Samsung updates South Korean Galaxy S with “Value Pack”

Say, Galaxy S owners, you don’t want Ice Cream Sandwich, do you? No, that great performance and all those posh new features are for snobs who buy more than one phone every two years. Surely you’ll be more than satisfied with a few ICS imitation features added to reliable old TouchWiz via a “Value Pack“. Sarcasm aside, that’s the attitude that Samsung seems to be adopting with its add-on Value Pack for Gingerbread. The first country to get the update for the Galaxy S is Sammy’s home state of South Korea.

The additions do their best to emulate some of the more forward-facing features in Android 4.0, such as face unlock, a tweaked Launcher app and the ability to take photos while recording video. If (for some reason) owners are still using Android 2.1 or 2.2, they’ll need to upgrade to 2.3 before getting the update. The software is installed via Samsung’s Kies desktop application, not over-the-air. While the international (i9000) model of the Galaxy S should see updates for English and other languages, who knows if any of the four American variants of the Galaxy S will be updated. Considering carriers’ general attitudes towards “out of date” hardware, it seems unlikely.
Modders and custom ROM enthusiasts have been running honest-to-goodness Ice Cream Sandwich on their Galaxy S phones almost since it was released, and why not, since the hardware is almost identical to the Nexus S. With the Galaxy S II’s Ice Cream Sandwich out in the wild, it shouldn’t be too long before someone clever ports the updated TouchWiz back to the original. Even so, the lack of a real update leaves a sour taste in the mouths of those without the means or the inclination to modify their phones.

Device Specifications and Information

Device Info

Device Name : Galaxy S I9000

Manufactuer : Samsung

Carrier : NA

Announced Date : March 23, 2010

Release Date : June 02, 2010

Also Known As :

Display

• Screen Size : 4.00 Inch
• Resolution : 480x800
• Screen Type : Super AMOLED

Dimension & Weight

• Height : 4.82 Inch
• Width : 2.53 Inch
• Depth : 0.39 Inch
• Weight : 118 Grams

Battery & Power

Battery Type:
• Lithium Ion

• Battery Capacity : 1500 mAh
• Talk Time : NA
• Stand By Time : 750 hours

Software

Android OS:
• 2.1.x
• 2.2.x
• 2.3.x

Audio Playback:
• AAC
• AAC+
• AMR
• MID
• MP3
• WAV
• WMA

Video Playback:
• h.263
• h.264 / AVC
• 3GP
• MPEG-4 (MP4)
• WMV

Messaging:
• SMS
• MMS

Hardware

CPU : Cortex A8 Hummingbird

CPU Clock Speed : 1000 Mhz

Core : 1

Ram : 512 MB

Internal Storage : 16.384 GB

Front Facing Camera :

AOKP and stock ROMs update to Android 4.0.4 for the Galaxy Nexus LTE

If you’re an owner of Verizon’s Galaxy Nexus LTE and feeling a little left out of the Android 4.0.4 party, you’re not alone. Yesterday Google updated the GSM version of the Galaxy Nexus, along with the Nexus S and XOOM WiFi, to the latest version of Ice Cream Sandwich. Thankfully they updated the code in the Android Open Source Project at the same time, happily allowing anyone to download and compile Android 4.0.4 for themselves. And you know what that means. Droid-Life spotted the latest build of the Android Open Kang Project (AOKP) ROM and at least one stock ROM rocking the updated software.

Android Open Kang Project is a real up-and-coming hit in the fickle world of Android ROMs. Though it started on the Galaxy Nexus, it’s spread 20 devices from Samsung, HTC, ASUS, Motorola and more, with dozens of “kangs” branching off of the open-source builds. The updates and added features are coming fast and furious from the creators, who started off from the popular CyanogenMod base code. Picking and choosing mods and features from all over the Android community, the AOKP ROMs have made quite a name for themselves – yours truly runs AOKP on my Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy Tab 8.9. With the “Angry Unicorn” boot animation disabled, of course.
Those who prefer their Ice Cream Sandwiches with Vanilla flavor can download the stock AOSP build, compiled by notable ROM developer Birdman. The rest of the popular Android ROMs, including CyanogenMod 9, should start merging their code with the 4.0.4 build in the next week or so. There’s no word from Verizon on when the CDMA version of the Galaxy Nexus or XOOM will get an update… and since both devices have lost their official blessing from Google, it might be quite a while.

Device Specifications and Information

Device Info

Device Name : GALAXY Nexus 4G [Verizon]

Manufactuer : Samsung

Carrier : Verizon

Announced Date : December 14, 2011

Release Date : December 15, 2011

Also Known As : Nexus Prime

Display

• Screen Size : 4.65 Inch
• Resolution : 1280x720
• Screen Type : Super AMOLED

Dimension & Weight

• Height : 5.33 Inch
• Width : 2.67 Inch
• Depth : 0.37 Inch
• Weight : 150 Grams

Battery & Power

Battery Type:
• Lithium Ion

• Battery Capacity : 1850 mAh
• Talk Time : NA
• Stand By Time : 150 hours

Software

Android OS:
• 4.0.x

Audio Playback:
• AAC
• AAC+
• AMR
• MID
• MP3
• WAV
• WMA

Video Playback:
• h.264 / AVC

Messaging:
• SMS
• MMS

Hardware

CPU : OMAP 4460

CPU Clock Speed : 1200 Mhz

Core : 2

Ram : 1000 MB

Internal Storage : 32 GB

Front Facing Camera :

Get a free extended battery with the purchase of the Verizon Galaxy Nexus (SCH-i515)

Samsung Mobile is offering a free extended battery with the purchase and 2-year activation of the Verizon Galaxy Nexus (SCH-i515). Trust me, if you’re in the market for the Verizon version, you’re going to want to utilize this deal. The regular battery just doesn’t cut it, and as we’ve mentioned before, the extended battery doesn’t add much of any bulk. The extended battery is regularly priced at $49.99, and Verizon has been offering is for $24.99 for a while, but Free is much better. Hit the source link to get started.

Samsung Galaxy S 'value pack' comes to Korea, adds ICS features to Gingerbread

Despite some confusion as to whether it was or wasn't real, the fabled Samsung 'value pack' for original Galaxy S phones (the 'GT-i9000' GSM version, that is) has now started rolling out, beginning in Samsung's native South Korea. The pack attempts to make up for the fact that the OG Galaxy S isn't getting an official Ice Cream Sandwich update by bringing a handful of high-profile ICS features to the current version of Gingerbread. Same goes for the mid-range Galaxy K and Galaxy U.
These include face unlock, the ability to snap photos while recording video, enhanced photo editing features, and improved folder functionality in the Launcher. We're there are some who will settle for nothing less than a full ICS update, but it's nice to see Samsung offering something​ to owners of the Galaxy S, which launched in mid-2010 with Android 2.1 Eclair. The good news for anyone still holding out for ICS is that there's a great selection of Android 4.0 custom ROMs available for the phone, if you're willing to root.
No word on anyone outside of Korea getting this update, and we're not holding our breath when it comes to the U.S., where original Galaxy S hardware (and branding) is all over the place

Samsung launches 'store within a store' at leading Phones4U branch

Remember that thing Samsung was meant to be doing at Phones4U on Oxford Street, London on March 30? Shockingly, it turns out it's not a Galaxy S III launch event, but instead the opening of a store within a store at the leading branch. What this means, according to Samsung, is that a large portion of the store will be dedicated to all things Samsung, with the latest phones and tablets on show, and "play areas" for prospective customers to try them out.
Samsung already operates "Samsung Digital Plaza" locations in South Korea, but this is the first we've heard of the manufacturer getting more involved in the retail world outside of its home turf. We're not expecting any new products to show up at Phones4U tomorrow. But the store's prime location in central London, combined with the new Samsung partnership, may make it an ideal spot for showing off upcoming Samsung phones in the future
We've got Samsung's press release after the break.

SAMSUNG AND PHONES 4U LAUNCH NEW ‘STORE WITHIN A STORE’

 

29th March 2012, London, UK – Samsung Mobile and Phones 4u have today announced the opening of a new Samsung branded store within a Phones 4u store, in the heart of Central London. The store, which is located at 112-114 Oxford Street, will officially open to the public tomorrow, Friday 30th March, and will feature the widest range of live Samsung handsets available for demonstration anywhere in the UK.

 

The mezzanine area and a large portion of the ground floor at the Oxford Street store will be dedicated to Samsung. Customers and fans of the brand will have the chance to try out and buy products from across the range of high end Samsung smartphones and tablets. Three play tables will be placed on the floor containing Samsung hero products such as the Galaxy Note and the Galaxy Tab series.

 

Within the Samsung dedicated area, demonstrations of product convergence will take place, as this becomes ever more important to customers who want their mobile phone to act as the remote control to their lives. The demonstrations will be run by a Phones 4u retail team extensively trained on, and passionate about, all Samsung products. 

 

Customers will have a chance to see future technology first-hand via a 32” TV which will showcase Samsung’s AllShare technology, which allows the sharing of content wirelessly between devices including phones, tablets, TVs, and cameras. Three large bays on the walls will display Samsung’s entire range of contract handsets and prepay handsets – all of which will be live – and an extended range of accessories.  As well as showcasing the latest and most technologically advanced products, the store will be used as a venue for launches and celebrity personal appearances in the future.

 

Simon Stanford, Vice President, UK & IRE Telecommunications & Networks Division, Samsung said: “We’re extremely excited to be working with Phones 4u to open this ‘store within a store’ in the heart of London. As well as being able to buy products, we want the store to be an immersive and enjoyable experience for our customers.”

 

John Welsh, Retail Development Director at Phones 4u comments: “This partnership between Samsung and Phones 4u combines expertise, reputation and product innovation, and we’re excited to be bringing our customers an interactive and customer focused Samsung experience at our flagship store in Oxford Street. We have a strong history of successfully launching and selling Samsung Galaxy devices, which continue to be popular amongst our customers, and this makes us the perfect partner for this commercial adventure with Samsung.  It reinforces that not only do we now offer the widest range of live Samsung handsets in the UK, our retail teams are the Samsung product experts on the high street.”

Samsung Galaxy S ICS “Value Pack” Update Released… For Korea Only

 

You remember the Samsung Galaxy S smartphone right? You know the phone that is among the best selling handsets of all time? We know it’s old, really old. While Google has repeatedly highlighted Ice Cream Sandwich would obviously hypothetically work on any device capable of running Gingerbread 2.3, Samsung has argued having ICS on its Galaxy S devices is next to impossible due to umm… no room for both TouchWiz & ICS. The criticism flowed from all sorts of people and that caused Sammy to re-think its strategy for it’s best-selling device and think about releasing an alternative ICS Value Pack for that device which incorporates ICS features on a Gingerbread 2.3 device. Naturally Sammy changed its mind again and made it clear it would not release any sort of enhanced update for the Galaxy S.
Well Sammy had a change of heart and decided to release the Galaxy S Value Pack update… for those in Korea that is. The newly released update features sweet options such as Facial Unlock and the ability to take photos while shooting video. If you’re a Galaxy S owner in Korea, all you do is head out to the source link below for the specific details and files, fire up Kies 2.0 and boom— you’re all set for some welcomed additions to your device.
Before you ask— there’s no word on if a similar update will ever reach American shores. It’s probably a safe bet that you don’t hold your breath on it.

Samsung Outlines ICS Update Additions, ‘Face Unlock’ Now Requires You to Blink for Added Security

Samsung today announced new features that were added to the ICS update that is scheduled to hit select Galaxy devices. Samsung’s Product Planning Team, the folks in charge of creating the update, spoke with Samsung Tomorrow detailing what is to be expected in the Galaxy S II and Galaxy S firmware updates.
The man in charge of the Galaxy S “value pack” update, SangHyuck Nam, says the device’s firmware update will contain five additional functions and expects customers to be happy with the upgrade since they “tried to make functions as similar to those found in ICS as possible.” One of the more notable features included is the more secure ‘Face Unlock’ function, requiring the user to blink to prove that in fact it isn’t just some ne’er-do-well using a picture of the owner in an effort to unlock the device. Another big addition is a custom  version of Go Launcher, called S Go Launcher. This new launcher will allow the user to further customize the phone’s home screens and to replace standard ICS icons with ones of the owners chosing. Also included is ‘Photo Editor’, ‘Beta Font’ for font sizing, and a ‘Snapshot’ feature that allows for taking pictures while filming video.
As far as the Galaxy S II goes, applying the Samsung UI was the main reason for the update. Although a few new features have been added such as Face Unlock, Snapshot, Image Editor, a data usage monitoring application, and NFC powered ‘Android Beam.’
For those of you still curious as to Samsung’s update schedule, they had this to say regarding the matter:

For those waiting for the upgrade, you don’t need to worry because the ICS upgrade will be arriving successively for the GALAXY Note, GALAXY SII LTE, GALAXY S 2 HD LTE. Korean users can now receive Gingerbread firmware upgrades for GALAXY S, K and U, and it’s coming to GALAXY Tab (7”) S/K/U, GALAXY S Hoppin, GALAXY M Style soon.

How to manually update your GSM Galaxy Nexus to Android 4.0.4

Android 4.0.4 has started rolling out for the GSM/HSPA+ Samsung Galaxy Nexus (that's the international, non-Verizon version), as well as a couple of other devices. Not everyone's getting the automatic update right away, but fortunately we've got an easy method that'll allow you to manually update from the earlier version 4.0.2 to 4.0.4 with the minimum of fuss.

Note that this is for stock phones, and for people who want to update without really doing any real  hackery but don't mind a little command line work. Nothing we do here is permanent, other than the update itself. If you've already flashed CWM, then you probably already know what you're doing anyway. And with that ...

Thanks, cgrunner on XDA, for the OTA location

The prerequisites:

1. You need a GSM Galaxy Nexus with the product codename 'yakju'. NOT the Verizon Galaxy Nexus, or 'yakjuxw', or 'yakjusc' or any of the other variants we've heard about. Check your product name before you begin using this app.
2. You need to be running stock Android 4.0.2 (ICL53F) rather than any custom ROM.
3. You need the Android SDK installed. Note the path.
4. You need fastboot. (Windows or Mac)
5. You need to unlock your bootloader. If you haven't done that (and you really should), here's how. (Note that if you haven't already completed this step, unlocking your bootloader will wipe all data on your phone.)
6. Download the Android 4.0.2 to 4.0.4 update from Google here.
7. Download the latest ClockWorkmod recovery image from here.

Now, the instructions:

1. Copy the OTA package above to the /sdcard folder on your Galaxy Nexus
2. Drop the ClockworkMod file in the same folder you have fastboot in on your computer in the SDK folder (either /tools or /platform-tools).  Rename it to cwm.img to make things easy.
3. Reboot your Galaxy Nexus to bootloader mode (hold volume-up and volume-down, then press power).
4. Plug your phone into your computer, and open a command prompt or terminal.  Navigate to the folder with fastboot and the cwm.img inside it.
5. At the command line, type the following: fastboot-windows.exe boot cwm.img (or just fastboot.exe if that's what you've got)
6. Use the ClockWorkMod recovery menu to flash a zip file from the SD card, and choose the OTA zip file you downloaded earlier.
7. Let things run their course.

Presto, you've now got Android 4.0.4 on your GSM Galaxy Nexus. It seems like a lot of steps. But once you get the hang of it and understand what's going on (you're booting into ClockworkMod recovery instead of flashing it to your phone first, you're good to go.

New at ShopAndroid.com: Cruzerlite Androidified TPU case for the AT&T Galaxy Note!

You were just about to pass over this post because it has to do with cases and stores and stuff weren't you. That's too bad, because ShopAndroid.com has the Cruzerlite Androidified case for the AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note in stock. And to celebrate, we're going to give away a half-dozen. You'll need the AT&T version of the Galaxy Note, and you'll need to leave a comment in this thread, and that'll take care of that. We'll shut this one down at 10 p.m. EDT tonight, so get crackin'!

Android 4.0.4 Factory Images Released For Select GSM Nexus Devices

So what do you do if you’ve totally screwed up your system software on your GSM Nexus device? You need to flash a factory image to get back to stock, and as luck would have it, Google has released the official 4.0.4 (build IMM76D) factory images for the international GSM version of the Galaxy Nexus and the European and T-Mobile unlocked Nexus S. Flashing these files will leave your phones as if they were brand new and completely updated.
Flashing a factory image requires that you are not shy around a command line and fastboot, so it’s not for the faint of heart. If you’re brave and own one of these Nexus devices, download the images at the source link below.