Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich updates: everything you need to know

Sure, it took over a year to get here and you can't even buy the device anymore, but Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) is finally coming to HTC's Thunderbolt. Verizon Wireless has approved a forthcoming update that will bring ICS to the carrier's first-ever LTE handset, which it stopped selling to customers months ago. Despite it's end-of-life status, Verizon apparently hasn't given up on extending the Thunderbolt's utility for anyone that's managed to hold onto one this long.

After downloading and installing software update 7.02.605.06, users will be greeted with Android 4.0.4 and version 3.6 of HTC's Sense skin. Verizon had first hoped to deliver this update to Thunderbolt owners — who've been saddled with Android 2.3 until now — over the summer, but those plans were delayed. Home screen folders, improved notifications, and Face Unlock are just some of the features finally available to Thunderbolt loyalists, assuming their device's battery can still hold enough of a charge to run the 395MB update.

Motorola has confirmed that the Atrix 4G won't be receiving an upgrade to Android 4.0 after all. The manufacturer broke the news with a recent update to its Android upgrade schedule, noting that the Atrix 4G, Electrify, and Photon 4G will all remain on Android 2.3 Gingerbread, rather than making the jump to Ice Cream Sandwich.

The Atrix 4G was among the handful of handsets pegged for a Q3 2012 upgrade earlier this year, when Motorola released its device roadmap. Of the three devices relegated to Gingerbread, the Atrix 4G is the oldest, having been released in early 2011. The Photon 4G hit the market in July 2011, followed by its US Cellular variant, the Electrify, a few months later. This would suggest, then, that owners of these devices would be eligible to receive the $100 credit that Motorola promised earlier this month.

Nokia's Lumia 920 isn't the only smartphone that lets you use your gloves while navigating, Sony has just brought Android 4.0 to the Xperia Sola along with a new feature called "Glove Mode." Automatically built into the Sola's Ice Cream Sandwich update, "Glove Mode" makes use of the device's floating touch technology, which previously provided only a few advantages such as hovering over items in a browser to open drop down menus. When enabled, the handset actually detects the user's finger instead of the glove itself. The feature is turned on by default, otherwise Sola owners just have to unlock their phone with a glove on to ensure that it is activated. If the video below is any indication, the feature works well with what appears to be moderately thick gloves.

Sony has also rolled out Android 4.0 to the Xperia Go and Xperia U, although neither handset will get "Glove Mode." For all three models, ICS brings with it some new Sony applications like the Walkman music app, extended standby mode, various bug fixes, and the myriad of additional updates included when switching from Android 2.3.

New Motorola VP of product Punit Soni has pledged on Google+ to improve the company's poor track record of supporting its devices with software updates. Specifically, he calls out Droid Bionic owners as having gotten a "raw deal" and says that a plan is still in place to update the phone to Android 4.0 — it was supposed to happen in Q3 this year, but with only a few days left on the calendar it looks like that deadline will be missed. Motorola has updated its device roadmap to state that the Bionic will now be getting Ice Cream Sandwich in Q4 along with the Droid Xyboard 8.2 and Xoom Family Edition.

Soni came over to Motorola from the Google+ team and, while he admits that "large ships can't change course overnight" (possibly due to a Verizon-shaped iceberg), his comments could be a positive sign for the company following Google's acquisition. If nothing else, his willingness to listen to and engage with his customers' concerns marks a departure from the past.

As Engadget points out, any O2 user that wants to update their phone — and doesn't mind the risks involved — will be able to find a fully-functional Android 4.0 ROM online without too much effort. O2's decision won't affect users in other territories, many of whom have been reaping the benefits of Ice Cream Sandwich for some time now.

T-Mobile's SpringBoard tablet, a rebranded version of the Huawei MediaPad, is finally receiving an update to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, more than three months after its vanilla sibling. According to a message on the T-Mobile site, the update will be available over the air on Wednesday — eager users will be able to download it manually by tapping the "System updates (Google)" label in the "About tablet" section of the device's settings menu.

The package will include the 4.0.3 build of Ice Cream Sandwich — not 4.0.4, the latest build of ICS — as well as a number of bug fixes, including a patch for a common "Unrecognized SIM Card" error and improvements to the tablet's handling of Wi-Fi connections. Intriguingly, it also delivers improved memory allocation, which T-Mobile describes as a "critical update to allow device to receive future OS updates," raising the possibility of a boost to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean further down the line.

Toshiba has finally pushed Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich to the 10-inch Thrive. Originally slated for spring, the update was later delayed twice, but has now fallen earlier than the most recent estimated fall release. Aside from the usual changes when moving on from Android Honeycomb, Toshiba has specifically pointed out improvements to video and audio performance, camera functions, and signal strength and connectivity. No announcements have been made regarding the 7-inch version, so owners of the smaller Thrive will have to stick with Honeycomb a bit longer.

Thanks GreenMonkey!

HTC Rezound users are finally getting the big update to Android 4.0 through a set of staggered over-the-air downloads, according to a report from Android Central. A 299MB upgrade package has reportedly been pushed out to a number of devices, containing Ice Cream Sandwich and version 3.6 of HTC's proprietary Sense skin. If you'd like to update straight away, Android Police is hosting a leaked ROM Update Utility (RUU) build thought to be identical to the final version.

The upgrade follows months of speculation about timing — first a leaked Verizon document seemed to suggest a date in mid-May, then a series of unofficial RUU builds emerged, allowing more adventurous users to manually update. HTC even posted official news of the update in late June, then quickly removed the post from its site. The first of HTC's devices to include Beats Audio (hence the name), the Rezound has spent more than eight months in the Gingerbread wilderness — the phone was initially introduced through Verizon on November 14th last year, the same day that Google's first ICS source code package was released.

LG has been saying for some time now that the Optimus 2X, its 2011 flagship device, would eventually be upgraded to Android 4.0, but it seems like the company is doing an about face. Despite its previous public assurances, LG Canada's Twitter stream just nixed the idea, saying that "the Optimus 2X will not be receiving the ICS upgrade. The original upgrade announcement was a general statement issued from HQ." It's not at all clear what LG means by a "general statement," but its previous announcement seemed pretty unambiguous. We can't say we're terribly surprised — the device is well over a year old, and initially launched with Android 2.2 Froyo, but it's still a fairly well-speced phone — the first with a dual-core, Tegra 2 processor. Given the back-and-forth status of this phone's eligibility for Ice Cream Sandwich, we wouldn't be at all surprised if this tweet wasn't the final word on the matter.

HTC Evo 3D and Evo Design 4G owners on Sprint may have given up all hope at this point, but, believe it or not, the carrier has just announced that both phones will be updated to Android 4.0. The two devices will receive the update over-the-air by "early August' — a date that isn't too far away considering how long of a wait it has been for owners of the two phones. We've yet to get more details on the content of the update, but we would assume that it will be some verison of Sense 3.6 — just like what was rolled out to the international Evo 3D back in June. We'll let you know when we get more information, but for now, rest easy knowing that Sprint and HTC haven't yet forgotten the Evo 3D and Design 4G just yet.

It's been a long time coming, but Android 4.0 is finally available for the Galaxy Note and Galaxy S II Skyrocket on AT&T. ROMs for both phones leaked months ago, but AT&T has finally deemed it ready to roll out to consumers. As with some of Samsung's other updates, you'll need to visit Samsung's website, download the Kies update program, and plug your phone in to your computer to update. We got a chance to take a tour through Ice Cream Sandwich on the Galaxy Note yesterday, and found some of the "Premium Suite" enhancements to be a mixed bag — but the whole package is still a major improvement over Gingerbread. As for the Skyrocket, it sounds like it'll be receiving the same Android 4.0 plus Touchwiz experience that we saw back in March. AT&T says that it'll be updating more phones to Android 4.0 as the summer rolls on, so if you're using one of the other promised devices, stay tuned.

At least one group of Samsung Galaxy Tab owners are getting a nice surprise. According to SamMobile, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich firmware for the Galaxy Tab 7.7 is now available on Kies, Samsung's update software. We've been waiting for some time to see Galaxy Tab updates, so it's good to see Samsung sticking to the reported timeline, which started in July. The rest of the line should see Ice Cream Sandwich in either July or August, with updates planned for the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, the Galaxy Tab 8.9, and the original Galaxy Tab 10.1 — the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 already ships with Android 4.0. SamMobile also has a copy of the firmware on their site, along with a few screenshots.

LG has been promising since the beginning that the Prada Phone 3.0 was going to get upgraded to Android 4.0, and now it's finally here — in Germany and Italy at least. A post on LG's Blog confirms that the update is available now for devices without carrier branding. To install the update you'll need to download the LG Mobile Phone Support tool for Windows (OS X users need not apply), plug in the device, and check for updates. The upgrade brings the phone out of Gingerbread land and onto Android 4.0.4, and while we haven't yet gotten a look at how LG has skinned the OS for the Prada 3.0, though we suspect it's much the same interface as before. Other than the numerous goodies offered by Ice Cream Sandwich, LG says that the update also includes QuickMemo, which lets you leave a note by pressing and holding both volume keys. We've reached out to LG to see when we can expect a wider rollout of the update, and we'll keep you posted as we hear more.

Ice Cream Sandwich may no longer be the latest version of Android, but that's probably not going to matter to owners of the Sony Xperia mini or the HTC Incredible S: both phones are now getting the upgrade to Android 4.0. The Incredible S update should arrive today as a global OTA download; it brings the phone up to Android 4.0.4 and Sense UI 3.6. HTC has been slowly but surely rolling out upgrades, but we're still waiting on the Rezound and other devices.

Sony, meanwhile, is putting its 4.0 update out in batches, and it won't be coming OTA. Instead, users must check the Sales Item number on the back of the phone to see if it's available, then use Sony's Mac or PC software to perform the installation. Instructions are available over here. It's not the most convenient of upgrades, and it's coming later than those for several other Xperia phones, but at least the mini won't suffer the fate of the Xperia Play.

After the international rollout began last month, Lenovo is pushing Android 4.0 out to US owners of its ThinkPad Tablet. The update brings with it all the benefits of Ice Cream Sandwich, including a refined user interface, NFC-based sharing with Android Beam, Face Unlock, and access to new and improved core apps such as Gmail, Calendar, Google Chrome, and the People app.

The update has been trickling down to users over-the-air since Monday, so if you haven't received a notification yet chances are it won't be too much longer. If you're itching to say goodbye to Honeycomb right now you could always do our favorite trick and spend your day tapping the "Software Update" button in the settings menu until it's available.

AT&T's version of the Samsung Galaxy S II is officially getting Ice Cream Sandwich after a few days of confusion. The upgrade to Android 4.0 was recently made available through Samsung's Kies software, but it soon disappeared, with AT&T saying it had only been testing the update on its servers. Now the carrier has said that users will be able to find it again starting Tuesday. The version AT&T is releasing is apparently about the same as Samsung's international one, adding Face Unlock and a new notifications bar among other things, and it lags behind T-Mobile's update by a couple weeks. There's also a new app for tracking data usage. Despite AT&T's announcement, we've seen some reports that the upgrade is available now for users, so you may want to check Kies if you're really anxious to leave Gingerbread behind.

If you're a Sony Xperia S owner then today is the day Android 4.0 starts rolling out to your handset. Sony has delivered on its previous promise to push the update between "late May" and "early June," offering a whole range of Ice Cream Sandwich features, including an improved lock screen and resizable widgets. The update is available over mobile and Wi-Fi networks directly from the handset, and there's also an option to use Sony's web-based Xperia Update system or the company's PC and Mac apps.

Sony says all Xperia S users will get a notification to alert them that the update is ready, but that availability may vary across different carriers. Weighing in at 200MB, the update rollout will continue over the next few weeks until all Xperia S devices are updated.

T-Mobile got there first, but now AT&T is finally rolling out Android 4.0 for its own variant of the Samsung Galaxy S II. As with T-Mobile, the update comes via Samsung's Kies software rather than over-the-air. A functional AT&T Ice Cream Sandwich ROM actually leaked back in March and was almost indistinguishable from the international TouchWiz update, so we're not quite sure what's taken so long — especially as the final update is apparently the older 4.0.3 version. Still, it's good to see the saga coming to a close, and the update may well breathe a bit of fresh air into the handsets of anyone looking longingly at AT&T's Galaxy S III.

Thanks, Quarlow!

Motorola's Droid RAZR has gotten Ice Cream Sandwich in Germany, but US customers are still stuck on Android 2.3. According to Verizon, however, they might not have to wait much longer. Some Verizon users have apparently received the following text message:

Verizon and Motorola have promised before to release Android 4.0 for the RAZR and RAZR Maxx in the second quarter of 2012, so they're cutting things pretty close. That said, reaching out to RAZR owners proactively could signal that an update is right around the corner, and it certainly beats more news of delays.