Refresh Roundup: week of October 17, 2011

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging to get updated. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery from the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout attips at engadget dawt comand let us know. Enjoy!

Official Android updates

  • Given up on the HTC Thunderbolt's mystical Gingerbread update? HTC's still insisting that it's on its way, despite multiple delays. This time, however, the OEM isn't giving a timeframe for ETA. [Droid-Life]
  • The T-Mobile G2 was boosted to Android 2.3.3 in July, but we're glad to see the device getting yet another refresh. This time the G2 is getting hooked up with 2.3.4, which promises better battery life and improved data roaming, among other minor fixes. [AndroidCentral]
  • What other device is getting 2.3.4 this week? The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc, that's what. It's only rolled out to parts of Europe and the Middle East, so be patient if you haven't seen an update show up for your unit yet. [AndroidCentral]
  • Up north, the LG Shine Plus on Telus is getting Android 2.3.3. [MobileSyrup]
  • Anyone using a Motorola Atrix or Milestone 2 in the UK should expect to have an update to Gingerbread sometime next month. [Unwired View]
  • Motorola mentioned on its Facebook page that the Droid Bionic will receive Ice Cream Sandwich, though it wouldn't share details on when. [Thanks, Grant]
Unofficial Android updates, custom ROMs and misc. hackery
  • Amazingly enough, the Samsung Epic 4G is still missing Gingerbread (officially, at least). In hopefully what could be considered another step forward, Sammy's pushed out the kernel source for Android 2.3. Keep those fingers crossed, Epic 4G owners. [AndroidCentral]
  • Motorola released the kernel source for the Droid Bionic. [AndroidCentral]
  • Speaking of kernel source, HTC's also gone ahead and released code for the myTouch 4G Slide, Desire (Gingerbread), and the Raider 4G. [AndroidCentral]
  • Three days after its kernel was made public, T-Mobile's version of the Samsung Galaxy S II has now been successfully rooted. [Phandroid]
  • Looking down at your HTC Sensation 4G (or any other Sense 3.0 or higher device) filled with Dre envy? Wish you had the cool Beats that's starting to trickle out to the latest HTC handsets? Leave it to XDA to find a way to port the new audio functionality over to any Sense 3.0 or 3.5 phone without having to ditch your current ROM. [Droid-Life]
  • Anyone frustrated by the news about the HTC Thunderbolt above and is savvy to the rooting world may want to check out a new Gingerbread RUU just leaked for the device. [Android Police]
Other platforms
  • Select Symbian Anna devices are currently getting a bug fix. Sadly, it's not Belle. [Unwired View]
  • The Windows Phone Team has reported that the Mango update is available to nearly everyone now. [Windows Team Blog]
  • The iPhone Dev Team brought out a new version of Redsn0w, 0.9.9b7, which was designed to significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to jailbreak your iDevice. [Pocketnow]
Refreshes we covered this week

Refresh Roundup: week of October 17, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Oct 2011 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How to save a video attachment with iOS 5 on iPhone or iPad

Wondering how to save video attachments you get in Email to your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad camera roll? In previous versions of iOS, while you could easily tap-and-hold to save pictures in Mail, Safari, Messages and other built-in-apps, trying to do the same with movies —...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/9EmH6OnnEyE/

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ASUS Zenbook UX31 review

It was just last week that we got to take home the Acer Aspire S3, the first Ultrabook to go on sale here in the States. Unfortunately, it doesn't live up to the pillars laid out by Intel: its performance trails similar machines, its battery craps out early and the design, while portable, is too chintzy to make it a bellwether for skinny Windows laptops. Our verdict, in a sentence, was that you'd be better off getting a MacBook Air, or at least considering other Ultrabooks -- namely, ASUS' line of Zenbooks.

As it turns out, one showed up on our doorstep just a few days later. In many ways, the UX31 is everything the S3 is not: it has a gorgeous all-metal design and comes standard with an SSD and 1600 x 900 display (not to mention, a case and two bundled adapters). And with a starting price of $1,099, it undercuts the entry-level (and similarly configured) MacBook Air by two hundred bucks. So is this the Ultrabook we've all been waiting for? We suggest pouring yourself a large beverage, settling into a comfy chair and meeting us past the break. We've got a lot to say on the subject.

Continue reading ASUS Zenbook UX31 review

ASUS Zenbook UX31 review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/21/asus-zenbook-ux31-review/

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Woman Has Her Breasts and Uterus Removed—and She Didn't Even Have Cancer [Science]

A 35-year-old woman preemptively had a hysterectomy and had her breasts removed after she tested positive for a gene strongly associated with breast and ovarian cancer. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Ca3QUQy-cyk/woman-has-her-breasts-and-uterus-removedand-she-didnt-even-have-cancer

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15 Classic Braun Gadgets that Inspired Apple [Design]

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Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/zo_MfmrwxTA/

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Scientists Have Fun With Quantum Levitation

"Quantum levitation" may not be a household term, but one look at a YouTube video now nearing 3 million views, and you'll soon get the gist of what's going on. In essence, it's a thin but solid disc floating in mid-air. Magic and science fiction might be what spring to mind, but in fact what's being demonstrated is real, live science.

Source: http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/73556.html

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The Best Worst Videos of Liquor Store Disasters [Video]

There's something about liquor stores that bring out the very worst in people. Like once people enter those advertisement plastered glass doors, the switch for logic flips off and the TIME TO GET CRAZY switch is enabled. Fight, Rob, Steal, Fail. Here are the worst liquor store disasters captured on security cams. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/xFZ6F2fTrJc/

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Stuxnet Sibling Duqu Slinks Into Industrial Systems

Malware that appears to be similar to the highly toxic Stuxnet worm was made public Tuesday by security firm Symantec. Duqu, named for the "~DQ" file names it creates, appears to work as a remote access data-collecting program that uses some of the same infecting techniques as Stuxnet, the malware discovered about a year ago infiltrating global computer systems, particularly in Iran.

Source: http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/73543.html

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