Google confirms Nexus S Jelly Bean roll-out, lists carriers

We broke the news yesterday that some GSM Nexus S models were starting to see their Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean update rolling out, and now we have the official confirmation from Mountain View. Google took to its +Nexus Google+ account to bring news that Jelly Bean is currently pushing out to customers on at least five carriers around the world, as well as the unlocked GSM models, presumably. Here's the official word --

"We've started rolling out Android 4.1, Jelly Bean, to Nexus S phones on a number of carriers including T-Mobile, H3G [Three], O2, Rogers as well as Vodafone in most countries, with more to come. Enjoy!"

No word on Sprint's Nexus S 4G just yet, but given that phone's history with updates, owners could be in for a fairly long wait. If you've already gotten Jelly Bean on your Nexus S, shout out in the comments and let us know how you're doing.

Source: +Nexus

HTC Support confirms HTC Rezound Android 4.0 update coming before the end of July

By now, many of you are already looking forward to the Android 4.1 update for your device – but let’s not forget that there are quite a few people still craving for a taste of Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0). Verizon’s HTC Rezound owners are among those who still have not received the Android 4.0 update [...]]]>

HTC confirms Android 4.1 updates for the HTC One X, HTC One XL and HTC One S

Roughly 24 hours after Telstra revealed that Android 4.1 updates for the HTC one XL and HTC One S are already in the works, HTC has released an official statement announcing that the HTC One X, HTC One XL and HTC One S will all be updated to Android 4.1.

While we would [...]]]>

Carrier confirms HTC One XL, HTC One S Android 4.1 update being prepped

HTC’s official stance on the Android 4.1 update is still “reviewing the software to determine our upgrade plans and schedule,” but that’s not stopping Telstra from confirming that HTC is already working on the Jelly Bean update for the HTC One S and HTC One XL (aka HTC one X in the US). Telstra’s [...]]]>

Samsung confirms Exynos 4 Quad to appear in Galaxy S III

Here’s a surprising late night treat. Samsung Electronics just introduced the 1.4 GHz Exynos 4 Quad (Exynos 4412, quad-core A9) and said it is “scheduled to be first-adopted into Samsung’s next Galaxy smartphone that will officially be announced in May.”

Rumors and speculation had suggested that Samsung would use the quad-core Exynos 4412 in the Galaxy S III, but we were not expecting them to reveal the final specs until the Unpacked event on May 3rd.

“The quad-core processor offers phenomenal multitasking abilities surpassing any single or dual application processor,” Said Taehoon Kim, VP of Samsung LSI marketing. “Given the diverse functionalities consumers are demanding from their mobile devices today, the Exynos 4 Quad meets those high-performance needs while keeping power consumption very low.”

Samsung’s Exynos 4412 is built on their new 32nm High-k Metal Gate (HKMG) low-power process technology, which promises two-times the processing capability over the 45nm process based Exynos 4 Dual while consuming 20-percent less power.

The new Exynos 4 Quad will use the same Mali-400 GPU found in the Exynos 4 Dual, but Samsung has increased the clock speeds from 266 MHz to over 400 MHz. Recent leaked benchmark scores show that the Exynos 4 Quad should offer the fastest graphics performance, besting NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4.

All of this sounds awesome, but we still don’t know the final specs for the US version of the Galaxy S III. Some rumors have suggested that Samsung could still use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 since it features an integrated LTE modem. The Exynos 4 Quad does not feature an integrated modem, but Samsung has already produced modems that work with LTE networks (like the modem found in the Verizon Galaxy Nexus).

We had been hoping that Samsung might shock the mobile industry and go with their even newer Exynos 5250 processor. It features dual-core A15 CPU cores instead of quad-core A9, which should give it twice the processing power, but it appears that Samsung will save that for their next smartphone.

Samsung could have also felt the pressure from NVIDIA’s quad-core Tegra 3 and decided they needed to match the number of cores to keep up in the marketing battle.

Overall, this is still an exciting announcement. Samsung’s next Galaxy should easily become the fastest Android phone when it is released and it could have the longest battery life depending on the capacity of the battery that they stuff in there.

May 3rd can’t come soon enough.

Google confirms Android 4.0.4 update on Xoom, GSM Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus

Android 4.0.4 has started rolling out on Wifi-only Motorola Xoom tablets, as well as GSM Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus phones, Google has confirmed. The new version of Android, which has been described as an "incremental update" by Google engineer Jean-Baptiste Queru, is said to include "stability improvements, better camera performance, smoother screen rotation, improved phone number recognition and more."

News of 4.0.4 launching on the Xoom and Nexus S (as well as AOSP) has already broken, but this is the first we've heard about the new version of ICS on the GSM/HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus. For what it's worth, none of our Galaxy Nexuses have received the update just yet, but we're sure that'll change in the hours and days ahead.

No word on when this update will be arriving on the Nexus S 4G or Verizon LTE Galaxy Nexus, but Android 4.0.5 has already been tipped for an early April launch on the Verizon Nexus.

Source: +Android

Google confirms Android 4.0.4 update on Xoom, GSM Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus

Android 4.0.4 has started rolling out on Wifi-only Motorola Xoom tablets, as well as GSM Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus phones, Google has confirmed. The new version of Android, which has been described as an "incremental update" by Google engineer Jean-Baptiste Queru, is said to include "stability improvements, better camera performance, smoother screen rotation, improved phone number recognition and more."

News of 4.0.4 launching on the Xoom and Nexus S (as well as AOSP) has already broken, but this is the first we've heard about the new version of ICS on the GSM/HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus. For what it's worth, none of our Galaxy Nexuses have received the update just yet, but we're sure that'll change in the hours and days ahead.

No word on when this update will be arriving on the Nexus S 4G or Verizon LTE Galaxy Nexus, but Android 4.0.5 has already been tipped for an early April launch on the Verizon Nexus.

Source: +Android

LG confirms Optimus L3 hits Europe this month

The LG Optimus L3 is far form the high end of the Korean manufacturer's L-Series line of Android smartphones, but it'll also the first out of the gate when it hits Europe later this month, with Asia and Russia to follow.

The L3 is the low end of the trio, with a 3.2-inch display, 3MP camera and just a couple of gigabytes of storage space, plus it's on Android 2.3 Gingerbread. But it does fit nicely in small hands, so it's got that going for it.

We've got LG's full presser after the break, and be sure to check out our hands-on from Mobile World Congress with the three phones in LG's new L-Series of Android smartphones.