MotorolaXoom
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Refresh Roundup: week of October 15th, 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!
Refresh Roundup: week of October 8th, 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!
Android 4.1.2 goes live, gives Nexus 7 owners landscape home screen
We've been seeing a mysterious Android 4.1.2 update mentioned in conjunction with a few unreleased devices in the past few hours, so it's only fitting that we're seeing the official release today. Google's Android Open Source Project lead Jean-Baptiste Queru has posted word that the 4.1.2 release should be available on Tuesday for at least those relying on pure AOSP builds of the mobile OS. While we haven't seen the update reach our own devices yet, some Nexus 7 owners already report getting 4.1.2 on their tablets with a pleasant surprise in store: in addition to the expected bug fixes and performance boosts, the software lets the home screen rotate to landscape mode on the smaller Jelly Bean slate. We're keeping an eye out for when other hardware gets the patch, although it's expected that the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S and Xoom will follow quickly enough. [Image credit: EETimes]
Refresh Roundup: week of September 10th, 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!
Refresh Roundup: week of August 27th, 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!
Motorola posts Android bootloader unlock page, lets just one device pass muster
Motorola drew fresh respect after it vowed that its Android device customers could unlock their bootloaders, starting with the Photon Q LTE. Nearly everything about that process was kept in the dark, but it's now been blown wide open: the company has posted a full page dedicated to the process. Getting started will demand the Android SDK, fastboot, new USB drivers and a slightly scary warranty release, but it otherwise goes through a very HTC-like process that provides an unlock key. Verizon subscribers who were hoping for a surprise Droid RAZR MAXX unlock won't be happy, mind you; the Photon Q LTE is the only device on the list so far that isn't already unchained as a matter of course. Motorola did characterize the unlock option as a forward-thinking option, which leaves us not so secretly wishing that high-profile future releases expand the list of unlockable devices a bit further.
Motorola Xoom WiFi's Jelly Bean upgrade arriving for regular users
It looks like that test period was pretty short, as many Motorola Xoom WiFi owners who aren't in the select test group are reporting receiving OTA updates to Android 4.1.1 on their tablets. That makes the Xoom the first 10-inch tablet to see Jelly Bean, and the first around these parts officially rocking it without Nexus in the nametag. We've already seen a changelog so assuming you have one of the slates, it's probably time to mash that check for updates button. [Thanks, @fdiazreal]
Refresh Roundup: week of June 25th, 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!
Google: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean coming to Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S and Motorola Xoom mid-July
As is the norm for developer summits, Google's kicking off I/O with a keynote highlighting whatever the heck it wants to. Jelly Bean is, of course, one of the big topics of discussion at today's session, and we're hearing more news come down the pipeline straight from the horse's mouth. Jelly Bean, also known as Android 4.1, should be making its way to the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S and Motorola Xoom in mid-July as an OTA update, and the SDK will be available today as part of a developer preview. Keep up with the latest Google news by checking out our I/O keynote liveblog!
Verizon starts delivering Ice Cream Sandwich update to Motorola Xoom 4G owners
Boom. Just as we'd heard a few days ago, and after weeks of being whispered, Verizon's finally started the process of rolling out the long-awaited Ice Cream Sandwich update to the Xoom 4G LTE crowd. Inside the near 108MB file are a slew of new features that are likely to make owners of the Moto slate quite content, some of which include: improvements in LTE connectivity, an overall speedier browser, the ability to resize widgets, a fresh editor within the photo gallery application and a new lock screen-based camera launcher. That's not it, however, the changelog also notes more enhancements on the text input, spell-checking and mobile hotspot departments -- all while promising a better device stability to "limit the number of resets." The update should be hitting your Big Red Xoom anytime now, but if you're not willing to wait it out, then pay the more coverage link a visit to check how to grab it manually.
Verizon's Motorola Xoom to get ICS upgrade on June 4th
Well, it looks like T-Mobile's Galaxy S II isn't the only device that's gotten some Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade news today. Verizon has now also confirmed that its version of the Motorola Xoom will finally be getting an ICS update of its own on June 4th. That will bring the tablet up to Android 4.0.4, and add features like speech-to-text functionality, a customizable launch bar, a new built-in photo editor, and the ability to dismiss notifications with a swipe. Those having problems with the tablet will also be glad to know that the update brings with it a slew of fixes and promised performance improvements -- the full rundown on those can be found at the second source link below.
Refresh Roundup: week of May 14th, 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!
KegDroid dispenses beer with the help of a Xoom tablet and an Arduino board
Here's an instance of NFC technology that's more exciting than yet another tap-to-pay scenario. Google employee Paul Carff combined a Motorola Xoom running ICS with an Arduino microcontroller to create KegDroid, a friendly green beer dispenser. The Xoom acts as a gatekeeper to that brewed goodness, only letting the bot dispense drinks after users swipe an authorized badge. The badge is read by an NFC scanner on the bottom of the case and is then authenticated (or rejected) by the Arduino board. Once the system grants access, users can choose from two selections on tap via a custom Android application displayed on the Xoom's screen. As Android Community points out -- and as you'll see in the video below -- the KegDroid hasn't mastered a bartender-level pour (read: there's way too much foam). Still, this is oodles cooler than your average keg, wouldn't you agree?
How would you change Motorola's Xoom 2?
Motorola's Xoom 2 is, undeniably a strong tablet. It was able to beat a Galaxy Tab 10.1 and a Transformer Prime in some of our performance tests, battery life is around nine hours and it's nearly running a pure version of Honeycomb. We're a big fan of that display, but less so its unnatural attraction to fingerprints. As we sit anxiously waiting for Ice Cream Sandwich to make its belated way onto the slate, we want to know: what do you think works, what did Motorola scrimp on and what would you change to make it a better device?
Motorola Xoom WiFi gets first official dibs on Android 4.0.4
Tales of leaked Android 4.0.4 builds have been told for months, and we've even heard whispers of 4.0.5 coming to the Samsung Galaxy Nexus in the very near future. We still haven't seen any official firmware rollouts of either version, until now. Owners of the Motorola Xoom WiFi should be getting their hands on an update to 4.0.4 -- also known as build IMM76 -- any time now. According to an email from Moto announcing the update, the latest refresh offers improved stability, quicker screen rotation, better phone number recognition, camera and image quality improvements, enhancements to Microsoft Exchange and even a new setting that lets you choose whether you want the power button to lock the device immediately or not. If you aren't seeing the update hit yet, Droid-Life has reported that the file is available for download thanks to XDA, but it appears that some users have experienced errors when attempting it. So if you're feeling adventurous and don't want to wait for the OTA download, feel free to give it a shot. You'll need to drag the file into a USB stick, plug it in using a USB host cable and boot your Xoom into stock recovery.
Refresh Roundup: week of March 5th, 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!
Mobile Miscellany: week of March 5th, 2012
Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you're like us and really want to know what's going on, then you've come to the right place. This past week, one clever individual has repackaged HTC's Beats equalizer for use on any Android smartphone, and we've also come across news of additional language support for Siri that's set to arrive later this year. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of March 5th, 2012.
Apple granted injunction in German patent suit, Motorola phones with slide-to-unlock at risk
Apple scored a huge victory today in Munich's Regional Court where Judge Dr. Peter Guntz found Motorola's implementation of slide-to-unlock on smartphones to be in breach of Cupertino's patent holdings. The ruling has resulted in a permanent injunction that Apple could execute at will, forcing Moto to alter the UX it employs across its device portfolio in Deutschland. The case originally focused on three separate applications of this gesture tech -- two for phones, alone -- but for now, the one used on the Xoom has been deemed outside of Apple's purview. Naturally, both parties are expected to appeal this decision, with Apple gunning for a total victory on every derivation of patent EP1964022 and Motorola seeking to overturn the win. Nonetheless, this particular legal triumph could help to set a precedent for the company as it continues to rage an IP war against fellow mobile industry rivals.
Refresh Roundup: week of February 6th, 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!
Oops! Motorola sold refurbished Xooms without deleting previous owners' data
Usually, when passwords and personal information are exposed, it's because someone hacked a company's not-so-secure system. Motorola, however, managed to put people's info at risk without such malfeasance when it failed to wipe the memory of a batch of refurbished Xooms. The tablets in question were sold by Woot.com between October and December of last year, and Moto is claiming that it made the mistake on only small number of slates. Of course, we don't know exactly how many Xooms were shipped with previous owners' data onboard, but we do know that the company is actively attempting to make amends. Moto's offering two years of Experian identification protection services to those whose info was exposed and owners of affected Xooms are getting a little something too. Just send the device back to Motorola on the company's dime -- where it'll be properly reset and sent back to you, along with a $100 American Express gift card for your efforts. Wondering if you're among the unlucky? Hit the PR after the break for more info, and those with Wooted Xooms can plug in their slate's serial number at the source link below to find out for sure.[Thanks, Scott]
