GLOBAL - The Samsung Galaxy S, one of the most advanced high-end smartphones in the market, is being retailed running on Android 2.1, even though the phone-maker is a close ally of Google, it hasn't included Froyo in the handset.

The French wing of the South Korean manufacturer has disclosed to a source that Google Android 2.2 Froyo will be pre-install on Samsung i9000 smartphones from September. This is certainly a good news for customers waiting to purchase the handset, but it doesn't relate to current Galaxy S owners.

Sooner or later all Samsung Galaxy S owners will eventually be able to upgrade their smartphones to Froyo, but a date remains to be announced. As a newer version of the operating system, Android 2.2 will allow users to download the latest software for their phone, as often games and apps get stuck on one version owing to the fragmentation of Android as a software platform.

The Samsung i9000, although known as the AT&T Captivate and T-Mobile Vibrant in the US, features a 4" Super AMOLED touchscreen display, a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and HD video recording, a microSD memory card, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HSDPA/HSUPA connectivity, 16GB internal memory, and is powered by a 1GHz processor.

The smartphone is expected to be released to the South African market by the end of August.