Thursday, November 15, 2012

Google Android News Android Forums

Google Android News Android Forums

Android AOSP 4.2 keyboard now available in the Play Store

Posted: 14 Nov 2012 05:32 PM PST

Been fancying the new gesture-enabled keyboard that debuted with Android 4.2? There’s no need to fret; the stock AOSP keyboard is now available to download in the Play Store. The keyboard replacement brings all the same features you’d expect to receive if you were running it on an Android 4.2 device, including Swype-like typing.

Currently, the keyboard is officially supported on devices running Android 4.1 and above, though some users are reporting that they have been able to install it on earlier builds of Ice Cream Sandwich. Additionally, the developer hopes to backport the new AOSP keyboard to Gingerbread devices, but of course there are no guarantees. Snap the QR code or hit the Play Store download link below to get in on the action.

QRCodePlay Store Download Link

White 64GB HTC One S with Android 4.1 now available in Taiwan

Posted: 14 Nov 2012 05:31 PM PST

In what appears to be a regular HTC One S in one photo is in fact a white 64GB One S beast rocking Android 4.1 out of the box that we mentioned last month. It looks like Taiwan is the lucky country to land this beast, at least initially. Along with 4.1 out of the box, this device also rocks the  latest version of HTC Sense (4+). Not to mention that mammoth storage weighing in at a hefty 64GB. All other vitals are the same as the One S we know and love as far as RAM, processor, and display. No word on any other countries landing this bad-boy. Pricing will come in at 17,900 Taiwan dollars, or about $616 or €485.

source:  Unwired View

Square claims $10 billion in annual mobile transactions, not including Starbucks

Posted: 14 Nov 2012 05:16 PM PST

Mobile payment giant Square Inc. has announced today that it is now processing $10 billion in transactions annually, thanks to its widely adopted  mobile payment infrastructure. Just a few weeks back the company made it known that it was raking in $8 billion annually, equating to a $2 billion increase in less than a month.

Similar to Google Wallet, users are required to have an application installed, whereas brick-and-mortar retailers must have the company’s physical checkout system to conduct transactions. Interestingly, it’s being reported that this figure doesn’t include payments processed by Starbucks, whom the company struck a major deal with earlier this year to install its systems in 7,000 stores.

Taking into account the amount of money that flows through Starbucks stores each day, it’s entirely possible Square could see its yearly processing figure double.

Source: Square (Twitter)
Via: TechCrunch

Sega Confirms Release Date For Jet Set Radio

Posted: 14 Nov 2012 04:54 PM PST

Jet Set Radio, the 12-year-old Sega Dreamcast title, has seen numerous adaptations on several platforms. Today we learned Sega plans to release the Android, PlayStation Vita and iOS versions later this month. Vita users will get fist crack at it on November 20th. Android and iOS users will have to wait a little longer for a November 29th release. Not quite the summer release Sega had promised back in July, but if it’s the faithful port of the original Dreamcast, I doubt too many people will mind.

Hit the break for the game trailer.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Source: Sega
Via: Phandroid

Call Of Duty Elite App Gets Updated To Support Black Ops II

Posted: 14 Nov 2012 03:49 PM PST

Activision’s Call Of Duty Elite Android app has been updated to support the latest version of the first person shooter, Black Ops II. The app allows players of the Call Of Duty franchise to access historical player stats, game summaries and edit in-game options like custom weapons sets and logos. If going through all of your stats or watching Call of Duty Elite TV gets you in the playing mood, remember you can always jump on Call Of Duty Black Ops Zombies on any Android device.

QR Code generator

Play Store Download Link

CyanogenMod forced to change domain name and email address after alleged extortion attempt [Update: old domain is back]

Posted: 14 Nov 2012 02:00 PM PST

Everyone’s favorite custom ROM maker, CyanogenMod, posted on their blog today that they will be changing their domain name and their email address due to an alleged extortion attempt by a once trusted member of their team. The new website will be temporarily hosted at www.cyanogenmod.org and the new email address has been changed to cmcyanogenmod@gmail.com

It is sad to see this type of corruption and greed in the typically friendly, team-oriented developer environment. CyanogenMod insists that it will be taking legal punitive action against the perpitrator, and will more than likely win the case. Yet we all know that in the end, everyone (including users) lose, since attention is taken away from the intensive task of developing ROMs and placed on unnecessary quarrels and disputes.

The issue shouldn’t interrupt users from downloading and installing thew new CM10 ROMS, however, which can be found at get.cm if you’re interested in that sort of thing. Just remember to flash at your own risk!

Update

And just like that the problem with the extortionist has been resolved peacefully and CyanogenMod’s site has been moved back to www.cyanogenmod.com. Cyanogen himself posted on twitter a few minutes ago that they have resolved the problem amicably. He encourages everyone to “just forget about this”.

source: CyanogenMod Blog
updated source: Twitter

Level Up Studio teases new Beautiful Widgets 5.0

Posted: 14 Nov 2012 01:15 PM PST

A couple of the benefits Android users enjoy compared to other mobile platforms include the ability to put widgets on their screens and the ability to customize the interface. Level Up Studio helps merge those two functions with their Beautiful Widgets app that gives users the ability to implement some stunning widgets on their devices. Being one of the first in the market does have a downside though as an app can become out of date, especially with changes to the Android ecosystem. To combat that, Level Up Studio has been working on new version, Beautiful Widgets 5.0., that they teased today with some new screenshots and a some information about improvements.

According to Level Up Studio, the new app is being rewritten from the ground up. One improvement is that the new version will now have a base for future enhancements, helping to decrease the cycle time between updates. For users, Beautiful Widgets 5.0 has improved configuration and preview capabilities and the weather information has been revamped in response to user feedback.

Level Up Studio has not released information about availability, other than indicating it will be released “in a few weeks.” They have put the current version of Beautiful Widgets on sale for 99 cents through Google Play and you will be eligible for the 5.0 update when it is released. If you want to grab it now, just use one of the download links below.

b_widgets_01 b_widgets_02 b_widgets_03

QR Code generator
Google Play Download Link

source: Level Up Studio

Congratulations Google: you’ve botched the Nexus 4 launch and should feel embarassed

Posted: 14 Nov 2012 12:29 PM PST


There are many things in life for which to be embarrassed. Like Steve Ballmer's first Windows OS commercial. Or Christina Aguilera forgetting the words to the National Anthem. Or Apple's latest Maps release. Embarrassment comes to those who deserve it, and after yesterday's debacle, I think Google deserves to feel awfully embarrassed. In my eyes, yesterday's product launch of the company's new Nexus line-up was a complete and utter failure, if not for the company itself, then at least for its reputation in the eyes of loyal customers. Would-be buyers were plagued with non-stop server errors, buggy shopping carts, flawed payment methods, and jammed phone support lines. What should have been an exciting and fulfilling moment ultimately left thousands of would-be buyers frustrated, angry and worst of all, empty handed.

Almost immediately after the launch of Google’s new Nexus line, reports began pouring in from all across the globe. Would-be buyers were experiencing major technical difficulties while trying to purchase their shiny new Nexus devices. The list of issues is long and troubling, starting with the fact that most users did not even receive their email notification from Google letting them know that the products were now available to purchase. Thankfully, trusty blogs like Talk Android were there to let users know that Google had flipped the switch and that the products were now live.

Once users headed over to the Play Store they were greeted by difficulties adding items to their cart. Many reported having items in their cart mysteriously disappear several times. After adding them back, they would disappear yet again. If the items did stay in the cart, then users were not able to check out. Server-error after server-error kept users staring at the devices in their cart, but with no way to actually purchase them. On the seemingly rare occasion that a buyer was able to get from the cart to the purchase window, many users had issues with Google Wallet  declining the charges (both my brother and I experienced this first hand).

On top of all of this, Google’s supply was extremely limited and sold out almost immediately. Because of all the bugs, many users actually ended up purchasing two or three more phones than they intended, depleting precious stock that could have been sold to other anxious buyers. Needless to say, Google’s Nexus phone support lines were jammed and were actually rejecting callers from even being allowed to talk with anyone. All of these things add up to one of the most botched and embarrassing product launches in recent memory.

It seems that everything that could have possibly gone wrong during a product launch did go wrong. One would think that the biggest and best technology company in the world would have handled the entire situation better, making sure transactions were painless and that supply matched demand. I for one am extremely disappointed with Google and I know that there are several thousand (if not hundreds of thousands) of others who had a similar experience and share my sentiment.

Yesterday was supposed to be an exciting and joyful day, but Google turned it into a massive let down. Google, you should be embarrassed of yourself.

What about you? Did you experience a similar situation while trying to buy a new Nexus product? Do you think I'm overreacting? How should Google make it up to its users?

Google TV Gets Updated To Include “PrimeTime”, Voice Search & Expanded YouTube Capabilities

Posted: 14 Nov 2012 11:45 AM PST

 

Google TV has seen some noteworthy updates during its brief life, but it appears the latest update will give the platform some of the neatest features yet. The latest update includes features like Voice Search (giving the ability to say CNN for example and go straight to the channel), PrimeTime which is an even more enhanced TV guide and the ability to play YouTube content from your smartphone or tablet straight to your Google TV unit. So just to sum up— users will have even more options to sit down and zone out when checking for the seemingly infinite number of TV content out there.

The update will begin rolling out on LG Google TV units over the coming weeks, which older generation units should see the update being pushed out in the coming months— so the wait shouldn’t be too much longer.

source: Google TV Blog

Google Voice Update fixes Android 4.2 compatibility issues

Posted: 14 Nov 2012 11:26 AM PST

Google certainly does work fast as it was just yesterday we reported the issues with Google Voice on Android 4.2 and today, Google releases an update that makes it all better. If you are lucky enough to have the LG Nexus 4 or a Samsung Galaxy Nexus running Android 4.2, you may have noticed that whenever you add recipients to a Google Voice message the app would crash. The latest update brings Google Voice to version 0.4.2.66 and helps to alleviate most, if not all of known issue for Android users on 4.2.

So if you haven’t downloaded the update yet, hit the break to get a link to the Google Play Store or by scanning the QR code below.

Play Store Download Link
Posted by at 7:34 AM

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