Hasta La Gadget!

Since the Epic 4G launched on Sprint August 31, we’ve been receiving notes from owners on various issues they’ve experienced with the phone. We’ve heard about and experienced problems with the supposedly-fixed GPS, to surprisingly slow 3G uploads (fix on the way), to odd issues with battery drain and glitchy market install problems. Now that we’re facing the end of Sprint’s 30-day return period, we’re wondering if Sprint and Samsung have shown enough of a commitment to resolving any problems to keep owners and potential buyers hanging on. Check after the break for a few of the issues we’ve found and what can be done about them, and let us know in our poll how optimistic you are about the future of this otherwise well-received device.

Continue reading Epic 4G: problems so far — and a few solutions

Epic 4G: problems so far — and a few solutions originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 16:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sammy just hit us up with a brief statement that should make Captivate owners jump clean out of their seats and do a spit take if they’re enjoying a cup of joe:

“An update to improve the Samsung Captivate’s GPS performance is now available. Captivate customers will receive a notification on their device that an update is available and will simply need to download the file to update their phone. The updates will be pushed to customers’ devices over the next few weeks.

The update for the Captivate will also improve additional device functions, such as media scanning time, add the full version of Quickoffice and address Microsoft Exchange 2003 policy support.”

Awesome, right? Of course, the proof is in the pudding — we’ll need to wait and see how “fixed” the GPS really is after this gets installed, but it’s a start. Notably, this doesn’t seem to include Froyo, so we don’t know whether these guys are going to be going the British or Spanish routes in getting that deployed.

Update: We’ve independently confirmed with AT&T that this update does include GPS improvements.

Samsung Captivate gets GPS fix, other Galaxy S versions wait patiently originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 11:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung’s indicated in the past that all versions of its ubiquitous Galaxy S would be getting Froyo upgrades in harmony (more or less) — and it had also indicated that those updates would be happening in September. Well, you know how these things tend to go: plans change, bugs crop up, engineers go on vacation at inopportune times, and delays happen. On that note, Samsung Mobile’s Spanish division is now saying that the Galaxy S will be getting Froyo in “late October” through the Kies desktop app, though we don’t know whether España speaks for the rest of the world — it’s entirely possible that this is a Spain-specific announcement. More on this one as we get it, but for now, we wouldn’t count on many (if any) of these bad boys getting official updates in the next few days.

Samsung Mobile Spain pegs Galaxy S update for late October originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Sep 2010 16:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Samsung Epic 4G has a new software update available that takes the device from version DG27 (spotted in the build number and baseband version) to DI07. Since it launched on Sprint at the end of last month, users have complained about various issues from inaccurate GPS results (despite functional results in our testing with apps like Google Maps and Foursquare, obtaining a precise location from satellites only is still iffy at best and too often requires a reboot), 3G upload speeds that appear to be capped at 150kbps, poor signal reception and more and are likely waiting to see if those have been addressed. So far, the update details (included after the break) indicate that isn’t the case. Getting the update is a matter of luck for now with the servers initially in push mode but when it hits users should have access to the just-launched Media Hub app as well as optimizations for battery power in hotspot mode, performance tweaks and several fixes including one for recognizing 32 GB micro SD cards. Our Epic 4G isn’t rocking any new patches no matter how many times we hit Update Android; if you get the update, let us know if you notice any other changes.

Update: A few commenters have linked up the zip file for your manual upgrading pleasure. We were able to update using the process and haven’t experienced any glitches or instantaneous combustion as a result, though we are feeling even more attractive and intelligent than usual. A demonstration video from AndroidCentral is embedded after the break if you’re still curious.

Continue reading Samsung’s DI07 update for Epic 4G adds Media Hub, but does it fix other issues?

Samsung’s DI07 update for Epic 4G adds Media Hub, but does it fix other issues? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 16:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he’ll explore where our industry is and where it’s going — on both micro and macro levels — with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.

It’s an unfortunately familiar phenomena — PC vendors suffering from razor thin margins load their devices with more stickers than a stock car and install gigabytes of useless applications that serve only to take up space and use system resources. Sony was perhaps the most egregious in 2008, offering to remove the offending bloatware for a $50 fee. It’s as if Tony Soprano went into tech — “Pay us and we won’t mess up your computer.”

It’s deja vu all over again for mobile phones. More and more devices I look at are coming installed with applications I don’t want, often popping up messages to try and upsell me on services I have no interest in. Even worse, unlike PCs where offensive applications can be removed or the OS reinstalled cleanly, there’s often nothing that can be done to get rid of unwanted mobile software without arduous work. It’s not limited to Android devices, but it seems that increasingly Android more than other platforms is shipping with the worst mobile bloatware. It’s a bad trend that’s going to lead to consumer backlash and it’s destroying the credibility of Google’s Android vision.

Continue reading Entelligence: Will carriers destroy the Android vision?

Entelligence: Will carriers destroy the Android vision? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Sep 2010 20:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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