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After a slow uptake, everybody is slowly jumping on the Android 4.0 bandwagon, and the latest to do so is Sony. The company has recently hit its 2011 range of Xperia smartphones with a taste of Ice Cream Sandwich, and now it’s taking care of its tablet customers.
Both the wedge-shaped Tablet S and the folding clamshell Xperia P are now getting the coveted update to Android 4.0 – aka Ice Cream Sandwich – although we’re hearing considerably more reports of a successful update from Tablet S owners than Tablet P, not to mention our own Tablet S updating just now.
The 10.1-inch Honeycomb-based Tablet S is now ready for you to update, all you need to do is make sure you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network and have 80MB of internal storage space available to accommodate the update.
In theory your tablet will find the update by itself and notify you, but if you’re like us you’ll want to update as soon as possible, so here’s how to force your tablet (either S or P) to find the update.
Settings > About Tablet > System Update > Check Now
With a little luck you’ll be presented with a screen offering Android version 4.0.3, simply tap Download and follow the onscreen instructions to get your Ice Cream Sandwich on!
The update will bring the overall Android 4.0 style and theme, along with a few extra features thanks to Sony themselves. The major feature is a rather cool one: The Small App Function. This adds a tray of icons to the bottom of your homescreen, and allows you to open the Browser, Calculator or Remote apps in a small window that still allows you to see the majority of the screen. It’s sort of like Picture-in-Picture that you can use on modern HDTVs, and will come in handy for quickly checking your emails or looking something up when watching a video or playing a game, for example.
The Tablet S has a full sized SD card slot, and the update will add the ability to open and play Music, Video and Picture files directly from an inserted card.
We’ve heard that most Tablet P owners are still struggling to get the update for some reason, but Tablet S users should be good to go. If you’re having trouble finding it just keep following the Check Now procedure above in bold.
Let us know your thoughts on our comments below or via our @Gadget_Helpline Twitter page or Official Facebook group.
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