Recent developments may confuse Galaxy owners after getting the letdown from a recent blog confirmation that owners of Galaxy Tabs and Galaxy S smartphones will not get a taste of the Android Ice Scream Sandwich (ICS). But after its archrival came out with blazing guns saying its Android smartphone users won’t be so unlucky, the leading Korean electronics giant suddenly softens its stand.
Now, will they or will they not allow its smartphones in the older Gingerbreads to get the Ice Cream Sandwich?
As earlier revealed, Samsung may likely not be able to upgrade those Galaxy Tabs and S phones into the Android 4.0 world but older Galaxy owners may be luckier. There is some chance Samsung is planning a “Value Pack” upgrade scheme with ICS functionality scaled down, according to TheNextWeb.com, citing a Korean source.
Just last week, the company disclosed on a Korean blog that it would not offer ICS update to current Galaxy Tab and Galaxy S gadgets, explaining they didn’t have sufficient memory due to bundled applications like the TouchWiz interface tightly layered over their Android versions.
But the other day saw another report saying that Samsung could be reconsidering its position and that it would offer ICS on the Galaxy S and original Galaxy Tab tablets. US Samsung reps are mum about the matter either way while its PR office said in a text message that Samsung has yet to make a formal statement on ICS.
That could be comforting since the first pronouncements came from a blog while the “Value Pack” offer was from a second hand source, neither of which is an official final position. Offering a “Value Pack” that has ICS features in part, though, is seen as a middle ground that is sure to placate current Galaxy S and Tab owners. Some of the features in the pack may include increased web surfing speeds, multitasking, camera tweaks and new widgets.
According to the SammyHub website, this won’t be its first as Samsung had earlier provided similar upgrade compromises to its Wave 525 and 533 handsets running Bada OS. For Galaxy S and Tab owners, a “Value Pack” may be good enough to deliver an ICS experience. Now, whether the “value pack” offers the ice cream without the sandwich or the sandwich without the ice cream remains to be seen.
