Samsung blocks S-Voice access after leak to Android community

Samsung’s soon to be released Galaxy S III has faced an unexpected leak. The S-Voice which is an exclusive feature of the new phone has accidentally been made available to users who have Ice-Cream Sandwich aka Android 4.0 OS on their phones. Android Community developers on XDA, said that they managed to get their hands on S-Voice APK file. APK stands for Android application package; a file format which can be used to directly install application software and middleware onto Android phones like the Galaxy Nexus. The Android community also reports that the S-Voice APK, allowed owners of other Ice Cream Sandwich-powered smartphones to install Samsung’s new voice assistant (its Siri rival) and perform commands on their devices. Samsung it appears has gone into damage control mode_. TheNextWeb _ reports that Samsung and partner Vlingo, who developed the technology behind the voice functions have blocked requests from users of non-supported devices. Users who tried to use the S-Voice received a “Network Error. Please Try Again” message according to the website. [caption id=“attachment_317264” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Samsung’s soon to be released Galaxy S III has faced an unexpected leak. Reuters”] [/caption] Samsung Galaxy S III already has over 9 million pre-orders. The Korean giant is now the world’s biggest smartphone maker, ahead of rival Apple. Android has played a crucial role in Samsung’s success. The S III is available for pre-order in India on Samsung’s online store . Customers have to pay an advance of Rs 2000 if they wish to buy the phone. The phone is rumoured to launch in India in June for Rs 38000.