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!
Official Android updates
Motorola Xoom: One week following our report that Motorola was testing an Android 4.1.2 update for the WiFi version of its Xoom tablet, the company has gone ahead and made it available for all. Other than a few bug fixes and performance tweaks, however, users are unlikely to notice any changes in the latest release. [Talk Android]
Samsung Galaxy S III: Verizon has made an over-the-air update available for its Galaxy S III that's said to bring enhanced stability and a new zoom feature that's intended for the web browser and email client. [Android Central]
LG Spectrum: Months having passed since its last update, the LG Spectrum for Verizon Wireless has been cleared for an upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich. The update also brings a new lock screen, adds Verizon Remote Diagnostics and is said to improve the quality of voice calls. [Droid Life]
LG Lucid: Like the Spectrum, the LG Lucid for Verizon is now eligible for an update to Ice Cream Sandwich. Users will similarly find a new lock screen and the Verizon Remote Diagnostics tools, along with a file manager that now supports online storage. A new version of Adobe Flash is also in the mix, along with improvements to the clarity of voice calls. [Phandroid]
ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity: As a follow-up to the recent Jelly Bean upgrade, ASUS has released an update for the Transformer Pad Infinity that's said to stomp out issues that'd plagued the camera, keyboard and WiFi functionality. [Android Central]
Unofficial Android updates, custom ROMs and misc. hackery
Motorola: A new root method is on the scene that's said to support the Atrix HD, Photon Q, RAZR i, RAZR M and RAZR HD. [Android Police]
Refreshes we covered this week
Motorola lists phones that won't get Jelly Bean, offers $100 credit to buy a phone that will
Droid Bionic finally gets an ICS update as everyone else moves on to Jelly Bean
Sony to start Xperia upgrades to Jelly Bean by mid-Q1, rules out all 2011 phones
Chameleon Android launcher hits version 1.1, adds support for native widgets
Samsung will update US Galaxy S III devices to Jelly Bean 'in the coming months'
Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S start receiving Android 4.1.2 over the air
LG outs Jelly Bean update itinerary (for the Korean market, anyway)