Refresh Roundup: week of April 22nd, 2013

Refresh Roundup week of April 22nd, 2013

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!

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Refresh Roundup: week of January 14th, 2013

Refresh Roundup week of January 14th, 2013

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 Photon Q 4G LTE: A minor update is available for Sprint's QWERTY slider that's said to improve overall device stability. [Android Police]
  • Samsung Galaxy Rugby Pro: This rugged smartphone for AT&T is now eligible for an upgrade to Android 4.1.1 (Jelly Bean). Users will also find the additions of Swype and Music Hub in this build. [Phandroid]
  • LG Lucid: Verizon has announced an update for this smartphone that brings improved quality of voice calls and installs Flash Player. The newly updated file manager app now brings the ability to manage files in the cloud, and the software also installs Verizon Remote Diagnostics for troubleshooting purposes. [Droid Life]
  • Galaxy Nexus: Google has published the Android 4.2.1 update for the Sprint variant of the Galaxy Nexus to its servers. [Android Police]
  • Samsung Galaxy S III: Owners of unsubsidized Galaxy S III handsets throughout Australia are reporting than an update to Android 4.1.2 -- complete with Multi-Window enhancements -- is now available for download and installation via Samsung Kies. [Android Central]
  • ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T: An update is now available for the Transformer Pad Infinity that brings greater compatibility with microSD cards and decreases lag when playing music in the background. The software also fixes bugs in the camera and Movie Studio apps. [Android Police]
  • Samsung Galaxy Note II: Verizon has pushed out a fix to this smartphone that's designed to resolve Exynos security vulnerabilities. [SlashGear]
  • Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7: Verizon has announced an update for this tablet that decreases electrical consumption while charging the device in a "power off" state. [Android Police]
  • Sprint Flash: Sprint has released an update for this ZTE-manufactured smartphone that brings improvements to the camera, adds timing preferences for the LED notification and resolves issues related to Swype. [Android Police]
  • Samsung Epic 4G Touch: An update is now available for Sprint's version of the Galaxy S II that brings security fixes along with the Sprint Connections Optimizer. [Android Police]
  • Rogers: The Canadian carrier has announced that its Jelly Bean updates for the Galaxy S II LTE, Galaxy Note, RAZR HD and Xperia T have been pushed to February. [MobileSyrup]

Unofficial Android updates, custom ROMs and misc. hackery

  • Motorola Droid RAZR / RAZR Maxx: A root exploit has been published for the official Jelly Bean OTA software build, meant for these two non-HD smartphones for Verizon. [Talk Android]
  • Motorola Atrix 4G: Motorola is requesting soak test participants for a pending update to this AT&T smartphone. [Android Central]
  • Sony Xperia Z: Sony has announced that it'll release an Android 4.2 update to the Xperia Z shortly after the smartphone's arrival. [Android Central]
  • Motorola Atrix 2: A pre-release Jelly Bean update has worked its way into the wild for this smartphone on AT&T. Curiously, Motorola has previously stated that the Atrix 2 would never see an update past Ice Cream Sandwich. [Android Community]

Other platforms

  • HTC 8X: AT&T has released its first update for this Windows Phone handset. Known informally as the Portico release, it features an option to keep WiFi connections alive and allows users to reject phone calls while responding with a text message. [WinSource]
  • Nokia Lumia 810: An OTA update is now available for this Windows Phone on T-Mobile that brings fixes to Bluetooth functionality and is said to improve overall device stability. [T-Mobile]

Refreshes we covered this week

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Refresh Roundup: week of November 5th, 2012

Refresh Roundup week of November 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!

Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of November 5th, 2012

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Refresh Roundup: week of November 5th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Nov 2012 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Refresh Roundup: week of October 15th, 2012

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!

Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of October 15th, 2012

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Refresh Roundup: week of October 15th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Oct 2012 20:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE review: the best full QWERTY phone on Sprint’s network

Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE review

The future of Motorola post-acquisition may still be a mystery, but the manufacturer has managed to stay quite active over the last few weeks: it unveiled the Atrix HD, its first smartphone with an HD display and native ICS build, and there's already much anticipation around Verizon's Droid RAZR HD ahead of the holiday season. For the here and now, however, it's Sprint's turn to soak in the Moto love with the Photon Q 4G LTE. (Say it five times fast.)

Naturally, the name of the phone doesn't leave a whole lot to the imagination. As you'd expect, it's a follow-up to last year's Photon 4G that trades WiMAX for LTE and adds a full-sized QWERTY keyboard. What the name doesn't tell you, though, is that this phone costs a lofty $200 on contract, and features a qHD ColorBoost display (not to be confused with the Atrix's 720p screen, which uses the same branding). In other words, it's gotta be pretty good to have any success at that price point. How does the latest Googorola device hold up against the rest of Sprint's LTE lineup? Is it worth the premium? Follow us southward to find out.

Continue reading Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE review: the best full QWERTY phone on Sprint's network

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Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE review: the best full QWERTY phone on Sprint's network originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 14:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE up for pre-order, hitting Sprint August 19th for $200

Sprint subscribers aching to get their thumbs on some QWERTY keyboarding, LTE action won't have to wait much longer. The carrier announced today that Motorola's verbose Photon Q 4G LTE will be hitting the network on Sunday, August 19th, carrying a $200 price tag. The handset's packing a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, Ice Cream Sandwich and an eight megapixel rear-facing camera. Interested parties can pre-order the Photon Q, et al. today. More information can be found in the press release after the break.

Continue reading Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE up for pre-order, hitting Sprint August 19th for $200

Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE up for pre-order, hitting Sprint August 19th for $200 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Aug 2012 10:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint’s Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE detailed: 1.5GHz dual-core CPU, QWERTY keyboard

Sprint's Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE detailed 15GHz dualcore CPU, QWERTY keyboard, TK

Sprint CEO Dan Hesse already confirmed that the Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE was coming "very soon," but now we're able to affirm even more details surrounding the launch. With Sprint's LTE network finally live in select cities, employees are now undergoing training regarding the device -- something that typically means that a launch onto store shelves is imminent. Thanks to our source and the photos seen here, we've been able to confirm that the 4.3-inch superphone will ship with a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1,785mAh battery (non-removable), WiFi, GPS, 3G / 4G LTE radios, 8GB of internal storage space and built-in NFC. Perhaps the most prominent feature is the five-row QWERTY keyboard, alongside the adjustable LED edge lighting. Other specs include an 8 megapixel rear-facing camera, an "HD" front-facing camera and perhaps most curiously, a skinned version of Ice Cream Sandwich that fails to mention the word "Motoblur." We're still trying to lock down an exact price and release date, and will update this post if and when those tidbits roll in.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Continue reading Sprint's Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE detailed: 1.5GHz dual-core CPU, QWERTY keyboard

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Sprint's Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE detailed: 1.5GHz dual-core CPU, QWERTY keyboard originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Aug 2012 13:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola to allow bootloader unlocking from Photon Q 4G LTE onwards

Motorola to allow bootloader unlocking from Photon Q onwards

Motorola's initial promise to allow unlocked bootloaders came across to many enthusiasts as somewhat hollow: as long as there was an escape clause, carriers like AT&T and Verizon could clamp down and maintain the tough-to-modify status quo. RAZR-philes will be happy to know that there's a plan to cut their own chains loose, after all. Starting with the Photon Q 4G LTE's August launch, owners will have the option to unlock the bootloader of at least some devices in an official way that reportedly keeps carriers satisfied. Details of how the process works will come later; we don't know if Motorola will take a cue from HTC's identifier tokens or try something more exotic, even if it's likely in either case to offer a big, fat disclaimer regarding the warranty. The option won't be the same as buying a phone that's unlocked from the start, but we don't think too many custom ROM lovers will mind after knowing that one more Android manufacturer is on their side.

[Thanks, RTbar]

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Motorola to allow bootloader unlocking from Photon Q 4G LTE onwards originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jul 2012 19:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint’s Motorola Photon Q LTE is coming ‘very soon’ (update)

Sprint's Motorola Photon Q LTE is coming 'very soon' update

During Sprint's earnings call, CEO Dan Hesse revealed that Motorola's Photon Q, the company's latest LTE "world phone" is coming "very soon." The Photon Q is believed to be the Android 4.0-running QWERTY-slider you can see in the image above, but now that the company's head has let the cat out of the bag, we expect more details to roll around very shortly.

Update: Sprint's PR engine has kicked into gear, offering the deep dish on the new handset. It's a super-specced edition of last year's Photon 4G and will indeed offer a QWERTY-sliding experience on Ice Cream Sandwich. Beneath the 4.3-inch ColorBoost display you'll find a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, an 8-megapixel camera and NFC as well as Motorola's Smartactions application to help users extend battery life and anticipate your daily routines. Pricing and availability will be announced within the "next few weeks," but given how excited Dan Hesse sounded, we can't imagine we'll be waiting too long.

Continue reading Sprint's Motorola Photon Q LTE is coming 'very soon' (update)

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Sprint's Motorola Photon Q LTE is coming 'very soon' (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jul 2012 08:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FCC Fridays: July 6, 2012

FCC Fridays July 6, 2012

We here at Engadget tend to spend a lot of way too much time poring over the latest FCC filings, be it on the net or directly on the ol' Federal Communications Commission's site. Since we couldn't possibly (want to) cover all the stuff that goes down there individually, we've gathered up an exhaustive listing of every phone and / or tablet getting the stamp of approval over the last week. Enjoy!

Continue reading FCC Fridays: July 6, 2012

FCC Fridays: July 6, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Jul 2012 11:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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