Samsung rolling out Android 2.2 update for Galaxy S

Samsung is rolling out its Android 2.2 Froyo update for the Galaxy S smart phone in Europe, and it should be on its way to unlocked UK handsets soon. It may be the end of November before the mobile networks stick it onto your contract phone, however.

Samsung has officially announced that the update for unlocked handsets will be available through its Kies upgrade software. The Nordic regions have already received the upgrade and it will be rolled out to the rest of Europe gradually. This means it won't be too long before British owners of unlocked Galaxy S handsets can download it.

If you have the phone on a contract with a network, you may be in for a longer wait. In an official forum post, T-Mobile said it was tweaking the Android 2.2 upgrade so it will work better when you're using a signal from Orange, under the two operators' network-sharing agreement. T-Mobile said it would be the end of November before it could bring Android 2.2 to the Galaxy S. We called Orange to ask whether Froyo would also reach its Galaxy S users at the same time, but the network hadn't replied at the time this article was published.

O2 told us it was working with Samsung to bring the update to its Galaxy S users, and that it would be released "later in November". Vodafone said it was also working on the upgrade, but couldn't give a definite time when Froyo would arrive. 3 didn't reply to our query, but was later than the other networks in delivering the Android 2.2 update to the HTC Desire, so perhaps its customers should prepare themselves for more of the same.

It appears, then, November will be the month that most Galaxy S owners in Blighty will be able to enjoy the charms of Froyo. They can look forward to features like faster performance and Flash 10.1 functionality.