Two weeks ago Samsung began rolling out upgrades for the popular Galaxy S II smartphone. The updates brought Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the most recent version of Google’s smartphone/tablet operating system, to Samsung’s flagship phone. There was just one problem: the upgrades were starting in South Korea (where Samsung is based), as well as Hungary, Poland, Sweden, and other European countries. The UK was set to follow on March 19th, pending carrier approval, but there was no word on the US. When asked to clarify, Samsung said that there was no further information on when Ice Cream Sandwich would be coming to American Galaxy S II owners.
Whether Ice Cream Sandwich will ever come to the Galaxy S II in America is unclear – it’s possible that Samsung will delay the update in order to prompt people to upgrade to the Galaxy S III, which may be due out in May. If there’s one thing, though, that smartphone makers have had to learn and re-learn over the last few years, it’s that if you tell your customers that they can’t have something, some of them will figure out a way to get it anyway. That’s why there are those who jailbreak or root their iOS or Android devices (respectively). Now it looks like Galaxy S II users aren’t going to be denied their Ice Cream Sandwich after all.
According to a post today on RootzWiki, a build of Ice Cream Sandwich designed specifically for the Galaxy S II Skyrocket has been leaked. According to the post, the OS appears to have been designed specifically for the Galaxy S II, and it’s available to anybody who wants it (and has the know-how to install it on their phone). The OS apparently has the hallmarks of an official Samsung-designed build, but of course, that may not be the case.
Will you put Ice Cream Sandwich on your Galaxy S II? Should Samsung go ahead and release the software to US customers? Let us know in the comments.
