Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Android Phone Fans

Android Phone Fans

Verizon Galaxy Nexus (Toro) Once Again Officially Supported In AOSP

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 07:32 PM PDT

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Verizon’s Galaxy Nexus has sometimes been referred to as as the black sheep of Nexus devices, usually trailing behind when it comes to official AOSP support. Well, today, it looks like that is changing with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean as the Verizon Galaxy Nexus (Toro) now has its official binaries exposed, and posted for ROM devs/chefs to download and cook up. Nexus brothers, it’s time to officially welcome the Verizon Galaxy Nexus back into the fold. We missed you.

Of course, this puts the ball in Verizon’s court, and we’ll have to wait and see how quickly they can test, and push out this update for unrooted users on their network.

Thanks, Illogic6!

[Google Developers]

Possible Sony Tablet S Sequel Coming Soon – SGPT1211 Passes Through FCC

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 06:23 PM PDT

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The Sony Tablet S was one of a few Android tablets released last year that kinda flew under the radar. Featuring a unique “folder” design and solid Sony build quality, even though the device may not have been the success Sony wanted, they still updated the Tablet S to Ice Cream Sandwich.

Now, it’s looking like Sony could have more in store for the underrated tablet, readying a successor with a possible upgraded spec sheet. A device with the model number SGPT1211 has just won FCC approval, and although the OS wasn’t mentioned in the official FCC docs (it’s entirely possible it could launch with Windows 8), we’re thinking it will be Sony Playstation certified Android tablet with all the fixins. We’ll keep you posted.

Via XperiaBlog

Android 4.0 Update For HTC Rezound Slated For Late July Release?

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 05:26 PM PDT

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The road from Gingerbread to Ice Cream Sandwich has been a long one for HTC Rezound users on Verizon. Nearly 8 months after the device’s release, we’re now hearing that the end of July could mean an Android 4.0 OTA update finally rolling out for the Rezound. This new date comes from HTC support via an email to a user saying,

Dear Andrew S,

Thank you for contacting HTC regarding the Android 4.0 update. I understand that you are excited to receive the update for your HTC Rezound. I will be happy to share the information I have with you.

The ICS (Android 4.0) update will be released for the Rezound by the end of this month (July) with final pushes in August. Due to localization, testing, and partner approvals, updates do not roll out to all devices at the same time. For devices on a wide variety of carriers and in many countries, rollouts can take up to 45 days from the initial update to reach everyone. It’s almost here, Andrew! We are as excited as you are. I hope you enjoy the rest of your week!

Let me know if I have successfully answered your question, please click here to complete this.

To send a reply to this message, please click here.

Sincerely,

Jauna

HTC

Remember, an end of the month ICS update doesn’t exactly miss that June/July time frame HTC originally told us, but as stated in the email, updates can take up to 45 days from the initial rollout before they’re pushed out to everyone, meaning it could be August before it hits your device. Let’s just hope Verizon doesn’t find any last minute bugs to delay the release further. Hang in there, folks!

Via Droid-Life

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Hits AOSP – Let The Custom ROMs Begin

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 04:34 PM PDT

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Android 4.1 has officially hit the ground running, finding itself landing in AOSP today courtesy of Jean-Baptiste Queru and friends. What does this mean to you? Well, if your phone is rooted and you have an affinity for flashing custom ROMs, a plethora of Jelly Bean ROMs are soon headed your way now that Jelly Bean can be compiled from source. The CyanogenMod team made it clear they will still be working on a stable ICS release and nightlies for Android 4.1 will be available when they are available — just don’t ask when. Woot woot!

[Google Groups | CM Google+]

Verizon adding and expanding 4G LTE in Missouri, New York, Georgia, Ohio, and more

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 03:49 PM PDT

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Verizon has just announced a huge list of LTE additions and expansions. Folks in Albany, NY, Savannah, MO, Wichita, KS, and a lot more will be able to enjoy fast 4G speeds that no other carrier can simply provide at such a wide range right now. That’s just a small sampling of the huge list of towns that will soon be receiving these speeds. Residents of cities New York, Missouri, Kansas, Ohio, and Georgia should check the fill list of press releases at Verizon’s site to see if they fall within the coverage areas of today’s announcements.

Tweet Lanes brings another option for Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean users

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 02:44 PM PDT

Finding Android 4.0+ apps is not an easy task yet so we’re always excited when we learn of new apps which take advantage of the new design guidelines Google introduced with the OS. A new option for Twitter clients has surfaced. Its name is Tweet Lanes, and it may soon bring a near-fully functional Twitter experience to those with the software to match.

While Boid is still in its pre-beta stages, Tweet Lanes appears to be much further along. It isn’t the most fleshed out Twitter experience in the world, but if you’ve been able to stomach Boid and its barebones offering, Tweet Lanes should get a serious look. It already has a 4.5 star rating in the Google Play Store.

Unfortunately things like custom settings are not yet available but we’re assured it’ll be coming very soon. For now, it’s a very polished app with some really innovative ideas (like the always-available contextual Tweet box that allows you to reply to a Tweet/mention a user, post a new Tweet, or send a direct message from the same box depending on what column you’re on.

Oh, and don’t even get me started on the ability to manipulate multiple Tweets at the same time. If these are the sort of features we have in such an early release I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the future.

Judging by its version number (0.1.9) we haven’t seen all of what the developer, Digital Ashes, has planned for it yet, but you can be sure we’ll be keeping our eyes on it. In fact, yours truly is just about ready to make this his daily Twitter app. If you want to give it a go be sure to download it from the Google Play Store.

PS: you’ll want to download this now. The developer will make some features premium-only later down the line, and if you have the app installed before then you’ll always get those features for free. Even if you don’t want it, it’s worth keeping on your phone for what it could soon become.

Q2 earnings call for Google to take place July 19th

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 02:34 PM PDT

Google’s likely made a lot of money this past quarter and it wants nothing more than to inform the public about it. It has announced that a conference call to discuss its Q2’12 earnings will take place July 19th. These conference calls usually reveal some interesting factoids about the progress of Android, revenue from mobile, and more.

We’re not sure Google will have a whole lot to discuss as far as growth of numbers considering it just let out a bit of those stats at Google I/O this past June. Whatever Google’s ready to discuss will hit the front page of Phandroid so circle back if it’s anything of interest to you. [Google]

Verizon will help eligible customers keep unlimited data if their plan was wrongly changed

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 02:14 PM PDT

As you all know, the Samsung Galaxy S3 has been shipping to Verizon customers beginning this week. Those who pre-ordered the device before June 28th were promised they’d get their device with unlimited data intact (June 28th was the start of Verizon’s Share Everything plans that would force users to a tiered plan if they upgraded).

Unfortunately things haven’t been as simple as we’d like them to be. Some customers are being alerted that they have been automatically switched over to one of Verizon’s tiered plans and that their previous plan is no longer available.

That’s not right, obviously, but chances are a quick call to Verizon should set things straight. Go ahead and check your account to make sure everything went as promised. If not, be sure to give Verizon a ring at one of several contact points.  [via Droid-Life]

Samsung Galaxy S2 Skyrocket now receiving Ice Cream Sandwich

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 12:41 PM PDT

It’s a big week for Samsung over at the Ma Bell camp. After receiving word that the Android 4.0 update (with Premium Suite enhancements) would be out by tomorrow, folks are reporting that their Samsung Galaxy S2 Skyrocket is now receiving Android 4.0. The build number you’d be looking for is i727UCLF6.

The upgrade can be had through Samsung’s KIES software for PC, and those who are rooted may want to wait until the community releases a pre-rooted version or until the firmware’s root exploit is found. Let us know if you’re able to pull it down in the comments below. [via XDA, thanks N1ghtgold!]

AT&T’s Galaxy Note getting Premium Suite enhancements tomorrow

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 12:15 PM PDT

AT&T has a pretty nice upgrade headed to their Galaxy Note sometime tomorrow. The upgrade will add the Premium Suite enhancements which will make it more of a breeze to use your smartphone than it already is.

The Android 4.0 update would bring improvements to S-Memo and S-Note among other changes (and the changes that come standard with the Galaxy S3, of course)

. We”re not sure how this update process will be handled but we imagine a staggered process might be employed (which means those torches will have to stay on the sidelines or a bit). Let us know if you guys start to see the upgrade between today and tomorrow. [via Engadget]

Sprint Galaxy S3 gets another security update

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 11:52 AM PDT

Samsung and Sprint have been hard at work making the Samsung Galaxy S3 as secure as possible. They’ve issued another OTA upgrade that mainly focuses on security updates.

Most of these changes are under the hood and users will be none the wiser as to what exactly has changed. Don’t fret, though: we’re sure nothing malicious has been injected into perhaps one of the best smartphones on the market. Head to the source link for the details. [via Sprint]

Online orders for Verizon Galaxy S3 shipping by July 19th

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 10:56 AM PDT

A rumor earlier suggested Verizon would be pushing the in-store launch date of the Samsung Galaxy S3 back to July 12th, and now it appears those who ordered online may be in for an even longer delay.

Online customers are being given an estimated ship date of July 19th. This doesn’t necessarily mean folks will have to wait until then to get their devices, but nothing’s guaranteed until that date hits.

Verizon’s Galaxy S3 comes equipped with 4G LTE, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 processor, an 8 megapixel HD camera, a 2 megapixel front-facing camera, a 4. inch HD AMOLED display, and more. Let us know if you’re in line for one of these when they hit the hot boxes this Thursday.

LG to premier quad-core L9 chipset with September smartphone launch

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 08:42 AM PDT

It’s no secret LG has been quietly building a quad-core processing platform of their own, but new rumors hint that we could get our first taste of what the Korean tech maker is cooking come September. Little is known about the new chipset other than its ARM architecture, but even then we are left wondering exactly what we will get. LG has licenses for both the older Cortex-A9 and the latest Cortex-A15 processing architectures, but it is unknown upon which LG is basing their plans. Perhaps the name of their in-house CPU provides a hint. Dubbed L9, the number designation suggests an A9 base, but we can’t say for sure.

What is known is that the system-on-a-chip will be coupled with a high-motor GPU and implanted in an upcoming LG handset to launch this September. The phone is said to feature an HD IPS display similar to that found in the Optimus 4X HD and a camera rated at 10MP or higher. Other details are not surprisingly scant.

[via GSMArena]

Global Galaxy S II owners receiving update to Android 4.0.4

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 08:27 AM PDT

The international Samsung Galaxy S II is no stranger to Ice Cream Sandwich. The update became available a few months back in areas around the globe, but, given its development timeline, was based on an older version of the ICS framework, Android 4.0.3. Now an update is rolling out to bring the Galaxy S II in line with the latest version of Ice Cream Sandwich.

Users in Russia are reportedly receiving Android 4.0.4. The update is arriving over the air but is also available directly from Samsung’s Kies software. Galaxy S II owners in other regions outside the US should receive the update over the coming weeks.

[via SamMobile]

Samsung releases source code for Verizon’s Galaxy S3

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 07:35 AM PDT

With the source code already available for the AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint versions of the Samsung Galaxy S3, it was only a matter of time before we got our hands on the same for Verizon’s. Samsung has updated its open source code bank with the kernel files for VZW’s Galaxy S3, model number SCH-I535. There has been some concern that development on the Verizon version of the device might be stunted due to the presence of a locked bootloader. A work around is apparently in place, however, and the availability of the code should go a long way in bolstering the efforts of custom ROM developers.

[Samsung via AndroidPolice]
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