Samsung Electronics Co., one of the largest smartphone companies in the world recently announced that both Samsung Galaxy Note and Samsung Galaxy S2 will be utilizing the latest Android OS which is known Android 4.0 or Android ICS (Ice Cream Sandwich).

The "official" announcement was posted in Samsung Norway's Facebook page and it confirmed that these Samsung models will indeed have the much anticipated Android version. Here is the official announcement posted in Samsung Norway's Facebook Page:

Samsung plans to launch Android Ice Cream Sandwich to the Galaxy S II and Galaxy Note towards the end of the first quarter of this year. When more info is coming so we put it out here on our Facebook Page!

Based on the announcement, it looks like Norwegian users will be the first ones to benefit from this update. The launching of the Android update follows a logical pattern as Samsung's Galaxy Note was first launched in Europe-a full month before Galaxy Nexus was released in the U.S. Though there is no official announcement for the US counterpart, many users from the U.S. are hoping that they will also get this update in a timely manner.

Samsung Galaxy Note

The Samsung Galaxy Note is great source of debate for many people as they cannot fully classify if this device would be considered as a tablet or a smartphone. The Samsung Galaxy Note has a 5.3-inch HD super AMOLED display and weighs around 6.45 ounces. It has a 1.4GHz Dual Core Processor and 16GB Internal memory with expendable memory of 32GB through microSD. It has 2 cameras, the main camera located in the rear part with 8MP LED Flash and the front camera with 2MP. It also has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v 3.0, USB 2.0, and a stylus. It will be available in the U.S. market by Feb. 19 through AT&T. It has a selling price of US$299.99 with a lock-down period of 2 years. The debate of whether or not it could be considered as a tablet or smartphone came about because of the Note's appearance. It is considered "too large" to be a smartphone and "too small" to be a tablet. Some people are also hesitant about this device because of its selling price as there are other devices that could compare with the Note's specifications. If the Samsung Galaxy Note would receive an Android ICS update, then this might possibly change the mind of potential users. As for its availability in the Australian market, Samsung has confirmed that it will be released in "early 2012".

Samsung Galaxy S II

The Samsung Galaxy S II is considered as one of the best smartphones that was released last year. There are two major points going on for this smartphone: sophisticated design and powerful performance. The Samsung Galaxy S II is one of the thinnest smartphones in the market with a dimension of 125.3X66.1X8.49mm and a 4.3-inch WVGA SUPER AMOLED Plus display. In terms of performance, it has a 1.2GHz Cortex A9 dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM, Internal memory of 16GB and microSD (up to 32GB), 2 cameras (8MP camera with LED Flash and 2MP front camera), Wi-Fi capability, Bluetooth version 3.0, and USB v2.0. It is already available worldwide including Australia. It is available through Australian networks namely Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone. When it was first launched, the Samsung Galaxy S II utilized Android 2.3 Gingerbread as its OS and now that it will be updated to Android 4.0 or Android ICS, the performance of this smartphone will be more powerful than it was initially launched.