Handsets

Canadian Galaxy S Phones’ Froyo Updates Windowed

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While I’m sure most of you would much rather see your Froyo in downloadable, installable form, at least you Canadian Galaxy S-owning folks are getting a heads up to prepare for your incoming updates. Samsung Mobile Canada said via Facebook that the Vibrant on Bell and the Captivate on Rogers would both be getting the upgrade in mid-December, while Telus’s Fascinate only has a window of early 2011, unfortunately.

800px-Logo_samsung_5

Of course, being given an expected launch window isn’t enough. The date could easily be pushed up or pushed back at any time, so take this for what you will. At least Samsung’s not keeping quiet on their plans like they seem to be doing for several other regions.

[Samsung via Mobile Syrup]

Quentyn Kennemer
The "Google Phone" sounded too awesome to pass up, so I bought a G1. The rest is history. And yes, I know my name isn't Wilson.

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34 Comments

  1. Merry Christmas. Here’s your 6 month old OS! Gingerbread? Naw, I’m not hungry.

  2. hey Gary is Gingerbread even released on anything yet,, no,,

    so stop crying and be thankful you dont own a different phone on anther carrier , some are still 1.5 and 1.6

  3. Team Whiskey FTW.

  4. Samsung should just skip 2.2 and wait for 2.3 maybe us Samsung user in the US with finally catch up

  5. fuuh samsung u r so disappointing.! what about US galaxy s lines? when do we get froyo?

  6. US customers need to learn not to hold our breath waiting for Samsung to do the right thing. On an unrelated note, is the US market Samsung’s biggest market? I really don’t know, but I think it may well be. If somebody has some solid numbers either way, that info is most welcome. I’d research the question myself, but I’m kinda short on energy right now, what with holding my breath waiting for Froyo and a genuine gps fix….

  7. I have the worst of both worlds (as do many others I assume), AT&T AND Samsung (tho I love my Captivate)

  8. @JK

    dude seriously. http://www.teamwhiskey.com

    see what had happened was….someone said F@*! waiting, Ima build me my own Froyo thats badass.

    True Story

    Root. Flash. Conquer.

  9. TigerPaw, if you truly have a GalaxyS phone you shouldn’t have a GPS problem. That issue was fixed awhile ago when that mini update was released. The GPS works perfectly on my Fascinate and has for at least a month now. I agree with Tony, at this point we might as well wait for Gingerbread. By the time we get Froyo everyone should have GB on their phones.

  10. I think phone manufactures need to get smart and stick to stock Android OS code instead of adding their custom touches. Also, using hardware that’s easy to move from OS version to version. That way, a new OS version comes out it can very simply be pushed to all devices without all the trouble it causes now. Think about it, when a new version of Windows comes out, we don’t need to wait for Dell, Gateway, or whatever, we just install it!

  11. Rogers will surely sit on the update for months. It only cares about new customers not existing ones. Kudos for Samsung though for noting other manufacturers nearly completely ignoring the update process for Canadian carriers. I think this is a win for Samsung up here.

  12. rogers released 2.1 for SE x10 very promptly.. so im sure they are onboard with this update,,

  13. i don’t want the rooted one, i want the OFFICIAL, THE REAL ONE FoR MY CAPtIVATE! lol

  14. so should i return my samsung captivate for other phones? like the iPhone 4 or other android/WP7 devices? what do u guys think, coz samsung is really getting on my nerves!

  15. iphone4 is boring,, same inteface now for 3.5 yrs,,

    wp7,, verdict is out on that one i guess, i dont like the look of it

    what do you think to be a better droid phone,, i know the cap is leaps and bounds over and above the SE x10

    these are just my opinions of course,,

    remember none of them are perfect,,

    we will get 2.2 shortly

  16. The only thing you’re really missing by not having froyo is Flash. Are you that hard up for it that you can’t wait? Trade your phone so you can have 2.2, I dont think so. People always want what they dont have and 2.2 update is no different. It’s not as big of a deal as everyone is making it out to be. Probably because I mainly use my phone to make phone calls and text. What a concept, actually using your phone to call somebody.

  17. paula flash and so much more

    * Speed boost. Benchmarks have shown Android 2.2 to be around 450% faster than Android 2.1. There is much hope that this will help alleviate the “lag” issues experienced by many Captivate owners, as well as providing an overall speed boost.
    * More memory. Android 2.1 is limited to accessing a maximum 256MB of RAM. As it happens, the Captivate comes with 512MB, leaving an additional 256MB currently unused and waiting to be tapped. This fact gives confirmation to AT&T and Samsung’s intent to supply the Captivate with Android 2.2, otherwise why include the extra RAM?
    * Improved Exchange support. Users connecting their Captivate to a corporate Microsoft Exchange email server are anxiously awaiting the improved and added functionality. Android 2.1 Exchange support leaves much to be desired.
    * Flash. Android 2.2 will include support for Adobe Flash for the first time, giving Android a huge edge over the iPhone.
    * Voice recognition. Speech recognition support is improved in Android 2.2 and utilized in more parts of the system, including the placing of phone calls.
    * Install apps to SD card. Currently this is not possible in Android 2.1 and the SD card can only be used for user data/media. Froyo will provide native support to install/move apps to the SD card. The individual apps must also support this feature.
    * “Update all” for apps. No more need to step individually through each app that has an update available.
    * Auto-update apps. Certain apps can be flagged to auto-update without user intervention.
    * Built-in Task Manager. Available anytime via a long-hold on the Home key.
    * ‘Toggle GPS and auto-rotate in Notification Bar
    * Built-in wifi-only mode. Disable all cellular via long-old on the power button.
    * Built-in USB tethering and mobile AP. It seems Samsung hasn’t disabled this.
    * Improved copy & paste. Leaked builds show an improved copy and paste interface which is much better than in Android 2.1
    * Bookmark folders (Browser). When creating a bookmark, you’re also asked what folder to store it in.
    * Improved GPS. Still not perfect, but further improvements beyond the update for Android 2.1
    * Enhanced lock screen options. You will have the option to use the “unlock pattern” or PIN type lock to unlock your phone. Many like the PIN lock option because the unlock pattern is easily “cracked” by looking ad the smudge pattern on someones screen. Many folks also prefer the use of a PIN code over the swipe pattern. It is also rumored that you will have the ability to add media controls to your lock screen so you can control media playback without unlocking the phone.
    * Improved Battery Indicator. Currently the battery indicator on the Captivate only shows remaining battery power in intervals. This can be misleading when your battery is at 70% but the indicator is still showing the battery “full”. In 2.2 the battery indicator will show the battery power in a percentage readout on top of the battery level icon.
    * Ability to run new apps. Some newer and extremely-useful apps are 2.2-only, such as various tools that allow you to track data-usage per application.

    There will probably be more pleasant surprises.

  18. Thanks for the info Bob! I knew about a few of these, but I didn’t realize there was that much entailed in this 2.2 release. Looks like the Captivate got the short end of the stick on this one. I don’t notice a lag on my Fascinate (but I haven’t downloaded a ton of apps either, so that could make a difference) I’m also able to “update all” my apps, though I don’t as I like to go through each app indiviually to make sure I want that particular update. I’ve noticed after reading Market comments, many updates cause force closed issue and other problems, so I don’t always update when ones available.
    I also use Vlingo as my voice recognition app and it works great! Definitely one of my favorite apps!
    While I’m as anxious as the next guy to get the 2.2 update, my Fascinate works great “as is”, so it’s not a huge issue. I am however really looking forward to Flash and saving apps to my SD card.

  19. Everyone in this post is getting PWNED by BOB!!! Keep it going man. My Epic is in the mood for Frozen Yogurt!!

  20. EDIT tho* The long hold home key task manager is already up and in 2.1

  21. @Bob:

    As much as I think Froyo is nice most of the stuff on your list is available on 2.1 or not part of 2.2

    * Speed boost. – Not so much, people still experience lag and Quadrant scores are barely any higher. JIT was optimized for Snapdragon, not Hummingbird and you can tell. The lag is caused by the RFS file format, no OS revision will improve that.

    * More memory – Debate is still up on that one too but with Froyo being out around the world for the GS, not a single soul managed to access the 512, stuck at 340

    * Built-in Task Manager. -Already present in 2.1

    * Improved GPS. -Not really, the best GPS Rom is still a 2.1 rom. XWJM9. In fact some Froyo users are using the GPS config files from that ROM because the GPS is still defective under Froyo.

    * Improved Battery Indicator. – No change at all, still the same crappy indicator. You can get modded ones but that as nothing to do with Froyo, they are user created and work on any Android release.

    Don’t get me wrong, Froyo is nice (Flash, better copy paste and better market are useful improvements) but it’s not the revolution it’s being made. It was a revolution on the Nexus One because of the JIT optimisation which rocked.. different story here

  22. *running man*

    go Bob, go Bob, go go, go Bob!

    /end*running man*

  23. Can’t wait for this update!!!

  24. @Astralmind –

    * Speed boost – But a froyo rom with Sztupy’s ULF that replaces ALL rfs partitions with EXT4 or JFS will fix lag 100%. Quadrant scores of 2000-2400 without being artificially inflated.
    * More memory – 343MB is better than what you get with 2.1
    * Built-in Task Manager – You can access the task manager by long pressing home. I’m not aware of that being in 2.1, certainly not on Captivate.

    I would estimate 2.2 with a custom kernel gives about 9001% improvement over 2.1

  25. @Bob
    Great point about the memory there and speed increase
    Thanks

  26. Yes u should take back your captivate and get an iphone4. Gingerbread will be out soon and Samsung doesn’t even know galaxy s owners exist, it would be easy to update us on their progress, but they got the phone in our hands, as far as samsung is concerned their job is done. We are lucky we got the gps fix, im sure there were lmg legal consultations in hopes they could ignore it. Samsing has poor customer relations. I put my vibrant in my drawer and put my sim back in my nexus. Nexus one with froyo is definitely better than a galaxy s on 2.1, on this point I insist. I got really excited about the galaxy hardware but its not worth missing out on tether, flash, everything Bob said. And “just root” is not an acceptable response, its only fair that we demand whats only reawonable, we arent asking for the world. I’m starting to like the iPhone, you get a new phone once a year and os happen for everyone if they happen to anyone. This android fragmentation is just too much, I’ve been an androider since the g1, but Jesus christ its always something that we are waiting for, there’s always some news, update or device that is never reliable or on time and I’m sure Google loves it that way, but for me the anticipation hasn’t been worth the measly payoff. Get your shit together Samsung, you too android, catch all your loyal customers up, demand better from the manufacturers, I’m living proof that your poor methods are losing you customers/money. I wont be recommending you either unless the next few brings about enormous change that’s you’re definitely not capable of or interested in.

  27. you going to get flash on the iphone4?

    i didnt go with the iphone because as far as im concerned they have gotten way to boring,,

    hell my my x10 just got 2.1,, samsung is light years ahead of Sony Erricson,, so another month or so wait, no biggie for me,,

  28. I still don’t get it.

    Whats the rush about? What’s the point of pushing and rushing something that probably isn’t perfectly done for your device yet?
    My Galaxy S with 2.1 is working perfectly and I’m very happy about it.
    I would rather stick with a perfectly working 2.1 than try to push, root hack or brick my device just to be able to say Froyo.
    It’s just not worth the risk.
    I agree, Flash is a huge progress, but not such big of a deal for me. I can still leave without it.
    And BTW, the GPS works perfectly on 2.1. I also own a Garmin GPS and the Google GPS is by far better and has a better UI.

    I’ll just let the others scratch their woody heads on Why isn’t the Froyo released yet, and wait patiently until it’s finally tested and proved to work.

    But that’s my own opinion.

  29. Did anyone mention iPhone 4???

    oh boy, you don’t know what you’re talking about…

  30. alein you talking to me,,, cause rich did,, so im not sure who is talking about what now,,

  31. I don’t get it, Samsung would have to have their head up their @$$ not to please the customers they have, it’s marketing 101. In this day and age where information travels faster than products, no company can afford to have ANY kind of bad word of mouth. The only thing I’m worried about is that Froyo won’t fix the freezing problem that some of us Vibrant owners have been experiencing.

  32. Why do you all sound so eager to receive Flash? I’ve had Flash for ages now, on my stock 2.1 CDN Captivate. All I had to do was download and install the APK myself, which was easy ’nuff….

  33. I was able to install flash on my 2.1 Vibrant.

  34. Why are we blaming Samsung. Seems like Samsung had the code ready for some time. The problem is with each individual company like Bell etc, who are doing these waiting games on their users.

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