Now before you get too excited let us point out that nothing has been officially confirmed, however if you head over to AndroidandMe.com you will see that a HTC customer service representative apparently stated that Ice Cream Sandwich should hit the HTC Flyer sometime during Q1 2012 – given the fact that we are already 3 weeks into Q1 2012 this would mean that Android 4.0 is a maximum of 9 weeks away.

The HTC Flyer’s 1.5GHz single-core processor and 1GB of RAM should allow Ice Cream Sandwich to run pretty smoothly, we can’t wait to see the new lease of life this will bring to the tablet and if you check out this link for Android 4.0 platform highlights you will remember why there’s so much hype surround this flavor of Android.

Hopefully we will hear something official from HTC in the coming months, when we do we will keep you posted so keep checking Product-Reviews.net for all the latest news. While we are hear we thought we would take this opportunity to gain some feedback from our readers, therefore feel free to answer any of the following questions below…

Which Android 4.0 features / improvements are you looking forward to taking advantage of on your HTC Flyer the most?
What existing HTC Flyer problems / imperfections would you like to see resolved?

More About: Android, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, HTC, HTC Flyer

For more Product-Reviews.net coverage:

• Follow Product Reviews on Twitter
• Become a Fan on Facebook
• Subscribe to PR
• Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

Apparently Asus recently suggested that the original Transformer (TF101 model) would be getting Ice Cream Sandwich in a matter of days, however this statement was then retracted. The guys over at AndroidPolice were getting a little frustrated with all the rumors and false announcements so reached out to one of their contacts at Asus U.S. – apparently the update will now arrive in early February, this isn’t great news, but it at least ensures that you won’t keep checking for updates for the remainder of January.

Obviously it is always an annoyance when there is such mystery surrounding an update like this, but at least we know Asus continues to support a 10-month old device which was first revealed at CES 2011, hopefully this will mean that the Transformer Prime will also see such support and perhaps get a taster of Android 5.0 when it arrives – we will have to wait and see.

When the update does go live it is said to hit North America and Taiwan first. You should receive a notification telling you that an update is available, however you can manually trigger the update by going into Settings, About Tablet and then Check for Updates – you may want to back up important data beforehand just-in-case.

The update to Android ICS should vastly improve the Eee Pad Transformer’s performance, features and user experience – you can see an overview of what to expect from ICS via this link it has to be said that this is one of, if not the most substantial Android updates to date, let’s just hope it runs nicely on what’s now considered ‘old’ hardware.

More About: Android, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, asus, Asus Eee Pad Transformer

For more Product-Reviews.net coverage:

• Follow Product Reviews on Twitter
• Become a Fan on Facebook
• Subscribe to PR
• Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

The news comes from Google’s developer blog Android Developers who says that this update is the base for the version that will be provided by third party manufacturers on upcoming tablets and smartphones from production in the not too distant future. We recently brought you news that the first Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone, the Galaxy Nexus, was to get the Android 4.0.2 update on arrival.

Original rumors suggested the updated version would already feature on the device until it was learned that it will only be updated two hours after the device is activated. The update to the Galaxy Nexus, which arrived on Verizon a few days ago, brings optimized 4G connections, improved mobile hotspot functionality and many more much needed fixes.

The Android 4.0.3 update is expected to bring similar improvements and optimizations and more. The additional APIs bring improvements to camera capabilities, Calendar and Contacts. These include things like better sync capability with contacts, color tags for events marked in the calendar and video stabilization with the camera. Other general improvements to the OS include database, Bluetooth, spell-checking, graphics and more.

A full list of improvements and the features that the Android 4.0.3 update will be bringing to the Android devices can be found at Android Developers by clicking the link above. Have you updated your device to Android 4.0.3? What do you think of the updated version of the OS? Let us know if you have had any problems with the update in the comments below.

More About: Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, google

For more Product-Reviews.net coverage:

• Follow Product Reviews on Twitter
• Become a Fan on Facebook
• Subscribe to PR
• Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

Now before we begin our rant let’s not forget that towards the end of HTC’s statement it clearly stated: “We’re continuing to assess our product portfolio, so stay tuned for more updates on device upgrades, timing and other details about HTC and Ice Cream Sandwich”. If you look closely at all of HTC’s confirmed devices they all feature dual-core processors, could this mean that single-core HTC smartphones won’t get the update?

There have been hundreds of replies to HTC’s announcement where people complain that there handset is not included in HTC’s first wave of Ice Cream Sandwich updates, but what do the HTC EVO 4G, HTC Desire HD, HTC Thunderbolt, Droid Incredible all have in common? That’s right, they all feature a single-core processor.

We believe that HTC may have realised that Ice Cream Sandwich won’t run well on its single-core devices, therefore they will firstly concentrate on fast new devices which can run a fully functional version of ICS, perhaps they will then work on Ice Cream Sandwich ROMs which will have been optimized for single-core devices – what do you think?

Obviously at the moment none of this is official, but if you check out our ultimate Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 update device list you will see that most other smartphone manufacturers have only confirmed ICS for dual-core devices, which suggests that this OS version is by no means suited to relatively slow chipsets.

As and when we hear more regarding Ice Cream Sandwich update plans we will keep you posted, which smartphones do you want ICS to hit?

More About: Android, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, HTC

For more Product-Reviews.net coverage:

• Follow Product Reviews on Twitter
• Become a Fan on Facebook
• Subscribe to PR
• Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

The device was first announced back in August, before the latest Android OS was released, despite this, as we previously explained, the company is expected to be updating a whole range of their smartphones to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, which is including the Xperia Neo V as well as other models such as the Xperia Pro, Xperia Arc and the Xperia Play.

As far as specs are concerned, it offers a pretty decent array of hardware, ideal for those who can’t quite afford the high-end smartphones in the market. It features a front-facing camera, 5 megapixel rear facing camera with HD recording capability, DLNA and HSDPA media streaming technology, Wi-Fi, a 3.7” scratch-proof touchscreen and a 1GHz processor.

According to ITProPortal, Sony claims the Xperia Neo V is one of the first smartphone capable of 3D sweep Panorama technology. This allows user to capture three-dimensional images and display them on a 3D TV when connected up. Whether the connection cables will come with the device still remains to be seen. Sony Ericsson’s Head of Product Marketing, Nikolaus Scheurer added ‘users will get to enjoy new features from Google, an even richer Facebook integration and enhanced camera functionality’ from the company.

The device can be purchased at Play.com now for $415 or £259.99. What do you think of the latest offering from Sony Ericsson? Does the Xperia Neo V appeal to you?

More About: Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, Sony Ericsson, Xperia Neo V

For more Product-Reviews.net coverage:

• Follow Product Reviews on Twitter
• Become a Fan on Facebook
• Subscribe to PR
• Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

Firstly Ice Cream Sandwich has been optimized to support faster multi-core processors, also there is HDMI-out meaning that you can beam whatever is on your smartphone’s display to a HDTV, now we are hearing that USB game controllers are supported.

According to a recent tweet from an Android engineer, you will be able to connect a USB game controller to your Android 4.0 smartphone if you use a USB to microUSB adapter, obviously developers will have to work with the Android SDK to give their apps / games USB controller support – but at least the support is there (you can see this part of SDK below).

We would much prefer to see specific controllers made which use the microUSB connector, as an adapter will just look messy, but we do love the idea of an Android smartphone / tablet soon being considered as a portable games console – we are sure that developers will be keen to give their games USB controller support, we just wonder how long battery life will last when outputting high-resolution visuals (as the charger won’t be plugged in whilst the controller is).

Even if this doesn’t take off straight away we think that this is a step in the right direction for Android, we just think a wireless controller and wireless link to a HDTV is the real way forward, do you agree?

More About: Android, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, google

For more Product-Reviews.net coverage:

• Follow Product Reviews on Twitter
• Become a Fan on Facebook
• Subscribe to PR
• Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

The fact that this smartphone is reaching its second birthday is not in its favor, but a developer has taken the ‘bull by the horns’ and ported ICS to the Nexus One, it is by no means perfect, but it is still very early days. The Nexus One’s 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon and 512MB of RAM seriously lack the oomph that today’s top-end smartphones offer, if you check out the video at the bottom of this post you will see what we mean.

In the video you can clearly see that the Nexus One is running Ice Cream Sandwich, in terms of general navigation things seem smooth, in fact swiping across your home screens and opening up menus seems pretty much perfect, but as soon as you get widgets into the equation you instantly notice that the One’s internal hardware is struggling, according to the video’s narration there are also pretty frequent crashes, video decoding issues, audio problems and a lack of WiFi, but we reckon over time things will get much more smoother.

We can’t take any credit for the video, so we would like to thank dr1337md for the video and point you in the direction of his YouTube channel - we are pretty sure that he will keep posting videos as he makes progress with the port.

According to a recent comment posted by dr1337md he has now got WiFi working, however he is seeking help in regards to Android NDK to fix the sluggish graphics – if you think you can help him head on over to his YouTube account and send him a message.

More About: Android, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, Nexus One

For more Product-Reviews.net coverage:

• Follow Product Reviews on Twitter
• Become a Fan on Facebook
• Subscribe to PR
• Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

Let’s start with some tech specs, the display has a 4.65-inch diagonal and outputs at 1280 x 720 (720p), it features a 16:9 aspect ratio and boasts an impressive 0.01ms response time, not only this but you also get a 100,000:1 contrast ratio (higher than any competing device).

So what does this all mean? Well Samsung say that this display has been optimized to deliver the visual experience that people want, the amazing response time ensures that you won’t experience motion blur and the HD Super AMOLED panel combined with a 100,000:1 contrast ratio will deliver rich and wonderful colors and deep blacks. Oh and let’s not forget that the aspect ratio and large diagonal will combine to make this device great for watching movies on.

95% of the consumers reading this will think this display sounds like heaven, but over at Engadget there’s a massive debate going on, apparently the display would be much better if it features the words “Plus” at the end of its name, to cut a long story short the HD Super AMOLED displays utilizes a PenTile system, apparently in terms of costs and power consumption this is a great choice, but some “experts” suggest that a full RGB display would have been much better.

Here at PR we do not claim to be experts on all aspects of technology, but when Engadget say “The panel looks downright gorgeous, with unbeatable viewing angles, remarkably crisp text and graphics and a beautiful” we think it is safe to say there are no major problems with the lack of a HD Super AMOLED Plus display, if you compare the PenTile display against the full RGB displays with a microscope (see here) you will notice a difference, but we think that in real-world usage the Galaxy Nexus’ display should be just fine.

Does the Galaxy Nexus’ display put you off?

More About: Android, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, samsung, Samsung Galaxy Nexus

For more Product-Reviews.net coverage:

• Follow Product Reviews on Twitter
• Become a Fan on Facebook
• Subscribe to PR
• Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

This news was exclusively revealed by Pocket-Link, we don’t yet have any indication as to when an update will be rolled out to bring Android 4.0 ICS to the tablet / netbook hybrid, in fact all we have to go by is the following quote:

“Transformer will be getting update to ICS – but we can’t provide a schedule at this stage”

Currently the Eee Pad Transformer runs Android 3.2 Honeycomb, it should have no trouble running Ice Cream Sandwich as it features a 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, at least 16GB of local storage and a 10.1-inch display which outputs at 1280 × 800, that said when we got to see Ice Cream Sandwich at Google and Samsung’s recent press event a lot of the changes and optimizations seemed to be smartphone-centric.

As and when we hear of details regarding a launch date for the Eee Pad Transformer Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update we will keep you posted. We hope that ASUS don’t keep us waiting too long for this update, perhaps this could be the first-ever Ice Cream Sandwich – we are sure that this will cause a rise in sales.

What improvements would you like to see the next major firmware update bring to the Transformer?

More About: Android, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, asus, Asus Eee Pad Transformer

For more Product-Reviews.net coverage:

• Follow Product Reviews on Twitter
• Become a Fan on Facebook
• Subscribe to PR
• Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

Engadget spotted this news over at the company’s Dutch Facebook page, our translation skills aren’t great, but from what we can see all of Sony Ericsson’s Xperia smartphones, which arrived in 2011, will get the update. This pretty much guarantees that the Xperia Play, Xperia Arc, Xperia Neo, Xperia Mini Pro and the Xperia Pro should all get ICS.

Sony Ericsson revealed that all news relating to updates for its smartphones will show up on the Sony Ericsson Blog, so it may be worth checking it out and adding it as a bookmark. We had a look round on the blog and there were no posts relating to Ice Cream Sandwich, hopefully something will show up soon.

If Sony Ericsson stick to its Ice Cream Sandwich plans we think other smartphone manufacturers will feel more pressure to bring the update to their 2011 devices, the most popular comment to a similar post over at Engadget reads:

Has anyone noticed that updating handsets has become a matter of reputation for a company? For example if you dont update your phone people will actually stop buying your handsets over time. This is starting to become good news for Android.

We have to agree with the above comment, when people buy a smartphone they tend to have it as part of a two-year agreement, so it would be nice to know that manufacturers will support its devices with updates for at least half of this duration – love or hate Apple you can’t question the way the company rolls out updates, recently the iPhone 3GS got iOS 5, this arrived over two-years after its release, imagine if all Android devices were supported in a similar way.

Do you think smartphone manufacturers should do more to support “old” devices?

More About: Android, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, Sony Ericsson

For more Product-Reviews.net coverage:

• Follow Product Reviews on Twitter
• Become a Fan on Facebook
• Subscribe to PR
• Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad