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Android 4.0 comes to Samsung Galaxy Skyrocket, Galaxy Note

Ice Cream Sandwich is coming to two of AT&T's flagship Samsung phones starting today.

Jessica Dolcourt Senior Director, Commerce & Content Operations
Jessica Dolcourt is a passionate content strategist and veteran leader of CNET coverage. As Senior Director of Commerce & Content Operations, she leads a number of teams, including Commerce, How-To and Performance Optimization. Her CNET career began in 2006, testing desktop and mobile software for Download.com and CNET, including the first iPhone and Android apps and operating systems. She continued to review, report on and write a wide range of commentary and analysis on all things phones, with an emphasis on iPhone and Samsung. Jessica was one of the first people in the world to test, review and report on foldable phones and 5G wireless speeds. Jessica began leading CNET's How-To section for tips and FAQs in 2019, guiding coverage of topics ranging from personal finance to phones and home. She holds an MA with Distinction from the University of Warwick (UK).
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Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket
The Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket finally gets its Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade. Josh Miller/CNET

Two more of AT&T's phones will get Google's big 4.0 operating system refresh today, the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket (at long last) and the Samsung Galaxy Note.

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The Skyrocket, which boasts a 4.5-inch screen, a dual-core processor, and an 8-megapixel camera, was one of AT&T's first LTE-ready handsets. The even larger Galaxy Note, a 5.3-inch behemoth with a stylus, is a more recent, yet somewhat quirky, addition to the Galaxy S II line.

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is a pretty major reboot that remakes the interface and enables unique features as well, like Android Beam, a sharing protocol for phones with NFC. And that just scratches the surface.

Samsung Galaxy Note with Android 4.0
The Galaxy Note will get the S Note app preinstalled, which comes with some smart new features. Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

I've had the Samsung Galaxy Note with Android 4.0 for about a week now, and am happy to report that the OS, though subtle, works smoothly. I am, however, a little disappointed that ICS on this phone looks and acts just like Gingerbread, and not like stock Android or even like Ice Cream Sandwich on the Samsung Galaxy S III. Samsung has also added addition productivity apps on the Note, which help take the stylus to a slightly more exalted level.

AT&T starts updating phones today. The next question is, when are these phones going to get Android 4.1 Jelly Bean?

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