Samsung has announced that its “Ice Cream Sandwich” update for the popular Galaxy S II has started to roll out across parts of Europe, with S II users in Poland, Hungary and Sweden the first on the list to see the update arrive on their phones.
Samsung makes no specific mention of the UK in the announcement, sadly, so we’ll just have to continue checking for updates on a minute-by-minute basis until it appears for install. Here’s an image of a happy Galaxy S II owner:
It’s such a big day for Samsung that it’s put together an official press release about the Android 4.0 update. Which we’re happy to reproduce for extra gravitas:
Samsung Offers Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Upgrade for GALAXY S II
SEOUL, Korea – March 13, 2012 – Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., the global leader in Android™ smartphones, today announced the availability of Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) software upgrade for GALAXY S II. The upgrade will begin in the European countries including Poland, Hungary, and Sweden, as well as Korea today and gradually roll out to other markets. Android 4.0 ICS software upgrade for GALAXY Note, GALAXY SII LTE, GALAXY R, GALAXY Tab 7.0 Plus, 7.7, 8.9 and 10.1 will follow soon.
Samsung Electronics has completed upgrading the GALAXY devices to Gingerbread last year by providing software upgrades to both Froyo and Gingerbread. With the ICS upgrade, Samsung Electronics has solidified its position as the leader of Android devices.
Samsung Electronics will also offer Android 2.3 Gingerbread firmware upgrades for GALAXY S, GALAXY Tab 7”, GALAXY S Plus, GALAXY S SCL(Super Clear LCD), and GALAXY W from end of March. The firmware upgrades for GALAXY S, for example, include Face Unlock, Snapshot, Photo Editor and others.
“We expect that our customers will enjoy an enhanced experience with their GALAXY device through this upgrade. Samsung is committed to satisfying our customer needs”, said JK Shin, President of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics.
The availability and scheduling of the software upgrade and specific models upgradable to Android 4.0 will vary by market and wireless carriers’ requirements.
It’s smooth to use, the 1080p display is sharp, clear and bright, the device is extremely light and thin and therefore very pocketable and portable — much more so than other 5-inch phones we’ve used. And yet… we’re a bit unimpressed by the overall package…
A relatively high-spec smartphone, with a 4.5″ display running at 480 x 854 resolution and powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, plus the Ascend G510 arrives running Android 4.1.1 — albeit potentially hindered by Huawei only sticking 512MB of RAM inside it..
The Panasonic Eluga marks the company’s return to the European mobile phone scene years after several years of absence, and it’s come back to us with a moderately high-spec Android model that features a rather stylish, slim case.
Sony returns with an all-new mobile design for 2012, pairing a dual-core processor with a 720p display. It’s a lovely phone, but is it enough to end our Samsung and HTC obsession?
LG’s updated Prada phone comes with an absolutely crazy black & white theme, but is it just for fashionable suit wearers who want to make themselves look a bit more interesting?
Jukka
/ March 13, 2012Those Finnish S2 users that I know have also received the update today.