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Refresh Roundup: week of September 3rd, 2012

Zachary Lutz
Updated ·3 min read

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!

Unofficial Android updates, custom ROMs and misc. hackery

  • Samsung Galaxy S III: An official, pre-release Jelly Bean update has leaked for the international variant of the Galaxy S III. Unlike prior leaks, this build is said to be very stable with only a few minor annoyances. Users have also reported improved benchmark scores with the latest update. [SamMobile]

  • Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 2 7.0: The first known Jelly Bean updates for these two tablets were leaked to the wild this week. The builds are pre-release quality and are each designated for tablet users in India. We've seen mixed results in the comments, however, so proceed at your own risk. Those interested will find specific installation guidelines at the source links. [SamMobile 1, 2]

  • HTC One X: It's certainly a move in the right direction for users of the international model, as official nightly builds of CyanogenMod 9 are now available for the Tegra 3 version of HTC's premiere smartphone. Hopefully CyanogenMod 10 isn't too far off for this one, as it's already available for both AT&T and Sprint's variants. [Android Police]

Other platforms

  • Motorola Defy: Those who'd like to play -- and we do mean play -- with Firefox OS (previously known as Boot to Gecko), will find a bit of fun with a custom ROM for the Motorola Defy. As of now, functionality is rather limited, though the handset will boot, the touchscreen responds, and you'll even find support for sound. [PhoneArena]

  • HTC HD7: The world of custom ROMs based on Windows Phone is hardly vibrant, but HD7 users may enjoy a little treat known as Deepshining. Here, you'll find a software build that adds support for USB video out and Nokia's custom apps such as Camera Extras. [WMPoweruser]

Refreshes we covered this week