Just hours after finding out that the CyanogenMod family includes more than one million users, we are happy to inform you that the brilliant minds from CM are very close of releasing what should be their take on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on the HP TouchPad.

The 10-inch tablet from HP was discontinued last year due to low sale, and for months we were promised a working Android version on the TouchPad. The CM7 update, released in September 2011, was functional, but had way too many glitches to be considered satisfying by most TouchPad owners today, so a CM9 update was said to come soon, based on Android ICS.

Well, the CM9 is not exactly finished, but the CyanogenMod team has just teased us with a video showing their progress. Aside from the camera and video, everything seems to be working and the update looks promising as heck.

Of course, the software seems laggy here and there, but that’s to be expected, considering that what is shown in the video is only a pre-alpha version. And for a pre-alpha software version, the system boots pretty quick, Angry Birds plays ok, the Wireless and Bluetooth are fully functional, so all in all we have on our hands something to wait and crave for. And by ‘’we’’ I mean you lucky bastards who managed to get your hands on the HP TouchPad when it only went for 100 dollars.

No ‘’release’’ date has been revealed by the CM team for the CM9 update for HP TouchPad, but we know that the brilliant minds from CyanogenMod are ‘’well on their way in terms of progress’’ and hope to give us ‘’something to play with soon’’.

What say you, HP TouchPad owners? Are you as excited as I am for a scoop of Ice Cream Sandwich on your tablet? Or will you pass on the software, fearful for glitches and system instabilities?

Oh, right, I almost forgot. Here’s the video showing the CM9 progress so far:

Via AndroidPolice.com

HTC Flyer owners can finally rejoice, as the Wi-Fi version of the 7-inch tablet is now getting an update to Android 3.2 (Honeycomb). The Taiwanese manufacturer said they’d deliver Honeycomb in Q2 and the company is making good on that promise, albeit, at the very last-minute.

For those who need a bit of a refresher, the HTC Sense Flyer is a decent tablet that packs a 1.5 GHz processor, 7-inch TFT screen (resolution: 1024 x 600), 1 GB RAM and 32 GB internal storage, HSPA+ connectivity, and a battery that gets up to 4000 mAh of power. The only problem with this slate was that it sold with Android 2.3 Gingerbread out the box. When the Flyer launched back in May, Android 3.x wasn’t optimized for tabs smaller than 10-inches, until, Google started supporting them late in the summer.

Unfortunately, HTC has yet to announce the Flyer as one of the devices that will receive an Android 4.0 update in the near future. Honestly, we wouldn’t be surprised if the Flyer never gets the update, as it may be more trouble to HTC than it’s worth — when it comes to cost and man power. This is a major problem with all devices running a custom user interface layered on top of Android, as it takes months and months for any update to arrive. Still, Flyer owners you can be a little grateful that you’re at least getting Honeycomb. Seriously, it’s better than nothing… Right?

Source: Digital Trends

Hey there, Nook Color owners. Feeling down that a year after you purchased Barnes & Noble’s first attempt at a sorta-tablet, the company already has a proper tablet on the market? Don’t be, because you’re getting a software update today that should lessen the gap between the Nook Color and the Nook Tablet.

Barnes & Noble announced today that Nook Color version 1.4.1 will add “over 100 enhancements” to the device. Those enhancements range from the minute – like more font size selections, better dictionary look-ups, and reading books in portray or landscape – to the major, like getting support for Nook Comics and Netflix. Today’s update grants Netflix members access to their Instant Streaming queue . Speaking of movies, 1.4.1 also supports Flixster for movie tracking and watching.

The Nook Color update will be sent out over the air soon, but impatient users can download it now from B&N.com. Make sure that your Nook Color is fully charged and then follow the instructions under the “Get Version 1.4.1 Today” link here.

And while I personally would recommend spending the extra $50 to get a Nook Tablet, Barnes & Noble is still selling the Nook Color for $199. Buy one today (December 12, 2011) with a Mastercard credit card and you’ll get a $25 B&N gift card. The same deal applies to the Nook Tablet.

HTC has finally given some cold-hard assurances about which of its current crop of phones can expect to receive the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update. In a post to its Facebook page in the wee hours of the morning, HTC confirmed that it plans to deliver Ice Cream Sandwich to the following phones:

• HTC Amaze
• HTC EVO 3D, EVO Design 4G
• HTC Sensation, Sensation XE, and Sensation XL
• HTC Rezound

These phones are part of the “first wave of devices,” signaling that more phones could snack on Ice Cream Sandwich once more testing is done and the company has time to see if they will be able to fit Android 4.0 on previous generation devices. In the meantime, these phones can count on receiving the update so long as there aren’t any last minute complications like the Gingerbread debacle.

We expected that only the flagship devices released in 2011 could have realistic hopes of ICS, but perhaps others can have a slim, measured, tempered, tiny bit of hope that HTC will extend the upgrade to other phones in early 2012. Here’s HTC’s statement in full.

HTC Facebook via Engadget

HTC knows how excited our fans are to get their hands on Google’s latest version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, so we’re thrilled today to announce the first wave of HTC phones that will receive upgrades: We can confirm the brand new HTC Vivid, on sale beginning today, is upgradeable to Ice Cream Sandwich. In addition, Ice Cream Sandwich is coming in early 2012 to a variety of devices including the HTC Sensation, HTC Sensation XL and HTC Sensation XE, as well as the HTC Rezound, HTC EVO 3D, HTC EVO Design 4G and HTC Amaze 4G through close integration with our carrier partners. We’re continuing to assess our product portfolio, so stay tuned for more updates on device upgrades, timing and other details about HTC and Ice Cream Sandwich.

You know what’s not a good idea? Sitting on your thumbs and not anticipating a storm of questions that are sure to pour in once people start wondering if your flagship device will get update to the latest version of Android. You know what’s even worse? Answering those questions by saying “No” and then backtracking when a storm of another kind rages.

Responding to questions about whether Ice Cream Sandwich would be delivered to the Optimus 2X, a social media rep for the Indian LG page said No. People immediately took that to me that none of the Optimus 2X line in any country, including the G2X on T-Mobile, would be updated.

Well, earlier today, LG downplayed these “rumors” – you know, the rumors started by its own employee either prematurely revealing something the company wanted to keep quiet or foolishly spreading false information – and issued a non-committal statement:

LG firmly denies the rumors that claim LG will not be providing the Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) OS update for the LG Optimus 2X. These rumors are NOT true. LG is currently in the process of planning the ICS OS update for the LG Optimus 2X as well as other LG high-end smartphones. Detailed information on the ICS OS update schedule for specific models will be announced, once the ICS OS is publicly released by Google. Please stay tuned for more updates from LG.

So, there you have it. We’re not sure if the G2X, Optimus 2X, Optimus 3D, Thrill, or any LG phone currently available will see the ICS update. And neither is LG. They’re planning to do it, meaning there’s a very good chance of it happening if all goes according to plan.

You have to remember that Ice Cream Sandwich has not been open-sourced and LG cannot effectively say whether or not it will be able to bring the update to its phones. Remember that it will take several months for the company to re-skin ICS in order to maintain continuity, and then it has to deal with carriers taking a look at the results before you see an update. If you see an update. (Gingerbread is just now being delivered to many Optimus 2X users.)

The same is true for every current phone in the wild today. The only phones with realistic shots of seeing ICS are the popular devices released in 2011. And of those phones, none other than Nexus S can expect to see it before 2012.

Facebook via AndroidCentral

When I first heard that Samsung was bringing its custom interface to Honeycomb, I rolled my eyes in disgust. I am not a big fan of TouchWiz or any custom UI, for that matter; I feel that Honeycomb, like any other vanilla Android OS, is good as is. With that said, it’s only been a few days since Samsung has pushed out its TouchWiz UX update to retail Galaxy Tab 10.1 units across the country, and having spent most of the weekend playing with it, I would love to share my thoughts on the Tab 10.1 with you guys.

Installation & Impressions

The actual installation process took about 20-25 minutes, most of which went at a fairly decent pace. I thought something went terribly wrong with my Tab once it stalled completely at 77% for several minutes, but once it hit 78% it was all good again. After the first update had completed, the reboot process had followed, taking a handful of minutes that seemed to take forever to pass by. (Be sure to have you Tab fully-charged before starting the update process.)

Once the installation process was complete, there was a noticeable aesthetic difference. When I navigated between home screens and switched pages within the app drawer the entire experience felt a lot smoother, with less lag. Now lets break down TouchWiz UX shall we?

This is the first major overlay to hit Honeycomb and I can honestly say its far from a hindrance or annoyance. One of the first things that you’ll notice about TouchWiz UX is the updated navigation bar, but you’ll be happy to know that core functions still remain the same as it does on stock Honeycomb. This version of TouchWiz on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is nothing like its predecessor on the Galaxy phones.

Navigation bar and Quick Panel

In this update, a noticeable change happened within the notifications, which Samsung calls, the “Quick Panel.” The stock Honeycomb notifications tab has an unintuitive design. With TouchWiz UX, all of your toggle settings like Wi-Fi, Notifications, GPS, Sound, Auto rotation, are noticeable and a finger press away. But I must say I don’t care much about the lager font Samsung added; it’s just not necessary.

When it comes to the navigation bar, one of the coolest additions has to be the feature that wasn’t mentioned much before the update was released, which is native screenshots without root. It’s a simple process, to grab a pic of the screen, hit the icon right of the app chooser, and viola – your screenshot is saved.

In the middle of the navigation bar you’ll see an arrow pointing upward, which releases the mini-app tray, which is one of the most unique upgrades offered by TouchWiz UX. This was made for quick access to commonly used tools such as: Task Manager, Calendar, World Clock, Pen Memo, Calculator, and Music Player. The app tray is very useful when checking you’re Gmail and want to access the calendar or calculator for example, but don’t want to bounce out of Gmail by doing so. Mini Tray is like a picture-in-picture mode for select tasks. Another slightly but noticeable difference is the color scheme changing from black with neon, to dark gray with a lighter gray, accompanied by cyan and neon green accents (the color scheme reminds me of Tron the movie like stock Honeycomb does).

Applications and other updates

If you’re reading this and asking yourself for more customizations, then you need not worry; Sammy has you covered. Samsung threw in several more apps including Samsung Media, Music, and Social Hubs; and eBook, Memo, Pen Memo, Photo Editor, and My Files. With the eBook app, Samsung continues to give Apple the middle finger, because it looks eerily similar to iOS’s iBooks app. And I’m sure this will only fuel Apple’s appetite for further litigating the Korean electronics company. My Files is a very simple, yet functional file manager, offering most of the things that you need to explore and edit files on the built-in storage of the Tab. Pen Memo works pretty well, and is very responsive to the touch of any of your fingers; it’s an instant hit for your wife or kid when they want to doodle on your Tab when you’re away from the room.

A few stock Honeycomb apps like Calendar, Email, and Browser all received little changes, but for the better. The new calendar is a slight tweak that to me makes the app seem a little more refined. When it comes to the Email app, I haven’t really noticed any big differences, but that could be due to the fact that I don’t use it often. The Browser, aside from a few color changes, remained mostly unchanged. You can now enable Google Instant for faster search loading, and much like the new tab page in Chrome, your homepage can be set to view your most visited pages. I find these changes to be a definite plus.

What you can also expect is the typical widget functionality that Samsung tends to offer with all of its Galaxy products. In what Samsung is calling the Live Panel (of widgets), you will find Accuweather, Agenda, AP Mobile, Yahoo! Finance, Bookmark, Program monitor, Gallery and two clock widgets — digital and analog. Why would Sammy name all of its widgets the “Live Panel” is anyone’s best guess. (It’s really nothing different — they’re widgets.)

The bottom line

Okay, it’s time for me to give my mea culpa. TouchWiz UX was successful in changing my negative attitude toward custom UI’s, but the Android purist in me still finds them tedious and unnecessary for the most part. That said, the update hasn’t slowed down the tablet as many expected it would, in fact, performance has been spectacular and battery life seems to have slightly improved. TouchWiz UX has made the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 an even better tablet, and one of the best parts about this update is that it’s in no way obtrusive.

Let’s be honest, though: the TouchWiz update may not be received with opened arms from the entire Android ecosystem because of the bloatware and the changes to the look of stock Honeycomb. What I will say is, right now, TouchWiz UX is better than stock Honeycomb — this could of course change with the Android 3.2 update down the pipeline, which is another problem. Can we expect long waits for updates like people have seen on Samsung phones? Only time will tell, but a burning thought this may delay future updates, and I hope that will not be the case.

Well, that didn’t take long. Just two days ago we reported that the Eee Pad will be receiving the coveted Android 3.2 update. So, if you own an ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, it’s time to celebrate. ASUS has announced via its Twitter account that the Transformer will be getting an update to Android 3.2 tomorrow, July 28. The Transformer hands down is one of the most exciting tablets around–due mostly to its affordability and beautiful keyboard dock.

If you don’t remember what the Android 3.2 update brings, allow me to refresh your memory:

• Optimizations for a wider range of tablets - Android 3.2 includes a variety of optimizations across the system to ensure a great user experience on a wider range of tablet devices.
• Compatibility zoom for fixed-sized apps - Android 3.2 introduces a new compatibility zoom mode that gives users a new way to view fixed-sized apps on larger devices. The new mode provides a pixel-scaled alternative to the standard UI stretching for apps that are not designed to run on larger screen sizes, such as on tablets. The new mode is accessible to users from a menu icon in the system bar, for apps that need compatibility support.
• Media sync from SD card - On devices that support an SD card, users can now load media files directly from the SD card to apps that use them. A system facility makes the files accessible to apps from the system media store.

Doesn’t seem like much, but probably the most exciting improvement is the new zooming feature. This will rid Honeycomb tablets of apps that were not optimized for usage. ASUS has continued to impress me on how hard they’ve worked to keep this tablet up-to-date. Before Eee Pad, ASUS was probably a forgot or overlooked company, but now they should have earned people’s respect.

Transformer users, don’t forget to check for the update tomorrow. Just go to Settings > About Tablet > System Update > Check Update. And be sure to check back with us with comments documenting your first impressions.

Source: Droid-Life

Not too long ago, we reported that T-Mobile G2X users could get the Android 2.3 Gingerbread update by downloading LG’s update tool. Finally, T-Mobile has started to roll out the update via OTA, so if you want to throw your USB cord back in your dresser drawl, feel free.

New details for the update include: Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), improved battery life, disabling of Car Home, front-facing camera operation when using Qik record and share. Lastly, it helps address unexpected reboots, which annoyed the heck out of many users. This is awesome news considering the G2X has only been out for a few months and there is already a 2.3 update rolling out to the T-Mobile masses.

It’s no secret that the G2X has had its problems with screen bleeding, software bugs, and etc. Since this update was made available a few days ago, it seems to have stabilized the phone tremendously because we haven’t heard many complaints. And for those users out there who decided to wait for an official announcement and OTA update from T-Mobile, you’re in luck.

My hat goes off to LG and T-Mobile. Why, you ask? Because I remember this type of situation all too well when I had the Samsung Galaxy Vibrant. The way T-Mo and Sammy handled the Android 2.2 Froyo update was a complete and utter disaster. Samsung tried to make it available through its god awful Kies software, which at the time was only PC friendly. Now, just hearing the word Kies makes me quiver.

Tell us if you received your update, and tell us what changes have you seen. As always drop your insight in the comment section below.

Source: T-Mobile

As promised, Motorola has released the official Gingerbread update for the Atrix 4G. This update is aimed at the phones running on the AT&T network. It is pushing over-the-air to users running stock builds, and available as a manual update to others. Based on the release notes, however, you shouldn’t shy so quickly.

On top of updating the “super phone” to the latest version of Android, the update packs some nice upgrades. Included are enhancements to the Gallery and Music apps, an updated version of MotoBlur which comes with a dock and organized app tray, faster Webtop browsing, full 1080p video playback, and the ability to dismiss one notification at a time.

The last change is a big one. With this update to 2.3.4, you can sideload apps on stock builds. That means that  Atrix users no longer have to root their devices to use the Amazon App Store, or other alternative app sources. This is great news for all AT&T customers, as it marks the beginning of our freedom as far as app source choices go.

In order to do the manual update, you will either need a Windows PC, the ability to load it onto a SD card, or access to a WiFi connection on your phone. The instructions are available on the official support page for the Atrix.

Currently there is no word on the bootloader status, but I would anticipate it is unlocked. Motorola has said before that they would be unlocking it with Gingerbread, and I doubt they would change thier minds now. Be warned that I make no guarantees, however.