Posts tagged software-news


Over the weekend, a couple thousands WiFi XOOM owners began a soak test of Ice Cream Sandwich. It didn’t take long for the update file to leak and almost everyone began loading it onto their XOOM. And now, the official OTA has begun rolling out to all WiFi Motorola XOOMs.


We reported on the good news of Sprint and HTC removing Carrier IQ from the HTC EVO 3D yesterday, but what would you say if I told you HTC has confirmed that Sprint will be phasing out Carrier IQ completely. I’m guessing the first thing you’ll do is remove that silly tinfoil hat from your head, then perhaps go outside again. Kidding aside, we knew this was coming, and it’s nice to see some confirmation on the subject.


You may remember the “minor” security update for the HTC EVO 3D that Sprint rolled out a few days ago, but I bet you didn’t know it had a hidden surprise (don’t worry it’s a good surprise). It appears Sprint was kind enough to remove Carrier IQ from the HTC EVO 3D as slyly as they implemented it. This is great news for EVO 3D users looking to get that monkey off their back.


Google has consistently teamed up with manufactures to debut new Android software versions in a pure “Google Experience,” void of any manufacturer overlays. We’ve seen this with the smartphone Nexus line, as well as with the Motorola XOOM tablet. When it comes to Google TV however, there were actually two companies that had first crack at it, and as you already know, that didn’t go so well. For Google’s next version of Google TV, they’d like to make a better impression, and rumor has it that they may team up with LG to deliver it.


Google’s goal with Ice Cream Sandwich is to present a more unified and distinguishable platform UI from here on out. They’ve been hard at work trying to figure out ways to maintain their “open” approach, while also maintaining some sort of consistency. They want developers to know that they have worked hard on creating Ice Cream Sandwich UI with “the users’ best interests in mind,” and encourage them to apply and adapt these methods when developing for Android. To help guide developers on how to create a complimenting application for Android, they have opened up a new site called “Android Design.”

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