Hasta La Gadget!

HTC wasn’t too popular when they denied Desire HD owners a hearty mouthful of Ice Cream Sandwich, but as usual, the community over at XDA Developers has stepped up to make it happen. Despite HTC claiming various technical issues as barriers for the upgrade, Team Blackout’s Android 4.0.4 build (aka Blackout ICS Incredible) is said to work perfectly on the device. The complete ROM is based on an ICS build for the Incredible S, and it requires you sacrifice your data in a full wipe before you can enjoy that Sense 3.6 UI. However, if you’ve got the knowledge to take advantage of this gift, you probably know how to backup all those bytes anyway. Hungry? Then head over to the source for your desirable dessert.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software

Custom ROM brings Android 4.0.4 to the Desire HD, does what HTC wouldn’t originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Aug 2012 10:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony has made good on its promise to update the mid-range Xperia P today, with an Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade currently rolling out to users of the handset. Just with other Sony updates, you won’t be able to pull this one down over-the-air; instead, you’ll have to fire up the PC Companion software on your desktop or Bridge for Mac in order to get access to the new features Sony has added to the handset.

According to Sony, new features include some rejigged media applications, including Walkman, Album, and Movies, not unlike the Ice Cream Sandwich update for the Xperia S. Walkman takes the place of the default media player, while Movies pulls in your media and displays relevant information such as actors and plotline.

Sony has also added what they call an “extended standby mode.” By powering off certain functions of the handset, the standby time can be extended “up to four times” the default. That will heavily depend on how the user has the device configured, however, and by how much data is being pulled down in the background. Sony has also improved the lockscreen on the phone, and added resizable widgets too.

Naturally, other Ice Cream Sandwich features are along for the ride, such as the mobile data consumption tool, allowing you to keep an eye on how much data you’re using and letting you place limits on what you use for the month. Finally, a Recent Apps button has been added that should help you find what you’re looking for in the endless app screens. Sony says the update should be rolling out from today, but owners with different carriers variants may have to sit tight as it rolls out over the next few weeks.

[via Android Police]

Sony Xperia P ICS update rolling out is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Just last month, Acer’s Liquid Gallant Duo teased itself for preorder on the Expansys website, which promised to be an affordable Android 4.0 smartphone for those in need of dual-SIM capabilities. Now, a slightly less capable handset — the Liquid Gallant Solo — has reared its head, and as you might expect, it’s a single SIM affair. Other than this omission, however, the Solo offers much of the same specs as before, which includes a single-core 1GHz MediaTek MT6575 SoC, a 4.3-inch qHD display, a 5-megapixel camera and a 1,500mAh battery. Similarly, the phone also features 1GB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage and a microSD expansion slot. In terms of connectivity, users can expect quadband GSM and 3G support on 2100 / 900MHz networks. Like the Liquid Gallant Duo, the Solo’s public presence was short-lived, as the user manual (linked below) has since been pulled from Acer’s website. Its price also remains a bit of a mystery, but given the dual-SIM exclusion, it seems a safe bet that the Solo will retail for less than the £149 ($230) price of the more capable Duo. Hopefully we’re not far off from a more official debut.

Filed under: Cellphones

Acer Liquid Gallant Solo makes brief cameo, Android 4.0 smartphone lives up to its name originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 04:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re hot and bothered by the Galaxy S III on Verizon and have a burning desire to get your grubby little mitts on some custom ROMs and kernels, then rejoice, because you’ll no longer have to plunk down $600 on the Developer Edition to partake in the fun. That’s right, the encrypted bootloader of Big Red’s Galaxy S III has now been unlocked. If you’re wanting to partake in the fun, you’ll find the requisite utility and a complete list of instructions over at xda-developers. As is, you’ll need either Linux or OS X to carry out the dirty work, though workarounds for Windows users are possible. Be sure to do a bit of soul-searching before pulling the trigger, however, as any future updates pose the risk of bricking your device. That said, if you dive straight into the world of custom ROMs, it’ll be much less of an issue.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: Hit the break for a video that shows the process of unlocking the bootloader on Verizon’s Galaxy S III.

[Special thanks to Adam Outler and François Simond]

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy S III bootloader for Verizon can now be unlocked: take that, Big Red (update: video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Software

Samsung Galaxy S III bootloader for Verizon can now be unlocked: take that, Big Red (update: video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Aug 2012 22:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s time for the 3.0.1 update to SwiftKey, one of the most in-depth 3rd party onscreen keyboards available for Android right this minute. This update takes the 3.0 update and adds several boosts to already existing features such as Smart Space – where before you were only getting spaces without tapping the space bar if you had everything spelled correctly, now there’s two-word corrections and spacing as well. This update also changes out SwiftKey’s voice recognition for the official Android Ice Cream Sandwich / Jelly Bean voice input from Google.

This update for SwiftKey 3 will be free to all those who’ve already purchased the keyboard and will be the version you pick up if you head to the Google Play app store today. SwiftKey 3.0.1 has two new themes for your keyboard including white on light blue and white on pink. The space bar has also been updated – made just a bit longer and taller here in this new update.

There are several new languages in this update including Malay and Urdu, and prediction has been upgraded as well. Prediction sees the words you’ve used in your current sentence and the sentences you’ve created in the past, learning as it goes to predict what you’re going to say. If you say the same phrases day in and day out, you’ll only have to tap your prediction row to make it all happen.

The quick punctuation key has been modified a bit to reflect the collection of characters that exist inside it as well. Those of you used to working with SwiftKey will notice the improvements instantly, while those of you who’ve used it in the past and are just coming back to it now will only see the changes once you realize how much faster you’re typing here in the present. You can find this app in the Google Play store now in both free (limited) and full editions!

SwiftKey 3.0.1 update brings Google Voice Dictation is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.