Original Galaxy Tab getting Gingerbread in Europe, U.S. waiting game begins

Samsung has stated in the past that the original 7-inch Galaxy Tab would get the Gingerbread update at some point, and has made it available in several countries in Europe. The update requires Tab owners to use Samsung's KIE software on a PC to install the update to the tablet. Gingerbread is a major Android update that is one level removed from the Honeycomb version optimized for tablets, but is a solid upgrade over Froyo on the Tab.

Galaxy Tab owners, and I am in that category, are now in a waiting game that demonstrates clearly the problem with Android updates. Even though the Gingerbread update comes direct from the device maker, we owners in the U.S. have no idea when to expect the update, or if we will get it at all. Most Tabs in the U.S. were sold through the wireless carriers, mine by Sprint, and for the update to get pushed out to us it must come from the carrier and not Samsung.

I am not aware of any carrier in the U.S. that has stated if or when the Galaxy Tab sold through the carrier would get this update. As is par for the course, the carriers are mum on the subject of updates. Here's hoping each carrier that handles the Galaxy Tab, and that is four or five of them, will get busy and get the update converted to its network and push them out to owners. I suspect we'll see the new Honeycomb-bearing Tabs in the market before that happens.

See related coverage:

• Time for Google to take control of the Android update process
• The flawed Android update process: Too many cooks
• Will the new Android consortium fix the update fiasco?
• What the Android update consortium must do to help consumers