Samsung Galaxy S II Update 2- Android 4.0 (ICS) & Samsung Epic 4G, Captivate, Vibrant & Fascinate Upgrade?

After a leak from a Filipino arm of Samsung that reported a roll out of the update to Android 4.0 on March 10, for the Samsung Galaxy S II and a Tweet that refuted the news, Samsung has finally begun rolling out the update for unlocked models.

The Samsung Galaxy Note, Galaxy Tab 8.9/10.1 updates will follow, reported Samsung.

The Samsung Galaxy S II update is offered via the Kies app in Poland, Hungary,  Sweden and South Korea.

Although Samsung will not update, the original Samsung Galaxy S line of smartphones will get a firmware update that will add some features inlcuding  Face Unlock, Snapsot, Photo Editor and others.  Samsung has not announced it U.S. models such as the Samsung Vibrant, Epic 4G, Captivate and Fascinate will get the new features.  This will be depend upon the carriers.

If you have either a T-Mobile, AT&T or Sprint Samsung Galaxy S II it may be a while before you get the update because carriers add-on their software and also take time to test the update.

You'll need the latest version of KIES and it is reccomended that you download the large upgrade file(60MB Kies 350MD FOTA) with a strong Wi-Fi connection.  You my also lose some of your data so be sure to back up before the update.

If  you have rooted or customized the firmware, your Samsung Galaxy S II may cause unexpected problems during the update.

You also have to be sure you have enough storage on the Samsung Galaxy S II to hold the update, if not you'll have to delete some emails, photos or apps.

Some of your Android apps may not work after the update. Because of ICS OS features, Adobe Flash and Bluetooth 3.0 HS will not be supported  while Bluetooth 3.0 is supported still.

Samsung  cautions "To prevent unexpected data loss, please back-up your data thru Kies before upgrading."

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich adds some features such as Android Beam, Face Unlock, a new UI and improved camera (see all features and video).  It combines Android 3.2 Honeycomb features and updates other features.

Americans should not get too excited, especially if you are an AT&T customer.   It took  almost a year for AT&T release the Android 2.3 Gingerbread update for the Samsung Captivate.

Carriers usually offer updates over the weekend, because an update on a popular smartphone can clog networks significantly.