Find out when your handset is getting a
much-needed upgrade
1. HTC Sensation
HTC’s 4.3-inch smartphone, the HTC
Sensation, was one of the best Android devices released last year. It featured
a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and an 8-megapixel camera, which is still
competitive despite its relative age.
While many handsets have since made a move
to quad-core processors, the HTC Sensation is still a quality handset. Its
upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich, with the performance boosts and enhanced
features, will give it a new lease of life, that are checking out the fabulous
new HTC One Series handsets.
When
do I get the upgrade?
HTC has already released its upgrade to
Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, for both the HTC Sensation and HTC Sensation
XE. You can grab that upgrade for your smartphone now.
2. Samsung Galaxy S2
The Samsung Galaxy S2 was, without doubt,
the best Android handset of the last 12 months, so its great to see it getting
the Ice Cream Sandwich love. Despite all the talk being about the newer Samsung
Galaxy S3, its older brother is still a top performer, with a 1.GHz processor,
and a top camera built in.
To get the Android 4.0 update, you need to
plug your Galaxy S2 into your computer and access the Ice Cream Sandwich update
via Kies. The update will not show up in the ‘Setting > About phone >
Software update > Update’ option on the handset.
When
do I get the upgrade?
Samsung rolled out its update to the Galaxy
S2 on 20 March this year, and all customers who have the handset should now be
able to grab the update, by using the Kies program, which is available to all
customers, via the PC-based update.
3. HTC Desire S
It’s not all good news for Android users,
and owners of the HTC Desire S won’t be so happy with recent announcements about
updates to Ice Cream Sandwich. The good news is that HTC has confirmed that the
Desire S will be getting the Android 4.0 treatment at some point, but there’s
no firm release date stated in just yet.
The Desire S, the update to the hugely
successful HTC Desire, has aged, however, and still runs a single core 1 GHz
processor, which looks ancient in comparison to the quad-core beasts that are
now appearing on the market.
When
do I get the upgrade?
The HTC Desire S Ice Cream Sandwich update
isn’t coming as quickly as it is for the Sensation, but it’s still on the cards
– and when precisely you’ll get it will depend on your network.
4. Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S
Sony may have ditched Ericsson for the
production of future handsets, but the Xperia Arc S was one of the success
stories of the partnership.
A slim, capable handset with Gingerbread
installed, the Sony Xperia Arc S didn’t get the fanfare of the Galaxy S2.
However, as it’s free on most contracts, the update to Ice Cream Sandwich will
vindicate those who chose to spend less on their phone. Sony has said all of
its 2011 Android handsets will get an update for Ice Cream Sandwich, but there
has been no announcement on when.
When
do I get the upgrade?
Although there’s been no official
announcement on when the Arc S, and the rest of the Sony line-up, will see Ice
Cream Sandwich, we wouldn’t expect to see that until the summer or later. But
don’t get too excited, as the announcement relates to the 2011 line-up, not the
new Sony Xperia S.
5. Samsung Galaxy Note
Samsung’s hybrid tablet/smartphone, dubbed
the phablet by those who can’t get through life without a zingy nickname for
everything, is well suited to an Ice Cream Sandwich update. The big five-inch
screen, S-Pen input and media-centric functionality is perfect for Android 4.0.
New Ice Cream Sandwich features, such as
the improved music player, video capabilities, camera and effects, all enhance
what is already a super device, and one that is still unique in the current
Android device line-up.
When
do I get the upgrade?
Samsung has already released its Ice Cream
Sandwich update for the five-inch hybrid Galaxy Note, so if you haven’t given
your phablet a free overhaul by now, what are you waiting for?
6. Asus Eee Pad Transformer TF101
Back in January at the Consumer Electronics
Show, 2012, Asus announced that its flagship tablet, the Transformer Prime
TF201, would be the first tablet in the world to sport the new Android 4.0. And
it didn’t take long for Asus to give its predecessor, the Transformer TF101,
the same treatment.
Customers who invested in the very first
Transformer from Asus, a laptop/tablet hybrid with a detachable keyboard, had a
long wait over those who jumped straight to the beefed-up, quad-core Tegra 3
Transformer Prime.
When
do I get the upgrade?
Asus thanks its customers for being
“patient” in waiting for the update to the Transformer TF101, and the
over-the-air update to Ice Cream Sandwich is now available.
