Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Samsung details Android ICS upgrade for US devices, but fails to reveal any official dates

Although the latest Android OS version, Ice Cream Sandwich, has been released more than five months ago, there are still a bunch of popular gadgets running on either Gingerbread or Honeycomb these days.
Samsung, probably the most successful Android device manufacturer of the moment, has failed to provide its customers with ICS updates for more than a handful of smartphones and tablets released during the past year or so, and users are clearly starting to lose their patience.
With probably exactly that in mind, Sammy has kindly released a new update schedule for US phones and tablets, detailing specific plans for devices from different carriers. Unfortunately, the list is a bit on the light side, lacking a couple of important gadgets, and it also doesn’t include any official release dates for the Android 4.0 upgrades.
AT&T customers should be the most content after taking a look at the list, which confirms upcoming updates for the Galaxy S2 (model number i777), the S2 Skyrocket SGH-i727), the Galaxy Note (SGH-i717), the Captivate Glide (SGH-i927), the Nexus S (SGH-i9020A), and the Galaxy Tab 8.9 (SGH-i957).
Verizon clients should expect an ICS update for the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the Tab 7.7 in the near future, while Sprint users, who have recently received an upgrade for the Nexus S 4G, should wait for a similar update for the Galaxy S2 Epic 4G Touch (model number SPH-d710).
 
As for T-Mobile customers, Sammy has failed to reveal any specific plans for upgrades. “We are in close communication with T-Mobile to ensure that eligible devices are upgraded to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in the coming months and will provide updates as we have additional details to share” is the only message Samsung has for T-Mobile users right. Of course, we have no way to know what “eligible devices” are they talking about and when could we expect these to be updated, but I guess there’s nothing else to do but wait and see.
Aside from the specific carrier-branded devices ready to get a big scoop of Ice Cream Sandwich, Samsung will also be updating the Wi-Fi Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, 8.9 and 10.1.
That’s all (kind of) good news for Sammy users in the United States these days, but there are still two important devices missing from the list. And while the first-edition Galaxy S is not a very big surprise, as we’ve been hearing rumors of it never receiving ICS before, we are a bit shocked to see the original 7-inch Galaxy Tab not figuring in Samsung’s update plans for the moment.
The 7-incher hasn’t exactly been Samsung’s most popular tablet ever, but it has sold pretty well, and I personally would have expected it to receive Ice Cream Sandwich. Oh, well, maybe it will after all, because Samsung hasn’t announced this list as being a definitive or complete one.
Is your Samsung device on the update list? Are you a T-Mobile customer and you’re just about to go mad over the most recent Samsung “message” for you? Do you think that the first Galaxy S or the original 7-inch Galaxy Tab will ever receive ICS? Hit us with a comment and let us know!

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