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Topic: Tablets

4 Motorola devices get dibs on Ice Cream Sandwich

Summary: Will your Motorola device be front-of-line for some Android Ice Cream Sandwich?

Gloria Sin

By Gloria Sin for The ToyBox |

Got a Motorola Droid Razr, Razr, Droid Bionic or a Xoom tablet? You're at the front of the line for some Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) whenever it is released next year, according to Motorola's website.

The device maker is promising to announce a timeline for your ICS upgrade (for the above four devices only) within six weeks of the operating system's final release. In other words, the earliest these Motorola gadgets will be getting the new OS will be at least six weeks after ICS is already in the wild. That seems quick at least compared to other manufacturers who have yet to announce any timelines for the upgrade.

That said, Motorola's reps have been very careful not to drill down to which quarter ICS will become available on tech sites. For example, the Razr won't be getting its taste of Android 4.0 until the first half of 2012, rather than the first quarter as TechCrunch reported initially.

Of course, Motorola has many more other devices in its lineup than just the Xoom, Razr, Droid Razr and Droid Bionic but I wonder how many will be getting an official OS upgrade. Your may have better luck looking to the developer community to come up with a ROM for your device first.

We will keep you posted on ICS upgrades as they become available.

[Source: Motorola's Official Blog, TechCrunch]

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Topics: Tablets, Mobility

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17 comments
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  • I got yer sandwich right here

    The path to success for Windows Phone lies in not allowing Nokia to have the same kind of preferential treatment. Samsung, HTC, et. al. do not want to be sitting in the back row when the goodies are handed out. If Google wants to turn Android into an advantage for its in-house handset maker, the other handset makers will look elsewhere. All Microsoft has to do is stay squeaky-clean about letting its hardware partners have the code at the same time.
    Robert Hahn
    Reply Vote

    • RE: 4 Motorola devices get dibs on Ice Cream Sandwich

      @Robert Hahn Preferential? Wow, Samsung is making the first phone with it installed!
      slickjim
      Reply Vote

    • RE: 4 Motorola devices get dibs on Ice Cream Sandwich

      @Robert Hahn If it was preferential, the Droid RAZR would have been released with ICS. "First half of 2012." That doesn't sound preferential to me. However it's good to know that some of Motorola's equipment will get updated sooner than later. Also, the article seemed to focus on Motorola products. I'm sure, over time, there'll be other articles about other brands.
      tony4life
      Reply Vote

    • Preferential?

      @Robert Hahn Well, if we're basing our opinions of who's getting preferential treatment on which company released (non-Nexus) ICS upgrade statements first, then I'd say it must be HTC. After all, they were the first ones to come out and say that they were looking closely at ICS and which phones will be getting the update.

      From what I've seen, Google seems to be intentionally giving Moto LESS attention as to avoid upsetting the other OEMs. I mean seriously, if Moto were getting the goods, we would've seen the release of the Nexus Razr by Motorola, not another "blurred" Gingerbread phone longing for an update.
      Droid Eye
      Reply Vote

  • RE: 4 Motorola devices get dibs on Ice Cream Sandwich

    I'm on the fence between the new Nexus and the new RAZR. This just scored another point on the RAZR side!
    tony4life
    Reply Vote

    • RE: 4 Motorola devices get dibs on Ice Cream Sandwich

      @tony4life I must be missing something as the new Nexus will be one of the first (if not THE first) Anroid phone with ICS. Given that the Nexus was build specifically for ICS the point should be in the Nexus column.
      lambtron__40
      Reply Vote

    • RE: 4 Motorola devices get dibs on Ice Cream Sandwich

      @tony4life The question is whether you would rather have the DRazr with Gingerbread and the possibility of ICS or the Nexus with ICS, a near guarantee of Jellybean and a possibility of K...(whatever dessert starts with K?)

      I personally buy based on what comes in the box. If an upgrade never comes, I still have what I paid for. Too many people bet on upgrades and end up disappointed.

      My original Droid never saw official Gingerbread but that's ok because I didn't buy it with Gingerbead and I had no false notions that a large corporation was concerned with my feelings.

      My point is buy a phone based on what it has, not what you hope it might get in the future. Everything else is just icing on the cake.
      Droid Eye
      Reply Vote

  • RE: 4 Motorola devices get dibs on Ice Cream Sandwich

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    dofkejf
    Reply Vote

  • RE: 4 Motorola devices get dibs on Ice Cream Sandwich

    I only count THREE devices...the Droid Razr and Razr are the same thing?
    corymcnutt
    Reply Vote

    • RE: 4 Motorola devices get dibs on Ice Cream Sandwich

      @corymcnutt The Droid and the Milestone were the same device too but they had a vastly different upgrade cycle. I'm glad Moto's making the distinction up front. When they announced updates for the Droid (and didn't mention Milestone,) everyone assumed the Milestone would get the same update at nearly the same time. This, obviously, didn't happen and ended up angering a lot of people.

      At least by making the distinction early on, they're getting people into the mindset that they have separate update schedules. That way when they stop supporting one sooner than the other, it won't be as much of a shock to people. They'll still be mad...just not as shocked.
      Droid Eye
      Reply Vote

    • RE: 4 Motorola devices get dibs on Ice Cream Sandwich

      @corymcnutt The Droid Razr and Razr are two separate devices. The Droid Razr that is coming to Verizon Nov. 10 is a 4G/LTE device, while the Razr is a 3G smartphone. I find the names very misleading/confusing too.
      Gloria Sin
      Reply Vote

  • RE: 4 Motorola devices get dibs on Ice Cream Sandwich

    http://href.to/xEE
    kksdhi
    Reply Vote

  • Seeing as the Nexus S will be the FIRST phone to get the UPGRADE...

    ... I hardly see how Google is showing Motorola preferential treatment!
    Scrat
    Reply Vote

  • Semantics

    Not to split hairs but "getting dibs" means getting first and/or exclusively.
    Snowsong
    Reply Vote

  • RE: 4 Motorola devices get dibs on Ice Cream Sandwich

    Motorola site seems to be incorrect.
    I have the Droid X MB810 and it officially got the 2.3 update many months ago??
    Tech1138
    Reply Vote

  • I hope so and...

    Motorola ought to think about enabling transfer between internal memory and the external micro-SD card as well as opening up the micro-usb to other peripherals. These two features, or lack thereof cripple the device.
    ajrmd
    Reply Vote

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    Reply Vote
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