It goes without saying that updates are intended to improve our phones' user experience, but the Gingerbread refresh on the Kyocera Echo had exactly the opposite effect. After a small but significant percentage of owners began reporting that the new software turned their devices into bricks, Sprint pulled the update "until further notice." After nine days, Android 2.3.4 is once again available for download. Upon reaching out to the Now Network, we received the following confirmation:
Sprint will restart the Gingerbread update to Kyocera Echo users beginning today (August 10). In an effort to provide the best possible customer experience, Kyocera and Sprint have addressed a previous issue with the update raised last week. The Gingerbread update will provide Kyocera Echo users with performance enhancements including faster response, improved power management, enhancements for gaming, and more. Every Echo customer should have the update within the next few weeks.
The update will likely get pushed slowly at first, getting sent to a small number of handsets to make doubly sure the same issue doesn't surface again, so don't stress if it hasn't reached your Echo today; as is the usual procedure with large-scale rollouts, it could be a little while before it actually lands on your particular unit. But when it arrives, feel free to download at will with more confidence.
