gingerbread

Samsung's Galaxy S II smartphone has racked up record sales even before it's hit the hot U.S. market.

The Korean mobile-phone maker said yesterday that it sold more than 5 million units of the Galaxy S II in the 85 days following its debut. Announcing the sales on its Samsung Tomorrow page (Google Translate English version), Samsung said that the phone has captured the top market share among more than 10 countries in Europe.

In comparison, the original Galaxy S took 125 days to reach the same 5-million-unit sales mark.

The GS II launched in its home … Read more

Verizon Wireless's Android lineup grew a little stronger today when the carrier began deploying 2.3 Gingerbread to the Motorola Droid X2. The 101MB software update features a number of bug fixes and general enhancements plus improvements to existing applications. As is the case with nearly all recent Verizon updates, the addition of a new Download Manager app provides a central place to handle downloads.

Other details in the 1.3.232 update include calendar enhancements, improved copy and paste, and geotagging capability for the camera app. The home screen and user experience also get a revamp with new widgets, icons, screen transitions, and home customizable tray icons.

It will be interesting to see how this software update is received by Verizon's user base considering the carrier's concerns over Motorola's recent Gingerbread updates. Less than one month ago, for example, we heard that the carrier was shelving all 2.3 updates from Motorola over issues arising with other handsets.

Indeed, a quick look at the Motorola Support forums tells us that Droid X users have been plagued with multiple issues since they updated to 2.3 last month. … Read more

Sony Ericsson is now offering some Xperia X10 owners the chance to upgrade their smartphones to Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

To update the Xperia X10, which was formerly running Android 2.1 Eclair, users need to connect the device to their computers and employ the company's PC Companion software. Over-the-air updates are so far not available.

According to Sony Ericsson, the availability of Gingerbread for user devices "is dependent on operator and/or country," so it cannot provide an "exact date for when the update will be available for you."

Sony Ericsson released the Xperia … Read more

AT&T is showing its commitment to Android this morning with an announcement that confirms Android 2.3 Gingerbread updates to the following phones: HTC Inspire 4G, LG Phoenix, Motorola Atrix 4G, Pantech Crossover, Samsung Captivate, and Samsung Infuse 4G.

Atrix 4G owners will get their update starting today, while Inspire 4G users will receive an update in August. The Atrix 4G update will also let users download apps from third-party stores. Due to different manufacturer skins and other performance issues, AT&T has not revealed when the rest of the aforementioned devices will get their updates.

The other Android 2.3 Gingerbread phone not on the list is the HTC Status, which is AT&T's first Android 2.3 smartphone.… Read more

Sprint announced today that it will begin rolling out an update to the Nexus S 4G on Monday, July 25, to improve the smartphone's 4G data speeds and signal strength.

The update comes after a number of customers complained about poor 4G performance and other connectivity issues--something we also experienced during additional testing--though Sprint says the Nexus S 4G showed excellent performance in preproduction testing.

Still, it's nice to see that Sprint is addressing the issue. In addition to boosting 4G performance, the company says the update will improve Wi-Fi connectivity and speakerphone quality and adds TTY support … Read more

The Samsung Nexus S is slowly but surely making the rounds, and the latest carrier to land the Android smartphone is AT&T.

Samsung announced today that the AT&T version of the Nexus S will be available through Best Buy online on July 21 and in stores on July 24. Presales start today, and the cost is $99.99 with a two-year contract.

Already available through T-Mobile and Sprint, the Nexus S runs stock Android 2.3 Gingerbread and features a 4-inch Super AMOLED touch screen, a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, NFC support, a 5-megapixel camera, and a … Read more

HTC has been pushing the 8-megapixel camera on the T-Mobile MyTouch 4G Slide hard, mostly for its low-light capabilities and its "zero shutter lag." I won't dispute that it delivers excellent photo quality overall, and that it's a great camera to use, but calling it the "most advanced smartphone camera" on the market is going too far.

To see just where it triumphs and fails in executing still photography, I spent several days shooting outdoor, indoor, low light, and well-lit photos with four smartphones around the San Francisco Bay Area: the MyTouch 4G Slide, … Read more

After months of waiting, U.S. consumers will soon be able to get their hands on the Samsung Galaxy S II.

Speaking to a group of Korean journalists earlier today, Samsung's president of mobile business and digital imaging Shin Jong-kyun said that the best-selling handset will make its way to the States "sometime in August."

As it did with the original Galaxy S series, Samsung plans to make the Galaxy S II available across multiple carriers. Each provider will offer a slight variation of the device, preloading the handset with its own bundle of applications and services. … Read more

Barnes & Noble Nook Color owners now have a new option that can turn their e-readers into full-fledged Android tablets.

Sold by a company called Nook2Android, a SanDisk microSD card preloaded with Android 2.3 Gingerbread and the Android Market essentially transforms Nook Color readers into Android tablets.

Available in three sizes and prices ($34.99 for 8 gigabytes, $49.99 for 16 GB, and $89.99 for 32GB), the SD card plugs directly into the Nook, letting the device boot into Android mode. A boot menu gives users the choice of loading Android or the Nook operating system, while removing the card will automatically transform the Nook back into its normal e-reader state.

In Android mode, Nook owners can use the built-in Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n to surf the Web and run various preinstalled apps, such as Gmail, Facebook, and Pandora, according to Nook2Android. Apps can be downloaded and installed directly from the Android Market. The company also promises that using the cards won't affect the Nook's internal memory or void the warranty from B&N.… Read more