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It's been few months since ZiiLabs introduced more hardware designs for its Jaguar line of OEM-oriented reference tablets, and now, the company has released a brief demo video of its seven-inch variant tasting Android Ice Cream Sandwich. Up until this point, we'd only seen the devices rocking Honeycomb atop Zii's ZMS-20 dual-core processor, but it appears to handle Google's latest frozen treat -- specifically Android OS version 4.0.1 -- with relative ease. The clip highlights quick transitions through a few menu interfaces, followed by a showcase of the slate's OpenGL graphics and StemCell media acceleration with decidedly smooth looking multitouch interactions. Curious to see for yourself? You'll find the whole 57 seconds of video goodness.

How fast can the Samsung Galaxy Nexus run on Verizon's 4G network? Pretty darn fast, according to a freshly leaked video. Originally spotted by the folks over at Phandroid, the clip shows a Verizon-branded Galaxy Nexus performing rather admirably on a speed trial from Speedtest.net, reaching download speeds of 8.5Mbps, and upstream rates of 2Mbps -- all on just two bars of signal. It's worth noting that the clip hasn't received Verizon's official blessing, though it should certainly whet some appetites ahead of the handset's apparently imminent release. Check it out video

The next version of each smartphone's operating system is always the best. We impatiently wait for the latest and greatest firmware to come around, expecting it to liberate us from the shackles of last year's code and features that haven't shown up yet. This happens incessantly with Google's Android OS, and version 4.0 -- unveiled at this year's I/O conference in May -- is no different. Known as Ice Cream Sandwich (referred to henceforth as ICS), the last word in the title indicates the merging of Gingerbread, the most recent phone platform, and Honeycomb, the version optimized for use on tablets. We knew this much, but were otherwise left with conjecture as to how the company planned to accomplish such a feat -- and what else the new iteration had in store.

But now the time of reckoning is upon us, and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus -- Android 4.0's mother ship -- is slowly spreading across the globe, its users being treated to this year's smartphone dessert. ICS is one of the largest and most important upgrades we've witnessed from Android since its humble beginnings, making a huge change in user experience as well as a massive number of bullet points on the list of features. Now that we've had the opportunity to take it for a spin, where does it stand in the ranks of mobile operating systems? Follow us beneath as we dig into the layers of this sweet sandwich.

Isn't it nice when different generations get together without bickering? Google's x86 version of Ice Cream Sandwich is finally ready for developers and it promises to do exactly that, by playing happily with Intel and AMD's 33-year-old architecture rather than just those young upstarts from ARM. The union isn't entirely harmonious just yet: Ethernet and camera support won't function, while Wi-Fi, sound and hardware acceleration are currently AMD-only. Devs who remain unfazed by such trifles, however, can download the source code via the links below.

Hey, remember those volume issues that European Galaxy Nexus users were complaining about? While a software fix may have already floated around the internet ether last week, Google has informed us that it'll be officially distributing the retweak very soon. Or, in its words: "We're currently rolling out a fix for the volume issue which will reach everyone in the coming week."

The Ice Cream Sandwich announcements keep dribbling in this morning, with the latest morsel coming from Sony Ericsson Italy. In a Facebook post published last week, the company's Italian outpost confirmed that its Xperia line will receive an upgrade to Android 4.0 sometime next year. Head of marketing Maurizio de Palma clarified this declaration in a follow-up post, adding that the update should "arrive by March." That's certainly more specific than anything the company has announced thus far, though we'll obviously have to wait and see whether this timeline holds up.

LG's list of Android 4.0 phones is about to get a little longer, now that the manufacturer has confirmed the arrival of Ice Cream Sandwich for even more handsets. LG revealed the news today in a Facebook post, specifying that the Optimus Black, Optimus 3D and Optimus LTE will all receive updates to Google's latest OS, along with the previously announced Optimus 2X. The company also said that it's "continuing to evaluate the ICS OS to determine whether it is compatible with the functionality, features and performance of other LG smartphones," adding that it hopes to bring the update to as many devices as possible. LG hasn't provided any concrete timeline for the rollout, though it expects to publish more details next month. As always, we'll be sure to keep you posted.

Even though Ice Cream Sandwich is popping up everywhere since its source code was released to the public, we've got to give a shout out now that its been squeezed onto the original Google phone, HTC's G1. The G1 was last seen sporting an unofficial Honeycomb port, and now jcarrz1 from XDA-Developers is showing off his device running Android 4.0 in this video. So far the touchscreen is (slowly) working, along with all apps and "ICS goodies", though WiFi, Bluetooth and rotation are still out. That's a nice effort for a device that some said wouldn't see any versions past 1.5, so press play and witness the unholy fusion of Android's past and present working all at once, or hit the source link below to grab the alpha release for yourself.

Pre-order, pre-schmorder. Americans more anxious to blow $750 on the planet's first Ice Cream Sandwich handset than anything on Black Friday can do so right now, as Samsung's Galaxy Nexus is shipping from the warehouses at Expansys. We've received independent confirmation that orders placed today are shipping out, with the aforesaid tally nabbing you an unlocked 16GB GSM (HSPA+) build that plays nice with T-Mobile and AT&T's 3G bands. What it won't nab you, however, is a pack of nabs. Can't win 'em all, right?

Man, these hackers work fast. It was just earlier this week when Google released the source code for Ice Cream Sandwich, and a mere four days later the new OS has made its way onto Samsung's Galaxy S II. While ICS is looking good on the GSII's gorgeous AMOLED display, the port is still an alpha -- the Bluetooth, WiFi and other radios aren't functioning just yet, but work is ongoing, and future releases are coming soon. Sound good? Well, wait'll you get a load of the port in action in the video after the break.