Hasta La Gadget!

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it’s easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don’t escape without notice, we’ve gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Official Android updates

• Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE: A minor update is available for Sprint’s QWERTY slider that’s said to improve overall device stability. [Android Police]
• Samsung Galaxy Rugby Pro: This rugged smartphone for AT&T is now eligible for an upgrade to Android 4.1.1 (Jelly Bean). Users will also find the additions of Swype and Music Hub in this build. [Phandroid]
• LG Lucid: Verizon has announced an update for this smartphone that brings improved quality of voice calls and installs Flash Player. The newly updated file manager app now brings the ability to manage files in the cloud, and the software also installs Verizon Remote Diagnostics for troubleshooting purposes. [Droid Life]
• Galaxy Nexus: Google has published the Android 4.2.1 update for the Sprint variant of the Galaxy Nexus to its servers. [Android Police]
• Samsung Galaxy S III: Owners of unsubsidized Galaxy S III handsets throughout Australia are reporting than an update to Android 4.1.2 — complete with Multi-Window enhancements — is now available for download and installation via Samsung Kies. [Android Central]
• ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T: An update is now available for the Transformer Pad Infinity that brings greater compatibility with microSD cards and decreases lag when playing music in the background. The software also fixes bugs in the camera and Movie Studio apps. [Android Police]
• Samsung Galaxy Note II: Verizon has pushed out a fix to this smartphone that’s designed to resolve Exynos security vulnerabilities. [SlashGear]
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7: Verizon has announced an update for this tablet that decreases electrical consumption while charging the device in a “power off” state. [Android Police]
• Sprint Flash: Sprint has released an update for this ZTE-manufactured smartphone that brings improvements to the camera, adds timing preferences for the LED notification and resolves issues related to Swype. [Android Police]
• Samsung Epic 4G Touch: An update is now available for Sprint’s version of the Galaxy S II that brings security fixes along with the Sprint Connections Optimizer. [Android Police]
• Rogers: The Canadian carrier has announced that its Jelly Bean updates for the Galaxy S II LTE, Galaxy Note, RAZR HD and Xperia T have been pushed to February. [MobileSyrup]

Unofficial Android updates, custom ROMs and misc. hackery

• Motorola Droid RAZR / RAZR Maxx: A root exploit has been published for the official Jelly Bean OTA software build, meant for these two non-HD smartphones for Verizon. [Talk Android]
• Motorola Atrix 4G: Motorola is requesting soak test participants for a pending update to this AT&T smartphone. [Android Central]
• Sony Xperia Z: Sony has announced that it’ll release an Android 4.2 update to the Xperia Z shortly after the smartphone’s arrival. [Android Central]
• Motorola Atrix 2: A pre-release Jelly Bean update has worked its way into the wild for this smartphone on AT&T. Curiously, Motorola has previously stated that the Atrix 2 would never see an update past Ice Cream Sandwich. [Android Community]

Other platforms

• HTC 8X: AT&T has released its first update for this Windows Phone handset. Known informally as the Portico release, it features an option to keep WiFi connections alive and allows users to reject phone calls while responding with a text message. [WinSource]
• Nokia Lumia 810: An OTA update is now available for this Windows Phone on T-Mobile that brings fixes to Bluetooth functionality and is said to improve overall device stability. [T-Mobile]

Refreshes we covered this week

• Nexus Q scores CyanogenMod 10.1 nightlies, reminds you of its existence
• Samsung posts Jelly Bean update for Galaxy Note 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 2 in the US
• Samsung now pushing out more updates to address Exynos security vulnerability
• AT&T to begin pushing OTA Jelly Bean update to Galaxy S III users today
• Rough hack converts an Optimus G to a Nexus 4, minus the constant sellouts
• Android 4.2.2 potentially spied lurking in a Czech overview (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile

Comments

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it’s easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don’t escape without notice, we’ve gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of November 19th, 2012

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile, Samsung

Comments

The growing pains associated with being an early adopter can sometimes be brutal, as Android’s latest software bump doesn’t appear to jibe too well with one of Google’s most popular in-house apps. Prior to the Nexus 4’s official release, word of a Google Voice texting bug began to circulate, but was written off as pre-release jitters. However, it appears that the issue is expanding beyond the search giant’s newborn smartphone, as owners of the HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus loaded with Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) are also experiencing crashes when attempting to compose a text message within Google Voice. While the app still works for phone calls, text messages are completely off limits. Hopefully, this issue can be fixed with an app update as opposed to a new Android software version altogether. In the meantime, if you’re a heavy Google Voice user with Android 4.2 in your crosshairs, we suggest that you hold fire and wait until Google officially sorts things out.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Google

D’oh: Google Voice force-closing text messages for Android 4.2 users originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 21:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Android Central  | Email this | Comments

If you just can’t wait for the official Jelly Bean 4.2 update to land on your Galaxy Nexus, you can at least do a pretty good job of faking it. Last week saw the camera and gallery apps from the latest iteration of Google’s OS ported to the Nexus, and this week, Twitter user @KillDroidHack has done the honors of releasing another cluster. All Android 4.2 core apps — such as Gmail, Maps, Calendar and the like — are now available in APK form, as well as the newest version of Google Wallet. So, if you want the fresh set on your Nexus and have the loading know-how, head over to the Dev-Host links below to find the files you need.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Google

Android 4.2 core apps and Google Wallet APKs released for pimping your Galaxy Nexus originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 09:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Pocketnow  |  @KillDroidHack  | Email this | Comments

If you didn’t get enough in mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we’ve opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This past week, we received further evidence of an imminent replacement for the Galaxy Nexus and the Optimus 4X HD found a new home in Canada. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the “best of the rest” for this week of October 15th, 2012.

Continue reading Mobile Miscellany: week of October 15th, 2012

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Google, AT&T, LG

Mobile Miscellany: week of October 15th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Oct 2012 22:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments