Google delays Android 3.1 until August. Halts Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9 shipments till then

Staska  By on 03 Jun 11

Bad news for Android fans waiting to get the latest Honeycomb tablet running 3.1 version of OS. Android 3.1 has problems and Google decided to delay it’s launch until August “for most countries”.

And it gets worse. The tablets that were supposed to ship with Android 3.1 – Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9 – have been delayed until then too.

For now it’s still a rumor. But it comes from a pretty reliable source – Mobile-Review.com’s Eldar Murtazin – who usually gets things right, especially this close to the device launch. So I’m pretty sure we won’t be seeing  Android 3.1 tablets here in Europe until August.

Poor Samsung. With Galaxy line they have been a key part of the Android success story from the second half of 2010. They made the first “official” Android tablet, they even partnered with big G to make the second official Google Phone – Nexus S, they gave 5000 Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablets away at Google I/O event. They have jumped through every hoop Google asked them to and shipped more Android devices then anyone else. Heck – they are kicking iPhone’s arse with Android flagship in some major markets.

And then they get screwed by Google on a major product launch in big way. For the second time in less then a year!

Google first screwed Samsung with the launch Galaxy S smartphone last June. At the time the search giant was very worried that it’s major Android partners were replacing Google’s location technology with the solution provided by a small location service provider called Skyhook. Google first learned about it in April, when Motorola decided to ship it’s next Droid with Skyhook solution. Google then refused to certify Motorola’s Droid 2 as Android compatible device until Motorola removed Skyhook’s location technology. Motorola complied, delaying it’s Droid 2 launch and then shipping it with Google’s location solution which they perceived to be inferior to Skyhook’s. Only to learn that Google allowed Samsung to start shipping it’s Galaxy S handset with the same Skyhook technology that Google now said is not Android compatible.

When Motorola complained, Google ordered Samsung to halt all the shipments of Galaxy S with Skyhook’s tech. Even with tens of thousand’s of Galaxies already sold or on the way to carrier customers. And Samsung had no other choice but to comply, stop all Galaxy S shipments and hastily replace Skyhook with Google’s location provider. Remember all the GPS/location problems Galaxy S had last summer? Yep – most likely it was about that.

Here we go again. With the pre-order options and promised mid-June shipping dates popping up around the world, I’d say thousands of Samsung Galaxy Tabs are en route to the carriers and distributors. And now they will have to sit in the warehouses for a couple of months, until Google fixes whatever last minute bug they found in Android 3.1.

In the meantime, potential customers will keep snapping HTC Flyers, Motorola Xooms and Asus transformers with even buggier Android 3.0 OS.

I don’t think Samsung is happy today.

Via: Tweet 1, Tweet 2

 

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  • Hobin5148

    They dont want to piss off Samsung. They will seriously abandon Android because they already have their own software Bada and Windows phone 7 platform in the wings. 

  • Friend

    LOL, I pity this is not in any other news..! I can not trust this..!

  • Jeremiah

    Hm, my Google Motorola wifi xoom is 3.1 ota the day I bought it. Friday may 13th.

  • Ide

    Hey are you reporting news or “rumor, but it comes from a pretty reliable source,”

  • Friend

    This is true only in Europe …Not in US..! Google did not explain what “issues” are abt..!

  • Hm

    3.1 landed on the Xoom ~3 weeks ago, so I assume you didn’t check this before writing. A simple Google search for “Xoom 3.1″ would have sufficed.

  • Bobo

    who wrote this, steve jobs? everyone knows this is bs based on the image and number of star rating.

  • Billybob

    agree. i got my asus transformer last week, with keyboard option. sweet.

  • Anonymous

    It says the delay for the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9 is only for europe.  I’m assuming U.S. Galaxy Tab 10.1 launch for June 8th is still on.

  • Hardball 21

    There is nothing to substantiate this at the moment; so it should be treated as malicious rumors for now.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_K3MVOVHEK4AZY777NI5KWHGL5U David Jenkins

    Any clue how to write??

    “delay it’s launch” … NO. “delay ITS launch”
    “in less then a year!” … NO.  ”less THAN a year”

    HOW DO YOU HAVE A JOB AS A WRITER????

  • Naderhd

    Android Sucks , full of bugs

  • http://www.facebook.com/stianlangvann Stian Torleivson

    Thats odd. Since 3.1 is already pushed to xoom and transformer tablets out there.

    Lastest official update still claims that it will be sold at the Best Buy in New York on the 8th.
    The rest of the U.S will have to wait until the 17th to get their hands on one.http://www.androidcentral.com/hands-samsung-galaxy-tab-101-retail-edition

  • Anonymous

    This article is very shaky. I don’t really believe there are any hard facts here.

  • http://www.staska.net Staska

    The Android 3.1 delay – I said so in the post – it is a rumor. But from the source I trust – it’s up to yuo to believe it or not. 

    Google screwing Samsung and Motorola because of Skyhook part – Google worried that partners will replace Google’s NLP with Skyhook tech, telling Motorola that they will not certify Droid 2 (Shadow) with current Skyhook implementation, Motorola complaining that Samsung already shipped with Skyhook tech, Google telling Samsung to stop shipments of Galaxy S –   is based on hard facts. It’s from  internal Google/Moto/Samsung e-mails that became public in a Skyhook vs Google lawsuit. 

    Just Google “google skyhook lawasuit e-mails” if you want to learn more

  • Anonymous

    Strange, how come 3.1 was rolled out already, I got it on my Tranformer 31 May. Many others have received it too.

  • http://twitter.com/fadiqaddo Mohammed Fadi Qaddo

    Poor me :( i was waiting the 3.1 update for my Samsung Tab 1000

  • http://twitter.com/fadiqaddo Mohammed Fadi Qaddo

    Poor me :( i was waiting the 3.1 update for my Samsung Tab 1000

  • John

    Sounds like Google is supplanting Microsoft and Apple in the use of heavy-handedness. Also, Staska, you really need to learn that “it’s” is a contraction for “it is” and not the possessive “its.”

  • Gadgethero

    The 10.1 Tab will be available on June 8th in NYC and elsewhere on the 17th with 3.1 installed. Samsung is shipping the initial units without its own “Touch Wiz” GUI and will update these units shortly after launch with the update for free. My biggest disappointment with the Wifi version, which will be released first, is that they yanked the SD slot that is part of the 7″ unit. This one goofy move will hurt them against others that offer both SD slots and mini HDMI on their tablets. It looks like it might make it into the 3G (and 4G) units shipping later this summer but not including it on the Wifi version was a serious mis-fire from a company that many think can pose a real threat to iPad dominance.

  • larryv

    This author should be sued for spreading false information. 3.1 has been shipping for a while now on Xoom, ASUS transformer, Acer tablets and Samsung announced they are shipping 10.1 & 8.9 with 3.1 on Jun 7th. I wonder where does the author get his news? Steve Jobs toilet?

  • Anonymous

    wow that’s what happened with the skyhook fiasco?! jesus google needs to stop that it seems kinda evil to me =/….still love my android though

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_F2Z6X3J2KY3QEX5IXHPJL4FNUA Brianna Degrand

     Why google doing this. It’s a bad news for the  User.
    http://parentalcontrolsoftwaresite.org

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