HP TouchPad Ice Cream Sandwich CM9 port gets video tease

HP TouchPad owner but webOS 3.0.5 not doing it for you? A delicious, dripping Ice Cream Sandwich may be on its way to you sooner rather than later, with news – and a video demo after the cut – that the CyanogenMod team has managed to get custom Android 4.0-based ROM CM9 running on the short-lived slate.

“We are well on our way in terms of progress” the team says, and “hope to give you something to play with soon.” Right now there are only two main outstanding issues to overcome: the camera doesn’t work, and video playback isn’t supported. Work on the latter is apparently ongoing.

That still means there’s plenty to see today, including Angry Birds and some smooth animated fish rendering. Connectivity – WiFi and Bluetooth – are both supported and functional, but the CM team still isn’t giving a fixed estimate on when TouchPad owners might be able to actually download the new ROM.
(slashgear.com)

Google boasts of 700,000 Android activations a day

INTERNET SEARCH OUTFIT Google has boasted that it now activates 700,000 Android devices per day.

The numbers were revealed by Andy Rubin in a Google Plus post as a brief note. "There are now over 700,000 Android devices activated every day
," wrote the Android operating system chief.

Later he clarified the statement and explained that each activation is a new one, as opposed to an old handset making its way into new hands.

"...and for those wondering, we count each device only once (ie, we don't count re-sold devices)," he said, adding, "and 'activations' means you go into a store, buy a device, put it on the network by subscribing to a wireless service".

This means that there might be uncounted handsets out there, but it's perhaps unlikely that there are many that have not connected to wireless services. Some might be lurking in Christmas stockings though, so perhaps the new year will see an updated post from Rubin.

In July the company said that it was seeing 550,000 activations each day, and earlier, 400,000.
(theinquirer.net)

Galaxy Nexus: First Android 4 smartphone triumphs -- almost

At long last, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is here, the first smartphone to run Google's Android 4 "Ice Cream Sandwich" release. There's no question: When you first get your hands on the Galaxy Nexus, available in a 4G LTE version in the United States on the Verizon Wireless network and in 3G GSM models in Canada and the United Kingdom, you'll likely drool over the huge, bright screen. It makes the 3.5-inch screen of the iPhone feel tiny and cramped, and argues that it's time for Apple to make an iPhone with at least a 4-inch screen.

But spend a bit of time with the Galaxy Nexus, and you start to discover some of the cracks in both the hardware and the Android 4 OS that keep the Galaxy Nexus from topping the iPhone 4S as the best smartphone for business users. It's really too bad that Google and its hardware partners continue to skimp on quality assurance and holistic design, focusing on gloss instead.

The Galaxy Nexus surpasses in many respects our previous picks among Android smartphones, the previous generation's Motorola Mobility "business-ready" series, such as the Photon 4G and Droid Razr. If you don't want an iPhone 4S, the Galaxy Nexus may be the smartphone for you. But you might want to wait until a few more Android 4 smartphones come on the market before taking the plunge.

Hardware
Before looking at the changes brought by Android 4, let's look at the Galaxy Nexus hardware itself. As I mentioned, the screen is huge and vivid, thanks to its 4.65-inch Super AMOLED display, yet it still fits in a shirt pocket. Well, mostly -- it sticks out the top a bit, so be careful when bending forward. It has a typical processor for current-generation devices: a 1.2GHz dual-core ARM chip.

A big reason to wait for more Android 4 competitors to emerge is the Galaxy Nexus's poor battery life. It eats up power quickly, giving you four to six hours of life when using a lot of network access, such as for downloading apps, surfing the Web, and loading information through apps, whether they be social networking or multiuser games. Even when the Galaxy Nexus sits unused (but connected to Wi-Fi), the battery runs down within 36 hours. Except for that small minority of iPhone 4S users who've had battery-life issues, iPhone owners can get a good workday out of their smartphones and several days in standby mode. Complaints about poor Galaxy Nexus battery life are all over the Web, both in formal reviews and user complaints, so the issue appears to be widespread. You can stretch an Android device's battery life by using a third-party utility, but a smartphone should be able to go at least one full workday on its own.

The Galaxy Nexus comes with a 5-megapixel rear camera capable of still and video photography, as well as a flash, with autofocus, panoramic stitching, 1080p video resolution, and low-light image-capture sensors -- par for the course with current smartphones in the $200-and-up contract price range. But it's not as capable as the 8-megapixel, high-precision-optics camera in the iPhone 4S. The front camera is also typical, with 1.3-megapixel resolution.

The fact that the rear camera is centered horizontally does make snapping photos -- especially tight close-ups and bar-code scans -- easier compared to using the iPhone's offset camera. Note that if you use a PIN- or password-protected lock screen -- required by many businesses' Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) security policies, there's no way to take pictures on the Galaxy Nexus without logging in, as the iPhone's iOS 5 allows. You also don't get music playback controls from the lock screen, as on an iPhone. Your notification tray is unavailable as well, which can be annoying but is very secure.

The Verizon version of the Galaxy Nexus comes with 32GB of internal storage, the same as the same-price iPhone 4S ($649 without contract, $299 with two-year contract). And like the iPhone 4S (and unlike some other Android models), the Galaxy Nexus has no SD slot for storage expansion. For most users, 32GB is fine. Do note that the Canadian and British GSM models have just 16GB of internal RAM, which is too skimpy.
(infoworld.com)

Samsung Galaxy S II and Galaxy Note to Receive Android 4 in Q1 2012

Samsung’s Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets will receive an upgrade to Android 4 or Ice Cream Sandwich in early 2012, the company has announced.

The first two devices (as previously announced) to receive the upgrade will be Samsung Galaxy S II and Samsung Galaxy Note, and this should occur sometime in the first quarter of 2012.

Other devices will “soon follow,” says Samsung. The full lineup of ICS-upgradeable devices at this point includes the Galaxy S II, Galaxy S II LTE, Galaxy Note, Galaxy R, Galaxy Tab 10.1, Galaxy Tab 8.9, Galaxy Tab 7.7, and Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus.

Samsung will give out separate announcements for each device, detailing OS update schedule for individual markets.

Other manufacturers have announced ICS upgrades for their flagship smartphones as well. HTC recently announced that Ice Cream Sandwich is coming to several of its smartphones in early 2012. Motorola’s Droid Razr will get to the latest version of Android in early 2012.
(mashable.com)

When it comes to Facebook apps, Android wins

The Facebook for Android app has just leapfrogged ahead of Facebook for iPhone in the number of daily active users.

The latest report from Appdata.com shows that the Android app is the more popular mobile Facebook option, making it the first time that has been the case.

To be specific, as of December 2011, Facebook for iPhone has 57.6 million daily active users while Facebook for Android has 58.8 million.

This metric is just the latest in a growing set of statistics that show Android is a more widely used platform than the iPhone.

When it comes to monthly active users, Facebook for iPhone is still the leader, but Android will assumedly catch up on that statistic over time as well.

Comparing numbers like this between the iPhone and Android has always come with a footnote, since Android is available throughout all carriers and on a wide range of devices, while the iPhone is carrier-restricted and only counts a handful of different models.

So it has become pretty black-and-white that Android is the more popular platform, but any one of the iPhones is a much more popular phone.
(tgdaily.com)

Samsung Galaxy Nexus (Verizon Wireless) Review

It should come as no surprise that Google's latest flagship phone, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, has the best of everything: a huge 4.65-inch 720p screen, one of the fastest cameras around, and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the most complete version of the company's mobile OS to date. And now it's riding on Verizon Wireless' scorching 4G LTE network. With elegant sweeping curves, it's one stylish-looking phone, too. But does that mean you should drop $299 to pick one up? Read on to find out.

Click to EnlargeSamsung deserves serious credit for making a mammoth 4.7-inch screen not feel like overkill. That's because the Galaxy Nexus' high-def display is housed inside a body that weighs a fairly light 5.2 ounces and measures 0.4 inches thick. However, the GSM version weighs just 4.9 ounces and is a hair thinner; the difference may seem minimal on paper, but it's noticeable when holding both phones at the same time.

By comparison, the Droid RAZR is lighter (4.5 ounces) and thinner (0.3 inches), but you're getting more real estate than the Motorola's 4.3-inch display. By contrast, the 4.3-inch HTC Rezound weighs a hefty 6 ounces and is 0.5 inches thick.

The Galaxy Nexus has an all-plastic gray body with a subtle swooping curve. The design felt solid for the most part, but the textured back cover felt flimsy when we took it off. In addition, snapping it back into place was a bit of a challenge. The Droid RAZR's Kevlar-infused design feels more durable. The Galaxy Nexus just doesn't scream flagship as much as we'd like because it doesn't use premium materials.

Spesification
Verizon Wireless
Form Factor : Candybar Touchscreen
Operating System : Android 4.0
Networks : CDMA/PCS/1xEVDO Rev. A (800/1900 MHz)
Data : LTE
CPU : 1.2-GHz dual-core TI OMAP4460
RAM : 1GB
ROM : 32GB
Internal Memory : 32GB
Memory Expansion Type : none
Display (main) : 4.65 inches/1280 x 720 Super AMOLED
Display (secondary)
GPS : Yes
Bluetooth Type : Bluetooth 3.0
Wi-Fi : 802.11 a/b/g/n
Front Camera Resolution : 1.3MP
Camera Resolution : 5 MP
Audio formats supported : AAC; AAC+; AMR; AMR-NB; eAAC+; MP3; MP4; WAV
Video formats supported : H.263; H.264; MPEG-4
Talk / Standby Time : 12 hours/150 hours
Ports : 3.5mm headphone; microUSB
Size : 5.3 x 2.7 x 0.37 inches
Weight : 5.2 ounces
SAR Rating (Head) : 0.63
SAR Rating (Body) : 0.88
(msn.com)

iPad who? Tablets try again at CES

2011 was the year when Android tablets broke loose and ran rampant over the annual Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas. It was here that Motorola showed off the world's first Android 3.0 tablet and lookalike Android 2.x devices seemed to pop out of every booth.

The year that followed has been a tumultuous one for tablets. Big players like Hewlett-Packard and RIM released major products that quickly found their way to the bargain bin. Apple sent everyone back to the drawing board after the release of the ultrathin iPad 2. And Amazon reset everyone's expectations of what a tablet should cost, and what features consumers could live without.

What will 2012 have in store for tablets? There's no way of knowing for sure, but here are some trends I expect to see at CES 2012.

Thinner designs
With the iPad 3 release still months away, the competition still has some time to show off designs that are thinner and lighter than the current iPad. It's a particularly tough engineering challenge for Android tablet manufacturers, as Android fans have come to expect features such as microSD expansion and HDMI output, which bulk up the design. You also have to account for the thickness of LCD panel technology and the rechargeable battery pack.

Android 4.0
What Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) was to CES 2011, Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) will be to CES 2012. The first question that will be asked of any tablet unveiled at CES will be whether or not the device is capable of running Google's latest operating system.

But unlike last year, no one company will be able to claim Android 4.0 exclusively. Google has already released the code into the wild and manufacturers should be able to demonstrate some basic functionality on the tablets.

Windows 8 tablets
Considering that Microsoft introduced Windows 8 at CES 2011, we're bound to hear about its progress at CES 2012. Much has been made of the software's suitability for use on tablets, but we haven't been able to get hands-on with yet. Perhaps we'll hear some official product announcements about Windows 8 compatible tablets.

Higher resolutions
One of the most expected features of the iPad 3 is a higher-resolution display that can rival the Retina Display used on Apple's iPhone 4 and iPod Touch.

Rumor has it that manufacturers are now capable of making tablet-size QXGA resolution (2,048x1,536 pixels) touch-screen panels with a pixel density of 264ppi, which is twice that of the iPad 2.

Flexible displays
Nokia's future phone concepts


We've seen companies like Sony and Samsung show off flexible OLED screen technologies in years past, but never yet on a product they had any intention of making available. Perhaps 2012 will be the year we see this technology become viable.

Recently, Nokia has been showing off its Kinetic concept device, which allows users to navigate through menus and zoom in and out of images by twisting and bending the screen. If a manufacturer at CES could demonstrate a similar concept on a larger, tablet-worthy screen, it would make quite a story.

Different sizes
The success of the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet have show that the 7-inch tablet isn't the dud form-factor we thought it was. Samsung has clearly shown a willingness to try different screen sizes, such as its Galaxy Player 5 and Galaxy Tab 8.9. Maybe we'll finally see a tablet that dares to venture into larger 12-inch or even 15-inch sizes.

As noted in CNET's laptop predictions for CES, the worlds of tablets and laptops are showing signs of collision.

One of the hottest tablets on CNET currently, the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime employs a detachable keyboard dock that makes it practically indistinguishable from a modern laptop. The release of Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system, and its suitability for both laptops and tablets, will surely blur the line further.

The Asus Eee Pad Slider is a tablet with a full slide-out keyboard that blurs the line between tablet and laptop.
(Credit: Josh Miller)


4G
Because compatibility with high-speed 4G cellular networks is one of those features that the iPad doesn't have, we expect that it will continue to be used as a selling point for an increasing number of tablets. Whether or not tablet shoppers really want the contracts and fees that come along with 4G service, remains to be seen.

E-ink gets colorful
The color e-ink display is another one of those technologies that has popped up at CES year after year, but has yet to make it to a mainstream device. Perhaps this year we will see a more mature version of color e-ink that will help bridge the gap between black and white e-readers and tablets.
(cnet.com)

Samsung Galaxy S Line Spurs 300M Global Handset Sales

Thanks in part to sales of its popular Galaxy S and Galaxy S II Android smartphones, Samsung has broken its own record by selling 300 million handsets--and counting--in 2011.

Samsung also said sales of smartphones powered by its own bada operating system are picking up steam worldwide, thanks in part to its refreshed bada 2.0 build. The flagship Wave 3 bada phone is available in Europe and "continues to gain sales traction in all its launch markets," Samsung said.

Bada phones aren't available in the United States, where Samsung's Android models draw much attention from rivals such as Motorola Mobility and HTC. Samsung began selling the Galaxy S line in 2010 and has now sold more than 20 million of those handsets to date, excluding the typically busy December shopping month.

The phone maker began selling the much-ballyhooed successor, the 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution)-equipped Galaxy S II, in April. By September, the company sold more than 10 million S II units
, its fastest mobile device sold in the company's history.

"We are incredibly proud of this record-breaking sales milestone and have exceeded the annual target announced early this year, which is testament to the enduring appeal of Samsung phones with consumers around the world," said JK Shin, president and head of Samsung's mobile communications business.

AT&T (NYSE:T), Sprint (NYSE:S) and T-Mobile all sell Galaxy S II models, which sport anywhere from 1.2GHz to 1.5GHz dual-core processors paired with 4.3-inch to 4.52-inch Super AMOLED Plus displays. These devices compete with Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 4S smartphone, which itself has helped AT&T to its single strongest smartphone sales in a quarter.

One of the ways Samsung has helped its own cause versus the iPhone 4S has been its "The Next Big Thing Is Already Here" ad and marketing campaign, which touts the 4G LTE speeds and larger screen size of the Galaxy S II handsets compared to the iPhone 4S.

Samsung also took a shot at Apple's reputation as a maker of devices for "creative" types, a meme that started with Macintosh computers for graphic artists.

Not everything is going Samsung's way. The company launched its Samsung Galaxy Nexus phone in the U.K. in November and expected to watch Verizon launch its version of the first Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone the week of Dec. 5.

Unfortunately, Verizon and Google are locked in negotiations regarding the inclusion of the Google Wallet mobile payment application on the phone. Verizon is concerned with the app's security.

Hold-up notwithstanding, Best Buy and Verizon stores accidentally sold some Galaxy Nexus handsets to some lucky consumers.
(eweek.com)

DROID XYBOARD 10.1 and 8.2 in stores today at some Verizon locations

Though earlier today the word was that the online and pre-order sales for the newest Motorola tablet by the name of XYBOARD were the only thing starting today, with in-store sales starting Monday (the 12th), we’ve now come to find that in some stores across the USA the slates are already in stores ready for sales right this minute! This tablet line comes in two sizes, 8.2-inches and 10.1-inches, the latter providing a next generation for the original Honeycomb tablet in the Motorola XOOOM. These tablets are priced at $429.99 for the 8.2 and $529.99 for the 10.1 both on contract, with various other prices in place for different memory and contractual agreements.

For the XYBOARD 8.2, you have the choice of also picking one up with a 32GB built-in memory card for the upgraded price of $529.99, with this price and its 16GB version (listed above) bumping up to $599.99 and $699.99 at full retail price and activation required. For the 10.1-inch version of the tablet, there are three different built-in memory options, 16GB, 32, and 64, full retail prices (off-contract) coming in at $699.99, $799.99, and $899.99 respectively. We’ll be going for the 32GB at $629.99 on contract or the 64GB for $729.99 on contract, but with a healthy “this seems sort of expensive” thought at the back of our minds.

This tablet selection is what Verizon is calling the “first 4G tablet worthy of the name DROID”, and we’ll be seeing how true that is SOON. Stay tuned to SlashGear to see full reviews of both of these tablets within the next week! Or if you’re feeling frisky, head down to your local Verizon right this second to see if you’re amongst the lucky to have a store that’s jumped the gun and is offering the tablets up for sale right now!
(slashgear.com)

BlackBerry, Android Users Still Want iPads

The iPad is still the tablet that continues to define the market. In fact, I've said there really is no tablet market, there is just an iPad market. Still, you'd think that if someone had BlackBerry phone they'd be more at home with the RIM PlayBook tablet, and Android owners would be happier with one of a few dozen different Android powered tablets. A recent survey though of 2,500 people indicates that isn't the case. In general, they prefer the iPad to go with their non-Apple smartphone.


With a brace of devices with matching operating systems, you can expect some things to function consistently across devices. You may also be able to save a bit of cash by being able to install the same apps on each device. You may even have some accessories that can be shared, like chargers.

According to a survey conducted last month, 2,500 respondents chose the iPad over 13 competing tablets regardless of what phone they use. BlackBerry owners were most likely to cross party lines and get an iPad instead of the PlayBook. That is particularly bad news for RIM because very few non-BlackBerry owners would have any desire to own a PlayBook since the tablet needs to partner with a BlackBerry phone to reach its full potential. Only 8.5% of BlackBerry customers expressed a desire to remain loyal to RIM.

Android users didn't show much more loyalty to their platform either. The Kindle Fire and Samsung Galaxy Tab, both powered by Android, were only preferred by 15% and 19%, respectively, of users with an Android phone. Compare that to 41% who want an iPad.

I don't see any big shifts in the tablet market for several months at least. The iPad 3 is rumored to be available this coming spring, but it isn't like Apple needs a new product. Sales for the iPad 2 continue to flourish and it is one of the hot items this holiday season, even though in tech terms it is ancient at nine months old.

The only thing that may shake things up is when Windows 8 ships this fall. It is designed to run on tablets and sports the popular Metro interface that was introduced on Windows Phone and came to the Xbox 360 this week. The question is, will Microsoft hardware partners put out compelling devices with great screens, long battery life, and svelte form factors that will be appealing when compared to the iPad? If not, expect the tablet market at the end of 2012 to look very similar to what it does today, which is really just an iPad market.(informationweek.com)

Motorola, Sony Ericsson explain to customers why they won't get the new Android 4.0 for months

Unlike Apple, which immediately released its new iOS 5 on the same day for all its current devices, including models that are now over two years old, Motorola Mobility and Sony Ericsson are offering their customers excuses as to why the latest release of Google's Android 4.0 won't be available to them for many more months, if ever.

Motorla Mobility and Sony Ericsson have issued lengthly explanations offering various reasons why their customers won't receive updates anytime soon to Google's Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, which was made available in a generic form three weeks ago. The explanations highlight a major difference between Apple's integrated iOS software and Google's broadly licensed Android platform.

Open like Windows, if it were only launched by Dell

"Like you, we are excited to see that Google released the source code to Android Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS)!"
Motorola stated in a blog posting.

"There are many steps and processes that go into Ice Cream Sandwich in a way that works for the carrier and for you," Motorola states, adding, "once source code is released from Google, it doesn’t automatically update to your device." Both Motorola and Sony Ericsson are members of the Open Handset Alliance tasked with developing Android, and therefore might be understood to be privy to the development of the latest Android release before its final appearance.

However, Motorola explains that "each new version of Android launches with one device partner, in what is called the 'Google Experience Device' or GED, the showcase device for a new Android release."

A very short list of Motorola's Android 4.0 updates

Outside of the launch partner, other members of the Android community only gain "access to the Android source code as its [sic] made public shortly after," Motorola explains.

Now that has happened, the company says it is "currently assessing this source code, and over the next month we will be determining which devices will get the upgrade and when.

" Android licensees' lists of supported devices that will get updates to the latest release of Android typically only involve very recent, new devices. In Motorola's case, it only notes the Droid RAZR, Droid Bionic and Xoom tablets as its current targets for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. This excludes the once highly touted Motorola Atrix 4G that was launched alongside Apple's iPhone 4 last year, along with the also relatively new and widely sold Droid 2, Droid X and X2 models, all of which will be stuck with last year's Android 2.3 Gingerbread. The original Droid/Milestone, which arrived a few months after Apple's iPhone 3GS, is stuck on Android 2.2 Froyo, an even older release.

Sony Ericsson similarly noted that the release of Android 4.0 "meant the start of an intensive period for the engineers at Sony Ericsson, in order to create a working, stable and certified software release of Ice Cream Sandwich for our 2011 Xperia™ phones." That excludes support for Sony Ericsson's Xperia X10, released in the US last fall with specs similar to the iPhone 4.

It will be stuck with Gingerbread, but as Wikipedia notes, "Since the Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) update the phone has suffered a stuttering in play or streaming of music regardless of file association. The only solution currently is to root your phone and apply a patch located on the XDA developers forum. Sony refuses to acknowledge the problem and have as of late offered no solution to this bug."

This fractionalization of the Android platform means that developers have few reasons to incorporate support for features in the latest version of Android, because most Android users are still using a version that's over a year old (according to Google). As of December 1, half of the traffic visiting Android Market is still using last winter's 2.3.Gingerbread, while more than 45 percent is using an even older version.

The long road to releasing Android 4.0

For the few models it chooses to support with an update, Motorola says it must spend some time incorporating support for unique hardware involved in its products, including the specific processors, GPUs and other chips that are not natively supported in the generic Android release.

"This is also the time when we begin integrating all of the Motorola-specific software enhancements into the source code," the company adds. " Features like MotoCast, Smart Actions, and our comprehensive enterprise solutions are integral parts of our device experiences, and we want to make sure we continue delivering differentiated experiences for our consumers with these software upgrades."

Some of Motorola's additional software has had the side effect of breaking Android's permissions-based security system, although not nearly as bad as HTC and Samsung's additional software, which researchers note has opened up the ability for rogue apps to steal private, data, track users' precise locations, wipe the phone entirely, or record calls and send paid SMS messages.

Carriers add more months to Android rollouts

Once an Android licensee has finished working out release bugs to an acceptable level, it releases its hardware-specific updates to the mobile carriers, which have to test and certify the updates, something that Motorola says can involve "a two-month preparation cycle to enter a carrier lab cycle of one to three months."

"Contrary to what people may think," Sony Ericsson states, "it is not the Bring up phase [adding vendor hardware and software customizations], but the Certification and approval phase that is the most time consuming process when it comes to getting a new software release out on our phones.

"This is one of the major tasks that are legally required from us as phone manufacturer, but is a task that the custom ROM community doesn’t have to take into consideration. Furthermore,by putting all this efforts into testing and certification, we ensure that quality and conformance is at a top level, in benefit for all consumers worldwide."
By Daniel Eran Dilger(appleinsider.com)

Sony Ericsson and Motorola Detail Android 4.0 Upgrade Path

We've talked in the past about how OEMs take the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) and use it to build software tailored for devices in the context of x86 optimizations, and today two partners are sharing some more details about their specific timelines for Android 4.0 releases.

Those two are Sony Ericsson and Motorola, who have outlined in their respective blog posts the path from code to getting a fully baked ROM pushed out over the air to handsets. The two posts describe the process as we've understood it for a while now, and with Android 4.0 things don't seem any different. Google works with a specific OEM and SoC vendor around some chosen reference hardware (in this case Galaxy Nexus), and simultaneously (or close to it) releases the source code and device when things are finished.

At that point, SoC vendors begin working on their own ports and build in necessary drivers or optimizations of their own. That software package then is turned over to OEMs who add their own specific software (in the case of Motorola, for example - MotoCast, Smart Actions, and likely Blur) and make necessary tweaks to accommodate individual carrier equirements and device nuances. After the OEM finishes up its own testing, the update then passes over to carriers for their own testing, and here things have been a bit fuzzy. Motorola gives out an interesting tidbit today in their post, oting that while each carrier is different, the testing period is on the order of months:
Each carrier has different requirements for phases 2 and 3. There may be a two-month preparation cycle to enter a carrier lab cycle of one to three months.

Sony Ericsson also notes that this certification and testing phase is the longest in the process:

The Certification and approval phase that is the most time consuming process when it comes to getting a new software release out on our phones. This is one of the major tasks that are legally required from us as phone manufacturer, but is a task that the custom ROM community doesn’t have to take into consideration.

Motorola has noted as well that the Droid RAZR, Bionic, and Xoom are all guaranteed to get an ICS port before the second half of 2012, and the list of Motorola devices being upgraded to 4.0 will likely grow. Meanwhile Sony Ericsson noted that the entire 2011 Xperia family will receive an update to 4.0 and that dates will come later.(anandtech.com)

Android Ice Cream Sandwich Upgrade Process Outlined by Motorola, Sony Ericsson

With the launch of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and the glorious Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Android owners can't help but wonder when their devices will be graced with the new operating
system. Both Sony Ericsson (soon to be just Sony) and Motorola have shed some light on the Android ICS update process in separate blog posts.

Motorola, which is on the verge of being
acquired by Google, explained in a blog post that a lot of work goes into preparing a new Android version for
devices even after Google open sources
the operating system.

Sony Ericsson confirms in a blog post everything that Motorola says about
software updates but delves further into
the details which might prove
somewhat technical to most users.

Common to both the smartphone
makers is that they customise the
operating system to the hardware
requirements of the device and the
specifications provided by the carriers.

The companies then test the implementation and iron out the bugs. The modified OS is then sent to wireless
carriers for certification, which check
whether the device has been optimised
for their network.

After the certification
process is completed, which takes a lot
of time, the companies conduct a pre- release trial after which the OS is
release as update to the users.(itproportal.com)