fota
Latest
ASUS Transformer TF101 finally receives ICS update, Taiwan takes the first bite (update: US tomorrow!)
Shortly after amending the Eee Pad Transformer Prime's locked bootloader fiasco, ASUS has just announced that the original WiFi Transformer's much anticipated Ice Cream Sandwich update is now slowly rolling out, with Taiwan being the first region to receive the home-baked Android dessert over the air. The 3G Transformer and folks around the rest of the world are told that they'll get their share soon after, which should be no later than March if ASUS's promise is still valid. Meanwhile, Hasbro remains the only Transformer fan who's still not happy about this.Update: ASUS's Twitter account mentioned that the US should start receiving the update tomorrow! Thanks @areddy78!
Acer Iconia Tab A500 to get Android 3.1 on 5th of July, at least in Deutschland
The Iconia Tab A500, Acer's "better choice" tablet, is set to join the ranks of Android 3.1 slates on the 5th of July, according to the company's German Facebook page. That's a little later than the June timeframe we'd initially been promised, but the precision of giving an actual date this time around inspires confidence that the OTA goodies will indeed be delivered. So far, we've only seen Acer announce this news on its German portal, so please keep your optimism in cautious gear if you reside outside the Bundesrepublik. The only certain Android update is the one that's already on your device.
HTC Legend gets firmware update in Europe, reunites with missing apps in Android Market
Attention, possessors of the European HTC Legend! Have you noticed a handful of missing apps in the Android Market, namely Twidroid, Layar, MySpace Mobile, Barcode Scanner, Google Goggles, FxCamera, and so forth? Today, the brilliantly quiet HTC has finally come to light with the bizarre offending bug -- camera incompatibility. Oopsie! Any moment now your metallic slab should receive the OTA update to patch things up, and hopefully the Droid Incredible will get the same fix even sooner. Crisis averted.
Sidekick LX 2009 basks in the warm glow of a minor firmware update
In the event that Sidekickgate didn't scare you right out of using anything involving Danger, you've got a bit of good news this week -- if you've got an LX 2009 model, anyhow -- on news that a new firmware has been pushed out over-the-air. Details are thin, but it looks like the biggies here are support for backing up contacts to T-Mobile's Mobile Backup service (independently of the normal sync that happens to Danger's servers) and a host of bug fixes, which are always a pleasant thing for improving the user experience in the field. It's hard to say how many LX 2009s are still in active use and how many more are realistically gonna be sold, but yeah -- if we had to guess, the writing's on the wall for Sidekick as we know it, so at this point, cherish every FOTA like it's your last.
T-Mobile pushing CLIQ firmware update today? (update: yes!)
TmoNews seems to have it on good authority that T-Mobile will be rolling out a firmware update over the air to the Motorola CLIQ today -- the device's first since launch -- and we've got good news and bad news. First, the bad: by all accounts, it appears that this'll still be an Android 1.5-based firmware, adding fuel to the fire suggesting that UI skins like BLUR are a huge barrier to keeping devices up to speed with Google's breakneck release pace. The good news, though, is that the update seems to be lined up to fix a plethora of issues involving Bluetooth, touchscreen accuracy (we can attest to this one), connectivity, accelerometer functionality, and -- wait for it -- battery life! Looks like the build number is 1.1.31, so let us know if and when you get hooked up, owners. Update: We've gotten tips from several users now that they've already been able to nab the update, so it looks like the CLIQ is definitely getting a little better today. Well, hopefully, anyhow.
Sprint pulls piping hot Hero update out of the oven
We don't have details on exactly what has changed yet, but that minor Android 1.5-based update Sprint had announced it'd be pushing out to the Hero has now launched. The best-case scenario would have the SMS issue -- which causes the phone to stay awake when it shouldn't -- get resolved, but until Sprint hands out a proper changelog, it'll be a matter of testing and guessing. Just a thought: if they've managed to squeeze a proximity sensor into the update, that brings 'em up to the speed with the Droid Eris. Hey, it could happen. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Palm's webOS over-the-air firmware update process explained
For most Pre owners, updates to the operating system happen silently and with little drama -- just the way Palm and the average user likes it. For the more inquisitive of us, though, Palm is offering a detailed breakdown of how the updates get pushed down to the phone and under what circumstances. For starters, you've got to be on EV-DO or WiFi, because 1xRTT (in addition to being ridiculously slow) would block incoming calls when active. Furthermore, you've got to be rocking at least 30 percent of your battery juice. Unless you update manually, the phone will check all by itself every 7 days, and if it finds something, it'll grab it within 2 days during periods when you're not using your data connection (wouldn't want it ruining the user experience, after all). The download typically gets dropped into non-user accessible storage, but apparently, Palm has a contingency plan in place if an update is truly massive -- if that happens, it can steal some user storage with your permission. As we've mentioned, once you have the download, the phone requires that you install it within 7 days; if you don't, it'll auto-install the next chance it gets. Quite a process, isn't it?[Via Palm Infocenter]
Nokia Software Update goes gold
After a rather lengthy "trial run" that really had all the markings of a released product, Nokia is calling its Software Update good and dialing up the publicity. The updater, which allows end users to re-up the bits 'n bytes in their phones without the heartache of a trip to a service center -- or worse yet, a mailing -- supports a healthy percentage of Nokia's modern mainstream models (at least, the ones complicated enough to warrant occasional updating) via a PC connection or, on a few handsets, a quick, painless over-the-air zapping. We trust the bricking incidents have been ironed out at this point, but as always, proceed with caution.[Via Tech Digest]
Nokia offering firmware upgrades direct to users
Anyone keeping a pulse on the S60 scene knows that for Nokia's complex little pieces of smartphone machinery, firmware updates tend to come fast and furious. Normally, getting in on the updates requires a trip to your friendly local service center -- or, for the 95 percent of us outside driving distance, saying goodbye to your mobile buddy for a couple days. Over-the-air firmware updates (FOTA) are all well and good, but manufacturers and carriers have been a little slow on the uptake, and even plain ol' PC-delivered upgrades are oddly difficult for the average user to come by. Thankfully, it looks like Nokia's started to roll out user-initiated updates for reals with the N70, N72, 6131, 6630, 6680, 6681, and 6682 all currently supported; more promised in the not-too-distant future. Only 6131 users can opt for FOTA right now -- the remainder require a PC and cable -- but we're guessing we won't be hearing many complaints from Nseries owners now happily humming along on the latest cuts.[Via MobileBurn]
