Android Upgrades

Back in January I mentioned getting a new phone for the first time in a few years, my first smart phone to boot. My particular model (the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket) was running version 2.3 of the Android operating system (codename "Gingerbread"), but was slated to get an upgrade to the shiny new version 4.0 (codename "Ice Cream Sandwich") sometime this year. There wasn't a specific date, just that it would happen during 2012. Since new versions tend to be better in most ways than old ones, you can understand that I was pretty excited about it. Well, today finally turned out to be the long-awaited upgrade day.

I followed the instructions, downloading the update and watching it install with no problems, until my phone suddenly froze after restarting on the "Updating Android" screen. After that I couldn't get it to do anything except restart, whereupon it froze thereafter at the main loading screen.

This turn of events left me a bit flustered, in a state of mind I would imagine is a less extreme version of the reaction to finding a friend in a coma (the physical shell is there, but the mind is gone). Thankfully, the friendly and helpful people at the local AT&T store were able to reset it out of its infinite loop and get it going again. From what I've seen so far my important data survived (apps I can always download again), and the best part is that it somehow managed to successfully install Ice Cream Sandwhich through it all! I haven't had much chance to play around with it yet, but it seems pretty neat from what I've seen so far.

Also, the guy at the AT&T store who was a self-proclaimed non-Adroid expert now knows the proper procedure for reseting an Android phone thanks to needing to look it up for me, so I figure I did my part for the community for the next person to come in with that particular problem.

P.S. I'm now almost completely over my sunburn and actually feeling motivated to do things again, so expect some more posts in the coming week.