Verizon’s Motorola Xoom to get ICS upgrade on June 4th

Verizon Motorola Xoom getting ICS upgrade 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.

Verizon's Motorola Xoom to get ICS upgrade on June 4th originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jun 2012 16:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Refresh Roundup: week of May 14th, 2012

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!

Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of May 14th, 2012

Refresh Roundup: week of May 14th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 May 2012 18:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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KegDroid dispenses beer with the help of a Xoom tablet and an Arduino board

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?

Continue reading KegDroid dispenses beer with the help of a Xoom tablet and an Arduino board

KegDroid dispenses beer with the help of a Xoom tablet and an Arduino board originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How would you change Motorola’s Xoom 2?

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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?

How would you change Motorola's Xoom 2? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Apr 2012 01:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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