Refresh Roundup: week of May 13th, 2013
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
Samsung Galaxy S III: T-Mobile has updated the GS3 to Android 4.1.2, which is available for OTA installation and through Samsung Kies. The new software brings multi-window enhancements, auto-pairing through NFC, additional camera features, Sound Balance, Paper Artist, Samsung Gallery, Group Play, Easy Mode and Blocking Mode. [TmoNews]
HTC One: Sprint has opened up a new update for the HTC One that brings improvements to BlinkFeed, a new version of Sprint Zone and better responsiveness to the home and back keys. [Android Central]
Samsung Galaxy Reverb: Virgin Mobile is taking the Galaxy Reverb into the world of Jelly Bean with its latest OTA update to Android 4.1.2. [Android Police]
Sony Xperia Z: Sony has begun to distribute a new software update that brings refinements to the display's white balance, the ability to disable the notification light, performance enhancements and a subtle tweak to the interface that changes the background for the soft keys and navigation bar from gray to black. [Xperia Blog]
Samsung Galaxy Note II: AT&T has released a new build of Android 4.1.2 that's available for OTA installation. The release lacks an official change log, but user reports suggest the software introduces a new radio and kernel. [Android Central]
Unofficial Android updates, custom ROMs and misc. hackery
CyanogenMod: The road to a final build of CyanogenMod 10.1 is now all the closer, as the group has announced Release Candidate 2 of its popular ROM. [Android Central]
Other platforms
Microsoft Surface: Software enhancements are now available from Microsoft for both the Surface Pro and Surface RT tablets. Specific to Surface Pro, users will find WiFi improvements and a new video driver that offers better performance within Skype, and which also resolves an OpenGL bug within Photoshop. Meanwhile, Surface RT owners will benefit from increased speaker volume and better system stability. [The Verge]
Samsung Focus 2: AT&T has released Windows Phone 7.8 (8862) for its successor to the original Focus. [WPCentral]
Dell Venue Pro: AT&T has released build 8862, which is designed to fix issues with Live Tile updates that were present in the initial build of Windows Phone 7.8. [WPCentral]
