With Android 4.0 being publicly available since November 2011, users might be forgiven for wondering why their device can't benefit from the features that Ice Cream Sandwich brings. After all, when Apple releases an update to iOS, users can generally grab the latest version immediately as long as the hardware supports the update. Users of several premium handsets, such as the Samsung Galaxy S II have been waiting for a number of weeks for Samsung to finally announce when they will be allowing users to update to Android 4.0 ICS.
It seems that we are living in a world where the technology scene is under such close scrutiny, and has such intense public interest that we are already seeing speculation about the name of the 6.0 version of the Android operating system before we have even seen a public release of Android 5.0 Jelly Bean. Google executives have been hinting recently that we may see a public release of Jelly Bean in quarter four of 2012, but nothing has been officially confirmed yet.
Sony’s Xperia series of smartphones are one of the less popular Android smartphones around, but that doesn’t mean they get no love from the always-vibrant community. Developer paul-xxx over on XDA-Developers has killed not two, but three birds with one stone by porting CyanogenMod 9 (based on Android 4.0.3) to the Xperia X8, X10 Mini, X10 Mini Pro and we’ve got a handy step-by-step guide on how to flash the ROM to your device right after the jump!
Samsung's Galaxy S III is, without a shadow of doubt, the most eagerly-anticipated Android smartphone release of this year. With 1080p full HD visuals, a 1.5GHz quad-core processor and a revamped ceramic encasing reckoned to be amongst the new features - it's hardly difficult to see why.
Although I am personally not a regular user of an Android device, I was shocked to read some statistics which showed that only one device currently ships with the latest version of Android, which is 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich installed, and that only approximately one percent of Android devices in existence actually have ICS installed. With a Google Executive hinting that Jelly Bean could be ready for prime time this fall, it seems that Android 4.0 may not even make it onto the majority of devices.
Just six days after announcing that the company has shipped 20 million units of its popular Galaxy S II smartphone, Samsung has received two highly-respected awards from the recently-held 17th Global Mobile Awards at 2012’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. Check them out after the jump!
It would seem that the freight train that is the Android mobile operating system is continuing to steam through the mobile industry with Google's Senior Vice President of Mobile and Digital Content, Andy Rubin, announcing that the OS is receiving over 850,000 activations per day which represents a rise of over 250 percent since last year. It has to be said that these are pretty impressive statistics considering there is only one device currently being sold which comes pre-installed with the latest Android 4.0 OS, Ice Cream Sandwich. Even more so, when you consider that only approximately one percent of Android devices in existence run Ice Cream Sandwich.
Apple makes a big deal of its iCloud service, and it has put considerably more clout behind it since the switch from MobileMe. The company freely admits that iCloud is to become the cornerstone of everything it does moving forward, with seamless syncing and the like very much expected to be part of how we run our digital lives. At least, that's how it is going to work in Apple's iOS and Mac ecosystem.
With the expected announcement of the iPad 3 coming in the next few weeks, the bar looks likely to be raised once again by the Cupertino company, meaning we will look forward to seeing what competitors come up with in the coming months in an attempt to compete with the famous Apple tablet. In the meantime, Korean-based Samsung have taken the opportunity to announce a new tablet device to its Android line up.
We have recently brought some news regarding the Samsung Galaxy S III handset, which was originally set to be announced and shown off at this year’s Mobile World Congress which is happening in Barcelona as we speak. However, Samsung decided not to showcase the new handset at the MWC, instead opting to delay the announcement amid rumors that they wanted to unify a global launch date for the device which could happen in as many as fifty countries or cities in one go.
