Eurodroid » Handsets

Android 4.0 coming to HTC Desire HD, Desire S and Incredible S

Gary_C — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:48:12 +0000

HTC has just issued a statement on its plans to bring Android 4.0 to some of its phones, confirming that the HTC Sensation XE and Sensation XL will be first in line to receive the update. They’ll be getting it from “the end of March.”

And even more exciting is news that HTC has added a second wave of phones to the list of Android 4.0 upgrade candidates, with the HTC Desire HD, Desire S and HTC Incredible S all now down to receive the “Ice Cream Sandwich” 4.0 enhancement. Here’s the full announcement from HTC:

HTC has been working hard to get its Ice Cream Sandwich upgrades ready, and we’re excited to announce that our first round of ICS upgrades will roll out by the end of March for the HTC Sensation and HTC Sensation XE, followed soon thereafter by the HTC Sensation XL.

In addition, we can confirm Ice Cream Sandwich upgrades will be coming later this year to the HTC EVO 3D, HTC Incredible S, HTC Desire S and HTC Desire HD. Stay tuned for more updates on Ice Cream Sandwich releases in the coming weeks

Great news. Unless you own an HTC Desire Z, in which case you may carry on being angry on the internet.

HTC Desire HD updating with Android 2.3.5 and HTC Sense 3.0

Orange San Francisco II now available in, you guessed it, white

Gary_C — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:44:41 +0000

Orange is now accepting online orders for the white version of the middlingly-popular Orange San Francisco II, which start at the £10.50 per month level for a contract plus a “free” phone. That bargain basement Orange SIM includes a rather useless 30 minutes of talktime and 100MB of mobile data, mind, so it’ll cost a bit more than that if you want it on a proper grown-up’s tariff.

The phone’s a rather small update of the groundbreaking original San Fran, offering a 3.5″ screen running at 480×800 resolution, with the fun stuff brought into life by an 800MHz processor. And now with white bits on show.

The white model is not being sold direct on PAYG basis yet, so that’s your only choice. And the black PAYG one’s currently out of stock.

Link via SoMobile.

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White HTC Sensation XE launching on February 20th

Gary_C — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:15:05 +0000

What is going on with this mass explosion of whiteness? The latest Android phone to receive an all-white upgrade is the HTC Sensation XE, which will see a new white variant arriving in the UK on February 20th.

The first of the SIM-free retailers to hurriedly forward us this news was Clove, which has a pre-order page up for the whiter XE along with a price tag of £408 attached to it for an unlocked model. Here it is:

All we need now is a limited edition HTC Sensation XL that comes in black, and we’ll be well on the way to a complete mental breakdown.

WINNER! Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY competition

Gary_C — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:07:59 +0000

The judge of random luck has decided. Of the 1,508 people that entered our Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY competition, one has emerged victorious. The winner, chosen at random from all entries, is… Glenn H. Glenn correctly worked out that Sony Ericsson will soon just be called “Sony” due to serious business reasons.

Well done, Glenn. This is what your hands will look like soon:

Hope you like it and are in when the postman calls. Do let us know how you get on with it. And thanks to everyone else who entered.

STATS: Android 2.3 now powering 58.6% of Android devices

Gary_C — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:47:42 +0000

Google’s Android Developer site has once again updated its ultimately nerdy Platform Versions data, giving us a look at how the Android world was pieced together during the two-week period ending February 1st. Cue the Top of the Pops theme!

Android 2.3 is the biggest mover, up from powering 55% of all Android phones last month to just over 58% this time around, with Android 3.0 holding steady and, well, not much else in the way of action, as there haven’t been any exciting new releases since the appearance of the Galaxy Nexus late last year. Here’s the breakdown:

The data from last month had Android 4.0 showing as the OS on 0.6% of all Android phones, with the various versions of Android 4.0 now taking 1% of the market today.

STATS: Android 2.3.3 of 55% of all devices, Android 4.0 on the radar too

Samsung Galaxy S II Plus pictured – same thing, Android 4.0 buttons

Gary_C — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:07:41 +0000

This, according to a tweet from notorious mobile industry troublemaker Eldar Murtazin, is the Samsung Galaxy S II Plus. As the name suggests, it’s a pretty small update of the popular Galaxy S II, with the most obvious change being the addition of capacitive buttons which copy the on-screen system of the Galaxy Nexus and its Android 4.0 system.

With yesterday’s news that we won’t be seeing the Galaxy S III at this month’s Mobile World Congress event, it looks like Samsung is depending on its fans being kept happy by marginally more capable Galaxy S II update with Android 4.0 onboard.

It works for us. We’d have one. As a stopgap between now and whenever the Galaxy S III actually arrives. You can never have too many telephones.

Link via Into Mobile.

HTC Sensation Android 4.0 update pictured

Samsung & Vodafone launch Olympic ticket giveaway

Gary_C — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:34:57 +0000

Samsung and the UK wing of Vodafone have announced a competition to give away Olympic tickets to us lot, with the pair of mobile giants giving away 91 pairs of tickets to various London Olympic events.

To qualify to enter, you have to buy any Galaxy-branded Android model (Samsung Galaxy S II, Galaxy Y, Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy Ace or Galaxy Mini) through Vodafone UK between February 1st and February 29th 2012, then download a special app (that’ll be this Samsung 2012 app which we’ve previously bewilderingly mentioned on Twitter) and you’ll be in.

Then through some selection mechanic winners will be chosen. Read more about the prizes, events included and entry criteria at samsung/com/uk/vodafone. Here’s the thing endorsed by both sets of marketing people:

SAMSUNG GET SET TO GIVE AWAY 91 PAIRS OF LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES TICKETS ACROSS GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND

Buy any Galaxy smartphone from Vodafone UK and you could win tickets to the London 2012 Olympic Games – including the Men’s 100 metres Final thanks to Samsung

LONDON, UK, 1st February – Samsung, Worldwide Olympic Partner in the wireless communications equipment category, are offering customers across Great Britain and Northern Ireland the chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. With anticipation and excitement rapidly building in the run up to the London 2012 Olympic Games, this unique competition, gives people the chance to win a pair of tickets to the London 2012 Olympic Games and be part of this fantastic sporting occasion when buying a Samsung Galaxy smartphone from Vodafone UK – either in one of their stores, online or over the phone.

91 pairs of tickets to just under 50 of the most highly sought after London 2012 Olympic Games events are up for grabs to customers who purchase any Samsung Galaxy smartphone between 1st February and 29th February 2012.

Customers lucky enough to win a pair of tickets could be attending some of the most popular London 2012 Olympic Games events, including the iconic Men’s 100 meters Final, Track Cycling at the newly created Velodrome and swimming events at the Aquatics Centre.

Simon Stanford, Managing Director, UK & IRE Telecommunications & Networks Division, Samsung UK said: “As the wireless partner for the London 2012 Olympic Games we want as many people as possible to be part of this incredible event. We are thrilled to be able to offer sporting fans across Great Britain and Northern Ireland the chance to win tickets to some of the most highly sought after events at the Olympic Games.

This is a fantastic chance for Samsung customers to be part of the Olympic legacy and we wish them all the best of luck.”

To be in with a chance to win tickets, customers who purchase a Samsung Galaxy smartphone from Vodafone UK will need to download an app to enter the competition. Customers must install the app and enter their details before the 14th March 2012 closing date. Winners will then be notified mid-April 2012. Please visit www.samsung/com/uk/vodafone for more details on how to win tickets.

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HTC Sensation with Android 4.0 onboard dated for March 1st Euro launch

Gary_C — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:02:31 +0000

According to a press release issued on behalf of HTC’s Dutch office, an updated white version of the HTC Sensation is set to go on sale from March 1st in the country – with Google’s Android 4.0 “Ice Cream Sandwich” version of the OS onboard.

That’s exciting for literally several reasons – and mainly because it means HTC will have a fully-finished Android 4.0 update for the Sensation ready to launch by March 1st. Which means it may hit the regular HTC Sensation any day now. Hooray for that.

To help put the “Euro” into Eurodroid for the month of February, here’s a press release from HTC’s Dutch office in its native language.

HTC introduceert de HTC Sensation in Ice White

Nieuwste Android update voor alle toestellen uit Sensation-serie

Utrecht, 2 februari 2012 – HTC, leider in mobiele innovatie en design kondigt aan dat de HTC Sensation vanaf 1 maart ook beschikbaar is in de kleur Ice White. Het toestel is bovendien voorzien van Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). Naast de HTC Sensation in Ice White, is de update naar Android 4.0 binnenkort voor alle toestellen in de Sensation-serie beschikbaar.

De HTC Sensation in Ice White beschikt over dezelfde specificaties als het model in de kleur Grey, zoals een stijlvol design met aluminium en een royaal 4.3-inch qHD display. Hiermee profiteert de gebruiker van een optimale kijkervaring. Ook is de witte versie uitgerust met een 8-megapixel camera waarmee tevens full HD-video’s opgenomen kunnen worden. Gecombineerd met de gebruikservaring van HTC Sense zorgt dit voor een betere en meer persoonlijke beleving van Android.

Android 4.0
Door de update naar de nieuwste Android-versie kunnen gebruikers van de HTC Sensation, HTC Sensation XE en HTC Sensation XL profiteren van een nog snellere browse-ervaring. Daarnaast kunnen zij hun toestel ontgrendelen door middel van gezichtsherkenning (face unlock). Met Android 4.0 is het ook voor het eerst mogelijk in te zoomen op de agenda en onderaan in het home screen zelf een balkje met favoriete apps te creëren. Ook biedt Android 4.0 naadloze integratie met Google+, het sociale netwerk van Google. De update wordt binnenkort Over the Air (OTA) naar alle gebruikers uitgerold.

Link via Android World.

Galaxy S Advance dated for Feb 6th UK launch

Apple denied injunction against Galaxy Nexus sales in Germany

Gary_C — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:31:06 +0000

According to a Bloomberg report today, Apple tried to gain another sneaky preliminary injunction that would’ve seen a Samsung Android phone banned from sale in Germany – this time targeting the flagship Galaxy Nexus and the redesigned Galaxy Tab 10.1N. The latter of which has already been reworked to avoid infringing previous Apple legal decisions.

Bloomberg says the Munich Regional Court rejected the motion, saying “Samsung has shown that it is more likely than not that the patent will be revoked because of a technology that was already on the market before the intellectual property had been filed for protection.”

We shall not pretend to know what that actually means.

But what a close shave that was. Can you imagine the ramifications of seeing the current flagship Android device pulled from sale due to an Apple claim?

Link via FOSS Patents who does appear to understand what it all actually means.

Galaxy S Advance dated for Feb 6th UK launch

Gary_C — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:17:22 +0000

The SIM-free retailers must’ve all had an email from Samsung’s people today, as the recently revealed Galaxy S Advance has now been given a release date. According to indie retailer Mobile Fun, the Galaxy S Advance is arriving in the UK on February 6th. That’s [counts on fingers] next Monday.

The price is a little steep, mind, with the unlocked model of the 1GHz dual-core upgrade being tagged at £349.

But then again, for a 4″ dual-core mobile, that’s not particularly crazy. Maybe if Samsung had given it a completely new name we’d be more enthusiastic.

Get all the tech specs for the Galaxy S Advance in this here previous report.