Android Community |
- Redbox Instant pricing confirmed at $6, invite only later this month
- Google Now for Ice Cream Sandwich install process simplified
- Google’s Eric Schmidt: We’re clearly winning the war against Apple
- Motorola attacks Samsung putting the Droid RAZR HD against the Galaxy S3
- GTA: Vice City returns to the Google Play Store
- Samsung rolling out Jelly Bean 4.1 to Galaxy Note 10.1 Wi-Fi devices in Germany
- Viddy for Android now available in the Google Play Store
- MobileFun launches wireless charging solution for the Galaxy S III
- Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus specs not living up to the plus
- Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 LTE FCC filing misses the LTE approval
- Amazon has all Kindle Fire Tablets on sale for Amazon Moms only
- Gyft launches for Android and is giving $10 in free cards
- Nexus 4 factory images removed from Google servers
- OPPO Find 5 announced with a 5-inch 1080p display and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
- Fuhu nabi XD revealed for the “tween” who needs a quad-core tablet
- Android Community Nightly: December 11th, 2012
- Three new HTC devices gain PlayStation Certification
- AT&T Galaxy Tab 8.9 finally gets update to 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
- Verizon Galaxy S III Jelly Bean update coming soon
- Yahoo! Mail for Android updated to v2.0 with a brand new UI, better notifications
| Redbox Instant pricing confirmed at $6, invite only later this month Posted: 12 Dec 2012 11:18 AM PST Late last month we brought you news that Redbox and Verizon were teaming up to offer a new service called RedBox Instant, and today we have additional details and pricing confirmations on the upcoming streaming service. While we’ve been hearing rumors for some time, it’s been confirmed that it’ll see an invite only beta later this month starting at $6 monthly.
Redbox Instant by Verizon will be available to all, not just Verizon customers, and pricing starts at $6 a month which aims to beat both Netflix and Hulu Plus. That $6 a month will be a streaming only plan and Redbox states that includes their full catalog and movies from Warner Bros. and pay TV channel Epix. Then you’ll be able to add four physical disk rentals a month (not a lot) for just $2 more a month — so that makes those $0.50 a pop. For those seeking BluRay rentals you’ll see a small increase and you’ll get unlimited streaming and the same 4 rentals per month for $9. For a comparison Netflix streaming only plans start at $8 per month and double if you’d like to add on disks, so Redbox is aiming for a pretty aggressive price here. Something they’ll need to do considering their content options, as well as being invite-only later this month. However, while the pricing is similar Netfix offers many TV shows and series, as well as their own original content. Neither of those things will be offered by the folks at Redbox — at least not initially. While we’re not sure how much competition this will bring to Netflix we have a feeling they’ll be aiming more for the mobile crowd than anything here. Stay tuned for more details on the invite-only launch later this month. [via SlashGear] |
| Google Now for Ice Cream Sandwich install process simplified Posted: 12 Dec 2012 11:01 AM PST Google Now is one of the new features that came along with Jelly Bean. It is a feature that I love on my Nexus 7 and also the feature that I miss most when using my Galaxy S3. That said, it looks like the Google Now for Ice Cream Sandwich install process has been simplified a bit.
Granted, that is not to say it is as easy as installing an APK. In fact, getting Google Now running on an Ice Cream Sandwich device still requires you to have a rooted device running a deodexed Ice Cream Sandwich ROM. You also need to be able to sideload an APK, however if you have the first part down, we suspect you can handle sideloading an app. Anyway, for those wondering, this process has been updated and also improved since we last mentioned in back in July. The app is called GNow Handlebars and it can be downloaded from XDA, and yes, the app does come along with a set of how-to directions. Assuming you already have a rooted device, the process does not involve all that much extra. In fact, the steps are opening the app, installing (or restoring) the app and then exiting. Bottom line here, yes it is possible to run Google Now on an Ice Cream Sandwich device. Nonetheless, we suspect the requirements may keep more than a few people from actually doing this. As for me, I will keep my fingers crossed and hope Verizon rolls-out the Galaxy S3 Jelly Bean update soon. [via PocketNow] |
| Google’s Eric Schmidt: We’re clearly winning the war against Apple Posted: 12 Dec 2012 10:29 AM PST The big guys from Google have been in the news quite a bit over the past few days. After a Larry Page interview earlier this week where he briefly mentioned Apple and the competition, to the once-CEO and current Chairman Eric Schmidt making comments on the lawsuits. Well Schmidt is in the news again today and this time he’s being a bit more vocal.
If Apple’s own evangelist Guy Kawasaki’s comments yesterday were any indication, Google’s clearing winning the “war” on smartphones and technology against Apple. Stating he’s been using nothing but Android for well over a year now, and won’t be switching. Today Google’s Schmidt is making similar comments, but being more forward than Larry Page was during his interview. In an hour long interview with Bloomberg Schmidt had quite a bit to say regarding their fellow rivals at Apple. He went as far as to say Android’s taking over Apple’s lead at a similar rate that Microsoft did in the PC landscape during the 90′s. A pretty bold statement right there. He had numbers too. Just as we reported, Google’s Android sales doubled from Q3 2011 to Q3 2012 giving them a strong hold on more than 72% of the market share while Apple had just 14%. So this is where his “we’re clearly winning” statement stems from. The interview linked to above with Bloomberg is a rather interesting one. Eric Schmidt then goes on to talk about Android being part of the “bigger pie”, the government and the fiscal cliff, taxes that Google pushes off shores to avoid extra fees and much more. It’s certainly worth reading to see what Google’s Chairman has to say. Stay classy Schmidt! |
| Motorola attacks Samsung putting the Droid RAZR HD against the Galaxy S3 Posted: 12 Dec 2012 09:56 AM PST Motorola has recently posted a new image over on Facebook. You can see that image here in the post, but the long and short — they appear to have put the Droid RAZR HD up against the Galaxy S3. Of course, having seen previous sales reports for the Galaxy S3, it becomes a bit easier to understand why Motorola choose this particular handset.
Anyway, the image sort of speaks for itself, showing the Droid RAZR HD with a downloaded and installed version of Angry Birds Rio while the Galaxy S3 is still downloading. And looking further in, both handsets are running on Verizon 4G LTE, however they managed to capture the Droid RAZR HD showing full bars. Then there is the comment — 49 percent faster download speeds compared to the Galaxy S3. Motorola did not go into any specifics about the testing, however a click on the link takes us deeper into the comparisons. For example, Motorola comments that the RAZR HD has 20 percent more battery life (up to 24 hours for the RAZR HD). Sure, this makes sense considering the RAZR HD has a 3,300 mAh battery while the Galaxy has a 2,100 mAh battery. What Motorola failed to mention though, the RAZR HD having a larger battery life is good because, unlike the Galaxy, the battery in the RAZR HD is non-removable. Moving away from the faster downloads and the longer battery life, Motorola also took aim at the overall durability and highlighted the Kevlar coating and water-repellent nanocoating that you will find on the RAZR HD. All said and done, both handsets have some good points and some bad points. The one thing that seems clear here, the Galaxy S3 must be a pretty hot device considering Motorola has decided to go public with such a campaign. [via Facebook] |
| GTA: Vice City returns to the Google Play Store Posted: 12 Dec 2012 09:32 AM PST We have great news for all you gamers this morning. It looks like Rockstar Games managed to fix whatever problems they were facing quite fast, because Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is back. The impressive game was removed from the Google Play Store last week after a few issues, but we can now confirm it’s back and works as advertized.
Rockstar Games was supposed to release GTA: Vice City last week on the 10th year anniversary of the iconic game, but after a little hiccup or two on the Google Play Store they had to remove and delay their launch. Rockstar confirmed the problems over on their official blog, but now we’re back in business. Get ready to play in the decade of big hair from the 80′s and enjoy those Malibu clubs and nightlife, followed by some crime families as you work your way to the top. This time around the graphics have been improved over what they were 10 years ago, and the controls have been heavily tailored for touchscreen devices. Obviously you’ll enjoy a game controller best, but this should work great on many smartphones and tablets. Sadly we were hoping for a few days of 50% off after the delay, but no such luck. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City for Android can be yours right this second for $4.99 from the Google Play Store. Their supported devices list is rather large. Anything rocking a Tegra 2 or above seems to be supported as far as tablets, and their smartphone support is rather decent too. See the entire list from the Play Store listing. Enjoy the latest and greatest from R* folks. |
| Samsung rolling out Jelly Bean 4.1 to Galaxy Note 10.1 Wi-Fi devices in Germany Posted: 12 Dec 2012 09:03 AM PST Samsung is consistently updating its devices to Jelly Bean. The company may not be pushing 4.2 to its devices, but it still doing a better job of bringing Jelly Bean goodness to its devices than most companies, especially when you consider the large amount of devices Samsung offers. Well, Samsung is bringing Jelly Bean 4.1 to WiFi Galaxy Note 10.1 devices in Germany and keeping its update momentum going.
We have not heard whether this update will make its way to other regions besides Germany. It seems logical that Samsung would push this update to other regions, especially to device owners who have tablets without carrier restrictions. Time will tell if we see this spreads around the world, and hopefully it does. Device owners with the tablet will get features such as Project Butter, which smooths operation on the device and makes everything run faster. It also adds Google Now, which helps personalize the device and helps users make it their own. If you are a Galaxy Note 10.1 owner, make sure to check your tablet, as the update should be ready to go. [via XDA] |
| Viddy for Android now available in the Google Play Store Posted: 12 Dec 2012 09:02 AM PST Viddy has officially launched for Android. The app is available in the Google Play Store and according to the details provided, it has arrived with support for 757 mobile devices, in 16 languages and for those in 136 countries. Perhaps more important for some, Viddy is free, both to download and to use.
That being said, further details note that Viddy requires Android 4.0 or later for use. Otherwise, as to just what Viddy is and what you can do with it — think Instagram, but for short videos. Viddy will allow you to capture, filter and share videos up to 15-seconds in length. The filters, which are described as being “custom Video Effects” arrive as Vintage, SoHo, Golden and more. Viddy has 10 filters in total. And in addition to simply switching things up with filters, Viddy also allows you to add some audio. The app comes with use of 17 licensed soundtracks. As for the sharing, once your video is complete you can share over the usual suspects including email and SMS as well as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and YouTube. Otherwise, similar to Instagram, Viddy also has a network behind it. In other words, with Viddy you will be able to find and follow friends. Not to mention, browse video categories to include what is popular, trending and featured. All said and done, it looks like Viddy is trying to be the Instagram of video, which is not necessarily a bad thing. [via Billboard] |
| MobileFun launches wireless charging solution for the Galaxy S III Posted: 12 Dec 2012 08:28 AM PST MobileFun has just rolled out a new wireless charging solution for Samsung’s Galaxy S III device. It is ultra-slim wireless charging station for the phone that should be quite useful for people who want to charge their device wirelessly without adding a lot of bulk to the device. It is designed specifically for the S III, so that means it fits just right.
The charger comes with an LED indicator that lets you know when the device is finished charging. Like most chargers on the market, it comes with overcharging prevention, so you don’t have to worry about damaging your phone’s battery. It also keeps the phone from overheating and it saves electricity from not having the charger run when it does not need to.
The wireless charging kit is available now for $96.99. The MobileFun website has it listed as “In Stock,” so you can scoop it up right now to charge your device. It looks like it’s only available in white, so if you have one of the other colors of the Galaxy S III, the backplate for the device will not match your phone. |
| Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus specs not living up to the plus Posted: 12 Dec 2012 08:17 AM PST Samsung appears to be readying another Galaxy S2, yes, S2. This time around it is the Galaxy S2 Plus (GT-I9105) and while that would seem to suggest that the specs will be a bump up from the regular Galaxy S2 — that is not the case here. Keep in mind though, as of now these details are coming by way of leaks and rumors.
In other words, we can only hope that some of these specs change when it comes time for an official announcement. Anyway, without any further adieu, the latest suggests that Samsung will be announcing the Galaxy S2 Plus for a release in early 2013. The handset is expected to arrive first in white and then a few weeks later in blue. Colors aside, lets talk specs. The one point that seems to be going up from the regular Galaxy S2 is the OS. The Galaxy S2 Plus is said to be launching with Jelly Bean — either 4.1.1 or 4.1.2. Other specs include a 4.3-inch (480 x 800) touchscreen, 8 megapixel rear-facing camera, dual-core 1GHz processor and 8GB of internal storage space. For those looking for the comparison, the display would be the same however the internal storage and processor would be a step down. Otherwise, previous reports have suggested that the Galaxy S2 Plus would see a global release. How global remains the question. One thing seems fairly certain though, assuming this makes its way to the US, it looks like it will be joining the pre-paid ranks because otherwise, we are not all that certain who would want to buy a Galaxy S2 Plus when many of the specs are looking like a downgrade. [via SamMobile] |
| Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 LTE FCC filing misses the LTE approval Posted: 12 Dec 2012 07:38 AM PST Samsung released the Galaxy Note 10.1 LTE for those in South Korea last month, and while we have had expectations of it arriving with Verizon Wireless, this recently discovered FCC filing suggests that release is drawing closer. Of course, as we all realize — nothing is official until we hear it from Samsung or Verizon.
That being said, what we do have is a curious FCC filing for the Galaxy Note 10.1 LTE. The tablet was spotted as model number SHV-E230S and with support for Bluetooth and dual-band Wi-Fi as well as WCDMA bands II and V and GSM band 850 and 1900. As for that curious part, the filing, despite showing this model as having LTE (complete with logo), does not mention any approval for the LTE bands. Simply put, while an FCC filing generally suggests that a release is getting closer — this time around it looks like that may be true, but not before another visit with the FCC. The only other tidbit revealed was that the tablet had 16GB of internal storage. All said and done, it looks like we can now sit back and wait for that next FCC filing. But in the meantime, there is this filing which comes complete with the confidentiality request letter, the FCC ID label statement letter, the label location and the 41 page test report. You know, just in case you were really bored and needed some reading material. [via wireless goodness] |
| Amazon has all Kindle Fire Tablets on sale for Amazon Moms only Posted: 12 Dec 2012 07:34 AM PST Amazon had an awesome sale recently where you could grab a Kindle Fire HD 8.9 for $50 off the original price. Sadly, that deal is in the past, so if you missed it you’re out of luck. However, if you a member of Amazon Prime and Amazon Moms, you can grab any of the Kindle Fire tablets with a discount of up to $50.
For whatever reason, it looks like Amazon is trying to move some serious inventory in terms of the Kindle Fire. It seems that the inventory they moved from Monday’s sale was not sufficient, so this sale seems like a further effort to move some stock. Even though the deal today is only targeted at mothers, it should still help Amazon move some stock, all while helping buyers get a good deal on the tablets. The 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD is Amazon’s latest tablet. It comes with an 8.9-inch IPS LCD display and a Texas Instruments OMAP4470 dual-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz. It also comes with 1GB of RAM and either 16GB or 32GB of storage. [via Slashgear] |
| Gyft launches for Android and is giving $10 in free cards Posted: 12 Dec 2012 07:03 AM PST For better or worse, gift cards are a popular item around the holidays. Some people love them and some people hate them, however it looks like things have just been made a bit easier for those sporting an Android smartphone. The newly launched app is called Gyft and it should help those who like and also those who dislike gift cards.
The Gyft app is available by way of Google Play and currently sitting at version 1.0.1 with support for devices running Android 2.3 or later. Gyft is free to download, however depending on how you plan to use it, you may end up shelling out some money. You see, you can use Gyft to manage your gift cards, or to purchase gift cards to give to others. And for those who have received gift cards and really dislike having to use them, you can also use the Gyft app to regift those cards. Seems like Gyft has everyone covered. As for the average user though, Gyft will allow you to stop carrying around those plastic cards and keep them all in one app on your smartphone. Even nicer, that means they will always be with you which should help during those spur of the moment shopping trips. As a bonus, those downloading the Gyft app will be given $10 in free cards. Finally, for those wondering, the Gyft app works with “hundreds of supported retailers” including Target, Amazon, Fandango, Toys R Us, Gap, Starbucks and others. Bottom line here, many of us will likely get at least one gift card this holiday season, may as well use Gyft to manage that card. [via Google Play] |
| Nexus 4 factory images removed from Google servers Posted: 12 Dec 2012 06:56 AM PST Google has suddenly removed the stock firmware images for the Nexus 4 from its website. All of its other devices such as the Nexus 7 still have the images available, so there clearly must be a reason Google has decided to pull down the images for only the Nexus 4. Until Google issues an official statement, all we can do is speculate, but there are certainly some reasons out there that seem logical.
Google could also be pulling the image down to fix some of the issues people have been reporting. Users have reported issues such as reboots, battery drain, and Bluetooth not working. Perhaps Google wants to fix these issues, but it seems odd that they would need to completely remove the current image just to fix the issue. Either way, hopefully Google gets the images back online soon, whether it’s a fixed version or the original version that was just removed. Google has yet to make any kind of statement regarding this issue, and hopefully the company addresses it soon enough. [via TheAndroidSoul] |
| OPPO Find 5 announced with a 5-inch 1080p display and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Posted: 12 Dec 2012 06:35 AM PST We had previously seen the Find 3 from smartphone maker OPPO, however as of today they have announced their latest — the Find 5. And as the name would imply, the Find 5 is sporting a 5-inch display. Perhaps more to the point here, the OPPO Find 5 has a 5-inch 1080p display with a pixel density of 441 PPI. As for something to compare, think the recently released Motorola Droid DNA.
Some other points that the Find 5 shares with the Droid DNA is the amount of internal storage, 16GB, along with the lack of a microSD card slot. Simply put, the OPPO Find 5 is limited to 16GB of storage. Other goodies include a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064 processor, 2GB of RAM, a 2,500 mAh battery and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.
The Find 5 is lacking any LTE connectivity, however there is HSPA+ which should make the lack of LTE a bit easier to deal with. The handset also has some of the expected features such as dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, GPS, NFC and Bluetooth.
It also looks like some special attention went into the imaging. On the front there is a 1.9 megapixel camera and the back side is sporting a 13 megapixel camera that OPPO is touting as being the “most advanced.” According to details provided, the rear-facing camera has a 1/3.06-type 13-megapixel camera sensor with an f/2.2 aperture, 4-layer coating and blue glass filters. The Find 5 is also said to be the first smartphone with hardware supported HDR for both stills and video. A few other perks dealing with the camera include the ability to take 100 photos at a rate of 5 per second on Burst mode and video recording at 120 frames-per-second. Finally, OPPO has stated that the Find 5 will be launching in early-2013 in “selected markets.” Further details show this to include the US where the handset is expected to arrive priced at $499.          [via SlashGear] |
| Fuhu nabi XD revealed for the “tween” who needs a quad-core tablet Posted: 12 Dec 2012 05:54 AM PST The people at Fuhu are teaming up with NVIDIA to bring a new tablet to the market that is aimed squarely at the “tween” market. The new Fuhu nabi XD tablet comes with an NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor, which is the very same featured in many of the top-end tablets on the market. In the case of the new Fuhu tablet, it comes with a $249 price tag, which makes it among the cheapest 10.1-inch tablets with the NVIDIA quad-core chipset.
The tablet comes with a 10-hour battery life, so it should be able to handle a full day of fun. Fuhu notes that the tablet is able to run a "suite of productivity apps and console quality games." This machine can be used with a patent-pending pad-folio with integrated silicone keyboard cover to give you the traditional keyboard experience.
The tablet also works with NFC, which is mainly designed to work with the nabi exclusive battle-ready figurines the team is revealing that will work with the upcoming Battle KINABIs game. We will learn more about that soon enough. The nabi XD will be available as a "limited release" in late-December, and it will fully hit the market in January. The tablet comes in two models; a 16GB model that'll cost you $249 and a 32GB model that will run $349. [via Slashgear] |
| Android Community Nightly: December 11th, 2012 Posted: 11 Dec 2012 06:09 PM PST Today was a fun-filled Tuesday so lets jump right into the news of the day starting with YouTube getting a snazzy new UI for 10-inch tablets. Then HTC announced another budget device called the HTC One SV, because they’re running out of better names. Then Angry Birds turned 3 today and are celebrating with 30 new levels. More news from today after the break.
Then as usual Samsung was in the news multiple times today. Starting with the fact that they won’t be announcing any significant smartphones like their Galaxy S IV at CES — which was sort of expected. Then Samsung announced they’re leading the global market sales for connected devices, as well as started the update for the AT&T Galaxy Tab 8.9 LTE to ICS. Oh and the Galaxy Camera is headed to Verizon with 4G LTE in a few days for $549. Google’s CEO Larry Page was in the news today talking about Google Wallet, Motorola Nexus devices, and the competition. That’s certainly worth reading! At the same time Apple’s huge evangelist from the 80′s Guy Kawasaki told the world why he prefers Android. We’d have to agree with him across all points. While we’re talking about Google, their Nexus 7 is being offered up by the Financial Times free with a new subscription.
Now to round up some random news for you all today Hulu Plus was updated with Hulu Kids — for kids. Barnes & Noble is giving away a free book with every NOOK book purchased for the holiday spirit, and Yahoo! Mail was updated for Android. Ending on a few good notes here HTC’s Jelly Bean update plans were dropped to the web — sadly the Rezound isn’t included — and if we had to guess Jelly Bean is coming soon for Verizon’s Galaxy S III. Check out the rest of the site for everything else. Have a nice Tuesday evening! |
| Three new HTC devices gain PlayStation Certification Posted: 11 Dec 2012 05:17 PM PST The PlayStation Certified train continues to roll on, but it seems that HTC is the only other company interested in a ride. Aside from a number of Sony devices, only HTC handsets have been PlayStation Certified, and today nothing is changing – we’re only getting word of three additional HTC devices that have been given PlayStation Certification. According to AndroidGuys, the HTC One X+, One S, and One V have all become PlayStation Certified.
This brings the PlayStation Certified HTC devices up to six, including the original One X, the One XL, and the EVO 4G LTE. What does this mean, exactly? It means that these devices have all been certified to access Sony’s PlayStation Mobile store, which offers a number of games for Android devices. The pickings are still rather slim, but keep in mind that the PlayStation Mobile store is only a couple of months old. The PlayStation Mobile store will likely be padding out a bit in the months to come, so there’s plenty to look forward to. Just the same, we expect the list of PlayStation Certified devices to grow as time goes on too. So, if you own one of the HTC devices mentioned above, you should be able to access the PlayStation Mobile store shortly. Not all titles will be compatible with all of these devices at first, but Sony promises that compatibility is coming soon. Keep it tuned here to Android Community for more news on the PlayStation Mobile store! |
| AT&T Galaxy Tab 8.9 finally gets update to 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Posted: 11 Dec 2012 04:13 PM PST It has been a rather long wait for all those Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 LTE owners on AT&T, but today they’re finally getting a software update for their beloved tablets. Sadly they’re still on Honeycomb, and today you will all be able to enjoy Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. While we wish this was Jelly Bean, it isn’t, but head down below for additional details.
All other variants of the Galaxy Tab 8.9 seemingly have already received Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and now it’s your turn AT&T users. This update won’t be arriving over the air however, and you’ll be required to plug your slate into a PC and use Samsung’s Kies software. It’s rather easy, and should only take a few minutes (or 15) to complete. For those that haven’t resorted to other options like rooting and installing CyanogenMod or many other ROMs, if you’re running a stock tablet feel free to fire up Kies right this minute and enjoy Ice Cream Sandwich. You’ll experience a brand new user interface, complete with TouchWiz, and everything that makes Android 4.0 and beyond even better.
You’ll be going from Android 3.2 Honeycomb all the way to Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich, and we have a feeling you might not get Jelly Bean — but have hope. For those looking for additional details on what the update will include, as well as links to Samsung Kies and more you can start by clicking here for everything straight from Samsung. Give the update a try and let us know how it all goes. Enjoy! Device Info
Display
Dimension & Weight
Battery & Power
Software
Hardware
 Cellular Network
Device Connectivity
 [via Samsung] |
| Verizon Galaxy S III Jelly Bean update coming soon Posted: 11 Dec 2012 03:17 PM PST The Samsung Galaxy S III over on Verizon Wireless is set to receive Android 4.1 Jelly Bean in the coming days or weeks. We’ve been hearing reports that this Friday (December 14th) could be when the initial update starts rolling out. Now we have more fuel to add to the fire with Verizon’s own page actually showing the phone with Jelly Bean — an OS it doesn’t yet run.
Now the image you see above is nearly stock Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, although obviously Samsung’s Galaxy S III will look nothing like that. Their heavily skinned version of Android, known as TouchWiz, will clearly be the star of the Jelly Bean update. It appears that someone at Verizon is a little confused. While this is just a quick few photoshop mistakes, this leads us to believe the Jelly Bean OTA update is coming soon. Last week we reported on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean leaking for the Verizon Galaxy S III, and then a few rumors and sources claimed they’ll start pushing the update out this weekend starting Friday night. Usually Verizon’s support page drops the update details first, so once we see that we’ll let everyone know. For now it appears that Verizon’s page thinks the device is on Android 4.1, and stock 4.1, even though it indeed currently is running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The update to Jelly Bean will bring project butter smoothness to the UI, Google Now search, expandable notifications and much more, but it won’t look like a Nexus — that’s for sure. Basically what we’re saying here is Android 4.1 Jelly Bean for the Verizon Galaxy S III very well could be coming soon, and this is just a sign that things are getting close. Stay tuned for more update details as the information rolls in. Device Info
Display
Dimension & Weight
Battery & Power
Software
Hardware
Cellular Network
Device Connectivity
[via Droid-Life] |
| Yahoo! Mail for Android updated to v2.0 with a brand new UI, better notifications Posted: 11 Dec 2012 02:26 PM PST We know what you’re thinking. People still use Yahoo! Mail? And that answer would actually undoubtedly be yes. With more than 10 million downloads in the Google Play Store it is about time Yahoo finally gets up and issues an update. Their Mail app was badly needing an update and today they released version 2.0 with tons of improvements and a completely overhauled user interface.
Yahoo’s new CEO Marissa Mayer, formerly an executive with Google is now under complete control of Yahoo and we expect tons of changes to follow. This is after just a few months since she took over and the team is already releasing a new Android app. Version 2.0 of Yahoo! Mail for Android should be faster, leaner, cleaner and more stable. Here’s what to expect:
- We renamed the application to ‘Y! Mail’, ensure you don’t miss it in your apps Before it was just listed as Mail in the app tray and many people would miss it somehow. So that’s nice. It looks like they’ve put a lot of focus on the user interface — one that I hate to say actually looks quite good. If you can get over all that purple the new Y! Mail looks pretty impressive. They’re touting better battery life, something I’ve heard was a big issue, increased stability, and a much more secure experience with SSL enabled by default. Two new changes that are also some of the most complaints on the Play Store was the push notifications being rather flaky, as well as a refresh system. We now have an improved user interface that is streamlined and clean, and pull-to-refresh works like a charm. The new slide-out bar for settings and folders is also a welcomed edition. For the millions and millions that still are using Yahoo! Mail enjoy this latest version. Let us know what you think in the comments below. [via Android Police] |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Android Community To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment