Saturday, October 20, 2012

Android Central

Android Central

Motorola revises Android software update page for US devices

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 04:19 PM PDT

Hello, Moto

Motorola has once again updated their Android software upgrades page, this time filling in much of the details for U.S. devices and the Jelly Bean rollout. It's a big (and getting confusing) list, so you'll want to be sure to have a look at the source link, but we can pretty much wrap things up with the short version.

These devices are getting, or have received Jelly Bean, and if any time frame was given, it is noted

  • DROID RAZR M (XT907) -- before 2013
  • DROID RAZR HD (XT926) -- before 2013
  • DROID RAZR MAXX HD (XT926) -- before 2013
  • ATRIX HD (MB866)
  • PHOTON Q (XT897)
  • ELECTRIFY 2 (XT881)
  • DROID RAZR (XT912)
  • DROID RAZR MAXX (XT912)
  • DROID 4 (XT894)
  • DROID BIONIC (XT875)
  • MOTOROLA XOOM WiFi-Only (MZ604) -- July 2102
  • MOTOROLA XOOM WiFi + 3G/LTE (MZ600/MZ602) -- Q4 2012

As of today, if your phone or tablet (U.S. only) is not listed, the Jelly Bean update is not scheduled for you. Of course, Motorola says things are under evaluation, and subject to change.

Again -- these updates are for the U.S. only devices. Motorola hasn't updated anything about the rest of the world just yet, but looking at the list above it's pretty easy to come to a conclusion. If your phone was built after the Bionic, you might get Jelly Bean. If not, you can only hope it meets the criteria for Motorola's trade-up program. 

Feel free to fill the comments with opinions and rage -- just don't shoot the messenger.

Source: Motorola. Thanks everyone who sent this in!

 

Field Trip gets some useful changes and polish

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 01:57 PM PDT

Field Trip

Google's latest location-centric app, Field Trip, just received an update that has added quite a bit of polish and some usability features. As far as new features go, version 1.03 adds the ability to swipe away cards to dismiss notifications, view card locations on the map all the way at the city level, mute notifications while using Google Navigation and choose walking or driving directions when navigating via the Field Trip app.

On the bug fix side, this latest version fixes issues with the screen staying on too long because of a notification, crashes on specific devices, text to speech and issues with the app not respecting the device's silent mode.

That's a pretty big changelog for an early update on a new app, and all of them are much appreciated. If you haven't had a chance to download and take a look at Field Trip, it's really worth your time. Sure you'll look like a tourist walking around with your phone in front of you going "ooh, ahh", but that's part of the fun.

Samsung Galaxy Rugby Pro arrives on AT&T on Oct. 21

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 01:57 PM PDT

Samsung Galaxy Rugby Pro

Announced along with their full holiday line up in New York not long ago, AT&T will be making the Samsung Galaxy Rugby Pro available to those looking for a rough and rugged device come October 21st. For $100 you'll get yourself a military grade, waterproof, shock resistant and dust proof device with Android 4.0, LTE connectivity, a 5MP camera and a 4-inch Super AMOLED display at 480 x 800. Sure, it won't win any beauty pageants but it's built to last. We've already gone hands-on with it and set up a nice gallery for you all in case you're thinking of picking this one up.

T-Mobile showcase hits NYC Oct. 29

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 01:00 PM PDT

T-Mobile showcase

Right. So T-Mobile's doing a showcase on Oct. 29 in New York City. Yes, that's the same day as Google's "Playground" event, where we should see a new Nexus phone, and maybe a tablet or two. But this is a T-Mobile event, folks. Google's is in the morning. Don't freak out if there's no "T-Mobile Nexus" at this thing. Chances are any new GSM Nexus will be pentaband anyway, so it'll be "T-Mobile" as much as it is "AT&T" or GSM for the rest of the world. No biggie.

No, what I'm expecting is a whole lot of Galaxy Note 2 and other T-Mobile Android phones from this year (including new but lesser-spec'd devices)  -- and a bunch of new Windows Phone hardware, including the HTC 8X (I've played with that, and it's freakin' gorgeous), and the more portly Nokia Lumia 810, which I saw last week in San Diego. Microsoft is finally showing off Windows Phone 8 on the morning of Oct. 29 in San Francisco, and one phone does not a showcase make. There will be more than Nexus, one way or the other.

Oh, and there's a pretty good chance this might happen as well. We hope.

Fake Sony Nexus was fake

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:32 PM PDT

Android Central Android Central

That 'Sony Nexus X' was an elaborate hoax, but not of the kind we expected

Remember those Sony Nexus X images doing the rounds a few days back? Remember how we pointed how that things looked a bit fishy? Well, the person who created the photos has come forward today, and it turns out they were indeed fake, as we reported at the time.

But that's not the interesting part. What's astonishing is the amount of effort that went into creating a couple of low-quality images. Turns out the images weren't the result of Photoshop trickery alone, but hours of painstaking 3D model work based on earlier Sony and Nexus designs. It was fake, all right, but not in the way we thought.

The entire process of creating the Nexus X images was laid out for all to see in an infographic entitled "The Anatomy of a Hoax." Using phones like the Galaxy Nexus and Xperia T as a starting point, the creator first fashioned a 3D model, then placed it in a virtual background, and added a reflection from the back of a Galaxy Nexus for good measure. After that, it was put through Photoshop to, well, make it look crappy enough to have come from a Galaxy Nexus camera. In total, he estimates it took a total of over seven hours work to create the images.

The reason for the hoax, apparently, was to demonstrate consumer interest in a Sony Nexus to Google, and show how the tech news echo chamber can throw basic caution and fact-checking to the wind.

This is something we're all too familiar with -- we deal with shit like this on a daily basis, especially in the pre-Nexus silly season. We weren't caught out this time, though like everyone else, we have been in the past.

In any case, we encourage you to go take a look at the full infographic, if only to appreciate the effort that went into producing those tiny, blurred (and yes, fully faked) JPEGs.

Source: Anatomy of a Hoax

A 32-gigabyte Nexus 7 in a box

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 11:19 AM PDT

Nexus 7

Yeah, yeah. We all know there's a 32-gigabyte Nexus 7 coming down the pike -- very possibly at the Oct. 29 event in New York City. And the box of one apparently has made its way into our forums. We've got one member, KidCuda, saying it's ringing up at $249, which is the current price of the 16GB Nexus 7. (Perhaps that means the 8GB is on its way out?) This picture comes courtesy of member stonerman34, clearly showing the 32GB of storage.

Now we just need to be able to buy it. Ah, hey. Stonerman34 says it's got an Oct. 29 street date. Which would make sense.

Source: Nexus 7 forums

Here's what LG's Nexus 4 looks like on the inside

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 09:45 AM PDT

Android Central

We've all seen numerous photos of the LG Nexus 4 from the outside, but if you've been curious as to what's lurking behind that shiny glass back, then wonder no more. A source has passed the above image to us, showing what you'll find if you unscrew the phone's back panel and look inside. As has been extensively reported in recent weeks, the back is intended to be non-removable, but with a bit of disassembly, it is possible to get inside.

Unsurprisingly, the back is dominated by the battery, which we now know to be a 2100mAh unit. It's not intended to be user-replaceable, but there are just a few standard screws between you and the battery. At a push, we imagine a technically proficient user could perform a successful Nexus 4 battery transplant if required.

The rest is pretty much as we'd expect it to be -- there's a plastic frame, gold contacts for antennae, and cutouts for the rear speaker, 8MP camera and LED flash. Peeking out from under that plastic is the PCB, which houses the 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro CPU, along with RAM, flash storage and other gubbins. Naturally, the SIM card slot isn't sealed behind the glass panel -- instead it's accessible via an iPhone-style microSIM tray on the right edge.

The Nexus 4 is so close, we can practically taste it. Don't forget we'll be live from New York on Oct. 29 for the announcement event!

Thanks, Anon!

Latest LG Nexus 4 leak provides minor new details

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 08:18 AM PDT

Android Central

2100mAh battery, slightly thicker and heavier than the Galaxy Nexus

It's been a while since we've had any fresh LG Nexus 4 leaks, largely because much of the upcoming phone's hardware has already been laid bare. Nevertheless, notorious Twitter leaker @evleaks has today revealed a few minor, yet previously unknown specs, along with a new photo of the device's front face. The Twitter post also confirms earlier leaked specs, including a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro CPU, 2GB of RAM, and 8GB and 16GB storage options.

According to the latest leak, the Nexus 4 will be slightly thicker than its predecessor, measuring 9.1mm -- though let's remember that there's no unsightly hump down below this time around. In addition, weight is reported as 139 grams, a little heavier than the GSM Gnex's 135 grams. And the internal, non-replaceable battery is said to be rated at an ample 2100mAh.

Capacity is one thing, but it'll be interesting to see if the Nexus 4 sports the same "800 charging cycles" tech that LG's been pimping with the Optimus G as an increase over the competition. We're also curious to see whether, like newer Nexus 7 models, the Nexus 4 hardware supports the new power management features of the 3.4 Linux kernel.

On software, evleaks reports Android "JellyBeanMR1" as being loaded onto the device -- that's the same numberless version we've seen floating around on other prototypes. It's widely expected that the final device will ship with Android version 4.2, which may or may not wear the Jelly Bean badge.

So the bottom line is this -- slightly thicker, a tiny bit heavier, and you shouldn't need to worry too much about battery life. Of course, we'll reserve final judgment until we get our hands on the finished product, likely at Google's "Playground" event on Oct. 29.

Source: @evleaks

O2 UK begins rollout of Jelly Bean to Galaxy S3, Vodafone to follow

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 07:58 AM PDT

Galaxy S3

Yesterday, Three UK began to send out the Andorid 4.1 (Jelly Bean) update to Samsung Galaxy S3 phones, and now we have two more British carriers following closely -- Vodafone and O2. O2's rollout will begin today, it says, while Vodafone customers will have to wait until Monday.

Again, we're pleasantly surprised at how fast the British and European carriers have been able to get the updates to their devices and hope those on the American side are paying attention. Both updates will be a gradual rollout and are available via OTA over WiFi or via Kies.

If you have questions about a specific carrier's implementation, hit up the source links. We'd love to hear from you if you're on one of these carriers and update your Galaxy S3.

Source: O2, Vodafone; via Techradar

Orbitz releases Hotels by Orbitz app for Android, aims to help travelers

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 07:45 AM PDT

Hotels by Orbitz

Orbitz.com, the travel booking site, has released a new app, Hotels by Orbitz. The app is designed for a singular purpose: to help you locate hotels and book them through Orbitz.

With the app, you can search hotels that are closest to your current location or specify a different one if you're planning ahead. Once you see the list of hotels, you can sort by value, price and distance. When trying to decide on one, you can view reviews, amenities and see all room options available. Orbitz then provides an easy way to book the room if you choose.

To celebrate the release of the app, Orbitz is offering a 10% discount on any hotels booked through the app through Sunday, Oct. 21.

This makes sense for Orbitz. They want to help customers book more rooms and the mobile space is becoming increasingly significant to do that.

The app is free and available from the Google Play Store.

Deal of the Day: Incipio NGP Semi-Rigid Soft Shell Case for Galaxy S3

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 07:42 AM PDT

Deal of the Day The Oct. 19 ShopAndroid.com Deal of the Day is the Incipio NGP Semi-Rigid Soft Shell Case for Samsung Galaxy S3. NGP stands for "Next Generation Polymer" - a semi-rigid dense polymer.  The NGP material is malleable enough to slip around and snugly hold your Galaxy S3, but firm enough to withstand impacts and scrapes. Comes in black, pink, mercury and turquoise.

The Incipio NGP Semi-Rigid Soft Shell Case is available for just $13.00, 35% off today only. Backed by our 60-day return policy and fast shipping.

Never miss a deal. Sign up for Daily Deal alerts!

WhitePages for Android updated with more location awareness

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 07:10 AM PDT

Android Central

WhitePages for Android has been updated with a whole bunch of location-based features, including finding nearby people that have checked in on Foursquare, viewing nearby businesses, and looking for specific shops nearby. (Edit: Scratch that, the Nearby People feature is powered by WhiePages' own people database.) By plugging into Foursquare, you can also conduct searches for places near your friends where you can meet up. Some restaurants will even list their menu and have it accessible in the app.

As always, WhitePages also provides reverse phone lookup, reverse address lookup, and plain (but useful) people and business search functions. WhitePages also has their Social Caller ID app, though the use case for that is a fair bit more different (even if it's equally free).

It's an uphill battle in the world of mobile local search with Google around, bute WhitePages has been in the business for awhile, and I'm sure they still have at least a few tricks up their sleeve. The new Foursquare plug-in is great and all, but seems like it's largely dependent on if you actually use the social network. Also, isn't it a little creepy that the app can scrape public check-ins and provide a sort of heat map of where the popular places are? 

read more

BBC iPlayer app updated with Jelly Bean support

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 05:51 AM PDT

Android Central

The BBC has updated its official iPlayer app for Android with support for the latest version of the OS, 4.1 Jelly Bean. The new version comes weeks after the Beeb launched its self-branded BBC Media Player app, eliminating the requirement to use Adobe Flash Player to view BBC video content. Besides the addition of Jelly Bean support, the core of the app is largely unchanged.

The new iPlayer version 1.4.2.3, is available as a free download for Google Play users in the UK, and supports Android versions 2.2 and above. The BBC says the move to its own media player app also allows for improved video quality compared to older Flash-based content.

Brits can grab the BBC iPlayer app for Android from the Google Play link above.

Galaxy S3 in select MetroPCS stores this weekend, everywhere Oct. 22

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 05:27 AM PDT

Galaxy S3

MetroPCS this morning announced that its Samsung Galaxy S3 will be in select stores this weekend (it declined to say which ones), and everywhere starting Oct. 22. Samsung's premiere device will run $499; service plans start at $30, with unlimited voice, texting and 4G LTE data.

Source: Press release

Sony Xperia Jelly Bean updates to begin early 2013

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 04:37 AM PDT

Android Central

But 2011 devices will miss out on official Android 4.1 update

While other manufacturers have been confirming, and even releasing updates to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, Sony Mobile has so far remained quiet. This morning the company broke its silence to reveal its official update plans for 2012 Xperia devices.

First to get a taste of Jelly Bean will be the company's three flagship products for late 2012 -- Xperia T, Xperia TX and Xperia V. These devices will be updated in "mid-Q1 2013," Sony says. In addition, Sony confirmed that international versions of the Xperia S, Xperia acro S, Xperia Ion, Xperia P, Xperia Go and Xperia J will also get Jelly Bean, though no release timeframe was offered for those phones. There no mention of the U.S.-specific Xperia Ion, or the upcoming Xperia TL, both AT&T handsets. That's not to say these devices won't get Jelly Bean, but it's likely there'll be a longer wait for any eventual update.

There's also bad news for 2011 Xperia owners, however, as Sony confirmed these phones will remain on ICS. The 2011 Xperia line includes devices like the Xperia Arc, Xperia Play and Xperia Neo. These phones will continue to be supported through maintenance updates, Sony said.

Sony promises more updates in the future, as it works towards bringing Jelly Bean to its ever-widening product portfolio.

Mid-Q1 is a long way off, and there's every reason to expect we'll be on Android 4.2 by then. But as we've already covered in excruciating detail, updates are hard, and there's a whole mess of other stuff that goes into the upgrade process, besides copy-pasting a skin on top of the latest open-source Android code.

Anyone just splashed out on a new Xperia T or Xperia TX? Hit the comments and let us know what you think of today's news.

Source: Sony Mobile

More: Why you'll never have the latest version of Android

Android Central Podcast 112: Going back to the Google playground

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 04:04 AM PDT

Podcast MP3 URL: 
http://traffic.libsyn.com/androidcentral/acpc112.mp3

Thing 1: Google brings us back to the playground

Thing 2: New hardware

Thing 3: Other odds and ends

EXIF data hints at Samsung-made Nexus 10 tablet

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 02:41 AM PDT

Android Central

We're usually a little skeptical of information coming from EXIF data in photos. This metadata is easy to tamper with, for one, and can sometimes paint a misleading picture of possible future devices. Nevertheless, the presence of a photo from a "Nexus 10" device on Picasa warrants further investigation, so bear with us while we do a little sleuthing.

The 5-megapixel image appears to have been taken in testing and automatically uploaded to the tester's Picasa account. The photo in question shows a color testing card in various shades, which suggests it was captured as part of manufacturing tests rather than in regular day-to-day use. What's more, the individual who took it, a Eun-Hee Kim, has a Google+ history containing check-ins at a Samsung manufacturing plant in Gumi, South Korea, suggesting he or she is a Samsung employee. Samsung, of course, is widely rumored to be producing the reported 10-inch Nexus tablet.

Other notable EXIF nuggets include a build number of JVP12C -- an unknown Jelly Bean build -- and a capture date just a few days ago, on Oct. 15.

So far we've seen very reliable little in the public domain surrounding the "Nexus 10" tablet. Purported specs include a Samsung Exynos 5 processor (incidentally, the same chip shipping in Google's new Chromebook), and a beastly 2560x1600 display. If the tablets are already being manufactured at Samsung's South Korean facilities, that might suggest a release is closer than we expect.

Could Nexus 10 make a surprise appearance at Google's "Playground" event in New York City on Oct. 29? Let us know what you think down in the comments.

Source: Picasa, Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Softbank not ruling out a possible Sprint bid for MetroPCS

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 02:25 AM PDT

Android Central

Sprint has finally confirmed that it will be taking a controlling stake in previous partner Clearwire. Now, even more interesting statements are coming out in regards to a possible bid for MetroPCS. Most assumed that with a confirmed buyout by Japanese carrier Softbank, Sprint was done trying to get in between a T-Mobile / MetroPCS merger. According to statements by CEO of Softbank Masayoshi Son and CEO of Sprint Dan Hesse, this may not be the case. Hesse, in a quote obtained by The Wall Street Journal, indicated that the structure of the Softbank buyout is set up in a way that gives Sprint cash to work with if a possible deal with MetroPCS arises:

"Think of it almost as an insurance policy. It's some money in the bank until the deal closes that, for some reason, if we wanted to do something we could."

Hesse continued, speaking to assumptions that in the future Sprint and T-Mobile could potentially merge to take on rivals AT&T and Verizon:

"We've got a transaction that's pending with Softbank, and then when we get together we'll take a look at the landscape and make our decisions then. If it's accretive and makes sense for our shareholders, I would do what it takes."

The U.S. wireless industry seems to be making some serious changes. It will be interesting to see what the carrier landscape in the states looks like in the next year.

Source: WSJ

Stock Talk: Why Google's Q3 earnings aren't nearly as bad as you might think

Posted: 18 Oct 2012 08:57 PM PDT

Google

On Thursday, Google faced the embarrassing situation of seeing its Q3 financial results released prematurely. The stock tanked on the results, and Google asked to have trading stopped temporarily. I’ve already seen one story suggesting that the early release “wiped out $20 billion in valuation.”

But let’s get real. The loss has nothing to do with the accidental release. It was someone else’s mistake, not Google's, and anyone on Wall Street knows that the real reason Google was trading down was the quarterly miss.

More: Google's complete Q3 2012 earnings

Stocks -- or, more accurately, investors -- always react to quarterly results. Analysts keep detailed models of their expectations, and the average of these models is known as the “consensus estimate.”  If you miss consensus, as Google did, you get punished. It really means nothing in the long term, but it gives financial media types something to get excited about for a few days.

So, Google did something the pros call “shitting the bed.” The most important headline number is earnings per share, where Google came in at $9.03 (adjusted) versus the consensus estimate of $10.65. Big miss.

read more

Evernote updated with simplified note editor, tablet improvements

Posted: 18 Oct 2012 08:39 PM PDT

Evernote

Popular cross-platform note service Evernote has put out a notable update in the Play Store today with a couple new free and premium features. On the free side, the toolbar in the note editor has been simplified and you can jump directly to notes created in Skitch. A new premium feature allows you to select multiple notebooks at once to download for offline access. The UI on tablets has also received a small tweak that lets the action bar change based on the context of the view.

Evernote can be found at the Google Play Store link above. You can also check out a post from the developer about the update at the source link below.

Source: Evernote

Facebook app receives photo-focused update

Posted: 18 Oct 2012 07:09 PM PDT

Facebook App Icon

Facebook has been making several improvements to its app in regards to photo sharing and uploading, and this latest update continues that trend. The changelog is just three bullet points. First, photo tagging has been improved to be faster. Second, you can now choose an album when uploading photos -- no more mashing everything into a "mobile uploads" album. Lastly, there is a bug fix related to photos not uploading for users with certain languages (although they're not listed).

If you're not one of the billion people using Facebook regularly (over half primarily on phones) and have yet to install the app, maybe now is the time to at least take a look. You can grab it at the Google Play Store link above.

Granny Smith updated to make latest levels easier

Posted: 18 Oct 2012 06:39 PM PDT

Android Central

One of the more popular games as of late, Granny Smith, has just received an interesting update to make its latest levels easier to complete. Following many user complaints that the new "space" levels were too difficult, game developer Mediocre released the update to ease the pain of the tough levels.

It's a tough line to walk if you're a game developer, not wanting your so-called "casual" game to be too difficult, but again you don't want to overdo it and make the levels too easy. Either way you're likely to have some users disappointed by the difficulty of the game. Mediocre saw the response and reacted to user input, which is something that needs to be noted regardless.

If you've yet to try out Granny Smith, it's certainly still worth a purchase and you can find it at the Google Play Store link above.

The HTC J Butterfly looks amazing, Bionic owners getting ICS [From the Forums]

Posted: 18 Oct 2012 05:56 PM PDT

From the Forums

Just in case you missed out on some of the Android news today, now is the time to go ahead and get yourself fully caught up. Here on the blogs and in the Android Central Forums there is plenty to talk about. Have some questions? Need some help or just looking to chat Android? You know where to go, check out some of the threads below to get started.

We've got nearly 1 million members helping members and nearly 2 million posts in our Android Forums. Are you one of them? Join today!

Android Central Podcast - Live!

Posted: 18 Oct 2012 05:54 PM PDT

Show starts at
9 p.m. EDT
(or thereabouts)

The Android Central Podcast is recorded live in front of a live studio audience, so you can catch us in the act.

Watch us live from your phone
with the UStream app. (Search for MobileNations.)


Miss a show? You can listen to every episode of the Android Central Podcast online.
Web | RSS | iTunes | Stitcher

 
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