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As a substitute to Android 4.0, Samsung has today rolled out a new software update called “Value Pack” to the original Galaxy S in Korea. The update takes features from Android 4.0 and crams them into the company’s existing Honeycomb build. The full list of features the Value Pack includes:

T-Mobile has sort of faded away ever since they attempted to join the dark side but they’re slowly climbing back into customers good graces. Today they detailed their plans to update a couple of HTC devices to Android’s latest and greatest Ice Cream Sandwich. HTC Amaze 4G and Sensation owners can expect to have their devices updated to Android 4.0 according to T-Mobile support documents posted online. The dates for the update are listed as TBD but the fact that these documents are up is a good sign.

2012 Mobile Game of the Year, The Dark Meadow, received a pretty major update on iOS today. Aside from all of the new features, the game has also gone freemium. The freemium version, entitled Dark Meadow: The Pact is a separate download on the App Store and as far as I can tell is exactly the same as the original paid version. The decision to go freemium may benefit the developers over the long term and is the reasoning for the jump. Although it is only available on iOS at the moment, it is scheduled to hit Android next month.

When ASUS first teased us about an “awesome” update coming to the Transformer Prime, we were giddy with excitement. Later their Italian brethren spilled the beans about the update and it wasn’t as “awesome” as some had hoped. Now, the update is rolling out and it doesn’t even include the features listed by ASUS Italy! We’re not sure if they plan on pushing out more than one update, but the one hitting ASUS owners now is anything but “awesome.”

Android maintains its overall lead in the U.S. market while the iPhone gains ground

Smartphones are close to becoming the primary type of mobile phones sold in the U.S. for the first time. Market research giant Neilsen’s latest analysis of the mobile industry shows that about half of all mobile phone owners in the country now own a smartphone – up significantly from this time last year.

In addition to smartphones gaining major traction, the company also released its data on the makeup of the U.S. smartphone market that shows gains by Apple’s iPhone and significant losses for RIM’s BlackBerry. Android, however, still manages to hold the biggest share of the market overall.