Samsung Epic 4G finally getting its taste of Gingerbread
Share:
The Samsung Epic 4G was slated to become an EOL (end of life) device at the end of October. It has already had a shelf life of 15 months which is a long time nowadays. While the new update won’t add any more cores to the processor or add the term Plus to the end of its Super AMOLED display, it will most certainly help make the Epic 4G feel new again in a time when a new flagship Android device is seemingly announced once a week.
The Epic 4G was and still is a solid device. Its 4-inch display is still a beauty to behold and its snappy 1GHz Hummingbird processor is a delight. It was only the second device on Sprint to run on the 4G WiMax network, launching just two months after the HTC EVO 4G. It is also the only variant of the Samsung Galaxy S to have a full sliding QWERTY keyboard, a feature that attracted many.
The software update will bring some nice functionality to what is still a very good smartphone. Here is the list of improvements you can expect on your Epic 4G, according to Sprint:
- Upgrade of the Google OS from Froyo to Gingerbread (Android 2.3)
- Audible Sprint AIRAVE™ notifications when answering call
- SMS messages sent without area code
- PRL and Profile update
- EAS (Exchange Activesync) email displaying HTML
- Bluetooth headset sound improvements
- Fully visible date on device lock screen
Gingerbread is available now so if the Samsung Epic 4G is still your smartphone of choice then download the update and tell us what you think about it.
source: Sprint
Share:
CWA says AT&T/T-Mobile merger could create 96,000 jobs 
Nokia N8 might be getting a sequel in 2012 running Symbian still, but this 
Related phones
17 Comments
1. arcq12 posted on 09 Nov 2011, 08:23 4
you f*cking serious samsung? after more than a year? and when ICS is on the horizon?
7. remixfa posted on 09 Nov 2011, 08:44 3
dont yell at samsung, yell at the carriers. every non US galaxy1 variant got 2.3 about 8 months ago or so. ONLY the US variants havent gotten it. Why? because only in the US do carriers exert so much control over devices on their networks.
Be lucky, none of the other US variants (vibrant, captivate, fascinate) have 2.3 yet.
2. rendHELL posted on 09 Nov 2011, 08:23 2
wow... talk about late.... samgsung please be quicker when update os for your phones....XD
3. SuperAndroidEvo posted on 09 Nov 2011, 08:29 4
It's not Samsung, it's the U.S. carriers. Gingerbread was out for the Samsung Galaxy S for almost half a year in Europe & in rest of the world!
5. arcq12 posted on 09 Nov 2011, 08:31 0
but we do know that the Galaxy S in europe and in the rest of the world is different from US verisons..
6. SuperAndroidEvo posted on 09 Nov 2011, 08:38 2
It's the same thing only just running CDMA radios, WiMAX 4G & a physical keyboad. Other than that the phone is identical to the European version, spec for spec. The proof is in the pudding, the U.S. carriers want all their BS bloatware on it & that drags slower than turtle running a marathon! Thus the ugly delay in getting Gingerbread.
8. remixfa posted on 09 Nov 2011, 08:46 3
hardware wise, there is no difference between the Vibrant and the international SGS except the loss of that big middle button and camera flash. It has had unnofficial gingerbread for ever.
Samsung seeds samsungfirmwares.com which then seeds XDA. Samsung has been getting around carrier restrictions for a while now. You just have to be willing to take 30 seconds( its really easy on an SGS) to root your phone and get it.
9. SuperAndroidEvo posted on 09 Nov 2011, 08:57 3
Yes I didn't want to get into the whole root scene, but you are 100% correct. If you add the root scene then the U.S. Samsung Galaxy S phones have had Gingerbread since the code was released to the public. Well almost anyways. :-)
10. threeline posted on 09 Nov 2011, 09:53 1
Is this a OTA update or do we have to go download it? If so, thas't incredibliy lame. I jsu checked and there was no OTA available. Oh well, it's time to upgrade anyway and it won't be a Samsung unless its the Galaxy Nexus.
11. refrigerate_me posted on 09 Nov 2011, 10:11 0
us carriers= capitalist pigs.. shame shame....
12. downphoenix posted on 09 Nov 2011, 11:54 1
wow, took forever. I was worried Sprint would have never updated before end of life kicked in. Because once EOL kicks in, kiss updates goodbye unless its some very critical update the fixes a significant flaw to avoid some kind of lawsuit, because they have no interest in updating devicse after EOL.
13. ibap posted on 09 Nov 2011, 12:22 2
In Europe you buy your GSM phone, then get a SIM from a carrier and off you go.
In the US, even the GSM carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile) 'brand' their phones and lock them down, so you are at their mercy.
Why?
Money.
And the government lets them.
14. threeline posted on 09 Nov 2011, 14:11 2
Has anyone gotten the update? If so, any improvements? Its weird that my Epic has started locking up and require restarts recently. Must know its time for the upgrade! Do you think the E4GT is gonna get the same run around when it comes ICS?
15. Firedrops posted on 10 Nov 2011, 02:32 0
With CM running around, this probably won't matter to anyone who knows sticks about phones.
And I wish that kind of beautiful keyboard will appear in more high-end phones.
16. nmerry77 posted on 14 Nov 2011, 08:37 0
Still no update yet.....has any1 received it??? I haven't found any postings anywhere that people have received it!! Hope 2 c it soon!!!
