When will current Android devices get upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich? Here are a few clues

While a lot has been written about the new features that Android 4.0 is bringing to the table, the big question on the minds of many current Android phone owners is when, exactly, will the upgrade make it to their phones. Here's what some of the larger players have to say about their upgrade plans.

HTC. HTC isn't sure how it's to go about upgrading its devices to Android 4.0. Much of that, it seems, revolves around its predilection for slapping its custom Sense skin on top of everything. The company released a statement stating as much, sans, predictably, a timeframe:

"Our goal for Android updates is to give every customer an improved user experience, which means balancing each phone's unique hardware, HTC Sense experience and the Android kernel. While our goal is to upgrade as many of our recent devices as possible, we are committed to maintaining every phone's performance and usability first. Please stay tuned for more updates on specific device upgrade plans.

Google Google is sticking by its promises to upgrade its Nexus line. Both Android Product Manager Gabe Cohen and Android User Experience Director Matias Duarte are promising that the Nexus S will get the upgrade to Android 4.0. That's a big deal for owners of the device, many of whom purchased Google's flagship phone for that very reason. Previous devices like the Nexus One should see the upgrade as well.

Motorola For a device announced on the same day as Android 4.0, it's a bit strange that the Droid RAZR won't come equipped with Ice Cream Sandwich from the beginning. Either way, Motorola says that the Droid RAZR's upgrade to Android 4.0 will come in early 2012, though the company isn't yet specifying a date. Motorola's situation likely mirrors that of HTC, and it is probably still figuring how to best work out its custom UI with ICS.

As for Motorola's other recent Droid device, Motorola says that Bionic owners will see the Android 4.0 upgrade soon as well.  Motorola confirmed the news on its Facebook page, but provided no timeline, as expected.

Sony-Ericcson AddSony Ericcsonto the list of manufacturers offering general plans with no specific details. "Beyond Gingerbread 2.3.4, we plan to upgrade our 2011 Xperia smartphone portfolio to the next Android platform made available to us," the company said in a fairly obvious statement.

Samsung And how about Samsung? Considering that Android 4.0 is launching with its upcoming Galaxy Nexus, you'd think that Samsung would have a clear upgrade path for its current non-Nexus phones. And yet, sadly, that's not the case. There's no official word on Samsung's plans, though its a fair assumption that they will happen at some point in early 2012.