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Samsung announces 1 million Galaxy S phones sold in the US

August 29th, 2010 Ben Marvin No comments

With the Captivate and the Vibrant barely a month old, and the Fascinate and Epic 4G just around the corner, selling one million phones is a pretty impressive feat for Samsung with only half of the available models being out. In other words, this is just the beginning. Of course these numbers don’t include international sales. Samsung is really trying to dominate the worldwide Android hardware market and they’re making quite a dent in HTC.

SAMSUNG MOBILE SHIPS ONE MILLION GALAXY S DEVICES IN THE U.S. MARKET

Android 2.1-powered smart phones available at AT&T and T-Mobile and coming soon to Sprint, Verizon, U.S. Cellular and Cellular South

DALLAS, August 30, 2010 —Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile)1, the  No. 1 mobile phone provider in the U.S., today announced that it has shipped one million of its Android™ 2.1-powered Galaxy S devices in the U.S. market. Samsung Mobile began shipping the Galaxy S portfolio2 on July 15, which are currently available with AT&T and T-Mobile.  Galaxy S devices will also be available with Sprint on August 31 and will be available with Verizon Wireless, U.S. Cellular and Cellular South this fall.

Samsung Mobile has packed cutting-edge technology into its Galaxy S portfolio, including features such as a stunning 4-inch Super AMOLED display screen, 1GHz Hummingbird Application Processor and a multitude of entertainment, messaging and social networking capabilities. In addition, all Samsung Galaxy S devices will be upgradable to Android 2.2 in the future.

“Bringing Galaxy S devices to multiple carriers has given Samsung Mobile the opportunity to reach millions of consumers,” said Dale Sohn, president of Samsung Mobile. “I am proud of the instant success of the Galaxy S line up and I am very pleased to announce that because of the support of our carrier partners and loyal customers, we have shipped one million Galaxy S devices in the U.S. market. Samsung Mobile looks forward to sharing additional Galaxy S milestones in the future.”

The roll out of Samsung’s Galaxy S portfolio has been supported by a multi-tiered print, online, cinema and television advertising campaign, including major networks such as ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN and MTV and in cinemas such as AMC, Cinemark and Regal. Samsung Galaxy S was also a sponsor of X Games 16, which was held in downtown Los Angeles from July 29 to August 1. From September 30 to October 3, the Samsung Galaxy S lineup will be showcased at the World Cyber Games Grand Final in Los Angeles.

In addition, Samsung Mobile has executed a comprehensive Galaxy S social media campaign, which included a Facebook promotion and daily content sharing on Samsung Mobile’s social media channels, which include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube™. As additional Galaxy S devices become available, Samsung Mobile will continue to distribute key digital and video assets to sustain awareness of the Galaxy S.

Samsung Fascinate for Verizon now available for pre-order at Best Buy

August 29th, 2010 Ben Marvin No comments

As if Verizon didn’t have enough Android phones already, customers can now start getting their Galaxy S fix. Featuring 4 inch Super AMOLED touchscreen, 1 Ghz processor, as well as a 5MP camera with HD video, the Fascinate also features support for connection up to 5 WiFi devices.

[Best Buy via Android Community]

Comparing the HTC Evo 4G and the Samsung Epic 4G [video]

August 11th, 2010 Ben Marvin 1 comment

Can’t decide if you want the Evo 4G or the Epic 4G? Not really sure the differences besides the physical appearance? Well, Sprint threw together this video to help you decide. I guess all they really care is that you buy one or the other.

Personally, I’d have a hard time deciding myself, as both are real Android powerhouses.

Droid X and Samsung Captivate go open source

July 31st, 2010 Ben Marvin No comments

Good news for both Android developers and downstream users as well. Motorola has released the source code for the Verizon Droid X, and Samsung goes open source with the Captivate (AT&T’s Galaxy S).

And once programmers get a bite into the source code, look for hacks, fixes, customization and ROMs to come flooding out. Bravo to Motorola and Samsung for sticking with the Android spirit. (Despite Moto’s earlier comments about hacking your phone)

Developers, head over to here for the Captivate, and here for the Droid X.

[via BGR]

Froyo 2.2 test builds leak out for the Samsung Galaxy S and HTC Droid Incredible

July 28th, 2010 Ben Marvin No comments

This must be the week for leaks. Besides the reports of Droid X’s running 2.2, and the rumor of the Desire get an update really soon.

A test build of Android 2.2 has been leaked out and you can flash it to your phone now. Unwired View has the details on how to try it out.

And the fine folks over at xda-developers have the hot and fresh Droid Incredible 2.2 ROM for you.

As always, I have to warn, these are not final versions, you could void your warranty, brick your phone, or cause harm to kittens by flashing these leaked ROMS. If you decide to take the leap, let us know how it went.

Use your Samsung Galaxy S screen as a LED notification light

July 25th, 2010 Ben Marvin No comments

The Galaxy S and its variants, the Captivate and Vibrant don’t have the LED notification light that most other Android phones have, so a missed call or text or email won’t be noticed till you actually turn on the screen and look. But a helpful hacker over at xda-developers whipped up an application that makes use of the screen as an indicator. When the AMOLED screen displays black, it uses no power, so only a few pixels in the upper left hand corner of the screen are used to display and moving red square.

It’s a beta application, so it may not work correctly all the time, but he has already release several updates and fixes. Visit this thread at xda-developers for more about the application and a download link. And of course you can contact the developer and report issues there.

Here’s a quick video showing the NoLED in action:

[via AndroidSpin]

***UPDATE*** Just for the heck of it, I tried it on my MyTouch Slide and it works pretty well. Although I suspect it may be using more power to turn the whole screen on.

Samsung Galaxy S users in France and Korea to see 2.2 update first

July 24th, 2010 Ben Marvin No comments

It’s no surprise that Samsung would want to bring Android 2.2 to Galaxy S users in it’s home country first, but it’s also reported that 2.2 will come to France as well in September. A worldwide release should be expected around the same timeframe, but it’s all dependent on carriers as well to push out the update, unless they go with a manual install route.

But always ahead of the curve, the Android developer community is already working on a port of 2.2 from the Nexus One 2.2 release and Android source code. We’ll see who gets out a fully working version first. After the official release from Samsung though, expect to see it ported with the quickness to other Galaxy S devices such as the Vibrant and Captivate.

[via FrenchTribune]

August 20th release date for the Sprint Samsung Epic 4G?

July 24th, 2010 Ben Marvin No comments

That seems to be the current working theory, at least according to this post from AndroidPolice. The prediction comes from the correlation between release dates of Samsung TV videos and the release dates of the other Galaxy S phones, the Vibrant and Captivate. That theory sounds reasonable, but we’ll wait for the official Sprint announcement of a release date, which is usually a week or so before it’s available.

Amazon drops price of Samsung Captivate, LetsTalk offers it for free

July 19th, 2010 Ben Marvin No comments

Just one day out of the gate and the Samsung Captivate for AT&T is selling like hotcakes. It’s the first true powerhouse Android phone carried by AT&T and a customer’s true alternative to the iPhone 4. Amazon has already dropped their price to $99 on a new contract, while LetsTalk.com is now offering it for free when you sign a new contract. These prices may or may not apply to upgrade pricing as well. But it’s still a heck of a deal over what you would pay AT&T for it.

Want to try out Samsung’s RoadSMS application on your phone? Download it here.

July 18th, 2010 Ben Marvin 4 comments

The release of the latest Galaxy S variants has brought some attention to Samsung’s RoadSMS application, which allows you to send text messages while walking (not driving), because it shows the camera preview as a background in the application. Here’s a short video showing you how it works, and if you want to try it out on your phone, you can download it here. It may not work with all phones or versions of Android, install at your own risk. To install it, download the file, unzip it and place the .apk file on your SD card. Then go to Settings > Applications and make sure unknown sources is checked. And use a file manager application on your phone to open and install the program. Sorry, AT&T users won’t be able to do this.