Android Advice & Tutorials
Welcome to Android Advice and Tutorials.
Subscribe to our RSS Feed Follow Android Advice on Twitter Follow Android Advice on Facebook Find Android Advice on Google Plus Find Android Advice on YouTube Find Android Advice on Pinterest

Users of the Motorola Droid Bionic on the Verizon Network are finally able to get the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update. The update comes after a year of waiting and wondering but has started the process of pushing out yesterday October 19th. We have already had a few Droid Bionic users report they have received the over the air update and that it came in at around 368MB.

motorola droid bionic android 4.0 ice cream sandwich update availableVerizon Droid Bionic Android 4.0 ICS Update Features:

As always when updating your Droid Bionic be sure to have at least a 50% charge and connect to WiFi to be sure the process is not interrupted  Again the download is 368MB so be patient as it could take a bit to get down. If you want to check for the update manually all you need to do is go to “settings -> about phone -> system updates”. If you see the popup “update available” then your good to go otherwise just try again later.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play 4G

Sony has posted a list of their devices that will be getting the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich updates and the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is not on the list. Sony had previously planned on the device getting the update but have decided not to push it to the device after all.

“In regards to Xperia PLAY, after extensive in house testing with our developer teams and working with our partners, we have concluded that a consistent and stable experience, particularly with gaming, cannot be guaranteed for this smartphone on Ice Cream Sandwich – therefore, we will not make the Android 4.0 upgrade available for Xperia PLAY.
This decision was also verified when we received similar feedback from the developer community; both experienced developers and advanced users, along with game content providers following our ICS beta ROM for unlocked Xperia PLAY smartphones.”

I would have assumed with the lower end Sony Android phones getting the update to Android 4.0 that the Xperia Play would be a shoe in. Sorry to everyone with the Xperia Play it’s certainly not fair. While the official update wont hit the device you can still always root and ROM.

Meizu ICS Update ads Flyme OS

An upgrade to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich was promised by Meizu’s CEO Jack Wong back almost 6 months ago in November. It looks like he has finally released a date for the Ice Cream Sandwich update for the MX and M9 smartphones of June. The Meizu MX and Meizu M9 will not be getting the Ice Cream Sandwich update that most other phones get as it will be skinned with Meizu’s own Flyme OS version 1.0. Their Flyme OS is supposed to improve Google’s default Android 4.0 features with a more refined logical interface, backup and sync data functions, and cloud storage.

Official Press Release About Flyme OS 1.0 for the Meizu MX and M9:

HONG KONG – April 24, 2012 – MEIZU today officially announces that the MEIZU MX and M9 smartphones will be upgraded to Flyme OS 1.0 (based on Android 4.0) in June 2012. This announcement indicates that MEIZU’s entire current range of smartphones will be brought into the Android 4.0 era, reflecting MEIZU’s unyielding commitment towards its old users.

MEIZU’s Flyme OS offers a powerful range of features and user-friendliness together with a simple and elegant design, receiving praise from users both at home and abroad. It is the result of MEIZU’s focus on user experience since the start. Combining all the best elements from past products and iterations, Flyme OS 1.0 provides a superior user experience.
Flyme OS 1.0 will offer a slew of advantages over the native Android 4.0 system. The user experience will be more logical; interactions more streamlined and pre-installed apps more comprehensive. Under the hood, Flyme OS 1.0 offers backup and sync, lost phone locating, as well as a new cloud services such as personal file storage. In Mainland China, MEIZU’s Music Online music streaming app will have its entire library upgraded to lossless audio formats.

Customers with the MEIZU MX and M9 will be able to upgrade to Flyme 1.0 via an OTA (over the air) push directly on their phones, or by downloading the firmware upgrade from the official MEIZU website in June this year.

MEIZU MX comes with an Exynos dual-core A9 processor and a high resolution 4-inch 292 PPI display with the world’s most naturally beautiful ASV display technology, giving users the ultimate visual experience. It also comes with an 8 megapixel backside illuminated (BSI) camera with a lens aperture of f/2.2, capable of taking great photos even in low light conditions.

As China’s first flagship smartphone, the MEIZU M9 was released in early 2011 with a 1 GHz CPU, 3.5-inch 960×640 resolution ASV display and a 5 megapixel camera to much fanfare in China and beyond.

The MEIZU MX 16GB retails for ¥2399 CNY in Mainland China and $2599 HKD in Hong Kong, while the MEIZU M9 sells for 1699 yuan in Mainland China.

ASUS Transformer TF101 Ice Cream Sandwich Update

ASUS has been busy with their Transformer Prime with unlocked bootloader tool but haven’t forgotten about the Transformer TF101 that has started receiving the Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich update. According to ASUS’s Facebook page they have already started rolling out the Ice Cream Sandwich update to the devices. The update will bring the ASUS Transformer TF101 to software version 9.2.1.11.

We are excited to see the update to Android 4 being pushed to the older device although users in the US will still have a to wait a few days to get the update as the rollout is starting in Taiwan. As it hits the rest of the world over the next few days please let us know when it hits your Country.

Motorola Atrix 4G Soak Test

While we aren’t sure if this means Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich for the Motorola Atrix 4G on AT&T, we do know there is a big update to the device. Judging by the past experience with Motorola we can only assume that it will mean Ice Cream Sandwich very soon for the device.

The Motorola Atrix 4G can easily support the Android 4.0 operating system and with no promise from Motorola or AT&T we know its possible to get this device running the popular new OS. CyanogenMod 9 proves that it can be done now lets keep our fingers crossed that it will and this soak test is it.

While we aren’t involved in the testing this time we will keep you informed as our contact gets the OTA from Motorola. If you are involved in the testing please let us know if you hear anything outside of what we already know, which isn’t much since Motorola is so hush hush with its testing groups.

Motorola Xoom Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Update Available

If you own a Wifi version of the Motorola Xoom then your wait is finally over, Motorola is pushing the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update right now. This update is a noticeable difference from Android version 3.2 to the newest Android 4.0. While Motorola promised to be the first to update the device and are now following the Transformer Prime with the update at least its happening.

Currently the update is only for the American Wifi version but word is that the International version will follow shortly. We have already updated our Xooms to Android 4.0 and it runs very smooth. The only issue we noticed is that some of the shortcuts to apps stopped working and we had to re-create them but other than that its great.

NVIDIA announced at their CES press conference today that the Transformer Prime will be getting Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The video above shows evidence of this update taken by androidspin’s Stormy. Now the tablet that was already greets a leader with Ice Cream Sandwich.

Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericssin promised a while ago that they would bring Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich to their 2011 devices and now heres the list. They have detailed the list of phones that will get the update along with when the updates will start rolling out. The following devices will get Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich between late March and early April.

Sony Ericsson Phones Getting Android 4.0:

While Sony has stated that these devices will get the update they only promise the update for non-carrier versions. Of course its up to the Carriers themselves to allow the update on their devices.

Samsung Logo

Samsung has officially announced the devices that they will update to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and the dates expected. Samsung Electronics stated the devices and plans for them in their official blog:

Samsung Electronics plan to provide the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update for GALAXY devices. The platform update for GALAXY S II and GALAXY Note will start in the first quarter 2012, and other GALAXY devices will soon follow.

The ICS-upgradable devices are the GALAXY S II, GALAXY S II LTE, GALAXY Note, GALAXY R, GALAXY Tab 10.1, GALAXY Tab 8.9, GALAXY Tab 7.7, and GALAXY Tab 7.0 Plus.

According to a press release from Samsung Electronics the upgrades to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich scheduled to start between January and March 2012.

Archos has announced that their G9 tablets will be receiving the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update Q1 2012. Archos has been in the Android tablet game even before Samsung came out with their Galaxy Tab’s. They have until now been a low end alternative to the larger brands. Their G9 tablets come in an 8 inch and 10 inch model and both are said to get the Android 4.0 update.

Archos G9 tablets currently not only compete with some of the larger brand but come in at a very low price point. Android Advice has actually used and tested the Archos 101 8th generation Android tablet and now have the G9 tablet. One great advantage of the G9 tablets are that they have the ability to use not only Wifi but have an external flush slot for 3G cards.

Once the update hits we will review and let everyone know what we find.

Many of us aren’t sure if we will get the Ice Cream Sandwich update or not on our devices. HTC has announced officially that the following device will be getting the update. If your not on this list it doesn’t mean that the update will not come to yours it just means its not official yet. The following are Officially going to be updated by HTC from their own mouths.

As always if your device isn’t on the list but has the hardware to run Android 4.0 you can go ahead and still get excited as XDA will likely come out with an update for you anyway. If you look now you can already find a few ports of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich now.