Samsung Epic 4G receives an update to fix force-close issues

The Samsung Epic 4G is no stranger to updates, in fact it just received an update at the end of January, and now it's back with yet another one. This update looks like a small one on paper, but it definitely will be warmly welcomed by everyone. Unfortunately it appears as though the last update caused some issues with force closing when receiving a phone call, which can be quite an annoyance. They have fixed the issue along with enhancing the Sprint Connections Optimizer, so hopefully the signal should be a bit better now.  If you haven't already received the notification for the update be sure to hop into your settings and check manually.

AT&T Galaxy S II sees an ICS leak

Those of you that have the original AT&T Galaxy S II can stop being jealous of your Skyrocket-toting cousins.  There's now a leak of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich for your device, too.  Just like the leak for the AT&T Galaxy S II Skyrocket, this is likely not the final version of the software.  It's no surprise that we're seeing leaks for the AT&T phones, either, since they have already announced that they will receive an official Ice Cream Sandwich update. Nevertheless, the quickening pace of leaks suggests that the official ICS updates shouldn't be too far off.

Samsung Galaxy Beam UK pre-order prices emerge

If you were watching our MWC coverage closely, you'll recall the Samsung Galaxy Beam, a quirky 4-inch Gingerbread device with a 15 lumen pico projector. That means you can fire images up to 50 feet away from the device, making it the ideal choice for buyers who want to screw with their pets, or hold impromptu Powerpoint presentations on-the-go.

In any case, the Galaxy Beam has shown up today on UK retailer Clove Technology, with a surprisingly high pre-order price tag of £454.80 including VAT, or £379 (~$600) excluding VAT. For your money, the Galaxy Beam also delivers a 1GHz dual-core CPU, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage, expandable via microSD card. So you're mostly paying for that pico projector, and if you're after a mainstream smartphone there are certainly better deals to be had elsewhere.

There's no word on when (or even if) the Galaxy Beam will venture outside of European markets. But if you want to take a look at what it's capable of, you can check out our hands-on feature from Mobile World Congress after the break

Here's a video of an elephant playing with a Samsung Galaxy Note

Samsung's spent a lot of time and money marketing the Galaxy Note, its 5.3-inch phone-tablet hybrid device. It brought in director Bobby Farrelly to create last month's star-studded Super Bowl commercial, and poked fun iPhone users in a string of TV ads. And for its latest trick, it's sent the Note to Thailand to meet Peter the Elephant.
"Bigger is better" is Samsung's message here, and the video shows Peter using his trunk (and the stylus) to operate the Note's spacious 5.3-inch touchscreen. The ad agency behind the clip says the footage is all real, with no "trickery, post-production or hidden cuts", adding "he's just a very clever elephant."
If you've ever wanted to see a massive tusked beast making music, drawings and taking photos on a larger-than-average smartphone, then we've got a treat for you waiting after the break.

O2 Galaxy S II now getting Ice Cream Sandwich, What about the Unlocked UK models?

O2 just announced the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update is now live for the Galaxy S II, Of course, as usual it’s available through the Kies software. Last week Three was able to release the update so we are now at two carriers. We don’t expect to see T-Mobile UK or Orange until April, and Vodafone will likely follow suit.
What is alarming is that unlocked (non carrier branded) Galaxy S II owners in the UK are still waiting for the update. It was two weeks ago when Samsung released the ICS update, and usually the unlocked devices are the ones to get the update first. It’s always the carriers that cause the delays. We are fully used to that here in the U.S. as it’s a bigger joke here. Unlocked Galaxy S II owners in Hungary, Sweden, Poland, and Korea have received the update, but nobody in the UK.
On the situation, Samsung had this to say:

Samsung UK is working hard to bring Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) to our Galaxy S II customers. We are unable to confirm exact dates as the software testing and approval process is subject to several variables, but we are working as quickly as we can. Thank you for your patience.

Of course there are always hacks you can do to get the update, but seriously, the majority of people don’t want to do that. They just want the update. It’s already bad enough that only a handful of overall Android devices even have ICS 5 1/2 months after the SDK was released, and this only makes things worse. I’m definitely on the Android side of the fence for sure, but I am seriously concerned about updates. People are already talking about Jelly Bean, but not even 2% of the users have ICS. That to me is something that is seriously broken and needs to be fixed.

Cruzer Lite Introduces New Cases For Galaxy Note And Galaxy Nexus, Gives Them Another Reason To Look More Attractive

If you’re a Galaxy Note owner, a special treat has arrived for you all. Cruzer Lite– makers of the Androidified phone cases for the Galaxy Nexus and DROID RAZR/DROID RAZR MAXX– have come out and developed cases specially made for the Galaxy Note device. The 14 new cases featuring designs such as Andy Multiplied and Ice Cream Sandwich Andy, will be available for a mere $15 each. Oh and as an added incentive– if you order two of the same cases, you’ll get one free if you use the code BUY2GONE at Checkout.
Galaxy Nexus owners don’t fret— there are a plethora of cases are also available for your device as well. In addition, owners of the Galaxy Nexus will be able to use the Buy 2 Get One free deal also found with the Galaxy Note. Cruzer Lite also pledges additional phone cases will soon be available for the DROID RAZR and RAZR MAXX phones, so those owners won’t feel out of luck either.

March 30th Samsung mystery event revealed

Four days ago, we reported that a Phones4U store in London had posted a large Samsung sign with the words “Coming 30.03.12″ in their window. Many of us speculated that this could possibly be the launch date of the highly anticipated Galaxy S III. After all, this specific store location was the chosen one for the exclusive release of the Galaxy Nexus at its launch. Unfortunately the folks over at Pocket-lint have confirmed that the mystery display is no more than a store reopening date. The Phones4U shop is undergoing some renovations and will soon reopen with a new Samsung phone floor. These details were confirmed by actual renovators in the store as well as Phones4U employees working at another nearby location. It looks like we are back to waiting and hoping to hear something from Samsung in the near future.

Samsung boasts 5 million Galaxy Notes sold worldwide

It's been less than a month since we heard reports of Samsung selling its second million Galaxy Note, but already the manufacturer's official numbers have reached more than double that. Today Samsung Korea has revealed that it's sold 5 million Galaxy Notes worldwide. The new figure means the manufacturer's well on its way to reaching its reported 2012 target of 10 million global Note sales.

The 5.3-inch Galaxy Note, which launched in Europe in late October, will have seen a boost in sales following its launch in North America last month. Despite its enormous size and focus on pen input, it's proved to be a surprising success, shifting over 1 million units in Europe and Asia by the end of 2011, before reaching the 5 million milestone after its fifth month on sale. Even elephants are getting in on the stylus-based action.

Today's number is still dwarfed by sales of the Galaxy S II, which currently stand at over 20 million worldwide, with more than 5 million in Samsung's home territory of South Korea. Samsung recently expanded the Note line with the Galaxy Note 10.1, which we got to play with at last month's Mobile World Congress.