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Security researchers have detailed a remote data-wipe attack that can be carried out on some of Samsung’s Android TouchWiz range, including the SGS3, using a single line of code. The vulnerability only seems to apply to handsets that run TouchWiz, not Android handsets in general. For instance, the code has been found to work on the Galaxy S III, Galaxy Beam, S Advance, Galaxy Ace and Galaxy S II, but not the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which runs stock Android.
Every year sees a ground-breaking phone arrive that has the rest of the pack scrambling to catch up. How well does last year’s golden boy, the Galaxy S II, stack up against this year’s top dog the HTC One X?
Samsung Galaxy S 24.3 Inches |
HTC One X4.7 Inches |
At the time of its release last year, the Samsung’s 4.2” screen seemed gargantuan compared to the competition but now seems positively paltry next to the gorgeous 4.7” display on the One X. There isn’t much to choose in screen quality between the two, with the One X just edging it for us.
Samsung Galaxy S 21.2 GHz Dual Core |
HTC One X1.5GHz Quad Core |
One would assume that doubling the amount of processors in a phone and increasing their clock speed would have a negative effect on battery life, and normally that would be true. However, the Tegra 3 chip in the One X has a neat trick up its sleeve. It has a fifth, lower-power core that it uses to manage the majority of every day tasks, such as swiping about the menus and web browsing. For tasks that require a bit of extra grunt, such as watching HD videos or gaming, the process can automatically switch on its more powerful cores to rise to the challenge.
Yet another ‘leak’ has been made regarding the Samsung Galaxy S III – this one suggesting it will be unveiled at an event in London on May 22nd. However, we’re not convinced by this latest link, as Shaun McGill points out on Lost In Mobile:
The image of the phone looks stunning, it really does, but I am far from convinced that this is real. Firstly, 22nd May is a long time off and ‘London, United Kingdom’ seems like a strange way to phrase what should be ‘London, England’. Also, ‘New Generation Coming’ is not exactly good English.
I might also add that ‘Vivid.Fast.Slim’ was the tag line that Samsung used for the SGSII, so going with the slightly rearranged ‘Fast.Vivid.Slim’ for its successor seems unlikely.
There are many phones available that carry the brands of well-known companies. Look at the latest Porsche inspired BlackBerry phone and the selection of phones with Ferrari and other prestige car maker branding. They are often horrific to look at, incredibly expensive and have the same internals or worse that their standard counterparts.
The Vertu brand is the most well-known and somehow the company (Nokia I believe) can sell £50 phones for £1,000’s just because. Just because they have diamonds and other stuff stuck on the front and because owners want people to know they can afford a Vertu.
If you need to dress up your phone in another brand, you have failed. Look at the iPhone, the Galaxy S II and the Lumia 800. They don’t need branding from another company because people already recognise how good they are.
After some debate as to when it was coming, the Ice Cream Sandwich update for the SGS2 is finally rolling out. This has been confirmed by the @SamsungMobile Twitter account, as shown in the image below. The update will be making its way to SIM-free handsets first – let us know once your device has received it.
Via Lost In Mobile
The video below gives a quick demo of a simple Android app being written and then launched on a Samsung Galaxy S II. The app is created using a new app called AIDE – Android Java IDE, which is free and available to download from Android Play now. Usually apps are created on a separate machine running an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), such as Eclipse. However, AIDE is a self-contained IDE that enables developers to write, compile and run Android apps on a smartphone or tablet. It may be too soon for mobile devices to replace desktops for development, but with a smartphone connected to a larger display as in this demo, the idea certainly has legs.
Via Android Police
According to Android Central, Samsung Israel has let slip that the SGS2 Ice Cream Sandwich update will begin rolling out on March 15th. The translated post detailing availability has since been removed, but read along the lines of:
We promised we were working on it. You waited patiently. And on 15 March it’ll arrive: Android version 4, ICS, to tens of thousands of GALAXY S II devices purchased from cellular companies in the country or directly from us. We are very excited for the launch, hope you are too
This is good news for owners of SIM-free Samsung Galaxy S II handsets who could receive the update well before the end of the month. We’ll keep you updated with any more news on Samsung’s best-selling device.
Via Slashgear
We recently had a customer who purchased a Samsung Galaxy S II from us and then had problems syncing emails with his Microsoft exchange server and other emails accounts (Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, etc.). The settings were configured correctly and the initial sync worked perfectly. However, after that emails would only sync intermittently and the settings would need to be deleted and re-entered in order to successfully execute a complete sync. This problem occurred using the stock email app on the SGS2.
After some trial and error, the customer seems to have pinpointed the problem and found a solution. The problem was being caused by the handset switching between GSM and 3G network coverage when moving between areas with good and bad coverage. This was whilst using the O2 network, but may apply to other networks if coverage levels vary in the same way. The solution to get the emails to sync again is to go into settings > networks and tick the ‘use GSM networks only’ box. Alternatively, only switching 3G on when required will keep emails updated.
This solution may not be suited to everyone if it is not an option to switch off 3G periodically, but may be worth considering if you have had similar problems with your SGS2 or another handset.
If black or white wasn’t your colour then you can now order the Samsung Galaxy S II in Pink.
Ideal as a valentines gift to your loved one maybe, the pink version is due to be available the week commencing 13th February.
It has exactly the same specification as the Galaxy S II with the exception of the colour. More information can be found on the link below:
Samsung has now confirmed via its Facebook page that the Galaxy S II and Galaxy Note will be updated to Ice Cream Sandwich in quarter one of 2012. While it’s nice to have the update officially confirmed, ‘Q1 of 2012’ is a bit vague. However, the Samsung Nexus S has already received its update to Ice Cream Sandwich, so hopefully it will be closer to start of Q1 that the SGS2 and Note are updated. Samsung has also confirmed that the following will be updated to ICS:
GALAXY S II LTE, GALAXY R, GALAXY Tab 10.1, GALAXY Tab 8.9, GALAXY Tab 7.7 and GALAXY Tab 7.0 Plus.
Via PhoneArena