If you have an Android smartphone from a big name device maker such as Samsung, HTC, Motorola, Sony, or LG, when an operating system update is available you’ll probably see a notification on your device prompting you to download and install it.

That’s assuming you’re running the software that came with your phone. If you’ve rooted your device, unlocked the bootloader, and installed CyanogenMod, AOKP, MIUI, or another custom ROM, you probably have to check for updates and install them manually.

But that could soon change.

A team of independent developers have released a tool called OTA Update Center. For users, it’s simply an app that runs on your device, lets you know when updates are available, and makes installing them as easy as possible.

For ROM developers, it’s a tool you can bake into your custom version of Android to make the update process simpler for users.

OTA Update Center checks for updates when your device boots and allows users to check manually any time. When an update is found, you just tap a few buttons and your device will download the latest software, reboot into recovery, install the update, and then reboot into the operating system.

You can find more details about the free update tool for Android 2.2 through Android 4.1 at the xda-developers forum or the OTA Update Center web site.

via xda-developers

Brad Linder

Brad Linder is editor of Liliputing and Mobiputing. He's been tinkering with mobile tech for decades and writing about it since 2006. Brad has also worked with NPR, WHYY, PRI, and AOL.

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