jelly bean tablet

According to the report from Engadget, Samsung has started to roll out Android 4.0 to Galaxy Notes in Europe finally.

In addition to the usual behind-the-scenes OS stuff, the 319MB heavy update also includes revamped S Note and S Memo apps and widgets. And then there's also a new version of Fudo's beloved TouchWiz.

Most of Galaxy Note owners are waiting for the Ice Cream Sandwich before first quarter in 2012, but Samsung back in March announced that the "premium suite upgrade" that would accompany the Android 4.0 update wouldn't launch until the second quarter. Samsung said that the update would be rolled out worldwide. Now the Europe users get this update first, I think people in the US and around world can get Android 4.0 sooner. Actually, if you have rooted your Note, you can use Android 4.0 now if you didn't want to wait anymore.

Before getting the ICS update, let's enjoy the video from official.

When Android 4.0 released with Galaxy Nexus, HTC had promised that they would integrate Sense 4.0 into Android 4.0 ASAP. Now, HTC released Android 4.0 ICS spring schedule on Facebook.

The announcement, which HTC made on its Facebook page on Thursday, is a delay of the time frame the Taiwanese smartphone and tablet maker set for its Ice Cream Sandwich upgrades back in November, when it said all the updates would take place in "early 2012."

"HTC has been working hard to get its Ice Cream Sandwich upgrades ready, and we're excited to announce that our first round of ICS upgrades will roll out by the end of March for the HTC Sensation, HTC Sensation 4G and HTC Sensation XE, followed soon thereafter by the HTC Sensation XL," the company said in its Facebook statement.

What's more, HTC had confirm that not just the Android 4.0 upgrade only for Sensation series. The most of smartphones which released in 2011 also will get this upgrades later of 2012.

"In addition, we can confirm Ice Cream Sandwich upgrades will be coming later this year to the HTC Rezound, HTC Vivid, HTC Amaze 4G, HTC EVO 3D, HTC EVO Design 4G, HTC Incredible S, HTC Desire S and HTC Desire HD."

So, have you ever find your phone in this list? Compare to Motorola, we should admit that HTC is much more reliable.

After Windows Phone release the path of NoDo update to brought copy and paste function on WP 7 phones, it took about 3 months to roll out to all WP 7 devices. Recently, Fuzilla written an article to call Google accelerate the speed of Android 4 updating.

Since then only one device with original Android 4.0 – Samsung Galaxy Nexus released, the only one another device – Nexus S received the update.

Google announced ICS Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich a couple of months back, and so far it has managed to ship a single device with this new OS, the Galaxy Nexus. The second device to get an ICS 4.0 update was the old Google Nexus S, but OTA updates for the Nexus have been suspended due to technical issues. There is still no third device with ICS on board and we won’t see any for at least a few weeks. 

Companies are now announcing their own ICS upgrade schedules. LG says that their top devices get ICS in Q2 2012 (April 1 to June 30), while others will have to wait a few more months. Sony Ericsson should have ICS around Q2, if not earlier. Motorola and Samsung are reportedly scheduled to start updating their devices in Q1, but the process will inevitably drag on well into Q2. Worse, Samsung won’t roll out an ICS update for the Galaxy S, which sold in record numbers last year and it’s still a pretty nice phone with an affordable price tag.

In best case scenario, we might see some Android 2.3 to 4.0 update in Q1 but the best chance is to see some new phones launching with Ice Cream Sandwich at the Mobile World Conference, in Barcelona in last days of February. 

Apple has IOS 5 in all of its phones capable of supporting the new OS for months now and at least the top two iPhones today, if not the top three, will get an update to the next version, guaranteed. Microsoft is also doing a pretty good job in the update department with Mango.

By the time LG and Samsung roll out updates for the Optimus 2X, the world’s first dual-core phone and the best selling Samsung Galaxy 2 phones, Optimus 3 should be launching as well as Samsung Galaxy S III. In some countries, LG rolled Android 2.3 just a month ago and by that time, Google already announced and showed Android 4.0.

But there are different devices with Android system in different mobile phone brands. The time is really so hard to control.

If you just get a Kindle Fire as Christmas gift, or used Kindle Fire for a bit long time, I think you can’t miss this news. According to the thread of XDA Developers, the hackers have made a breakthrough. They had run the newest version of Ice Cream Sandwich on Kindle Fire. This version is called “Pre-alpha”.

The newest hack of Ice Cream Sandwich on Kindle Fire is based off of CyanogenMod 9. According to the XDA Developer Forums, CyanogenMod 9 is not all that fundamentally different from the standard the stock edition of Android Open Source Project (AOSP) Ice Cream Sandwich. That does not mean to say that CyanogenMod 9 will not fork away from ICS and bring additions to the custom ROM, but for now there is little different in the code bases.

As an unofficial version, this ROM has tried its best to make most of hardware work although there are still several bugs need to work out on Kindle Fire. Right now, Wi-Fi is working (the all-important first step) while video playback and some audio are not yet working. It can be called a significant progress through the middle of the month.

OK, no more words, let’s check the video and wait for a stable version for your Kindle Fire.

When you got a Galax Nexus Verizon version, you will find there some system apps that you would never use. If I were you, I will move heaven and earth to delete them all. But as we know, in the previous version of Android, you need to root your mobile phone and get the top authority to delete the system apps. Right now, it becomes different.

Thanks to Ice Cream Sandwich, though, it's easy to get Verizon's intrusions out of sight and out of mind. Ice Cream Sandwich includes a new feature that allows you to disable and hide any system app. The app won't be fully removed from your phone's storage, but it'll never run -- and you'll never see it again.
However, this kind function isn’t limited to Verizon Galaxy Nexus, it will also come to more and more non-Nexus devices. If you get the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and want to disable some annoy system apps, please check the next 4 steps.

They're really quite simple:

1. Go into the main system settings. (You can get there by selecting the "Settings" icon within your phone's app tray.)

2. Scroll down to the "Device" section and select the "Apps" option.

3. Tap the tab at the top that's labeled "All," then scroll through the list to find the app you wants to blast.

4. Tap on the app, then tap the "Disable" button. Tap "OK" on the confirmation box that appears.

After those steps, you can successfully disable the system apps. If nothing happen, just restart your phone.

When I visit some android forums, I just find some threads are talking about how to take a screenshot like ios on Android. As we know, the native android system do not has such function to take a screenshot. But we can use the third-party apps to finish it.

However, those third-party apps would only work on certain devices. Those devices need to obtain the administrator authority by rooting. But the Motorola mobile phones had been locked and can’t be rooted. Then there was also the SDK method for taking a screenshot, which wasn't always the most convenient.

Well, after some unrelated sentences, let’s get out topic start. Actually, this step is so easy for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich because it allows users to quickly take and view a screenshot without any fancy tools or tricks or root.

As we know Galaxy Nexus is the first device with Android 4.0, so let us take this mobile phone as an example to get a screenshot. At first you need to press the volume down button and the power button, at the same time for a couple of seconds. And then you will see an animation showing you're the screenshot. You can view the screenshot by tapping on the thumbnail in the notification tray, or by visiting your Gallery app.

If you want check this new feature, just watch this YouTube video.

• Asus Eee Pad Slider: In a posting on its official Facebook page, Asus confirmed it would provide Android 4.0 upgrades to the full Eee Pad series, which includes the Eee Pad Slider tablet. Asus has not yet given any specific timeframe for when the upgrade could occur.

• Asus Eee Pad Transformer: Like the Eee Pad Slider, the original Asus Eee Pad Transformer is part of Asus's Eee Pad series and is thus slated to receive the Android 4.0 upgrade, according to a posting on the company's official Facebook page. No date has been announced as of yet.

• Asus Transformer Prime: Asus says its new Transformer Prime, set to launch in December, will ship with Android 3.2 and then get Android 4.0 shortly thereafter. According to a company spokesperson (corresponding with me via email), a date for the upgrade will be provided "as soon as the code has been optimized, tested, and approved."

• Acer Iconia Tab A100, A101, A500, A501: A statement attributed to Acer's Poland office and published by a Polish tech blog says the company's various Iconia Tab models will all get Ice Cream Sandwich sometime "around January 2012." Acer's U.S. division has not yet weighed in on the matter.

• HTC Amaze 4G: Ice Cream Sandwich is definitely headed to HTC's Amaze 4G phone, according to a statement released by HTC. The Amaze 4G should get its Android 4.0 upgrade in "early 2012," according to HTC.

• HTC EVO 3D: HTC's EVO 3D is on the ICS shortlist, according to statements posted by both HTC and Sprint in early November. The phone is said to be in line for its Android 4.0 upgrade sometime toward the start of 2012.

• HTC EVO Design 4G: Sprint and HTC have both confirmed the EVO Design 4G will be getting the Android 4.0 upgrade. The two companies say the upgrade should arrive sometime early in 2012.

• HTC Rezound: The new HTC Rezound is slated to receive Ice Cream Sandwich in early 2012, according to an HTC statement. More specific timing info is expected to be released soon.

• HTC Sensation: HTC's Sensation smartphone will be among the first HTC phones to get an Android 4.0 upgrade, according to the company. As of now, the Sensation is slated to get ICS in early 2012.

• HTC Sensation XE: Like the standard HTC Sensation model, the HTC Sensation XE is expected to get its Android 4.0 upgrade in early 2012, according to HTC.

• HTC Sensation XL: Like the standard HTC Sensation model, the HTC Sensation XL is expected to get its Android 4.0 upgrade in early 2012, according to HTC.

• HTC Vivid: The Vivid is on HTC's list of devices scheduled for an early 2012 Android 4.0 upgrade.

• LG Optimus 2X: LG has confirmed it will deliver the Android 4.0 upgrade to its Optimus 2X device. The company made the promise in a statement posted to its official Facebook page in late November 2011. LG says information about upgrade timing will be made public sometime in December. (LG has yet to mention anything specifically about its LG G2x, the U.S. version of the phone.)

• LG Optimus 3D: LG has confirmed it will deliver the Android 4.0 upgrade to its Optimus 3D device. The company made the promise in a statement posted to its official Facebook page in late November 2011. LG says information about upgrade timing will be made public sometime in December.

• LG Optimus Black: LG has confirmed it will deliver the Android 4.0 upgrade to its Optimus Black device. The company made the promise in a statement posted to its official Facebook page in late November 2011. LG says information about upgrade timing will be made public sometime in December.

• LG Optimus LTE: LG has confirmed it will deliver the Android 4.0 upgrade to its Optimus LTE device. The company made the promise in a statement posted to its official Facebook page in late November 2011. LG says information about upgrade timing will be made public sometime in December. Thus far, nothing has been said specifically about the newly announced American version of the phone, the LG Nitro HD on AT&T.

• Meizu M9: Meizu CEO Jack Wong says his company will upgrade its Meizu M9 device to Ice Cream Sandwich "soon." Wong's proclamation was made in a posting on a Meizu message board.

• Meizu MX: The Meizu MX will get its Android 4.0 upgrade "soon," according to a posting made by the manufacturer's CEO.

• Motorola Droid Bionic: Motorola's Droid Bionic will receive the ICS upgrade, according to a message posted by the company on its website. Moto says it'll release more specific timing information sometime after Google makes the software publicly available.

• Motorola Droid Razr: The Motorola Droid Razr will get the Android 4.0 upgrade in early 2012, the company has confirmed. The upgrade was discussed at the Razr's launch event; it has also since been reiterated on Motorola's software upgrade status page.

• Motorola Razr: Like the Verizon-based Droid Razr model mentioned above, Motorola's international Razr phone is expected to receive Ice Cream Sandwich in early 2012, according to the company.

• Motorola Xoom: The original Android Honeycomb tablet will soon feast on Ice Cream Sandwich. Moto has confirmed its Motorola Xoom device will receive the Android 4.0 upgrade; while no specific timeline has been announced, the fact that the Xoom is a "pure" Google device and still the de facto reference model for Android development suggests it should be among the first devices to get upgraded.

• Motorola Xoom Family Edition: The original Xoom's "Family Edition" will also receive Ice Cream Sandwich, according to Motorola's official software update page.

• Motorola Xoom 2: The new Xoom 2 tablet will be upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich, according to Motorola. As far as timing, the company has gone on the record as saying the upgrade will happen "in due course" (very informative, eh?).

• Motorola Xoom 2 Media Edition: Moto's smaller Xoom 2 model will also get the Android 4.0 upgrade, according to the company. Again, the timing is still pretty vague at this point.

• Notion Ink Adam tablet: Notion has promised Ice Cream Sandwich for its Notion Ink Adam tablet. In a blog posted back in September, the company's founder said the Adam would get ICS in November -- though it now appears he may have jumped the gun with that ambitious estimate.

• Samsung Galaxy S II: In a response to a customer on Twitter, Samsung's U.K. division said the company's Galaxy S II phone would be getting the Android 4.0 upgrade. No time frame has been set for the upgrade yet, according to the tweet. It's worth noting that the U.S. editions of the phone differ from the international model in terms of both hardware and software; thus far, Samsung has made no remarks about plans for upgrading those specific devices to Ice Cream Sandwich.

• Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket: AT&T has confirmed its LTE version of the Samsung Galaxy S II will receive the Android 4.0 upgrade. No timing information has been released so far.

• Samsung Nexus S: Google has made it abundantly clear that the Samsung Nexus S -- the "pure" Android phone that served as the primary flagship device up until the release of the new Galaxy Nexus -- will be upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich. In an interview with The Telegraph, Google exec Hugo Barra is cited as saying the Nexus S's Android 4.0 upgrade should occur very soon after the release of the new Nexus device.

• Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman: Sony has confirmed its entire 2011 line of Xperia Android devices will be receiving the Android 4.0 upgrade. That includes the Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman. In a posting on its official blog in mid-November 2011, Sony said it's "working on merging [its] current Xperia experience with the new features" in Ice Cream Sandwich. Thus far, no specific time frame has been announced for the upgrade, though a posting on the Facebook page of Sony Ericsson's Italian division by someone who appears to be a company representative suggests it could arrive by March 2012.

• Sony Xperia Active: Sony has confirmed its entire 2011 line of Xperia Android devices will be receiving the Android 4.0 upgrade. That includes the Sony Xperia Active. In a posting on its official blog in mid-November 2011, Sony said it's "working on merging [its] current Xperia experience with the new features" in Ice Cream Sandwich. Thus far, no specific time frame has been announced for the upgrade, though a posting on the Facebook page of Sony Ericsson's Italian division by someone who appears to be a company representative suggests it could arrive by March 2012.

• Sony Xperia Arc: Sony has confirmed its entire 2011 line of Xperia Android devices will be receiving the Android 4.0 upgrade. That includes the Sony Xperia Arc. In a posting on its official blog in mid-November 2011, Sony said it's "working on merging [its] current Xperia experience with the new features" in Ice Cream Sandwich. Thus far, no specific time frame has been announced for the upgrade, though a posting on the Facebook page of Sony Ericsson's Italian division by someone who appears to be a company representative suggests it could arrive by March 2012.

• Sony Xperia Arc S: Sony has confirmed its entire 2011 line of Xperia Android devices will be receiving the Android 4.0 upgrade. That includes the Sony Xperia Arc S. In a posting on its official blog in mid-November 2011, Sony said it's "working on merging [its] current Xperia experience with the new features" in Ice Cream Sandwich. Thus far, no specific time frame has been announced for the upgrade, though a posting on the Facebook page of Sony Ericsson's Italian division by someone who appears to be a company representative suggests it could arrive by March 2012.

• Sony Xperia Neo: Sony has confirmed its entire 2011 line of Xperia Android devices will be receiving the Android 4.0 upgrade. That includes the Sony Xperia Neo. In a posting on its official blog in mid-November 2011, Sony said it's "working on merging [its] current Xperia experience with the new features" in Ice Cream Sandwich. Thus far, no specific time frame has been announced for the upgrade, though a posting on the Facebook page of Sony Ericsson's Italian division by someone who appears to be a company representative suggests it could arrive by March 2012.

• Sony Xperia Neo V: Sony has confirmed its entire 2011 line of Xperia Android devices will be receiving the Android 4.0 upgrade. That includes the Sony Xperia Neo V. In a posting on its official blog in mid-November 2011, Sony said it's "working on merging [its] current Xperia experience with the new features" in Ice Cream Sandwich. Thus far, no specific time frame has been announced for the upgrade, though a posting on the Facebook page of Sony Ericsson's Italian division by someone who appears to be a company representative suggests it could arrive by March 2012.

• Sony Xperia Mini: Sony has confirmed its entire 2011 line of Xperia Android devices will be receiving the Android 4.0 upgrade. That includes the Sony Xperia Mini. In a posting on its official blog in mid-November 2011, Sony said it's "working on merging [its] current Xperia experience with the new features" in Ice Cream Sandwich. Thus far, no specific time frame has been announced for the upgrade, though a posting on the Facebook page of Sony Ericsson's Italian division by someone who appears to be a company representative suggests it could arrive by March 2012.

• Sony Xperia Mini Pro: Sony has confirmed its entire 2011 line of Xperia Android devices will be receiving the Android 4.0 upgrade. That includes the Sony Xperia Mini Pro. In a posting on its official blog in mid-November 2011, Sony said it's "working on merging [its] current Xperia experience with the new features" in Ice Cream Sandwich. Thus far, no specific time frame has been announced for the upgrade, though a posting on the Facebook page of Sony Ericsson's Italian division by someone who appears to be a company representative suggests it could arrive by March 2012.

• Sony Xperia Play: Sony has confirmed its entire 2011 line of Xperia Android devices will be receiving the Android 4.0 upgrade. That includes the Sony Xperia Play. In a posting on its official blog in mid-November 2011, Sony said it's "working on merging [its] current Xperia experience with the new features" in Ice Cream Sandwich. Thus far, no specific time frame has been announced for the upgrade, though a posting on the Facebook page of Sony Ericsson's Italian division by someone who appears to be a company representative suggests it could arrive by March 2012.

• Sony Xperia Pro: Sony has confirmed its entire 2011 line of Xperia Android devices will be receiving the Android 4.0 upgrade. That includes the Sony Xperia Pro. In a posting on its official blog in mid-November 2011, Sony said it's "working on merging [its] current Xperia experience with the new features" in Ice Cream Sandwich. Thus far, no specific time frame has been announced for the upgrade, though a posting on the Facebook page of Sony Ericsson's Italian division by someone who appears to be a company representative suggests it could arrive by March 2012.

• Sony Xperia Ray: Sony has confirmed its entire 2011 line of Xperia Android devices will be receiving the Android 4.0 upgrade. That includes the Sony Xperia Ray. In a posting on its official blog in mid-November 2011, Sony said it's "working on merging [its] current Xperia experience with the new features" in Ice Cream Sandwich. Thus far, no specific time frame has been announced for the upgrade, though a posting on the Facebook page of Sony Ericsson's Italian division by someone who appears to be a company representative suggests it could arrive by March 2012.

Source is
http://blogs.computerworld.com/19341/android_40_upgrade_list

Over the past week, ROM Manager extraordinaire Koush has been frantically working on making a working build of CyanogenMod 9 (Ice Cream Sandwich) for the Samsung Nexus S. The custom ROM, which is built purely from the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), has now reached “alpha 11.” All major features are present and no significant bugs remain. It’s too early to say that the build is ready for prime time or mission-critical work — the final release of CM9 is due in the new year — but it’s certainly stable enough for daily use. If you want to see CyanogenMod 9 in action, we’ve embedded our hands-on video at the end of this story.

In comparison to Kwiboo’s custom ROM for the Nexus S, the first ICS build that we covered last week, Koush’s version definitely runs a lot smoother/faster — there’s less sporadic lag, and the interface feels more responsive. Unlike the Kwiboo build, Google Wallet and setting a mobile data limit work in CM9. All of the usual CyanogenMod features are there, too — it’s pre-rooted, ROM Manager is installed, and of course there’s absolutely no bloatware cruft.

To install CyanogenMod 9 for the Nexus S, head along to XDA-Developers and grab the latest alpha build, and the “Google Apps addon.” Then follow our previous instructions for how to install a custom ROM, but skip the first step. Install the CM9 zip first, and then once the phone reboots into Ice Cream Sandwich, repeat the process with the Google Apps zip.

Incidentally, the first 50 seconds of the video show the Galaxy Nexus boot screen — it’s nothing to do with CyanogenMod, or Ice Cream Sandwich. Presumably Koush just liked the animation (it’s very pretty) and threw it in for fun.

Source is
http://www.extremetech.com/computing/106809-cyanogenmod-9-ice-cream-sandwich-for-nexus-s

Although Adobe had announced that Flash Player for mobile browsers had stop developing, now it will provide one more version of Flash Player for the new android 4.0 OS in the end of 2011.

The Flash Player version for Android 4.0 will be available for download to the new Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone. Early reviewers found that the Adobe software is not preloaded on the Galaxy Nexus, the first device to run the new Google OS version, also known as Ice Cream Sandwich.

Adobe also promised on Nov. 9 it would provide bug fixes and security updates for existing device configurations, which presumably includes Android 4.0.

Adobe said its decision to ditch Flash Player was made to help boost its investment to HTML5, a widely-adopted mobile Flash alternative that Apple has preferred in its products, mainly for better battery efficiency.

There's always a scene in your average spy action movie thriller that goes a little something like this: The protagonist somehow ends up with a recording of a person's voice (or in gutsier movies, a copy of their fingerprint and/or eyeball), which said super-spy then uses to gain access to a voice-, fingerprint-, or retina-locked room. Valuables and information critical to the plot: pilfered.

One of the new features in the latest iteration of Google's mobile OS, Android 4.0 (codename: Ice Cream Sandwich), is the ability to unlock one's phone using one's noggin. In other words, your phone –the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, to use the market's only example at the moment – uses its front-facing camera to take a gander at your face. If it recognizes you, the phone automatically unlocks without need for a PIN code or some kind of graphical unlocking mechanism.

Neat, huh?

Of course, facial recognition isn't without its pitfalls – the technology just plain didn't work when demonstrated during the Galaxy Nexus announcement this past October. But what happens when facial recognition works too well? Or, to put it another way, what happens when the phone recognizes a face, but the face isn't a living, breathing user holding said phone?

That's the question posed by a blogger over at Soyaincau.com, who has allegedly been able to fool Android's facial recognition system by holding up a picture of himself to a Galaxy Nexus. And it's wasn't even a printed picture of his face: The blogger took a snapshot of himself using a different phone, and then held that phone's screen up to the front-facing camera on the Galaxy Nexus. And that, allegedly, is all it took to unlock the Nexus.

"What's even more important is clarifying to everyone that the test — and the video — is not a trick. Some believed that we had programmed the Galaxy Note to recognise the picture and not the face. We must stress that this is not the case," wrote Soyaincau blogger "CC." "The Galaxy Nexus in the video was the exact same unit we used to do our hands-on video where we originally set up the device to recognise a face and not a picture of a face."

To Google's credit, however, Android does indicate that facial recognition unlocking is "less secure than a pattern, PIN, or password" when a user goes to set up the feature. That said, amateur spy enthusiasts are likely rubbing their hands together at the notion that a picture of their friends' faces could be all they need to gain access to a treasure trove of smartphone data.

Source is
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2396321,00.asp#fbid=sb2zXI6VYQo

I stopped by the second annual Android Developer Conference (AnDevCon) in Burlingame, California to hear Google Android engineering team members Chet Haase and Romain Guy give a developer’s perspective on the upcoming Android 4.0, code-named Ice Cream Sandwich.

In their keynote - memorably entitled “Android Awesomeness” - Haase and Guy didn’t offer up any Ice Cream Sandwich announcements or news, per se, but gave some insight into the thought and attention to detail that went into designing Google’s next big thing for small devices.

Something that the Google duo seemed to really fixate on is the much-vaunted GUI update that Ice Cream Sandwich brings to the table. At several points during their demonstration of Android 4.0 running on a Samsung Galaxy Nexus, they stopped to show off a particularly pleasing animation like the screen turning a glassy blue and tilting when you’ve reached your last page of apps on the home screen.

But even that has a certain developer appeal: RenderScript, the visual scripting language behind Ice Cream Sandwich, is available to Android Market coder. Actually, essentially all the new goodies that come with Android 4.0 (Android Beam, richer notifications from the lock screen, even network diagnostic information) are open to developers via API or scripting language.

Otherwise, the demo consisted of an overview of the Ice Cream Sandwich features we already knew about. A mention of the fact that the task manager is accessible by means other than paging through the Settings menu drew a short round of applause from the audience. And there was plenty of interest in the fact that Google Android 4.0 finally unifies the tablet and smartphone codebases.

Finally, during the brief Q&A at the end of Haase and Guy’s keynote, one developer asked the very reasonable question about whether or not they’d need to rewrite all their apps from scratch for the new OS.

“We do something really crazy - we try not to break existing applications,” Romain replied.

Of course, that doesn’t provide for the fact that there’s a healthy chance that most existing Android devices may never get Ice Cream Sandwich. But Google at least claims to want to reduce fragmentation amongst Android devices, so I suppose that we’ll see.

Source is
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/google/google-android-40-ice-cream-sandwichs-awesomeness-is-in-the-little-things/3451

Last month, Google announced the newest operation system of Android - Ice cream sandwich with Google Galaxy Nexus, but the announcement of the new operating system last month has left many Android owners with one big question: When will their phones get an Ice Cream Sandwich update?

The Taiwanese smartphone and tablet maker said the new Android OS (the first that Google has designed for both smartphones and tablets) will arrive on eight devices in 2012: the Vivid, Sensation, Sensation XL, Sensation XE, Evo 3D, Evo Design 4G, Amaze 4G and the Rezound.

We can found that those eight devices are almost newest released in the  later of 2011. Even Incredible S and Desire S which just released a bit earlier than Sensation had been ignored.

Could Ice Cream Sandwich arrive for more HTC smartphones and maybe even a tablet or two? That'd be a big maybe, the company said.

"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," HTC said on Facebook.

Not a day goes by when we don't find another hidden gem Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich has to offer. While the first Android 4.0 device (Samsung Galaxy Nexus) is yet to be officially released, developers who have access to the APK and some individuals who have access to the actual Galaxy Nexus phone are offering small treats to Android fans by posting tidbits online.

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and its "iPhone killer" feature goes unnoticed

However one major feature that we've seen left out of most Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich stories (or not given enough attention) is hardware acceleration.

When many users compare Android against the iPhone and its iOS platform, two things come up frequently: battery life and the iPhone beig more "smoother" than Android. Well the latter is thanks to hardware acceleration employed by iOS for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. And now that ability is finally available with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Furthermore, not only will hardware acceleration correct this issue but will also optimize battery life. So what we're looking at here is as big as Android 4.0's other more publicized features like resizable widgets, face recognition for the lockscreen and the new Gmail and People UI.

source is
http://www.gizmocrunch.com/mobile/8802-android-ice-cream-sandwich-feature-iphone-hardware

Which each Android update comes the agonizing process of figuring out which phones will actually get the upgrade--and Android 4.0, or Ice Cream Sandwich, is no different.

Phone makers are already offering a mix of firm answers and cryptic clues about which Android phones will receive Ice Cream Sandwich. Here's what we know so far…

No Ice Cream Sandwich for Nexus One

Google's director of Android product management Hugo Barra told the Telegraph that the Nexus One will not be receiving Ice Cream Sandwich. The Nexus One, Google's flagship Android phone, is too old to get the update, according to Barra. PCWorld confirmed the news with a Google representative, who declined to elaborate.

Barra also told the Telegraph that the Nexus S will be getting the Ice Cream Sandwich update in a matter of weeks. It's not clear why Google is leaving the Nexus One behind, considering it also has a 1GHz processor and 512MB of RAM, but the Nexus One's lack of graphics processor could be to blame. An unnamed Google representative told CNet that there are no specific hardware requirements for Android Ice Cream Sandwich.

Motorola Makes Promises

Shortly after Google announced Ice Cream Sandwich, Motorola said it would update its upcoming Droid RAZR in early 2012. The company then told Boy Genius Report that it's planning to upgrade the Droid Bionic and Xoom tablet to Ice Cream Sandwich as well. Timing will be announced after Google releases the software.

HTC Gets Vague

HTC says its goal is to upgrade as many devices as possible, and the company is currently evaluating its plans. "Upgrades require a careful balance of hardware and software to ensure the best possible performance and usability, so please stay tuned as we assess our product portfolio," the company said in a statement. So far, HTC has not confirmed update plans for specific phones.

No Word from LG, Samsung

So far, LG and Samsung have said nothing about their Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade plans. Neither company has a great track record for upgrading their phones, and so their silence isn't encouraging. Hopefully we'll hear more once Ice Cream Sandwich is released.

Source is
http://www.pcworld.com/article/242634/android_ice_cream_sandwich_no_update_for_nexus_one.html

We’ve already talked about which phones we believe are likely and unlikely to see an upgrade to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich but what about the current crop of Android tablets that are on the market? Which ones will be getting the boost up to Google’s latest and greatest piece of software?

While not as tricky of a question to answer as the phones were, the situation is still unclear for many Android tablet owners out there. Only a handful of tablets have been confirmed to be getting the bump up to Android 4.0 while the others remain in the dark.

So that means that we’re going to have to make some educated guesses.

Here goes.

Amazon Kindle Fire

Yes, we know. The Amazon Kindle Fire isn’t even out yet but that doesn’t mean that we can’t speculate about whether or not the Android tablet with the $199 price point will see Ice Cream Sandwich.

Amazon has essentially made Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread unrecognizable with the amount of tweaking it has done. As many of you with Android phones might know, UI’s, especially extensive ones, do not play nice with major Android updates.

It’s too soon to rule out an upgrade completely but we’d be fairly shocked to see Amazon take the Kindle Fire up to Android 4.0.


Asus Eee Pad Transformer


Just because Asus has another Eee Pad Transformer on the way doesn’t mean that the original hybrid tablet won’t see Android 4.0. In fact, Asus has confirmed that its Eee Pad Transformer will be one of, if not the first, Honeycomb tablet that will see the upgrade.

They haven’t offered up any sort of time frame for when owners should expect to see the update but if we had to guess, we’d think that it would roll out at some point in the weeks ahead.

At least you can rest easy knowing its coming, Transformer owners.

Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime


The Asus Eee Pad Transformer 2 aka Transformer Prime will almost assuredly have Android 4.0 on board when it launches sometime later this year. Asus has already put up a landing page for the device but an official announcement won’t come until November 9th.

We’ll be sure once that event rolls around.

Barnes and Noble Nook Color
Barnes and Noble hasn’t announced anything and the fact that it’s still officially sitting on Android 2.2 Froyo is a sign that the tablet probably won’t be making the jump to Android 4.0.

Until B&N says that it officially won’t get an upgrade, feel free to hold out hope. But the chances that the company rolls out the update are slim especially when it’s rumored to have a new tablet on the way to compete with the Kindle Fire.

HTC Flyer

Don’t get us wrong, the HTC Flyer is a great tablet but unfortunately, it’s still running Android 2.3 Gingerbread and HTC hasn’t said when owners can expect an upgrade to Honeycomb let alone Ice Cream Sandwich.

The fact that it doesn’t have Android 3.0 yet doesn’t bode well for an upgrade so we’re going to say that this only has a miniscule chance of seeing the Android 4.0 update.

HTC has said that it will try and get as many devices as it possibly can up to Ice Cream Sandwich so the door isn’t closed just yet.

HTC Jetstream
AT&T’s 4G LTE enabled HTC Jetstream is an expensive tablet. Don’t believe us? It’s $699. On-contract. However, that doesn’t mean that AT&T and HTC won’t bring it up to speed with some Ice Cream Sandwich.

In fact, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the Jetstream as one of the first Android tablets to see Android 4.0.

Acer Iconia Tab A500 and A100
We fully expect both the Acer Iconia Tab A500 and the Iconia Tab A100 to see the Android 4.0 update. Like Asus, Acer has been pretty on point with getting software updates out to its hardware and we expect it to deviate from the norm when it comes to ICS for its Iconia Tab tablets.

And like Toshiba, Acer doesn’t have a bunch of phones to worry about either so it can focus on getting out a speedy and quality upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich.

No time table as of yet though.

LG G-Slate
The LG G-Slate is a great piece of hardware. It’s software is a different story though. An upgrade to Android 4.0 would do it wonders. However, we’re not sure how committed LG and T-Mobile are to the device given how mediocre it is so it’s possible that they will decide that resources are better spent elsewhere.

We wouldn’t count out Android 4.0 yet though but we also aren’t very confident that we’ll end up seeing it.

Motorola Xoom
Breathe easy, Xoom owners. Motorola has confirmed that its tablet will be seeing the Android 4.0 update at some point. Unfortunately, it didn’t have any specifics as to when it would see it.

There have been rumors that peg the Xoom as the first Honeycomb tablet that will see Ice Cream Sandwich but given Motorola’s track record, we get the feeling that Asus will beat it to the punch.

All Xoom tablets will likely see the update including the Wi-Fi, Verizon and Family Edition with the Verizon version seeing the new software come after the other two do.

Samsung Galaxy Tab
The original Samsung Galaxy Tab had a rough road to Android 2.3 Gingerbread and we just can’t see Samsung and the various carriers taking the time to get this aging tablet up to Android 4.0.

Not when the company has several other more prominent devices out on the market.

So, if you’re the proud owners of the original 7-inch slate, it’s probably best that you assume the worst. We get the feeling that there will likely be some sort of hack that arrives though so if you own one, hope isn’t just just yet.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9
Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 8.9 will likely see the Android 4.0 update. It currently has Honeycomb and it was released just a short time ago, both of which are key ingredients for a major Android update.

No word from Samsung on when we might see it though.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
Both the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 4G LTE and the Galaxy Tab 10.1 Wi-Fi will almost certainly get the upgrade to Android 4.0. Samsung needs to keep pace with Motorola’s Xoom and it can do so by upgrading these tablets to Ice Cream Sandwich.

The Wi-Fi model will see the update first and the 4G LTE model on Verizon will see it afterward per the usual way of doing things.

But like the Galaxy Tab 8.9, we’re still in the dark about when the tablet might see the software.

Toshiba Thrive
Like the T-Mobile G-Slate, the Toshiba Thrive is a middle of the road Honeycomb tablet. That’s to say, it has some nice things, but there is definitely better out there. Still, Toshiba is burdened with smartphones like LG and T-Mobile are so it’s probably going to be able to focus on getting Ice Cream Sandwich out to the Thrive which will only make this piece of hardware better.

And while there is a very good chance that we’ll see an upgrade, Toshiba hasn’t announced anything specific in regards to a release date.

Source is
http://www.gottabemobile.com/2011/10/24/ultimate-android-4-0-update-list-which-tablets-will-get-ice-cream-sandwich/

Just like most manufacturers probably are doing, HTC is looking over Ice Cream Sandwich as we speak and are trying to device and determine their upgrade plans. We can expect many of their newer device will most likely receive Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, otherwise many users will be angry and they don’t want to relive the Desire Gingerbread debacle.

Like mentioned above most devices that are fairly new should receive an update to Ice Cream Sandwich — although a few HTC Thunderbolt users waiting for Gingerbread might have a thing or two to say about that. Today HTC has updated everyone officially on their Facebook page and had this to say:

    Since Google unveiled Ice Cream Sandwich earlier this week, HTC has been looking closely at the new OS’s features and functionality to determine our upgrade plans. We’re a recognized industry leader in providing fast and consistent upgrades to our Android devices, and Ice Cream Sandwich will be no different.

    Upgrades require a careful balance of hardware and software to ensure the best possible performance and usability, so please stay tuned as we assess our product portfolio. Our goal is to upgrade as many HTC devices as possible and we’ll be sharing details on specific devices and timing in the coming weeks!

We didn’t expect to hear any sort of confirmation on any devices, or where they’re headed with the HTC Sense UI they are widely known for, but most likely we’ll still see it on ICS. With a user interface as gorgeous as Android 4.0 I don’t know why you’d want to skin it up with a different look, but HTC most likely feels different on this front. I have a feeling the Sense UI will need some serious re-working to be compatible with Ice Cream Sandwich so we’ll all just have to wait and see. We will be sure to update when we hear any additional details from HTC.

Source is
http://androidcommunity.com/htc-looking-over-ice-cream-sandwich-to-determine-upgrade-plan-20111021/

Dan Morrill, Google's Android compatibility chief, posted a statement on the Android Building mailing list yesterday with details about source code availability. In the information that he disclosed in the message, he tangentially indicated that Google plans to publish the Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) source code after it is available on devices.

The kernel.org infrastructure, which hosts the upstream Linux kernel, has historically been the home of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). Morill's e-mail was primarily written to address the implications of Google's recent decision to relocate the Android source code, which is being moved to Google's own infrastructure.

As we reported last month, the kernel.org servers were compromised by an attacker. The Linux Foundation temporarily disabled all of the infrastructure in order to conduct a thorough security audit. Google similarly took the AOSP offline after the breach was detected. There is no evidence that any of the source code hosted on kernel.org was tampered with during the attack.

The outage was expected to be short in duration, but it lengthened when the Linux Foundation discovered that the Linux.com community site was also compromised. The Linux Foundation has since restored its infrastructure, but Google decided to take the opportunity to move the AOSP to its own self-hosted infrastructure.

In the mailing list message, Morrill said that Google was already planning to relocate the AOSP because the project was putting a considerable burden on kernel.org infrastructure. Indeed, it makes sense for Google to move AOSP hosting in-house, where it will be able to better handle the load. Much of the kernel.org infrastructure is maintained by the Linux Foundation, which is funded through donations.

Morrill briefly mentioned ICS in his mailing list post in the context of describing what sources are being brought back online this week. The new AOSP code repository contains Gingerbread, but not Honeycomb or ICS. He said that the ICS code will be available "soon, once it's available on devices." This likely refers to the launch of the Galaxy Nexus, the flagship ICS phone that Google jointly developed with Samsung and announced earlier this week.

Android source code availability has been a contentious issue this year following the release of Android 3.0, codenamed Honeycomb. Google declined to publish the Honeycomb source code, even after the operating system was shipped on hardware. Only select hardware partners were given access.

Google's Android chief, Andy Rubin, contends that the source code was withheld because Google cut corners during Honeycomb development and didn't want hardware vendors to ship the platform on unsupported hardware. At the Google I/O conference earlier this year, the company promised that source code would be available for Honeycomb's successor—likely before the end of 2011. The company appears to be on track to follow through with that promise.

Source is
http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2011/10/google-says-android-40-source-code-to-be-available-soon.ars

Is there such a thing as too much Ice Cream Sandwich? We didn't think so either, and booted up Google's own Android Emulator to play around with version four-point-oh -- in tablet proportions. We don't know whether manufacturers will end up slathering their own interpretation of Ice Cream Sandwich on top of the vanilla original, but this is probably very close to what we'll be dealing with when it arrives on tablets sometime this quarter. Scrollable, resizeable widgets are here, as is a tabbed, synchronizing web browser. There are some minor niggles; we hope they'll make some adjustments to the comically over-sized native keyboard, but the main thing we took away from this stuttering simulation is that the UI is nigh-on identical to what we were using on the Galaxy Nexus. Android looks like it has any future convergence issues in order -- this version will feel at home on both your phone and tablet. Android Beam has never sounded better. If you can forgive the low-performance emulation, check out the video after the break for more Ice Cream Sandwich, king-size.

Source is
http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/19/android-ice-cream-sandwich-what-will-it-look-like-on-a-tablet/

Google has officially introduced Android 4.0 today. It is also known as Ice Cream Sandwich - a new version of the platform that brings a refined, unified user experience for phones, tablets, and more. This press conference was originally scheduled for last week in San Diego CTIA exhibition. But Google decided to delay because of Steve Jobs.

Now, after Google introduced the newest portable operation system – Android 4.0, let's review the top 10 sparks in this Android.


1.    Modern Roboto font what is designed for the HD screen and the real-time wallpaper.

2.    Use the virtual buttons in the UI instead of physical buttons to enlarge the display area.

3.    Widgets are in the new tab which stay by Apps, and listed as a similar list to apps.

4.    Drag an app to another one will create a folder like as the feature of ios. But when you drag a contact will create a shortcut for speed dialing.

5.    Face unlocks your device, a facial recognition service, but it's failed when the officials show it on the spot.

6.    The new notification, you can check the notice by dragged the top bar down when the screen is locked.

7.    The web browser with enhanced tab system, allowing up to 16 tabs; it supports to save the webpage to view without Internet and automatically sync the bookmarks with Chrome.

8.    Camera with zero shutter lag, time lapse settings, zoom while recording. And the gallery with layout, you can organize by location and person.

9.    Data Usage section in settings lets you set warnings when you reach a certain amount of use and disabling data connect when you go over your limit. The data usage includes WIFI, network and even the Bluetooth. You can set the maximum date usage for the app.

10.    Android Beam: NFC feature that allows you to exchange websites, contact info, directions, YouTube and even the apps when 2 NFC-supported devices get together.

Many mobile phone manufactures are excited to Ice Cream Sandwich. HTC had released an official statement following this evening's announcement at the first time to confirm that it's looking over the update's new features and functionality, figuring out how to make it happen without forcing sacrifices to the usability and performance of each HTC product. So, after a period of time, how many mobile phones can update to Android 4.0? Just stay tuned for latest news about Android.

Post by: Bruno Wong

Data Usage

Android Beam

Home

Notification

Web Browser

Folder

Face Unlock