After some speculation last week that the Samsung Galaxy Spica would come to Rogers in Canada, it has come to fruition and can now be purchased for $79.99 on a 3-year contract or $449.99 without contract. The Galaxy Spica is a nice alternative to the HTC Magic and comes comes two months after the 911 GPS problem that Rogers had with both the Dream and Magic. Features of the Galaxy Spica include a 800MHz processor, 3.2″ 320×480 resolution touchscreen display, 3.2MP camera, microSDHC card slot capable of 32GB, and has a 3.5mm headset jack. The device still comes with Android 1.5, but is expected to be upgraded to Android 2.1 in Q2 this year.
source: Rogers via EngadgetMobile & HowardChui

We haven’t seen the usual flurry of handsets that Samsung is typically known for dishing out, but the rather slower approach may not turn out to be a bad thing. Still trying to attract smartphone customers with its line of current Android powered handsets, the Korean based company is embarking on yet another first – it looks like they’re conjuring up the first Android phone with Bluetooth 3.0 on board with the Samsung  SHW-M120S. This of course would seemingly raise some flags as it managed to make its rounds over at the Bluetooth SIG flaunting a piece of the latest technology packed into the handset. The SHW-M120S features a 3.3” WVGA AMOLED touchscreen, 5-megapixel auto-focusing camera, Wi-Fi, GPS, HSDPA, and Bluetooth 3.0 that’ll come in handy when it comes to speedily transferring some of those photos it’s able to snap. Additionally, it packs a T-DMB tuner which suggests that it’ll be made available in the South Korean market. Samsung isn’t wasting any time getting this smartphone into the local market – it’s speculated that the SHW-M120S will see a launch happening “in the next few weeks.” Samsung’s track record is looking pretty good as they steadily keep on pumping out these kind of Android devices to the market.
source: Bluetooth SIG via Engadget & Samsung Hub

You’ve probably been seeing a decent amount of commercials on TV showcasing the Samsung Behold II. It really makes you wonder why it took Samsung so long for it to start heavily advertising its Android smartphone geared towards the US market. Some would suggest that it got lost in the myriad of Android offerings that fell through during the holidays or that it didn’t live up to the complete experience that its rivals offered. In any case, it looks like Samsung is teaming up with T-Mobile again for their next Android powered smartphone in the US – enter the Samsung T959 which is speculated to run Android 2.1 from the start. In addition, it features a screen resolution of 320 x 480 (no word on the screen size itself), Bluetooth 2.1, support for T-Mobile’s 3G bands, aGPS, and an unspecified megapixel count for its camera. Even though there weren’t too many people thrilled with Samsung’s last Android offering with T-Mobile, let’s hope they take those criticisms and use it to their advantage with the T959.
source: Cell Phone Signal

With sales disappointing, Samsung decided that the time had finally come to open up the ole purse strings and spend some money advertising the Behold II. When launched in November, the custom TouchWiz UI failed to win over the press. Gizmodo said, ““Samsung’s Behold II is the most impressively ugly Android phone in existence. The custom interface is so bad, so gaudy and so confusing it turned my brains into ooze.” Ouch. Still, a good ad can overcome poor reviews. Does the ad work? After viewing it, does it make you want a Samsung Behold II so badly that you’ve already penciled in a trip to T-Mobile today?
source: AndroidandMe

We have already reported that, supposedly, the Samsung Galaxy Spica i5700 will get its update to Android version 2.1 in Q2, 2010. Impatient owners of the device, however, can get the software right away, since an unofficial ROM has just been leaked on the Internet. According to Greaky.com (the website that released the ROM), this particular edition is meant for the Samsung Galaxy Spica i5700 exclusively and brings several personalization novelties. The pictures reveal the camera sports Samsung´s interface now, plus it seems the update adds DivX support as well. It ´s mentioned that Google Maps 4.0.0 is not particularly stable and the handset tends to freeze, so install the release on your own responsibility.

We don´t really know why the software updates to Android version 2.1 for quite a few devices appear to be severely delayed, we just hope that the manufacturers are working on the issue and their handsets will get the new OS edition soon.
source: Greaky via AndroidandMe

We recently mentioned an update for the Samsung Moment that was to require you to bring your handset to a Sprint repair center. Well, Sprint has decided to offer the update via your own PC. While the carrier’s other Android device, the HTC Hero, has received a few OTA updates for light housekeeping, it seems that Samsung is just not there yet in regards to sending out the upgraded software.

After the update is through, the Moment will still be running Android 1.5. There should be a firmware upgrade to Android 2.1 early in the next quarter. For those who don’t keep up to date on these matters, Sprint will send out an SMS that will alert the user to the CL 14 update. Among the changes will be updates to certain third party apps like Visual Voicemail, NFL, NASCAR and Sprint TV. The Emergency Dial on the lock screen will be changed as will the hard reset which will now be available in recovery mode. This update should also improve battery life. For more info and instructions, visit the source link.
source: Sprint via Twitter, AndroidandMe

After being placed in the spotlight again thanks to a special sale going in time for Valentine’s Day, the Samsung Behold II is about to get a dose of a much needed update. No, it’s not Android 2.1 that we’d expect most people to be yearning for. In fact, it’ll only be a maintenance update that’s expected to roll out some time between February 18 and February 25 – customers that purchase the phone after the 26th should receive a message about the update sometime after buying it. The latest update addresses some known issues with the phone such as a Bluetooth error when pairing to a device, battery indicator issues, phone constantly vibrating, memory card re-mounts, and corporate emails not syncing. In addition, there are some new applications that have been added like the Evernote app, Where’s Waldo game, and Midnight Bowl 2. Aside from those things, we’re sure owners are still hoping to see the light of Android 2.1 making its way to the TouchWiz/Android powered handset – time will tell.
source: TmoNews

When we last spoke of the Samsung Moment, it was to pass along the word that the device could start receiving an Android 2.1 upgrade as soon as February 22nd. Actually, the upgrade was to be offered in two different ways. According to the story, Moment owners could take their phone over to a Sprint store starting February 22nd to receive Android 2.1, or wait until March 8th for an OTA version. That report seems to be incorrect as Sprint has just sent out a tweet saying that early in the second quarter, the carrier will upgrade both the Samsung Moment and the HTC Hero to Android 2.1. The message says that the pin-dropping network is working through update options with both HTC and Samsung. In reality, we’re probably talking a few extra weeks of waiting, but for Android 2.1, we know that you’ll be patient.
source: Twitter via Engadget

While we were examining Samsung’s official Mobile World Congress page we stumbled upon the Samsung I8520. By the looks of it, the I8520 will be an Android 2.1 based phone with some quite impressive specs. First of all, we should mention the large 3.7-inch WVGA Super AMOLED screen (utilizing the new technology by Samsung). The camera is listed as an 8-megapixel one with autofocus and flash and the phone will also offer HD video playback (not sure yet if it has recording in HD). The star of the show though is the built-in projector by Texas Instruments that will let you build your own home cinema. Over Android, the manufacturer has placed its TouchWiz 3.0 user interface in order to provide an experience similar to its other phones.

The design of the Samsung Halo I8520 is pretty simple so to say, but this doesn’t matter too much as we believe this is a phone targeted at the tech buffs out there, and not to users who demand style from their handsets. The I8520 did not get introduced at the event tonight, but we think we’ll see more from it pretty soon.
source: Samsung via Engadget

There are a lot of Android handsets that are anticipating to see Android 2.1 land some time soon to existing models, but now the Samsung Moment can be added to the list with a potential date lined up. Although the Moment is still running Android 1.5 and could’ve been easily lost among the other big named Android phones expected to make the transition to 2.1, it may see light sooner than expected – the first wave is expected to happen beginning on February 22. Unfortunately it will not be an over the air process, instead it will require owners to visit Sprint stores to actually get it installed. It’s still not a terribly bad thing when you consider that the Samsung Moment is reported to get 2.1 as opposed to 2.0. If you do plan on skipping the first wave, then you can sit back at home as the second one will go live on March 8 – that one will be pushed out via OTA process.  It’s yet another reason why Samsung Moment owners can rejoice – let’s just hope it comes out on time with the latest version
source: Android Central