Refresh Roundup: week of August 13th, 2012
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. 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 we could find during 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
LG Optimus 4G LTE: Bell Mobility customers will find that Android 4.0 is now available for an over-the-air download for this smartphone. [MobileSyrup]
Samsung Galaxy S III: T-Mobile's premiere handset is now eligible for an OTA update that's said to squash a few bugs that relate to mobile hotspot functionality and the arrangement of icons on the home screen. Like we've seen on other domestic carriers, this update also removes universal search functionality. Fortunately, the folks over at xda-developers have already developed a way to re-enable the feature. [TmoNews, xda-developers]
HTC Rezound: Global roaming support is now available for the Rezound on Verizon Wireless by way of an OTA update. The latest software version also brings a new data widget, enables IPv6 and now shows the correct number of devices connected via mobile hotspot. Curiously, the separately available update for Google Maps has been said to cause some reboot issues for a handful of users. [Android Police 1, 2]
Samsung Galaxy R: Android 4.0 is now for available both over-the-air download and through Samsung Kies within Sweden. [Android Central]
Unofficial Android updates, custom ROMs and misc. hackery
HTC Amaze 4G: Members of xda-developers are closing in on a fully functional port of CyanogenMod 9 to the HTC Amaze 4G. As it stands, issues remain with both GPS and data connectivity. [Thanks, Rip] [xda-developers]
AOKP: The crew in charge of this popular custom ROM have now gone on record to state that official, non-nightly versions of Jellybean-based ROMs can be expected in the near future. [Droid Life]
Other platforms
Nokia Lumia 900: The Windows Phone Tango update is now available for Lumia 900 handsets throughout the US and Canada. Among the improvements are a flip-to-silence feature, along with enhancements to both camera performance and battery life. [Nokia Conversations]
Refreshes we covered this week
Motorola posts Android bootloader unlock page, lets just one device pass muster
ASUS Transformer Pad TF300 gets Jelly Bean update, TF700 looks at watch impatiently
Android Open Source Project targets Sony Xperia S, wants to get experimental
Samsung Galaxy S III on Verizon gets one-click bootloader unlock, freedom is just a Google Play away
Custom ROM brings Android 4.0.4 to the Desire HD, does what HTC wouldn't
Sony starts pushing Android 4.0 update to Xperia P owners, Xperia U and more coming soon
Google's Voice Search on Android adds support for 13 additional languages
Google enables Play Store delta updates, helps you conserve precious data
Samsung Galaxy S III bootloader for Verizon can now be unlocked: take that, Big Red (update: video)
Official Jelly Bean for Samsung Galaxy S III spotted in the wild, blends old with new (video)
LG confirms Optimus 2X will indeed be updated to ICS... in Korea, at least
T-Mobile's Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus getting ICS today; Springboard update coming tomorrow
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 WiFi gets taste of Ice Cream Sandwich in the US