Samsung confirms Galaxy S II will get Ice Cream Sandwich update

Samsung UK has just confirmed that Ice Cream Sandwich is coming to the Galaxy S II. Oddly enough I was considering buying this phone today and this was something that was, up until now, a rumor.

The Tweet reads:
”@Ekz8 @moczilla Hi, good news - the Galaxy S II will be receiving ICS, but there are no dates confirmed as yet. We will keep you posted.”

Most people believe this will arrive in early 2012. I am hoping for a Christmas present.

According to WikiPedia:
Ice Cream Sandwich was previewed at the May 2011 Google I/O event, and officially launched at the Galaxy Nexus and Ice Cream Sandwich release event on 19 October 2011. The SDK for Android 4.0 was publicly released on 19 October 2011. Gabe Cohen from Google said that ICS was "theoretically compatible" with any Android 2.3.x device in production at that time. The source code for ICS became available on 14 November 2011, before the Galaxy Nexus was released. New features included:

• Virtual buttons in the UI, in place of capacitive or physical buttons
• Separation of widgets in a new tab, listed in a similar list to apps
• Easier-to-create folders, with a drag-and-drop style
• A customizable launcher
• Improved visual voicemail with the ability to speed up or slow down voicemail messages
• Pinch-to-zoom functionality in the calendar
• Offline search, a two-line preview, and new action bar at the bottom of the Gmail app
• Ability to swipe left or right to switch between Gmail conversations
• Integrated screenshot capture (accomplished by holding down the Power and Volume-Down buttons)
• Improved error correction on the keyboard
• Ability to access apps directly from lock screen (similar to the HTC Sense 3.x)
• Improved copy and paste functionality
• Better voice integration and continuous, real-time speech to text dictation
• Face Unlock, a feature that allows users to unlock handsets using facial recognition software
• New tabbed web browser, allowing up to 16 tabs
• Automatic syncing of browser with users' Chrome bookmarks
• Modern Roboto font
• Data Usage section in settings that lets users set warnings when they approach a certain usage limit, and disable data when the limit is exceeded
• Ability to shut down apps that are using data in the background
• Improved camera app with zero shutter lag, time lapse settings, panorama mode, and the ability to zoom while recording
• Built-in photo editor