Motorola Begins Rolling Out Android 4 ICS to Some Xoom Owners
If you happen to own a Motorola Xoom, you will be happy to hear that Motorola has just announced on Twitter that the tablet is all set to get the newest operating system from Google – Android 4.0.3, aka Ice Cream Sandwich.
Of course, only those of you with a WiFi enabled Xoom are able to get the update. If you’ve got a Verizon 3G/4G tablet, you’re out of luck for now.
If I owned a 3G Xoom, I’d be a pretty unhappy camper right about now. After paying a premium for the tablet and then an additional monthly fee, I’d expect to receive the fabulous new version of Android on time and at the same time as those who are using a WiFi tablet.
This is no small update either. We’re talking iOS 5 magnitude, with ICS having an updated browser with quicker rendering, a newly redesigned app launcher, re-sizeable widgets, versatile imaging capabilities, a data manager, and a whole new look.
Android-based smartphone owners already have to deal with serious fragmentation with different versions of Android on devices, and now that’s extending to tablets as well. I thought ICS was the operating system that was meant to unify the Android platform.
Can you imagine the backlash if Apple attempted to roll out an update for just WiFi users while ignoring their 3G customers? Of course, Apple wouldn’t make that mistake in the first place.
I’m guessing there aren’t too many 3G Motorola Xooms out there. If you have one, Motorola says that the tablets will be getting the update, but did not give a timeframe. For you WiFi Xoom owners, the ICS upgrade has already begun rolling out over the air, and all upgrades should be completed over the next few weeks.