| Android Device Manager tracking and remote wipes go live Aug 7th 2013, 18:51, by Robert Nelson Google announced the Android Device Manager a little while back and since then we have seen bits and pieces of the puzzle coming together. Settings began showing up on Android devices earlier in the week and as of today the tracking website has gone live. This isn’t the complete setup just yet, but for now you can track, ring and erase a lost device from the web. 
Those looking to get started should launch the Google Settings app on their tablet or smartphone. Once here look for the Android Device Manager option and make check the appropriate boxes based on your wishes. There are two options available; the first is to enable remote location and the second is to enable remote factory resets. The remote location option will allow you to locate your device on a map and also ring that device. And just a brief warning about the ringing, it rings at full volume. With that in mind, you can turn that ring off by tapping the power button (just in case you wanted to do a test ring). Once either (or both) of those options have been checked you can then head to the Android Device Manager website to check the map. The website is simple and to the point. You will be greeted with details on your device and can also use the little dropdown arrow to switch to others that you happen to have. With the correct device showing you will get a map position of where it is located. In our testing we are seeing accuracy reports of around 10 meters, which is where the ring portion comes in handy. You know, for times when your handset is hiding somewhere in the house. The Android Device Manager is available for handsets with Android 2.2 or later. Finally, in addition to tracking devices on the web, we are also expecting Google to release a mobile app for on-the-go tracking. That however, has yet to be found in the Play Store. |  | Nexus 7 factory image issues have Jean-Baptiste Quéru "quitting AOSP" Aug 7th 2013, 18:26, by Robert Nelson It looks like there has been some recent change in the world of Android. Well, not so much in terms of the operating system and day-to-day use, but for Jean-Baptiste Quéru who has recently taken to Google+ with a posting about how he is quitting AOSP. Aside from this most recent comment, JBQ has recently made a few interesting comments on Twitter and it seems this all stems from an issue with the Nexus 7 factory images. 
Specifically, the factory images for the new Nexus 7 — the one with Qualcomm on the inside. With that in mind, we should make it clear that JBQ has yet to call out Qualcomm specifically. Back towards the end of July, shortly after the Nexus 7 was announced we began seeing mentions of the issue. Twitter had postings from JBQ about how lawyers sabotaged the launch he had been working on for 6 months and went on to talk about how he doesn’t want to go to work tomorrow. That last part actually came in a message posted to Twitter on August 4th. “I don’t want to go to work tomorrow. I don’t want to be doing that job any more.”
Well, flash forward till today and it looks like JBQ will not be going to work tomorrow. There are some items that still need clarification, but at this point he has said he is “quitting AOSP.” Basically, we are curious as to what he has quit, the AOSP or Google as a whole. Anyway, with that in mind, here is what he had to say; There’s no point being the maintainer of an Operating System that can’t boot to the home screen on its flagship device for lack of GPU support, especially when I’m getting the blame for something that I don’t have authority to fix myself and that I had anticipated and escalated more than 6 months ahead.
But in the end, this just leaves us wondering when, or if the factory images and the binaries for the new Nexus 7 will be posted. SOURCE: Google+ | | LG G2 vs Moto X and Galaxy S4 Aug 7th 2013, 18:11, by Cory Gunther The brand new smartphone from LG Electronics was unveiled today in New York City, that being their new G2 of course. With a stunning 5.2-inch edge-to-edge display, tons of power under the hood, and an aim to re-imagine buttons on a smartphone. So how does the new G2 stack up against the competition? Quite well actually. Beating the Galaxy S4 in nearly every category, and killing the Moto X, we figured a few comparison photos were in order. 
Now hardware, user experience, and software all differ greatly here. As does the operating system on each of these devices. Some might enjoy the idea of a smaller 4.7-inch device, while others don’t care about size and want a huge beautiful screen. No matter what you’re into, one of these should make you happy, so check them out below. Obviously the 4.7-inch 720p display on the recently announced Moto X is no competition for LG, since they’re rocking a 5.2-inch 1920 x 1080p full HD panel, but again, to each his own. Then of course this is S4 Pro dual-core (with the Moto X) vs the absolute latest and greatest quad-core silicon in the mobile processor space with the G2. We’re not going to compare all the rest, because the G2 wins in every single category (at least on paper) and instead just let you see the size difference. The G2 isn’t that big, considering everything they’ve packed inside. Not bad LG, not bad.    All three of these devices are running Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean from their respective manufacturers, and all three are rather customized. Galaxy S4 has TouchWiz and their nature UI. LG has their own changes, some which are similar to Samsung’s, but plenty of their own such as the KnockON to wake, slide-out multitasking panel, and other new stuff with the G2. Then of course the Moto X is nearly stock, with an Active display and a few neat Google and Moto editions on top of stock Android. Pick your poison. 
The Galaxy S4 is and will be the main competitor to the G2, even though it has been available for a few months already. LG is late to the game here, but the wait might be worth it with a faster, more efficient, newer quad-core processor. They’ve added optical image stabilization to the 13 megapixel camera. Something Samsung wasn’t able to do, but are rumored to offer with their upcoming Note III we’ll see next month. These devices will be battling it out, so we grabbed a few comparison shots. The 4.99-inch 1080p display vs the 5.2-inch 1080p screen on the G2 are comparable, although the G2 offers a full HD IPS panel that gets much brighter than the AMOLED counterpart here with Samsung. To be honest, again on paper, the LG G2 handily beats the Galaxy S4 in all areas. We’ll need a few weeks with the device to test and compare, obviously, but so far our impressions are quite favorable to good old LG. Specs aside, the G2 actually looks very similar to the Galaxy S4 on front, with curves and design cues from the Nexus up top, and the texture on back reminds us of the Galaxy S II, actually. It’s a well designed smartphone, and we can’t wait to get our hands on it for an extensive review of everything that’s new. Don’t forget to check out our detailed hands-on coverage, and stay tuned for more details.      | | Google Glass shown helping quadriplegic New Yorker regain her confidence Aug 7th 2013, 17:39, by Robert Nelson Google has recently shared the story of another involved in the Glass Explorers program. This video details the story of Alex Blaszczuk who is described as being “a New Yorker, a law student, a quadriplegic.” More to the point here, this highlights a story about how Google Glass helps her regain some confidence. 
The aspect of the “ifihadglass” program began with those interested sharing details about how they would use Google Glass. In this case, Alex had said that Glass would allow her to capture her life on her own. The other side of that is how she had hoped to use Glass to “show the world how to thrive with physical limitations in the most interesting city on the planet.” That being said, part of her journey became a camping trip, which just so happens to have been the start of this new journey. Alex goes into how a car ride to a camping trip resulted in an accident that left her paralyzed. She talks about how this is a complete cervical spine fracture that left her wheelchair-bound and unable to use or feel here hands and wrists. That is where the connection to Glass comes in, and also the part about how she uses this to regain some confidence. The video is on the shorter side, but just highlights how Glass can be used for what many take for granted — the ability to easily capture images or the ability to sit up front in a car and acting as the navigator. Looking outside of the “ifihadglass” program for a moment and we also saw the OpenGlass project show how Glass can be used for people with visual impairments. That one had Glass being used to tell/show what users were holding and also what was located around them. | |
