Just as expected, Samsung has released a GPS fix for the AT&T Captivate but it looks like the other Galaxy S devices will have to wait.
The over-the-air update should fix your location worries for the Android phone. When I reviewed the AT&T Captivate, I didn’t find too many issues getting my location but many of you have expressed problems with the Captivate and the other Galaxy S Android phones like the T-Mobile Vibrant.
It looks like the other Galaxy S Android phones will have to wait for an official fix but we were able to find a workaround which seems to solve some of the problems. There’s no word on when the other Samsung smartphones will get the fix over the air.
What was the problem? It could have just been buggy software, as Samsung was kind of scrambling to get its Galaxy S Android phones launched on the six major U.S. carriers. The move has appeared to pay off, as Samsung has already sold more than 2 million units in the United States.
Another interesting development is that these phones come with wireless positioning turned off. One would think that the handset maker would want as many positioning tools as possible but Samsung has said that Google mandated this be turned off when the device ships.
There’s no official word on why Google wants this shipped off but you can bet that Skyhook would say that it’s because Google wants to maintain control over the positioning on Android devices. We’ll have to watch this as the story progresses.
The AT&T Captivate software also adds a few new features, including the full version of Quickoffice. Also, look for improved media scanning and bug fixes related to Microsoft Exchange 2003 policy support.
Users should receive a prompt on their device that the notification is available.