Samsung has given a free Samsung Galaxy S II to each of the four developers responsible for the CyanogenMod on the original Galaxy S device. The Korean company's only request is that the team gets the mod working on the S II as well.
The news comes from atinm, one of the developers of the CyanogenMod, via his Twitter account: "W00t! Just received the SGS2 from Samsung so we can work on CyanogenMod for it! You will not hear me bad-mouth Samsung again. :)" He further confirmed that he's not the only one, via a post on the XDA Developers forums: "yes, and it is not just me - it is all four of the teamhacksung group that brought you CM7 on SGS that got them."
It seems that Samsung sees an active modding community for their devices as a constructive project, rather than something that needs to be shut down. This likely won't happen with every Samsung device, since carriers still have a lot of power in deciding how locked down a device is, but it's still a step in the right direction.
The Galaxy S II runs Android 2.3 (codenamed Gingerbread) and is powered by a dual-core 1.2GHz processor. It is the first handset to offer Samsung's Super AMOLED Plus screen technology (4.27-inch display, 800x480 resolution), and is the company's thinnest phone at 8.49mm, with a weight of just 116g. The device also features an 8MP primary camera with 1080p video capture, and a 2MP camera in the front, as well as integrated NFC support on some versions. It also has BlueTooth 3.0+HS and HSPA+ connectivity.
The device's new Live Panel allows you to aggregate web, social networking, and app content to a single customizable home screen. You'll be able to switch between three adjacent home screens by simply pressing and holding on the screen. The phone will come with four new content and entertainment hubs: music, games, e-reading, and social networking. For more information, read our review.