Verizon has been silent for the most part when it comes to Ice Cream Sandwich updates for their lineup of Android devices. Many of the OEMs that they deal with have informed us in one way or another, but we were waiting for Big Red to make some things official since they sign off on final software. Their list is now public and is as follows.

For HTC devices, we will see Android 4.0 on the Thunderbolt, Incredible 2, Rhyme and Rezound. Sorry original Incredible owners. For Motorola devices we will see it on the XOOM, Bionic, RAZR, RAZR MAXX, DROID 4 and XYBOARD tablets. Sorry DROID X, DROID X2, and DROID 3 owners. For Samsung devices it looks like only the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 7.7 will see it. No DROID Charge. From LG, only the Spectrum will receive ICS.

Sooo, quite a few devices missing including a couple that should have more than enough power under the hood to run Android 4.0.

Update:  Yes, I see that it says “4G LTE devices currently scheduled” in the press release which has led many to believe that this is simply a 4G LTE only list and that some 3G devices were specifically left out. I’m having a hard time following that logic since the Incredible 2 and Rhyme were also listed and are 3G-only phones. Also, the DROID Charge which is 4G LTE, is left off. This is an assumption of course, but I would tend to lean towards this list being pretty complete.

No dates were given.

Don’t feel like paying the high price tag, but still want to get your hands on a Motorola DROID XYBOARD 8.2 tablet? Well, Big Red is giving away two tabs every single day until March 11. Supposing when you’ve sold about 8 in total, they have to figure out something to trim the inventory. All you have to do is fill out the entry form and you can enter as many times as you like. It’s definitely a great way of getting a brand new tablet into your life for the best price…free. Good luck!

Be sure to check out our DROID XYBOARD review as well.

Via: Verizon

Cheers Drewrx!

Motorola did the DROID XYBOARD no favors with its unfortunate name, and with the device coming out in a timeframe just before the advent of quad-core processors, this tablet ended up out in the cold. Throw in a high price tag on-contract and an unenthusiastic launch and you have one interesting tablet left. But this is the first tablet to bear the legendary DROID name. Does it stand up to it? Let’s have a look.

If you own a DROID XYBOARD – that would be the locked down, non-quad-core Honeycomb tablet with Blur splashed over top of it – you will soon be able to root thanks to @djrbliss. I’m assuming the root method is similar to what he released for the rest of Motorola’s products last week, but the actual 1-click file won’t be available until tomorrow. You can find the root method at MDW.

I’m curious, did anyone buy a XYBOARD?

Motorola updated their timeline for device updates this morning, finally revealing their plans to push Ice Cream Sandwich. So far, the list is not going to excite any of you. As far as U.S. devices go, none of them on Verizon have specific details and are currently “in evaluation.” You will see that the Atrix, Atrix 2 and Photon 4G will all receive Android 4.0 in Q3, but the RAZR, RAZR MAXX, Bionic, DROID 4 and almost any other device tied to Big Red has not been given an expected rollout date. In fact, those non-VZW phones are all in development while the ones you all care about are still in the “planning” phase.

Why is that? Tough to tell. We were all hoping that the RAZRs and the Bionic would see this major update first since they were released just before Ice Cream Sandwich went live. Q3 though for many of these? Seems so far away. Then again, Moto did provide an outlook into how they update phones which we calculated to be about 6 months. I guess that would put us right around the end of Q2 or early Q3. Someone figure out why the Atrix series and the Photon would be up first ahead of the DROID brand. Carrier, maybe?

Hoping to know more very soon. 

More updates for Verizon Android devices! The DROID XYBOARD tablets are up next and will receive build 1.6.0M_279. That’s right, both will see almost the same exact update. The only difference we were able to spot, were the additional “Stylus enhancements” that are included in the 10.1′s new build. Other than that both will receive better browser performance, improved touch response, will hold data connection while toggling between WiFi, and most notably, are now “Global Roaming” devices. If you are keeping track, these would be Big Red’s first 4G LTE global devices, something we hope points towards them unlocking the ability in phones.

Update:  Verizon reached out to explain exactly how this global update will work. First, XYBOARDs will receive the update that is detailed in this post. Within 2 weeks, a second update will arrive that updates the SIM card, making it ready for global travels. Once users have received both they will have coverage in 205 countries, and more than 150 of those with 3G speeds.

The updates are 83.8MB in size.  

Why Motorola went with the term “XYBOARD” here in the U.S. is beyond me, but if you want a tablet with such a unique (to put it nicely) name that isn’t tied to a carrier and connects via WiFi only, then you can pick one up today. Both the 10.1″ and 8.2″ models are available in two sizes:  16GB or 32GB. The 16GB 8.2″ model runs $399, with the 10.1″ starting at $499. Personally at that price, I would recommend the Transformer Prime since it already has Ice Cream Sandwich (XYBOARDs do not), runs a quad-core Tegra 3 processor (XYBOARDs only dual-core OMAP), has an advanced display that is crazy sensitive to touch, and has one of the best cameras a tablet will ever see.

Moto, time to rethink your strategy.

Buy.