Hasta La Gadget!

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 attips at engadget dawt comand let us know. Enjoy!

Official Android updates

• Given up on the HTC Thunderbolt’s mystical Gingerbread update? HTC’s still insisting that it’s on its way, despite multiple delays. This time, however, the OEM isn’t giving a timeframe for ETA. [Droid-Life]
• The T-Mobile G2 was boosted to Android 2.3.3 in July, but we’re glad to see the device getting yet another refresh. This time the G2 is getting hooked up with 2.3.4, which promises better battery life and improved data roaming, among other minor fixes. [AndroidCentral]
• What other device is getting 2.3.4 this week? The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc, that’s what. It’s only rolled out to parts of Europe and the Middle East, so be patient if you haven’t seen an update show up for your unit yet. [AndroidCentral]
• Up north, the LG Shine Plus on Telus is getting Android 2.3.3. [MobileSyrup]
• Anyone using a Motorola Atrix or Milestone 2 in the UK should expect to have an update to Gingerbread sometime next month. [Unwired View]
• Motorola mentioned on its Facebook page that the Droid Bionic will receive Ice Cream Sandwich, though it wouldn’t share details on when. [Thanks, Grant]

Unofficial Android updates, custom ROMs and misc. hackery

• Amazingly enough, the Samsung Epic 4G is still missing Gingerbread (officially, at least). In hopefully what could be considered another step forward, Sammy’s pushed out the kernel source for Android 2.3. Keep those fingers crossed, Epic 4G owners. [AndroidCentral]
• Motorola released the kernel source for the Droid Bionic. [AndroidCentral]
• Speaking of kernel source, HTC’s also gone ahead and released code for the myTouch 4G Slide, Desire (Gingerbread), and the Raider 4G. [AndroidCentral]
• Three days after its kernel was made public, T-Mobile’s version of the Samsung Galaxy S II has now been successfully rooted. [Phandroid]
• Looking down at your HTC Sensation 4G (or any other Sense 3.0 or higher device) filled with Dre envy? Wish you had the cool Beats that’s starting to trickle out to the latest HTC handsets? Leave it to XDA to find a way to port the new audio functionality over to any Sense 3.0 or 3.5 phone without having to ditch your current ROM. [Droid-Life]
• Anyone frustrated by the news about the HTC Thunderbolt above and is savvy to the rooting world may want to check out a new Gingerbread RUU just leaked for the device. [Android Police]

Other platforms

• Select Symbian Anna devices are currently getting a bug fix. Sadly, it’s not Belle. [Unwired View]
• The Windows Phone Team has reported that the Mango update is available to nearly everyone now. [Windows Team Blog]
• The iPhone Dev Team brought out a new version of Redsn0w, 0.9.9b7, which was designed to significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to jailbreak your iDevice. [Pocketnow]

Refreshes we covered this week

• HP TouchPad gets webOS 3.0.4 update
• Kindle 3 gets software upgrade, ready to soar into the cloud
• Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich roundup
• Android 4.0 now official, includes revamped design and enhancements galore
• HTC: we’re reviewing ICS and determining future plans
• Motorola RAZR to get ICS in early 2012
• ICS unofficially ported to Samsung Nexus S 4G
• Sony Ericsson bringing ICS to Xperia handsets?
• ASUS: Android 4.0 tablets coming by end of this year
• HTC’s new audio API beats OpenSense into developers

Refresh Roundup: week of October 17, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Oct 2011 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Now that the iPhone 4S is out, I’m disgusted by the mere sight of my stone-aged iPhone 4. Ugh. But it’s not worthless: If you took good care of your iPhone it could fetch some bills on the secondary market. More »

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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Holy crap, we’re covered in Kindles. As of today there are six different Kindles you can choose from at 11 different price-points. How ever will you decide? Here’s a quick look at all of ’em, and our pre-release pick. More »

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 Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 with LTE is now getting some very minor plastic surgery, with what appears to be a simple maintenance update. [Droid-Life]
• Not the biggest fan of your buggy keyboard, Motorola Droid X users? The latest bug fix update, eloquently called 4.5.605, resolves keyboard stability and usability issues that have affected a large number of users. [Droid-Life]
• Owners of the HTC Sensation on O2 should be enjoying an enhancement to Android 2.3.4 soon, as the rollout has already begun. [Pocket-Lint]
• How ’bout that Motorola Xoom WiFi? Android 3.2.1 (aka build HTK55D) is rolling out to devices now; we imagine the update’s a minor bug fix of some kind, but we haven’t seen any change log on it yet. [Droid-Life]
• Telus is cranking out Gingerbread to the Samsung Fascinate 4G. [AndroidCentral]
• The HTC Droid Incredible 2 is now on the receiving end of build 4.08.605.3, a minor refresh that improves server connections for email sync, enhances Visual Voicemail stability as well as other minor bug fixes. [Droid-Life]
• Rogers customers are now reporting that the Samsung Captivate is now seeing an upgrade to Gingerbread. [MobileSyrup]
• The Sony Tablet S came shipped with Android 3.1, but it’s already getting the bump to 3.2. [AndroidCentral]

Unofficial Android updates, custom ROMs and misc. hackery

• Remember Android 2.3.6? You know, the update that blocked tethering on the Samsung Nexus S? It appears that the Nexus One is due for the infamous build. If you don’t care to wait for the refresh to pop up OTA, you can download and install it on your own. No word on if tethering is blocked on this update as well, but we can’t imagine it being different from the Nexus S. [Redmond Pie]
• Android 2.3.5 has leaked for the Samsung Infuse 4G in the form of build I997UCKI4. Such a leak causes us to suspect the official rollout should be heading our way in the near future. [AndroidCentral]
• XDA’s rooted the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch, and has published a full tutorial on exactly how you can do it. It’s no SuperOneClick, of course, but it’s certainly bound to get you to the same destination — as long as you follow the instructions precisely. [XDA-dev]
• An early preview version of CM7.1 for the LG Optimus Black is available for download. Keep in mind that it’s a test build, and won’t be completely polished. [AndroidCentral]
• The first deodexed ROM for the Motorola Droid Bionic is now downloadable. Follow the link to get the full set of instructions. [Droid-Life]
• If you desperately want to have Gingerbread on your HTC Thunderbolt, a RUU for build 2.11.605.2 is all yours. [Android Police]

Other platforms

• SFR France indicated this week that they’re ready to push the Mango update out to the HTC 7 Trophy, though it didn’t specify exactly when it will begin. Vodafone Romania and Telus (Canada) also let it slip that they’d be rolling out the update to their phones to Mango by the end of this current month. No date for the latest version has been officially set.
• The Nokia N950 is a bit of a rarity as it is, but that doesn’t mean it can’t receive continued support. The MeeGo-run device just received a beta of its latest firmware boost, and appears to be available for download. [NokiaHD blog]

Refreshes we covered this week

• Existing Windows Phones to get Mango within the next two weeks
• Sony Ericsson Xperia Play finally gets HD video capture
• Mango bumps NoDo, rolls the update train to Dell’s Venue Pro
• Samsung Nexus S 4G updated to Android 2.3.7, brings Google Wallet support
• Telstra won’t be Gingerbreading the HTC Desire after all

Refresh Roundup: week of September 19, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Sep 2011 13:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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