Android and Me |
- New Android wallpapers: CyanogenMod mascot and a crowd of Androids
- Speculation: US GSM Galaxy Nexus could be first device to get Jelly Bean
- Gameloft releases first teaser video for N.O.V.A. 3
- Google Drive details emerge, launching today on PC, Mac, Android [Update: LIVE!]
- New shirts: CyanogenMod Throwback and Android Communitee available now!
- Breaking: Google begins selling Galaxy Nexus on Google Play Store for $399
- Official Samsung Android 4.0 update list – April
- Samsung releases UNPACKED 2012 app onto Play Store
- HTC forecasts 55 percent Q2 revenue jump over previous quarter – still short of 2011 numbers
| New Android wallpapers: CyanogenMod mascot and a crowd of Androids Posted: 24 Apr 2012 05:21 PM PDT  To celebrate the release of our new shirt series, and because a few of you have asked for them, we’re happy to release our newest set of free Android wallpapers. Based on the latest shirts by Ray Frenden, we’ve got four wallpapers, each available in two resolutions. Nowdays there are too many screen sizes to even begin to keep track of, so we just went with generic ‘Huge’ and ‘Normal’ sizes. Crop to your heart’s content. ThrowbackThis CyanogenMod mascot might be retired, but in our hearts he skates on in all his glory. Now that glory has been captured and put into a wallpaper. Enjoy it. CommuniteeCommunitee is a multi-headed beast. We had the community submit ideas and we voted, selecting a concept we thought would look rad Frendened-up. Nailed it. Of course, to download any of the above wallpapers, simply click the ‘Huge’ or ‘Normal’ link under the thumbnail, depending on the resolution of your device. If you love any of this art, especially if you think it would look good slathered across your chest, don’t forget that these tees are still available for a limited time. We’re doing a special pre-order-only sales period, after which we won’t be selling them again.
You can head on over to get.androidandme.com for more information, or check out the announcement post from this morning.
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| Speculation: US GSM Galaxy Nexus could be first device to get Jelly Bean Posted: 24 Apr 2012 01:03 PM PDT  Could the newly released US GSM variant of the Galaxy Nexus be the first device on the block to receive Jelly Bean once it rolls out this year? If you believe a crash log that popped up online last week, then there’s good reason to think it will be. Last week, on April 14, an automatic crash report from developer Yuku Sugianto (an engineer at Found and well established developer in the Google Play store) was posted to Google+ that showed a device touted as the Galaxy Nexus running “JellyBean” (no version number) in the wild. This should come as no surprise. Of course Google is testing the latest version of Android to get the update running as bug-free as possible. The real interesting thing about the crash report was the “product” Jelly Bean is supposedly running on. According to the report, the device running Jelly Bean is a Galaxy Nexus with the product name takju. Until today we had no idea what device takju might refer to. It just so happens to be the US variant of the GSM Galaxy Nexus that Google is now selling from the Play store. Which got me to thinking. Now that the US variant of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus has gone on sale, you have to wonder where it fits in with the rest of the Galaxy Nexus family. Is it carrier controlled like the “fake” CDMA variants? A regional variant that won’t be updated directly by Google like the “yakjusc” and “yakjuxw” GSM Nexuses? Or could it finally be one of the one true Nexuses? Updated directly by Google, with no carrier or manufacturer input, and able to flash AOSP builds without any modification. The very first device to receive the latest versions of Android. A developer’s developer phone, if you will. Considering the fact that it’s being sold by Google, with support handled by Google, and it’s being used internally to test Jelly Bean, this could be the Nexus we always talk about. All Google, all the time. No interference from anyone. I know I’ve badmouthed Google’s ability to update their Nexus devices in the past, but this still may be my next personal device. I have hope that Google can still get things down, and either way, this device is guaranteed a boat load of third-party developer support. Come I/O, if Jelly Bean were to get announced and pushed out to any device that day, my money is on it being the US GSM Nexus.
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| Gameloft releases first teaser video for N.O.V.A. 3 Posted: 24 Apr 2012 11:40 AM PDT  Dear Gameloft, Please don’t ruin N.O.V.A. 3 by making it one of your crappy freemium titles. We promise to support you and pay the full asking price. Love,
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| Google Drive details emerge, launching today on PC, Mac, Android [Update: LIVE!] Posted: 24 Apr 2012 09:06 AM PDT  The wait for Google Drive has been a long one, but it will soon be over for PC, Mac, and Android users. A document was accidentally pushed live on Google’s French blog, where it was quickly removed, but not before Gerwin Strum was able to make a copy of the document and run it through Translate. From the leak, we now know that Google Drive will be rolling out to Google users en masse later today, and Google Drive applications will be going live on PC, Mac, and Android at the same time (iOS users are left out in the cold for now). As expected, Google Drive will come with 5 free GB of storage, and will feature close integration with Google Docs. In fact, Google calls Drive the next iteration of Google Docs in the leaked memo. Many of you have noticed by now that your Google Docs storage limit has increased from 1 to 5GB in anticipation of the Drive launch. Additional space can be bought in 20GB increments for $4/month, up to a maximum of 16 TB per user on the enterprise side. It’s unclear what the storage options will be for individual users at this time, though current options are found here. Google is guaranteeing an uptime of 99.9%, likely in an attempt to persuade enterprise customers that they can rely on Google’s service. We should be getting our grubby little hands on the Google Drive application for Android a bit later today. For now, you can read the translated Google Drive posting by clicking the “Show Press Release” button below. UPDATE: Android application is live. Show Press ReleasePosted by Sundar Pichai, Senior Vice President, Google Chrome & Apps Today we launch Google Drive, a centralized space where you can create, share, collaborate and store all your documents. You establish a budget with your staff that you develop a presentation with a working group or hosting a seminar, you can now do it in Drive. Download and access all your documents, videos, photos, Google Docs, PDF, etc.. Next step in the evolution of Google Docs and functionality of downloading any material, Drive will allow you to live, work and play in the Cloud. Google Drive, you can: Keep your documents securely and access anywhere and any device connected to the Internet. All your documents are just … there. Whatever happens. Drive you can install on your Mac, PC or download the application Drive on your phone or Android tablet. IOS version of the application will be available in the coming weeks. Drive is also accessible to visually impaired people using a screen reader tool Search All. Search by keyword and filter by document type, owner, activity, etc.. Drive can even recognize the text content of a document scanned by technology OCR. For example, if you download the scanned image of an old newspaper clipping, you can search using one of the words quoted in the article. We have even begun to tap the image recognition: if you upload a picture of the Eiffel Tower in Drive, the next time you search the term Eiffel Tower, the image will appear in the results Open more than 30 types of documents directly from a Web browser – including high-definition video, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop – even without the proper software installed on your computer We know that you need to access your documents in order to work everyday. Google Drive uses the same infrastructure as any other Google Apps services, which means it also has the same administrative tools, security and reliability, among others: Centralized management: new tools are available in the Apps control interface for administrators to add or remove storage space for individual or groups of users Security: encryption of data transfer between your browser and our servers, and check option 2 in time to prevent non-authorized access to an account by requiring users to log on returning secure code generated from their mobile phone Data replication: synchronous replication of data in multiple data centers ensures the safety and accessibility of your records even in the unlikely event one of our data centers is temporarily unavailable Availability: 99.9% uptime guarantee so you can be assured that your documents are accessible when you need it Each user has access to Google Apps 5GB storage included in the suite Google Apps administrators can centrally manage and purchase additional storage space. When a user reaches the limit, administrators can purchase the necessary space of 20GB for $ 4 per month to 16TB (Google Docs are not counted in the quota of storage space). Starting today, Google Apps administrators will see new orders for Drive in their management interface. Users of companies have opted for the quick launch, will enable Google Drive on drive.google.com / start and will receive their access in the following weeks. Drive is designed to work harmoniously with all the products you use – whether Google products or third party service. You can share your photos on Google Drive + and will soon be able to attach documents directly into your emails Drive Gmail. Drive is intended to be an open platform, so we work with many third party developers, allowing you to do things such as sending faxes, edit videos and create models directly from Drive website. To install these applications, visit the Chrome Web Store and follow the events for more useful applications to come. It is only the beginning of Google Drive, many developments are coming. Stay tuned!
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| New shirts: CyanogenMod Throwback and Android Communitee available now! Posted: 24 Apr 2012 08:20 AM PDT  Story time! Back in October, at the Big Android BBQ, we dropped a box of tees featuring a re-imagined CyanogenMod mascot at the feet of Steve Kondik. Let me rephrase that. We attempted to drop a box of tees, but I’m not sure it actually hit the ground before it was snatched empty. Immediately we were met with reprint requests. That day has finally arrived. Even longer ago, back in September, we asked our community to submit tee ideas as part of a contest. The winner not only scored a free Galaxy Tab, but would have his winning concept knocked out by illustrator-to-the-stars Ray Frenden. The result is Communitee, a badass full-chest print featuring a crowd of familiar robots.
As always, these designs are discharge printed on American Apparel tees. Discharge is a type of screen printing where the ink actually replaces the tee's color, rather than sit on top of it. The result is a ridiculously soft print, perfect for maximum comfort and durability (no cracking graphic after too many washes!). These tees are available during a two-day pre-sale only period. The day after the sale, the tees will go into production in the exact numbers sold, creating a sealed edition. If you want to make absolutely sure you score either of these tees, you should buy them right now. You won’t be seeing them again anytime soon. If you tweeted yesterday, you received a $1 off coupon code. If you didn’t get a chance to yet, you can still do so with the tweetbox below. Simply post a tweet to unlock your $1 coupon code: In our old lives, before we were full-time phone nerds, we spent our time playing hip designer printing weird tees and trying to make cool products. We really wanted to thank you guys for giving us the opportunity to dip back into our old love of making actual things. Get the tees now at get.androidandme.com
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| Breaking: Google begins selling Galaxy Nexus on Google Play Store for $399 Posted: 24 Apr 2012 07:54 AM PDT  There were rumors that Google would re-open their online device store, and today that new strategy is being revealed. We just spotted the HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus on the Google Play Store for $399. Android chief Andy Rubin just posted a blog to announce that Google would begin selling the unlocked Galaxy Nexus to customers in the United States starting today. Mr. Rubin wrote, “We've come a long way since the first Android devices started hitting shelves three and a half years ago and since the launch of the first Nexus device.” Google attempted to sell the HTC Nexus One phone to consumers back in 2010 (I bought one), but that didn't go so well as the top 3 carriers rejected it and Google was forced to shut the store down later that year. When the store closed, Andy Rubin said, “The global adoption of the Android platform has exceeded our expectations, the web store has not. It's remained a niche channel for early adopters.” One of the main complaints with Google’s online store two years ago was the lack of customer support. People who purchased the Nexus One back in 2010 did not know if they should contact Google, HTC, or T-Mobile when they had problems with the device. This time around, things should be different. Rubin said, ”We've implemented new customer support services to improve the purchasing experience on Google Play. We've taken all of this into consideration in designing Devices on Google Play.” Google is only selling the device in the US today, but it will be expanding to additional markets. “We hope to bring it to more countries soon.” Since the HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus ships unlocked, without a carrier commitment or contract, that means users can use it on the GSM carrier of your choice. The device supports both AT&T’s and T-Mobile’s HSPA+ networks, with speeds up to 21 Mbps. A lot of customers who purchased the fake Nexus from Verizon were disappointed with the lack of software updates, but that shouldn’t be a problem with Google’s version. They will control all of the software upgrades and won’t need the carrier’s approval before pushing out new updates. I’ve been a little critical of the Galaxy Nexus, but it remains one of my favorite Android phones. There were definitely some bugs at launch, but many of them have been resolved with the recent Android 4.0.4 upgrade. At a price of only $399, this is the best deal that US consumers can find on an unlocked Android phone. Developing…
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| Official Samsung Android 4.0 update list – April Posted: 24 Apr 2012 07:23 AM PDT  Many are waiting to see what Samsung will unveil on May 5th, but those who currently own a Samsung phone are probably just as interested to know when their current phone will be updated to Android 4.0. Fortunately for U.S. customers, Samsung has just updated a support page on its site, revealing a comprehensive list of handsets which will be updated to Android 4.0 “as quickly and smoothly as possible.” Samsung is in close communication with both Google and our carrier partners to upgrade devices to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich as quickly and as smoothly as possible.Samsung Samsung’s list includes handsets and tablets from all major U.S. carriers – except for T-Mobile. Samsung’s support page claims that they are “in close communication with T-Mobile to ensure that eligible devices are upgraded to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in the coming months” and will update us once more details are available. While the majority of Samsung’s most recent devices were named, Samsung failed give us specific dates as to when the Android 4.0 updates will be rolled out. Will my device be updated?As you are no doubt aware, Samsung was first out of the gate with Android 4.0 on first the Galaxy Nexus and then the Nexus S, but those are Nexus devices and that was to be expected. They have, in my opinion, been slightly less forthcoming than some of the other major manufacturers about their plans for the rest of their lineup. The sheer number of devices they have released is no doubt at least partially to blame and despite often releasing the same line of phones (e.g., Galaxy S II) across many carriers, there are minor hardware variations in each that render the shared name less meaningful. Latest Android 4.0 update news from Samsung
Samsung devices currently running Android 4.0 Samsung Galaxy Nexus (Global/LTE) Samsung devices officially named to receive the Android 4.0 update Samsung Galaxy Note (Global) Samsung devices expected to receive the Android 4.0 update Samsung Galaxy S II (T-Mobile) Samsung devices not expected to receive the Android 4.0 update Samsung Galaxy S
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| Samsung releases UNPACKED 2012 app onto Play Store Posted: 24 Apr 2012 06:21 AM PDT  If we’ve learned one thing over the past few months, it’s that you guys really have your eyes set on the Samsung Galaxy S III. Though some might call the S III a minor update, new reports coming out suggest this might not be the case, and initial benchmarking information from the S III bests any other device out there. Samsung will be formally unveiling the Galaxy S III at it’s mobile UNPACKED event in London on May 3rd, and we’ll be on hand to bring you the goods. If you just can’t get enough Samsung Galaxy S III news, Samsung has just released a mobile app companion to the UNPACKED event that promises to bring a slew of information on the S III immediately after it is unveiled. The application also will bring live video coverage of the event as it happens, so you can keep up with the action right from your Android smartphone. While the app itself is just a mere shell, a wealth of content will be unlocked on launch day. If you’re interested in following UNPACKED live on the 3rd, you should probably go ahead and give it a download.
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| HTC forecasts 55 percent Q2 revenue jump over previous quarter – still short of 2011 numbers Posted: 24 Apr 2012 06:05 AM PDT  HTC has released its Q2 earnings estimates this morning, forecasting a 55 percent jump in revenue over Q1 and improved profit margins as well. HTC expects second quarter revenues to reach T$105 billion ($3.56 billion), 3.5 percent higher than the T$101.46 billion that analysts had predicted. While the Q2 forecast is positive, they are still significantly lower than the NT$124.4 billion revenue numbers they reported in Q2 of 2011. HTC’s projections for the second quarter could be an indication that the HTC One series (which has been available in Europe for three weeks) is already having a positive effect on the company’s bottom line. With the HTC One S set to make its U.S. debut on T-Mobile tomorrow and the One X (available for pre-order on Amazon for $149.99) heading to AT&T on May 6th, HTC is poised to regain some ground lost to Apple and Samsung over the past months. Do you think the HTC One will help HTC beat out the competition in the second quarter and help HTC regain its momentum?
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