ics

Will they or won't they? That's the question Samsung Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab customers are asking with respect to whether Samsung will offer them the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update.

Samsung will likely not update those devices to ICS, but older Galaxy owners may not be entirely out of luck. There is apparently still a chance that Samsung is preparing a "Value Pack" with ICS features and functionality, just scaled for less robust hardware. TheNextWeb.com had the news, citing a Korean site as a source.

Ever since Ice Cream Sandwich was announced … Read more

LG unwrapped more details about its Ice Cream Sandwich software upgrade schedule for existing LG Android smartphones.

The news, which popped up today on LG's Facebook page, confirms much of what we already knew--that Optimus phones like the Optimus LTE and Optimus Black (known in the US as AT&T's Nitro HD and Sprint's LG Marquee, respectively) will indeed receive the latest Android operating system in 2012.

More specifically, the global updates will begin in the second quarter of the year for the LG Optimus LTE, Prada phone by LG 3.0, Optimus 2X, Optimus … Read more

Owners of Samsung's Galaxy S smartphone and the 7-inch Galaxy Tab won't be getting the latest and greatest version of Android.

In a blog posting on a Korean promotional site run by Samsung, the company noted that the two devices would not receive the update to Android 4.0, the most up to date version of Google's mobile operating system.

The reason for that, as The Verge explains, centers around Samsung's use of additional software features on those phones, including TouchWiz, widgets, video calling and carrier software pack-ins. These suck up hardware resources to the point … Read more

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich has added a key feature for those who are on a capped mobile data plan with their wireless carrier.

ICS gives users the ability to monitor the amount of mobile data being used on their device, and in some cases, automatically turn off mobile data. … Read more

Google is serving up Ice Cream Sandwich with a new base version that promises several improvements and bug fixes for the Android operating system.

Detailed in Friday's Android Developers blog, ICS 4.0.3 is expected to roll out to production phones and tablets in the "weeks ahead," according to Google.

As such, the company is advising developers to test their mobile apps with the new flavor. Though it didn't get into specifics, Google is promising incremental improvements in graphics, database, spell-checking, and Bluetooth, among other items.

Developers can also tap into other features with the … Read more

If you're the proud owner of a spangly new Samsung Galaxy Nexus, there's a good chance that the new operating system, known as Ice Cream Sandwich, will come as a shock. At the very least, it might take some getting used to.

Fear not, fellow smartphone users. I've got a quiver full of pointed tips and tricks to make you an Ice Cream Sandwich pro.

Prove it? Well, OK, then. In the video above, I'll show you the fastest way to set an alarm, uninstall an app, and select tabs in the WebKit browser. I'll … Read more

It's only hours before the Samsung Galaxy Nexus finally goes on sale tomorrow for $299.99, but we already managed to get our hands on the 4G LTE handset, the first to rock the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system.

The verdict? Well, you'll have to read our full review to get that, but let's just say that this puppy's super-speedy LTE and a slim, steady piece of hardware got our attention--not to mention that it stirs things up with the best Android OS available to date. (OK, I'll give you another hint, … Read more

If, like me, you had assumed that the Samsung Nexus S would be the first Android phone to receive the official update to Ice Cream Sandwich (after its debut with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus), we'd both be wrong.

Huawei has bypassed carriers to distribute the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) operating system to owners of the Huawei Honor through its Web site. (The second tab below the image translates to Software.)

Of course, this demo build is not an official carrier push, and you'd have to be comfortable manually updating your phone from the kernel contained on the Web site. If you don't read the Chinese alphabet, you'll still be able to switch to other languages that Android supports.… Read more

The U.S. launch of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus may have smacked face-first into a wall of delays, but that hasn't stopped me from spending the last three weeks smearing my thumbprints all over the unlocked version of the first phone to get Google's red-hot Android Ice Cream Sandwich operating system.

Now, between the phone and the Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) operating system, there's a lot of minutiae, more than most people will really want to read regarding the scads of cosmetic and substantive changes to each function or app. As a result, I'm aiming for the broad view. In the three weeks since I got the phone, I've answered many of your ICS and Galaxy Nexus questions, tested the camera, stumbled onto a lot of hidden features, and explored Android Beam using another Galaxy Nexus phone (more on this below).

Using ICS on the Galaxy Nexus has been a positive experience, and as with many phones, the Galaxy Nexus grew on me even more. It has an open design and appealing shape, a comfortable "hyperskin" soft-touch back cover, and a great screen. ICS adds snappy graphics and a laundry list of new features.… Read more