Motorola RAZR and RAZR Maxx get ICS update

Motorola RAZR and RAZR Maxx owners rejoice! Motorola has finally released the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update for the RAZR and RAZR Maxx. The two phones are being updated via a 200-240 MB over-the-air update, Motorola said in a statement on their website.

The new update boasts of many new enhancements such as a new user interface, new lock screen, an improved voice input that displays dictation in real time, a SMARTACTIONS app, the new camera app with time-lapse video recording, the improved Ice Cream Sandwich web browser, along with many other features and under-the-hood tweaks.

Motorola RAZR and RAZR Maxx get ICS

Motorola said the upgrade would also include home screen customisation and navigation changes, as well as modifications in the social networking integration in the devices. Along with the update, Motorola is also providing nine EA games for free.

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All the stock Ice Cream Sandwich features also make it into this update for the phone, such as the ability to make folders by dragging an application icon over another, the improved app drawer – now called the All Apps screen, and a data counter for 2G and 3G users, among others. The widgets also get updated to be more up to date with the functionality and the blue Tron-esque look of the Ice Cream Sandwich update.

Ice Cream Sandwich has been one of the major updates for the Android OS so far. Phones jumped from 2.3 Gingerbread to 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich as 3.0 Honeycomb was a tablet-only update.

An early ICS build for the RAZR was leaked earlier in the year. However, the hacking community has gone ahead to enable many different ROMs built on ICS to run on the phone smoothly enough to make it a daily driver.

According to Motorola, those who upgrade their phones to Ice Cream Sandwich will not be able to go back to Gingerbread. The release schedule for the 4.0 update for other Motorola phones is yet to be announced.

The Motorola RAZR boasts a dual core processor and a body made of KEVLAR fibre, along with a battery life of 17 hours on a conference call. The RAZR Maxx was released late last month in India.

Here is a quick look at the specifications of the Motorola RAZR:

• Android 2.3.5 (Gingerbread), upgradeable to 4.0
• 1.2GHz Dual Core Processor
• 1GB RAM
• Dimensions: 130.70mm x 68.90mm x 7.1mm
• Weight: 127g
• 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Advanced display with a resolution of 540 x 960
• 8 Megapixel rear camera
• 1.3 Megapixel front facing camera for video calling
• 1080p HD video recording and image stabilization technology
• Bluetooth 2.0, HDMI, USB 2.0, Wi-Fi 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n
• 3.5mm audio jack
• 16GB internal memory, 16 GB microSD card pre-installed
• 1780 mAh battery

And here are the specs for the Motorola RAZR Maxx:

• Android 2.3.6 (Gingerbread), upgradeable to 4.0
• 1.2GHz Dual Core Processor
• 1GB RAM
• Dimensions: 130.70mm x 68.90mm x 9 mm
• Weight: 145g
• 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Advanced display with a resolution of 540 x 960
• 8 Megapixel rear camera
• 1.3 Megapixel front facing camera for video calling
• 1080p HD video recording and image stabilization technology
• Bluetooth 4.0, USB 2.0, Wi-Fi 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n
• 3.5mm audio jack
• 16GB internal memory, microSD up to 32GB
• 3300 mAh battery