Motorola: Droid RAZR Getting ICS Update Q1 2012. (But Will They Mar It With Terrible UI?)

For all intents and purposes the less than 24-hour old Motorola Droid RAZR is effectively obsolete thanks to the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Ice Cream Sandwich handedly beating Moto’s offering in both hardware and software. But wait! According to Motorola Mobility’s SVP of Portfolio and Product Management, Alain Mutricy, the RAZR will jump into the here and now come Q1 2012 with its own official Ice Cream Sandwich update. Coming along for the ride will be Motorola’s new MotoCast and Smart Actions features, too. Crisis averted, right? Partially.

The Galaxy Nexus is a much better product from a hardware standpoint. On top of that we’ll have to wait and see how carriers and manufacturers tweak ICS. So far we’ve seen absolutely 0 worthwhile skins/themes provided. Hopefully they (all of them) keep their hands off ICS.

T-Mobile Loses 4th Place: C-Spire Wireless Announces iPhone 4S Pre-Orders/Availability.

It’s beginning to look like T-Mobile will never officially sell the iPhone. Even though they’re the nation’s 4th largest carrier, they’re forever stuck with nothing better than “5th iPhone carrier” now that C-Spire (formerly Cellular South) has revealed iPhone 4S pre-orders are now live with an official release in “the coming weeks”.

Yeah, you can unlock an iPhone 4S and run it on T-Mo’s EDGE network. But come on, EDGE….

Apple Launches Tribute Page To Steve Jobs.

According to a newly launched page over on Apple’s website, Apple.com/SteveJobs/ over 1 million people have sent in letters of condolences, memories, and fond feelings for Steve Jobs.

Over a million people from all over the world have shared their memories, thoughts, and feelings about Steve. One thing they all have in common — from personal friends to colleagues to owners of Apple products — is how they’ve been touched by his passion and creativity. You can view some of these messages below.
And share your own at rememberingsteve@apple.com

If you’ve got a few minutes it’s kind of cool to sit and read through the scrolling list and see how one man managed to personally affect so many people despite never meeting them.

What We Can Learn From Steve Jobs’ Passing

Many were upset by the passing of Steve Jobs on October 5th and understandably so. Jobs was a force in the tech world whose innovation will become legendary. Jobs did a lot with his time, but his death still leaves a bitter taste in many mouths. One can’t help but wonder what else was up this creative genius’s sleeve or what might have been if he had been able to continue innovating for just a few more years.

Jobs died from complications with pancreatic cancer. He had been diagnosed in 2003. Generally, the outlook for pancreatic cancer is grim but Jobs had a less-aggressive type. He did not receive radiation or chemotherapy but did have the tumor removed in 2004. The surgery was successful, but two years later Jobs still appeared gaunt when he delivered the 2006 keynote for the Worldwide Developer’s Conference. By 2008 stockholders were demanding information of Job’s health feeling that the value of Apple hinged on Job’s ability to perform. In response, and signature Jobs brashness, he ended a 2008 Apple Event with a slide reporting his blood pressure. Normalcy appeared to be returning…

Siri Ported To All iOS 5 Devices And Successfully Connected To Apple’s Servers.

Siri is undoubtedly one of the staple features of the iPhone 4S. Too bad it’s limited to that device. We’ve already heard that the older iPhone 4 is plenty powerful enough to run Siri on, though Apple has some sort of method to block non-iPhone 4S devices. But iOS jailbreak developer @JackoPlane has apparently managed to kill two birds with one stone — he’s gotten Siri ported to all devices capable of running iOS 5 and managed to get Apple’s servers to not block non-iPhone 4S devices. Furthermore, JackoPlane says an iPhone 4S jailbreak to get Siri off said phone isn’t needed as he’s already got the files.

As of writing there isn’t any video/photographic proof nor any app released that can be tested. But JackoPlane promises the goods will be released “as soon as possible”.

We’re sure there are a few million non-iPhone 4S users that would love to stress test Siri and ask her/him all of life’s most challenging questions. At the same time we’re curious how another large influx of Siri server requests would slow down an already taxed server system.

Stay tuned…

Brief: ICS Coming To Other Android Devices By Mid-December “A Couple Weeks After Galaxy Nexus Relesae”.

The Galaxy Nexus will launch with Google’s latest and greatest Android 4.0/Ice Cream Sandwich. But what about everyone else? While upgrades depend on both manufacturers and carriers (unfortunately), the less red-tapped phones (read: older Nexus devices) should see Ice Cream Sandwich updates a couple weeks after the Galaxy Nexus drops. In other words, expect ICS updates to start trickling out no later than mid-December.

Unless you are into rooting and custom ROMs. Those people will likely have ICS in some form or fashion by the end of next week.

Download Ice Cream Sandwich “Roboto” Font Now!

Getting into the Ice Cream Sandwich fun is still a few weeks out. The Google Nexus isn’t coming until November, with the actual launch of ICS for other devices dropping a couple weeks after that. But at least one aspect of ICS can be had now — the Roboto font.

All you’ll need is “Font Changer” from the Android Market (requires root). Next, download the Roboto font and navigate to System > fonts. (Download Roboto font: XDA.) Drop the three .tff Roboto font files. Also copy the same three .tff files to the “.fontchanger” folder on your SD card. Next, open Font Changer, select the Roboto font, and then reboot.

Let us know it goes (and share a screenshot while you’re at it)!