Just days after the Asus Transformer Prime becoming the first ever tablet to officially run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, another previously Honeycomb-powered slate has started running the new Google OS’s version a few hours ago.

We are talking about the Motorola Xoom, which, as of last night, runs Android 4.0 for a group of a few thousand lucky owners. These have been selected from the ‘’Google Experience Device’’ Testing subscribers and will have the honor of exclusively ‘’tasting’’ the pleasures of Android Ice Cream Sandwich through the weekend.

It’s still unclear if, at the beginning of next week, the lucky Xoom owners who will have the chance of testing Android 4.0 during these following couple of days, will keep the update running on their tablets. However, if everything goes well and according to Motorola plans and if no major issues will be noticed after the weekend, the ICS update should be released for the masses in the near future as well.

I wouldn’t go on a limb and say that all you Xoom adopters will be able to taste Ice Cream Sandwich starting next week, but right now everything and anything seems possible.

Also, according to sources, the update has only been made available for the WiFi only version of the tablet, which might mean that for the 3G and 4G models, it will take the Motorola developers an additional couple of weeks to straighten up all the issues and possible glitches.

You can check out the email sent by the ‘’Motorola Feedback Network’’ to select Xoom owners below. Also, if you are one of these lucky early Android 4.0 ‘’tasters’’, we would appreciate a comment telling us how the tablet feels after the update. Thanks in advance!

Hi.

Via TalkAndroid.com

One of the first Android-based devices, if not the first, to be officially released in 2012, is the Meizu MX smartphone, a very good-looking piece of equipment that packs some pretty snappy hardware too.

The MX has only been made available in China and Hong Kong for the moment, where hundreds of people have been eager to get their hands on the smartphone as soon as the New Year had come.

Powered by a snappy Exynos dual-core processor and featuring 1 GB of RAM, the Meizu MX looks pretty elegant and stylish, being roughly as sleek as the iPhone 4 or the Samsung Galaxy S. As a matter of fact, in terms of design, the MX looks like a winner to me, being the kind of device that you wouldn’t be ashamed to pull out of your pocket on the streets or anywhere in public.

The smartphone sports a 4.3-inch touchscreen with 960 x 640-pixels resolution, which once again is pretty on-par with most of the high-end devices today, and features 16 GB of internal storage, as well as an 8 MPx camera with autofocus and LED flash, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, GPS and accelerometer.

As far as software goes, the Meizu MX runs Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread, which is not exactly ideal, but the producers have promised an upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich in the near future, so fingers crossed for those of you who have purchased or are planning to purchase the smartphone.

In terms of pricing, the MX is available for 2,999 yuan in China, which would ”translate” into around 475 dollars, according to today’s currency rate. On the other hand, if the smartphone will ever be released in the United States or in Europe, I would expect it to go for well under 400 bucks to stand a chance in a competition with the established and well-known devices from Samsung, LG or Apple.

Let’s not forget to mention something about the impact this smartphone has already made in China and Hong Kong, where hundreds of eager technology enthusiasts have pre-ordered the device a few weeks back only to stand in line at the store yesterday for hours… Now that’s what I call passion for gadgets!

Source: [Meizume.com]

If there was still anyone who thought that the battle for supremacy in the United States mobile OS market was close (or close-ish), the recent news we got from ComScore should make things clear once and for all.

Android increased its lead over Apple’s iOS during this fall and is getting closer and closer of controlling half the smartphone market. More exactly, according to the three-month report from ComScore ending in November, Google’s operating system now holds a cool 46.9 percent share of the total number of smartphone subscribers in the United States. That’s a 3.1 percent gain from August, which means that if this increase rate continues, by next Spring we might see Android powering half of the mobile phones in the US.

Apple’s iOS, while boosting its subscribers’ number with just over a percent between August and November, only has 28.7% of the total smartphone users in the US. RIM remains the third mobile platform today, but has gone down from holding a 19.7 percent share to a more modest 16.6 percent.

That’s still enough for a podium finish and should be enough in the near future as well, because Microsoft and Symbian are far, far away with just 5.2 and 1.5 percent shares in the smartphone market.

As for the mobile manufacturers, Samsung leads unsurprisingly with a 25.6 percent share and a slight 0.3 percent increase during the fall, while LG is second, close, but not close enough. The South Korean conglomerate holds a 20.5 percent share in the US and is followed by Motorola, with just under 14 percent of the total number of mobile devices today.

Apple has enjoyed a pretty important progress and is now very close of overtaking Motorola, with an 11.2 percent share, while RIM completes the top five, with just 6.5 percent.

If I were to look at these numbers as a whole and draw a couple of conclusions, I’d say that pretty much nothing has changed in the US smartphone market (at least not in a spectacular way), and that Google’s Android OS is set to remain ‘’king of the jungle’’ for a loooooong, long time… On the other hand, I must admit that Apple’s business is doing pretty well too and that Steve Jobs’ legacy seems to be in pretty capable hands after all.

Comscore.com

One of the bigger tech stories in recent weeks — besides the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus on Verizon — has been the Carrier IQ debacle.  Carrier IQ is a software that has full access to data on your phone but is used only by carriers to log issues with their respective network.  Essentially, carriers are using Carrier IQ to help troubleshoot problems with their network and improve service in the future.  However, Carrier IQ was discovered in a way that raised significant concerns on how the software was being used since carriers were not informing smartphone owners such a software existed on their phone.

In any event, several carriers including Sprint and AT&T were under fire for using the software without allegedly informing customers.  Moreover, specific OEMs such as Apple and HTC were accused of installing Carrier IQ without also informing the public.  According to a rumor by Geek.com, Sprint is actively requiring OEMs to remove Carrier IQ on “high-volume and high-profile devices.”  Sprint hopes their partner OEMs will be able to push out an OTA software update in the near future that rids the device of Carrier IQ.  Unfortunately, Sprint has not confirmed these claims, but the carrier did report to MobileBurn that it “disabled use of the tool so that diagnostic information and data is no longer being collected.”

With this in mind, we’re still not positive if Sprint plans to never implement Carrier IQ on any of its devices in the future and whether or not Sprint is actually requiring its OEM partners to remove the network diagnostics software on their current devices.  I’m sure we will have more information direct from Sprint soon enough as Carrier IQ is taken to court within the month.

[Geek.com] [MobileBurn]

If you’ve been following technology stories in recent weeks, then you may be aware of the investigation of Carrier IQ and its presence on many Android, iPhone, and BlackBerry devices.  In addition, it is said to be found on Sprint and HTC smartphones.  Apparently, nearly 140 million smartphones are equipped with this software that is nearly impossible to detect.

Carrier IQ was recently discovered by Trevor Eckhart who reported his findings to the online community.  Essentially, the software has the capability of transmitting your data to its own servers or the carrier’s servers for further analysis.  The reason for this, as reported by Carrier IQ, is to help carriers solve network and device stability issues by sifting through data that occurs during a service outage, for example.

However, many people are worried – for good reason – that Carrier IQ is transmitting data such as texts, voice calls, pictures, and other information insecurely and unlawfully. That is not yet definitive, but  concerns were raised following Carrier IQ saying it doesn’t log personal data.

Before things started to get worse, Verizon issued a tweet earlier today explaining that Carrier IQ is not any Verizon Wireless smartphone.  Engadget does a nice job of explaining the Carrier IQ situation if you want to learn more.

Overall, the situation does not look promising for Carrier IQ and the manufacturers and carriers currently employing this technology.  It will be interesting to see companies come forward with statements on whether they use the technology or not, and how they use it.

[Verizon Wireless Tweet]

Today, we have some good news for those who own one of the four high-end Android smartphones mentioned in the title above.  The Optimus 2X, Optimus Black, Optimus 3D, and the Optimus LTE represent the four flagship devices currently offered by LG internationally.  According to a recent Facebook page update, all four smartphones will receive the coveted Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) update.

In December 2011, LG will reveal the schedule of updates for each of the four phones. If you don’t own one of the four devices, then you’ll be pleased to know that LG is still evaluating whether Ice Cream Sandwich can be updated on other, mid-range smartphones.  Even if LG fails to deliver ICS, remember that there is always the option to find support from other developers through rooting.

Unfortunately, TmoNews points out that LG has not officially mentioned whether the American versions of these smartphones will receive the update to Ice Cream Sandwich. T-Mobile has the LG G2X (the American version of the Optimus 2X), which is currently running Android 2.3. Since the international version is being upgraded to ICS, I see no reason why the G2X won’t be updated.

The feedback on the Facebook post is generally positive, but it is clear that LG owners are anxiously awaiting the upgrade to Android 4.0. If LG announces any other further information regarding the status of American LG smartphones or other international smartphones being upgraded to Android 4.0, we will keep you updated.

[LG Facebook]

Just a few days ago, we reported the fact that the Samsung Galaxy Nexus wasn’t going to launch until December.  Many rumors previously indicated that it would launch sometime during November, but it looks like that is not going to be the case anymore.  Fortunately, we do have some good news for you folks on this Black Friday as there is a good chance the Galaxy Nexus will launch for $199 on a two year contract with Verizon.

Since neither Google, Samsung, nor Verizon ever announced pricing information for the Galaxy Nexus, it was up to the public’s speculation as to how much it would cost on contract.  Given the fact that previous 4G LTE phones on Verizon easily cost $249-299 on a two year contract, many naturally assumed the Galaxy Nexus would cost the same (at the very least).  Now, however, a premature Verizon ad for the Holidays has been discovered which points to a $199 price tag for the Galaxy Nexus.

We’re still not sure whether the $199 price refers to a special Holiday promotion Verizon could run for the holidays, or if this is going to be the permanent price tag for the Galaxy Nexus when it finally launches.  Either way, it sure looks like a good bet that this will be the price since the ad was discovered to be created by NetShelter who usually runs Verizon’s advertising promotions.

At this point in time, we’re just waiting for Verizon’s official announcement for availability and pricing on the first Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone.

[SmartKeitei] [AndroidPolice]

Verizon Wireless passed up its chance on the Samsung Galaxy S II because it new it was going to launch a different killer Samsung smartphone — namely the one attributed to the pure Google experience.  The Samsung Galaxy Nexus was unveiled over a month ago, and while the model in the United Kingdom already launched, it has yet to be seen on American shores.  In fact, even Canadian carriers quickly jumped to their respective websites informing customers of launch dates and other information.  Verizon Wireless, the main carrier confirmed to launch the Galaxy Nexus, has been relatively quiet in terms of relaying information about the first Ice Cream Sandwich phone, but the general consensus has always been that it would launch in November.

According to a recent report by BusinessInsider, Samsung has confirmed to them that the Galaxy Nexus will launch in December.  Recently, we heard several whispers of a potential launch date for the Galaxy Nexus on December 8th.  While Samsung did not confirm any specific dates in December, it looks like the December 8th date has more credence than any November date we heard.

Verizon Wireless — in the past few weeks — launched two high-end 4G LTE smartphones: the Motorola DROID RAZR and the HTC Rezound.  I imagine there are many customers trying to resist the urge to buy either the DROID RAZR or the Rezound because they prefer the Galaxy Nexus.  However, a customer is only going to wait so long for a phone that has yet to even been officially given a launch date by Verizon.  In any case, it will be interesting to see if Samsung or Verizon will out right announce the launch date and pricing information.

[BusinessInsider]

Believe it or not, something other than Apple iPhone Mania took place today. The Android Platform Version Chart, which helps developers decide which version of Android to support, was released today. The latest breakdown on the number of software versions on active devices using the Android Market is predictable – Froyo’s falling and Gingerbread’s growing.

Froyo has been falling slowly for months, but the latest decline wasn’t a slow affair. While it once took five months for Froyo’s Android share to drop from 61 percent in March to 51 percent in September, Froyo is already down to 45 percent this month.

Why the sudden dip? For starters, a Gingerbread update was applied to some popular phones, namely the HTC Thunderbolt, and multiple new devices running Gingerbread went on sale. Because the platform chart pulls data from the Android Market, and those new Bionic owners couldn’t wait to load some new apps on their beloved phones, that greatly increased the Gingerbread’s shares.

Here’s a closer look at the Platform charts released today.

Notice anything else interesting? Me too. Honeycomb now accounts for 1.8 percent of the total apps accessing the Android Market. Going back to my previous estimates for counting the total number of Android devices believed to be in existence – about 168 million at the time of this writing – and multiplying it by 0.018, we can guess that there are more than 3 million active tablets running a version of Android Honeycomb. It could actually be more considering that even our conservative estimates say that there should be about 730,000 daily Android activations by now, but it’s tough to get a truly accurate picture until Google updates activation figures.

On the heels of Ice Cream Sandwich, the difference between Honeycomb tablets and phones may be less of an issue. Device fragmentation will still be a problem for the foreseeable future, but it’s on track to be a smaller issue than it is today.

[Google] via RWW

In what sounds like the plot to a Syfy movie, Nexus S has fired off into space to help robots. NASA sent two Android-powered Nexus S smartphones into space with the last manned space shuttle, Atlantis, on the STS-135 mission. The duo of smartphones is to test and investigate how humans and robots can coexist in space more efficiently.

In the mission, NASA uses the phones to control SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites), originally developed by the astute minds over at MIT. Each SPHERE Satellite is self-contained with power, propulsion, computing and navigation equipment. The phones do things like record video and capture sensor data, duties that once required the astronauts. Nexus S is the first commercial smartphone certified by NASA to fly on the space shuttle and cleared for use on the space station.

Why did NASA ultimately choose Android over iOS, or another smartform platform? NASA thought an Android device would be a good fit since it’s open source. Google’s engineers even wrote a sensor logging app that NASA ended up using on the mission, not too long ago we did a review of the NASA app.

In the future, the phones will control and maneuver the SPHERES using the IOIO board and possibly the Android Open Accessory Development Kit (ADK). I for one wish that robotic capabilities start to become more normal in the years to come; using my phone to control all my house appliances would be awesome.

Check out the video below to see the Nexus S and the SPHERES in action.

[Google Mobile]