Early this month, Adidas revealed its new apparel for the NBA All-Star Game (6 p.m. Feb. 26, TNT). In this bundle were three pairs of shoes which didn’t really live up to the shoe standard Adidas has set.

The first of the three different pairs of shoes unveiled was the adizero Rose 2.5. If you like bland shoes, then you’re going to love these. Intended to “pay homage to Orlando’s Orange County,” according to the press release, this pair of shoes really pays homage–and I mean really.

Aside from three white stripes on the back, the adizero Rose 2.5 is all orange, including the body, soles, and even laces. Now, next Thursday, you can pick up these puppies for just $110, or you can drop five bucks on a can of orange spray paint and–presto!–your old Skechers have just turned into the latest and greatest Adidas shoe.

Another shoe, the adiPower Howard 2, isn’t as silly as it name makes it seem. However, Adidas still focused on paying homage to Orange County by keeping orange as the dominant color. Rather than sticking with white or blue to complement the orange with the Orlando Magic’s colors, the adiPower Howard 2 focuses on red. A slight step-up from the adizero Rose 2.5, Howard’s special shoe is almost as disappointing as Howard’s game from behind the three-point arc.

Finally, Adidas Originals released a special type of the AR 2.0. This shoe trumps the other two, as it actually doesn’t look so bad. It mixes blue and orange to come out of the sea of bland the other two shoes offer, creating something reputable for fans to wear when it’s released next week.

Google’s Android system has been one of the fastest growing mobile platforms; here’s the scoop on its next step: Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Ever since Android has been available on both tablets and phones, Google had split the operating system into two: Android 2.3 (codename: Gingerbread) was for mobile devices, and the Android 3.0 (codename: Honeycomb) was for tablets. Ice Cream Sandwich, or ICS, aims to bridge this software gap and reduce differences in software throughout the Android ecosystem.

ICS combines both features of Gingerbread and Honeycomb, making it one of Android’s smoothest and most visually appealing user interfaces ever.

Resizable widgets, an innovative lock screen (which unlocks when it recognizes your face!) better multitasking between apps and much more is included.

PROS

• The most beautiful looking interface yet
• Ability to remove pesky “bloatware”
• Better battery life and speed/efficiency
• New and improved camera and gallery app, allows a dedicated photo editor
• Better sharing abilities through cloud-sharing, Android beam
• Expanded voice capabilities (rumors are surfacing about a future Siri competitor)

CONS

• Interface can take a while to get used to
• Overwhelming amount of customization and settings (needs a lot of tweaking)
• ICS seems very exclusive at the moment and only a few phones are currently eligible
• Many phones don’t have good enough hardware to run it so you may have to get a new phone to use it

Let’s get more technical:

Many people have complained about the differences between devices regarding hardware buttons, and ICS takes care of that by having “soft buttons” such as home, back, and menu, tightly integrated on the screen, eliminating the need for hardware buttons. (For those of you with phones with hardware buttons, they will still be usable.)

Customizing one’s own phone becomes very easy with many new settings, but also opens a complicated box of potential problems. Overall, ICS’s new interface might be a little bit overwhelming with the extreme amount of new features, and might take a while to get used to, but the interface is very rewarding.

Of course, what would a major update be without improved efficiency and power? Android 4.0 adds even more cloud potential, allowing music, apps, emails, and much more to be stored on a personal cloud account. Web browsing and emailing are much faster, and stock applications have much more options and settings. Effective multitasking has always been an integral part of making Android unique, and its new app menu allows enhanced control over what is and isn’t running. Battery life is also expected to improve.

Sadly, the Android 4.0 is being sent out disappointingly slow to other phones, and updates are controlled under the discretion of the phone/tablet manufacturer and service provider. There is no guarantee if a phone will get ICS, unless explicitly stated by a company, but a simple web search could give you some hints of whether your phone is capable of running ICS with its amazing new features. Despite its claim to reduce software fragmentation, the fact that Android 4.0 might not run on a few phones is a bit ironic. Many phones lack the hardware capabilities to run such an intensive operating system, and may be left behind.

Regardless of its availability, Ice Cream Sandwich is a great next step in the Android ecosystem, and will definitely wow your friends. The new features and speed are amazing, and the software upgrade is simply a must-have for Android fans. I give it a 4 out of 5 tech-stars—only because of the upgrade’s selectivity.