Samsung contacted Engadget to update the review. GPS issue fixed. Explained inside.

[fiyah]

I totally understand that, I am simply saying to wait for confirmation from engadget that their Epic 4G is still affected. As for now they simply state they are "trying to nail it down".

I am definitely not denying that they had issues initially. We do not know that Samsung "insisted there was no bug". We do not have a transcript of that call. We simply know that Samsung suggested they turn on aGPS, after doing so Engadget, not Samsung, claimed "No GPS bug!"

Ah! I see your point. Duly noted.

 

[Adrift]

Oops Double post sorry

Lol how do you double post 20 minutes apart

Ah! I see your point. Duly noted.

I do wonder how long it's going to take Engadget to post a definitive Yes or No on the matter.

 

[ben7337]

r e a d s l o w l y :

r e a d s u p e r s l o w l y

this is from twitter.com/samsungmobileus

"We're testing software to optimize GPS on US Galaxy S. Expected updates avail. in Sept. Details & download to follow.
2:01 PM Aug 13th via HootSuite"

Now if samsung was saying that there was nothing going on with the gps and that agps being disabled was the sole problem, then why would they be testing software for optimizing the gps? You don't test software to change a default setting in an OS. Let me say this loud and clear for you.

SAMSUNG IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON THE SOFTWARE IN THE US GALAXY S GPS FUNCTIONALITY.

This is completely different from the fact that aGPS was shut off on the EPIC 4G and they probably only told engadget this after they got an email from engadget about the bug. The same way a tech support person asks, "well is your router on?" when the internet is down, so did samsung say, "well did you turn on aGPS? you know we had it disabled by default."

I question moreso the fact that samsung is known for giving better test models of its devices, and wondering if they just made sure reviewers got the phones that seem to not have gps problems as we know that not every single one of these devices seems to have the issue. I know that samsung for their computer displays has given reviewers IPS panel models then sold TN panel ones, in the past after all. Just food for thought, I really hope any issues that exist are fixed asap.

 

[SamsungVibrant]

Hey, incase you guys didn't hear, the Engadget Epic 4G review caused a stir amongst some of us vibrant and captivate forums. We emailed engadget and they listened and immediately posted this on their front page yesterday around 2:26 AM. Basically we got in an uproar when Chris Ziegler mistakingly said the "use wireless networks"= no gps bug!

Samsung Galaxy S GPS-gate: two problems, not one (and what to do about it) -- Engadget

 

[Adrift]

Hey, incase you guys didn't hear, the Engadget Epic 4G review caused a stir amongst some of us vibrant and captivate forums. We emailed engadget and they listened and immediately posted this on their front page yesterday around 2:26 AM. Basically we got in an uproar when Chris Ziegler mistakingly said the "use wireless networks"= no gps bug!

Samsung Galaxy S GPS-gate: two problems, not one (and what to do about it) -- Engadget

Yeah, now we (Future Epic owners) are waiting on them to clarify whether or not Epic is suffering from said GPS bug, as of now they are attempting to "nail down" the verdict.

 

[robl45]

ah, silly me, so if a company says they are doing it, then it must be true, remember the behold2? the moment, etc. companies can and do lie all the time. if you were in the world of investing, you would know thats why the SEC fines all these companies.

EDIT: further, they are testing software, what if it isn't software? you think they are going to replace all the phones? Nope, off to GalaxyS version 2 and all the people with galaxys are now locked on contract and samsung can forget about them.

r e a d s u p e r s l o w l y

this is from twitter.com/samsungmobileus

"We're testing software to optimize GPS on US Galaxy S. Expected updates avail. in Sept. Details & download to follow.
2:01 PM Aug 13th via HootSuite"

Now if samsung was saying that there was nothing going on with the gps and that agps being disabled was the sole problem, then why would they be testing software for optimizing the gps? You don't test software to change a default setting in an OS. Let me say this loud and clear for you.

SAMSUNG IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON THE SOFTWARE IN THE US GALAXY S GPS FUNCTIONALITY.

This is completely different from the fact that aGPS was shut off on the EPIC 4G and they probably only told engadget this after they got an email from engadget about the bug. The same way a tech support person asks, "well is your router on?" when the internet is down, so did samsung say, "well did you turn on aGPS? you know we had it disabled by default."

I question moreso the fact that samsung is known for giving better test models of its devices, and wondering if they just made sure reviewers got the phones that seem to not have gps problems as we know that not every single one of these devices seems to have the issue. I know that samsung for their computer displays has given reviewers IPS panel models then sold TN panel ones, in the past after all. Just food for thought, I really hope any issues that exist are fixed asap.

 

[ben7337]

ah, silly me, so if a company says they are doing it, then it must be true, remember the behold2? the moment, etc. companies can and do lie all the time. if you were in the world of investing, you would know thats why the SEC fines all these companies.

EDIT: further, they are testing software, what if it isn't software? you think they are going to replace all the phones? Nope, off to GalaxyS version 2 and all the people with galaxys are now locked on contract and samsung can forget about them.

So basically you are saying samsung is 100% lying and we shouldn't believe a word they say? If we don't listen to them working on software fixes and say it's all potentially bs, then why do we listen to them telling engadget to turn on aGPS to see if it fixes their review epic 4g. I mean really if what you say holds any value then we should delete all of these gps threads because they mean nothing because we officially know absolutely nothing and can't do anything.

btw, according to the Galaxy S forums on xda, a person who claims to work for broadcom says they are working with samsung on new drivers and software for their gps chip in the galaxy s, which is currently one of their newest chips. You can say all you want about samsung having a bad track record with a couple phones, or them constantly lying, but that doesn't change the fact that there are reports to give people hope. Everything we are discussing here is all speculation. I am adding what I have found to it and trying to make people stop saying that samsung telling engadget to enable agps is the same as a software fix that they claimed they are working on. The officially said there will be downloads. I am only stating that people are claiming 2 clearly different things are exactly the same.

 

[robl45]

not saying they are 100% lying, only that the likely hood of them doing anything if it turns out to be anything other than software related is slim and there is probably a 50/50 chance now that its just software.

given we know how companies forget about their phones and go to the new model 30 days after its released, I think we can err on the side of this turning out worse than expected.

So basically you are saying samsung is 100% lying and we shouldn't believe a word they say? If we don't listen to them working on software fixes and say it's all potentially bs, then why do we listen to them telling engadget to turn on aGPS to see if it fixes their review epic 4g. I mean really if what you say holds any value then we should delete all of these gps threads because they mean nothing because we officially know absolutely nothing and can't do anything.

btw, according to the Galaxy S forums on xda, a person who claims to work for broadcom says they are working with samsung on new drivers and software for their gps chip in the galaxy s, which is currently one of their newest chips. You can say all you want about samsung having a bad track record with a couple phones, or them constantly lying, but that doesn't change the fact that there are reports to give people hope. Everything we are discussing here is all speculation. I am adding what I have found to it and trying to make people stop saying that samsung telling engadget to enable agps is the same as a software fix that they claimed they are working on. The officially said there will be downloads. I am only stating that people are claiming 2 clearly different things are exactly the same.

 

[Adrift]

not saying they are 100% lying, only that the likely hood of them doing anything if it turns out to be anything other than software related is slim and there is probably a 50/50 chance now that its just software.

given we know how companies forget about their phones and go to the new model 30 days after its released, I think we can err on the side of this turning out worse than expected.

I don't see the point in your posts? You just seem to be doing the same thing dietcoke does, post negative comments persuading folks to not buy a device that is not even out yet. At this point all we can do is wait on Samsung to release their supposed fix, if everyone did like you and decided to not trust in phone companies then noone would buy a new phone.

So what would you prefer everyone do?

*edit* Just to be clear, I don't mean for this to sound rude or anything. I just would like to know where you are going with your posts.

Also, the Galaxy S line is likely not to be forgotten soon. That usually happens when a Single phone is produced for a single carrier. Compound that with low sales numbers (Think Samsung Moment) then it is easy for a manufacturer to "forget" about a phone.

With the Galaxy S line you are looking at 4 Carriers in the U.S w/ 4 models. Then combine the sales of those models across their respective carriers, with all the Galaxy S models being sold internationally and you have numbers that are too large to justifiably "forget". Also add in the amount of accessories being made by Samsung specifically for the Galaxy S phones and you get a clear picture that they are counting on users keeping these devices, which mean that they will have to support those users for the long haul. They ( or Sprint) gave up on the Moment 6 months after it's release ( not 30 days) and it was not a high selling phone, was only on a single carrier, and Samsung produced few, if any, accessories for it. All of this reassures me that Samsung will be supporting this device.

 

[vanilla slab]

engadget just announced that samsung told them that the Epic will be released with everything functioning properly good news!! let's just hope it's true

link here Samsung says GPS is 'tested and validated' on Epic 4G, our testing agrees -- Engadget

 

[Adrift]

Lol, awesome news. If only you could click the thanks button more than once!

 

[gme109]

engadget just announced that samsung told them that the Epic will be released with everything functioning properly good news!! let's just hope it's true

link here Samsung says GPS is 'tested and validated' on Epic 4G, our testing agrees -- Engadget

This should put an end to dietcoke's dribble.

 

[Adrift]

Hey folks Vanilla Slab just posted this up

Samsung says GPS is 'tested and validated' on Epic 4G, our testing agrees -- Engadget

Engadget is verifying that the Epic 4G is indeed shipping with GPS working out of the box. Samsung sent them an additional message saying that they had tested and verified that the Epic 4G has functional GPS both Assisted (indoor/ aGPS) and Autonomous (outdoor/ GPS). This was verified by the test unit Engadget has been using to review the Epic 4G with.

This should be the end of this discussion.

Whew!

 

[badankles]

yeah for coke zero. seriously though, i wonder if this was the reason for why sprint pushed the release date to the 31st?

 

[Android_J]

Hold on a sec here. I don't want to beat a dead horse but...

Here is a quote direct from Engadget from when they claimed there was no bug, only to then claim there were 2 bugs:

After enabling [use wireless networks] from settings, we found that both the Captivate and Epic 4G were able to get our location with 1,000 to 1,500-meter accuracy practically immediately in Google Maps, though the Vibrant still never came through

Nothing has changed software or firmware-wise since then. Now they claim it's all good and "extremely accurate"? 1500 meters is a hair under 1 mile. That's useless. It needs to be 5 meters or less. Nothing coming out of Engadget makes sense.

Also found this video from 2 days ago showing Epic GPS performance (notice even WIFI is turned on):
YouTube - Samsung Epic 4G GPS FAIL

 

[rasstar]

Hold on a sec here. I don't want to beat a dead horse but...

Here is a quote direct from Engadget from when they claimed there was no bug, only to then claim there were 2 bugs:
Nothing has changed software or firmware-wise since then. Now they claim it's all good and "extremely accurate"? 1500 meters is a hair under 1 mile. That's useless. It needs to be 5 meters or less. Nothing coming out of Engadget makes sense.

Also found this video from 2 days ago showing Epic GPS performance (notice even WIFI is turned on):

Maybe he didn't turn on use wifi setting.

 

[vanilla slab]

thanks for the good responses I really do hope this bit of news is legitimate though, and engadget didn't screw up, but samsung did admit there were two problems, and since they know that and said now both are fixed on the epic, hopefully it'll be good.

 

[JTAndroid]

Hold on a sec here. I don't want to beat a dead horse but...

Here is a quote direct from Engadget from when they claimed there was no bug, only to then claim there were 2 bugs:
Nothing has changed software or firmware-wise since then. Now they claim it's all good and "extremely accurate"? 1500 meters is a hair under 1 mile. That's useless. It needs to be 5 meters or less. Nothing coming out of Engadget makes sense.

Yeah, IMO Engadget has waffled this story too much for my liking. I can't wait to see the conclusive results from users like us when this thing hits the streets.

 

[dietcoke]

I can't really trust anything from Samsung or Engadget after making statements, getting called out by users, restating things, making promises, excuses, pointing blame.

F22 Posted Aug 17th 2010 5:54PMNEUTRAL
@Osnaz Actually engadget first said the GPS was fine, then people with Galaxy phone asked them to check it and they found it doesn't work properly, but got a samsung spin that it had to do with an Android requirement. Then a bunch more people said, that isn't the real issue, and Engadget finally got the correct answer from Samsun, which is: they have a long standing duplicatable problem with Galaxy GPS, that is not from Android since comparative tests shoe other android phones dont have the problem (example EVO and Driod) . The fix by the way is not a GPS fix, it is a triangulation fix. The GPS problem, confirmed on PPCGEEKS and XDA developers cnanot be currently fixed by the users.,

Until someone with an Epic downloads GPS Test in the Android Market and reports or better yet shows video of how many satellites in view, in use, and accuracy...then talk by Samsung carries zero credibility at this point.

"Tested and validated" GPS is working exclaims Engadget. But their test as they state clearly is:

Our testing suggests that it's functional -- Google Maps was able to give us extremely precise positions very quickly

Wow, what scientific testing that sounds like! And they ran multiple tests, I wonder what secret GPS Tests they used? Do they even realize there is an app out there called "GPS Test"?!

Samsung and Engadget seem a little too arm in arm and friendly about all this, you'd think Engadget was just the Marketing and Public Relations division of Samsung.

 

[SebastianX]

I can't really trust anything from Samsung or Engadget after making statements, getting called out by users, restating things, making promises, excuses, pointing blame.



Until someone with an Epic downloads GPS Test in the Android Market and reports or better yet shows video of how many satellites in view, in use, and accuracy...then talk by Samsung carries zero credibility at this point.

"Tested and validated" GPS is working exclaims Engadget. But their test as they state clearly is:

Wow, what scientific testing that sounds like! And they ran multiple tests, I wonder what secret GPS Tests they used? Do they even realize there is an app out there called "GPS Test"?!

Samsung and Engadget seem a little too arm in arm and friendly about all this, you'd think Engadget was just the Marketing and Public Relations division of Samsung.

Oh god, here we go...

 

[sinman02]

Hold on a sec here. I don't want to beat a dead horse but...

Here is a quote direct from Engadget from when they claimed there was no bug, only to then claim there were 2 bugs:
Nothing has changed software or firmware-wise since then. Now they claim it's all good and "extremely accurate"? 1500 meters is a hair under 1 mile. That's useless. It needs to be 5 meters or less. Nothing coming out of Engadget makes sense.

Also found this video from 2 days ago showing Epic GPS performance (notice even WIFI is turned on):
YouTube - Samsung Epic 4G GPS FAIL

I was watching a bunch of unboxing videos that came out over the last two days and I noticed that in a few of them, when the reviewer first turned the phone on, the phone prompted them about a system update. One reviewer (mobility today) went into the details and read the description which included something like "other minor system improvements". It's possible that the last system update, only available to reviewers and such as this point, included the gps fixes...? Maybe that explains why Engadget's review on this is so inconsistent. Perhaps the fix was only released in the last day or so.

Not for nothing...despite their waffling reports on this, it was someone at Engadget who first wrote a flaming article calling out Samsung and their gps issues about a week or so ago. The ball seems to have been rolling ever since..so kudos to them for that.

Now if I get the Epic and it still has gps problems, I'm going to be really pissed!

 

[dietcoke]

Oh god, here we go...

Forget so easily?

from the updated Engadget review

"[Update: We just spoke with Samsung, who told us that Google is now requiring that the "use wireless networks" setting for location-based services be turned off by default in Android devices -- in other words, no AGPS unless you manually enable it. Sure enough, we went into Settings, found that it was disabled on the Epic, turned it on, and we were good to go. No GPS bug!]"

Some people don't use any common sense and just believe everything they're told. How many times will people believe Samsung and Engadget before they realize they're fools?

I can't really trust anything from Samsung or Engadget after making statements, getting called out by users, restating things, making promises, excuses, pointing blame.

F22 Posted Aug 17th 2010 5:54PMNEUTRAL
@Osnaz Actually engadget first said the GPS was fine, then people with Galaxy phone asked them to check it and they found it doesn't work properly, but got a samsung spin that it had to do with an Android requirement. Then a bunch more people said, that isn't the real issue, and Engadget finally got the correct answer from Samsun, which is: they have a long standing duplicatable problem with Galaxy GPS, that is not from Android since comparative tests shoe other android phones dont have the problem (example EVO and Driod) . The fix by the way is not a GPS fix, it is a triangulation fix. The GPS problem, confirmed on PPCGEEKS and XDA developers cnanot be currently fixed by the users.,

Until someone with an Epic downloads GPS Test in the Android Market and reports or better yet shows video of how many satellites in view, in use, and accuracy...then talk by Samsung carries zero credibility at this point.

"Tested and validated" GPS is working exclaims Engadget. But their test as they state clearly is:

Our testing suggests that it's functional -- Google Maps was able to give us extremely precise positions very quickly

Wow, what scientific testing that sounds like! And they ran multiple tests, I wonder what secret GPS Tests they used? Do they even realize there is an app out there called "GPS Test"?!

Samsung and Engadget seem a little too arm in arm and friendly about all this, you'd think Engadget was just the Marketing and Public Relations division of Samsung.

 

[Adrift]

dietcoke, can't you just say "until someone with an Epic downloads and tests with GPS test from the market, I won't believe this"

and then just leave it at that until that happens?

 

[dietcoke]

Houston we have a problem, a message from the Engadget "tester and validater" himself.

http://androidforums.com/1403676-post8.html

^
not very convincing.

 

[kit_kit]

Great news.I was hoping that Epic comes with GPS updates. My wish came true. Epic with no GPS issue,how cool is that?