HTC has released a list of cell phones that will be receiving the latest Android 4.0 OS, also known as Ice Cream Sandwich. A majority of these devices will receive their update between June and July, with some updates having already been rolled out, or will be rolled out in May. Along with Ice Cream Sandwich, the operating system will be accompanied by HTC's Android overlay, Sense 3.6.

This update to Android 4.0 doesn't apply to HTC's tablets, such as the HTC Flyer and HTC Jetstream. Many phones that have less than 512 MB memory will also not receive the update.

Source: HTC

For those savvy in the ways of the smartphone, an upgrade to Google's Ice Cream Sandwich OS (4.0) is like an early Christmas treat (pun intended). We previously posted a list of phones that would get the new operating system; since then, Verizon and Motorola have updated the list on their end, and we figured you might want to know. Check out the bolded items for the latest additions.

Samsung
Phones:

• Galaxy S II
• Galaxy Note
• Nexus S

Tablets:

• Galaxy Tab 7 Plus
• Galaxy Tab 7.7
• Galaxy Tab 8.9
• Galaxy Tab 10.1

HTC
Phones:

• Amaze 4G
• DROID Incredible 2
• Evo 3D
• Evo Design 4G
• Rezound
• Rhyme
• Sensation
• Sensation XL
• Sensation XE
• ThunderBolt
• Vivid

Motorola
Phones:

• Admiral
• Atrix 2
• Atrix 4G MB860
• DROID 3
• DROID 4
• DROID BIONIC
• DROID RAZR
• DROID RAZR MAXX
• DROID X2
• Electrify
• MOTOLUXE / XT615 / XT685 (Asia Pacific/China)
• MILESTONE X2
• MT870 (China)
• MT917 (China)
• Photon 4G
• Pro+
• RAZR
• XT605 (Latin America)
• XT882 (China)
• XT928 (China)

Tablets:

• Xoom
• Xoom 2
• DROID XYBOARD 8.2
• DROID XYBOARD 10.1

Sony Ericsson
Phones:

• Xperia Active
• Xperia Arc
• Xperia Arc S
• Xperia PLAY
• Xperia Neo
• Xperia Neo V
• Xperia Mini
• Xperia Mini Pro
• Xperia Pro
• Xperia Ray
• Live with Walkman

LG
Phones:

• Optimus 2X
• Optimus 3D
• Optimus Black
• Spectrum

Asus
Phones:

• Asus Padfone

Tablets:

• Eee Pad Transformer
• Transformer Prime

Other
Phones:

• Meizu M9
• Meixu MX

Two phones that have been teased around the web for a while now are finally getting official release-statements: Verizon's HTC Thunderbolt and Sprint's Kyocera Echo. The former is going to be the first smartphone on Verizon's 4G LTE network, and will be available March 17 (just two more days!). Meanwhile, the latter smartphone will be out on April 17th (just two more days! ...oh, and a month on top of that).

What's so special about these two, you ask?

As mentioned previously, the Thunderbolt is the first 4G smartphone using Verizon's LTE network, which should provide faster download/upload speeds. The Thunderbolt will come with a 4.3" display, an 8-megapixel rear camera with 720p HD recording, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera for video chatting, and the latest 1GHz Snapdragon processor.

This, of course, should be a power-hog, so expect to charge your battery quite a bit. The Thunderbolt has already been delayed several times due to poor battery life, relating to issues around signal strength. These issues have been fixed, and there's even news circulating of an extended battery being offered by HTC, which will have roughly 2750mAh (almost double the phone's stock battery of 1400mAh). The phone-stand also comes back, just for your viewing pleasure.

Meanwhile, on Sprint's end, we'll be seeing the Kyocera Echo, a dual-screen smartphone that offers "simul-tasking". Consumers can use the two screens to simultaneously check their email, text message, browse the web, and more. During the Sprint event in February, they showed how the dual-screen phone could be used for gaming: The Sims was demo'ed with the top screen showing the game, and the bottom screen showing the control buttons. Alternatively, you could also converge both screens together (not physically, of course!) to use them as one large viewing apparatus. Nifty, indeed.

The smartphones of today just keep getting smarter, it seems.