DROID 2 Global and DROID Pro Now Receiving Gingerbread Upgrades
Continuing to prove that they don’t want to leave any of their customers in the dark, Verizon and Motorola have begun rolling out updates to Android 2.3 for both the Motorola Droid 2 Global and the Motorola DROID PRO We’re getting all the Gingerbread goodness you’ve come to know and expect as well as a few other changes, fixes and enhancements. There’s a lot to dig through so instead of pasting the list here we’ll just have you click this link for the DROID Pro and this link for the DROID 2 Global. There, you’ll also be able to find instructions on how to check for and download/install an update if you don’t already know how.
Motorola DROID 2 R2-D2 Gets Gingerbread
Considering the DROID 2 and DROID 2 Global have both gotten their Gingerbread updates, we weren’t surprised to see the DROID 2 R2-D2 wasn’t far behind – they’re practically the same phones. If you can’t wait to get your grubby little robot clamps on it, it looks like it’s rolling out now (at least the handful of emails in our inbox say as much). Go on and grab it how you usually do and let us know if it goes ok. [Thanks to everyone who set this in!]
Refresh Roundup: week of September 5, 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
- Verizon was spitting out new refreshes left and right this week, as we saw Gingerbread begin to roll out as OTA downloads on the Motorola Droid 3, HTC Droid Incredible, and — get this — even the Motorola Droid 2 R2-D2 edition. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
- Interestingly enough, Android 2.3 for the Droid 2 Global was already getting pushed out, but was pulled just a couple days later after a Microsoft Exchange encryption issue was discovered. We’ve been told the updates will resume “soon.” [via Droid-Life]
- Finally, Verizon also pushed out one other software upgrade — this time on its 4510L LTE MiFi. (Thanks, Matt)
- HTC continues to expand its bootloader unlock tool to more phones, region by region. This week the company enabled support for the EVO 3D in Canada and Europe. [via Phandroid]
Unofficial Android updates / custom ROMs / misc hackery
- The Motorola Droid 3 and Droid X both now have access to an SBF — System Boot File — to act as a safeguard for anyone who manages to brick their phones. [via Droid-Life (1) and (2)]
- Recently we heard about the Honeycomb ROM for the HTC Flyer getting leaked by MoDaCo, but no screenshots were available at the time. This week, however, someone successfully grabbed a few images to share with the world (shown in the above image). The ROM appears to run on Android 3.2 with HTC Sense 1.1 for tablets as the featured UI. [via AndroidBugle -- thanks, Dennis]
- Let’s talk a little more about leaked Sense ROMs. We’ve already seen Sense 3.5 working on the Desire HD, and now we have another device to add to the list: the EVO 4G. [via XDA]
- The first kernel for unlocked bootloaders on the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is now waiting for your download, so head over to the link for instructions. [via XDA]
- If you’ve been waiting and hoping for CyanogenMod 7 on your HTC Sensation or EVO 3D so you can shed the Sense UI, that time may be very close at hand. According to a member of the CyanogenMod team, an early alpha build for both devices may be available by the end of this weekend, so keep an eye out. [via Phandroid]
Other platforms
- Two new unofficial ROMs — one for Windows Phone Mango and another for NoDo –are now available for the Samsung Omnia 7. The Mango ROM improves the device’s radio, camera drivers and motion sensors, in addition to a few other enhancements. [via WPCentral]
Refreshes already covered this week
Refresh Roundup: week of September 5, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Sep 2011 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Refresh Roundup: week of August 29, 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
- The biggest update we saw this week was a widespread push of Android 2.3.3 to the Motorola Droid 2. This one is done OTA, so simply go into your settings menu and check for updates to see if it’s there. (thanks to everyone who sent this in)
- While we saw a rollout of Android 2.3 to a select few LG Optimus Ones in June, we’re hearing reports that the update’s now getting pushed out again to a few more regions. This refresh must be done manually through LG’s updater tool, so you’ll definitely want to check to see if your phone is one of the lucky recipients. [via PocketNow]
- US Cellular took to its Facebook Page to let customers know it’s working on revamping the Samsung Mesmerize to Gingerbread at some point, though no official date or timeframe was given aside from “as soon as possible.” [via AndroidCentral]
- HTC announced the arrival of Android 2.3 for the Thunderbolt and Droid Incredible this month, via its Facebook page. [via AndroidCommunity]
- In fact, some users have already reported getting Gingerbread for the Incredible, and we suspect the rollout will be complete no later than the end of the month, to fulfill the company’s promise. [via Phandroid]
- Gingerbread is in the plans for the Motorola Milestone 2, and according to the company the refresh will begin rolling out in early Q4. [via MyDailyGadget]
- The Samsung LC11 LTE mobile hotspot is getting a new build, EF07, that appears to improve its handling of multiple devices and congested WiFi locations. It also adds security patches and new protocols. [via Verizon]
- An update for the Droid 3 was apparently available to soak testers and leaked online, but was pulled from Motorola servers shortly thereafter. It appears to add video chat support in GTalk and adds a new radio that’s supposed to save battery life. The via link still has the update available for anyone interested. [via Droid-Life]
Unofficial Android updates / custom ROMs / misc hackery
- The root method used on most Motorola Android devices has been employed to root the Droid Bionic before it’s even been released. [via Droid-Life]
- LG has released the kernel source for its Gingerbread build of the Optimus S. [via AndroidCentral]
- The HTC Dev site expanded its support for the bootloader unlock tool this week, now encompassing all versions of the Sensation — including T-Mobile’s. [via AndroidCentral]
Other platforms
- SPB Shell 3.0 is now available for Symbian^3 devices. It brings a fresh 3D-style UI to the OS, and can be yours for $15. [via IntoMobile]
Updates already covered this week
- HP planning TouchPad OTA update for added functionality
- HTC Flyer Honeycomb ROM leaks
- Samsung Nexus S updated to 2.3.6, fixes voice search and breaks tethering
Refresh Roundup: week of August 29, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 04 Sep 2011 10:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Motorola Droid 2 Gingerbread OTA Update Available NOW
That’s right, folks. Tonight’s your lucky night if you’re a Droid 2 user. Seems the Gingerbread soak test for the Motorola Droid 2 went over well seeing how Moto is to begin rolling out the tasty Android treat for the masses starting tonight at 11:59PM. This will bring your device up to Android 2.3.3 and all the Gingerbread goodies that come along with it. Are you guys as hyped about this as I am (and I don’t even own the device)? If you don’t like waiting, you can also pull the update to your Droid 2 by going into your Settings > About Phone > System Updates. As always make sure your phone is fully charged and don’t forget to leave us some feedback on how the update went! Good luck!
Thanks, Anon!
Motorola Droid 2 Gingerbread OTA Update Rolling Out Tonight
That’s right, folks. Tonight’s your lucky night if you’re a Droid 2 user. Seems the Gingerbread soak test for the Motorola Droid 2 went over well seeing how Moto is to begin rolling out the tasty Android treat for the masses starting tonight at 11:59PM. This will bring your device up to Android 2.3.3 and all the Gingerbread goodies that come along with it. Are you guys as hyped about this as I am (and I don’t even own the device)? As always make sure your phone is fully charged and don’t forget to leave a comment once the update is pushed to your device! Good luck and godspeed.
Thanks, Anon!
Soak Test for Motorola DROID 2 Gingerbread Update Begins Tonight
A few days ago we posted a leaked Verizon PDF showing the changelog for the Motorola Droid 2′s upcoming Gingerbread update. Well, we have been informed by one of our awesome readers that the soak test for the software 4.5.601 update is underway starting at 11:50pm tonight. Here is the post from the Motorola Owners’ Forum.
Hello again. Thanks for agreeing to provide feedback on this latest software. Starting tonight at 11:59, you will get the update pushed to your phone. You will likely see comments on the public forums from owners who receive the update but are not providing feedback here. We’re not going to block your ability to post in the public community, but we need your feedback here, not out there. And please remember that this project is confidential. We’ll be watching your feedback closely to make sure that no significant issues threaten the full rollout to all Droid 2 owners. To help us get your feedback in the most efficient manner, please follow a few guidelines.
1. DO NOT perform a factory data reset in advance of the upgrade. It will remove your MEID from our list and you likely will not get the upgrade during this test period. If you have performed a factory data reset in the last 24 hours, please let me know by posting that information on the thread titled I can’t complete the update, along with your MEID.
2. Please keep issues threads –already defined and waiting for you –devoted to issues. Keep sidebar comments to a minimum on those threads.
3. Don’t post “I have no problems with X, Y or Z!” comments on an issue thread if you have no issues. Only post issues.
4. Don’t post “I can’t believe this made it through the quality control” and other opinions that are not solution recommendations. It just adds clutter and takes us longer to review the thread. Please leave your general issues with Motorola, Google or Verizon at the door.
5. Please DO help one another and post suggestions for solving issues.
6. Don’t worry, there are threads for non-issue discussion and general interaction. We will read those too, but it helps to have the issue threads clean.I will send an online survey to all Motorola Feedback Network participants, probably tomorrow night. Please respond to that survey immediately. I will be around as much as possible, and will b getting help from our MotoXprts, MotoAgents and engineers. We’ll be reading your comments and will ask questions and provide help and support as needed. In closing, I want to acknowledge that this update was a long time coming. I wish things had been different. I’ll be upgrading right along with you, and I’m eager to see my Droid 2 improved by Gingerbread!
Pretty exciting stuff, Droid 2 users! Don’t know why I get so hyped about other people’s phones receiving Gingerbread updates but there you have it. Still no word on when the OTA will start being pushed out to the masses but at least you know you’re one step closer.
Thanks, Anonymous!
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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Droid 2 Gingerbread Changelog Published to Verizon’s Support Site, Update Imminent?
Verizon has outed the changelog to the long awaited Gingerbread update for the Motorola Droid 2 A soak test was supposed to begin this week, and very well may be under way, but it appears Verizon is inching closer to unleashing the new software version on the masses. The update will leave MotoBlur at build number 4.5.601 and add a whole slew of enhancements (too many to list here). Highlights include a newly blue Blur interface, customizable app drawer, and battery enhancements.
The update tops the scales at 106MB and should be on track to hit a handset near you soon, pending any major bugs. Head over to Verizon’s support site for the complete list of what’s new.
A Handful of Verizon Devices Reaching End-of-Life; DROID 3, Samsung Continuum and Tab 10.1 Getting a Bit Hard to Find
An update for you Verizon faithful looking to find a device you may want sometime soon. The Motorola CITRUS and the Motorola Droid 2 (along with its global counterpart) will both see end-of-life on the Android side of the spectrum. Both have had good runs but have been outclassed by sequels or better comparable devices.
There are supply shortages for several other non-EOL devices as well, including the DROID 3, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the Samsung Continuum For the first we’re not sure if it’s due to shortages or lack of demand, the second one has been a hot item up against the once-pricey Motorola XOOM, and the third one, well, we wouldn’t be surprised to hear that no one wanted this thing. Just sayin’. [Android Central]