Thunderbolt gets Ice Cream Sandwich ROM

The process of getting Android 4.0 on Verizon’s Thunderbolt is edging ever closer.

Those who truly want the updated version of Google’s mobile OS, also known as Ice Cream Sandwich, can now download an unofficial ROM of the update. This means that a working iteration of ICS has been created. It’s just a matter of time now before it starts officially being rolled out.

The Thunderbolt gained a lot of praise and attention because it was the first phone capable of tapping into Verizon’s brand new high speed data network.

It is that phone that would kick off a whirlwind of LTE madness, to the point where now every single major carrier is developing its own LTE network. It has become the de facto 4G standard in the US.

Ice Cream Sandwich is one of the biggest updates to Android yet, and includes such features as scanning your face to unlock the phone, a much more robust speech-to-text software program, and an entire platform of data sharing that focuses on Near Field Communication (NFC).

Several other manufacturers have pledged support for the new update, and a bunch of phones currently running an older version of Android.

Ice Cream Sandwich is now powering more than 20% of active Android devices, according to the company’s most recently released official statistics.