Huawei took the relatively unprecedented step of providing a “demo ROM” of Android Ice Cream Sandwich for its Honor smartphone and you just know we had to give it a go. Check out the video below to see the first version of Ice Cream Sandwich running a phone that’s not the Galaxy Nexus.
I want to stress that this build is definitely an early beta, as it’s a buggy mess that’s best suited for hardcore tinkerers and those who just want to see what all the Android 4.0 fuss is about. Installation is quite simple, as you merely download the update file from Huawei, drop it onto your device and then use the “update from SD” slot option in the settings and you’ll have Ice Cream Sandwich in a few minutes (here’s a good step-by-step tutorial). I found the software randomly reboots, crashes, has problems connecting to WiFi, so Huawei has wisely made it easy to roll back to Android Gingerbread.
You should probably re-read our Ice Cream Sandwich review for an idea of what to expect from the latest version of this software, as it includes multiple improvements in nearly every aspect. The user interface paradigm is more cohesive, the fonts have changed and it has become quite friendlier for first-time users while still retaining the power that made many fall in love with Android in the first place.
Now, let’s hope the other handset makers are hard at work getting this update out there. Check out the video below and we’ll have more for you soon.