The Samsung announcement about updates to Google's Android Ice Cream Sandwich
is something of a double-edged sword. Yes, it's happening for a number of
devices, but not soon and certainly not for the company's entire portfolio.
Let's get the good news out of the way first. According to The Next Web,
Samsung in Italy has confirmed that certain devices will be upgraded to Android
4.0. In its statement, the company flagged up the Samsung Galaxy S II and the
Galaxy Note, along with the Tab 10.1, Galaxy Tab 8.9, Galaxy Tab 7.7 and Galaxy
Tab 7.0. If you've got one of those, so far, so good. If you haven't, perhaps
prepare for the worst. After all, with the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus,
Samsung is perhaps the company with the best working knowledge of the new
platform. So it might also know of potential problems upgrading to other devices
too. Saying that, it might not have got round to checking all handsets and
tablets yet – here's hoping.
But that's not the end of the story. The rollout isn't coming anytime soon.
Samsung is talking about the second quarter of 2012 before it rolls out the
upgrades. That could be down to the problem of getting it playing nicely with
the company's TouchWiz interface. More cynically, it could be because Samsung
wants to sell some Galaxy Nexus smartphones. But the bottom line is that you're
unlikely to see the update before spring next year, especially when you add in
network testing time.
Samsung isn't alone in taking its time. HTC has also confirmed that it isn't
planning on bringing the latest version of Android to its phones soon, being
careful not to affect the functionality of its handsets for the sake of a few
new features. So if you want it on a phone, you'll need to buy the Galaxy Nexus.
Unless you've got a Nexus S – an upgrade on that phone could be through before
the year is out.
No comments:
Post a Comment