Ice Cream Sandwich is codename for Google's next major Android platform update. Unifying Android 3 Honeycomb and Android 2.3 Gingerbread, the version number is expected to be Android 4.0. Ice Cream Sandwich will be able to run on tablets as well as smartphones and is expected to be launched with a new Google "Nexus" device sometime later this year. Read on for the latest Ice Cream Sandwich news, reviews and videos:
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by Michael Fisher | May 23, 2012 11:34 AMSomething interesting happened to me early this year: I started hating my iPod. It was a second-generation 16GB iPod Touch, running the most recent version of iOS that was available, and it was a heinous pile of garbage. It crashed constantly, the battery life was sub-par, and its infamous soft-metal casing was scratched beyond belief, despite having lived a relatively sheltered, case-protected life. Plus, I hated carrying around two devices when I didn't have to. Granted, this attitude is somewhat at odds with my Twitter moniker, but "Captain2Phones" does not equal "Captain1Phone&1P...
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by Anton D. Nagy | May 23, 2012 4:23 AMWhen the S Voice application, which launched together with the Samsung Galaxy S III, leaked and was made available for the masses -- at least those running ICS-powered Android devices -- many have jumped to download, install and take the application for a spin just to later find out that there were some network errors which led everyone to believe Samsung was blocking the service. While there was a fairly easy workaround, Samsung itself admitted that they are indeed blocking the offering. According to the manufacturer, they are indeed blocking S Voice and it is because "Samsung Electronics ...
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by Anton D. Nagy | May 23, 2012 2:39 AMWhen we were in Barcelona to check out the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, the follow-up to the Galaxy Tab 10.1 -- or the Galaxy Note phablet -- packed, at that moment, a 1.4GHz dual-core processor and a stylus which was separated by the tablet with no way of incorporating it. Then came all the rumors of hardware modifications Samsung might do before the tablet reaches the market and today we get the chance to see and read about some of those changes. The images were snapped at a recent Samsung event and, as far as the internals are concerned, the revamped Galaxy Tab 10.1 will feature a quad-core...
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by Joe Levi | May 22, 2012 6:22 PMIf you're looking for a smartphone on Sprint’s website you'll find enough options to make your head spin. By my count there are 42 devices: four of them are iPhones, 19 are running Android. HTC is in comeback mode. It's put a fresh face on Sense UI, brought out some new devices, and shown us some very impressive specifications. The latest Android-powered smartphone to join Sprint's ranks is the HTC EVO 4G LTE, essentially a modified One X. Like its AT&T sibling, the EVO 4G LTE has a gorgeous display, unique design, and feels like a very well-built device. Inside the Box The box itself...
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by Michael Fisher | May 22, 2012 3:42 PMThose of you who've followed my writing for a while know that I'm a refugee from the Great webOS Collapse of 2011, and there's still a lot I miss and love about the platform. While I try to write about it as often as I can, the sad truth is there's not a lot of news about the "little OS that couldn't" these days - things are pretty quiet as it marches toward open source. So I'm kind of waiting along with everyone else for that to wrap up this fall. Until then, though, I'm still using webOS somewhat often via my HP TouchPad. Sometimes I even pull the tiny HP Veer out of storage and relive th...
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by Stephen Schenck | May 22, 2012 3:28 PMHTC's been talking about which of its Androids would be seeing updates to Ice Cream Sandwich for some time now, so we've generally had a good idea for what to expect. We've already seen the company start delivering those updates to some of its lineup, leaving the question of just when it would get around to hitting the rest of them. To help with answers, the manufacturer has put together a convenient table, detailing just when it expects to make ICS available for those remaining devices. It looks like the majority of phones that haven't yet started getting ICS will do so next month. That in...
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by Anton D. Nagy | May 22, 2012 8:43 AMIt appears that S Voice was only the first application to be extracted from the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S III. With the Pandora's Box now open, all important and interesting goodies from the Samsung flagship have been ripped out and made available by the community for you to try on your Android-powered non-Galaxy S III smartphone. Heading over to the source link below you will surely find something to your liking. They have Accuweather, stock analog clock, stock digital clock, video player, YouTube app, GTalk, FM radio, ringtones and wallpapers, all belonging to the Samsung Galaxy S III. Oh...
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by Anton D. Nagy | May 22, 2012 4:02 AMWe hate to bring you the bad news but we're just as disappointed as you probably will be after reading this. Long story short: when we were in Barcelona Sony promised an official ICS update for the Xperia S sometime in April, then it all of a sudden we woke up in May with no update and last week Sony officially said that, well, let us quote: “Xperia S is planned to get ICS somewhere around late May/early June. That’s what’s been said and that’s still what we’re sticking to. Any other dates (such as “June/July”) is just speculation. The roll out is, as always, gradual and will not happen over n...
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by Anton D. Nagy | May 22, 2012 3:17 AMThe Samsung Galaxy S III is one of those select few devices which really needs no introduction. The only thing bothering most of those who can't wait to get their phone is why can't they get their unit faster. If you are in the U.S. and can't/don't want to wait until the American carriers bring whatever variant of the phone they will (and you don't fancy importing one either) you can now pre-oder it from Amazon. It's a little expensive: $799.99, and that's for the 16GB variant but you will get a SIM-free, unlocked, no-contract phone once it will be released, according to Amazon, on June 1, ...
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by Joe Levi | May 21, 2012 7:16 PMAndroid often takes quite a bit of criticism for its "fragmentation". It's got lots of versions currently on the market, it comes in different shapes and sizes, OEMs can customize it to their liking... the sky is the limit with Android. But have you ever looked beyond the chatter and stopped to ask: Why does Google allow Android to be so open? Why the need for ICS, Jelly Bean, and OEM UIs? That's what we'll talk about in today's episode of the Android Guy Weekly!
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by Stephen Schenck | May 21, 2012 11:52 AMFor about the past month or so, owners of HTC's Amaze 4G on T-Mobile have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the update that would bring their phones Ice Cream Sandwich. T-Mobile first tipped subscribers off to the news that updates for both the Amaze 4G and Sensation 4G would be here quite shortly; that seemed to imply that the previously-rumored June dates for the arrival of these updates might be off. Sure enough, we soon got word of a confirmed release date for the Sensation, but found ourselves waiting just a little longer for news on the Amaze. Last week, though, the carrier finally sp...
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by Anton D. Nagy | May 21, 2012 8:18 AMIt was good while it lasted! The S Voice application from the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S III was extracted from the shipping ROM that was leaked and was made available to other Android devices. According to reports, it was working pretty well on ICS-powered phone, like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, that is until Samsung blocked the servers. According to recent reports, users on non-Galaxy S III devices are getting errors when trying to operate the leaked S Voice app. According to the community, the application sends out a lot of information to the servers, including your device's make and model,...
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by Anton D. Nagy | May 21, 2012 7:50 AMThe Story of the Samsung Galaxy S III is rather impressive: after months of anticipation there was a great unveiling in London, then the phone got rooted way before hitting the shelves, its shipping ROM got leaked and one of its top features, S Voice, was extracted and made available for other Android-powered smartphones. The community is now laying down another milestone with the release of the first custom ROM for the Samsung Galaxy flagship. Future owners will have to wait at least nine days before getting their hands on the long-awaited device but they will be probably able to flash it ...
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by Anton D. Nagy | May 21, 2012 7:38 AMThe AT&T HTC One X and Sprint EVO 4G LTE (plus probably the T-Mobile Amaze 4G) were affected by U.S. Customs reviews and were delayed from the shelves because of an ITC ban imposed in defense of an Apple patent. The ban came into effect on April 19 and the manufacturer as well as the operators couldn't tell anything specific regarding a timeframe for resolving the issue. According to recent reports, HTC has issued a statement in Taiwan that brings some relieving information: "Some of our products have passed the review and have been delivered to our telecoms operators’ clients in the US...
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by Anton D. Nagy | May 20, 2012 3:08 AMWith Motorola and Google being so close to each other lately one would except Motorola smartphones to get Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich updates quickly, and to all capable devices. While the phone maker has a pretty neat list in place (check source) for you to follow every movement regarding a platform refresh for a specific phone, they made a statement addressing those who can't find their phone names and Android 4.0 mentioned on the same page. The wording is simple and needs no explanation: "obviously we want the new release to improve our devices. If we determine that can’t be done—well...
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