Sprint LG Viper finally gets upgraded to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

When talking about the Android ecosystem, platform updates get released unusually faster compared to other operating systems. Come to think of it, Google just released Android 4.1 Jelly Bean last July but has already been followed by Android 4.2 which was unveiled a couple of days ago. As for the smartphone pack, most of the handsets today are eagerly awaiting to get a taste of the Jelly Bean refresh – not at all surprising since 4.2 hasn’t started hitting the airwaves just yet. What is saddening to look at however is the fact that some smartphones, capable ones at that, are still in Android 2.3 Gingerbread with no chance of getting upgraded to at least Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

But if you happen to rock the LG Viper from Sprint, that should be the least of your concern. This is because your wait for ICS has finally come to a screeching end with the handset finally moving out of the Gingerbread generation and getting upgraded to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Sprint has started pushing out the OTA update that will give the LG Viper its just dessert of ICS so users of the handset ought to be on the lookout for that little notification that the update has already landed on your smartphone.

If you no longer have the patience to wait for that notification, you can also manually check for the update by going to Settings > About phone > System updates to get the update process rolling. One reminder though – the update process is being rolled out in stages and not all LG Viper handsets will get it at the same time so if your manual search doesn’t return anything tangible, please be a little more patient. It will come sooner or later.

After the update has been applied to the handset, it will crank up the software version of the LG Viper to LS840ZVI and bring goodies and treats to the handset that are associated with ICS. These are as follows:

• Improved lock screen
• Home screen folders
• Improved Android browser
• Improved camera experience
• Resizable widgets
• Face Unlock

As for the LG Viper, the handset is the first 4G LTE-capable device released by LG and was at one point considered to be the best budget LTE smartphone at Sprint. It has a dual-core processor under the hood working in conjunction with a full gigabyte of RAM to ensure that the performance of the handset is speedy and lag-free. The storage space on the handset is a bit meager though at just 4GB but since the LG Viper has a dedicated microSD card slot for memory expansion purposes, this scant internal memory shouldn’t be much of a problem. The display of the LG Viper is a 4.0-inch TFT panel with a 480 x 800 resolution while its camera department is composed of a rear 5MP shooter and a front VGA video call and self-portrait snapper.