Samsung Galaxy Note Won't Get Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Until Q2

Source

http://www.pcmag.com

Another round of devices will be upgraded to Android 4.0 soon. Samsung on Thursday announced that the Galaxy Note will get Ice Cream Sandwich in the second quarter of the year.

Though Samsung previously said ICS would come to the device in the first quarter, it has pushed back the update to an unspecified time in Q2. In the meantime, Samsung is offering a Premium Suite upgrade for Galaxy Note users, which includes a handful of apps compatible with the Note's S Pen.

One of these apps is S Note, a writing app that offers various templates to format notes, scribbles, and digital content into neat packages.

Another pen-optimized app included is Shape Match, which automatically corrects shape. There's also Formula Match, which solves hand-drawn numeric formulas. Additionally, Samsung is dropping My Story, an app that lets users create personalized digital cards using their videos, photos, text, and hand-drawn notes.

Sony has also announced that the Sony Tablet S and the Sony Tablet P will be upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich in April. However, at this point, it only applies to Japan, and it's unclear if and when other countries will get the ICS update.

Samsung started rolling out ICS to its Galaxy S II smartphone in several European countries last week. IT said the update will reach other markets "gradually."

HTC also confirmed ICS updates for 16 of its phones last week, though it did not offer specific dates. However, the first of these, for the HTC Vivid, occurred Thursday. The update also includes Beats by Dr. Dre Audio, an optimized audio experience; an updated HTC Sense Experience; and Face Unlock. Users can visit AT&T's Web site to enable the update. It will be followed by these additional phones over the coming months, AT&T said:

• LG Nitro 

• Motorola ATRIX 2 

• Motorola ATRIX 4G 

• Pantech Burst 

• Pantech Element 

• Samsung Captivate Glide 

• Samsung Galaxy Note 

• Samsung Galaxy S II 

• Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket 

• Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9

Samsung Galaxy S III’s MWC debut reportedly canceled

Source
By: Dan Graziano

http://www.bgr.com

The highly anticipated follow up to Samsung’s Galaxy S II will not be unveiled at next month’s Mobile World Congress, according to The Verge. The Galaxy S III was rumored to be debuting in Barcelona next month, however it has reportedly now been delayed. The reason for delay was not disclosed, although it is still slated to be released “before summer” according to the report. The Galaxy S II was announced at last year’s Mobile Wold Congress, but Samsung is said to have been uncomfortable with the long delay between the global launch and availability in the U.S., where it is the most popular Android vendor. The company will still feature “interesting stuff” in place of the Galaxy S III, perhaps an updated Galaxy Tab or even a new Windows Phone handset.

Two official ICS ROMs from Samsung leak for the Galaxy S II

Samsung may not update the Galaxy S to Ice Cream Sandwich, but they've been hard at work on mixing the new Android 4.0 with their TouchWiz UI for the i9100 Galaxy S II.

A proof for this are two official Samsung ROMs that have leaked for the company's Droid flagship. The two versions in question are I9100XXKP4/OXAKP4 and I9100XXKP8 / OXAKP8 based on Android 4.0.1 and Android 4.0.3, respectively.

SamMobile.com is reporting that while both are early alpha versions of the final update supposed to hit all Galaxy S II devices early this year, the more stable one is the latter. Here are some screenshots of how the Ice Cream Sandwich update looks on the S II.

Samsung Galaxy S II running Ice Cream Sandwich with TouchWiz

As you can see Samsung have done a great job of coating their TouchWiz UI onto the Ice Cream Sandwich. Finally, take a look at the alpha ROMs in action.