Ice Cream Sandwich Delays Samsung Galaxy Tab 2

Steve McCaskill,

Company says it needs more time to work on Ice Cream Sandwich

The releases of both the 7.0 and 10.1 variations of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 have been delayed due to problems with version 4.0 of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich.

Samsung told Computer World that issues with the latest version of Google’s mobile operating system meant that the tablets would now hit UK shelves at the end of April.

Melted Ice Cream

When the devices were first announced in February, they were to be the first Samsung products to run Ice Cream Sandwich and were said to have a release date of March, which was missed. Samsung said that both itself and Google needed more time to work on the software but would not disclose any specific details.

The Korean manufacturer began rolling out Ice Cream Sandwich last month, with its flagship smartphone the Galaxy S II among the first to receive the update. Other devices confirmed to be upgradable were the Samsung Galaxy Note, Galaxy S II LTE and the Galaxy Tab 8.9 and 10.1, with a number of devices featured in a Verizon list of Ice Cream Sandwich candidates.

However its plans suffered a setback last week when the company admitted that the upgrade for the Galaxy Note would arrive in the second quarter of this year, rather than the first three months as initially planned.

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Tab 7.0 in February, with a 10.1 inch version announced at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. Both devices boasted a 1GHz processor, a 3 megapixel rear-facing camera, a VGA camera for video calling and came in 8GB, 16GB or 32GB varieties. The 10.1 edition is heavier, can support a resolution of 1280 x 800 and has a larger battery.

Ice Cream Sandwich features improved camera controls, multi-tasking, data counters, support for Near Field Communication (NFC), a redesigned interface, brand new contact system and a number of new security features.

Earlier this week, Sony announced plans to rollout Ice Cream Sandwich to a selection of its mobile portfolio, but warned that the software may not be as stable as version 2.3 Gingerbread.

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