Hasta La Gadget!

Media Hub is nothing new to those toting Galaxy Tabs or Galaxy S phones. However, bigger screens are always better whether you’re watching 30 Rock or MacGruber, right? Good thing Sammy’s launched a beta program for its video service that lets those who are selected see all their favorite shows and movies on their Smart TVs. Just register at the source link below, and Samsung will send those it selects an email invitation to download the Media Hub Beta application. The catch (there’s always a catch) — it’s only available to Galaxy S II owners, and your Smart TV must be a 2011 model. But, if you do hit the Media Hub Beta lotto, the company’s handing out $25 voucher to use with the service. As if you needed another reason to go get Samsung’s superphone.

Samsung’s Media Hub Beta program for Galaxy S II owners adds some points to your Smart TV’s IQ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Oct 2011 22:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging to get updated. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it’s easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don’t escape without notice, we’ve gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery from the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Official Android updates

• The top story this week revolves around the HTC Thunderbolt’s long-awaited Gingerbread OTA update. It was finally rolling out, which was exciting news for owners of the device — until it had to be pulled because of some rather significant bugs. The largest of them all was that voicemail notifications no longer worked properly; video chatting through Google Talk was also slightly messed up as well. No word on when we can expect to see it come back with those bugs fixed. [Droid-Life]
• Unfortunately, the Thunderbolt isn’t the only phone falling victim to pulled revamps; the LG Optimus S on Sprint had its Gingerbread update kiboshed, though users have had two weeks to get it — plenty of time for anyone to experience some of the bugs, which included the phone not charging, the SD card not being recognized when the phone’s connected to the computer, no access to data services, and predictive text on the virtual keyboard stopped working. It’s disappointing to see this happen so soon after the Kyocera Echo update went through a similar debacle. [SprintFeed]
• LG Optimus 3D: V10K firmware update, enables phone to convert OpenGL-capable 2D games into stereoscopic 3D. Note: this still runs Android 2.2.2, so we’re still waiting for Gingerbread. [AndroidCentral]
• Motorola Xoom WiFi: Android 3.2.1 is beginning to roll out. [AndroidCentral]
• Dell Streak 7: Honeycomb update rolling out now to unspecified regions [AndroidCentral]
• Asus Eee Pad Transformer: Revamped to Android 3.2.1, adds other bug fixes [AndroidCommunity]
• Casio G’Zone Commando: Gingerbread rolling out now [Droid-Life]
• Motorola Droid 3: Minor maintenance refresh; enhances Google Talk with video chat support, several other fixes. [PhoneDog]
• T-Mobile Samsung Nexus S: OTA install (with option to manually install) to Android 2.3.6; doesn’t appear to break tethering. [AndroidCentral]

Unofficial Android updates, custom ROMs and misc. hackery

• The Android 2.3.5 ROM for the global Samsung Galaxy S II leaked early this week. [Pocketnow, SamFirmware]
• You can now download the Android 2.3.4 SBF for the Motorola Droid X2, courtesy of XDA. [Droid-Life]
• If you have a Sony Ericsson Xperia-branded device from 2010 or 2011, CyanogenMod7 support will most likely come included as part of an upcoming update. Ten Xperia devices will be added, though a timeframe for release wasn’t announced. Check here to see if your device made the list. [XperiaBlog]

Other platforms

• Check here to see if your phone is ready to receive Windows Phone Mango.
• The ultra-rare AT&T HP Pre 3 just received an OTA update to 2.2.3.2207, right after a new webOS Doctor became available for the same refresh. [PreCentral]

Refreshes we covered this week

• Windows Phone 7.5 Mango update now rolling out
• How to force Mango to your phone right away
• Samsung Taylor receiving Mango?

Refresh Roundup: week of September 26, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 02 Oct 2011 11:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here comes the second episode of a thrilling three-part saga. Not content with simply selling ten million units of the GT-I9100 — its flagship device — in the course of the last five months, Samsung’s ready to flood the good ol’ US of A with a healthy dose of the Galaxy S II, and it has three carriers — Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile — already signed up on the dotted line. The Epic 4G Touch has already made its way into stores (not to mention the hearts of customers), and Ma Bell’s next in line to appease the masses.

This time, things are a smidge different. Whereas Sprint opted to enlarge the screen and add in a few other select design tweaks, it appears that AT&T wanted to keep its variant — appropriately named the Galaxy S II — as close to the international smash hit as possible, opting for the same display size, squared corners and battery (albeit, with a twist). As it turns out, the tweaks are much more subtle than they were on last year’s Samsung Captivate, which arguably looked almost nothing like the original Galaxy S. So does AT&T’s model fit in with its two close compadres? Was its design choice the right decision for this go-round? Follow us below to get the full scoop.

Continue reading AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II review

AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung might have already announced T-Mobile’s variant of the Galaxy S II, but here at Mobilize the carrier’s gone and revealed all the nitty-gritty details. We can now confirm that the 4.52-inch smartphone wields a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 processor clocked at 1.5GHz, eschewing Sammy’s 1.2GHz Exynos found on its other stateside brethren. And much like the just announced Amaze 4G, it’ll be one of the first phones to take advantage of the carrier’s 42Mbps HSPA+ and T-Mobile TV functionality. The TouchWiz-covered, Gingerbread 2.3.5-sportin’ superphone can be yours on October 10th for $229.99 (after a $50 mail in rebate) from Deutsche Telekom’s website, or in stores and select dealers on the 12th. Stay tuned for an impending hands-on — you can bide time by eying the PR after the break, or having a look at the gallery below.

Keep up with our Mobilize 2011 coverage here!

Continue reading T-Mobile makes Galaxy S II official at Mobilize: ships on October 12th for $230

T-Mobile makes Galaxy S II official at Mobilize: ships on October 12th for $230 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Sep 2011 14:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Since its debut in April, Samsung claims to have moved 10 million Galaxy S IIs — not quite iPhone numbers (which sold 20 million units in Q2 alone), but still quite impressive. It’s especially noteworthy since, at the end of July, only five million had passed into customers’ hands. In just eight weeks the number of Galaxy S IIs sold has doubled, and Sammy’s flagship device has yet to even make a dent here in the US. At this rate the S II is set to far eclipse its ubiquitous predecessor’s sales figures, which took over seven months to hit the same milestone. Check out the self-congratulatory PR after the break.

Continue reading Samsung moves ten million Galaxy S II smartphones, pats itself on the back

Samsung moves ten million Galaxy S II smartphones, pats itself on the back originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Sep 2011 14:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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