Getting Android devices updated to the latest version of the OS is something of an arduous prospect, and in recent months we've been getting an even clearer view of how the process works. For devices on the big carriers in the US, the procedure involves not just the OEM's willingness (or monetized incentive) to update a device, but also carrier testing, certification, and other hurdles.

Today, Verizon Wireless announced a list of 14 devices currently scheduled to get an Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update at some point in the future. The announcement doesn't come with any promised ETAs.

• HTC ThunderBolt
• DROID Incredible 2 by HTC
• HTC Rhyme
• HTC Rezound
• Motorola XOOM
• DROID BIONIC
• DROID RAZR
• DROID RAZR MAXX
• DROID 4
• DROID XYBOARD 8.2
• DROID XYBOARD 10.1
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7
• Spectrum by LG

Of the 14 announced devices, 5 are tablets. There are some notably absent devices as well which seem pretty surprising. Of the initial Verizon 4G LTE smartphone rollout, both the LG Revolution and Droid Charge by Samsung are missing from the ICS update list. The latter of which's "Droid" branding had led me to believe would be enough to overcome Samsung's reluctance to update any of the Galaxy S family to Android 4.0. The Charge's keyboard-packing cousin, the Samsung Stratosphere, is also absent, and so is the Pantech Breakout. 

It's good to see Verizon be a bit more transparent than some of the other US carriers by spelling out what devices are and aren't getting ICS. At the same time, having even an estimated set of dates next to those updates would go a long way towards quelling the impatient masses.

Source: Verizon Wireless