Refresh Roundup: week of April 15th, 2013

Refresh Roundup week of April 15th, 2013

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!

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Archos dips into smartphones with the 35 Carbon, 50 Platinum and 53 Platinum

Archos dips into Android smartphones with the 35 Carbon, 50 Platinum and 53 Platnium

While Archos has long held dreams of expanding into smartphones, we’ve seen it run into its fair share of roadblocks along the way. Thanks in part to a sharpened corporate focus, that vision is at last becoming real with the company’s first, honest-to-goodness smartphone range. The 35 Carbon, 50 Platinum and 53 Platinum all cater to the budget, carrier-independent crowd with common foundations of unlocked 7.2Mbps HSPA 3G, dual SIM slots (only one being 3G) and stock Android. We also see a rather skimpy 4GB of storage, although a microSD slot on each phone helps make up for the difference.

What you’re mostly paying for is performance and screen size. The 35 Carbon ships with an HVGA 3.5-inch screen, a single-core 1GHz Snapdragon S1, 512MB of RAM, VGA cameras and Ice Cream Sandwich; move up to the 50 or 53 Platinum and you’ll get their respective 5- and 5.3-inch qHD screens, a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Play, 1GB of RAM, an 8-megapixel rear camera, a 2-megapixel front camera and Jelly Bean. No, we’re not bowled over by the performance any more than you are — but the respective contract-free prices of $100, $220 and $250 may have at least some trying Archos’ first effort, even if the company’s late May launch will only include Europe at first.

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Source: Archos (1), (2), (3)

Sony Xperia Tablet S Jelly Bean update starts tomorrow afternoon

DNP Sony's Xperia Tablet S Jelly Bean update starts tomorrow

After months of treading water with Ice Cream Sandwich, the Xperia Tablet S is finally being blessed with a taste of Jelly Bean. Starting tomorrow between the hours of 9AM – 10AM PT, Sony will begin rolling out Android 4.1.1 to its second-gen slate in the US, Canada and Latin America. While release details are scarce, the company stated that it will issue a changelog alongside the update. Though Jelly Bean is likely on its way to becoming yesterday’s news, at least Sony is keeping its promise and that’s gotta count for something, right?

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Via: Android Police

Source: Sony Community Forums

HP’s Slate 7 set to hit UK on May 1st for £129

HP's Slate 7 set to hit UK May 1st for 129

After concern about a slipped shipping date proved erroneous, HP’s Android-packing Slate 7 has popped up at the company’s UK store with a £129 price tag and a promise of availability on May 1st. That’s pretty much in line with the date originally scheduled for the 7-inch, 1,024 x 600, 1GB RAM, dual-core A9 Jelly Bean device, though the VAT brings the price up to roughly $200, while HP said would it be $170 in the US before taxes. There’s no word yet on exactly when you’ll be able to grab the Slate 7 stateside, but HP’s US site (at the More Coverage link) is still saying April. Meanwhile, Brits can pre-order at the source link.

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Via: Tom’s Hardware

Source: HP UK

Mid-range HTC 606w spotted with front stereo speakers and dual soft key design

HTC 606w

While the HTC One is facing much anticipation ahead of its launch in more regions, its price tags may not be everyone’s cup of tea; but judging by the above leak, it looks like Peter Chou’s willing to spare a couple of notable features for a more affordable model. According to last week’s filing on China’s TENAA database, the back of this 606w takes design cues from the China-only One SU (especially around the camera), but flip it around and you’ll notice what appears to be a pair of front-facing stereo speakers (aka BoomSound as it’s marketed as for the One), as well as the same dual soft key implementation on the company’s latest flagship.

The rest of this Android 4.1.2 phone is a bit of a mix: there’s a 4.5-inch 960 x 540 display, a quad-core 1.2GHz processor, 1GB RAM, an 8-megapixel main camera (so not UltraPixel), a 1.6-megapixel front-facing camera, WCDMA radio and microSD expansion. It’s easy to see how these specs are carefully crafted to avoid directly clashing with the recently launched E1 (603e) as well: lesser front-facing camera but better processor and display here (presumably). And no, this is clearly not the rumored M4. As always, we’ll keep an eye out for the 606w’s official announcement.

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Via: PhoneArena

Source: TENAA

CyanogenMod 10.1 nightlies reach Xperia Z and ZL, other recent Sony models

CyanogenMod 101 nighlies reach Xperia Z and ZL, other recent Sony models

Sony has been friendlier than many of its mobile rivals toward outside code, backing AOSP efforts even when it has had to shoulder most of the responsibilities. It’s only fitting, then, that five of its more recent smartphones just received their first nightly CyanogenMod 10.1 builds, all in one fell swoop. Support for the Xperia Z and ZL is no doubt the highlight, although experimenters who stand just short of the cutting edge can get CyanogenMod releases for the Xperia T, TX and V. As always, nightlies of custom OS code redefine risky — but those who can’t wait for Sony to push a safe Android 4.2 release can now do more than just twiddle their thumbs.

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Via: Phone Arena

Source: CyanogenMod (Xperia Z), (ZL), (T)

BLU Products to use stock Android from now on, gives Vivo 4.3 new colors and Jelly Bean

BLU Products to use stock Android from now on, ships Vivo 43 in new colors

BLU Products most often draws attention by launching a smorgasbord of new phones. Today, the company is more interested in rethinking the devices it already has. Starting with a just-launced Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update for the Vivo 4.3, the company is moving to stock Android for every new device and firmware upgrade in the hopes of improving battery life and streamlining the interface — a distinct break from the growing trend toward hyper-customized experiences. Whether or not vanilla Android is your bag, the Vivo 4.3 is also receiving a minor hardware update through new colors. Pink, yellow and white variants of the dual SIM phone are now shipping from Amazon and other retailers for $229 each. Although we’d most like to see a full-fledged sequel to the older phone, we can’t object too much to a spring tune-up.

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Source: Amazon, BLU Products

Motorola Droid Bionic starts receiving Jelly Bean update, the love it needs

Motorola Droid Bionic starts receiving its Jelly Bean update, the love it needs

There’s no question that the Droid Bionic has had a rough life between long delays, a more popular cousin and slow updates. Both Motorola and Verizon may be making up for lost time, however — starting today, they’re pushing an Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update for the erstwhile flagship. The core updates will be familiar to anyone with a late 2012 Motorola phone, including Google Now and rich notifications. There are a few Droid Bionic-specific tweaks, including better data connectivity as well as removals of the preloaded Sling and (no longer relevant) MOG apps. A software update can’t erase any bitter memories, but it does show that the short-lived leader is getting long-term affection.

[Thanks, Jared]

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Source: Verizon

ASUS Transformer AiO goes on sale in the US, unites desktop and tablet for $1,299

ASUS Transformer AiO in Android mode

ASUS’ distinctive Transformer AiO has been a long time in coming, having first reached our paws last June. For Americans, it’s at last more than just a fantastical idea: Amazon, J&R, Rakuten and other US-friendly online retailers now list the oddest of odd PCs as on sale, and usually in stock. For a typical $1,299, more adventurous buyers get a Windows 8 base desktop with a 3.1GHz Core i5, 8GB of RAM, a 1TB hard drive, a DVD drive and a GeForce GT 730M. The real fun, of course, rests in its display. Remove that 18.4-inch LCD from its dock and it suddenly becomes a gigantic Tegra 3-based Android tablet running Jelly Bean. We’re not sure if we’ll ever completely wrap our heads around the concept, but those who understand ASUS’ expanded definition of an all-in-one can shop at the source links.

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Via: Android Police

Source: Amazon, J&R, Rakuten

Refresh Roundup: week of April 8th, 2013

Refresh Roundup week of April 8th, 2013

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!

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