Android Community |
- Nook Android app updated with UK support and new languages
- Star Wars Angry Birds Hoth update lands tomorrow
- Verizon Galaxy Note II available in-stores starting tomorrow
- Amazon Android Appstore hits Japan
- HTC hires new CMO in hopes to stop their downward spiral
- Ericsson launching patent suit against Samsung
- Apple gets Samsung Galaxy devices banned in the Netherlands
- Android continues to chip away at Apple’s tablet market share
- webOS coming back as an Android app
- Mugen selling 6400 mAh battery for Galaxy Note II
- Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ getting Android 4.2.1 update too [Download]
- Samsung Galaxy Axiom hits US Cellular with 4G LTE for $79
- Google: Nexus 4 is not sold out, Play Store is just seeing overwhelming demand
- Nexus 7 update to Android 4.2.1 rolling out [Download]
- Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean heads to AOSP
- Huawei MediaPad 10 Link reportedly in the works, details leak
- HTC One X getting 4.1 Jelly Bean update globally
| Nook Android app updated with UK support and new languages Posted: 28 Nov 2012 11:13 AM PST The popular Barnes & Noble NOOK app for Android has been updated this week with tons of improvements. Hot off the release of their new NOOK HD and HD+ tablets their apps are now going to support multiple new languages, as well as full support for the UK. The app also works with many new iDevices but we’ll talk about Android here since that’s all that matters.
Barnes & Noble added tons of new language support to the app, version 3.3 and some of those include British English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish language features just to name a few. B&N launched their new NOOK tablets, ereaders, and more in the UK this past month, and now the app has arrived in the store to download for the first time. The NOOK for Android and NOOK app has support for nearly 3 million books, magazines, newspapers, catalogs and much much more. While their App effort might still be lacking, their content is readily available for all walks of life. The retailer has also said their popular new NOOK Video download and rental store will launch in the UK sometime in December.
NOOK Sync keeps your point in books up to date, as well as pulling across bookmarks, highlights, and any notes that have been made and easily syncs for you and across devices. Their new NOOK Newsstand with print-style reading is nice, and you can even set it to text mode and skip all the images if you’re just there for the reading. Pro Tip: B&N NOOK has been renamed NOOK so you’ll probably not find it in the usual spot after the update, but it’s there. Grab it now from the Google Play Store. [via SlashGear]
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| Star Wars Angry Birds Hoth update lands tomorrow Posted: 28 Nov 2012 10:44 AM PST A few years back, it seemed that every Star Wars game had the infamous Hoth level. Hoth showed up so many times in video games that critics and fans alike began to grow tired of it quickly, so these days, we don’t see the old ice planet show up as often. That’s all set to change tomorrow, when Rovio releases the first update for Angry Birds Star Wars.
Having already played through levels on Tatooine and the Death Star, Hoth seems like the next step if we’re ticking off memorable Star Wars locations. Rovio announced the Hoth update for Angry Birds Star Wars today, releasing another teaser trailer to get players excited. Details are pretty slim at the moment, but we know that Pink Bird will be taking center stage as Princess Leia in this update. Other than that, though, notable details are few and far between. The trailer doesn’t give away anything big either, meaning that we don’t get to see any gameplay footage from the Hoth update. Instead, we have video from The Empire Strikes Back spliced together with some Rovio-made footage that shows Imperial AT-AT walkers struggling to get to Echo Base with all of that ice and snow underfoot. Check it out below. Of course, it isn’t as if we need to see gameplay footage to know how Angry Birds plays. Aside from new locations, new powers, and new enemies, expect the game to be largely unchanged from the Tatooine and Death Star episodes. Looks like we’ll just have to wait until tomorrow to find out the more significant details. Stay tuned.
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| Verizon Galaxy Note II available in-stores starting tomorrow Posted: 28 Nov 2012 10:38 AM PST After what seems like forever, the Samsung Galaxy Note II rocking Verizon Wireless 4G LTE will finally be available for all you fans come tomorrow. Verizon has just confirmed that those who’ve pre-ordered over the past month should start receiving them or shipping notifications soon. The 5.5-inch Galaxy Note II will be available online and in Verizon stores starting tomorrow, November 29th.
Samsung’s impressive 5.5-inch smartphone tablet hybrid is pretty impressive and already sold 5 million worldwide. It’s been available from T-Mobile for a month, and AT&T for the past few weeks but now it’s Big Red’s turn. Complete with their Verizon logo slapped front and center right on the home button. I’m not a fan of the branding, but love their 4G LTE speeds so I’m sure most can deal with it — or scratch it off. The Galaxy Note II comes with a HD Super AMOLED 5.5-inch display with a 1280 x 720p HD resolution. Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box, Samsung’s 1.6 GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, an impressive 8 megapixel rear and 1.9 megapixel front camera, and of course that S-Pen Stylus. Using the popular Wacom digitizer the Galaxy Note II has the most accurate screen in the smartphone world. The stylus makes those playing Draw Something extra good too. So that’s a thing. We’ve checked out the Note II in full, and you’ll want to start by seeing our T-Mobile Note II Review. The Verizon model is exactly the same aside from the carrier, a few pre-installed apps, and of course that Verizon logo front and center. Get your own larger than life smartphone from Verizon and Samsung tomorrow! Who’s buying? Device Info
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| Amazon Android Appstore hits Japan Posted: 28 Nov 2012 10:03 AM PST Nearly two months ago the folks from Amazon started accepting submissions for their upcoming 3rd party Android Appstore in Japan, and now things are ready to rock. Today Amazon has announced the Appstore has gone live in Japan. The new store will give Japanese Android users a change at even more apps for their Kindle devices, as well as all Android smartphones and tablets.
At first glance you’ll probably notice the content isn’t nearly as big as their current offering, but again they’ve only been accepting submissions for the past two months. Amazon’s got a lot to offer though already, not to mention all the usual suspects. You’ll be able to enjoy all the usual classics like Cut the Rope, Angry Birds, Angry Birds Star Wars, Fruit Ninja, Temple Run, and many more of the top 100 apps and games on Android. Amazon has hopes to reach others markets soon, but for now this is their first major step in heading to other regions. If all goes well we expect them to branch out to more regions soon. For those not familiar with Amazon’s 3rd party app you’ll need to install their Appstore (and check install from unknown sources) and from there you’ll be able to enjoy all their content. Amazon’s Whispersync enables one purchased app to be downloaded to multiple Android devices, so long as you’re signed in. As a reminder once you install an app or game from Amazon’s Appstore it will only function with their store installed. Once you uninstall the Amazon Appstore all downloads no longer function. The folks from Amazon offer 50,000 Japanese-language ebooks for their Kindle devices and more so get ready to enjoy that Amazon ecosystem Japan! [via SlashGear]
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| HTC hires new CMO in hopes to stop their downward spiral Posted: 28 Nov 2012 09:34 AM PST It’s no secret that lately times have been a little tough for good ol HTC. Their market share has seen large declines over the past few years, especially throughout 2012 while fending off Apple in court and Samsung on the shelves. Today however there is a sign of good news as HTC has just taken a big step and hired a new CMO. They’ve appointed Benjamin Ho as their new Chief Marketing Officer.
According to reports HTC’s current CMO John Wang will be replaced by Ho, and will be leaving the company next month for undisclosed reasons. Pretty sure we can all come up with our own conclusions though. The question now remains on if HTC and their newly appointed member can get things back to how they were, or at least stop the bleeding. For those wondering, Benjamin Ho has a pretty solid background. Ho is the former VP of business strategy and marketing of FarEasTone Telecommunications and also a former CMO at Motorola — although the latter could be seen as a good and bad thing. Motorola’s been highly successful and Ho has a strong background with them. Ho will be joining the company in January and report directly to CEO Peter Chou in an effect to curb some of their current troubles. Ho's first task as CMO is to lead HTC’s new marketing strategy which is known internally as "Marketing 2.0″, and it will focus the company's efforts on "holistic marketing and mass-market brand outreach." That isn’t the only change we’ve heard either. Reports from FierceWireless are also confirming they’ve made internal changes to many key roles inside the company, especially for Jason MacKenzie who is the head of global sales AND marketing. MacKenzie will be focusing on just global sales while HTC looks to fill the global marketing position elsewhere. HTC’s financial forecast hasn’t been looking to bright, but hopefully this is one change of many that will bring them back.
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| Ericsson launching patent suit against Samsung Posted: 28 Nov 2012 08:48 AM PST Ericsson makes more wireless network equipment than any other company. Samsung is one of the most recognizable names in smartphones and they make many of the most popular Android devices. Well, the two companies are going to battle, with Ericsson launching a patent suit against Samsung Electronics.
Samsung claims that Ericsson is charging prohibitively high licensing fees. In a statement, Samsung said, "[Ericsson] demanded prohibitively higher royalty rates to renew the same patent portfolio. As we cannot accept such extreme demands, we will take all necessary legal measures to protect against Ericsson's excessive claims." It appears as if the battle between these two could go on for a while. Ericsson maintains that Samsung is refusing to pay the FRAND rate that its competitors are paying for the same patents. In 2011, Ericsson reportedly made $937 million from licensing its patents to other companies. That’s a whole lot of money. At this point, we are unsure of when this case will go to court. As always, we will keep you posted. [via SlashGear]
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| Apple gets Samsung Galaxy devices banned in the Netherlands Posted: 28 Nov 2012 08:03 AM PST Just when you thought we might be able to go a week without some new developments in the epic Apple and Samsung war, a new wrinkle comes along. This time, it comes in the form of Apple getting Samsung Galaxy devices banned in the Netherlands. The court ruled that Samsung is infringing on Apple’s patents for navigation interface in photo galleries.
The ban only applies to Galaxy products that run Android 2.2.1 and higher, and that don't use Samsung's proprietary photo gallery software. The court has ordered Samsung to tell Apple how much net profit it made from sales of its infringing Galaxy products since June 27, 2011. A different court is set to determine how much of that profit Samsung will have to give Apple. If Samsung continues to infringe on the patent, the company will be required to pay Apple 100,000 euros ($129,000) for every day it violates the terms of the ban. A Samsung spokesperson said the company is disappointed with the ruling. Apple, on the other hand, did not comment on the ruling. In another ruling in the Netherlands, a judge ruled that Samsung does not infringe on a multitouch patent from Apple. This coming January, a court is set to place their verdict in another Apple-Samsung lawsuit dealing with tablet design rights. [via Computerworld]
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| Android continues to chip away at Apple’s tablet market share Posted: 28 Nov 2012 07:15 AM PST Apple is the king of the tablet market, but Android is making some serious moves in terms of closing the gap. Apple still has the lead, as they have for the last 10 quarters. However, this time, Apple only has 55% of the tablet market share, which is lowest it has been since the introduction of the iPad in 2010, according to market firm ABI Research.
Apple gave up 14% market share this last quarter. The companies most responsible for impacting Apple’s market share were Samsung, Amazon, and ASUS (likely from the Google’s Nexus 7). Android tablets now make up more than 44% of tablet shipments. "As the OS of choice for the majority of device OEMs, we expect the Android ecosystem to continue growing in numbers – new manufacturers, better device choices for reaching more markets, and more developers finding value from apps and content," adds Orr. Time will tell if Android is able to take over the tablet market from Apple. At the rate it’s going, it looks quiet probable. The tablet market is certainly competitive, and the back and forth battle between Android and iOS will continue going forth.
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| webOS coming back as an Android app Posted: 28 Nov 2012 06:04 AM PST webOS keeps popping up again in one form or another. Whether it’s a Nook color getting webOS successfully booted on it, or some other kind of announcement about the defunct mobile OS, there’s always something. Well this time, webOS is actually coming back as an Android application. Weird, but true.
A few weeks ago they were able to get the app up and running, albeit very briefly, so there is still some serious work involved. It crashed after the lock screen, but it’s still a step in the right direction. There has been some progress since then, but there is still some work to go. The new video demonstrates the webOS on the Samsung Nexus S and the app is able to get it past the lock screen this time. The video shows that it does indeed run as an app, even if it’s slow and sluggish. Without hardware acceleration, it’s unable to really get good speeds. Still, this is only a pre-alpha build, and it’s a big step compared to the last version shown off. [via SlashGear]
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| Mugen selling 6400 mAh battery for Galaxy Note II Posted: 28 Nov 2012 05:45 AM PST If own a Galaxy Note II, you probably wish the battery could last a little longer. The giant screen and overall power of the device certainly make it a battery sucker. Well Mugen has announced a new high-capacity battery specifically made for the Galaxy Note II. In fact, the new battery offers double the power capacity of that of the standard battery.
The battery pack works with any of the Galaxy Note II models across various carriers. It comes in two different color choices. Whether your phone is gray or white, the battery will match perfectly. The battery sells for $98.95 and is available to order now. Mugen estimates that the batteries will ship on December 21. Obviously, the drawback of these batteries is that they add bulk to the phone, but you can’t have it all. If you’re a heavy user, it’s better to have a bulkier phone that still works instead of a thinner phone that is dead. [via SlashGear]
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| Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ getting Android 4.2.1 update too [Download] Posted: 27 Nov 2012 09:03 PM PST Today was a big day for the Nexus family. Google started pushing out a quick update to Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean for all their major devices. Earlier this morning we saw the update arrive for the Nexus 4 and 10, followed by the Nexus 7 this evening. New reports are now rolling in that Google’s pushing the same to their HSPA+ (takju) Galaxy Nexus.
Google even pushed Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean out to AOSP so we’ve basically just been waiting for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus to get the same treatment. We’re hearing multiple reports from XDA, and our inbox, that users internationally and stateside have begun receiving the same freshly cooked up Jelly Bean treat this evening. The takju Galaxy Nexus is the HSPA+ model Google’s been selling from the Play Store, and it is first on the list. Next up we’ll see it arrive for the international model — and eventually Verizon might update their Galaxy Nexus to 4.2 — and then we’ll probably have to wait longer for 4.2.1 too. Verizon’s been slow in the past, and we don’t expect that to be changing too soon. Either way for all those HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus owners that purchased their phone from the Play Store, the update is arriving as we speak. For those still stock you can get it directly from Google by clicking here. As usual that will take stock users from 4.2 to the newest 4.2.1 and a custom recovery is needed, or the usual ADB push methods. For those other Galaxy Nexus users the wait might be a bit longer, or just root that baby and install some CyanogenMod 10.1 or AOKP. One more time, the link is available below for manual download and installing. Enjoy that Jelly Bean update folks! Download: Galaxy Nexus 4.2.1 Device Info
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[via XDA Developers]
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| Samsung Galaxy Axiom hits US Cellular with 4G LTE for $79 Posted: 27 Nov 2012 04:12 PM PST Samsung and US Cellular have a brand new smartphone available for their regional customers today although we haven’t heard a peep from either party. Meet the new Samsung Galaxy Axiom complete with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, a 4-inch display and running with some 4G LTE speeds. The phone is available today so read on for more details.
At first glance and after looking over the specs this looks and sounds quite a bit like the recently announced Samsung Galaxy S III Mini, but the specs are a little different. Here with the Axiom and US Cellular you’ll get a 4-inch 480 x 800 WVGA display, Android 4.0 ICS, a 1.2 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor (probably S3) a 5 megapixel rear and 1.3 front shooter for cameras and more. What’s even better is the price. Overall the specs are decent, but nothing special. You do get 4GB of internal storage and a micro-SD slot for extra storage however. The phone might not be at the high-end level but it certainly has some decent specs given the rest of US Cellular’s lineup. The device is being offered at a nice budget friendly price of $79 with a new 2-year contract, or $399 for those that don’t like contracts. According to US Cellular the phone indeed supports Google Wallet, one of the few carriers that do, as well as coming with Google’s Chrome Browser pre-installed along with the usual Samsung apps. If the expensive and large 4.8-inch Galaxy S III wasn’t quite your cup of tea, maybe the Samsung Galaxy Axiom and it’s smaller 4-inch display is what you’re looking for. Head to US Cellular to check it out. [via Android Police]
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| Google: Nexus 4 is not sold out, Play Store is just seeing overwhelming demand Posted: 27 Nov 2012 02:05 PM PST Well folks, this entire ordeal of Google selling devices in their own Store has slowly but surely became an absolute disaster. Users all over the place are having a nearly impossible time buying themselves a shiny new LG Nexus 4 or Nexus 10. Earlier we reported that Google announced more stock would be available at 12 PST, then they apparently “sold out” within a matter of minutes. That isn’t the case though, read on below for more details.
See the image above? Google’s just confirmed stock is still available. Just like the first round of devices that went up for sale. It looks like Google, who is like the king of the internet (or so we thought) is having trouble keeping up with the demand. There’s millions and billions of Google searches a day, but their Play Store can’t handle a few nerds trying to buy a new Nexus 4. We’re hearing multiple reports that the LG Nexus 4 in both 8 and 16GB versions is in fact NOT sold out right now, and instead the Play Store is just having a hard time keeping up. As a result if you’re patient enough to hit F5 (or refresh) a few times they’ll be back in stock. Multiple tips have stated they’ve still managed to buy one, and they’ve been available for nearly 2 hours. Google’s also confirming this right on the store themselves. On launch day they sold out in just about 24 minutes, but then users still snagged a few throughout the day. If you can manage to get one in your cart, and not have an error (this is getting ridiculous) you should hopefully still be able to pickup and get your own LG Nexus 4 headed your way in time for Christmas. /rant Device Info
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| Nexus 7 update to Android 4.2.1 rolling out [Download] Posted: 27 Nov 2012 01:49 PM PST Earlier this morning the folks from Google started pushing out a quick update to Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean. The update was initially only rolling out to the LG Nexus 4 and the Nexus 10, but now the Nexus 7 can also enjoy the latest and greatest from Google. Now we’re just waiting for the same update to arrive for the HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus, which should be any time now.
The update is extremely minor going to Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean, and is mainly just fixing a few found bugs with Bluetooth, WiFi, and of course that ridiculous “missing December” problem. Basically Google forgot December in their people app (not Calendar) and some people couldn’t insert birthdays and such. Pretty minor oversight causing a big problem. So now we’re here with 4.2.1 which is rolling out as we speak. Google just pushed 4.2.1 to AOSP for everyone to sync and download, and now the Nexus 7 is getting the same treatment as those other Nexi are. The update should just arrive within the next 24 hours or so for all Nexus 7 users, so don’t worry about missing December in just a few short days. As usual, you can select to check for updates manually, try a few of the clear Google Services Framework data in settings “tricks” or just download it directly from Google. You’ll need to download the file below if you chose that route, install it with a custom recovery, or use the stock recovery and push it through ADB as usual. A custom recovery is always easiest for this procedure. Or just wait for the OTA notification as the update should be appearing on your tablet any minute now. Enjoy that freshly baked Jelly Bean! Download: Android 4.2.1 Nexus 7 Device Info
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| Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean heads to AOSP Posted: 27 Nov 2012 01:12 PM PST In case anyone missed the news, Android 4.2 had a small issue or two that was effecting some users. Most notably was the fact that the People App (not calendar) was missing the entire month of December and thus causing a few issues. Now just days before December starts Google’s started pushing a quickie update out. Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean arrived this morning for the Nexus 4 and Nexus 10, and now is being pushed to AOSP.
We haven’t heard any details yet for all those Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ users that also received Android 4.2, and so far only the Nexus 4, and 10 have received the quick update to solve this minor oversight. As usual Google’s started pushing out the update, followed by pushing the new version to AOSP. Our friend Jean-Baptiste Queru has just confirmed it himself over at the Android Building Group page. That means that Android 4.2.1 (JOP40D) is now available for download, as well as syncing to all your favorite ROM developers. As usual, this news isn’t anything important for the average user of any kind. Instead all the custom ROM builders, developers, and more can all appreciate that Google’s fixed this little issue so quickly. We can expect to see all the custom ROM’s floating around to quickly be synced and updated to reflect the changes in Android 4.2.1 especially because they are so minor. The update is about 1MB in size so shouldn’t take but a second or two. The factory images for most of these devices with 4.2.1 should arrive shortly so stay tuned.
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| Huawei MediaPad 10 Link reportedly in the works, details leak Posted: 27 Nov 2012 12:52 PM PST Huawei is no stranger to the realm of Android tablets, and it may be ready to give the 10-inch market another spin with its new MediaPad 10 Link. Notebook Italia has uncovered Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 3.0 certification documents for such a device, which suggest that Huawei has a new slate up its sleeve. Unfortunately, we don’t know very much about the MediaPad 10 Link at the moment, but there are a few morsels of information that are worthy of a mention.
First and foremost, it appears that there will be three different versions of the MediaPad 10 Link, with three different model numbers – S10-201w, S10-201u, and S10-202u – listed in the documentation. The difference between the models are unclear at this point, but it’s possible that some of the models will come with support for mobile data networks while one might be a Wi-Fi only version. We know from these documents that the Huawei MediaPad 10 Link has been certified for dual band 2.4/5.x GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 3.0. The documents also tell us that the tablet will come equipped with a 10-inch IPS LCD screen displaying at an HD resolution, but specifics weren’t mentioned. The tablet is also expected to be running an unspecified version of Android, though Notebook Italia is guessing that will be Jelly Bean. Finally, the Bluetooth certification gives us an image of the tablet (which you can see above), but unfortunately the quality isn’t all that great. So, what we’ve heard of the Huawei MediaPad 10 Link so far isn’t too bad, but admittedly there are still quite a few gaps left to fill in. For now, just know that it appears Huawei is working on a new 10-inch tablet that will probably come in a few different varieties. We’ll keep an ear to the ground for new details, so keep it here at Android Community for more information!
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| HTC One X getting 4.1 Jelly Bean update globally Posted: 27 Nov 2012 12:45 PM PST Back in October the folks from HTC stated that we’d be seeing Android 4.1 Jelly Bean arrive for their flagship HTC One X and even the One S near the end of October. It looks like that only happened for a few One X owners in select regions, and the One S wasn’t so lucky. This week however the One X Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update is rolling out globally.
We’re hearing from multiple different sources that the update is in fact landing as we speak for the international Tegra 3 powered HTC One X. Regions such as India, Argentina, UK, Russia, Dominican Republic, Peru, Brazil and more have all started seeing the OTA. As usual it should arrive soon, or you can check manually if you’d like. The update to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean brings all the improvements such as project butter for a smoother UI and overall system, Google Now, expandable notifications and much more from Google. Then on the HTC side you’ll be greeted with the newest Sense 4+ where they’ve improved their camera, made the gallery more usable and pretty, as well as a few other changes.
While the update isn’t too big in terms of overall look and Sense UI, the behind the scenes changes should make for a faster, smoother experience device wide. Feel free to head to settings > software updates > and check for updates as we speak. The update to 4.1 JB is around 364.54MB in size so could take a few minutes to complete. Now we just have to wait for AT&T to push out the same. We’ve seen a few leaks, but official updates are usually the best route. Stay tuned for more details. Device Info
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[via SlashGear]
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