Hasta La Gadget!

Over-the-air firmware updates are mainstays for most smartphone platforms, but custom ROM builders have rarely had such a luxury, even with Android. The OTA Update Center wants to shoulder that noble burden. Along with simply hosting the updates to prevent outrageous bandwidth bills, the Center enables everything an Android ROM creator might need, such as update checks, on-device firmware flashing and wiping either a cache or all user data for the more dramatic upgrades. In practice, the real perk is the cost: it’s free to use, so everyone from hobbyists to seasoned teams can take advantage. While the list of those either using or planning to use the OTAUC isn’t public, we’re hoping it leads to a few more experimental builds of CyanogenMod and other ROMs that can now get the same tender loving care as the official code.

Filed under: Cellphones

OTA Update Center encourages PC-free upgrades for custom Android ROMs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Aug 2012 14:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just a couple days short of its latest deadline, the HTC Rezound now appears to be ready to be knighted with Ice Cream Sandwich via an OTA update. Verizon has taken to its official site to publish upgrade instructions and benefits, indicating that the rollout has begun. Once your install is complete, you should find yourself gazing at Sense 3.6 and its many associated features. These types of refreshes usually take a couple weeks to reach its entire consumer base, so don’t fret if your particular device doesn’t ping you with a notification while you’re jamming to your Beats today.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

HTC Rezound finally ready to receive Android 4.0 update originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 12:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Some Retina MacBook Pro owners have been waiting for this day for six weeks: that promised Retina support in Google Chrome is now part of a finished, stable release. Chrome 21 is now crisp and clear for those who took the plunge on Apple’s new laptop but would rather not cling to Safari for the web. No matter what hardware you’re using, Google has rolled in its promised WebRTC support to let webcams and microphones have their way without Flash or other plugins. Other notable tweaks like wider support for Cloud Print and gamepads tag along in the update as well. If you’re at all intrigued by the expanded hardware support in Chrome, Google has an abundance of details (and downloads) at the links below.

Filed under: Internet, Software

Google Chrome 21 stable release adds Retina MacBook Pro support, webcam use without plugins originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jul 2012 17:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC dampened a few spirits when it dropped the Desire HD from its Android 4.0 upgrade list. The company might feel your pain, but it claims to have a good reason for denying the update that it’s been doling out elsewhere. There’s no way to shoehorn a new version into the device like there was for the Desire’s leap to Android 2.3, the company says. Fitting all that Ice Cream Sandwich into the Desire HD would require repartitioning the internal space, and repartitioning risks overwriting personal content; needless to say, the company isn’t keen on explaining why it might nuke our family photos just so we can run Chrome. Even if that weren’t an issue, a nebulous set of “other technical limitations” might not rub upgraders the right way. All of the explanations add up, although it’s nonetheless easy to sympathize with Desire HD owners now stuck in Gingerbread land — especially as owners of the closely related Thunderbolt aren’t being held back.

Filed under: Cellphones

HTC explains decision to skip Android 4.0 for Desire HD: we’d rather not wipe your data originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Jul 2012 01:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Windows Phone 8 SDK has escaped to the wild, and some sifting through the device emulator has dug up elements that Microsoft either skipped or only touched on lightly during the big unveiling in June. The most important addition may be the one customers see the least: backup. A WP7.hu search has the new OS replicating apps, settings and SMS messages in the cloud to prevent disaster, and that new SD card support will let WP8 owners shuffle photos from internal storage to the removable kind for safekeeping. There’s also more work on Internet Explorer than we saw before, with MobileTechWorld noticing that DataSense provides an option for Opera-like remote compression to save that precious cellular bandwidth.

Media fans might have the most to gain. If we go by The Verge, both the Music/Video and Xbox hubs are getting fresh coats of paint — both to integrate new ventures like Xbox Music as well as to jive more closely with the SmartGlass visual theme. Shutterbugs will like the long-awaited options to crop and rotate their work, pick multiple photos, and unify third-party camera apps under a Lenses concept. There’s even more clever features in store, such as a Maps update that finds nearby WiFi hotspots, so head on over to the sources to get a full sense of where Microsoft will be going.

Filed under: Cellphones

Windows Phone 8 SDK leaks show quiet upgrades to backup, media and the kitchen sink originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 11:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink WMPowerUser (1), (2)  |  MobileTechWorld, WP7.hu (translated), The Verge  | Email this | Comments