Samsung might rethink ICS plans for Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab

Galaxy S and ICS
Is Samsung Galaxy S getting ICS?

In recent weeks Samsung confirmed that Galaxy S II would receive an upgrade to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), but could at that time not confirm a release date. The joy of these news was unfortunately then dampened among some of the Galaxy fans when an update list concerning ICS and the Galaxy line was presented last week, giving indications that Galaxy S and P1000 Galaxy Tab 7.0 would not receive the ICS update at all. A lot of users was understandably infuriated and contacted Samsung to show their displeasure and disappointment. Many of them naturally also tried find out the reason for this decision.

Turns out Samsung actually seem to be listening, and have now promised to look into the matter, and reevaluate if there is a possibility for both Galaxy S and P1000 Galaxy Tab to get the Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich update. They are of course not making any promises that the devices in the end will get the update, but it is nice to know that Samsung is paying attention and is open to feedback from their customers.

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Samsung Galaxy Nexus running Ice Cream Sandwich unveiled

Samsung Galaxy Nexus
Samsung Galaxy Nexus running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

Today Samsung along with Google officially announced the Galaxy Nexus, the first phone to run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. It’s planned to be released in November to US, Europe, and Asia through NTT DoCoMo in Japan. The Android’s UI has been tweaked considerably in Ice Cream Sandwich, to be as Google puts it, “a pure Google experience”. This therefore means no longer any manufacturer created skins. ICS has a cleaner interface and is driven entirely on screen. Much like what Nokia introduced with the Nokia N9 running MeeGo, there is no longer a need for any hardware buttons. The commands you commonly use, like Home, Back, and a multitask button, appear directly on the display.

The Galaxy Nexus features a 4.65-inch 1280 x 720 HD Super AMOLED screen with a reported 1/100th of a millisecond response time. It runs a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, has 1GB of RAM, 16GB or 32GB internal memory, and a 1750mAh battery. It also has a front 1.3 megapixel camera for video calling, and a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash on the back. Samsung say it will take stills “with zero shutter lag” and video up to 1080p at 30fps. For connectivity there is Bluetooth 3.0, USB 2.0, 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi (2.4GHz and 5GHz), and also NFC. It supports Pentaband HSPA+, and for some regions an LTE version will also be available. There still no USB-OTG support though it seems.

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