Samsung Galaxy S Android 2.3 Gingerbread update — will it get one?
By Andrew on December 9th, 2010
Android 2.3 Gingerbread has only just landed, but manufacturers still aren’t sure whether their phones will be able to receive updates. What about the Samsung Galaxy S?
Yes, because…
The only phone that we know for certain will get Android 2.3 Gingerbread is the Google/Samsung Nexus S, and the good news is that it boasts very similar specs to the Samsung Galaxy S. Runnings its virtual cogs is an A8 1GHz processor supported by 512MB of RAM, just like the Nexus S.
If raw power’s the only issue that’s going to stop Androids from boarding the Android 2.3 wagon, we can’t see any problems arising with the Samsung Galaxy S. The designs of the two phones are even painfully similar, with a different arrangement of softkeys being the only major difference.
No, because…
As yet we don’t know what additional specs Android 2.3 may demand, and the spec list of the Google Nexus S does raise some concerns here. The biggest is the phone’s 16GB of internal memory. Almost all Android phones so far have relied on the user slapping a nice big SD card in to get any decent amount of storage, but the new Nexus S turns things around completely. There’s 16GB of internal memory, but no memory card slot to let you boost your storage. The Samsung Galaxy S has 2GB of ROM on-board, plus a microSD slot.
Could Android be following in the footsteps of Windows Phone 7 and iOS, demanding that devices include xGB of internal storage without allowing for any additional storage scope?
Other potential hardware roadblocks include the Samsung Galaxy S’s lack of a gyroscope, which boosts the motion-sensing powers of the phone’s accelerometers, and camera flash. The latter’s another demand placed upon Windows Phone 7 devices, so it could easily become part of Google’s new baseline demands.
The unbearable truth is that at present, we just can’t be sure.
What Samsung says…
Pocket-lint talked to Samsung to try and shed some light on the Android 2.3 update situation, to ease the minds of the many Samsung Galaxy S users out there.
The response was less than conclusive. Much less. Samsung says that it’ll review the potantial for an update, “based on various factors including, without limitation, the overall effect of such Update to Samsung products, the system requirements, the structural limitations, and the level of cooperation from the component suppliers and the software licensors.”
If you’re gagging for a Samsung Galaxy S Android 2.3 update, drop us a line in the comments below.
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