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 at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Official Android updates

• The biggest update we saw this week was a widespread push of Android 2.3.3 to the Motorola Droid 2. This one is done OTA, so simply go into your settings menu and check for updates to see if it’s there. (thanks to everyone who sent this in)
• While we saw a rollout of Android 2.3 to a select few LG Optimus Ones in June, we’re hearing reports that the update’s now getting pushed out again to a few more regions. This refresh must be done manually through LG’s updater tool, so you’ll definitely want to check to see if your phone is one of the lucky recipients. [via PocketNow]
• US Cellular took to its Facebook Page to let customers know it’s working on revamping the Samsung Mesmerize to Gingerbread at some point, though no official date or timeframe was given aside from “as soon as possible.” [via AndroidCentral]
• HTC announced the arrival of Android 2.3 for the Thunderbolt and Droid Incredible this month, via its Facebook page. [via AndroidCommunity]
• In fact, some users have already reported getting Gingerbread for the Incredible, and we suspect the rollout will be complete no later than the end of the month, to fulfill the company’s promise. [via Phandroid]
• Gingerbread is in the plans for the Motorola Milestone 2, and according to the company the refresh will begin rolling out in early Q4. [via MyDailyGadget]
• The Samsung LC11 LTE mobile hotspot is getting a new build, EF07, that appears to improve its handling of multiple devices and congested WiFi locations. It also adds security patches and new protocols. [via Verizon]
• An update for the Droid 3 was apparently available to soak testers and leaked online, but was pulled from Motorola servers shortly thereafter. It appears to add video chat support in GTalk and adds a new radio that’s supposed to save battery life. The via link still has the update available for anyone interested. [via Droid-Life]

Unofficial Android updates / custom ROMs / misc hackery

• The root method used on most Motorola Android devices has been employed to root the Droid Bionic before it’s even been released. [via Droid-Life]
• LG has released the kernel source for its Gingerbread build of the Optimus S. [via AndroidCentral]
• The HTC Dev site expanded its support for the bootloader unlock tool this week, now encompassing all versions of the Sensation — including T-Mobile’s. [via AndroidCentral]

Other platforms

• SPB Shell 3.0 is now available for Symbian^3 devices. It brings a fresh 3D-style UI to the OS, and can be yours for $15. [via IntoMobile]

Updates already covered this week

• HP planning TouchPad OTA update for added functionality
• HTC Flyer Honeycomb ROM leaks
• Samsung Nexus S updated to 2.3.6, fixes voice search and breaks tethering

Refresh Roundup: week of August 29, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 04 Sep 2011 10:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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And on the 61st day, the TouchPad rose again.

HP has plans to produce another round of its TouchPad tablets before the year is out, despite its earlier decision to discontinue its mobile hardware products.

“Despite announcing an end to manufacturing webOS hardware, we have decided to produce one last run of TouchPads to meet unfulfilled demand,” HP spokesman Mark Budgell wrote in a company blog post. “As we know more about how, when and where TouchPads will be available, we will communicate that here and through e-mail to those who requested notification.”

Budgell says it will be a few weeks before devices from the additional run will be available for purchase.

The blog post signals further confusion from a company in upheaval. Two weeks ago, HP announced suddenly it would end production on all of its mobile hardware, including the soon-to-be-released Pre 3 and Veer smartphones. The decision also included the company’s iPad competitor, the TouchPad, killed off a mere 49 days after its debut in July. Circulating rumors suggested third-party retailers were sitting on hundreds of thousands of unsold units.

HP followed its announcement by slashing prices on remaining TouchPad inventory, reducing the price of the 16-gigabyte TouchPad to $100, and the 32-gig version to $150.

Since the blowout sale prices, however, the company hasn’t been able to keep any TouchPads in stock. Retailers have been bombarded by customer requests for the cheapened devices, and dozens of retailers have reported completely selling out.

Which is most likely the reason behind HP’s decision to once again beef up its inventory for a last TouchPad blast.

“Tablet computing is a segment of the market that’s relevant, absolutely,” HP personal systems group exec Todd Bradley told Reuters in an interview. The company continues to explore licensing options for, webOS — its proprietary operating system — according to Bradley.

There’s no guarantee, however, that HP will continue to sell the last round of tablets at a $100 rate. Hardware teardown website iSupply speculates that, in terms of components alone, a 16-GB TouchPad costs HP approximately $300 to build. That’s a $200 bath HP is taking on each individual unit sold, not including the cost of labor, shipping and associated expenses.

HP did not immediately respond to a phone request for comment.

While the resurgence in TouchPad interest may be a promising sign for HP, the company’s flip-flopping decision process isn’t serving its public image.

“The only thing I know for sure that’s going on at HP is that they have completely lost control of their message,” Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps said by e-mail to Wired.com. Epps continued, saying HP was “sabotaging their brand with the mixed messages.”

As of today, the TouchPad is now the No. 2 best-selling tablet after the iPad, according to FastCompany. Ironically, that’s the exact position HP was vying for.

Unfortunately for the company, it took bargain-bin pricing and the threat of extinction to get there.

HP: TouchPad will receive OTA update for added ‘functionality’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Aug 2011 08:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It was only a matter of time before the hacks for HP’s now defunct tablet started to roll in.

Android-modding group CyanogenMod released a video of its popular aftermarket software running on HP’s TouchPad tablet, a product which normally runs webOS — not Android — as its primary operating system.

“Our ultimate vision is to create a multiboot solution where the end user will be able to boot into WebOS, Cyanogenmod, and/or other OSes,” the CyanogenMod team said in a statement to Android-enthusiast blog RootzWiki. Essentially, the team wants the TouchPad to be a blank slate, so to speak, able to run multiple operating systems indiscriminately.

Since HTC first released its flagship Android phone, the Dream, the CyanogenMod team has been hard at work trying to get its software onto every Android device on the market. The software isn’t a radical departure from the Android operating system: It’s basically a mod that allows a user more control over his or her phone. From overclocking your processor to customizing your wallpaper, the mod enables subtle tweaks popular with the geeky, detail-oriented crowd.

While getting the Android software to run on the TouchPad has taken relatively little time (the device was released two months ago today), the team says its progress has been slowed due to a lack of development devices. At $100 a pop, TouchPads have been flying off the shelves since HP announced recently it would be discontinuing its mobile hardware and slashing prices on remaining inventory.

“We have talented and experienced developers who cannot contribute effectively due to a lack of hardware,” the team wrote in its statement, asking for spare TouchPad contributions from the community to help spur development.

As the group has gained in popularity, updates on the official CyanogenMod software have slowed. Original founder Steve Kondik was recruited to work for Samsung earlier this month, and team member Chris Soyars recently left for music-appmaker GrooveShark.

But a recent bounty on getting the TouchPad to run Android may have incited CyanogenMod team members to code faster (though the group denies it in its statement). Hardware-modification web site Hacknmod.com offered as much as $2,000 to those who first slapped a copy of Android onto HP’s tablet.

The version of CyanogenMod on the TouchPad (video below) is a highly unstable alpha, but the team says more features and better stability are on the way.

Not that it particularly needed it, but HP is sweetening the deal for owners of its now defunct TouchPad, offering up six webOS apps for the price of free. The pack includes apps normally ranging in price from $0.99 to $14.99, featuring the multitasking Glimpse, monster-building Big Boss, Camera for TouchPad, and Audubon Birds, a field guide that’s decidedly less slingshot-based that other bird apps. The deal expires on the 31st — all of the promo info can be found in the source link below. The company is set to offer up another app six-pack in September.

Update: We’re hearing in comments that the codes are no longer working. Thankfully, HP has promised more free dealies in the near future.

HP wants to give you some free apps to go with that new TouchPad originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Aug 2011 13:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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