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Refresh Roundup: week of April 30th, 2012

zachary lutz
Updated ·7 min read

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Official Android updates

  • Sony Xperia Play: This latest refresh brings Sony's smartphone for gamers to Android 2.3.4, adds the ability to capture screenshots and fixes a charging issue for the device. It also adds Verizon's Video on Demand app and updates VZ Navigator. [Droid Life]

  • Huawei MediaPad: Ice Cream Sandwich is now available for this 7-inch tablet. The refresh is said to provide a near-stock Android experience, though it must be downloaded from Huawei's website. [Liliputing, Huawei]

  • Motorola Droid Bionic: It seems that an update is on the horizon for Verizon's first smartphone to rock both a dual-core CPU and LTE. While nothing is yet official, Motorola has begun a soak test for the Droid Bionic. [Android Community]

  • Samsung Galaxy S II: Android 4.0 is now rolling out to Vodafone users in Australia. While the deployment is gradual, all users should have the upgrade by the 14th of this month. [Thanks, Marcel] [Vodafone]

  • ASUS Transformer Pad TF300: Software version 9.4.3.26 is now available for the new 10-inch tablet from ASUS; it brings WiFi Direct and Ad-Hoc support, unzip functionality to the file manager and new exposure features to the camera app. Users will also find the ability to kill apps within the task manager and several new additions to MyLibrary. [Android Community, ASUSTeK]

  • Motorola CLIQ 2: Gingerbread is now available for this QWERTY slider from T-Mobile. This one has been in the making for quite some time, as Motorola initiated its soak test for the handset back in February. [TmoNews]

  • Motorola Droid 3: Verizon Wireless is prepping an update for its former king of QWERTYs. The latest version will bring greater security, improve overall stability and fix an issue that's caused the device to power on without user interaction. It also brings support for the Wireless Alerting System and fixes a glitch with wired headsets. [Phandroid]

  • HTC One X: Three is pushing out an update for HTC's premier smartphone that was previously made available to the unlocked handsets. Improvements to the battery life are at the forefront of this refresh. Similarly, an even newer version is being delivered to unlocked One X devices, which is said to resolve intermittent WiFi issues. [Android Central 1, 2]

  • Archos 80 G9 and Archos 101 G9: Bug fixes are the name of the game with this round of updates for the G9 tablets. The refresh solves a WiFi disconnection issue, improves the reliability of GPS and tweaks HDMI connectivity settings. It also solves random reboot hiccups and improves detection of microSD cards. [Android Police]

  • HTC Sensation 4G: There's been plenty of drama surrounding this update, but T-Mobile has now completed its internal tests of the Ice Cream Sandwich revision and expects to make the software available to its subscribers in the near future. [Android Police]

Unofficial Android updates, custom ROMs and misc. hackery

  • AOKP: The Android Open Kang Project has officially reached Milestone 5. While many nightly ROMs are often delivered for supported devices, this release represents a worthwhile baseline and an opportunity to grab the latest code. Based on Android 4.0.4, Milestone 5 includes a number of bug fixes and includes a new kernel for the Galaxy Nexus. [Android Community, AOKP]

  • Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0: A root method now exists for this slate, along with a release of ClockworkMod Recovery. [Android Community]

  • Samsung Galaxy Note: An experimental build of CyanogenMod 9 is now available for this super-sized smartphone. It includes support for the S Pen, and as of the latest version, the Google Play Store and video are functional. [Thanks, Android Indian] [xda-developers forum]

  • HTC EVO 3D: A new ROM is now at release candidate status for Sprint's (now defunct) 3D smartphone. Known as Virtuous Quattro, it's based on a leaked build from HTC and brings a slimmed-down version of Android 4.0 and Sense 3.6 to the table. [Thanks, Skylar] [RootzWiki forum]

  • HTC Rezound: A new version of Ice Cream Sandwich for this Verizon smartphone has leaked into the wild. While it remains at pre-release status, it brings a number of improvements to the prior build. [Android Police]

  • Samsung Galaxy Nexus: Sprint's version of this handset is now eligible for both ClockworkMod Recovery and nightly builds of CyanogenMod 9. [Android Police]

Other platforms

  • Nokia Belle: At first it went unnoticed, but we've a bit of good news for Aussies: Nokia Belle is now available to those who live down under. [All About Symbian]

  • BlackBerry Bridge: The bit of software that links RIM's smartphones to its PlayBook tablet has received a minor update to fix an issue with predictive text. [N4BB]

  • BlackBerry 7.1 OS: The latest version of the BlackBerry system software is now available to those in the UK. Devices eligible for the update include the Bold 9900, Torch 9810, Torch 9860, Curve 9360 and Porche Design P'9981. [N4BB]

  • BlackBerry Curve 8520: It's hardly part of the cutting edge, but BlackBerry OS 5.0.0.1075 has been leaked for this handset. [N4BB]

  • HTC Mozart: Software version 7.10.8779.8 was made available for download in India. Nothing is known about the improvements the update brings, and only unlocked handsets are thought to be eligible at this time. [WMPoweruser]

  • Nokia Lumia 800: It seems that an official update is on the horizon for this handset. Known as firmware version 12072, it's said to resolve a bug that relates to audio volume. [WMPoweruser]

Refreshes we covered this week