Refresh Roundup: week of August 22, 2011
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging to get updated. 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 from 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
- Motorola’s Photon 4G was the recipient of a minor over-the-air firmware revamp that offers improvements to responsiveness and voice calls, and offers more bug fixes and other enhancements. [via PhoneArena]
- Want another bug fix update? The HTC EVO 3D is the next contestant, rolling out its second OTA refresh in as many weeks. This time it appears that a new “Corporate 4G” widget and a new radio have been added. [via AndroidCentral]
- Gingerbread 2.3.4 is now rolling out to Bell’s Motorola Atrix 4G OTA. [via MobileSyrup]
- Now that its official Gingerbread support page has gone live, Verizon’s Motorola Droid 2 will likely be receiving Android 2.3 in the very near future. [via AndroidCentral]
- Sasktel’s HTC Incredible S is now the beneficiary of Android 2.3.3 in an OTA install. [via MobileSyrup]
Unofficial Android updates / custom ROMs / misc hackery
- Remember that Gingerbread update the HTC Droid Incredible was supposed to get? The official version’s been leaked out and is awaiting your download. Just remember the follow the directions and back up your device before proceeding. [via AndroidPolice]
- Speaking of leaked versions of Gingerbread, the Droid 2 Global has one now. More info can be found here. [via Droid-Life]
- The Motorola Droid 3‘s been successfully rooted. As it turns out, there may be a couple different methods to do so, so check out the link to learn how to do it. [via XDA and AndroidCentral]
- An official build of Android 2.3.4 for the Samsung Captivate has been leaked to XDA. [via Phandroid]
Other platforms
- The Nokia N8 was recently blessed with Symbian Anna, but a few camera-related upgrades were left out. No need to fear, as an “experimental” update is now being offered, which adds continuous auto-focus and tweaks the UI to allow for faster access to the camera — among other improvements, such as a boost to 30fps. Check out the change log here. [via ZOMGitsCJ]
- Given last week’s news about webOS, we were concerned the newly-launched Pre3 would be DOA, with no promise of future updates. HP’s proving this isn’t the case, however, as the device got a minor update that brought the phone’s help center live and fixed a few bugs along the way. [via PreCentral and PhoneArena]
- Research in Motion released an upgrade to its Tablet OS for the BlackBerry PlayBook. Unfortunately, it’s not the 2.0 version we saw leaked screenshots of earlier this week, but it still brings a nice feature to the tablet: differential updates. This means that in future OS refreshes, only the affected sections will be changed. In addition, the new version, dubbed 1.0.7.2942, will improve WiFi connectivity via WEP and enhancements to BlackBerry Bridge. [via RIM]
- WP7Mod showed a video of the HTC HD2 booting up with Windows Phone Mango’s RTM build installed. We’ve been told that it’s almost ready for any daring souls interested in a new challenge for their Windows Mobile device. [via WMPowerUser]
Refresh Roundup: week of August 22, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Aug 2011 09:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Select AT&T Android devices may get app sideloading as early as today
It’s a classic romantic tale of “network meets OS, network disables OS,” and just like any love story, this one is building up to a happy ending. Fourteen months after AT&T introduced a lineup of crippled Android phones that weren’t allowed to install third-party apps, the carrier extended an olive branch to fans of the OS by quietly slipping the sideloading capability onto the Samsung Infuse 4G; now, the network is reportedly updating three members of its Android lineup — the HTC Inspire 4G, HTC Aria, and Samsung Captivate — sometime today. We’re sure there were many Atrix users scanning this short list with fingers crossed, but unfortunately your phone did not make the cut this time. No word on why your favs were left out, but at least four devices with Amazon Appstore access is still better than zero. At present time we haven’t seen the updates get pushed to our phones, however, so we’d love to hear if any of you have seen differently down in comments below.
Select AT&T Android devices may get app sideloading as early as today originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 May 2011 17:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Samsung Captivate update to Froyo pegged for tomorrow, February 24th (update: HTC Aria update coming ‘very soon’)
One false alarm is bad enough, but two would be positively evil, wouldn’t it? We’re cautiously optimistic that Samsung and AT&T are serious this time about posting the Captivate’s update to Android 2.2 starting tomorrow, another step in Sammy’s long, drawn-out road to getting all of its promised Galaxy S upgrades out the door. We’re sure owners are going to appreciate some of the simple pleasures in life that Froyo (and Gingerbread) owners have come to take for granted like being able to move apps to external storage… and it’s all just hours away. Can you feel the excitement?
Update: in an official Facebook video just posted, AT&T mentions that it’s already in the process of testing a Froyo upgrade for the HTC Aria as well — and it should be coming “very soon.”
Samsung Captivate update to Froyo pegged for tomorrow, February 24th (update: HTC Aria update coming ‘very soon’) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 11:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Samsung responds: ‘Not charging carriers for Froyo updates’
The number of anonymous and unconfirmed "reasons" for the amount of time it’s taking the U.S. Galaxy S phones to get their upgrades to Android 2.2 seems to grow every day. And the leading theory thus far has been from a post at XDA that claims Samsung is charging carriers more for the upgrade than they’re willing to pay. (There’s also that crackpot tip that Samsung was holding Froyo "hostage" as to not cannibalize sales of the unannounced Vibrant 4G. Yes, we’ve seen them all.)
But tonight, Samsung responded to Phonescoop, saying unequivocally:
"No. Samsung is not charging carriers for Froyo updates to Galaxy S. We hope to have more detail on status shortly. Promise!"
So it’s time to put the tinfoil hats back on and bombard our inboxes once again with the latest unsourced, anonymous theory. But we’ll throw this out and see if it floats: Perhaps it’s just taken Samsung and the U.S. carriers that long to get their ducks in a row to make sure everything works, and everybody will shut up and smile once the updates hit, and start bitching about Gingerbread instead. [Phonescoop]
Samsung responds: 'Not charging carriers for Froyo updates' posted originally by Android Central
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Android 2.2 update now available to Rogers Captivate owners
All across Canadian carriers, Samsung Galaxy S series devices have been starting to get there Froyo updates, and the Rogers Samsung Captivate is no exception to that. Available now, Rogers Captivate owners can to download Kies and begin getting their Froyo on. You can also hit up the Rogers website for the full .pdf instructions if you should need them. Of course, you can always hit up the Android Central forums if you run into issues as well. Thanks, Colin! [Rogers Forums]
Android 2.2 update now available to Rogers Captivate owners posted originally by Android Central
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Your favorite stories of 2010
What a year it’s been, eh? Think back. We started with the announcement of the Nexus One and Android 2.1, and we’re closing out the year with the announcement of Android 2.3 Gingerbread and the prospects of dual-core processors and Honeycomb on the horizon.
But let’s take a few moments to look back on 2010 — namely, your favorite stories of the year. What follows are our top reviews and top stories of the year, as trafficked by you guys. And it’s a pretty good list if we do say so ourselves. Check it out after the break.
Your favorite stories of 2010 posted originally by Android Central
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Samsung Captivate case review: Body Glove Snap-on Case
The Body Glove Snap-On Case is an interesting, multipurpose accessory choice for the Samsung Captivate. It has some great features as well as areas that could use improvement.
The Good: The Snap-On Case feels good in the hand. Its textured material feels better than a lot of the plastic options on the market, as well as provides solid protection for the phone. This is also a lot more than a case as it has an attachable clip and kickstand. The kickstand is built into the clip so no need to worry about looking after two detachable parts. The knob can also be removed if you don’t want to sport the extra additions, which makes this case extremely flexible.
The not as good: It’s a snap on case, and because of that it is more difficult to put and keep together than other cases. You need to push the two parts together pretty hard to make them stick. Even after it was together, I wasn’t sure it was going to stay connected. It should be noted, however, that the parts have not separated after heavy use.
Overall, it’s a solid case if you’re looking for a multipurpose accessory. It feels good once it’s put together and is pretty robust once snapped on. If you have a Captivate and are looking for a case with a kickstand and clip, consider the Body Glove Snap-On Case, available from the Android Central Store, for $24.95. See more pictures after the break.
Samsung Captivate case review: Body Glove Snap-on Case posted originally by Android Central
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nullDC coming to Android; bios boot gets video
Android users may soon be able to play their favorite Dreamcast games on their phones as nullDC, the open-source emulator, is at an early alpha build for the platform.
drk|Raziel has been hard at work on this project and it looks to be making significant progress. He posted a video recently showcasing the booting of the bios on a Samsung Captivate (see the video after the break). This is a big step in bringing Dreamcast to Android; games are reportedly coming soon.
For all you Sega fans, it appears as if you will be able to play Dreamcast games on your Android-powered mobile device. [drk | Raziel's blog]
nullDC coming to Android; bios boot gets video posted originally by Android Central
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Samsung releases ‘GPS Restore’ app for Vibrant, Captivate — does it work?
It’s hardly a secret that the Galaxy S Android smartphones have had some, erm, problems when it comes to GPS location. For some of us, things have worked just fine. But far too many have had problems — from slow to no GPS functionality. We’ve installed new ROMs. We’ve hacked our way to fixes. Now Samsung has released an app to undo anything we might have messed up in the process. GPSRestore does just what it says — fixes any fixins’ you might have fouled up.
Download links are after the break. Does it help? Let us know. [Samsung]
Samsung releases 'GPS Restore' app for Vibrant, Captivate — does it work? posted originally by Android Central
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Canadian Galaxy S phones get Froyo update news
Samsung Mobile Canada has announced via Facebook that "Android 2.2 will be released for Vibrant from Bell and Captivate from Rogers in mid-December, and for the Fascinate from TELUS in early 2011. We’ll post further details as they become available."
You can call that good news, or bad news, but at least we have a time frame. Still no new word for any of the US Galaxy S phones, which will likely depend on the individual carrier. We’re watching and waiting, too. To our Canadian readers — pass the time in the forums with the rest of us waiting for the elusive update. [ Samsung Mobile Canada via MobileSyrup]
Canadian Galaxy S phones get Froyo update news posted originally by Android Central
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