14 DAY TRIAL // A few days ago, wireless carrier Vodafone Australia officially announced the availability of Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean for its Samsung GALAXY S III handsets. Now, it has just provided a new set of details on the software.
The new platform upgrade is expected to start rolling out on Galaxy S III units on the wireless carrier’s network on Monday, November 26, at 1:00PM (AEDT).
This is the first carrier-branded Galaxy S III version in the country to receive the update, the wireless services provider notes.
However, users should also be aware of the fact that the update will be delivered to them in stages, and that it will take up to two weeks for it to arrive on all smartphones.
“This will make you among the first Australian GALAXY S III owners to receive this eagerly awaited update! But, it is released in batches so not everybody can update at the same time. Sit tight though, everyone will have access to the update within 14 days,” Vodafone notes.
“There are heaps of new features like the predictive magic of Google Now and some great performance improvements thanks to Google’s ‘Project Butter’. Some small bugs and glitches have also been addressed.”
The update will be offered to users both over the air and through the Samsung Kies desktop application. Galaxy S III users will be able to choose either of the two as soon as they are notified on the update’s availability.
Only 10,000 phones will taste the update in the first three days after the deployment begins, with an additional 10 percent of users expected to grab it each day starting with the fourth. The rollout process should be completed in 14 days, Vodafone notes.
As for the features and enhancements that will arrive inside this software release, we can count:
- Update to Google Mobile Services v4.1 r2 - Updates to included Samsung applications - Introduction of 'Help' application - New Samsung widgets available - Android Beam is now integrated into S Beam - Added 'Simple' and 'Easy' home screen modes - Introduction of 'Blocking Mode' function in the settings menu - 'Add Account' menu moved to sub-menu of 'Accounts and Sync' - Notifications shade UI has been refreshed - Lockscreen menu separated from security menu - Modem patch from chip vendor
Additionally, the new software release fixes an issue where the LED indicator would flash when function was disabled, Vodafone notes.
Before proceeding with the update, users are advised to charge the battery inside the device at least at 50 percent and to back up all data on the smartphone, just to make sure that no important files are lost during the installation.