HTC Vivid Now the Third U.S. Phone to Get Ice Cream Sandwich; Samsung Nexus S Update is Next

HTC Vivid, one of AT&T's first LTE phones, is now getting an over the air update to the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich software, and the Samsung Nexus S will get an additional update to fix battery problems from a previous update. AT&T isn't officially offering ICS up, but Vivid owners should be able to see if the update is available. If you get the notification the update is ready, make sure to plug in your phone to a computer and switch to Wi-Fi. That's the only way the update will download. The file is 300 megabytes in size.

The first thing to notice is the missing arc launcher at the bottom of the homescreen, and the additional loss of the permanent Personalize app. The bar is now fully customizable so you can tap and drag whatever apps you want there. Also, since this is AT&T we're talking about, the update includes some of their apps that you can hide in ICS. You can't, however, uninstall them. With Android 4.0 installed, though, just go to settings, then apps and find the app you want to disable. Tap it and then confirm the message (it says the app won't work properly if you disable it), and the app will no longer be visible in the launcher.

Sense 3.6 Included in the Update

Another thing to note is the update includes an HTC Sense update, so the Ice Cream Sandwich look won't be pure Google. You're looking at Sense 3.6, not the 4.0 version launching with the One X later this year. The Sense overlay helps explain the lock screen and the fact the apps there will now be the same ones you load into the launcher bar on the homescreen. Furthermore, Beats Audio is now available for use in non-HTC apps with the Sense update. Start playing music with, say, Pandora, and when the audio kicks in, the Beats Audio icon will pop up at the top of the screen. You can tap that to turn it on or off if you like your music with lots of bass or not.

One last thing to keep in mind is because AT&T is not officially pushing the update down, it is possible you won't see the update is available. To force the device to check for the update, dial *--682--* to see if the update is available for your phone. It might not be available to all customers yet, but it's definitely coming down for some and will continue to do so. Just remember, you are a luch HTC Vivid owner! No other devices even have ICS yet except for the Galaxy Nexus and HTC Sensation.

Samsung Nexus S

For Nexus S and Nexus S 4G owners, some will have already gotten the ICS update as far back as December. Google started rolling it out but then stopped when the update itself began causing problems. A new version of that aborted update will start rolling out in the next few weeks, tech blog Engadget quoted a trusted source as having said. Let us know in the comments if you already have the update for the Nexus S or if you are having any luck with the Vivid update.