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Refresh Roundup: week of September 5, 2011
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging to get updated. 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 from 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 Verizon was spitting out new refreshes left and right this week, as we saw Gingerbread begin to roll out as OTA downloads on the Motorola Droid 3, HTC Droid Incredible, and -- get this -- even the Motorola Droid 2 R2-D2 edition. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Interestingly enough, Android 2.3 for the Droid 2 Global was already getting pushed out, but was pulled just a couple days later after a Microsoft Exchange encryption issue was discovered. We've been told the updates will resume "soon." [via Droid-Life] Finally, Verizon also pushed out one other software upgrade -- this time on its 4510L LTE MiFi. (Thanks, Matt) HTC continues to expand its bootloader unlock tool to more phones, region by region. This week the company enabled support for the EVO 3D in Canada and Europe. [via Phandroid] Unofficial Android updates / custom ROMs / misc hackery The Motorola Droid 3 and Droid X both now have access to an SBF -- System Boot File -- to act as a safeguard for anyone who manages to brick their phones. [via Droid-Life (1) and (2)] Recently we heard about the Honeycomb ROM for the HTC Flyer getting leaked by MoDaCo, but no screenshots were available at the time. This week, however, someone successfully grabbed a few images to share with the world (shown in the above image). The ROM appears to run on Android 3.2 with HTC Sense 1.1 for tablets as the featured UI. [via AndroidBugle -- thanks, Dennis] Let's talk a little more about leaked Sense ROMs. We've already seen Sense 3.5 working on the Desire HD, and now we have another device to add to the list: the EVO 4G. [via XDA] The first kernel for unlocked bootloaders on the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is now waiting for your download, so head over to the link for instructions. [via XDA] If you've been waiting and hoping for CyanogenMod 7 on your HTC Sensation or EVO 3D so you can shed the Sense UI, that time may be very close at hand. According to a member of the CyanogenMod team, an early alpha build for both devices may be available by the end of this weekend, so keep an eye out. [via Phandroid] Other platforms Two new unofficial ROMs -- one for Windows Phone Mango and another for NoDo --are now available for the Samsung Omnia 7. The Mango ROM improves the device's radio, camera drivers and motion sensors, in addition to a few other enhancements. [via WPCentral] Refreshes already covered this week Vizio rolls out Tablet software update, promises performance boosts aplenty
Verizon brings out LTE-riding MiFi 4510L, asks for $100 on a two-year contract or $270 without
We saw this little guy back at CES in January and then last month heard it wouldn't be long before it started retailing around the good old US of A. That day has now come, with Verizon officially kicking off sales of its first LTE MiFi device, the 4510L. It's not cheap, at $100 on contract (with a $175 ETF, to boot) or $270 when bought by its lonesome. Still, if you can afford it, this Novatel-produced gadget will turn the nearest Verizon airwaves (4G or 3G, it can handle both) into familiar 802.11b, g or n WiFi signals, which your laptop, smartphone, tablet, or LAN rig can then gobble up with gay abandon. It's capable of serving as a mobile hotspot for up to five devices at a time, and promised LTE speeds range between 5Mbps and 12Mbps on the downlink and 2Mbps to 5Mbps when uploading. Check out the press release after the break or the source link to get your own. P.S. -- Verizon has also tweeted a promise that it'll be launching LTE service in "a mess of new cities and towns" on Thursday.
Samsung, Novatel LTE mobile hotspots said to be hitting Verizon any day now
We haven't heard much about these since Verizon first showed them off way back at CES, but Phone Arena is reporting that a launch of Samsung and Novatel's new LTE mobile hotspots is now finally "imminent." That includes Novatel's USB551L LTE dongle in addition to the 4510L MiFi, both of which will be Mac-compatible out of the box (unlike Verizon's first pair of LTE modems), although that functionality has yet to be confirmed for Samsung's SCH-L11 hotspot. Still no word on pricing for any of them either, but Phone Arena says all three will be receiving a $50 rebate, so a price in line with Verizon's current, similarly-discounted $99 modems seems likely. [Thanks, Valentin]
Novatel Wireless 4G MiFi LTE and WiMAX hands-on
Novatel Wireless just keeps pumping out the MiFis, and this year's CES offerings didn't disappoint with both a WiMAX and an LTE version on offer. So first up is the Sprint WiMAX version of the MiFi that replaces the previous MiFi 2200 with a tenfold increase in speed -- of course there is an asterisk next to that figure -- an external electronic ink display for signal strength, battery, and number of connected devices, and the balance of the features pretty much jibe with what we've already seen in the past. Verizon's 4510L LTE MiFi -- the faster and larger of the two -- packs the same e-ink display tech, LTE download speeds between 5 and 12 Mbps, and upload rates from 2 to 5 Mbps. No mention of battery life on either of these capable little toys, but if we had to guess we'd recommend you drag along a charger wherever your roaming may take you. %Gallery-113304%