestic mobile operators, about 100,000 won less than the Galaxy S.
Shin said the firm would also unveil the new version of its Galaxy Tab tablet computer in July, predicting its overall tablet computer sales would be five times bigger this year than in 2010.

The Suwon-based firm is embroiled in a legal battle with Apple, which in a US lawsuit has accused Samsung of "slavishly" copying the design and technologies of its market-leading iPhone and iPad. Samsung denied the accusation and days later filed lawsuits against Apple in South Korea, Japan and Germany alleging 10 patent infringements.

Shin vowed to "respond resolutely" to Apple's charges and said the company would "deal with the matter more actively".
"Apple not only is our competitor in mobile phone sales but also our client in device component sales," he said.  "We will respond resolutely not only to safeguard our pride and status... but also to protect our customers and business partners."  Apple was Samsung's second-largest client in 2010 after Japan's Sony Corp., accounting for four percent of the South Korean firm's 155 trillion won ($142 billion) annual revenue.

source: unwiredview

T-Mobile USA, Inc. today issued a challenge to Seattle-area iPhone owners: If your iPhone beats our Galaxy S 4G smartphone in a speed test,1 you'll get $1,000.

iPhone owners who bring their phones into participating T-Mobile® retail locations in the Seattle area April 29 through May 1 can take part in the T-Mobile Speed Challenge. iPhone owners will compete in a head-to-head, best-of-three test against the Galaxy S 4G using a free third-party application. If the download speeds on the iPhone beat those on the Galaxy S 4G two out of three times, T-Mobile will give the iPhone owner $1,000.

Even if the Galaxy S 4G prevails, iPhone owners can still benefit by switching to a T-Mobile smartphone running on America's Largest 4G Network^TM. Participants also can take advantage of an offer, available at participating stores, in which they trade in their phone and get up to $300 in value when they purchase one of T-Mobile's fastest smartphones.2

"T-Mobile is so confident in our network that we're willing to put $1,000 on the line in a public competition against an iconic device such as the iPhone," said Eric Schlumpf, vice president, Pacific Northwest, T-Mobile USA. "For months, we've heard various advertisements from our competitors claiming to have fast networks. We've decided to put our money where our mouth is by putting one outstanding smartphone against another in a test with measurable results. In this way, we plan to demonstrate the incredible speeds available on T-Mobile, America's largest 4G network."

T-Mobile's 4G service now reaches 167 markets and more than 200 million people nationwide.3 The Galaxy S 4G manufactured by Samsung is T-Mobile's first smartphone capable of delivering theoretical peak download speeds of up to 21 Mbps and is a great device for consumers who want to fully benefit from 4G network speeds with live video chat, fast audio and video streaming, mobile gaming, and social networking.

For more information about the T-Mobile Speed Challenge, a full list of participating stores, and Speed Challenge requirements, visit http://blog.t-mobile.com/speedchallenge.

1 Measured by a third-party application in a best-of-three, head-to-head test of download speeds. See http://blog.t-mobile.com/speedchallenge for full Speed Challenge requirements.

2 Restrictions apply to trade-in offer; see participating stores for details.

3 T-Mobile's HSPA+ 4G network not available everywhere. See coverage details at http://www.t-mobile.com.

The Samsung Stealth, the unnamed Samsung 4G LTE phone that was shown at the Worldwide Consumer Electronics Show (CES) three months ago has been caught in the wild. At the show, Samsung had no name for its new 4G LTE phone, based on TechnoBuffolo, it cleared the FCC with the title Samsung Stealth, passing the general regulatory hurdle prior to release.

In case you are wondering, we have the specs for Samsung Stealth.

• 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen (480 x 800)
• 1 GHz Hummingbird processor
• Android 2.2 Froyo, upgradeable
• 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi
• Mobile hotspot up to 8 devices
• 8 megapixel rear camera, LED flash, auto-focus
• 1.3 megapixel front camera
• 828 MBs internal storage
• microSD memory card slot expandable up to 32GBs
• A-GPS
• Bluetooth 3.0
• HDMI out, 720p HD
• 3.5mm Headphone Jack
• 1500 mAh LiIon battery

The phone will be upgradeable at some point in the future past 2.2 Froyo, but they had no information on when the first update would happen.

We hope Verizon or Samsung will come out with an official word on this device, but for now, that's all we have.

source: technobuffolo.