Samsung Galaxy S receives Gingerbread port right from the Nexus S source (video)

Hold on to your hats, people, there’s a wind of awesomeness coming through. The Nexus S is no longer the only Gingerbread game in town, courtesy of supercurio over on the xda-developers forum, who has ported the hot new phone’s Android 2.3 install over to its Samsung forefather, the Galaxy S. The port is described as being unmodified from the Nexus S original, although quite a few basic functions like voice, WiFi, and GPS (insert joke about Galaxy S GPS woes) aren’t yet operational. All the same, we agree with supercurio that it’s looking “super smooth” and look forward to seeing him and the rest of the xda crew polish this stock Android baby off in short order.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy S receives Gingerbread port right from the Nexus S source (video)

Samsung Galaxy S receives Gingerbread port right from the Nexus S source (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Dec 2010 07:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android Skype update brings ability to run to SD, Galaxy S compatibility, but with a big catch

Android Skype update brings ability to run to SD, Galaxy S compatibility, but with a big catch

Sick of seeing that little hard disk with an exclamation point popping up on your Android handset? Yeah, us too. Thankfully we can now count Skype among the apps that can be moved to external storage. This new release also adds compatibility with the Samsung Galaxy S — but there’s a catch. Android 2.2 is required, which many Galaxy S owners may or may not actually have yet and, while some are said to be getting a dollop of FroYo this very month, we’ve certainly heard that before.

Android Skype update brings ability to run to SD, Galaxy S compatibility, but with a big catch originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 11:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Phone Scoop  |  sourceSkype  | Email this | Comments

Android Dreamcast emulator nullDCe gets early video preview, still a work in progress

Never underestimate the power of Dreamcast to live on long past its intended expiration date (which, if you ask Sega, would have been around September 2007). The final flagship console from the Haus of Sonic is survived by a multitude of emulators propagating across a multitude of platforms… and well, here’s another. Drk||Raziel has posted some videos showcasing the work in progress of nullDCe for Android (on what we make out to be a AT&T Samsung Captivate). The footage ranges from buggy (Soul Calibur) to pretty smooth (Crazy Taxi), but again, no one’s calling this a finished product. See it for yourself after the break.

Continue reading Android Dreamcast emulator nullDCe gets early video preview, still a work in progress

Android Dreamcast emulator nullDCe gets early video preview, still a work in progress originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 20:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung undecided about Gingerbread on Galaxy S, Google says hardware needs ‘similar’ to Froyo

If the Nexus S is basically a Galaxy S in Gingerbread disguise, you’d think Samsung would be bursting at the seams to offer a software upgrade for all the phones it’s already sold from that family. Okay, you really wouldn’t, but you’d hope that would be the case, right? Well, Pocket-lint prodded Samsung on just that point and managed to finagle the following response from a local UK contact presumably speaking on behalf of the mothership:

“In case a new version of Android operating system is publicly announced and released, Samsung will review the possibility of implementation of such new version to the existing Samsung products with Android operating system (“Update”).

Such a review will be based on various factors including, without limitation, the overall effect of such Update to Samsung products, the system requirements, the structural limitations, and the level of cooperation from the component suppliers and the software licensors”.
Right, so the Gingerbread launch and that whole new handset that’s coming in a week’s time, not public enough? And what’s “the overall effect” of a Gingerbread update beyond a group of very happy users? Samsung seems to be matching its country-mate LG in taking an evaluative approach to Gingerbread, though Google’s own Android lead developer is pretty definitive about the software, saying that “Gingerbread hardware needs are similar to Froyo.” So if your handset can run version F, it should have no trouble handling version G… no trouble other than its own maker.

Update: And now, in typical Samsung fashion, we’re getting mixed messages as its Indian mobile arm has come out and confirmed that “Gingerbread will be available to Galaxy S users.” Thanks, Shrinikketh!

Continue reading Samsung undecided about Gingerbread on Galaxy S, Google says hardware needs ‘similar’ to Froyo

Samsung undecided about Gingerbread on Galaxy S, Google says hardware needs ‘similar’ to Froyo originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 04:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink CNET  |  sourcePocket-lint, @morrildl (Twitter)  | Email this | Comments

Official Android 2.2 (Froyo) update emerges for Sprint’s Epic 4G

Samsung may have missed its promised September (and November) ship dates for Froyo on the Galaxy S range, but at this point, we’re just pleased to see any progress at all. Sprint’s Epic 4G has just become the first US Galaxy S phone to nab an official Android 2.2 (v2.2.1, in fact) build, with the requisite files populating Google’s servers this evening. If you’ll recall, a near-final build actually leaked out around three weeks ago, but the DK28 version making the rounds at xda-developers looks to be the real deal. Head on over to get your update going, and be sure to let us know how everything turns out in comments below.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Official Android 2.2 (Froyo) update emerges for Sprint’s Epic 4G originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Dec 2010 21:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink BriefMobile  |  sourcexda-developers (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

Keepin’ it real fake: Mini Galaxy S gazes meaningfully skyward next to a mini grand piano

Keepin' it real fake: Mini Galaxy S gazes skyward next to a mini grand piano

If you were going to make a “mini” version of something else you’d probably want it to be significantly smaller. However, this “i9000 Mini” smartphone, cheekily adorned with both Samsung and Galaxy S branding, isn’t any more svelte than the phone it is most certainly trying to be. If our eyes don’t deceive us it’s even fatter, though the capacitive touchscreen is indeed a half-inch smaller, down to 3.5-inches, and rather than being wide VGA it is instead half VGA — doing with a measly 320 x 480 pixels. And no, it sure isn’t AMOLED. Other specs include a five megapixel camera, 512MB of ROM and RAM, and dual SIM support. Roll with this 1,480 yuan (about $200) phone and you’ll be rolling with Android 2.1, but the manufacturers promise it’ll be updated to 2.2 in just a few weeks. If you can’t trust a company that steals another company’s design, logo, and trademarks, who can you trust?

Keepin’ it real fake: Mini Galaxy S gazes meaningfully skyward next to a mini grand piano originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Dec 2010 19:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink M.I.C. gadget  |  sourceM8COOL.com  | Email this | Comments

Samsung releases ‘GPS Restore’ app for Captivate and other Galaxy S models

Seems Samsung still hasn’t solved the GPS woes on many of its Galaxy S models to the satisfaction of every user — complaints of inordinately long (or impossible) lock times continue to trickle into our inbox to this very day. To that end, folks might be interested in the news that Samsung Mobile is tweeting about a “GPS Restore Application” that it’s thrown together for wiping the GPS subsystem and making it factory-fresh. Now, we’ll be the first to admit — we don’t quite understand how “restoring” a screwed-up GPS to its original screwed-up state is doing any good, but we’ll leave it to Sammy’s confusing verbiage:

“During online surveillance, there is an abundance of GPS tweaks that impair GPS performance. Often times, no backup is performed to restore values prior to modifications. Samsung has released an application that restores GPS settings to recommended factory defaults for optinum [sic] performance.”

Right, then. It’s only compatible with the Captivate and Vibrant at the moment — no word on others like the Epic 4G, Mesmerize, or Fascinate, but folks on AT&T and T-Mobile should be able to nab it from the Market.

Samsung releases ‘GPS Restore’ app for Captivate and other Galaxy S models originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 16:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  source@SamsungMobileUS (Twitter), Samsung  | Email this | Comments

Luke, I am your smartphone (video)

NTT DoCoMo recently launched the Samsung Galaxy S in the Japanese market and now we’ve come to discover that it’s chosen a very forceful personality to represent the product to its discerning audience. Darth “roundabound” Vader has been starring in the carrier’s latest round of “always with you” ads, wherein he serves as a (sort of) human representation of the phone, thus lending some anthropomorphic qualities to the cold slab of technology awaiting you in the shops. This whole outlandish idea really shouldn’t work, but somehow it does — we want a little Vader in our lives too now. Video after the break.

Continue reading Luke, I am your smartphone (video)

Luke, I am your smartphone (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Nov 2010 07:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Wall Street Journal  |  sourceikasama117CMzero (YouTube)  | Email this | Comments

Giorgio Armani wants to captivate Galaxy S buyers with new Samsung handset (video)

Shock of all horrors, Samsung and Giorgio Armani have teamed up yet again to produce a specially endorsed handset for the fashion-conscious public. The fun thing about this oh-so-exclusive piece of Armani luxury is that it looks remarkably (read: exactly) like the AT&T Captivate that Americans have had the pleasure of using for a good few of months now. We’re hearing there’s some extra multimedia bundled in along with the GA brand name, so we’re absolutely positive your €700 will be well spent. If you’re not yet convinced, how’s about an unboxing video after the break?

[Thanks, Gianluca]

Continue reading Giorgio Armani wants to captivate Galaxy S buyers with new Samsung handset (video)

Giorgio Armani wants to captivate Galaxy S buyers with new Samsung handset (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Nov 2010 06:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink High Snobiety  |  sourcem4cch14n3r4 (YouTube)  | Email this | Comments

Is this the Nexus S?

Woah, what do we have here? A new “In Store” web-based flier from Best Buy Mobile has this little nugget on its front page: a previously unseen Galaxy S, running stock Android (possibly 2.3, based on the green icons and black notifications bar) and harboring what looks to be a front facing camera. Sounds like a Nexus S to us! Paired with this morning’s little Nexus S slip-of-the-tongue from Best Buy, we’re starting to get our hopes up. Don’t let us down, Google / T-Mobile / Samsung / Best Buy / planet earth!

[Thanks, Ryan C.]

Is this the Nexus S? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Nov 2010 13:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceBest Buy Mobile  | Email this | Comments