According to a Samsung insider, the OEM is currently making plans to upgrade certain devices to the upcoming Android 5.0 operating system. From what was reported, it looks like the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy S4 can expect to see it, as well as the Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy Tab 10.1, and Galaxy Note 8.0. Android 5.0, which is rumored to be named Key Lime Pie, should be unveiled at this year’s Google I/O event in May. 

As for which current older devices are getting the bump up to Android 4.2.2, the list is pretty impressive. There is the Galaxy S3 mini, the Galaxy S2 and most of its variants, the OG Galaxy Note, and a ton of other non-top tier devices.

It’s nice to hear about OEM’s staying on top of the ball when it comes to updates to Android.

Via: SamMobile

Cheers Open1Your1Eyes0!

Samsung Galaxy Note and S2 to Receive Android 4.2.2, Galaxy S3 and Note 2 to Receive Android 5.0 is a post from: Droid Life

Every time a Galaxy device gets released from Samsung, they are quick to tell us the sales numbers after the launch, as each new device is on a level not matched by many in the industry. All of those sales numbers have added up to the point where today, Samsung has announced that all of their Galaxy S devices have totalled over 100 million devices in the hands of consumers.

Samsung took to their Flickr page to post the short announcement and also give us more numbers on the Galaxy S3. The S3 has sold 30 million units over the past 5 months, 40 million in 7 months, and they estimate that there are 190,000 S3 units sold each day.

Just think, in a few months time the Galaxy S4 may be contributing to these ridiculous sales numbers. Too soon?

Via:  Samsung Tomorrow

Samsung Passes 100 Million Mark for Galaxy S Phones is a post from: Droid Life

Before the Galaxy S3 hit the world, the Galaxy S2 was in the business of setting sales records and being the leading Android device of its time. Good news then for those who have yet to make the jump from their S2, Samsung Korea posted a document that details the upgrade from Ice Cream Sandwich to Jelly Bean. Samsung is throwing in some Project Butter and other Jelly Bean Google Apps, but the document makes no mention of Google Now, which is a huge part of Android 4.1.

SamMobile also noted that this update repartitions the phone’s system memory during the update and could take upwards of an hour to complete. The update will also need to be pulled from Samsung Kies when it is released, as there are no plans for an OTA at this point. However for those S2 owners out there this is great news, hopefully the update won’t be too far away.

Via: SamMobile

Samsung Korea Says Galaxy SII Will Receive Jelly Bean OTA Through Samsung Kies is a post from: Droid Life

Samsung now has a support page dedicated to listing out the devices that they expect to update to Jelly Bean. The page lists out the Galaxy Nexus (both Sprint and Verizon versions), the Nexus S 4G, and the Galaxy S3 on all of the major U.S. carriers. As you’ll see below, they show that Jelly Bean is already available for all of the Nexus devices listed (which it is), but would only go as far as “Coming Soon!” for all Galaxy S3 variants. According to this page, the list will be altered as needed or updated when updates or information about those are released. 

One thing we are a bit concerned about is the lack of a Galaxy S2 presence. The device has been out for some time now, but is still one of the better phones on the planet and surely can run Android 4.1. In fact, Samsung has already committed to updating the GS2 overseas, so we can’t imagine that this list won’t eventually contain GS2 variants as well. So if you own the previous version of the Galaxy S2, let’s not freak out yet.

Via:  Samsung | The Android Soul

Samsung Sets Up Jelly Bean Update Page for Devices, Galaxy S3 Only Listed as “Coming Soon!” is a post from: Droid Life

Is Isis, the mobile payment joint venture between Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile, finally ready for prime time? According to a changelog for a new software update that is headed to T-Mobile’s Galaxy S2, it may very well be. For those not familiar, Isis is an NFC-based mobile payment system that 3 of the 4 major U.S. wireless carriers (Sprint excluded) partnered up to create. It’s essentially the reason that Google Wallet won’t work on any of your phones. 

In this changelog for the Galaxy S2, we see an improvement listed as “ISIS/NFC update.” This could mean a couple of things – that the app will be included in the update or that T-Mobile is simply prepping the phone to be able to use the Isis app. Either way, this is move we should all be excited to see.

The last we heard, Isis was still in or about to go into testing in Austin, TX and Salt Lake City, UT. The time frame for those markets to have all of the fun, was “summer.”

Ready for Isis? Or should I phrase that, “Are you ready to finally take advantage of that NFC chip and ditch your wallet?”

Via:  T-Mobile | Android Police

T-Mobile’s Galaxy S2 the First to Receive ISIS NFC Mobile Payment App? is a post from: Droid Life

According to the insiders of SamMobile, Samsung plans to roll out Jelly Bean to their top tier of devices starting sometime between this quarter and Q4 of this year. As per their report, the Galaxy S3 would be the first to see the update and testing is already underway. If everything goes according to plan, we could expect the push sometime around this quarter.

As for the Galaxy S2, Note, and Note 2, they can expect to see a possible Jelly Bean update sometime in Q4. As is the nature of rumors and insiders, Samsung has neither confirmed nor denied these reports. A winter release would make plenty of sense for JB to arrive for the Galaxy S3, given they have plenty of time to work the kinks out and so they can update their TouchWiz skin accordingly. 

Ready to leave Ice Cream Sandwich in the dust?

Via: SamMobile

Samsung Rolling Out Jelly Bean to the Galaxy SIII Starting in Q3? is a post from: Droid Life

Motorola Qinara (Atrix 3?) Makes a Stop By the FCC, Doesn’t Reveal Much

The Qinara made quite the splash when we heard about it and got this leaked image of it last week. It has since made a trip by the FCC to make things all official but unfortunately no new details were confirmed for us other than it will have LTE on-board, which no one was doubting. 720p HD screen, Ice Cream Sandwich and on-screen navigation keys all on board allegedly so we’ll just have to wait until AT&T decides to tell us if we are wrong or not. 

Via: Pocketnow

SGH-T699 is a QWERTY Samsung Phone, Not the Galaxy Nexus

Much to do was made over at AL when there was a rumor of an unannounced Samsung phone that was sporting a 720p screen and a few other features. All signs were pointing to the phone being T-Mobile’s version of a Galaxy Nexus coming to the carrier in the near future. The guys over at TmoNews however have finally gotten a picture of the T699, and found out that it’s a full-featured 5-row QWERTY phone. The phone is said to run Android 4.0 right out of the gate and have a 5MP camera on the back as well, but all the other specs are still missing at this moment. A little disappointing that T-Mo didn’t have a Nexus up their sleeve but we’ll wait to see what this phone looks like.

Via: TmoNews

Need a Pretty Decent Phone for Your Father’s Day Present? AT&T Selling Galaxy SII for $9.99

Sure the Galaxy SIII may be weeks away at this point but what if your dad isn’t the most tech savy guy in the world, and you want to hook him up with a good smartphone? AT&T has knocked the Galaxy SII down to $9.99 for the holiday and this makes for a great gift. The SII is one of the best selling Android phones ever so you can’t go wrong here. The only downside is that it isn’t the LTE version, but even then this is still a good deal.

Via: Phandroid

Official CM9 Nightlies Hit for AT&T Galaxy SII Skyrocket and T-Mobile Galaxy SII

CyanogenMod 9 is a big upgrade from the last CyanogenMod and it’s taken some time, but more and more phones are finally getting their own builds. Today we can add two more phones to the fold of “nightly” builds, or builds that are the cutting edge of Android, freshly put together from their code. The T-Mobile Galaxy SII and the AT&T Skyrocket both now have builds available for download at the source links below. Get to downloading!

Download: T-Mobile SII | AT&T Skyrocket

Android Other: Moto Qinara Stops by FCC, Galaxy SII On Sale, T-Mobile Not Getting a Galaxy Nexus Yet and CM9 For Everyone is a post from: Droid Life

(Click to enlarge)

Specs: Galaxy SIII vs. Galaxy SII vs. Galaxy Nexus vs. HTC One X is a post from: Droid Life

Another week and another Samsung Galaxy SIII rumored launch date to add to the growing list. This week it comes out of Korean news site Electronics Times News who claims that the device will be roughly 7mm thick, launching some time in May. Now, we have seen reports that suggest March, April, and July, so why not put May into play? After hearing from Samsung that they will not unveil the device at the end of this month at MWC and will instead throw a special Samsung event, these later dates sound like much more of a reality.

Aside from the device being ultra-slim, ETNews also mentioned that the phone should run Ice Cream Sandwich, contain “high quality cameras” and have 3D capabilities.

Anything else you would love to see in the Galaxy SIII?  HD Super AMOLED Plus screen?

Via:  ETNews, BGR

Rumor: 7mm Thick Samsung Galaxy SIII May Launch in May is a post from: Droid Life

Now that we know for sure that Samsung will not be unveiling a new flagship device at MWC at the end of the month, the device pictured above has surfaced to confuse the hell out of everyone. Is it a Galaxy SII re-hash? The Galaxy SII Plus that was floating around yesterday? Is it a fake?

What we have is a device that looks like all other Samsung devices that were released from within the last year, only the normal navigation buttons have been swapped out to mimic the on-screen keys that we have been introduced to with the Galaxy Nexus. We also can see that the calendar has been updated to mention Sammie’s keynote at MWC. The location on the calendar even says “Barcelona” which is where the event will take place. The device is clearly running Ice Cream Sandwich too.

What do you guys think? Re-hash of the Galaxy SII to hold everyone over until the Galaxy SIII is ready or is it a fake?

Update:  We are all pretty sure that this is a fake, right? Plus, not every app on the planet is built for ICS and does not have the new “action bar.” If you don’t go with on-screen buttons and then remove the menu button from the physicals, you are simply put, screwed.

Via:  Twitter, BGR

New Samsung Galaxy Device With Ice Cream Sandwich Buttons Leaked Before MWC? (Updated: Got to be Fake) is a post from: Droid Life

Click here to view the embedded video.

During this year’s Super Bowl, Samsung is going to roll out of their latest ad spot which continues on with the theme of Galaxy SII vs. iDevice. Their widely popular scene of a Samsung owner showing up in front of a line of loyal Apple users is taken to the next level in this lead-in with the term “Samsunged” after an SGS2 owner 1-ups a line member. Is “Samsunging” going to catch on? Sick of these spots yet? Enjoy!

Samsung’s “We Just Got Samsunged!” Ad Campaign To Kick Off During Super Bowl is a post from: Droid Life

When a new Android OS is coming out, the question on everyone’s mind is always, “Will it come to my device?” Samsung owners can now know the fate of their devices with the newest report coming from Samsung Italy. The Korean based manufacturer looks to only update a few existing handsets.

We have the Galaxy SII which has become Samsung’s flagship handset. We know it sports more than enough power to run Ice Cream Sandwich with ease and definitely deserves to receive the update. Samsung’s entire lineup of next generation tablets will also receive the update which makes sense to us, and don’t be surprised if you see ICS running on these tablets before any others.

• Galaxy SII
• Galaxy Note
• Galaxy Tab 10.1
• Galaxy Tab 8.9
• Galaxy Tab 7.7
• Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus

It’s clear that Samsung has realized the formula for creating a popular Android device. Powerful hardware, newest and most impressive operating system, and a delightful spot on Google’s good side with the Galaxy Nexus. We’re a little interested on the fate of the DROID Charge – curiously we don’t see it on the list.

Via: AndroidHD

Wondering Which Samsung Devices Will Get The Bump To Ice Cream Sandwich? Here’s The List is a post from: Droid Life

It could just be us, but does it seem that Samsung might have something they want to prove to the average consumer? Apple’s announcement of the new i*hone has given Samsung a supposed edge over the world’s #1 smartphone manufacturer and they are going to sink their teeth in as deep as possible when trying to show consumers that Sammy means business.

Recently released is a spec sheet of Samsung’s Galaxy SII alongside the new i*hone 4S. It would be nice if it was Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus instead, but this will just have to suffice for all of us Verizon users. Go get em, Samsung. 

In terms of buying a smartphone, what do you feel the percentage of people that buy the product are actually concerned about specs? We know that some people buy products due to familiarity - so will being an Apple product in general help the i*hone 4S become a huge success? Should Samsung start doing more to show just how much better the SGSII/Galaxy Nexus is in comparison? Let us know.

Spec Sheet Shows Samsung Galaxy SII Up Against New iPhone 4S is a post from: Droid Life

Today in other Android news…

• T-Mobile joins Verizon in the fight against Apple hating on Samsung.  Your turn AT&T.
• Samsung will now pay our the rear to Microsoft for all Android devices sold.  Bleh.
• Toshiba is willing to take another shot at the tablet game with this 7″ model.
• AT&T Galaxy S2 vs. T-Mobile Galaxy S2.  Who wins?
• Galaxy Tab 10.1 heading to T-Mo at some point – we wonder, why?
• The HTC Raider pops up down under (wait?) sporting 4G and lookin’ fly.

All of the rest of your non-Verizon Android-related news is available every day over at Android Life.

T-Mobile Speaks Out Against Apple vs. Samsung, Microsoft and Sammie Form Partnership, New Toshiba 7″ Tab [from AL] is a post from: Droid Life

Today in other Android news…

• Samsung announced the Galaxy SII HD with LTE.  Can you say identical to Galaxy Nexus?
• Speaking of the Galaxy SII – Samsung topped the 10 million units sold mark.
• LG G-Slate vs. a real flamethrower.  Who wins?
• T-Mobile announced their version of the Galaxy SII which is the sexiest of them all.
• They then announced the HTC Amaze 4G which is just as beastly.
• Atrix 2 dock pictures leaked – Motorola going with a universal dock approach?

To stay up-to-date on the latest non-Verizon Android news, be sure to subscribe to Android Life.

Flamethrowers vs. Tablets, Galaxy SII HD with LTE, Atrix 2 New Dock, T-Mo SGS2 [from AL] is a post from: Droid Life