Hasta La Gadget!

Why wait to get an official bite of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich when you can load it on your Nexus S right now? After a quick tease a few days ago, an early preview is available to all thanks to a few hard working developers, although beezy’s post on Android Central warns you may have to live without WiFi and Bluetooth for the time being. His build is only tested on the Sprint Nexus S 4G, although concurrent work posted at XDA-Developers should give 3G Nexus S owners a shot at the port as well. As usual with these early tester ROMs YMMV, but those who enjoy life on the bleeding edge can hit the source links for more info.

[Thanks, Dan]

Nexus S port of Ice Cream Sandwich is available, if you can stand some rough edges originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, that was fast. Just two days (barely) after the Android 4.0 SDK was released, a resourceful dev claims to already have the code up and running on a handset that isn’t the Galaxy Nexus. Android Central forum user Breezy is working on delivering a taste of Ice Cream Sandwich to the Nexus S 4G. It’s already pretty clear that particular handset will be getting the upgrade at some point, but we know how impatient you can be. Breezy hasn’t released his ROM just yet, because there’s still some bugs to work out — like the non-functioning WiFi, Bluetooth, cellular data and the wonky touchscreen. So, while you wait for him to get the kinks ironed out, enjoy the additional photo after the break, which sports the same alternate orange theme.

Continue reading Ice Cream Sandwich already unofficially ported, Nexus S 4G gets first dibs

Ice Cream Sandwich already unofficially ported, Nexus S 4G gets first dibs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 21:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Okay, so we’ve already seen Ice Cream Sandwich running on the Nexus S, but that was decidedly… unofficial. We’ve just heard straight from Google’s Gabe Cohen that the Nexus S will definitely be getting ICS. In fact, both he and Matias Duarte think most Gingerbread devices will see an upgrade, saying: “Currently in the process for releasing Ice Cream Sandwich for Nexus S. Theoretically should work for any 2.3 device.” It’s hardly a surprise and there’s no specific word on timing just yet, but hopefully it won’t take long to move that vanilla Android device up to something with a breaded exterior.

Update: We also asked about whether the Nexus One is getting some ICS love, but there’s no clear plan just yet.

Google confirms Nexus S will get Ice Cream Sandwich — for real this time (Gingerbread devices, too) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Oct 2011 00:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging to get updated. 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 from 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

• The top story this week revolves around the HTC Thunderbolt’s long-awaited Gingerbread OTA update. It was finally rolling out, which was exciting news for owners of the device — until it had to be pulled because of some rather significant bugs. The largest of them all was that voicemail notifications no longer worked properly; video chatting through Google Talk was also slightly messed up as well. No word on when we can expect to see it come back with those bugs fixed. [Droid-Life]
• Unfortunately, the Thunderbolt isn’t the only phone falling victim to pulled revamps; the LG Optimus S on Sprint had its Gingerbread update kiboshed, though users have had two weeks to get it — plenty of time for anyone to experience some of the bugs, which included the phone not charging, the SD card not being recognized when the phone’s connected to the computer, no access to data services, and predictive text on the virtual keyboard stopped working. It’s disappointing to see this happen so soon after the Kyocera Echo update went through a similar debacle. [SprintFeed]
• LG Optimus 3D: V10K firmware update, enables phone to convert OpenGL-capable 2D games into stereoscopic 3D. Note: this still runs Android 2.2.2, so we’re still waiting for Gingerbread. [AndroidCentral]
• Motorola Xoom WiFi: Android 3.2.1 is beginning to roll out. [AndroidCentral]
• Dell Streak 7: Honeycomb update rolling out now to unspecified regions [AndroidCentral]
• Asus Eee Pad Transformer: Revamped to Android 3.2.1, adds other bug fixes [AndroidCommunity]
• Casio G’Zone Commando: Gingerbread rolling out now [Droid-Life]
• Motorola Droid 3: Minor maintenance refresh; enhances Google Talk with video chat support, several other fixes. [PhoneDog]
• T-Mobile Samsung Nexus S: OTA install (with option to manually install) to Android 2.3.6; doesn’t appear to break tethering. [AndroidCentral]

Unofficial Android updates, custom ROMs and misc. hackery

• The Android 2.3.5 ROM for the global Samsung Galaxy S II leaked early this week. [Pocketnow, SamFirmware]
• You can now download the Android 2.3.4 SBF for the Motorola Droid X2, courtesy of XDA. [Droid-Life]
• If you have a Sony Ericsson Xperia-branded device from 2010 or 2011, CyanogenMod7 support will most likely come included as part of an upcoming update. Ten Xperia devices will be added, though a timeframe for release wasn’t announced. Check here to see if your device made the list. [XperiaBlog]

Other platforms

• Check here to see if your phone is ready to receive Windows Phone Mango.
• The ultra-rare AT&T HP Pre 3 just received an OTA update to 2.2.3.2207, right after a new webOS Doctor became available for the same refresh. [PreCentral]

Refreshes we covered this week

• Windows Phone 7.5 Mango update now rolling out
• How to force Mango to your phone right away
• Samsung Taylor receiving Mango?

Refresh Roundup: week of September 26, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 02 Oct 2011 11:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Contactless payments have been something of a curiosity in the credit card industry. MasterCard’s PayPass has been around for the better part of a decade, but merchants and banks alike seem hesitant to adopt the technology required to make the system work, and inconsistent implementation adds to the confusion — particularly for customers. Google’s new mobile phone-based Wallet service has the potential to transform the technology from its current status as a transaction turkey, to a future as a checkout champion. But will it work? We spent a week with a Wallet-enabled Nexus S 4G, using the device to pay whenever we encountered a MasterCard PayPass terminal. Unfortunately, that wasn’t often enough, limiting us to just a handful of transactions in the first week. Still, with Google just beginning to roll out the service and only a limited selection of launch partners ready to go, it’s impossible to deliver a complete verdict just yet. Jump past the break for an inside look at Google Wallet, including a video of the service in action, and a brief look at what the world of contactless payments may look like in the future.

Continue reading A week with Google Wallet (video)

A week with Google Wallet (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Sep 2011 16:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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