Were you worried after purchasing your DROID 4 that it may not see an Ice Cream Sandwich update for some time? You were not alone, however, today’s finding of an official Android 4.0.4 build for the device is great news. Pulled via “Cheesecake,” this comes straight from Motorola and is more than likely the newest test build available. Actually, this is the first ICS test build for the phone, but this at least lets us know that Moto is hard at work on getting the latest version of Android to the D4.

If you would like to upgrade to this on your DROID 4, you can, but know that this will likely take you off of the upgrade path and could leave you on it permanently. As many of you know, Motorola phones and leaked test builds don’t always play nice with previously leaked fastboot files. Trying to return to Gingerbread could result in a bricked phone. Voodoo RootKeeper is also reportedly not keeping root. Proceed with caution.

On a related note, we should point out that the DROID Bionic is now the last major Moto phone without a leaked official ICS build. We were told that it will receive it at some point, but with RAZR and D4 builds in the wild, I think it’s safe to say that the Bionic will not be first.

Via:  DroidForums

Cheers Jason!

It’s tough to tell exactly when this change happened, but Google is now only allowing you to “Deauthorize” 4 devices per year in Google Music. What does it mean to “Deauthorize,” you ask? Since Google Music gives you the opportunity to attach up to 10 devices to your account, there may be a time when you reach that limit and need to remove one so that you can attach another. In order to add new devices once you have reached that limit, Google asks that you “Deauthorize” one.

For most users, this limit of 4 deauthorizations may never be an issue. However, for those that handle dozens of new devices throughout a year (like silly bloggers) or who flash ROM after ROM, this limit could be bothersome down the road. For ROM addicts, Google Music handles each ROM differently. At times, it will simply re-register your device as the same device, but in some cases, it thinks your new ROM is a new device, thus adding another to your list of the 10 available. Starting to see the problem?

Throughout the rest of 2012, you are going to have to be careful each time you flash a new ROM, to make sure it isn’t taking up another spot on your list. If it does, those 4 that you can “Deauthorize” may be gone before you know it.

To be fair to Google and the music industry, this move probably makes sense. If they allow you to “Deauthorize” at will, you and your friends could essentially share the same music collection forever. Headed to a party, but don’t have Billy Joe’s hot 100 collection? All you have to do is add his Google account to your phone, and authorize his Music account onto your device for the night. You could then download his entire collection if you’d like, making this an even stickier situation.

Not sure how Google can remedy this, but for now, we just recommend that you keep an eye on that list.

Update:  Google has apparently opened this back up for the time being. If you head into your Google Music accounts again, you should be able to deauthorize as many devices as you’d like.

Via:  Google Music

Cheers Shawn and everyone else!

Evernote has always been one of the top Android apps, but today’s update took it over the top. A new UI with panel swiping and easier navigation made this not just a “must have” but a “if you don’t have this, you are completely silly” type of app for Android users. The search functionality is as good as it gets, the tagging and organizational abilities are something all apps should build from, and the fact that their dev team is staying current with Ice Cream Sandwich is worth an applause. Grab the file from the Play Store link below, but be sure to watch the video as well if you are new to Evernote. 

The big news of the day (other than Tim now joining me at Google I/O), is the WSJ report that talks of Google including multiple partners in their “Nexus” or lead device program. Their goal is to sell unsubsidized phones (full retail) directly through the Google Play Store to partially remove carriers from the situation. Now, people that buy these phones would obviously have to purchase a plan from a carrier, but there wouldn’t be contracts and you would be free to use your phone on the carrier of your choice, assuming their network supports it.

After this news broke, I asked for you to react in the comments. While reading through those reactions, I noticed some of the same points or questions being made over and over and wanted to attempt to address them here. Jump below to see what we’re thinking over here at DL. 

The Wall Street Journal reported this afternoon that Google may give multiple (5 to be exact) smartphone and tablet manufacturers early access to the latest builds of Android for lead devices, and then sell those directly to consumers through the Play Store. The plan, according to this report, is to have these 5 devices ready by the time Jelly Bean is launched around Thanksgiving. As you all know, in the past, Google has hand-selected one partner to release new versions of Android each year, a program better know as the “Nexus” program. This would be a drastic change from that, but I’m having trouble trying to find a reason why it doesn’t sound like the most amazing change ever. 

Nova Launcher and WidgetLocker received updates today to include support for “unread counts” on icons for Gmail, SMS, missed calls, Google Talk, etc. TeslaCoil, the makers of these two, created an app that works with them called TeslaUnread that allows your most commonly used apps to show unread counts from your home screen or lock screen. The app has to be used with either Nova or WidgetLocker in order to work, but it’s free, so you shouldn’t mind having to install it. As you can see in the photo above, it even works with custom icon packs.

Along with the support for TeslaUnread, the Nova update included new gestures, reverse wallpaper scrolling, support for GO Launcher icon packs, and a bunch of other fun things.

Play Links:  Nova Launcher | WidgetLocker | TeslaUnread

If anyone told you back on December 15, the day the Galaxy Nexus was released on Verizon, that it wouldn’t receive another update for at least 5 months, would you have believed them? I wouldn’t have. But that’s where we stand now that it is May 15. The G-Nex, as we like to call it around these parts, was bumped up to Android 4.0.2 on release day and hasn’t budged since.

Two different and “official” Android 4.0.4 updates have leaked, along with an Android engineer pointing out that carriers may be to blame for the slowness, but none of it matters. Here we are with a “Nexus” that feels more like a skinned mess of a phone at times, supported directly from an OEM or better yet, the carrier. Is this a Nexus? Yeah, it essentially is. However, if your definition is that a Nexus should receive timely (or before anyone else) updates and be supported by AOSP “officially” from Google, then the line has been blurred.