Back in the day when the latest version of the Android operating system was Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, we saw manufacturers take center stage to announce their ICS plans for the handsets and tablets in their respective lineups. During that time, when Samsung revealed the details about its plans, the Korean electronics giant confirmed that the Samsung Galaxy S II and Samsung Galaxy Note were the first devices in its lineup to get the Android 4.0 refresh. The manufacturer projected a Q1 2012 rollout for the update but only the Samsung Galaxy S II got updated as scheduled. Users of the Samsung Galaxy Note had to wait a little longer because the ICS update for the phablet got pushed back to Q2.
Going back to present time, ICS gave way to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean which is now the latest incarnation of the Google mobile operating system which was released a little over a month ago at Google I/O. Again, we see the same manufacturers set aside time in their busy schedules to accommodate the development of Jelly Bean for their devices. This time around, Asus and HTC already made the announcements that several of their high-end devices will get the Jelly Bean update in the coming months.
Samsung on the other hand repeated history when it announced that the Samsung Galaxy S III and the Samsung Galaxy Note will be the first handsets in its stable to get first dibs on the Jelly Bean update. In the case of the phablet, Samsung is rumored to be already in the testing phase of the Jelly Bean update for the Samsung Galaxy Note and the first tests of the firmware revealed positive results.
According to our sources, the Samsung Galaxy Note is still selling very well hence the decision to get it upgraded to Jelly Bean. Should Samsung decide at the last moment to cancel the update, a Value Pack update will instead be rolled out to the phablet if rumors are to be believed. Although the manufacturer has already confirmed its plans to give the Samsung Galaxy Note a taste of Jelly Bean, the decision isn’t set in stone yet but if the plans push through, the update could get rolled out to the phablet by Q4.
As for the Samsung Galaxy Note, the phablet is still one of the bestselling devices in the market today. It has a QualComm MSM8660 SnapDragon chipset under the hood and with comes dual-core capabilities via its 1.5 Ghz dual-core Scorpion processor and 1GB of RAM. The storage space onboard the phablet is pegged at 16GB and this can still be beefed up to as much as 32GB using the dedicated memory expansion slot of the phablet. The standout feature of the Samsung Galaxy Note however is its massive screen real estate with its 5.3-inch SuperAMOLED panel with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. It also has a very capable camera department that outfits the phablet with a rear 8MP shooter and a front 2MP webcam. You can purchase the Samsung Galaxy Note starting at $199 at select retailers.
