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!

“Droid Does,” the campaign that started it all has been reignited this morning by Verizon to show off their current lineup of DROID phones, the RAZR, RAZR MAXX and DROID 4. Things are a bit different this time around though. What was once robotic arms, ninja women, bike chase scenes, and futuristic science fiction has now become an outlet for smiles, feature highlighting, and uses for real world situations. Enter the new world of “Droid Does” where actual humans are involved. Has been a while since we had one of these, so I’d love to know what you think. 

The first fastboot file for the DROID 4 is now available for those of you that want to have a security blanket of sorts should you run into any software issues with your phone. The build number on this file is 6.13.215, which is the original software build for the device. Within the last week, the D4 was updated to 6.13.219, so you may want to verify that this file can be flashed over 6.13.219 before doing so.

Via:  Eternity Project

We were chatting with our industry friend @P3Droid yesterday when he started dropping talk of the entire new DROID line of phones from Verizon being unlocked to work on AT&T and T-Mobile GSM networks. At launch, we knew that most (if not all) of these phones had GSM radios buried within, but that Verizon had shut them down so that owners wouldn’t be tempted to switch carriers. Thanks to a little hackery from our dev community, things have changed a touch. We were told that the phones can work on AT&T’s HSPA and T-Mobile’s EDGE networks. We were also told that the full instructions would be out later today once P3 and the boys polished up the process and made sure it worked flawlessly. It appears as if some instructions and files are already available at the XDA thread we linked below though.

Interested? Let us know how it  goes.

Via:  @P3droid | XDA

The DROID 4 update to build 6.13.219 that we first reported on last week is rolling out now.  If you did not manually update using our file, then you will want to head into Settings>About phone>System updates and pull it. It’s a smallish update at around 18MB, but it does include a new MotoCast widget, improved battery life, and better keyboard backlighting management.

Here is the full changelog.

Cheers J, Bob and @daryls61!

Phones with physical keyboards – they are almost like dinosaurs or extinct birds these days. Fewer and fewer models are released now-a-days as anything but all-touchscreen. Sure we saw the DROID 4 hit stores at the beginning of this year along with a MyTouch or two on the side, but it’s clear that we may not see another for a long time. HTC yesterday confirmed that their future will likely not include anything with a physical/QWERTY keyboard going forward, so it got us wondering – do you care?

We know that many of you were holding out for the D4 as physical keyboards are a must-have, but what about the rest of you? If physical keyboards die off completely, will you miss them? Will you ever find yourself craving one again?

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Moments ago we noticed that the first DROID 4 update had been approved as build 6.13.219 and would be arriving in the near future. And then moments after that, we received the update file from a friend and have it for you below. It weighs it at around 18MB and can be applied over the top of 6.13.215 (the current build). You will notice that build number in the title of the file, but that’s how Motorola does it – they always name their update files with the the build you are coming from, not the one you are going to. 

The RAZR and RAZR MAXX are not the only Motorola phones receiving love on the update front this week. The DROID 4 is set to receive its first since launch, bringing the phone up to build 6.13.219. Included in the update is a new MotoCast widget, improved battery life, keyboard backlight fixes, and better WiFi connectivity. It’s not Ice Cream Sandwich, but none of Moto’s phones are receiving that just yet.

When these changelogs go live, we usually see the update start to rollout within the next week. Let us know if you see it!

Update:  We have the file available for flashing here.

The update is 18MB in size. More info.