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Refresh Roundup: week of January 23, 2012

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 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

  • HTC Rezound: Build 2.01.605.11 is now detailed on Verizon's site, which means we'll see it hitting OTA very shortly. Among the enhancements are an updated signal strength meter, resolved screen timeout issues, improved audio quality, improved device stability and other fixes related to the mobile hotspot, force closes and the task manager. [AndroidCentral]

  • Samsung Epic 4G Touch: Sprint's rolling out a lot of security updates right now, presumably to remove Carrier IQ software from its lineup. The Epic 4G Touch's bug fix is beginning to hit units now, bumping the phone's software up to EL29. In addition to a "security update," EL29 also addresses CMAS (Commercial Alert System) and the ability to dismiss multiple calendar alerts. [PhoneArena, AndroidCentral, Sprint]

  • Sony: This spring, around the same time its Xperia lineup receives ICS, Sony's tablet offerings -- the P and S -- will also be beneficiaries of the upgrade. [TheVerge]

  • LG Optimus 2X (Fido): An update to Android 2.3.4 is now available in Canada for Fido's version of the Optimus 2X. [MobileSyrup]

Unofficial Android updates, custom ROMs and misc. hackery

  • HP TouchPad: CyanogenMod 9 Alpha 0.5 is available. It includes bug fixes, touchscreen improvements, incognito mode for the browser and faster charging. [Liliputing]

  • Motorola Droid Razr: A leaked build of Android 2.3.6 (up from 2.3.5) is now available for you if you feel adventurous. No root is necessary to try it out, but you still need to be cautious and know what you're doing before you give it a shot. Follow the link for step by step instructions. [Droid-Life]

  • Lenovo ThinkPad tablet: Now has root access. [AndroidPolice, XDA-Dev]

  • MIUI: Version 4, which is MIUI's ICS-based ROM, is now available on the Galaxy S II and the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10. [AndroidCentral, TheAndroidSoul]

Refreshes we covered this week