Samsung Galaxy S2 joins HTC in Android Ice Cream Sandwich update frenzy, Google Nexus S next?
The latest edition of Android has begun rolling out to smartphone owners worldwide, including many HTC handsets and the flagship Samsung Galaxy SII, and is rumoured to be heading to the Google Nexus S.
Galaxy SII owners in Korea, Sweden and Poland will be among the first to receive their upgrade notifications, while in the UK we should be seeing it by 19 March.
Android 4.0 - aka Ice Cream Sandwich - is a major version of the software bringing a whole new look and integrating features from the tablet-exclusive Android Honeycomb.
The classic Android green theme has been replaced with a somewhat classier dark blue and gray styling, there is now a row of four customisable shortcut icons on the home screen and you can unlock the handset using face recognition. A major change is that smartphones no longer require any controls on the front of the handset as there are permanent back/home/tasks buttons placed along the bottom of the screen.
HTC smartphones are also lining up to receive a helping of Ice Cream Sandwich. The HTC Sensation and Sensation XE will be first, followed by the Desire S, Desire HD, Sensation XL and Evo 3D, and newer models the HTC Rhyme and Rezound. Unfortunately neither the original HTC Desire nor the QWERTY-keyboard toting HTC Desire Z will receive any further upgrades.
There’s positive news for anyone with a Google Nexus S, too, as according to Engadget that may also be getting the new OS. There’s no firm date yet but the expectation is that it should appear sometime in the next few weeks.
If you’ve got a handset due an upgrade it should tell you via the notification bar when the new OS is ready to download, or you can force a check via Settings > About Phone. Best to do it on a Wi-Fi connection as the downloads can be large, and make sure you’ve got a charged battery before starting the process.
Even if yours is not included it may be possible to jump to ICS anyway. Pay a visit to the ever-useful XDA Developers forum and check the development section for your model, provided it can be rooted there may be an Ice Cream Sandwich ROM already available.
