Update - 10

AT&T Galaxy Note rooted kernel now available Posted: 18 Feb 2012 12:48 PM PST It won't officially be released until February 19, but the AT&T version of the Samsung Galaxy Note has already had a rooted kernel built for it.  The kernel also has init.d support so custom scripts can be run during the boot cycle, and is set-up for root access over adb as well.  If that reads like Greek to you, just know that it's all good stuff and needed for custom ROMs and other hacks for the Note, and enjoy it. Of course you'll need to use Odin to flash it, so that means Windows only and the mess of drivers to install.  Luckily, all that is covered and put together with download links and instructions at XDA.  Be sure you read them before you start clicking buttons.  When you get your paws on an AT&T Note of your very own, give it a look.  In the meantime, discuss it all in the forums.  Happy hacking! Source: XDA-Developers

Verizon continues their 4G LTE rollout and expansion, 7 new markets now covered Posted: 18 Feb 2012 11:09 AM PST While their commercials have gotten some attention from the likes of Saturday Night Live, Verizon continues their 4G LTE rollout and expansion having most recently added 7 new markets to the mix. As announced on the Verizon website earlier, the new markets are: Little Rock, Ark. Rapid City, S.D. Clarksville, Tenn. Cookeville, Tenn. San Antonio, Tex. Rochester-Area, New York In addition to those areas, Verizon has also added 13 new cell sites in and around Cabot, Jacksonville, Sherwood, the Little Rock Air Force Base, Ward, Austin and Gravel Ridge to ensure coverage along the Highway 67/167 corridor. Need to see if you're covered? Check out the source link to view Verizon 4G LTE coverage map. Source: Verizon

Notion Ink Adam's ICS build hits beta, downloadable now Posted: 18 Feb 2012 10:25 AM PST It is just over a month since Notion Ink set loose their alpha build of Ice Cream Sandwich for the Adam. Today that build gets bumped up to beta and as before has been posted to the Internet for anyone willing to try it out. As before, this is nowhere close to a finished product so expect bugs galore. There are still a number of fixes to bugs found in the initial alpha build. 3G, Youtube HD, the sleep issue, graphics acceleration, Wi-Fi and USB issues all get fixes and improvements. What we still don't have working includes a list of key items such as the camera, microphone, light sensor, compass and disabling notifications. It's Ice Cream Sandwich though, and seeing any manufacturer actively trying to push the software to their devices is a good thing. Hit the source links below for more information and full install instructions. There's also a nice little selection of images showing where they're at so far for anyone interested.  Source: Notion Ink More: Images of Ice Cream Sandwich on the Notion Ink Adam

Android Central international round-up - Feb. 18, 2012 Posted: 18 Feb 2012 08:49 AM PST Mobile World Congress is just around the corner, and this week we've seen a torrent of rumors and leaks surrounding what'll be unveiled in Barcelona in just over a week. As the clock counts down, we're not expecting things to get any less crazy in over the next seven days, so why not stop and reflect on the past week's international developments... Barclays releases Pingit, send and receive money using a phone number HTC to give fans and developers an early taste of ICS on international Sensation phones Samsung brings dual-SIM smartphones to India Samsung Galaxy Note launching today in Canada Samsung Galaxy Note coming to Vodafone Australia HTC EVO 3D on sale for £229 in the UK European Commission clears Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility Sky Go for Android not compatible with Ice Cream Sandwich at launch Samsung Galaxy Nexus (GSM) extended battery now available in the UK White Galaxy Nexus begins shipping in the UK today T-Mobile UK clarifies; no data speedcap on 'Full Monty' plans Further HTC 'Endeavor' details leak - buttons, speaker dock connector, microSIM 'One V' rumored to complete HTC's MWC trilogy HTC Endeavor reportedly launching as HTC One X; HTC Ville to become HTC One S Got some international news? Be sure to tip us at the usual address!

Motorola Droid RAZR, RAZR MAXX update pushing out Posted: 18 Feb 2012 06:18 AM PST Update: Because so many people are just starting to get the update (thanks for the e-mails, everybody!), we're going to bump this post -- something we try to avoid doing for obvious reasons. Original from Feb. 6: If you're the proud owner of a Motorola Droid RAZR, or it's brother with a bit bigger gas tank the Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX, (read the review of the MAXX right here)  there's an OTA update ready and waiting for you.  Version 6.12.173.XT912.Verizon.en.US (there's no way we could make that one up) started slowly rolling out over the weekend and is now pushing hard and heavy, and chances are you can grab it yourself by simply going to Settings>About Phone>System Updates.   The update itself is about 150MB in size, and updates the software to Android 2.3.6.  I know many were wanting Ice Cream Sandwich, but this update brings some welcome bug fixes and security patches, so we'll gladly take it.  The full change list, line by line: Mobile Hotspot will now successfully allow other devices to connect to all Improvements in the Mobile Hotspot security. VZ Navigator has been updated with the latest 3D map improvements. Visual Voice Mail messages can be marked as read. Visual Voice Mail message playback resumes when audio is switched to speaker. Visual Voice Mail will successfully subscribe or unsubscribe while connected with Wifi. Successfully press back key after playback in Visual Voice Mail without error. V CAST App now comes preloaded. MotoCast installation steps have been improved for easier use. Improved stability of data connectivity after Airplane Mode is disabled. Improved data throughput performance in low-signal 4G environments. Improved Battery life when using Phone Book Access Profile (PBAP) Bluetooth headsets. Successfully save multimedia ringtones. Favorite Contacts widget has been updated. Improved device stability when moving between home screen panels. Email icon has been updated for improved visibility. When performing an Over the Air (OTA) update, the display will correctly show the remaining download time. CMAS (Commercial Mobile Alert Service) feature has been added. That's a hell of a list, and seeing improvements with 4G data connectivity is certainly something everyone likes to see.  Things should go smoothly after this one, but if you hit any snags or just want to discuss it all, be sure to hit the forums! More: Verizon

Google Chairman Eric Schmidt selling 2.4 million shares, worth nearly $1.5 billion Posted: 18 Feb 2012 05:58 AM PST When I need cash, I go to the bank. (Or, more accurately, to a shoebox under the loose floorboard in my pantry. Shhhhh.) When the chairman of Google wants cash, he sells stock. According to an overnight SEC filing, Eric Schmidt -- as part of a prearranged trading plan -- is selling some 2.4 million shares of Class A Google stock. That's somewhere around $1.44 billion dollars worth, going by Friday's close of trading, which saw Google drop 1.88 to end the day at 604.64. Wowzers. The SEC filing notes that before the sale, Schmidt owned 9.1 million shares of Class A and Class B stock -- about 2.8 percent of Google's outstanding capital stock. With that, Schmidt had 9.7 percent voting power. After the sale, Schmidt owns approximately 6.7 million shares -- about 2.1 percent of Google's total outstanding stock -- and will have 7.3 percent voting power. Source: SEC

CyanogenMod team seeks donations to support hardware requirements Posted: 18 Feb 2012 05:27 AM PST The CyanogenMod team is seeking donations from the community to help bolster the hardware needed to keep things going. There are some 56 devices supported on CM's official listing, and nightly builds and official releases take some serious hardware to crank out. And that costs money. Writes CyanogenMod: We need to purchase new hardware to take on this task. A couple of solid, stable Xeon-class servers with large amounts of RAM and fast disks. Virtual private servers won’t cut it for build machines. CyanogenMod is not a for-profit business. We are just a bunch of geeks, trying to make our phones more awesome. The donations we get currently cover our operating costs and occasionally go towards developer devices. This time, I need to ask for help from the community for something a bit larger. We need to purchase these servers in order to bring the build infrastructure back to full capacity. As such, there's now a PayPal widget at the bottom of the CM site that allows you to donate as much or as little as you want. Source: CyanogenMod

Late-night poll: Is your Android phone rooted? Posted: 17 Feb 2012 11:30 PM PST Since we started doing our polls each weeknight, the most popular requested subject from you guys was about root.  People want to know who is rooting their phones, and why they're doing it.  It's a choice everyone should consider before making, as these little (and not so little) pieces of glass and plastic can get pretty darned expensive to replace.  Futzing around with the software can be a risky move, and when your done your phone is a bit less secure.   But man, can it be fun.  So let's take a poll and see what the average reader of Android Central has to say.  Do you root your phone?